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Avery nodded to the technician to come back over and help hold Jay. ‘Jay, we’re just checking your temperature. Can you tell me how you’re feeling?’
Katsuko was quick. The tympanic thermometer only took five seconds to register. Thank goodness. Because by six seconds, Jay was thrashing around again. He made a loud noise and then retched. Katsuko grabbed a nearby sick bowl, but it seemed that Jay didn’t have much to bring up.
‘Thirty-nine point five,’ she said swiftly to Avery.
She could almost see his brain calculating everything. He watched as Frank nodded to another colleague who held Jay’s arm firmly in place. Frank inserted a cannula and withdrew blood quickly, filling five different tubes.
Jay started to try and thrash again. ‘It’ll be enough,’ said Avery. He walked over to the medicine cupboard in Resus. ‘With a temperature like that there’s likely to be an infection somewhere. His chest sounds clear, but call for an X-ray. The agitation is the thing that’s worrying me most.’
Katsuko was watching him closely. Jay had been in the room around two minutes and she could already tell Avery was close to making a decision. At work he was decisive and trusted his instincts. She was learning to trust them too.
He caught her gaze. ‘Can you ask the technician what the sleeping arrangements were for the surfing competition?’
She frowned. It was an odd question, but easily asked. She listened to the technician and turned back. ‘It was university-style dorms.’
Avery nodded. ‘I’m going down the meningitis route. There’s no visible rash but we all know that seeing the rash is bad news. In an ideal world we’d do a lumbar puncture and get some CSF. But he’s just too agitated right now. I’m going to have to make an executive decision. Let’s start with some IV penicillin.’ He looked around the room. ‘Is there a relative? Can we ask about allergies?’
Katsuko held up the technician’s paperwork. ‘Mum was following the ambulance in the car. She told the technician Jay had no allergies. Do you want me to find her and double-check?’
Avery shook his head. ‘If it’s already recorded that’s good enough for me. Let’s not waste another second for this kid.’ He mixed up the preparation and drew it up into a syringe. ‘Frank, can you hold his arm while I administer this?’
Frank nodded and held Jay’s arm firmly. Avery slotted the syringe into the cannula. IV antibiotics had to be administered over a few minutes and Avery watched the clock while he completed the process.
He met her gaze again. ‘I’ll talk to his mother as soon as she arrives. Jay needs one-to-one nursing care. Fifteen-minute obs. IV fluids. I’d love to monitor fluid intake and output but I’m not sure that inserting a catheter is feasible right now. I want his breathing watched carefully and also his oxygen saturation. I’ll write up some other meds for temperature control, nausea and agitation if required, along with the rest of his IV antibiotics. We need to watch this boy carefully.’ He gave a little shake of his head. ‘I’d still prefer to have got some CSF.’
She could see the worry lines on his forehead. Meningitis could be a killer. If this was the correct diagnosis they had to hope they’d administered antibiotics quickly enough to have an impact and halt the progression of the disease. Frank disappeared with the blood bottles and forms and she walked over next to Avery. She knew that testing cerebrospinal fluid could be a crucial part of the diagnosis. But the procedure for a lumbar puncture meant the patient had to lie very still in a certain position. Jay just wasn’t able to do that right now.
‘You okay?’
She watched as he licked his lips and took a few seconds to answer. He looked up. All she could see was the pale green of his eyes. She was closer than she meant to be. But it was natural for her. The skin on their arms was touching and it felt like that was meant to happen.
It was the first time she’d actually seen Avery look a little vulnerable. Something inside her squeezed tight. She reached up and touched the side of his face. ‘You’ve got this, Avery.’
Her voice was low and his head inched a little closer to hers. Their noses almost touched. ‘Do you need to tell me something?’
He shook his head. ‘I’m just not good with waiting games. I want to know right now if meningitis is the correct diagnosis. The penicillin won’t do any harm. But I want to know right now if it’s doing any good.’
She gave a little smile. ‘Avery Flynn, do you have no patience?’
He smiled too. ‘Not a single bit.’
She licked her lips. ‘Then let’s get logical.’ She tilted her head to one side. ‘Tell me why meningitis.’
Avery nodded. ‘Teenage boy, quick onset, he’s probably immunised against some strains of meningitis but not every type. Neisseria meningitis is most common in teenagers, particularly if they’ve been in a communal environment. It could be serotype C, Y or W.’
