ROSE DEACON

I never expected it, and certainly I would never set out to try and make it happen, but I have fallen head over heels in love with one of my patients.

I am shocked at myself, to tell you the truth, but there is just nothing to be done about it. John Tracy is a wonderful human being.

I know perhaps more than most what had happened to him, how serious it was, and what very nearly happened as a result. And yes, by one means or another, I learnt how it had come about, and why.

I do think that that inventor fellow Langstrom Fischler deserved to have the book thrown at him, especially now I have more of an insight into his past failures and the attitude he has always apparently displayed.

I am not sure how I would have responded had I been in a similar situation to John, but when Mister Fischler came to the hospital with Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward, John agreed to see him, and long story short, willingly agreed to let bygones be bygones.

I am not certain whether that equates to John forgiving the fellow, but they certainly came to an equitable agreement whereupon Mister Fischler has promised to abide by every safety rule and every safety test from now on in exchange for funding and facilities of Tracy Industries.

In my later conversations with John, he told me that whilst he is not completely convinced that Fischler's attitude has completely changed, he does believe that everyone is deserving of a chance to make good. Working for Tracy Industries as he now does, Fischler, whether he realizes it or not, will be under close scrutiny from now on.

When John told me of the kind of machines that Fischler has tried to create in the past, it seems to me that he has an incredible imagination. If he had taken the time, money and trouble to iron out all the issues before putting them into full production, not only would he have saved himself time and money in the long run, earned Billions for himself and his company, saved John and his brothers an awful lot of time and effort saving everyone, but the human race as a whole might have taken several steps forward by now technologically.

I am not surprised at the way the Tracy family dealt with that troublemaker though. It is all one with the whole ethos of International Rescue. The alternative would have been to prosecute him and have him thrown into prison, which would not have benefitted anyone really.

This whole thing makes me admire John and his family even more. Despite the fact that the man I love came very close to dying, I suppose in a weird kind of way, I have Fischler to thank for us being together.

Yes…John and I are together! We have been for a while now.

I don't think his elder brother approved very much at first. He quite understandably felt fiercely protective of John, and I think still feels that any fondness between a doctor or nurse and their patient must be false, born of the pity and compassion that is one with many who choose to work in the medical field. It has taken some time to persuade him otherwise.

Perhaps it even started that way, but that is not how it is now.

If I were to be constantly viewing John as a patient, needing to be cared for, `babied', to use John's own expression, he would find it intolerable, and he would be very quick to stop feeling any attraction to me beyond simple gratitude.

That is the other thing that Scott is concerned about, naturally. That John and his family's feelings of gratitude towards me would give me some kind of power, like a bargaining chip over them. You know the kind of thing:

"I did not save your life for you to go and throw it away like this!"

I have to say I did worry constantly at first, calling John every week to make sure he was keeping himself healthy, resting, taking his meds and all the rest of it. He circumvented me by reminding me that he was not a child, and he had enough smother-hens at home thank you very much, without gaining a long-distance one as well.

It was, I think, as much his outspokenness to me that attracted me to him. He is always tactful of course, but he does not beat around the bush. He comes out and says exactly what needs saying.

You perhaps realised sooner than I did why I was worrying about him. I had fallen for him and not recognized it. I think it was my calling John at home that alerted him that I might have started feeling something for him. When he came over for his first physical check-up, the air between us was professional, but also charged, almost.

He asked me if I had time to go for a walk, so we went for a walk together through the hospital grounds, and then to the local park where we sat for a while watching the kids feeding ducks in the lake. Afterwards, we went to the hospital canteen, and I treated him to coffee and doughnuts, before he raised his wrist-comm and told whoever was listening that he was ready to return home.

Thirty seconds later his sister Kayo appeared beside our table with a pleasant smile.

John smiled at her.

I'm afraid I did not. I am not used to being spied on, and she must have been spying to be able to find us so quickly. I regretted it afterwards, of course. Kayo is apparently in charge of security for International Rescue, so it must have been a huge blow to her when John was shot and kidnapped right under her nose. In hindsight I can understand why his whole family are being so very protective of him.

That is why I am feeling particularly excited now.

It has been six months since John recovered, and I am invited to the Tracy home on their island for three weeks stay before he returns to his satellite to resume his duty.

John and I are very close now. I know we talk a lot, he has visited me as often as his family have allowed, and other times he uses IR's amazing holographic system to visit me, so that it feels almost like he is in the room with me. If only someone could invent a touchable hologram!

I have not visited him because neither Scott nor Kayo would allow it for the longest time. I am not upset or insulted. I am greatly relieved that they are so protective. It means that I don't have to be.

So, right this moment, I am sitting in the back of Scott's personal Jet, with, believe it or not, lady Penelope beside me. Apparently, she has given her butler, Parker, a fortnight off, and she is going to be staying as well. She is visiting with John's younger brother Gordon.

Who knew there could ever be a chance that I might one day become related to a member of the English aristocracy?

Oops…did I just let the cat out of the bag?