because this time he flinched.
Not much.
She just saw the slight tightening of his lips and then he righted himself.
‘I thought as much.’ She shook her head. ‘Thanks but no thanks, Dominic. I really do want to do this on my own.’
Dominic looked at Victoria. He was not going to force himself on someone who clearly didn’t want him too close in her life.
‘Victoria,’ Dominic said, ‘I will stay back, if that is what helps you. But with one proviso.’
‘What’s that?’
‘If you change your mind, you’re to tell me.’
‘I shan’t be changing my mind,’ Victoria said, and then she saw that Glen was making his way towards them. ‘I’ll see you around.’
SEE YOU AROUND!
Dominic had watched her walk out and had resisted yanking her back, but really—see you around!
Of course he could not force her to accept his presence at the appointment, nor could he demand anything from her.
He had loathed her working on the ambulance whilst pregnant but at least it had meant that they saw each other regularly.
Now it would just be Save Paddington’s meetings and they were always busy. Though there were get-togethers afterwards, there would be no real chance for the two of them to speak.
He could hardly go around to her flat, given how it had ended the last time.
Yet, he could not regret what had taken place.
That night, it had not been just the sex that had soothed. It had been the conversation and just a glimpse of peace on a tumultuous day.
And a glimpse of another side to Victoria.
He was waiting for the transfer from Riverside to arrive but that could well be hours away. Still, rather than head off and get some rest, he hung around in case Victoria came back in, knowing that it might be their last chance to speak.
The nurses were stretched thin.
Karen was working in the resuscitation area and watching Penny while also trying to take some observations on a wriggling two-year-old. When the buzzer went over Penny’s bay, Dominic stood to answer it and Karen gave a nod of thanks to him.
‘Hello.’
He smiled down to Penny.
‘You’re not a nurse,’ Penny said. She was looking a bit better and could speak in short sentences, but even that seemed to deplete her.
‘No,’ he said. ‘I’m not, but Karen is just giving a baby some medicine and doing its obs. Can I help you with anything?’
‘I want some ice.’
‘I think I can manage that.’
He went and filled a cup from the dispenser and then began feeding Penny a spoon of ice chips.
‘Mum’s speaking to the doctor,’ Penny said.
‘She shouldn’t be too long,’ Dominic reassured. ‘How are you feeling now?’
‘Better.’
‘That’s good.’
She was a little anxious and he guessed that tonight she must have had a fright, so he did not place the cup down but instead let her get her breath for a moment and waited until she spoke again.
‘A princess lives in the tower,’ Penny said, pointing to the roof. ‘Victoria told me.’
‘That’s good to know.’ He smiled because it would seem that even if Victoria didn’t believe in fairytales she knew how to tell them. There were so many sides to Victoria.
And he wanted to know them all.
‘A beautiful princess,’ Penny added, and he waited for her to take a couple of breaths before she continued. ‘She watches over all the children.’
‘What about the handsome prince?’ Dominic asked.
‘Victoria didn’t mention him.’
Of course she didn’t! Dominic thought as he smiled.
He fed her a few more chips of ice. He guessed that, more than ice, Penny wanted some company and so he chatted about magic and fairies and wishes that came true and, because of his accent, she asked about the Loch Ness monster and if he believed it.
‘Who, Nessie?’ He made it sound as if the monster was a close friend. ‘My brother and I saw her one holiday many years ago.’ And because he was so serious it made it more believable somehow, so Penny lay there and smiled and told him one of her wishes.
‘I wish I could have ballet lessons.’
‘Well, I’m sure the princess is working on that as we speak,’ Dominic said, and then turned as Julia came in.
‘Oh, thank you, Doctor,’ she said.
‘No problem.’
‘What did the doctor say?’ Penny asked her mother.
‘That they’re going to keep you here for a few days. It’s her second home...’ Julia added to Dominic, taking the cup of ice chips and smiling as she did so.
He could see that Julia had put on some make-up and was doing everything in her power to hide her own terrified heart.
Children often amazed him, Dominic thought, but then adults did too.
Julia had just been delivered terrible news about Penny, Dominic knew.
This wasn’t going to be just a couple of nights’ stay.
He had heard Thomas speaking with Karen and the news wasn’t good.
A viral infection was ravaging Penny’s already damaged heart and had pushed her into a dangerous level of heart failure.
‘Where’s Dad?’ Penny asked her mum.
‘He’s moving the car or he’ll get clamped again!’ Julia said, and then she turned it into a funny story, reminding Penny how Dad’s car had got clamped a couple of times.
And either the guy was out there weeping, Dominic thought, or he really was trying to sort out a car that had been haphazardly parked in the race to get to his desperately sick child.
Julia chatted and fussed, and then in came Peter smiling and waving at Penny; he came over and gave his little girl a kiss.
And Dominic watched.
You wouldn’t know that they were in agony.
Unless you knew.
And suddenly Dominic did.
Victoria was hurting.
Of course she was.
And probably she hurt a bit more with each and every passing day.
He thought of Glen, idly chatting, saying how you would do anything for your children.
And the firefighters who had run into a building to save children that weren’t even theirs.
Every single day it must be rammed home to her just what her mother had done.
* * *
Victoria was hurting.
She and Glen sat in the vehicle and Victoria got out her flask so they could have a coffee as the sun was coming up over London.
‘I’m going to miss this,’ Victoria said.
‘You’ll be back.’ Glen smiled.