The Unsung Hero

The smile revealed that Rick Wilson usually got what he wanted and no wonder. It was a winning smile, for sure. Confident and lazy. Softening a face of definite lines and a shadowed jaw that had ‘bad boy’ stamped all over it. Soft, dark hair that had been neatly combed into place a while back but the breeze in this outdoor setting had detached a single lock that almost touched an equally dark eyebrow. Eyes that had a hint of mischief that any woman would have trouble resisting.

Any other woman, that was.

‘I don’t think so,’ Sarah repeated, trying very hard not to put a punctuation mark between each word. She even added a smile of her own. ‘But thanks anyway.’

His smile faded. A tiny frown appeared between his eyes.

Oh…help.

As if in answer to the silent plea, there was a rustle of silk beside her and Ellie reached for one of the cans in the tub of ice.

‘For Max.’ She grinned in response to Rick’s raised eyebrows. ‘He’s got his hands full of baby at the moment.’ Then she looked from Rick to Sarah and she paused, her eyes widening.

Sarah gave her head a tiny shake. No, she hadn’t broken her promise.

‘Rick was just offering to give Josh a ride on his bike,’ she said, her tone carefully neutral.

‘Oh…’ Ellie bit her lip, giving Rick an oddly sympathetic glance. ‘Um…Josh’s mother was killed when she was a pillion passenger on her boyfriend’s bike,’ she said quietly.

Rick winced visibly. ‘Sorry.’

‘No worries. You weren’t to know.’ Sarah could see Josh approaching. ‘Here’s your juice,’ she said brightly. ‘Want something to eat as well?’

‘Nah. I’ve already had heaps. Can we go down to the beach? Max says there’s a jetty and you can go fishing.’

‘Maybe another day. We’re here for the wedding, remember? And not for too much longer, either. You don’t want to get too tired when you’re going to be starting school again this week.’

This wasn’t going well.

If it wasn’t his wedding day, he might have given Max a bit of stick for setting him up for that little disaster of offering Josh the opportunity to get maimed or worse.

He still could, if he made a joke of it, but there was something even more disturbing that needed his attention urgently.

Sarah was talking to Jet now. Smiling and nodding at something he was saying. Rick broke off the conversation he was having with some theatre nurses he knew and moved in their direction. The clock was ticking here because who knew how long it would be before she whisked Josh off home? And what if she was busy agreeing to a date or something? No. Rick could be pretty sure he was safe on that score. Jet wouldn’t go near a woman who had a child. The mere mention of babies had been enough at times for his mate to hold up crossed fingers and make a hissing sound to ward off bad voodoo.

‘We’ll have to see how it goes,’ Sarah was saying as he got close enough to hear. ‘One step at a time.’

‘Hey…’ Jet seemed happy enough to include Rick in the conversation. ‘Did you know Sarah’s a specialised ICU nurse? She’s coming back to work at Queen Mary’s next week.’

‘Just casual to start with,’ Sarah added. ‘I’m not sure how it’ll go. All depends on Josh, of course.’

‘Of course.’ Rick gave up trying to find a smooth opening line. Instead, he went for something much more mundane. ‘Our paths will be crossing. I spend quite a good percentage of my time in ICU.’

‘You’re a neurosurgeon, yes?’

‘Yes.’ This was good. Had she been asking someone about him? Even better that she would be working in that department. Given that neurosurgery was often the main specialty involved in cases like head injuries, he often spent considerable periods of time in ICU. But then he frowned.

‘Coming back? You’ve worked there before?’ Surely he would have spotted her. In the unit or the cafeteria. Even the car park, dammit. He was absolutely certain he would have noticed.

Sarah’s expression was rueful. ‘I applied for a job and got it but I never actually did a shift. That was when Josh got diagnosed.’

‘ALL?’ Jet queried.

Sarah’s nod was grim. Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia was the stuff of parental nightmares. ‘The next few months were a bit of a blur. All the invasive diagnostic tests and then induction chemotherapy. I lived in the children’s oncology unit.’

‘Good response to induction?’ It was Jet who spoke again.

Sarah shook her head this time. ‘Slow enough to be a real concern. We finally achieved remission but that was when I was told he was a candidate for an early HSCT.’

Rick was listening carefully despite being fascinated by watching Sarah’s face as she spoke. She was genuine all right. Nuances of emotion played across her features and he could feel the agony she’d been through. God help him, but he had an insane urge to wrap her into his arms and hold her close. He shook it off and focused on what she’d been saying.

HSCT. Haematopoietic stem-cell transplant. More commonly known as a bone-marrow transplant.

‘And that took you to the States?’ he asked. ‘To try and locate a donor?’

Sarah’s gaze flicked in his direction. She hesitated before responding but he couldn’t read her expression this time. It was almost as if shutters had come down but he could tell she was struggling with something. Then she looked away from both her companions, her gaze raking the small crowd now scattered throughout the garden.

Many were holding champagne glasses and some had plates, having helped themselves to a sumptuous afternoon tea from the table laden with silver, tiered stands that held everything from savouries and sandwiches to tiny cupcakes decorated with hearts. Imitating Sarah’s observation, Rick spotted Josh, who was sitting on the wide steps of the terrace beside Max, who was feeding Mattie with a bottle.

Of course. She wouldn’t want to be discussing this if Josh was within earshot.

‘We heard that didn’t work out,’ he said gently. ‘But Auckland was more successful, yes?’

‘What?’ Those dark blue eyes flashed with…what?…alarm? ‘What makes you say that?’

Rick sighed inwardly. He was only trying to be interested here. Supportive. Was she always this prickly?

‘Ellie mentioned that Josh was in hospital, that’s all. And that was why there was some doubt about whether you’d make it to the wedding. I knew you’d gone to Auckland because of another donor possibility so I was hoping that was due to a transplant happening.’

‘No.’ He could see the deep breath Sarah took. ‘He got sick. Pneumonia. A bug he probably picked up from the plane trip home.’

She was watching Josh again. Ellie had gone over to the steps and was sitting beside her brand-new husband but leaning forward, talking to Josh on his other side. Then she stood up and began walking towards Rick. He glanced at Jet but there seemed to be nothing to say to break the suddenly tense silence enclosing the three of them.

Josh’s condition was fragile. He might or might not still be in remission but even if he was, he was at risk due to his suppressed immune system that the maintenance drug regime would cause. Any bacterial, viral or fungal infection could be potentially fatal. Ellie joined the group but it didn’t relieve the tension. If anything, it went up a notch or two even before she spoke.

‘Sarah…I’m sorry but Josh isn’t feeling very well. He says he’s got a headache and he thinks he’s going to be sick.’

‘Oh, no!’ Rick saw the colour drain from Sarah’s face.

‘It could just be too many chocolate éclairs and sunshine but…’

The tiny word hung in the air. It could be an infection of some kind. It could even be a sign of a central nervous system relapse, which would not only take away the status of remission but could escalate the progression of this boy’s disease.

‘I’ll have to get him checked.’ Sarah’s eyes were bright. Too bright. Glittering with unshed tears? ‘Oh, God…We’ve only just got over the last setback. He was so desperate to stay well enough to go to school again.’

‘I’m so sorry.’ Ellie was biting her bottom lip. ‘Jet could take you into Emergency.’ She turned. ‘You’ve got a shift starting later tonight, haven’t you?’

‘Yeah.’