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Nic looked up at her as she approached. ‘She keeps slipping in and out of consciousness. Apparently she was thrown clear of her car, but she had a two-month-old daughter in the back. Ben’s risking his life trying to save that woman’s baby.’
‘She has a baby?’
Thea felt numb. The irony wasn’t lost on her. It was as if all the fates were taunting her that she was judging Ben right now, but she still hadn’t been entirely honest herself. She felt a gurgle of hysterical laughter bubble up, so unlike her, and hastily swallowed it back down.
It must have been all over her face because Nic suddenly grabbed her hand, snapping her back into focus. ‘Yeah,’ he squeezed her hand quickly, as if to offer her comfort.
He didn’t know about the baby, but could he read her thoughts? See the guilt etched in her face?
‘If Ben’s going to give his life trying to save the baby, the least you can do is fight to save the mum. I’ll take your van driver.’
Nodding, but unable to speak, Thea took over.
‘Try not to worry. Ben must know what he’s doing—he’s a soldier. He’s trained to risk his life for others. I understand how scared you must be right now, it’s obvious how much you love him, but put it out of your head and focus,’ Nic advised gently.
He was right. She was still in love with Ben. After all this time she was no closer to getting over him than she had been five years ago. Well, she was damned if she was going to let fear take her over. Shutting out the black thoughts, Thea forced herself to work, to concentrate on the casualty in front of her, who had passed out again.
Head down, forcing herself not to be distracted, she worked steadily on the young woman, relieved when she’d alleviated the pressure in the patient’s chest and the mother of the baby finally regained consciousness.
‘Van driver’s stable. I’ll take over here.’ Nic suddenly appeared and drew her to one side. ‘Go and check on Ben. See if he’s saved the baby. If not try to get him out of there. Then move on to the next casualty.’
‘Understood,’ Thea choked out, hoping her legs wouldn’t buckle under her as she stood up.
He was still over there? How long had it been?
Thea gratefully passed the reins on to Nic and raced to the edge of the danger area. The remaining vehicle creaked and groaned distressingly. It sounded as if it was about to blow up at any moment. She resisted the urge to vomit.
‘Ben, you have to get out of there!’ she cried again. ‘Ben!’
She waited for what seemed like an eternity, and just as she was about to run to her next victim Thea saw his feet, then his legs, as he emerged painfully slowly.
‘Get out of there!’ she yelled.
Finally free of the wreckage, he stood up—and only then did she see the baby wrapped in his arms. Emotions tore through her without warning. Fear, relief, and the searing agony of the loss of her own baby—their own baby.
‘There’s a pulse!’ Ben shouted this confirmation, tearing out of the area as another bang—louder this time—could be heard. ‘Didn’t you say Nic had extensive paediatric experience?’
‘Give her to me.’ Nic had already raced over and Ben willingly handed over the bundle. ‘Nice going, Ben. That baby’s only alive because of what you’ve just done.’
Words froze in Thea’s mouth. She wanted to tell him how stupid he had been. But watching the tiny baby being raced safely away in Nic’s arms stopped the words from coming out. Instead she pressed her palms to her eyes, stemming the tears.
‘Are you okay?’ she managed, just as they heard a whoosh followed by a boom. Ben swept her into his arms and charged them both backwards. By the time he released her the car he’d crawled out from, carrying the precious bundle, was a fireball, and smoke was billowing out around the scene. All the debris, however, was still within the danger zone. A metre-long shard of metal had been driven into the ground exactly where Ben had been standing with the baby a few moments earlier.
‘I’m fine.’
Ben had dismissed her concerns. It felt as though he was dismissing her, in a way he never did with anyone else.
‘Who’s left to triage?’ he asked.
CHAPTER NINE
‘TO BEN,’ FRANCO announced quietly, raising his pint glass. ‘If it hadn’t been for his actions yesterday that baby wouldn’t be stable in hospital with his mother now.’
‘Ben,’ chorused the remainder of the two teams soberly.
Ben grunted but said nothing, trying to temper his displeasure. They had no idea how much he hated this. The undeserved praise. They had no idea how many lives he’d lost, how many dead bodies on the battlefield, men he’d failed to save. He was just lucky he’d got to the baby in time. Which was more than could be said for Dan.
He downed his drink in record time and took the opportunity of going to the bar for a refill just so that he could slip away for a few minutes to clear his head. He’d barely got his drink when a soft, female body pushed against him.
