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All this filming without having to deal with Dr Grumpy—as Kristie had nicknamed him.
* * *
They’d arranged filming for a little later the next day as they’d been warned the local A and E could be quieter in the mornings. As they pulled up in the hospital car park they could already spot Rhuaridh’s car—along with a whole host of others. ‘I take it Friday afternoon is a busy time,’ said Gerry as they got out of the car.
Kristie shrugged. ‘We’re trying to get away from the mundane. He’s on call all weekend, so maybe we’ll get something unusual.’
As they walked inside Gerry almost tripped. The waiting room was almost as busy as yesterday’s ferry. He smiled. ‘We might be lucky.’
Kristie looked around. ‘Let’s interview a few of the people waiting,’ she said. The waiting room was full of a range of people. There looked like a whole host of bumps and breaks. A few kids had large eggs on their foreheads, others were holding arms a little awkwardly. Legs were on chairs, and some people were sleeping.
It didn’t take long for Rhuaridh to spot them in the waiting room. His perpetual frown creased his forehead, then it was almost like he realised that had happened and he pushed his shoulders back and forced a smile on to his face. ‘Kristie, Gerry, come through.’
The normally relatively quiet A and E department was buzzing inside. Names were written on a whiteboard, with times next to them. Three nurses and one advanced nurse practitioner were dealing with patients in the various cubicles.
The charge nurse, June, gave Kristie and Gerry a rundown of what was happening. She motioned to a set of rooms. ‘Welcome to the conveyor belt.’
‘What do you mean?’
June smiled. ‘I mean that slips, fractures and falls are our biggest issue today. Everyone in the waiting room has already been assessed. We generally deal with the kids first, unless something is life threatening, then, if need be, an adult can jump the queue. But most of the people outside are waiting for X-rays, and quite a large proportion of them will go on to need a cast.’ She pointed to a room that was deemed the ‘plaster room’ where one nurse, dressed in an apron, was applying a lightweight coloured fibreglass cast to a kid’s wrist. There was another child with a similar injury already waiting outside to go in next.
Another nurse nodded on the way past. ‘And I have all the head injuries. So far, nothing serious. But I have four kids and two adults to do neuro obs on for the next few hours.’
Rhuaridh walked up and touched Kristie’s arm. ‘Do you want to come and film a kid’s assessment? He’s probably got a broken wrist too, but you could capture the story from start to finish—probably in under an hour.’
Kristie couldn’t hide her surprise at his consideration. She exchanged glances with Gerry. ‘Well, yeah, that would be great, thanks.’
She was hoping that outwardly her calm, casual demeanour had not shifted. In truth, she could feel the beads of perspiration snaking down her back.
It was stupid. She knew it was stupid. But the A and E department was different from the ward. There was something about the smell of these places. That mix of antiseptic and bleach that sent a tell-tale shiver down her spine. She was counting her breathing in her head, allowing herself to focus on the children around her, rather than let any memories sneak out from inside.
It was working, for the most part, just as long as no one accidentally put their hand on her back and felt the damp spot.
Gerry filmed as they watched the assessment of the little boy, Robbie, who’d fallen off his bike and stuck his hand out to save his fall. Rhuaridh’s initial hunch had been correct. It was a fracture that was correctable with a cast and wouldn’t require surgery. He even went as far as to relieve Pam in the plaster room and put on the blue fibreglass cast himself.
As he washed his hands and the others left the room, Kristie couldn’t help but ask the question that was playing around in her head.
‘Why are you being so nice this time?’
He gave a cough, which turned into a bit of a splutter. ‘You mean I’m not always nice?’
She choked, and tried to cover that with a cough too. By the time her eyes met his he was actually smiling. He was teasing her.
