'So what happens next?' Dee asked as he started to walk away.
He paused. 'We'll wait for his urine sample to come back from the lab and if that's all right then you can probably take him home.'
'But you don't know why he collapsed.'
He shook his head. 'No.'
'Then how do we know he's all right? How do we stop it happening again?'
'Let's wait for the tests to come back and we'll talk about it then.' And with a polite nod, he walked out of the ward.
'It's frustrating, isn't it?' said the man sitting beside the next bed. 'My daughter's been having fits on and off for months and they still can't get to the bottom of it.'
Dee looked at the girl in the bed who was busy playing with a doll. 'She looks fine.'
'Yes.' He chuckled. 'She always seems to improve once we walk through the door!' He stood up. 'I'm going to get a drink, can I get you something?'
She shook her head. 'No, but thanks.'
'I'll be back in a minute, darling,' he told his daughter and quietly left the ward.
Dee turned back to study her son. He was leafing through a book that she'd packed for him and looked completely fine. Maybe they all just felt safe when they got in here, she mused, looking around. She could understand that as the emergency ward, despite being crammed with beds, was bright and cheerful. A nurse walked in and Dee immediately hopped up and went over to her. 'Nurse, could you keep an eye on my son for a little while? I need to make a phone call and I think he's a bit nervous about me leaving him.'
'No problem at all. Sam, would you like to come into the nurse's station with me to get some crayons and paper?'
He nodded and stood up, slipping his hand into hers.
'I'm just going outside to call Lisa, Sam, okay?'
He nodded again and left with the nurse without a backward glance. 'And I think I'm indispensable,' she murmured, exchanging a wry smile with another mother.
Dee hurried back through the rabbit warren of corridors to the front door and joined the ranks of other worried parents outside, some on mobiles and some just staring into space. She shivered, realizing things could be a lot worse. She phoned the crèche and Lisa picked up the phone on the first ring.
'Dee! How is he?'
'He's fine, Lisa, in great form.'
'Oh, thank God.'
'I haven't got long; I can't use my phone in the hospital so I just ran out for a minute to check in with you. I don't have anything to tell you, really. They did some tests and we're just waiting now for results but they don't seem to know what's wrong with him.'
'Well, he's in the right place,' Lisa consoled her. 'I'm sure he'll be fine.'
'Did you talk to Conor?'
'No, he wasn't answering his phone so I rang Ronan. He sends his love and says not to worry; Zoe is going to make bolognese for tomorrow and he'll buy a couple of quiches from the supermarket.'
Dee winced. 'God, I hope he doesn't lose customers,'
'They'll survive for one day.'
'What about the children's tea? I was going to make them scrambled eggs on toast.'
'I saw the eggs, so I was going to boil them and make sandwiches, is that okay?'
'Dear God, Lisa, we'll make a chef of you yet!'
'Don't push it,' Lisa warned.
'I'm so sorry for leaving you in the lurch like that.'
'Don't be silly, as if it's your fault. Anyway, Paula's here. Her mother saw the ambulance and sent her over as soon as she got in from school.'
'That was very kind.' Dee felt a surge of gratitude for good neighbours.
'Is there anyone else you want me to call? Pauline?'
'God, no, she'd only get in the way and drive the staff crazy,'
'Okay, then, you go and look after Sam and don't worry about us; everything is fine.'
'Thanks, Lisa.'
Dee was about to go inside when a thought occurred to her. Maybe she should phone Neil? There was no real reason to; he hadn't been around all the other times Sam had been sick but that, she realized, was what was niggling her. He was here now. She could dial his number and in seconds he would know. It didn't make any difference to her, she still would not let him come in and see Sam but if he was being honest about his feelings, it would make a difference to him. If he cared about Sam he would want to know if he was sick, even if there was nothing he could do about it. Deciding to give him the benefit of the doubt, Dee searched for his number and dialled.
'Oh my God, Dee, is he all right?'
'Yes, he seems to be.'
'But he lost consciousness?'
'Yes, but I don't think it was for long.'
'You're not sure? Was he alone?'
Dee sighed irritably. He hadn't been around for five years and now he was passing judgement on her? 'No, he was in the crèche. One minute he was reading on the sofa and the next he was gone. We thought he was hiding but then,' Dee's voice wobbled, 'I found him on the floor in front of the sofa.'
