Martin sat back in the taxi and closed his eyes. The last two days had been exhausting, reminiscent of his days as a registrar at St. Mary's, when he had been charged with sewing up the resultant damage from bar fights and car accidents on a New Year's Eve or after a football victory celebration when it seemed that all of London ended up in A&E. But he had been nearly thirty years younger back then, and recovering from twelve straight hours or more bent over a patient had been part of the job. Now, his entire back ached, his head was pounding and his legs felt like jelly. Ordinarily, his current position as department head meant that he wasn't usually needed for marathon work in theatre, but as everyone today commented, the previous night's accident was a one off. No one could remember such a horrendous event in North Cornwall in the past twenty, maybe thirty years. Still, it underscored the need for additional vascular staff. He would need to step up his search for qualified practitioners.
Louisa was expecting him and he was looking forward to seeing her and James. It had been late when he arrived home last night … rather early this morning. It was close to half three when they had finished attending to those requiring immediate attention. The pace had been constant, one trauma patient after another. Ted, along with Nate, Frank Murphy from the Wadebridge surgery, and the paramedics in the ambulances, had done an extraordinary job of stabilising the casualties. Even so, most required immediate attention once they arrived at hospital and his team was just part of the cadre of surgeons, nurses and other medical personnel caring for the injured. There would be more procedures required in the following days, but they had cared for those needing immediate vascular care and three of them headed home to rest for the work awaiting them today. Colin and Priya had volunteered to stay and monitor the accident victims post-op, sleeping for an hour or two in the on-call rooms and rising periodically to check on the patients or to respond if one of the floor sisters felt their attendance was needed.
He had taken a shower and brushed his teeth in hospital just before he left, but he needed the toilet before crawling into bed. He had considered staying in hospital, sleeping in one of the on-call rooms himself, but immediately dismissed that idea. With Colin and Priya staying, he wasn't needed, and he wanted to see Louisa and James before returning to hospital in the morning. He observed that Louisa was sleeping soundly when he arrived home, which was reassuring. He remembered how tired she had looked when he and his team had left for hospital, and he was certain that she had overexerted herself in preparation for the party. He had tried to be quiet when changing into his pyjamas, but still Louisa woke, asking for the time, and he responded, whispering, "4:30. Go back to sleep." It only took a moment in the bathroom before he turned off the light, placed his phone on the bedside table with the alarm set for 7:30, and slid into bed, settling onto his back with his hands resting on his chest. His body felt heavy and he could hear Louisa whispering his name, as if far, far away and he fell into a deep sleep.
Before he knew it, the alarm was sounding, startling him. For a moment he sensed that he was back in theatre with a blade in his hand, but he quickly realised that he was at home in his bed next to Louisa, and that he needed to rise and prepare for a demanding day.
As he closed the door to the bathroom, he heard James wander into their bedroom. Ordinarily he would have taken a moment to greet James, but there was no time this morning. He turned on the water in the sink and began to shave. He would see James in the kitchen before he left for the day.
And the day had been full, as he had expected. There was the staff meeting at nine to discuss the response to the accident. Many victims required additional surgeries and there were several emergency admissions that morning that needed vascular attention. A tentative schedule had been established and all members of his team, including himself had been slotted in to performs surgical procedures over the course of the day. As head of vascular he was also required to monitor the recovery of all patients assigned to his team. He had been pleased to note at the end of the day that all patients had been properly cared for over the previous twenty-four hours. There were a few who would require additional surgical intervention and a few who were not progressing as well as he and his surgeons would have hoped, but that was to be expected, and they would adjust care as appropriate. Fortunately, Chris gave the go ahead for Jack Harding to help out one more day so that Colin and Priya could leave early that afternoon to rest.
He had originally had a full list of regular consultations scheduled for that afternoon, and he had asked Mrs. Lassiter to reschedule them, but there were some whom she could not contact so he had to fit in those consultations along with everything else. Yes, it had been a very full day, and because of the full patient load, he would need to spend a few hours in hospital tomorrow, Christmas Eve and on Christmas Day. He hoped that Louisa would understand.
He had not scheduled any consultations or procedures for the next three days, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and Boxing Day, but that didn't preclude attendance at rounds in the morning, and possibly later in the day or evening if one of their accident victims had a relapse that another surgeon wasn't able to attend. There were two registrars that he had started to train and they would be on-site if anything should go amiss, and they would call Arthur Bender or Priya if need be. Bender would be on call tomorrow and Priya on Christmas Day, but ultimately all the patients were his responsibility. If they were lucky there would be no more major incidents over the holiday. It would be good if Jack Harding were officially on-board, but as he hadn't gone through reception and completed all the required paperwork, Martin couldn't expect him to take up on-call duties just yet.
