‘I’d say you don’t have too much to worry about on the teamwork front.’
Hannah shrugged. ‘It’s different. We both knew what had to be done...’
‘Yeah. Keep telling yourself that. You two looked as if you were reading each other’s minds.’ Sophie grinned at her. ‘Come on. Let’s take our break while we can. I could murder a cup of tea.’
Hannah nodded. There was a lot to do before Saturday rolled around, and she could begin to feel nervous about that later.
* * *
The four teams had started to gather on the open space behind the hospital building at seven thirty, for the first of four Saturdays that were intended to single out one team to represent Hertfordshire in the finals of Hospital Challenge. Many of Hannah’s friends and workmates were there to watch, and the other teams had brought carloads of their own supporters.
Hannah had been issued with three red T-shirts, with the name of her hospital emblazoned on the back, and she was wearing one. The other teams were wearing blue, green and yellow, so that they could be picked out easily by the cameras. There was a large marquee that no one was allowed access to, and everyone was eyeing it with a mixture of curiosity and apprehension.
Matt was nowhere to be seen. Hannah had greeted the other teams, shaking hands with them and keeping her eye out for the splash of red that she hoped might announce his arrival.
Finally she saw him. Strolling across the grass towards her, wearing the same red T-shirt, with a pair of cargo pants and trainers. They hadn’t been told what to expect, other than that anything might be thrown at them today, and Hannah had made the same decision.
‘Hello.’ She wanted to ask where the hell he’d been, but that might not be the best start to this new partnership.
‘Hi. Sorry I’m late.’ He looked at his watch. Matt wasn’t late, it was just that everyone else had been half an hour early. ‘I stopped by my office...’
‘Doing real work, then.’ Hannah tried to smile.
Matt shrugged. ‘This feels surprisingly real at the moment.’
One hint that he wasn’t as laid-back about all of this as he made out. ‘I’m a bit nervous, too.’
He laughed suddenly. ‘Did you get the pep talk from Human Resources?’
‘The one about how everyone’s going to be watching, and the good name of the hospital is on our shoulders? And how much the hospital can do with the cash prize, if we win?’ Hannah quirked her lips down. ‘Yes, I got it.’
‘And of course we both feel a great deal better after that.’ There was a twinkle in his eye, and Hannah felt herself relax.
‘So much better. Nothing like the weight of expectation to give us wings. I wonder what the other teams have up their sleeves.’
He nodded, motioning quietly away from the groups of people that surrounded them. Hannah followed him to a quiet spot in the shadow of the hospital building.
‘My office window is just up there.’
Hannah followed the line of his finger. The windows of the second-floor surgical suite looked out over the people milling around the marquee. It occurred to her that Matt hadn’t been up there, working.
‘What have you seen?’
‘I reckoned that the first thing we needed to do was assess the competition. We’re not the only team who don’t know each other all that well. Look at the blues and the greens.’
Hannah looked. The two green T-shirts were giving each other a high five, which she’d seen them do before, and it was obviously for the benefit of the people around them.
‘I’d agree with you about the greens. Too demonstrative.’
He nodded. ‘And the blues have their backs to each other most of the time.’
‘The yellows seem pretty tight.’
‘Yes, they are, I know them. Jack and Laura crew an ambulance, working out of Cravenhurst Hospital.’
Matt looked suddenly uncomfortable. Hannah had tried to hide her feelings but he must know that she’d wanted to be partnered with Sophie.
‘So we reckon that two of the other teams are like us, and don’t know each other too well. But the yellows are already very used to working together...’ Matt’s brow puckered in thought. ‘Maybe we just pretend we have a tension pneumothorax to contend with. We did pretty well there.’