‘I’m sorry, Ana,’ he said quietly, fixing his eyes on hers. ‘I remember how annoyed you always used to get when people tried to help you. I shouldn’t...’
‘It’s OK.’
‘It’s really not,’ he said, stepping closer so that only the empty bed was between them. Her heart was trying to escape through her throat. ‘You had this whole place specially designed so you could manage it yourself.’
‘I never intended to handle everything alone, Gabriel,’ she snapped back.
He narrowed his soulful eyes and dashed a hand along his jaw just as the door opened behind them. The severity of her own words and tone shocked her as she cleared her throat self-consciously.
Maria stuck her head in. ‘Should I send your next patient in, Ana?’ she said, looking between them with interest.
Ana caught the flicker of a knowing smile on her receptionist’s face as Gabriel walked past her, saying he’d get the patient from the waiting room.
‘What’s going on with you two?’ Maria asked when Gabriel was gone.
‘Who, Gabriel? Nothing.’ Ana’s pulse quickened as she said it, turning her back to Maria in the chair so she couldn’t see her reddening cheeks.
‘You make a good team. Does that sizzling chemistry extend beyond these walls?’
Sizzling chemistry? Ana rolled her eyes.
‘We’re just friends,’ she said loudly, just to make her point crystal clear to herself, as well as Maria. This had to stop; it was already getting ridiculous!
The next thing she knew, Maria had closed the door behind her, and Ana was left wondering how on earth she’d get through the week like this.
CHAPTER FIVE
THINGS HAD CHANGED so quickly in the city after Carnival, Gabriel thought, locking his front door behind him. The streets that had been bustling with life and snap-happy tourists were now empty at this early hour, apart from the occasional late-night reveller who hadn’t made it home before sunrise. Rising above the stillness of the streets, the sound of blaring sirens hit his ears as he walked past the cemetery. It made him picture Bruno out there, training his new intake of paramedics. He’d been talking to Sofia about the drama at the hospital over Carnival, and about her blossoming love for Carlos—good for her! While he’d missed the action sometimes, the slower pace of the clinic and its significant lack of emergency patients and trauma was kind of refreshing.
He was just thinking how quickly this week had gone, in the presence of Ana and all these new clients of hers, when a noise from up ahead caught his ears. The clinic wasn’t even open yet, but someone was outside, and a frantic cry cut through the peaceful morning air.
‘Help! Somebody, please help!’ a young woman’s voice cried out, her desperation piercing his heart as he sprinted faster towards the locked clinic. Ana got there at the exact same time, the coffee she’d been balancing between her knees wobbling precariously as she stopped her chair short in front of the woman. Gabriel exchanged a quick glance with her before the young woman with dishevelled chestnut hair started gasping wildly for breath.
‘Anaphylactic shock,’ he said in sync with Ana, whose eyes widened before narrowing sharply. Her coffee fell to the floor, splattering the pavement with brown liquid.
‘Help!’ The girl clutched at her throat, her face twisted in panic as she struggled to breathe. Her skin had paled to an eerie shade of blue in the last two seconds, and her eyes pleaded for salvation. Gabriel caught her just as she was about to hit the pavement. He and Ana were right—he’d seen this reaction before.
Ana fumbled for her keys and her phone at the same time while he held the woman on his lap on the ground. ‘I’m a paramedic. My name’s Gabriel. What’s your name?’
The girl’s voice, weak and trembling, managed to stammer out, ‘M-Melissa...’
Ana was already on her phone, dialling for an ambulance. Maria arrived now, early for her shift. She raced ahead into the clinic to fetch blankets as Ana held the phone to her ear. ‘We need an ambulance at City Clinic, a possible anaphylactic shock. Send it right away!’
‘Please, help me,’ Melissa begged, her voice rasping as her breathing grew more laboured.
‘Melissa, we’re going to help you,’ Ana said quickly as Gabriel patted her down and checked her purse quickly for an epi-pen. ‘We think you’re having a severe allergic reaction. Try to stay calm. Do you have anything on you for these reactions?’
‘I don’t see anything,’ Gabriel answered for her. With a nod to Ana to stay with her and keep her calm, he rushed inside for an epinephrine auto-injector. On his return, Ana held Melissa steady while he got to his knees and carefully administered the life-saving medication into her thigh. The tension was palpable as they waited for the epinephrine to take effect and Ana’s eyes were hard and focused even as a small crowd gathered round on the street, looking on at them.
Seconds stretched into agonising minutes, but finally Melissa’s breathing started to ease. The bluish tint to her skin began to recede, and her desperate gasps turned into shuddering sobs of relief, just as the ambulance screeched round the corner. Bruno and one of his new recruits jumped out.
Ana was still laser-focused on the girl. ‘Better?’ she asked, her voice gentle and reassuring as Gabriel joined her.
Melissa nodded, tears streaming down her face. ‘Thank you, thank you so much. It came on so fast... I couldn’t find my phone, I just stumbled straight here, I wasn’t thinking...’
Gabriel updated Bruno and his co-dispatcher on Melissa’s condition. ‘The epinephrine seems to be helping. But you should take her anyway, give her a proper check-up. Poor girl’s in shock.’
Melissa’s grip on Ana’s hand remained tight as she struggled to regain her composure. ‘I... I’ve never had a reaction like this before. I don’t even know what triggered it.’
‘They’ll find out at the hospital,’ Ana said, and Gabriel nodded, helping the girl to her feet with Bruno.
Ana offered a comforting smile from her wheelchair. ‘Sometimes, allergies can develop suddenly. The most important thing is that you got help in time.’
‘Thanks to you two,’ she said, her voice laden with relief as she looked between them in gratitude.
Melissa, now in even more capable hands, was quickly loaded into the ambulance, where Bruno’s assistant fitted an oxygen mask. Bruno took Gabriel aside. ‘Good thing you were there, and Ana too. Who’d have thought the clinic would have you on your toes as much as being out with me?’
Gabriel smirked, glancing back at Ana, who was shooing away the crowds as politely as she could. ‘I know, right?’
‘So, how long before you ask her out?’ Bruno asked quietly.
‘What?’ Gabriel frowned.
‘Oh, come on, we all know that’s why you agreed to help her out—you like her! I always knew you two had a connection. Are you...you know...exploring it now, finally?’
Gabriel shook his head at his old friend, hoping Ana hadn’t heard. ‘We’re just friends, Bruno.’
Bruno slapped his shoulder playfully before hopping back into the ambulance. Gabriel watched as the vehicle sped away, pondering his colleague’s words. Exploring it? As if: Ana only saw him as a friend!
