All She Wants for Christmas

by Annie Claydon

  ‘Having a good time?’ The thud of the music was distracting her and James had to repeat the question.

  Beth nodded, grinning.

  ‘Matt having a good time?’ This time James took his hand from her waist and signed.

  Beth gestured over to where he was standing, deep in conversation with three of the nurses from A and E. ‘Looks like it.’

  James laughed. ‘Bet he won’t dance with any of them.’ As if responding to a cue, one of the women tried to drag Matt into the crush of dancers, and he made an excuse, refusing to move. James flipped a querying finger in his direction.

  Beth had caught the movement of his lips. ‘He said he has two left feet.’

  James’s lip curled. ‘We’ll show him how it’s done. Want to dip?’

  Beth nodded, laughing, and James bent her backwards over his arm until her spine cracked. He pulled her back up and twirled her round so that her head spun. When the room finally righted itself, Matt was nowhere to be seen.

  James’s finger tapped her shoulder, and she directed her attention back at him. ‘Kitchen.’

  She raised one eyebrow.

  ‘Just in case you were wondering.’ James’s eyes were amused.

  Beth punched at his shoulder and James laughed.

  ‘By the way, you look very nice tonight.’ He laughed, pulling her into him when she tried to stamp on his foot, and she relaxed against him, following his rhythm. This was nice. Warm and companionable. This wasn’t Matt.

  When James finally let her go, Matt was still nowhere in sight. Beth plastered a smile onto her face, helped herself to a half-glass of the killer punch and made the best of it. Just as well she had not had any expectations of tonight. She accepted every offer to dance, even the one from the hospital administrator who wheeled his partners around the floor like a perambulator. This was a party after all. She was having a good time.

  Her head began to buzz, the white noise telling her that she needed a break from the sound around her, even though the party was not as loud as most. Making her excuses, she escaped to the kitchen to get a glass of water and some peace and quiet. Light was filtering through from the sitting room, and she didn’t flip the switch for the overhead lights, preferring the cool semi-darkness as a welcome relief from the room she had just left.

  A shadow detached itself from the far end of the room. Matt’s lips moved but his voice sounded as if it was a million miles away.

  ‘Hang on a minute.’ She flipped the small control unit from its pocket, sewn inside her dress, and fiddled with it, setting the microprocessor back onto a setting that was suitable for the quieter environment. Matt waited until she had finished, watching her thoughtfully.

  ‘Came out here for a break?’ She could hear him better now, and she nodded.

  ‘It’s a bit loud for me in there.’

  He set his glass down onto the countertop beside him and moved towards her. ‘Want to dance?’ He was still three feet away from her, but already she could feel a slow tingle, travelling inexorably up her spine. She shivered involuntarily.

  ‘Not yet. I think I’ll stay out here for a while.’

  He nodded, never taking his eyes from her. He reminded her of a big cat, stalking its prey. ‘I meant here.’

  Beth looked around her. There was plenty of room and they were alone, but suppose someone found them out here. Dancing in a room full of other people was one thing. Dancing alone in the kitchen was something else entirely.

  He seemed to sense her disquiet. ‘It’s okay. No one will see us here. I’ll listen for anyone coming in.’ His eyes flashed dangerously in the half-light. ‘Don’t you want to play hookey for a while?’

  Before thought had a chance to intervene, she found herself mouthing ‘Yes’ and he took a step closer. She could almost feel him touching her, taking her into his arms. He made no move to close the gap between them, but waited for her, as if he knew she would come to him this time. His stillness, along with the mesmerising curve of his lips, only served to draw her in further.

  As she touched his arm, she felt his hand slide around her waist, and finally he pressed her close to him. It was less a dance and more a kind of swaying embrace in time with the rhythm of the music outside. She laid her head against his chest, feeling his heartbeat, and her own picked up its pace, racing with it.

  There was nothing but Matt, his clean, masculine smell and the feel of his body against hers. A long, low sigh escaped his chest, and she felt one arm tighten on her back, as if it might be possible to pull her even closer than she already was. The other hand began to caress her cheek, his fingers moving lightly across her skin, sending ripples of excitement down to her spine to meet the waves that were rolling up from where his other hand was planted.

