* * *
Nell climbed inside the car, sliding across to where the baby was secured on the back seat. Fumbling with the nylon mesh straps, she found that one of them had become caught when the front passenger seat had been forced back a few inches in the crash.
But it seemed that the baby was unhurt. Quickly she crawled backwards out of the car, opening the medical kit that Ted had brought and searching for a scalpel. It registered at the back of her mind that as car medical kits went, this one was particularly well-stocked and it looked as if Hugo might need it. The woman in the front seat of the car still wasn’t moving.
She climbed back inside the car, cutting the straps around the car seat with the scalpel and carefully pulling the car seat free. Laying it down on the grass, she examined the baby for any signs of injury.
‘Okay?’ Ted’s voice behind her sounded as if he was fighting with a lump in his throat.
‘Yes, I can’t see any injuries at all.’ The baby was still screaming, tears squeezing their way down its crumpled little face, and Nell tried vainly to comfort it. ‘How’s the driver of the other car?’
‘Okay. Cut on his head. Someone else has stopped and they’re sitting with him.’
‘Right. Let me know if things change. Can you...um...do anything...?’ She gestured towards the carrier. If the baby and the other driver were all right, she should help Hugo.
‘Yep.’ Ted leaned over the car seat, his thick fingers suddenly tender as he smoothed the child’s head then brushed his finger against the palm of its hand. It opened its eyes, still grizzling fitfully.
‘Great. Nice one.’ Nell assumed the manoeuvre wasn’t in any royal bodyguard’s manual, so it must be in the one that came with being a father of three girls. Ted nodded, picking up the seat and carrying it over to their car.
‘How is she?’ Hugo was bending down awkwardly, trying to see into the footwell of the car.
‘Airways are clear, and I can see no signs of internal bleeding. She’s injured somewhere, though, and I think it’s her lower legs.’
‘Let me see.’ Nell pressed her lips together. Implying that he couldn’t do his job was a bitter pill for Hugo to swallow, but right now their feelings didn’t matter. They had to make the right decisions for the woman in the car.
Hugo stepped back immediately. ‘Can you see anything?’
‘No, not from this side. I’ll see if I can get to her from the passenger seat.’ Nell straightened up and started to walk around the car. Hugo couldn’t do this. He was bigger than she was, and although his shoulder was improving, it still hampered his movement.
‘Be careful...’ He shot her an admonishing glance and Nell nodded.
It was a struggle to get the passenger door open, but she managed it. Climbing inside, she bent down, trying to see through the twisted metal.
‘I can see her legs. She’s pinned but...yes, I can see where the blood’s coming from.’ Nell stretched out, gripping the woman’s leg just below the knee, and the blood that was coming from a large gash on her lower leg began to ooze slower.
‘Can you reach the wound?’
‘Just about. Pass me some dressings, would you? I think I can pack a temporary dressing around it, just to stop the bleeding a bit, until they get her out.’
Hugo leaned in to pass the dressings to her. ‘Give me the ring. If you get it caught on something...’
‘Yes. Thanks.’ Nell had seen de-gloved fingers, where rings had been caught in machinery, during her stint in A & E, when she’d been training. She pulled the bulky ring off and put it into Hugo’s hand. ‘How’s she doing?’
‘Vital signs seem steady.’
Nell wriggled forward, leaning down to apply the dressings to the woman’s wound. It was awkward work in the confined space, and she ended up half on the seat an
d half lying in the footwell. As she finished, she saw the woman’s foot twitch.
‘She’s moving, Hugo. Might be coming round...’ Hugo would need to try and keep her still, and that wasn’t going to be easy.
‘Okay. I’ve got her.’
Nell heard the woman moan, and what sounded like an attempt at words. Hugo’s arm across her legs was keeping her relatively still, and he was talking to her, replying to her incoherent cries.
‘Your baby’s safe and well. I’m a doctor and we’ll have you out of here soon. Try to stay still for me.’
The woman’s leg moved a little and she screamed in pain. Hugo quieted her and Nell heard the sound of weeping.