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Sometimes she would look up quickly to find him watching her with a sombre, unreadable expression, and she would feel a slow heat of confusion coming over her, together with a mental replay of all the scenes preceding the birth of her child which he had' shared and which were so vividly etched on her mind.

At the same time, she didn't particularly want to admit her growing attraction to him as a man. The hectic nature of their job made that avoidance relatively easy while she was at work. At home it was a different story, as she found her thoughts turning to him more frequently than to Richard Decker. Somehow Emma Kate seemed to belong more to Marcus than to Richard—and that feeling became stronger as time went by.

Friday dawned warm, unusually so for April, and very windy. By mid-morning they had seen and dealt with a steady flow of patients. At eleven o'clock Sadie Drummond came into the plaster room where Lisa was helping an orthopaedic resident put a plaster of Paris on a fractured leg.

'Miss Stanton,' she said, 'we have five men coming in who fell off a collapsed scaffolding at a building site.

They'll be here in about ten to fifteen minutes. We don't know yet what their injuries are.'

'We're just finishing here,' Lisa said.

'Right! Leave the cleaning up till later.'

The first ambulances, two of them, arrived twelve minutes later. One after the other four stretchers came crashing through the central double doors, accompanied by paramedics. All patients had IV lines running. Two triage nurses were there to meet them. Lisa, who had just handed over her patient with the fractured leg to a more junior nurse, surveyed the front lobby hastily, before going to her new assignment.

'Crushing injury to the chest, head injury, fractured pelvis, probable internal abdominal injuries, fractured right femur, dislocated right shoulder, multiple lacerations to face and hands,' a paramedic stated as he kept moving.

With a quick, assessing glance at the patient the nurse waved them on. 'The last room down there, room three,' she said. •

'That's your patient, Miss Stanton,' Sadie Drummond called after Lisa as she hurried to be in the appropriate room before the injured man. 'Stay with Dr Blair. Elsa Graham is the senior nurse there—you'll work with her.' One stretcher followed another in quick succession.

'Help me open these sterile packs,' Elsa Graham said calmly when Lisa joined her in the resuscitation room. 'Although everything might seem chaotic to the casual observer, it's all highly organized here. Nothing's left to chance. We have to be really on the ball. Each member of the trauma resuscitation team has a specific job to do, a routine to follow, as you'll see in a few seconds.'

Within those seconds the two of them had the sterile packs open.

'These trays contain absolutely everything we could possibly need for now,' Elsa said, deftly and efficiently arranging instruments. 'We resuscitate the patient, then he goes directly to the main operating room. Assuming he doesn't die on us, that is. Bring that bronchoscope set-up over here, Lisa. We have that ready in case the guys have trouble intubating patients, or if there's blood in the lungs.'

As she spoke the other members of the team surged into the room, as though in one body, together with the stretcher holding the groaning patient. Observing him quickly, Lisa could see that his colour wasn't good and that he was gasping painfully for breath as they transferred him to an operating table under powerful lights. Everyone was very calm—there were no heroics.

'Here's the tracheostomy tray,' Elsa Graham said tersely to Lisa, 'in case we have to do a trach on one of them.' If a patient had to be on a respirator for any length of time, or if he needed to be suctioned out so that he could breathe, he would need an opening cut into his throat later.

Elsa and Lisa each put on a long plastic apron and a green surgical gown.

Marcus Blair, as the trauma surgeon and head of the department, was the team leader. There were three highly skilled registered nurses, as well as others, standing by, of whom Lisa and Diane were two. Then there were three other doctors, whom she quickly identified—the residents in anaesthesia, general surgery and orthopaedics. As Elsa had said, each person on the team had a preassigned job, a routine.

Lisa watched with fascination, her adrenalin running high, as this formidable team went to work on their first patient in resuscitation room three. The patient was beyond answering questions, his face grey from loss of blood and his breathing laboured, so the surgical resident questioned the paramedics about his injuries as he prepared to insert a urinary catheter while the anaesthesia resident moved to intubate the patient.

One of the nurses began to insert two more IV lines and the other two nurses began taking equipment from the packs in order to commence procedures. Sadie Drummond began to cut off the patient's clothing.

