The Surgeon She's Been Waiting For

‘That sounds as though you have lots to look forward to,’ Megan acknowledged with a faint smile. Did his father not do any kind of work? For all he denied it, it sounded as though he must make some money from his paintings. Perhaps he was simply being modest about his talent, or maybe he was a man of independent means. Then again, he could simply be taking a vacation in order to take care of his son. Why was she even questioning how he came to be there or how he lived his life? What was it about him that provoked her curiosity?

‘I heard that you were looking for Mr Edwards,’ she said, looking directly at Theo as she stood up. ‘Last I saw of him, he was heading for his office. I gathered he would like to speak to you, too.’

Theo frowned, then nodded. ‘I’ll go and find him. Thank you for letting me know.’

‘You’re welcome.’ She sent the boy a quick smile. ‘’Bye, Harry. I hope your mother feels better soon.’

‘So do I,’ he said. ‘I don’t like my mum being poorly. I want her to be back home with me.’

‘Of course you do.’ Megan gave him a sympathetic smile. Any child would want his mother to be with him, wouldn’t he? Wasn’t it the most natural thing in the world to wish for? And yet it was the one yearning she had struggled with throughout her own life, that even now she found difficulty coming to terms with. Why was it that she had never experienced that particular joy? Was she so unlovable that her own mother had not wanted to stay around to be with her through her childhood?

‘Are you all right?’ Theo asked gently.

She gave a small start, coming out of her introspection to glance briefly at him. ‘Of course. I’m absolutely fine.’

Then she turned and hurried away quickly. She didn’t want Theo’s quiet concern. He stirred up all that had lain dormant inside her and her emotions were in turmoil, though for the life of her she couldn’t have said why.

She needed to escape.

CHAPTER THREE

‘YOU said that you would like to see William’s results when they came back,’ Mr Edwards said, holding a manila folder aloft and calling Megan over to his side. ‘You remember the man you sent in to us who collapsed by the canal? I have the radiologist’s report here, and you can see the films on the computer screen.’

Megan went over to the desk. ‘What was the outcome? I guessed he might be low on magnesium, among other things, but that could have been caused by all manner of illnesses.’

‘You were right. Take a look at the film and tell me what you see.’

She scanned the pictures on the screen and drew in a quick breath. ‘It’s a tumour, isn’t it?’ She pointed towards the image. ‘There, on the adrenal gland. No wonder he’s been having problems.’ She glanced at her boss. ‘What happens now? Will he go for surgery?’

John Edwards nodded. ‘He’s on the schedule for next week. Let’s hope there are no complications.’

‘At least he has a diagnosis. That’s a positive start.’

‘True.’ He glanced at his watch. ‘I have to go, or I shall be late for my meeting. I’ll leave you to hold the fort while I’m away. If Theo Benyon should come in at any time over the next couple of hours, page me, will you?’

She frowned. ‘Is he likely to do that?’

He nodded. ‘I asked him if he had any landscape paintings that we could put up in the waiting room. He said he might have something for us to look at.’

‘OK.’ Megan absorbed that. ‘So I should show him around, should I? Maybe point out where the paintings might go?’

‘Yes, anything. Grab him, give him a coffee and, whatever you do, don’t let him escape. He’s proving to be quite elusive, but I really need to talk to him.’

Megan frowned. ‘I thought you already did that?’

‘Only for a couple of minutes. He seemed to be in a hurry to go somewhere, but I suspect it was just an excuse.’

Surely he had that wrong? Megan couldn’t imagine why Theo would be trying to avoid spending any more time than necessary with her boss. ‘I don’t think I follow any of this. What’s it all about? Did something go wrong with an operation? What’s the big mystery?’

‘No mystery. I just need to get him on our side. We need him here. He’s the most skilled surgeon for miles around, he’s here in our territory, and he’s not working at the moment, so it’s a great opportunity to get him to stay here at our hospital.’

Her jaw dropped for a second or two before she managed to get herself together again. ‘He’s a surgeon?’ she echoed faintly. ‘I thought he was here because he was visiting a patient. I thought he was an artist…’

John looked at her blankly. ‘Yes, yes, that’s all true…but I had the good fortune to operate on poor Francie, and he was pleased enough to come and thank me, so we have a fantastic opportunity, you see. We can’t let him slip away.’

