A Family Made at Christmas Read online

  She nodded. ‘Only a few steps at a time. I’m going to pull the wheelchair behind us so it’s handy if you need it.’

  John shook his head. ‘No way. I’m going to make it to the end of these bars.’

  She smiled. Somehow she didn’t doubt he would.

  Riley leaned forward. ‘John, just remember. This isn’t a military operation. Your wound is healing well. But parts will still hurt. We need to be able to judge how much analgesia you need to be able to take part in your physical therapy. If we give you too much, you could do yourself harm. Push your body to do things it’s not quite ready for.’

  ‘Do people normally make it to the end of the bars?’ John asked April.

  She held up her hands. ‘Some people can’t weight bear at all the first time. Some people can stand for a few minutes; others manage a few steps. We’re all individuals, John. And this is the first day. Your first steps. Let’s just take it as it comes.’

  He nodded, his hands gripping tightly to the bars, his knuckles blanching.

  She could see Riley noticing the same things that she was. Why was he even here? This was her job. Doctors rarely visited the gym. They usually only appeared if their presence was requested.

  Suddenly, there was a pang in her stomach and she caught her breath. That had been a few times today. She hoped she wasn’t coming down with something.

  John took a step forward with his affected leg. She pressed her lips together for the next stage. It was just as she expected. He had his weight on the amputated limb for the briefest of seconds before his weight fell back on his good leg.

  That was entirely normal. It was hard for the body to adjust. It was hard for the brain to make sense of the changes. John was starting to sweat. It was amazing how much work just a few steps could take. She stayed right next to him. As did Riley.

  It took another ten minutes to reach the end of the parallel bars. By the time John had finished he was thankful to sink back down into the wheelchair. April put her hands on his shoulders. ‘Well done, John. That was great.’ She walked around to the front to release the pam aid. ‘Ideally, we’ll do a bit of work in the gym three times a day.’ She looked at Riley. ‘Dr Callaghan will have a conversation with you about what works best analgesia-wise for you. The more regularly we can get you down to the gym, the more quickly your body and brain will adjust. The nurses will also do regular checks of your wound to make sure there are no problems.’

  John gave an exhausted sigh. ‘Any chance of a coffee?’

  She laughed. ‘Absolutely.’ She set the pam aid aside. ‘I’ll take you back down to the ward and we’ll set a programme for tomorrow.’

  John looked over at Riley. ‘She’s a hard taskmaster.’

  Riley’s voice wasn’t as relaxed as it had been earlier. ‘She is. But it’s the only way to get you back on your feet.’

  He pushed his hands into his pockets as April finished tidying up. His pager sounded and he glanced at it. The expression on his face changed.

  ‘Sorry, need to go.’ He’d already started striding down the corridor in front of them when he turned around and looked back. ‘John, I’ll be back to talk to you later.’

  April watched his retreating back. Part of her wanted to ask what was wrong. Part of her knew it was none of her business.

  Could something be wrong with Finn?

  She tried to push things out of her mind. She had a patient to look after. She had work to do. But, as they reached John’s room, he said the words she’d dreaded. ‘Isn’t Ballyclair the local school?’

  She nodded.

  ‘Thought so. That’s what his pager said. Hope his kid is okay.’

  Her footsteps faltered as she took the final steps towards the chair in John’s room. ‘Oops, sorry!’ she said brightly as she bent down to put on the brake. Her heart was thudding against her chest. She moved automatically, helping John into the other chair.

  This was none of her business. None of her business at all.

  So why did she want to pull her mobile from her pocket and phone Riley right now?

  One of the nurses stuck her head around the door. ‘April, are you free? I’m wondering if I could steal you to do some chest physio on someone who is sounding a little crackly?’

  She nodded straight away. Work—that was what she had to do. That was what she should be concentrating on. She smiled at John. ‘Can we coordinate our diaries for around two p.m. and we can go back to the gym again?’

  John put his hand on his chin. ‘Let me think. There’s the afternoon movie. Or the browsing of the dating websites. But I think I can fit you in.’

