Page 3 of Do Opposites Attract?

‘Well, Margaret can tell you more, but in a nutshell they provide immediate medical help to any place in the world struck by a natural disaster of some sort. I came to know about them when they saved the life of my friend, Tilly. Do you remember how she was caught up in the tsunami disaster in Thailand? The local medical services were hopelessly overburdened, but she was lucky enough to be taken to a Medic SOS tent when she started to have trouble breathing. It turned out that she’d fractured a rib, which then punctured her lung cavity. The team operated on her there and then, and literally saved her life.’ At that moment, her mother glanced up andwaved. ‘Look, here comes the lady herself. I’ll ask her to have a chat with you.’

Over the next ten minutes Brianna listened attentively while Margaret described the work of Medic SOS. The more she listened to the older lady’s rather gruff tone, the more Brianna started to feel a spark of interest. Maybe her mother was right. Perhaps it was time she considered a new direction, something far removed from traditional business. Goodness knows it hadn’t exactly captivated her so far.

‘We’ve got a team out in South America at the moment,’ Margaret was saying. ‘They’ve been there for two days now, dealing with the aftermath of a destructive tornado. If you’re interested you could fly out and see for yourself the work they do.’

‘Really?’ Nobody was more surprised than Brianna when the word shot out of her mouth.

Or when Margaret actually cracked an answering smile. ‘Yes, really. Just contact the office on Monday and we’ll sort everything out for you. Mitch McBride is the lead doctor down there. He’s our most experienced medic. You couldn’t ask for a better person to demonstrate the practical side of what we do. I’m sure he’ll be happy to show you around.’

When Brianna drifted away from the ball later that evening, her head wasn’t full of dancing or champagne. Instead she was trying to imagine what a poor area in South America might look like after a tornado, and whether she could possibly be of any help in putting things straight. For the first time in a long while she felt a zip of excitement.

Chapter Two

If Mitch had overheard Margaret telling the young socialite how happy he’d be to show her around, he’d have possibly burst into uncontrollable laughter. But that would have been after he’d thumped his fist against something hard and uttered several filthy swear words. Showing a visitor around the crude camp that so many were now calling home was the bloody last thing he had time for. He was far too busy trying to administer medical help under a leaking tent and without half of his much needed supplies. They were apparently still making their way across the flood stricken muddy tracks that passed for roads. And still it rained.

‘Mitch, they’re bringing in another crowd.’

Midway through examining the arm of a five year old boy for fractures, Mitch glanced up to see Tessa, his senior nurse, point towards a bedraggled group of varying ages shuffling into what was laughingly called the waiting room. In reality it was a smaller tent adjoined to the larger treatment tent.

‘Thanks, Tessa.’ Mitch smiled briefly at the head nurse before focussing all his attention back on the child. ‘It looks like you’ve broken your arm, buddy.’ He spoke softly in Spanish to the little boy with the large brown eyes. ‘But we’ll put a cast on it and soon have you as good as new.’ He ruffled the boy’s hair. ‘Have you got any family here with you?’ The boy simply shook his head, the fat tears that trailed down his cheeks telling the story far more eloquently than any words. ‘Did you get separated?’ Mitch continued gently, holding the boy’s hand.

The boy nodded and Mitch sighed. Sometimes he hated his job. ‘Don’t worry. You stay here with us. We’ll look after you until we can find your family. Okay?’

He walked the boy over to Tessa. ‘Can you sort this brave lad out with a cast and a sling?’

Tessa smiled. ‘I’m sure that can be arranged.’ She glanced in the direction of an adjoining tent. ‘Have you checked on the main ward recently? We’re filling up fast.’

Mitch ducked his head through the entrance and went to see for himself. The main ward was a preposterously grand name for what was simply yet another tent, this time filled with rows of temporary beds, most, as Tessa had implied, already occupied. With a heavy heart he ducked back to the treatment tent.

