A Long Night
"Well the kitchen is a damn sight cleaner than it was before Rowan Good appeared, I'll give her that," Greg waved a hand around him as he reached the doorway. "Believe it or not, I wasn't even aware I had downlights until she cleaned them." He shook his head. "I'm still not a hundred percent certain what it was she actually did in here, but I remember when I came home that first night, I was pretty stunned by the difference."
"That was exactly how I felt when I walked in the front room and everything seemed to be rearranged," Joanna nodded as she followed him out into the main passage taking in the details she hadn't noticed on the way in. "These are lovely polished floorboards you have here. Did it take long to sand them back like this?"
Greg turned to meet her eyes, a vaguely sheepish look on his face. He screwed one eye closed. "It took me ages to notice them after I moved in, and when I did, they were so dirty, I honestly thought the floor was covered in old brown lino," he said. "I'd never seen them like this before, to be honest."
Arching her eyebrows and shooting him an amused look. "Don't tell me you're one of those stereotypical bachelor types," she said, a dry note of mockery in her voice. "Slobbing around until you get a girlfriend."
"I tried not to be, to be honest," Greg sipped his tea. "But things went a bit fuzzy around the edges back there for a while and I guess I didn't see how bad things actually were."
Immediately contrite, Joanna rested a hand on his arm. "I'm sorry," she said. "I was being insensitive. I understand your situation better than you might imagine."
Shrugging, Greg smiled. "It's all behind me now," he said. "And now it's like this, it's no effort at all to keep looking the way my mum would expect it to be kept."
"It looks almost as if you've got it on the market." Joanna nodded as she looked around. "It's so bright and shining. The only time you see places in this condition is when they're showing it to prospective buyers." Smiling again at the compliment, Greg led the way out past the bathroom.
"You've seen this already, I know," he said, waving at the relatively modern facilities. "It was brand-new when I moved in, but it seems to have stayed new despite me using it these last few weeks. I dunno what our favourite cleaner put on those tiles and the shower glass, but they're as shiny as they were that first night I saw them. Just like new."
"It's the same in my kitchen," Joanna looked around, taking in the spartan fixtures and utter lack of frills. "Nobody could mistake this for anything other than bachelor digs."
"I'll have you know I have style," Greg leaned away, mock-defensively, a hard done-by expression on his face. "I have taste."
"Not saying you don't, you silly man," Joanna laughed as she walked into the front room, standing with her hands on her hips as she looked around the room. "Well, well well ..."
"I don't have a lot of stuff ..." Greg had a stab at defending the honour of bachelor males everywhere.
"This is a very evocative room," Joanna turned to him decisively. "This is a room of someone with nothing to hide, nothing to apologise for," she nodded sagely, taking in the dark colours and natural textures. The black of his old laptop stood out against the dull gleam of the russet coffee table. "This room definitely suits you."
It sounded like a compliment, though Greg was taking nothing for granted at this point. "You like this?" he waved a hand around generally.
Nodding, Joanna gave him a more appraising look. "This is not a side of you I've seen before," she said slowly. "This is ..." she gazed around the room's uncompromising austerity, nodding slowly. "Surprisingly sexy."
"Surprisingly? Right then. I can't let a line like that pass me by." Greg leaned down and tapped his laptop awake. With a few practiced scrolls and hitting a short sequence of keys, he'd set one of his music files to play. Sliding up the volume, he left the computer on the coffee table and held out his hand just as a slow piece of bluesy-jazz filled the room.
"Care for a dance?"
Smiling up at him, Joanna laughed, sliding one hand in his, the other moving to his shoulder. "You are such a strange man," she said, as he placed a light hand near her spine.
"Is that good strange or ..." he got no further as she scowled at him with fierce eyes. He laughed, swirling them both into steps that needed no remembering, his lack of furniture an active advantage at this point.
"I don't think this is the right music for a tango," Joanna could hardly breathe for laughing as Greg dipped her yet again, her hair coming loose and brushing the floor.
"Anything can be a tango if you try hard enough," he pulled her upright, pausing to move the silky mass away from her eyes.
Letting him go in order to put herself back to rights, Joanna was still giggling as she gave up trying to put her hair back up and instead pulled all the clips out and shook it free.
