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Chapter 28


Dru woke suddenly; she had pins and needles in her arm as she’d been lying on it.
She tried to sit up, and was totally confused. She straightened her one bent leg, realised that ‘somebody’ had put her in the ‘recovery’ position, and tried to remember where she was, she peered blearily around in the dim light. Her brain still fuzzy with the alcohol…

Then it suddenly hit her.

She went cold. She went hot and sweaty – closing her eyes she could visualise legs on an stretcher – a gurney in front of her…she was trying to do something, but she’d been wrong – why was everybody shouting at her -
She saw her movements, slow motion…blood………a needle………William leaving in a black SUV…she was in a wheelchair………………shouting, why was everybody shouting? Lying down, comfy at last, she could sleep…

Dru’s eyes rolled sleepily and she pulled the covers up and went back to sleep. It was just a dream, all a bad, bad dream………


****************************


“……………And I thought, wherever you are, you could have LA time, and time where you are” Joyce said as William looked at the two miniature clock faces next to each other that Joyce had bought him

“Oh Joyce, that’s fantastic! – So practical too! Anyway, your turn…these are for you! Joyce excitedly unwrapped the box

She took out the champagne flute glasses.

“Oh Will – I was thinking, I’ve got ordinary wine glasses, and I’ve still got five out of six Hock glasses that were a wedding present – but we’ll be able to the Champers justice now!”

“Hold on, don’t run off…here” He handed Joyce and Buffy the 3”by2” small box from the plane. Buffy managed to beat her mother opening her identical box

“Oh look! I’VE got a sparkly letter ‘B’ on a gold chain – oh I LOVE IT! Come here!

Buffy pulled William into a hard kiss and grinned

“And I’ve got a ‘J’ oh it’s lovely, really lovely William, you have us spoiled!”

“Two best girls, why not!” he winked at both grinning ladies

“Here, this is for you!”

Joyce handed him a packet

“Ooh, heavy…book I reckon…oh yes – oh – OH WOW it’s signed – you’ve had it SIGNED! William was genuinely over the moon with the gallery book Joyce had got for him – he was thrilled and couldn’t stop grinning

“And he’s interested in meeting you too – I told him how you’d operated on Buffy – he’s full of admiration for you!” Joyce said

Buffy was SO pleased, William looked awe-struck, he was obviously more than pleased.

“I can’t WAIT for that exhibition” Oh, right my turn…just a stocking filler …Joyce, Buffy”

William handed them the little Christmas pouches

Joyce drew out her shades of green silk scarf.

“Oh it’s beautiful! You must be psychic, I’ve been meaning to get myself a silk scarf…and it’ll match my new green coat perfectly – Thankyou!”

“Ha-ha, look mom…individual toes! Buffy held up her novelty ‘Pippy Longstocking’ socks.

“My turn!” Buffy thrust the last parcel into William’s hands

“I thought it would be useful when you’re travelling around…”

William finally dragged the paper off the leather grooming kit and grinned

“JUST what I needed! I tell you, I’m sick and tired of cleaning my teeth with soap!”

“Uh?” Buffy asked with an ‘EW’ face!

“Well, I DO use toothpaste, but I usually drop a bar of soap, my toothbrush and paste into a carrier bag, and the brush sometimes gets embedded in the soap…now it won’t – come here, clever girl!!!” William planted a huge big kiss on Buffy’s lips!

“Last, but not least, a friend told me you liked a tipple” Joyce handed
William a gift bottle bag.

He took out the bottle of Jameson Irish whiskey

“Lovely – my favourite! – I can make us all Irish coffee’s later”

“Ooh lovely!” Joyce beamed and was pleased she’d bought in extra whipping cream!

“And here – the way to most ladies hearts I think!” William handed Joyce and Buffy the plain and milk chocolates

They both beamed at him in total admiration!

*******************




“Dr Tate…Dr Tate, wake up…come on WAKE UP!” Dr Gupta shook Dru firmly by the shoulder, she’d been asleep six hours now, and he was into overtime, due to the road traffic accident patients.

“Huh…leave me ‘lone…”

“Dr Tate!” Drusilla! – WAKE UP!

“Hmm, alright…wha’s so bloody impor’n’t, huh?”

“Dr Tate, I need you to wake up, I need you to realise what I’m going to say to you, you MUST understand”

“Understand - understand what, what are you doing in my apartment – go way, I’m tired!”

“Dr TATE! I’m not IN your apartment, you are at the hospital, you’re in very serious trouble Dr Tate, I can assure you of that!”

“Huh?” Dru opened her eyes and tried to think...she knew three things for sure, one, she had a headache – the MOTHER of all headaches in fact, two, she just wanted to sleep and three –

“OW, what’s with the bloody lights, who said you could come to my place, I don’t remember saying you could…oh!” Dru had sat up angrily as the main bright lights had been switched on; she saw a hospital room wall, not her own familiar bedroom wall, and frowned, trying to think……...

“Dr Tate, I have to inform you that you are being suspended from this hospital pending an enquiry for gross misconduct by you, do you understand me?”

“What?” Dru sat up, she felt her dry mouth saliver up and thought she was going to be sick

Images flashed through her mind, the needle-stick into her finger, the shouting – Dru put her hands over her ears and screamed………

***



“You did the right thing, Dr Gupta, she couldn’t be allowed home in the state she was in, it was right to having her sectioned under the mental health act”

“How is the girl patient, any news?”

