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‘Well,’ came Jack’s terse response, ‘I’ve voiced my concerns.’

‘They’ve been noted.’

As soon as the meeting concluded Jack stood. ‘If you’ll excuse me.’

Once outside Eleanor spoke with him briefly. ‘Thanks so much for trying, Jack.’

‘Nina made several good points.’ Jack said to Eleanor, because although he always went in to bat for his staff he could play the devil’s advocate better than anyone, but probably, in this instance, he actually agreed with Nina. ‘I know that it’s hard to step back at times …’

‘It doesn’t seem that way for you.’ Eleanor sighed.

‘Yeah, well, you have to be tough to do this job or you’d go crazy,’ Jack said. ‘Eleanor, sometimes you just have to look at the facts. In this case the mother is doing everything right, albeit too little too late, but, as Nina said, if we take this child from the mother now then realistically they are not going to reunite and though we might think that that might be for the best, who knows where Sienna might end up?’

‘She might be placed with the perfect family. She might …’ Eleanor started, but her lips tightened and her words halted as Nina came out.

‘There’s no such thing as the perfect family,’ Jack said, and giving Nina a brief nod he stalked off.

‘Says the man who comes from one.’ Eleanor rolled her eyes as Jack walked off and then stood a little awkwardly when it was clear that Nina was hanging around to speak to her. ‘Did you see the Carter family Christmas photo shoot?’

Nina gave a pale smile. Yes, she’d seen it—all the Carters gathered around the hospital Christmas tree, their diamonds gleaming as much as their capped smiles. There had recently been a magazine spread too on Jack’s parents, but she didn’t want to think about Jack now so Nina got straight to the difficult point. ‘I’m sorry that you’re upset about the department’s decision.’

‘Thanks.’ Nina watched as Eleanor’s eyes filled up behind her glasses as she spoke. ‘I’ve listened to all that you’ve said and I’ve just spoken with Jack and he’s right—you made some very good points. It’s just that I saw what Hannah was like with her son. She was so distant and unfeeling and refused to take any responsibility …’

‘Addiction will do that every time,’ Nina said.

‘I know.’ Eleanor nodded.

‘And I can assure you that we will be watching Sienna very carefully. The real difference in this case is that there is a loving father on the scene. I really feel that if Hannah goes back to her ways of old and starts using again, then Andy will be the one raising Sienna …’

‘Far from perfect.’

‘Not so far from perfect.’ Nina smiled. ‘I think that he’d do a great job.’

As she said goodbye to Eleanor and headed off to find Hannah to let her know about the meeting, she paused for a moment by the water cooler and took a drink, Eleanor’s words still replaying in her mind.

Jack Carter thought she had made several good points.

Because she had made several good points, Nina told herself, screwing up the small plastic cup and tossing it into the waste bin.

She didn’t need his admiration, neither did she need his approval.

The only opinion Nina wanted from Jack was a professional one.

She just had to remember that fact.

CHAPTER TWO

WITH THE MEETING over Jack walked through the maternity unit, restless, angry but not sure why. He was looking forward to getting back to the shield of his office, but his pager stopped him and he halted to use the phone. However, as he waited to be connected by the switchboard he glanced at the handover sheet one of the nurses was working on.

Sienna Andrews. He saw the room she was in and the doctor she was under, that she had been the third pregnancy, and in the comments section was written ‘NASS’—which stood for neonatal abstinence scoring system, a method used to gauge a newborn’s withdrawal from the drugs they had been subjected to in what should have been the safety of the womb.

Jack concluded his call and walked through the maternity ward, pausing when he came to the room where Sienna was. He looked through the glass to the row of isolettes. Hannah wasn’t with her daughter, though a nurse was there, tending to the baby. Jack rarely went into these rooms, only when it was necessary.

Angel’s was a free hospital—there was more hope and heartbreak than one building could contain and as Head of Paediatrics Jack had more than enough to contend with, without getting unnecessarily involved with each and every case.

He had to stay detached, which he did easily.

Jack had learnt the art of detachment long before he had studied medicine—he’d been told by his parents to toughen up at a very young age, and told it over and over again, and so he had, simply refusing to hand over his emotions to anyone.

He had this sudden strange vision of Nina chairing a meeting about his own family and it brought a wry smile to his lips.

