The Greek Children's Doctor(47)

He was powerfully built and strong and just that one glimpse was enough to make her imagine what the rest of him must look like.

She swallowed.

Still in conversation with Dave, Andreas lifted a hand and casually  started to button his shirt, pausing suddenly as he intercepted Libby's  gaze.

His eyes locked with hers and something passed between them, a mutual  acknowledgment of the sizzling attraction that seemed to envelop both of  them whenever they were together.

Libby struggled to free herself from the intensity of his gaze and  something of her disquiet must have shown on her face because his firm  mouth curved into a smile so sexy that her knees shook alarmingly.

Bother the man!

He was totally aware of the effect he had on her.

Turning her attention back to the patient with a huge effort, she concentrated on getting the little girl ready for surgery.                        
       
            



      

'I don't want to take my pyjamas off.' Melanie wrapped her arms around  herself and Libby managed a smile, pleased to have something to look at  rather than Andreas.

'You don't have to take your pyjamas off, sweetheart. You can keep them  on.' She examined the characters dancing over the fabric. 'I love them.'

'Daddy buyed them for me,' Melanie announced firmly, and her mother tensed.

'We're not together any more,' she muttered in an undertone. 'I suppose I ought to call him.'

'If you need to use a phone, I can arrange it,' Libby said quietly. They  had plenty of parents on the ward who were separated or alone so she  knew how hard it was when a child became ill.

'We'll see her in Theatre.' With a friendly nod to Mrs Palmer and Melanie, Dave Jenner left the room with his team behind him.

'You and I are going to play hairdressers,' Libby said cheerfully,  reaching into her pocket for a band. 'I'm going to tie that lovely  blonde hair of yours back. Is that OK?'

Melanie nodded and looked at Libby. 'You've got very long hair. Like a princess.'

Libby smiled as she checked that the child's name and hospital number  were on her wrist strap. 'That's me. Princess Libby.' She gathered all  the notes and charts together and finally plucked up the courage to look  at Andreas. 'Shall we take her straight down?'

He nodded. 'I've done the consent form and everything else is ready.' He  looked at Mrs Palmer. 'Try not to worry. Mr Jenner is an exceptionally  good surgeon.' He sat down on the bed next to Melanie and took her hand.

'Right, Melanie, this is what we're going to do. There's something in  your tummy that's making it bad, so we're going to take it away and then  you'll feel better.'

Melanie stared at him, round eyed. 'Will it hurt?'

Andreas shook his head. 'No, because you're going to be asleep for a  short time. And if it's sore when you wake up, we'll give you some  medicine.' He glanced up as a porter arrived in the doorway, ready to  take Melanie to Theatre. 'Ah-this nice man is going to wheel you  downstairs now.'



He stood up and watched while Libby flicked the brake on the bed with  her foot and manoeuvred it carefully out of the door of the side ward.

Melanie's face crumpled. 'I want Mummy!'

'Well, of course you do,' Libby said quickly, moving out of the way so  that the child could see her mother. 'She's right here, sweetheart.'

Libby glanced at Mrs Palmer who was white-faced and tense. 'You can stay  with her in the anaesthetic room until she falls asleep if you like.'

Mrs Palmer swallowed. 'Yes-yes, I'd like that.'

She stayed close to her daughter as they wheeled the bed into the lift and pressed the button for Theatre.

In the anaesthetic room a blond man was preparing things for the operation and Libby stiffened.

Philip.

Why did it have to be Philip who was the anaesthetist?

'This is Melanie Palmer,' she said coolly, her tone detached and  professional. 'Melanie, this is Dr Graham. He's going to help you go to  sleep.'

'Hi, there, Melanie.' Philip smiled at the little girl with the false  cheeriness that people so often adopted with children. Libby couldn't  help comparing him with Andreas who was a natural with children. He was  honest and straightforward with them and had a warmth and strength that  they seemed to find reassuring.

How could she ever have found Philip attractive?

Ignoring him as much as she could, she showed Mrs Palmer where to stand  so that she could cuddle Melanie without getting in the way.

Philip wafted some gas under the child's nose and gradually her eyes closed.

