Healed By Her Army Doc

* * *

Kate did her best to concentrate on cooking the chicken breasts in lemon and capers that was one of Alice’s favourite dinners, but she’d made it so often it couldn’t distract her enough.

Why wasn’t Angus wearing a wedding ring?

Hadn’t he gone to the island to check it out as a place for his and Michelle’s honeymoon?

They’d joked on that terribly rough boat trip that they were both on pretend honeymoons, talking to take their minds off the wild seas.

And the cyclone hadn’t even been close at that stage. It was only two days later it changed direction—as cyclones so often do—and headed straight for the island.

Maybe army personnel didn’t wear wedding rings, she decided. Some kind of safety thing? Could a light flashing off a gold or silver ring tell a sniper where to shoot?

Kate shook her head as she turned the capers in the frying pan, crisping them nicely. Think about the capers, not have ridiculous thoughts about snipers. Angus had been based in Townsville, anyway, and she doubted he’d have been bothered by snipers there.

Angus.

‘You burning those capers, Kate?’

Surely not! She looked down at the pan, forcing her mind away from the man who’d come back so unexpectedly—shockingly, really—into her life.

‘No, but you like them crisp. Nearly ready!’

She put the thin slices of chicken breast back into the pan, with the lemon juice and zest, swirled it around, then served them onto the waiting plates. The bowl of salad was already on the table, and Alice joined her there as she set down the plates.

They ate in silence for a few minutes, savouring the tasty food, but Kate could hear the wheels turning in Alice’s head as she decided how to phrase the question Kate knew she would ask.

Except she didn’t ask a question, instead issuing a statement.

‘So that was the man who caused you all the trouble!’

Kate shrugged.

‘He wasn’t to blame for anything,’ she said quietly.

‘Oh, so you got pregnant all by yourself?’

Kate pushed her plate away and looked at her aunt. Great-aunt really, but they’d never made the distinction. She’d been closer to Alice than she had to her mother, had learnt more about life and the way the world worked on those holidays on the island than she’d ever learnt at home or at school.

‘The getting-pregnant part was definitely my fault,’ Kate admitted. ‘I’d been on the Pill so didn’t give a thought to the fact that I hadn’t been in my room for three days during the height of the storm, which meant I hadn’t been taking it. Stupid, I know, but it had been a tense time with so little sleep, and the relief of finally getting the injured and the majority of the upset tourists off the island had overwhelmed us both.’

She paused, then looked up to meet Alice’s eyes.

‘It was survivor sex, if that makes sense, yet...’

‘It was more than that?’ Alice asked gently.

Kate nodded.

‘It seemed that way,’ she murmured, a little of the remembered passion sparking to life inside her. ‘We’d been through so much together, it was as if we had a...bond, I suppose, is the only way to describe it. A special bond.’

‘Didn’t you tell him you were pregnant, get in touch with him?’

Kate shuddered as she remembered the anguish of those early days.

‘How could I? I’d done exactly what my best friend had done—slept with someone else’s fiancé—and that had broken up my marriage plans. Should I break up his as well?’

She sighed.

‘In the end, I knew it wasn’t right to not tell him so I kind of left it up to him. I sent him a note, care of the base in Townsville, just asking if he’d like to give me a call—gave him my number. I never heard anything after that, which, I think, given all that happened, was for the best, don’t you?’

Alice shook her head.

* * *

Angus made his way back towards the hospital where he’d left his car, his left hand in his pocket, fingering the card Blake had given him.

Some impulse made him stop and look around at the dark water of the ocean disappearing into the night, at the sand, patterned in shadows by the street lights on the esplanade. He breathed deeply, drawing in the salty tang of the air that only existed this close to the beach.

He was a free agent at the moment, at the beginning of an untimed trip to talk to groups like Bondi Bayside’s SDR all over Australia. He’d started here because it was closest to his army base, intending to find a hotel in Sydney to use while he covered the other response teams and government officials he needed to see. But wasn’t that a hotel? Just across the road from the apartments? Bondi wasn’t so far out of Sydney city that he couldn’t base himself here for the local appointments.

