Joe rattled them off and Ron reappeared in the blink of an eye. ‘Let me help,’ he said. Joe was trying to support Viv’s airway as Duc kept a firm hold of her twitching body. He’d glanced at the clock as she’d started and was praying this wouldn’t last more than a minute. His head was close to her hair and the orange scent of her shampoo was filling his senses. He felt panicked. He’d only just realised that he loved her, and he hadn’t had a chance to tell her yet. To tell her that he’d been thinking about nothing else.
He’d thought there was time. He’d thought there was plenty time. He’d been figuring out about the job—and she’d challenged him in that too. Viv seemed to know his life before he did.
He’d just decided to turn down the position he’d been offered. He could still be a surgeon and work here. But he could also be a doctor. A person who worked with the most disadvantaged population on a daily basis.
The thing that had driven him to go to medical school. He’d forgotten about it for a while, getting caught up in the bright lights and competitiveness of the surgical rotations. It had taken all this for him to realise he should take another breath, reassess.
All the things that Viv had said to him.
Viv, the woman he was holding in his arms. The woman that he loved. Maybe he’d always loved her and had just been afraid to say it out loud. Or maybe it was just the change of time and conditions for them both.
Whatever it was, it was here. It was now. And, as his gaze flickered to Joe and he could see the worry in his colleague’s eyes, his heart plummeted.
He could only pray he’d get a chance to tell her.
Ron came around and held her arm firmly to access the cannula and insert the drugs. Worry streaked across his forehead. ‘When did Viv become ill?’ he asked.
‘In the last hour,’ said Duc, his voice cracking. ‘We think she may have been bitten when she helped at the RTA the other week. But she only complained of a headache today.’
‘That’s all?’ Ron’s brow remained creased.
‘I think she was having night sweats too and just didn’t say anything. I found her nightclothes back in the bungalow.’
Ron winced. ‘A sudden onset, then.’ The words struck them all, and they exchanged glances. They all knew exactly how serious that could be.
‘Has she been taking anti-malarials?’
Duc nodded. ‘Religiously.’
‘Could be a resistant strain or a new one?’ said Ron thoughtfully. Viv’s body started to cease twitching, the movements becoming smaller and less pronounced.
There was a collective sigh of relief.
‘Did you take bloods?’ Ron queried.
Joe nodded.
Ron straightened. ‘Let me follow them up. I have connections at the city lab. I can get them fast-tracked and see if there is anything else we can start her on.’
As he headed to the door he stopped and put a hand on Joe’s shoulder. ‘Give me five minutes and I’m all yours. We’ll get Lien sorted too.’ He gave him a smile. ‘Congratulations.’
Duc felt numb. Of course. He should be celebrating his friends’ good news. But somehow that had gone completely out of his head. One of the nurses appeared at the door with a cardiac monitor and BP cuff on a portable trolley. Duc rolled Viv onto her back and let the nurse attach them. ‘I’ll stay with her,’ she said.
But Duc shook his head. ‘No. I will.’ He sat down by her bed and took her hand again, raising his gaze to Joe. ‘Thank you.’
Joe nodded. ‘I’m just down the corridor. Shout for me anytime.’
‘Me too,’ reiterated the nurse.
They both left, leaving the only noise in the room the sound of the monitor and Viv breathing.
Duc leaned forward and brushed a strand of her hair from her face. He couldn’t believe this had happened. All his fault. If he’d never asked her to come here, she would be back in England somewhere—somewhere safe.
Her skin was soft to his touch. ‘Wake up, Viv,’ he whispered. ‘Please, wake up. Wake up and I’ll do anything you want. I’ll give you anything you want.’
Her breathing continued, steady and calm. He’d thought the worst day of his life had been the phone call about his parents, but now? This was a close rival.
He intertwined his fingers with hers. ‘I can’t lose you, I just can’t.’
Nothing mattered more to him right now. Nothing at all. The pulse of attraction that had buzzed between them. The kisses they’d shared. The fights. All he wanted was his Viv back.
But as he looked at her lying on the bed, so pale she practically matched the sheets, his guts twisted.
There might be chance that wouldn’t happen.
He adjusted their hands so their pinkies intertwined. ‘Friends for ever,’ he whispered.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
HE STAYED THERE for two days and two nights, terrified that if he left something else might happen.
Her blood-sugar readings came back to normal relatively quickly. But still she didn’t wake up.
The staff was great. He still had a job to do, so they would bring him charts to sign along with cups of tea and snacks. Joe brought him in a towel and a fresh pair of scrubs with a pointed nod, so he used the shower in the bathroom attached to Viv’s room so he wasn’t too far away.
Lien was still unwell too. It was unlikely she’d be able to resume duties anytime soon. That didn’t stop her wheeling her IV down the corridor and coming in to speak to them both, clutching a sick bowl in one hand.
Ron had been as good as his word. Viv’s bloods had been fast-tracked and after a quick consultation with another expert they’d started her on an alternative medication. Right now, Duc would try anything.
It was late at night. Duc had pulled in a more comfortable chair so he could sleep next to her bed. It was the kind that could recline and even though the nurses could do it in the blink of an eye, it always took him about five minutes to figure it out.
Just as he finally managed to push it back there was a little moan from the bed.
He froze.
And spun around.
It was the first sign of anything from Viv in two days.
He leaned forward, grasping her hand again. ‘Viv, it’s Duc. Can you hear me?’
Nothing. His eyes went to the monitor, willing the heart rate to speed up to give him some kind of sign that she was listening, that she was hearing him.
But it just continued to blip along.
Frustration gripped him and all the while he told himself to remain calm. It was something.
After hovering over her bed for an age, he finally settled down into the chair beside her bed. ‘I’m here, Viv,’ he said quietly. ‘Whenever you need me, I’m here.’
Sleep finally claimed him but he woke in the early hours of the morning. He sat straight up, wondering what had woken him. It was dark outside with only a smattering of stars in the sky. He frowned, straining to hear any noise in the corridor outside. Had it been one of the nurses? A phone perhaps?
He pushed the chair forward, planting his feet on the floor.
There was a noise, a groan again and he was instantly on high alert. ‘Viv?’
Her nose was wrinkled. ‘Headache,’ she croaked.
‘Brilliant!’ he shouted, leaning over and gathering her up in his arms. Her body was still weak, and she didn’t return the hug. He pressed the nurse call button.
‘You have no idea how worried we’ve all been,’ he breathed. ‘I am so, so sorry.’
It was almost like she wasn’t really processing his words. ‘Headache,’ she repeated as she sagged back into the pillows.
The nurse appeared at the door, her eyes wide. ‘She’s awake?’
He nodded. ‘Just. Can you get Viv something for a headache?’
The nurse nodded and disappeared, coming back a minute later with a glass of water with a straw and a couple of pills.