Post by Bella on Mar 9, 2008 19:59:51 GMT 1
Hi everyone (esp. Nick fans!),
I was reading some interesting postings yesterday under the thread titled "Nick", in which various members were discussing how Nick's recovery was happening a bit too quickly. It gave me the idea for a fanfict. story... and this is the result... (I might have to post it in more than one part, if it's too long).
Bella
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Surgery was over for the day. Nick was in his room, writing up the last of his patients’ notes, his mind only half on the job. Something else was occupying his thoughts, an idea that he’d been mulling over all day. Now, on hearing the popping sound of a champagne cork from a bottle, from the direction of the staff room, it was time for him to make a decision on whether to put his idea into action.
It was Joe’s last day at the Mill, and whilst he wasn’t leaving under the happiest of circumstances, everyone had decided to rally round and at least give him a good a send off as they could, beginning with drinks at work before moving on elsewhere, probably the Icon, to finish off with a bite to eat. Nick, like everyone else, was sorry that Joe was leaving. He had been a good friend over the past couple of years, his steady and reliable manner and his reassuring words of advice often being of help to his colleagues in difficult situations, whether personal or professional.
Nick stowed away the last of his patient notes, and looked down, thoughtfully. Should he go through with his plan? It was now or never. He wanted to give Joe a send off of his own, something that might lift Joe’s spirits a little, or at least that’s what Nick tried to convince himself. But it wasn’t entirely true, there were other, more selfish reasons too. Nick tapped his fingers on the side of his wheelchair. Soon, he would be out of this thing for good. Only soon wasn’t good enough. He wanted that to be now. He could feel the familiar feelings of resentment rising inside him again. This ‘thing’ had cost him so much. It had cost him the last nine months of his life. It had cost him in terms of friendship and more. It had cost him his relationship with Gabby. It had probably cost him in terms of renewing his relationship with Sally, at least at a friendship level. And it had also probably cost him in terms of a relationship with Carla, the woman from the deli. But enough was enough. It wasn’t going to cost him any more. He was going to do it.
Stubbornly ignoring the voices of doubt and reason in his head, Nick reached under his desk and pulled out a carrier bag containing the splints that he had secreted from the physio department of St Phil’s. He knew that he was only supposed to use them under the supervision of his physiotherapist, but this time, he was ignoring that rule. After all, it wasn’t as if he was just a layman; he was a doctor, with a sound understanding of physiology, he told himself. He strapped the splints to his lower legs and rolled down his trouser legs to cover them up. Then, gripping the edge of his desk, he slowly pulled himself up into a standing position. Hey, that felt good, really good. He knew that he was going to have to take things slowly, and be really careful, as he wasn’t that stupid to realise that at St Phil’s, he’d only taken five or six steps, and it was a few more than that to the staff room. But he was convinced that he could get there on his own. He grinned to himself when he envisaged everyone turning round, looking at him, they were going to be so thrilled for him. Even George would be too, he knew. And, it would be a start to her dispelling those feelings of guilt that he knew that she still harboured inside her.
Nick swung his lower body sideways and managed to propel his left leg and foot forwards, albeit rather unsteadily. Perhaps this wasn’t such a good idea he thought, feeling a little shaky. He looked back at his wheelchair. No, he wasn’t getting back into that right now; he wanted to do this for Joe as much as himself, he wanted to show Joe that he really was making progress, so that Joe could leave for Boston knowing that Nick was going to be OK. He wanted Joe to remember him standing up on his own two feet; that was Nick’s own parting gift to Joe.
Nick took another step in the direction of the door, still holding onto the edge of his desk, this time swinging his right leg and foot forward. Without the parallel bars to hold onto, he was finding it more difficult than he had anticipated. But once he got to the staff room, he could sit down, and his mission would be accomplished. Another step, and he reached the door handle. Cautiously, he opened the door. There was no-one in sight but he could hear the buzz of conversation coming from the staffroom. Everyone must be in there by now. Pressing the palms of his hands hard against the door frame and walls for support, Nick laboriously took a couple more steps into the corridor. He didn’t want to admit to himself that he was nervous now, not only of everyone’s reaction but because deep down, he knew that he really shouldn’t be doing this.