In the meantime, he was looking forward to a good meal, and an early night. Louisa said she was preparing lamb chops and he was hopeful that they would be properly cooked. Her culinary skills had improved since she stopped working and he was optimistic. He was also optimistic that he would be able to go to bed shortly after they had done the washing up and put James to bed. He knew that Louisa would want to talk about the accident and what his team had done, but he wasn't prepared for a long discussion; he needed his sleep. With the thought of dinner and a good night's sleep, he let his mind rest and drifted off until the car stopped and jostled him awake. "Mr. Ellingham. We've arrived at your home."
He shook the sleep off and opened the door, "Yes, Thank you Tom. See you tomorrow at eight. I hope to leave hospital at noon tomorrow. I will not need your services Christmas Day."
He walked into the front door and into his study to stow his bag and then he walked into the kitchen. "Mmm … smells good." He looked around for Louisa and then saw her lying on the sofa asleep. James had heard him walk into the kitchen and he jumped up, crying, "Daddy, Daddy."
Martin placed his fingers to his lips and, glancing toward Louisa, whispered, "Shhh."
James looked towards his mum and grinned as he placed a finger on his own lips. "Don't worry daddy. I be quiet."
Martin motioned James towards the kitchen and walked to the cooker and lifted the lids of the pots on the hob. He observed that dinner was ready and he was hungry so he pulled out plates and cutlery to set the table. Despite his efforts to be quiet, the slight noise roused Louisa and she rolled over to her side and sat up. Lifting her arms to readjust her ponytail, she looked over at him, "When did you get home?"
"Just a few minutes ago. I thought I'd lay the table so we could eat. It all smells delicious."
She stood up and walked over to his side, laying her hand on his arm, "Thank you Martin. I'm glad you're home."
He turned to face her and wrapped one arm around her in a half embrace while he placed his other hand on her ever-expanding belly hoping to feel the baby move, but all was quiet. She shifted around to look into his eyes and reached up to pull his head down and give him a kiss, "All's quiet tonight. Wait till later. I'm sure baby will be doing callisthenics when it's time for bed."
"Can we eat now? I'm hungry." James climbed up into his chair, ready for his meal.
"Of course." Louisa replied as she dished up a plate for his tea.
They sat down to eat. "How was your day?" Louisa asked Martin.
"Busy."
"Well yes. I expect it was. Any more emergencies?"
"There are always emergencies," he replied automatically as he cut a piece from his chop.
"Yes, I suppose there are. I suppose I mean, was there anything out of the ordinary? Are all the accident victims 'progressing'?" She leaned across the table, her own knife and fork in her hands, trying to get his attention. She knew he might not tell her any specifics, but she would like if he would open up a bit.
He was amused at her use of his favourite word to describe the status of his patients and decided to tell her something without sharing any specifics. "Yes. Most of the accident victims are 'progressing' as expected. Infection protocols seem to be holding so no outbreaks of MRSA or other bacterial infections. There were a few victims whose injuries were not so severe that we needed to operate last night. They were still stable and Jack Harding and I handled them this morning. As of five pm, all was quiet. I hope to have an early night and get fully rested. I am exhausted."
Louisa reached over to his arm to comfort him. "I understand. Eat your dinner. We can get to bed early once James has had his bath and is in bed."
Martin took a bite of his lamb chop, "This really is good. Perfectly cooked."
"Thank you, Martin."
He took a sip from his water glass and then cut another piece of meat from his chop, but paused before placing it in his mouth, "How was your day?"
"Good. Ethel and I took the children down to the Platt in the morning and then up to the playground, but we didn't stay long. It was quite chilly."
James piped up, "Lilli, Tina and me went to the playground. It was fun."
"I imagine it was." Martin was too tired to correct James' grammar. It occurred to him that proper grammar was probably best learned by example.
"Buddy went too."
"He did?" Turning to Louisa, he said, "I hope you found time to rest."
"I did. I lay down on the sofa after lunch whilst James played with his farm animals. I think James rested for a bit as well."
"Is that so James? Did you sleep this afternoon?"
James lifted his eyebrows and shrugged his shoulders in response.
"Well, did you?"
"Don't know."
Martin nodded his head, "That's fair. Sometimes it's hard to remember."
After James had his bath and Martin had done the washing up, Martin retired to their room to prepare for bed, and Louisa went downstairs to make sure the house was closed up for the night. When she made her way up to their room, Martin had already removed his suit and shirt and was walking into the en-suite clad only in his boxer shorts. She smiled to herself as she remembered her afternoon nap and her dream of Martin in swimming trunks. She quickly changed into her pyjamas and when Martin came out of the bathroom, she wandered over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, giving him an affectionate hug which he returned. When she pulled his head down for an extended kiss, Martin responded, but then pulled back, "Louisa, I'm really tired."
