Nurse In A Million

‘If I accept your challenge, you should accept mine. Unless you’re too scared, of course.’

That got his immediate attention. Rafferty blanked out the delicious images that had been playing inside his head and stared at her. ‘I’m not scared, Natalie. If the only way to make you see sense is by accepting your challenge, I’ll do it.’

‘Good. That’s what I hoped you’d say.’

She stood up and came towards him, stopping so close that he could feel the warmth of her body all down the length of his. Trying to control his rioting libido at that point was a waste of time so he gave up. If she was deliberately trying to torment him, she was making a damn good job of it, he thought ruefully.

‘I’ll expect you tonight at six. Don’t be late. It really isn’t good form to arrive after the main guest. Oh, and you’ll need a dinner jacket, too. I’d hate you to feel embarrassed by not being properly dressed.’

She swished past him before he could say anything, shot back the bolt and opened the door. A couple of burly security guards rushed into the room and grasped him by the arms. Rafferty tried to shake them off but soon realised that he was wasting his time. Anyway, he’d be damned if he’d give her the satisfaction of watching him struggle.

‘Escort Dr Rafferty from the building and inform the staff on Reception that he isn’t to be admitted again today.’ She turned to Janet, who had followed the men into the room. ‘Dr Rafferty will need a pass so can you make all the necessary arrangements, please? I’ll sign the authorisation forms myself.’

‘A pass?’ the secretary repeated uncertainly, glancing at him.

Rafferty really couldn’t blame her for being confused, because he was feeling a bit that way himself. He dug in his heels as the men tried to hustle him out of the room.

‘What the hell is going on, Natalie? Why are you ordering a pass for me when you’re having me thrown out?’

‘Because you can’t just come in here and throw your weight around. It really isn’t on, Rafferty, and I’m not prepared to put up with it.’ She smiled calmly at him as she went and sat down behind her desk. ‘However, a pass is essential if you’re to complete the challenge I’ve set you.’

‘What challenge?’ he demanded as the men hauled him through the open door. ‘Natalie…!’

‘That you spend a month in my world and see how well you cope.’

CHAPTER TWO

‘LADIES and gentlemen, it gives me great pleasure to introduce our guest of honour this evening.’

Polite applause rippled around the room as the man stepped up to the podium. Natalie glanced at Rafferty and bit back a chuckle when she saw the expression of utter boredom on his face. It was the local business association’s annual dinner, a lengthy affair which normally she avoided attending. She hadn’t been planning on going that night either, until Rafferty had bulldozed his way into her office and she’d realised it would be the perfect way to pay him back. If he had all those preconceived ideas about how she’d been spending her time recently, why disabuse him?

He must have sensed she was watching him because he suddenly turned and her heart missed a beat when she saw the awareness in his eyes. She’d pulled out all the stops that night and knew she looked her best. The red gown she was wearing was one of her favourites, although she’d never worn it before when she’d been out with Rafferty. Most of the time they’d spent together had been at some disaster spot or other and there’d been few opportunities there to dress up. It struck her all of a sudden just how little time they’d spent doing the normal things a couple usually did together. Their relationship had revolved around their work and they’d just snatched the odd hour as and when they could.

Would things have turned out differently if they’d had more time to themselves? she wondered. Everyone was under a lot of pressure when they were away on a mission. Consequently emotions ran high, and it could explain why they’d never been able to reach a compromise.

‘How much longer do we have to stay here?’ he demanded, leaning over so that he could whisper the question in her ear.

‘It’s not the done thing to leave before the main guest has finished speaking,’ she informed him tersely. She’d always believed that their failure to agree had been because of his stubbornness and it was worrying to wonder if she’d been wrong to hold him solely responsible when there might have been other factors involved.

‘It will be midnight at this rate before he runs out of steam,’ Rafferty declared in disgust. ‘Who on earth is interested in the profit and loss ratios that can be achieved in various European countries?’

‘A lot of people. You might believe that making a profit is the devil’s work but your views aren’t shared by the majority of people here tonight.’

‘I never said it was wrong to make a profit,’ he denied, frowning.

