LITMIR.BIZ

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they only accepted housemen who had gained experience in one of the other departments, but there had been a shortage of suitable candidates so they’d had no option but to take Rob fresh from med school. He seemed to be shaping up well enough but Heather made a note to keep an eye on him. An emergency like this could be extremely harrowing for everyone involved.

      Once again, she steered her mind away from what might confront her in a few minutes’ time. She quickly dialled through to Ambulance Control and breathed a sigh of relief when they assured her that there were no more casualties on their way. It would be just the child and the fireman to deal with.

      The sound of a siren alerted her to the fact that the ambulance was drawing up outside. Heather replaced the receiver and took a deep breath. She had to put aside her personal demons. There were people depending on her and she mustn’t let them down.

      ‘OK, Ross, I’m going to take you straight through to Resus. They’ll soon get you sorted out.’

      Ross eased the oxygen mask away from his face. His throat felt raw and swollen as a result of all the smoke he’d swallowed but he was less concerned about himself than the child. ‘Don’t worry about me. Just make sure the kid is attended to.’

      ‘I think you can safely leave it up to us to prioritise treatment. Now, if you would put that mask back on…’

      A cool hand brushed his cheek as the oxygen mask was firmly fitted back into place. Startled, Ross glanced round but the woman had already moved away. He just had time to catch a glimpse of a slender back beneath the folds of a crisp white coat before she disappeared through swing doors at the far side of the room, but it was enough to intrigue him. Who was she?

      He might have attempted to voice the question out loud but the woman’s intervention seemed to have galvanised the paramedics into action. Before Ross knew what was happening he found himself being wheeled through the same doors into what was obviously the resuscitation unit.

      His gaze skimmed around the room and he felt a ripple run through him when he spotted a familiar white-coated figure bending over one of the beds. Once again the woman had her back to him and Ross found himself willing her to turn round as the paramedics got him safely ensconced on another bed. He had no idea why he should be so fascinated by her but he was desperate to know who she was.

      His view was suddenly interrupted when a nurse appeared and began attaching him to the state-of-the-art monitoring equipment standing beside the bed. Adhesive pads were stuck to his chest and an array of electrodes clipped into place, then his finger was clamped with a plastic peg and the monitor was switched on. The young nurse smiled reassuringly as she adjusted the settings on the machine.

      ‘Dr Carlisle will be here in a moment to check you over. Don’t worry. You’re going to be fine.’

      Ross tried to smile back but it was difficult to perform any facial manoeuvres with the mask biting into his nose and mouth. It was starting to make him feel a bit claustrophobic but he wasn’t sure it would be wise to remove it again and maybe earn himself another rebuke….

      His pulse leapt as the woman across the room suddenly turned and he got his first proper look at her face. He blinked because his eyes were still a little hazy from all the smoke…or, at least, he assumed that was what was wrong with them. Surely it was the only explanation for why it felt as though he was looking at the face of an angel rather than a real, live, flesh-and-blood woman?

      In a dazzled sweep Ross drank in each of her features from the generous curve of her mouth to the wonderfully soft grey eyes in their frame of sooty black lashes. Her nose was short and straight, her forehead smooth and unlined, her cheekbones so perfect that surely only a sculptor could have created them.

      Her golden-brown hair was twisted into an uncompromising knot at the back of her head, but the severe style simply highlighted her beauty rather than detracted from it. It also made his palms tingle in the strangest way to imagine how it would feel to pull out all those pins and allow her hair to tumble around her shoulders in wanton disarray….

      She turned away when one of the nurses came back with a bag of saline. Ross sucked in as deep a breath as his swollen throat and burning lungs would allow. What the hell was going on? Why had this unknown woman had such an effect on him? Was it all the smoke he’d inhaled that had addled his brain?

      He closed his eyes and forced himself to concentrate on the mundane matter of keeping a steady supply of oxygen flowing into his body. But it was alarming how that beautiful face seemed to have impinged on his consciousness. Even with his eyes closed he could still see her…his very own, very beautiful angel.

      ‘Not as bad as I’d feared. I’d like the burns reg to take a look at this area above his left ankle but, apart from that, he’s been extremely lucky.’

      Heather was pleased to hear how calm she sounded. In truth, she didn’t feel at all calm yet the panic that was welling inside her didn’t owe itself purely to the stress of dealing with this type of emergency. What was it about the way that fireman had been looking at her that had unsettled her so?

      She summoned a smile for the little boy lying on the bed, hoping that the rest of the team hadn’t noticed anything amiss. Ben Carlisle was attending to the fireman so at least she wouldn’t have to deal with him, which was a relief. Deliberately, she blocked him from her mind.

      ‘You’ve been a really brave boy, Damien. Nurse is going to give you some special medicine to stop your leg hurting and then another doctor will come and see you.’

      ‘Want my mummy,’ the little boy wailed, his eyes filling with tears.

      ‘I know you do, poppet.’ Heather gently patted his hand then glanced at Melanie. ‘Is his mother waiting outside? It might be better if we let her come and sit with him. There’s no point in him getting upset.’

      ‘She didn’t come with him.’ Melanie lowered her voice so the child couldn’t overhear. ‘From what I could gather she’d gone out and left him in the flat on his own. A neighbour alerted the fire crew when they arrived and told them the child was still inside the building.’

      ‘But he’s only a baby!’ Heather found it impossible to hide her dismay. ‘How on earth could any mother leave a child that age on his own?’

      ‘No idea, but it happens all too often, I’m afraid.’ Melanie glanced across the room and sighed. ‘Evidently, the fireman who rescued him was lucky not to be killed. The whole place caved in just seconds after he got the kid out.’

      Heather shuddered, unable to stop the rapid play of images that flashed through her head. They were part of the nightmare that had haunted her since Stewart had died. Everyone had said that he’d been a hero but it was hard to find comfort in that fact when all she could think about was what she had lost that day.

      ‘Heather, are you OK?’

      ‘Fine. I was just wondering if we should ask the police to find the mother,’ she said briskly when she heard the concern in Melanie’s voice. She mustn’t think about what had happened to Stewart. She must focus on what needed doing, instead of allowing her emotions to run away with her. ‘If they questioned the neighbours then someone might be able to tell them where she went.’

      ‘Want me to have word with them?’ Melanie offered. ‘There’s a policeman waiting outside so I could ask him.’

      ‘No. It’s OK. I’ll do it. The burns reg should be here any minute….’ Heather glanced round as the door opened and Alan Fontain appeared. ‘Ah, here he is now.’

      She quickly relayed everything that had been done for the little boy for the benefit of the other registrar. Alan was of the same opinion as her, that the child had been extremely fortunate to have got off with such a small area of damage. He made arrangements to admit Damien to the burns unit then hurriedly left.

      ‘If you’ll take Damien to the burns unit, Mel, I’ll have a word with that policeman,’ Heather began, only to stop once more when Ben approached her.

      ‘Would you mind taking a look at

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