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‘Thank you, Brett.’ Emma glanced up and saw another nurse pushing a wheelchair into the ward. ‘There’s the first patient back now.’

Emma’s flat shoes squeaked on the polished lino floor as she walked along the corridor. Entering the last ward, she was surprised to see both patients had returned

A young man with a shiny bald head sat up in the bed to the left, and she smiled at him. She glanced across to the bed on the right next to the door, and Emma stared in disbelief. Her heart beat hard and fast, as the discharge papers slipped from her hand and for a moment she felt as though she was going to faint.

Connor Kirk lifted his eyes and met hers as she stood in the doorway, one hand over her mouth. ‘Hello Emma, I thought it would only be a matter of time before I bumped into you or Jeremy here.’

‘Connor?’ Emma couldn’t keep the shock out of her voice. ‘What on earth . . . I mean, what are you doing here? I mean . . . Crumbs!’ She grabbed his hand. ‘This is where you’ve been all this time. You’ve been calling and texting from the hospital!’

The young man across the ward was following their conversation with interest. Emma shot him an apologetic smile and reached up and closed the curtains around Connor’s bed.

‘No one knows you’re in here? Dru doesn’t even know? I can’t believe it.’ Emma dropped into the chair beside the bed and stared at her brother-in-law.

Connor shook his head. ‘I’m sorry, Emma. This is the way I wanted it to be. Nobody knows except my GP, my oncologist, and the staff in this unit.’

‘But what about Dru?’ Emma said. ‘I don’t understand.’

‘I had to do this by myself. I wanted to do it by myself.’

‘But why? You needed support. How long have you been going through chemo?’

‘Six weeks, this is my last round. I hope.’

‘And what is—’ Emma cut her question off. If Connor wanted to tell her, he would. It wasn’t her place to ask. Being the duty doctor, she could simply look at his files to see the prognosis, but being a relative that would be wrong. If Connor wanted her to know, she would let him tell her.

‘The prognosis is good. I just had to go through the treatment and I didn’t think Dru or Ruby or the family needed that worry.’

‘My God, Connor, you can’t go through something like this yourself.’

‘It’s all right, Dru thinks I’m working on a very heavy case.’

Emma raised her eyebrows and let that go for the time being. ‘How’s your mental health?’ She was back in doctor mode.

‘Fine. I’m coping with this and staying positive. Dr Mulholland has been a great support. She’s kept me informed at every step. Told me what would be happening and how long it would take. I’m expecting her shortly for the final results. And then I can go and see Dru. If it’s good, I don’t need to tell her anything about the past few weeks.’

‘Do you think that’s the right thing to do, Connor? I’m speaking now both as a doctor and as your sister-in-law.’

‘Yes, I think it’s the right thing to do. It’s my decision.’

‘It is, but I always thought you were a man of intelligence and compassion. I’m speaking out of turn here, but I cannot stand to see Dru the way she is for a minute longer than necessary. I think she will accept the fact that you have—?’

‘Stage one testicular cancer,’ Connor filled in. ‘And what do you mean the way she is?’

‘I think she will deal with that much better than she is dealing with her fear that you’re leaving her for another woman, Connor.’ Emma’s voice broke. ‘Dru has refused to talk to you when you called because she thinks you’re going to tell her you’re leaving her. She thinks you’ve found someone else.’

‘What! Why?’

‘How could you think she hasn’t noticed something was very different? She’s breaking her heart; she thinks you’re having an affair and it’s not doing her or the baby any good.’

‘What the hell? Where on earth would she get that from?’

‘Just think about your behaviour over the past six weeks. What does it look like? Leaving early, not talking to her, coming home late, and having days away?’

‘I stayed in a hotel in town after each chemo session until I felt better and then I went home.’

‘For God’s sake, Connor. Dru is your wife! What were the vows you made? In sickness and in health, for better for worse, and all those promises.’

‘Yeah, I know but—’