Anne Fraser - The Firebrand Who Unlocked His Heart

In the ward, posters covered the walls in an attempt to make the unit as cheerful as possible. Every room was a single and a large bright day room filled with toys lead off to the left.

Daniel paused at the very last room and held a finger to his lips. ‘We have to go in quietly. Harry gets startled by any loud noise and it unsettles him.’

‘Why don’t you go in to see Harry, first, while I chat to the nurses?’ Colleen suggested. ‘Then I’ll come in and say hello.’

Daniel nodded briefly and Colleen went to find the nurse in charge of the ward. When she explained who she was and why she was there, she was directed to an office. A woman with short dark hair looked up from her paperwork and held out a hand. ‘I’m Sister Lipton.’

Sister Lipton waited until Colleen was sitting down before she continued. ‘So you’re the person who’s to be Harry’s private nurse?’ she said. ‘Mr Frobisher has told us of his plans.’

Colleen didn’t bother to correct her. She had yet to decide whether she was going to take Harry on.

‘I have to tell you that I think taking Harry home at this point is a mistake,’ Sister Lipton continued.

‘Can I ask why?’

The nurse frowned. ‘Apart from the fact that there are excellent rehab facilities in London, there is the small matter of the fact that Mr Frobisher doesn’t seem to know how to interact with his son.’

‘Oh?’

‘Harry was in ITU for a week with a GCS score of three. During that time Mr Frobisher, perfectly understandably, refused to leave his son’s bedside. But instead of talking to Harry, as we suggested, Mr Frobisher mostly spent his time working on his laptop. Furthermore, I gather he caused the nurses some problems with his demands.’ She sighed. ‘He insisted on bringing in specialists of his own to assess his son. In fact, he had all sorts of demands. Some of them reasonable. Some less so.’

Colleen hid a smile. She had no doubt that Daniel hadn’t been the easiest relative to have around. But what Sister Lipton said about Daniel not interacting with Harry was more of a worry. Nursing staff could only do so much; the rest was up to the patient and their loved ones.

‘Mr Frobisher tried the same sort of thing when we moved Harry here once the lad was stable,’ Sister Lipton continued. ‘I’m afraid he and I clashed more than once. In many ways I won’t be sorry to see the back of him.’

‘But you don’t think he should have Harry at home? I can assure you that I’ve worked with patients like Harry for many years and Mr Frobisher is fully committed to ensuring that Harry receives as good quality care at home as he does here.’

‘That may be,’ Sister Lipton said. ‘But it’s Harry’s attitude to his father that worries me. When Harry first regained consciousness he was very agitated. As you know, we see that a great deal with patients like Harry, but it didn’t take long for us to notice that it was his father’s presence that seemed to distress the boy. We asked Mr Frobisher not to spend so much time on the ward. He wasn’t happy, as you can imagine, but even he could see he wasn’t helping matters. And as we expected, Harry was—and is—much calmer when his father isn’t around.’

Colleen decided to let that pass for the moment. She would make up her own mind. As it stood, Daniel was all the family Harry had left. No one should be keeping the pair apart. Besides, she was getting irritated with Sister Lipton’s assumption that she knew best. It had been the same when Cahil had been in hospital. No one had wanted Mammy to take him home, but nothing could stop her mother when her mind was made up. It was one of the ways they were exactly alike. And taking Cahil home, surrounding him with the people who loved him most, had been the right thing to do.

‘What can you tell me about Harry’s treatment and progress to date?’ she asked.

Sister Lipton took her through a detailed summary of Harry’s medical treatment. ‘As far as we can tell, there is no reason why Harry shouldn’t make a good recovery over time. There appears to be no lasting damage to his brain. In fact, we’re a little surprised that he hasn’t progressed quicker. He seems to understand simple instructions, but we’d really be expecting him to be saying more than the odd word by now. He also has some movement, but not as much as we would expect at this stage.’

‘We both know that patients even with apparently identical injuries can progress at different rates. No brain injury is exactly the same,’ Colleen said. ‘I’ve seen many cases, as I’m sure you have, where recovery is sudden and dramatic. Perhaps this will be the pattern for Harry?’

No doubt Sister Lipton was an excellent nurse but the way she had spoken about Daniel had made Colleen’s blood boil. Just like patients, relatives were different when it came to how they dealt with their loved ones’ injuries. Perhaps Lipton was the kind of nurse who expected the relatives to treat her with deference. Frankly Colleen preferred the relatives who made it their business to be involved with their child’s care. And despite Daniel’s high-handedness, she was sure he only wanted the best for his child.

When Colleen had finished speaking to Sister Lipton, she went along to see Harry.

With the blinds drawn, she could barely make out the frail figure lying on the bed in a tangle of sheets. An older woman in a nurse’s uniform was checking Harry’s blood pressure while Daniel stood looking out of the window.

Careful not to make any sudden noise, Colleen approached the young boy and her heart constricted. Even in sleep, Harry’s forehead was creased in a frown. His legs and arms twitched, as if he was being chased by the hounds of hell. Poor mite.

As if sensing her presence, Harry’s eyes slowly opened and stared right at her. His eyes were the same startling green as his father’s, but where Daniel’s were sharp and focused, Harry’s were clouded with confusion.

‘Hi, Harry,’ Colleen said softly, ‘My name is Colleen. I’m a nurse and I look after people who have hurt their heads.’

Harry’s eyes shifted from Colleen to Daniel and back again.

Keeping her voice as soothing as possible, Colleen continued. ‘May I sit down on your bed, Harry? That’s great. There’s no need to be scared, I’m here because your dad asked me to come and meet you. He loves you very much.’

Mutely, Harry continued to stare at her.

‘Harry, I want to hold your hands—is that okay?’ She slipped her fingers round his. They felt stiff and cold. ‘That’s excellent, Harry. Now squeeze as tight as you can, sweetheart. Squeeze as if I’ve just pinched your MP3 player and all your favourite tunes.’

The minutes passed and still Harry continued to stare at her. Colleen willed him with every fibre of her being to respond. Please, Harry, come on, you can do it, darling. Squeeze, squeeze .

She hadn’t realised she’d been holding her breath until she felt the slightest of pressure from Harry’s fingers. His eyes locked on hers, only for a moment, but long enough for her to see the fear in his eyes. She held the boy’s hand until he relaxed and the fear gradually receded. She already knew there was no way she could walk away from this child.

‘That’s excellent, Harry. Well done. We’re going to be great pals, I just know it. In a few days we’re going to take you home with us.’

Harry’s eyes shifted until he was looking over Colleen’s shoulders. She was aware that Daniel had come to stand behind her.

‘Go!’ Harry said clearly.

‘What is it, Harry? Do you want me to go?’ Colleen asked.

With an enormous effort Harry raised his hand until he was pointing at Daniel. It was obvious that he wanted his father to leave the room.