The Consultant's Adopted Son

by Jennifer Taylor

  She made herself a sandwich and took it into the sitting room. She wasn’t really hungry, but she couldn’t go all day without eating anything. She turned on the television, but she couldn’t seem to concentrate on the programme. She kept remembering the look on Owen’s face when he’d spoken about Daniel, the way he’d seemed to believe that she was a threat to the boy’s well-being. Was he right? Would it be better if she didn’t meet Daniel? Even though her heart ached at the thought, she had to consider it. She would never do anything that might harm her precious child.

  The phone rang and she lowered the volume on the television before picking up the receiver. ‘Hello?’

  ‘Is that Rose Tremayne?’

  Rose’s heartbeat quickened. Even though they’d never spoken before, she knew it was Daniel. Just for a second she wondered what she should do—should she tell him that Rose Tremayne wasn’t there? It was what Owen would want her to do…

  ‘Hello? Are you there?’

  The panic in the boy’s voice tugged at her heartstrings and she knew that she couldn’t do it. ‘Yes, I’m here. I’m Rose Tremayne.’

  ‘I…um…I’m Daniel.’

  ‘Hello, Daniel.’ Rose took a deep breath but it was an emotional moment for both of them. ‘How are you?’

  ‘I’m OK. How about you?’

  A rush of tenderness engulfed her when she heard the wobble in his voice. Despite his attempts to appear grown up and in control of himself, she knew how scary it must be for him to have to speak to her.

  ‘I’m fine,’ she said softly. ‘Even better now that you’ve phoned me. I was hoping that you would.’

  ‘Dad told me that you’d phoned after you’d got my letter. I want to meet you, if that’s all right with you.’

  ‘I want to meet you, too,’ she replied honestly. ‘When would be the best time? I expect you’re in college during the week, so how about if we make it this Saturday? Would that suit you?’

  ‘Cool! Oh, I don’t know where you live, though,’ he added uncertainly.

  ‘I live in Camden, so we could meet in the centre of London if you like. How about the café in Hyde Park—the one near the end of the Serpentine? Do you know where I mean?’

  ‘Yes! That would be great. What time?’

  ‘Eleven o’clock?’

  Daniel eagerly agreed, then said goodbye and hung up. Rose slowly replaced the receiver. She had no idea what Owen was going to say when he found out about their arrangements but she would worry about that later. For now it was enough to know that she was going to meet her son at last.

  Owen tried not to overreact when Daniel told him over dinner that he had arranged to meet Rose at the weekend, but it was very difficult to behave calmly. He knew that he’d wasted his chance to get to know her better and blamed himself for getting sidetracked. He should have stuck to his guns and found out all he could about her instead of telling her so much about himself and Laura.

  By the time he arrived at work the following morning he was seriously wishing that he’d never taken Rose out for that drink. It seemed to him that she had the advantage now, and it was the last thing he wanted. It didn’t help that she was the first person he saw when he went into the building either.

  He bade her a cool good morning and received an equally cool one in return, but the encounter unnerved him even more. He couldn’t seem to escape from her. He’d dreamt about her last night—odd, disturbing dreams he didn’t want to remember—and now he was going to have to spend the next eight hours working with her. Slowly but surely Rose Tremayne was taking over his life and he didn’t like it one little bit!

  There were only a few people waiting to be seen, so he took himself off to his office to catch up with some very overdue paperwork. He’d just signed off the previous month’s statistics when his phone went and one of the nurses informed him they had received a report about a major incident that had occurred in the city. Owen hurried downstairs to find out what had happened. Angie was off duty that day and Charlie Rogers—her opposite number—was in charge of the department.

  ‘What do we know so far?’

  ‘Problems in that new section of the tube that’s being constructed,’ Charlie explained. ‘That’s all we know at the moment. I’m waiting for the incident control centre to get back to me.’

  ‘Any idea of the number of casualties yet?’

  ‘No, but it doesn’t sound too good—’ Charlie broke off when the phone rang. Owen waited impatiently while the charge nurse wrote down the information that was being relayed to him.

