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He rested his hands on the table. ‘Then why are you in such a hurry to leave here, to leave me?’
The words wouldn’t really form in her brain. She couldn’t really explain where the question had come from. It had just happened like that. Sometimes she was at a place, and just got an overwhelming sensation that it might be time to move on. Granted, it never usually took just a few weeks, but all her of senses felt out of alignment right now—and she couldn’t fathom why.
She let out a long slow breath. ‘Oh, you know me. I always have a wobble.’
‘Is it me?’ His dark eyes were staring right at her, sucking her in. Making her feel completely self-conscious. He ran his fingers through his hair. ‘Darn it. I’m not myself right now. I know I’m not.’
Maybe she was going crazy. Maybe this was all her in head. But her automatic reaction to feelings she couldn’t explain was to run in the opposite direction. That was where the question had come from.
Because the thought of staying here, with Duc, for any longer was doing strange things to her mind.
‘Stay, give me the six months that you normally give everywhere else. By then, plans should be in place. There should be some new, permanent staff. I can’t do this without you. You know I can’t.’
His hand reached across the table and his fingers intertwined with hers. A jolt of heat shot up her arm. Maybe it was the wine. She was on her second glass. But for some reason she didn’t want to let go.
‘Six months,’ she said softly. ‘Six months and then we both go back to where we belong?’
Her stomach was clenched, because even as she said the words she wasn’t sure if she could do it.
And she didn’t want to make promises she couldn’t keep.
Especially to Duc.
But his smile broadened and he gave a nod. ‘Six months. We’ll have it all worked out by then. I promise you.’
She hesitantly lifted her glass and clinked it against the one he offered while her stomach tumbled over and over.
Because for the first time another thought entered her head. Was six months really enough? Or would it turn out to be too long?
Maybe she wasn’t the only one making promises she couldn’t keep...
CHAPTER SEVEN
HE WAS FINALLY starting to get to grips with things. The new administrator was fabulous. Sen had worked as a PA at a Fortune 500 company and decided to take early retirement. Working for a place like May M?n Hospital was exactly what she wanted. She’d sat across the desk from Duc at her interview and, after five minutes, had sighed and written him a list of all the things he needed to get in order. She’d started work after he’d taken her for coffee and cake across the road.
For the first time since he’d got here it felt like a little part of the weight was off his shoulders. Sen regularly had a stacked pile on his desk awaiting signature, then would wave him off with her favourite comment. ‘Go, be a doctor!’
Today he was covering partly in one of the drop-in clinics and partly on the wards.
One of the nurses called him in to assess a man with a leg ulcer. Lots of older patients had poor circulation, which caused slow healing of any injuries. Duc checked the man’s notes. This leg ulcer had been there for more than eight months. Whilst some ulcers never healed, with correct treatment most could heal in three to four months.
He peeled back the bandages, taking care not to damage any of the surrounding skin. The ulcer was smothered in a thick gel and covered with a non-adherent dressing. As soon as he started cleaning it, he noticed a slight discharge and a strange aroma. He asked a few questions, then leaned back.
He walked over to the cupboards and came back with some new products. Viv appeared at his side. ‘What are you doing?’
‘Leg ulcer.’
Her nose wrinkled. ‘Okay, new skill. It’s time to learn.’
He gave her a smile. ‘What, midwives don’t deal with leg ulcers?’
‘Debrided wounds, yes. Leg ulcers? No. Thankfully, most of my patients are in a slightly younger age range. But in the future, who knows?’
Duc nodded as he picked up a wound swab and sterile bag. ‘Well, it’s one of the common things you’ll see in the outpatient clinics. Might as well get used to them.’
She moved over and introduced herself to the patient in stilted Vietnamese. She was getting better. He was impressed.
Duc acted as translator as he swabbed the wound. He’d already decided to prescribe some antibiotics. ‘Look at the edges of the wound, there’s some redness and swelling, add in the discharge and slight odour and...’ He let his voice tail off.
‘You have an infection,’ replied Vivienne. She moved a little closer to study the edges and depth of the ulcer.
Duc nodded. ‘I think it’s likely. A lot of venous ulcers that don’t heal have an underlying bacterial infection.’
Viv shot him a curious glance as she looked at the dressings on the sterile tray. ‘So, do you put the same thing back on, or do you try something else?’
He waggled his hand. ‘Actually, a bit of both. We’ll keep using the alginate gel. There’s lots of good research on its effectiveness. But I’m also going to add in a silver-based wound dressing that helps combat infections.’
Vivienne gave a smile. ‘A two-pronged attack.’
Duc nodded as he spoke to the patient and finished dressing the wound. ‘Let’s make it a three-pronged attack. Compression bandage to finish to help keep swelling down. This has gone on long enough.’
Vivienne automatically stood to help with the tidying up as Lien appeared at the door. ‘Oh, good, you’re both here. Can I grab you once you’re finished?’
Duc gave the patient the antibiotics, along with some instructions and a return appointment. He followed Viv into the next room where Lien was standing with her arms folded.
‘What’s wrong? You lo
ok worried.’
Lien nodded. ‘I am. You know that Joe gets these ideas in his head.’
Vivienne’s brow creased and Duc realised she’d no idea what they were talking about.
He put his hand on Viv’s shoulder. ‘Joe’s from your neck of the woods. He likes to try and do home visits. Set up more community clinics.’
‘Is that bad?’ Viv held up her hands. ‘That’s just normal.’
Lien shot her a look. ‘I have a hard enough time getting my husband to toe the line. Don’t you encourage him.’
‘What’s the problem, then?’ Viv had mirrored Lien’s position and folded her arms across her chest. It was almost like they were in direct competition with each other.
Lien turned her attention to Duc. ‘We’ve had a few patients with unusual symptoms and Joe decided to investigate.’ She looked sideways at Viv. ‘Two of the women are pregnant.’
Viv instantly straightened. ‘Where are they?’
Lien pressed her lips together. ‘Everyone in the family is sick. They all stay in a building a few streets away. At a guess, there are eight family members. Two elderly parents, a son and daughter who are both married with a child of their own.’
‘They can’t get in to the clinic?’ Duc asked—even though he could already guess the answer.
Lien shook her head. ‘All of them have fevers, muscle and joint pain—so severe they can hardly get of bed. Throw in some nausea, vomiting and other GI symptoms.’
Duc let out a long slow breath. ‘It could virtually be anything from norovirus to dengue fever, zika or chikungunya. Even food poisoning, or a weird strain of malaria.’
He nodded slowly. ‘Okay, Lien, you know I’ve been working in Surgical lately. But I still remember all the basics.’ He turned to Viv. ‘I’ll need to brief you on a few of these as they might not be too familiar.’ He nodded again, decision made. ‘Lien, call Joe. Tell him that we’ll join him at the address in around an hour. Are you okay to cover the hospital?’
