by Sarah Morgan
‘We have.’ Daniel, the paramedic, sprinted back to the ambulance and returned seconds later. ‘It’s solar powered so you’ll have to stick it under the torch.’
‘Thanks.’ Sean tapped some figures into the calculator, narrowing his eyes at Ally. ‘What do you reckon? Twenty-eight per cent multiplied by his body weight…’
‘He must be about 58 kilos,’ Ally guessed, and Sean nodded.
‘Sounds about right. OK…’ He tapped again and calculated the volume of fluid. ‘Right—he needs that within four hours so I’ll scribble it all down for the hospital.’
Ally jabbed a giving set into the first bag of fluid and attached it to the line in the boy’s arm. Then between them they gently wrapped his body in clingfilm to prevent fluid loss and protect the burns, before covering him up to keep him warm.
‘Is one of you coming with us?’ Daniel pulled the stretcher next to the boy and Sean glanced at Ally with a wry grin.
‘My turn, I think. You stay with your daughter.’
She frowned and reached for his right hand which was blackened and sore, turning it over to examine it. ‘This doesn’t look too healthy. You need to get it seen while you’re there.’
In the urgency of the situation she’d forgotten that he’d used his own hands to beat out the last of the flames.
Sean removed his hand from hers and grimaced. ‘It hurts like hell so it can’t be serious.’
Like him, Ally knew that very serious burns ceased to hurt because of damage to the nerve endings. If Sean could feel his hands then the chances were that the burns were fairly superficial.
‘I’d better go. Jack can give you a lift. Will said he’d run my car back when he’s finished here, so I’ll see you later.’ He gave her a brief nod and climbed into the ambulance which drove away as fast as the field and the crowd allowed.
By the time she’d collected Charlie, talked to Will and nabbed a lift home from Jack, it was getting late and she was tired. Fortunately Charlie was, too, and the bedtime routine was completed in record time, leaving her to collapse on one of the huge, squashy sofas which sat on either side of her fireplace. She stared into the flames, thinking first of the boy and his burns and then Mary Thompson. Poor Mary. No wonder she was in a state and worrying about her husband. If the Thompsons weren’t able to come up with a solution themselves, she’d give Mary a ring to discuss possible options.
The wheels of a car crunched on the gravel outside the barn and she sprinted to the door and tugged it open, biting her lip as she saw Sean climb out.
‘Are you OK? What happened?’
Sean shrugged and paid the taxi driver, his breath clouding the cold night air. ‘They’re going to transfer him to the burns unit but he’s in a pretty bad way. He’s going to be in for a lot of operations, grafting those burns.’
Ally stood back to let him in, frowning slightly as she saw how white and drawn he looked.
‘You look really tired. Come in and sit down for a moment.’
He raised an eyebrow, his expression wry. ‘I thought I wasn’t the flavour of the month.’
‘That’s just when you behave like a caveman.’ Ally gave him a tentative smile, feeling suddenly awkward. ‘When you’re tired and vulnerable you’re OK.’
Sean deposited his length on the sofa and closed his eyes with a groan. ‘Well, I’m certainly OK, then. God, I feel awful.’
‘They’ve dressed your hand.’
Sean gave a short laugh and studied the plastic bag over his hand. ‘Practical, isn’t it? How on earth am I going to see patients with my arm in a bin liner?’
‘Don’t exaggerate.’ Ally put another log on the fire and turned to find him watching her intently. Her heart missed a beat. ‘Did they smother it in Flamazine?’
‘Definitely.’ Sean examined it with wry humour. ‘If any bug enters this bag it will be instantly zapped.’
Ally settled herself down in front of the fire, her cheeks pink from the warmth of the flames.
‘You won’t need it for long and you don’t need to do practical things. You can just talk to the patients.’
‘Oh, great!’ He shrugged himself further into the sofa and stretched out his legs. ‘Sorry, Mrs Smith, I can’t examine you because I’ve got a bag on my hand.’
Ally bit her lip. ‘You were very brave.’
He raised an eyebrow and laughed. ‘Well, if I hadn’t done it, you would have so I thought I’d better get there first.’
Despite their earlier row, she had to laugh, too. ‘Protecting me again?’
