Rescued by Dr. Rafe (6 page)

‘You're right. It's the best thing.'
She'd agreed with him almost before he had been able to get the words out of his mouth.

‘I'll just take my own things...'
Something inside him had been screaming that this wasn't right, but she'd seemed so firm, so sure.

‘Take whatever you want.'
She'd shrugged as if none of it meant anything to her and then stood up, in a clear indication that the conversation was now at a close.
‘I've got to pop over to see Charlie.'

How could he have believed her? He should have known that her lack of emotion was just a front. But he'd struggled so agonisingly with this decision that the thought that Mimi didn't care whether he stayed or left was almost welcome. It assuaged the guilt.

When he'd packed his things, put his bags in the car and driven away, he'd thought he was being strong, protecting her. But now he knew the truth. He'd messed up, and he'd hurt her.

The thought that she still hadn't told him everything, that she'd given no reason for this crazy assertion that she wasn't good enough for him, wouldn't go away. But he'd already pushed her too far tonight.

‘Wait... Is this right?'

Yes. It was right. They might have done it in the worst way possible, but it had unquestionably been the right thing to do.

Suddenly Rafe realised that she'd actually spoken the words and that she was referring to the fork in the road a couple of hundred yards behind them, not a decision made five years ago. Occupied with his thoughts, he'd instinctively taken the same road he'd taken then, which led on to the motorway.

‘Ah... Yeah, of course. Lost my bearings for a moment.'

‘Visibility's terrible. I nearly missed it.'

It was so easy to fall back into the pattern—Rafe driving, Mimi at his side, tactfully applying a corrective nudge from time to time. It made him feel strong to have her there, which was worrying in any number of ways.

He turned the car in the deserted road, driving back the way he'd come. It was still raining, and they still had a job to do. And Rafe was becoming increasingly certain that he couldn't leave until he found out what it was that Mimi had refused to tell him.

As he manoeuvred around a car parked right on the corner, he heard Mimi catch her breath.

‘Oh, no!'

Water was pouring over the lock gates, spreading out in a huge pool on the other side. The lock house, converted now to make a holiday home for someone, was surrounded by three feet of water. A fire engine stood on solid ground, further up the hill.

‘There's someone in there?' She was peering through the rain-drenched windscreen.

‘Apparently. Must have been trapped and called for help.' Rafe drew up beside the fire engine and got out of the car. He identified himself to the senior firefighter and they shook hands.

‘We can't get over there with ladders; they won't reach. We'll have to go by dinghy. We have information that someone's injured in there, but we don't know how badly.'

‘Okay. We'll come with you.' He'd rather go alone, but leaving Mimi behind wasn't an option at the moment.

‘Only one of you. Those guys are going and, with two of my men, that leaves only one place in the dinghy.' The firefighter jerked his thumb towards two men standing up close to the fire truck to get what shelter they could from the rain.

‘Who are they?'

‘Plain clothes police. The place is being burgled.'

‘What?' Rafe hadn't been aware that Mimi was standing next to him until she spoke.

‘Yeah. The alarms went off and the security company alerted the police. When they got here they found that the place was cut off and called us.'

‘You think they're still there?' Mimi frowned, clearly taking stock of the situation.

‘We know they are. The alarm system in the house is state-of-the-art—heat and pressure sensors, webcams, the lot. The ones downstairs are out, but upstairs they're still working. It looks as if there are two lads and one of them has suffered some sort of injury.'

‘And the police are keeping a low profile not to spook them.' Rafe remembered the car, parked on the corner.

‘Yeah. If they think that it's just the fire and ambulance services, then hopefully there'll be less chance of trouble. I'm sending over two of my men with the police officers, so that'll be enough to contain them if things get nasty.' The fire officer looked around at the activity going on behind him. ‘We'll have the dinghy ready in ten minutes. Then we'll get you over there.'

‘Thanks. We might wait in the car.'

‘Yeah.' The firefighter looked up at the falling rain. ‘Don't blame you.'

They walked back to the car in silence. Mimi got in, sitting quietly in the passenger seat.

‘All right. I'll go.' Rafe decided to make his position clear, right from the start.

Mimi turned to him, no trace of the anger that he'd seen in her face more times than he could count today. ‘This is my job, Rafe.'

He didn't care. Mimi was
not
going into a dark house which was in the process of being burgled. He didn't care if it was just kids, or that there was going to be backup. She wasn't going.

‘Look, Mimi...' He heard the exasperation in his own tone and took a breath. ‘In a situation like this, I'm handier with my fists than you are.'

‘You're thinking of hitting the patient?' She was annoyingly calm.

‘Don't be smart.'