She smiled at him and, trailing her fingers down his bare chest, she murmured, "I know you are, but …" She paused to nuzzle his neck, "you know you are just irresistible."
"Louisa," he grumbled.
She patted his chest, "Hear me out. Just before you arrived home, I fell asleep and I was having the most wonderful dream. The three of us were on a tropical beach and it was very warm. You took James' hand and walked with him into the water and you were wearing a pair of swimming trunks and nothing else. You looked so yummy, and seeing you just now reminded me of that dream."
"Hmm …" Martin wasn't sure how to respond.
"Wouldn't it be nice if we could take a beach vacation like that some day?"
"Sure way to acquire a severe sun burn."
She slapped him on the chest, "Martin, don't be such a curmudgeon. Besides that's what sun screen is for."
"Yes."
"And I wanted to let you know how attractive your wife thinks you are and that I'm thinking we have several ways to celebrate Christmas this year …perhaps in this very room. Yes?"
"Yes. Just not tonight."
"No, not tonight," she sighed.
She stepped away from him and, before entering into the bathroom, she halted and turned to give him a hard stare. "I have to brush my teeth. Don't fall asleep while I'm getting ready. In fact, don't move until I am finished. I want to talk a bit about this accident. Got it?"
"May I put on my pyjamas?"
"Yes, if you feel it's essential. But don't lie down."
Martin watched as she closed the door and then shook his head. He would never understand her. "Don't lie down? Isn't that what the bed is for …most of the time?" He smiled to himself as he donned his pyjamas, thinking about the Christmas celebration that she was planning in this very room, in this very bed, and he sat down just as she walked out of the bathroom.
She removed her dressing gown and took her place in the bed indicating that he had permission to lie down, and then she cuddled up to him and asked the question he had expected, "So … can you tell me anything about the accident victims? I did hear about the children in the car that all died. Were there other casualties? Anything else you can share … and I know that you can't discuss your patients."
"My team was responsible for about fifteen individuals and we were able to repair their injuries satisfactorily. I did tell you that Rob and Valerie Kirkham were among the injured, but they are not my patients. I hear that they both sustained serious concussions that may take several months or longer to overcome. And I'm told that Rob sustained a compound fracture in his right arm and that several of his fingers were crushed. He may not be able to perform surgery again."
Louisa grimaced, "That's so sad. Will he be able to continue as head of surgery?"
"Hard to say. I suppose he could. Even if he could no longer perform surgery, he could certainly monitor performance and recruit staff and raise funds; but, if his concussion is as bad as they say, he might not be able to recover the cognitive ability to do that. We will have to wait and see. In the meantime, someone will have to take his place, either Rogers or McMurray. Rogers is an arse, but he knows how to flatter and cajole and steer the board to his way of thinking. He is unscrupulous, untrustworthy. McMurray would be my preferred candidate. He is thoughtful and competent, but never manipulative. I don't know how it will all play out."
Louisa reached up to caress his cheek and kiss him lightly on the lips and then grabbed his hand and placed it directly above her uterus where the baby was kicking forcefully. "Our little one is waking up."
'Yes, I can tell. Does it hurt when he kicks so hard?"
"Not really. Not unless he is pushing against my bladder. That can be a problem!" She chuckled, "as you can imagine!"
They lay there quietly enjoying the interaction with their unborn child when Louisa asked, "Did you see Mrs. Tishell in hospital?"
"No. Should I?"
"Ethel told me that she was among the injured … not badly, but that Ted sent her off to hospital just in case she had any damage to her neck."
"Hmm …" Martin looked down at her and muttered, "Mrs. Tishell? I wonder …"
When he didn't complete his thought, Louisa turned over and propped her head up in her hand, "You wonder what?"
"Mrs. Tishell is an erratic driver, almost reckless. I have to wonder if she caused the accident with one of her careless lane changes."
"Really?"
"Yes. I had no idea until I asked her to drive me to Trevor Dodds' farm. We were all over the road, almost crashed into another car going around a bend. It was harrowing."
"I had no idea."
Martin suppressed a yawn, "I don't suppose the authorities will finish their analysis of the crash for several months."
"Probably not." Louisa tenderly cupped his jaw in her hand, "My poor tired husband. Maybe we should turn out the light."
"Yes. That would be good." Martin reached over to turn off his light and then he slid deeper under the duvet and Louisa cuddled up to him.
He shifted himself onto his side and curled around her, muttering as he placed his hand on her womb, "I just need to …. good night."
Louisa spooned herself into his side, "Good night, Martin. I love you."
"Mmm …"