'You can come back to the ward with me now,' Libby said gently, taking  Mrs Palmer by the arm as Philip carried on anaesthetising the child.  'You need a cup of coffee and a sit-down. Mr Jenner will ring when he  has some news for us.'

Philip glanced up. 'I'll pop up to the ward and see you soon, Libby.' His gaze was meaningful. 'We need to have a chat.'

Libby shot him a cold look but didn't respond. She didn't want to  discuss her private life in front of patients or relatives. It wasn't  professional.

And she had no intention of having a chat with him. If he appeared on the ward, she'd make sure that she was unavailable.

Once Melanie was safely under the anaesthetic, they returned to the ward  and Libby settled Mrs Palmer comfortably with a cup of coffee before  going to check on Rachel.                        
       
            



      

'Her colour is so much better,' she said, pleased by the way the baby  seemed to be responding to the antibiotics. 'She's definitely improving.  Has she been taking any fluids?'

Alison nodded. 'She took a whole bottle from me at eleven o'clock. She  seemed really thirsty. It's the first time she's fed properly for days.'

'That's great news.' Libby smiled as she checked the baby's temperature.  'That's come right down, too. If she carries on like this we'll be able  to take that drip out soon.'

'Will she need to carry on with the antibiotics?'

'Yes, but she can take them as medicine. She doesn't have to have them  into a vein,' Libby explained, charting the temperature and noting the  baby's respirations. 'Once we've taken that drip out she can have a trip  to our playroom and we'll see if we can get her interested in some of  our toys.'

It was after lunch when Melanie Palmer returned from Theatre.

'They took out her appendix and irrigated her peritoneal cavity,'  Andreas told Libby as they settled the little girl back onto the ward.  'We'll continue the antibiotics and keep her nil by mouth until she's  got bowel sounds.'

'Was it the GP's fault?' Libby asked softly. 'Should he have spotted it?'



Andreas pulled a face. 'In my opinion her clinical condition should have  alerted him to the fact that it was something serious, but appendicitis  in young children is notoriously hard to diagnose. Children tend to  present late and a high percentage perforate before they get to see a  doctor. In children under the age of three appendicitis is hardly ever  diagnosed before perforation, but in her case … ' He gave a shrug. 'Hard  to say whether her GP could have diagnosed it earlier. I think he should  have had a high index of suspicion but it's immaterial now.'

Libby was only too aware that Andreas had made his diagnosis within  minutes of examining the child. But, then, she'd already seen enough of  him to know that he was a very skilled paediatrician.

What with Rachel and Melanie, it had been a bad couple of days for GPs.

Mrs Palmer hurried into the room, her expression anxious. 'Is she all right?'

'She's fine. She's had painkillers down in Theatre so she's sleeping  now,' Libby told her. 'We'll keep an eye on her and if she needs more,  she can have them.'

Andreas explained the operation to Mrs Palmer and then moved towards the  door. 'I'm just going to A and E to see a patient but you can bleep me  if you need me.'

He walked out of the room and Mrs Palmer looked after him wistfully. 'He's a very good doctor.'

'He is, isn't he?' Libby agreed softly. 'He's a very good doctor indeed.'

Looks and a brain, she thought gloomily. A lethal combination.

She was in the storeroom towards the end of her shift when Andreas strolled up behind her.

'About this date you owe me … ' His tone was smooth and enticing and she  shivered with a response so powerful that she was forced to snatch in a  gasp of air.

He was just so good-looking it wasn't fair. It would have been so easy to persuade herself that he'd be different.

Severely shaken by her own thoughts, she made a supreme effort to look bored. 'What date, Dr Christakos?'

Before he could reply, Philip's voice came from behind him. 'I was looking for Libby.'

Libby tensed in horror and backed away further into the storeroom but it was too late. He'd seen her.

Dealing Andreas a frosty glare, Philip walked into the room. 'This  obviously isn't the place to say what needs to be said,' he muttered  stiffly, 'so I just wanted to check you're still all right for the ball  in three weeks' time.'

Libby's mouth fell open.

Did he seriously think that she'd still go to the ball with him after  what had happened? The nerve of the man! Did he have no morals?