Australian Affairs: Tempted: Tempted by Dr. Morales

CHAPTER TWO (#u8fa6a2a2-41c5-5d54-ba07-384de23cfee4)

‘HOW ARE THINGS?’ Juan came in to speak with Reece soon after he came back from ultrasound. The surgeons had examined him there and had ordered antibiotics and changed his IV regime, and Reece was now being prepared rapidly for Theatre.

‘You tell me,’ Reece said. ‘They said that appendicitis was serious in someone with my immune system.’

‘That’s why they’re starting you on all these antibiotics. We need to get you up to Theatre before it perforates,’ Juan said.

‘I shouldn’t have left it,’ Reece said. ‘I thought it was cancer.’

‘Of course you did,’ Juan said, ‘but it is an appendix flare-up nevertheless. I had a pregnant woman just last week…’ He didn’t continue, there was a lot to be done.

Cate was trying to sort out the antibiotics that the surgeons wanted. It had been incredibly tense during his ultrasound, Reece telling Amanda over and over that she should just go home. Cate had, on her way back from Ultrasound, suggested that Amanda wait in the interview room, just to have a break from the snipes from her husband.

‘Cate, can I see Reece’s IV regime?’ Juan asked, and then spoke to the patient. ‘Though you need to be operated on, I want you to have a bolus of fluids before you go up.’

He was so direct he overrode the surgeons’ IV regime with a stroke of his pen.

Juan saw Cate’s rapid blink—not many people would have changed Jeff Henderson’s plan. ‘I just spoke to him and discussed some changes,’ Juan said. ‘Reece needs to be better hydrated before he’s operated on.’

‘I bet that went down well,’ Cate said, repeating Kelly’s sentiment from a little while ago.

‘Jeff was fine.’ Juan shrugged. ‘And, like you, I really don’t care if I offend at times. This is better for the patient.’

He handed over the chart and then spoke to Reece. ‘I’m going to put another IV in you so that we can push fluids in and then I shall speak with your wife.’

‘Can you tell her that there’s no point hanging around?’

‘She’s not going to want to go home while you’re in Theatre,’ Cate pointed out as she added the medication to the flask.

‘I just don’t want her here,’ Reece snapped. ‘I don’t want to be a burden.’

‘Then stop being one,’ Cate said, and Juan’s head jerked up from the IV he was putting in. He’d heard a lot of straight talking—emergency nurses were very good at it—but hearing what Cate had to say to Reece made him falter momentarily.

‘The illness and the treatment you are on must be awful, for both of you,’ Cate continued to Reece, ‘but I can think of nothing worse than loving someone who is sick and being repeatedly told that they don’t want you there, that you’d be better off without them.’

‘I think she’d be happier—’ Reece attempted, but Cate didn’t let him finish.

‘I’m quite sure Amanda would be happier if you graciously accepted her love and affection and her need to take care of you, to help you both get through this.’

Juan headed over to the sharps box. He could feel his pulse pounding in his temples, feel the roar of blood in his ears, and, for reasons of his own, he wished he hadn’t heard that, yet he felt compelled to respond.

‘She’s right.’ Juan’s voice was husky and he cleared his throat before continuing. ‘Cate is right, Reece. If your wife didn’t want to be here for you then she’d have gone long ago.’

‘You don’t know that.’

‘Cate…’ Juan turned ‘…could you go and speak with Amanda and let her know what is happening and then bring her in?’

‘Sure,’ Cate answered. ‘Reece, are you okay with me letting her know that you have appendicitis?’

Reece nodded. Clearly Cate’s words had had an impact on him because he let out a sigh and lay back on his pillows, but as she walked out of the cubicle he met suddenly serious grey eyes. Only then did Reece realise that there was more to come.

‘Right,’ Juan said to his patient. ‘While we’ve got a moment, I’ll tell you exactly what I do know.’

By the time Cate returned from taking Reece to Theatre, the critically injured patient had been moved as well and the place was settling down. All the staff worked hard to clear the backlog and at six Juan looked up at the clock and spoke to Harry.

‘Why don’t you go home?’

She saw Harry hesitate. There were other doctors on but no one particularly senior.

Except the locum just happened to be Juan.

‘Go and have dinner with your children,’ Juan said. ‘I’m sure we’ll cope.’

Juan would more than cope.

Everyone knew it.

‘You’re sure?’ Harry checked. ‘Dr Vermont won’t get here till ten.’

‘Of course,’ Juan said. ‘Anyway, the nightclubs don’t really get going till midnight.’

Harry gave a wry smile and headed for home, and Cate did her best to avoid the six feet three of testosterone who sat and worked his way through a huge bunch of grapes between seeing patients.

Relieved that Juan wouldn’t be joining them on their night out, Cate had relented and agreed to drive her friends, but before she headed off to get ready she did have a question for Juan. He was sitting writing up his notes before handing over to Dr Vermont.

‘What did you say to Reece?’

‘Reece?’

‘The appendicitis.’

‘I’m not with you,’ Juan said, still writing his notes.

‘He was a whole lot nicer to Amanda when we came back in. He even thanked her for being there for him when I took him up to Theatre.’

‘He must have listened to what you said to him.’ Juan shrugged and Cate walked off with a slight frown. Yes, she had been direct while talking to Reece but something had happened while she’d been speaking with Amanda. She was sure of it, because they had returned to a very different man—and Cate was positive Juan had had something to do with it.

She just had no idea what.

The night staff came on duty and Cate handed over the patients, then headed to the changing rooms, where there was a fight for the mirror.

‘I thought Christine was coming?’ Kelly said. ‘She said she was a little while ago.’

‘No.’ Abby laughed. ‘When she found out Juan wasn’t coming, Christine changed her mind, of course. He’s made it obvious that he’s no longer interested—you’d think that she’d have taken the hint by now.’

Cate changed quickly, moaning that her strapless bra dug in and gave her four breasts before pulling on a black halterneck she had bought the previous weekend.

‘Is that new?’ Kelly asked as Cate pulled on a pale lilac skirt.