The second part of the competition was being held at the blue team’s hospital. Matt had texted Hannah, saying that he’d be there at seven thirty, and since she’d won the bet, he would be bringing coffee. Hannah had texted him back, saying she looked forward to a latte with no sugar and her phone had pinged almost immediately with a smiley face.
Matt stood out in the crowd, and she didn’t have to look for his blond hair and red T-shirt. He was next to the blue team’s contingent of supporters, chatting to a girl of around thirteen in a wheelchair, who’d obviously been brought down from one of the wards to watch. Hannah walked over to him, reaching out to tap him on the shoulder, but he seemed to sense she was there before she even touched him.
‘Ah, there you are.’ He was holding two large cardboard beakers and he handed one to Hannah. ‘Latte, no sugar. Mia, this is Hannah.’
‘Hi, Mia.’ Hannah grinned down at the girl. ‘You’re here to cheer for the blues, are you?’
‘I’m cheering for Dr Matt as well. He’s my doctor.’
Matt grinned. ‘Well, that’s very kind of you. I’ll run even faster knowing that you’re watching me.’ He gestured to a large screen that had been set up to one side of them. Clearly whatever they were going to be doing today would involve another location, and the cameras would be relaying what was happening.
‘He’d better run if he’s going to keep up with me.’ Hannah shared the information with Mia and she grinned.
‘That sounds a lot like a challenge.’ Matt was smiling too. ‘Hannah’s an ambulance paramedic, Mia.’
Mia’s face lit up. ‘That’s what I want to be...’
‘It’s a hard job, but I love it. I wouldn’t do anything else.’ Hannah wondered what was wrong with Mia and whether it would prevent her from dealing with the physical demands of the job.
‘When you’re better, you’ll be able to do anything you want.’ Matt came to her rescue. ‘The ambulance service will be lucky to have you.’
‘You’ve played a big part in making that possible.’ The woman standing next to Mia was obviously her mother.
‘It’s been my pleasure. I’m glad to see Mia doing so well.’ Matt bent down again. ‘Will you come back later today?’
‘You bet. I’ll be cheering you and Hannah.’
Hannah grinned at her. ‘Thanks. Ambulance crews have to stick together.’
They took their leave of Mia and her mother, strolling across the grass towards the reception tent. ‘I didn’t realise you worked here as well.’
‘I operate here from time to time. Mia had severe scoliosis, which is my specialty.’
‘She obviously thinks a lot of you.’ In Hannah’s experience you could generally judge a doctor by what their patients thought of them.
‘She’s a brave girl, and very determined. The first time I met her, she gave me a list—she’d written down all of the things she wanted to be able to do after her surgery.’
Hannah laughed. ‘And how are you doing with that?’
‘It’s looking good. Mia’s already working with the physiotherapists, and she’s doing well. She’ll tick everything off her list, given a little time.’
‘It must be nice, being able to follow through with your patients. I don’t always get that opportunity.’
‘Some of them I don’t get to know too well, on account of their being under anaesthetic. But I try to make time to see how they’re doing, especially the kids. Giving them a decent start in life is...’ Matt shrugged. ‘It’s what it’s all about, really.’
Hannah nodded. She’d been lucky and had had the best start in life; whatever mistakes she’d made had been hers alone. Something about Matt told her that maybe his life had been shaped by other people’s mistakes.
* * *
This time the teams were called one by one. They waited for what seemed like an age after the red team had been summoned, and finally they were kitted out with heavy boots, along with work gloves, jackets and hard hats. Then one of the production assistants ferried them by car to a row of old warehouses, empty and due for demolition. She drove away without another word, leaving them alone.
‘What do we do now?’ Hannah looked around. The site seemed deserted, although it was fair to assume that there must be cameras somewhere, trained on them.
‘I’ll walk that way a bit.’ Matt gestured to his left. ‘Maybe you go the other way, and see if you can see anything.’
‘Okay. Stay within hollering distance.’
He nodded, walking away from her. Hannah started to walk, scanning the crumbling brick fascia of the warehouses. If the hard hat was anything to go by, they were expected to go inside one of them, but which one...?