The Doctor's Wife for Keeps

by Alison Roberts

  ‘There is no pulse,’ the judge told him.

  Luke and Matteo shared a glance. Had the bus crashed because the driver had had a cardiac arrest? This was not the time to start a resuscitation that would take all their attention and stop them treating people that were more likely to be saved. This patient got a white label to indicate that he was deceased—a status zero.

  There was a woman towards the back of the bus who had a small boy cuddled beside her. He looked to be about six years old and was taking his acting job very seriously.

  ‘You have to help my mother,’ he told his rescuers. ‘She keeps going to sleep.’

  ‘We will,’ Luke promised. ‘Are you hurt anywhere?’

  Matteo was leaning over the back of the seat, talking to the woman.

  ‘My leg is trapped,’ she whispered. ‘I can’t get out. Help me...’

  ‘We will,’ he promised.

  ‘I have a sore foot, too,’ the boy told Luke.

  ‘My leg hurts so much,’ the woman groaned. ‘Please...help me...’

  Matteo was taking her pulse.

  ‘The heart rate is one hundred and twenty,’ the judge told him.

  ‘Colour?’

  ‘As you see her. She’s very pale and sweaty.’

  Matteo leaned further over the seat. ‘I see blood on the floor. Is this a significant loss?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Take the boy out to the others,’ Matteo directed Luke. ‘I need to control the bleeding.’

  Luke scooped the boy into his arms and he obligingly wrapped his arms around Luke’s neck.

  ‘Do a secondary survey on the green-tag people,’ Matteo added. ‘And decide which hospital we need to transport them to. Get a cervical collar on the woman with the sore neck.’ He already had a dressing in his hand and was applying pressure to the wound on the woman’s leg but he was looking at the judge now. ‘I need radio contact with the communication centre. Is there a helicopter available?’

  Luke carried the little boy to the door and carefully down the steps.

  ‘What’s your name?’ he asked.

  ‘Ivan.’

  ‘Are you having fun today, Ivan?’

  ‘Yes.’ The child’s grin was impish and Luke had to smile back.

  ‘Me, too,’ he confessed.

  * * *

  Kate hadn’t expected to have to walk so far carrying her heavy pack but this scenario was well off the road, in a park setting. As they came out of the woodland path, she could see what they were heading for and it took her breath away.

  ‘Oh, my God...a bus crash?’

  ‘It’ll be a triage exercise,’ Georgia told her. ‘We’ll have to check everybody and decide who needs the most urgent treatment. We’ll only have to do something if it’s immediately life-threatening, like a compromised airway or severe bleeding. They’ll want us to decide what backup we need and which hospitals we are going to send patients to. And whether we call for air rescue backup.’

  ‘Okay...’ Georgia was focused on the area they were heading towards but Kate turned her head for a moment. Through the trees on one side, she could see that the scene had been duplicated. A team was already working there and she knew she shouldn’t be trying to see what was going on but that single glance had given her a picture that froze in her head.

  For a moment, all she got was the impression of a tall man wearing a high-vis vest and a helmet. A very good-looking man. It was a shock, in the next moment, to realise that it was Luke. She’d never seen him in a uniform like this before—was that what had made him look so different for a heartbeat?

  He was walking away from the bus and he had a small boy in his arms. The child had his arms wrapped around Luke’s neck but he didn’t look as if he was supposed to be badly injured. He was smiling, in fact. And Luke was smiling back at him as if they were sharing a joke.

  And, just for another instant, before she could bury the image and focus on what she knew was going to be a full-on task, Kate found her own lips curving into a smile. Something warm blossomed somewhere in her chest. Or maybe in her belly. The kind of melting sensation that she had sometimes when she saw the fathers of some of her tiny patients being so gentle and caring with their precious children.

  Luke had sounded more than relieved when he’d confirmed that he and Nadia hadn’t had a baby but surely he wanted to be a father one day?

  He’d be the best father... Kind and funny and clever and so very, very caring...

  Had Nadia had any idea of what she’d thrown away?

  How could she have been so stupid?

  * * *

  Mist clung to the mountains and shrouded the trees as dawn broke the next day and the two friends made their way home after the series of night tasks.

  They’d dealt with a young man having an acute stroke as a side effect of an incorrect drug dosage for hypertension, followed by a cardiac-arrest scenario in someone’s house where the manikin available for CPR was linked to a computer that gave a printout of how effective their compressions and ventilation efforts had been. As if that hadn’t been enough, they’d finished up with a mass shooting incident at a teenager’s birthday party where they seemed to be working with teams of police officers who were having a scene management competition of their own.

  ‘I haven’t been this tired since those night shifts in my first hospital job when I’d already worked the day and had to keep going through the next day.’

  ‘I know.’ Georgia was looking pale with fatigue herself. ‘Let’s get some breakfast and then we’ll have a few hours to sleep before the debrief.’

  ‘I’m too tired to feel hungry.’

  ‘Me, too. Let’s just go to bed.’

