Josh broke into his thoughts. ‘You know, it could be useful to have a doc who’s winch trained.’
‘Why?’
‘There’s stuff she’d be qualified to do that we can’t.’
The disturbing notion that Dr Elliot could end up being better at this job than he was hadn’t occurred to Tama.
‘Like what?’ he snapped.
‘Oh, I dunno. Amputations?’
‘We can take on-line direction for treatment that’s out of our protocols if it’s a last resort.’
‘Yeah, but how much time does it take to find a doctor who can talk us through something like that? And what about, say, a thoracotomy?’
‘Cracking a chest in the field? Are you kidding? Just how likely do you think it would be for someone to survive that?’
‘They do it in ED.’
‘Almost never. And they generally have a cardiothoracic surgeon to do the procedure and a theatre to tidy up in afterwards.’ Tama knew he was being dismissive. Probably sounding more and more grumpy, but he didn’t like the idea of Mikki ending up better than him. To have something he’d worked for so damn hard handed to her on a plate—like everything else in her life.
‘Hey, I’m just saying.’ Josh shook his head, abandoning the conversation. ‘I reckon the mouse would be good to have around, that’s all. She’s really into the whole helicopter scene.’ He grinned at Tama. ‘She’s got the hand signals down pat, you have to admit that.’
‘Yeah.’
Tama turned his head to stare down at the ground. They were approaching the rugged, bush-covered hills that lay between the city and the coastline. Somewhere down there lay an injured tramper who was probably hypothermic by now because it had taken his friend a good few hours to walk out and call for help.
That’s what he should be thinking about. Not replaying the mental footage of Mikki standing in front of them, her face a mixture of satisfaction and an eagerness to impress, moving her body like some football team’s head cheerleader.
It wasn’t just the hand signals she’d mastered, though, was it?
She’d also learned the layout of the back of the helicopter by now and could find anything in the Thomas pack in no time flat. It had been fun testing her yesterday.
‘Find a large trauma dressing.
‘Where are the spare batteries?’
It could have been a game judging by the smile with which Mikki produced whatever she was asked to find.
‘Magill forceps.
‘Chest decompression kit.
‘Sharps container.’
She got fast enough to need more of a challenge.
‘A tourniquet, 16-gauge cannula, wipe, luer plug and tegaderm. Set up a running line of 0.9 per cent saline while I’m pretending to get the IV access.’
Not a peep came out of Mikki about why it might have been more appropriate for her to be the one putting a line in while Tama assisted by setting up fluids.
Unlike Josh, she’d never suggested it could be worthwhile accelerating her training because she could do more in the field than he was authorised to do.
In fact, not once since she’d set foot on their station had she pulled rank in any way. She hadn’t used her superior qualifications, any limitations that would have been perfectly reasonable given her gender, or any status associated with who her father happened to be.
He’d been expecting her to, he realised now. Ready to fight back. He wouldn’t have been at all surprised if the boss had called him in for a quiet word because Mikki had said something to her father and he wanted to make sure his daughter got everything she wanted.
Had she not said anything? How often did she talk to her father? Did she know that Tama knew who he was? His colleagues had agreed with him right from the start that Mikki was to be treated like any other trainee and it would be better not to even mention her family connections so maybe she didn’t realise they knew.
Were they both keeping that knowledge as a kind of ace up their sleeves? Would Mikki use hers first? Tama had to admit he was impressed that she hadn’t let anything slip. But, then, that admiration that had started so grudgingly had taken on a life of its own, hadn’t it?
Hell, even if this woman had resembled a potato in her physical appearance, Tama would have been impressed by now.
And she didn’t look anything like a potato.
She looked … amazing.
Tama sighed aloud. There it was, in a nutshell. He was attracted to her … big-time.
Josh had overheard the sigh. ‘Getting bored, mate? We’re almost there.’
‘Never bored,’ Tama’s smile at his friend was a kind of apology for his distraction. ‘Bring it on!’
OK. He was attracted to Mikki, but did it matter? He wasn’t going to act on it. The very idea was ludicrous. She was here to learn. From him. That put him in the position of being her superior. Her teacher. Ethically, he would be on dodgy ground if he let any kind of relationship interfere with that.
And he didn’t do relationships. Especially not with someone like Mikki. She was so not his type it was almost funny. Relationships meant you got close to someone, and if Mikki knew his background she’d look down on him. She wouldn’t be able to help herself. Just part of her social programming.
No. Tama liked where he was. He liked the respect—admiration, even—he could read in Mikki’s face. His past was his own so it was good that there was a very large barrier that would prevent him acting on his attraction. He didn’t need to think of getting that close.
Hey … nobody got that close so why the hell was he even thinking about it?
Because Mikki had got under his skin, that’s why. Far enough to make him miss her when she wasn’t around. There was no harm in appreciating the woman, though, was there? Playing a little?
Admitting the attraction was a release in a way. He knew what he was up against and he could handle it. From here on in, it was not going to distract him from the important things, like doing his job. This job, for instance. They were circling the area the GPS navigation system had identified. Any minute now and they would be into the rescue effort. Everything was good.
And if the next job meant that they had the mouse along to play, so be it. Tama could handle that, too.
The strident sound of the pagers came within minutes of the helicopter touching down but Tama appeared to be taking the details of the call with good humour. Mikki was watching him.
She’d watched the helicopter land and Tama and Josh climb out, laughing and talking as they’d made their way back inside. It had been so good to see them. Because she’d spent two hours studying and had had enough?
Yes, but that didn’t explain the way her heart tripped when she saw the now familiar shape of Tama heading her way. Her excitement wasn’t just about having stimulating company on station or the prospect of a new job that would include her in the action.
She had missed Tama’s presence. Missed the way he filled a room and gave even the air she breathed an extra dimension. He was larger than life, that was the problem. More so than any man she’d ever met. Some of that aura radiated and it was almost like the kind of adrenaline rush you got from facing a major challenge and succeeding.
It made her feel … bigger, somehow. Taller and braver and … special.
Tama