Harlequin Medical Romance December 2015, Box Set 1 of 2 (37 page)

CHAPTER FIVE

S
EAN
COULDN
'
T
BELIEVE
how tempted he'd been to tell Molly all about Claire and the vow he had made. After all, what would it have achieved? It wouldn't have changed anything. On the contrary, it could have made matters worse. Molly might have thought he was aiming for the sympathy vote and he really couldn't bear that.

He reached for a second croissant then stopped when the café door was flung open and a woman came rushing in. Sean immediately leapt to his feet when he saw the panic on her face. He was already heading towards her even before she managed to speak.

‘It's my husband! He's collapsed. Can someone help me? Please!'

‘Where is he?' Sean took hold of her arm when she swayed. ‘I'm a doctor so show me where he is and I'll see what I can do to help.'

‘He's over there, by the Christmas tree. We were listening to the carol singers when he suddenly started acting really strange,' the woman explained as she led the way to where a crowd was starting to gather.

‘In what way was he acting strange?' Sean asked, pushing his way through the onlookers. Someone had placed the man in the recovery position, so he knelt down beside him and checked his pulse then made sure he was breathing.

‘I don't know...he couldn't seem to speak properly 'cos his mouth was drooping at one side and he couldn't move his left arm either.' The middle-aged woman bit back a sob. ‘I tried to get him to tell me what was wrong but it was as though he couldn't hear me and then all of a sudden he just fell down onto the ground and didn't move.'

‘I see,' Sean said quietly. It sounded very much like a stroke to him and the sooner the man was moved to hospital the better his chances would be. He looked up when Molly came to join them, nodding when she told him that she had phoned for an ambulance. ‘Thanks. Can you get back onto Ambulance Control and tell them it looks like a stroke? That way, everyone will be prepared when he arrives at A&E.'

‘Of course.' She swiftly made the call then knelt down beside him. ‘How's his breathing?'

‘So far, so good. Pulse is a bit erratic, but that's only to be expected.' He glanced up at the man's wife. ‘Did he complain of a headache shortly before it happened?'

‘No. He seemed perfectly fine. We were just going to listen to another couple of carols and then go and have a drink in the café before we went home,' the poor woman replied. ‘Why did you ask that? Do you know what's wrong with him?'

‘I'm afraid it looks very much like he's had a stroke,' Sean explained gently, knowing it would be a shock for her.

‘A stroke,' she repeated. Tears rushed to her eyes. ‘Is...is he going to die?'

Molly stood up and put her arm around her. ‘Let's not assume the worst,' she told her quietly. ‘The main thing now is to get your husband to hospital so he can receive treatment.'

‘Can you treat him, though? My dad had a stroke when I was a teenager and there was nothing anyone could do...'

She broke off, too upset to continue, and Sean sighed. This was a part of his job he hated, trying to reassure relatives while not making any promises he might not be able to keep.

‘We've made a lot of advances in the way we treat stroke patients in recent years. Your husband will be given anticoagulants to break down any clots that may have formed in his brain. It's a treatment that can have very positive results.'

‘What if it's a burst blood vessel, though? That's what happened to my dad—a blood vessel burst and caused a massive bleed in his brain.'

‘Your husband will have a CT scan at the hospital to rule that out. However, the fact that he didn't complain of a severe headache would point towards it being a clot rather than a bleed,' Sean explained.

He looked up when the wail of a siren announced the arrival of the ambulance. Molly was still talking to the woman, doing her best to reassure her, so Sean left her to it while he did the hand-over. It didn't take long as he hadn't administered any form of treatment so within minutes the ambulance was on its way. Molly sighed as she watched it drive off.

‘Think he'll make it?'

‘He stands a pretty good chance,' Sean replied quietly. ‘Prompt treatment can make a huge difference in a case like this and that's what he will receive.'

‘Yes, you're right. His poor wife, though. It must be a terrible shock when something like that happens to someone you love.'

‘Your life changes in an instant,' Sean agreed, knowing only too well how that felt. Loving someone made you vulnerable and it was a timely reminder that he needed to get a grip on his emotions. He couldn't go through that kind of heartache a second time, which was why he needed to keep his distance from Molly.

It was a sobering thought. As Sean followed her back into the café, he realised that he needed to forget any ideas he had harboured about them resuming their affair. Although it might resolve certain issues, what if it created a whole lot more? Even though it wasn't easy to admit it, he had been far more involved with her than he had thought, and it was scary to wonder what might happen in the future if they grew close again.

‘I'd better get off home. Thanks for the coffee.'

