Bonnie Sveen Fan, I hadn't thought about a punch-up, but it would be very interesting! I'll certainly think about it. Thank you for your review.
Tanith Panic, I think there probably are doctors who don't appreciate Lofty's wonderful qualities, but I know Ethan would see them. It is sad for Ethan, but he almost always gets the girl in my stories! Thank you for your review.
ETWentHome, thank you for your review. I'm glad you understand Ariel's reasons for treating Ethan as she did. It's probably good she likes Ethan really or that would make things very awkward for Cal!
Ethan knocked on Connie's door and nervously awaited her response. It came quickly and to his relief, she didn't look too annoyed to see him.
She looked at him for a moment, perhaps trying to assess his mental state, but what she saw seemed to satisfy her. "Dr Hardy. Have a seat. I'll be two minutes."
Ethan sat down and focused his gaze on his hands as Connie worked on her computer.
"Right. Dr Hardy," said Connie. "How can I help you?"
Ethan put a hand into his pocket and drew out the money he'd counted out carefully. "I, um, I owe you some money for an elasticated bandage and a sling."
Connie looked slightly surprised, but then she lifted her hand. "It's all right, Ethan. I know that however careful you are, dressings do sometimes get damaged. But I appreciate your conscientiousness and honesty. It's very refreshing."
"No, they didn't get damaged," said Ethan awkwardly. "They were… perhaps I'd better explain from the beginning."
"As long as you don't start too far back, Dr Hardy, by all means," said Connie.
She listened attentively as Ethan explained about the psychic twins. He didn't dare meet her eyes too often, but he was encouraged by the fact she hadn't interrupted him yet, though it seemed too much to hope that Connie Beauchamp would believe in psychic abilities. It seemed far more likely that, in view of his recent problems, she'd decided to go easy on him because he was so much trouble when he fell apart.
"That's completely fine," said Connie, when Ethan had finished. "I would ask that you don't make a habit of it, and I will certainly accept your money if it's psychic octuplets next time, but it sounds to me as though you handled a difficult situation – which must have been particularly difficult for you – very well."
Ethan wondered if he'd heard correctly. "So it really is all right?"
"Of course it is," said Connie. "I do have trouble believing they're genuinely psychic, but from what you tell me, they were both genuinely distressed. Vulnerable patients do sometimes need a bit of extra care and thoughtfulness. It sounds as though you provided it."
"And you really don't feel that I've overstepped my boundaries?" said Ethan, just to make sure.
Connie arched an eyebrow. "The only thing you've done wrong, Dr Hardy, is not accepting my word the first time. I'm sure you know I'm not in the habit of saying things I don't mean."
"Oh. No. Of course not. Sorry."
Connie allowed him a small smile. "So: twins in the car park; twins in the cubicles. I think you've managed very well, Ethan, but how are you feeling?"
"I'm actually feeling all right," said Ethan, slightly surprised. "When I realised they were twins, I very nearly panicked, but fortunately, I didn't."
"Very fortunately," said Connie drily. "And I didn't tell you this, but when Nerissa met the father of her twins, he told her he'd just been sacked from his job as a toilet attendant. I can't imagine Dr Knight saying that, no matter how drunk he was." Se smiled. "So you can put your mind at rest on that score."
It should have been a happy day. Cal, Ariel and the twins explored London in the morning before enjoying a picnic in the Embankment Gardens. It was slightly chilly and Cal longed to put his arm around Ariel to protect her from the cold, but she'd said they couldn't be together and he could only accept that. He hoped that, in time, she might change her mind, but that was a decision for her to make, not him.
"What shall we do now?" asked Ariel, with sadness in her eyes despite the smile on her face.
Cal dredged up a smile too and went through the mental list of ideas he'd compiled last night. "How about Madame Taussauds?"
Ariel looked doubtful. "I don't know. I think waxworks are a bit creepy."
"Me too – but please don't tell anyone I said that. An art gallery?" was Cal's next suggestion..
"Not really me," said Ariel; "and I think not really you either."
Cal had to laugh. "You know me too well – though I would have put up with it for you. I'm guessing the British Museum is out too – that's full of mummies."
"Hey: what's wrong with mummies?" said Ariel, patting her bump proudly.
Cal smiled. "This particular mummy is gorgeous. I mean… um… anyway, the bandaged ones just don't do it for me. I don't know why they're so creepy. I really should be used to bandages in my job! But I'm not a fan. I remember going with Ethan once and he was fascinated!" He stopped and glanced at Ariel. Perhaps he shouldn't have mentioned Ethan.
"And you were terrified?" guessed Ariel. "And you didn't want your little brother to know, so you were swaggering around, acting all cool, but a nervous wreck inside?"
