Rescuing Dr. MacAllister

'It's called a Monteggia fracture.' Ben glanced over his shoulder, wondering what time Ellie would arrive.

How were they going to work together?

'Listen, Ben.' Will rubbed a hand along the back of his neck, clearly embarrassed. 'About the other night, in the bar.'

It was a subject that they hadn't touched on since, and Ben felt something hot start to burn inside him. Just thinking about Will with Ellie made his temper rise.

'Let's just forget it,' he said coldly, 'but try and remember that when a girl says no, she means no.'

And if Will Thacker ever laid a finger on Ellie again...

Ben clenched his fists as he wrestled with feelings of jealousy that were totally new to him.

What on earth was the matter with him?

One minute he was telling her to find someone else, but the mere thought of her with someone else drove him mad.

He needed to get on with some work before he lost his grip on reality. Fortunately, at that moment Nicky popped her head into the cubicle to tell him that Mrs Williams was waiting in the corridor and wanted to talk to him.

Wondering what had happened, he gave Will a curt nod and strode out of the cubicle to find Fiona's mother.

She was hovering self-consciously in the corridor and she hurried towards him as she saw him approach. 'Oh, I was hoping that you weren't too busy to see me.'

He saw the tears brimming in her eyes and frowned sharply. 'Is something wrong? Is Fiona worse?'

'No.' She shook her head. 'She's doing very well, thanks to you.'

Ben felt relief flood through his veins. 'I'm glad she's all right.'

'She wouldn't be if you weren't such a clever doctor,' Tina said, her voice choked. 'I was in such a panic yesterday I didn't have time to thank you properly, but the staff on ITU have done nothing but marvel at the fact that you managed to save her. I just can't imagine what it must be like to be so clever that you can save people from death.'

Ben frowned. 'Mrs Williams—'

'Don't say anything.' She held up a hand and sniffed. I know you're going to say it's just a job, but the thing is that it's so much more than that to me. You saved my baby’s life and there are no words to express how I feel about that. What's it like, going to bed at night knowing that you've kept a family together?'

Ben cleared his throat. 'Well, I can't honestly—'

'That's all I came to say,' she interrupted him quickly, blowing her nose hard and scrunching up the tissue. 'Just thanks. Such an inadequate word for everything you've done, but I don't know any other way to put it.'

With that, clearly embarrassed by the whole encounter, she hurried back down the corridor, leaving him staring after her.

For a moment he didn't move.

Saving the child had been automatic, a response to years of training. He'd never really stopped to think about the impact of those skills on the relatives. But Mrs Williams was right. He'd managed to spare her the agony that he'd experienced.

But he knew that it could easily have gone the other way. Yes, he'd used his skills, but he'd been lucky, too. Fiona's injuries hadn't been as severe as his daughter's had been.

So why did he lie awake at night, blaming himself for not being able to save her?

He was staring into space, thinking logically for the first time in two years, when Nicky tugged at his arm.

'Earth to Ben—I need a doctor in Resus. Ambulance Control have just called. They're bringing in a man who's fallen off a three-storey budding. He was working on a building site and a platform collapsed. He's conscious but with a severe leg injury. Oh, and by the way...' She frowned as she remembered' something else. 'The police have been trying to find Ken Foggarty, Fiona's father. Apparently he's gone missing and they're worried that he might turn up here. They've asked us to call them immediately

if anyone spots him. And we're not to approach him because he might be violent.'

Ben opened his mouth to reply but they heard the sounds of the ambulance approaching so he just nodded briefly and went to meet the paramedics as they hurried in with the stretcher.

'Straight into Resus,' Ben ordered, and the paramedics briefed him as they hurried through the swing doors.