A Family Made at Christmas

She nodded. ‘Only a few steps at a time. I’m going to pull the wheelchair behind us so it’s handy if you need it.’

John shook his head. ‘No way. I’m going to make it to the end of these bars.’

She smiled. Somehow she didn’t doubt he would.

Riley leaned forward. ‘John, just remember. This isn’t a military operation. Your wound is healing well. But parts will still hurt. We need to be able to judge how much analgesia you need to be able to take part in your physical therapy. If we give you too much, you could do yourself harm. Push your body to do things it’s not quite ready for.’

‘Do people normally make it to the end of the bars?’ John asked April.

She held up her hands. ‘Some people can’t weight bear at all the first time. Some people can stand for a few minutes; others manage a few steps. We’re all individuals, John. And this is the first day. Your first steps. Let’s just take it as it comes.’

He nodded, his hands gripping tightly to the bars, his knuckles blanching.

She could see Riley noticing the same things that she was. Why was he even here? This was her job. Doctors rarely visited the gym. They usually only appeared if their presence was requested.

Suddenly, there was a pang in her stomach and she caught her breath. That had been a few times today. She hoped she wasn’t coming down with something.

John took a step forward with his affected leg. She pressed her lips together for the next stage. It was just as she expected. He had his weight on the amputated limb for the briefest of seconds before his weight fell back on his good leg.

That was entirely normal. It was hard for the body to adjust. It was hard for the brain to make sense of the changes. John was starting to sweat. It was amazing how much work just a few steps could take. She stayed right next to him. As did Riley.

It took another ten minutes to reach the end of the parallel bars. By the time John had finished he was thankful to sink back down into the wheelchair. April put her hands on his shoulders. ‘Well done, John. That was great.’ She walked around to the front to release the pam aid. ‘Ideally, we’ll do a bit of work in the gym three times a day.’ She looked at Riley. ‘Dr Callaghan will have a conversation with you about what works best analgesia-wise for you. The more regularly we can get you down to the gym, the more quickly your body and brain will adjust. The nurses will also do regular checks of your wound to make sure there are no problems.’

John gave an exhausted sigh. ‘Any chance of a coffee?’

She laughed. ‘Absolutely.’ She set the pam aid aside. ‘I’ll take you back down to the ward and we’ll set a programme for tomorrow.’

John looked over at Riley. ‘She’s a hard taskmaster.’

Riley’s voice wasn’t as relaxed as it had been earlier. ‘She is. But it’s the only way to get you back on your feet.’

He pushed his hands into his pockets as April finished tidying up. His pager sounded and he glanced at it. The expression on his face changed.

‘Sorry, need to go.’ He’d already started striding down the corridor in front of them when he turned around and looked back. ‘John, I’ll be back to talk to you later.’

April watched his retreating back. Part of her wanted to ask what was wrong. Part of her knew it was none of her business.

Could something be wrong with Finn?

She tried to push things out of her mind. She had a patient to look after. She had work to do. But, as they reached John’s room, he said the words she’d dreaded. ‘Isn’t Ballyclair the local school?’

She nodded.

‘Thought so. That’s what his pager said. Hope his kid is okay.’

Her footsteps faltered as she took the final steps towards the chair in John’s room. ‘Oops, sorry!’ she said brightly as she bent down to put on the brake. Her heart was thudding against her chest. She moved automatically, helping John into the other chair.

This was none of her business. None of her business at all.

So why did she want to pull her mobile from her pocket and phone Riley right now?

One of the nurses stuck her head around the door. ‘April, are you free? I’m wondering if I could steal you to do some chest physio on someone who is sounding a little crackly?’

She nodded straight away. Work—that was what she had to do. That was what she should be concentrating on. She smiled at John. ‘Can we coordinate our diaries for around two p.m. and we can go back to the gym again?’

John put his hand on his chin. ‘Let me think. There’s the afternoon movie. Or the browsing of the dating websites. But I think I can fit you in.’

She laughed and put her hand on his shoulder. ‘You did good this morning. Let’s keep working hard. See you in a while.’

Her fingers brushed against her phone again and she pulled them from her pocket.

None of her business.

She gritted her teeth and kept walking.

* * *

He was trying to be rational. But the words ‘Finn’s been hurt’ had sent a deep-rooted fear through him that he’d never experienced before. His legs had just started walking to the car even with the phone still pressed to his ear.

Apparently it was ‘just a little head-knock’. When was any head injury ‘just a little head-knock’? Finn had slid in the school playground, fallen backwards, cracked his head on the concrete and been knocked out for a few seconds.

His car was eating up the road in front of him. Finn’s school was only a ten-minute drive from the hospital but right now it felt like a million miles away.

His mum and dad had come down for the weekend to meet Finn. He’d told April that his mum was like a whirlwind—truth was she’d been more like a tornado. She’d taken over everything. Cooking. Cleaning. Every conversation with Finn. His dad had been much more thoughtful. But Riley could tell that his father just wanted a chance to have five minutes to sit down with his grandson.

It hadn’t helped that his mother kept bursting into tears every now and then. Finn had just seemed a little bewildered by it all. He’d finally whispered to Riley, ‘I’ve never had a gran before,’ as he’d watched Riley’s mum talk and cook at a hundred miles an hour. Riley had given him a hug.

It had all been exhausting. His mother hadn’t wanted to leave, and Riley had been forced to tell her quite pointedly that he needed some time with his son. Right now, he was regretting that decision. What if he needed some help with Finn?

His eyes narrowed as he noticed the traffic slowing in front of him on the motorway. He’d come this way to save a few minutes and to stop wasting time at a hundred sets of traffic lights in the town. Seemed like it hadn’t been the best plan.

His foot hit the brake as it became clear that things were much worse than he could ever imagine. Smoke was directly ahead. The cars in front had stopped, but it was clear the accident had only happened around thirty seconds before.

Riley’s stomach clenched. Two cars, both totally smashed, facing each other and blocking the motorway completely.

For the first time in his life he was completely torn. His doctor instincts told him to get out of the car and start helping. But his newly honed parental instincts told him to find a way to Finn.

He gulped and looked behind him. It only took a few minutes for the motorway to back up completely. There was no exit nearby. There was no way out of here.

He pulled his phone from his pocket as he climbed out of the car. Someone else had already jumped out and ran to the smoking cars. For the first time he regretted sending his mother back home after her weekend meeting Finn. There was only one other natural person to phone in a situation like this. He pressed her name on the screen as he opened the boot of his car and grabbed the emergency kit that he always kept there.

There was only one other person he’d trust with Finn.

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* * *

April’s stomach plummeted when she saw who was calling. ‘Riley? What’s wrong? Is it Finn? Is he okay?’