  His lips brushed against her temple, a soft sound of approval escaping his throat when she didn’t flinch away from him. He knew that he had captured her, rendering her incapable of moving away from him, drunk with the heat of his touch.

  When Beth tilted her head up towards him, his features were in shadow, but she could still see the look of almost agonised longing on his face. He circled her slowly towards the back door, his eyes never leaving hers, and somehow managed to get it open with one hand in the dark. He caught up his jacket from the back of a chair, wrapping it round her shoulders, before guiding her across the threshold and out into the night.

  Cold air hit her face, combining with the warmth of his body in a delicious interplay of sensation. Her back was against the wall of the house, his arms wound around her to protect her from any contact with the bricks. He kicked the kitchen door closed and they were swallowed up into the darkness.

  ‘Beth, I…’ He didn’t seem to know what he wanted to say, just that he wanted to say something. She laid her finger across his lips, and they curved into a kiss. She raised herself up on her toes, pulling his head down to hers, and felt his lips against her cheek.

  He dropped kisses onto her face, working his way slowly towards her lips. By the time he had reached them, she was almost breathless with anticipation. She felt a shudder run through him as he finally covered her mouth with his.

  His lips became searching and then demanding, and when she didn’t draw back, he deepened the kiss. He took his time, kissing her comprehensively, until her knees buckled and the only thing holding her up was his hand, planted on her back, holding her tight against him.

  His hand moved a couple of inches downwards, from its place at the small of her back. Beth shuddered with excitement, wanting to feel his touch on every part of her body, thrilling to the thought of how his fingers might feel on her skin. One of her shoes had slipped unheeded to the ground, and she curled her leg around his.

  ‘Beth.’ Her name seemed to be enough this time. He kissed her again, taking the very breath from her lungs, taking everything that she had to give and then demanding more still. His body was hard, taut against hers and she followed the curve of his shoulders with her fingers, feeling the muscles flex at her touch. There was only Matt, only his demands on her, and the music of the party faded away, replaced by his name, echoing through the back of his head.

  He broke away from her. ‘Someone’s calling me. The music’s gone off.’ He was still holding her, but it was more to support her now and he tilted his head, listening carefully. Then he bent and retrieved her shoe, putting it into her hand, and opened the kitchen door a crack.

  He half lifted her through the door, closing it behind them. ‘Stay here. I’ll go and see what’s happening.’ The kitchen was still in darkness, but Beth could hear voices outside. He strode quickly across the room, just as light flooded in from the sitting room and an urgent voice sounded.

  ‘There you are. Come quickly.’

  The voices receded and she was alone in the semi-darkness. Beth found a paper towel and scrubbed at her lips. What had she done? She’d got carried away, that’s what she’d done. If Matt hadn’t been called away…

  She wasn’t going to think about what
might have happened. At least whatever it was that demanded his attention had saved her from doing something stupid, and given her a chance to resolve not to do it again. Ramming her foot back into her shoe and patting her hair quickly, she draped Matt’s jacket back over the chair and made for the sitting room to find out what was going on.

  Little groups of people stood around, talking quietly. Beth hurried through to the hallway and caught a glimpse of Matt, who was following James into the passage that led to the children’s rooms.

  No! Please, not the children. The tight movements of the two men told her that something was very badly wrong. Beth pushed past the knot of people congregated around the front door and followed them to the door of Josh’s room.

  Josh was lying on the bed, two of the A and E nurses at his side. They made way for Matt, who sat down next to Josh, one hand on his forehead and the other feeling for his pulse. Marcie was standing out of the way, in the corner of the room, her eyes on Josh, the material of her skirt twisted tight between her fingers.

  Matt turned, and seeing her in the doorway shot her a tight smile. ‘Beth. The keys to my car are in my jacket pocket. There’s a medical bag in the boot—will you fetch it for me, please?’ He didn’t wait for her assent, but turned back to continue examining Josh.

