Once Upon a Christmas

‘Hello, Lizzie.’ Anne’s mother greeted them warmly and drew them into the garden, introducing them to people they didn’t know.

‘Where have you stored the fireworks?’ was Jack’s first question, and Bryony put a hand on his arm and smiled at Anne’s mother.

‘Jack is a consultant in A and E,’ she explained hastily, ‘and we doctors are always a bit nervous of fireworks. Take no notice.’

‘Anne’s father has it all under control,’ the woman assured them, waving a hand towards the bottom of the garden. ‘The children won’t be allowed near them. Apart from the sparklers, of course.’

Bryony saw Jack’s mouth open and quickly spoke before he did. ‘That’s great,’ she said cheerfully, her fingers biting into his arm like a vice. ‘Those sausages smell fantastic.’

‘Well, we’re just about ready to eat.’ Anne’s mother led them to a table loaded with food. ‘Grab yourself a roll and some ketchup and tuck in!’

She walked away and Jack scowled at Bryony. ‘You just made holes in my arm.’

‘I was trying to stop you embarrassing Lizzie,’ she hissed, smiling sweetly at one of the mothers who passed. ‘Now, eat something and relax. Try and remember that you only see the disasters in A and E. You don’t see the normal, happy bonfire parties that everyone enjoys.’

There was a long silence and then, to her surprise, Jack sucked in a breath and gave her a lopsided smile. ‘You’re right,’ he said dryly, running a hand through his cropped dark hair. ‘I’m being an idiot. It’s just that I love Lizzie so much.’

Bryony’s face softened. ‘I know you do.’ On impulse she stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheek, feeling the roughness of stubble against her lips and smelling the sexy male smell that was Jack.

He looked startled. ‘What was that for?’

‘For being you.’ Deciding that, for a girl who was supposed to be forgetting about Jack, she wasn’t actually doing that well, Bryony left him by the bread rolls and went and found Lizzie.

‘You kissed Jack.’ Lizzie was looking at her curiously and Bryony felt herself blush.

‘Just on the cheek,’ she said hastily, and Lizzie tipped her head on one side.

‘Jack would make a cool dad.’

Pretending that she hadn’t heard that remark, Bryony turned to chat to one of the mothers that she knew vaguely, trying not to look at Jack who was now deep in conversation with one of the prettiest mothers in the school. He looked broad-shouldered and powerful with his back to her, and her stomach twisted as she saw the woman laughing up at him flirtatiously.

Reminding herself that she was supposed to be getting a life and forgetting about Jack, Bryony joined in with the others, handing food to the children, topping up drinks and wiping ketchup from faces.

Anne’s father lit the bonfire and the flames licked towards the dark sky, suddenly illuminating the massive garden.

‘You kids stay here,’ he ordered cheerfully. ‘I’m going to start the show.’

‘Mummy, can I have another drink?’ Lizzie tugged at her sleeve, her cheeks pink from the cold, and Bryony took her hand and led her over to the table.

‘What do you want?’ She picked up some empty cartons and then found a full one. ‘Apple juice OK?’

‘Great.’ Lizzie took the cup and looked around her happily. ‘Isn’t this great, Mummy? You, me and Jack together.’

Bryony swallowed. ‘Well, er, we’re not exactly …’ Then she smiled weakly. ‘Yes, sweetheart, it’s great.’

There were shrieks of excitement from the other children as they played closer to the fire and Bryony felt a stab of unease.

They were too close …

Opening her mouth to caution them, she noticed the other parents laughing, totally relaxed, and closed her mouth again. She really must try and act like a normal parent and not like a doctor, seeing accidents everywhere.

‘Can I go and play, Mummy?’ Lizzie put her drink down and moved towards the other children, but Bryony grabbed her arm, struck by a premonition so powerful that it made her gasp. ‘No, Lizzie. I think—’

Before she could even finish her sentence there was a series of horrific screams from Annie, and Bryony saw flames engulfing her little body with frightening speed.

‘Oh, my God—Jack!’ Bryony screamed his name at the top of her voice and ran forward, dragging off her coat as she ran.

Jack was there before her, knocking the girl to the ground and covering her with his jacket. ‘Cold water—get me cold water now!’ His voice was harsh and everyone ran to do as he said while Bryony stood there, so shocked she could hardly move.

All Jack’s attention was on the injured girl. ‘It’s going to be all right, sweetheart. You’re going to be fine.’ Jack lifted his head and looked straight at one of the fathers. ‘Call the paramedics and get me a hosepipe and cling film. Blondie, I need your help with her clothes.’ Bryony still didn’t move.