A few more painstaking steps later, and the voices in the staffroom were becoming louder and clearer to Nick.
“Where’s Nick?” It was Julia’s voice.
“Dunno. Still in his room, I guess.” It was Michelle who replied.
“I’ll just go and tell him that the party’s already begun,” Nick heard Julia say. Less than a second later, she appeared from around the corner, and into his view. “Oh.... my.... God.....” Nick smiled at Julia, sheepish at having been caught, but also with great pride, as if to say ‘look at me’.
Julia smiled, but suddenly looked concerned when she noticed how Nick was steadying himself against the walls. “Do you think that... I mean... are you supposed to be....?”
“It’s OK... honestly..” Nick nearly held up a hand to reassure Julia, but then realised that that would have meant letting go of the wall. “Just let me... please... do it on my own.”
Julia still looked concerned but nodded. She turned and took a couple of steps back into the staffroom.
“Is he coming? What’s he still doing?” Michelle quizzed Julia, but then followed the direction of Julia’s gaze towards the doorway. “Nick!” Michelle exclaimed. At this, everyone turned round to see Nick standing in the doorway, a broad grin on his face. A babble of exclamations broke out, everyone smiling with happiness at Nick’s obvious delight. Even Vivien managed to look pleased, although her smile was a little tighter than the others.
Joe took a step forward. “Nick, how absolutely marvellous.. to see you.. standing up on your own. You’ve kept this quiet though, haven’t you?”
“Well, I’ve only just...” Nick trailed off, not really wanting to explain at this moment, that he strictly speaking he was going against his physio’s advice, and that he shouldn’t be doing this at all. He looked round the room, at everyone looking back at him, smiling and happy for him. “I... er... think I need to sit down now..”
“Of course,” Joe took another step forward, to lend Nick a supporting arm.
“No, really, I can manage.” Nick’s pride refused to allow him to accept any help. The only problem was that now, he was going to have to let go of the door frame and take his first steps unaided. Believing that he was invincible, he made a bold attempt to take a step forward, releasing his grip on the doorframe at the same time. Instantly, he knew that something was wrong, as he felt himself lose his balance. Both of his legs seem to crumple beneath him, and although he was still lacking sensation in his lower limbs, he couldn’t fail to hear a distinctive crack from his left foot as he fell. Damn, he thought, that didn’t sound good at all. From his position on the floor, he looked up to see a circle of horrified faces.
“I’m OK.. honestly. Please... perhaps someone could.. just help me onto a chair..?” He hated asking for help of any kind, but he had no other option, he knew.
“I’ll.. er.. just get your wheelchair, shall I? It’s in your room?” Jimmi asked.
“No.” Nick replied quickly and decisively. “No.. please.. really, thank you... if you could just help me onto....” he trailed off. “Look, I’m so sorry... I didn’t mean to spoil the party like this... please, I’m OK...” He gestured in the direction of a chair. “If you can just... then we can all carry on with the party. I’m fine... really. Probably trying to run before I can walk.” Nick cracked a joke, desperately trying to lighten the mood. Whatever was wrong with his foot could wait. That was at least one benefit of not having any feeling in his legs and feet.
“Let me have a look at you first,” Joe spoke calmly and kindly. “That was a bit of a fall, you know.”
“No, I told you, I’m OK,” Nick protested, suspecting though that it was pointless. Other people must have heard the crack too. “I feel like I’m spoiling the party.”
“What? Don’t be ridiculous. You’ve might well have done yourself some damage, you know.” Joe knew that he did not have to spell it out to Nick. “Never mind the party.”
Nick was aware that everyone else by now had closed in and was looking down at him.
“OK,” he conceded, reluctantly.
Joe rolled up Nick’s trouser leg, removed the splint without comment, and carefully felt Nick’s ankle and foot. “I think you might have broken one of your metatarsals.” He looked at Nick.
Michelle took a sharp intake of breath. “Oh, Nick! How could you?”