'I'll come straight in.'
'No! No, Neil, there's no point; there's nothing you can do. I'll phone you when I have more news.'
'Dee?'
'Yes?'
'Thanks for letting me know.'
'That's okay. Bye, Neil.'
When Dee got back to the ward, Sam was sitting up on the bed watching a Barney DVD on the small television in the corner. His eyes were heavy and Dee climbed up on the bed and slipped an arm around him. 'Are you okay?'
'Uh-huh.'
The nurse came over when she saw Dee was back. 'Are you tired, Sam?' He nodded, not taking his eyes off the screen. 'The doctor will be down to see you soon.'
'Are the results back?' Dee asked.
She nodded. 'Yes, Doctor Berrane needs to look at them. He's on his rounds now but I have paged him.'
'Thanks.'
The nurse moved on to talk to the little girl in the next bed and Dee wriggled around in an effort to get comfortable. 'Everything is going to be fine, Sam,' she said, cuddling him into her. 'You have a little rest.'
'Mrs Hewson? Mrs Hewson?'
Dee's eyes flew open and she looked up at the doctor smiling down at her. 'Oh, I'm sorry!' She slipped her dead arm from under Sam and sat up.
'Sorry for disturbing you, you looked very comfortable.'
She looked down at her sleeping son. 'Is he okay?'
The doctor put a hand on Sam's wrist and listened before nodding. 'He's fine.'
'Is there any news?' she asked anxiously.
'Yes and no. The tests are all clear which is, of course, good news, but it means we don't know why Sam lost consciousness.'
'So what do we do now?'
'We can keep him in and run more tests if you like or you can take him home and bring him back if you're worried. If it's any consolation there seems to be a bug going round and the symptoms have been fainting and nausea.'
'He did say he felt ill at lunchtime and he didn't eat much at breakfast.'
'Let him sleep for the moment,' the doctor suggested. 'We'll take another look at him when he wakes, but I think the best thing to do is to take him home. If he doesn't want to eat, don't press him but make sure he gets plenty of fluids. If you're worried, bring him back in. You can come straight up to the ward and the nurse will page me.'
Dee smiled. 'Thank you, you've been very kind.'
'Good news?' The nurse came over and sat on the edge of the bed after the doctor had left.
Dee shrugged. 'I suppose so.'
'I know it's hard when you don't have all the answers, but you wouldn't believe how often it happens with children. They seem to get so seriously ill and so suddenly and then' – she snapped her fingers – 'just like that, they're better again!' She smiled. 'My mother says it's why God invented hair colorant.'
Dee chuckled and stood up. 'I've certainly got some grey hairs today! I'd better go and make some more phone calls. If he wakes, will you tell him I'll be back in a few minutes?'
The nurse stood up too. 'Sure, but I'd say he'll be out for a while; he's had quite a day.'
Dee turned back to Sam and laid a hand gently on his forehead. Thankfully he was as cool as he looked and so peaceful. She crept away from the bed and then hurried back outside to call Lisa and Neil and maybe she'd try to get through to Conor; it was odd he hadn't been in touch but then her phone had been off while she was in the hospital.
She stood on the steps and switched on her phone, nearly jumping out of her skin when somebody touched her arm.
'Sorry, Dee, I didn't mean to frighten you.'
She whirled around and did a double take when she saw Neil standing beside her. 'Neil, what are you doing here?'
He shrugged and looked sheepish. 'I didn't know what else to do.'
'You can't see him—'
'No, no, of course not, I just wanted to be close by in case you needed anything. I mean, I could get you stuff in the shops or something, food, clothes . . .' He shrugged again.
Dee nodded slowly and smiled, realizing how helpless he must be feeling. 'Thanks, that's very kind of you but we don't need anything.'
'So, is there any news?'
She sat down on the step and he sat beside her, his eyes scanning her face worriedly.
'He's fine. He's asleep at the moment but they'll probably let me take him home when he wakes.'
'So what's wrong with him?'
She sighed. 'They don't know. They think it's probably a virus of some sort. Apparently there's a lot of it about at the moment.'
He frowned. 'So have they given him anything?'
'No, the doctor said that I should take him home, give him plenty of fluids and keep an eye on him.'
