Christmas on the Children's Ward Read online

  ‘What about your flatmate, Jim?’ he asked. ‘What’s he doing for Christmas?’

  ‘He’s going to Queensland for the Christmas break. Actually, he’s been trying to persuade me to come with him and his friend. Maybe I should tell Donna that I’m going to be away and take him up on it. ‘

  ‘Maybe you should.’

  Eden pulled a face. ‘I don’t think so. There’s only so much damage one’s liver can take. As much beer and barbequed prawns as you can stomach isn’t really my idea of Christmas.’

  ‘You can’t be on your own.’ Nick shook his head, but Eden just gave a wry smile.

  ‘Believe me, Nick, I’d rather be. I’ve already had about three invites for Christmas dinner from my guilty colleagues…’

  ‘And?’

  ‘Timmy may only be two…’ Eden rolled her eyes ‘…but he’s an absolute monster. And as much as I adore Conner, I see enough kids’ tantrums in a day’s work…’ She gave a small shrug. ‘You get the picture!’

  ‘I do.’ Nick grinned back. And it was funny, Eden mused, that even after a year of relative silence they could slip back so easily into their own shorthand, pick up on the tiny vibes without explanation. ‘And I suppose the fact that Becky’s also a strict vegan had nothing to do with it.’

  ‘Caught.’ Eden managed a weak smile. ‘I guess if I want my turkey and ham, I’ll have to cook it myself.’

  ‘There’s always the canteen.’

  The look Eden shot him wasn’t particularly friendly but Nick merely roared with laughter. ‘It will probably be in the high thirties,’ Nick pointed out. ‘The last thing you’ll want is a huge roast.’

  ‘Wrong.’ Eden pouted. ‘I love Christmas dinner, pudding, mince pies…’ She closed her eyes for an indulgent second, imagining her parents’ dining room at home, the air-conditioning on full blast as the table groaned under the weight of ham and turkey, roast pork, little sausages wrapped in bacon and mountains of Christmas crackers with their cheesy presents and even cheesier jokes. But Nick threw a bucket of water over her fantasy.

  ‘Well, if it makes you feel any better, I’d love to have your problem. I’ve practically begged to work this Christmas but the powers that be have decided, given my circumstances, that they know best, and that what I really need is a nice little break over the festive season with my family.’ Nick’s low groan told Eden that it was the last place he wanted to be, and she blinked at him in bewilderment.

  ‘But it’s Christmas!’ she said, and it should have been explanation enough, but as Nick just grimaced, Eden let out a wail of indignation. ‘It’s Christmas,’ she said again. ‘How could you not want to spend it with them? I thought you adored your family?’

  ‘I do.’ Nick rolled his eyes. ‘And they adore me, so much so that they want to see me happy, which I am, of course, but they beg to differ. Happy to them means…’

  ‘You can say it, Nick.’ Eden smiled.

  ‘OK.’ He took a deep theatrical breath. ‘They want to see me in a relationship!’

  ‘I thought you were.’ Eden blinked innocently. ‘With Shelly from Emergency—oh, no, sorry, I meant Phoebe from ICU.’ Another blink, a tiny frown as she tried to place a name, and she heard Nick’s intake of breath as he realised she was teasing him. ‘What about that intern—oh, what is her name…?’ She clicked her fingers a couple of times as Nick actually managed a small blush. ‘Tanya, that’s the one. Whatever happened to her?’

  She already knew the answer! Nick’s initial devastation at Teaghan’s death had slowly been replaced by a curious arrogance as he’d headed off the rails, his undeniable charm working its way around the hospital and leaving devastation in its wake. But even though it was considered almost an insult not to have been dated by Nick during the last twelve months, not once had Nick attempted to cross the line with Eden. And even though she valued what was left of his friendship, even though the last thing she wanted was to be another of his conquests, Nick’s indifference to her on the romantic front was breaking Eden’s heart.

  ‘Tanya and I are just friends,’ Nick said. ‘You’re reading far too much into it.”

  ‘We’re just friends, Nick.’ Draining her coffee-cup, trying not to show just how much that admission hurt, Eden stood up. ‘Or we used to be.’

  ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ Nick asked, but Eden just shrugged.

  ‘Nothing.’

  ‘It didn’t sound like nothing. What did you mean?’

  ‘Just that things have changed lately,’ Eden admitted. ‘Sometimes I feel as if I hardly know you any more.’