‘No? It certainly sounded like it to me earlier today.’

She smiled sweetly at him then turned her attention to the speaker but it was difficult to concentrate when her mind kept returning to the thought that she might have been wrong to blame Rafferty for their problems. It was a relief when the speech ended and everyone started talking. Natalie knew most of the people on their table because she’d met them when she’d acted as hostess for her father. Richard Palmer was a renowned host and his cocktail parties were always well attended.

The man on her right asked her how her father was so she turned to speak to him, aware that Rafferty was talking to the woman seated next to him. She could just catch snippets of their conversation, something about an opera which had been a sell-out. Someone else joined in, adding their comments on the production, until the whole table ended up discussing its merits. Natalie smiled when a woman seated opposite her asked if she’d seen it.

‘I’ve not had time, I’m afraid. I’ve been too busy trying to find my way around Palmer’s so I’ve not been to the theatre for ages.’

The woman smiled sympathetically then turned her attention to Rafferty. ‘And how about you, Dr Rafferty? Have you managed to get tickets for it yet? It’s a marvellous production, so much better than Antonini’s version. If you saw it, I’m sure you’d agree.’

‘I’m afraid I’m not really an opera buff,’ Rafferty replied evenly. ‘My visits to the theatre tend to have a rather different purpose behind them.’

Everyone laughed at the quip, as he’d obviously intended them to. However, Natalie could tell there was something bothering him. She frowned to herself, because she had no idea what was wrong. They’d just been making conversation, the kind of small talk that usually happened at these events, so why did Rafferty look so on edge?

The band began to play so, under cover of the general hubbub that broke out as people got up to dance, she leant over and asked him, ‘Are you all right?’

‘Fine. Why shouldn’t I be?’

His tone was bland enough but she could tell from the tautness of his jaw that he was still very tense. She shrugged, feeling her way with care because she didn’t want to make matters worse by saying the wrong thing. ‘You just looked a bit…well, uneasy when we were talking about the opera.’

‘Did I?’ He shrugged. ‘Probably because there wasn’t a lot I could contribute. Opera is something that has passed me by, I’m afraid.’

‘Oh, I see.’

Natalie wasn’t sure she did see, but there was little she could say when he obviously didn’t want to talk about it any more. Maybe he wasn’t interested in opera, as he’d claimed, but his reaction seemed to her to be just a little too much. She breathed a sigh of relief when a waiter appeared and informed her there was a phone call for her in Reception because it provided a welcome distraction.

She quickly excused herself, as she had a good idea who it might be. Since she’d been back in London, she’d been helping out at a drop-in clinic for the many homeless teenagers who lived on the streets of the city. The clinic was staffed by a team of volunteer nurses and doctors and provided a lifeline for the youngsters who were often loath to seek medical help elsewhere. Although she wasn’t due to work that night, she’d made sure they had the phone number of the hotel where the dinner was being held in case anything cropped up. The reception staff had transferred the call to a private booth in the foyer so she went straight there and picked up the receiver.

‘Natalie Palmer.’

‘Hi, Natalie, it’s Helen. I’m sorry to phone you but we have a bit of a problem. It’s Danny Kennedy and he’s in a pretty bad way, I’m afraid.’

Natalie sighed. Danny was a regular visitor to the clinic. He was in his early teens and had run away from home after his parents had split up and his mother’s new partner had beaten him up. He’d suffered from asthma all his life and living on the streets was making the problem worse.

‘Has he been taking his medication?’ she asked worriedly.

‘He says he has but it doesn’t sound like it to me,’ Helen explained. ‘I really think he should be admitted to hospital but he’s refusing to go. I thought you might be able to persuade him to see sense.’

‘I’ll try.’ She checked her watch. ‘If I leave straight away, I should be with you in about ten minutes’ time. If he gets any worse, though, call an ambulance and we’ll argue about it later.’

‘Will do. Thanks, Natalie.’

Natalie left the booth, trying to decide what she should tell Rafferty. He had no idea that she’d been working at the clinic since she’d come back to London and she wasn’t sure if she wanted him to know about it either.

‘Is everything all right?’

