SHE knew she was relying on him too much, but right at that moment, she needed the support of someone strong and Ryan had already proved himself to be both supportive and strong in the face of adversity. Another thing she could cross off her check-list.
‘Come on.’ He came up beside her, grabbing her hand and pulling her along, not losing pace in his stride. ‘Are you happy for me to take the lead on this?’
‘Well…I know dad’s condition better than you.’
‘What’s his name?’
‘Daniel. I’ll be fine once I see him.’
‘I just don’t want you to be under any extra pressure.’
‘I know, but a lot of doctors are clueless about how best to treat my dad.’
Any other questions Ryan might have asked were cut short as the stretcher was put on the portable lift. Ryan and Beth stepped on beside it and soon they were being lifted up. When they reached the open rear doors of the plane, the lift was connected in place. Beth rushed forward into the plane, not waiting for anyone else.
Her mother sat next to her father, calmly holding his hand and talking with the flight attendant. The instant she saw Beth she held out her hand and Beth went willingly. She crouched down and the two quickly embraced. Then she turned to the man lying back on the reclined seat. She kissed his forehead and smiled down at him, whispering something that brought a tiny smile to the older man’s face.
‘I know you’ve taken your prescribed medicine. Is that all or have you had something else?’
‘That’s all,’ Daniel Durant replied, his voice soft but laced with pain. ‘It’s bad, baby.’
‘I know, Dad. Phil’s waiting for you at the hospital. Let me give you something for the pain so we can move you.’
Ryan walked over and smiled down at her father. ‘Hi, I’m Ryan. I’m a colleague of Beth’s.’ He looked down at Daniel. ‘Are you allergic to anything, Mr Durant?’
‘Morphine works well,’ Beth answered. ‘I’ll get it.’
She crossed to where Charles was getting things ready to transfer her father out of the plane. ‘Morphine, please.’ She told him the dosage. ‘Get a cervical collar on him and once the morphine’s done its job, we’ll get him moved.’ She rattled off the list of medications her father took and Charles wrote them down before getting the morphine organised.
When she turned back she found Ryan crouched by her father, stethoscope in his ears, doing the neurovascular observations. ‘Help Ryan,’ she told Charles, and he headed over to measure Daniel’s oxygen levels as well as pulse and BP. She handed the injection of morphine over to Ryan to administer.
They made sure Daniel was stabilised and that the morphine had started working before they attempted moving him. Beth left the lifting to Ryan and Charles, and as soon as her father was on the ambulance stretcher and secured, she let out a sigh of relief.
Her mother was busy thanking the flight attendants for their support and help. Beth added her thanks as well before taking her mother’s hand. ‘Let’s get into the lift first so we’re not in the way when they bring the stretcher out.’
‘Good idea.’ They took the careful step onto the lift and walked to the back corner. Isabelle looked up at her daughter. ‘So, Ryan…is that his name?’
‘Yes. He’s Marty’s cousin.’
‘Of course. I remember now. He’s the one you told us about—the one you had a special dinner for last Christmas.’
‘I wasn’t the only one there, Mum. It was a business dinner.’
‘Of course, dear. I didn’t mean to imply otherwise.’ Isabelle paused. ‘He’s very handsome.’
Beth shrugged.
‘You can’t fool your own mother, Beth.’
‘I can try,’ she said dryly, and Isabelle laughed. She was such a beautiful woman, with the same blonde hair and brown eyes as Beth, and her laugh had always managed to bring a smile to everyone’s face and this time was no exception.
‘Fool me by all means, dear, but just don’t go fooling yourself.’ Isabelle took Beth’s hand in hers, her eyes growing solemn for a moment. ‘Your dad’ll be fine.’
‘I know.’ They were starting to bring the stretcher out now.
‘He needs another operation, doesn’t he,’ Isabelle stated rhetorically.
‘It wouldn’t surprise me, but let’s get him to the hospital so Phil can look at him and do some tests.’
Isabelle sighed and shifted over to make more room for everyone.
‘How are you holding up, Mrs Durant?’ Ryan asked once they were all in and the lift started its descent.
‘Oh, I’m just fine, Ryan. May I call you Ryan?’ He seemed taken aback for the moment. ‘Of course.’
‘Daniel just loves the attention, don’t you, dear?’
