Luke rushed into action trying to find a place where he could make himself useful. All Luke could think about was the army. The bodies, the burns from explosions. Luke was used to seeing injuries like this, but they haunted him. Luke was used to working in this kind of pressure, quick decisions in order to save as many lives possible without making the damage worse. Luke was desperately trying to find someone who needed help. But he had no idea what was going on.
"Tess, what's going on. I have no idea what is going on or where anyone wants me." Luke said walking up to the reception desk.
"Luke you know as me. Charlie's gone AWOL. Look come with me to resus, Mrs Beauchamp has taken control of ED. She'll know what to do."
Both made their way into resus.
"Connie! What's the situation? Where do you want me and Luke?" Tess asked.
"At the moment deal with any patient that isn't being seen to," Connie shouted across the room. "Bay 3 please! I think we've covered all the major victims just deal with everyone else for me."
"No problem. Luke with me."
Tess and Luke worked the cubicles dealing with any small problems that they faced. Josh was walking through the department. Luke went and spoke to him.
"You haven't seen Charlie have you. I haven't seen him for ages and we really need all the help we can get around her."
"Well by the looks of things he's over there." Josh pointed to the big swinging double doors. "Look I've got to go mate."
Charlie walked straight into resus. Luke got back and Ruth walked up to him.
"How you doing?" Ruth asked. "Not quite the first day that I expected to have."
"Nothing that I haven't seen before in the army." Luke replied.
"That's true. I'd rather be working with you over Toby; he can't tell one end of the stethoscope from the next. 6 years of training and he can't even remember to insert a IV line." Ruth said clearly annoyed at having to work with Toby.
"Look it's his first day. He's bound to be nervous and he's going to forget things. Then with the bombing, just give him a chance. Look I really have to go." Luke said rushing away before Ruth could make any more complaints about Toby.
Luke walked into resus when a patient's ECG monitor started bleeping, his heart rate dropping. He was breathless and struggling to breathe. Luke put an oxygen mask over his face.
"Connie, would you say his mouth is swelling and his lips and eyes?" Luke called across resus.
"Anaphylaxis. Well spotted Dr Stone. 10mg of adrenaline into the thigh please." Connie asked Luke as she lied the patient down.
Luke stabbed the syringe into the patient and injected the drugs. "Heart rate improving."
"Dr Stone keep watch over him. I'm going to find Nurse Fairhead." Connie said purposefully walking out of resus.
Luke was stood in the main reception of ED. When he was approached by Connie.
"We need to get as many people out of here as we can." Connie said.
"What's going on?" Luke asked.
"A bag has been left alone for ages and there appears to be some form of wiring coming out of it," Connie explained. "We need to move people out of here. We need to establish a triage outside. Only if it is serious do people remain in the department other than they wait and are treated as best as they can outside. But however, we do this we make this as calm and as efficient as possible."
Luke began to explain to patients what was going on and moving them outside. Some patients moved quieter than others. Once Luke had moved as many patients as he could outside he himself went outside with as much kit as he could take to treat some of their patients.
Luke was sat at table outside the hospital cleaning a patient's head wound and began to stitch it together. When he saw his patient from earlier Maisie hoping around looking for someone.
"Ruth! Do you mind taking over for me I need to make sure someone else is ok?" Luke said calling over to Ruth.
Luke picked up a chair on his way and then went over to Maisie. "Sit down you going to hurt yourself. What's the matter? Who are you looking for?"
"It's fine I was just seeing if we could go back yet" Maisie told Luke.
"Don't lie to me and it wasn't that long I was your age. So what's that matter? Where are your parents they should be here by now?"
"I don't know they have showed back up. It shouldn't have taken them that to get here. They only went to get me some clothes and we don't live that far away. I heard about the explosion and it was on the way back to the hospital so I thought maybe something had happened." Maisie send starting to well up.
Luke part his arm around Maisie. "I'm pretty sure that they've just been caught up in the traffic because of the explosion I'm sure that they'll be here as soon as they possibly can. Come on let's not get yourself too worked up yeah. You just sit there, and they'll get you back inside as soon as they can. You are feeling ok though?"
Maisie reassured Luke she was fine. Luke went back over to treating his patients. When an ambulance arrived with sirens and lights blearing and pulled in. Dixie climbed out the back of the ambulance and wheeled out and Luke recognised the body immediately it was Dave, Maisie's dad. No sign of Claire though.
"Dixie. What's the story?" Luke said walking over to the trollies rubbing anti-bacterial gel into his hands and pulling on a pair gloves.
Kathleen also known as Dixie was another of the paramedics. "Two victims. Husband caught up in the explosions. Wife killed immediately at the scene." Luke's stomach dropped. He couldn't let Dave die on him. "They were in the car behind when it went up. Treated at the scene and he's currently under sedation and need surgery immediately."
"That might be an issue. The ED's been evacuated there's a possible bomb inside and we've had to bring everyone outside." Luke told Dixie.
"He needs to go in immediately otherwise he will be dead." Dixie said rushing the trollies forward.
Luke followed Dixie who was arguing with Connie and the police.
"If we did not get him in now he will die." Dixie said with raised voices.
"It's not safe. I'm endangering the lives of my doctors or patients." Connie replied.
"We have a duty to cure our patients. As well as care. How can we be caring for our patient if we are keeping him locked outside and leading them to an almost certain death." Luke argued.
Connie looked at the police. "Luke, myself, Tess and Abs are the only ones going in do I make myself perfectly clear? We act fast? No messing about. Let's get him in and the rest of you scrub in."
Luke prepped himself ready for the procedure he was about to under.
Luke was stood at the table performing CPR.
"Come…on… Don't…die…" Luke said between compressions. "More adrenaline, please."
Tess took hold of Luke's arm. "He's been asystolic for 45 minutes."
"Once more please. Its' got to be worth a try please." Luke begged.
Tess moved his hands away and stopped chest compressions. Abs moved the oxygen mask. "Time of death 15:24."
Luke walked straight out of resus and punched the wall. He didn't care Charlie had got the bomber out. It was some animal rights activist. He went to reception and just collapsed down against the reception desk and onto the floor, his head in his hands. No one had come back inside yet. Luke felt tears run down his face. Tess came and sat next to him.
"Sometimes you win some and lose some. Don't let this get to you." Tess said putting her arm around Luke's shoulder.
"I know that and it's not that. I knew who they were. I treated their daughter this morning. She's still here. She was outside looking for them I said they'd be fine. That could have been me dead." Tess looked at Luke, curious by what he had just said. "It was Iraq. 18 months ago, I.E.D explosion whilst I was treating someone and it blow up obviously didn't kill me but other guy dead immediately. Saved my life they didn't give up on me. That's why I didn't want to give up on Dave. It's not going to be the same as telling an adult is it."
"You don't have to do anything. Someone else can." Tess told Luke.
"I want to do it. She trusts me. I'll get cleaned up and tell her. She was the right to know as soon as. I don't know where she'll go she has no other family."