Molly pulled on her hat then wound her scarf around her neck in readiness to leave and Sean was suddenly struck by an inexplicable need to explain why he had ended their relationship two years ago. Would it help if he told her the real reason why he could never commit himself? he wondered. Once Molly understood then maybe they could both move on; she could put it all behind her and he could stop thinking about how he had felt when they had been together. The last thing he wanted was Molly going ahead with her plan to seduce him—that would be a complete and utter disaster!

‘There's something I should have told you ages ago,' he said hurriedly.

‘I really can't see the point of dragging up the past at this stage, Sean.' She looked up and her expression was so distant that he fell silent. She gave him a tight little smile as she picked up her gloves. ‘If it was that important then you should have told me before now. It's really none of my business now, is it? We're not together any more.'

She was right; there was no point in baring his soul after all this time. He was only going to be in Dalverston for a few more weeks and after that he would make sure that he never came back here again. No, the time for confessions was long gone and he would be foolish to imagine it would make any difference if he told her the truth.

‘You're right. It's all water under the bridge, isn't it?' He treated her to a deliberately bright smile. ‘I think I'll have another coffee before I head off home. I'll see you tonight, I expect.'

‘I expect so.'

She matched his smile, wattage for wattage, then headed for the door. Sean went to the counter and ordered himself a double espresso, hoping that a serious shot of caffeine would help to get him back on track. He was allowing his emotions to get the better of him, something he never did, and he had to stop.

He sighed as he took his coffee back to the table and sat down. It was being around Molly that was causing him to behave so out of character. It had been exactly the same two years ago—he had known that he and Molly could never have a long-term relationship, yet he had put off breaking up with her until it had been almost too late. She had the strangest effect on him, made him long for things he knew he could never have, but he was going to stand firm, no matter what.

He took a sip of coffee, shuddering as the caffeine hit his central nervous system. It might be tempting but being back in Molly's arms was something he intended to avoid at all costs.

CHAPTER SIX

M
OLLY
FELT
EXHAUSTED
when she arrived at work that night. The lack of sleep combined with everything else that had happened recently had taken their toll and her energy levels were at an all-time low. It was all she could do to dredge up a smile when she found Suzy in the staffroom.

‘You look absolutely shattered!' Suzy exclaimed. She put her hands on her hips and glared at Molly. ‘I hope it hasn't anything to do with Sean Fitzgerald. You had a bit of thing for him the last time he worked here, didn't you?'

‘All water under the bridge,' Molly declared, groaning when she unwittingly repeated the phrase Sean had used only that morning. It shouldn't have been a surprise. After all, she had spent most of the day thinking about him. Had he been going to share some sort of a confidence with her? she wondered for the umpteenth time, and sighed. Even if he had, he had soon thought better of it. No, Sean wasn't about to share any confidences with
her
. She wasn't that important to him.

She brushed aside that depressing thought. ‘You know what they say, Suzy. You have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find a real live prince.'

‘And that's honestly how you view him, is it?' Suzy retorted. ‘As just another frog?'

‘Well, he certainly hasn't turned into a prince,' Molly stated.

She swept out of the door before Suzy could reply, knowing that she wasn't up to having a discussion about this particular frog prince. Although Suzy knew that she had dated Sean when he had last worked there, her friend had no idea how Molly had really felt about him. After all, everyone in the hospital knew that Sean didn't do commitment so there was no reason why Suzy should have guessed that she had fallen so heavily for him and that was how she wanted it to remain. It was bad enough knowing what a fool she had been without everyone else knowing it too.

Molly did the handover then took her first patient to Cubicles. Abbey Jones was suffering from severe stomach cramps which she thought were the result of a curry she had eaten that lunchtime. Her boyfriend had brought her into hospital but Molly asked him to remain in the waiting room while she got Abbey settled. She needed to ask Abbey some questions and she preferred to do so in private as it didn't sound to her as though Abbey was suffering from food poisoning.

‘Have you been sick?' Molly asked once she had made Abbey comfortable on the bed.

‘No. It's just these pains in my stomach.' Abbey drew up her legs and moaned. ‘It really hurts!'

‘The doctor will be here to see you in a minute,' Molly said soothingly. ‘Let's get these leggings off you for starters.' She helped the girl remove her boots and leggings, trying to hide her dismay when she discovered that Abbey was bleeding from the vagina. ‘Did you know that you were bleeding?'

‘No! I knew I felt a bit damp down there but I slipped over in the car park on my way in and landed in a puddle so I thought it must be that. What's happening to me, Sister?'

‘Is it possible that you might be pregnant?' Molly said carefully.

‘Pregnant,' Abbey repeated, looking stunned.

‘Yes. Can you remember when you last had a period?' Molly persisted.

