One Night in Emergency. Carol Marinelli

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      Eleanor laughed, really laughed. ‘Well, generally we’re not quite so hairy…’ Her voice trailed off as his navy eyes attempted to meet hers, the room impossibly hot all of a sudden as the conversation tiptoed into dangerous territory.

      ‘Roll over and I’ll do the back,’ Eleanor responded quickly.

      He did as he was told. In fact, he was the model patient, lying quietly as Eleanor dressed the large cut and then strapped his thigh securely. ‘Not too tight?’ she checked, and he shook his head. He even lifted the sleeve of his gown without asking as she approached with his tetanus shot.

      ‘Your arm might be a bit sore for a couple of days.’

      ‘Thank you.’

      ‘Right.’ Happy with her work, Eleanor measured him for his crutches. ‘Do you need a hand to get dressed?’ she offered, praying he’d say no.

      ‘I’ll be fine.’

      ‘And I’ll need a deposit for the crutches,’ Eleanor added, smiling up from the notes she was writing. ‘Ten dollars.’

      ‘I haven’t got my wallet with me.’ Rory patted his pockets. ‘Maybe it fell out on the minibus.’

      ‘Well, we need a deposit,’ Eleanor said firmly, determined to retain a professional upper hand. ‘It’s a safety guard to ensure that people bring the equipment back that we loan. Perhaps one of your friends might be able to lend it to you.’

      ‘It’s OK, I’ve found it.’ Balancing on one foot, he tried to pull his wallet out of his jeans and Eleanor made a mental note that next time she asked a disabled patient for the deposit it might be better to do it when they were lying down for, as it turned out, balancing on crutches and trying to locate his wallet in the back of his jeans wasn’t the easiest feat. Eleanor knew if she didn’t intervene he’d be back in Theatre, having his scalp stitched.

      ‘Let me help you.’

      ‘I’ll manage.’

      ‘No, really.’ Ducking behind him, she gave an almost imperceptible cough as she dipped her hand into his pocket and pulled out the offending article, handing it to him and feeling awful as he flipped it open, a single ten-dollar note the only cash he had on him.

      ‘How much is in there?’ Rory asked, squinting down.

      ‘Ten dollars,’ Eleanor gulped.

      ‘Then take it.’

      ‘How will you get home?’

      ‘One of my friends will have some cash.’ If she’d looked up she’d have seen a twitch of a smile on his lips. ‘If not, I only live a couple of kilometres away. I’m sure I’ll soon get used to the crutches.’

      ‘Maybe you should just keep the money,’ Eleanor offered. ‘You can bring it in tomorrow or something.’

      ‘Won’t you get into trouble?’

      ‘Probably,’ Eleanor admitted, ‘but I can’t just let you hobble out of here with no means of getting home.’

      ‘Taxis take credit cards now, Sister Lewis.’ His face broke into a grin and Eleanor knew then he’d been teasing her. ‘I’m sure I’ll make it home in one piece.’

      ‘Very funny,’ Eleanor retorted. Gorgeous he might be, but Rory Hunter had just used up his last strike on Eleanor’s sympathy card. ‘Now, if you go out to Reception they’ll happily call you and your friends a taxi.’

      ‘I was actually hoping to catch up with—’

      ‘Out that way,’ Eleanor broke in, pointing to the exit sign. ‘You might even be lucky and find a taxi out there already.’

      ‘Well, thank you.’ Carefully he moved one of his crutches to the other side and offered his hand. ‘You were very, er, efficient.’

      ‘All part of the service.’ Her blush was coming back now. Seeing Rory Hunter dressed and standing and with his hand closing around hers, any hope of remembering he was a patient was fast fading. ‘I’d better get on.’ Gesturing to the exit once again, she turned back to her notes, only letting out a long-held breath when he finally hobbled out.

      Right.

      Surveying the mess her patient had created, Eleanor headed off to get a linen skip and returned to the cubicle just as Mary appeared, sweeping back the curtain with a bright smile.

      ‘Finally, Rory!’ Her smile faded as she eyed the mess. ‘Where’s Mr Hunter?’

      ‘I strapped him up and sent him home.’

      ‘He’s gone?’

      Eleanor nodded nervously. ‘In a taxi. I moved him on quickly, just like you said.’

      ‘And what’s all the hair doing on the trolley?’

      ‘I shaved him.’ Mary’s direct glare wasn’t doing much for her confidence. ‘As you said to do,’ she croaked, ‘so it didn’t hurt when the strapping came off.’

      ‘But this was a thigh injury,’ Mary snarled. ‘You put a piece of stocking over the thigh and then you strap it.’

      ‘Oh.’

      ‘What’s this?’ Picking up the ten-dollar note clipped to the casualty card, she held it up, her accusing glare ever fiercer.

      ‘The deposit for his crutches. I gave him a receipt and everything. He assured me that he’d bring them back.’

      ‘Oh, I’m sure he will.’ Mary sucked in her breath for a long moment before she carried on talking. ‘In fact, I’d suggest you could even be seeing your crutches as early as tomorrow night.’

      ‘Tomorrow night?’ Again Eleanor had no idea what Mary was talking about. ‘I thought they went to their GP for review and suture removal.’

      ‘Well, that’s the norm, of course,’ Mary agreed with a small nod. ‘But for staff we make exceptions.’

      ‘Staff?’

      ‘Some might call it a perk,’ Mary rattled on, ignoring Eleanor’s question. ‘Not much of a perk, though. But we look after our own in Emergency. When staff or a member of their family is brought in to the department, it’s an unspoken rule that the most senior staff look after them. You just broke that rule, Sister.’

      ‘But I had no idea he was staff,’ Eleanor said faintly. ‘He never said.’

      ‘Why did you think I asked you to leave him for me?’

      Eleanor swallowed hard. ‘To share the workload?’

      ‘Do you not think I work hard enough?’ Mary asked as Eleanor screwed her eyes closed, every word she uttered seeming to make this horrible situation worse. ‘Did you think that by strapping a thigh and giving a tetanus shot, I’d somehow be showing that I was worth my salt?’

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