Daniel mumbled something but it was incoherent. ‘See?’Isabelle continued with a lilting laugh. ‘Even with medication and that collar thing around his neck, he still wants to talk and get the attention.’
Beth smiled at her mother, knowing this was the way her mother coped with these types of situations. ‘You can’t resist teasing him, can you?’
‘He wouldn’t have it any other way, would you, dear?’ Again Daniel tried to mumble something. ‘See?’Isabelle smiled at the people around them and everyone seemed to relax a little. ‘I was thinking, dear.’ She turned to face Beth. ‘I need somewhere to stay tonight. With our house still being rented and all, I’ve got nowhere to sleep.’
‘Don’t worry, Mum.You can stay in the hospital’s residential wing.’
‘Oh. I thought that was only for doctors and nurses.’
‘No. Families as well. I’ll get it organised once we arrive at the hospital. That way, you’ll be nice and close to Dad.’
‘Arnold’s still waiting,’ Ryan pointed out.
‘Yes. Good thinking. Arnold, he’s the taxi driver who brought us here. He can take you to the hospital while Ryan and I travel in the ambulance.’
‘You know a taxi driver?’ Isabelle asked.
‘Long story.’ Beth glanced at Ryan and both of them smiled.
‘I look forward to hearing it,’ Isabelle said, taking in the shared glance. The lift lurched a little as it came to the end of its descent and Beth walked her mother through the checkpoint and out to where Arnold was indeed still waiting with his taxi.
Beth introduced them and Arnold greeted Isabelle warmly. ‘I’d be happy to take you wherever you need to go. Dr Durant and Dr Cooper are absolutely wonderful and I’m so happy to be able to help them out so soon after we met.’
Isabelle continued to be intrigued and Beth laughed. ‘Arnold can tell you the whole story on the way to the hospital.’
‘I am definitely looking forward to it, especially if it has something to do with the delicious Dr Cooper. He’s just gorgeous, Beth.’Her mother looked sternly at her. ‘I hope you’re going to keep him around for quite a while, not your usual five minutes.’
Arnold seemed surprised. ‘You mean you’re not together?’
Beth was totally embarrassed. ‘Er…no.’
‘Huh!’ Arnold frowned.
‘Never mind,’ Isabelle said, but Beth could tell from the grin on her mother’s face that this was not going to be the end of the interrogation regarding Ryan. She helped her mother into the car before leaning down to kiss her cheek.
‘Due to the flashing lights and sirens on the ambulance, we’ll get to the hospital before you so have me paged when you arrive.’
‘I will, dear.’ Isabelle squeezed her daughter’s hand and a shimmer of tears came into her eyes. ‘He’ll be all right. I just know it.’
Beth smiled reassuringly, hoping her mother was right. ‘See you later.’She shut the door and watched for a moment as Arnold drove away before she turned and headed back to the checkpoint. This time she took her shoes off before going through the detectors and thankfully no alarms beeped.
Ryan was walking towards her and pointed at her feet. ‘They check for foot odour, too?’
She slipped her shoes back on. ‘Very funny.’ She started walking towards the ambulance. ‘How is he?’
‘Holding his own for the moment. How about you?’
‘I’m better now that I’ve seen him.’
‘And your mum?’
Beth shrugged. ‘She’s just Mum. She’s always calm when he’s sick and then later, when he starts getting better, she usually falls apart.’ She was still waiting for him to comment on her parents’ size, to ask her questions, but it didn’t come. Instead, he began talking about the severity of her father’s myelopathy.
‘The spinal cord dysfunction is quite severe.’
‘I know. He’s had quite a number of operations over the years and Phil’s told him he may end up in a wheelchair. Phil’s been treating Dad for years, long before I started studying medicine.’ They reached the ambulance and Beth climbed inside to check her father once more. ‘You still behaving yourself, Dad?’
‘Yes,’ came his mumbled reply. ‘Is this thing really necessary?’ He glanced down at the cervical collar around his neck.
‘Yes, it is.’
‘Bossy-boots,’ he grumbled, and closed his eyes.
‘All set to go?’ Charles asked as he came to close the back doors after Ryan had climbed in beside Beth.
‘Ready,’ he replied, and Charles obligingly shut the door. Soon they were on their way and at the checkpoint they handed back their passes and signed several documents before they could leave that section of the airport.
