Doctors at Risk

by Alison Roberts

  ‘So, who’s going first?’ Ross queried. ‘Or haven’t you tossed a coin yet?’

  ‘We’re first,’ Joe responded. ‘Next month. Keep the twenty-fourth free.’

  ‘We’re happy to wait,’ Fletch added. ‘After all, we should have done it two years ago so what’s a bit more time?’

  ‘And we want Mum to be well enough to enjoy it.’ Kelly nodded. ‘She’s only just out of hospital.’

  ‘How is she?’ Wendy asked. ‘No nasty repercussions from that head injury?’

  ‘Amazingly, no.’ Kelly smiled. She’s so excited about me and Fletch. We’re going to build a house on the daffodil farm land. We’ve got two hundred hedge plants to put in this weekend to start a shelter belt for the new garden.’

  ‘And we’ve got a veggie garden that needs a total revamp,’ Jessica said. ‘Joe let it go completely while I wasn’t around to supervise the weeding.’

  ‘I’ve got sore ribs,’ Joe protested.

  ‘They weren’t too sore last night,’ Jessica murmured.

  Fletch was grinning broadly. ‘I’ll bet they weren’t.’

  Wendy joined the burst of laughter but avoided looking at Ross. Ricky’s car was doing complicated manoeuvres under and over the rail now, with accompanying engine noises. The car reached the kitchen end of the rail.

  ‘Who’s ready for pizza, then?’ she asked brightly.

  ‘Me!’ Ricky shouted.

  ‘There’s chips, too,’ Wendy told him. ‘Want to come and help me get them out of the oven?’

  Keeping busy for the next few minutes, setting the food out on the coffee-table, helped Wendy get more into the spirit of the gathering. It was great that her friends were so happy. It was wonderful that Ross was a step closer to returning to a life outside hospital. It was pathetic that she was feeling so left out and discontented. She was here, wasn’t she? And Ross was looking happier than she had seen him look for months. Maybe another glass of wine was called for.

  ‘Another beer, Ross?’

  ‘Better not. I don’t want to negotiate that trip to the bathroom too often in the night.’

  ‘Save it for Friday.’ Joe nodded. ‘We’ll make a night of it then.’

  ‘Yeah,’ Ross agreed. ‘I’m legless already so it won’t make any difference.’ He broke the awkward silence by grinning. ‘That was a joke, guys. Wheelchair humour.’

  Wendy had difficulty summoning a smile and Fletch’s faded swiftly. ‘It’ll be good to have some time with you away from this place, mate,’ he told Ross. ‘Back in the real world.’

  ‘I got out yesterday,’ Ross said. ‘Took my new car for a spin.’

  ‘Really? Where did you go?’

  ‘AWOL,’ Wendy put in. ‘He got into trouble.’

  ‘Wasn’t my fault,’ Ross protested. ‘It was Sally who suggested the lunch.’

  Jessica’s eyes widened. ‘Who’s Sally?’

  ‘She’s his physiotherapist,’ Wendy said lightly. ‘And she got into more trouble than Ross did, skiving off for a date during working hours.’

  ‘It wasn’t a date.’ Ross dropped his slice of pizza onto his plate. ‘She was checking out how I was going with the transfers in and out of a car. We went for a quick drive and it seemed like a good idea to stop at a café and try negotiating a public place.’

  ‘Maybe you should have let someone know you were going to spend two hours having lunch,’ Wendy said quietly. ‘We thought you’d had an accident.’ And despite the emphasis, she wasn’t convinced. The time Sally had spent with Ross had been far closer to a romantic outing than she would have been offered.

  The silence was longer this time. It was Fletch who broke it. ‘So, Friday night, then. I’ll come and pick you up about seven?’

  ‘Sure.’

  Jessica gave Wendy a concerned glance before turning to Ross. ‘Do you need a pass or something so you don’t get into trouble again?’

  ‘I’m being independent here,’ Ross reminded her. ‘I can come and go as I please.’

  ‘There is a curfew.’ The lingering reminder of Ross’s outing with Sally made Wendy’s tone cooler than she had intended. ‘You’re supposed to be back by 10 p.m. so that residents of the other units aren’t disturbed.’

