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'The Professor Harding?' Zach lifted an eyebrow. 'I'm impressed. You're certainly heading for the big time.'
'I didn't say I'd got the post,' Keely reminded him dryly. 'I just said that Dad wants me to apply.'
Zach was suddenly still. 'And are you going to?'
'Probably,' Keely said quietly, carefully hiding just how unenthusiastic she felt about the whole thing. 'But he gets loads of applicants, of course, so I probably won't even get an interview.'
'You're a clever girl, Keely. I'm sure you'll walk into any job you want.' His jaw was tense. 'So you're definitely planning on going back to London at the end of your six months, then?'
His tone was slightly cool and she frowned slightly, wondering why. Was he checking that she wasn't getting any silly ideas about staying near him? That she wasn't altering her career plans for him? Well, he didn't need to worry on that score. Whatever she decided about her future, she was going to make sure it was well away from Zach. He'd made it crystal clear that he didn't want any sort of relationship with her. Or with any other woman.
She gave a nod. 'Yes, I'm going back to London.'
It would be the best thing for all of them. Obviously what he'd shared with his wife had been too special ever to be repeated. But everyone needed friends and she could be a good friend to him. She'd stay around and help him until he sorted out his child-care arrangements and then she'd move out and try to build a life without him.
The next day they were both working the early shift and it turned into a horrendously busy morning. The weather was freezing, the roads were icy and by nine o'clock they'd had two nasty RTAs—road traffic accidents—admitted to the unit.
They'd only just cleared up and restocked the resus room when a man was admitted with a penetrating chest injury.
'He was stabbed on his way to work. Would you believe it? Broad daylight. What a bloodbath,' Nicky muttered as she applied pressure to the wounds and jerked her head towards a nurse. 'Someone call Zach now! Move!'
'What happened?' Zach came into Resus seconds later, took one look at the patient and started scrubbing.
'He was stabbed twice in the chest.' Keely's voice faltered slightly as she struggled to get a line in. Thank goodness Zach was here. For once she was willing to admit that she was totally out of her depth. 'He's got distended neck veins, hypotension and muffled heart sounds. I think he might have a cardiac tamponade.'
A tamponade was bleed
ing into the sac that surrounded the heart and Keely knew it was potentially life-threatening.
Zach lathered down to his elbows. 'Has he got an output?'
'Yes—I've fast-bleeped the cardiothoracic team but they're in Theatre. They'll be here as soon as possible.'
'OK.' Zach turned the taps off with his elbows. 'Let's give him oxygen, Nicky, and get two lines in. And someone get me a thoracotomy tray just in case.'
'It's on your left,' Nicky said as she glanced at the monitor. 'Damn. He's arrested.'
'OK, we're going to have to open him up.' Zach spoke calmly, as if it were an everyday occurrence. 'Get that pack open, Nicky, and let's get some blood down here fast. I'm going to open his chest.'
He worked with such speed and skill that Keely couldn't keep pace with him.
'Rib retractors!'
Obediently Keely produced the retractors and helped him position them so that he had better access to the chest cavity.
'OK, I can see the heart. Hell, what a mess.' He frowned and reached into the chest while Keely watched in silent admiration. How could he begin to see what he was doing? With a sure movement he cut through the bulging pericardium and evacuated the blood. 'I can see a tear.' . He put his finger over the defect and performed internal cardiac massage by pressing the heart between his hands.
Just then the doors flew open and the cardiothoracic. surgeon strode in. 'For Pete's sake, Zach, couldn't you wait?'
'Needed the practice.' Zach grinned and glanced towards Nicky. 'Get the expert some gloves, will you? And some 4/0 prolene sutures.'
Swiftly the team worked together to save the man, and finally Zach glanced up at the monitor. 'All right, I'm stopping massage.'
There was a tense silence in the room while everyone watched the monitor and then Zach muttered under his breath, 'Come on, come on, give; me an output.'
As if following his instructions, the ECG machine sprang to life and Keely gasped with delight, as did the rest of the team.
'Good work, folks.' Zach glanced up. 'Let's get a CVP line in and give him some cefuroxime. Then I want an arterial line inserted and a catheter. Keely, recheck his U and E, glucose, FBC and clotting, please. Anything else, David?'