  She laughed and put her hand on his shoulder. ‘You did good this morning. Let’s keep working hard. See you in a while.’

  Her fingers brushed against her phone again and she pulled them from her pocket.

  None of her business.

  She gritted her teeth and kept walking.

  * * *

  He was trying to be rational. But the words ‘Finn’s been hurt’ had sent a deep-rooted fear through him that he’d never experienced before. His legs had just started walking to the car even with the phone still pressed to his ear.

  Apparently it was ‘just a little head-knock’. When was any head injury ‘just a little head-knock’? Finn had slid in the school playground, fallen backwards, cracked his head on the concrete and been knocked out for a few seconds.

  His car was eating up the road in front of him. Finn’s school was only a ten-minute drive from the hospital but right now it felt like a million miles away.

  His mum and dad had come down for the weekend to meet Finn. He’d told April that his mum was like a whirlwind—truth was she’d been more like a tornado. She’d taken over everything. Cooking. Cleaning. Every conversation with Finn. His dad had been much more thoughtful. But Riley could tell that his father just wanted a chance to have five minutes to sit down with his grandson.

  It hadn’t helped that his mother kept bursting into tears every now and then. Finn had just seemed a little bewildered by it all. He’d finally whispered to Riley, ‘I’ve never had a gran before,’ as he’d watched Riley’s mum talk and cook at a hundred miles an hour. Riley had given him a hug.

  It had all been exhausting. His mother hadn’t wanted to leave, and Riley had been forced to tell her quite pointedly that he needed some time with his son. Right now, he was regretting that decision. What if he needed some help with Finn?

  His eyes narrowed as he noticed the traffic slowing in front of him on the motorway. He’d come this way to save a few minutes and to stop wasting time at a hundred sets of traffic lights in the town. Seemed like it hadn’t been the best plan.

  His foot hit the brake as it became clear that things were much worse than he could ever imagine. Smoke was directly ahead. The cars in front had stopped, but it was clear the accident had only happened around thirty seconds before.

  Riley’s stomach clenched. Two cars, both totally smashed, facing each other and blocking the motorway completely.

  For the first time in his life he was completely torn. His doctor instincts told him to get out of the car and start helping. But his newly honed parental instincts told him to find a way to Finn.

  He gulped and looked behind him. It only took a few minutes for the motorway to back up completely. There was no exit nearby. There was no way out of here.

  He pulled his phone from his pocket as he climbed out of the car. Someone else had already jumped out and ran to the smoking cars. For the first time he regretted sending his mother back home after her weekend meeting Finn. There was only one other natural person to phone in a situation like this. He pressed her name on the screen as he opened the boot of his car and grabbed the emergency kit that he always kept there.

  There was only one other person he’d trust with Finn.
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  * * *

  April’s stomach plummeted when she saw who was calling. ‘Riley? What’s wrong? Is it Finn? Is he okay?’

  His voice was eerily calm. But she could hear some shouting in the background. ‘April? There’s an accident on the motorway. I can’t get off. And I need to help. The school phoned. Can you get Finn? Can you check he’s okay? He’s had a head injury. He was knocked out. Don’t come this way. You’ll have to drive through the town. Check his reactions. Check his pupils. If he’s nauseous or sleepy take him to hospital.’

  April was stunned. It took a few seconds to find some words.

  ‘Of...of course. Of course I’ll get Finn. No problem. Riley, are you okay?’

  She could almost physically feel his pause. ‘I’m fine. I have to go and help. Just take care of Finn.’

  She stared at the phone. Her hand had the slightest shake. April moved into automatic pilot. She wasn’t sure if Riley had spoken to anyone when he’d left, so she followed procedures and spoke to her boss, making arrangements for someone to cover her workload, and then left a message for Riley’s boss. Waterloo Court was a real family-friendly place. No one had problems about her leaving. It only took fifteen minutes to drive through town and reach the school.

  Finn was sitting at the office as she arrived, looking a little pale-faced. He didn’t seem surprised to see her as she rushed over to sit next to him and give him a hug.

