Emergency at Bayside (3 page)

‘She works here?’ Apart from leading the count as they’d lifted her over it was the first time Flynn had spoken since they had arrived in the unit.

‘
She
does.’ Fifty milligrams of Pethidine on top of a sleepless night had not only controlled her pain but
also taken away every last piece of Meg’s reserve, and her comment came out rather more sarcastically than intended. She saw his perfectly arched eyebrow raise just a fraction as he skilfully palpated her abdomen.

‘And what is it you do here,
Meg
?’

‘The same as Jess.’

‘And what does Jess do?’

God, why all the questions? All she wanted to do was sleep. Closing her eyes, she ignored him, but Flynn hadn’t finished yet.

‘Meg, what job do you do here?’ His voice was sharp, dragging her out of her slumber.

‘I’m a nurse,’ she answered reluctantly. Maybe now he’d leave her alone.

‘What day is it today?’

The interrogation obviously wasn’t over. He was testing her reflexes now, lifting her legs slightly and tapping at her knees as he repeated the question. ‘Come on, Meg, what day is it today?’

‘Pay day.’

Jess laughed. ‘It is too. Thank God,’ she added. ‘My credit card bill is crashing through the roof. Now, come on, Meg—tell the good doctor here what day it is so he can get off to his welcome breakfast.’

‘Tuesday.’ No, that was yesterday. Meg always got mixed up when she was doing nights. ‘Wednesday,’ she said, more definitely. ‘Today is Wednesday.’

The same small affirmative nod he had used at the accident scene was repeated and Meg gave a relieved sigh.

‘Do you remember what happened yet?’

‘I had an accident.’

Flynn gave her a thin smile. ‘You certainly did. I meant before the accident. Do you remember what caused it?’

She opened her mouth to answer, to tell him exactly what had happened in the hope of finally being allowed to rest, but as she tried to explain Meg felt as if she was trying to recall a dream. Little flashes of the morning would pop into her head, rather like watching a photo develop, but before the picture appeared it would vanish again, and no matter how she fought to remember the images just slipped away.

‘Can you remember?’ His voice was gentle, as if he realised how much she was struggling.

‘No.’ The simple word terrified her.

‘You will. Just give it time, Meg.’

Turning to Jess, Meg listened as Flynn ordered what seemed an inordinate amount of tests. ‘We’ll get her over for a C. spine and head CT now, and I want one of her abdomen. She’s tender over the spleen. Chest and abdo films, and I want those bloods back from the lab stat, in case she needs a transfusion. It might be better to pop in a catheter.’

‘No.’ This time the simple word was said much more forcefully, and Flynn and Jess both turned to her simultaneously. ‘No,’ she repeated. ‘I’m not having a catheter.’

‘Okay.’ Flynn relented. ‘But if you haven’t passed urine in the next hour I’m getting one put in.’ He turned back to Jess. ‘Obviously keep her nil by mouth for now. I’d best go and do a quick duty speech, and
then I’ll be back to check on her. Call me in the meantime if you’re in the least concerned.’

He came over to the trolley then and looked down at her, her hair fanning out on the pillow, knotted and full of glass, streaks of blood on her cheeks and her lips bruised and swollen. Yet there was an air of dignity about her, coupled with a wary, but somehow superior look that brought the beginning of a smile to his lips. ‘And try not to give her any more Pethidine. I want to do a full neuro assessment when I get back.’

‘Are you going?’ It was a strange question, one Meg couldn’t believe she had just asked.

‘Just for a little while, then I’ll be back to review you.’ That seemed to placate her, and she relaxed back onto the pillow. ‘If you’re very good Jess and I might even save you a Danish pastry.’ He smiled then, properly, for the first time since their eventful meeting.

It was like being rescued all over again.

Closing her eyes, his face still etched in her bruised, muddled mind, Meg let sleep finally wash over and, utterly oblivious to the world, even the hourly neuro obs the staff performed at regular intervals, she slept through what was left of the day.

* * *

‘She’s waking up.’

‘Leave her, Kathy. The nurse said not to disturb her.’ Mary O’Sullivan’s voice had that sharp warning edge that would have sent Meg scuttling straight back to her chair, but it had little or no effect on her sister.

‘That was two hours ago. I just want to see she’s all right for myself.’

‘Do as your mother says, Kathy.’ Ted O’Sullivan had as little impact on Kathy as his wife, and as Meg came to it was to the all too familiar strains of her family bickering.