‘Poor sods,’ he muttered to Tessa. ‘And to think they’re the lucky ones.’ At least they’d managed to escape from what was left of the remote villages that had once been their homes. All too many hadn’t.

‘We do what we can. If we weren’t here, even they wouldn’t be lucky.’

She was right. In factwe do what we canwas a mantra he’d repeated to the team often enough. But not for the first time he wondered how much longer he could continue to work amongst such obvious suffering.

The trouble was, having done a seven-year stint as an army doctor, he’d found it hard to settle into mainstream hospital work. Partly because treating patients who were there through their own fault — too much alcohol, too much food, too little exercise — had bugged the hell out of him, but mostly because he’d missed the thrill of life on the edge. Of never quite knowing what was going to happen next. It was while he’d been slowly going out of his mind with boredom that he’d attended a lunchtime lecture on Medic SOS. The rest, as they say, was history. Three years on and he was now the Chief Medical Officer in charge of an established core of doctors and nurses he could call on as the circumstances dictated.

But much as he loved it, the job was beginning to take its toll. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d let his hair down. Done something frivolous, just for the hell of it. Being surroundedby human tragedy on a regular basis was turning him into a tougher, more serious-minded man than he’d ever intended to be. At some point he needed to have a break, take some time to relax and just enjoy life again.

With a deep sigh he walked back to the treatment room. There he was greeted with rows of traumatised faces, all waiting to be helped. These poor sods had lost their homes, probably somebody they loved, and damn near their own lives. His own life was positively privileged in comparison.Stop moaning, Mitch. Your holiday can wait.

* * *

It was late by the time the queue of waiting survivors had all been attended to. Some had been bandaged up and sent to the temporary camp to search for missing loved ones and find a place to sleep. Others were settled into the ward, too injured to be moved.

Having completed his final round and checked that each patient under their care was stable, he turned to Tessa. ‘Time for a quick team meeting, I think. Can you rally the troops?’

While Tessa disappeared off, Mitch pushed together a few chairs at the back of the treatment tent and waited for his small unit to arrive. To the outside world they probably appeared an odd bunch, but they were united in their desire to provide help to those who needed it most, usually with little concern for their own personal comfort or safety. When discussing their jobs with friends in the bar back home, the life of a medical charity worker probably sounded exciting. Reality was a much bleaker picture. A tough hide was needed to withstand the unrelenting misery of the situations they were thrown into, and the crude conditions they were expected to work and live in. Many who joined in a haze of enthusiasm and desire to do good didn’t last more than one trip. The team on this tour though were a seasoned group,part of his core team. He felt a rare surge of emotion, even affection, towards them as they slowly straggled in towards him.

‘Come on you ugly bunch. I’ve got places to go, people to see.’ His statement was met with the chorus of derisory sniggers he’d expected.

‘Even if you said that back at the office, we’d laugh in disbelief. The only places you go are work and bed.’

‘Thanks, Tessa,’ he remarked dryly as his head nurse took the seat next to him. He knew, because he’d seen her CV, she was in her early forties, but she had a face and body that could have passed for a decade younger. She’d joined Medic SOS following a divorce, determined to start her new single life in a very different environment than her married one.

‘She should know. She’s tried to entice you out often enough.’ That was from Toby, another nurse who came as a pair with his wife, Jane. They’d joined after finding out they weren’t able to have children.

Mitch grunted at Toby’s remark, uncomfortably aware of the truth behind it. When he turned to see Tessa blushing next to him, red enough he could almost feel her heat, his discomfort increased a hundred fold. She was his right hand woman. Someone he trusted, admired and enjoyed working next to. Period. He prayed that was all she felt, too. Not only did he not think of her like that, but women and work didn’t mix. Frankly women and him didn’t mix that well, either. He’d had his fair share of affairs — probably more than his share — but for reasons he couldn’t fathom, women often tried to shift things from casual and easy to permanent and complicated. Something he had no interest in.

---