"You have the most lovely ..." Greg's gaze followed the glossy waves as he tucked one behind her ear and everything went very still between them. Joanna's eyes blinked suddenly wide and met his, the force of her stare punching the air from his lungs. He stood, shocked for a moment, before dragging a breath down a suddenly parched and burning throat. "You are lovely," he husked.
In silence, Jo lifted her hand until he felt the faintest pressure of warm fingers splayed against the side of his face. Greg's eyelids closed, his eyelashes brushing the tips of her nails. "Lovely," he whispered, opening his eyes to see her face close to his, her expression wondering and vaguely uncertain. Capturing her hand, he brought it to his lips, the soft hitch in her breathing loud in the quiet room. All he wanted to do right now, the only thing he could think of doing was to slide an arm gently around her waist and tug her closer still. "You are so ..." Greg realised he was rambling and found he didn't care. They were so close that he could feel the rapid beating of her heart and he didn't care about that either as he lowered his head and brushed her lips with his own.
A wave of subtle perfume engulfed his senses and Greg felt his head spin, ever so gently. He smiled, leaning back until he could see Jo's eyes which were wide and round and very dark. Unsure whether to try for a second kiss, a proper one, Greg felt Jo's arms sliding around his neck, pulling him back down to her as she kissed him carefully, assessingly, before letting him go.
"What is this?" she whispered. "What are we doing?"
"You're a lovely woman, I'm a man with a sexy front room," he smiled into her eyes. "It just felt like the thing to do, is all."
"There's something odd in the air tonight." Joanna shook her head but did not move away from him. "First Christopher Hardacre and now you … it's not as if I've been doing anything different."
"Hardacre is not a nice man and was trying it on," Greg paused and smiled again. "Whereas I am a nice man."
"What do you mean, Christopher was trying it on? Trying what on?" Joanna sounded more confused than anything else. "He's Juliet's husband."
"And you are single, very attractive and a little too trusting." Greg's thumb traced across her cheek. "Which is why I said he wasn't nice." He sighed at the warmth of her body resting against his. He could try and take the issue further tonight, but something told him not to rush it. Nor was he entirely sure what it was he actually wanted. And Joanna had to get home to the kids. Now was not the moment for anything.
"It's nearly midnight," he murmured. "Pumpkin time."
"Yes, you're quite right." Joanna stepped back, straightening her shoulders and taking a slow breath. Leaning down to the table, Greg tapped the music silent. Though there were no words between them there was a warmth that had nothing to do with champagne.
###
The porch light was on when the BMW pulled up in the sleeping court. There were other lights in other houses, but all Greg wanted was to see Jo home safely and then head back home himself for a glass of something decidedly stronger than wine.
Joanna's key rattled in the lock and, as the door opened, she turned, smiling, to thank him and wish him a good night.
"Hi, did you have a nice ..." the babysitter leaned her head out of the front room door just as there was a series of heavy thuds, followed by a terrified scream and the panicked wailing of a frightened child. All three adults rushed to the noise, to see a howling Max, in his pyjamas lying half upside down at the bottom of the stairs, his face covered in blood. He had probably heard his mother come home and rushed down to see her.
"Oh Maxi, what have you done?!" Joanna was about to pick him up when both Greg and the babysitter stopped him.
"He might have damaged his neck," Greg pushed passed her in the tight space. "I need lights please, and someone call an ambulance," he instructed, kneeling and placing a flat hand on either side of the screaming child's head and neck, keeping him still.
"Max, Max. This is Inspector Greg, Max. We're going to sort you out in a minute, but you have to keep still for me for a minute buddy and try and breathe properly if you can. Can you breathe for me?"
The wailing didn't abate but the volume lowered a fraction as the child's howls became interspersed with rough, hiccupping breaths.
"Ambulance on its way. They said five minutes, and they'll be going to Guy's Emergency." The babysitter looked rattled. "He was in bed asleep not fifteen minutes ago," she sounded distraught but not panicky.