She pressed her lips together, as if she was trying not to rise to the bait. ‘Teamwork, right? You're a gifted doctor, Rafe, but I'm a first responder. I've been trained to work with the fire services and the police and I know exactly what to expect of them and what they're going to expect of me.'

Rafe grabbed the last and only argument he had. ‘And, professionally speaking, a paramedic usually defers to a doctor in any medical situation.'

‘Okay.' She sat back in her seat, folding her arms. ‘Make the decision, then. From a professional standpoint.'

She'd pulled the last plank out from under him. Rafe had made some tough decisions in his life, but that didn't make this one any easier.

‘All right. You should go. You're the one best qualified to do the job.'

‘Thanks.' Her face suddenly softened. ‘Don't worry.'

She went to get out of the car and Rafe caught her arm. ‘If you don't take care out there, so help me I'm reporting you...'

She grinned at him, irrepressible as ever. If this was all he could have, the camaraderie of working together in a potentially volatile situation, then he'd take it.

‘You need to have a word with Jack. He usually threatens to string me up and flay me to within an inch of my life.'

‘What you and Jack do on your own time is your own business.'

Mimi chuckled. ‘I'd like to see him try.'

‘Just go, before I change my mind. And be careful.'

‘Yeah. I will.'

Rafe let go of her arm and she got out of the car, walking over to where the dinghy was being pushed out into the water. One of the firefighters helped her in and she sat down. Someone must have cracked a joke because Rafe saw a couple of the men laugh, and Mimi joined in.

He got out of the car and went to stand next to the senior fire officer, who was watching as the boat steered a path across the water. It drew up alongside a small balcony on the upper floor of the house, and two figures climbed up onto it. The crack of breaking glass sounded above the rush of the water and then the figures disappeared inside.

CHAPTER SIX

M
IMI
WATCHED
FROM
the boat as the two police officers gained entry into the house and were followed in by one of the firefighters. Glancing across the expanse of water, she could see Rafe, standing by the fire truck. Suddenly, she was glad that he was there.

The firefighter appeared and beckoned her inside. She knew that the place would have been searched and that it was now deemed secure. A hand reached down and she grasped it, struggling to find a foothold on the balcony, before an undignified shove from the firefighter in the boat behind her boosted her upwards.

‘Through there. If we give the order to evacuate the house, you don't wait. We'll be getting everyone out.'

‘Understood.' Mimi waited for her bag to be passed up and hurried through to the bedroom on the other side of the house.

The room was in darkness, apart from the light from torches and a lantern. A youth of about twenty lay on the double bed, groaning in pain. One of the policemen was with him and the other was guarding a younger boy, who sat on the floor in the corner of the room.

‘He's got no weapons on him and I can't see any signs of blood either, apart from his fingers.' The policeman had obviously made some kind of preliminary check.

‘Thanks.' Mimi climbed on to the bed. Looting was considered the lowest of the low, but this was a patient and he wasn't much more than a boy at that.

‘Hi, I'm Mimi. I'm with the ambulance service.'

No answer. The lad's eyes were resolutely closed, although he seemed to be conscious.

‘What's his name?' She turned quickly towards the boy in the corner, who had his face in his hands and seemed to be crying.

‘His name.' The policeman standing over him bent towards the boy. ‘Come on. You need to help your mate.'

‘Terence Arthur Wolfe.' It seemed that now the boy had decided to talk, he was going to tell all. ‘We call him Wolfie.'

‘Okay. Wolfie...?'

‘Not now, baby. I'm not in the mood.'

She heard the firefighter who had come with her chuckle quietly and shot him a grin. ‘Just as well. Neither am I.'

She tapped the side of Wolfie's face with her finger and he opened his eyes. ‘Ambulance service, Wolfie. I'm here to help you.'

She started the basic checks, calling over her shoulder to the boy in the corner. ‘What happened to him?'

‘It wasn't my idea...' The boy started to sob.

‘What happened, lad?' Another prompt from the policeman.

‘He... He went downstairs, said there was stuff down there. I didn't go. All the furniture was floating about. He got hit by a wardrobe and it squashed him against the wall...'

‘Did his head go under the water?' Mimi felt Wolfie's hair and it was dry.

‘No.'

‘Was he unconscious at any time?'

‘I pulled him out and got him up here.'

‘Has he been unconscious?' Mimi tried the question again.

‘I don't think so.'

It looked as if Wolfie might have a cracked rib and two of his fingers were broken. But his breathing was okay, and if there was any bleeding it was internal. She turned to the firefighter. ‘We'll need a carry cot. You have one on board?'

‘Yep, we've got one.'

‘Great.' She felt in her pocket for her phone and dialled Rafe's number. ‘The boat can go back and fetch it?'

* * *

Rafe was holding his phone in his hand, and answered on the first ring. As he did so, he saw the boat, pushing away from the house and moving back towards them.

