Paddington Children's Hospital Complete Collection. Kate Hardy

William was a picture of contentment now, pink and warm in his mother’s arms, but Victoria’s eyes never left him except to glance up and see how far away they still were.

      Paddington’s came into view, and when there was a very sick child in your care, it was such a sight to see.

      That was why so many were fighting to save it.

      There were many who knew from painful experience the value of this wonderful establishment.

      Little William’s arrival was seamlessly dealt with, though the department was clearly very busy.

      Victoria knew that even before she stepped inside because there were several ambulances in the foyer when they arrived.

      It did not affect the care that William received.

      Even though he was pink and crying, Victoria swiftly conveyed that this was rather more urgent than it appeared, more with her eyes than anything else, and the triage was rapid.

      They were taken through to the resuscitation area and that was busy too. There must have been a vehicular incident just brought in because most of the bays were full and there was a sense of urgency all around. It was then that she saw him.

      Dominic.

      He was standing talking to Alistair North, a paediatric neurosurgeon, but he glanced over as Victoria came in.

      And then she watched as he looked down to the stretcher and she saw his forehead furrow and his jaw tense at the sight of Lorna holding her small baby.

      ‘Dominic!’ Jamie’s voice was raw as he called out to his brother. ‘He’s not at all well.’

      And she was right about him—Dominic wasn’t one to panic.

      He said something to Alistair and then he came straight over.

      ‘William MacBride,’ Glen said. ‘He became unresponsive while his mother was feeding him...’ He relayed some more details as Victoria lifted the baby from his mother’s arms and placed William in an examination cot.

      ‘I was going to call you today,’ Jamie said to his older brother, ‘and ask you to take a look at him.’

      ‘You’re in the right place now.’ Dominic nodded. He called for assistance, but when there was none forthcoming, he knew that these next few moments were down to him and took command. ‘What’s been happening?’

      ‘He’s been struggling to feed and put on weight. The doctor didn’t seem too concerned and the nurse said that Lorna, well...’

      ‘She thinks that I’m overly anxious.’ Lorna spoke for herself.

      ‘How was the pregnancy?’ Dominic asked.

      ‘It went well.’ Lorna just sat on the stretcher, helpless and wringing her hands as her son was transferred from the ambulance’s monitor to the hospital’s. ‘It’s just been these past two weeks. We’ve been getting nowhere. Finally, I got an appointment to see a paediatrician, but it’s not for a couple more weeks. In the end Jamie suggested that we bring him down to be seen by you.’

      Dominic nodded but did not comment on that—he was too busy taking care of the infant and, despite the pressure he must surely be under, he did not miss a beat. He was feeling the little boy’s scalp and checking his fontanelle, which Victoria knew from her own examination was sunken, a sign that he was dehydrated, and Dominic asked for more information.

      ‘So what happened today?’ Dominic asked as Victoria helped Lorna from the stretcher.

      ‘We were at the hotel.’

      ‘How long have you been there?’

      ‘We got there around midnight. The journey down was fine and he had a really good night. I was starting to think we were making a fuss to have come all this way. I was feeding him and saying the very same to Jamie when he started to make all these choking noises and he went floppy.’ She started to cry and Dominic nodded when Karen suggested that she find someone to take the parents to get a detailed history.

      Victoria had helped Lorna from the stretcher and the anxious couple were gently led away, but at the last moment Jamie turned and came back.

      ‘Dominic, he looks fine now, but—’

      ‘I get that he’s unwell,’ Dominic said. ‘Jamie...’ His voice was firm. ‘You need to hold it together right now. You need to keep your head.’

      ‘I know but—’

      ‘Come on,’ Karen said, and he was again led away.

      Victoria guessed that it wasn’t the first time Dominic had had to tell his brother that.

      The baby was listless again—even crying seemed to exhaust him—and while he lay quietly, Dominic had a very long listen to his heart.

      And still she stood there.

      Glen made up the stretcher and replaced the used equipment, and still she watched as Dominic took blood. Victoria stood outside as a portable chest X-ray was taken.

      But then, instead of heading for the ambulance, she went back in.

      ‘Can we get the on-call cardiologist down here,’ Dominic instructed.

      ‘Victoria,’ Glen called out to her. ‘We’ve got another job to go to.’

      She knew that they had to leave.

      They were extremely busy, but Victoria found herself wanting to linger and to know more.

      She admired how calm Dominic was. Oh, she knew it was his job to be, but no one could even guess what he was going through right now.

      There was a sense of agency to him that Victoria liked.

      And then he looked up and caught her eyes and she gave a thin smile, one of support, one that said she knew how hard this was.

      And he gave back a grim smile of thanks.

      ‘We’d better go,’ Glen said.

      Only she didn’t want to go.

      For the first time she wanted to linger—unfortunately, there was no choice but to leave.

      It was a long day.

      An incredibly long one, and there wasn’t a patient aged under sixty in sight, which meant that they didn’t get back to Paddington’s once.

      Oh, how badly Victoria wanted to go to the hospital to find out how William was, but instead they were in and out of Riverside and nursing homes. And in a quick coffee break, where Glen rang Hayley, Victoria thought not just about little William and how he was, and not just about Dominic and how he was coping.

      But about Lorna.

      Victoria had had neither the time nor the inclination to think about it when they had been dealing with the baby, but now, pausing for the first time since it had happened, she reflected on the woman that Dominic had once loved.

      Perhaps he still did.

      In her head Victoria had painted Lorna as some sort of vixen; in fact, she was softly spoken and pretty.

      Dominic and Jamie were very similar in appearance.

      Jamie, though, was expressive, not just with his emotions but with the information he shared. Oh, she knew the circumstances had been dire today and that people’s reactions were often extreme when under pressure, but she just could not imagine Dominic opening up in front of someone else the way that Jamie had.

      By Dominic’s own admission, even when he had found out the baby wasn’t his, he had stayed quiet as a doctor was present.

      They were similar, yet different.

      And it was the more stoic MacBride brother that Victoria very possibly loved.

      It was a scary thought and one she did not want to pursue, but at the end of a very