  Ross shrugged. ‘Fair enough. I’m all for playing by the rules…most of the time.’ He turned to Joe. ‘Did I tell you about this sports medicine institute in the States I’ve been in touch with? I’m considering a move into a research career.’

  ‘Sounds like a plan.’ Joe reached to take the last few chips from the bowl on the table. ‘You’re not intending to emigrate, though, I hope?’

  ‘Not permanently. Even a visit is some way off. I need to sort out my living arrangements first. I’m thinking of moving to Christchurch.’

  ‘Excellent!’ Kelly flicked Wendy a hopeful glance. ‘It would be great, having you living over this side of the mountains.’

  ‘But what about your house on the coast?’ Jessica asked. ‘Wendy told us how amazing it is…and how much you love it,’ she finished hesitantly.

  ‘The guy that’s doing the locum for me—Steve—is enjoying the area.’ Ross seemed to be concentrating on his now cold slice of pizza. ‘He’s keen on settling there and wants a property that’s a bit different. He saw my place when I got him to pack a few clothes and things for me a while back and he loves it. I’m thinking of selling up.’

  Wendy stood up abruptly. It was the first she’d heard of it. Collecting a pile of dirty plates, she moved into the kitchen. Ross loved that property. He’d put years into making it a unique statement of who he was. Had he really changed so much that he could let it go? She squashed the empty pizza boxes and shoved them into the rubbish bag. He’d loved her as well, and he’d let her go. Maybe he had been right in saying she didn’t know who he was any more. The Ross she knew would never part with that house. Or the outside bath in the bush…or the limestone cave.

  Ross had hit the nail on the head when he’d said that the cave was a symbol. It was the soul of the place he loved so passionately. A place that Wendy had fallen in love with as completely as she had fallen in love with the man who owned it. The place that she had dreamed of living in for the rest of her life. With Ross. The symbolism of Ross even considering selling it and moving on couldn’t mean anything other than the death of that dream. Maybe she hadn’t really accepted that, no matter how many resolutions she had made to pull her life back together. Now, it seemed, she had absolutely no choice. And it hurt.

  No mention was made of the subject when Wendy went to see Ross before she started her afternoon shift the following day, but it hung between them—a solid wall that made conversation awkward. The relief when Wendy left to start work after only ten minutes was palpable. She almost didn’t call in on Friday afternoon but it was a little easier this time. Ross was preoccupied with choosing something to wear to go out that evening.

  ‘Most of my clothes are still at home. When I got Steve to bring some gear over I told him to pick the kind of stuff that would be easy to get on and off.’ He smiled ruefully at Wendy. ‘I’ve had about enough of track pants and T-shirts.’

  Wendy smiled back. ‘I’m not surprised.’ She looked at the faded and well-worn pair of denim jeans he had laid out on the bed and her smile faded. The last time she had seen him wearing jeans like that had been the weekend she had spent with him on the coast. She’d helped him peel them off before they’d got into that outdoor bath together.

  Ross followed the line of her gaze. ‘They’re not really tidy enough to go out in but I don’t have anything else.’

  ‘You’re not going anywhere that needs dressing up,’ Wendy pointed out. ‘Didn’t Fletch say it was going to be a meal at a bistro?’

  ‘Not exactly a wild stag night, is it?’ Ross swivelled his chair and slid open the door of the small wardrobe. ‘I hope I’m not cramping their style.’

  ‘I think they’ll be delighted to have your company somewhere away from the hospital.’ Wendy knew she would
be. And if they had had time away from here soon enough, it might have been possible to alter the direction Ross was so determined to take them. They could have forgotten, at least for a while, the kind of constraints that life in a wheelchair would demand. ‘What about that white shirt? The open-necked one. It would fit around your collar, no problem, and it looks tidy enough to dress up the jeans.’

  ‘Good thought.’ Ross reached up and pulled the shirt off the hanger. ‘I’m going to ditch the collar for the evening, though. I can do without it and I don’t want to look any more like an invalid than I have to.’

  ‘You’ve never looked like an invalid,’ Wendy told him. ‘And you’re looking fitter than ever these days.’ The T-shirt Ross was wearing was snug around the outlines of muscles in his chest and upper arms. ‘Look at those biceps you’ve developed.’

