Joanna Neil - His Very Special Bride

‘As soon as I’ve finished intubating him, we’ll splint that fractured limb,’ he said. ‘Once that’s done we can safely transfer him to the spinal board.’

Sarah felt the hairs prickle along the back of her neck. That voice was all too familiar, and she must have inadvertently let out a breathy sigh of recognition because the man shifted his head a fraction to look up at her. He frowned.

Sarah blinked. What was Ben doing here? Was this his job, working for the emergency services? Or was he based at the local hospital? The questions were on the tip of her tongue, but she stayed silent, because right now she didn’t want to distract him or in any way impede the work he was doing.

For a few seconds he held her gaze and the atmosphere seemed to be filled with tension.

‘It must be something in the air,’ he murmured. ‘We seem fated to meet under unusual circumstances.’ Then, almost as though that strange collision of minds had never happened, he simply turned away and continued attending to his patient.

It was only when the intubation was completed and the man was receiving life-giving oxygen that Ben looked at her once more and said briskly, ‘If you want to do something to help, you could squeeze this oxygen bag. Keep up the momentum, and make sure you keep to a regular rhythm.’

Sarah nodded to show that she understood, and crouched down beside the young biker. ‘He’s still unconscious. Does he have any other injuries, apart from the leg?’

‘I imagine he has a head injury, and there may be internal injuries, but we won’t know until we’ve done scans at the hospital. Either way, it looks as though he has a broken thighbone, and he’ll most likely need to have surgery to pin it in place. He’s lost a lot of blood, but I might be able to make up for that by putting a line in and giving him fluids.’ He fixed her with his dark gaze. ‘What you need to do is to keep pumping the oxygen.’

Sarah did as she was told, and kept quiet so as not to distract him. The paramedic worked with him to splint the leg, and then between them they lifted him onto the protective board.

Ben stood up. ‘OK, you can hand over to the paramedic now,’ he told Sarah. ‘I’m going to take a look at the other patients.’

‘OK.’ She relinquished her hold on the oxygen bag and watched Ben cautiously as he moved away, not quite understanding his abrupt manner. Perhaps he thought it strange that she had a knack of turning up in odd situations, but that was his problem, not hers.

Paramedics were getting ready to move the man who had been clutching his chest. As to the driver of the black saloon, he had been released from the driving seat and removed to a place of safety. It appeared that he was suffering from pain and swelling around his knee. To Sarah’s untutored eye, it looked as though the knee had shifted in relation to his leg.

Perhaps she had said as much, because Ben glanced at her as she approached and said lightly, ‘Yes, it certainly looks that way.’ His mouth gave a faint twist. ‘I’m surprised to find that you’re still here. You’re not at all squeamish, then?’

Sarah lifted her shoulders in a noncommittal shrug. She had no idea whether she was or not. As far as she was aware, this was the first time that she had come across a situation like this. ‘So, what’s wrong with his leg? Do you know?’ she asked. ‘Is there a fracture?’

‘I can’t be sure whether there’s any fracture, but I expect the force of the smash has caused him to hit the dashboard with his leg and consequently the knee was dislocated. From the looks of the swelling and discoloration, it’s quite nasty.’

He turned his attention to the patient. ‘I’m afraid that your circulation is not as it should be in that limb, Colin, so I think that I should try to get the knee back in position without delay. I don’t believe we can wait until we get you to the hospital.’

Colin mumbled a response, and Ben obviously took that as agreement, because he said, ‘I’m going to give you something to take away the pain while I do that.’ He looked directly at the man. ‘As the paramedics are dealing with other patients, I’m going to ask this young woman if she will lend a hand with the procedure. Are you OK with that?’

The driver nodded, and Sarah guessed that he was in too much pain and discomfort to care one way or the other. She gave Ben a wide-eyed look.

‘I’ve never done anything like this before,’ she said in a low voice. ‘Are you sure that you want me to help?’

‘Quite sure.’ He was already drawing up a syringe of what Sarah imagined was painkilling medication. ‘All you have to do is position yourself at his head and thread your arms underneath his armpits. Clasp your hands together over his chest and keep up a counter-pressure when I pull on his leg.’ He started to give the injection, glancing from time to time at his patient.

‘How does that feel? Is it any easier?’

‘That’s better,’ the man said after a while. ‘The pain is going.’ He gave a slow sigh, and Sarah guessed that he was feeling a surge of relief.

Ben glanced at Sarah. ‘Do you think you’ll be able to help me out?’

‘Yes. I can do that.’

‘Good. Let’s get on with it, then, shall we?’

Sarah followed his instructions, kneeling down at the man’s head and placing her arms around his upper torso.

Ben, in the meantime, positioned himself to grasp the man’s leg in a way that would allow him to straighten it. ‘Are you ready?’ he asked, glancing at Sarah. ‘It’s really important that you counter my pulling on the limb.’

‘I’m ready.’

It was all over in a matter of seconds, and as soon as Colin’s leg had been straightened out, Ben started to check the circulation around the joint. ‘That’s improving already,’ he told Colin. ‘I’m going to splint it for you now, and then we’ll get you into the ambulance and off to hospital.’

Sarah watched Ben as he worked. He had a sure touch, and she could see that anyone who came into his care would be well looked after. There was no hesitation, no debating what to do, and each procedure followed on from the one before like the turning of a well-oiled engine.

‘Is this what you do every day?’ she asked softly, as he beckoned to the paramedics who were coming from one of the ambulances.

‘Emergency work, you mean?’

She nodded. ‘Yes. I was wondering if you worked with the ambulance service or whether you’re based at the local hospital.’

‘It’s a bit of both, actually.’ He worked with the paramedics to lift the patient onto a stretcher, and made sure that he was strapped securely in place. ‘I’m based in the A and E department at Woodvale Hospital, but I’m often called out with the ambulance service if there’s a multiple accident.’

‘Oh, I see.’

He studied her for a brief moment. ‘What about you? Are you not at work today?’

‘I was on my way to work when this happened.’

He nodded, and then directed the paramedics to transport the patient to the ambulance. ‘I expect you’ll be delayed for a while longer. The police will want to hear your account of what happened.’

‘Yes, I imagine they will.’

He was already turning away to go with his patient, and Sarah remained where she was. Ben inclined his head briefly towards her, and then it was as though he had dismissed her from his thoughts. His attention was solely on the injured people.

That was how it should be, of course. He had been focused on his work the whole time, and finding that Sarah was already here had been just a momentary distraction, one that had actually worked to his advantage when he had enlisted her help. She doubted that he would even give her a second thought after this.