Megan shook her head. ‘If he’s such a great surgeon, why isn’t he working? He doesn’t seem to have anything on his mind other than gardening, fishing and generally enjoying his leisure time. Although…’ She paused, thinking things through. ‘Perhaps he’s too worried about Francie to do anything else right now?’ She guessed Francie must be his wife.

‘Well, that could be the case, I suppose, but for whatever reason, he left his job down in Somerset and came up here with the boy. I thought perhaps he had decided our facilities were outstanding—we’ve certainly had a good star rating these last few years. But, whatever the reason, Admin would dearly like to get him on our team, even though he seems to be resisting at the moment.’ He was already striding towards the exit. ‘Must go.’

Megan stared after him. It was all very strange. Theo must be something very special for all this fuss to be created, and why would Theo be so resistant to persuasion that he would resort to making excuses? None of it made any sense at all.

‘Would you take a look at the patient in room three?’ a nurse asked, cutting into her thoughts. ‘She’s in some discomfort, with leg pain and some swelling, and I’m concerned that her condition is deteriorating. She appears to be a little breathless from some kind of chest infection, and her pulse oximetry reading is falling, so she’s clearly not getting enough oxygen.’

‘That doesn’t sound too good. Has she been on a long-distance flight recently, or is there any history of stroke or heart disease?’

The nurse shook her head. ‘She had surgery four weeks ago—a problem with fibroids in the womb.’

‘OK, Beth, I’ll take a look at her.’ Megan was already walking in the direction of the examination room. ‘Are you free to assist? It sounds as though she needs oxygen therapy.’

‘Yes. I’ll set that up, shall I?’

‘Please do.’

Megan entered the room and cheerfully introduced herself to the woman who was sitting on the bed, propped up by pillows. ‘Mrs Baxter,’ she said, glancing at the chart the nurse had prepared, ‘would you like to tell me what the problem is?’

Sue Baxter showed her the area on her calf that was troubling her. ‘It’s very painful,’ she told her. ‘It seemed to come on quite suddenly.’

‘It certainly looks as though it must be uncomfortable,’ Megan agreed. ‘You also have a low-grade fever, according to your chart.’ She pulled her stethoscope from the pocket of her white jacket. ‘I’ll just need to listen to your chest, and we’ll check your blood pressure once more. From the earlier reading it appears to bea touch low.’ She quickly examined the woman and then gave her an encouraging smile. ‘I’m going to take some blood for testing and arrange a special kind of CT scan so that we can see what’s going on more clearly. In the meantime, we’ll give you oxygen to help you breathe more easily.’

Going to the side of the room, she spoke in a low voice to the nurse. ‘It looks as though there might be a blood clot forming in her vein, so I’m going to get her started on anticoagulation therapy to prevent things from getting any worse. We need to get the CT scan done as soon as possible. The technician will inject a contrast dye into her blood vessels and that will show up any clots that have already formed.’

Some time later, after she had set up an intravenous line in her patient’s arm, she said, ‘I’ll organise the scan and I’ll be back to see you in a while, but in the meantime, please let the nurse know if your symptoms change or begin to get worse. We’ll get you some compression stockings to see if that will help make you more comfortable, and I’m going to place a couple of pillows under your leg to raise it a little.’

Satisfied that she had done all she could for the time being, she spent the next hour or so dealing with a steady stream of patients, checking every now and again to see if any lab results had come back.

There was still no report from the CT technician, so she headed for the central area to see if she could hurry things up. Coming to a sudden halt, she was disconcerted to see that Theo Benyon was standing by the reception desk.

John Edwards’s words came back to her… ‘Don’t let him escape.’ But how was she supposed to keep him there when she had a job to do? Quickly, she paged her boss. His meeting would obviously have to take second place if this was so important to him.

‘Hello again,’ she said, going over to Theo, and he turned to look in her direction. His appearance had a decidedly unsettling effect on her. Long and lean, and once again immaculately dressed in a dark-coloured suit, he was lounging negligently against the desk, deep in conversation with the young nurse who was monitoring admissions there. She appeared to be basking in his attention.

