The Surgeon and the Princess Karin Baine (websites to read books for free .TXT) 📖

poolside was a riot of squeals and splashes with little Hannah in the middle of it all. She was kicking her good leg in the pool, roaring with laughter every time she managed to splash someone.

They didn’t push her too far out of her comfort zone, but he and Georgiana did compete in another race. This time without incident and with a cheering squad. It was their way of showing Hannah there was nothing to fear when Georgiana was just as able to swim as he was, even with only one good leg.

Step one was complete. Ed was willing to do whatever it took to get Hannah’s hydrotherapy started. Recovery here wasn’t a series of tick boxes. It took as long as necessary. With Georgiana’s input he was sure Hannah would be back on her feet when she was ready.

‘If you don’t mind, I’d like to stay on in the pool for a while,’ Georgiana said as the Howells got ready to leave.

‘Not at all. We’ve got an appointment with the physiotherapist next. Perhaps we’ll see you later.’ Hannah’s father stopped her from feeling too bad about not seeing them off because she wanted to enjoy some more pool time.

‘Call by my office before you go.’ It seemed Ed wasn’t going to get out either as he waved the family off from the pool.

‘You don’t have to stay on my account. I promise not to drown or break anything if you have work to get back to.’ It was bad enough she monopolised his time at night without doing it during office hours too. She simply wanted some swim time to chill out after her earlier nerves about meeting Hannah and her family.

‘It’s not always about you, Princess. I have to exercise or I don’t get to eat my junk food. For the record, our private session will be coming to an end and I don’t know how much longer we’ll have the place to ourselves. There will be other patients booked in to use the pool for the rest of the afternoon. You know, if you’re not comfortable with anyone else seeing you here.’ With that he pushed away to do a non-stop lap of the pool.

‘It’s fine. I’ve got over that hurdle now.’ What difference was it going to make now if she was joined by other people who were likely more concerned with their own recovery?

She’d barely got the words out of her mouth when they were joined by one of the therapists and her patient. Their privacy was over as the rest of the clinic were granted use of the facility too. Georgiana carried on with her swim as the man was lowered into the pool on the hoist, knowing he’d be every bit as self-conscious as she was, thinking someone might be watching. She did, however, nod an acknowledgement to his anxious family member looking on.

When she’d been having her hydrotherapy sessions she’d done them alone. There were some who had family and friends to support them, but there were plenty of others like her who’d chosen to go through their recovery on their own. Looking back, she could see how much harder that had made things for her mentally. That had been the beginning of her pushing everyone away, rejecting any support. Her time here at Ed’s clinic had shown her the benefits of having someone in your corner, shouting their encouragement and providing a sounding board for those struggling with their mobility.

The woman was walking up and down the length of the pool urging on who Georgiana assumed was her husband. Ed had been the one doing that for her lately. Perhaps if she’d had someone like him from the moment she’d been injured she might have found it easier to deal with the events. As much as she hated what her body had gone through, if it hadn’t been for that bomb she would never have met Ed and she was grateful every day that he’d come into her life.

The patient was oblivious to the cheer squad as he continued his swim but Georgiana was fascinated. That outpouring of emotion, with no hint of self-consciousness, from the partner in pursuit of her husband’s progress was something her family had never displayed even in the most traumatic of circumstances. Until recently she hadn’t thought much of it, but now that level of support seemed the most important thing in the world.

Her envious surveillance proved invaluable when she saw the woman falter, a look of sudden distress crossing her face. Georgiana swam in her direction to make sure she was okay, just in time to see her drop to the ground and begin fitting on the floor.

‘Ed!’ She yelled for help, hoping he could get to her quickly.

His head jerked up to see what had made her call out. Then all hell seemed to break loose.

‘She’s epileptic.’ The husband shouted from the pool, clearly frantic that he couldn’t get to her side without help. Ed was swimming so hard towards the side of the pool he didn’t seem to be taking a breath between strokes. The woman’s body was jerking and twitching uncontrollably, then she just seemed to roll into the water.

Horrific screams echoed around the walls and Georgiana wasn’t sure if they were coming from her or the husband as they watched her fall helplessly into the watery depths of the pool. The lifeguard dived in and between him and Ed they managed to haul her leaden body to the surface. They kept her head tilted back to keep her face out of the water so she wasn’t inhaling any more water. There was no way of knowing how much had already gone into her lungs or what damage she’d done when her head hit the floor. Georgiana knew from painful experience how hard those tiles were against one’s skull. She’d been lucky not to have suffered anything more than an egg-shaped lump but a serious head injury here could have caused