She jumped when the subject of her thoughts suddenly materialised at her side. She turned to face him, feeling her heart give an appreciative little flutter before she could stop it. The formal dinner suit he was wearing made the most of his dark good looks, emphasising the width of his shoulders and the trimness of his waist. Rarely had she seen him wearing anything other than scrubs or jeans and she had to admit that he looked great. However, how he looked wasn’t the issue. She was more concerned about what she was going to tell him.

Her father had instilled into her a sense of duty from an early age. He had insisted that it wasn’t enough just to be rich and that she had to prove her worth by giving something back to the world. Natalie had never had a problem with that idea because it wasn’t in her nature to idle away her time. She enjoyed helping people, and loved nursing, so she had tried to live up to his high expectations of her. However, whilst she was prepared to accept that kind of attitude from her father, she didn’t see why she should have to justify herself to Rafferty. She was still smarting at the thought that he valued her more as a nurse than anything else, and certainly didn’t intend to make it appear as though she was trying to curry favour with him!

‘Something has cropped up and I’m going to have to leave,’ she said shortly, heading for the cloakroom.

‘It’s not your father, is it? He hasn’t taken a turn for the worse?’

‘No, nothing like that,’ she replied evasively, handing her ticket to the attendant.

‘But it must be important if you’re rushing off.’

‘It is.’

Natalie took her coat from the woman and hurried across the foyer but if she’d hoped to deter him, obviously she’d failed. He followed her outside, his expression turning thunderous as he watched her flag down a passing taxi.

‘Are you going to tell me what’s going on?’

‘No.’ She opened the cab door and got in. ‘I’ll see you in the office tomorrow morning. Your pass should be ready so you’ll just need to ask the staff on Reception for it when you arrive.’

She started to shut the door but he was too quick for her. His green eyes flashed as he bent and looked at her.

‘I’m asking you one last time where you’re going, Natalie.’

‘And I’m telling you one last time that it hasn’t anything to do with you. You gave up the right to have a say in what I do when you told me that our relationship wasn’t going to work.’

She went to close the door again and this time he didn’t try to stop her. She told the driver the address of the clinic then sat back in the seat. She could feel Rafferty staring at her as the cab drove away but she didn’t look at him, didn’t dare in case she weakened. She loved him so much, but it wasn’t enough. He had to love her too—unconditionally and without any strings attached—and the likelihood of that happening seemed even more remote after what he’d told her that day.

She closed her eyes, feeling the pain welling inside her again. She might be a rich man’s daughter, she might be a nurse, but she was first and foremost a woman and she wanted a man who would love her for herself.

Helen must have been watching for her to arrive because she came hurrying out of the clinic as soon as the taxi drew up. She whistled when Natalie turned round after paying the driver.

‘Wowee! That’s some dress, girl. You must have really socked it to him in that get-up. I bet he’s still reeling!’

Natalie’s mood immediately lifted and she laughed. She’d become good friends with the attractive Anglo-Caribbean nurse since she’d been working at the clinic and was hoping to persuade her to join Worlds Together at some point. ‘If he is then he managed to hide it pretty well. The last I saw of him, he was glaring after the taxi and looking as though he was about to spit tacks!’

‘No wonder.’ Helen grinned as she opened the clinic’s door and ushered her inside. ‘The poor guy probably thought he was in for a night of passion when he saw you in that outfit, and what do you go and do? Only run out on him!’ She shook her head. ‘That wasn’t very kind, was it?’

‘Tough. He shouldn’t have counted his chickens, should he?’

Natalie refused to feel guilty, because in her opinion she had nothing to feel guilty about. She hadn’t promised Rafferty a night of passion—despite what he might have been expecting.

Her heart lurched at the thought of how the evening might have ended if the situation had been different. The one thing they’d never had any problem with had been sex, and she doubted if either of them could create the same kind of magic with anyone else. However, although the physical side of their relationship may have been perfect, the rest of it certainly hadn’t, she reminded herself. There would need to be a lot of changes made before she would consider jumping into bed with Rafferty again…

‘So how’s Danny doing?’ she said, swiftly changing the subject. The odds on her and Rafferty sleeping together again were approximately zero so there was no point even thinking about it. ‘Any improvement yet?’