He pulled out Blake’s card and phoned him, inordinately pleased when Blake said he was only too happy to take him on their next callout. Another reason to stay in Bondi!

‘So you can see how our system works,’ Blake had added, causing a small twinge of guilt in Angus’s gut. ‘I’ll give Mabel your mobile number. We meet at the chopper on the roof of the hospital. Check in at Reception if you get a call. I’ll leave instructions for them to give you a special visitor’s card that will give you access to the elevator, and allow you to go up to the roof.’

It was only when this was organised that Angus realised Kate might not be on the next SDR callout, but she was here, in Bondi, he’d seen her, and he had no intention of leaving until he’d seen her again. Seen her properly! If he didn’t catch up with her this way, he’d have to think of something else.

Why?

The question struck him as he was about to turn away from the beach, and he couldn’t brush it away.

Was it simply determination to find out why, according to the little he’d heard, she’d changed from a lively, friendly, outgoing young woman to a loner? Back then, he’d seen the shadows of sadness in her eyes, but she’d talked and laughed and even joked about her solitary honeymoon—been vibrantly alive...

Or was it because she’d somehow got beneath his skin three years ago?

Because something special, quite apart from the sex, which had been momentous, had happened between them on the island? Something had drawn them together during those terrifying hours in a way he’d never felt before?

Or since, come to that.

Until she’d walked into the SDR meeting earlier today.

Until he’d felt a surge of excitement—electrifying excitement—rush through his body...

Okay, so maybe there was more reason for him to see her again, than to find out what had changed her...

He walked back to the hospital, retrieved his vehicle from the car park and headed to the hotel, telling himself he was being foolish yet unable to persuade himself to move on. He had to see the leaders of the State Emergency Service and the Fire and Rescue Service. He’d chosen Bondi Bayside Hospital as his starting point because he’d known Blake was there, but he’d begin phoning other services in the morning, make appointments, arrange meetings. There was plenty to keep him in Sydney.

* * *

Kate was almost pleased when the phone rang in the early hours of the morning. She’d been tossing and turning all night, her sleep disturbed by memories of the island, of the fury of the cyclone, of fear...

Of Angus.

‘Yes, Mabel,’ she answered, knowing from the ring tone it was their SDR co-ordinator. As usual, Mabel wasted no time on pleasantries.

‘RTA at a crossroads in a farming community north-west of Sydney. Road train, fortunately on its way to collect cattle, hit a car, number of passengers unknown. Blake will keep you posted as he hears more.’

Kate was pulling on her SDR overalls as she thought about the accident—road trains consisted of the huge prime mover with three double-decker trailers hooked on behind. Stopping one suddenly would be almost impossible. Although easier without the cattle...

She laced up her boots so she didn’t trip as she hurried back to the hospital. Their other gear was kept in a shed on the hospital roof—helmets with headlamps and communication equipment, safety vests and the big backpacks that carried both basic first-aid and life-saving, equipment.

In a little over ten minutes she was on the hospital roof, joining the others as they snapped on protective vests, fitted their helmets and clambered on board.

Where a large man, similarly dressed, was sitting in what she thought of as ‘her’ seat.

Angus!

‘What are you doing here?’ she demanded, tasking the empty seat next to him and strapping herself in. ‘We won’t need your tent.’

He grinned at her, which caused a flood of unwanted reactions.

‘Just wanted to see how the other half do it,’ he said, and she shoved away her personal issues and shuddered as she thought of the emergencies that army medical response teams must answer. She’d seen her share of torn and damaged bodies cut from vehicle wrecks, but bodies mangled by unexpected bombs?

‘Do you still do it?’ she asked, as the rest of the crew settled themselves, desperate to keep things on a professional level.

He shook his head.

‘Not for a while—not after the last trip.’

And something in the way he spoke told her it had been horrific. Her hand moved towards his knee then quickly retreated, although her heart ached that this was how it had to be between them.

He was obviously having no trouble with professional distance, continuing to explain his situation.