Looking across at a white-faced Joanna, Greg kept his hands where they were. "You've got a few minutes to stick on a pair of jeans and a clean top," he said, observing with some dismay that her pretty dress was smeared and spattered with the blood that still ran down Max's face. "Looks like he's probably got a broken nose, not sure what else," he said. "They'll be keeping him in at least for a night or two, so you might want to shove a few of his things in a bag while you're at it."
"Do what Greg tells you to do, darling. I'll be back in a minute," she murmured, carefully wiping tears away from the child's face. Nodding at Greg without speaking, Joanna took a harried backwards look at her injured offspring before running swiftly up the stairs to her bedroom.
"It's okay, Max," Greg crooned quietly to the shaking, crying child, wanting nothing more than to pick him up and hold him until the tears stopped, but he didn't dare. "Looks like you'll be having a ride in an ambulance with the flashing lights and the siren going. The ambulance men will be here and make the pain go away in a minute. You're being very brave."
"Mummm ..." Max managed to breathe enough to call for his mother, his voice thick with blood and tears.
"I'm here, baby, I'm right here," Jo threw a small canvas bag to the ground as she knelt beside her child, stroking his forehead and reaching for his hand. "He's so cold," she whispered, turning frantic eyes to Greg just as the first sounds of an ambulance siren could be heard approaching the houses.
"I'll let them in," the babysitter, Greg noticed, though shaken, was still being practical about things. She'd make a good copper.
"It's probably shock," Greg spoke quietly, as much for Jo as for Max himself. "Apart from anything else, he's had a huge fright."
A cold blast of night air told them the front door had been pushed wide open, swiftly followed by the sound of heavy footsteps as two uniformed paramedics wearing the dark green overalls of London's ambulance service.
"I've kept him still and got him breathing a bit, but not much more," Greg gingerly relinquished his place at Max's side to the younger of the two ambulance men, who stepped in to maintain Max's neck position until his partner was able to lift the boy's entire upper body. An inflatable neck brace was immediately pressured gently around the child's upper chest and face rendering him completely immobile. With swift and practiced skill, they supported the child's small frame as they slid him directly onto a collapsed trolley, tightening several velcro straps the second their hands were free. The younger paramedic was already busy with a complicated-looking stethoscope and a small blood pressure cuff, talking to the child in a low, cheerful voice.
"You his mum?" the older man turned to look at Joanna who nodded shakily as she watched Max being checked over. "We'll get your lad settled in the van and then you can hop in, right? There's a few questions we need you to answer for us, but right now, does he have any problems with any medication? Is there any ongoing medical condition of his we need to know about?"
Leaving Jo to deal with the questions as Max was being put into the ambulance, Greg took a moment to wash his hands in the kitchen sink. His suit was bloodied almost up to the elbows. Grabbing a tea towel to dry himself, he headed back out to the front door just as Jo was ready to get in beside her son.
"It'll be all right," he said, pressing a kiss to her cold cheek. "I'll be right behind you as soon as I've organised the babysitter to stay for the night. I'll be there only a few minutes after you get there, so don't worry. He's in the best of hand now; these guys are real experts."
"Oh god, Greg. If I hadn't gone out to that thing tonight …"
"Now, stop that right this second," Greg held her shoulders until she met his gaze. "Max could have done this at any time and you going out has nothing to do with this, do you understand? Nothing."
Nodding, Joanna smiled weakly before turning to run out to the ambulance. By this time, there was a small audience as Jack and Beth were now standing it the hallway, wide-eyed and wide awake.
"Is mum okay?" Beth stared out through the still-open front door.
"Into the sitting room," Greg ushered them in with a wave of his arms. "I'll explain everything in a minute." As the front door closed behind him, Greg turned to look at the baby sitter.
"Sorry," he said. "I don't know your name."
"Jan," the young woman took a deep breath. "Jan Swales. I'm fully insured by the agency and got my St John's and everything," she lifted her eyebrows. "I take it you'd like me to stay for the night while you go to the hospital with your wife and child?"
Not bothering to put her straight, Greg nodded. "Are you able to stay? I know it's a huge ask but this is an exceptional circumstance and …" Jan lifted her hand to stop him.
"Don't worry. We've all been trained what to do in an emergency like this. My agency will require a premium payment and if someone is still needed after half-seven tomorrow morning, I'll need to call in to get a relief, alright?"
