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any longer. But his rather prolonged sigh and obvious irritation made it quite clear he considered Rachael disorganised, and unfairly so, when in truth she was an efficient and meticulous nurse.

      As the door closed behind them the distractions of the ward might have disappeared momentarily but the designers had obviously never factored into their calculations the far bigger distraction of a blond giant in a bad mood, whose aftershave was practically asphyxiating her, his unmasked irritation making it hard to concentrate on the endless vials of drugs that greeted her.

      ‘Sorry,’ she muttered. ‘I’m not sure of the layout.’

      Luckily all the antibiotics were stored alphabetically and for the most part none of the drug names had changed in her absence, but the drumming of his very neat, very well manicured fingers on the bench only exacerbated her nervousness.

      She showed him the vial of antibiotic and Hugh checked the name and expiry date with a brief nod. Rachael did the same with the vials of saline. Opening the controlled-drug drawer, she located the drug book before opening the box of pethidine.

      ‘Seven,’ she stated, showing Hugh the box.

      ‘Fine. Where do I sign?’

      ‘You’re supposed to look before you sign,’ Rachael said through gritted teeth. ‘You’re supposed to check that there are actually seven ampoules of pethidine remaining. The law requires it.’

      ‘I did,’ he said tartly. ‘I’m not some two-year-old who has to use my fingers to count. Now, where do I sign?’

      To add insult to injury, when it was Rachael’s turn to add her signature, she realised she had left her pen at Sheila’s bedside and no amount of rummaging through her pocket was going to produce one.

      ‘Here,’ he said with annoying calmness. ‘You can use mine.’

      ‘Thank you.’

      ‘Do you have a problem with cosmetic patients Rachael?’ Hugh’s question wasn’t exactly unexpected, given the chain of events, but it still hurt none the less.

      ‘No, of course I don’t,’ she answered briskly, filling out the columns in the drug book.

      ‘Well, you wouldn’t be the first nurse on this ward if you did.’

      ‘Then it’s good that I don’t.’

      ‘You can see why I’m asking, can’t you? Hailey had to ask three times for a simple jug of water, her antibiotics are late and she’s also in considerable pain.’

      ‘My other patient had chest pain. Surely you don’t expect to leave a potentially life-threatening incident to replenish your patient’s water jug? And as for her pain, Hailey never gave me any indication she was in distress—in fact, the only thing on her mind seemed to be the fact that she didn’t have any water.’ She was on a roll now and added her signature with a flurry as she continued. ‘And if you’d give me a moment, I can draw up her antibiotics and they’ll only be …’ glancing at her watch, Rachael met his eyes with a defiant look ‘… fifteen minutes late, hardly a reportable incident by anyone’s standards.’ Despite her fiery response, tears were appallingly close now, and the very last thing Rachael wanted to do was break down—not here, not now and certainly not in front of Hugh.

      ‘Look …’ His voice was softer now and Rachael stared pointedly at the blur of her signature in the drug book as he spoke. ‘Maybe I came on a bit strong. Of course, a patient with chest pain has to take precedence. I tend to jump in without looking sometimes, particularly in the last few weeks. Suffice it to say there’s been a few teething problems with my patients on the general wards. Some of the nurses have the attitude that cosmetic patients are somehow less deserving of pain control, as if the fact they elected for the procedure should mean they’re prepared to suffer the consequences. I know they can be demanding and difficult, but the simple truth is that most of them have saved hard or have waited a long time for these procedures. It isn’t something they’ve taken lightly and they’re scared of it all going wrong.

      ‘Hailey doesn’t ask for pain control because she thinks she’ll get out of here more quickly without it. Unfortunately, in this instance it’s worked the other way. She was in too much pain to mobilise and do her deep-breathing exercises and now she’s going to be here for at least a week on IV antibiotics.’

      He had a point, Rachael was honest enough to admit that. After all, more than a few eyes had rolled during handover when they’d discussed the cosmetic patients, but his unjust assumption had riled her and she certainly wasn’t going to take the blame because a couple of her colleagues’ haloes might need a polish. ‘Well, that isn’t my attitude,’ Rachael said firmly. ‘I’ve nothing against cosmetic patients and I resent the implication.’ She could feel his eyes on her but still she didn’t look around.

      ‘In that case, I apologise.’

      Rachael would have answered, would have accepted his apology, but the tightness in her throat and the tremor in her bottom lip as she battled not to cry made it safer to ignore him, the silence growing louder as he awaited her response.

      ‘Fine,’ he snapped eventually, and from the rather curt turn on his heel Rachael’s inadvertent snub hadn’t gone unnoticed. Following him out onto the ward, trying to keep up with his long angry strides, Rachael rued the day she’d decided to come back to nursing. One hour into her shift and already she’d made an enemy.

      Well, Hugh Connell could go and jump!

      What right did he have to judge her? What right did he have to make such assumptions and then expect her to meekly accept his apology? If his patient’s drugs being ten minutes late was all he had to worry about, then Hugh Connell was a lucky man indeed!

      He should try walking a mile in her shoes.

      CHAPTER TWO

      ‘SORRY it took so long, Hailey, it’s just been a bit busy.’ Despite her internal anger, Rachael managed an easy smile and chatted away to her patient. ‘If I could just have your wrist, I can check your ID band.’

      Everyone knew the patient was Hailey but policy decreed that two staff members check the ID band against the drug chart. Happy that everything was in order, Rachael expected Hugh to leave them to it, and was somewhat taken back when he hovered.

      ‘I still have to check her wound,’ he said by way of explanation as Rachael removed the cap on the IV bung.

      ‘These have to be given over five minutes,’ Rachael said, expecting Hugh, like most doctors, to take the opportunity to make a quick phone call or grab a coffee. But Hugh, Rachael was quickly learning, was absolutely unlike anyone she’d ever come across.

      ‘I’m happy to wait,’ he said easily. Which was pretty amazing in itself, but when he sat on the bed and started to idly flick through the newspaper and make small talk with Hailey, Rachael thought she had seen everything. Most consultants would have positively baulked at the idea of having to make five minutes of small talk with a patient. Hugh, though, seemed delighted at the opportunity and it was a credit to them both that Hailey couldn’t even have imagined the rather curt exchange that had taken place only moments before.

      ‘I was telling Rachael earlier that I remember her from the last time I was in here.’

      ‘Was that when you had your appendix out?’

      ‘Yep, Rachael here was just about to go off on maternity leave.’

      She felt Hugh’s eyes turn to her and she fiddled with the IV bung, trying to ignore the conversation that was unfolding.

      ‘So what did you call her?’ Hailey asked.

      ‘That’s the first.’ Rachael didn’t look up as she swapped over syringes. ‘I’m just going to give you your second antibiotic now.’

      ‘Your daughter,’ Hailey insisted, pursuing the conversation despite Rachael’s obvious reluctance. ‘What did you call her?’

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