Words required:

aggressive, bruise, community, disastrous, excellent, foreign, government. identity, marvellous, nuisance, persuade, recommend, shoulder, thorough, vehicle, according, develop, occur, queue, suggest

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'What a nuisance!' Jean cried, as she saw the length of the queue. Matthew had managed to persuade her darling husband that he should take her away for at least a month. Not that she minded being treated to a holiday, they hadn't had one since they got married, but it meant that he needed his passport updating for a foreign trip, to prove his identity to any government official at the borders. Her passport was new, Lucien had insisted she get one when they married, but as yet she had not had chance to use it. Of course her beloved thought it was a marvellous idea.

As she stood in the queue another customer knocked her leg which left an aggressive bruise on her shin. Suddenly, there was a tap on her shoulder, she turned to see Alice smiling.

'What are you doing here?' Jean asked, delighted to see a friend. Today had been disastrous all round so it was nice to see a smiling face.

'Oh, I come here all the time.' Alice quipped, 'Actually, I need a list of community officials. Lucien has had a run in with Patrick again, they had a thorough set to in the morgue, so I thought I'd beat a hasty retreat and leave them to it. It looked like it was likely to develop into fisticuffs!'

'An excellent idea, my dear doctor, but I do hope they simmer down,' Jean grinned, 'may I suggest that when we've finished here we go and have a cuppa.'

When they had finally finished their business in the post office they managed to find a seat in a nearby cafe.

Deciding to have a bite to eat at the same time, Jean scanned the menu,

'Oh good,' she said, 'I recommend the scones, they're rather good here.' Jean was fussy about her scones, they had to be just so, before she would eat them.

'Sounds good to me.' Alice agreed. 'I hear Lucien wants to take you on a tour of Europe.'

'That's his plan.' Jean was looking forward to it, she hadn't been further than Adelaide, before. It did occur to her, when he started to make the plans that she really was a novice when it came to travel. According to him, England in November would be chilly so he advised her to take her winter coat.

'Did you hear that Edward had been caught speeding again?' Alice asked, Edward Tyneman was well known for exceeding the speed limit in town.

'That boy should not be allowed behind the wheel of a vehicle.' Jean sounded annoyed, 'you know he wrote his first car off, racing down towards the farm I used to live on, don't you?'

'Really.' Alice sipped her tea, 'well I'm not surprised. That's what Lucien and Patrick were arguing about. Lucien said Edward would hurt, or even kill someone one day.'

'Tactful as ever.' Jean sighed. She was just offering Alice a second cup of tea when the roar of a car engine cut through the chatter in the cafe.

'Really!' She huffed, 'boys.'

The noise came got louder as the car came further down the street. Tucked in a corner Jean couldn't see too well, but Alice had a good view...of the front of a car heading straight towards the cafe.

'Move!' She shouted, reaching over the table and grabbing Jean, pulling her down onto the floor, under the table. Just as they hit the ground there was a tremendous crash and splintering of glass. There were screams and cries, bodies were flung towards the counter, then a deafening silence, punctuated with sobs, and sniffs.

Jean was pinned under Alice, who in turn was pinned under a table that the car had pushed against the wall. They lay there together, feeling each other breathing, shaking and shocked.

'Jean?' Alice spoke quietly, 'Jean, can you hear me?'

'Yes,' Jean's voice was muffled against the pathologist's shoulder.

'I'm sorry if I'm squashing you, I think there's a table pushing me down.' Alice whispered.

'S'alright.' Jean felt comforted by the warmth of her friend. 'Are you hurt?'

'Don't think so.' Alice didn't want to worry Jean, but she could feel something warm and wet on her side. She thought one of them was cut by flying glass, she had no pain, but that didn't mean it was Jean who was bleeding.

'Are you?' She better check before she tried to move.

'No, I don't think so.'

'Good.' Alice tried to sound confident. 'I'm going to try and heave this table off me.'

The sound of distant sirens could be heard, which was a relief. The police and fire brigade were now on their way, help would soon be here. Alice pushed back with her bottom but the movement made her gasp. It was her that was bleeding, a sharp searing pain went through her lower ribs as a shard of glass moved with her.

'Jean,' she whispered. 'I'm sorry, we're going to have to wait. I think something's caught me.'

'Alice?' Jean tried to move her head to look at her. 'Alice, I'm going to shout for help. I'm sorry if I hurt your ears.'

'Okay.' Alice was beginning to feel light-headed, Jean's voice seemed a million miles away, somewhere down a tunnel.

'Can I get some help here, please!' Jean shouted, 'Dr Harvey is hurt.'

The sound of people moving furniture, talking, ordering stretchers, medics. Dimly, she thought she heard Lucien's voice, 'Oh please,' she whispered to herself, then shouted louder, 'Lucien!' Alice had stopped moving and did not stir when Jean shouted.

'Please don't let her be dead.' Jean prayed harder than she had for a long time, knowing that Alice may well have saved her life, but endangered her own.

'Jean, Jean!' She could hear Lucien calling.

'Under the corner table!' She shouted back, 'Lucien, it's Alice, she's...'

'Quick!' Lucien grabbed a firey, 'help me here.'

