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Sarah was startled. 'Why not? Did I miss something?'

'I believe you might have, I suspect your patient has a tumour, and I'd prefer to have a surgeon look at it right away. It may be that it's benign at the moment, but these things can turn malignant, and I don't want to waste any time getting him treated.'

Her jaw dropped. 'But it looked like a simple case of a stone in the duct and a superimposed infection. How could I have got it so wrong? Surely he's too young to have a tumour in the submandibular gland?'

'They're rare, I grant you, but I'm suspicious about this one. I'd prefer to err on the side of caution, and I want him to see a surgeon today.'

Sarah was devastated. 'I thought I had done the right thing.' She went and checked the X-ray once more, trying to discover where she had gone wrong. It made her feel wretched to know that she might have missed something serious.

'You're tired and overwrought,' Mark said, 'and when you're in that state of mind it's easy to miss something. As it is, tumours such as these are not easy to spot, so we should do an ultrasound scan to check.'

'I'll go and organise it.' She started to turn away, her mind reeling.

He put a hand out to stop her. 'There's no need. I've already done that. You should go and take a break. Go home. I'll take over from here.'

She stared at him, anguished by her mistake. 'But I.. .1 have to put this right.'

'You don't. I told you that you shouldn't be here today. You're not ready to be at work. As to this patient, you had set things in motion for him to see a specialist, so nothing bad would have come of it. It's just that I think it's best for him to be treated right away.'

Sarah nodded. 'Yes, of course.' She stared up at him in despair, floundering, like a fish out of water. He believed that she had made yet another mistake and he wasn't giving her the chance to put it right. She couldn't make sense of what was happening to her. How many more things could go wrong?

'No,
you
can't have it. Let go.' Jamie's voice sounded an alarm bell in Sarah's head, and she hurried into the living room to check what was going on.

'Kingston, drop it,' Jamie shouted. He was chasing the dog around the room, but stopped as soon as he saw Sarah. He waved his arms in a gesture of astonishment. 'He keeps trying to run off with my toys,' he exclaimed.

The evidence was still in Kingston's mouth, and Sarah grabbed the dog's collar and removed the prized possession. 'You can't have Jamie's truck,' she told him sternly. 'Go and play with your ball instead.'

Kingston's ears perked up. Ball? That seemed to jog a distant memory. He'd heard that before, somewhere or other... Ball... He knew ball. Looking around, he went to sniff it out.

Sarah glanced at Jamie. 'We have to go soon, chick. Will you put your toys away for me, please? Then we'll get in the car and go with Grandad to see your mummy.'

Jamie gave a whoop of joy. 'Yes,' he shouted. 'Yes.. .1 want to see Mummy.'

He looked at her eagerly, and Sarah wished that she could be as positive about the meeting as he was. 'You know that she won't be able to sit up to talk to you, don't you.. .and that we can only visit for a little while? The nurse said we could have ten minutes. That's not very long.'

The nursing staff were worried that a longer visit would result in both mother and son being upset and they were wary of Hannah's spine being further damaged if she tried to get closer to her little boy.

He nodded. 'I'm going to give her my flowers. She'll like those.'

'Yes, she will.'

Sarah turned away, not wanting Jamie to see her expression. Her eyes filled up with tears whenever she thought of her sister lying in the hospital bed, unable to move. It was heartbreaking.

Jamie was full of anticipation, though, and some time later they went to the hospital and headed for Hannah's room. Jamie went over to his mother's bedside.

'See what I brought you?' he said eagerly, thrusting the posy of flowers forward.

'They are beautiful,' Hannah said softly. 'Come here and give me a kiss.'

Jamie pressed a kiss on his mother's cheek and talked to her for a while, telling her about his friends and everything that was going on at school. Hannah listened and put in a comment every now and again. She was trying very hard to put on a cheerful face for her young son, and Sarah could only guess at how difficult that must be for her.

Sarah's father was sitting beside the bed, and now he leaned forward and spoke quietly to Hannah. 'Are you bearing up all right? Is there anything we can bring in for you? Some books on audiotape, perhaps?'

