‘It’ll get easier. The first few months as a junior doctor can be hard on the nerves, but after that you kind of get the hang of things.’ He opened the door for her.
‘How about you and I meet up and have lunch down by the river later on? You can fill me in on the set up back at the house—who does what, whether there are any rotas for getting in the groceries and cleaning, and so on.’
She frowned. ‘Won’t you be on call? I mean, what if you’re paged?’
‘That’s okay. The registrar will be on duty to provide cover and, anyway, it won’t take long to get back here if need be. That’s the beauty of working in this place, we’re very close to the Thames.’
‘I suppose so.’ She frowned. ‘As to lunch, I’m not sure. I was planning on going to the library to study. Perhaps some other time.’ She would be seeing a lot of him over the next few months, she knew she had to get used to that idea, but even so, her instincts were warning her that if it was at all possible, she ought to keep some distance between them.
He forestalled her when she would have left the room, placing a hand on her arm. ‘You need to take a break—a proper break. It’s good to relax—it helps to clear your mind and revitalise you. That way you’ll be able to do your job so much better.’
She chuckled, admiring his persistence. ‘Really? Is that what you do? Now I see why you’re so fond of your reclining chair. Lucy said you couldn’t do without it.’
‘It’s true.’ He feigned a serious expression. ‘I do some of my best thinking in that chair.’
She shook her head. ‘Maybe you can get by on a quick read through of information, but I’m afraid I can’t. Unfortunately, I have to knuckle down and study hard.’
‘All the more reason to take a proper lunch hour. I’ll come and find you around one o’clock.’ He waved a hand and disappeared back inside the unit.
Her mouth dropped open a fraction as she watched him go. He didn’t mean to give up, did he?
She took the blood samples and forms over to the lab, and spent a few minutes chatting to the pathologist. She got on well with him, and knew that he would get back to her with his report as soon as he was able.
When she walked back into the neonatal unit a little later, she was relieved to find that the coast was clear. Ben was nowhere to be seen.
‘He was called to Paediatrics,’ Alice, the nurse on duty, told her. She pulled a mournful face. ‘Such a shame. I could so get used to working with him.’
Jade smiled, and Alice chuckled, her silky black hair shifting and settling as she moved her head. ‘He’s good-natured, too,’ she said. ‘I can see he’ll be great on the children’s ward.’
‘He is,’ Jade agreed. ‘I was with him in Paediatrics a few days back, and the youngsters loved him. I wonder if he’s found his vocation?’
‘Oh, surely not? That has to be here, with me, I’m certain of it.’ Alice grinned and pulled a trolley from a side room. ‘For the urine testing,’ she explained, indicating the equipment that was set out on sterile cloths. ‘You said that was your next job.’
‘So I did. Thanks, Alice. I’ll get to it.’
Jade was busy for the next hour or so, checking up on Sammy and the other babies in the unit. She even managed to sit with one three-week-old infant, nestling her in her arms while the baby sucked at a bottle of milk formula, making small gasping and gurgling noises. Her delicate complexion was peaches and cream, with a smattering of milk-rash spots across her nose and cheeks.
‘You’re beautiful,’ Jade murmured, watching as the baby sucked hungrily. ‘I think I want one just like you.’ Her expression was wistful.
The time flew by, and she was deeply immersed in her work when Ben came back into the unit. ‘Are you ready to go?’ he queried. ‘Can I help you finish what you’re doing?’
‘Is it that time already?’ she murmured, glancing up at him. She finished examining the infant she was with, and folded her stethoscope into her pocket. Maybe her library study could wait. It would be good to get out in the fresh air. ‘I just have to make a note of the prescription medicines, and I’ll be with you.’
Ben checked the oxygen flow being delivered to the baby in the specialised cot, and then he bent over and lightly stroked the infant’s leg. ‘She still has her legs curled as though she’s in the womb,’ he said softly. ‘They’re so tiny, these premature babies, aren’t they? They’re barely much bigger than my hand.’
She nodded. It brought a lump to her throat to see such a strong man being so gentle with a helpless infant. ‘There,’ she said after a while, ‘I’m all finished. I’m ready to leave now.’
‘Good. We’ll stop to pick up some lunch to go from the cafeteria, on the way.’
‘All right.’
The air was fresh and sweet as they left the hospital and walked along the streets towards the river. They found a bench seat along the walkway where they could sit and eat, and spend time looking out over the glittering water. Jade watched the leisure boats drifting by, and listened to the birds calling overhead.
‘I hope they’re not after our lunch,’ she said, her mouth making a wry curve. ‘I’ve heard that gulls have been known to swoop down and take the food from people’s hands.’
‘Nah. They’re a better class of bird around here.’ He looked in the paper bag he was holding. ‘I’m sure they’re not partial to sausage rolls and Chelsea buns … a brown trout instead, maybe, or a tasty chub.’
‘That’s just as well, because I am. There’s something about sausage pasties that really gets my taste buds flowing.’ She flipped the lid on her coffee carton. ‘Mmm … this is good,’ she said, swallowing the hot liquid. ‘Just what I needed.’
He handed her a sausage roll wrapped in a serviette and she bit into it hungrily. ‘This is great,’ she said, savouring the taste. ‘It’s still warm from the oven, the way I like it.’ She laughed. ‘At least I get to eat it all to myself. If my brother’s around, and there are sausage rolls or pasties anywhere in the house, no one gets a look in.’
He smiled at her enjoyment of the food. ‘Do you have just the one brother?’
‘Actually, I have three altogether, and Ross, the one who likes pasties, is the youngest. The others are older than me.’
‘That sounds like quite a houseful.’
She nodded. ‘What about you? Do you have any brothers?’
‘A sister. She’s younger than me and works with my father in the business—it’s a packaging company. Sarah runs the office down in Hampshire.’
‘Is that where your family live—in Hampshire?’
‘That’s right. We have a rambling old house in a beautiful village down there. We’re close to the forest, and not too far from the sea.’
His expression was remote for a second or two, and she said quietly, ‘It sounds as though you wish you were back there.’
His mouth curved. ‘Yes, I think I do. It’s where I was born and brought up.’
‘Didn’t you think of doing your training back there?’
‘I did, but the programme that was offered here in London tempted me more. I suppose my parents instilled in me the need to be focussed, to achieve my full potential, and that’s what I’m trying to do.’
He was thoughtful for