The Family He Needs by Lucy Clark

Author:Lucy Clark
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2013-12-14T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SIX

‘YOUR patients are ready,’ the A and E sister said as she poked her head around the open tearoom doorway. She looked from one to the other and then noticed the medicine on the table. ‘Everything all right?’

‘Fine,’ Zac responded. ‘Dr Bolton had a slight altercation with a chair.’

Sister’s lips twitched. ‘Who won?’

‘The chair,’ Julia said with disgust as she braced her hands on the table to help herself stand.

‘Will you be all right for Theatre?’ Sister asked.

‘I’ll be fine.’ Julia brushed away the concern. ‘I’m just feeling a bit stiff at the moment and there’s nothing like a good operating session to really help the kinks set in.’

Sister laughed and headed off. Julia could feel Zac watching her closely. He crossed to her side and placed his hand beneath her elbow for support.

‘Are you sure?’ he asked seriously.

‘I’ll be fine, Zac,’ she reiterated. ‘After all, I have the great Zachary Carmichael looking after me.’

She and Zac went into separate theatres at the same time and Julia found that once she got going she was fine. She also knew the anti-inflammatories Zac had made her take would definitely help to dull the pain. Bruised coccyx bones were annoyingly painful and healed very slowly. At least in Theatre, once she was in position, she didn’t have to move much.

Lucas Carter’s hand required open reduction and internal fixation with K-wires, and an hour after she’d started Julia was ready to close. Thankfully, the surgery had been straightforward with no complications.

When Julia came out, she headed straight for the changing rooms. The sooner she was at home in bed, the better. After changing, Julia went to Recovery to check on Lucas and also to see if Philip was there. Zac had still been in Theatre when she’d finished and she hoped he hadn’t run into any problems.

Both patients were there and Zac was standing at the nurses’ station, already changed, talking quietly with the nursing staff. Julia checked on Lucas before sauntering carefully over to where Zac stood.

‘Feeling stiff?’ he asked.

‘A little.’ She nodded.

‘You poor thing,’ one of the nurses said, oozing sympathy. ‘I bruised my coccyx in high school and it still gives me trouble sometimes.’

‘I see Dr Carmichael has been spreading hospital gossip!’ She glared at him but he just smiled and shrugged.

‘We all seem to bruise our coccyx bones at some point in our lives,’ agreed another nurse.

‘Thanks,’ Julia responded with a forced smile.

‘Well, ladies.’ Zac reached into his trouser pocket and pulled out his car keys. ‘We’ll leave you to it. If you have any problems you know our numbers. Right now I’m going to walk Julia out to her car to make sure she gets there in one piece.’ He chuckled and the nurses joined in, the sympathetic looks returning as they all looked at Julia.

As they headed outside, Zac’s arm beneath her elbow for support, Julia felt goose-bumps cascade over her body. Was it from the rain that was softly falling or Zac’s touch?

‘So nice of you to share my misfortune with the rest of the hospital,’ she quipped.

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