‘You’re quite a frequent visitor around here, aren’t you?’ Megan added. ‘Is there anything at all that I can do for you?’

His mouth tilted attractively. ‘Now, there’s a tempting proposition,’ he murmured, his blue gaze moving over her. ‘I’m sure I can think of all manner of things that might fit the bill.’

She pulled in a quick breath and pinned him with a cool, grey stare. Did the man have no shame? Even with his wife desperately ill in hospital, he was still prepared to try out his charm on all and sundry. Perhaps it came naturally to him, as easily as breathing air.

Her mind drifted back in time. Only the other day he had caused Sarah’s cheeks to flush with warmth, hadn’t he? And she couldn’t help but notice that the nurse on reception duty was looking all of a flutter.

Well, he would find that she was one woman who wasn’t going to be drawn by his magnetic lure. ‘Of course it will be Mr Edwards that you’re wanting to see,’ she murmured, ignoring his remark. ‘I’ve paged him, so he should be down here at any moment.’

His head went back a fraction. ‘You didn’t need to do that. All I want to do is drop off a couple of paintings that he asked for. If they’re not suitable, he can easily let me know and I’ll drop by and pick them up next time I’m here.’

She nodded. ‘I guess you and Harry must be getting quite used to this place by now.’ Glancing around, she discovered that there was no sign of his young son. ‘Is Harry with his mother?’ she asked.

He shook his head. ‘Not today. Sometimes these visits can be upsetting for him, so I’ve been limiting the number of times I bring him along. Anyway, I’ve managed to enrol him in the local school, so at least he’ll have the opportunity to make new friends, and it will help to keep his mind off what’s going on here. He wasn’t too happy about it, but all this change in his life has been unsettling for him, and he needs to get back to normality as much as possible.’

‘Poor boy.’ Megan’s gaze clouded. ‘I can imagine it must be difficult for both of you.’ She frowned slightly, trying to make sense of what was going on. ‘Mr Edwards told me that he had operated on Harry’s mother. Is there any chance that she will make a quick recovery? Do you mind me asking? Only Mr Edwards didn’t say what was wrong.’

Theo grimaced. ‘Francie suffered a cerebral haemorrhage. It came on very suddenly when she complained of a terrible headache, like a blow to the head, and then she collapsed. It turned out that it was a burst blood vessel in her head and we were very worried that she wasn’t going to make it. John was down in Somerset at the time on an exchange visit and offered to work with the team who operated on her. I’m sure it was his expertise that pulled her through.’

‘I’m so sorry.’ Megan was shocked. Many patients didn’t survive such a devastating incident, and those who did often faced a long road back to health. ‘How is she? Was the operation a success?’

‘In the sense that she survived, I suppose so, yes.’ He half turned away from her, as though he would hide the emotions that suddenly ravaged him, but she was watching him intently and she saw that his features had become shadowed, tinged with grief and regret. ‘Of course, she’s suffered badly as a result of the initial damage from the haemorrhage, and she’s paralysed down one side, so that she can’t walk, or use her arm, and her speech has been lost. The only consolation is that she’s young, and that gives her a fighting chance for recovery.’

‘That’s why you brought her here, isn’t it? So that she would be treated in the new stroke centre?’

‘Yes.’ He lifted his head, facing her once more. ‘I heard about the work that was being done here, and I wanted her to have the very best of care…along with the fact that Harry’s grandparents live near by. He needs their support right now. He’s very young and he hasn’t managed to come to terms with what has happened to his mother just yet.’

‘That will probably take some time.’

He nodded. Then, as though he wanted to change the subject, he said briskly, ‘About these paintings—I’ve stacked them behind the reception desk for the time being. Do you think you could let John know that they’re here? Then I’ll be on my way.’

‘Oh, no…’ Megan suddenly remembered that, quite apart from her own interest in this man, her boss was still hoping to speak to him. ‘Do you really have to go right now? I mean, I was hoping that—’ She broke off as the receptionist interrupted.

‘Megan, a message has just come through for you from the CT technician,’ Rhianna said. ‘The scan showed a deep vein thrombosis, but as she was doing the scan, the patient’s condition worsened. It looks as though a portion of the clot has broken off and travelled to her lung. She’s having difficulty breathing and her heart rate is galloping.’

