"Come on, or we'll both be late." Holly Miles stood, hands on hips, at the bottom of the stairs. Her eight year old son, Patrick, sulked as he stomped down them, school jumper tied around his waist.
"I hate school."
"Well, I don't particularly like working either. I'd much rather stay at home and play all day, but I can't do that, and neither can you. Now, get in the car." Holly handed him the Doctor Who emblazoned lunchbox and he took it moodily.
"Can we stay at home today? Please?"
"I've been through this, Patrick. You are not taking the day off school, because I can't get the time off work to look after you. Especially not now I'm working at the hospital."
"You never used to work before. And I never had to go to school."
"That was different. That was when we could afford to travel. Now we need the money, and you need to go to school." Holly grabbed her jacket and handbag from the hook by the stairs and shut the front door. She unlocked their red Fiat and let Patrick climb into the passenger seat while she wheeled the dustbin to the front of their drive. "Anyway, you've got that trip today. You don't want to miss out on that, do you?"
"I suppose so." But Patrick still wasn't convinced.
It didn't take long to get to Holby Primary School, where Patrick was turfed out, much to his annoyance. Holly escorted him to the gate to make sure he would actually go in, then waved goodbye as he ran over to immediately joined in with a group of boys who were kicking a ball about.
"Excuse me." Holly felt someone tap her shoulder, and she turned around. "You're Patrick's mum, right?"
Holly nodded. "Holly Miles."
"Roxy Bird. I think my Nicole's taken a liking to your boy. All I seem to be hearing is 'Patrick this, Patrick that'. She never shuts up about him, then she tells me she hates boys."
Holly chuckled. "I'd better keep an eye on him then. I don't want him turning out a womanizer like his dad." She looked at her watch, frowning. "Look, it's been nice chatting, but I've really got to get to work. See you around, yeah?"
Roxy nodded. "I suppose I'd better be off, too. The bills don't pay themselves."
###
Holly managed to pull into the car park at three minutes to nine. She locked the car and almost ran into the hospital. "I'm sorry," she gasped as she opened her locker and threw in her handbag.
Zoe, who was at the next locker, laughed. "Don't worry about it. I know how hard it is with a kid. I manage to be late even when I don't have a kid to look after."
Holly smiled. "I'm meant to be on at nine."
"Me too. And according to that clock, we've got three, two, one, patient time." She walked out of the staff room. Holly closed her locker and followed to the station in the middle of the ED.
"Morning, Holly." Jessica picked up a file and walked over to her. "How's Patrick? Still hating school?"
Holly nodded. "I can't seem to work out what's wrong with him. Did your two ever go through that phase?"
"Lucas loves his sport, so it's the football at break times that gets him there in the mornings. And Amelia's never really complained; she's got her best friend so the only time I have problems is when Nicole's ill."
"Talking of ill." Holly picked up a file from the pile on the desk and scanned the name. She walked over to the gathered patients. "Gilmore Harris?"
A middle-aged man with a huge afro stood up and walked towards Holly. She led the way to cubicle three.
"It's Gilly," the man told her as soon as the curtain was closed.
Holly nodded. "Right then, Gilly, so you're having chest problems?"
###
Three o'clock came too soon, and Holly was back in her car, racing to the school to collect Patrick. She had barely reached the gate when Roxy came running up to her, hysterical.
"Hey, what's the matter?" Holly asked, concerned.
"Someone's taken Nicole!" Roxy wailed. "It was the park trip today, and they let the kids play on the swings at the end. The school called me at work. Nicole vanished!"
Holly pulled the woman into a hug. "It'll be alright," she vowed. "They'll find her."