‘Isn’t that what a man’s supposed to do to his woman?’
Her heart stumbled in her chest. ‘I’m not your woman.’
‘Give me time.’ His voice was husky and she shook her head slowly, every nerve in her body tingling.
‘You just don’t take no for an answer, do you?’
‘Never.’ His gaze was disconcertingly intense and she blushed awkwardly, picking at a piece of fluff on the rug. Maybe it would help if she changed the subject.
‘Can I get you anything? Are you hungry?’
‘Very.’ His eyes settled on her mouth and then lifted to her face. ‘Very hungry.’
Suddenly breathing seemed like hard work. ‘You know what I meant…’
‘Unfortunately, yes.’ He gave a self-deprecating laugh and rose to his feet. ‘I don’t need food if that’s what you’re offering. I need my bed. Preferably with you in it.’
A vision of what it would be like to be in bed with him floated through her brain. ‘Sean—’
‘Come with me.’ His voice was husky and he held his good hand, the message in his eyes quite clear.
‘I can’t.’
He reached down and pulled her to her feet. ‘Yes, you can.’
‘No.’
He lowered his head, his mouth tantalisingly close to hers. ‘Yes…’
The anticipation of his kiss was almost too much, so that when it came she gave a cry of relief and opened her mouth under the pressure of his. This time he kissed her slowly and gently, without the desperate intensity of their previous encounter, but the effect on her highly tuned senses was the same. His tongue seduced hers with a wicked skill until she gave a little cry and struggled to get closer to him. His good arm clamped her against him and she lifted her hands to his hard chest, feeling the strength there before slipping her arms up over the broad shoulders and round his neck.
His muffled curse made her step back, her head swimming and her breathing uneven as she watched him rub his injured hand ruefully. Dear God, what was she doing? How could she say no to a man and then kiss him like that?
‘On second thoughts, maybe I will go to bed alone.’ Sean brushed her lower lip with his thumb, his smile wry as he glanced at his injured hand. ‘When I make love to you I want to have two hands to do it.’
Ally should have been protesting again, denying that it would ever happen, but after the way he’d just made her feel she wasn’t capable of saying anything, let alone what she should be saying. So instead she just stood there, her eyes confused, and let him walk away.
* * *
The first thing Ally did on Monday morning was to phone Mr Gordon about Jenny Monroe’s leg, and was relieved to find him as helpful as she remembered from previous referrals.
‘I removed the whole lesion. As you know, the Breslow thickness is still the most useful single indicator of prognosis and Jenny’s tumour had only just started to invade the dermis.’ The Breslow thickness measured how deeply the tumour had spread into the skin, and it seemed that Jenny’s had been removed before it started invading the fatty layer.
Ally tapped her pen on the desk and breathed a sigh of relief. ‘So that’s good news, then, isn’t it?’
‘Absolutely.’ The consultant sounded as pleased as she felt. ‘Obviously I need to follow her up to keep an eye on the scar, and she needs periodic total skin examinations to check for further primary lesions, but basically she should be fine.’
Al
ly grinned down the phone. ‘Thanks, Mr Gordon—I’m so relieved for her.’
He gave a soft laugh. ‘Me, too. She’s a nice lady.’
Ally replaced the phone and called Jenny immediately, simplifying what the plastic surgeon had said but making it clear that the tumour had been caught very early.
When she was satisfied that Jenny understood the situation and had been reassured, she buzzed through to Helen to let her know she was ready to start her surgery.
‘Mr Thompson is here to see you,’ Helen’s voice came through the intercom. ‘Your nine o’clock isn’t here yet—can you see him now?’
So he’s decided to do something about it, Ally thought, her heart lifting for Mary. ‘Yes, send him in.’
Geoff Thompson entered, looking desperately uncomfortable and embarrassed, and more than a little peaky.
‘Hello, Mr Thompson.’ Ally gave him a quiet smile and gestured for him to sit down.
‘I can’t believe you can still manage to smile at me after what I did,’ he mumbled, rubbing his lined forehead with his large hands.
‘You need help, Mr Thompson,’ Ally said gently, ‘and I assume that’s why you’re here.’