‘I’m strictly home based for the moment. My last overseas posting was when I got back from the island—within a day, in fact.’

So maybe he’d never received the note she’d sent.

And why that brought a sudden blip of pleasure she didn’t know.

Relief she’d have understood, but pleasure?

Because it meant he hadn’t ignored it completely, you idiot, she told herself, then conversation ceased as Blake checked who was on board and the aircraft took off.

They lifted into the air, the engines settled into their customary throb, and Blake began to fill them in on what lay ahead.

‘Country crossroad, no lights or signals but a stop sign for traffic in the minor road, and clear views both ways along the major road.’

‘It’s still dark enough for the road train to have had its lights on. It would have been hard to miss it,’ Paul, one of the paramedics, remarked.

‘Not our problem,’ Blake reminded the speaker. ‘The hows and whys are up to the police and the coroner, our job is to treat the injured. Unknown number of people in the car, which was still being extricated from the prime mover when Mabel called, then the driver of the big rig.’

‘Do we know if he was carrying a passenger—his wife, or a relief driver perhaps?’ someone asked, and Blake shook his head.

‘The local police, fire and ambulance services will all be at the scene by the time we get there. There’s a very small town with a district hospital nearby but it hasn’t the facilities to handle anything serious so we’ll probably be flying anyone badly injured back with us. Paul, I want you on triage. We’ve got an extra doc with us in Angus, the fellow some of you met the other day.’

Several heads turned to nod at Angus, while Blake, briefing over, walked forward to stand behind the pilot and air crewman so he’d see the scene from above.

‘He doesn’t waste words, does he?’ Angus said, twisting his mike away from his face so he could talk to Kate.

‘We all know the routine. Right now, he’ll want to check out the terrain and see where the best place for us to set up might be. The helicopter usually puts down some distance away so people on the ground aren’t affected by downdraught. We cart all our stuff to the scene in the backpacks. The ambulance on site will have its monitoring equipment already set up but in a small country town there’s likely to only be one ambulance so they need us as well.’

Was she relaxing as she talked to him?

Angus hoped so.

If he wanted to find out what had gone on in her life to change her so much, then he needed to get close to her.

And was figuring out her life over the past three years the only reason he wanted to be close to her?

Honesty forced him to admit it wasn’t.

Since the seemingly endless hours they’d spent together, keeping the resort guests safe and relaxed—not to mention the night in the only dry bed on the island after the cyclone had passed—Kate had regularly sneaked into his thoughts.

Try as he might to forget her, an image of her would suddenly appear in his head, and at times she’d filled his daydreams and haunted his nights.

Even on that last traumatic posting in South-East Asia, where he’d been treating refugees, men, women and children, fleeing their country, their homes blazing behind them, and their attackers shooting at them as they fled to the nearest border to escape. Even there he’d thought of Kate far more than he’d thought of Michelle.

And his fiancée had undoubtedly picked up on this to have broken off their engagement within days of his return.

Although telling her about Kate—about that one night of intimacy—had probably had something to do with it as well...

And now, even through the layers of clothing they both wore, he could feel the warmth of Kate’s body at his side—feel a rightness in it—as if they belonged.

Kate...

CHAPTER TWO

THE CLUSTER OF strobing lights from the emergency vehicles told them they were close, although inside the cabin of the chopper all they could see were the blue and red flashes.

They put down outside the circle of light and, each grabbing a backpack, jogged closer to the scene.

‘We’re still cutting the vehicle free,’ a policeman told them. ‘The road train driver’s been removed. He’s in that ambulance over there.’ He pointed, before adding, ‘You might take a look at him. He’s in a bad way.’

Blake nodded to Kate, who headed for the ambulance, disconcerted but somehow not surprised when Angus followed her.

An ambo was using a bag mask ventilator on the driver, while his fellow attendant stuck ECG leads to the man.

‘GCS?’ Kate asked, referring to the Glasgow Coma Scale that measured how responsive their patient was.

‘Fourteen when we got here, but he’s in and out of consciousness.’