"That sounds about right!" said Cal. "So we'll give the mummies a miss. Is there anything you'd like to do?"
Ariel hesitated. "This probably sounds silly, but I've never been on the London Eye. And I'd really like to."
Cal hesitated. "Are you sure that's a good idea? With the twins and everything?"
"It's fine. I checked," said Ariel. "I can go on at my own risk. And I will have a qualified doctor with me."
"True," said Cal, wishing he felt slightly more comfortable with the idea - but he knew Ariel would probably be okay and he didn't really want to deny her anything.
"I'd also like to go to the Tower of London to see the crown jewels," said Ariel. "I did go once on a school trip. I liked the ravens and the beefeaters and talking about the Bloody Tower in a very loud voice, but we never got to see the crown jewels."
Cal regretfully decided against saying that if she wanted to see the crown jewels, he could always drop his trousers. That didn't seem like the right sort of thing to say to a girl like Ariel. Instead he said: "I was exactly the same when my parents took me to the Tower of London. I thought it was brilliant being allowed to swear in public without getting told off! Ethan was so funny: he just would not say the word 'Bloody' and did everything he could to avoid it, but I made him in the end."
Ariel looked sad. "Poor Ethan. He really is so sweet."
"He's okay," said Cal. "If you like that sort of thing. And he will get over you. I'm not sure I would, but Ethan will."
Their eyes locked, but then Ariel dragged her gaze away and returned to the original subject. "I'd also like to go to the Whispering Gallery in St Pauls Cathedral. To see if it's true about whispering. And I'd like to walk across Tower Bridge. And maybe have dinner at the top of the Post Office Tower."
Cal smiled. "I'm afraid the Post Office Tower restaurant is closed. It was open for a while a couple of months ago – I told Ethan I was going to take him there for his birthday, which was very mean of me considering he's terrified of heights, but I obviously wouldn't have done it. But London isn't short of places to have dinner. I'm sure we can find somewhere special. How does the Ritz sound?"
"Scary," admitted Ariel, with a smile. "But I'd love to go, Cal."
"Me too."
Cal had the feeling that, despite everything, it was going to be a lovely afternoon.
Ethan signed his name on Tanya's cast, then did the same with Ryan's bandage. This was more difficult to write on, but he didn't let that stop him. Soon they both had messages which (along with their names) said: Hope you're back on the ice soon. Best wishes, Dr Ethan. He let them call him just 'Ethan' as he did with almost all children, but he thought they might have a few friends called Ethan so he thought he should make it clearer which one he was.
Bryony (who called him 'Dr Hardy', along with almost all adults) thanked him warmly for his kindness and understanding. So did the twins' father when he eventually showed up. To Ethan's relief, he wasn't Cal. He worked in a town about an hour away by road so he hadn't been able to get there any sooner.
"It was really lovely to meet you all," said Ethan, shaking hands with all of them and only getting slightly embarrassed when he remembered Tanya and Ryan couldn't use their right hands. "I would say it would be lovely to see you again, but considering what my job is, I'm not sure that would be true."
"Aren't you going to take our casts off again when they're better?" said Tanya, pouting slightly in a way that reminded Ethan of Cal.
"No, I'm afraid that's the fracture clinic's job," said Ethan. "It's very sad. I hardly ever get to find out how my patients are doing because I always have to refer them to another doctor. But if you do happen to see me, you're welcome to come and say hello if I'm not busy saving someone's life."
"Do you have a twin, Ethan?" asked Ryan.
Ethan shook his head. "I don't. But…" He paused for a moment, gathering his courage. "My brother's, um… my brother's going to become a father to twins in a couple of months."
Tanya and Ryan started jumping up and down. Ethan doubted it did anything for their arms, but neither seemed to notice. "When are they going to be born, Ethan?"
"Are they boys or girls or both?"
"Do they have names yet?"
"Have you got a scan picture?"
Ethan thought sadly that even if they did have names, Cal probably wouldn't have told him. "They're due in two months. It's a boy and a girl, but they don't have names yet. I haven't seen a recent scan picture." Or any scan picture at all, but he didn't want Tanya and Ryan to suspect that his relationship with his niece and nephew was anything but normal.
"They might come early," said Tanya knowledgeably. "Twins often do."
"We were early," said Ryan.
"We're always early for ice-skating practice too," said Tanya.
"But not for bedtime," added Ryan.
Ethan laughed. "Bedtime is rather overrated, isn't it? One of my favourite things about being an adult is being able to stay up and read as late as I like." With due consideration for the time his shift started the next day, of course. "But don't worry if you need an early night tonight. It can be very tiring, being in pain."
Ethan knew that was true of emotional pain too. He'd been in a lot of it recently and he didn't doubt there would be more to come when he allowed himself to process everything that had happened today.