Reawakened by the Surgeon's Touch

‘I hate to do this but it’s time I left. It’s late and I’m in Theatre first thing tomorrow morning.’
‘Really? I’d have thought you would take some time off before you went back to work,’ she queried in surprise.
‘I am, but I’m assisting Professor Jackson.’ He grinned at her. ‘He’s agreed to operate on Jeremiah. We managed to get the paperwork all sorted, so we brought him back to England with us.’
‘Oh, that’s wonderful!’ Claire exclaimed.
‘Isn’t it? However, if I’m to be any help at all then I’d better get some sleep.’

Every fibre of her being was focused on the man in front of her. His face was pale beneath his tan, his eyes surrounded by heavy shadows. Jude hadn’t slept from the look of him but why was that?

Lesley was in the dining room when he went down for breakfast. She took one look at him and rolled her eyes. ‘No need to ask how you slept,’ she said wryly. ‘You look dreadful!’
‘I’m fine,’ Jude stated huffily.

Jude was first in the dining room for breakfast the following morning. Another restless night had left him feeling drained.

‘Very well, thank you,’ Jude replied, deeming it wiser not to admit to his sleepless night, let alone the reason for it.

He checked on Bebe, as he had done many times during the night.

‘Don’t go to any trouble,’ he said quietly. ‘I’ll sleep in here if there’s nowhere else. In fact, it might be better if I did. I can keep an eye on Bebe then. She is one very sick little girl.’

A SOFT MIST shrouded the landscape when Jude awoke shortly before six the following morning. He hadn’t slept well, and he felt tired and out of sorts as he tossed back the mosquito net and climbed out of bed.

Glancing at his watch, he kicked off his shoes and lay down on the bed as exhaustion caught up with him. He had been on the go for the past twenty-four hours and a nap would help to recharge his batteries. He was certainly going to need them charging too. From what he had seen so far, this definitely wasn’t going to be a walk in the park. No, he would be kept busy from dawn to dusk which wasn’t a bad thing if it stopped him thinking thoughts he had no right to harbour.