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Mark nodded. 'Are you sure there's nothing more I can do?'

'No, thank you. You've been a great help. We'll manage from here on.' She knew that she sounded cool and remote, and that was unforgivable after the way he had helped her, but she had no control over her emotions. She was numb inside, cold as though winter had lodged in her heart.

He left them, and Sarah set about preparing an evening meal. She didn't feel like eating, but Jamie would be hungry and her father would need something to keep him going.

She put a casserole in the oven to cook, and then decided that she would take Kingston for a walk. Jamie would enjoy the exercise, and it would help to calm the dog down. She didn't want to think about anything else.

The next morning she dropped Jamie off at school and then went on to the hospital with her father. Her sister was awake now, but she was traumatised and weepy and she barely spoke, except to ask after Jamie.

'He's all right,' Sarah told her. 'We're taking care of him for you, and he sent you lots of kisses. As soon as you're feeling up to it, we'll bring him to see you.'

Hannah didn't answer, but closed her eyes briefly. Then, after a moment, she said, 'They won't let me see Ryan. What's happened to him?'

Sarah hesitated. She said slowly, 'He's in Intensive Care. They're doing everything they can for him.' She had checked up on his condition just a short while ago, but nothing had changed.

'But they won't let me see him.'

'Perhaps it was the wrong time when you asked. The doctors might have been working with him just then. It might be that they'll take you to see him later, when you're stronger.'

Her father said, 'Hannah, we just want you to concentrate on getting yourself well again.'

Sarah had no idea why the staff had stopped Hannah from seeing Ryan, and she doubted that the veto had come from Mark. It was most likely that the medical team thought she would be too upset and they wanted to keep her as calm as possible. They probably didn't want to take any risks.

She stayed with Hannah for some time, but it was clear that she was not in the best frame of mind to have visitors. A nurse came in and quietly asked them to leave. 'She's finding all this very difficult and she needs to rest. We'll stay in touch with you and let you know if there's any news.'

They said goodbye and walked out into the corridor. 'I think I'm going to go back to work,' her father said. 'I can't just sit around. It's soul-destroying.'

Sarah glanced at her watch. 'My shift starts in a few minutes. I think I might go and work, too. It will stop me from being able to think about other things, and at least I'll be close by if anything happens.'

'You'll phone me if you have any news, won't you?'

'Of course.'

Her father walked with her to A and E. He said, 'You know, we're going to have to do something about managing the situation with Jamie. With both of us working, it's going to take some careful planning.'

'I know. Between us, we should be able to work something out.'

They talked for a while, and when her father left, Sarah went to get ready for her shift.

Mark came over to her at the desk and frowned. He looked alert, efficient, totally in control, the opposite of what she was feeling. 'What are you doing here?' he said. 'I thought you were going to take some time off.'

Sarah shook her head. 'I want to be here, at the hospital. I need to keep busy, and if I'm working here I can drop in and see Hannah at any time.'

'I don't think you're ready to be at work. You're still in shock. You need to have your wits about you in A and E. I don't believe you're up to it.'

She stood her ground. 'I am. I want to get started.'

His eyes narrowed on her. 'What about Jamie? Who's going to look after him?'

She flicked a glance his way. 'I will, with my father's help. Jamie's at school for much of the day, and we'll work something out between us.'

'I think you're making a mistake. You're taking on too much.' Mark was frowning, his dark eyes searching her face. 'This is a difficult job at the best of times, and you can't do it properly if you've part of your mind on your sister and another part worrying about little Jamie. You said yourself that Hannah was sometimes exhausted, being a single mother, and here you are taking it on yourself to take up where she left off.'

'That's my choice,' she said. Her tone was decisive. It wasn't up for argument, and she wanted Mark to realise that. 'I don't see that I have any option. He's my nephew, my flesh and blood. I'm going to take care of him, and that's an end to it.'

'You realise that your sister might not be able to walk again? Are you going to take on his care for the foreseeable future?'