  The car door felt ridiculously heavy as Kate pushed it open when they’d parked near the accommodation block. Climbing the stairs felt like a mountain challenge and even having a shower was going to require too much effort. Kate lay down on the single bed opposite Georgia’s and let her breath out in a sigh that was close to a groan.

  Her body was telling her that this had been the craziest idea ever.

  Her heart had something else to say, however. She was very glad that she had come. Not only had it been an experience that had deepened her friendship with Georgia and one that she would remember for the rest of her life, it felt like its effects could quite possibly change her world for the better in the near future.

  That image of Luke with the little boy in his arms floated back into her mind and she fell asleep with a smile on her face.

  Maybe that was why Kate felt so much better when their alarm went off four hours later.

  And why she put a little extra effort into getting ready for the debrief session, where the judges were going to go over every scenario and tell them how they would have gained the highest scores. A lot of competitors would probably give the session a miss in favour of some more sleep before the social events of the prize-giving, convoy drive and the big party tonight but Kate knew that Luke would be going. He’d want to know exactly how well he’d done and—if he’d missed an expected diagnosis or intervention along the way—Kate could be quite sure that he’d be taking some notes so that it would never happen again.

  When she entered the large room to see him sitting near the back with a notebook already open on his lap, she hid her smile.

  He hadn’t changed a bit, had he?

  Except he did look older. Maybe because he had to be as tired as she was. Or maybe it was a sense of maturity that only came with age and the accrued wisdom of bitter experience.

  He’d been through some tough times, hadn’t he?

  He glanced up, as if he was suddenly aware of the sympathy coming in his direction. His face was blank until he focussed on Kate and then his expression changed instantly. He wasn’t smiling but the deepening of the crinkles around his eyes created enough warmth
for Kate to feel it all the way down to her toes.

  The same kind of warmth she’d felt when she’d seen him with that small child in his arms yesterday.

  She slipped into the seat beside him.

  ‘Where’s Matteo?’

  ‘Sleeping. I told him I’d take notes and tell him what we did wrong over lunch.’

  Kate laughed. ‘He and Georgia have a lot in common. She just groaned and rolled over when our alarm went off.’

  ‘We might regret getting up when we fall asleep at the party tonight.’

  Kate was still smiling as she held his gaze for a moment longer. Not likely. She and Luke had a lot in common, too, and one thing they’d always shared was a determination to learn from every experience and use that knowledge to make them better at the profession they both had a passion for.

  Overall, it seemed like she and Georgia had done well in all the scenarios. Luke was looking pleased with his team’s performance, too.

  ‘Did you activate the air rescue service for the guy with internal injuries at the bus crash?’

  ‘Yes. Did you?’

  ‘Yes. But we missed the clue that that teacher at the school had vodka in her juice bottle.’

  ‘The hypoglycaemic emergency?’ Luke grinned. ‘I would have needed vodka too, I reckon, with that mob of naughty children. We had one climbing out of the window while we were trying to get a blood glucose and get an IV line in the patient.’

  ‘Georgia had them under control in no time flat. And she got the school caretaker to take them away before we started any treatment.’ Kate’s spirits lifted. Control of that disruption had been one of the scoring points in that scenario. Maybe they’d done better than the other teams and would place at the prize-giving.

  ‘You looking forward to the convoy? Did you hear the rumour that the local vet has to go around all the villages and give the horses a sedative so they don’t freak out with the noise of all the sirens?’

  ‘Really?’ Kate frowned. ‘And the owners are happy about that?’

  ‘I guess so. They’ll be out with everyone else, I reckon, watching us all drive by. It’s a big event around here. Hey... Matteo suggested that you girls might like to come with us in our car. That way you can enjoy the view without having to drive.’

  ‘I’ll check with Georgia but it sounds like fun. She’ll want to fly the Scottish flag, though.’

  ‘That’s fine by me. I’m kind of Scottish myself now.’

  ‘That’s right—you are...’ The reminder that she and Luke were practically going to be neighbours as soon as they got home added to Kate’s rising spirits. Any remaining fatigue was evaporating. The remaining time at this competition held the promise of being great fun.

  It was a promise that delivered a lot more than Kate had anticipated. Georgia was more than happy to be a passenger in a shared vehicle and the two teams joined the others gathering in the town square for the prize-giving ceremony. It was a generous and good-natured crowd and the congratulatory cheers got louder as each award was bestowed. There were prizes for the doctor-only teams, the medical students, and the paramedics. She and Georgia shared a delighted glance when the team from New Zealand came second in their category.

  ‘Special category P2,’ the master of ceremonies announced eventually. ‘One physician plus a maximum of two paramedics.’

  Kate held her breath. She knew there’d been other teams in this category that had a doctor and two paramedics. Surely they would have done better than teams like hers and Luke’s where there was only one paramedic?

  ‘And the winner is...’

  Kate turned her head to find Luke looking at her instead of the master of ceremonies.

  ‘Scotland...’

  Kate’s jaw dropped and her head jerked sideways as Georgia let out a squeal of delight. The two women threw their arms around each other for a brief, fierce hug before making their way to the stage to receive their trophy. She looked back for a moment, however, before they began threading their way through the clapping crowd.