Nick wasn’t sure what Michelle meant by that comment, but could only assume that she was chastising him for being clumsy enough to fall in the first place. He ignored her and looked up at Joe.
“Yes? I suppose you could be right.” He tried to appear not too concerned, but inside, he was devastated at his own stupidity. And even worse, it suddenly hit him that not only was this going to set him back, but he was also going to have to face Kelly his physio and admit to her his own extreme stupidity. He mentally cursed himself.
“You know that you need to go to St Phil’s to get this seen to, don’t you?” Joe spoke again.
Nick hesitated. It wasn’t giving him any pain, and OK, so he was going to have to give up the idea of doing any more walking, for this evening, at least, but he still felt really bad about ruining Joe’s party.
“Look, it’s just possible that it isn’t broken. Why don’t we just finish up here, then I can just get a cab down to St Phil’s later on, just to get this checked out.”
“Don’t be crazy, mate!” Jimmi spoke. He sounded appalled. “You can’t do that. Listen to yourself, you’re a doctor, for heaven’s sake!”
“OK, well, I’ll just call a cab, then.” He paused. “Someone had better get my chair, then, I suppose.”
“No, Nick, listen to me. You can’t take a cab to the hospital, not with a suspected broken bone in your foot.” It was Joe who spoke. He turned to Vivien. “Would you mind calling an ambulance please, Vivien.”
Vivien gave Nick a hard stare. “How many times have we warned you about this?,” she chastised him. “I’ve been telling you over the past few weeks that you’ve been overdoing it. And now look what you’ve gone and done to yourself.”
“Yes, thank you, Vivien,” Joe held up his hand. “Just, please, make the call.” Vivien left the room. George returned, pushing Nick’s chair.
“Here we go.”
Nick looked up at her. “Thanks,” he said, with the slightest trace of bitter irony.
Joe and Jimmi helped Nick back into his chair, with George supporting his foot. Vivien returned to say that the ambulance would be here shortly.
“I’m so sorry about ruining the party... honestly.” Nick felt bad about the scene he had caused. OK, he had meant to make an entrance, but not quite in that way.
“It’s alright, please don’t worry about that,” replied Joe.
“I wanted to surprise you,” said Nick, dejectedly.
“Well you certainly managed to do that. Really, Nick, it was great to see that you’re making such good progress... or at least that you have been up to now.” Joe did not need to add anything further, knowing that Nick would be fully aware of the likely consequences. He did not need to add that a broken metatarsal could take twelve weeks to heal fully. “But I’m also surprised that Kelly’s given you permission to start walking unaided already. I would have expected that she would have kitted you out with a pair of crutches at the very least.”
“She hasn’t. I mean, she hasn’t given me permission...” It was time for Nick to come clean, even though he hated admitting that he’d gone against professional advice. He looked down. “She doesn’t know... about this... I just wanted to show you all, and especially you, Joe, that I could do it....” he trailed off, feeling rather foolish now.
“Nick, you absolute idiot. You really are. Vivien’s right. How many times have we told you? And you haven’t paid any attention, either to us, or to your physio, either have you?” Joe looked down at Nick.
“No.” Nick admitted, continued to look down, wondering how he could rescue the situation. “OK, I’m sorry, right? Sorry for not listening to you. I thought I knew best, but I was obviously wrong.” He looked around. “I don’t suppose that there’s any chance of a glass of champagne, is there?” He tried to make light of the situation. Michelle hesitated and then made as if she was about to pour him a glass out of sympathy. Julia looked doubtful, and Vivien just tutted, but it was Joe who spoke.
“Not really a good idea Nick, not if you’re on your way to St Phil’s.”
There was the sound of a vehicle pulling up outside.
“The ambulance is here.” It was Vivien who spoke.
George left the room and then reappeared with Nick’s jacket. “Here,” she handed to him and then took the handles of his wheelchair. “Time to go.”
Everyone followed Nick and George to the main entrance of the Mill. Just outside, Joe turned to face Nick again.