  ‘Well?’ he snapped as soon as Charlie hung up.

  ‘Approximately twenty known casualties so far, but there could be more. Apparently a section of the roof caved in and buried the men while they were working. A gas main has fractured as well, causing an explosion above ground, so that’s why they’ve declared it a major incident. They want us to respond as part of the first team.’

  ‘Right. How many staff are on duty in here today?’

  ‘Ten including you, Rob, Suzanne and that new houseman, Devinder,’ Charlie told him.

  ‘I’ll take Rob with me. Suzanne and Devinder can cover at this end. We’ll need two nurses as well, so can I leave it to you to organise who’ll be going? Just make sure they know what they’re doing, will you? I won’t have time to play nursemaid when we get there.’

  He left Charlie to sort out the arrangements and hurried to the storeroom where they kept the protective clothing they used for situations like this. St Anne’s was part of the city’s major incident support team and they’d all been trained in the use of the various pieces of equipment—breathing apparatus, gas masks, decontamination suits.

  He unhooked an orange coverall off its peg and pulled it on. The garment was rather bulky, but it was designed to be waterproof and to provide some level of protection in case of a non-hazardous chemical spillage. A white hard hat was another essential in view of where they would be working. He’d just finished kitting himself out when the rest of the team arrived and he frowned when he saw that Rose was one of the nurses Charlie had selected to go with them.

  He drew her aside, not wanting to create a fuss in front of the others. ‘Are you sure you’re up to this? You’re agency staff, so you don’t have to go along.’

  ‘I’m a volunteer with the city’s major incident support team so I know what I’m doing. I’ve done all the training and I know how to use all the equipment.’

  ‘Fine.’ He didn’t waste time arguing about the rights and wrongs of her being on their team. There wasn’t time when they were needed on site. He clapped his hands to gain everyone’s attention.

  ‘Once we get to the accident site you could find that you’re working with staff from other hospitals. If that happens, just follow the normal procedures that have been laid down and report to your particular section leader.’

  Everyone nodded to show they understood, then they left the building via the rear exit. The paramedics were waiting in the courtyard for them, so they split into two groups and got into the ambulances. Owen found himself in the same ambulance as Rose and another nurse, Pete Davenport. It was Pete’s first major incident and he was very excited about it.

  ‘Will we be going into the tunnel, do you think?’ Pete demanded, leaning forward in his seat.

  ‘It depends on what they decide to do with each team,’ Owen explained calmly. ‘We could be working in the tunnel or we could be above ground, attending to the casualties who were injured in the gas explosion.’

  ‘I hope we aren’t stuck outside,’ Pete said in disgust. ‘It would be so typical, though. My first major shout and I’ll end up holding someone’s hand while the rest of the guys get to do all the dangerous stuff!’

  ‘They worked in relays the last time I was involved in an incident like this,’ Rose said quietly. ‘Some teams stayed outside ground zero and attended to the casualties and then after a couple of hours we swapped over.’

  ‘Really?’ Pete sounded impressed. ‘
So you’ve been on one of these little jaunts before, have you?’

  ‘A train crash a couple of years ago,’ she explained evenly. However, Owen saw the expression that crossed her face and knew the memory wasn’t a pleasant one. One of the paramedics asked Pete a question at that point, so he took advantage of the fact that the other man’s attention had been diverted.

  ‘You don’t have to do this, Rose. Nobody will think any the worse of you if you decide to return to the hospital.’

  ‘Maybe they won’t, but I’ll feel as though I’m letting the side down.’

  ‘Fair enough.’ He shrugged, sensing it would be a waste of time trying to persuade her. ‘Was it bad…the train crash, I mean?’

  ‘Horrendous.’

  She didn’t elaborate, certainly didn’t attempt to turn it into a bid for sympathy, and maybe it was that which moved him most of all. Reaching out, he covered her hand with his. It was only when he felt her fingers curl around his—so small and slender yet surprisingly strong—that he realised what he was doing.