  ‘You’re being daft.’ Nick grinned.

  ‘Perhaps I am, but take it from me, what Tanya feels isn’t merely friendly, so tread carefully. Anyway, enough already about your love life, Nick. I’d better get back out there. I can hear the meal trolley coming and I’ve a feeling someone’s about to kick up a fuss when they find out I swapped her order.’

  ‘Priscilla?’ Nick checked almost needlessly, referring to a nine-year-old with a penchant for chicken nuggets. ‘I’m going to have to speak to her mother again.’

  ‘Well, tread carefully,’ Eden warned. ‘Remember that she’s a high-profile lawyer.’

  ‘So maybe she’ll appreciate some straight talking,’ Nick countered. ‘Hell, we’re so bogged down in politically correct jargon these days, so terrified of being sued, it’s a wonder anything useful gets done in this place; Priscilla’s a great kid, but unless someone spells it out to Rose, unless someone actually sits that woman down and tells her to stop feeding her kid rubbish, we may as well send her daughter home with a packet of cholesterol-lowering pills and a post-dated referral to a psychologist to deal with the issues of bullying.’

  Eden shot him a worried look but, as politically incorrect as Nick could be at times, more often than not his straight talking hit the nail on the head.

  ‘The other kids are starting to tease her.’

  ‘If I were nine, I’d tease her,’ Nick moaned, and thankfully he wasn’t looking so he didn’t see a tiny smile flash on her lips as she pictured Nick Watson as a cheeky blond nine-year-old. ‘What the hell is Rose doing, calling her Princess in front of the other kids?’

  ‘It’s her pet name.’

  ‘Then she should save it for home. Are you going to do it?’ Nick added as she headed for the door. ‘Work Christmas, I mean?’

  ‘It looks that way,’ Eden sighed.

  ‘You need a baby of your own,’ Nick said with another grin, and Eden gave a wry smile back.

  ‘It’s probably the only way I can guarantee getting next Christmas off—I’d better step on it.’

  ‘You’d better,’ Nick responded dryly. ‘Given that they take nine months…’

  ‘I was referring to work, Nick,’ Eden said.

  CHAPTER TWO

  PRISCILLA, or Princess as her mother called her, was in for investigation into her recurrent constipation and abdominal pain, which had culminated in many trips to her local GP and a lot of absences from school. As a private patient, initially her mother had demanded a single room for her daughter, but thankfully Nick had been able to persuade Rose that her daughter would benefit from being among her peers, and after a rather prolonged negotiation Rose had finally agreed.

  Even though she was in a public ward, Priscilla still demanded private patient attention, pressing the call bell incessantly, complaining loudly about the food and the lack of her own television—to the amusement of her fellow patients, who were starting to tease the little girl and calling her by her nickname of Princess, though not in the affectionate way her mother delivered it.

  As annoying as Priscilla could be, as demanding as she was, despite the other nurses’ grumbles when allocated to look after her, Eden actually enjoyed looking after the spoilt little girl. Fiercely intelligent, she had a wry sense of humour. Very pretty, she was also very overweight and had her exhausted working single mother wrapped around her rather podgy little fingers. She was completely used to gettin
g her own way—and quickly, please! Since she’d discovered that the call bell by her bed summoned attention quickly, Priscilla was abusing it to the max, despite the fact she wasn’t on bed rest. However, before Eden again explained that fact, first she had to be sure that there was nothing wrong with the little girl.

  ‘What’s the problem, Priscilla?’ Eden asked, smiling as she made her way over to the bed.

  ‘This isn’t the dinner I ordered.’ Frowning down at her plate, Priscilla stabbed at a defenceless piece of roast chicken and vegetables. ‘Mummy ticked the chicken nuggets for me—look.’ She held out the menu card for Eden, but Eden didn’t need to read it to know what was on it.

  ‘You had nuggets for dinner last night,’ Eden explained patiently, ‘and the previous night as well.’

  ‘Because I like nuggets.’

  ‘Do you remember that Dr Nick said you were to have more variety in your diet? Well, instead of having chicken nuggets, why not try having some roast chicken and some of the lovely vegetables?’

  ‘I don’t like vegetables.’ Priscilla pouted, her bottom lip wobbling, tears filling her big blue eyes, and Eden was grateful that Priscilla’s mother wasn’t there because it was at about this point that Priscilla was used to adults giving in. But Eden stood her ground, undoing the little pack of fruit juice and pouring some out for Priscilla.