“Listen, seeing you standing was an absolutely marvellous leaving present, the best I could have hoped for, but you must promise me that from now on, you’re going to do exactly as you’re told. No more silliness.. and if there is, I shall get to hear about it, you know.” He looked around at the others, as if in confirmation of this.
“Well it looks like I’m not going to have any choice anyway, for now.” Nick looked down at his foot.
“You’ll be OK.” Joe patted Nick’s shoulder. “This is just a temporary set-back, I’m sure. I feel confident that you’re going to make a full recovery. I’ll see you before I leave, anyway.”
Nick allowed the ambulance crew to wheel him up and into the ambulance. At that moment, Julia appeared with her coat on.
“Is it OK, if I come too?” She put her question to one of the paramedics, and then looked around at the others. “Well someone’s got to go with him, haven’t they? We can’t just let him go on his own, can we?”
Nick, on overhearing this, looked round at Julia. “Hey, no way. It’s only my foot, it’s nothing major. And I’m only going to St Phil’s. I’ve already caused too much of an interruption to the party. Please, just finish your drinks and head off to the Icon. Who knows, I might even be able to join you later. I’ll give you a call, and let you know what’s happening. But please, I really don’t need anyone to come with me.” Nick sounded insistent. Julia looked doubtful, but Joe placed his hand on her arm.
“Let Nick be, he means it.”
Julia nodded. “But you make sure that you remember to call us though, promise?” She called up to Nick in the ambulance.
“Promise.”
The ambulance doors closed behind him, there was no need for Nick to keep up his false bravado any longer, and a feeling of wretchedness swept over him. His attempts to appear heroic in front of his friends had turned into an act of stupidity, and he knew that he had been arrogant enough to think that he knew better than his physiotherapist. Not only was he now, in all likelihood, going to be stuck in the casualty department at St Phil’s for the new few hours, at least, but he would still then have to face Kelly at some stage. She, he knew full well, was going to be furious with him. This morning he thought he would be spending the evening with his best friends, enjoying a drink and a meal. Instead, he would be spending it alone, in a hospital. And what made it all ten times worse, Nick reflected morosely to himself, was the fact that it was his own stupid, stupid fault.
I was reading some interesting postings yesterday under the thread titled "Nick", in which various members were discussing how Nick's recovery was happening a bit too quickly. It gave me the idea for a fanfict. story... and this is the result... (I might have to post it in more than one part, if it's too long).
Bella
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Surgery was over for the day. Nick was in his room, writing up the last of his patients’ notes, his mind only half on the job. Something else was occupying his thoughts, an idea that he’d been mulling over all day. Now, on hearing the popping sound of a champagne cork from a bottle, from the direction of the staff room, it was time for him to make a decision on whether to put his idea into action.
It was Joe’s last day at the Mill, and whilst he wasn’t leaving under the happiest of circumstances, everyone had decided to rally round and at least give him a good a send off as they could, beginning with drinks at work before moving on elsewhere, probably the Icon, to finish off with a bite to eat. Nick, like everyone else, was sorry that Joe was leaving. He had been a good friend over the past couple of years, his steady and reliable manner and his reassuring words of advice often being of help to his colleagues in difficult situations, whether personal or professional.
Nick stowed away the last of his patient notes, and looked down, thoughtfully. Should he go through with his plan? It was now or never. He wanted to give Joe a send off of his own, something that might lift Joe’s spirits a little, or at least that’s what Nick tried to convince himself. But it wasn’t entirely true, there were other, more selfish reasons too. Nick tapped his fingers on the side of his wheelchair. Soon, he would be out of this thing for good. Only soon wasn’t good enough. He wanted that to be now. He could feel the familiar feelings of resentment rising inside him again. This ‘thing’ had cost him so much. It had cost him the last nine months of his life. It had cost him in terms of friendship and more. It had cost him his relationship with Gabby. It had probably cost him in terms of renewing his relationship with Sally, at least at a friendship level. And it had also probably cost him in terms of a relationship with Carla, the woman from the deli. But enough was enough. It wasn’t going to cost him any more. He was going to do it.
