Winning the Surgeon's Heart

They lifted Ben onto the bed, and Sophie folded the ambulance stretcher, ready to take it back out to the vehicle. Matt was talking to Ben as he quickly examined him, and Hannah readied the ultrasound machine, handing the probe to Matt as soon as he turned around to look for it.

‘Great, thanks.’ Even that small approbation meant more than it should. Matt was studying the screen on the ultrasound carefully, his brow furrowing for a split second before he made his decision. ‘You were right, this is a tension pneumothorax. I’m going to do a thoracostomy—can you assist?’

Hannah nodded. Ben was conscious and Matt had undoubtedly left out the word emergency in describing the thoracostomy for his benefit. But they had no time to lose now. Hannah had taken Ben’s shirt off in the ambulance, and now she raised his arm, smiling at him as she placed it behind his head.

‘What’s...happening...?’ Ben began to move restively. Breathlessness and agitation were two of the symptoms that Hannah had already noted.

‘The doctor’s going to do a small procedure that’ll help you to breathe more easily. We need to you stay as still as you can.’ Hannah tried to reassure Ben and hold him still without getting in Matt’s way. She’d never before felt so conscious of the touch of another body, working next to her.

Ben flinched as Matt swabbed the area at the side of his chest, moving again so that he could see what Matt was doing. Hannah couldn’t blame him, but he had to keep still.

‘Ben, this will be over soon. I’m going to inject an anaesthetic now. Look at Hannah, not me.’

Matt’s voice was relaxed and calm. The kind of voice that you needed to hear when you were afraid and in pain. Ben quietened, his gaze fixed on Hannah, and she gave him a reassuring smile.

‘Very still now.’ She heard Matt’s voice behind her and leaned forward, preparing for the inevitable reaction when the needle went into Ben’s chest. Matt was working quickly and deftly, but no amount of skill could render the procedure painless.

Ben groaned, gripping her hand tightly, and Hannah heard a tell-tale hiss of air as the tension in the pleural cavity was relieved. Matt withdrew the needle carefully, taping a plastic cannula in place.

‘All done. You did really well.’ Matt smiled at Ben as he started to examine him again, to check that the procedure had relieved his symptoms. ‘Hannah and I are a team, you know. We’re entering a competition to win money for the hospital.’

This wasn’t just idle talk. Matt was assessing Ben’s ability to understand and reply.

‘Yeah? You’re lucky to have her.’ Ben’s face was less ashen now.

‘Don’t I know it.’ Matt smiled, and tingles ran down Hannah’s spine. She reminded herself that Matt’s sudden impulse to chat was for Ben’s benefit, not hers. ‘I’m rather hoping that she’ll keep me in line.’

Keeping Matt in line felt like a delicious and yet difficult prospect. Hannah shot a smile in Ben’s direction. ‘It looks as if I’m going to have my work cut out for me.’

‘Just let me know if he gives you any trouble.’ Ben’s hand found

hers again and Hannah gave it a squeeze. ‘I’ll sort him out for you.’

‘Thanks. I might take you up on that.’

Matt chuckled, and his glance of approval told Hannah that he’d seen exactly what she had. Ben was much less breathless now, and he was more alert. As Matt set about checking Ben’s blood pressure, one of the A and E doctors arrived with a nurse, ready to take over from them.

Matt briefed the doctor, while Hannah said goodbye to Ben. When she left the cubicle, she saw that Matt was already at the far end of the busy space outside but he’d stopped by the door and was waiting for her. Hannah stripped off her apron and gloves, and went to join him.

‘Spotting the early signs of a tension pneumothorax isn’t easy in the best of circumstances, let alone in the back of an ambulance.’

Hannah nodded. Matt’s easygoing humour had given her no clues about what he thought about the course of action she’d taken, but she was pleased that he approved.

‘We were close to the hospital, and the symptoms were inconclusive. Doing a thoracostomy in the back of an ambulance isn’t ideal, and I decided it was better to keep going so that Ben’s condition could be properly confirmed...’ She bit her lip. Matt’s gaze was making her feel very nervous.

‘You don’t need me to tell you that you made the right decision, do you?’

‘No, I don’t.’ She really wanted him to, but that had more to do with his blue eyes and his smile than it did with any medical considerations.

Those eyes, and the thought of how it had felt working next to him, were playing havoc with her senses. And Ben wasn’t here to concentrate her mind on other things. Suddenly it felt as if she was standing too close to Matt, but stepping back now was only going to betray her embarrassment.

‘I should be getting along now. Sophie’s probably waiting for me, with some lunch.’

Matt nodded amiably. ‘I’ll see you on Saturday.’

‘Yes. Saturday.’ Hannah tried to think of something friendly and encouraging to say, and came up empty.

As he walked away, she couldn’t resist watching him, telling herself that assessing the width of his shoulders was something to do with deciding on Matt’s ability to handle whatever they were confronted with on Saturday. She jumped, as Sophie seemed to appear out of nowhere and caught her staring.