‘Coupcontrecoup injury,’ Kate murmured to herself as her mind pictured the scenario. The powerful rig powering through the night, then the car right there. The driver would have slammed on his brakes, and his body, held in place by a seat belt, would have stopped abruptly. But his head?

She knelt and spoke to the patient, glad to hear a response. She introduced herself and Angus, learning the patient’s name was Mike.

All good so far.

‘Can you remember what happened, Mike?’ she asked.

‘The car came flying towards the crossing, I tried to stop.’

Kate nodded, but wondered just how quickly he had stopped and whether the deceleration had caused his brain to jolt forward into the front of the skull then virtually bounce back to hit the rear.

The action could result in a serious brain injury but scanning it here would be a waste of time when it would have to be done more precisely at the hospital—and as soon as possible.

‘Are you in any pain?’

‘Gut hurts, and headache. The guys gave me something.’

Which probably explained why he was woozy.

‘His blood pressure is dropping,’ the paramedic said, nodding towards the monitor.

Kate checked the fluid line already feeding into a vein in the man’s hand, then took in the abrasions to his neck and chest.

‘Seat-belt syndrome,’ she said to Angus, pointing out how deep the indentations were. ‘With a shoulder-lap seat belt the shoulder strap took the brunt of the force. That could cause damage to the carotid. Could you check his distal pulse?’

She studied the monitor for a moment. Blood oximetry was fine, and when Angus felt a pulse in Mike’s wrist, she was reassured that any loss of blood was not life-threatening.

Yet.

She examined his chest, and felt the ribs under the seat belt, but there was no palpable damage.

‘Would the big rig slow for the crossing, do you know?’ she asked the ambos.

They both shook their heads, but one said, ‘I wouldn’t think so. The place is usually deserted at night.’

‘So a high-speed collision, rapid deceleration, possible internal injuries including damage to carotid artery.’ She checked the fluid line again then poked her head outside the ambulance.

Paul was standing nearby.

‘Possible internal bleeding from damage to the carotid. Can we lift him immediately?’ she asked.

Blake, who was over to one side, watching as the car was extricated, came across, took in the information the monitor was now offering and hesitated.

‘It’s unlikely anyone in the car survived, but if they did, he or she will be seriously injured and will need immediate transport. We can work on them on the flight. Can you hold him a little longer?’

Kate nodded.

‘We’ll need to keep up the fluids and open up a bigger port in case he needs a rapid infusion,’ she said to Angus as Blake hurried away.

‘IO?’ Angus suggested, but Kate already had the intraosseus pack in her hand and was holding the drill that would insert a needle into the bone marrow, while the ambo, who’d kept up with the exchange, was cutting their patient’s shirt and opening it up.

‘Here, let me,’ Angus said, taking the drill from her as she used a sterile wipe to clean the site on the man’s unaffected shoulder, at the head of the humerus. ‘We use this more often than not in field situations,’ Angus assured her, ‘and I promise I’ve never once drilled right through the bone.’

Kate had to smile. It was always a worry, although the devices they used now for IO infusion were very sophisticated. With this access, they could deliver anticoagulant drugs to ward off a possible stroke and add high-volume drugs should the patient go into cardiac arrest.

Kate administered a local anaesthetic and watched as Angus drilled, then inserted a wide-bore cannula.

Working together, they set up a fluid line to keep the port open, and, while Angus watched for any change in their patient’s condition, Kate continued her examination. The seat belt had left abrasions across the driver’s chest and lap, and the depth and severity of them told her how violent the impact had been. Once in hospital, there’d be scans that would show the extent of the damage to the chest and abdomen.

Yet, even with possibly serious injuries, he was luckier than the people in the car. It had been dislodged from under the prime mover, and the damage told a grim story even before the firies started cutting out the bodies. Two people, driver and passenger, and neither had survived, which dampened the spirits of the SDR crew as they flew home with the rig driver.

Kate did the handover in one of the resus rooms in the ED, hoping they’d got the man to the hospital quickly enough to be saved, although she couldn’t help wondering whether, if they’d flown him out earlier, his chances would have been better.