Stubbornly ignoring the voices of doubt and reason in his head, Nick reached under his desk and pulled out a carrier bag containing the splints that he had secreted from the physio department of St Phil’s. He knew that he was only supposed to use them under the supervision of his physiotherapist, but this time, he was ignoring that rule. After all, it wasn’t as if he was just a layman; he was a doctor, with a sound understanding of physiology, he told himself. He strapped the splints to his lower legs and rolled down his trouser legs to cover them up. Then, gripping the edge of his desk, he slowly pulled himself up into a standing position. Hey, that felt good, really good. He knew that he was going to have to take things slowly, and be really careful, as he wasn’t that stupid to realise that at St Phil’s, he’d only taken five or six steps, and it was a few more than that to the staff room. But he was convinced that he could get there on his own. He grinned to himself when he envisaged everyone turning round, looking at him, they were going to be so thrilled for him. Even George would be too, he knew. And, it would be a start to her dispelling those feelings of guilt that he knew that she still harboured inside her.
Nick swung his lower body sideways and managed to propel his left leg and foot forwards, albeit rather unsteadily. Perhaps this wasn’t such a good idea he thought, feeling a little shaky. He looked back at his wheelchair. No, he wasn’t getting back into that right now; he wanted to do this for Joe as much as himself, he wanted to show Joe that he really was making progress, so that Joe could leave for Boston knowing that Nick was going to be OK. He wanted Joe to remember him standing up on his own two feet; that was Nick’s own parting gift to Joe.
Nick took another step in the direction of the door, still holding onto the edge of his desk, this time swinging his right leg and foot forward. Without the parallel bars to hold onto, he was finding it more difficult than he had anticipated. But once he got to the staff room, he could sit down, and his mission would be accomplished. Another step, and he reached the door handle. Cautiously, he opened the door. There was no-one in sight but he could hear the buzz of conversation coming from the staffroom. Everyone must be in there by now. Pressing the palms of his hands hard against the door frame and walls for support, Nick laboriously took a couple more steps into the corridor. He didn’t want to admit to himself that he was nervous now, not only of everyone’s reaction but because deep down, he knew that he really shouldn’t be doing this.
A few more painstaking steps later, and the voices in the staffroom were becoming louder and clearer to Nick.
“Where’s Nick?” It was Julia’s voice.
“Dunno. Still in his room, I guess.” It was Michelle who replied.
“I’ll just go and tell him that the party’s already begun,” Nick heard Julia say. Less than a second later, she appeared from around the corner, and into his view. “Oh.... my.... God.....” Nick smiled at Julia, sheepish at having been caught, but also with great pride, as if to say ‘look at me’.
Julia smiled, but suddenly looked concerned when she noticed how Nick was steadying himself against the walls. “Do you think that... I mean... are you supposed to be....?”
“It’s OK... honestly..” Nick nearly held up a hand to reassure Julia, but then realised that that would have meant letting go of the wall. “Just let me... please... do it on my own.”
Julia still looked concerned but nodded. She turned and took a couple of steps back into the staffroom.
“Is he coming? What’s he still doing?” Michelle quizzed Julia, but then followed the direction of Julia’s gaze towards the doorway. “Nick!” Michelle exclaimed. At this, everyone turned round to see Nick standing in the doorway, a broad grin on his face. A babble of exclamations broke out, everyone smiling with happiness at Nick’s obvious delight. Even Vivien managed to look pleased, although her smile was a little tighter than the others.
Joe took a step forward. “Nick, how absolutely marvellous.. to see you.. standing up on your own. You’ve kept this quiet though, haven’t you?”
“Well, I’ve only just...” Nick trailed off, not really wanting to explain at this moment, that he strictly speaking he was going against his physio’s advice, and that he shouldn’t be doing this at all. He looked round the room, at everyone looking back at him, smiling and happy for him. “I... er... think I need to sit down now..”
“Of course,” Joe took another step forward, to lend Nick a supporting arm.