‘Dr Hunter.’ His voice was sharp. ‘I need your help here.’

His sharp reminder of her profession brought her back to reality. She nodded and breathed deeply, trying to forget that it was Annie lying on the ground.

Her daughter’s friend.

Annie’s mother was screaming hysterically and clinging to the other mothers while two of the fathers had fortunately listened to Jack’s orders and rolled out a hosepipe.

‘OK, sweetheart, you’re going to be fine.’ Jack carried on talking to Annie, his voice gentle and reassuring as he removed his jacket from the injured girl and took the end of the hosepipe.

Bryony dropped on her knees beside him. ‘What do you want me to do?’

She felt physically sick but as usual Jack was rock-solid and totally calm.

‘Her clothes are smouldering. If they’re not actually stuck to her body, I want them off.’

He turned the hose onto Annie’s body, the cold water taking the heat away from the burn as Bryony struggled to remove the clothing.

‘Get me scissors.’

Someone quickly produced a pair and she cut the clothing away as gently as she could, careful not to disturb any that actually adhered to the burn.

‘It’s all below her waist,’ Jack said softly, his eyes assessing the area of the burn. ‘It’s the skirt area. Her skirt caught fire. Has someone called the ambulance?’

‘I did, Jack,’ Lizzie said in a shaky voice from right beside them. ‘They said they’d be here in two minutes.’

‘Good girl.’ Jack gave her a nod of approval. ‘Sweetheart, I need some clingfilm. The stuff you wrap round food in the kitchen. The women over there are too upset to help and the men seem to have forgotten. Can you find it for me, angel?’

Lizzie nodded and shot down the garden towards the house, legs and arms pumping. She was back in less than a minute with a long, thin box.

‘That’s my girl. Now open it up for me,’ Jack ordered, and Lizzie fished it out awkwardly and struggled to find the end.

‘How much do you want?’

‘I’ll do it, Lizzie.’ Bryony took it from her, worried about her daughter seeing her friend so badly injured. ‘You can go into the house with the other children.’

‘I want to help.’

They heard the sound of an ambulance approaching and Jack looked at Lizzie. ‘Go and meet them. Tell them I want oxygen, two large-bore cannulae, IV fluids and morphine. Have you got that?’

Lizzie nodded and Bryony glanced at him.

‘She won’t remember that, Jack, she’s only seven.’

‘She’ll remember,’ Jack said firmly, his eyes fixed on Lizzie. ‘Oxygen, two large-bore cannulae, IV fluids and morphine. Go, angel.’

Lizzie sped back down the garden to meet the ambulance, leaving Jack and Bryony to wrap the exposed burns.

‘Can you get us clean sheets?’ Bryony addressed one of the fathers who was hovering by helplessly.

‘And someone put that bonfire out,’ Jack added, checking Annie’s pulse and breathing.

She’d stopped screaming and was lying shivering, sobbing quietly, her father by her side.

Annie’s mother was still hysterical at the far side of the garden.

Seconds later the paramedics arrived with Lizzie, complete with all the equipment that Jack had asked for.

As Bryony grabbed the oxygen and fitted the mask gently to Annie’s face, Jack smiled at Lizzie, his blue eyes showering her with approval and warmth.

‘Good girl.’

Despite the stress of the situation Lizzie returned the smile bravely and Jack gave a nod.

‘All right, I’m going to need your help here, Lizzie. Annie needs some fluid and we’re going to put a line in and give her fluid through her arm. Then we’re going to take her to hospital. I want you to hold this for me.’

Bryony looked at him uncertainly, still not sure that her young daughter should be exposed to the harsh realities of immediate care, but Jack seemed determined to involve her and Lizzie was frowning with concentration as she listened carefully to Jack’s instructions and did as he asked.

Too worried about little Annie to argue, Bryony turned her attention back to the little girl, following Jack’s instructions to the letter.

‘Shall I give her morphine?’

‘We’re going to give it IV.’ Jack murmured, picking up a cannula and searching for a vein. ‘Can you squeeze for me?’

Bryony took Annie’s little arm and squeezed, praying that Jack would find a vein first time.

He did, of course, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

‘Give her the morphine and cyclizine in there and then we’ll put a line in the other arm, too,’ Jack said, holding out a hand for the syringe that the paramedic was holding ready. ‘OK, sweetheart.’ He looked down at Annie, his eyes gentle. ‘This is going to make you feel better, I promise. And then we’re going to take you to hospital. You’re doing fine. You’re brilliant.’

