Australian Affairs: Tempted. Amy Andrews

be gone.

      ‘We got here first!’ Juan said as the ambulance doors opened and there was no sign of his parents. An exhausted Jason even managed a quick high five.

      Jason was a direct admission to ICU and a very pretty nurse looked up and turned purple before smiling when she saw Juan walking in. From the general reaction to his entrance, Cate knew he was just as popular here as he was at Bayside.

      ‘Juan!’ A huge bear of a man came over and shook Juan’s hand. ‘I thought you were in New Zealand by now.’

      ‘Soon! How are you, Paddy?’ Juan said, and proceeded to hand over the young patient as, just a little behind them, Jason’s parents arrived.

      ‘You beat us!’ Lisa kissed her son. She was looking a lot more relaxed in more familiar surroundings with staff that she was more used to. ‘How was the journey?’

      ‘It went really well.’ Cate smiled. ‘Juan will come and speak with you soon, he’s just handing everything over.’

      ‘He’s good, isn’t he?’ Lisa said to Cate, glancing over to where Juan was chatting with Paddy.

      ‘Very good,’ Cate said, as Juan made his way over to them.

      ‘Okay, the journey was without incident,’ Juan said to Lisa. ‘I’ve spoken with Paddy about all that has been done for Jason and you are safely in the right place.’

      ‘Thank you so much.’

      ‘No problem,’ Juan said. ‘I am just glad he is here without any more drama for you.’

      ‘Well, we won’t be going far again,’ Lisa said, but Juan shook his head.

      ‘Did you have a good week?’

      Lisa nodded.

      ‘Would he have got the asthma anyway?’

      Lisa was nearly in tears as she nodded again.

      ‘So he is here, where he would have been anyway, but also he has had a week at the beach, and that is a good thing.’

      He gave Lisa a cuddle, just a brief one, told her what an amazing mother she was, and Cate felt a sting of tears at the back of her eyes as Juan peeled another strip off her heart and nailed it to the Juan wall in her mind.

      Don’t go!

      She stood there and looked at him, hating that very soon there would be no more Juan. She didn’t even try to fathom her strong feelings towards a man she didn’t really know, because everyone was crazy about him, everyone wanted more Juan in their life.

      He shook Jason’s father’s hand and, oh, what the hell, Juan gave him a hug too and then went to say farewell to Jason. Cate was more confused than she had ever been, because she didn’t want, ten days from now, to have Juan gone from her life and to have done not a single thing about it.

      Then he spoiled it by going missing as they were about to head back to Bayside.

      ‘I’ll go and find him,’ Cate offered.

      She soon did!

      Talking to Nurse Purple Face and making her laugh.

      ‘You’re quiet,’ Juan said as they rode back in the back of the ambulance with Louise.

      ‘I’m just tired,’ Cate lied, not sure if she was jealous or just cross with herself. Or was it regret that she simply couldn’t push aside her usual rules, wave her knickers over her head and give in to him?

      ‘Well, that was worth the trip for me,’ Juan said, ‘I have my shifts for next week all sorted I am working Friday through to Saturday on ICU there.’

      Cate glanced up.

      He only did one or two shifts a week, she knew that, preferably one long one, and he’d just been given that.

      Today really could be the last time she saw him.

      Apart from tonight.

       CHAPTER SEVEN

      CATE WAS SO distracted she didn’t even hear Matthew talking on the radio until he called out to Cate and Juan. ‘We’ve got an eighty-six-year-old in an independent living facility, she’s waiting to be admitted for a chest infection but she’s developed chest pain. Are you guys okay with us accepting?’

      ‘Sure,’ Juan said. ‘So long as you go fast.’

      On went the lights and sirens and Cate felt a flurry in her stomach as the ambulance sped off.

      ‘You love this part, don’t you?’ Louise smiled.

      ‘I do.’

      ‘Are you still thinking about joining us?’

      Cate shook her head. ‘It’s not for me. Sometimes I do still think about it, though.’

      ‘You’ve thought of being a paramedic?’ Juan’s eyes widened in surprise.

      ‘Cate came on a ride along with us,’ Louise told him. ‘About six months ago, wasn’t it, Cate? I said to try a Saturday night in the city before she made up her mind.’

      Cate could feel Juan’s eyes on her.

      ‘You didn’t like it?’ he asked.

      ‘I loved it,’ Cate said. ‘It was an amazing experience but…’ She gave a small shake of her head. ‘It made me appreciate even more all the back-up that we have in Emergency, and I decided that it just wasn’t for me.’

      They were pulling into the independent living facility—the gate had been opened for them and a staff member directed them to the small unit where the patient was. Matthew and Louise took all the necessary equipment and then the four of them walked into a small house that was crammed full of furniture—huge old bookshelves and old-fashioned sofas—that looked a little out of place in the more modern surroundings.

      ‘Her name’s Elsie Delaney,’ the on-call nurse explained. ‘We had the doctor in to see Elsie last night for her cough and she was started on antibiotics for a chest infection. When I went to check on her this morning, she didn’t look well and finally admitted she had chest pain. She’s very independent and didn’t want me to call you, of course.’

      ‘Hi, Elsie!’ Matthew walked in first and greeted the patient.

      ‘What are all of you doing here?’ came an irritated voice as the room started to fill up.

      ‘You’re getting the works today, Elsie,’ Louise said. ‘We had a doctor and nurse already with us, so that’s why there are so many of us.’

      The bedroom was as full of furniture as the rest of the house and, with Juan walking in front of Cate and his shoulders taking up most of the doorframe, it took a moment before Cate glimpsed Elsie.

      She was tiny, sitting up in bed, her straggly white hair held back with a large, jewelled hair clip. She had a pink shawl around her shoulders and was wearing an elaborate necklace, and on her gnarled fingers were several rings.

      She looked absolutely gorgeous, but she was wary and disgruntled and complained as Louise and Matthew did obs and attached her to a monitor while Juan slipped in an IV.

      ‘I’m feeling much better,’ she kept protesting.

      Really, they weren’t needed at all. Cate and Juan were completely supernumerary as Louise and Matthew had it all under control. They soon had a heart tracing and were giving Elsie some medication for pain and, despite having said she had little pain, as it took effect she lay back on the pillow. Elsie finally agreed that, yes, they could take her to hospital.

      ‘Are there any family for us to inform?’

      ‘She has a daughter, Maria, who lives nearby,’ the nurse said,