The Night Before Christmas. Alison Roberts

were huge. Important. Maybe he could have a word with someone in Orthopaedics and see if there was any way of getting a priority sticker put on Maggie’s case.

      A warning bell sounded somewhere in his head. Just how involved was he trying to get here? Maggie’s hip was well outside the orbit of what he should be concentrating on. He was here because of Misty. And Lizzie and their complementary surgeries that he was going to document. Whatever else was going on in his patients’ worlds had absolutely nothing to do with him.

      ‘It’s Dr Kingsley that is actually doing the surgeries,’ he told Maggie. ‘Lizzie has kindly agreed to let me document them on film so that I can use them for the purpose of giving lectures. The reason for the same surgeon doing both of the operations is to have things matched up perfectly. Think of it like a jigsaw puzzle. If I cut a piece out myself, I can put it back in exactly the right place. That is something I want to be able to demonstrate to other surgeons.’

      ‘He likes to tick all the boxes.’ Lizzie nodded. ‘For himself.’

      ‘I’m not a jigsaw puzzle,’ Misty said. ‘I’m … me.’

      Jack moved back to the bed. He loosened his tie a little more. He even undid the top button of his shirt. ‘You are, indeed,’ he told Misty. ‘And I’m Dr Jack. How are you feeling?’

      Misty said nothing. Was it too general a question for a child? The look he was receiving made him feel as though it had been a stupid question. And maybe it was. Misty’s arm was heavily bandaged and plastic tubes snaked from under the covers to the dialysis machine that was whirring quietly as it did its job to make sure her blood was as clean as possible before tomorrow’s surgery. She was pale and thin and was probably quite used to feeling a lot less than well.

      He tried again. ‘Does anything hurt?’

      ‘No.’

      ‘Are you worried about the operation?’

      ‘No. The nurse showed me all about it with the teddy bear. And Mummy says you and Dr Dave are going to take the best care of me.’

      ‘Did she?’ Jack couldn’t help shifting his gaze to Lizzie. He met a very steady look. One that said she was trusting him but he’d better not let her down.

      Fair enough. He didn’t intend to.

      ‘I’m going to read your chart,’ he told Misty. ‘And see what they tell me about all the tests you had today. Dr … Dave will be here soon so that we can talk about you and Mummy and make sure we’re all set for tomorrow morning.’

      ‘Are you going to read Mummy’s chart too?’ It was Holly who asked the question.

      Jack smiled at her. ‘I’ve already done that.’

      ‘Did I pass?’ Lizzie’s tone was carefully casual.

      ‘With flying colours.’ The atmosphere in the room lightened just a little. ‘And when I’ve read Misty’s I’m going to give her a quick check-up. Unless Dr Dave is back here by then.’

      It took a few minutes to get himself up to speed with the chart and the latest results in Misty’s notes. He was aware of Lizzie moving around the room, straightening things up, and of the twins having a whispered conversation that nobody else could hear.

      When he finished, he nodded in satisfaction and unhooked the stethoscope from around his neck. ‘Can I have a listen to your heart and lungs?’ he asked Misty.

      He had to push aside the memory of how he had avoided doing that for Lizzie this morning. Because he knew it would be unprofessional to be so aware of the warmth that would come from that amazing skin if he got too close? He’d been right to keep his distance. When she’d moved away from the bed, she’d been forced to brush past him rather closely due to the size of the room and he couldn’t help noticing a compelling scent that had nothing to do with any perfume she was wearing. He was still trying to bury the memory of it.

      Good grief. The look he found being bestowed on him by both the twins was identical. If he didn’t know better, he could swear they knew exactly what he’d been trying so hard not to think about. And children could sense things, couldn’t they? Like animals could sense fear.

      In perfect unison, the twins stopped staring at him and looked at each other. For a moment there was a silent communication going on and Jack could feel the intensity. Then they both nodded and looked back at him.

      And smiled.