One Night in Emergency

She did but, given a sudden dry throat and a face a darker shade of purple, even a simple ‘yes’ was impossible at the moment and a rather unconvincing nod was the only response she could manage, putting her hand up to pull the curtain back, wanting to just get inside. But Rory had other ideas, calling her back and addressing her sharply.

‘While morphine will certainly make Miss Nugent more comfortable, it will also compromise her level of consciousness and her breathing.’ Rory’s eyes were boring into her as Eleanor stared down at her hands. ‘Now, I know it’s not ideal that I have to examine her again, and I know it must be rather annoying for you to have to walk all the way from the drug cupboard and then back again, but for the record, Sister, I’m not prepared to write up a strong injection like morphine without having first seen the patient.’

‘Mr Hunter.’ Somehow she found her voice, somehow she managed to tear her eyes from her hands and look up at him, if not into his eyes at least in general direction of his face. Uncomfortable she may be, facing him, but Rory Hunter’s biting sarcasm needed to be addressed. They mightn’t have got off to the best start the week before last, she might have come across as the worst nurse in the living memory, but his hint at laziness was unjust and unfair. ‘I have no problem with you examining Miss Nugent. In fact, I was thinking back in the drug room that had you just written up morphine for Mary, I would have refused to give it. I most certainly wouldn’t be happy giving a strong drug to a patient as sick as this one, prescribed by a doctor who hadn’t even laid eyes on her.’

‘Good,’ Rory replied crisply.

‘And the inference that I somehow resent making two trips to the drug room is unfair.’

‘Then I apologise.’

‘Oh.’ Eleanor blinked at him.

‘You seemed a bit uptight. I assumed that was the reason.’

‘Well, it wasn’t.’

‘Clearly.’ He cleared his throat. ‘Now, let’s have a look at the patient.’

Any grievances were left firmly at the cubicle’s entrance. Rory Hunter’s bedside manner was impeccable. Politely he introduced himself to Em, his huge hands gently closing around her frail wrist as he located the flickering pulse, before pulling his stethoscope out of his pocket, even rubbing the bulb to warm it before listening to her chest.

‘Can you help me sit her forward so I can listen to her back?’

They gently lifted Em forward, Eleanor talking soothingly as the old lady whimpered at the intrusion.

‘Nearly done,’ Rory soothed as they laid her back against the pillow. ‘We’ll go and get you that medicine now. You’ll soon be much more comfortable.

‘Poor thing,’ he added as they got outside. ‘How long till she gets up to a ward?’

‘I’m not sure. Mary said that the bed manager is trying to locate a bed, but the medical and geriatric wards are all supposedly full. Perhaps a few will be freed up after the ward rounds.’

‘Hopefully she’ll make it till then,’ Rory said pointedly, scanning the department with those navy eyes. ‘It looks like Mary’s tied up. I’ll go and get the keys off her and check the drug with you—the patient’s already waited long enough.’

Which was the last thing she needed, but at least it meant Em would soon be more comfortable, Eleanor consoled herself as again she found herself in the drug room with him.

‘We’ll just give her 2.5 mg for now,’ Rory said, talking aloud as he wrote up his notes. ‘If that doesn’t settle her, let me know, but she’s so tiny I’m sure it will be plenty.’

‘Sure.’

Of course, because Mary had never let her so much as touch the sacred controlled drug keys, it seemed to take for ever to work out which one to use, especially with Rory tapping his pen impatiently as she fumbled. ‘Sorry.’ Pulling out the drugs, she showed him the morphine vials. ‘Twenty ampoules, after this one nineteen.’

‘Agreed.’

Thankfully he took it from her to pull it up, so at least Eleanor was spared the indignity of getting a thin needle into tiny ampoule with a hand that wouldn’t stop shaking.

As Rory pulled up the drug, Eleanor filled in the drug book, carefully writing in the patient details and the amount of morphine to be both given and wasted before signing her name.

‘All done?’ he checked.

‘I just need your signature.’

‘Sure.’ She waited as he signed, stood with keys poised, ready to close the cupboard once he’d finished with the drug book, but Rory seemed to be taking an inordinate amount of time to sign his name.

‘Is everything all right?’ Eleanor asked anxiously.

‘Fine.’ With a flurry he signed his name then waited patiently while she locked up. ‘Sister Lewis.’ His lips twitched around the words and Eleanor stood frozen as he continued with a grin, ‘So that’s the reason you were so uptight.’

‘Obviously,’ Eleanor muttered through gritted teeth, the drug room seeming to implode on them as Rory started to laugh.

‘It was you who…’

‘Shaved you? Yes! Charged you ten dollars for crutches? Yes!’ Eleanor answered hotly. ‘I can’t believe you’ve only just recognised me.’

‘I recognised your name,’ Rory corrected, still laughing as her blush deepened. ‘Sister Lewis. And before you assume I was blind drunk last week, I wasn’t.’

‘I beg to differ,’ Eleanor scoffed. ‘You could barely focus! You didn’t even recognise me this morning!’

‘Oh, I’m sure I’d have remembered that face.’ Rory grinned. ‘But the simple fact of the matter is I lost my contact lenses in the accident. And if you don’t believe me, wait till you work a Saturday night with me and half the department’s scrabbling around the floor because I’ve lost a lens. I really can’t see beyond my nose without them.’

‘You’d lost your contact lenses?’

‘I’m as blind as a bat without them,’ Rory explained, his smile fading as he registered the tense look on her face. ‘Are you all right, Eleanor?’

‘Shouldn’t I be asking you that?’ Eleanor bristled. ‘Given that you were the patient I mistreated.’

‘You didn’t mistreat me,’ Rory said slowly, a frown marring his forehead as he eyed her thoughtfully. ‘You were very—’

‘Efficient,’ Eleanor finished for him. ‘You already said.’

‘Hey, Eleanor, you really are upset, aren’t you?’

‘Oh, what do you care?’ Eleanor snapped, then, remembering Rory was a consultant and she a very new nurse, she gave her head a small shake, running a worried hand across her forehead before dragging her eyes up to his. ‘I’m sorry. Sorry for snapping just now and I’m sorry about the other night.’

‘Forget it.’ Rory shrugged. ‘Look, I never meant to upset you.’

‘Then why did you…?’ Tears were brimming now, angry, hurt tears, a whole week of humiliation rearing to the surface now. ‘Why didn’t you tell me you were the consultant of the department? Why on earth did you let me make such a fool of myself?’

He never got a chance to answer, the door opening and Mary bustling in. ‘There you both are.’ Taking the kidney dish with the drug in it, she gave Eleanor a wink. ‘You took so long I thought you must be shaving the other thigh.’

‘Mary.’ Rory’s voice was stern. ‘That’s enough about that. Eleanor’s upset enough, without having everyone constantly going on about it.’

‘Well, you should have thought of that,’ Mary scolded with another wink, flying out the door, ‘before you let some pretty young blonde thing shave your leg.’

Left alone Eleanor gave a brittle smile, as Rory stood there grim-faced.

‘Well, I guess Mary just answered my question.’

Without waiting for his response, she turned on her heel, pulling hard on the metal handle and escaping into the corridor, her mind pounding as she raced to catch Mary.