‘Mary and I talked all Sunday. I’ve never done it before, you know.’ His voice was hoarse. ‘Never. I’ve never hit Mary before. Oh, I’ve been drunk more than I can remember but I’ve never hit her. I’m just not like that…’
Ally reached forward and touched his hand, anxious to reassure him and build a relationship. ‘I believe you, Mr Thompson. Alcohol can make you do all sorts of things that are out of character. We need to talk about what we can do together to solve the problem.’
Geoff Thompson shook his head. ‘I’ve been drinking too much for years, you know. It started socially—I have to drink really as part of my job. You know the score, Dr McGuire—clients, conferences. Before you know it you’re drinking regularly every day and the amounts get larger and larger.’
‘What do you usually drink?’
He shrugged. ‘Wine with meals, spirits in the bar, spirits after a meal.’
Gently Ally probed, delving into his drinking history, finding out when it had started, whether he’d ever tried to cut down or stop, whether he used any other substances.
‘I suppose I don’t eat properly any more,’ he admitted, his expression bleak. ‘At least not when I’m working. Mary always has a meal waiting for me at home but, then, she’s a wife in a million.’
Ally made a few notes on her pad. ‘She’s very worried about you.’
‘I’ve let her down so badly.’ Suddenly Geoff buried his face in his hands and gave way to tearing sobs. ‘I’ve made such a mess of things. She was so proud of me. So proud.’
‘She’s still proud,’ Ally said firmly, a lump starting in her throat. Poor man. What a mess! ‘Just wait one minute, Mr Thompson, while I make a quick call.’
She buzzed through to Helen and quietly asked her to reassign her next three patients to the other partners and bring in some tea.
‘Now, listen, we’re going to sort this out, Geoff, I promise you that.’ She used his first name on purpose, thinking that he needed that extra friendliness. ‘But you are going to have to help.’
Geoff rubbed his eyes and took a deep breath, thoroughly embarrassed. ‘I’ll do anything—I’m so sorry to break down…’
Ally shook her head. ‘There’s absolutely no need to apologise. Now, this is what we’re going to do.’ She broke off as Helen entered with the tea, handing Geoff a mug and waiting while he took a few sips. Once Helen had left the room Ally returned to the conversation.
‘Now, as far as treatment goes, we have two options. Firstly I could refer you to the Alcohol and Drug Dependence Centre for specialist treatment.’
Geoff pulled a face. ‘What’s the second option?’
‘We could detoxify you at home with the help of the community alcohol team, but that would put a lot of stress on Mary.’
Geoff thought for a minute. ‘Mary and I want to overcome this together, which we can do at home. Could we go that route?’
Ally nodded. ‘OK. I’ll need to do a physical examination and some blood tests.’
Geoff shuddered. ‘I hate having blood taken. What’s it for?’
‘I’m checking your general health, the state of your liver, that sort of thing.’ Ally pulled open a drawer and selected several different forms. ‘After you’ve finished here make an appointment with Sister to have your blood taken.’
She scribbled details of the various tests onto the forms and handed them to Geoff, then spent some time exploring his social circumstances, talking about his financial situation, his sex life and his job. She also spent time assessing his mood. Satisfied that he didn’t seem clinically depressed, she moved on to this current situation.
‘Do you need your car to do your job?’
‘Well, I’ve been lucky.’ Geoff gave a wry smile. ‘My boss is a pretty good chap and he’s found stuff for me to do in the office until I get my licence back.’
‘And you can reach the office by train.’ Ally nodded and scribbled on the notes again. ‘What I’m going to do is to give you a drug called chlordiazepoxide to take over ten days. You’ll need time off and very frequent monitoring at first.’
‘I can do all that, no problem.’
Ally watched him for a moment, feeling uneasy and not knowing why. Reaching for her phone book, she scribbled down a number and handed it to him. ‘That’s the number of Alcoholics Anonymous. Do call them because having the support of people in the same situation is invaluable.’
Geoff stared at the number, his jaw set.
‘You must realise that you can’t drink at all. Controlled drinking just doesn’t work when you have a dependence on alcohol.’