"Jan, you're a saint, thank you. Yes of course, whatever fee you or your agency wants, I'll happily pay. If you can give me your number, I'll call and let you know if you should organise a relief sitter in the morning. I just want to speak to the kids and then I'll be off to hospital as well. Cheers for this, it's really appreciated."
Pausing for a moment to remove his bloodied jacket and roll up his partially stained shirt sleeves, Greg took a deep breath and followed Jan into the front room. Both Beth and Jack were sitting on the very edge of the settee, clearly anxious. There was no easy way to tell them. He sat down on the coffee table and held one of their hands in each of his.
"Max fell down the stairs when he heard your mum coming home tonight; he was probably running to meet her. He's banged his head and his nose is bleeding a lot and there may be other things he's hurt, but we don't know. You heard the ambulance? They've taken your brother off to Guy's hospital for an X-ray and a bit of a check-up, just to make absolutely sure he's okay, and your mum has gone as well to be with him 'cos he's a bit frightened by the whole thing."
"Max is still a baby," Beth nodded knowingly. "No wonder he's scared."
"Yeah, exactly," Greg looked serious. "Now I want to go to the hospital as well in case your mum needs any help with anything, but Jan here has agreed to stay for the rest of the night in case either of you need anything or feel upset, alright?"
"We don't need a baby sitter really," Jack sat up straight, his eyes flicking between Greg and the woman who'd made sure he went to bed at precisely eight o'clock.
"Yeah, nice try Jack, but it ain't gonna happen tonight. Your mum would go spare if she thought you two were here all by yourselves, especially if she's already worried about your brother. Look, the best thing you guys can do for the next couple of days is not to cause her the slightest bit of trouble, okay? Whatever she says to do, just this once, be gentle with her, alright? She doesn't need any arguments back here if she's stuck in hospital, worried about Max."
"Will you come back and let us know how Max is?" There was an edge of fretfulness in Beth's question. "We'd like to know what's going on."
"I will, babe," Greg smiled at her, squeezing her hand. "I promise, as soon as we know what the situation is. Is there anything you need before I go and see your mum at the hospital?"
Standing, Jack put his arms around Greg's neck and squeezed tight. "Give mum a hug from me," he said. "Tell her we'll both be good until she comes home."
"I know you will Jack, I know." Looking up at the baby sitter, he sighed. "Now you two should head off back to bed and try and get as much sleep as you can because you're going to have a lot of work to do keeping this place tidy until your brother gets better and your mum can relax a bit. Off you go now. Jan will be here all night if you need anything or want to talk about anything. Beth, you have my number if you need to get hold of me for a really good reason."
Getting another hug, this time from Beth, Greg stood and watched at the two elder Foys headed slowly back up to bed.
"Here's my card." Greg handed Jan one of his Met cards. "If anything else happens tonight or if either of those two get really upset, give me a shout and I'll get back here as quick as I can. You okay to stay, or do you want to phone in for a replacement?" Belatedly, Greg assessed the expression of the young woman in front of him. This kind of thing probably didn't happen very often, so it'd be no surprise if she was feeling a little distressed as well.
"I'm fine, Mr Foy." Though she was doing well, Greg saw she was clearly a touch off her stride, or she'd have noticed the name on his card was not Foy. Straightening her back, Jan smiled calmly. "I'll make sure those two don't get themselves all upset or anything, and I'll be here when you call, so don't worry about anything except getting your boy right."
"Thanks, Jan. You're a godsend. I'll be in touch as soon as I know what's happening, but call me if you need to." Grabbing his jacket, Greg headed back out to his car and hit the road, aiming for Guy's. He'd be there in under ten minutes.
###
He'd been around enough emergency wards to last a lifetime, but at least he knew who to ask for and what to say. In a very short time, Greg was being escorted up to the Radiology department on the second floor, only to see an exhausted-looking Joanna sitting outside the closed white door of an X-ray room.
"They said I had to wait out here until they'd finished all the scans," she said, reaching for his hand as he sat down beside her. "They wouldn't confirm anything, but they think he's got a broken nose and his wrist hurts too, so they also think that might be broken as well. Oh god, Greg ... he's only a baby ..."