She put her hand on his arm. ‘And you could have just saved his life.’
It was the oddest feeling. But since her palm was in contact with his warm skin she didn’t feel the urge at all to pull it away. It was pathetic. Look at how she’d acted when he’d brushed against her behind. Why did this feel like exactly what she should be doing?
Avery glanced over at Jay. ‘Let’s hope so. The next few hours will be crucial.’ He straightened up. ‘Is his mother here yet? I’ll need to speak to her.’
Katsuko pulled back her hand. ‘I’ll go and check.’ She stepped back and hurried down the corridor.
* * *
Avery stared at his arm for a few seconds. He could almost feel her imprinted on his skin. There was a distinct feeling of unease. It had only been a few short days but he’d made a real connection with Katsuko and he wasn’t quite sure what to do next.
The initial harmless flirting had quickly turned into something else. Every relationship he’d ever been involved in had been cool on his part. He’d been happy for the companionship. Enjoyed the friendships and physical connection. But the emotional connection? On his part, it had never really been there.
But Katsuko felt different. He wanted to be around her. He wanted to know so much about her. It would be easier if she weren’t the General’s daughter. It would be so much easier if she weren’t the Major General’s daughter.
But no matter how much he was feeling the first real pull at his heartstrings, the little twist inside was still there. Japan? He hardly knew anything about it. He wasn’t even entirely sure how long this assignment would last. Apparently his sick colleague had requested this posting to Okatu. It was likely that once he’d made a full recovery he’d want to pick this assignment up again.
Part of those thoughts felt like relief. He wouldn’t want to settle down. He wouldn’t want to put down roots anywhere. He wouldn’t be in the difficult position of having that kind of a conversation with a woman because he always had a get-out clause.
It didn’t matter that he’d known lots of fellow colleagues who had found love, married and happily combined their family lives with working in the air force. Sure, it was difficult. Sure, there were sacrifices to make.
The whole thing had just never computed for him because of his example of family life back home. He’d loved the freedom of the air force. It gave him a safe haven. It had become his family. Could he even contemplate something else?
A dark hand appeared on his arm. Frank. ‘Avery? Jay’s mother has arrived. I’ve put her in the relatives’ room. Katsuko is with her.’
‘Thanks very much. You’ll keep an eye on him while I’m gone?’
Frank gave him a resolute nod.
The relatives’ room was bland. It didn’t matter how hard the staff tried to make it warm and friendly, it was always a place where difficult news was delivered, and it seemed to have that atmosphere around it permanently.
As soon as he walked in, Jay’s mother jumped to
her feet. ‘Where is he? Where is Jay? Why can’t I see him?’
Katsuko had her lips pressed together and Avery could sense the tension in her body.
He reached out and touched the woman. She had the broadest Texan accent he’d ever heard. It was such a surprise. In the last few days he’d become accustomed to the quieter tones of Japanese voices or Japanese accents when colleagues were speaking in English to him.
‘You can see Jay, but I need to make a few things clear.’ He spoke calmly and honestly. ‘Where is Jay’s dad?’
The colour faded from the woman’s face. ‘Why?’
Avery shook his head. ‘Jay’s sick. I think he might have meningitis. The next few hours are crucial. It would be best if his dad could be here too.’
Jay’s mum took a little step backwards. ‘He’s...a pilot. He’s flying to Kadena Air Base, then onto Okinawa. He won’t be home until tomorrow.’
Katsuko looked at him. ‘Do you want me to deal with that?’
Avery nodded. He didn’t know what she’d do—he was just sure that as the General’s daughter she could sort whatever she needed to.
She turned to Jay’s mother. ‘Can you give me your husband’s name and rank?’
‘Captain Rizalino Lim.’
Something flashed across Katsuko’s face for the briefest of seconds before she disappeared out of the door.
Avery wasn’t sure but the name sounded Filipino. The mother was distinctly American. A huge percentage of US Air Force families were from different nationalities. Had Katsuko just had a flash of familiarity with this family?
* * *
The call to her father took moments. His secretary answered straight away. ‘It’s Katsuko. There’s a medical issue. A parent is required to be located. We have a teenager with a suspected diagnosis of meningitis. He’s being treated but the next few hours are crucial.’