‘Mimi?'

‘I've got a young male, crushed by a floating wardrobe, of all things. We'll need to evacuate him by stretcher. I'll call an ambulance.'

‘Okay, got it. I'm coming across with the boat. Anything you need?'

‘No, I'm good. Thanks.'

By the time the boat arrived back, a carry cot had been taken from the fire truck and they were ready to go. The dinghy was manoeuvred carefully across the dark water, bumping against the wall of the house, and Rafe waited for the go-ahead before he climbed up on to the balcony.

On his way through to the bedroom, a policeman led a young boy past him, ready to ferry him back to dry land and take him into custody. It seemed, from what Mimi had said, the other hadn't been so lucky.

She'd enlisted the help of one of the firefighters to hold a breathing mask to the boy's face and was kneeling on the bed next to him. A new-found respect for her bloomed in his heart. In this vital fifteen minutes she'd worked alone and by torchlight, improvising and taking the help she needed from whoever was there at the time. His responsibilities were different, heading a team of doctors and nurses in the hospital.

He'd been so close to making the wrong decision. Rafe had told himself that it was concern for Mimi's safety, but maybe he just hadn't respected her enough. He'd allowed himself to fall back into his old way of thinking—he was the man and he had to protect her. He did, but he had to protect her as an equal.

‘Quite a few minor cuts and bruises, and pain in his upper left abdomen and shoulder. BP and heart rate are on the lower end of normal.'

‘You're thinking a ruptured spleen?' Everything that Mimi had said pointed to that, but Rafe supposed she hadn't given her diagnosis out of deference to him.

‘Yeah. I don't smell any alcohol on his breath, and his mate says he's not taken any drugs.' She twisted her mouth grimly. ‘Not that he would have wanted to admit it, but the policeman made it very clear to him that he'd be in a lot more trouble than he is already if he didn't tell us.
Oof...
'

The air rushed from Mimi's lungs as her patient grabbed at her jacket, pulling her down on to the bed next to him.

‘Gimme something, baby.'

Rafe and the firefighter both moved at the same time to release her from his grip, but Mimi had this under control too.

‘Let go, Wolfie.' Her tone was suddenly commanding. ‘I can't give you anything for the pain if you don't let me go.'

Wolfie let go and started to moan loudly, his hand moving to the left side of his chest, as Mimi moved clear of him.

‘All right?' The firefighter moved his free hand to restrain Wolfie, and clamped the oxygen mask firmly back over his face.

Mimi grinned. ‘Yes, thanks. He's surprisingly strong.'

‘Okay, let's have a look.' Rafe got on to the bed and Mimi grabbed hold of Wolfie's flailing arm. A careful examination prompted howls of protest from Wolfie, the assertion that his pain levels were twelve out of ten, and a not so polite request for anaesthesia.

‘I think you're right.' Rafe turned to Mimi. ‘We'll keep him warm, continue the oxygen and monitor his BP and heart rate.'

She nodded as if that was an instruction.

‘Agreed?'

‘Oh.' She shot Rafe a surprised look but regained her composure immediately. ‘Yes, agreed.'

‘You're carrying morphine sulphate?'

‘Yes and Naloxone.' Although it didn't appear that Wolfie had been taking narcotic drugs, the Naloxone would reverse the effects of the morphine if necessary.

‘Okay...'

She left Rafe to keep an eye on Wolfie and turned to fetch the morphine from her medical bag. When she offered him the syringe, Rafe shook his head.

‘Your patient, Mimi.' He murmured the words. Now that she was a qualified paramedic, she was allowed to give a patient morphine.

Her grin felt like a reward, when he'd only given her what was her due. Rafe held Wolfie still, while she slid closer to him. ‘Wolfie... Wolfie, listen to me. I'm going to give you something for your pain. Just lie still; you're getting what you want.'

Rafe felt the tension in Wolfie's body relax, and he started muttering. Mimi carefully swabbed his forearm, and when she slid the needle in Wolfie hardly noticed. She disposed of the syringe and then sat back on the bed, her hand on the side of Wolfie's face, soothing him while the drug took effect.

Rafe stood back, ready to step in if he was needed, but Mimi was handling everything correctly and efficiently. She managed to insert a cannula in Wolfie's arm which, given the bad lighting and the fact that Wolfie seemed to be trying to proposition her while she did it, was nothing short of miraculous. She was monitoring him carefully and the lad responded to the sound of her voice, lying quietly.

The firefighter who had been helping Mimi had gone to get an update on evacuating Wolfie from the house, and Rafe saw him appear in the doorway. ‘How long before we can get him out of here?'

‘Five minutes, maybe ten. We'll winch him down on to the dinghy and walk it over.'

