The Doctor's Family Secret

‘I realise all that, but you came down here ages ago.’

Laura shrugged lightly. ‘That’s a matter of opinion. Anyway, the radiologist had just begun to take a series of X-rays of a rheumatoid patient from one of the afternoon clinics, when we arrived. It’s taking longer than we expected.’

‘It certainly is…much too long. We have critically ill patients in our department who need to be dealt with as quickly as possible.’

‘It’s hardly the radiologist’s fault,’ Laura pointed out mildly. ‘I’m sure she’s working as quickly as she’s able.’

‘I appreciate that,’ Nick said firmly. ‘What I’m saying is that it’s not right that our patients should have to wait at all. I’ve been saying for a long time now that we need an X-ray machine dedicated for A and E use.’

‘If it had been an outright emergency I would have intervened, of course. As it is, I expect we’ll only have to wait for a few more minutes and then Lewis can go in.’ Laura’s finely arched brows drew together. ‘You’re probably asking for too much if you’re expecting the department to get new equipment at the drop of a hat. You and I both know that funding will only stretch so far.’

His jaw tightened. ‘So your father says. I’m sure that if he put his mind to it he could bring his influence to bear. And it isn’t just the question of the X-ray machine—it’s the whole set-up in A and E, especially where children are concerned. It’s a soulless place for them to have to wait to be treated. There’s no atmosphere whatsoever, just dull, plain hospital surroundings. It’s enough to put any child off.’ He was glowering now. ‘Something needs to be done about it.’

Laura held back a faint sigh. They were back to this again, were they? She had only worked at the hospital for around three months, and in all that time she and Nick had hardly ever been able to see eye to eye on things, especially where her father was concerned.

A faint atmosphere of antagonism had sprung up between them almost from the beginning. At first she had put it down to the fact that she had been brought in to replace another doctor who had been scheduled to start work on the team. A domestic upheaval had caused the man to change his plans at the last minute and move to another area instead, and from all accounts Nick had been put out by that turn of events. He had been part of the initial interview panel, but the way things had gone, it must have seemed as though Laura had been foisted on him, and she had been a completely unknown entity.

Now, though, Laura wondered if the real thorn in Nick’s side was the fact that her father was chief administrator here at the hospital.

‘My father does what he can. He doesn’t make the decisions on his own…you know that. He has to consult with the rest of the management team.’

‘I also know that he holds a lot of sway with them and, if he wanted to badly enough, he could change things.’ He glanced down at his watch. ‘I have to get back to A and E right now, but I’ll have a word with him later on today. There are quite a few things I need to go over with him.’

The determined set of his mouth alarmed her. ‘I don’t think that’s a very good idea,’ she said hurriedly. ‘Not just at the moment. This is his first day back at work, and he’ll have a lot on his plate…’ But Nick had already turned away and was moving swiftly along the corridor.

She would have called after him, but at that moment the radiologist appeared and beckoned her into the X-ray unit.

‘Sorry to have kept you waiting,’ the woman said. ‘Do you want to come through?’

‘Thanks.’ Laura gave Lewis a bright smile. ‘Come on, then,’ she said. ‘Let’s have a look at what’s going on with your leg, shall we? As soon as we have the pictures we can decide what needs to be done to make you feel better.’

She already had some idea of what the X-rays might reveal. Lewis’s mother had brought the child into A and E, and she had explained that her son had been limping for the last week or so. Gradually, his condition had worsened, and now the limb was severely painful and it was also beginning to suppurate at the point of tenderness, although the mother was fairly sure that Lewis hadn’t banged his leg or hurt it in some way.

She had also mentioned that Lewis had been quite ill with a chest infection, and Laura believed there might be some connection.

The X-rays took a few minutes, and when they were done, Laura wheeled the little boy back along the corridor.

‘We’ll go and meet your mother in A and E,’ she told him. ‘Why don’t you have another look at your puzzles while we’re on our way? They’re fun, aren’t they?’

‘OK.’ He nodded tiredly and winced as he tried to move his leg into a more comfortable position.

Laura felt a surge of compassion for the little boy. He reminded her so much of her young nephew, although Connor was a year younger than Lewis. They both had the same mischievous features, despite the fact that Lewis’s were tinged with pain right now. She couldn’t imagine how she would feel if Connor was ill.

The sooner she could start Lewis’s treatment, the better. She had the X-rays, now all she needed were the results of the blood tests she had ordered.