There was no such thing as a perfect family.

Certainly he never discussed his family life with any of his many lovers—he didn’t let anyone close and maintained the Carter image, because the image could be used for good. Jack looked around the unit, saw the cots and the equipment and, ever practical, thought of the cost.

‘Do you need anything, Jack?’ Cindy, one of the nurses, broke into his thoughts.

‘Nope.’ Jack shook his head. ‘I’m just checking in. How’s baby Andrews doing?’

‘She’s doing really well,’ Cindy said, as Jack looked through Sienna’s charts. ‘She’s still a little irritable at times, but seems much more settled now. She’d put on another ounce when we weighed her this morning and mum’s given her a bath. How did the case conference go?’

‘Same old, same old.’ Jack shrugged. ‘Home to the parents, follow-up, support systems in place …’ He looked at Cindy, who had worked at Angel’s for a very long time. They’d slept together once, years ago, but there was no awkwardness between them. Cindy was now happily married and expecting her first baby and Jack valued her opinion a lot. ‘What do you think?’

‘As I said in my notes, mum’s really making an effort …’

‘But what do you think?’

‘That I hope her effort lasts.’

Cindy walked off to check on a baby that was crying and Jack looked down into the cot, stared into the babe’s dark blue eyes and wondered, not for the first time lately, if he was in the right job.

Of course the hospital wanted him, he worked sixty-hour weeks as well as juggling a social life that would have most people exhausted. He did an excellent job with the staff, as well as the extracurricular events that ensured the city’s goodwill for the hospital continued.

He did a great job.

He just didn’t love it.

Didn’t know how to fire up, the way Nina had.

He’d heard the tremble in her voice, the passion she had for the family, her willingness to go against the flow and fight for a cause. Sometimes, and this was one of those times, he wished he had even a tenth of her passion.

He looked at Sienna, hoped that for her Angel’s had done its best. She’d had the best doctors, nurses, social workers, but would it be enough?

He turned as Nina came into the room.

‘How is she?’ Nina asked, wondering if he had been called for a problem.

‘Fine.’

‘Is Hannah around?’ Nina asked.

‘Nope, I think she’s at one of her meetings …’

‘That’s fine,’ Nina said. ‘I just wanted to go through the meeting and the conclusions with her.’ She walked over to the cot and gave a slightly wary smile to Jack. She wasn’t particularly used to seeing him pensive by a cot. ‘I was just explaining to Eleanor that we’ll be arranging regular—’

‘I’ll read about it, thanks.’

‘Of course you will.’

Nina saw his jaw tighten at her response and she smothered a smile that twitched on her lips as she scored an unfair point. But that was what Jack did—oh, she had no doubt at all that he was a brilliant doctor, he was incredibly respected amongst his peers and she knew that he was considered a brilliant diagnostician.

She’d seen him in action on several occasions, all suited and suave, and then, when he’d delivered his opinion, when the crisis was over, when he’d saved another life, the next time Nina might see him was the way she had this morning in a meeting.

‘All the resources that you’re putting in place for Sienna and her family …’ Jack’s voice was steel. ‘Where do you think they come from?’

Nina gave a tight shrug. She probably had gone a bit far—she had just wanted to needle him a bit, pay him back for his words in the meeting, and now, clearly, she had.

Jack gave Nina a brief nod and headed off, taking the lift down and walking towards Emergency, where he was meeting with one of hospitals most prominent benefactors.

He was sick of it.

Sick of the smooth talk, sick of the smarming just to get a decent-sized cheque.

Maybe it was time for a change.

Thanks to his extremely privileged upbringing and some very astute investments, Jack could easily not work another day in his life.

But then what?

Maybe he should follow in his father’s footsteps. Set up his own private Park Avenue practice, screen and choose his patients, patch them up and send them on their way.

A practice where he could fix everything.

Get in at nine.

Do a good job.

Be thanked.

Go home at six.

To what?

‘Incoming storm.’ As he walked along the corridor Jack was jolted out of his dark thoughts by the sound of a familiar voice.

‘Alex!’ He shook his colleague’s hand. ‘It’s good to see you—first day?’

‘It is.’ Alex nodded.

‘And?’

‘It’s going well,’ Alex said.