  Yes... Matteo might be looking a bit disappointed but there was genuine delight written all over Luke’s face.

  He was proud of her.

  ‘Champagne’s on us tonight,’ he called after her. His grin stretched. ‘Just like the old days, isn’t it?’

  Kate nodded, knowing her grin was just as wide as his.

  She looked for him again as she stood on the stage beside Georgia, holding one side of the plaque commemorating their success, as a photo was taken.

  He was wrong, she decided as her heart skipped a beat when her gaze had found what she’d been searching for.

  It wasn’t like the old days at all.

  There was something very different now.

  Something new.

  Rather exciting, even?

  She knew what it was, too.

  She didn’t feel invisible any more.

  * * *

  ‘Pull your head in, Kate!’

  Matteo was slowing their vehicle, tooting the horn in greeting as they got closer to another group of people standing by the roadside, excited children in front of the adults with their hands held out expectantly.

  ‘But they can’t reach...’ Kate had to shout over the noise. They were nose-to-tail in a procession of dozens of emergency vehicles that all had their sirens blaring and their warning lights flashing. She was leaning right out of the window, her hands full of the small gifts they’d obviously stocked up on before leaving Scotland. Thistle badges, key rings with kilted Highlanders holding bagpipes, bars of Highland toffee and boiled sweets in the colours of the Scottish flag.

  Georgia was hanging onto Kate’s shirt, trying to make sure she didn’t actually fall out of the car as Matteo accelerated again, but she was laughing. The excitement of this whole experience had clearly gone to her head as well. Luke swivelled in the front seat in time to see Kate sit down again with a thump. She was laughing, too.

  ‘Your turn next, Georgie. Look—there’s lots of people on your side of the road coming up. Give some stuff to Luke.’

  ‘I’m not about to lean out and risk getting my head bumped.’ But Luke had to grin. ‘I can’t believe I’m seeing you break the rules like this, Kate.’

  ‘Yeah...’ Georgia elbowed her friend. ‘You heard them. No alcohol, no speeding and no leaning out of vehicles.’

  Kate just pushed wind-blown hair out of her eyes and beamed back at them.

  ‘But it’s fun,’ she said.

  Luke had to admit that this was, indeed, great fun. But he wasn’t sure what he was enjoying more. This extraordinary convoy or seeing Kate let her hair down and embrace the atmosphere so enthusiastically?

  Maybe he was still feeling happy for her that she’d won the trophy. Or simply because they’d reconnected and there was no reason that Kate couldn’t continue to be part of his life after this event was over. There wasn’t even the obstacle of her having a boyfriend, which had been a huge—and, he had to admit, not an unpleasant surprise.

  Perhaps friendship lacked the kind of excitement that falling in love might provide but it was even better. Because it was safer. He could relax with Kate and simply be himself with no danger of losing his head—or his heart. He’d been reminded of what it had been like to fall in love when Kate had been starry-eyed over what it had been like for him and Nadia in the beginning, but he was older and wiser now. As he’d told her, he’d been there and got the T-shirt.

  Only that didn’t really sum it up, did it?

  You could throw away a T-shirt and its pithy message, like ‘Marriage Sucks’, but you couldn’t get rid of the message he’d been left with. The words might be invisible but they’d been branded into his skin as a permanent reminder. Perhaps it was just as well that Kate had dismissed any idea that their ‘pact’ might still be valid.

  Georgia was behaving
just as badly as her best friend, leaning out of her window to distribute their small gifts as the children ran alongside the car, but Luke threw his into the waiting hands and returned the delighted grins when a catch was successful. In the wing mirror, he could see them scrambling to collect items that had landed on the grassy verge and then jumping to their feet as they awaited the vehicles still to pass.

  The smile never left his face. He loved kids. The highlight of all the scenarios in this competition for him had been when he’d shared that moment with Ivan—the little boy who had been one of the actors in the bus-crash scenario. That moment of connection, when they’d both admitted their secret enjoyment of what was supposed to be a serious matter, had been priceless.

  The pang that made his smile finally fade came from nowhere. How much stronger would a connection like that be if it was with a child of your own? He might have given up on the fairy-tale of marrying the love of your life that Kate still believed in but he wasn’t ready to give up on the idea of having a family of his own. Lots of people settled for something far less than a passionate love story to achieve that, didn’t they? They found someone they could respect and care about deeply and they learned to build a life together that was strong enough to protect the children they chose to bring into the world.

  A glance into the rear-view mirror gave him a glimpse of Kate’s profile, her blonde hair streaming back from her face as she tilted her head out of the window to see what lay ahead. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes as bright as that happy smile.

  Wow...

  How come he’d never noticed how gorgeous she was in the old days?

  She’d been right there all the time but she’d just been one of the gang. Just another great mate.

  Shifting his gaze to the windscreen, Luke could see another bunch of children waiting with their parents. A father had a small child on his shoulders and a mother had a well-wrapped baby in her arms.

  Families...

  He couldn’t help another glance in the rear-view mirror.

  From this new, slightly more considered point of view, the concept of that pact he and Kate had made wasn’t really so silly after all.