  Ross flexed one arm and grinned. ‘Yeah. Maybe people will think twice before they kick sand in my face.’ He tipped his chair back and balanced on the larger wheels. ‘You know, I’m actually looking forward to going out tonight. I didn’t think I would.’

  ‘Have a good time.’ Wendy smiled. ‘You deserve it.’

  ‘I’ll have to make the most of it,’ Ross responded. ‘I don’t want to make myself unpopular by breaking curfew. There’s a woman that’s moved in next door with two young kids.’

  Wendy nodded. ‘She’s the wife of one of the patients in ICU at the moment. Sam Ellis. He broke his neck in a car accident yesterday and the family has flown in from out of town for a few days. Which reminds me.’ She glanced at her watch. ‘I’d better head for the salt mines. See you tomorrow.’ Wendy paused to smile as she headed out the door. ‘I hope you won’t have too much of a hangover.’

  Wendy’s shift was busy but not busy enough to prevent her thinking about Ross. She noted the time Fletch would be collecting him as she changed Sam’s infusion from methyl prednisolone to normal saline. At 9 p.m. she wondered whether he was still enjoying his meal as she took another set of vital sign recordings and made Sam as comfortable as she could in the hope he would get some sleep. She sat in the nurses’ station at 10 p.m., finishing her paperwork, and decided that Fletch had probably returned Ross to his unit by now. At 11 p.m., Wendy collected her bag and extracted her car keys, imagining Ross to be in bed and probably sound asleep. A first outing like that was usually a tiring experience.

  Wendy felt weary herself but was jerked from the peaceful atmosphere of the ward by the sound of feet pounding down the main corridor. It was an unusual enough manner for one of the night staff to arrive on duty to prompt Wendy to exit the staffroom in a hurry. She stared at her colleague’s pale face.

  ‘Sharon. What on earth’s the matter?’

  Sharon was gasping for breath. ‘There’s a fire!’

  ‘What?’ No alarms had sounded within the hospital. ‘Where?’

  ‘Outside.’ Sharon grabbed Wendy’s arm and pulled her past the sleeping occupants of Room 1 until they reached the window. ‘Look!’

  Room 1 looked onto the area behind Coronation Hospital, the wide stretch of lawns and gardens that separated the main buildings from the rehabilitation units. The flicker of the flames made a dramatic contrast to the darkness of the overcast night. They were bright enough to illuminate the clouds of smoke billowing around them. Wendy could hear the alarm sounding outside now and she could hear the wail of an approaching siren. People were running towards the units and both Wendy and Sharon raced from the room towards the fire exit next to the staffroom.

  There were five units out there and they were all fully occupied. So far, the fire appeared to affect only one.

  Unit Three.

  Ross’s unit.

  CHAPTER NINE

  THERE was no way in.

  The front door of Unit Three was closed and Wendy didn’t have to try and get close enough to test the handle.

  ‘It’s locked!’ someone shouted. ‘We’ve already tried. Get back! It’s too—’

  She couldn’t get close enough anyway. The shout was obliterated by the sound of overheated glass exploding from the window-frames of the unit. A nurse Wendy vaguely recognised as a permanent night staff member pulled her arm urgently.

  ‘Move back…It’s too late to do anything.’

  Staff and the more mobile of Coronation Hospital’s patients were gathering at the scene. Sam’s wife, from Unit Two, was standing in her nightdress, holding a wailing baby. A toddler clutched at her knees, also crying. As Wendy staggered back from the heat she saw figures emerging from Unit Four, carrying Brad—the tetraplegic man who was staying in there with his wife. The doors to Units One and Five stood open, advertising the successful evacuation of the occupants. Wendy was pushed further back into the crowd as first one, then another fire truck arrived.

  Heavily uniformed personnel were now in charge. Flashing lights of emergency vehicles competed with the flames to illuminate the scene. The noise level rose steadily with shouted orders and the sound of pumps and other equipment starting up, but Wendy could still hear the wail of frightened children and the hubbub of horrified conversation all around her.

  ‘How did it start?’

  ‘I couldn’t hear the alarm!’

  ‘Is that tetraplegic guy having trouble breathing?’

  ‘He’s got lungs full of smoke—it’s no wonder.’

  Wendy knew she should move and assist John and Peter, who were treating Brad, but her feet seemed rooted to the ground.