‘No. If anything, I’d say he’s slightly worse.’ Helen sighed as she pushed open the door that separated the reception area from the treatment rooms.

The clinic was based in one of the arches beneath a railway bridge and the sound of the trains thundering overhead provided a constant background noise. The space had been used as a garage before it had been taken over by the clinic and on warm evenings the smell of diesel still seeped from the walls. Bright strip-lighting and plenty of white paint had helped to dispel the gloom, however, and the staff did their best to make everyone feel welcome. Maybe it wasn’t the ideal place for a medical centre but the youngsters came, and that was what mattered most of all.

‘I’ve put Danny in the end cubicle because it’s a bit quieter down there,’ Helen informed her. ‘Piers was supposed to be here tonight but he phoned just before you arrived to say that he’s having to work a double shift because they’re short-staffed at the hospital.’

‘So that means Danny hasn’t seen a doctor yet?’ Natalie clarified.

‘Not yet.’ Helen glanced round when one of the other nurses called over to her. ‘I’ll see what Suzy wants then come and find you.’

‘Fine.’

Natalie made her way down the long, arched room to the very end cubicle, which was actually more substantial than it sounded, with solid hardboard walls and a proper door. She tapped on the door and went in, smiling as she saw Danny’s eyes widen in surprise when he saw what she was wearing.

‘I only wear this outfit for my very favourite patients, I’ll have you know,’ she told him, laughing as she twirled round so he could get a good look at her gown.

He removed the oxygen mask he was wearing and smiled shyly back at her. It had been a couple of weeks since he’d visited the clinic and she could tell that he’d lost a lot of weight in that time. He was wearing an old T-shirt and she could see how his chest was heaving from the effort of drawing air into his lungs.

‘The other guys will be really jealous,’ he wheezed.

‘And so they should be,’ she retorted, going over to the bed. She took hold of his wrist and checked his pulse, frowning when she felt how fast it was racing. It was obviously a very bad attack and she really couldn’t understand why it had happened. ‘So when did this all start?’

‘A couple of hours ago…although I’ve not felt well for a few days,’ he admitted reluctantly.

‘And have you been taking your medication like I told you to do?’ she asked, sitting down on the side of the bed.

‘Uh-huh,’ he muttered, avoiding her eyes.

Natalie sighed. ‘Look, Danny, I’m not going to tell you off if you haven’t been taking it…well, not much, at least. But I need to find out why this has happened tonight. I thought we’d sorted you out the last time you came to see us but maybe the drugs we prescribed for you aren’t doing their job properly and we need to try you on something else.’

‘The drugs are OK,’ he mumbled, but she could see tears welling into his eyes.

She squeezed his hand, hating to see him looking so upset. He was far too young to be living on the streets and she wished she could do more to help him, but she’d been warned before she’d started working at the clinic that she mustn’t try to interfere. A lot of the youngsters they treated would stop attending the clinic if they thought there was a chance that the authorities would be contacted.

‘So what’s the problem?’ she asked gently. ‘If the drugs have been working, why have you had such a bad attack tonight?’

‘Because I haven’t taken my tablets for the past couple of days,’ Danny admitted. ‘I…um…lost them.’

‘Lost them?’ She stared at him in surprise. ‘But I thought you always kept them in your pocket so they’d be safe.’

‘I do. I mean, I did…’ He tailed off and she shook her head when she realised what had happened.

‘Did someone take the drugs off you, Danny?’

‘Yes,’ he whispered, biting his lip.

Natalie tried to hide her frustration although it wasn’t the first time something like this had happened. Life on the streets was tough and drugs of any description were a valuable commodity. Several of the youngsters they’d treated recently had experienced the same thing and it was starting to look as though their patients were being targeted deliberately.

‘Did you go to the police and report what had happened?’ she asked without much hope.

Danny shook his head. ‘They’d have beaten me up again if I’d done that.’

‘Again? Are you saying that the people who took your medication beat you up as well?’

‘Yes. They kicked me about and that’s why I gave them the tablets. I think they might have busted one of my ribs because it’s been really hurting.’