He gave the morphine and then put a cannula into the other arm and looked at Bryony. ‘OK, let’s get some fluid into her and get her covered or she’ll get hypothermia from the cold water.’

He and Bryony worked together, each anticipating the other’s needs, until finally the little girl was stabilised and in the ambulance.

‘I’ll go with her,’ Jack said. ‘Meet me at the hospital when you’ve dropped Lizzie at your mother’s.’

‘I want to come, too,’ Lizzie said firmly, and Bryony shook her head.

‘Sweetheart, no.’

‘Bring her,’ Jack said firmly. ‘I’ll run her home later. She can wait in the staffroom.’

He dug in his pocket and produced his car keys, a wry smile playing around his firm mouth. ‘If you prang my car, Blondie, you’re history.’ Handing the keys to Lizzie, he jerked his head towards the front of the house. ‘Go and wait for your mother by the car, sweetheart.’

Lizzie did as she was told and Jack took Bryony by the shoulders, forcing her to look at him. ‘She’s just seen her best friend horribly burned,’ he said quietly. ‘That is going to stay with her a long time and will be easier to bear if she knows she did something to help. Trust me on this one. She’s tough, our Lizzie. She’ll be fine. But do it my way.’

Bryony swallowed and nodded, knowing that whatever they did now the trauma had already happened for Lizzie. Maybe it was best for her to be involved.

Anne’s parents came over, her mother clinging to her husband, her face streaked with tears.

‘Can we go in the ambulance with her?’

Jack exchanged glances with one of the paramedics and then nodded. ‘Of course. But try and be calm. I know it’s a terrible shock but she needs you to be strong. If she sees you panicking, then she’ll panic, and I don’t want her any more scared than she is already.’

Bryony waited while they loaded Annie into the ambulance and then she joined Lizzie by Jack’s car.

She pressed the remote to unlock the door and gave a short laugh. Now she knew it was an emergency. There was no other reason that Jack would have let her near his precious sports car—he never let anyone drive it.

She strapped Lizzie in the front seat and slid into the driver’s seat, telling herself that it was only a car. Exactly like her car really, except that it was capable of ridiculous speed and cost about fifteen times as much.

She started the engine and flinched as the car gave a throaty growl. ‘Boys with toys,’ she muttered disparagingly, finding first gear and carefully pulling out of the driveway onto the road. She just hoped she didn’t meet any other traffic on the way to hospital.

When she arrived she settled Lizzie in the staffroom, promising to come back and update her as soon as possible.

Jack was already in Resus, along with Sean Nicholson and a full team of staff. Jack was barking out instructions as he worked to stabilise Annie.

‘Can someone check her weight with her parents?’

‘I’ve just done it.’ Bryony hurried into the room and reached in her pocket for a calculator. ‘I’ve worked out 4 mils of fluid per kilogram multiplied by the percentage of the burn. Do you have that yet?’

‘Just doing it. My estimate is twenty-two per cent,’ Jack said, glancing up at her. ‘Are you OK?’

Bryony nodded and studied the Lund and Browder charts that helped them to assess the area of the burn according to age. ‘You’re about right, Jack,’ she said lightly, feeding the numbers into her calculator. ‘I make it twenty-two per cent.’

She worked out the volume of fluid and showed her calculation to Jack.

‘Right.’ He gave a nod. ‘So she needs that in twenty-four hours, but we need to give her half in the first eight hours and monitor her urine output. I want her to have a combination of crystalloid and colloid.’

‘Catheter is in,’ Nicky said quickly, ‘and I’ve started a chart.’

‘Great. Can you test her urine? And, Bryony, we need to take some bloods before she’s transferred. Cross-matching, FBC, COHb, U and Es, glucose and coagulation.’

Bryony reached for the appropriate bottles. ‘You’re sending her to the burns unit?’

Jack nodded. ‘The helicopter is waiting to take her as soon as we give the word. I’ve spoken to the consultant, he’s waiting for her.’

Bryony took the samples and then went to talk to Annie. The little girl was drifting in and out of sleep, hardly aware of what was going on around her.

‘I gave her some sedation,’ Jack said softly, covering the last of the burns and then giving Nicky a nod. ‘OK. Let’s go.’

‘Are you going with her?’

He nodded. ‘Take Lizzie home in my car. I’ll see you later.’

‘How will you get home?’

‘I’ll get the paramedics to drop me at your place, or I’ll grab a taxi.’ He shrugged, totally unconcerned, and she nodded.

