Emergency at Bayside Read online

  She tried to shake her head, but the collar and Ken held it still. ‘I’m tired.’

  ‘Come on, Meg. If I’m going to stay with you, the least you can do is talk to me.’ His voice was sharp, forcing her out of her slumber. ‘Have you got a husband? A boyfriend? Tell me about him?’

  ‘We broke up.’

  ‘Ouch.’ He gave a low laugh. ‘Trust me to say the wrong thing.’

  Her eyes opened a fraction, wincing at the bright morning sun glimpsed through the broken tree. Golden-brown eyes, he noticed, almost amber in the bright sunlight, thick black eyelashes framing them, glistening with a new batch of tears. She turned her amber headlights to him. ‘He was cheating.’

  That was a simple way of putting it, but she was too tired and it was all just too damn complicated to explain.

  ‘Then he’s a fool.’ Flynn said decisively. ‘Forget him.’

  ‘That’s what I’m working on.’

  Flynn laughed. He was shining a pupil torch in her eyes now. ‘I meant while you’re stuck here. Think of something you really like. I’m not suggesting anything this time; I’d probably just put my foot in it again. What cheers you up?’

  She didn’t answer; frankly she couldn’t be bothered. Closing her eyes, Meg wished he would just go away, leave her alone to rest a while.

  ‘Meg!’

  Reluctantly she opened her eyes. ‘I’m tired.’

  ‘And I’m bored. Come on, Meg—talk to me. If I’ve got to sit here with you, the very least you can do is entertain me.’

  ‘The beach.’ Running her tongue over her dry bloodstained lips, Meg cleared her throat as best she could. ‘I like going to the beach.’

  ‘Do you live near it?’

  ‘Not really.’ She was really tired now, her eyelids growing heavy again, the need to sleep overwhelming.

  ‘A bit too expensive, isn’t it? Come on, Meg, stay awake. Stay with me here and tell me about the beach.’

  ‘Mum and Dad…’

  ‘Do they live near the beach?’

  ‘On the beach,’ she corrected

  ‘And I bet you’re round there more often than not?’

  She actually managed a small laugh. ‘Mum says I use the hotel…’ No, that wasn’t right. Everything was coming out muddled. Meg forced herself to concentrate. ‘I use the house like…’ She never finished her sentence, her eyes gently closing as she gave up trying to explain.

  ‘Like a hotel?’ The torch was blasting back in her eyes now. ‘I bet you do. So, come on, what do when you go to the beach? Body surf? Water ski?’ There was a tinge of urgency creeping into his voice. ‘Open your eyes and tell me what you do at the beach, Meg!’

  The sun was shining brightly when she did, warm and delicious. The same sun that warmed her when she sunbathed, the same birds chirping, the same lazy, hazy feeling as she stretched out on a towel and drifted off. Closing her eyes, feeling its warmth, she could almost hear the ocean, almost imagine she was lying on the soft sand, listening to the children patting sandcastles into shape. The hum of the firefighters’ drill was almost a perfect Jet Ski in the distance…

  ‘Meg!’ It was him again, breaking into her dream, utterly refusing to leave her be. ‘What do you do at the beach?’

  ‘I sleep.’

  She heard him half-laugh, half-curse. ‘She’s practically hypnotised herself here, Ken. Tell them to step on it.’

  Whether it was Flynn’s insistence or whether the tree was finally secured Meg didn’t know, but suddenly the ‘jaws of life’ were peeling the roof off her car as easily as the foil top on a yoghurt carton. The noise was deafening, the movement terrifying, but through it all Flynn was beside her, holding her hand, soothing her with his presence, until finally a firefighter appeared above them, giving the thumbs-up sign. For the last hour all Meg had wished for was to be free from the mangled wreckage, but now the moment was here suddenly she was scared again.

  Bracing herself for movement, she gripped Flynn’s hand tighter. ‘It’s going to hurt.’

  ‘You’re going to be fine. Once you’re in the ambulance, and I’ve checked you over, I’ll give you something for pain.’

  ‘Promise?’

  He gave her a smile. ‘Trust me.’ He was easing his fingers out of her grip. ‘I’m just going around to your other side so I can support your head as they bring you out. I’ll speak to you again in the ambulance.’

