The Adventures Of Nurse Emma: Ashton's Story. Emma's POV.

CHAPTER 2

Management still wouldn't budge but with the Perth accident pressure was mounting on them. They tried to back out again but Luke rang his Mum to basically 'tell on them' I never realised how much their families liked and trusted me up until that point. After Luke's little phone call the families had put so much pressure on management that week. Threatening to go to the papers, threatening to sue etc, within the space of 3 days management buckled and I found myself handing in my notice at the hospital and I was in full medic training management were good enough to pay half of my training fees even though I still think that was due to the lads and their families not that they ever confirmed it. I would have so much more freedom as a medic I can make my own diagnosis instead of waiting on Doctors to make the decision. I could prescribe medications on my own and most importantly not having Doctors talk to me like I was dirt on their shoes. Not all Doctors did this but most I had met sadly do, I wasn't meant to join the tour team this early. Management had given me till the start of the new year to pass my exams. Being a nurse already I only had certain things I needed to re train for, unlike someone with no experience at all. Much to everyone's surprise I passed all the written exams and practical exams early, well only management. Everyone else always knew I would pass early.

So here I was 3 months later getting off close to a 9 hour flight, zero sleep running on herbal tea and 2 cans of Red Bull I had during breakfast before we landed. Why didn't I sleep? I refused to take my eyes off Ash, he was asleep before we even took off so unlike him. Every time I'd been on a flight with them he'd be talking to the stewards and stewardesses about anything and everything, signing stuff for their kids or the airline's charity auctions. Not this time soon as he sat down he was asleep, half way through the flight I had to get him blankets because it was so cold in the cabin he was shivering but still he didn't wake. I found myself turning into a mother tucking her kids into bed when I had to wrap blankets round him, his skin so was cold. Adrenaline had started to race through my veins, ever since I noticed Ash trying and failing to hide the fact that ever since we went through passport control he couldn't stop himself from shaking. Ashton had been the most wary of me joining the team besides management of course. I couldn't blame him it's been a total whirlwind, I've gone from being a random nurse that ended up getting assigned to Michael by pure luck, to a friend (I do seem to be closer to Michael and Luke) to their tour medic in the space of a few months. If it hadn't been for Michael's accident they wouldn't had been at my hospital and they never would have met me. I had joined the tour team when they were in the UK for the Children In Need concert and album promo it's barely been a month. He's still so wary of me it's gone beyond the point where I can let him 'pretend' that he's ok. I need to take charge now.