‘I'm not sure... I've always been very irregular, you see. Sometimes I can go five or six weeks between periods so it's difficult to say for certain.' Abbey gulped. ‘If I am pregnant then why am I bleeding like this? Am I having a miscarriage or something?'

‘It's possible.' Molly patted her hand, knowing what a shock it must be for her. Not to have realised that she was pregnant and then have this happen would be a lot for any woman to deal with. After she had split from Sean, she'd had a worrying few days herself when her period had been late, even though they had been meticulous about using protection. Thankfully, everything had resolved itself although she couldn't help wondering what she would have done if she had been pregnant. Would she have contacted Sean and told him about the baby? She wasn't sure. After all, he had made it abundantly clear that he hadn't wanted anything more to do with her, hadn't he?

Molly pushed aside that thought as she focused on finding out if Abbey was indeed pregnant. She fetched a pregnancy testing kit from the cupboard and helped her to the bathroom. When Abbey reappeared a few minutes later, she was shaking.

‘It's positive,' she whispered. ‘I had no idea I was pregnant and now it looks as though I'm going to lose the baby.'

‘I'm so sorry,' Molly said gently as she helped her back onto the bed. ‘It must be a terrible shock for you, but the main thing now is to get you sorted out. Do you want me to tell your boyfriend or would you rather do it yourself? It's entirely up to you.'

‘I don't know!' Tears began to pour down Abbey's cheeks. ‘We've only been going out for a couple of months and we've never even spoken about having kids. I really don't know what I should do for the best.'

‘You don't have to decide right this very minute,' Molly assured her, understanding only too well what a dilemma it must be for the girl. She and Sean had never discussed having children either, for obvious reasons, i.e. he'd had no intention of committing himself for the long-term. A child would have caused an unwelcome disruption to his plans, and the thought hurt even though she knew how stupid it was to let it affect her.

‘I'll just tell him that you're being transferred to a ward for further tests,' Molly said hurriedly, not wanting to go any further down that route.

‘Yes. Thank you.' Abbey wiped her eyes. ‘It's such a lot to take in.'

‘It must be.'

Molly treated her to a smile then went to the desk and phoned the maternity unit. Sean appeared as she was ending the call and she quickly explained what was happening.

‘Sounds as though you've sorted everything out.' He frowned. ‘Who brought her in?'

‘Her boyfriend.' Molly nodded towards the waiting room. ‘He's over there. I had a feeling that it wasn't food poisoning and asked him to remain out here while I examined Abbey.'

‘It will be a shock for him too, I imagine,' Sean observed.

‘If she chooses to tell him.' Molly smiled tightly, conscious of the dilemma she would have been in if the same thing had happened to her. ‘They've only been seeing one another for a few months and she isn't sure if she wants him to know or not.'

‘Really?' Sean's tone was grim. Molly frowned because it wasn't how she would have expected him to react. If anything, she would have thought that he would be all in favour of Abbey keeping the news to herself if it meant there would be less pressure put on her boyfriend.

‘Yes.' She shrugged. ‘Maybe it's a good idea if they're not in a committed relationship.'

‘I disagree. Keeping something like this a secret only creates problems, in my opinion. But if it's what the patient wants then we have to go along with it.'

He didn't say anything else as he made his way to Cubicles to see Abbey. Molly wasn't sure what to make of it all as his reaction had been the complete opposite to what she would have expected. Did Sean have personal experience of this kind of situation? she wondered suddenly as she went to speak to Abbey's boyfriend. And was that why he had taken such a hard stance just now? Her mind raced off at a tangent and she gasped. Did it also explain why he avoided commitment? Because he had been so badly hurt at some point in his life that he refused to run the risk of being hurt ever again?

It was an intriguing thought, but Molly knew that she mustn't make the mistake of reading too much into it. To allow herself to believe that it was the true explanation for the way he had treated her two years ago would be asking for trouble. No, the truth was probably much simpler: Sean had grown tired of her and ended their relationship.

* * *

By the time everything was sorted out quite a large queue had formed in Reception. Suzy was doing triage that night—making sure the most seriously injured were seen first. Ambulance control had rung as well to say there was a young man who'd been involved in an RTA on his way. He had a suspected fractured pelvis so Molly told the paramedics to take him straight to Resus when he arrived and buzzed for Sean. As the senior doctor on duty, he was the one who would need to deal with this casualty and she would assist him.

‘Right, so what's happened here?' Sean hurried into Resus and came straight over to the bed. Molly moved aside to give him some room as he bent over the bed. He was wearing light blue scrubs that night and she found herself thinking all of a sudden just how much the colour suited him, emphasising the intense sapphire-blue of his eyes. Sean was an extremely handsome man, with that jet-black hair and those clean-cut features, and it was impossible to ignore the fact too. It took every scrap of willpower she could muster to concentrate as the lead paramedic did the handover.

