No Good Reason Read Online Free Page B

worries.” Meg shook her head as Kathy laughed. “Go and put the kettle on.”
    “Rhythm change.” A keen-eyed nurse was watching the monitor. “PEA.”
    “Most likely due to the adrenaline.” Still pumping the bag with one hand, Meg peeled open Jimmy’s eyelids to find two blown pupils. “He’s already fixed and dilated. I don’t think we’re getting anything meaningful back from this.”
    A murmur of assent rippled through the team. The F1 looked pale but resolute, under no illusions about the inevitable outcome of their efforts. Meg sighed. Even for one in such lousy general health, Jimmy had died far too young.
    “Let’s give him the benefit, eh? We’ll have a look at his gases and go another couple of loops.” She glanced up at the red-faced nurse who was still doing compressions. “And can someone please take over from Liz before she pegs out as well?”

    *

    The doors to Resus edged open just as Meg dialled the oxygen down and disconnected the ET tube. She unplugged the monitor, and the alarm that had been sounding intermittently for the last half hour ceased.
    Kathy poked her head through a gap in the curtains. “Mrs. Taylor’s in the Rellies’ Room.” She looked at Jimmy Taylor, splayed out and cooling on the bed. “Poor sod. They have three kids: ten, twelve, and fifteen.”
    “Bloody hell,” Meg muttered. “Anyone come down with his wife?”
    “No, but her mum’s on the way.”
    Meg took off her gloves and plastic apron and flicked them into the nearest bin. “Cheers, Kathy. I want nothing but nice old grannies from you for the rest of the day.”
    Kathy snorted. “I’ll see what I can do, Doc.”
    Left alone behind the curtains, Meg brushed down her scrubs and ran a hand through her hair. She didn’t have a vain bone in her body, but she did want to appear professional. No matter how badly her own day had started, she was just about to make a complete stranger’s day infinitely worse.
    “Dr. Fielding?”
    Startled by the quiet voice, she looked up to see the F1 making an apologetic gesture.
    “Sorry, I…” The F1 cleared her throat and tried again. “I was wondering if I could come with you when you speak to Mr. Taylor’s wife.” She met Meg’s gaze, despite her obvious trepidation. That was all Meg needed to reach her decision.
    “Of course you can,” she said, and saw some of the tension ease from the F1’s posture. “Have you ever informed a relative of a death before?”
    “No. Would I be okay just to observe?”
    “Best way to learn.” Meg held the door for her. “Tell me your name again? I’ve got a mind like a sieve.”
    “Emily. Emily Woodall. Yesterday was my first shift in A&E.”
    “Bit of a baptism by fire today, then?”
    “Yeah, you could say that.” The admission left her in a rush of breath.
    Meg smiled, remembering her terrifying first few days on the job. “Well, at least you didn’t end up covered in vomit.”
    Emily chuckled, but she sobered as they approached the Relatives’ Room. The nurse assigned to the role of family liaison opened the door at Meg’s knock and stepped aside to allow her to enter. Mellow light replaced the corridor’s harsh ceiling neon, and it took Meg’s eyes a moment to adjust. When they did, the familiar layout of the room took shape: the cupboard holding a kettle and china cups, and the low table with its vase of dried flowers carefully arranged beside a box of tissues. The chairs were pushed together to form a quasi-sofa, mimicking the design of a living room. As with most of the people who spent time sequestered there, Mrs. Taylor didn’t seem reassured by the home comforts. Her cup of coffee was still half-full, and two balled-up tissues rested on her lap. When she looked up at Meg, there wasn’t a flicker of hope in her eyes.
    “Mrs. Taylor, my name is Dr. Fielding. I’ve been looking after your husband since he came into the hospital.” Meg took a step forward, broaching the gap. “May I sit