  And with that she had to be content.

  He held her head as they skilfully lifted her, taking charge from the top as they started the slow, painstaking ascent back to the road, relaying his orders in clear, direct tones, carefully ensuring that her neck never moved out of alignment, assuming at all times the worst-case scenario: until an X-ray showed no fracture of her neck it was safer to assume that she had one. And though Meg had never been more scared in her life, never been in more pain, amazingly she felt safe, knew that she was in good hands— literally.

  Strong hands gently lowered her onto the cool crisp sheets on the stretcher, and she felt the bumps as they wheeled her to the awaiting ambulance. Fragments of the conversations between the police and the firefighters reached her as they jolted along.

  ‘…no skid marks…’

  ‘…the witness said she just veered straight off.’

  ‘…just finished a night shift…’

  It was the type of conversation Meg heard nearly every working day, the tiny pieces of a jigsaw that would painstakingly be put together, adding up the chain of events that had led to an accident. Only this time it was about her.

  As they lifted her into the ambulance and secured the stretcher she ran a tongue over her dry bloodstained lips.

  ‘Where’s Flynn?’

  Ken patted her arm. ‘He’ll be here in a moment.’

  ‘He said he’d be here.’ Suddenly it seemed imperative that she see Flynn and tell him what had happened.

  ‘Just give him a moment, Meg, he’s had a rough morning.’ Ken’s words made no sense. She was the patient, after all, and the way Ken was talking it sounded as if Flynn was the one who was upset.

  ‘What’s she moaning about now?’ It was Flynn again, a touch paler and a bit grey-looking, but with the same easy smile and a slight wink as he teased her.

  ‘Are you all right?’

  Meg opened her mouth to answer but realised that Ken’s question had actually been directed to Flynn.

  Flynn muttered something about a ‘dodgy pie’ and, after accepting a mint from Ken, again shone the beastly pupil torch back into her eyes.

  ‘She’s in a lot of pain, Flynn.’ Ken was speaking as he checked her blood pressure. ‘All her obs are stable. Do you want to head off to the hospital now?’

  ‘I’ll just have a quick look first.’ Whipping out his stethoscope, he gently moved it across her bruised, tender ribcage. ‘Good air entry,’ he murmured, more to himself than to anyone else. ‘Is it hurting a lot, Meg?’

  ‘I didn’t…’ Her voice was merely a croak, but it was enough to stop Flynn listening to her chest. Pulling his stethoscope out of his ears, he bent his head forward.

  ‘What was that, Meg?’

  ‘I didn’t fall…’ But she couldn’t finish her sentence. Huge tears were welling in her eyes, sobs preventing her from going further as the emotion of the morning, now she was free from the wreckage, finally hit home.

  ‘It’s all right, Meg. Don’t try and talk. You’re safe now. I’m going to give you something for the pain.’ His lips were set in a grim line and she could see the beads of sweat on his forehead, but Flynn’s voice was kind and assured as he continued talking. ‘The main thing is that you’re safe.’ His grey eyes seemed to be boring into her, and Meg found that she couldn’t tear her own away. Even as the sirens wailed into life and the ambulance moved off she found herself still holding his gaze, her eyelids growing heavy as the drug he had injected took effect and oblivion descended.

  * * *

  ‘Meg O’Sullivan, we weren’t expecting you till t
onight. Don’t tell me: you just can’t stay away from the place.’ Jess chatted away good-humouredly, her Irish accent thick and strong, as the team lifted her onto the trolley. There was nothing Emergency staff dreaded more than being wheeled into their own department, but unfortunately it happened now and then, and the staff dealt with it with a very special brand of humour—intimate, yet professional.

  ‘Perhaps she’s checking up on you.’ Ken Holmes carried on the joke as they swapped the paramedics’ monitors and equipment for the emergency department’s own.

  ‘Or…’ Jess smiled as she wrapped a blood pressure cuff around Meg’s bruised arm ‘…she decided that she did want to meet the new consultant after all.’

  ‘She works here?’ Apart from leading the count as they’d lifted her over it was the first time Flynn had spoken since they had arrived in the unit.