Beth and Ryan set about doing her father’s observations. ‘How’s the numbness in your fingers, Dad?’
‘Still there. Very annoying.’
‘I can imagine.’
‘Daniel, can you feel the muscles in your legs and arms contracting and relaxing?’ Ryan asked as he watched Daniel’s legs repetitively go through the action.
‘It’s clonus,’ Beth stated softly. ‘A common reaction to myelopathy. So is hyperreflexia. The patient has no control over the contractions.’
‘So this has happened before?’
‘Yes.’
Ryan merely nodded. They continued with the observations. By the time they arrived at the hospital Beth was feeling much better about her father’s prognosis. As they walked into A and E, she was greeted warmly by several of the staff, all of them vowing to do whatever it took to look after her father. Although there was gossip and rumour and a lot of other things that went on with the daily grind of hospital life, one thing she loved about St Gregory’s was that they looked after their own. Ryan had become a little more aloof as they’d neared the hospital and she realised he was slipping back into Sir Ryan mode.
Phil greeted her warmly, kissing her cheek like the old family friend he’d become, before turning his attention to Daniel. ‘What have you been doing with yourself?’ he quizzed his supine patient. ‘Scaring your wife and daughter, eh? Well, we’ll sort you out.’
Ryan shook hands with Phil, then stalked briskly from the cubicle. Beth frowned as he walked past, watched to see if he’d make eye contact with her, but he didn’t. She stayed with her father until he was taken off for his MRI scan, then went in search of Ryan. She needed to talk to him, to find out what he thought about her parents. Although, from what she’d seen, he didn’t seem to have a problem with the fact that they were dwarfs, but did he have a problem when it came to dating her?
She knew the neuroses from her past were haunting her once again but she couldn’t help it. Ryan was becoming more and more important to her and she needed to know whether he’d have a problem dating her…if, in fact, they ended up dating…given her family genetics. It was silly, stupid, but it was there, nevertheless. If he was going to hurt her, she’d be best to deal with it now, rather than later when she was completely in love with him.
Beth went to the orthopaedic department first, thinking he might have done some more paperwork, but the offices were dark and locked. Next she tried the ward but he wasn’t there either. Her mother arrived and after she’d taken Isabelle to the MRI unit, Beth continued her search for Ryan, checking the ward once more.
Heather, the clinical nurse consultant, was sitting at the nurses’ station when the phone rang. ‘Orthopaedics.’ Heather paused a moment, then nodded. ‘She’s here. Do you want to talk to her?’
Beth was surprised. A phone call for her already?
‘OK. I’ll send her down.’ Heather replaced the receiver.
‘Problem?’ Beth asked, frowning.
‘A and E’s expecting an influx. Train derailment almost two hours ago. First few patients are about to arrive and the new dishy director of our department has requested that you join him.’
‘Great. Just what I don’t need.’ It would also mean she wouldn’t have the opportunity to speak to Ryan privately.
‘Hey, don’t complain. You get to work alongside him. I only get to drool whenever he comes in to do a ward round or check on the patients.’
Beth wondered whether she should say anything about her present living arrangements but decided against it for the moment. Now was not the time or the place. Besides, she knew exactly what sort of conclusions Heather would jump to and right now she wasn’t in the mood for dealing with them. She said goodbye and headed to A and E, thinking about the kiss she and Ryan had shared earlier that day. In that respect, Heather and anyone else who thought there might be more to their cohabitation would be right. She hit the button to release the doors into A and E, momentarily closing her eyes and shaking her head. How did she get herself into these situations? It wasn’t as though she went hunting for a way to make her life as complicated as possible, but somehow it always seemed to happen.
‘Snap to it, Dr Durant.’ Ryan’s brisk voice pierced through her thoughts and she opened her eyes to find him standing two feet away from her, pinning her with cold blue eyes. ‘We’ve got incoming patients.’
Beth had had enough. She knew it wasn’t good timing but there was one thing she wanted to get straight. Grabbing Ryan’s arm, she pulled him into a nearby storeroom and closed the door.
‘What?’ He frowned at her. ‘Beth?’
‘Shut up, Ryan. Look, I don’t know what your deal is or why you have this multiple personality disorder, but just drop it around me, OK?’
He folded his arms across his chest and listened indulgently, one eyebrow raised in surprise.