They had trained together at medical school, where two very ambitious minds had met and had got on well from the start, both admiring the determination in the other—two men who had not settled for a pass mark, two men who had been determined to excel. Jack had chosen the speedier route of paediatrics, while Alex Rodriguez had chosen neurosurgery and had just been appointed head of that department at Angel’s.

Jack had used his weight there too in employing his friend—Alex’s skills hadn’t been the issue, though, more a dark shadow on Alex’s past that the board had deliberated over. ‘I actually wanted to come and speak to you to say thank you for the recommendation.’

‘You didn’t need my recommendation,’ Jack said. ‘You were very impressive at the interviews—Angel’s wants you on board.’

‘Thanks.’ Alex was quiet for a moment. ‘And I am grateful to the board for agreeing not to bring up …’ His voice trailed off—Alex didn’t need to go into detail with Jack, there had been a messy court case in Los Angeles a few years ago that the board had finally agreed to keep confidential. Jack knew it had nearly destroyed Alex, and not just professionally. Still, Jack also knew that there was no one better for the role.

‘The past is the past.’

‘Yep.’ Alex wasn’t exactly known for small talk, but just as they were about to head off, Alex spoke on. ‘Everything okay with you, Jack?’

‘Me?’

‘Incoming storm.’ Alex’s smile was wry. ‘I could see it approaching as you walked towards me—it’s not the Jack I know.’

‘Yeah, well, you’ve been in Australia for five years. Maybe the Jack you used to know is getting older …’ He ran a hand through his hair. ‘I’ve just sat through a case meeting with the most annoying social worker …’ Jack rolled his eyes. ‘You know the type.’

‘Holistic approach?’ Alex said, and Jack gave a reluctant smile. ‘With the right services in place …’ Alex put on his best social worker voice and Jack actually laughed. ‘They’re the same the world over. Still, can you imagine this job without them?’

‘No,’ Jack admitted. ‘Anyway, right now I’ve got to go and do some sweet-talking—there’s a VIP waiting for a private tour of Emergency.’ Jack’s words dripped sarcasm. ‘I can’t wait.’

Maybe it wasn’t Social Services that was getting to him, maybe it was this place, or maybe, Jack thought as he saw a pair of red-stockinged, black-booted legs walking very briskly along the corridor, her pager trilling, with Security by her side, it was one social worker in particular.

‘Problem?’ Jack checked as she dashed past him, but she just gave him a very strange look at his question. Nina didn’t generally get fast-paged because things were going well in the world.

And she had really hoped for Tommy and his father, Mike, that things were finally starting to go well.

‘Just stay back,’ Nina said to the security guards as they took the lift to the psychology wing. ‘Mike gets very angry at times, but it’s all hot air. I’ll tell you if I need you to intervene.’

She was met by Linda, one of the most senior child psychologists. ‘I’ve got another worker in with them at the moment,’ Linda said, and then explained what had happened that morning. ‘Basically, I noticed Tommy had a nasty cut on his hand. It was covered by a bandage but it came off during play therapy and it looks infected. I think it should have had stitches, but when I suggested we bring Tommy down to Emergency to have it looked at, Mike refused. He got extremely angry and now he’s insisting on taking Tommy straight home.’

‘How’s Tommy?’

‘Pale …’ Linda said. ‘Listless. He’s lost weight too. I saw him just last month and everything seemed fine. Things have been going so well between them …’

‘I was hoping to close the case this week,’ Nina admitted. ‘Obviously with ongoing support for Tommy …’ She bit back on the expletive that was rising in her throat. She had been sure that things were so much better, had been sure there wasn’t a protective issue, and then she heard Mike shouting.

‘We’re going home.’ He had Tommy in his arms and was striding down the corridor. ‘Oh, not you!’ he shouted when he saw Nina. ‘Got your bodyguards with you?’

‘Mike.’ Nina was calm but firm. ‘Tommy needs to have that cut seen. If it’s infected, he will need—’

‘I’ll stop at the drug store on the way home.’ Mike didn’t let her finish, just marched on towards the lifts.

‘Mike …’ She walked alongside him, and as he jumped into a lift that was going up, Nina darted in and the doors closed before Security could get in too.