Kathy stood there peering anxiously over her. ‘You’re awake.’ Kathy’s eyes filled with tears as she looked down at her big sister.

‘No thanks to you,’ Mary interjected. ‘Can you not obey a simple order, Kathy? The nurse said to leave her be.’

‘Hello, Mum,’ Meg croaked. ‘Sorry for all the trouble.’

‘No trouble—apart from a coronary when the police came to the door.’ Mary’s attempt at a joke felt more like a telling off, and Meg closed her eyes again, the bright lights of the Emergency observation ward too much for her fragile head. ‘Are you all right, pet?’

Keeping her eyes closed, Meg nodded. Now the collar was off at least she was able to do that. It was about the only thing she could do; her chest felt as if a bus was sitting on it. Mary fussed and chatted for a while, but Meg could almost sense her relief when six o’clock came and her mother had a valid reason to go home.

‘That lovely Irish nurse, Jess, has kept us up to date. She’s away home now, to her husband, but she said that you were to rest as much as possible. Now that you’ve come to, I might get your father home for his dinner. His insulin was due half an hour ago. I’ll be back in first thing tomorrow and we’ll ring the ward tonight.’

Again Meg sensed the sting of disapproval.

‘Are you coming, Kathy?’

‘No.’ Meg felt the bed move as Kathy perched herself on it. ‘I’ll stay with her. Jake can always give me a lift later.’

‘She was only joking about the police,’ Kathy said when their parents had finally gone.

‘Since when did Mum joke?’

‘There’s always a first time. I was in the hydro pool and Jess let Jake know. It was Jake that went and told her.’

Meg looked at her sister. Her uncombed, spiky blonde hair and the faint scent of chlorine certainly held up her story. ‘So the police didn’t come?’

‘No.’ Kathy laughed, but her brimming eyes belied her casual chatter. ‘Actually, you did me a favour. They’ve got a new chief of physio and the workout they were putting me through felt like an army training camp—and, despite what she says, Mum’s had a grand afternoon gossiping to Jess about the fair Emerald Isle.’

Meg attempted to smile, but it died on her lips.

‘She was upset, you know.’ Kathy squeezed Meg’s hand. ‘Really upset.’

‘And now she’s angry.’

‘You know what Mum can be like.’

Meg did know—only too well. The last few months had been a nightmare. It was bad enough finding out that your boyfriend of eighteen months, the man you’d adored, actually thought you had a future with, was in fact married. And not just married. Married to your colleague’s sister, who just happened to go to the same church as your mum. So not only had Meg
felt the wrath of disapproval from her colleagues at Melbourne City Hospital, there had been the wrath of her mother to deal with.

Mary O’Sullivan wasn’t sure which was the greater of the two evils. The fact her eldest daughter had been branded a home-wrecker, or the undeniable fact that Meg wasn’t a virgin.

And now she had trashed her car.

‘I hate this year.’

‘I know, but there’s always next year.’

‘Next year will probably be just the same.’

‘It won’t.’ Kathy insisted. ‘You’ve got a new job, new friends, a whole new start. All you have to do is loosen up a bit.’

‘Loosen up?’

‘Try letting people in. It’s a nice world out there. I know Vince hurt you, but not all men are the same.’

Just the mention of his name bought forth a whole fresh batch of tears. Meg hadn’t cried since the day they broke up, and certainly not in front of anyone, but the egg on her head combined with the pain in her chest was such a horrible combination that for once crying came naturally.

‘I’ve got some news that might cheer you up,’ Kathy said desperately. Seeing her sister, who never cried, sobbing in the bed was torture. ‘How do you fancy being a bridesmaid?’

Like a tap being turned off, Meg instantly stopped crying, her eyes swinging round to her sister.

‘You’re engaged?’

‘I have been for…’ Kathy glanced at her watch. ‘Twenty hours now. He asked me last night.’

‘Who, Jake?’

Kathy gave a gurgle of laughter. ‘No, the tram conductor. Of course it’s Jake. Who else?’

‘What does Mum have to say about it?’ Meg asked slowly.

‘Well, the fact we want to get married so quickly— on Valentine’s Day, actually—led to a few sticky questions, but we’ve finally managed to convince her that it’s not a shotgun wedding. We’re just head over heels and want to do it as soon as possible. She’s tickled pink, actually, and insisting that we have an engagement party. But I’ve told her that the most we want is a casual dinner.’