  ‘She does.’ Fifty milligrams of Pethidine on top of a sleepless night had not only controlled her pain but also taken away every last piece of Meg’s reserve, and her comment came out rather more sarcastically than intended. She saw his perfectly arched eyebrow raise just a fraction as he skilfully palpated her abdomen.

  ‘And what is it you do here, Meg?’

  ‘The same as Jess.’

  ‘And what does Jess do?’

  God, why all the questions? All she wanted to do was sleep. Closing her eyes, she ignored him, but Flynn hadn’t finished yet.

  ‘Meg, what job do you do here?’ His voice was sharp, dragging her out of her slumber.

  ‘I’m a nurse,’ she answered reluctantly. Maybe now he’d leave her alone.

  ‘What day is it today?’

  The interrogation obviously wasn’t over. He was testing her reflexes now, lifting her legs slightly and tapping at her knees as he repeated the question. ‘Come on, Meg, what day is it today?’

  ‘Pay day.’

  Jess laughed. ‘It is too. Thank God,’ she added. ‘My credit card bill is crashing through the roof. Now, come on, Meg—tell the good doctor here what day it is so he can get off to his welcome breakfast.’

  ‘Tuesday.’ No, that was yesterday. Meg always got mixed up when she was doing nights. ‘Wednesday,’ she said, more definitely. ‘Today is Wednesday.’

  The same small affirmative nod he had used at the accident scene was repeated and Meg gave a relieved sigh.

  ‘Do you remember what happened yet?’

  ‘I had an accident.’

  Flynn gave her a thin smile. ‘You certainly did. I meant before the accident. Do you remember what caused it?’

  She opened her mouth to answer, to tell him exactly what had happened in the hope of finally being allowed to rest, but as she tried to explain Meg felt as if she was trying to recall a dream. Little flashes of the morning would pop into her head, rather like watching a photo develop, but before the picture appeared it would vanish again, and no matter how she fought to remember the images just slipped away.

  ‘Can you remember?’ His voice was gentle, as if he realised how much she was struggling.

  ‘No.’ The simple word terrified her.

  ‘You will. Just give it time, Meg.’

  Turning to Jess, Meg listened as Flynn ordered what seemed an inordinate amount of tests. ‘We’ll get her over for a C. spine and head CT now, and I want one of her abdomen. She’s tender over the spleen. Chest and abdo films, and I want those bloods back from the lab stat, in case she needs a transfusion. It might be better to pop in a catheter.’

  ‘No.’ This time the simple word was said much more forcefully, and Flynn and Jess both turned to her simultaneously. ‘No,’ she repeated. ‘I’m not having a catheter.’

  ‘Okay.’ Flynn relented. ‘But if you haven’t passed urine in the next hour I’m getting one put in.’ He turned back to Jess. ‘Obviously keep her nil by mouth for now. I’d best go and do a quick duty speech, and then I’ll be back to check on her. Call me in the meantime if you’re in the least concerned.’

  He came over to the trolley then and looked down at her, her hair fanning out on the pillow, knotted and full of glass, streaks of blood on her cheeks and her lips bruised and swollen. Yet there was an air of dignity about her, coupled with a wary, but somehow superior look that brought the beginning of a smile to his lips. ‘And try not to give her any more Pethidine. I want to do a full neuro assessment when I get back.’

  ‘Are you going?’ It was a strange question, one Meg couldn’t believe she had just asked.

  ‘Just for a little while, then I’ll be back to review you.’ That seemed to placate her, and she relaxed back onto the pillow. ‘If you’re very good Jess and I might even save you a Danish pastry.’ He smiled then, properly, for the first time since their eventful meeting.

  It was like being rescued all over again.

  Closing her eyes, his face still etched in her bruised, muddled mind, Meg let sleep finally wash over and, utterly oblivious to the world, even the hourly neuro obs the staff performed at regular intervals, she slept through what was left of the day.

  * * *

  ‘She’s waking up.’

  ‘Leave her, Kathy. The nurse said not to disturb her.’ Mary O’Sullivan’s voice had that sharp warning edge that would have sent Meg scuttling straight back to her chair, but it had little or no effect on her sister.

  ‘That was two hours ago. I just want to see she’s all right for myself.’

  ‘Do as your mother says, Kathy.’ Ted O’Sullivan had as little impact on Kathy as his wife, and as Meg came to it was to the all too familiar strains of her family bickering.