‘I know that.’ Geoff gave a short laugh. ‘I’m going to give it my best shot, Dr McGuire. I just hope it works.’
Reaching for the phone, Ally called the community alcohol team and chatted to them, arranging for them to share responsibility for the detoxification programme. Then she sorted out the details with Geoff and watched him go, his shoulders slumped. Would he have the will-power to carry it through?
CHAPTER SEVEN
‘I CAN’T believe you were so successful. Good on you!’ Will sank into one of the armchairs in the staffroom and smiled at Ally. ‘That chap’s been drinking for years.’
‘Who’s been drinking for years?’ Sean walked in and glanced at the coffee-pot.
‘Can I finish that?’
‘Go ahead.’ Will stretched his legs out. ‘We were talking about Geoff Thompson. Ally detoxed him at home and he’s done really well.’
Sean poured himself the last of the coffee and added some milk. ‘Did you use the community alcohol team?’
‘Oh, yes!’ Ally nodded fervently. ‘They were marvellous and, frankly, so was his wife. Now we just have to hope he keeps it up. I’m a bit worried about him, really.’
‘In what way?’ Will tore open a sandwich and started eating his lunch, glancing up as Lucy walked in.
‘I don’t know exactly.’ Ally frowned. ‘He doesn’t seem clinically depressed but, well, he worries me.’
‘Well, it’s been a big blow to his ego, that’s for sure. It’ll take some adjustment, living with what’s happened.’
Sean put his coffee on the table and flexed his long fingers. ‘I spoke to the burns unit today about Kevin Jones.’
Ally stared at him. ‘The boy who was burnt in the fire?’
Sean nodded. ‘He’s doing better than they hoped, although he’s in for a lot of grafting. They think his face should heal perfectly and he should have full use of his hands.’
‘Largely thanks to your heroics, I should think. Talking of which…’ Will stopped chewing and glanced at Sean quizzically. ‘How are yours?’
‘Fully recovered, thanks.’ Sean gave him a brief smile and held out his hands for inspection. ‘Jack found out the story, by the way. Apparently, he was mucking aroun
d with some friends on the waste ground behind the field, and one of them put a firework in his pocket.’
‘Oh, no!’ Ally clapped her hand over her mouth.
Sean gave a grim smile. ‘Oh, yes. Of course, when the thing went off they panicked and legged it, leaving him to sort himself out. It was lucky for him we were all so near.’
‘Poor, poor thing!’ Ally shook her head, horrified. ‘Still, it must have reassured Jack a bit. He was fretting that it was something to do with the mountain rescue function.’
‘Well, they made a fortune apparently, despite the drama.’ Will screwed up the empty sandwich packet and tossed it into the bin. ‘Good thing, too. They need some new equipment. Anyway, what are you two up to this weekend, seeing as you’re both off?’
Ally rummaged in the fridge for her cheese roll, wishing Will would be more subtle. ‘I’m going walking. Mum’s having Charlie for the weekend to help fill the freezer for Christmas, so I’m off.’ She rocked back on her heels, her expression fierce as her eyes challenged Sean’s. ‘And don’t you dare lecture me!’
‘Would I?’ His dry tone made her smile and she sat back down in her chair and nibbled her roll.
‘I promise to leave my intended route with Jack.’
Sean was looking at her thoughtfully. ‘I don’t suppose you want company?’
The roll suddenly jammed in her throat. ‘Company?’
He gave a lopsided grin. ‘Well, if I promise not to make one single chauvinistic comment, can I join you?’
The sudden rush of pleasure she felt astonished and horrified her. She should be keeping her distance, not seeking his company. The answer had to be no.
‘Yes.’ His eyes held hers for a long moment and she read the surprise and the question in them. He was wondering why she’d said yes. The trouble was, so was she. Why on earth had she said yes when she meant no? ‘But be warned—the first big-brother comment you make, I push you over the edge.’
Sean laughed and raised his hands in a gesture of submission, his eyes gleaming. ‘I love a dominant woman!’
Will glanced at them curiously and then suddenly concentrated very hard on his sandwich. ‘You’d better take him, Ally, otherwise he’ll be staring at the fells waiting for you to come down, calling Jack and the team every ten minutes.’