Bachelor Cure by Marion Lennox Page B

half risen from the bed before she realised he was smiling and shaking his head.
    â€˜It’s OK, Tess. There’s no need to hit the panic button.’ He lifted the observation chart from the end of the bed and studied it while she regained her composure. ‘This looks great,’ he told her. ‘I wouldn’t have disturbed you but I wanted to talk to you before I started work for the day.’
    She blinked, rubbed her eyes and checked the clock. It was seven a.m.
    â€˜So…where’s your dog?’
    â€˜He’s fast asleep. Where you should be.’
    â€˜You’re here to do your ward rounds?’ she said cautiously, and he grinned. He lifted Henry’s wrist and nodded in satisfaction when Henry didn’t stir. Like Strop, Henry was soundly asleep. It looked like it’d take a bomb to wake him. He had fluids aboard, he had a comfortable bed and he had his granddaughter beside him. There was nothing he needed now but sleep.
    â€˜I’ve done my ward rounds.’ He smiled down at her and the feeling of weird intimacy grew stronger. It was almost as if he’d known her in another life. In fact, it was just plain crazy! ‘The patients in this hospital are used to early morning calls,’ he said, trying to keep his voice steady. ‘I left you until last.’
    â€˜Until last!’ She grimaced. ‘Gee, thanks, Dr Llewellyn. If this is a late call, remind me never to get sick in this hospital. I like my sleep.’
    â€˜I thought you’d be grateful.’ His lazy smile deepened. ‘You can now do what most of my patients do,’ he told her kindly. ‘Enjoy the dawn chorus, have breakfast and then go back to getting some beauty sleep. That means go back to bed. You shouldn’t be here, Tess. You know we’ll take care of Henry. He’s sound asleep. The saline’s working, he’s rehydrating nicely and the antibiotic should kick in within twelve hours. With the fluid on board, he’s getting better by the minute.’
    â€˜There’s no fluid output yet.’
    â€˜You wouldn’t expect that,’ he said, and he had his voice under control again. ‘I’m hoping we got to him before there’s any long-term kidney damage.’
    â€˜Even if there’s no kidney damage, it’s obvious he’s had a stroke,’ Tess said grimly. ‘And we don’t know how badly he’ll be affected.’
    â€˜No. We don’t know that, and he’s far too weak to do any testing yet. But there are some good signs, Tess. The fact that he’s still alive now is a very good sign.’
    â€˜Yeah, terrific.’
    â€˜I mean it,’ he said seriously. ‘You realise Henry must have had the stroke five days ago. It’s obvious he has a hemiplegia. At the moment, the left side of his body seems almost totally paralysed. He’s slurring his speech and he appears confused.
    â€˜But he’s survived for five days, Tess, and the only way he can have done that is if he’s had water. Also, there’s a pressure wound on his hip but it’s not a major one. It doesn’t look like he’s lain in the one position for five days. Therefore he must have been able to drag himself out of the cave and down to the creek and back again. If he’d been totally paralysed for five days, he’d be dead by now.’
    â€˜So what are you saying?’
    â€˜I’m saying that once he’s got his fluid balance back to normal—once he’s recovered from shock and exhaustion and we get on top of his chest infection—he may well make a full recovery from his stroke,’ he told her. ‘The fact that he was able to say your name last night was amazing, and even though he hasn’t spoken since the muscles must be still operating. That’s all I wanted to tell you, Dr Westcott. I’m sure you’ll figure it out for yourself, but it might take time and I