Chapter 6

"Finally!" Louise was the first one to greet them when Cal and Ethan entered the hospital. "Where have you two been?"

"Cal! Ethan!" It was Lofty next, closely followed by Robyn as they came to drop some paperwork in at the front desk. "You're a sight for sore eyes."

"Yeah um, car troubles," Cal explained with a disarming grin. "Turns out neither of us know the first thing about engines..."

"What, manly men like you Cal?" Max jibed as he wheeled an elderly patient past. "And uh, heads up - Charlie's on his way."

Robyn and Lofty exchanged a look, then said in sync, "Good luck!"

"Where the hell have you two been?" Charlie was furious. Robyn spared Cal a commiseratory look before she and Lofty disappeared around the corner "We're over-running with patients and two of our doctors go AWOL!"

"Charlie-"

"This is unacceptable!"

"Charlie I-"

"What were you thinking?"

"Charlie!" Cal hissed, forestalling the tirade. "I'm sorry, but-"

"Sorry? Sorry doesn't even begin to cut it-"

"Charlie." Cal looked him dead in the eye, trying his hardest to communicate what he wanted in a look. "We really need to see Mrs Beauchamp. Do you know where she is?"

Charlie frowned in confusion. Then his eyes slid over to Ethan, who stood beside his brother with a decidedly spaced-out expression and a gauze pad on his forehead that barely stood out against the stark paleness of his face.

"Are you alright Ethan?"

"Hm?" Ethan smiled absentmindedly. "Yes of course! Sorry, what were you saying?"

Charlie's eyes flickered to Cal's pleading gaze, then back to Ethan's mildly bemused one. For the first time he noticed the young doctor was trembling, from cold or shock it was hard to tell, and that the reason his coat fit so badly was because it was his brother's.

"I was just saying that Mrs Beauchamp wants to see you both," he answered slowly, with a pointed look to Cal. "She's in her office."

"Thank you," Cal mouthed, and they went off in that direction.

"Doctor Knight and Doctor Hardy." Connie's stare was unforgiving. "You're lucky to have caught me here - I've spent most of the night in cubicles, trying to treat your combined patient loads. Care to explain?"

"Well-"

"We'll hear from Doctor Hardy first, thank you."

"I- I'm very sorry," Ethan said. "I- um, my car broke down. And Cal - er, Doctor Knight - came to pick me up."

Connie's stare didn't let up. Ethan gulped.

Eventually the silence grew too much for Cal. "Ethan drove his car into a ditch."

"Cal!"

"That certainly explains the gauze," Connie said. "Why didn't you call an ambulance? Instead of utilising your brother?"

Ethan struggled for an answer. "Um. Well, yes. Yes I... um..."

"We're going to have to tell her." Ethan glared fiercely at Cal. "Come on - what do you expect if you lie that appallingly?"

"He has a point. The truth, please Doctor Hardy."

"Fine," Ethan assented unhappily.

Over the next few minutes Cal and Ethan - though mostly Cal, owing to Ethan's embarrassment - updated Connie on everything that had been happening. She listened without comment, face unreadable.

When the whole account had drawn to a close, Ethan began to apologise profusely for the trouble he'd caused. "I'm happy to finish this shift-"

"No, Ethan I really don't think that's a good idea-"

"-and I can start straight away," Ethan ended, ignoring Cal. "If that's alright, Mrs Beauchamp?"

Her eyes travelled shrewdly between the two brothers in much the same way Charlie's had earlier.

"No," she said after a moment. "The shift's almost over, just go home. Feel free to use my office if you need it." She stood to leave. "Dr Knight, might I have a word outside?"

"Um, sure."

They both left the office. Connie waited for the door to close before quietly asking, "Does he need treatment?"

"No, I don't think so. He hit his head but he wasn't unconscious and his pupils are responding normally to light."

Connie nodded. "Good. I don't imagine I need to tell you to keep a close eye on him tonight, in case anything changes?"

"No, Mrs Beauchamp."

"Excellent." She hesitated a moment, then added, "I'm sorry to say your RTC patient went into cardiac arrest. We couldn't get any output."

"What?!"

"It was no one's fault," she continued. "But you should know for the Morbidity and Mortality conference next week."

"Right." Cal took this information in for a few seconds. "Was- was it because I left?"

"Don't flatter yourself, Doctor Knight," Connie responded and for once he was grateful for her harsh words. "If I couldn't save him you certainly couldn't. Look after your brother - I'd recommend some sweet tea." With those final words and a few decisive clicks of her high heels she swept away.