"Ok, what have we got?"

Connie unwound the stethoscope from about her neck as Dixie pushed the trolley into RESUS bay 2, and the little girl who lay on it was helped over onto the bed.

"This is Madison, aged eight. Severe asthma, she's had five milligrams of ventolin and ten of salbuterol. Parents are on their way in."

Dixie gestured to the teenage girl who hovered behind her.

"This is her older sister, Rowan, who phoned the ambulance."

The girl stood, her face pale her blue eyes wide and she chewed nervously on her lip as she watched what was happening before her.

"Ok, Rowan? I'm Rita. I'll be looking after your sister alongside Mrs Beauchamp here. Can I ask how old you are?"

Rita touched the girls arm, she was as tall as Rita herself was, and as she touched her she could feel her entire body was trembling.

"Fifteen...nearly sixteen."

She answered quietly. Rita squeezed her arm gently and glanced over at Connie who was listening intently to Madison's chest.

"Mrs Beauchamp is going to do everything she can to make your little sister feel better. She's the best there is, so you've got absolutely nothing to worry about, OK?"

Rowan nodded slowly, her eyes never leaving her sister.

"Now, I'm going to ask Nurse Miller here to take you to the relatives room so that you can have a drink, and wait for your parents to get here. When we've made Madison feel a bit better we will come and find you, and you can come and see her, alright?"

She asked, gesturing for Robyn to take over, and allowing the young girl to be guided back out of RESUS towards the relative room.

She watched her go, thinking for a moment how terrified she must have been, phoning the ambulance whilst her sister was so poorly. She drew in a breath and ran her hands across her stomach, smoothing her top.

"How's she doing?"

She asked, making her way back over to the bed where Connie was running a finger over the veins in the crook of the young girls arm.

"Her veins are impossible..."

She paused and glanced up to the BP machine.

"Can we have an IO gun ready, just in case?"

She asked, and the nurse opposite gave a sharp nod of her head and moved away from the bed to carry out her orders as quickly as possible.

"Can we have five more milligrams of ventolin, please, Nurse Freeman?"

Connie glanced up at her as she tried again to locate a vein, and as Rita met her gaze she smiled, just the hint of a smile, but a smile nonetheless, and it struck Rita how much nicer it was to be at work, now that they got on.

Without a word, Rita reached for another clear plastic nebule, and emptied the clear liquid into the nebuliser before settling down on the other side of the little girl.

She reached out and took hold of her hand. It was small and cold and her fingers shook from the excess ventolin and steroids throbbing within her veins.

"Alright sweetheart, just take nice, deep breaths for me. Just try to relax and let the magic gas make you feel all better..."

She ran her thumb across the back of the little girls hand, and with her other hand she stroked the fine blonde hair back from her face, running her fingers through it and smiling down at the little girl who stared back up at her, her face mostly concealed by the mask she wore, but her eyes remained steady, blinking slowly, heavily, watching Rita as the she mimicked the slow and steady inhales and exhales, breathing in through her nose, and out through her mouth, and slowly, slowly with each breath she managed to draw in just a little bit more air, and by the time Connie had located a vein and warned her of the sharp scratch her eyes were so heavy that she drifted off to sleep.

"Alright, well done-"

Connie looked up mid-sentence at the little girl who was fast asleep against the bed, her head lolled to one side, her breathing slowing right down, and Rita, leaning against the bed watching her sleep, stroking her forehead ever so gently. Her heart swelled within her chest. How had it taken her so many months to realise how incredible this woman was..?

"You seem to have done the trick..."

She said quietly, and Rita glanced over to her, and as her hand stopped in it's movements the little girl frowned in her sleep and murmured 'mummy', so softly that instinctively Rita began the soft stroking of her fingertips across the little girls forehead and into her hairline again, instantly soothing her.

The door to RESUS pushed open again and Robyn poked her head around the door.

"The parents are here. How's she doing?"

She asked, straining to see the little girl from where she stood.

"Nurse Freeman managed to relax the patient so much that she fell asleep."

Connie answered, and Robyn exhaled a sigh of relief as Rita glanced at her, her face so sweet and happy.

"Great! I'll go and let them know."

She grinned, and she let the doors swing closed again as she exited.

"Yet again you've impressed me, Nurse Freeman."

Connie murmured, watching the rise and fall of Madison's chest, and looking occasionally to the BP machine that showed the steady beat of her heart.

"All in a days work..."

Rita looked over at her as she spoke, her eyes glittering.

"Yes, well. All the same, I would like to treat you later..."

Connie said, tilting her head to one side so that her hair curled at her throat, and she smiled slowly as Rita bit her lip.

A quick update in between looking after my children. It's not the best! But at least I managed to get something out :) more to come hopefully! Fingers crossed the children stay asleep! xxx