'Elsa,' Marcus said, 'I'll need bilateral chest tubes, by the look of it, then Dr Logan will start the mini-laparotomy to determine abdominal bleeding. We'll do them simultaneously. He probably has a ruptured spleen and liver. Get the runner to take the blood samples to the lab.'

'Right.'

'Miss Stanton,' Sadie Drummond commanded, 'put on a pair of sterile gloves and help Dr Blair put in those chest tubes. You'll need the underwater seal for those tubes once they're in—they're right here, with the chest pump and the respirator.'

Immediately Lisa began to sort through her tray of sterile instruments.

'The first priority,' Marcus said to Lisa, pulling on a pair of rubber gloves as a nurse tied up his surgical gown at the back, 'is to ensure that the patient can breathe— that he has a supply of oxygen. Thus, we intubate him immediately so that we can help him to breathe by mechanical means if necessary. The paramedics have been giving him oxygen.'

'He's intubated,' the anaesthesia resident confirmed, connecting up his endotracheal tube to the oxygen supply with expert ease.

'If there's blood in the chest cavity, or in the lungs themselves,' Marcus continued, 'we have to get that out very quickly, as you know.'

'I'm ready, Dr Blair,' she said, passing him a sponge-holder loaded with a sponge and a small bowl of iodine solution.

With swift, deft strokes he began to swab the patient's bare chest with the solution. 'The anaesthesia resident takes care of the inside of the lungs while I deal with the chest cavity,' he said. 'Have the scalpel ready. I'll use a trocar first to let out some of the air from the cavity. .. Looks as though he's got several fractured ribs on both sides, probably perforating the lungs.. .so he's got partial collapse of both lungs.'

'Right!' Lisa felt her face growing warm behind the confining surgical mask. In one hand she had a sterile drape ready, then she would pass the scalpel.

'I'm sure I don't need to tell you that we have to let out the accumulated air from the chest cavity so that the lungs can re-inflate,' Marcus said.

As he spoke he worked expertly, first inserting a metal trocar through the chest wall. There was a rush of air out of it. 'I'm going to put the tube though the ninth intercostal space.. .like so. Watch that trocar, Lisa. Block it off as he breathes in. Stand by with the suction. Pass me a tube— quickly. I'll need that silk suture on a straight cutting needle to sew the chest tube in place. Then I'll repeat the procedure on the other side. Keep an eye on Dr Logan— give him a hand if he needs it.' Dr Logan was working next to her, making cuts through the abdominal wall to determine internal bleeding.

In minutes Marcus had both chest tubes in place. Lisa stood ready with clamps so that when the patient breathed in he did not suck in more air through the tubes, which would again collapse his lungs.

'Got those underwater seals?' Marcus said. 'And the connecting tubing?'

'Yes. ..' Quickly Lisa connected the tubes to other plastic tubes leading to bottles containing water at a certain level so that air could be pushed out of the chest cavity but could not be sucked back in as the patient inhaled.

She watched as water moved up and down the tubes as he inhaled and exhaled. 'So far so good,' she murmured.

'He may need a tracheostomy later,' Marcus added. 'That may be done in the operating room.'

The room seemed like a madhouse as staff came and went, running blood samples to the laboratories, and X-rays were taken of the patient's body. It was organized chaos. Dr Logan was making good progress with the opening into the abdominal cavity.

'The second priority,' Marcus said, 'is to treat shock, that is to stop bleeding. His blood pressure's pretty low. We've got to get that up with intravenous fluids, blood and plasma. We're doing a mini-laparotomy to find out whether he's bleeding into the abdominal cavity, which would most likely be from spleen or liver, or maybe there's a perforated gut. Help Dr Logan with that, Lisa.'

Lisa switched her attention to Dr Logan.

'Put up those skull X-rays, Sadie...please,' Marcus called.

'We've informed the operating room that we'll be on our way in a matter of minutes, Dr Blair,' Elsa Graham said.

'Right. He needs to have burr-holes as quickly as possible—there's a cerebral haemorrhage,' Marcus said. 'That's the third priority, Lisa—to treat any problems of the central nervous system. A cerebral haemorrhage can cause a dangerous build-up of pressure on the brain, as I'm sure you know. It can damage the brain irreparably if it isn't relieved quite quickly. First, we have to ensure that he's got adequate circulation. As you know, very low blood pressure from shock can cause acute renal failure and inadequate circulation.'