  The head teacher looked at her in surprise. She held out her hand in a way that only a head teacher could. ‘I’m Mrs Banks. I don’t believe we’ve met. I was expecting Dr Callaghan.’

  April nearly opened her mouth to speak, then had a wave of realisation. She pointed through the doors. ‘Can we speak in there, please?’ She didn’t wait for a reply before she whispered in Finn’s ear, ‘I’ll be just a second, honey.’

  Once they’d walked through the doors she held out her hand to the head teacher. ‘Apologies. I’m April Henderson. I’m a colleague of Dr Callaghan. He’s stuck at a road accident on the motorway. I didn’t want to say that in front of Finn, since he lost his mother in an accident.’

  The head teacher gave a nod of acknowledgement and shook April’s hand. ‘Of course. I understand. But we have a problem.’

  ‘We do?’

  She nodded. ‘I’m afraid Dr Callaghan hasn’t named you as an emergency contact. It means I can’t let you take Finn away.’

  ‘Oh.’ It was all she could say. Her brain filled with distant memories of conversations with colleagues over the years about making things safer for kids at school. Of course they wouldn’t just hand Finn over to anyone. But that hadn’t even occurred to her on the way there. It must not have occurred to Riley either. They were both treading waters unknown.

  ‘I take it Riley didn’t manage to call you and tell you I was coming?’ Why did she even ask that? Of course not. She shook her head. ‘He’s treating people at the accident scene.’

  The head teacher gave her best sympathetic look. ‘Well, I’m sorry. But we have good reasons for our rules. Until we hear from Dr Callaghan, we can’t let you leave with Finn.’

  April glanced through the glass panel in the door, where Finn was so white he seemed transparent. She took a deep breath. ‘Let me keep trying to get hold of Riley while I keep an eye on Finn.’

  * * *

  Riley surveyed the scene. Two cars—both had their bonnets completed crumpled, one had its side doors crushed inwards. He ran towards the cars, checking in one, then the other. Another man was talking to a lady in the first car.

  ‘I’m Riley Callaghan, a doctor.’

  The guy looked up. ‘I’m Phil—just Phil. I know a little first aid but that’s it.’

  Riley gave a nod and took a quick look in the car. It was an elderly couple. The man was unconscious, the woman making a few groans. Both looked trapped by the crumpled front end of the car. Riley tried to pull the door open nearest to him. After a few attempts he put his foot up to get more leverage. The door opened but not completely. He put his hand in and felt for a pulse, watching the rise and fall of the man’s chest. He grabbed some gloves from his back pocket—life had taught him to permanently have them handy. He then put his hand down the non-existent footwell. He fumbled around. There was no way to see clearly, but after a few seconds he found a pulse at one ankle, but couldn’t get to the other. He pulled out his hand; unsurprisingly the glove was covered in blood. He pulled it off and found another. ‘How’s she doing?’ he asked Phil.

  Phil pulled a face. ‘I’m not sure.’

  Riley was around the car in an instant. ‘Mind if I have a look?’

  Phil stepped out of the way. Riley was keeping calm; his main aim was to have assessed the occupants of both cars in as short a time as possible. He’d take it from there.

  He checked the woman’s pulse. She was terribly pale, but that might be her normal colour. He checked her breathing; it was erratic and he put his hand gently at her chest. She’d broken some ribs. He was sure of it. And it could be that one had pierced her lung. He did a quick check of her legs. One was definitely broken; he suspected both tib and fib. The second seemed okay.

  ‘Stay with her,’ he said. ‘I’m going to check the other car.’

  He crossed quickly to the other car. There was a man of a similar age to him, coughing, with a little blood running down his forehead. The airbag had deployed and the air was still a little clouded around him. The man was clearly dazed. In between coughs he spluttered, ‘Aaron. How’s Aaron?’

  Riley felt his heart plummet. He looked into the back of the car. A little boy—around two—was strapped into a car seat. He yanked at the rear car door, pulling it with all his might. It was stiff. Part of the door was buckled, but after some tugging he finally pulled it free. The little boy greeted him with a big smile. He started babbling and wiggling his legs.