‘And I don’t suppose you had anyone look at it, did you?’ Natalie said wearily, and he shook his head. ‘Right, I need to check you over but first of all I want you to put that oxygen mask back on.’

She helped the boy replace the mask then unbuttoned his shirt, grimacing when she saw the yellowing remains of bruising down the left side of his chest. He’d obviously taken a severe beating because she could tell how much it hurt when she gently explored the area. He’d definitely broken a rib—possibly two—and she wished she could get hold of the thugs who’d done this to him.

She buttoned his shirt again and looked sternly at him. ‘You’ve got at least one broken rib and you should have come to the clinic if you didn’t want to go to hospital.’

‘It hurt too much to walk,’ he mumbled through the mask.

‘I bet it did.’ She looked round when Helen appeared. ‘Young Danny here has a broken rib. Apparently, someone beat him up and took his medication off him. That explains why he’s in such a state tonight.’

‘That’s the third time this week it’s happened to one of our kids!’ Helen exclaimed angrily. ‘What is the world coming to?’

‘I shudder to think. Anyway, I think he should be checked over by a doctor—’ She broke off when Danny suddenly interrupted her.

‘I don’t want to go to the hospital! They’ll give me another thumping if they think I’ve told on them.’

There was genuine terror in his voice and Natalie frowned. ‘Is that what they told you would happen?’

‘Yes. And they meant it, too. They’ve given other people a real going over when they thought they’d told on them.’

Danny looked exhausted when he’d finished speaking and Natalie realised that it would do more harm than good to try and make him reconsider. She drew Helen aside while they decided what they should do.

‘Is there any chance we could keep him here overnight? I know we don’t usually allow anyone to stay in the clinic but Danny’s far too ill to go back on the streets tonight. I’d feel much happier if he was in hospital, of course, but we can’t force him to go if he doesn’t want to.’

‘I suppose we could bend the rules just this once,’ Helen agreed reluctantly. ‘Although obviously we can’t leave him here on his own. He seems a nice enough kid but you just never know, so someone will have to stay here with him.’

‘I’ll stay,’ Natalie offered immediately.

‘Are you sure? It’s not even your night to work…’

‘That doesn’t matter. It was my decision to keep him here so I should be the one to stay with him.’ She shrugged. ‘Anyway, I’ve nothing better to do so I may as well be here as at home.’

‘Fair enough, although it’s not what you’d call a fair trade, is it?’ Helen grinned when she looked blankly at her. ‘A night in the clinic instead of a night of passion?’

Natalie laughed dutifully. It wasn’t worth explaining that a night of passion hadn’t been in the offing. She found something more suitable to wear than the red evening gown and changed in one of the empty cubicles. The clinic was open until midnight every day of the week and there was a steady stream of youngsters needing attention until they shut up shop.

She said goodbye to the others then went to check on Danny. He still didn’t look well and once again she tried to persuade him to let her phone for an ambulance, but he was adamant that he didn’t want to go to hospital. In the end she had to bow to his wishes, although she made up her mind that if he hadn’t improved by the morning, she would have to reconsider.

She went into the next cubicle and lay down on the bed, fully dressed, and dozed until it was time to check on him again. That set the pattern for the night and she was glad when morning came. The clinic opened again at eight and she had everything ready when the day staff arrived.

Danny seemed a little better thanks to the drugs and a night spent in a proper bed so Natalie handed him over to Sam Cummins, one of their volunteer doctors, then changed back into her evening dress and went home, to find Rafferty sitting on her doorstep. She took a deep breath as she got out of the cab because if the expression on his face was anything to go by, he wasn’t in the best of moods either.

Rafferty had gone straight home after Natalie had driven away in the taxi and had spent the night pacing the floor of his flat. The thought that she was meeting some other guy had been more than he could bear but how else could he explain why she’d refused to tell him where she was going? By the time dawn broke, he had been almost beside himself with frustration and had known he had to do something to rectify the situation. Maybe it wasn’t too late for them to work things out? Maybe they could find a solution to their problems if they tried hard enough? Maybe…