‘Oh, Lord, that’s the last thing we need.’ Megan had to think quickly. ‘Check that there’s an operating room available for me, will you, Rhianna, and assemble a team? Ask Sarah to prep the patient for me. I’ll have to do a pulmonary angiography to see if there’s any way I can dissolve the clot.’ She turned to Theo. ‘Is there any chance at all that you could stay? I would have liked to talk to you about your paintings…’

It was true enough, but she could see that he was sceptical about that, and perhaps it would not be wise at this moment to remind him that her boss might put in an appearance any time soon. He didn’t seem too keen on meeting up with him.

As a last desperate measure to keep him around, she tacked on, ‘I don’t suppose you’d care to come along with me, would you? I’ve heard about your expertise as a surgeon and I’d value your support if you would like to stand by in the operating theatre.’ After all, he must be particularly brilliant if John Edwards spoke highly of him.

Theo’s expression froze. ‘Thanks, but, no, thanks. I really don’t want to be anywhere near an operating theatre.’

‘Oh…I didn’t realise…’ His remark threw her off kilter for a moment, but there was no time right now to query what he had said. She swallowed her disappointment. Her patient was in imminent danger and she had to get to her, fast. ‘Please don’t go away,’ she said, moving away from the desk. ‘I’m sure Rhianna will be glad to make you a cup of coffee and show you how our department works.’ She glanced at the nurse for confirmation of that, and Rhianna nodded.

‘Of course. I’ll be happy to make coffee. We might even run to a piece of cake,’ she added with a grin.

Megan hurried towards the operating theatre, her head filled with concern for her patient. The next hour would be crucial in determining whether the woman lived or died. Pulmonary embolisms could be devastating for anyone who suffered such an event, and if she didn’t act quickly, her patient could go into cardiac arrest.

‘Will you go in through the leg vein or her arm?’ Sarah wanted to know, once Megan was ready to start the procedure.

‘The groin, I think…the femoral vein,’ Megan answered, ‘and we’ll monitor her blood pressure through the artery.’ She braced herself and started the procedure. ‘OK, I’m going to guide the catheter along the blood vessel and into the lung. Keep a check on her vital signs and let me know if there are any changes in heart rate or blood pressure.’

The procedure was a painstaking one, and for the next hour Megan needed all her powers of concentration to ensure that the catheter progressed through the woman’s circulatory system without causing damage to the veins. Any puncture of the walls of a blood vessel could cause a massive bleed. Once in position, special instruments would help her to deal with the clot.

‘Her circulation’s improving,’ Sarah said after a while, when Megan had almost finished, ‘and her heart rate is dropping.’

‘That’s good. I’m ready to start withdrawing the catheter now.’

The procedure came to an end. Megan checked that Sue’s breathing was easier and all her vital signs were showing improvement before she thanked the team for their help and left the operating theatre.

She was keyed up, worried by how close she had come to losing her patient, and she still had to go down to A and E to check whether Theo Benyon had stayed around. Though surely John Edwards would have come away from his meeting by now. Somehow, after the gruelling hour she had just spent, she was less enthusiastic about meeting up with Theo once more. Maybe the intense concentration required by her work had succeeded in bringing her securely down to earth. She would do better to keep out of Theo’s orbit.

Walking along the corridor, she glanced through the glass-panelled door of the doctors’ lounge and saw that her boss and Theo were deep in conversation. That was a great relief. If her boss had Theo in tow, she was off the hook, wasn’t she? There was no need after all for her to stay around and make polite conversation.

‘Ah, there you are, Megan. Come and join us, will you?’ John pulled open the door, stopping her in mid-stride when she would have slipped silently by.

‘I was just going to check up on my patients,’ she murmured, but John was having none of it.

‘I’m certain you’re due for a break,’ he said. ‘I expect the senior house officer will manage perfectly well without you for a while. I’ve told Theo that you’ll take him on a tour of the department—show him how we operate around here. You’ll be able to do that for me, won’t you?’ He glanced at his watch. ‘Only I have to go back to my management meeting—matters of the hospital budget, you know. Dire stuff, but it has to be done.’

‘Oh, um…I thought…I was just…’ Conscious that her dismay must be showing and that she was babbling incoherently, Megan made an effort to pull herself together. ‘Yes, of course I can do that.’