'That would be good, thanks.' Hannah was doing her best to be amenable, but the light had gone out of her eyes and Sarah felt wretched for her.

It was a wrench when she had to take Jamie out of the room a short time later, but the nurse told him, 'When your mummy is feeling a little bit better, she'll be able to sit in a chair and talk to you, and then you can stay for a little bit longer. Will you like that?'

Jamie nodded solemnly. He looked up at Sarah. 'Is she going to be better soon?'

'I hope so, Jamie.'

She walked with him along the corridor, showing him the hospital gardens from the windows, doing what she could to take his mind off having to leave his mother. Her father was going to stay with Hannah for a little while longer, and more than anything, Sarah hoped that he would be able to bring her out of her depression.

She was pointing out to Jamie the fountain and a collection of four bronze statues that decorated a paved area outside the building when she glanced around and saw that Mark was coming their way. His stride was long and purposeful, and he looked good, wearing a beautifully tailored suit that sat easily on his masculine frame, so that her heart made a strange little lurch in her chest.

'I thought you might be around here,' he said. He glanced at Jamie. 'Have you been to see your mummy?'

Jamie nodded.

He must have sensed Jamie's reservations, because he murmured, 'I expect that you'll be able to see her again very soon.' He looked fleetingly at Sarah. 'What are you going to do now? Are you on your way to the cafe?'

'I thought we might go and get a snack while we wait for my dad,' she said. 'I promised Jamie that he could choose what he wanted.'

'Would you mind if I come along with you? I'm on a break and I was hoping that we might be able to have a quick chat.'

She was surprised, but she murmured, 'That's all right, of course you can come with us.' She had no idea what it was that he wanted to talk to her about. Had she done something wrong? Had one of her patients suffered a relapse?

'That's good.' He looked down at Jamie, and walked along with them, talking to the little boy and gently getting him to open up to him.'

Jamie was solemn at first, but gradually he began to lose his shyness, and Sarah sensed that there was a rapport between the two of them. Mark seemed to know how to bring out the best in Jamie, and soon the little boy was chuckling and telling Mark how he sometimes wrestled with Kingston.

'He keeps rolling over on his back, and he likes his tummy tickled,' he confided, 'and sometimes he puts his paw up to me and we shake hands.' His voice was gleeful.

Sarah was glad that Jamie was happy once more. They went into the hospital cafe and loaded their trays. Jamie chose milk and cake, and Sarah settled for coffee. Mark added a pack of sandwiches and bought a small puzzle box from a collection of toys that were in a basket on the counter. He gave the box to Jamie.

'Have you played with one of those before?'

The little boy inspected it carefully and shook his head.

'I'll start you off, then,' Mark said. He showed Jamie how to manoeuvre the pieces, and then said, 'Do you think you can manage it by yourself now?'

Jamie nodded, smiling. 'Thanks,' he said, looking up at him with wide eyes. He took the puzzle over to their table and immediately became absorbed in working out how to fit all the pieces together and push them into the right places.

'You said that you wanted to talk to me,' Sarah murmured, glancing at Mark when they had seated themselves. 'Is it about work?' She was concerned. 'Have there been any repercussions over the man with the tumour?'

He shook his head. 'No, that's all been dealt with satisfactorily. The surgeon removed the growth, and we were lucky in that it was benign. We caught it in time.'

'I'm glad.' She gave a relieved sigh and stirred her coffee absently. Would it have made a difference if he had been discharged and left to wait for an appointment? Who could tell? It was only because of Mark's vigilance that the man had received prompt treatment. She said cautiously, 'What was it that you wanted to talk to me about?'

'It's to do with the fundraising dinner tomorrow evening. I noticed that your name wasn't on the list, and I know that this is a bad time for you, but I think it would be good for you if you could manage to come along.'

She had tried not to think about the dinner. She had enough things on her mind already, and anyway, after what Owen had said about Mark's father and his influence in getting his son the job in A and E, she had thought it better to steer clear. She didn't want to be drawn into any gossip that might start up, and how could she avoid that if the function was being held at his father's house? Perhaps Mark's father didn't care one way or the other if his motives were questioned.

