Courtship

Part 6

With serious misgivings, Rafe watched her go and silently he wished he'd handled things better. "She could have saved that kid lots of angst. Why the hell didn't she speak up when we were at his bedside during the round?" Rafe glared at her retreating back. She headed for a bed at the end of the ward.

"I would imagine 'why' was obvious." Gina told him. They were friends, as well as work mates, as they'd been on the same ward when they had started their careers.

"What?" He scowled, massaged the back of his neck and then decided the best course of action was to take a step back. He had allowed things to get out of hand.

"Come on Rafe." Gina chided. "Two beds earlier you told the whole ward, though I imagine you were intending to only tell her, that she was conceited and self important! And when you came to Thomas you didn't check to see if any of your junior doctors could sign. I doubt the others can. If she'd started saying she could, the rest of the group would use that as further ammunition."

"What do you mean ammunition?" Rafe had never considered himself to be self-important, but right now he knew he'd let pride get in the way.

"They are taking their cue from you as to how to treat her." Gina shook her head, she didn't understand what the matter was between these two colleagues, but it worried her that a man she admired, and thought was fair, had been treating a junior colleague with derision, "To be honest I meant to ask you about it. It just slipped my mind."

"The way I treat her?" Rafe sounded affronted.

"I don't get what that blood test was about." Gina frowned as she thought about what had just happened. "You can't possibly think she's got alcohol in her blood stream."

"She asked for the bloody test." Rafe muttered testily, knowing that he should never have agreed to her demand. It would do the rounds. Everyone would know she was being tested. Why would she want her reputation tarnished like that? Definitely just playing at being a medic. No serious doctor would want that sort of a reputation.

"Yes, but why?" Gina muttered. "You said something to her."She asked with open speculation in her eyes. Rafe shrugged. Knowing that he had practically accused her of being drunk on duty, did not sit comfortably. "Rafe!" Gina admonished. "Honestly, what's got into you? You are usually fair! I know on my ward that doctor has done nothing but good work. If you gave me a choice, from your current entourage, I'd choose her!" Gina folded her arms, "She works hard, listens to the nurses and really listens to the children."

"She's playing at being a medic. I don't like it." Rafe finally voiced his thoughts.

"Playing?" Gina couldn't keep the incredulity out of her voice, "What makes you think she's playing?" From her observations, Dr D'Sa was a hardworking doctor, with a genuine interest in the welfare of the children on this ward.

"I was at a party last night. So was she. I stuck to mineral water. She drank champagne for most of the night. I left at 11. She was still there. Partying hard. That isn't the behaviour of a professional who knows she's on duty at 8 the following morning."

His description of the young doctor did not compute with the person Gina knew on her ward. "She's a good doctor." Gina's eyes watched as Marina headed for Stevie and stood for a few minutes talking to the eight year old. "And what she's doing right now takes guts, given that you made her a laughing stock thirty minutes ago and given that she was close to tears when she left my office. She could have simply left the ward, gone and had a little cry. But instead she is working. She works hard on this ward. No half measures." Gina and Rafe watched as two other junior doctors who had just returned to the ward had a quick conversation with the nurse who'd taken the blood sample for testing, then looked across at Marina and smirked. "And if they treated me the way they treat her, I'd have reported them. And you for that matter! But she hasn't." Gina turned to face Rafe, as she told him what he already knew, "By the end of today it will have done the rounds that you hauled her in for a chat and the outcome was a blood alcohol test."

"I didn't ask for that bloody test. She did." He ran fingers through his hair and massaged his neck as guilt hit him hard. He should never have let her push his buttons.

"And you are going to tell them that?" Gina challenged. "It's your behaviour that ..."

"My behaviour?"

"Rafe, in the last three weeks the number of throwaway lines I have heard you make, on your rounds, about her status, her doctoring skills, her conduct..."

"Ok. Ok." He held his hand up. "I should go talk to her."

"What now?" Gina shook her head, "She's got another six hours of this shift to go, and from what I saw was barely holding her tears in check. She's exhausted, and I don't think you talking to her right now is going to make things better. Seeing what just happened I imagine I will be signing a formal written warning, cause the two of you will just up the ante."

"So what do you suggest?"

"I'll have a word." They watched as Marina pushed the swing door and stepped out of the ward.