  Riley’s actions were automatic. This car already had smoke coming from the engine. He reached and unclipped the little guy, grabbing him with both hands and pulling him out. He leaned Aaron towards his father. He would never have thought to do something like that before. But he could see that in amongst his confused state the man’s first thoughts had been for his son.

  Finn. As held the little body next to his, all he could think about was Finn. Was he okay? Had April got to him yet? He should be with him. Not here.

  Not stuck at a roadside.

  ‘Aaron looks good; the car seat has kept him protected.’ He glanced anxiously at the man as his head slumped forward a little. It was obvious he was still completely dazed. ‘What’s your name?’

  ‘Ben,’ came the mumbled reply.

  ‘Well, Ben, I’m going to hand Aaron over to someone else to keep an eye on him and get him somewhere safe. We need to think about getting you out of this car.’

  A woman had appeared from one of the cars stranded in the traffic jam. She arrived just as he turned around. He moved away from the cars. ‘Can you hold this little guy for a second?’ She held out her hands and Riley thrust Aaron into them. ‘Wait a second,’ he commanded and he gave Aaron a quick check over. No apparent injuries. Breathing fine. Moving all limbs. No abrasions. He pulled his pen torch from his back pocket, choking back a gulp. He’d meant to use this on Finn. He quickly checked Aaron’s pupils. Both equal and reacting to light.

  He looked at the woman. ‘This is Aaron. Everything looks fine but can you take him over to the side of the road and keep an eye on him for now?’

  She nodded quickly, seeming relieved to be of some help. ‘No problem.’ She started chatting to Aaron as she walked away. Riley’s phone rang.

  April.

  He actually thought he might be sick. Something must be wrong with Finn. It must be something terrible. A subdural haematoma? Skull fracture? Intracranial bleeding? His hand fumbled with the phone. ‘April? What’s wrong?�
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  ‘Riley. Are you okay? Finn looks fine. But the school won’t let me take him home. They say they need permission.’

  Relief flooded through him, rapidly followed by frustration. ‘Let me speak to them.’ He turned back to the car. The smoke looked a little worse. He needed to get Aaron’s dad out of there.

  A stern voice appeared on the phone. ‘Dr Callaghan? Mrs Banks, head teacher. I’m afraid you haven’t listed Ms Henderson as an emergency contact for Finn. We really need you to sign some paperwork so that, like today, we can release Finn into her care.’

  He was instantly annoyed. He knew why Mrs Banks was saying all this, but it felt like a reprimand for an unruly child. As he stood, flames started licking from the silver car holding Aaron’s dad. ‘Damn it!’ He started running back towards the car. He tucked the phone under his chin, put his foot on the car and started pulling at the driver’s door with all his might. ‘Come on!’ he yelled in frustration at the door.

  ‘What?’ came a squeak from the phone.

  ‘Mrs Banks,’ he said between yanks at the door. ‘I’m trying to pull a guy from a burning car. You—’ he stopped and pulled again ‘—have my permission to—’ every muscle in his arms was starting to ache ‘—release Finn into April’s custody.’ He pushed the phone away from his ear and shouted to some guys who were talking near the front of the traffic jam. ‘Can you give me some help over here?’ He could feel the heat from the flames near the bare skin on his arms. He pushed the phone back to his ear. ‘Could you do that, please?’

  He pushed the phone back into his pocket, not bothering to wait for a reply. April was there. She’d seen Finn. She’d said he was okay. Maybe his definition of okay was different from hers, but he had to have faith in his colleague. Had April worked with kids before? Hadn’t she mentioned something about kids with cystic fibrosis? Maybe she knew more than he thought.

  Three men ran over; one joined him, two tried the opposite side of the car. Why hadn’t he thought of that?

  The man’s hands squished over his at the handle. ‘Now,’ he grunted at Riley as the two of them pulled in unison. His hands were nearly crushed beneath the guy’s vice-like grip but the extra strength gave him what he needed. The car door was finally prised open and they both landed on the ground.