Rescuing Dr. MacAllister

Ben's cool expression softened slightly. 'You don't need to get hold of me,' he said, his tone neutral, 'and no thanks are needed.'

With that he shook off her hand, gave a brief nod and followed Sean Nicholson down the corridor towards the accident and emergency department.

Lindsay gave Ellie a helpless look and Ellie shrugged. What did Lindsay expect her to do? Run after the man? Hardly.

The priority now was Lindsay and the baby. Still anxious about her cousin, she turned to Jed whom she knew from her work in A and E. 'Can I stay with her? At least until Paul gets here?'

Jed nodded. 'Of course. OK, folks, let's move. Let's check the two of them out.'

Some time later a more relaxed Lindsay was cuddling her baby daughter and Ellie was slumped, exhausted, on a chair next to her bed.

'How come I'm so tired when you're the one with a new baby?'

'But you forded streams and climbed mountains to get to me.' Lindsay's expression was grateful. 'I love you, Ellie.'

Ellie grinned. 'I love you, too. And next time you have a baby, do me a favour and move somewhere civilised. Either that or at least have it in the summer and in daylight. What are you going to call her?'

Lindsay stroked the baby's downy head. 'Storm.'

'What?' Ellie couldn't hide her astonishment and Lindsay smiled.

'Don't look like that. I always wanted a name that was slightly different and I think it suits her. She was born in a storm, it's easy to spell and no one else at school will have the same name so she won't have trouble with her coat peg.'

Ellie blinked. 'Storm...Storm...' She tried it out a few times and nodded slowly. 'Actually, I like it. But shouldn't you wait to ask Paul?'

'Wait to ask me what?' Right on cue, Lindsay's husband Paul strode into the room and scooped his wife and daughter into his arms. 'I'm so sorry, Linny.'

'So you should be.'

He closed his eyes and dropped a kiss on her forehead. 'Beat me up. Go on. Do anything you like.'

Lindsay smiled placidly. 'Don't tempt me.'

Still holding his wife, Paul's gaze rested On Ellie. 'You were with her?'

'The whole time,' Ellie said softly, sharing a warm look with her cousin. 'But now I'm going to leave the two of you alone. I'm nipping down to A and E. I suspect they're having a bad night.'

And she owed it to them to help out if she could.

She slipped out of the room, ruefully aware that Lindsay and Paul were so wrapped up in their new baby that they'd barely noticed her leave.

A and E was in chaos.

'Get him into Crash—now!' Nicky, the A and E sister, gestured to the paramedics and looked up in relief when she saw Ellie walking towards them. 'Oh, boy, am I glad to see you. We've been phoning around for extra staff but most people are stranded because of the storm. Is it too much to hope that you're here to help out?'

Ellie smiled. 'I'm all yours. I'll go and get changed, shall I?' She was still in the jeans and jumper that she'd borrowed from Lindsay and Nicky shook her head, bustling her along the corridor.

'No time. Frankly, I don't care if you're wearing a bikini as long as you're here. If I get a minute I'll send someone to find you a white coat. In the meantime, can you go to Resus? The Mountain Rescue Ream are bringing in a ripe case of hypothermia. A woman reported missing two days ago.'

Ellie nodded. 'ETA?'

'Five minutes. You should have time to get the room ready and grab yourself a doctor if you can find one. They're a rare commodity at the moment. There's been a pile-up on the motorway, but I suppose you know about that.'

She did indeed.

Thinking of Lindsay's lucky escape, Ellie walked briskly to the large Resuscitation room, pushed open the doors and started to prepare the necessary equipment.

Being the only hospital in the area, they were used to dealing with cases brought in from the mountains, including people suffering from hypothermia.