'I don't think I can bring myself to sign up for anything right now,' she said. 'I'm worried about Hannah and Ryan, and there's Jamie to look after. I don't want to have to think about anything else at the moment.'

'I realise that.' He looked at her carefully. 'I know what you're going through, but I think it would do you good in a lot of ways to come along. I think you'll feel better for a change of scene, and it isn't just a commonplace get-together—we do this once a year, and it's a highlight, an out-of-the-ordinary occasion. This time it's extra-special because we're also celebrating Shaun Blake's promotion. He's been given sponsorship and offered the chance to do research when his stint as senior house officer comes to an end.'

'Yes, I heard about that. I'm pleased for him, and I know the fundraising effort is for a good cause—a new dialysis machine—but I just don't feel up to joining in any social events right now. I don't think I would be very good company for anyone at the moment.'

Jamie interrupted them, waving his puzzle in front of her nose to show her how it was coming along. 'I done that bit, see?' he said.

'You're doing very well,' Sarah acknowledged. 'Where does that piece go? Does it fit in there?' She pointed to one of the coloured sections, and Jamie studied it once more.

'You don't need to put yourself out to be good company,' Mark said. 'Just being there would be enough.'

She frowned. 'It isn't as simple as that, though, is it? I expect there will be a lot of wealthy people there, people who have a lot of clout, and I don't feel that I belong. I don't think I can add anything, and I'm not up to mixing with management chiefs and administrators and so on at the moment.'

Mark said, 'Sarah, you shouldn't worry about having to fit in. You're not going to stand out from the crowd. Everyone from A and E who isn't on duty will be there to support Shaun. There aren't many occasions when we can socialise outside work, but this is a one-off and it's a chance for us all to get to know each other better. I'd really appreciate it if you would try to be there.'

He wasn't saying that anyone would be put out if she didn't attend, but she wondered if Shaun would take offence. He had been all right with her the last time they had spoken, but he hadn't liked it when she had disagreed with his suggestion about introducing a competitive element in A and E. There was a faint possibility that he might take it as a slight if she didn't publicly acknowledge his success by attending the dinner.

She said thoughtfully, 'I suppose I really should show Shaun some support. He's a good doctor, and I'm pleased for him. I know he's always wanted to do research alongside his work in A and E. I think he'll go far.'

'So do I.' He gazed at her searchingly. 'Does that mean that you'll come along?'

'I'll think about it,' she conceded. 'A lot will depend on whether or not my father agrees to look after Jamie.'

'I could come and pick you up. Shall we say seven-thirty tomorrow evening?'

He wasn't taking a chance that she might try to slide out of it, was he? She made a faint grimace. 'I'll let you know.'

They finished their coffee, and Mark glanced down at his watch. 'I should be getting back to work. We've been really busy today.'

A short time later they parted company, and Sarah and Jamie headed back towards Hannah's room.

She told her father about the dinner that evening when they were having supper at his house. They had decided that it was easier for them all to live with him for a while, and Sarah could relax, knowing that Kingston could safely be left in the daytime.

'I don't feel right about going out while Hannah and Ryan are so ill. I think that Mark realises that I probably won't be going.'

'I think you should go with him,' her father said. 'I'm happy to look after Jamie. I'm not on call tomorrow evening.'

She looked at him in surprise. 'I didn't expect you to say that. I thought you would agree with me.'

He shook his head. 'I think it's a good idea for you to go. There's nothing you can do to help Hannah except to take care of Jamie and try to keep her spirits up, and there isn't going to be any change in her condition for a while yet. As for Ryan, his coma hasn't lessened, and it won't do any of us any good to sit around moping.'

With even her father on Mark's side, Sarah couldn't see any way of getting out of it. Did she have any choice? She didn't want to be seen as having a sour-grapes attitude.

When Mark rang to find out what she had decided, she reluctantly told him that she would go with him.

'I'm glad,' he said.

The next evening she was out of sorts, along with the weather, which seemed to be doing its best to emulate her mood. There had been no good news from the hospital, and now the heavens had opened once more and she could hear the relentless beat of raindrops against her window.