Joe kept out of sight, still listening to Hoa. The older woman commanded respect, and yet he’d seen her on her hands and knees cleaning vomit from the floor, and watched her playing games with some of the babies in the clinic.
Reuben had already shown little respect for the hospital and its staff. It seemed Hoa had already determined that he might act the same way towards their patients. She wouldn’t tolerate that for a second.
Joe heard one of the nurses mutter something under her breath. He turned his head as he hadn’t quite picked it up. ‘What was that?’
The nurse rolled her eyes before turning her eyes back on the open office containing Reuben and Hoa. ‘We’ve had his type before. Better start digging the grave in the back. Hoa will chew him up and spit him out.’
Joe let out a laugh. He couldn’t help it. ‘Well, show respect, get respect was what my old mentor taught me. For everyone—friends, colleagues and patients.’
The nurse smiled. ‘Oh, don’t worry, Joe, you’re safe. We like you.’ She gave him a strange knowing glance. ‘In fact, we might have big plans for you.’
He put one hand on his hip as she started to walk away. ‘Wait a minute, what does that mean?’
The nurse laughed and waved her hand as she kept walking. ‘I’ll let you know!’
* * *
Lien felt as if she were dancing some kind of complicated choreography. Every time she knew Reuben was in the clinic she made herself scarce. He hadn’t deigned to give them his schedule to begin with, and just turned up whenever he saw fit. But Khiem took him aside and discussed with him the problems of co-ordinating patient care if they didn’t know in advance that he was coming. Some of the patients that they wanted him to see lived far outside the city limits. It wasn’t easy for them to reach the free clinic.
What complicated things more was the fact that the patients seemed to love the idea of being treated by the celebrity doctor, and all of them agreed to being filmed. This meant that the rest of the staff had to put up with film crews trailing through the hospital at inopportune times.
She could sense Joe standing at the door of one of the rooms in the ward today where she was sitting talking to a young mum. The woman was sick. Her blood tests and chest X-ray had revealed she was HIV-positive and had tuberculosis. Her lungs were under severe attack, and she’d only just been diagnosed; Lien was currently trying to balance a drug regime for both illnesses, alongside the pregnancy.
She held the young mum’s hand and explained to her what her diagnosis meant.
This young woman had had no idea she’d even been sick. She’d been tired, and had a severe night-time cough. She’d presented late into the pregnancy and been automatically brighter as soon as she knew she was pregnant—she seemed to think both of her other ailments were down to the pregnancy. Hoa had done the initial pregnancy booking, and a few simple tests had revealed the results that all the doctors had expected, with each disease speeding up the progress of the other.
Now the woman had developed a high temperature and breathing difficulties. She was thirty-six weeks pregnant, and both she and the baby were currently at risk.
Lien reached out and took the young woman’s hand and spoke quietly and steadily, pausing to make sure she understood what Lien was saying and comforting her when it seemed appropriate. By the time she was finished she felt positively drained.
The young woman would be in hospital for the next few days. Hoa might even decide she needed a caesarean section if either the baby or the mum’s condition deteriorated rapidly.
As Lien walked through to the office, she could feel tears brimming in her eyes. Some patients just got to her.
She walked in and closed the door behind her, expecting the office to be empty, then jumped when she realised Joe was sitting in a chair to her left.
‘Sorry,’ he said. ‘I was just waiting until you’d finished.’ He took one look at the expression on her face and jumped up. ‘Lien. What’s wrong?’
He didn’t wait for her to reply, he just put his arms around her and pulled her into his chest.
She burrowed her head in his shoulder and just started to sob. Once she started she couldn’t stop. ‘I’m sorry,’ she breathed. ‘I don’t know what’s wrong.’
His grip was firm and comforting. She could feel the planes of his chest against hers. His voice was husky. ‘You’ve got a really sick girl who should be celebrating her pregnancy. Instead, you’ve had to give her bad news. We both know she might not live to see this baby grow up, Lien. You wouldn’t be human if you weren’t upset.’
She sniffed and tried to wipe some of the tears away. ‘But I know all this. I’ve dealt with it before. I should be stronger.’
He slid his hands to the tops of her shoulders and stepped back a little. He was still close enough that his breath warmed her forehead. She could see every little line around the corners of his eyes. ‘You’re strong. You’re still here, Lien. You work in one of the most challenging places in the world and you love it.’ He took a deep breath and gave her a sympathetic smile. ‘There’s always one that gets to you.’
She was still trembling. ‘Who was yours?’
‘What?’
‘Who was the last patient that got to you?’
He closed his eyes. She actually felt him shiver as his expression grew dark. ‘That’s easy. A baby. A six-week-old baby with a spiral fracture in his forearm. Apparently he rolled off the bed and Dad reached out to grab him.’
Lien held her breath. She knew how rare spiral fractures were, and what caused them. ‘A six-week-old baby doesn’t roll,’ she whispered.
He opened his eyes. ‘No,’ he breathed. ‘I could have lost my job over that one. I put Dad up against the wall when he tried to grab the baby and leave.’
She shivered. ‘What’s wrong with some people?’ She moved forward. This time it was her that wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tight.
His muscles were tense and it took a few moments for him to relax. After a second his hand went up to the back of her head, resting against her hair. It felt more personal.
She felt herself relax even more. She liked being in his arms. She could smell his woody aftershave at the nape of his ne
ck. She could feel the muscles that lay underneath his lightweight top. It awakened senses in her that had been dormant for a while. One of her hands started running up the length of his back. As soon as she realised what she was doing, she froze.
He moved his head. And she lifted hers.
They were inches from each other. If either made the slightest movement their lips could connect.
It was unnervingly intimate. She was currently at work, standing in the arms of a colleague. She’d never done this in her life before. When she’d dated Reuben, they’d still been students at uni. Since then she’d only dated a few guys with other occupations. Never anybody related to her workplace environment. It was like her own little rule.
He blinked, and it broke the haze that felt as if it had descended between them. She couldn’t help but feel bereft.
He gave a nervous smile and dropped his hands from her, stepping back. ‘Sorry, you just looked like a colleague in need of a hug.’
‘I was,’ she said quickly. Then she took another breath and met his gaze again. ‘And so did you.’
He broke their gaze and glanced towards the floor.
The silence seemed to last for ever. Did he want to say something else?
After a moment he lifted his head and cleared his throat. ‘I came to speak to you about the prescribing regime for your patient. I’m unfamiliar with what can be prescribed for a pregnant woman with TB and HIV. I thought I should find out what protocols you have.’
Work. He’d turned this back to work. Her stomach flipped. She was uncomfortable. For a moment there she’d thought he might kiss her. She’d thought he might just lean forward an inch and let his lips connect with hers. She’d felt it. She’d almost tasted it.
What would she have done if he’d made that move? Would she have pulled back, or would she have responded?
Did she really want to admit the answer to that question?
She licked her lips and nodded. Work. This was work. ‘Of course,’ she said, her voice tight. ‘Let’s sit down. Hoa has made a flow chart for some of the protocols for pregnant women. There is a prescribing regime, but I actually planned to check with her once I got the results of some of the blood tests.’