  Kathy stood there peering anxiously over her. ‘You’re awake.’ Kathy’s eyes filled with tears as she looked down at her big sister.

  ‘No thanks to you,’ Mary interjected. ‘Can you not obey a simple order, Kathy? The nurse said to leave her be.’

  ‘Hello, Mum,’ Meg croaked. ‘Sorry for all the trouble.’

  ‘No trouble—apart from a coronary when the police came to the door.’ Mary’s attempt at a joke felt more like a telling off, and Meg closed her eyes again, the bright lights of the Emergency observation ward too much for her fragile head. ‘Are you all right, pet?’

  Keeping her eyes closed, Meg nodded. Now the collar was off at least she was able to do that. It was about the only thing she could do; her chest felt as if a bus was sitting on it. Mary fussed and chatted for a while, but Meg could almost sense her relief when six o’clock came and her mother had a valid reason to go home.

  ‘That lovely Irish nurse, Jess, has kept us up to date. She’s away home now, to her husband, but she said that you were to rest as much as possible. Now that you’ve come to, I might get your father home for his dinner. His insulin was due half an hour ago. I’ll be back in first thing tomorrow and we’ll ring the ward tonight.’

  Again Meg sensed the sting of disapproval.

  ‘Are you coming, Kathy?’

  ‘No.’ Meg felt the bed move as Kathy perched herself on it. ‘I’ll stay with her. Jake can always give me a lift later.’

  ‘She was only joking about the police,’ Kathy said when their parents had finally gone.

  ‘Since when did Mum joke?’

  ‘There’s always a first time. I was in the hydro pool and Jess let Jake know. It was Jake that went and told her.’

  Meg looked at her sister. Her uncombed, spiky blonde hair and the faint scent of chlorine certainly held up her story. ‘So the police didn’t come?’

  ‘No.’ Kathy laughed, but her brimming eyes belied her casual chatter. ‘Actually, you did me a favour. They’ve got a new chief of physio and the workout they were putting me through felt like an army training camp—and, despite what she says, Mum’s had a grand afternoon gossiping to Jess about the fair Emerald Isle.’

  Meg attempted to smile, but it died on her lips.

  ‘She was upset, you know.’ Kathy squeezed Meg’s hand. ‘Really upset.’

  ‘And now she’s angry.’

  ‘You know what Mum can be like.�
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  Meg did know—only too well. The last few months had been a nightmare. It was bad enough finding out that your boyfriend of eighteen months, the man you’d adored, actually thought you had a future with, was in fact married. And not just married. Married to your colleague’s sister, who just happened to go to the same church as your mum. So not only had Meg felt the wrath of disapproval from her colleagues at Melbourne City Hospital, there had been the wrath of her mother to deal with.

  Mary O’Sullivan wasn’t sure which was the greater of the two evils. The fact her eldest daughter had been branded a home-wrecker, or the undeniable fact that Meg wasn’t a virgin.

  And now she had trashed her car.

  ‘I hate this year.’

  ‘I know, but there’s always next year.’

  ‘Next year will probably be just the same.’

  ‘It won’t.’ Kathy insisted. ‘You’ve got a new job, new friends, a whole new start. All you have to do is loosen up a bit.’

  ‘Loosen up?’

  ‘Try letting people in. It’s a nice world out there. I know Vince hurt you, but not all men are the same.’

  Just the mention of his name bought forth a whole fresh batch of tears. Meg hadn’t cried since the day they broke up, and certainly not in front of anyone, but the egg on her head combined with the pain in her chest was such a horrible combination that for once crying came naturally.

  ‘I’ve got some news that might cheer you up,’ Kathy said desperately. Seeing her sister, who never cried, sobbing in the bed was torture. ‘How do you fancy being a bridesmaid?’

  Like a tap being turned off, Meg instantly stopped crying, her eyes swinging round to her sister.

  ‘You’re engaged?’

  ‘I have been for…’ Kathy glanced at her watch. ‘Twenty hours now. He asked me last night.’

  ‘Who, Jake?’

  Kathy gave a gurgle of laughter. ‘No, the tram conductor. Of course it’s Jake. Who else?’