  ‘When Mummy comes I’ll tell her to go and get me some nuggets from the take-away.’

  ‘You’re going to turn into a nugget one of these days.’ Nick was there, ruffling Priscilla’s hair, grinning broadly and completely ignoring her tears. ‘I told Eden that you were going to eat some veggies for me tonight, Priscilla. Now, you’re not going to make me look silly, are you?’

  ‘I hate veggies,’ Priscilla snarled, slamming down her knife and fork with a clatter that alerted her fellow patients to the start of yet another of Priscilla’s rather too frequent dramas.

  ‘Come on Princess, eat your veggies,’ Rory, a cheeky ten-year-old with his leg in traction, called out.

  ‘Yeah, come on, Princess,’ Declan, a five-year-old post-tonsillectomy patient chimed in.

  ‘Cut it out, guys,’ Eden warned, pulling the curtains and shutting out the delighted audience while Nick stood firm with his patient.

  ‘Roast chicken and vegetables are what’s for dinner tonight—’ He didn’t finish. Priscilla’s meal tray crashing loudly to the floor, courtesy of a flash of temper, interrupted the conversation. Her angry face stared defiantly at both Eden and Nick, awaiting their reaction as a few cheers erupted from the other side of the curtains.

  ‘Whoops,’ Nick said calmly, which clearly wasn’t the reaction Priscilla had been expecting. Her angry face puckered into a frown, her expression changing from fury to utter indignation as Nick calmly continued talking. ‘Not to worry. Accidents happen. Eden can ring down to the canteen and order you another dinner.’

  The tears started again, angry furious tears, her pretty face purple with rage.

  ‘Do you need a hand?’ Becky asked, arriving with the mop and bucket as Eden picked the remains of the meal off the floor. ‘Her mother has just arrived,’ she added in a low tone to Nick as she bent down to help Eden.

  ‘What’s going on?’ Rose Tarrington clipped into the ward on smart high heels, her petite frame in an expensive chocolate brown suit, well made-up eyes frowning as she pulled open the curtains and surveyed the mess.

  ‘Priscilla knocked over her dinner,’ Nick responded calmly. ‘Sister’s just going to order her another one.’

  ‘But she won’t eat that.’ Rose pointed a manicured finger at the messy remains. ‘I know you want her to have some variety, but you can hardly expect her to suddenly start eating roast meat and vegetables overnight!’

  ‘The other children are,’ Nick broke in, staring around the ward at the other three children, all eating their dinners.

  ‘Look, Princess.’ Rose made her way over to her daughter’s bedside and cuddled the distraught child. ‘Why don’t you do as the doctor and nurses say? Eat your dinner and then, if you do, I’ll go over the road and get you some ice cream.’

  ‘Could I have a word at the nurses’ station, please, Ms Tarrington?’ Nick broke in, and Eden watched as the woman stiffened.

  ‘I’m just talking to my daughter.’

  ‘It won’t take long.’ Nick’s voice was even but it had a certain ring to it that told everyone present he wasn’t about to take no for an answer.

  ‘Becky can stay with Priscilla,’ Nick instructed. ‘Eden, would you mind joining us, please?’

  Eden rather wished he’d allocated her to clean up the mess and sort out Priscilla. A nine-year-old throwing a tantrum she could deal with blindfolded, but a brutal dose of honesty, as only Nick could deliver it, wasn’t going to be particularly pleasant, though it was called for.

  The endless talks with the nursing staff, doctors and dieticians clearly hadn’t made the slightest bit of difference to Rose or Priscilla’s behaviour and now, Eden guessed as she followed Nick to the nurses’ station, the kid gloves were off. Nick’s only priority was his patients.

  ‘Have a seat.’ Nick gestured to the tense woman, barely waiting till she was seated before diving in.

  ‘I’ve asked Sister Hadley to sit in so that we can all be on the same page,’ Nick explained. ‘For Priscilla’s sake, we all need to be taking the same approach.

  ‘We don’t seem to be getting very far, do we, Rose?’ Nick started softly, but Rose Tarrington clearly wasn’t in any mood for a gentle lead-in. Brittle and defensive, she stared angrily back at Nick.

