Paddington Children's Hospital Complete Collection. Kate Hardy

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      She had thought the same when she was growing up.

      Victoria could remember sitting in the back seat of her father’s car as he dashed to get to whatever urgent matter was waiting for him at work.

      ‘That’s because it is a magical castle,’ Victoria said, and Penny smiled.

      ‘It’s her second home,’ Julia said.

      It had been Victoria’s second home too.

      She knew every corridor and nook. The turret that Penny was gazing at could be accessed from a door behind the patient files in Reception, and had once been Victoria’s favourite space.

      She would sneak in when no one was looking and climb up the spiral stairs and there she would dance, or dream, or simply play pretend.

      On occasion she still did.

      Well, no longer did she play pretend, but every now and then Victoria would slip away unnoticed and look out to the view of London that she somehow felt was her own.

      ‘Such a shame they’re closing it down.’ Julia sighed.

      ‘It’s not definite,’ Victoria said, though not with conviction. It looked as if the plan to merge Paddington’s with Riverside, a large modern hospital on the outskirts of the city, would be going ahead.

      There was a quiet protest taking place outside, which had been going for a few days now, with protestors waving their placards to save the hospital.

      Victoria’s father now worked at Riverside. The only real conversations she had ever had with him were about work. The function she had attended yesterday had been for an award for him, and in a conversation afterwards Victoria had gleaned that it really did seem the merger was going to go ahead.

      Of course, the beautiful old Paddington’s building was prime real estate.

      As always, it came down to money.

      ‘I don’t want it to close,’ Penny said as they pulled up under the bright lights of the ambulance bay outside Accident and Emergency. ‘I feel safe here.’

      And Penny’s words seemed to twist something inside Victoria.

      That was how she had felt as a child whenever she was left here.

      Yes, left.

      Her father’s quick check-in at work often turned into hours but, though alone, and though lonely, here Victoria had always felt safe.

      ‘I don’t want it to close,’ Penny said again.

      ‘I know that you don’t.’ Victoria nodded. ‘But Riverside is a gorgeous hospital and the staff there are lovely too.’

      ‘It’s not the same.’ Penny shook her head and there were tears in her grey eyes.

      ‘You don’t have to worry about all that now,’ Victoria soothed. ‘It might not happen.’

      She wished she could say it probably wouldn’t but it was looking more and more likely with each passing day.

      And it mattered.

      ‘Penny!’ Karen, a charge nurse, recognised Penny straight away. ‘You didn’t come all this way just to see me, I hope!’

      ‘No.’ Penny gave a little laugh, but just as Victoria went to hand over, Karen was urgently summoned.

      ‘It’s fine—we can wait.’ Victoria nodded.

      They stood in the corridor and made sure that Penny was okay, while Glen chatted with her mother and Victoria started to fill out the required paperwork.

      He was there.

      She knew it.

      And although they clashed, although she had told herself that she hoped he wouldn’t be there this evening, Victoria had lied.

      She wanted to see him.

      Dominic MacBride had been working at Paddington’s for a few months.

      He was from Edinburgh and that low Scottish brogue had Victoria’s toes curl in her heavy boots. Or was it his blue eyes and tousled black hair?

      Or was it just him?

      She couldn’t quite place why she liked Dominic so much. He was crabby with the paramedics and he and Victoria tended to clash.

      A lot!

      And he was making his way over.

      ‘Here we go,’ Glen said under his breath, referring to the argument that Dominic and Victoria had had three days ago.

      Victoria was very confident in all her dealings and her assertion seemed to rub Dominic up the wrong way.

      He made his way straight over.

      ‘Are you being seen to?’ he checked.

      ‘Yes, thanks,’ Victoria said. ‘Karen’s taking care of us. She’ll be back shortly.’

      Victoria got back to filling in the patient report form but, just as she did, Julia chimed up.

      ‘She’s a direct admission but she’s just going to have a quick chest X-ray before she goes to the ward.’

      ‘I see.’ Dominic nodded and then he came over to where Victoria stood. She could feel him in her space and that he was requiring her attention but she carried on writing her notes, refusing to look up.

      His scent was subtle, soapy, musky and male and the faint traces cut through the more familiar hospital scent.

      And still she did not look up.

      ‘Could I have a word, please?’ he asked.

      And now Victoria looked up, quite a long way, in fact, because he was very tall and broad.

      He was wearing dark navy scrubs and he needed a shave. He looked as if he had either rolled out of bed or should be about to roll into one and she did her best to stop her thought process there.

      ‘Sure,’ Victoria said. She was about to be churlish and add, In a moment, and then take said moment to finish her report, but instead she moved away from the stretcher and followed him into a small annexe.

      He leant against a sink and she stood in front of him, not quite to attention but she was very ready to walk off.

      ‘Can you not see how busy we are?’ Dominic said. ‘We don’t have time to do the wards’ work as well.’

      ‘I don’t make the rules.’

      ‘You know them though and your patient is a direct admission,’ Dominic said. ‘If she goes up to the ward she can wait in a comfortable bed.’

      Victoria said nothing.

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