“No, really, I can manage.” Nick’s pride refused to allow him to accept any help. The only problem was that now, he was going to have to let go of the door frame and take his first steps unaided. Believing that he was invincible, he made a bold attempt to take a step forward, releasing his grip on the doorframe at the same time. Instantly, he knew that something was wrong, as he felt himself lose his balance. Both of his legs seem to crumple beneath him, and although he was still lacking sensation in his lower limbs, he couldn’t fail to hear a distinctive crack from his left foot as he fell. Damn, he thought, that didn’t sound good at all. From his position on the floor, he looked up to see a circle of horrified faces.
“I’m OK.. honestly. Please... perhaps someone could.. just help me onto a chair..?” He hated asking for help of any kind, but he had no other option, he knew.
“I’ll.. er.. just get your wheelchair, shall I? It’s in your room?” Jimmi asked.
“No.” Nick replied quickly and decisively. “No.. please.. really, thank you... if you could just help me onto....” he trailed off. “Look, I’m so sorry... I didn’t mean to spoil the party like this... please, I’m OK...” He gestured in the direction of a chair. “If you can just... then we can all carry on with the party. I’m fine... really. Probably trying to run before I can walk.” Nick cracked a joke, desperately trying to lighten the mood. Whatever was wrong with his foot could wait. That was at least one benefit of not having any feeling in his legs and feet.
“Let me have a look at you first,” Joe spoke calmly and kindly. “That was a bit of a fall, you know.”
“No, I told you, I’m OK,” Nick protested, suspecting though that it was pointless. Other people must have heard the crack too. “I feel like I’m spoiling the party.”
“What? Don’t be ridiculous. You’ve might well have done yourself some damage, you know.” Joe knew that he did not have to spell it out to Nick. “Never mind the party.”
Nick was aware that everyone else by now had closed in and was looking down at him.
“OK,” he conceded, reluctantly.
Joe rolled up Nick’s trouser leg, removed the splint without comment, and carefully felt Nick’s ankle and foot. “I think you might have broken one of your metatarsals.” He looked at Nick.
Michelle took a sharp intake of breath. “Oh, Nick! How could you?”
Nick wasn’t sure what Michelle meant by that comment, but could only assume that she was chastising him for being clumsy enough to fall in the first place. He ignored her and looked up at Joe.
“Yes? I suppose you could be right.” He tried to appear not too concerned, but inside, he was devastated at his own stupidity. And even worse, it suddenly hit him that not only was this going to set him back, but he was also going to have to face Kelly his physio and admit to her his own extreme stupidity. He mentally cursed himself.
“You know that you need to go to St Phil’s to get this seen to, don’t you?” Joe spoke again.
Nick hesitated. It wasn’t giving him any pain, and OK, so he was going to have to give up the idea of doing any more walking, for this evening, at least, but he still felt really bad about ruining Joe’s party.
“Look, it’s just possible that it isn’t broken. Why don’t we just finish up here, then I can just get a cab down to St Phil’s later on, just to get this checked out.”
“Don’t be crazy, mate!” Jimmi spoke. He sounded appalled. “You can’t do that. Listen to yourself, you’re a doctor, for heaven’s sake!”
“OK, well, I’ll just call a cab, then.” He paused. “Someone had better get my chair, then, I suppose.”
“No, Nick, listen to me. You can’t take a cab to the hospital, not with a suspected broken bone in your foot.” It was Joe who spoke. He turned to Vivien. “Would you mind calling an ambulance please, Vivien.”
Vivien gave Nick a hard stare. “How many times have we warned you about this?,” she chastised him. “I’ve been telling you over the past few weeks that you’ve been overdoing it. And now look what you’ve gone and done to yourself.”
“Yes, thank you, Vivien,” Joe held up his hand. “Just, please, make the call.” Vivien left the room. George returned, pushing Nick’s chair.
“Here we go.”
Nick looked up at her. “Thanks,” he said, with the slightest trace of bitter irony.
Joe and Jimmi helped Nick back into his chair, with George supporting his foot. Vivien returned to say that the ambulance would be here shortly.
“I’m so sorry about ruining the party... honestly.” Nick felt bad about the scene he had caused. OK, he had meant to make an entrance, but not quite in that way.
