She couldn’t imagine what would have triggered such a severe attack.
They all worked together and finally they announced that he was well enough to be transferred to the ward.
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Still desperately worried, Lucy caught Joel’s arm. ‘Will he be all right?’ She bit her lip. ‘I’ve lost track of what they’ve been saying.’
He slipped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her against him. ‘He’s stable now and he’s improving all the time. They’re going to measure his peak flow every fifteen minutes for the time being and measure his sats. They’re trying to keep his oxygen saturation above ninety-two per cent, and so far it’s fine.’
Lucy tried not to look at Sam’s pale little face—or the oxygen mask—as they wheeled him to the paediatric ward.
As they settled Sam into a bed, she turned to look at Joel. ‘Thank you for coming.’
He gave her an odd look. ‘I came as soon as I heard. I’m sorry I wasn’t with you from the beginning. It must have been a nightmare.’
She nodded her head and then moved forward to hold Sam’s hand as they made him comfortable.
Joel crouched down in front of her and lowered his voice. ‘You’re as white as a sheet, Lucy. Why don’t you go and get yourself a coffee and I’ll stay with him?’
Lucy shook her head immediately. ‘I can’t leave him,’ she said firmly, and he gave a sigh.
‘In that case, let me bring a cup of coffee to you.’
Lucy looked at the nurse. ‘Is coffee allowed on the ward?’
The nurse hesitated. ‘Not generally, but you look as though you need one so I’ll turn a blind eye.’
Over the course of the evening Sam continued to improve, and when the lights went out on the ward Lucy stroked his arm gently.
‘What happened at your friend’s house, darling? What games did you play?’
He mumbled something and she moved the oxygen mask slightly so that she could hear him.
‘I said we didn’t really play a game. I cuddled the dog a lot.’
Lucy gasped and she and Joel exchanged glances.
‘A dog.’ The nurse came up behind them and nodded. ‘All right, now we know what the little chap has to avoid in the future.’
‘None of his friends in London had a dog,’ Lucy said. ‘I didn’t even know it was a problem.’
Joel gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. ‘Don’t blame yourself. You weren’t to know that pet hair was a trigger for him. Children with asthma react to different things. But we probably need to keep an eye on it in the future.’
She looked at him, wondering if he realised that he’d just said ‘we’.
Telling herself not to read anything into it, she settled herself down for a long night by Sam’s bedside.
Sam was kept in hospital for two days, and by the time they finally discharged him, Lucy was exhausted.
Joel came to collect them both, tall and broad-shouldered as he strode onto the ward. He looked sexily dishevelled as if he hadn’t slept much either, which he probably hadn’t, she reflected. After all, he’d spent most of the time on the ward with her and Sam, only leaving to honour his commitments to the surgery.
‘He’s going to be fine,’ she said wearily, tucking a strand of dark hair behind her ear. ‘We’ve got an appointment to come back in a couple of weeks.’
Joel scooped Sam into his arms and carried him to the car while she followed close behind, clutching all his medication.
They drove back to the flat in silence and Lucy let herself in, suddenly terrified of being on her own with Sam.
What if he had another attack?