Rafe had no clear idea of what that might involve, but Mimi seemed to and she nodded. ‘We'll strap him into the carry cot as tight as we can. He seems a lot calmer now.'

‘Hope he stays that way.' The firefighter winked at Mimi. ‘Baby...'

She laughed. ‘Wanna try calling me that when I don't have my hands full?'

‘Nope.' He walked away, chuckling.

When everything was ready, Wolfie was carried through to the balcony and lowered down on to the dinghy. Men were standing, waist deep in water, on four sides of the craft, ready to guide it back to the waiting ambulance.

Mimi seemed about to climb over the balcony, to accompany the dinghy but Rafe lay his hand on her arm.

‘My turn, this time.'

For a moment he thought she might argue with him, even though it was obvious that his height and strength made him the one for this particular job. Instead she nodded. ‘Better take this.'

She pressed the EpiPen, containing the Naloxone, into his hand. It was highly unlikely that he'd need it now, but it was a kind of acceptance, that he was right.

‘Thanks.' Rafe climbed over the balcony, wading through the freezing water towards the lights on the other side.

* * *

They'd handed Wolfie over to the ambulance crew, and Rafe had called the hospital to make sure that they were aware of the possibility that the incoming patient had a ruptured spleen. Then he'd made for the car, found a pair of sweatpants in his overnight bag and stripped off his soaked jeans in the cramped confines of the front seat.

The sky was beginning to show the first signs of an approaching dawn as Rafe drew up outside Mimi's cottage. Now that she had nothing to do, fatigue had taken over and she was already yawning. As soon as he got back to the hospital and into a hot shower, Rafe reckoned he'd be yawning too.

‘What day is it?'

He had to think about the answer. ‘Thursday.'

‘Yeah. That's right, Thursday. I'm off duty for three days, now.'

‘Right. Get some sleep.'

‘I'll text Jack first...' She felt in her pocket for her phone and then seemed to give up, unequal to the task of finding it.

‘If he's got any sense he'll be sleeping. Probably in a warm bed in the church hall.' A warm bed sounded like heaven at the moment but, however cold and tired Rafe was, he couldn't resist stretching these few moments out just a little.

‘Suppose so.' Mimi stifled another yawn. ‘What are you doing now?'

‘I should get back to the hospital. Get a few hours' shut-eye and then back on the road.'

She thought for a moment. ‘Why don't you stay here? You won't get any sleep in the doctor's on-call room today, and anyway you need to wash and dry your clothes. And you won't have to drive back out here to pick me up later on.

‘Pick you up? Where am I taking you?'

‘I don't have a vehicle or a partner, remember?' A little quiver of her lip betrayed her uncertainty. ‘If you still want me around, that is.'

He wanted her. ‘Think you can put up with me?'

A tired grin. ‘I'll try.' She opened the car door and started to climb wearily out. ‘So are you coming...?'

Rafe reached for his overnight bag and pulled it out. Locking the car, he followed her up the front path and into the house.

Mimi fussed about a bit, leading the way into the spare room and switching on a lamp by the bed, which gave so little light that it served only to stop him from bumping into the furniture. She gathered a few items of washing that were drying by the window and then collapsed the drying rack.

‘Leave your clothes in the basket in the bathroom and I'll put them in the washing machine tomorrow morning.'

Rafe nodded.

‘I'll get you a towel...' She walked out of the room, reappearing a few moments later with a clean towel and putting it on the bed. ‘Bathroom's all yours.'

‘Thanks.'

‘Have you...' She frowned as if she'd forgotten what she was about to say. ‘Is there anything you need?'

‘Go to bed.' He could have slept on a washing line at the moment, and Mimi looked as if she was half-asleep already.

‘Yeah.' She swayed a little as she turned, and Rafe wondered whether he should follow her to make sure she got to her bedroom without falling asleep on the way. Then she left him, closing the door behind her.

Rafe waited until he heard the door of the main bedroom close and then walked the few steps across the hallway to the bathroom. He showered off the bits of river mud, revelling in the hot water, and then made his way back to the spare room.

He had neither the energy nor the inclination to worry about what he was doing here, or how awkward things might be when they woke. Rafe loosened the towel from around his waist and crawled into bed.

* * *

He woke slowly, knowing that he wasn't anywhere familiar but unable for the moment to work out exactly where he was. In fact he probably wasn't awake at all because he could smell the citrus scent of Mimi's favourite soap. Rafe considered the possibility of lucid dreaming and whether he could control what happened next. Then he opened his eyes.

Not bad for a first try. Mimi wasn't draped over the end of the bed, wearing black lace. On the other hand, the smell of cooking was wafting up from the kitchen. Bacon sandwiches would be his second choice of things he most wanted to wake up to at the moment.