"Which means he'll heal in a flash and be bouncing around in a cast, showing off to all his mates before you know it." Greg wrapped an arm around her shoulders. It was only then that Joanna realised he was in his shirtsleeves and waistcoat, carrying his jacket and that everything was spotted with blood. Her expression added dismay to the mix.
"Your lovely suit ... I'll get it properly cleaned, and ..."
"You'll not worry about it at all, is what you'll do," Greg gave her a gentle squeeze. "Jack and Beth both asked me to give you a hug. The sitter is staying overnight and, if neither of us can get back there before the early morning, then Jan's going to phone for a replacement so that your other two won't be left to fend for themselves. Jack was fairly adamant he didn't actually need a baby-sitter, but I talked him out of that idea. Now, how do you fancy a cup of hospital coffee? Tea? Hot chocolate? You'll need something in your stomach to keep the wobbles away, I know that for a fact."
"Tea would be nice, if it's not too much bother. I'll stay here, in case ..." her words tailed off as a young, tired-looking and heavily bespectacled blonde woman approached them. Her name badge read 'Dr. P. Ricci'.
"Mrs and Mrs Foy?" she smiled briefly as she reached the two of them. "I'm Patricia Ricci, the on-call paediatrician. I've got Max's results here," she tapped a clipboard as both Greg and Joanna stood to shake her hand. After being assumed to be Joanna's husband so many times in the last hour, Greg felt there was little point in explaining his name was not Foy.
Reaching down to hold Greg's fingers, Joanna also held her breath.
"There doesn't seem to be anything terribly worrying, or at least, not anything that we've been able to find so far. Your child has small fractures to his nose and wrist, both of which are fairly clean and relatively minor injuries, though there'll be some localised swelling for a few days. He's also received a bump to the head which has left some swelling and bruising. The x-rays show no other breaks or fractures in either his limbs or chest or skull, and while we're fairly sure there's no other complications, we'd like to run an MRI to check for any internal and soft-tissue injuries to be on the safe side. We'd also prefer to keep him in for a day or so, to make sure there's no unexpected bleeding or latent concussion. Now that we've been able to clear a minor hematoma, a very small blockage of clotted blood, Max's breathing is much easier and he's able to sit up and talk. As soon as we've got the all clear from the MRI team, we'll sedate him with a general anaesthesia suitable for children and an orthopaedic specialist will repair both injuries." The doctor arched her eyebrows and smiled reassuringly.
"It all sounds a little worse than it is, really, and in skilled hands both procedures take only a very short time to complete, especially with the new polymer casts we use these days," she said. "If we don't find any other problems, he'll be eating ice-cream tomorrow and can very likely go home on Sunday morning. He'll be sore and a bit achy for a few days, but children of his age heal incredibly quickly and we can take care of any residual pain or discomfort fairly easily."
"Thank God. That's a huge relief, thank you so much." Joanna sagged a little against Greg as she spoke with the doctor. He tightened the arm around her shoulders. "When can we see him?
"He should be coming out any second now, actually." Doctor Ricci turned towards the heavy white door as it slid open, allowing a wheeled bed to emerge. Sitting up in the middle of the bed, propped up with a small mountain of pillows and covered lightly with a white hospital blanket, was a very sorry-looking Max. As soon as he saw both his mother and Greg waiting outside, he immediately considered crying again but thought better of the notion. He was too sore to cry. His face was flushed and unhappy, his nose was red and puffy and his left arm was in a small sling to keep everything still.
"Oh, Max, what a daft thing to do." Jo bent down to give her youngest a gentle kiss and held his hand. As the boy glanced up at Greg, he smiled.
"I fell down the stairs, Mum," Max spoke to his mother but his eyes were on Greg standing at her side. "I'm sorry if I got blood everywhere but I'll clean it up when I get home, I promise."
"Don't worry about that, lad." Greg wondered why the child was staring at him so seriously. Perhaps he didn't like to see a man with his arm around his mum; kids were often very possessive, he knew that. Casually, he dropped the hand resting on Joanna's shoulders and moved away from her side.