  ‘Perhaps if you stopped focussing on my daughter’s diet and found out just what the hell the problem is with her stomach, we’d start to make some progress. Priscilla’s been in here a week now and apart from a few blood tests and an X-ray, she’s had nothing done for her.’ Rose’s hands clenched in frustration, her legs tightly crossed. She was the complete opposite to Nick, who sat relaxed and open in the chair opposite. ‘Oh, and an ultrasound,’ Rose spat, more as an afterthought. ‘We could have done all that as outpatients. I’m not asking for favours, but given the fact my daughter’s a private patient…’

  ‘That has no bearing.’ Nick shook his head. ‘I have a mixture of private and public patients on my list, Rose, and I can assure you they all receive the same treatment from both me and the staff on the ward. Yes, as a private patient Priscilla could, no doubt, have had all these investigations done speedily as an outpatient, but, as I explained to you in Emergency when I admitted your daughter, given that Priscilla has already missed out on a third of her schooling this year, it really is imperative that we find out what’s causing her abdominal pain and causing her to miss so much school. Which…’ As Rose opened her mouth to argue, Nick shook his head, speaking over the angry woman. ‘Which we have,’ he said firmly. ‘The abdominal X-ray showed that Priscilla was chronically constipated, the ultrasound told me that there was nothing acutely wrong and her blood work confirmed my clinical diagnosis. Priscilla is anaemic, her cholesterol is high…’ He paused for a second, only this time Rose didn’t jump in to argue, this time Rose closed her eyes as Nick gently but firmly continued. ‘Now, I could put on her on some iron tablets. However, that would only cause further constipation. To counter that, I could prescribe a fibre supplement, but I don’t think Priscilla would drink it. I could, of course, give her laxatives, but the thing is I’m not prepared to do that when all she needs is a varied, healthy diet and an increase in her physical activity.’

  ‘That’s all she needs, is it?’ Rose’s tired, angry eyes were bulging as she spoke. ‘You’ve seen what she’s like when she doesn’t get her own way. I work ten-hour days and, yes, it’s easier to pick up a take-away than to start cooking, but what am I supposed to do when it’s the only thing she’ll eat. I can hardly let her go to bed without eating…’

  ‘You could,’ Nick replied, but Rose just scoffed.

  ‘You obviously don’t have children, Docto
r. Don’t you think I already feel guilty enough about the hours I work, without spending every evening fighting with my daughter over what she wants for dinner and sending her to bed hungry? No doubt you’ll be telling me soon to cut down my hours and start spending more quality time…’ Tears came then, choking, angry tears, her tiny, exhausted frame heaving, her hand pressing on her mouth as she tried to hold it all in. Nick still calmly sat there, not remotely embarrassed, pulling a couple of tissues from the box on the desk and handing them to her before pressing on.

  ‘I wouldn’t dream of telling you to cut down your hours, Rose. I’m aware that you’re a single parent. You’re doing an amazing job—’

  ‘Don’t patronise me,’ Rose snarled as she blew her nose. ‘Don’t try and tell me I’m doing well when you clearly think I’m an unfit mother.’

  ‘No one thinks that.’ Eden said, her voice a gentle interlude from the painful conversation. ‘We’re not ganging up on you, Rose, we all just want to do the best we can for Priscilla. Nick isn’t suggesting that you’re an unfit parent. If that were the case, we’d be having this conversation in an office with a case worker present so, please, let’s try and not go there.’

  Standing, Eden fetched a drink of water for Rose from the cooler, a tiny nod the only response from Rose as she handed it to her. Nick waited as Rose had a drink and then continued.

  ‘Eden’s right. I don’t think that for a moment.’ Nick shook his head. ‘And you’re right as well. I don’t have kids, but my sister is a busy GP with three little ones and is in the process of getting a divorce. I’ve heard from Lily all about the guilt, the endless juggling and the pressures of trying to do the right thing.’

  ‘It’s just so hard,’ Rose choked.

  ‘If it carries on like this, Rose, it’s going to get harder,’ Nick said as Rose frowned. ‘Priscilla is so constipated that if the situation continues, very soon she could end up with some overflow.’ When Rose frowned, Nick clarified his words and Rose closed her eyes as he did so. ‘She could have episodes of faecal incontinence. Priscilla has already told some of the nursing staff that she gets teased at school about her weight. Can you imagine how much harder it will be for her if she starts to soil her pants as well?’