‘I can’t work properly wondering which person I’m going to be faced with,’ she continued. ‘Is it going to be the nice one or the one who’s going to bite my head off? It doesn’t promote a healthy working relationship, Ryan.’
‘All this after only one week of working together? Pretty perceptive of you,’ he countered.
‘Last week actually wasn’t so bad but after yesterday, when I was able to see what a genuinely nice person you are, I am now completely confused. Why do you do it?’
‘Do what?’
‘Try and hold yourself aloof. I’m not saying you should be flighty or footloose but just a real person with real emotions instead of being DrAutomaton. It’s as though you can’t relax at work in case you accidentally put a foot wrong. Well let me tell you that you’re human both before and after you receive a knight-hood…or at least that’s what I’ve always imagined.’
There was silence between them for a moment, with Ryan staring down at her. ‘Finished?’
Beth squared her shoulders. ‘For now.’
He gave one nod and then turned towards the door. She reached out and stopped him, putting her hand over his. Both pulled back instantly, almost burnt from the touch. ‘Ryan,’she said more softly, ‘all I’m trying to say is just be yourself and not Sir Ryan, who’s kind of a jerk sometimes.’ She grimaced and shook her head. ‘That came out wrong.’
‘Yes. It did.’
This time, when he went to leave, she made no move to stop him. When he closed the door, she sighed. ‘That went well.’ She shook her head again and headed out, running slap bang into Tristan.
‘Beth. What are you doing in the storeroom?’ He frowned and looked over his shoulder at Ryan’s retreating back before returning his attention to Beth. ‘Didn’t I just see Sir Ryan coming out of here?’
Beth groaned. ‘We were talking.’
‘Talking, eh? That’s a new word for it.’
‘Not now, Tris.’
‘True. Now is definitely not the time. I heard about your dad, by the way. How’s he doing?’
‘Still having tests, as far as I know.’ They started walking towards the nurses’ station. ‘It’s bad this time. I think this might be it.’
‘The wheelchair?’
‘Yes.’
Tristan put his arm around Beth’s shoulders and squeezed. ‘You’ll get through it. He’ll be fine, Beth.’
‘So everyone keeps telling me.’ She sighed again, feeling a little more calm. She glanced at Ryan once more but he was engaged in a telephone conversation. ‘So, do you know what we’re going to be dealing with—train-accident-wise?’
‘Haven’t heard much. Just got the call to come in.’
‘All hands, brace for impact,’she said, and Tristan smiled. Ryan replaced the receiver and Beth turned to look at him. ‘What’s the news?’
‘Your father’s just finishing in MRI and Phil will come and find you when he has the results.’
Beth was stunned by Ryan’s words. She’d thought he’d been on the phone regarding the train derailment yet he’d been checking up on her father. She frowned briefly, surprised by him once more.
‘Er…thanks. I’ll probably be in Theatre, knowing my luck.’
‘Probably,’ Ryan replied, and after giving her a brisk nod he walked away.
‘That was weird.’ Tristan watched their boss depart. ‘There is something going on between the two of you, isn’t there? If not, then he is definitely one strange guy.’
Beth closed her eyes, wondering whether she should say something or not, but after all Tristan was one of her closest friends. She opened her eyes and shrugged. ‘It’s nothing over the top or anything but we’re kind of…sharing the same space.’She said the words softly.
‘What?’ Tristan’s outburst surprised them both and she quickly shushed him.
‘Nothing.’ She forced a smile as they looked self-consciously at their colleagues. ‘I’ll tell you later,’ she said between clenched teeth.
‘Sorry,’ he said. ‘You caught me by surprise.’
‘Let’s talk about this later. Right now I’m going to go and change into theatre scrubs and then see if I can track down my mother. May as well be doing something useful while we’re waiting for these ambulances.’
Tristan walked with her to the change rooms, apologising again for his outburst. ‘What do you mean? You’ve piqued my curiosity.’
‘We’re both house-sitting for Marty and Natalie.’
Tristan’s eyebrows shot up. ‘You didn’t know about this?’
‘Nope. Neither did Ryan.’
‘The newly-weds are matchmaking, eh?’
‘Looks that way.’
‘Is it working?’
They were outside the female change rooms and Beth merely rolled her eyes, punched in the code and walked away from him.
‘I’ll take that as a yes,’ he called. A moment later he went into the male change rooms and was confronted by the man in question. ‘Sir Ryan.’