Mike continued his angry rant, not caring that there was a family with a child in a wheelchair, not noticing Alex Rodriguez, who was in the lift and about to intervene. Nina glanced at his ID and realising he worked at Angel’s gave a brief shake of her head. In a confined space it might only make things worse.

‘We can talk properly down in Emergency,’ Nina said to Mike, because the last thing she wanted was Mike walking off in this mood with his son.

‘I’m sick of your talking!’ Mike shouted.

‘You’re scaring Tommy.’ She watched as Mike screwed up his face, watched as he tried to contain himself for his son, and thankfully Alex made sure everyone but himself got out at the next floor.

She was grateful to Alex for sticking around while staying back as they walked briskly to Emergency, Security catching up just as they got to the entrance doors.

It was a busy Monday morning in Emergency, Jack noted. He actually wanted to take off his suit jacket and pitch in, but instead he was stuck showing Elspeth Hillier around and telling her what her huge donation, in memory of her late husband, was earmarked for.

‘We’re hoping to have a supervised play area …’ Jack explained. ‘It would be used for the siblings of the patient or any child in the care of their guardian. Often the parent or carer arrives with two or three children in tow—naturally they want to be with their child throughout procedures and interviews, instead of having to take care of the other children until help arrives. The patient misses out on the comfort of the carer or, more often than not, the nurses end up babysitting.’

‘And it would be called …’ Elspeth asked.

‘We haven’t decided on a name yet,’ Jack said. ‘But certainly it would be something that honours the Hillier name.’

‘Not for me, of course,’ Elspeth said. ‘I just want Edgar to be remembered.’

‘Of course,’ Jack duly replied, though he was quite sure it wouldn’t be called the Edgar child-care centre or the Edgar Hillier child-care centre … He knew the routine only too well; he’d been raised on it after all.

‘So when will building commence?’ Elspeth asked, but Jack didn’t answer. He was distracted for a moment, not because of a new outbreak of commotion—that was commonplace here—but more at the sight of those red stockings again. Nina was walking through the department alongside a gentleman who was holding a pale-looking child. They were flanked by two security guards and Alex Rodriguez was present too.

Jack tried to answer Elspeth’s question but his eyes kept wandering to the group and he watched as a nurse approached to take the child.

‘Excuse me for a moment, Elspeth …’

Security were bracing themselves, Alex was hovering, nurses were looking over, and any second now the button would be pressed for the police to be called as the father was becoming more and more agitated. Only Nina stood resolute and calm. He could see her speaking to the gentleman and, as Jack approached, he saw that whatever she had said had worked, for without further demur he handed the child over to a nurse.

Jack was about to head back to Elspeth and even Alex had turned to go when the explosion hit. ‘Who the hell do you think you are, bitch?’ The man was right in Nina’s face, cursing her and, despite the presence of Security, backing Nina into a cubicle. But even then her voice was, to Jack’s ears, annoyingly calm, telling the security officers to step back.

‘I can handle this, thank you.’

Er, actually, no, she couldn’t, Jack was quite sure. There was well over six feet of angry male yelling at her, telling her that he had trusted her, that she should know him better, that he would never harm his child.

‘Take a seat, Mike.’ She just stood in the middle of the cubicle as he ranted. ‘No one is accusing you of anything, but Tommy looks unwell and needs to be examined. He has a cut that appears infected. No one has said anything about you harming your son.’

‘You’re nothing but a—’

‘Enough.’ Jack stepped in between them. ‘I’m Jack Carter, Head of Paediatrics. Can I ask what is going on?’

‘I’ve got this, thanks, Jack.’ He heard her bristling with anger and held back the slight incredulous shake of his head, because her anger was aimed at him! Still, he happily ignored Nina and looked at the man.

‘Sir?’ Jack stood patiently, his eyes warning the other man to calm down, and slowly he seemed to a little, but his words were still angry when he answered.

‘Tommy had an appointment today with the child psychologist and everything seemed fine but then they decide that the cut on his hand needs to be seen. I just want to take him home, he’s tired, and then she arrives with security guards in tow and I’m hauled down here just because a four-year-old has a cut hand.’

‘It looks infected,’ Nina stated. ‘It needs to be checked, it’s that simple, Mike.’

‘How did he get the cut?’ Jack asked.

‘I don’t know.’ Mike’s temper reared again. ‘He’s four years old, they fall over all the time.’