  Heat rushed through him as he hurriedly let her go. He didn’t look at her again as they drove along the road with the siren blaring. He didn’t dare. He wasn’t one hundred per cent certain what she might have seen on his face and he couldn’t afford to lower his guard in any way.

  Rose was the enemy.

  He made himself repeat the mantra half a dozen times, but there was no weight to it, no substance. Thinking of Rose as his adversary was becoming an increasingly difficult thing to do.

  The police had cordoned off the streets around the entrance to the new tunnel. Emergency service crews were arriving from all across the city and there was pandemonium as vehicles jostled for parking spaces. Owen told his team to wait with the ambulances and went to find whoever was in charge of the scene. A command centre had been set up in one of the Portakabins so he went in and explained who he was and where he was from. The St Anne’s team was the first medical team to arrive on scene, and he didn’t hesitate when the officer in charge asked him if they would work with the rescue crew that was digging out the survivors from the tunnel.

  Owen went back to the group and explained what they were going to do. ‘We’ll split into two teams once we get inside the tunnel. Pete, you’ll be working with me, and Rose will work with Rob.’ He glanced at his registrar. ‘Rose has experience of working at a major incident so let her guide you if you get stuck.’

  ‘Will do!’ Rob slung an arm around Rose’s shoulders. ‘Looks like it’s you and me, kiddo. Rob and Rose—it has rather a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? A bit like Batman and Robin.’

  Owen turned away when everyone laughed. He certainly didn’t intend to stand there worrying about the fact that his registrar seemed to be on very familiar terms with Rose. It wasn’t his business what she did or who she did it with!

  Picking up his hard hat, he led the way to the tunnel entrance where the rescue crew was waiting for them. It was a combined effort and the team was made up of members of the fire brigade’s rescue service and engineers who’d been working on site. One of the firemen wrote down their names on the personnel list then introduced himself.

  ‘I’m Chief Fire Officer Donald Grant and I’ll be guiding you into the tunnel. We’re just waiting for the all-clear before we head inside. The roof is still a bit unstable in places, so our guys are working with the engineers to shore it up.’

  ‘How far along the tunnel were the men working when the roof caved in?’ Owen asked.

  ‘Just over a mile, so it will take a good ten minutes to reach them. We’ve brought the walking wounded out, but we didn’t want to take any chances and move the rest until we got your say-so.’

  He broke off when one of his men appeared from inside the tunnel. They conferred briefly before he turned to them again. ‘We can go in now. Just take your time. There’s a lot of rubble about in there. Oh, and if I tell you to get out, do so immediately. I don’t want any dead heroes on my watch today.’

  Owen shot an uneasy glance at Rose. He couldn’t help wishing that she wasn’t coming along on this trip. It was going to be dangerous work, from the sound of it, and he hated to think that she might be putting herself at risk.

  His heart plummeted as he followed Donald Grant into the tunnel. He shouldn’t have been thinking along those lines and couldn’t understand why he was. However, there was no point trying to deny how he felt. The thought of Rose getting injured was a painful one, even though he wasn’t prepared to examine the reasons behind it too closely.

  Rose could feel the tension mounting as they made their way along the tunnel. It was an eerie feeling to know that they were walking beneath the streets of the capital. Although the tunnel was well lit, it was unnerving to know that they were deep underground. She was glad when Rob caught up with her.

  ‘Creepy, isn’t it? I travel on the tube every day, yet I never really think about the fact that I’m underground. This is different, though. There’s no mistaking where you are when you can see all this.’

  ‘There isn’t,’ she agreed with a shudder, glancing around at the walls of earth. Iron meshwork had been fixed around the sides and to the roof of the tunnel, but it looked very insubstantial to her inexperienced eyes. When they started to descend to a lower level she found herself wishing that she’d accepted Owen’s offer and gone back to the hospital.

  ‘Are you OK?’

  She blinked when Rob tapped her on the shoulder. ‘I think so.’ She gave a little grimace. ‘I’m supposed to be looking after you, not the other way round.’

