LITMIR.BIZ

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be inviting the worst. She’d already had enough of the worst. What she needed now was a miracle and she was going to go looking for it, no matter what Joel Addison said to the contrary.

      CHAPTER TEN

      PATRICK Naylor was sitting in the bar, waiting for her, when Allegra finally arrived, the two empty glasses in front of him suggesting he’d been there for quite a while.

      ‘I’m sorry I’m late but I had to go back to Theatre,’ she said as she sat down opposite him.

      ‘I wasn’t worried … not really,’ he said, giving her a quick on-off smile before his eyes moved away from hers as he stared into the empty glass in front of him, his shoulders suddenly slumping. ‘I just needed to see a friendly face.’

      ‘Is everything all right, Patrick?’ Allegra asked.

      He gradually brought his gaze back to hers, the moisture shining there indicating he was having trouble keeping his emotions at bay. ‘My wife is pregnant to her lover,’ he said. ‘I found out about it this morning.’

      ‘I’m so sorry. That must be awful for you.’

      He wiped at his eyes with the back of his hand. ‘The irony is it was me who kept putting off having a family. I guess that’s why she went looking elsewhere.’

      She reached for his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. ‘Is there anything I can do?’

      He shook his head and covered her hand with his. ‘No, there’s nothing anyone can do. I have to deal with it myself.’ He released a little sigh and continued, ‘I’ve booked in to see a counsellor. I think it’s time I did some work on myself.’

      ‘That’s very brave of you,’ she said softly.

      He removed his hand from hers. ‘I’m sorry I’ve been so full on lately. I thought if I threw myself into a new relationship I wouldn’t feel so bad about it all.’

      ‘I understand.’

      He gave her a twisted, somewhat grim smile. ‘I wanted to make my wife jealous. I thought if she saw you hanging on my arm she’d change her mind and come back, but that’s not going to happen now. It’s over.’

      ‘I’m glad you explained it to me.’

      ‘There’s something else …’ He pushed his empty glass out of his reach before his eyes returned to hers. ‘Joel Addison didn’t ask you out for the reasons I said. He is concerned about some issues pertaining to your project, especially since the Lowe incident, but I was just jealous and wanted to cause trouble.’

      ‘Oh …’

      ‘It was pathetic, I know, and I’m ashamed of myself. I hope I haven’t made things difficult for you. I know you have to work pretty closely with him.’

      ‘I’m sure we’ll sort it out …’ Allegra said, already mentally rehearsing an apology as she recalled her heated interaction with Joel earlier.

      Patrick got to his feet and, leaning down, placed a quick peck on her cheek before straightening. ‘Thanks for listening, Allegra. See you around some time.’

      ‘Be kind to yourself, Patrick. These things take time. Bye.’

      Joel wrote up the last of his notes before leaning back in his chair with a tired sigh. He rubbed his face, grimacing at the sound of his palm on his unshaven jaw. His conversation with Anthony Pardle about Tommy Lowe hadn’t been encouraging. There didn’t seem to be much hope but Joel had wanted to make sure he wasn’t allowing his personal feelings get in the way. He had rearranged the shifts so the more experienced nurses were looking after the little boy and he had restricted visitors so that noise and disruption was at a minimum.

      He’d even spent some time with the little boy after Anthony had left, sitting by his bed, talking to him, telling him some of the stuff he used to do as a kid.

      ‘I had a bike, a red one with blue stripes,’ he’d said, holding the boy’s small hand in his. ‘I thought I was pretty cool, riding up and down the street while my brother watched on the sidelines.’

      A nurse had come past and he waited until she’d moved on before continuing in a low, urgent tone, ‘Come on, Tommy, you have to do your best, mate, to wake up. No half-measures, got that?’ He gave the little hand in his a gentle squeeze. ‘I’m counting on you to pull out of this. You have to do it, for yourself, not just for your parents and Dr Tallis. You have to do it for yourself.’

      ‘How’s Tommy doing?’ Allegra asked Bethany, when she returned to ICTU before heading home for the night.

      The nurse handed her the BIS readouts. ‘No sign of any brain activity, I’m afraid.’

      Allegra fought against her disappointment as she read the printout.

      ‘The movie finished a while ago,’ Bethany said. ‘Do you want me to rerun it?’

      ‘Yes—it can’t hurt to give it another go,’ she said, still hoping for a miracle.

      ‘Anthony Pardle came in a little while ago,’ Bethany informed her. ‘I overheard him talking to Dr Addison about Tommy.’

      ‘What did he say?’

      ‘He doesn’t think there’s much hope of Tommy recovering.’

      Allegra refused to be put off. ‘You know what neurosurgeons are like—they see the worst so they always imagine the worst.’

      ‘Maybe, but Dr Addison seemed to be in agreement with him,’ Bethany said. ‘He agreed with Mr Pardle that Mr Lowe should be informed of the possibility of withdrawing life support from his son.’

      Allegra felt her stomach drop in alarm. ‘So soon?’

      ‘Brain dead is brain dead, Allegra,’ Bethany said. ‘An hour, a day, a week or a month won’t make Tommy’s brain repair itself.’

      ‘But it’s only been a couple of days!’ she argued. ‘We normally give patients a week or ten days before making that sort of decision. Besides, he’s a child. Studies have shown that children sometimes do recover from severe head trauma after prolonged support.’

      ‘I know, but Dr Addison and Mr Pardle have the final say, in consultation with the father, when they think the time is right,’ Bethany reminded her. ‘The sad thing is the mother is starting to show signs of regaining consciousness. It doesn’t seem fair that she gets another chance at life when her son doesn’t.’

      ‘What’s been happening with Kate Lowe?’

      ‘They’ve withdrawn the barbiturates, as we have with Tommy, but while in Tommy’s case nothing has happened, Kate has shown signs of spontaneous breathing and she opened her eyes once.’

      ‘And her BIS monitor scores?’

      ‘There are definite signs of brain activity,’ Bethany said. ‘But not in Tommy’s.’

      Allegra compressed her lips together as she looked at the small child being kept alive, his tiny limbs seeming to be even smaller than the day before. ‘Come on, Tommy,’ she pleaded softly. ‘Wake up, honey. I know you can do it.’

      Bethany gave Allegra a surreptitious nudge. ‘Here comes Tommy’s father and his aunt.’

      ‘Dr Tallis,’ Keith greeted her. ‘I’d like you to meet my sister, Serena Fairbright.’

      ‘Hello,’ Allegra said, offering her hand to the glamorous woman accompanying Tommy’s father.

      Serena’s hand brushed Allegra’s briefly. ‘How is my little nephew?’

      ‘He’s doing as well as can be expected,’ Allegra answered.

      ‘How did you go with the movie?’ Keith asked.

      ‘We’re playing it again now.’

      ‘So

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