The Firefighter's Baby. Alison Roberts

I’ll radio through in a minute.’ Laura turned back to her patient. ‘How’s the pain score out of ten now, Courtney?’

      ‘About four, I guess.’

      ‘That’s a lot better but I’ll give you a little bit more morphine. I’d like to get it down to at least two if I can.’

      Caring for a multi-trauma patient en route gave little time to attend to paperwork so Laura completed the task using a spare patch of counter in the trauma room as the emergency department staff assessed the new arrival. By the time she was finished, X-rays had been completed and Courtney was being readied for Theatre where the orthopaedic surgeon would need to deal with the open lower leg fracture and the dislocation-fracture of her right elbow. Laura paused on her way out with the completed paperwork.

      ‘All the best, Courtney. You’re in good hands. You’ve got one of the best orthopaedic surgeons in town coming in to fix you up.’

      ‘I just want to get it over with,’ Courtney groaned. ‘But thanks…for everything.’

      ‘You’re very welcome.’

      ‘And can you thank that fireman for me? What was his name?’

      ‘Jase. Jason Halliday.’

      ‘Yeah, that’s him. He was fantastic.’

      ‘I’ll tell him.’ Laura had to suppress a wistful smile. It wasn’t something she could tell Jason herself, no matter how much she might agree with the sentiment.

      ‘How old is Jason?’

      Perhaps Laura would also need to tell him that his techniques of distracting a patient had long-lasting effects. Courtney didn’t look as though she was thinking about her injuries or impending surgery at all right now.

      ‘Ancient.’ Laura smiled. ‘Pushing forty.’

      ‘Oh…he didn’t seem that old.’

      Laura wasn’t really lying. Anything over thirty was on the way to forty, wasn’t it? And thirty-two was still far too old for a nineteen-year-old.

      ‘He’s really nice, isn’t he?’

      ‘Mmm. I’d better go now, Courtney. Looks like they’re nearly ready to move you.’

      Tim appeared in the trauma room doorway. ‘We’re all cleaned up and ready to go,’ he told Laura. ‘And I can almost smell Mrs M.’s bacon and eggs. You ready?’

      Laura was more than ready to head back and finish her shift but her most recent patient wasn’t quite ready to let her go.

      ‘I couldn’t really see what he looked like with that uniform and everything. Is he cute?’

      ‘Cute’ wasn’t the word Laura would have chosen. Jason Halliday could be used as a pin-up model for the fire service any day. Six feet two inches with a build to match his height. Sun-streaked, curly hair, dark blue eyes and a killer smile. There was only one word to describe Jason and that was…perfect.

      ‘Imagine your typical surfer and add ten years and a pot belly.’

      ‘Oh…He said he wasn’t married, though, didn’t he? Has he got a girlfriend?’

      ‘’Fraid so.’ Laura’s smile was not without sympathy but she escaped without offering any consolation in the face of Courtney’s obvious disappointment. She could have said that Maxine was only a newbie and might not last long but what was the point? She knew only too well the strength of attraction Jason Halliday could inspire and this teenager had as much hope of sparking a reciprocal interest as she herself had.

      Well, maybe that was wishful thinking. Courtney was slim, probably several inches taller than Laura’s five feet two inches and her hair was an attractive russet rather than dead mouse, but even so she didn’t measure up to Jason’s usual standards in female companions. Better to be briefly disappointed now than to carry a torch and find the flame not only refused to get extinguished but simply burned a little brighter with every passing week.

      ‘Jase is going to kill you when he hears about that “pot belly” remark,’ Tim informed her a few minutes later.

      ‘Only if you tell him,’ Laura countered. She indicated a right turn and slowed the ambulance as she reached the main route back to their station. ‘And if you do, I’ll tell Mrs Mack who walked over her clean lino with those muddy boots last week.’

      ‘You wouldn’t!’ Tim’s expression feigned fear. Then he grinned. ‘OK, my lips are sealed.’ He tipped his head back and closed his eyes wearily. ‘Can’t say I blame you for trying to put her off. We get quite enough women turning up asking for our Jase as it is.’ His tone became thoughtful. ‘I wonder what it’s like to be so compellingly attractive to the opposite sex?’

      ‘Boring,’ Laura said firmly. ‘You can have too much of a good thing, you know.’

      ‘No.’ Tim sounded almost wistful now. ‘I wouldn’t know.’

      Laura snorted softly. ‘Join the club, Tim. I think I’m the founding member.’

      ‘Oh, come on. I don’t believe that for a minute.’ Tim’s quiet voice was suddenly serious. ‘You’re great, Laura. Best partner I’ve ever had. You’re a brilliant paramedic, you’ve got a terrific sense of humour and…and your smile’s lovely.’

      ‘Thanks.’ Laura’s wry tone acknowledged the hesitation before Tim had found something physical to praise. ‘I’m also short, fat and I wear glasses.’

      ‘So?’

      ‘So men don’t make passes at girls who wear glasses.’

      Tim’s snort was much more definite than Laura’s had been. He grinned again. ‘So take them off when you want someone to make a pass at you.’

      Laura laughed. If only it was that easy. Even the wry amusement lifted her spirits, however. ‘Has anyone ever told you that you’re a nice person, Tim?’

      ‘Nah. The last woman that dumped me had a considerable command of adjectives that let me know precisely how boring I am.’

      ‘You’re not boring, Tim.’ Laura pulled the ambulance to a halt and then started backing into the garage. ‘You’re dependable. Safe.’

      ‘Ha! Safe is pretty close to boring if you ask me. Women want excitement, not safety.’

      ‘There’s a woman out there who’s going to find safe pretty exciting.’ Laura smiled at Tim. ‘Hey, you’re the best partner I’ve ever had. I love working with you.’ It was just such a shame it hadn’t been Tim she’d fallen in love with, but life was never that neat, was it?

      ‘We do have fun, don’t we?’

      ‘Sure do. I can’t believe I’ve been here for six months already. Seems like only last week I was wondering what it would be like to be stationed with a fire crew instead of just ambulance.’ Laura climbed out of the driver’s seat and walked around to join Tim at the back of the vehicle. ‘I still haven’t got over how funny they are, though.’

      ‘What?’

      ‘The boots.’ Laura pointed to where the crew’s heavy footwear was lined up, the tops of the boots protruding through the rolled-down legs of protective over-trousers. ‘It looks for all the world like a crew was standing around the truck and they all got vaporised by some alien force or something.’

      ‘Makes for a quick getaway.’

      ‘I know.’ Laura had seen Jason and his colleagues respond to a call. Feet slid into boots, over-trousers were yanked up and secured by elastic braces, and matching, heavy, mustard-yellow jackets with reflecting stripes were grabbed from the locker room along with helmets. The items of protective outer clothing were always left in precisely the same position on returning to the station, which left the officers wearing their uniforms of black trousers and navy