The Doctor Claims His Bride. Fiona Lowe

nurse working next to him who wasn’t fitting at all into the power-hungry, bossy role he’d assigned her at the start of the emergency. ‘Jimmy, you might start to feel a bit sleepy.’

      The pulsometer pinged loudly and Mia rechecked Jimmy’s blood pressure. ‘It’s steadied but still too low.’ She turned on the oxygen and carefully placed the prongs in Jimmy’s nostrils. ‘You just breathe normally, Jimmy, OK?’

      The lad silently accepted the elastic being put around his head and gripped his mother’s hand more tightly.

      ‘How’s that spear hurt him?’ Ruby spoke for the first time.

      Flynn pulled the ultrasound machine into place and squirted gel onto Jimmy’s back. ‘That’s what we’re going to find out.’

      The black and white swirl of the ultrasound slowly morphed from a snowstorm into clear vision. Flynn’s eyes adjusted to the images on the screen.

      ‘It always looks like fuzz to me.’ Mia gave a self-deprecating chuckle from the other side of the trolley.

      Her candour startled him. He wasn’t used to people publicly admitting what they didn’t know. He tilted the screen so she could see it and pointed to a white shape surrounded by black. ‘Recognise that?’

      She peered toward the screen. ‘Is that the spear? I thought it would show up as black.’

      ‘It’s solid so it reflects a greater amount of sound or echo and it gives out a more intense signal which shows up as white.’ A familiar surge of satisfaction welled inside him—he’d always enjoyed teaching staff when he’d been down south.

      ‘That makes sense. Thanks for explaining it.’ Smile lines curved around her mouth for a moment before fading.

      She’s open to learning.

      He ignored the unwanted voice of reason. Holding up his fingers ten centimetres apart, he spoke to Ruby. ‘It’s gone inside Jimmy that much.’

      Ruby silently absorbed the information, her eyes glued to the screen.

      He slowly explored the peritoneum, heart, diaphragm, the liver, spleen, kidneys and bowel, looking for signs of black and grey, which would indicate fresh bleeding. ‘It’s torn a small hole in the liver.’

      ‘Would that account for his BP?’

      Flynn rubbed his chin, enjoying having such an interested colleague. ‘Perhaps, but it’s not a big hole and a haematoma’s already forming.’

      ‘I need to pee.’ Jimmy started to wriggle.

      Mia quickly grabbed a urinal and a privacy sheet, and helped the boy get into position to void.

      ‘Test it, Mia.’

      ‘I thought I might.’ The words hung in the air as she walked out with the filled bottle.

      Her soft and reasonable tone at his unnecessary order slugged him. Nurses always tested urine and he had no idea why he’d even said it, especially as they’d seemed to settle into a truce of sorts and were working together quite well.

      Because she’s got under your skin.

      He turned his attention to the examination of Jimmy’s right kidney. It was the organ closest to the liver and as the liver had been nicked, there might be damage there. The kidney came into focus.

      ‘Flynn, he’s got gross haematuria, his urine is pink. Can you see signs of bleeding on the ultrasound?’ Mia’s voice carried across the room.

      He tilted his head. ‘Come and look at this.’ He pointed to the image of Jimmy’s right kidney, which showed a small tear at the top. ‘It’s sliced through the top of the kidney, torn the liver and come to a halt.’

      She leaned in close and he caught the scent of sun and sand, with a hint of the heady perfume of frangipani. He stifled the urge to breathe in more deeply.

      ‘Will he need surgery to repair the tears?’

      He kept his eyes on the screen, checking he hadn’t missed anything. ‘I think that the haematoma will stop the bleeding. To a certain extent it already has because his pressure’s steadied and the kidney and liver should heal just fine on their own.’

      ‘So we can remove the spear tip safely now without fear of causing a big bleed?’

      He turned to face her. ‘We can.’

      ‘That’s excellent news.’ Happiness for their patient radiated from her and her face glowed. ‘After a few days of close monitoring he’ll be back kicking the footy.’

      Flynn deliberately looked away from her smile, trying to stall the rush of blood to his groin. He caught sight of the protocol handbook resting on the desk. Written by bureaucrats in Darwin and issued to every new health-care worker, Mia must have been reading it before Jimmy’s arrival. ‘Technically, the clinic doesn’t allow for overnight stays and any major medical emergency should be evacuated.’

      Again Mia frowned, the bridge of her nose wrinkling. ‘Surely he’d be better off here close to his family. I’m happy to nurse him and you’re on the island if his condition unexpectedly deteriorates.’ Her eyes suddenly teased. ‘I’ll toss you for the three a.m. to five shift.’

      He smiled broadly. ‘You’re on.’ He couldn’t believe his luck—she knew her medicine and she was prepared to bend the rules. The Kirri people hated leaving the island and Ruby would be out of her depth in Darwin.

      ‘For two firstborns, we seemed to manage that pretty well, didn’t we?’ She spoke quietly, suddenly serious.

      The look in her deep aqua eyes whipped him hard in the gut. A look that was devoid of any grandstanding, the look that was completely inclusive and said loudly, We’re a team.

      A team. She was right—they had worked well together. He should be thrilled that after all this time he was finally working with a RAN who wanted to be a team player because that would make his working life so much easier. But a leaden feeling settled in his gut and thrilled didn’t come close to describing it. He ran his hand through his hair, his brain scrambling to make sense of his feelings.

      She’s just an average nurse like every other one you’ve met, worked with and forgotten.

      But there was nothing average about Mia and that was the problem.