‘Fine. I’ll see you later. Do you want me to talk to Annie’s parents?’

‘I’ll do it,’ Sean said immediately. ‘That way you can get home with your little girl and Jack can get loaded into the helicopter.’

Bryony was tucking Lizzie into bed when she heard the doorbell. ‘That will be Jack.’

She dropped a kiss on Lizzie’s forehead and went to answer the door, praying that Annie’s condition hadn’t worsened during the transfer.

‘How is she?’

Jack strolled into her house and gave a shiver, and it was only then that she remembered that he’d used his jacket to put out the flames and that he’d been working only in a jumper. He must be freezing.

‘Come and sit by the fire,’ she urged, and he did as she’d suggested, stretching out his hands towards the flames.

‘It’s nice and warm in here.’ He looked at her. ‘Is my girl asleep?’

Bryony shook her head, her expression troubled. ‘No. She’s very upset by it all.’

‘Of course she is.’ His jaw tightened. ‘I’ll talk to her.’

They both walked towards Lizzie’s bedroom and Jack strolled in and settled himself on the edge of the bed.

‘Hi, there.’ His voice was soft and Lizzie stared up at him, her eyes huge in her pretty face.

‘Hi, Jack.’ Her smile was shaky. ‘Annie is very badly hurt, isn’t she?’

Jack hesitated. ‘She is pretty badly hurt,’ he agreed, and Bryony mentally thanked him for not lying. She knew that Annie’s condition was serious and if anything happened to the little girl, she didn’t want Lizzie to feel that they’d been dishonest.

‘Is she going to die?’ Lizzie’s voice trembled and Jack shook his head.

‘No, sweetheart. I’m sure she isn’t going to die. I’ve just taken her to a special hospital where they know all about burns.’

‘Can I go and see her there?’

‘Sure,’ Jack said immediately. ‘We’ll go together.’

Tears suddenly welled up in Lizzie’s eyes and Jack immediately leaned forward and lifted the little girl onto his lap.

‘Don’t cry, baby,’ he said roughly, stroking her hair with his strong hand and exchanging an agonised look with Bryony. ‘You were brilliant. My little star. All those grown-ups were panicking and you were cool as ice cream.’

Lizzie gave a sniff and pulled away from him, but her little hands still clutched at his jumper. ‘I told the paramedics everything you wanted, just like you said.’

‘I know you did.’ Jack smiled down at her, pride in his eyes. ‘You were unbelievable. And I was so proud of you. You really helped save Annie.’

‘I helped?’ Lizzie’s face brightened slightly. ‘Really?’

‘Really.’ Jack nodded, his handsome face serious. ‘You see, you did all the right things. Everyone was scared and I bet you were, too, but you didn’t let being scared stop you from doing what needed to be done. And that makes you a very special person.’

‘It does?’

‘Certainly. I don’t know many grown-ups who would have been as calm as you and remembered all those things and done what you did.’ Jack lifted a hand and stroked Lizzie’s blonde curls away from her face. ‘One day, if you wanted to, I think you could be a very important doctor.’

Bryony swallowed down a lump in her throat and Lizzie’s eyes widened. ‘Like you and Mummy?’

Jack grinned. ‘Maybe not quite as important as me,’ he said teasingly, winking at Bryony who smiled back weakly. ‘But important, just the same.’

Lizzie gave a gurgle of laughter and punched him on the shoulder. ‘That’s boasting, Jack,’ she said reprovingly, and wound her arms round his neck. ‘I’m glad you and Mummy were there.’

For a brief moment Jack squeezed his eyes shut, his jaw tense, and Bryony knew exactly what was going through his mind. He’d been imagining a scene where he hadn’t been there, a scene where there hadn’t been a doctor on site to administer first aid, a scene where Lizzie might have been the one near the bonfire.

She gave a little shudder, imagining the same scene, and Jack’s eyes opened and locked on hers for a meaningful second.

‘Time for you to go to bed now, angel,’ he said softly, lifting Lizzie off his lap and tucking her under the covers with her mermaid. He leaned across and switched her little pink lamp on. ‘Your mum and I will just be eating some supper in the kitchen. Shout if you want anything.’

‘I don’t want you to go home tonight.’

‘I’m not going,’ Jack said immediately, sounding rock-solid, dependable and altogether too male for Bryony’s piece of mind. ‘Tonight I’m sleeping in your spare room.’

Lizzie gave a smile and they were just tiptoeing to the door when she spoke again.

‘Jack?’ Lizzie’s voice was a little-girl whisper and Bryony saw Jack’s face soften.

