Chapter Six

She heard the beeping of her alarm, sighed, and turned it off. She wanted to roll over and go back to sleep, but knew what a risky game it was. She yawned, stretched, and reached for the lamp to turn it on. It was a dark, chilly morning, with frost edging the leaves like lace. Opening the curtains, she looked out onto the garden, her breath causing a slight fog on the glass. A new day.

'Mum?' Grace shouted. Connie turned, moving into the corridor.

'Morning!'

'We've run out of shampoo!'

'What?!'

'Shampoo! There's none in the shower!'

Connie yawned again. 'I'll grab you my bottle! Hold on!' She found it in her en-suite, and went into the passage, tossed it in Grace's bedroom, then headed for the kettle and her coffee. Finding her phone on the kitchen table, she checked it.

"Dr Caleb Knight": iMessage sent at 02:04.

Arrived in Aus. Will message Eth at about 9 UK time so I don't wake him up! Thanks for keeping in touch. Heading to hotel now. Stay safe, thanks again. Cal.

"Sam Strachan": SMS message sent at 06:04.

Remember I'm picking Grace up from school today. Can't remember if she's staying over tonight. Obviously she's welcome! Have a good day, give G my love. Sam.

"Dylan Keogh": iMessage sent at 06:32.

Not a good night. E distressed and seems unwell again. Don't want to leave him on his own today. I'm on 9-7, if I have to, I'll come back and stay the night again.

Connie sighed, and tipped boiling water into her mug. She typed three responses.

Sounds good. No worries. Remember the suncream. Don't message Ethan, message me. He's had a bad night's sleep.

She'd love to stay. Will make sure she has her books for Friday. Back Sunday?

Will get to you once I've dropped Grace at school. Have mound of paperwork. Will sit with him today.

'Grace!'

'Wha-a-at?'

'You're going to Dad's tonight. Make sure you've got everything together until the weekend,' Connie shouted, 'Do you want me to put a bagel in for you?'

'Yeah! OK!'

'Ready in three minutes. Remember to hang your towel up properly.'

Connie smiled, slicing the bagel in half and putting it in the toaster. She looked around the kitchen, assembling a packed lunch for herself, and slipping a few of Grace's favourite chocolate biscuits into her daughter's rucksack. She felt guilty for being relieved about not having to worry about her daughter that evening, and tried to reassure herself that Grace enjoyed seeing her father; the childminder would have been inevitable otherwise.

Across Holby, in the hospital, Ethan had spent his first night lying flat on his back, unable to move. He was still feeling nauseous from the anaesthesia, and he was completely exhausted from the events of the weak. His back was agony, and the painkillers made him irritable and full of head fog. What made it worse was the solid plastic back brace that meant his back was completely straight. It was uncomfortable in every sense of the world. He'd always been good at putting up with pain, but this was beyond him. He was miserable.

Dylan had slept on the pull-out bed that night, which Ethan had tried to argue with, but quickly stopped. It had been comforting to have someone else there. His back brace dug into his skin, despite the padding. Staring up at the ceiling was isolating and disoriented him. He'd barely slept. He slept on his stomach, usually, his face burrowed into the pillow. This was hideous.

'How are you feeling?' Connie laid a hand on his forehead, and he grimaced. She frowned. 'You're very warm.'

She helped him drink, with difficulty, the straw hitting his teeth. 'Has Cal landed?'

'Yes. I got a text at 2 from him. He'll be finding the pub by now, knowing Cal.'

Ethan smiled. He'd lost weight again, and his face seemed older and thinner, with dark circles showing under his eyes. 'I'm glad he went. He'll be great.'

'He will. I wouldn't have given him such a good reference, otherwise.' Connie took the glass back. 'You're due Naproxen soon. Have you eaten anything?'

'A bit. I'm still feeling sick because of the anaesthesia. Not fun.' Ethan tried to smile. 'Thank you for coming, Connie. It's good to see you.'

'You've gone through a lot. I'm glad to be able to come here. I'm not in the ED today. If you don't mind, I'm more than happy to stay and work and keep you company.'

He nodded, smiling. 'That would be good, if you really don't mind.'

'Not at all.'

She sat down, pleased that someone had brought up a small desk. That would make things much easier to manage. 'You need to rest. How much sleep did you get?'

'An hour?'

She pursed her lips. 'You look completely exhausted. Is there anything that I can do that would help?'

'Not really. The pain is manageable, it's just so uncomfortable. The brace is really digging in. It's too big.'

'That doesn't sound right. I'm going to grab someone, just in case. If you can't sleep, you might need something to help.'

He didn't protest. She returned with Mr Albion and one of the nurses. He felt self-concious, lying like a stuck beetle in the sheets. 'How are we doing?' Mr Albion asked. He glanced at the monitors. 'Heart rate's a little high. Ms Beauchamp says the brace is hurting?'

'It feels too big,' Ethan felt stupid saying it, and tried to focus. 'It's digging in and moving an awful lot.'

'We can try and get you into one that'll fit better. You're very warm. Your fever should have gone down by now. I want to check the site, please. Do you mind if I move you?'

'No,' Ethan didn't feel he had much choice, and already felt his body stiffening at the threat of further pain.

'Can you help me roll him, please, Ms Beauchamp? James, you've got his head? Good.' Mr Albion said. Ethan scrunched his face and prepared for movement. He hissed loudly as he was moved, and sucked air in hard to stop himself making a noise. He felt the clips on the spinal brace being undone, and his skin seemed to sigh with relief. Gently, the gauze was removed.

'There's an infection here,' he overheard, and felt a stab of panic. 'Let's not panic. We can try and drain it here. He needs a smaller brace, but we need to focus here first. There's swelling around the site, too. I think this is to blame for his fever not reducing. Alright, Ethan. James, could you go and grab two more nurses. We need to keep him still until we can get it back on.'

Ethan shut his eyes, feeling dizzy. 'If you need pain relief, then just say, alright?'

'Yes.'

When the nurses returned with James, one of them was sent away for a new brace. 'I need to clean this out. It might need a drain,' Ethan heard them say. He squeezed his eyes shut. 'I'm just doing a local anaesthetic. Sharp scratch. You know the drill.'

He was concentrating on keeping his composure and didn't hear anyone else. Someone put a mask over his face. Oxygen and something else, by the taste. The anaesthetic needle went deep into his back, and he clenched his teeth.

Connie watched, heart thumping, as Mr Albion pulled the local anaesthetic out, and picked up his scalpel. 'Let me know if you need me to stop. I've given you a good shot of local, so you shouldn't feel a thing.' He covered the rest of his back with a paper sheet, wiped it down with disinfectant, rested a gauze pad under the site, and cut through the stitches. Connie felt slightly sick herself, as the green-yellow liquid, speckled with blood, ran down from the site. Ethan shuddered as the surgeon's hands carefully pushed against his skin, and more pus ran down his back. The antibacterial spray was stinging and painful, and he couldn't stop tears from falling, or his breathing becoming ragged. 'I'm going to clean it out. Deeper than I thought. It's going to hurt a bit, let me know if it gets worse and I'll give you more anaesthetic.'

'Ethan?' A minute later, Connie moved to check on him. His eyes were shut, rolled into his skull, his skin grey. 'Stop.' Connie said, her heart beeting. 'Mr Albion? You need to stop.'