'Yes.' Lisa nodded. Dr Logan had made a very small abdominal incision.

'I've inserted a plastic tube into the abdominal cavity,' he explained. 'I'm just putting in some sterile intravenous fluid—saline. I then siphon it off. If it comes back bloodstained we know that he has haemorrhage in there. We know whether it's serious, or not so serious, from the amount that comes back. Simple, quick, effective.'

Admiring his skill, Lisa paid close attention. Mentally geared up, she felt ready for anything that they might encounter. Once the patient was stabilized he would be transferred immediately to the operating room where a multidisciplinary surgical team was waiting for him and he would undergo several life-saving operations simultaneously. The neurosurgeons would drill holes in his skull to locate and relieve blood clots which were pressing on the brain, would stop the bleeding.

Someone had inserted a stomach tube into the patient and was aspirating the stomach contents. The orthopaedic resident was splinting the fractured femur which would be operated on later, as well as immobilizing the hip joints because of the fractured pelvis.

Blood, plasma and clear intravenous fluids were running into the patient's veins. He was being given oxygen, hooked up to a ventilator via the endotracheal tube in his throat.

'Get those porters to take him to the OR now, Elsa. There's blood in the abdominal cavity,' Marcus said tersely. 'A lot of it. Get on to the OR again—let them know our findings.'

'The porters are right outside the room, Dr Blair,' Elsa confirmed, going to the double doors of the room to summon them. Two of the residents would accompany their patient to the OR.

'Pass me a couple of the skin clips, please, Lisa, to close this incision,' Ted Logan said. 'I've done all I want to do here.'

'Everyone OK for transfer?' Marcus said, stepping back and looking around him.

There was a general chorus of affirmation.

'Blood pressure's pretty good now,' the anaesthesia resident confirmed, checking his monitors. 'Lungs expanding OK.'

'Right. Let the porters in,' Marcus instructed.

Time moved quickly when life was hectic. The team went immediately from room three to another room to repeat the procedure on a patient who was less seriously injured. There were other teams hurrying about, collecting equipment. Nathan Hanks had his own team. When the emergency was finally over Lisa glanced at a clock, before hurrying back to room three to clear up the mess they had made. She realized as she did so that she would be late home today. She would have to call her mother.

Pushing through the double doors of the resuscitation room, she almost ran smack into Marcus Blair who was coming out. They dodged each other, both stepping sideways in the same direction before bumping into each other. He grabbed her arms.

'Shall we dance?' he said, which was the usual quip in the department when rushing personnel collided, as they frequently did.

Lisa managed a wan smile. When they were not actually interacting at a professional level the atmosphere between them was becoming increasingly equivocal. The doors shut behind her and she could see that there was no one else in the room.

'I've been wanting to tell you,' he said. 'You were great today.'

'Well... I.. .1 am an OR nurse,' she said quickly. His warm fingers on her arms were all she could think of at that moment. 'Um.. .it's not as though I'm a novice... Dr Blair.'

'No...' he said, looking down at her. Like hers, his surgical mask dangled loosely around his neck, revealing the tiredness on his features as his eyes roved over her face.

'When you're with me I always feel somehow responsible for you,' he said, his voice cracking as though his weariness had affected his vocal cords, 'Did you know that?'

'Well. .. No.. .no, I didn't.' The room was very quiet so they could hear the movements of the second hand on the wall clock as it moved jerkily around the clock face. 'I'm really pretty good at looking after myself.'

Marcus let his hands drop to his sides. 'You torment me, Lisa,' he said huskily. 'The memory torments me— of when I first saw you.'

'I. . .1 expect it won't last,' she said, searching for words.

'Let's hope it won't,' he said. Abruptly he stepped around her to push through the doors. In a moment he was gone.

Automatically—feeling stunned—Lisa moved to begin the clearing-up and worked at a furious pace—piling dirty instruments into their respective trays, throwing bloodstained linen into plastic bags. She didn't want to think too much, not now. Churned up inside, she didn't want to examine her own emotions. Relief suffused her when Elsa Graham came in to help her.