‘There’s a grassy central reservation—looks like we’ll be able to land there. Just keep an eye out for power lines and street lights,’ the pilot reminded her team, as he did every flight. It was part of their ritual, and it made sure they had their eye on the ball.
Thea drew in a few deep breaths as the pilot prepared to land the craft. This was the worst part. They were so close, and her adrenalin was coursing, but they had to be calm, patient. The pilot was lining the helicopter up between the street lights, with everyone systematically checking their own side, the rear, and below. It was always felt so painfully slow compared to the rest of the flight.
With an exhalation of relief, Thea felt the helicopter touch down and she and her team jumped out. The road ambulance paramedics were waving her over to one crash victim. Even as she approached she could tell it was bad. The man’s leg was open to the bone, presumably from his skid across the Tarmac of the road. But it was his silence which concerned her the most. She could hear his pillion passenger screaming in pain, but this man, the rider, was showing minimal response.
She hastily called in to update Jack, back at base, then turned her attention to their patients.
She couldn’t assume the pillion rider was all right without checking, so she carried out a quick triage to confirm her suspicions.
‘Stable, good SATS, broken leg and primarily superficial cuts and bruises.’ She patched in the information to Jack.
But the other man wasn’t so fortunate, and she suspected there would be a risk of amputation without immediate treatment—which was why her crew had been called out.
‘Main casualty has open fracture on his knee. Suspected abdominal injury. Left side of chest severely compromised and he’s in and out of consciousness. His SATS are down in the low eighties and I’m not happy that they won’t drop out. I’m recommending ground ambulance, given the turbulence we experienced on the flight down and the short distance to the closest hospital. I’m going in the road ambulance—my guys too.’
If his SATS dropped again, or there were any other warning signs, Thea knew she would be able to spot them quickly and treat them. The fact that she was a trauma doctor was an advantage the air ambulance had over their road crew counterparts.
‘You’re clear for that.’ Jack’s voice responded immediately. ‘Team Two are still on standby. I’ll contact you if there are any emergencies.’
Giving her pilot a thumbs-up, telling him to return to the helicopter and follow the team to the hospital, Thea swung herself up into the ambulance with the critically injured rider and began to work.
* * *
Ben watched as Thea jumped smoothly out of the helicopter, striding out across the Tarmac back to the base. It was her third call-out in twelve hours. She looked exhausted. And beautiful, Ben realised in a tumble of emotions. Emotions he had no place feeling, which were now vying for his attention. He fought to hold them back. He’d been emotionally prepared for the old Thea. But this Thea—this strong woman who seemed to bulldoze through all his carefully laid plans—was a different prospect.
As she walked into the base and her eyes collided with his, however, he could have sworn he saw her face fall.
‘You were listening in the whole time?’
Why did he get the impression that whatever answer he gave it would be wrong?
‘It was an interesting case.’ He shrugged.
‘But you would have done things better?’
Ben frowned, confused. From all he’d heard, her last patient had been DOA. No one could have done anything about that. But he stayed quiet, giving Thea a moment.
Did she think he was going to challenge her? Nothing could be further from the truth. Thea was good. She was more than good. She had to know that. This sudden hostility didn’t seem to fit with the Thea he knew.
But how well do you really know her?
Ben tried to ignore the niggling reminder that she had never mentioned their marriage, even to her close-knit crew. He told himself it was hardly surprising, given that their marriage had been a sham anyway. But still, he felt oddly hurt and sidelined. She was getting under his skin again.
‘It was another motorbike rider in a high-speed collision—this time with a truck in the oncoming lane.’ Thea pushed past him into the break room, making her announcement to no one in particular and flinging her helmet down in frustration. ‘She was pushed into the central reservation when someone pulled into the fast lane to overtake and didn’t see the bike coming up behind. She clipped the barrier and flipped over into the oncoming traffic. DOA.’
‘I’m sorry,’ he sympathised.
‘Why don’t these people realise what happens to the human body when you come off one of those things?’
‘One in three are dead on arrival.’ One of the other paramedics looked up at Ben from his newspaper. ‘Thea takes it personally. She wants to at least feel she stands a chance of helping the victims she’s flown out to see.’
Ben nodded. He could understand that—it was something he had felt himself many times in the past. Perhaps it was conceit to think that he could have done something if the casualty had been alive when he arrived, rather than accepting that they were so badly injured they would have died whether or not he’d been there.
Still, he could empathise with Thea’s frustration. And it was a relief to find common ground. It was as though it helped him to understand the woman Thea was now. As though it somehow brought them closer together.
He let his gaze fall back on Thea. She’d looked so calm and poised, hour after hour, call-out after call-out. Now, suddenly, she looked sad and deflated. He wanted to comfort her but she wouldn’t welcome him. And besides, she didn’t need him. She probably never had.
Still, wordlessly he moved into the kitchen to make her some strong, sweet tea.