‘Because it’s not me Connor’s interested in,’ she said slowly. ‘It’syou.’
The wave of longing was unexpected. Debilitating, almost. Kate was having trouble getting her arm through the sleeve of her jacket. The knot filled her belly. Tight and painful and… pointless.
‘Don’t be ridiculous.’ If her previous comment had been a snap, this would verge on being a snarl, but Bella only snorted softly. The sound was one of amusement.
‘I wasn’t the only one who noticed the chemistry between you two when you were dancing the other night. It’s as plain as this mountain of a zit I’ve got erupting on my chin.’ Bella fingered the spot. ‘Good grief… I’m not a teenager any more. It’s not fair.’
‘Stop thinking like a teenager, then,’ was all Kate could manage to say. ‘And seeing things that aren’t – and never will be – there. And have some fruit for breakfast,’ she threw over her shoulder as she headed for the briefcase waiting for her by the door. ‘I’ll see you later. I’m going to work.’
* * *
The labs were humming.
All the usual work was in full swing, with samples of all kinds being tested, reports dictated and results being dispatched. Lewis Blackman was using the time before he started the day’s scheduled autopsies to rove the area and make sure that his department was running like clockwork.
Every microscope in the large room was in use, both by technicians on duty and the members of the tutorial group of junior doctors that Kate was instructing. She was following up her lecture by testing how much her students had taken in. Her boxes of teaching slides were spread over counters and eager young medics were trying to outdo each other by identifying what they could see.
‘What have you got there, Neil?’
‘I think it’s an osteoid osteoma.’
‘Which is?’
‘A common, benign, bone-producing neoplasm. Predominantly found in males aged between ten and twenty years.’
‘Common sites?’
‘Fifty per cent are found in the femur or tibia.’
‘What’s the differential diagnosis?’
‘An aggressive osteoblastoma, which is also benign. Or an osteosarcoma.’
‘Why is it important to differentiate them?’
‘An osteosarcoma is one of the most aggressive and highly lethal tumours and commonly throws metastases to the lungs and liver.’
‘How can you be sure this isn’t an osteosarcoma?’
‘Because I can see the lesional tissue. The nidus. It’s well demarcated from the surrounding bone.’ The student moved to let Kate lean over the microscope.
She nodded and then looked up. ‘Anyone got a slide that shows an osteosarcoma?’
‘I have, I think.’ It was a registrar called Marie who spoke. ‘It looks like lace.’
Kate checked the second slide. ‘Right. I want everyone to look at both these examples and then we’ll have a quick recap on differential diagnoses and clinical behaviour for both types of tumours.’
‘Kate?’ A technician edged into the group. ‘Janet’s on the theatre run but due to get a piece of kidney from Theatre One. There’s an urgent case in Theatre Three. Bone biopsy being done on a thirteen-year-old girl. The surgery hasn’t started yet but do you want me to go and wait to collect the specimen?’
‘Please. And bring it to me.’ Kate eyed her group of students again. ‘This is timely. You can see a real-time investigation on a bone biopsy. If it’s happening during surgery, the results are critical. It might mean the difference between losing or saving a limb.’
The group was milling between the two microscopes and debating clinical information when an alarm sounded a few minutes later.
‘Oh, no…’ It didn’t take much to trigger a fire alarm in a hospital and the disruption could be disastrous. Kate flicked a glance around her busy department. Could she afford to ignore it?
Someone rushed into the laboratory area. ‘There’s smoke coming from the kitchens,’ he shouted. ‘Everybody out.’
‘Oh, my God…’ Marie was looking terrified. ‘We’ll be caught in the basement. How do we get out?’
