I'M A DOCTOR, CHAPTER SEVEN
Lily looked at the falling snow in despair.
Not only could she not reach the people at Redmyres, but there was no way they were going to be able to leave the house yet. It wasn't as if it was a short walk from the hospital; it was a good five miles out of the city centre. To make it worse, Harry Harper couldn't be reached in Barbados. Lily suddenly remembered that two special friends were being kept apart by the snow and her mood became darker.
Harper sat in his room at the Premier Inn, Cardiff, smirking. Everybody thought he was in Barbados, and that meant nobody would be bothering him. He wondered what those fools out at Redmyres would have said if they'd known that there was no prize money forthcoming. No funds for the bloody hospital. The soft-hearted fools had been duped and now they were stranded. From what nearly all the spirits reported to him, the humans were becoming used to them… but the games had only just begun. As for those two small traitors… they would be dealt with most severely when all this was over. And Harry would arrive in the middle of the chaos, when friend had turned against friend, lover against lover, brother against brother, to invoke… him.
"What's up, gorgeous?" Jacob asked Lily who glared at him.
"My name, as you well know, is Lily. And, as you well know, I'm worried. By this weather, by the amount of patients we have to treat when we're so short-staffed because our regular staff are trapped at a stately home miles away, and…" tears were in Lily's eyes, "Dervla will start to think Dylan no longer loves her."
"The icy-cool Ms Chao reduced to tears by a DOG?"
"Dylan loves that dog like a human."
"Listen, sweetheart, here's what I'll do. I'm pretty sure-footed in snow; I'll go to Doggie Day care and pick up Madam, I'll nip into a corner shop for some grub for her, and I'll take her to Redmyres myself. Even if they won't let me in because of their stupid rules."
"I'll come with you" Lily enthused.
"No, Babe…"
Jacob put his hands on Lily's shoulders. She raised her eyebrows but didn't object.
"Lily, you are a top-class doctor. You're doing more good staying here and helping everybody who needs you. Louise's good, she'll help. You and Loulou ARE the ED right now, Lily Chao!"
Lily swallowed back tears.
"Why, thank you, Jacob. I shall do as you suggest. And, one more thing. If you ever call me 'Babe' again, I shall kick you where you live."
Jacob gave a whoop of laughter and went to change into his outdoor gear.
Melanie looked stricken, but knew she had to confess. She hoped this handsome stranger wouldn't shout at her too much.
"Sir… we did try to get through to Mr Keogh, but couldn't reach him at Redmyres Grange. The-the fact is that Dervla ran away yesterday and we've not managed to trace her since. We've been looking all round Holby for her."
Dervla bounded over the snow, sure of her destination. She knew her human wasn't far away and that he needed to see her. A bulldog on a leash growled at her, and she barked back at him. A tomcat on a wall spat at her. She threatened it and it slunk off. Dervla continued on her quest.
Keira looked out at the expanse of snow.
"That big grey doggie's coming. I'm going to play with him."
"Bitch!" replied Orlando.
"You're nasty."
"No, thicko, I meant that big grey dog's a bitch-dog. Boys KNOW. I wonder what it's coming for though?"
"I think it belongs to that grumpy man who was mean to Curly Git last night."
Robyn stacked the last plate on the pile.
"Thanks, Robyn" Cal smiled at her, "It's a pity our Ethan doesn't like washing up as much as he likes scoffing."
"At least he can scoff without people calling him 'fatty'."
"Only ignorant people use that word. Let me tell you something, Robyn. Men might flirt with the Connies and Ritas of this world, but when they want to settle down, they look for a Robyn. Kind, reliable… they know they're on a winner when they see it."
Robyn beamed at Cal, and despite the fear he still felt, despite this surreal situation, his heart gave a little flip.
"When we all get out of here, would you come on a date with me?"
Robyn's eyes almost equalled Lofty's for wideness.
"Me?"
"You. Theatre, cinema, anywhere you'd like."
"Can you sit through a musical without getting bored?"
"Liking musicals is my guilty secret! So, which one do you have your eye on then?"
"Spamalot's coming to the New Theatre."
"Spamalot it is!"
Taylor appeared, her face mercifully non-purple this time, and slapped Cal hard across the mouth. Then she looked harder.
"Sorry" she said cheerfully, "I thought you were Ricardo."
She vanished.
Robyn, thrown off her guard, clung to Cal and he liked it.
"So" said Cersei Lannister, alias Connie, "That idea of going to bed in the day and staying up all night didn't quite work. So why don't we have a bit of a party this evening? Celebrate our final night. Our official final night, at least. All that money for the childrens' department!"
Mercedes appeared and cackled with laughter.
"You're not coming to our party!" Jack said to her, sounding like a small boy.
Mercedes spat at him and vanished. Jack was relieved spook spit didn't actually work.
Around four in the afternoon, an unearthly howling began outside the front door of Redmyres.
"They can't hurt us. Nobody panic. Besides, they can get in if they really want to" Dixie advised.
Iain decided it was high time he showed Rita that he could be a tough guy. He picked up the poker.
"I'll show those ghosts who's boss" he growled, swaggering to the door.
"Iain, be careful" wailed Rita.
Iain moved the three strong bolts and then opened the door itself. He looked out into the whirling snow and the whining wind.
"Show yourself, creature!" he intoned.
The next minute he was knocked on to his back as Dervla shot straight past him and through to the kitchen. Like Ethan, she knew where she felt most comfortable.
"Dervla!" Dylan hugged the dog, who was trying to lick his face. She looked round and whined a little but didn't run away. That big fire was too tempting. Ethan, making a superhuman effort, said:
"I'll fry her some sausages."
"Ahhh, look at her!" Rita cooed later. Iain wanted to run out and buy her some assorted puppies.
Dervla had had to wait till the sausages had cooled, but she was now lying on the rug, hogging the fire and sleeping. Connie had made Lofty bring the Bible down to put on the mantelpiece so everybody could feel safer, and it did seem to be keeping the apparitions at bay, at least in this room.
The draught from the door was a mighty one, so they were all just feeling warm once more when they heard a hammering.
"Don't go" whispered Rita fearfully.
The word "Challenge" might as well been written on Iain's forehead. He grabbed the trusty poker.
Fending off Giorgio and Ricardo, who had realised that the kitchen was the only ghost proof room at the moment, he walked to the door.
"Who's there?" he yelled.
"Let me iiiiinnnn!" came the moan.
"You tell me who you are first, and whether you're friend or foe."
"Friend! I'm Jacob! I've come to see how everybody's coping and I've walked six miles and I'm freezing. I need to pee any moment now! And I've got pizza!"
Only Jacob could have stopped off at Domino's while on a quest to save his colleagues.
"Pizza? Quick, get him inside!" yelled Ethan.
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