‘Yes, angel.’

‘Tomorrow when we wake up, will you play with me?’ Jack grinned. ‘Absolutely.’

‘Can we play Weddings?’

‘My favourite game,’ Jack said softly, walking back across the room and bending down to kiss her one more time. ‘Now, get some sleep. I can’t marry you with black rings under your eyes.’

Lizzie chuckled, sounding much happier. ‘Mummy, will you leave the door open?’

‘Of course, sweetheart. And I’ll pop my head in later.’

Jack followed Bryony out of the room.

‘Thank you for that,’ she said quietly, walking through to the kitchen and opening the fridge. ‘You said all the right things. In fact, you did all the right things, too. My instincts were to just get her out of there.’

‘That would have been my instinct, too, if she hadn’t already seen her friend engulfed by flames,’ Jack said wearily, sinking down on one of her kitchen chairs with a groan. ‘To be honest, I was mostly concentrating on Annie, but I did think that if Lizzie knew she’d helped, she might feel better.’

‘Which she did.’ Bryony removed a bottle of wine from the fridge and handed it to him along with a corkscrew. ‘I just hope she doesn’t have nightmares.’

‘She’s a tough kid,’ Jack said, yanking the cork out and setting the bottle down on the table. ‘She’ll be fine. As soon as Annie is a bit better we can take Lizzie along to see her.’

We.

Listening to him talking as if they were a family, Bryony found it harder and harder to remember that she was supposed to not be thinking of Jack in that way any more.

Remembering how skilled he’d been with Annie brought a lump to her throat. ‘You’re amazing, do you know that?’ She reached into the cupboard for two glasses, trying to keep her tone light. ‘You never lose your cool, no matter what. I just saw Annie on fire and I froze.’

‘Only for about three seconds,’ Jack said easily, stretching out a hand for the glasses and filling them both to the top. ‘And working in a well-equipped A and E department is very different from immediate care, as you know. Here. Have a drink. I think we both need it.’

‘I should cook some supper first.’

‘Forget cooking.’ Jack took a mouthful of wine and gave a groan of pleasure. ‘That’s good. Let’s send out for pizza or something.’

Bryony giggled. ‘I can’t do that. Lizzie will find the boxes in the morning and she’ll kill me. Pizza is her treat.’

Jack shrugged. ‘All right. Indian, then. I left a menu by your phone last time I was here.’

‘It would be nice not to cook,’ Bryony agreed, and Jack stood up.

‘That’s decided, then. Indian it is. What do you want?’

Bryony shrugged. ‘You choose.’

So he did and the food arrived half an hour later and was wonderful.

They were well into the bottle of wine when they heard Lizzie’s screams.

Both of them sprinted to her bedroom to find her sobbing and clutching her mermaid, her face blotched with tears.

‘I keep thinking of Annie.’

Bryony cuddled her close, rocking her gently. ‘Well, of course you do, darling. Annie is your friend. She’s going to be fine, Lizzie.’

As she said the words she prayed that she was right. If anything happened to Annie …

Eventually Lizzie calmed down and fell asleep again and the two of them tiptoed back to the kitchen.

Bryony felt totally stressed and she was seriously worried about the effect of the accident on her daughter. As Jack had rightly said, she’d actually seen it happen. What sort of impact would that have on her in the long term?

She desperately wanted to lean on Jack but she couldn’t bring herself to ask him for the hug she so badly needed.

And then he looked at her and she knew he felt the same way. ‘I hate Bonfire Night.’

His voice was hoarse and for the first time Bryony caught a glimpse of the strain he must have been under.

She gave a little frown. ‘We forget about you, Jack,’ she said softly, stepping up to him and looking at him with concern in her eyes. ‘You always seem so strong—so much the one in charge. Everyone else is panicking and flapping and you’re so calm. It’s easy to forget that you can be affected by things, too.’

‘Hey.’ He gave a sexy grin that belied the strain in his eyes. ‘I’m Mr Tough.’

She smiled. ‘Well, would Mr Tough like a cup of coffee?’

‘As I’m not driving, I’d rather finish the wine,’ he admitted ruefully, reaching for his glass. ‘Do you mind me staying?’

‘Of course not,’ she said blithely, wondering why her heart was thumping so hard. Jack had stayed in her cottage on numerous occasions. Why did this time feel different?

‘I’ll get you some stuff ready,’ she said formally, and he reached out and grabbed her arm.

‘Don’t bother. I don’t wear anything in bed anyway.’