  ‘What about the unit where the fire started?’ someone nearby asked. ‘Was anybody in there?’

  ‘Yeah. They couldn’t get him out.’

  ‘Poor bastard!’

  Wendy stepped back. She didn’t want to listen to anybody. She didn’t want to be part of a group of spectators who were watching, with appalled fascination, as the fire service dealt with the flames that were now encroaching on the neighbouring units. It wasn’t a huge fire and she was confident they would have it under control in a short time. Then the sodden and blackened interior of Unit Three would be accessible. Steel-capped boots would tramp across what was left of the floor and bright torches would illuminate any evidence that the fire had produced a fatality.

  Ross had probably been sound asleep. Or had he tried to get into his wheelchair and been overcome by smoke before he’d made it to safety? Why hadn’t he activated the alarm bell connected to the hospital? And how could the fire have started anyway? Wendy was now standing well away from the still growing crowd. She saw the bed that had been pushed across the grass now returning to the fire exit she had used to gain rapid access to the area. Brad had an oxygen mask on and John and Peter were among the staff rushing him towards further medical assistance. There was no point going after them. She was having trouble thinking clearly enough to make her legs function so she would be no use at all if they needed expert assistance.

  ‘What the hell is going on here?’

  The voice came from behind Wendy. Unexpected. How had Fletch known that there was a reason to return? Wendy’s head turned sharply. There was someone behind Fletch. Joe. And beside Joe was another shape emerging from the darkness. A man sitting in a wheelchair.

  ‘Oh, my God! Ross!’ For the first time in her life Wendy thought she might faint. The roaring sound in her ears had nothing to do with the noisy fire trucks ahead of them, and her difficulty catching a breath could not be blamed on any residue of smoke in the atmosphere: the fire was already well under control. Wendy was glad of the strong arms supporting her. She was shivering as the sound receded from within her head and she had to swallow hard to contain the wave of nausea that followed.

  ‘We thought Ross was inside.’ Her words were muffled against Fletch’s chest. ‘That he was…’

  ‘He’s fine.’ Fletch’s voice was a deep, reassuring rumble. ‘We kept him out too late and broke the curfew. That’s why we were sneaking back this way.’

  ‘But what’s happened?’ Joe queried impatiently.

  ‘There was a fire. It started in R
oss’s unit.’

  ‘Is anybody hurt?’ Ross was staring at the scene. Hoses were being rolled away now and the spectators had fallen silent, waiting for news as the door to Unit Three was broken open.

  ‘Brad, from Unit Four, seems to have been affected by smoke inhalation. Everyone else was evacuated safely.’ Wendy pulled away from Fletch. ‘I’d better go and let them know Ross is here. Everybody thinks he was trapped.’

  ‘I’ll go,’ Fletch said firmly. ‘You stay here with Joe and Ross.’

  Ross was silent for a very long minute. He shook his head as he let his breath out in a heavy sigh. ‘I don’t understand. How could it have started?’

  ‘Did you leave anything on? An iron or a heater or something?’

  ‘No, of course I didn’t.’

  ‘Maybe it was an electrical fault of some kind.’ Wendy’s words fell into another silence as they watched Fletch arrive and speak to a fire officer. They could see the wave of relief that manifested itself by a relaxation of the tense atmosphere and spread quickly. People began talking again. Heads turned in their direction and Wendy heard the sound of muted laughter.

  ‘I think the fact that you broke curfew has become fairly public.’ Joe’s grin was fleeting. ‘It’s just as well you did, buddy. I don’t think you would have wanted to have been tucked up in bed when that started.’

  ‘No.’ Ross had fixed his gaze on Fletch as he strode back towards the trio. ‘What did they say, Fletch? Do they have any idea what might have caused the fire?’

  ‘No.’ Fletch was looking grim. ‘What they did say was that it appears to have been an unusually fierce fire from the outset. There seems to be some suspicion that an accelerant of some kind was involved.’

  ‘What? Do they think Ross had a stockpile of petrol under the bed?’

  ‘I suspect they’re thinking more along the lines of arson.’

  Joe’s breath came out in an incredulous huff. ‘How could they possibly think a place like this could be a target for an arsonist?’

  ‘Has to be a mistake,’ Ross added. ‘They’ll find another cause.’