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in her place.

      ‘I’m not entirely happy with her.’ Jeremy looked over at Alice. ‘When we finish up here, can you do some blood gases on Mrs Marshall?’

      ‘Sure.’

      ‘I’ll see you both later in pre-op clinic.’ With a small nod he walked off, as Linda marched furiously behind him.

      ‘I’ll start writing up the notes, then, while you do the gases,’ Josh suggested. ‘Then we can grab a coffee.’

      ‘I doubt it,’ Alice said with a sigh. ‘I’ve got three IVs to resite and a pile of drug charts that need writing up, and there’s a couple of bloods that need doing.’

      ‘Alice, Alice, Alice.’ Josh gave her a wide smile. ‘You have so much to learn. Fi,’ he called to the charge nurse, who came over with a smile, ‘this young intern hasn’t yet learnt how to ask for favours. Do you think we should teach her?’

      Fi smiled warmly at Alice. ‘You’re not listening to Josh, are you? He’ll get you into all sorts of trouble.’ Fi had delicate oriental features and a kind smile but, despite her seemingly easygoing nature, Alice knew just from this morning’s ward round that Fi ran the ward with impeccable efficiency.

      ‘That’s not fair, Fi.’ Josh winked at Alice. ‘Fi and I worked together when I was a surgical intern,’ he explained. ‘Now, Fi, tell Alice the truth—didn’t I always come at night when you paged me? Didn’t I listen to you and call the reg when you were worried? Didn’t I always bring doughnuts in?’

      Fi nodded. ‘And in return I had to do half your bloods and IVs.’

      ‘Cheap at half the price. Come on, Fi, don’t say you’ve gone all hard on me? You’re the only reason I came back to this ward.’

      Fi laughed. ‘All right, I’ll help with your bloods, if I get the time. But I’m on nights next week,’ she warned, ‘and you’d better remember your side of the deal.’

      As Josh made his way to do his notes, Fi turned her attention to Alice, who was filling up a kidney dish with blood-gas syringes and alcohol swabs.

      ‘When you’ve done the blood gases, I’ll show you around,’ she offered. ‘Let you know how Jeremy likes things.’

      ‘Thanks ever so much.’

      Fi looked at her thoughtfully for a moment. ‘Listen to me for a moment, Alice. I know I always look busy but I’ve always got time if you need to run something by me. If there’s something you’re not sure about, you can always come to me.’

      Alice nodded. It was a kind offer that a lot of charge nurses made when new interns started and one that was much appreciated. Heaven knew, it was a busy enough job and you needed all the support you could get. But there was something about Fi’s offer that sounded ominous, as if she almost expected trouble.

      ‘I’d better get those gases done.’

      ‘I’ll get you some ice.’

      Although Mrs Marshall was on oxygen, Alice removed the mask before she took the blood gases, as the blood taken while the patient was breathing only air would enable them to get a truer picture of her condition. Although obviously unwell, the increased pain control had already kicked in and she actually seemed in the mood for a chat.

      ‘I’m just going to take a small sample of blood from your wrist, Mrs Marshall, so just hold still while I inject some anaesthetic.’

      ‘No one else has bothered with anaesthetic. How come?’

      ‘Maybe you were too sick and they needed the blood urgently,’ Alice suggested diplomatically.

      ‘Maybe they were in too much of a hurry,’ the patient said pointedly. ‘When are you due?’

      ‘In about three months’ time,’ Alice muttered reluctantly.

      ‘Your first?’

      Alice nodded. She really didn’t want to discuss her private life with Mrs Marshall but, as she was increasingly finding out, her obvious condition seemed to be a licence for all and sundry to strike up a conversation about the most personal of subjects.

      ‘Must be hard on your own.’ She gestured to Alice’s naked ring finger.

      Alice concentrated on finding the pulsing artery. ‘Hold still, please, Mrs Marshall.’

      Thankfully she hit the jackpot first time and the bright red arterial blood spurted up the syringe.

      ‘She got it first go and even gave me an anaesthetic first,’ Mrs Marshall said loudly—to whom, Alice had no idea.

      ‘Glad to hear it.’

      Alice nearly jumped out of her skin as Jeremy made his way over. ‘Let’s pop your oxygen back on now.’ He replaced the mask over the patient’s face.

      ‘I was just saying how hard it must be for the young doctor, being pregnant and on her own.’

      Alice wished the ground would open up and swallow her, but she had no choice other than to stand there and press the cotton-wool swab for a full two minutes on the site where she had taken the arterial blood.

      ‘Oh, I don’t know,’ Jeremy said lightly. ‘Solitude has its virtues. I think you can stop pressing now,’ he added to Alice.

      Mortified, she followed him out of the room.

      ‘Don’t tell them so much next time,’ Jeremy said, taking her to one side.

      Alice, blushing furiously, looked down at her feet. Her tinted moisturiser had gone all blotchy. ‘I’m sorry, I know it mustn’t look very good—professionally, I mean—what with me being a single mother and all that.’

      To her utter amazement Jeremy gave a small laugh. ‘We’re in the twenty-first century, Alice, for heaven’s sake, not the nineteen-fifties. Nobody gives a damn these days about pregnant women being single.’

      ‘Well, I do.’ Alice said curtly, though the fact he wasn’t bothered by her status was somehow strangely comforting.

      ‘I know,’ he said, and Alice looked up, surprised at his perception. ‘I could tell Mrs Marshall’s probing was making you uncomfortable. Next time tell them your fingers have got too fat to put your rings on, or tell them you don’t want to talk about it. Tell them what you like. You’re the doctor. It’s you holding the consultation, not the other way around.’

      ‘Thanks, I never thought of it like that.’

      ‘You’d better get those blood gases over to ICU.’

      Only then did Alice remember the kidney dish she was holding. ‘I’ll take them down to the lab myself. We’re not allowed to use the ICU blood-gas machine for ward patients unless it’s a real emergency,’ she reminded him.

      Jeremy screwed up his nose. ‘Since when?’

      ‘Since for ever—well, at least in the nine months I’ve been here.’

      But Jeremy didn’t look convinced. ‘I’ve never had a problem. Maybe it’s because I’m consultant,’ he said pompously.

      Well, you wouldn’t have a problem, would you? Alice thought to herself as they entered the intensive care unit. One glimpse of those impossibly blue eyes and a flash of that ready smile and everyone melted. Even Flynn, the gayest of porters, smoothed down his hair when Jeremy walked past. They were all so delighted to see him that Alice stood there awkwardly as they chatted away, greeting him like a long-lost friend. Finally Jeremy seemed to remember why they were there.

      ‘I’d better get these bloods done, or we’ll have to get a fresh sample.’

      Far from the grumbling staff that reluctantly allowed her to do blood gases in only the most dire of emergencies, for Jeremy it seemed it was absolutely no trouble at all. They even offered to run the test for him.

      ‘No,

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