'And are you okay with that?'
'There's not much I can do about it, is there? Of course I'm nervous, Neil, but Sam has come through so much in his short life I have to believe he'll come through this as well.'
He reached out to squeeze her hand. 'I'm sure he will.'
'Dee?'
She looked up to see Conor standing over them. 'Conor!' Oh, shit, this was all she needed. She felt colour flood her cheeks.
'I'm so sorry, Dee, I came as soon as I heard. How is he?'
'He's fine, Conor,' she assured him. 'Apparently he just has some virus that's going around.'
'Dad says he passed out.'
'Yes, it was awful, he gave us quite a fright.'
Conor nodded and looked pointedly at Neil and she realized that he probably thought she'd meant herself and Neil when she'd said 'us'. 'Oh, sorry. Conor, this is Neil.'
The two men sized each other up as they shook hands.
'Can I see him?' Conor asked, turning back to her.
'Well, he's asleep—'
'But I can sit with him.'
Dee noticed the determined set of his chin. 'Yeah, that would be great. I just need to call Lisa and I'll be right with you. He's in the emergency ward, just follow the signs; it's a bit of a walk.'
'I'll go on up then.' He nodded curtly at Neil. 'Nice to meet you.'
'And you,' Neil said, but Conor was already walking away. 'I don't think he was too pleased to see me here,' he murmured.
Dee refused to meet his eye; she had the feeling that he'd enjoyed that little drama.
'He just wasn't expecting you; neither was I.'
He stood up. 'Thanks for calling me, Dee, it was good of you.'
'I had to,' she said simply.
'Can I push my luck and ask you to call me again tomorrow?'
'I'll text you.' She stood up too. 'Now I must phone Lisa.'
'Well, unless you need me to do anything—'
She shook her head. 'No, that's okay.'
'Then I'll go. Bye, Dee, and thanks again.'
'Bye Neil,' she said and turned away to call her friend and bring her up to date.
Dee paused in the doorway of the ward and smiled with relief when she saw Sam sitting in the middle of the floor with Conor playing with a forklift truck. Both of them were intent on manoeuvring the vehicle to pick up some blocks and oblivious to her scrutiny, and she started when the nurse appeared at her side.
'He's thrilled to see his daddy, isn't he?'
'Oh, he's not—'
'Mummy, look what Conor brought me!' Sam called excitedly.
'Lucky you,' Dee murmured, going over to her son and crouching down beside him.
'It's a forklift truck just like the one Conor has on his farm,' Sam told her, 'and I can work it. Conor says when I'm older I can learn how to drive his one.'
'Yes, well, we'll see about that. Did you say thank you?'
'Yeah.' But Sam still reached up to hug Conor once more. 'Thanks, Conor.'
'You're welcome, champ.' Conor looked up at Dee. 'The doctor was here; he says we can go home.'
'Oh, doesn't he want to talk to me?'
'Not unless you want to talk to him. He checked his blood pressure and listened to his heart and chest and said he was happy enough to discharge him.' Conor frowned. 'I'd have come and got you but he said he was talking to you earlier.'
'No, that's fine. I'll just go and have a word with the nurse and then we can get going. Sam, why don't you go to the toilet and then get your shoes and coat on?'
'But I want to play with my new toy,' he protested.
'You can play with it in the car,' Conor promised, lifting the little boy easily on to his shoulders. 'Now let's go to the loo; you can steer.'
The nurse looked up as Dee stuck her head into the nurse's station. 'Ready to go?'
'I think so.'
The girl handed her a piece of paper. 'That's the number of the ward. If you have any worries at all just call.'
'You've been really kind, thanks a million.'
'You're welcome. Sam's a smashing little boy.'
Dee smiled. 'Thanks.'
Sam chattered the whole way home, telling Conor all about his trip in the ambulance and the doctor letting him use his 'stetscope'. Dee sat back in the passenger seat content to listen, her son's voice sweeter than ever. To be taking him home was more than she could have hoped for and though she was still concerned that they did not know the reason for his collapse, she had confidence in the doctor and in Sam's own demeanour.
When she looked back to check on him she noted the sparkle in his eyes, the healthy colour of his skin, and the rapid-fire questions that he was raining on Conor. He was not behaving remotely like a sick child.