lose weight.’
‘BP’s 100 over 50,’ Tim reported.
‘That’s a bit on the low side,’ Laura explained. ‘But it’s only to be expected if you’ve had a fainting episode. Do you know what your blood pressure normally is?’
‘I think it’s a bit high. My doctor told me it was another reason I needed to lose weight. I am trying. I’ve hardly eaten anything today, have I, Colin?’
‘No,’ her husband confirmed. ‘Just rabbit food.’
‘That might have been a contributing factor to the faint,’ Laura said. ‘We’ll check your blood sugar and then I’ll have a look at where you hit your head.’ Irene had ‘come over all funny’ well before she’d come into contact with the vanity unit and she appeared quite alert now so a head injury was unlikely to have been responsible for the period of unconsciousness, but Laura intended to make a thorough check.
Fifteen minutes later, both she and Tim were satisfied that Irene was fine.
‘I’m feeling ever so much better,’ she informed them.
‘BP’s up to 130 over 90,’ Tim reported.
‘Blood sugar’s normal.’ Laura dropped the small finger-pricking device into the sharps container. ‘And everything else checks out. There’s really no need for us to take you into hospital, Irene, but if you or Colin need any more reassurance then we’re happy to do so.’
‘No, I’m fine,’ Irene insisted. ‘All I want to do is get dressed and have some supper.’
‘Good idea.’ Tim smiled. ‘We’re about due for some supper ourselves.’
‘Would you like a cup of tea before you go?’ Irene pushed her arms into the dressing-gown Laura was holding for her. ‘I’ve got a lovely banana cake that my daughter brought round this afternoon.’
‘That’s very kind of you but we’ll have to get back on station,’ Laura said with a smile.
Tim caught Laura’s eye as she coiled the lead wires and slotted them back into a pocket of the life pack. ‘With a bit of luck there might even be a muffin left for us.’
‘Oh, take the cake with you,’ Irene exclaimed. ‘I shouldn’t be eating it anyway and Colin hates banana cake.’
‘No, you deserve a treat after this,’ Laura said. ‘You enjoy it.’
‘But I’ll only eat one piece and the rest will be wasted. I’d really like you to take it.’
‘Please, do,’ Colin added. ‘By way of thanks. We’re very grateful for your help. I was scared stiff. I had no idea of what to do other than call for an ambulance.’
‘We’re happy to help. We shouldn’t accept cake.’
‘Wow-cake! You shouldn’t have!’
Jason, Stick, Cliff and Bruce eyed the offering that Laura carried into the commonroom.
‘Hey-you’ve already eaten some.’
They had left a segment with Irene by way of a compromise. The rest of the banana cake was clearly going to be appreciated immediately by everyone on Green Watch at Inglewood station. Or it would have been, if not for the arrival of an unexpected visitor.
‘Maxine!’ Jason put down the plate he was holding and stepped out of the cake queue. ‘What are you doing here?’
‘Came to see you, of course.’ The willowy redhead sounded less than happy. ‘I want to know why you’re avoiding me, Jason Halliday.’
‘I’m not.’ Jason’s smile was one of his most winning and Laura’s heart fell. He’d smooth over the troubled waters and she could just see herself babysitting Megan while he went out to make things up with Maxine.
‘Here.’ Stick could see the banana cake disappearing with alarming rapidity. ‘You take Peanut.’ He shoved the bundle he held into Jason’s arms. ‘She’s your kid after all.’
Laura could swear that Stick flashed her the ghost of a wink. He must have known what effect his action and words would have. Laura gained a rather savage sense of satisfaction from the expression on Maxine’s face, but Stick didn’t seem to have finished stirring troubled waters. He grinned as Megan produced noisy evidence of the biological functions occurring in her small body.
‘Hey, Jase. She’s inherited your talent for burping and farting at the same time.’
The rest of Green Watch found Stick’s observation hilarious.
‘There goes the court case,’ Bruce commiserated. ‘That’s even more of a genetic link than the colour of her eyes, mate.’
Jason looked as though he was desperately hoping the ground would open beneath his feet. Megan was looking a lot happier than she had a moment ago and was beaming approval at her father.
‘Um…Jason?’
‘Yeah?’ Jason’s smile looked glued on now but he was still bravely standing his ground.
‘Do you want to tell me what’s going on?’
The rest of Green Watch now seemed totally absorbed in their supper. ‘Great cake,’ Bruce announced. ‘Isn’t it, Stick?’
‘The best.’ Stick nodded. He glanced sideways at Jason and then caught Cliff’s eye and winked.
‘Jason?’
Stick wasn’t being quite as successful as the others in hiding his interest in the building confrontation but Laura projected what she hoped was a calm indifference.
‘I think I’ll have some cake, too,’ Laura murmured. ‘It does look nice.’
‘You need it,’ Stick told her a little too loudly. ‘You’re fading away, Laura. Being a mum is taking it out of you.’
‘I wish.’ Laura grinned. She could appreciate the efforts of these guys as they closed a protective rank around her and tried to let her know that they considered her to be just as good as the gorgeous redhead now taking centre stage in the commonroom. But Stick did have a point. Her clothes were definitely feeling a lot looser than they had a week or two ago. Her pleasure in someone else noticing was heightened by the glare she could feel coming from Maxine.
‘So, you’ve been “busy”, have you, Jason?’ Maxine used long, French-manicured nails to make the quotation marks in the air. ‘I’d say you were pretty busy nine months ago or so as well.’ She narrowed her eyes at Laura. ‘With
‘No, of course not,’ Jason assured her. Then he blinked. What was so ‘of course’ about it, anyway?
Lightning-fast thoughts flashed through his brain. Yes, Laura wore glasses but now that he had noticed the colour of her eyes they seemed more like frames that accentuated rather than hid them. Yes, she was short and Jason had always avoided short women because they made him feel like a father figure, but Laura was anything but childish. She could be bossy but she was never bad-tempered without a jolly good reason and, what’s more, she was bloody good at her job. Yes, she was nothing like as skinny as Maxine, but he’d actually been serious when he’d told Laura he might try some curves next time. And on top of everything else, he simply liked Laura. Right now, it seemed that she had more going for her than Maxine did.
‘Laura’s a friend,’ he explained. ‘A very good friend. And she’s living with me right now to help look after Megan.’
‘Megan?’
‘My daughter.’ There was an unmistakable note of pride in Jason’s voice and his colleagues exchanged meaningful glances over their slices of cake. ‘Here, would you like to hold her?’
‘Not in this lifetime,’ Maxine said sweetly. ‘Why didn’t you tell me you had a baby, Jason?’
‘But I didn’t have a baby,’ Jason said. ‘Not until last week.’
‘I’ve spoken to you since last week.’ Maxine looked confused but then licked her lips and shook her tumble of tresses into place. ‘You still could have told me.’
‘I thought I would have got rid of it by now.’
‘Oh.’ Maxine looked a little happier. ‘You’re not keeping it, then?’
‘No. Its mother’s coming back.
‘You don’t know?’