The First Patient
What if two members of St Aidans met long before any of them came to the hospital? What if they met as children on a day neither of them ever forgot.
A/N: It is deliberately abstract in this first chapter but all will become clear.
A slightly dusty red car drove along the road towards the lake, occupied by two people. A man at the wheel and a boy in the back seat. As the car was manouvered over bumps it jolted the passengers inside. "So, ready for our little fishing trip?" the man asked, turning to face the back seat. The boy flashed a smile and nodded in excitement, glad that between work and school they were finally both free for the day. He could picture it now, two fishing rods, a lot of bait and hopefully plently of fish for them to catch. It was rare he got to spend time with the older man because whenever he was off school there always seemed to be an emergency. The car drove on and as it came forwards they caught their first glimpse of the lake. Heading towards it, both of them were smiling.
Sat side by side on a rug laid at the lakeside, the duo set up their lines and simultaneously plunged them into the rippling water. They watched the water with hopeful eyes until there was a tug on the older man's line and he moved to pull the rod and line in and bring the fish to shore. He had nearly succeeded when he heard a faint ring from the car parked near them. Passing the line on to his companion, he rushed to the vehicle and answered the phone. The boy listened in as much as he could and could make out some of the words spoken.
"Where"
"Can anyone else go? I have my son with me"
"Alright. Give me ten minutes"
His face dropped at what he overheard. It was probably an emergency which meant their trip was ruined. As his father returned to him he gave the man a look of sadness. In an instant the man knew his son had realised. "I'm sorry son. Nobody else is available. I don't even have time to drop you anywhere, are you ok to come with?". At this the young boy cheered up slightly. He had wanted to see his dad in action for a long time now and he finally had a chance. He nodded as they both headed for the car and sped towards the location they had been given. When they arrived there was an ambulance already on scene. The father unclasped his seatbelt and turned to his son. "Stay in the car while I deal with it" he instructed. The boy pouted and moaned in response. "but..". He was cut across by his dad, who was starting to move away from the car. "No arguments". The doctor shut his door and turned towards the unfolding crisis. From the car, the boy could see his father heading towards a house. Squinting for a better look, he could make out that there were fallen slates around the house. Mentally connecting the dots, he decided this was the problem. Someone was probably stuck in there. He wished he could get a closer look but didn't want to get in trouble.
The doctor approached the house and saw the offending slate he had been warned of. Directing himself towards the side he found that the two men who had arrived in the ambulance were crowded around a site that seemed littered with slate. Seeing the doctor coming towards them they give him a small wave. From only a small distance he could hear what sounded like crying. When he reached the scene he could see a girl that had obviously been caught in the worst of the slatefall. Her right leg and her chest were bleeding and she was definitely in distress. "Hello there. We are going to help you out and get you to the hospital, ok?" he spoke softly to his patient. Surveying her injuries he knew she was going to need an operation. "Right, we need to bandage her wounds and get her back to the hospital but we need to give her something for the pain before we move her." he announced to the others. He looked down for his familiar bag and realised he had left it in the car by mistake. The two ambulance men watched curiously as he ran back towards his car. Seeing his father return, the young boy filled with curiosity. As the door was reopened, the man reached in for the bag and turned towards his son. "So, what is happening?" he questioned his dad. "A girl injured by falling slate. Should be simple once we get her back". "Please let me come", he pleaded to the doctor. "Stay by me and be careful" he warned, giving in to his son. The young boy nearly jumped out of his seat at this and opened his door, soon stood right next to his father. Together they headed back to the scene.
They soon reached the young girl who was still crying her eyes out. With his bag in hand, the doctor pulled out a syringe and a needle before preparing it. Once he was ready he turned to look at his patient. "This is going to make it so it hurts less, ok?". He readied himself to inject the long haired girl but she didn't like the idea and used her arm to try an swat the syringe out of his hand. "I'm not going to hurt you" he reassued her before trying again but his attempt was yet again unsuccessful. This is going to be a problem, he thought to himself. The two ambulance men stepped forward and tried to still her but when one of them tried to grab her she screamed and feebly kicked him with her healthy left leg. "Please. We are trying to help you here" he pleaded but to no avail. Watching the commotion the young boy felt sorry for the girl. He had once been scared of needles and would have reacted exactly the same but knew that his father needed to help her. Drawing his breath, he stepped closer and knelt down in front of the young girl. His father looked at him in warning but allowed him to continue. "Hello. What is your name?" he asked as softly and friendly as he could. To his joy she replied between tears. He repeated her name and then continued to speak. "I know it is hard but we need you to be brave". She cried harder and replied to him harshly. "I don't want him to...". The boy gave her a small smile and reached for her hand, holding it gently so she hopefully wouldn't push it away. "I promise you it won't hurt you. It will only make it better" he tried to assure her and to everyone's surprise she just stared at him. He looked her in the face and saw how scared her eyes were. "Promise?". He nodded at her and seeing the opportunity, the doctor quickly injected her right leg. She winced slightly and held tight to her new companion's hand. "See...not so bad" he beamed at her. The patient seemed slightly calmer now and they put her in the ambulance which swiftly headed towards the hospital. The doctor looked at his son with a smile and thanked him before they headed to their car to follow the ambulance to the hospital.
A/N: Ok. End of chapter one. How was it for the start of my first fic? If anyone has guesses as to who the story is about, be sure to leave them in a review.