“Unfortunately, she died on the operating table, her injuries were too severe” Dr Rae said

“Oh god…do you think Dr Tate’s initial delayed action could be-“

“No…no I don’t, not in this case, the girl had lost too much blood, her injuries were too severe, if she’d have survived, she’d have never walked again, would have needed 24 hour constant care – she’d have been paralysed, the head trauma was severe too, her spine was also crushed, but Dr Parnell said he did everything he could to try and save her” Dr Rae said. Dr Gupta slowly nodded

“Even though, it doesn’t excuse Dr Tate’s behaviour”

“No, it certainly doesn’t, was she drunk or ‘on’ something, do we know yet?”

“More than likely drunk…I’ve heard a few rumours rumbling around here before now – she’s a very intense woman, and she seemed to have been having an argument earlier this morning”

“An argument?”

“Well, not argument, a disagreement of sorts”

“Who with?”

“Dr Carling”

“Dr Carling- I wasn’t aware he was working here today, I could have done with him earlier, that multiple broken leg of the second car-“

“No, he wasn’t working, he had to come back for his shoes, he was going somewhere for Christmas”

“And he had a disagreement with Dr Tate?”

“Well, he was in Dr Travers’ office with me while he put his shoes on, and Dr Tate comes in, she seemed surprised to see him thinking he was still in Europe - to tell you the truth, he didn’t look too happy too see her – she invited him to dinner and he turned her down flat, and then when he tried to leave she caught his arm, told me she’d see me after my rounds and follows him out into the corridor”

“That was it?”

“Well William was turning his body away from her, scratching his head, his whole attitude was – ‘I just want to get out of here – now’ sort of…well Dr Tate said something about why was he avoiding her, and he said they weren’t as close as she’d like to think – then I heard him say something about ‘five years ago, and moving on’ and then I didn’t hear any more as I had to go and do my morning rounds”

“Do we know where Dr Carling is?”

“No, Travers might, but he’s not attached to the hospital, so?” Dr Gupta shrugged his shoulders and Dr Rae nodded

“Well, I suppose I’d better phone Dr Travers and tell him what’s happened, and we’ll need to get some sort of statement from Dr Carling too”

“Why – it’s not his fault – he can’t be held responsible for her actions!”

“No, I know, and I’m not suggesting for one second he can be, I just want to get the full rounded picture – after all, she hasn’t been sent home drunk, she’s been sectioned, that’s a pretty serious matter”


*****************


“More trifle?”

“Joyce stop – you’ll have me explode! But boy, was that THE best Christmas dinner I’ve ever had or what!” Joyce beamed at him

William sat back and patted his bloated tummy – he’d done full justice to everything put in front of him and cleared his plate, and delighted Joyce by having seconds of turkey and ham, stuffing, gravy and roast potatoes – his secret vice – so he told her, before going on to enjoy a dish of trifle.

“Well I suggest you two go and sit on the sofa and vegetate in front of the TV”

“Oh no, I MUST help with the clearing up, you must let me wash up at least!”

“The dish washer will do that – and there’s only what’s on the table to do, everything else is done!”

William stood, poured them all more champagne

“Well I’ll bring this in with us!”

“Good idea – oh, and if you feel like nodding off, you won’t be in bad company, wine always makes me sleepy!” Joyce said

Taking in their glasses and then returning for the bottle William couldn’t honestly remember having a nicer time – the ugliness of what happened with that encounter with Dru that morning had drifted away and he was warm, comfy, full of superb food and with two of the nicest ladies he’d ever met………

He sat on the sofa, and Buffy snuggled up, he put is arm around her and they settle down to watch the Christmas family movie


***************

“Oh dear god no………she didn’t actually stick the girl with the needle afterwards, did she?”

“Doesn’t matter if she did Quentin, the girl died on the operating table, so there will be no come-backs from there.

We put Dr Tate in one of the private rooms to sleep it off, but even after 7 hours sleep she was loud and obnoxious, got rowdy, so Dr Gupta sectioned her for 72 hrs under the mental health act”

“I see, well at least we know where she is”

“She seemed to have had disagreement with Dr Carling this morning, so Dr Gupta was telling me”

“Dr Carling- what was he doing there – he was staying with friends for Christmas, or so he told me”

“He was, came for something…shoes, that’s it, he had to get his shoes”

“Was it a screaming row – did anybody else hear anything?”

“I don’t think it was a screaming row as such, that’s not how Gupta described it, more him trying to get away and she reluctant to let him go sort of thing, she invited him to dinner, he turned her down as he’d got other arrangements - from what I can gather anyway”

“Oh I see, yes, well that sounds about right”

“Oh?”

“They were at med school together, well not together, at the same place, same time sort of thing - she seems keen to try and reminisce and she’s far too intense about it – I know he’s not interested in her, he told me”

“Has he got a girlfriend do you know?” Dr Rae asked

“I have no idea”

“Will you be in tomorrow, Dr?”

“I hadn’t planned on it, so much for my relaxing lie-in, I can come in first thing, but I’m playing golf with the MD – I suppose you want me to phone him an give him the news………”

“If you wouldn’t mind, you know him better than me – well goodbye Quentin, and um, Happy Christmas!”

“Very funny Vernon, goodbye”

“What is it Quentin, who was that?”

“Oh, just some crisis at the hospital, I just have to go into work in the morning, that’s all”

“Oh Quentin – remember you’re playing golf”

“Haven’t forgotten sweetheart” Quentin went back into the lounge and joined his wife.





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