wellness clinic? It’s not every day they have someone to talk to them about sensitive subjects such as sexual health or female-specific cancers.’ It was as much about educating patients as treating them and he would happily defer to Emily in areas where she had more experience.
‘That’s a great idea. I’m sure I can put something together for later this week.’ Her eyes were shining with excitement rather than fear for the first time since they’d met. Well, if he didn’t include last night on her doorstep.
His gaze dropped to her mouth as he relived the memory and the adrenaline rush it had given him. Was giving him. Only her nervous cough snapped him out of his slide back into dangerous territory. He certainly didn’t want to freak her out after they’d just established their boundaries.
‘Good.’
‘Glad we got that sorted.’
It was better all around if they kept their lips to themselves, on different sides of that screen.
* * *
There’d been a steady influx of patients throughout the day, more minor ailments than emergency medicine to deal with. Not that she was complaining. Coughs and colds were manageable and it meant she didn’t have to call on her colleague for an extra pair of hands. She had, however, handed out a vast amount of paracetamol and antibiotics, not to mention sticking plasters. It was probably a combination of not having these drugs readily available and the novelty of a new, female doctor in residence. At least it showed she’d been accepted in her role and she’d kept busy. That was better than sitting fretting in the corner with nothing but tumbleweeds straying into her section of the clinic. Worse, she’d have had time to overanalyse that kiss some more. Every time he so much as looked in her direction her body went up in flames at the memory. While she was investigating the swollen glands of a pensioner she wasn’t thinking about Joe. Much.
‘Say “Ah” for me.’ She bent over the side of the bed to peer into her patient’s mouth and felt a nudge against her backside.
She turned around to read the Riot Act to whoever it was getting handsy with her when she saw the shadow on the other side of the curtain. Joe was innocently tending his patient too and proving that having little room to manoeuvre was going to be an issue if the butt-bumping became a regular occurrence. It mightn’t faze him but she was finding it pretty distracting.
‘Your tonsils are quite inflamed but it’s nothing a course of antibiotics won’t clear up.’
She heard Joe prescribe the same treatment she’d been dishing out all day. It wasn’t unusual for viruses to spread like wildfire in such a small community and she was glad of the extra supplies she’d brought with her. They were going to need them, along with the hand sanitiser and vitamin tablets she’d be using to prevent succumbing to it herself. The last thing she needed was Joe having to tend her too.
If the claustrophobic room wasn’t hot enough, the thought of her next-door neighbour mopping her fevered brow was enough to bring on the vapours.
Emily moved closer to the oscillating fan before the heat in her cheeks eroded her camouflage make-up and caught sight of a young woman running up the path with a baby in her arms.
‘Help! She’s not breathing!’
The baby, no more than nine or ten months, was conscious but not making a sound, even though her limbs were flailing in a panic. Not hearing a baby cry in this situation was heart-stopping for her too, indicating the child’s airway was completely blocked.
‘Give her to me. Quick.’
The child’s lips and fingernails were already turning blue but there was no visible sign of obstruction in her mouth.
Joe was at her side in the blink of an eye. ‘What happened?’
‘She... We were eating breakfast. She grabbed some bread off my plate. Is she going to be okay?’
Emily slid one arm under the baby’s back so her hand cradled the head. With her other arm placed on the baby’s front, she gently flipped the tiny patient so she was lying face down along her other forearm. She kept the head supported and lower than the bottom and rested her arm against her thigh for added support. With the heel of her hand she hit the baby firmly on the back between the shoulder blades, trying to dislodge whatever was stuck in there.
Delivering a blow to such a small body wasn’t easy to do without guilt but the pressure and vibration in the airway was often enough to clear it.
Unfortunately, after the recommended five back blows there was no progress. Time was of the essence as the lack of oxygen to the brain would soon become critical. She rushed over to lay the baby on the bed, paying no mind as Joe kicked the screen away so he had room to assist. He cradled the infant’s head, murmuring soothing words for child and mother as Emily started chest thrusts.
With two fingertips she pushed inwards and upwards against the breastbone, trying to shift the blockage. She waited for the chest to return to its normal position before she repeated the action. Her skin was clammy with perspiration as she fought to help the child to breathe. If this didn’t work they’d run out of options.
Joe reached out to touch her arm. ‘I’ve done a few tracheostomies in my time if it comes to it.’
He was willing to step up to the plate with her and she found that reassuring. She’d never performed one and hoped it wouldn’t come to that. The idea of making an incision for a tube into the windpipe of one so small was terrifying.
‘Thank you.’
With her surgical inexperience and the primitive facilities she was glad to have the backup but it was absolutely the last resort. His calm demeanour in the face of a crisis helped her to centre herself again and deliver another chest thrust.
She checked inside the mouth again. If this didn’t work she would repeat the cycle before letting Joe take over. After another chest thrust she felt movement beneath her fingers and heard a small cry.
‘You’ve got it!’ Joe’s shout confirmed her success and she stopped so he could retrieve the chunk of bread causing the trouble.
The colour slowly returned to the baby’s face and Emily had never been so relieved to hear a child cry.
‘Thank you. Thank you.’ The weeping mother alternated between hugging them and stroking her daughter’s face.
‘I just want to sound her chest.’ Emily unhooked her stethoscope from around her neck so she could listen to the baby’s heartbeat and make sure there was no resulting damage from the trauma. Her lungs were certainly in good order as she raged her disapproval.
Once she’d carried out her checks and made sure all was well, she gave the relieved mother the go-ahead to comfort her child.
‘I think I need to keep you all under observation for a while. Emily, if you don’t mind, I’m going to break into that stash of tea and biscuits I saw you put in your locker earlier. We all need it for shock.’ Joe’s worried frown had evened out into a relieved smile to match her own. She sat down on the bed and waited for the much-needed cup of tea, still feeling a tad shaky herself after the ordeal.
Having a partner here mightn’t be all bad. He’d let her take the lead today while still providing support, and tea, when she’d needed it. It made practical sense for them to work together. If only she’d stop overreacting to the slightest body contact. And staring at his backside as he bent down to retrieve her precious cure-all.
‘I THINK WE deserve a break,’ Joe waved off their first emergency patient and her mother at the door once they were sure she had fully recovered.
‘I was under the impression we’d just had one.’ While it had all been very dramatic and draining, saving lives was part of their job. It shouldn’t be an excuse to shut up shop and act unprofessionally.