Meg gave a wry laugh. ‘So no doubt she’ll spend tomorrow on the telephone, ringing up hundreds of relatives.’

‘Probably,’ Kathy conceded. ‘But after she’s been in to see you, of course,’ she added hastily. ‘Whoops, look like I’d better make myself scarce—here comes Flynn now.’

Meg screwed up her forehead. ‘Flynn? Do you know him?’

‘He’s a friend of Jake’s…’ As Flynn approached the bed Kathy’s voice trailed off.

‘Good evening, Meg—Kathy.’ He gave her sister a friendly nod.

‘Hi, Flynn. I’ll leave you to it; see you in the morning, Sis.’ Popping a quick kiss on Meg’s cheek, Kathy limped off.

‘How are you feeling?’

‘Better. Well, sore but better.’ The beginning of a blush was creeping over her cheeks.

‘That’s good. You’ve had a very lucky escape, Meg, all your tests have come back as normal. Apart from a lot of bruising, which is going to hurt for a while, and a mild concussion, you’ve got off very lightly.’ He peered at his notes for a moment, and Meg watched as he fiddled uncomfortably with his pen. ‘Can you remember what happened yet?’

Meg shook her head. Normally she would have left it there, but there was something about Flynn, something about the way he had smiled at her this morning, the drama they had shared, that made her take the plunge and for the first time in ages prolong a conversation. ‘No, but I do remember you offering to save me a Danish pastry. You didn’t, by any chance, did you?’

Her attempt at small talk was instantly to her dying shame rebuffed.

‘Apparently the police seem to think that you might have fallen asleep at the wheel.’

Embarrassed at his businesslike tone, Meg felt her blush only deepen. ‘I didn’t!’

‘There were no skid marks at the scene, and apparently you were exhausted when you left this morning—though Jess told only me that, I hasten to add. I haven’t written it in my notes.’ He ran a hand through his hair, an exasperated tone creeping into his voice. ‘Why the hell didn’t you get a taxi?’

She knew he was wrong, knew somehow that the picture he was painting wasn’t how it had happened, but her total lack of recall didn’t put her in the best position to argue the point.

‘I didn’t fall asleep,’ Meg intoned.

‘The police…’

‘The police are wrong,’ she retorted quickly. ‘And anyway, it’s none of your business.’ She knew she was being rude, but something about Flynn had her acting completely out of character. The little hint about the Danish pastry, the blush that wouldn’t go away—and now she was answering him back. It wasn’t actually out of character. It was more the old Meg. The Meg before Vince had extinguished every last piece of her fiery personality.

Flynn begged to differ. ‘Oh, but it is my business, young lady. It became my business at precisely four minutes past eight this morning, when I stabilised your neck in the wreckage of your car.’ His voice was curt and formal, with no hint of the man who had held her hand just this morning, cajoled her to stay awake—who, even in the most dire of circumstances, had actually managed to make her laugh. ‘It became my business when I found out that one of the nurses in my department was so damned tired after her night shift she nearly killed herself. And,’ he added, standing over her so she had no choice but to look at him, ‘had you wiped out an entire family, no doubt it would have been left to me to deal with it. So you see,
Meg
—’ his lip curled around her name ‘—it is my business.’

Despite his anger, it wasn’t a no holds barred attack, Meg realised. Not once had he mentioned the very real danger he had put himself in by staying with her throughout the ordeal, and his modest omission somehow touched her.

He stood there for a moment, his eyes challenging
her to respond, but she was too tired and too utterly defeated to argue. ‘Right, then. I’ve spoken to your parents, and I’m happy for you to be discharged tomorrow as long as you go and stay with them.’

‘That’s all I need,’ Meg muttered ungraciously.

‘I want the physio to see you before you go and run through some deep breathing exercises. Your chest is badly bruised and it’s important he sees you.’

‘No.’

Flynn let out an exasperated sigh.

‘The catheter I can understand your objection to— but physio, for heaven’s sake? Do you have to argue about everything?’

‘You don’t understand.’

‘So enlighten me.’

‘Jake Reece is the Emergency physio,’ Meg started, her eyes darting around the obs ward to check that Kathy had definitely gone.

‘So why is that a problem?

‘He’s marrying my sister.’

Flynn’s face broke into a grin then, and for a second he looked like the Flynn from this morning. ‘Jake and Kathy are getting married? That’s fantastic news.’ He seemed to remember she was there then, and stared at her, perplexed. ‘So why on earth don’t you want him to see you?’