‘MORNING.’ EMILY YAWNED a greeting to Peter and Miriama as she passed them in the hallway. She and Joe had managed to grab a few hours’ sleep on a couple of makeshift mattresses close by when they’d volunteered to take over the early morning shift. She thought all was well since she’d been left to wake up in her own time, until she saw that Joe had already vacated his bed.
‘Morning.’ Peter handed her some lemon tea, its bitter zing guaranteed to wake her up.
She cradled the cup in her hands, letting the comforting warmth spread through her weary body before she took a sip. ‘How is Nete?’
‘He’s a bit brighter today. Joe’s with him if you want a professional assessment.’
She trusted Peter’s word but she did want to see for herself. An early morning Joe fix might just set her up for the day too.
‘Hey,’ she said when she saw Joe, thinking how unfair it was that he still looked devastatingly handsome on so little sleep. No doubt she had the world’s worst bed hair and panda eyes, while his crumpled clothes and morning stubble simply elevated his hunk status.
‘Hi, sleepyhead.’ He had the bright eyes and cheerful demeanour of someone who’d been awake for a while, or had somehow got his hands on a shot of actual caffeine.
Either way, she would have preferred to have been included than not. ‘You should have woken me.’
‘You were sleeping so soundly I hated to disturb you. Besides, you probably wouldn’t have heard me above your snoring.’ He shared the joke with their patient, who was now sitting up unassisted and laughing at her expense.
‘I do not snore!’ At least, she didn’t think she did, unless a year of sleeping alone had somehow caused it to manifest. She was sure Greg would’ve told her if it had ever been a problem. He’d never been shy about pointing out her faults and not in such a jokey fashion either. In fact, she could see now that he’d been downright cruel at times, playing on her insecurities until she’d hated herself for not being the woman he’d obviously wanted.
At least now she was beginning to see she wasn’t the only one who’d failed at that relationship. If Greg had accepted her as unconditionally as Joe seemed to, there would never have been a need to constantly belittle her. In hindsight that was probably what had made her cling to stability as much as she had. She’d needed something to make her feel safe and secure, with her husband constantly undermining her. Now that she’d moved on, found herself at peace with who she was, she didn’t intend to return to that dark, uncertain place.
‘I’m only messing with you. You needed the rest. I’m used to getting by on very little sleep.’
She faked a smile as he reminded her of their contrasting lifestyles. He was always going to be the drifter, content to take life one day at a time, when all she wanted was her own bed and job security. If she was realistic they’d probably only made a connection because they’d been thrown together on this tiny island and she didn’t want to be with another man for all the wrong reasons.
‘So, how are we getting on?’ She glanced over the readings Peter had jotted down during the night, keeping track of his progress.
‘Fever’s broken, fluid intake is steady, as is urine output, and he’s hungry, which is always a good sign.’ Relief was etched all over Joe’s smiling face, even though he hadn’t once given in to panic during their stint last night.
‘I’m so glad to hear that.’ At times it had been touch-and-go whether or not they’d get to this apparent recovery phase. They’d sweated right along with the patient through every painful stage of the illness. Not that it was over yet, but Joe was right, the outcome was looking more favourable now than it had done at certain low points of the night. It had been a long shift and she had a new-found respect for hospital workers for whom the long hours and clean-up were simply part of the job. All worth it, though, if it meant the worst had passed.
‘I think it’s safe for us to nip home and get freshened up, if Peter and Miriama don’t mind taking over here a bit longer?’ Joe was able to put his question directly to the other volunteers as they entered the room on cue.
‘No problem at all,’ Miriama assured them both.
Emily would never dream of taking advantage but even a bucket of cold water seemed like a luxury right now to someone in last night’s clothes who’d spent most of the last twelve hours mopping fevered brows and vomit.
‘Er...the chief might have other ideas for you.’
Peter interrupted her immediate plans with a worrying comment. If there was some sort of ceremony to celebrate renewed health, Emily hoped she could still grab five minutes’ privacy for a wash and change of clothes.
