He looked flushed and his mouth was open, his breathing noisy.
‘My throat hurts, a lot lotlot,’he croaked.
‘Okay, let’s take a look, sweetheart.’ His temperature was sky-high and his tonsils were massive and covered in pus.
‘You must be feeling pretty rubbish, honey,’ she said softly. ‘Where’s Mummy today?’
The thin man piped up then. ‘His parents are in contract negotiations this afternoon. I’m Mr Saunders, his tutor.’
‘Right. Mr Saunders, I want you to go and get his parents for me now, please,’ Katie said firmly.
‘I will relay the outcome to them, Dr Kendrick. You may proceed,’ he returned.
‘No, you won’t. You’ll go and get his legal guardians for me now.’ She was not going to be messed about by this guy, and there was no way she wasn’t speaking to this kid’s primary caregivers.
‘Fine,’ he grumped, ‘but they wont like it.’
After he had trudged out, Katie went to the fridge, got a Lucozade and some Calpol for Davey, and gave him a dose of penicillin from her bag. Then she tucked him up in the bed. He looked ready to cry. After searching around for something to entertain him, she remembered her phone with her Kindle app.
‘Have you ever readThe Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Davey?’ He shook his head. ‘It was my favorite at your age; want me to read it to you?’ He nodded quickly and scooted over in the bed. Katie got in and started reading, and by the second chapter his temperature had come down and he was nearly asleep.
The door to the trailer opened and a deep voice rumbled, ‘How’s the kid doing?’ Sam filled the doorway and then ducked inside.
‘I can still speak, Sam,’ Davey croaked. Sam sat on the edge of the bed and ruffled Davey’s hair.
‘I know, kid, but I hope not as fast as you could before, huh? Maybe I’ll get some peace for a bit.’
Davey smirked. ‘Not likely! I’ll be up and about soon, and then you promised me you’d teach me to kick butt.’ He was really croaking now and looking tired, but obviously trying to tough it out in front of his hero. ‘Did you know that Sam was in the SAS and that they are the toughest, most badass guys in the whole world, and –’
‘Okay, maniac, I think Dr Katie here has heard enough of my credentials. Let’s say you rest a bit, get ready for some butt-kicking, yeah?’
‘Okay,’ Davey muttered sleepily, and snuggled down in the bed.
Just after Davey had drifted off, the door was flung open and a harassed-looking couple stepped into the trailer.
‘Hi, I’m Carole, Davey’s mum,’ the woman said to Katie, giving her a tight smile and barely even glancing in Davey’s direction. ‘The director really needs Davey this afternoon. It’s all set up; they’ll lose thousands if they have to delay. He’s okay, isn’t he?’ Her voice was starting to rise and Katie directed them out of the trailer so as not to wake Davey.
‘I’m sorry, your son is very ill with tonsillitis. He was dehydrated and his fever’s only just come down,’ Katie said firmly. ‘If he hadn’t responded to the Calpol and managed to drink some fluid I would consider admitting him; he looked pretty toxic when he arrived. He needs rest, fluids, antibiotics, ice cream, and lots of cuddles for the next few days.’
‘Shit,’ the dad clipped as Frank joined them.
‘Fixed him up, doc?’ Frank asked. ‘He’s ready for the scene now, yeah?’
‘No, sorry,’ Katie said carefully. ‘He’ll be too sick to do anything for the next few days.’ Everyone stared at Katie in shock and there was an uncomfortable silence. She could feel heat at her back, and realized that Sam had taken up position behind her.
‘Sorry, doc, but that’s impossible. We can’t delay this shoot.’ Frank was getting visibly agitated now.
‘I’m afraid a bad case of tonsillitis can be quite serious and he’s very unwell at the moment.’ Katie was starting to feel a little uneasy about the whole situation. The parents still hadn’t moved to look in on Davey in the trailer. They seemed more concerned with lost set time. Alarm bells were ringing for her.
‘Look,’ Mum said in a conciliatory tone. ‘We’ll let Davey sleep for twenty minutes, then I’m sure he’ll be okay to get on with filming.’
What? She hadn’t even looked at her son properly yet. Katie stared at her for a beat, making her decision.
‘I’ve changed my mind,’ she said slowly. ‘I’m afraid that I’m going to have to admit Davey today, I’ll go and arrange things now.’ She reached into her pocket for her phone.
‘Whoa! Wait just one minute, doc!’ Frank boomed, ‘You can’t do that, you just said he would be fine here.’
‘The situation has changed,’ Katie told him.