  She hurried to the kitchen and frisked his jacket, not pausing to feel inside the pockets, until she found the tell-tale bulge of a bunch of keys. Dragging them out from the inside pocket, she made for Matt’s car.

  It was as if everyone in Josh’s room had frozen when she’d left and was in the same pose when she got back again. Matt sitting on Josh’s bed, leaning over the boy. Kat and Nicki, the two A and E nurses, hovering close by, Kat on the phone and Nicki ready to react to Matt’s instructions. James and Marcie were standing back, craning to see their son but not daring to get in the way.

  Beth put the bag on the floor next to Matt and retreated back to where Marcie and James were standing. Marcie was near tears, and she slipped her hand into Beth’s, her fingers squeezing tightly.

  ‘What is it, Marcie?’ Beth kept her voice low so that no one would be distracted by their conversation.

  ‘I went in to check on him and he seemed very restless. I woke him up and he started to vomit—he’s disorientated and complaining of a headache and abdominal pain. His pulse seemed very slow to me and we called Matt.’ Marcie was whispering urgently, tears rolling down her face.

  ‘Matt’s here, Marcie. Josh couldn’t be in better hands.’ Beth wanted to tell her that he was going to be okay, but decided to concentrate on things that she knew for a fact. Such as if she hadn’t been outside with Matt, he might have been here a few precious minutes earlier.

  The silence in the room was crushing as Matt carefully examined the boy, turning him gently to expose his back. Finally, he pulled his stethoscope down around his neck, looking up from Josh. ‘Any news on that ambulance?’

  ‘Not yet. Half an hour, I think.’ Kat spoke clearly, calmly. Beth knew that was a bad sign. She’d been in the company of A and E nurses and doctors on plenty of nights out before and they knew how to enjoy themselves. The only thing that would turn them this ice cool was if the situation was serious.

  Matt turned to James. ‘How long would it take us to drive from here?’

  ‘This time of night—fifteen minutes, probably twenty.’ Marcie broke in, her voice ragged.

  ‘Okay, Kat, stay on the line and see if you can get any more information. James, Marcie, go and get your coats. We’ll get ready to drive him in ourselves.’

  Matt issued a few quiet instructions to Nicki, who set about wrapping the boy in a quilt. Kat held up her hand and snapped her phone shut. ‘It’ll be half an hour. Pile-up on the other side of town, they can’t get to us any sooner.’

  ‘Right. Let’s move.’ Matt straightened up and turned to face Beth.

  Her hands were trembling. Whatever it was he wanted to say would have to wait, there was no time now. ‘Go, Matt. I’ll stay here and look after Anna.’

  ‘No, get someone else to do that. I think that Josh has ingested poison of some sort. Marcie says that he was playing with another boy this afternoon—Simon Tanner.’

  ‘I know him. I think I saw his parents leave with him about half an hour ago.’

  ‘We need to get hold of them. And I need you to look everywhere you can think of for anything that Josh might have taken.’

  ‘But wouldn’t it be better if Marcie did that?’ Beth was ready to do whatever was needed but surely Marcie would have a better chance of finding something than she would?

  ‘No. Josh needs her with him right now, and Marcie’s too distressed to think clearly. I need someone who knows the house and the family and who can take a step back and think objectively.’

  He was right. She was having difficulty in believing that Josh could be so stupid as to take something and Marcie would be even more dismissive of the idea. ‘Okay. Do you know what I’m looking for?’

  ‘Anything, but the kind of medication that might do this is digitalis or something similar. Check that this other boy couldn’t have got hold of anything. It could be pills, or it could be plant matter—foxgloves are the usual culprit but that’s unlikely at this time of the year.’ He paused and looked back at Nicki, who was still tending Josh, and she nodded up at him. No change.

  ‘I may be wrong and I hope that I am, but start now. Don’t wait until we get to the hospital and get a confirmed diagnosis. Get everyone here to help, but make sure you check this room yourself. Tear it apart if you have to.’

  Cool determination suddenly settled on Beth. She wasn’t used to the pressures of emergency medicine, but she knew as well as any of the hospital staff how to cope with a crisis. Keep calm and do your job. ‘Okay. Leave it with me.’