  ‘How about we look after each other?’ Rob suggested, grinning at her. ‘That’s what superheroes do, isn’t it? They watch each other’s backs.’

  ‘Sounds fair enough to me. You watch my back, Batman, and I’ll watch yours!’ she agreed with a laugh, feeling some of her tension ease.

  ‘I must remember that line and use it again.’ Rob chuckled. ‘Most girls would freak out if I offered to watch them, but obviously it’s different when you’re in superhero mode!’

  He leered suggestively at her. Rose shook her head. ‘You are a complete idiot, do you know that?’

  ‘Yes. But you love me anyway, don’t you?’ he declared, hamming it up for all he was worth as he stared at her with love-struck devotion.

  Rose was just about to disabuse him of that idea but her pithy retort never got aired because Owen, who had been in front of them, suddenly turned round.

  ‘It would help if you two kept your minds on the job. This isn’t the school playground, in case you hadn’t realised it.’

  Rob looked suitably abashed as he dropped back a step, but Rose was incensed. How dared Owen speak to her like that in front of everyone? She was about to remonstrate with him when the chief fire officer held up his hand and signalled for them to stop.

  ‘This is as far as we can go with any degree of ease. The next stretch is more difficult—you’ll have to crawl in a couple of places. Don’t worry, though. The roof has been made safe and it’s just five or six yards before the tunnel widens out again. Single file, folks. I’ll go first and one of my guys will bring up the rear to stop you escaping.’

  A couple of people chuckled, but for the most part Rose could tell that everyone felt as nervous as she did. She followed Owen to the narrow section of the tunnel, glancing up in surprise when he suddenly turned round.

  ‘It will be OK, Rose. Just take your time and you’ll be fine.’

  He didn’t wait for her to reply, which was probably a good thing because she wouldn’t have known what to say. The fact that he’d taken time to reassure her after admonishing her a few seconds earlier made her feel more mixed up than ever. He gave every appearance of disliking her, so why did he care if she was scared?

  It was impossible to answer that question, yet as she followed him along the tunnel her heart felt a little bit lighter all of a sudden. Maybe Owen didn’t dislike her quite as much as he tried to make out?

  CHAPTER SIX

&nbs
p; OWEN was relieved when the tunnel widened out again. It had been uncomfortable, crawling along the confined space, and even more so when he’d been so conscious that Rose was right behind him. He’d seen how nervous she looked, and he hated to imagine how scary she must have found it. He stood up abruptly, suddenly impatient with himself. There were more important issues to worry about than Rose’s attack of the jitters.

  Once everyone had made it safely through the narrow part of the tunnel, Donald Grant led them along the last lap. Arclights had been set up near where the roof had fallen in and they cast an eerie glow over the scene.

  ‘We know there are five more men still trapped beneath the rubble,’ Donald told them when they halted. ‘We’re not sure how long it’s going to take to dig them out so it’s going to be rather noisy in here. Just make sure that you listen out for my instructions in case I need you to evacuate the area.’

  Owen nodded, deeming it wiser not to make too much of the instructions. There was no point making everyone more nervous than they already were. He pointed to where the injured men were lying. ‘The sooner we get them checked over the faster we can move them out of here. Rose, can you start triage and sort out the most badly injured? We’ll divide back into our teams once we know what we’re dealing with.’

  Rose hurried over to where the first of the injured was lying. Owen watched her kneel down beside the man, then turned away because she didn’t need him standing guard over her. Rob followed him to where one man was lying a little apart from the others. He was unconscious and his breathing was very laboured. Owen knelt beside him and took a stethoscope out of his pack of medical supplies.

  ‘No air entry on the left side,’ he announced, listening to the man’s chest. ‘Right side entry is patchy, so we can’t afford to waste any time.’

  ‘Haemothorax?’ Rob suggested, checking the man’s pulse. ‘Pulse is very fast. That’s another indication of a haemothorax, isn’t it?’