Arriving at the A and E department, she pushed Lewis’s wheelchair towards a cubicle that had been set aside for paediatric patients.

Lewis looked around at the austere white-painted walls, and his eyes were wide and frightened as he stared at the lifesaving equipment nearby, but he didn’t say a word, and that worried Laura. There were no other children being treated right now, and she guessed that he must be feeling very lonely. She desperately wanted to comfort him.

‘I’ll draw the curtains around so that you can be a little more private,’ she told him gently. ‘I expect your mother will be here soon. Try not to worry, Lewis. We’ll look after you, I promise.’ She glanced at the box of puzzles in his lap and pointed a finger at a picture he had made up. ‘Goodness, it looks as though that girl’s had a real fright, doesn’t it? Her hair’s standing on end.’

‘I bet she’s seen a spider.’ Lewis giggled. ‘I’m going to make another one, with a really scary face.’

Laura smiled at him. ‘I can see you’re good at this.’

‘I take it you’ve finally finished with the X-ray department?’ A familiar deep voice came behind her and she made a faint grimace. Didn’t that just prove what she had been thinking earlier? Nick seemed to follow her everywhere. He had scarcely given her time to settle her young patient before he had appeared once more.

‘Yes, we’ve finished.’

‘What was the result?’

Laura glanced down at Lewis and saw that he was still engrossed with his puzzles. At least they were taking his mind off his troubles.

‘I need to check with the laboratory to be absolutely certain,’ she said in a low voice, ‘but I think the X-rays confirm that the original respiratory infection has travelled and is affecting the bone.’ She turned to the nurse who had come to stand alongside the bed. ‘Would you stay with Lewis for a while, please, Jenny? His mother should be back at any moment.’

The dark-haired nurse smiled. ‘Of course.’ She walked over to Lewis’s side, and said cheerfully, ‘I’m just going to make sure that you’re comfortable, sweetheart, and then I’ll take your temperature again.’

Laura moved out of the cubicle and drew the curtains behind her. Nick followed. ‘So you think it’s osteomyelitis?’ he queried.

‘I do.’

‘OK. If you’re right, you should admit him and start antibiotics. He may need surgical drainage.’

‘Yes, I know. I’d intended to start him on antibiotics straight away.’ Her green eyes flashed momentarily. Didn’t he believe that she was capable of making her own diagnosis? Why did he feel it necessary to step in with advice?

She pulled in a deep breath. There was no point in feeling resentful, was there? After all, he was in charge while the consultant was away, and he was just doing his job as he saw fit. Maybe when he got to know her better he would come to realise that she was a good doctor, and that she knew her stuff.

Frowning, he said, ‘You may find that you need to explain it carefully to the parents. They could be worried that it might mean a long spell in hospital for him.’

‘It doesn’t necessarily mean that, though, does it? He might have to take antibiotics for several weeks but, provided he shows signs of improvement after his initial stay in hospital, he could probably continue those at home.’

‘Yes, you’re right. Have you thought about analgesia?’

‘Of course. It’s obvious that he’s in pain.’ She sent him a brooding look. ‘I am capable of looking after my patients, you know.’

His eyes crinkled at the corners. ‘Sorry. It gets to be a habit, overseeing junior doctors. A lot of them are nervous when they start work in A and E. They come across things they’ve never seen before, and they need as much support as we can give them.’

His unaccustomed humility came as a surprise, and she found herself looking at him in a new light. Her gaze travelled over his strongly sculpted features, the edges softened now by wry amusement. He was a good-looking man by any standards, but when he smiled it lit up his face, and she was uncomfortably aware of his sheer maleness. She looked away. She didn’t want to find him attractive—that was the last thing on earth she wanted.

‘I appreciate that you don’t know me very well yet,’ she murmured. ‘But you can have confidence in me. I’m not going to let you down.’

‘Well, we’ll see. You wouldn’t be the first to believe that you have it all under control.’ He paused, and then added, ‘There is just one other thing that you might not have thought about. It’s possible that the parents might be feeling guilty. Perhaps that’s something you should address.’

‘Why should they feel guilty? They’ve done nothing wrong.’

‘Sometimes parents feel that they should have recognised the problem before it reached this stage. That’s something you might need to reassure them about.’

He walked away then, leaving Laura to dwell on his words. Was he right? Lewis’s mother had seemed confident enough on the surface, though now she came to think about it, the woman had been a little weepy. Laura had put that down to natural worry about her son, but there could be more to it after all.