With extremely bad timing Lou and her team (which consisted of Dylan, an F1 and their consultant) had just turned down into the corridor we were standing in. It was obvious from Lou’s face that she’d heard Tom, and she was looking explosive as she bore down on us.
Spinning around, she came to stand between Tom and I, both hands on her hips (in Lou’s case usually an extremely bad sign). However, to my surprise Dylan gently but firmly drew her away and then went to stand in front of Tom himself. I could feel the waves of fury rolling off him, and the atmosphere in the corridor was suddenly thick with tension.
‘What the hell are you on about, Longley?’ he bit out.
Tom looked shocked by the appearance of a hostile Dylan. I was pretty shocked too; Dylan was generally a mellow guy.
‘Dylan this is none of your –’ Tom started, but was cut off.
‘The fuck you say?’ Dylan said dangerously. ‘Didn’t I just hear you tell Frankie she had no palliative care experience?’
‘Yes, well –’
‘In fact,’ Dylan continued, his voice getting louder, ‘didn’t you practically yell that at her?’
‘Look –’
‘What I want to know,’ Dylan was leaning into him now, his Welsh accent growing thicker in his anger, ‘is what you call eighteen months working in a hospice, not to mention a wholeyearnursing her mum.’
Tom’s eyes shot to me, ‘Your mum?’ he asked in a horrified whisper. Dylan didn’t seem to register Tom’s change in expression or that his face had lost all its colour. I closed my eyes and gave a small shake of my head, the familiar ache in my chest that I experienced when I was reminded of Mamma intense.
‘There’s only so many excuses I can make for you treating Frankie like crap,’ Dylan spat out. ‘From now on you leave herthe fuckalone or you deal with me.’
Lou and her team were all standing on the other side of the corridor watching the unfolding drama with wide eyes. I distractedly thought that Lou’s consultant was fairly easy on the eye, if a little old for her. I could see why she might be tempted to flirt with him. I snapped out of my trance when I noticed yet another team approaching; this time it was Dr Williams with Rosie and his registrar.
‘Tom,’ Dr Williams said amiably, oblivious to the tense atmosphere. ‘Glad I caught you. Seems there’s been a bit of an admin error with the trainee allocation.’ He laughed as all eyes swung to him. ‘It’s funny really. You’ve been trying furiously to train poor Frankie and I’ve been leaving Rosie to all the boring ward work.’ Rosie was looking stonily up at him; I didn’t think that she saw the funny side at all. ‘I think we may as well swap back straightaway, old man. You know I don’t have time to run the department and devote enough attention to a trainee. That’s why I wanted an experienced trust grade to handle the ward efficiently for me. It seems that the secretaries made a mistake and mixed up Frankie and Rosie’s CVs.’
Tom was looking like he was going to throw up. Dylan didn’t seem to know whether to still be angry or not.
‘You okay?’ Dylan asked me quietly, giving Tom a filthy look and turning away from him. I nodded dumbly. ‘Come find us if you need us,’ he ordered, and I smiled. With that he swept away dragging Lou in his wake and leaving the team to follow. Lou seemed as if she wanted to stay and see how everything unfolded, but it looked like Dylan’s grip was pretty firm.
‘So,’ Dr Williams said brightly. ‘Frankie, why don’t you come with me and I’ll go through the list with you. Tom, Rosie can join you in clinic.’
‘That’s fine, Dr Williams; just let me finish with this last patient if you wouldn’t mind. I’ll catch you up on CCU,’ I told him.
‘Great,’ he said vaguely, his mind already having moved to more important things as he walked away. Rosie stayed with us and we formed an awkward quartet in the middle of the corridor.
‘Tom,’ I called softly. ‘I’m sorry about Dylan –’
‘Don’t you dare apologize,’ Tom interrupted, his voice sounding pained. ‘I can’t believe this. I don’t know what to say, Frankie. I honestly –’
‘Let’s not go over it now,’ I interrupted. ‘Bill’s waiting.’
‘Right, of course,’ Tom muttered, still looking a bit pale.
‘Listen, Iamsorry about Dylan. He shouldn’t have said that. It’s just a mix-up. Please don’t feel bad, okay?’
‘Okay,’ Tom responded, not able to meetmyeyes for a change. I sighed and opened the door into Bill’s room. I went directly to his side and placed my hand over his. He smiled up at me and I nodded.
‘I’ve talked to Dr Longley about what you want now, Bill,’ I told him. Relief washed through his features.
‘Thanks, doc,’ he said, and turned to Tom. ‘Sorry, son … I know you were … all fired up for that … pacemaker thingy but … I just … don’t think … I want … to be … messed around with … anymore.’
Tom looked supremely uncomfortable. ‘I’m the one that’s sorry, Bill.’ He shook his head. ‘I should have listened. I can be a bit of a bull in a china shop sometimes.’ Bill gave him a weak smile but was looking really tired now.
‘Could you … talk to Laura?’ he asked.
‘Of course, Bill. Anything you want. I know Frankie discussed all the options with you. Are you happy with the plan you made with her?’ Bill nodded. ‘It’ll involve stopping some medication and giving you something to make your breathing feel easier.’