‘This is David Gregory, aged twenty-two. He came off his motorbike after hitting a pothole in the road and slammed into a stone wall,' the paramedic explained. ‘There appears to be some instability around his pelvis which is why we fitted a belt. He's had ten mgs of morphine for the pain plus eight mgs of metoclopramide to counteract any sickness.' The crew finished off with an update of the patient's BP and Sats before they left.

‘Hello, David. I'm Dr Fitzgerald. I know you must be in a great deal of pain but I need to check what damage you've done to yourself. OK?'

Sean set about his examination when David nodded. He was quick but thorough, his hands moving as gently as possible over the young man's hips and pelvis. He glanced at Molly and she could see the concern in his eyes. ‘Can you organise an X-ray, please, Sister? There's quite a bit of movement here and I'd like to check if we're dealing with more than one fracture.'

‘Of course.' Molly hurried to the phone and summoned the radiographer. She arrived just moments later and quickly set about taking the X-rays they needed. Resus was equipped with an overhead X-ray machine so there was no need to move the patient. They all stepped aside while the films were taken and in a very short time the results were up on the screen. As Sean had suspected, David Gregory had fractured his pelvis in not one but two places, which made the situation even more complicated.

‘He needs to go to Theatre ASAP,' Sean said after studying the films. ‘If I'm not mistaken, there's some damage to the bladder and that needs sorting out immediately. Who's the surgeon on duty tonight—do you know?'

‘I think it's Adam Humphreys,' Molly informed him. ‘Do you want me to phone him and tell him we have a patient for him?'

‘If you wouldn't mind.' Sean smiled at her. ‘Thanks, Molly. It will save me a job.'

‘No problem.' Molly gave a little shrug before she hurried over to the phone but she couldn't ignore the fact that her heart had lifted when Sean had smiled at her. Was she right about him being hurt in the past? she wondered once again and then sighed. She had to stop trying to find excuses for him and simply accept that he had finished with her because he hadn't wanted to be with her any longer.

Molly deliberately turned her mind to tracking down Adam Humphreys, not an easy task, as it turned out, as he wasn't in the surgeons' lounge or in Theatre, and he wasn't responding to his pager either. She finally traced him to Women's Surgical, where he was checking on a patient he had seen earlier in the evening. He was full of apologies when she politely pointed out that his pager appeared to be switched off. He promised to come straight there and, true to his word, he arrived a couple of minutes later.

Molly knew him quite well and had always found him a pleasant if not very exciting kind of a man. He had asked her out a couple of times, but she had always made an excuse and refused. However, when he repeated his invitation after he had finished examining the X-rays, she found herself accepting. Maybe she should go out with Adam and forget about Sean. Having Sean turn up out of the blue like that had had a highly detrimental effect and she hated the fact that she couldn't seem to get him out of her head. Why, just look at the way she had seriously considered instigating another affair with him! It had been madness, pure, unadulterated madness, to come up with such a crazy plan. Going out with someone as uncomplicated as Adam Humphreys would help to put her back on track. And who knew what might happen in the future? It could turn out that Adam Humphreys was her Mr Right, the frog who finally turned into her very own prince.

* * *

Sean had to bite his tongue when he heard Humphreys asking Molly out on a date. It had nothing to do with him who she dated, he told himself sternly. She was a free agent and he had given up any claim on her two years ago. It was no less than the truth but it was hard to take such a balanced and rational view. For some reason he didn't intend to examine too closely, he couldn't bear the thought of Molly seeing the other man.

The night wore on, the usual mix of the mundane and high drama. Several of the people he saw should have been seen by their GPs rather than turning up at the A&E unit. Sean politely explained that if something of a similar nature occurred again they should contact their local surgery, but he knew that most wouldn't take his advice. Why wait for an appointment when they could be seen immediately? was their view. The fact that it simply added to the pressure the A&E staff were under was of little concern to them.

It was all very depressing and, added to his previous thoughts about Molly and this date she was planning, it had a marked effect. Sean's spirits were at an all-time low when he left the hospital and it didn't help when he saw Molly getting into Adam Humphreys' car. He knew from what he had overheard her saying that her car still wasn't fixed and he couldn't blame her for accepting a lift rather than waiting for the bus, but it made no difference. He didn't want the other man driving her home, certainly didn't want to think about her inviting Humphreys in for coffee! Maybe he didn't have any right to dictate what she did and who she did it with, but it didn't matter. Deep in his heart, tucked away in the very darkest corner, lay the truth: he wanted Molly to belong to him and only him.