Theo gave a wry smile. ‘I really don’t want to put you to any trouble. I know that you’re busy, and I’m sure there are all sorts of other, more important, things that you need to be doing.’

‘Nonsense,’ John cut in firmly. ‘She’ll be only too happy to do it. Megan’s our vascular specialist, you know. She’s a brilliant asset to our A and E department…’ He glanced at Megan. ‘Haven’t you just come from treating a patient for a pulmonary embolism? How did it go?’

Megan nodded. ‘I have. It went well enough, I think. I managed to latch onto the clot with the instrumentation, and once I had it secured I infused it with clot-dissolving medication. When it reached a manageable size I was able to suck it up via the catheter and draw it out of her system. I’m hoping that we have her condition under control now.’

John gave a beaming smile. ‘See, there we have it.’ He threw Theo a quick glance. ‘She’s second to none, and I’m sure she’ll be able to answer any question you care to put to her. I know I’ll be leaving you in good hands.’

With that, her boss said a quick goodbye and headed for the door. ‘Do let me know what you decide about the job,’ he told Theo. ‘We really want to have you on our team.’

Theo’s expression was unreadable, and if John had been hoping for some sign that he had pulled him on board, he must have been sadly disappointed.

The door closed behind her boss, and Megan glanced at Theo. ‘I feel that I should apologise for him,’ she murmured. ‘Around here, we tend to get used to his bombastic ways. He means well, but he does have a way of browbeating people from time to time.’

‘That’s all right. I’m sure he’ll discover soon enough that I can be equally determined when I’ve made up my mind on something,’ he returned.

A perceptive glint shimmered in her eyes. ‘I gather you still don’t want the job?’

‘No. I definitely don’t want the job.’

‘So there wouldn’t be much point in my showing you around the department, then, would there?’

He shook his head. ‘Not really.’

She sent him a thoughtful glance. ‘So why did you stay here and let him talk your ears off? You were all for leaving over an hour ago, weren’t you?’

‘That’s true, but you asked me not to go away, and even though I realise that might have been a ruse to delay me so that your boss could make his pitch, I thought perhaps if I stayed I might at least be able to persuade you to have dinner with me this evening.’

She took a sharp intake of breath. Had he really stayed simply because she’d asked him to? For a dizzying moment her head reeled with the full import of that. Perhaps in some way he was as taken with her as she was intrigued by him. Why else would he be asking her out to dinner?

But then reality descended on her like a dark cloud. The man wasn’t free to ask her out, was he? Did he have no shame?

‘Mr Benyon,’ she said in a tight voice, ‘I don’t quite know how to put this politely, but I have to say that I think it’s in very poor taste for you to be asking me out when your wife is desperately ill in hospital.’

He stared at her for a moment without saying anything at all. His blue gaze skimmed over her, taking in the smoke grey of her eyes and coming to linger on the firm tilt of her chin. Then, very quietly, he said, ‘I take it that’s a no, then?’

‘It certainly is. That’s a…read my lips…definite no.’

‘Hmm.’ He studied her thoughtfully. ‘You know, you’re really very uptight and overwrought for someone so young. It shows in the stiff line of your shoulders and in the way you move, as though you have to make every second count. I can’t help thinking that it might do you a world of good if you could manage to loosen up just a little.’

She blinked, taken aback by his blunt assessment. ‘You’re entitled to your opinion,’ she told him, ‘but the plain fact is I have a job to do, and it’s work that I enjoy, and feel privileged to take on, even if you seem to take the opposite view.’ She frowned. ‘Of course, I understand that your wife’s condition must be playing on your mind to some extent right now, and you have Harry to look after. Perhaps that’s why you don’t feel like considering John’s offer.’

‘I appreciate your concern,’ he murmured, ‘however misplaced it might be. Of course I’m worried about Francie’s condition. What happened to her doesn’t bear thinking about, and it was extremely difficult for me to come to terms with the events that followed. The truth is, though, Francie is my sister, not my wife, and if you weren’t quite so wound up with the job and everything that goes along with it, you might have taken time out to think things through, and then you probably wouldn’t have jumped to conclusions quite so readily.’

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