Between them they carefully and slowly lifted the table. Lucien could just see his wife's head under Alice's shoulder. Alice was lying over her, shielding her from harm, but the sight of Alice made him gasp. There was an enormous blood stain on her side, and a pool under her. At the rate she was bleeding, she would die of blood loss before he could even start to treat her.

'Jean, are you hurt?' He asked quickly.

'No, just squashed.' Jean grunted.

'Right, we need a stretcher over here,' he started to examine his colleague, finding a thin sliver of glass sticking out from under her rib cage. 'Give me a large wound pad and a wide bandage.' He held out his hand to receive the supplies. he wrapped the wound pad round the base of the glass and then wrapped the bandage round Alice's body, trying to stem the flow of blood. He daren't jolt her so he and two ambos lifted her, in the same position, onto the stretcher.

A quick look at Jean assured him she was unhurt, just shocked.

'Jean...' He looked at her. 'I...'

'Go and see to Alice.' She leant up and kissed him quickly. 'I'm sure I can help here.'

'I love you.' He quickly breathed into her ear and left with the ambos, this was one he was taking responsibility for, Alice was his friend.

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Even Lucien was invoking the help of the Almighty while in the ambulance. He managed to get an intravenous line into Alice before her veins started to collapse and set up a saline drip. He would need to get her straight into theatre and start transfusions. He needed her blood type so he asked the ambos to get the hospital to ring Dr King, her GP, and get the information, urgently.

Once in the hospital they hurried straight to the theatre suite, Lucien barking orders for a nurse, scrubs, anaesthetist, though he'd forgo the last one, she was unconscious anyway. Field surgery was called for, or he'd lose her.

Sister Lambert appeared. She liked Dr Blake, he was an excellent surgeon, and she was more than happy to work with him. She had set up the theatre when the call had come through and there were several pints of blood ready for Alice. She was scrubbed up so while Lucien hastily got ready she cut Alice's clothes off her, leaving just the emergency dressing. It looked to her like the glass might have cut the liver. She swapped the saline for a blood infusion.

Lucien had taken seconds to prepare and was holding out his hand for a scalpel within two minutes.

'Right, Sister.' He sighed, 'let's do this.'

An anaesthetist had arrived and, while Lucien started to incise from the entry point, he took steps to keep the patient asleep.

Lucien slowly removed the glass shard, taking care not to break it. It was a large incision he had made. The shard was long and apparently thin, embedded in the liver, an organ noted for its self healing properties. Lucien was relieved not to find any other bleeding, and deduced that the damage to the liver was the reason for her bleeding. As he had cleaned and swabbed the blood it had slowed to an ooze and then the organ stopped losing precious fluid. He slowly and neatly sutured Alice's wound, doing his best to make a tidy job. He looked at the anaesthetist who had quietly and efficiently done his job, checking all life signs: he confirmed that blood pressure was now stabilised, oxygen levels were acceptable, Alice would make it!

Sister Lambert dressed the wound and Alice was taken up to a ward. Lucien left instructions that she was to be kept sedated for the next few hours, until he could be there to rouse her. He leant against the theatre wall, pulling his cap and mask off and wiping his face with them. Theatre staff were moving past him at speed, other casualties from the accident, were being brought in; he took a deep breath and went to see if there was any more he could do.

By the end of the day he and many others had patched, stitched and dressed wounds. The driver of the vehicle had been brought in by police, to a side room where he could be treated for a head wound, sustained when he hit the steering wheel. Blood samples had been taken to ascertain whether or not he had been drinking, and he had been deemed fit enough to be taken to the police cells. Lucien finally got the chance to go and see Alice, mindful of the fact that he had not had chance to speak to or see his wife.

Alice was lying flat in the bed, her face pale against the dark of her hair. A final unit of blood was dripping into her arm, she was wearing a hospital gown, but she looked fragile, tiny in the bed. He had never noticed she was quite small until now. He looked at the visitor, Jean. How Jean had managed to persuade sister to let her sit with Alice he could only assume. Jean could be very persuasive, and Alice had probably saved her life. He went over and kissed her, holding her tight and breathing in her scent, stroking her head.

'Jean,' he whispered, 'oh Jean.'

'Lucien,' she tried to sound firm, 'I'm fine, Alice...'

'I know.' He took her face in his hands and smiled tiredly at her then kissed her forehead.

'Will she be alright?' Jean wrapped her arms round him.

'Yes.' Lucien sighed with relief. 'She had a shard of glass in her liver, but the bleeding has stopped. Rest is all she needs now.'

'I'll make up the guest room.' Jean smiled.

'That holiday...'

'We'll go someday.' Jean kissed him, 'friends are more important.'

Lucien pulled her against his chest, the best and loveliest woman in the world.

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Lucien pulled Matthew off Edward Tyneman in the interview room, and dragged him outside.

'Matthew, for goodness sake!'

'He nearly killed Alice!' He yelled back.

'He nearly killed Jean and a lot of others.' Lucien grabbed his shoulders and made him look him in the eye.

'But Alice; Blake,' Matthew looked beyond his friend, 'she's the best thing that's ever happened to me.'

Lucien had no idea, but now was not the time for interrogating his old friend about his love life.

'We'll get him legally,' Lucien said, quietly, 'Patrick won't be able to stop this.' He knew that not even Patrick would protect his son from this.

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As we know from a previous story, Patrick has his limits!