‘Tristan.’
They were both silent for a moment while Tristan pulled some theatre scrubs from the trolley. ‘So, I hear you and Beth are both house-sitting.’
‘Yes.’
‘Nice and cosy.’
‘Hmm.’ Ryan frowned. He hardly knew Tristan, but Tristan definitely knew Beth so he decided to ask the question which had been bothering him for quite some time. ‘Is she always so…infuriating?’
Tristan chuckled. ‘Not usually, but it’s good to see her expanding her boundaries, trying new things.’
‘Why didn’t she tell me about her parents sooner?’
‘You mean about her dad’s back?’
‘Er…not exactly.’
‘Ah, the dwarf issue. It’s a big one for Beth. That doesn’t mean it bothers her—I mean, they’re her parents. They’re all she’s ever known but she’s had to put up with a lot of spiteful people during school, and even med school, and if that wasn’t enough, then came Jeff.’
‘Ah…Jeff.’
‘She’s told you about him?’ Tristan couldn’t help the surprise he felt. ‘Wow. That’s big.’
Ryan shrugged. ‘We were discussing bad relationships. His name came up.’
‘It would. It happened a few years ago. They’d dated for a few months, things were getting serious. They were discussing marriage and then Jeff met her parents.’
‘High-tailed it out of there?’ Ryan guessed.
‘Exactly.’
‘So the strange dating habits?’
‘Over-compensating. She’ll ask a certain question to gauge a guy’s reaction to people who are different. If they give the wrong answer, she doesn’t bother with them again.’
‘None.’
‘She’s trying to protect her parents,’ Ryan said thoughtfully. ‘And herself.’
‘Anyone would protect the people they love from hurt, and as far as protecting herself, that’s got nothing to do with her parents. She was well and truly hurt by that guy and it’s always hard to let yourself trust again.’
‘I know the feeling.’
‘Then it appears you and Beth have something in common.’
‘Quite a bit, really.’ Ryan held his hand out to Tristan. ‘Thanks.’
‘Glad to help.’ Tristan held Ryan’s hand for a fraction of a second longer. ‘Don’t muck her around.’
‘Noted.’ Ryan headed out of the change rooms and back to A and E. He hated waiting around but at least he could now focus on his job rather than on the pretty blonde registrar who was sashaying towards him, the baggy green garments looking incredible on her.
‘How’s your mother holding up?’ he asked.
‘Just about to call her.’ Beth called the MRI unit, hoping her father hadn’t left there yet.
‘No, they’re still here,’ she was told by the MRI consultant. ‘Do you want to speak to your mother?’
‘Thanks.’ Beth waited for her mother.
‘Beth?’
‘How are you holding up, Mum?’
‘Me? Oh, I’m fine, dear. Your dad’s resting while they check the films.’
‘Good.’
‘Oh, and I must say, dear, that your new friend Arnold is such a wonderful man. Do you know, he gave me his card and told me to call him any time? Wasn’t that sweet?’
‘Very sweet.’
‘He told me all about your adventures last night and how you and Ryan were cuddling to keep warm.’
‘Terrific,’ she replied blandly. ‘Listen, Mum, there’s been a train derailment and we’re expecting quite a few casualties in pretty soon.’
‘Oh, dear. Well, you go and do what you need to do and I’ll speak to you later. I’ll be fine.’
Beth closed her eyes, wishing she had the time to hear Phil’s report, to be there when he explained the surgery and the possibility that her father might be permanently in a wheelchair. ‘I love you, Mum.’Her voice choked as she said the words.
‘I know, Beth. We’ll be fine. We’ll get through everything. We always have. Go and save some lives. That’ll make your dad proud.’
Beth smiled. ‘OK.’ She rang off and turned, surprised to find Ryan still standing near her. She’d thought he’d gone to meet the ambulance.
‘How’s she doing?’
Beth shook her head sadly and sighed. ‘She always knows the perfect thing to say to get me through whatever I need to get through.’
Ryan nodded. ‘I have a mum like that.’
‘Really?’
‘Yes, and I’ve discovered that unfortunately they’re a rare breed.’ He smiled at her, not a smile that made her knees buckle but rather one that made her feel safe. It was a strange sensation. The entire day had been filled with strange sensations. He angled his head towards the incoming patients. ‘Come on. Work time.’