“It’s alright, please don’t worry about that,” replied Joe.
“I wanted to surprise you,” said Nick, dejectedly.
“Well you certainly managed to do that. Really, Nick, it was great to see that you’re making such good progress... or at least that you have been up to now.” Joe did not need to add anything further, knowing that Nick would be fully aware of the likely consequences. He did not need to add that a broken metatarsal could take twelve weeks to heal fully. “But I’m also surprised that Kelly’s given you permission to start walking unaided already. I would have expected that she would have kitted you out with a pair of crutches at the very least.”
“She hasn’t. I mean, she hasn’t given me permission...” It was time for Nick to come clean, even though he hated admitting that he’d gone against professional advice. He looked down. “She doesn’t know... about this... I just wanted to show you all, and especially you, Joe, that I could do it....” he trailed off, feeling rather foolish now.
“Nick, you absolute idiot. You really are. Vivien’s right. How many times have we told you? And you haven’t paid any attention, either to us, or to your physio, either have you?” Joe looked down at Nick.
“No.” Nick admitted, continued to look down, wondering how he could rescue the situation. “OK, I’m sorry, right? Sorry for not listening to you. I thought I knew best, but I was obviously wrong.” He looked around. “I don’t suppose that there’s any chance of a glass of champagne, is there?” He tried to make light of the situation. Michelle hesitated and then made as if she was about to pour him a glass out of sympathy. Julia looked doubtful, and Vivien just tutted, but it was Joe who spoke.
“Not really a good idea Nick, not if you’re on your way to St Phil’s.”
There was the sound of a vehicle pulling up outside.
“The ambulance is here.” It was Vivien who spoke.
George left the room and then reappeared with Nick’s jacket. “Here,” she handed to him and then took the handles of his wheelchair. “Time to go.”
Everyone followed Nick and George to the main entrance of the Mill. Just outside, Joe turned to face Nick again.
“Listen, seeing you standing was an absolutely marvellous leaving present, the best I could have hoped for, but you must promise me that from now on, you’re going to do exactly as you’re told. No more silliness.. and if there is, I shall get to hear about it, you know.” He looked around at the others, as if in confirmation of this.
“Well it looks like I’m not going to have any choice anyway, for now.” Nick looked down at his foot.
“You’ll be OK.” Joe patted Nick’s shoulder. “This is just a temporary set-back, I’m sure. I feel confident that you’re going to make a full recovery. I’ll see you before I leave, anyway.”
Nick allowed the ambulance crew to wheel him up and into the ambulance. At that moment, Julia appeared with her coat on.
“Is it OK, if I come too?” She put her question to one of the paramedics, and then looked around at the others. “Well someone’s got to go with him, haven’t they? We can’t just let him go on his own, can we?”
Nick, on overhearing this, looked round at Julia. “Hey, no way. It’s only my foot, it’s nothing major. And I’m only going to St Phil’s. I’ve already caused too much of an interruption to the party. Please, just finish your drinks and head off to the Icon. Who knows, I might even be able to join you later. I’ll give you a call, and let you know what’s happening. But please, I really don’t need anyone to come with me.” Nick sounded insistent. Julia looked doubtful, but Joe placed his hand on her arm.
“Let Nick be, he means it.”
Julia nodded. “But you make sure that you remember to call us though, promise?” She called up to Nick in the ambulance.
“Promise.”
The ambulance doors closed behind him, there was no need for Nick to keep up his false bravado any longer, and a feeling of wretchedness swept over him. His attempts to appear heroic in front of his friends had turned into an act of stupidity, and he knew that he had been arrogant enough to think that he knew better than his physiotherapist. Not only was he now, in all likelihood, going to be stuck in the casualty department at St Phil’s for the new few hours, at least, but he would still then have to face Kelly at some stage. She, he knew full well, was going to be furious with him. This morning he thought he would be spending the evening with his best friends, enjoying a drink and a meal. Instead, he would be spending it alone, in a hospital. And what made it all ten times worse, Nick reflected morosely to himself, was the fact that it was his own stupid, stupid fault.