DISCLAIMER: Nothing belongs to me except the one patient, everything else belongs to the maker of Casualty. Read and review even if you think it's crap.

"Sorry I'm late!" Duffy called bustling through the door to the staff area where Lara was stood drinking coffee with Patrick.

"Don't worry Duffy, you would have just got bored with the rest of us if you were here, we've got no patients." Lara was scowling at her coffee as if it were its fault that no one had been seriously injured today or suffered a heart attack. She should have been pleased she knew but after standing around for the last shift doing nothing she was wondering if pulling double shifts was such a good idea, all she wanted was a patient, just one patient.

Just then Jack came running in from reception "We have a patient!"

"Mine!" Lara yelled thrusting her coffee into Jacks hands as she ran out the door. Patrick was only a step behind her racing to get to the patient first.

"Stop!" Jack yelled "I have to tell you something!" but neither listened so intent were they on getting the patient first.

Lara made it to the cubicle first pulling the curtain closed behind her so that Patrick slid into the curtain pulling it down as he tried to stop. Lara laughed at the disgruntled Patrick's attempts at untangling himself then turned to her patient.

"Hello, my names Lara, what's the problem?" The patient solemnly held out a finger for Lara to examine and she had to try her hardest not to laugh. Her patient looked around six years old and had a splinter in her index finger. "Where's your mum then." What was this girl doing in the casualty department all on her own?

"Mummy's gone."

"Gone where?"

"Heaven."

"Oh, what about your daddy then?"

"He's at home, he said I was big enough to sort out problems myself."

"Like splinters?"

"Yeah, my teacher at school said that if we ever got hurt then we should go to hospital." The girl was quoting her teacher in such a 'matter of fact' kind of way that Lara smiled to herself.

Patrick, having untangled himself from the curtains said, "We can't treat her, that isn't an injury!"

"It HURTS!" The little girls bottom lip went out as she pouted and started to quiver, cautiously Patrick backed away, drunken yobs he could handle but little girls were beyond him.

"Your patient Lara, do what you want."

"Why thank you Patrick, so gracious of you to admit it. Spencer, just the man, could you mend this curtain for me."

"What happened to it?"

"Patrick picked a fight with it," chuckled Dillon from behind him. "I've contacted the dad, he's on his way in. Took me a while to get through, he was out looking for her."

"So he should be! Could you get me a sterile needle Dillon, this is really deep." As Dillon hurried off to get the needle, happy to have something to do at last while Lara continued to calm the little girl.

Soon Dillon brought a needle and Spencer a ladder to mend the fallen curtain. As Spencer climbed the ladder the girls father rushed in knocking him off balance so that he fell into the mans outstretched arms. Walking past Duffy scowled, "Just because we have no patients doesn't mean that you have to make more"

"Yeah Spencer, and I think the nice man was meaning to cuddle his daughter not you." Spencer blushed bright red and disengaged himself from the distraught fathers arms.

"Sorry, so sorry, so very, very sorry!"

The man was oblivious to Spencer going straight to his daughter "She was going to stick a needle in me!" Cried the little girl, the father looked at Lara questioningly.

"Splinter!" She passed him the needle and he accepted it gratefully.

"Don't worry darling, daddy's going to get rid of the nasty splinter."

Suddenly Anna came rushing in, "We've got a bus crash on the ring road, fifteen casualties inbound."

From reception came sounds of a fight and Tony's voice, "If you don't all calm down now I'm going to call the police!"

Walking that way Lara and Patrick saw a whole gang of football supporters, from two teams lined up at reception with various cuts and bruises. Just coming through the double doors was a woman with a huge gash across her forehead and behind her a man in his seventies clutching at his chest. In the distance Lara could hear the sirens of the first incoming ambulance and she knew that all hell was about to break loose.

You should be careful what you wish for she realised, you might get more than you expected.