She looked at him directly. Did he have to remind her of that? As if she didn't know it well enough already. 'If it comes to that then, yes, I will.'

His lips firmed. 'I really don't think you've given yourself time to think this through.'

'I've made my decision,' she said. 'It isn't up for discussion. I'm going to take care of him.'

She picked up a chart and glanced at the details on it. 'I'm going to find my first patient,' she said. 'Excuse me.'

He didn't argue with her, and Sarah tried to lose herself in her work. It was difficult because her mind kept straying to her sister and Jamie, and then to Ryan, and she had to keep making herself refocus.

Shaun Blake, the senior house officer who was on duty with her that day, came and found her when she was on a break. He said, 'I was sorry to hear about your sister and her boyfriend. I can't imagine what you're going through. If there's anything I can do to help, I hope you'll let me know.'

'Thanks, Shaun.' Her eyes misted over momentarily. 'You're right. It is hard to bear, but I've found that I'd rather keep busy than sit around waiting for something to change.'

She glanced at him. They had differences of opinion from time to time, but she respected him as a doctor and she said, 'I heard that you had landed a research post that starts once you've finished your stint here. I'm really glad for you.'

'Thanks.' He gave a fleeting smile. 'I hope I can make something of my sponsorship. We're looking into ways of treating coma patients, and I suppose that would be particularly relevant, given that your sister's boyfriend is in that situation right now. I wish there was more that we could do for him.'

She nodded. 'So do I.' She was pensive for a moment, then she added quietly, 'There was talk of cele
brating your achievement. Some of the nurses mentioned a get-together of some sort.'

'Yes.. .In fact, it's all been arranged. I was a bit wary to begin with because Mark's father suggested that he should take over and organise the celebration, and I had my doubts about that. There's word going around that he had a hand in getting Mark the consultant post here.'

Sarah frowned. Whatever her own feelings were about Mark, she knew that he was a good doctor, and even if she wasn't entirely happy with his methods, he succeeded in making sure that the unit ran smoothly.

Shaun grimaced. 'I don't see it myself but people talk. Anyway, it turns out that Mark's father is holding a major fundraising event at his house, and he's asked us all to go along and lend our support. It's mainly so that he can raise funds for a new dialysis machine, but he's hoping to add to my sponsorship grant as well. It's too good an opportunity to miss.'

'You're probably right. From what I've heard, he has a lot of influence hereabouts.'

He glanced at her. 'I know that it's a bad time for you, but I'd be glad if you could come and join us. It would be good to have all my friends there. We're all signing up on the list on the noticeboard, so that he knows what number to cater for.'

'I'm not sure,' she said. 'I'll think about it.. .but I'm really pleased for you, Shaun.'

She went back to work, and after several hours on the go she was beginning to check her watch at intervals to see if she could make her escape and look in on Hannah.

A nurse said, 'Would you take a look at the patient in treatment room four? He's complaining of pain in his throat, and he says his mouth is dry. I think he might have an infection, but I'd appreciate a second opinion.'

The nurse was a specialist, one who was able to deal with minor problems and prescribe antibiotics for simple infections, but she was clearly undecided how to proceed with this patient.

'Yes, that's all right, Megan, I'll take a look at him now.'

Sarah went and introduced herself to the patient, a young man in his mid-thirties, and he allowed her to examine him. He told her that the pain and discomfort had been coming on for some time.

'I hoped it would go away, but it's getting worse. Now I can hardly bear to eat, but I can't get an appointment with my doctor. The surgery's closed this afternoon.'

Sarah gently ran her fingers over the glands in his neck and looked carefully inside his mouth. She said, 'Martin, it certainly looks as though there's an infection of some kind, and I can give you antibiotics for that. It may be that a small, calcified stone has blocked the duct of your salivary gland and is perhaps obstructing the flow of saliva. That could explain why your mouth is so dry.'

He looked surprised. 'Can you do something about it?'

She nodded. 'It can be treated, yes. I'll need to refer you to an ENT surgeon, and he'll decide what has to be done. In the meantime, I'm going to send you to the X-ray department so that we can get a picture of what's going on in the gland.'

