him, Nick. I know that you two have had problems in the past, but surely it’s time you put all that behind you. Jack needs your help now more than ever.’
‘He brought Freddie into the surgery on Saturday,’ Nick said wistfully.
‘To see you?’ Kate said hopefully.
‘No. The poor little mite had been running a temperature and was feeling very out of sorts. Jack brought him in to be checked over. He had no idea I’d be there. In fact, I got the distinct impression that he wished one of the others had been on duty.’
‘But at least he asked you to see Freddie,’ Kate pointed out. ‘That has to be a step in the right direction.’
‘Maybe.’
Kate laid her hand on his arm. ‘I hate to see you tearing yourself apart like this, Nick. It isn’t right.’
‘It isn’t what I want, believe me.’ He put his hand over Kate’s. ‘I want to be friends with my children, not feel that I’m their worst enemy.’
‘Then do something about it!’ Kate removed her hand and stepped back. ‘All right, so it won’t be easy, and it won’t happen over night either, but if it’s what you really want then you will find a way, Nick. Right, that’s the end of my pep-talk. I’d better get on and do my shopping.’
She gave him a quick smile, then headed along the road. Nick watched until she disappeared from view, then turned and stared out to sea. Could he and Jack resolve their differences? He wanted to believe they could, but he couldn’t do it on his own—Jack would have to meet him halfway. And he wasn’t sure if his son was willing to make the effort.
CHAPTER FIVE
‘R IGHT , Becca, I want to check how those cuts I stitched on Saturday are doing. If you can swing your feet over the side of the bed so that you’re facing me…that’s great.’
Jack smiled at the teenager as he pulled up a chair. It was Monday afternoon and he had just finished a ward round. Alex had been called away to see a patient and Jack had been left in charge of the team. He had deliberately omitted Becca from the round because he understood how traumatic she would find it to have so many people gathered around her. Now he grinned conspiratorially at her.
‘The rest of the guys wanted to meet you, but I decided to keep you to myself for a while longer. Is that OK?’
‘Yes.’ The girl gave him a wobbly smile. ‘I was dreading having everyone staring at me.’
‘No way is that going to happen, sweet heart,’ Jack said firmly.
He leant forward and carefully examined her face, using a magnifying lens so that he could see the more severely injured areas better. The cut on her forehead was healing well, although it might not appear so to the untutored eye. However, Jack had spent the last five years of his life—two as a senior house officer, doing his basic surgical training, followed by three of the allotted six years needed to gain his certificate of completion of training—looking atinjuries such as this, and it didn’t faze him. The skin wasn’t inflamed, there was no puckering, and no sign of necrosis in the surrounding tissue either. He was confident that it would leave only the smallest of scars in time, and told Becca that.
‘Are you sure? You’re not just saying that because it’s what you think I want to hear?’
‘It doesn’t work like that, Becca. I shall always tell you the truth, so if I say there won’t be much scarring, it’s because I know that for a fact.’
‘Oh. I see.’ Becca gulped. ‘What about the rest of the cuts? Will they leave a lot of scars?’
‘They’re healing well. This one here on the edge of your jaw might leave a bit more of a scar, but even that shouldn’t be too bad.’ Jack smiled at her. ‘It takes time for the scar tissue to settle down and fade, but I’m confident that your face will look fine eventually. And any areas you aren’t happy with can be covered up with make-up—you’ll be shown how to do that after your treatment has finished.’
‘What about the
‘He brought Freddie into the surgery on Saturday,’ Nick said wistfully.
‘To see you?’ Kate said hopefully.
‘No. The poor little mite had been running a temperature and was feeling very out of sorts. Jack brought him in to be checked over. He had no idea I’d be there. In fact, I got the distinct impression that he wished one of the others had been on duty.’
‘But at least he asked you to see Freddie,’ Kate pointed out. ‘That has to be a step in the right direction.’
‘Maybe.’
Kate laid her hand on his arm. ‘I hate to see you tearing yourself apart like this, Nick. It isn’t right.’
‘It isn’t what I want, believe me.’ He put his hand over Kate’s. ‘I want to be friends with my children, not feel that I’m their worst enemy.’
‘Then do something about it!’ Kate removed her hand and stepped back. ‘All right, so it won’t be easy, and it won’t happen over night either, but if it’s what you really want then you will find a way, Nick. Right, that’s the end of my pep-talk. I’d better get on and do my shopping.’
She gave him a quick smile, then headed along the road. Nick watched until she disappeared from view, then turned and stared out to sea. Could he and Jack resolve their differences? He wanted to believe they could, but he couldn’t do it on his own—Jack would have to meet him halfway. And he wasn’t sure if his son was willing to make the effort.
CHAPTER FIVE
‘R IGHT , Becca, I want to check how those cuts I stitched on Saturday are doing. If you can swing your feet over the side of the bed so that you’re facing me…that’s great.’
Jack smiled at the teenager as he pulled up a chair. It was Monday afternoon and he had just finished a ward round. Alex had been called away to see a patient and Jack had been left in charge of the team. He had deliberately omitted Becca from the round because he understood how traumatic she would find it to have so many people gathered around her. Now he grinned conspiratorially at her.
‘The rest of the guys wanted to meet you, but I decided to keep you to myself for a while longer. Is that OK?’
‘Yes.’ The girl gave him a wobbly smile. ‘I was dreading having everyone staring at me.’
‘No way is that going to happen, sweet heart,’ Jack said firmly.
He leant forward and carefully examined her face, using a magnifying lens so that he could see the more severely injured areas better. The cut on her forehead was healing well, although it might not appear so to the untutored eye. However, Jack had spent the last five years of his life—two as a senior house officer, doing his basic surgical training, followed by three of the allotted six years needed to gain his certificate of completion of training—looking atinjuries such as this, and it didn’t faze him. The skin wasn’t inflamed, there was no puckering, and no sign of necrosis in the surrounding tissue either. He was confident that it would leave only the smallest of scars in time, and told Becca that.
‘Are you sure? You’re not just saying that because it’s what you think I want to hear?’
‘It doesn’t work like that, Becca. I shall always tell you the truth, so if I say there won’t be much scarring, it’s because I know that for a fact.’
‘Oh. I see.’ Becca gulped. ‘What about the rest of the cuts? Will they leave a lot of scars?’
‘They’re healing well. This one here on the edge of your jaw might leave a bit more of a scar, but even that shouldn’t be too bad.’ Jack smiled at her. ‘It takes time for the scar tissue to settle down and fade, but I’m confident that your face will look fine eventually. And any areas you aren’t happy with can be covered up with make-up—you’ll be shown how to do that after your treatment has finished.’
‘What about the
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