Emergency Response by Nicki Edwards

could almost see her reflection in them. The place was spotless and smelled of cleaning products. Mackenzie sniffed again. Yep, someone had been very heavy-handed with the eucalyptus oil that morning. It was also deathly quiet and completely empty. She frowned in confusion. The nursing agency had told her it was a busy emergency department and she would be one of only a handful of nurses who worked there. Instead, the place was completely unoccupied.
    The door had opened into a large room and Mackenzie spied two narrow beds, side by side with a pale blue curtain between them – standard hospital issue. One side of the room appeared to have been set up as a resuscitation bay with a small ventilator and other equipment. Mackenzie took note of the well-equipped cubicles and fully stocked boxes of supplies at the head of each bed. Everything was neat, tidy and meticulously organized. She could have been in an emergency department anywhere in Australia. Two large fridges stood to the side – she assumed for immunizations and medications. Somewhere overhead air conditioners worked overtime and Mackenzie rubbed her bare arms. At least she’d be happy to be at work on hot days if they kept the place this cool.
    They passed another large room, which was set up as a four-bed ward. All the overhead lights were off, but four perfectly made beds stood in the quiet room, as though desperate for patients. The patterned bedspreads were pulled tight with immaculate hospital corners. Probably some old-school nurse took pride in keeping everything shipshape and tidy.
    The woman pointed out the pan room, the bathroom and the small, almost empty storage room. In the dimness, Mackenzie spotted plenty of equipment and she was pleased to see things didn’t look as outdated as she had been expecting. The IV trolley looked ancient though, and someone had haphazardly screwed a sharps container onto the side of it. How had it passed accreditation?
    Eventually they exited through an external door and Mackenzie shielded her eyes against the late afternoon sunshine. The door slammed behind her, making her jump in surprise. When her eyes adjusted to the light, she saw a scruffy-looking man sitting outside in the sun with his feet up on a table. He was lazily dragging on a hand-rolled cigarette. Thick black hair slicked across to one side, dark eyes and a bushy beard made him look like Ned Kelly. She could barely make out his mouth but she was sure she’d caught sight of piercings on his lip. He wore faded navy blue scrubs and dirty rubber Crocs on his feet. Dark tattoo sleeves covered both arms, finishing in neat lines around his wrists.
    “G’day Doc, this is Mackenzie Jones. The new nurse.”
    Mackenzie stifled the shocked sound that threatened to escape from her mouth. He was the doctor ? Her blood pulsed loudly in her ears.
    The man stared lazily at Mackenzie before stubbing out his cigarette in an empty coffee tin and blowing a cloud of smoke in her direction. She fought back the urge to cough.
    “Thought we were supposed to be getting another bloke.” He ignored Mackenzie, addressing his comment to the other woman. The English accent surprised her, but not the sentiment behind the words. It wasn’t the first time her name had caused someone to think she was a man. Obviously that’s what had happened here.
    “Clearly someone stuffed up,” the woman replied.
    The man swung his legs off the table and stood. He must have been at least six foot six as he towered over Mackenzie’s five-foot-one frame. She took an involuntary step backward. It felt as though she was standing beneath a giant tree straining her neck to look up at his face. When she saw the glowering expression there, she quickly averted her gaze.
    “Wouldn’t be the first time someone has made a mistake out here, eh, Debbie.” He turned to face her and she looked back up at him. “I’m Doc,” he said. “You’re my replacement.”
    “What?” Mackenzie blurted out. “Your