'When will the surgeon be able to see me? I don't want to go on like this for long.'

Sarah made a face. 'There might be a bit of a delay. I'll mark your form as urgent, but you might have to wait a couple of weeks. There's a waiting list, I'm afraid.'

She glanced at him, seeing his disappointment. 'We'll try to make you more comfortable in the meantime. There are things we can prescribe that will help.'

She signed the X-ray form and sent him on his way. 'Come back to the desk when you've finished, and I'll let you know the results of the X-ray.'

Sarah watched him go, and went in search of another patient. She would put off going for a break until she had dealt with all the loose ends. That way, she could sit with Hannah for a while without worrying about being recalled.

The desk clerk caught up with her as she was writing up her patient's notes. 'There's a phone call for you,' he said.

Straight away, she was on the alert. Was there news about Hannah? Or had Ryan's condition changed?

It was neither. 'Owen,' she said, startled to hear his voice. 'I wasn't expecting to hear from you so soon.' She frowned. 'Did you get my letter?' She had only posted it to him yesterday, a quick note to say that her sister had been involved in an accident.

'I did. I'm so sorry to hear what's happened to Hannah.' They talked for a while and she told him how things were and how they were waiting for news. 'It might not be as bad as you think,' he said. 'These things sometimes look worse than they really are. The tissues can take a while to heal.'

'I hope you're right.'

'You have to stay positive,' he said. On a lighter note he asked, 'How are you getting on in A and E? Are you managing to work things out with Mark? He was always a thorn in your side, wasn't he, checking on everything you do? Has he eased up any?'

'We get by,' she murmured. She felt uncomfortable talking about her boss, especially when he could appear at any moment. 'Have you managed to settle in all right at your hospital? You've been there for some time now, haven't you? Is the job turning out to be what you expected?'

'It's OK. I like it here and everything's running smoothly so far. Of course, it's not the challenge that it would have been there.' He was silent for a moment. 'I feel cheated about that. I still feel that the job should have been mine.'

'I know how much you wanted it.'

'I was well enough qualified and I'd been running the show for a while. I could have easily made the grade, but it's not what you know, it's who you know, isn't it? I'm sure Mark only got to be consultant because his father made a huge donation to the new renal unit.'

Sarah pulled in a quick breath. 'What makes you think that?'

'It's common knowledge. His father's as rich as Croesus and he knew that Mark wanted the job. He couldn't have found a better way of making sure that he got it.'

She frowned. 'Rich father or not, things can't be that simple, surely?'

Owen laughed. 'Don't you believe it. Money can make anything happen.'

A nurse stopped by the desk and signalled that a patient was waiting, and Sarah nodded acknowledgement. She half turned and saw that Mark had come to stand just a short distance away from her. Horrified, she wondered how much he had heard of their conversation.

She said, 'Owen, I have to go. I have patients waiting. I'll talk to you again, soon.'

She put the receiver down and was unhappy to see that her hand was shaking. There couldn't be any truth in what Owen had said, could there? Much as she was cautious around Mark, she had always believed that he was an excellent doctor and that he had worked hard for his success. Now Owen had put doubts in her mind.

Mark directed a glance her way. 'Is something bothering you?' he asked. 'I gather that was Owen that you were talking to. Has he said something to give you pause for thought?'

She knew then that he must have heard what Owen had said. His expression said it all.

'No,' she said. 'He was just asking after Hannah.'

His mouth made an odd shape. It was obvious that he didn't believe her, but he said nothing more on the subject. Instead, he signed off a chart and turned towards her.

'I've been looking through your patient files,' he said. 'Megan told me that you were ready to discharge a patient who has a salivary gland problem?'

She nodded. 'That's right. I passed the chart to you for your signature.' She frowned. 'Is something wrong?'

'I think there may be.' His expression was grim. 'I saw the X-ray and I decided that I should take a look at him. I don't think we should be discharging him just yet.'