‘Sure they do.’ Jack nodded. ‘I’ll go and take a look at him myself right now. The thing I want you to do is to calm down before you go in to see him. You’ve scared your son—he doesn’t need to see his father angry and upset.’ He gave a brief nod to Nina, who stepped outside with him.

‘It’s a very complicated history—’ she started.

‘I’m sure that it is,’ Jack interrupted, ‘but right now my concern is the child’s medical status.’

‘The father can be explosive at times, but he’s never been that way with his child …’

Jack didn’t want to hear her findings at this stage. His only thought was for the safety of the child—well, there was one other thing he would address later. ‘I’m going to speak to you afterwards about your own safety. I don’t want staff taking risks.’

‘I know the family. I knew what I was doing—’

‘I’m not arguing about this right now,’ Jack broke in. ‘I’ll speak to you later.’

‘If I can just explain about Tommy …’

‘Please, don’t. Right now I want to go and see that child and find out first hand what we’re dealing with.’

So quickly Jack dismissed her.

Other times he blamed her.

But right now she couldn’t think about Dr Perfect Never Make A Mistake Carter. Instead she turned to another man, one who had made an awful lot of mistakes that morning, and she watched as Mike sat down, put his head in his hands and started to sob.

‘I didn’t mean to scare him.’ He was beside himself. ‘Tommy will be petrified without me …’

‘I know that,’ Nina said. ‘What’s going on, Mike?’

‘Nothing.’

‘When did Tommy get the cut?’

‘I don’t know, a few days ago … I need to be with him.’

‘Not yet. I want you to sit here for a while. Someone will bring you a drink and when things are more settled I’ll come and speak to you.’

‘I should be with him.’

‘You can’t be with him because you just lost your temper, Mike!’ Despite what Jack might think, Nina was no pushover. ‘You can’t be with your son because you refused to bring him down for an examination, because you avoided Security and then bullied me into a cubicle. You blew this, Mike, so, no, right now you can’t be with him. I’ll go in. Tommy knows me, I’ll stay with him for now …’

Nina left the cubicle and asked a nurse where Tommy was and was pointed in the direction. She knocked on the examination-room door and was let in.

‘Good timing.’ She could hear the weary bitterness in his voice. ‘I was just about to call you with an urgent referral.’ She looked down at Tommy, who was being helped into a gown that was covered with cartoon characters.

Nina looked at his pale, bruised body and immediately she could see why she was about to be called. Then she looked over at Jack and she saw it again.

The look he had given her when she had walked into Baby Tanner’s cubicle.

The look he would give her if Sienna returned unwell to the department.

It was a look she knew all to well, and one Jack Carter gave her all too often.

I told you so.

CHAPTER THREE

‘EXCUSE ME A minute, Tommy.’ Jack stepped outside and Nina assumed that she was meant to follow, but of course she had it wrong. Instead, Jack spoke with an elderly, very elegant woman, who looked less than impressed when he headed back towards Tommy’s cubicle, offering Nina a brief explanation. ‘Lewis is stuck with a multi-trauma, I’m just waiting for the registrar to come and take over. I just want to make sure that there’s nothing medically urgent that is wrong.’

‘Can I just have a brief word before you go in, Jack?’ He gave a slight hiss of frustration as he turned around. ‘Tommy is a very guarded child. Initially he had nothing to do with his father and responded only to me, but over the past months …’

She didn’t finish; instead she watched as Jack’s grey eyes shuttered as they so often did when she spoke. ‘You don’t want to hear what I have to say?’

‘At this stage, no. I want to find out from the child what has happened and given that you have had dealings with the family and that Tommy seems to trust you, I’d like you to assist. Do you think you can?’

‘Of course, but—’

‘I like facts Nina,’ he interrupted. ‘I like to explore things for myself and I do not want to walk in there with my thought process crowded by yours.’

‘Sure.’

He was arrogant, dismissive, even rude, but there was no mistaking that he was brilliant with Tommy. He didn’t rush in, he just chatted to the little boy for a couple of minutes and then asked him something about his parents.

‘Tommy’s mum is deceased,’ Nina said quietly, and had he given her just one moment to speak he might not be feeling such an insensitive bastard right now. At least, Nina hoped that was what he was thinking.