‘We won’t be long. Tell him we’ll be back in our rightful places in no time at all.’ Joe added his support to her cause, clearly with the same need to feel human again. They couldn’t possibly be taken seriously as medical professionals dressed in wrinkled date-night clothes as if they’d just stumbled in from a club.
‘Yeah, yeah, you can still go and get changed. I mean he has plans for the rest of your day. He wants to throw a beach picnic in your honour for saving his son.’
‘That sounds lovely.’
‘There’s really no need. Besides, we’re not completely out of the woods yet.’ Joe talked over her acceptance with some uncharacteristic reluctance to take part on one of the spontaneous gatherings.
Emily pouted as the menfolk battled to plan her day for her. ‘I haven’t seen the beach since the day I arrived. You’re the one who’s always telling me to chill, take time out for me and stop stressing about deserting my post. Or is that only when it suits you?’
This was coming close to their first real argument, but while she was bracing herself for a showdown, Joe clenched his jaw and bit back whatever retort was on his tongue.
‘He really wants to show you his gratitude and we can hold the fort for you here until you get back. You both need the break.’ Peter was so insistent it would be a shame to send him back to the chief with bad news.
‘We’d love to, wouldn’t we, Joe?’ She pushed her luck that tiny bit further. Once he had time to think about it he’d see some fresh air, a paddle in the sea and a picnic lunch might be the best medicine to revitalise two weary medics.
Neither his scowl nor his grunt were in keeping with that theory but he didn’t object verbally and she took that as an uneasy acceptance. A complete role reversal from their usual power play. This time she was the one pushing him to try something different. Emily understood his concerns but the others were well versed in the treatment to give in their absence. Bar chartering a private plane to get their patient to a hospital, there was little more any of them could do if his condition worsened. The next time this illness struck the island it was entirely possible Miriama would be the only person here to treat it anyway. At least, that’s how Emily justified this time out to herself.
It wasn’t long before she and Joe were heading back to get ready for their lunch date, regardless of his reluctance to join the ‘keep calm and carry on’ party.
‘You shouldn’t have done that.’
‘Why not? I think we earned a break. Anyway, aren’t you the one always reminding me how much I’ll offend people by not participating in these things? It’s lunch, not a mutiny. I’m still coming back to resume my doctor duties once I’ve been fed. It might not be up to the culinary standards of your beans on toast feast but I’m hungry, sleep-deprived and generally in need of some me time. That might sound selfish but I think a less grouchy me will benefit everyone in the long run. We’ll be back before you know it.’
She could see why he was so concerned about leaving their patient but she genuinely believed Nete was over the worst of it and they wouldn’t be gone for too long. It was never going to be a continuation of their ruined date with so many others in attendance but it would do them good to get out of there for a while.
‘That won’t be as soon as you think.’
‘What makes you say that?’
‘Their idea of a beach picnic is on another island. It’s a beautiful place but not very practical for getting back to a patient in the event of an emergency.’
‘Why on earth didn’t you tell me?’ She wanted to scream at him for standing back while she’d blathered on about what she needed. If she’d known it would come at the possible cost of their patient’s welfare she never would’ve pursued this.
He shrugged, increasing the chances of her giving those shoulders a shake herself. ‘You didn’t give me much of a chance. You seemed so determined to accept and I didn’t want to worry the others unnecessarily.’
But it was apparently okay to make her more anxious by keeping the details to himself until it was too late to do anything. She ground her teeth, stifling her exasperation.
‘Now what do we do?’ She’d landed them in a tricky situation, caught between offending the chief and potentially jeopardising his son’s health.
‘Now we go and put on our beach clothes and graciously accept our host’s invitation. We’ll leave instructions for the treatment we would’ve carried out ourselves and keep our fingers crossed this works out.’ His smile didn’t travel any further than his lips and Emily knew it was only to placate her.
She’d messed up but something told her Joe would be the one to accept responsibility should the worst happen.
So much for acting spontaneously. It never ended well for her.