  Matt nodded briefly, and looked round to find Kat at his elbow with his jacket. ‘Great, thanks, Kat. Can you stay here? Beth will tell you what needs to be done.’

  ‘No problem.’ Kat waved him away, and Matt returned to Josh’s bedside. ‘What do you need, Beth?’

  Right now she could have done with just one more moment with Matt, enough time for a quick exchanged smile of encouragement. But that wasn’t going to happen now. ‘Can you co-ordinate? We need to get in touch with Simon Tanner’s parents and make sure that someone’s looking after Anna. Also someone to check on the other children, to make sure they’re okay and see whether they know anything.’

  ‘Okay, I’ll sort it. I’ll be in the kitchen if you need me.’ Kat disappeared and when Beth looked back at Matt he was already lifting Josh carefully up in his arms, motioning to Nicki to follow him out into the hallway.

  Marcie called to her from the doorway, her coat wrapped around her shoulders. ‘Look after Anna.’ Her face was anguished and streaked with tears.

  ‘Of course. She’ll be fine. Go.’ Beth’s encouraging smile dropped from her face as soon as Marcie was gone. Josh had looked in a bad way, half-delirious and retching, and Matt’s reaction had told her that this was no run-of-the-mill stomach upset. Now it was up to her to find out what had made him so ill.

  CHAPTER TEN

  BETH hurried through to the kitchen, her eye lighting on one of the dispensary staff on the way. Grabbing his hand, she pulled him with her to where Kat was rummaging through the dresser by the phone.

  ‘I’ve got Natalie organising a general look around in the main rooms of the house. Marcie’s sister is seeing to the kids.’ Kat had swung into action like a pro. ‘I can’t find Marcie’s phone book, though.’

  ‘In here.’ Beth pulled the fat volume, held together with a rubber band, from one of the drawers. ‘Simon’s parents left about half an hour ago and they probably won’t be home yet, but I expect there’s a mobile number in there for his mother. Their name’s Tanner.’

  ‘Thanks. I’ll be here if you need me. Good luck.’

  ‘Think I’ll need it.’ Beth gestured towards the medicine cabinet over the sink. ‘The number for the combin
ation lock is 7836—can you tell Brian what we’re looking for? I’ll be in Josh’s room.’

  ‘No probs. Go do your magic.’ Kat winked at her, and Beth hurried back out of the kitchen.

  Josh’s bedroom smelled of vomit and fear. Beth flipped on the overhead lights and started with the bed, pulling off sheets and blankets, tipping the pillows out of their cases and turning the mattress to see if there was anything hidden beneath it. Turning her attention to the dresser and the wardrobe, she shook the piles of neatly ironed clothes out onto the floor, to make sure that nothing had been slipped in between them.

  Think, Beth. The signs steadied her, old friends in a way that mere words never were, helping her to think clearly. He knows he’ll get into trouble playing with medicines. He’s not going to hide anything where Marcie or James could find it. That ruled out most of the house. Every child has a hidey-hole somewhere.

  She picked up Josh’s puzzle box, twisting it carefully until it sprang open. There was a ten-pound note, a stone with a hole through the centre, an assortment of what looked like broken pottery and some feathers.

  Beth laid the box down on the small desk in the corner of the room and flipped through the contents of the drawers. The usual boy’s mess of modelling clay, pens of every description and a hand-held games console, together with a few pages printed out from the internet that looked as if they were to do with Josh’s schoolwork.

  She ran her hands down the back of every piece of furniture in the room and dropped to her hands and knees to look under the bed. Nothing apart from a banana skin, a dusty harmonica and a toy train.

  Beth puffed out an exasperated breath. There was nothing here. Josh usually took any mischief he was up to out of the house. Coat pockets!

  She ran into the hallway, and elbowed her way through the coats in the cloakroom, finding Josh’s parka and turning the pockets inside out. Nothing. A few sweet wrappers and some loose coins. She found herself wondering briefly how Josh had managed to make a hole in his pocket after only a few weeks of having the coat, and then an idea struck her.