And the Rest Is History(27)

‘Then I’m luckier than I deserve to be.’

‘I’m sorry, too. You were right. I should have done something. Anything.’

‘No, you couldn’t. He would have killed you too, and about the only good thing in all of this is that you’re still alive. Come on.’ He stood up and reached out his hand. ‘They’re in Sick Bay. I’ll walk you there.’

I thought about what that would mean for him. ‘You don’t have to do that.’

‘I have to do it sometime and I might as well combine it with my good deed for the day. Up you get.’

He pulled me to my feet and we stood for a moment, hands clasped.

He looked at me. ‘All right?’ and I knew he wasn’t asking me how I felt.

‘Yes,’ I said. ‘Always.’



We pushed through the Sick Bay doors to the sound of screaming. Ear-splitting, glass-shattering screaming.

I flagged down a hot and flustered Nurse Fortunata. ‘What the hell’s going on?’

‘Your son is having a bath and he’s not happy.’

‘I’ll be off then,’ said Tim, hastily. ‘Happy parenting.’

Just for a moment, a glimmer of the old Tim shone through, and then he was walking away.

The screaming stopped.

‘A mild sedative, probably,’ said Fortunata. ‘Before the windows shattered and our ear drums burst.’

‘Is Leon with him?’

She nodded. ‘Do you want to go in?’

‘I think I’ll wait. This strikes me as an excellent opportunity for father-son bonding.’

She grinned. ‘Take a seat. The doctor wants to see you anyway.’

‘Oh? Do we know why?’

‘Morbid curiosity, I think. He’s been reading your file.’

Ten minutes later, Hunter appeared. Another one shocked and grieving. She and Helen had worked together for years. She was carrying a medical-waste bag – at arm’s length – which she handed to Fortunata.

‘For immediate incineration.’

‘Was this his blanket?’

‘Yes. He only had it on an hour or so and already it contains a variety of wildlife that even Markham could never achieve.’

Fortunata took the bag, nodded towards me, and disappeared.

Hunter came over.

‘Hey, Max.’

‘Hi. How is he?

‘They’re both exhausted and struggling to keep their eyes open. Our new doctor is here and he wants a quick word with you.’

I nodded. ‘Will you tell Leon I’m here if he needs me?’

‘Will do. Did I see you with Peterson?’

I didn’t want to talk about that. ‘Yes.’

‘I know he turned on you, but he’s suffering, Max.’

‘I know. How about you?’

‘Oh, I’m fine. I think Markham is planning to contract something appalling just so I can yell at him. He thinks it will make me feel better.’

‘And will it?’

‘No, but it’s the thought that counts. We’re all pretending these days.’

I heard a door open behind me and turned for my first glimpse of our new doctor.

He looked even younger than in his photograph. His ears stuck out even further than in his photograph. His eyebrows were even more wayward than in his photograph. He was taller and thinner than in his photograph. And in the photograph, he hadn’t been wearing the traditional expression of one encountering St Mary’s for the first time and wondering what he’s got himself into. Apart from all that though, the photo was spot on.

‘Your husband’s having a shower,’ he said. ‘Why don’t you come into my office?’

Said the spider to the fly.

‘I’ll bring you some tea,’ said Hunter.

‘Thank you.’

‘For the patient.’

‘Ah. Right you are.’

I shook my head. To eat or drink anything would make me sick.

‘No thanks.’

She left and he fussed around with some paperwork.

‘She scares me.’

‘She scares everyone,’ I said. ‘Don’t take it personally.’

We stared at each other over his desk.

I couldn’t help myself. ‘How old are you?’ and waited for him to say twelve.

He blinked. ‘I’m twenty-eight. Is that a problem?’

‘Are you sure? You don’t look it. Did you lie about your age?’

‘No, of course not. Why does everyone keep asking me that? I never had this problem in the Army. They laughed at how old I was there. Called me granddad.’

‘What did you do in the Army?’

‘I’m a doctor. Didn’t you know?’

‘Yes, but what’s your experience?’

‘Gunshot wounds. Shrapnel. Explosives trauma. Burns. Exposure. Oh – and radiation. Which I can’t talk about because it’s Top Secret.’

‘Seriously? There’s something out there that’s more secret than us?’ I think I was slightly miffed. No one likes to come second.

‘You’d be surprised what’s going on out there.’

‘No, I wouldn’t. I know all about the underground aliens in Saffron Walden.’