‘You only do what you can,’ came a voice from behind her as she left the hospital.

She knew before she turned that it was Angus.

‘I’ll walk you home,’ he said, and because she was tired, not to mention doubtful about the outcome for her patient, she was hardly gracious.

‘It’s two blocks and broad daylight, I don’t need to be walked home.’

‘Ah, but my hotel is just across the road from your apartment building, and I might have been suggesting it because I needed to be walked home, only asking you to walk me home might have seemed a bit unmanly.’

Worried as she was, Kate had to smile. She turned to face him, taking in his height and breadth, and the aura of strength that hung around him, contrasting sharply with the gentleness in his dark eyes.

‘Unmanly?’ she echoed. ‘That’s not an assumption many people would make!’

He held out his arm, crooked at the elbow.

‘So, shall we walk each other home?’ he said, and somewhere deep inside a little bit of the Kate she used to be began to unfurl, like the petal on a tight rosebud. She slipped her hand inside his arm, telling herself it was just a friendly gesture, except that he cheated and turned his hand to grasp hers, linking them even closer together.

She should protest.

Move away!

But walking like this with Angus was warming places that had been cold for a very long time. Was it so very wrong to be enjoying it?

Well, probably, yes, given the secret she held so tightly in her heart.

But he’d be gone tomorrow, back to his own life, and she’d be back at work in Theatre and studying after hours, with exams drawing closer, so how could this little bit of closeness hurt?

He gave her hand a squeeze and because this was just for now, she squeezed back.

She pulled away from him as they reached the apartment block, intending to say a cool goodbye, but he caught her hand again, turning so he was facing her.

‘Can I see you again?’

She shook her head.

‘I don’t think that’s a good idea.’

He looked puzzled so, although he hadn’t asked why not, she added, ‘You’re married, aren’t you? You and Michelle? After all, that was what you went to island for—checking it out for a honeymoon.’

He smiled.

‘I’d forgotten that’s why I’d gone to the island—well, I hadn’t thought about it for a while. No, we didn’t marry.’

She waited, not wanting to ask why but aware he had more to say.

‘She broke it off. I’d been away, came back changed, she said. And she was probably right. I felt different, less certain of things, not only between us but about life in general.’

Because of what had happened between us? Kate wondered, guilt biting deep inside her.

But before she could say anything, Angus was speaking again.

‘And it didn’t help telling her about you—about what had happened on the island.’

‘You told her about the island? About the night we spent together? Oh, Angus, why on earth would you do that? It was one night. We were in another world—we knew it didn’t mean anything but relief, or celebration, or something. I can’t—’ She looked up into his face as she said it, and saw that he still disagreed.

And understood.

His integrity would have insisted he tell, while she, Kate, had held onto her own secret, although it hadn’t really been a secret until Angus had reappeared in her life.

And telling now? Wouldn’t he feel the pain she’d felt? Those endless, sleepless nights and empty aching arms? Did he deserve that?

She shook away the thoughts and tried to ignore the cold, hard lump inside her.

‘I need some sleep,’ she said, and turned away from him, although she knew sleep would be impossible.

She made her way up to the apartment in a daze, ate some cereal—soggy—and toast—cold—and tried to pretend it had been just another callout.

‘I’m sorry about the breakfast but I always get it ready when I hear the helicopter land,’ Alice was explaining. ‘Did you have a lot to do when you got back that you were late?’

Kate shook her head. The driver of the road train would have had a battery of tests and was probably getting appropriate treatment right now.

And the two young people, their lives cut short, were being taken by road transport to the nearest hospital.

‘Bad, was it?’ Alice asked, guessing from her silence that things hadn’t gone well.

‘Just about as bad as it gets,’ Kate said, and then, knowing Alice would see or hear a report on a news broadcast, she added, ‘It was a road train against a small car and the two young people in the car were killed.’

‘That’s shocking,’ Alice said. ‘So dreadful for their families.’

She paused, then added, ‘But surely we should always take something from these terrible things—from such waste of life. Shouldn’t it make us think about our own lives?’