The Playboy Doctor's Proposal

‘Susie’s getting married?’

‘No, though I’m sure she’d be over the moon if it was her wedding. She’s being a bridesmaid to her best friend, Emily.’

‘Do you know Emily?’

‘No.’

‘So why have you been invited to her wedding?’

‘Well…’ Hannah leaned against the bed for a moment. It wasn’t often they got a quiet spell, even at 2 a.m. on a Monday morning and the break hadn’t gone on long enough to get boring yet. ‘Susie didn’t have a partner to invite and we haven’t seen each other since she jumped the ditch and came to New Zealand for Christmas. I’m starting to feel guilty about how long it’s been.’

‘It’s only March and it’s a hell of a long way to go to ease a guilty conscience. Auckland to Cairns is about a six-hour flight, isn’t it?’

‘It sure is.’ Hannah groaned. ‘And then there’s the little plane from Cairns to Crocodile Creek, which will take another couple of hours, I guess.’

‘It must be a long way north.’

‘About as far as you can get. The hospital there is the rescue base for the whole of far north Queensland. That’s why I need the Friday on top of the weekend. I have to get right into the heartland of sugar and cane toads.’

‘Eew!’

‘Actually, it’s right on the coast. It sounds gorgeous.’

‘You’ve never been there before?’

‘No, and Susie’s been living there for as long as I’ve been working here. It’s high time I checked out what my little sister is up to.’

‘I thought you were twins.’

By tacit consent, the doctor and nurse were leaving the trauma room, satisfied it was ready for a new emergency. Hopefully, they’d be back in there soon with some real work to do.

‘She’s four minutes younger than me.’

‘And she’s a physiotherapist, right?’

‘Yeah. She started medical school with me but she hated it. Too much pressure.’

‘You must be quite different.’

‘Personality-wise, definitely. To look at, no. We’re identical.’

‘Wow! Do you have, like, that twin thing?’

‘Which “twin thing” is that?’ They were near the central desk now. Ryan had disappeared, presumably into the only cubicle with a drawn curtain. The nurse on triage duty, Wayne, was sitting, drumming his fingers on the counter.

‘You know, when one twin sprains her ankle, say, here in Auckland and the other twin falls over in a supermarket in central London.’

Hannah laughed, dismissing the suggestion with a shake of her sleek head. But was it so ridiculous? Was it just that she was missing a sister who had always also been her best friend or did those niggling doubts about how happy Susie was have a basis in some form of telepathic communication? Was the urge to travel thousands of miles at a very inconvenient time to attend the wedding of two people she only knew through Susie’s emails just an excuse?

‘Apparently this wedding is going to be great fun.’ Hannah tried to find a more rational explanation for the urge she hadn’t been able to resist. ‘The groom, Mike, is Greek and his parents own a boutique hotel right in the cove. Susie reckons it’ll be the biggest party the Creek has ever seen.’

Jennifer’s peal of laughter made several heads turn.

‘What’s so funny?’ Hannah’s eye was caught by the light on the radio receiver that linked the department with the ambulance service. It was blinking.

Jennifer could hardly get the words out clearly. ‘You’re going to My Big Fat Creek Wedding!’

Grinning, Hannah still managed to beat Wayne to the microphone. ‘Emergency Department.’

‘Auckland four eight here. How do you receive?’

‘Loud and clear,’ Hannah responded, her grin fading rapidly. ‘Go ahead.’

‘We’re coming to you from the scene of a high-speed multiple MVA. The chopper’s just landing to collect a second seriously injured patient who’s currently trapped, but we’re coming to you with a status-one seven-year-old boy.’

The grin had long gone. Status one was as serious as it could get. Under CPR, not breathing or uncontrollable haemorrhage were all possibilities for the priority designation. This ambulance would be coming towards the hospital under lights and sirens.

‘Injuries?’

‘Head and facial trauma. Partially unrestrained front-seat passenger—the safety belt wasn’t latched securely.’

This wasn’t the time to feel angry at someone failing to strap a child into a car seat properly. Or to wonder why they were travelling at 2 a.m. in the first place.

‘Vital signs?’

‘GCS of 3.’

The child was profoundly unconscious. Quite possibly due to bleeding around his brain.

‘Airway?’

‘Unsecured.’ The paramedic raised his voice as the siren came on in the background. The vehicle must be in heavier traffic now. At night, just having the beacons flashing could be enough warning of the urgency of their mission. ‘There’s severe facial trauma and swelling. We’ve got an OP airway in but that’s all.’

The boy needed intubation. Securing an airway and optimising oxygen levels were a priority in a head injury. Especially in a child because they had a greater chance of neurological recovery than an adult after a head injury and therefore warranted aggressive treatment in the early stages. If the paramedics had been unable to intubate due to the level of trauma, it could mean that this was going to be a challenging case.

Hannah could feel her adrenaline levels rising and the tension was spreading. Nearby staff were all listening avidly and the curtain on cubicle 4 flicked back to reveal that Ryan was also aware of what was happening. Hannah’s heightened awareness registered the interest and at some subconscious level something like satisfaction was added to the emotional mix. She was taking this call.

This would be her case, not Ryan’s. Just the kind of case she needed to showcase the skills that would be a major consideration in choosing the new consultant for the department.

‘What’s the oxygen saturation level?’ she queried briskly.

‘Ninety-four percent.’

Too low. ‘Blood pressure?’

‘One-thirty over sixty-five. Up from one-twenty five minutes ago.’

Too high for a seven-year-old. And rising. It could well be a sign of increasing intracranial pressure.