Page 28 of Falling for His Best Friend

‘You should have seen him, Kitty. He was amazing. He saved your life.’

Her headache was getting worse. She needed Lisa to stop talking but first she needed an answer. ‘Lisa, is Joe OK?’

‘He was stabbed,’ Lisa said, but she was nodding. ‘In the stomach. He had to go into Theatre, but he’s out now.’

Kitty breathed out.

‘Can you take me to him?’ She was exhausted and sore but she had an overwhelming desire to see him.

‘I don’t think you’re allowed to be moved,’ Lisa said, just as Anna came into the room.

‘You need to rest, Kitty,’ she told her, making it clear she’d heard the last part of the conversation.

‘I want to see Joe.’

‘Joe is going to be fine. You need to rest.’

She didn’t think she’d be able to rest, not until she’d seen Joe.

‘Jess and Cam are on their way,’ Anna continued, ‘and the baby needs you to rest. I’m not arguing about this.’

‘The baby—’

‘Is fine.’

Kitty realised she had instinctively put one hand on her belly. It had become a habit. She held it there, waiting, hoping, needing to feel some movement. ‘Are you sure?’

‘We did an ultrasound. The baby is fine,’ Anna repeated, just as Kitty felt the baby kick. She had a vague recollection of being moved and lifted. Had that been for the scans?

‘You need monitoring,’ Anna said. ‘Your blood pressure is still high and if it doesn’t come down I’ll need to administer hydralazine, and I am going to arrange a CT scan of your head too. Your baby is fine but I’m sure you want to keep it that way?’

Kitty nodded carefully, agreeing with Anna. But only for her baby’s sake.

* * *

Joe opened his eyes. The room was dark and it wasn’t his room.

Was it morning or night?

He could remember being woken but couldn’t remember where he was.

He could hear electronic beeping. Turning his head, he could see monitors beside the bed.

A hospital bed.

He tried to sit up but pain knifed through his abdominals, making him gasp. He clutched his stomach with his right hand and gasped again as pain sliced through his hand as well.

He looked down and saw that his right hand was bandaged, and the memories flooded back. The man. A knife. Kitty!

He tried again to sit up. He needed to find out if Kitty was OK, but the pain in his stomach screamed at him not to move. He lifted the bed sheet with his left hand and saw the dressing on his stomach. He let the sheet fall and rested his head on the pillow.

He should have known better. He’d seen plenty of patients high on drugs and he’d seen first-hand the inhuman strength the drug gave them. He should have known better, but he hadn’t stopped to think about that this time. All he’d been able to think about was Kitty. All he’d seen was Kitty, lying motionless on the floor, with a manic fool headed straight for her.

The clock on the monitor beside his bed said six-thirty and the light around the edge of the window blinds in the room looked like morning, but he had no clue as to what day it was or how long he’d been there.

The call bell was pinned to the left side of his bed. He pressed the button for the nurse.

‘Good morning. Back in the land of the living, I see,’ the nurse said as she came into the room.

Morning.

That was one question answered.

Joe scanned the nurse’s ID badge. North Sydney Hospital. The name ‘Paula’ was typed under her photo. He hadn’t moved far. Just upstairs onto a ward.

He frowned. ‘How long have I been here?’ He held up his bandaged hand. ‘And what have they done to me?’

‘You were brought to the ward from Recovery last night. You had a deep stab wound to your right abdomen. You had emergency surgery to clean it out and close it up.’

‘What about my hand?’

‘You’ve been referred to Dr Clark, she’s a hand surgeon, she’ll discuss that with you. Now, what can I help you with? Do you need something? More pain relief?’ The nurse picked up the tubing that was feeding pain relief through Joe’s arm into his body. He’d seen the monitors but hadn’t noticed the IV pump.

‘I don’t need pain relief but can you find out about a nurse who works here. Kitty Nelson? She was injured in the ED in the same incident as me. Do you know if she’s OK?’

‘Are you her next of kin?’

‘No.’ His heart leapt and lodged in his throat. Why was she asking about Kitty’s next of kin? ‘What happened to her?’

‘You know I can’t tell you about other patients.’

‘Please,’ he begged. He had to know if she was all right. He had to know she’d made it.

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