PART TEN

"You all right?" Jac looked across at Oliver whilst they both washed their hand thoroughly. She nodded silently. In a few minutes they would be striding into the theatre, ready to perform the heart transplant operation of their careers. She could hear the ticking of the clock becoming louder and louder inside her head. Her skull ached as the sound reverberated around her. "Jac?" She could hear Oliver's voice calling to her softly, so softly that she barely registered it. "Jac?" Oliver raised his voice causing Jac to be pulled abruptly out of her daze. "Are you sure you're up to this?" Jac looked down at her hands, she had been holding them under the tap without even feeling the water cascade over them. She blinked gingerly.

"Yes, yes, I'm fine," Jac said uncertainly. Oliver raised his eyebrow but did not pursue the matter.

Anton Meyer took hold of the scalpel and began to make a small incision. He felt anxious and his brow was sweating profusely. A nurse stepped forward to wipe it but seconds later it was dripping again. Meyer felt hot as though the air conditioning in theatre had broken down but he kept working, willing his hands not to shake. All eyes were on him as he performed the operation. If something went wrong he was not just letting himself down he was letting down everyone in this room, everyone who had been told of his eminence...the pressure was becoming intolerable. Anton Meyer did not feel like Anton Meyer any more. He was a fraud, pretending to be something he was not. Feigning a talent he had let go. So far he hadn't cracked however, the operation was going to be a success...just a few more minutes and it would all be over with no one any the wiser.

"I think we can close up now," Meyer said triumphantly. It was here that everything started to go wrong. Just as they began to close up the monitors began to sound distressed.

"BP's dropping." Meyer ceased closing up immediately and set about searching for the source of this setback. He squinted at his handiwork. It was filling up with blood. So much blood.

"Suction please," Meyer called, trying desperately to keep his composure. It was no good; as soon as the blood was suctioned more flowed in to replace it.

"There's got to be a nick on one of the arteries or something!" Paul Rose, the anaesthetist declared impatiently. Meyer rounded on him.

"Are you accusing me of negligence?" His eyes flashed angrily.

"We don't have time to stand here bickering. Find the source of the bleed!" Rose was fuming, the patient was losing output and they were running out of time and options. There was something wrong with Meyer but he couldn't quite put his finger on it yet. He watched him intently.

"Can I get some more light please," Meyer demanded, he looked down at the patient again, searching through the illumination and at last he saw something. The tiniest of nicks that was causing the patient to bleed out. He began the repairs, unaware that Rose was watching his every move with eagle eyes. Rose saw Meyer's hand shake but chose to say nothing. He kept watching. At last Meyer stood back.

"BP rising," Rose said stoically. "I think we're out of the woods."

Jac and Oliver stood over Mrs. Waterman's chest in the operating theatre. Everything was in position. The new heart was ready.

"Everyone ready?" Jac asked. The theatre nodded back to her. "No cock-ups people, all our necks are on the line if we mess up," she continued. There was a murmur of agreement. Jac glanced over to Oliver. "Dr. Valentine, would you care to open up?" Oliver smiled. All eyes were on him.

"I'm telling you, his hand was shaking!" Rose was incandescent with rage as he launched a tirade at Hanssen.

"Is the patient okay?" Hanssen asked calmly.

"Yes, they're going to make a full recovery!" Rose snapped. "But that's beside the point. Anton Meyer is not fit to operate!"

"I see." Hanssen muttered. Rose looked at him incredulously. He couldn't believe Hanssen wasn't taking the matter seriously.

"How can you be so calm about this?"

"Practise," Hanssen replied matter-of-factly. Rose took a long deep breath to calm himself.

"Look, Mr. Hanssen, what are we going to do about this?"

"We? We are not going to do anything Dr. Rose. I will deal with this matter personally."

"Bu...?"

"Do I have your assurance that you will not breathe a word to anyone?" Hanssen interjected.

"I..."

"Your word!" Hanssen demanded. Reluctantly, Rose nodded. "Thank you. I trust you can see yourself out." Deflated, Rose exited the office.

Over in Darwin Theatre 1 the transplant was going smoothly. Oliver had managed to open the chest and exposed the mediastinum.

"Good work," Jac said, keeping a close eye on him. "Now gently open the pericardium..." She watched as Oliver performed admirably. "That's it." She looked up at Oliver's brow. "Nurse!" Oliver could feel the wipe of the towel across his forehead. "Okay, I'll take over from here," Jac announced. She smiled at Oliver. "You did well Valentine." Jac began to dissect the great vessels. "Okay let's get her on to bypass," Jac said as she concentrated on making sure nothing went wrong. So far so good.

"BP stable." Jac raised her concentration even higher as she prepared to transect the greater vessels and the appropriate portion of the left atrium. She lifted the failing heart out of Mrs. Waterman's chest.

"Kidney dish," Jac called. She placed the heart on the dish provided. "Oliver, would you care to place the new heart?" she asked. Oliver stepped forward. He took hold of the donor heart in his hands and inserted it on to the remaining left atrium. With guidance from Jac, he sutured the great vessels in place. Once this was done, Oliver stepped away from the patient. Before Jac could question this, he spoke.

"I think you should be the one to restart the heart." Jac didn't need telling twice.

"I saw your hands shake in theatre today," Rose said in a low whisper to Meyer. "What's going on?" Meyer fixed him with a calculating look.

"I suspect if you saw that then you know what's going on," he said in an equally low whisper. "I have suspected Parkinson's," he muttered irritably.

"Are you sure?"

"Not completely." Without another word, Meyer walked away, leaving Rose to process the information.

"Well done in there Valentine," Jac praised Oliver warmly.

"It's as much down to you as it is to me," Oliver replied modestly.

"No, you should take the credit for this," Jac told him. Oliver gazed at her curiously.

"Sorry, did you see where Ms. Naylor went?"

"Ha. Ha. I'm not a complete dinosaur Valentine," Jac laughed. Her spirits felt lifted. The operation had been a success and just maybe her career wasn't on the line after all. Oliver leaned forwards and kissed her gently on the cheek. Jac took hold of his collar and pulled him into her. Their lips met and they began to kiss passionately. Oliver could feel Jac's hand under his shirt, reaching lower."

TO BE CONTINUED