“Broken At the Inn”

by: Stacey and Beej

“Relax, friend, the ambo should be here soon,” Alex assured Colin, as he sat down next to him.

“Ta, Mate,” Colin replied, then pulled out a cigarette and took a long drag.

“No problem, you just sit back and take it easy,” he told him, lighting up a cigarette of his own.

Alex had insisted on calling an ambo, though Colin thought it was quite unnecessary. This whole damn day was turning out to be quite the nightmare as far as he was concerned.

“So, wanna fill me in on how you ended up in this condition?” Alex asked.

“Thought I could make the jump from the back balcony,” Colin told him.

He still couldn’t figure out for the life of him why Abby would have gone and shoved him out onto the balcony like that, and wondered what she and that bloody wanker of a husband of hers was doing right this moment.

“Hmm... have something against using the stairs?” Alex chuckled.

Colin just stared at him, grimacing. “Bloody sheila decided she’d push me out the window.”

“Now why would she go and do a thing like that?” Alex asked, trying hard not to grin. “You must have really done something to get her that riled up.”

Colin shook his head, “No clue, mate. One minute, we’re getting quite cozy in the bed, and the next, her fuckin’ estranged husband comes bangin’ on the door, and she tells me to get dressed and shoves me out the window!”

Alex raised his eyebrows, “Sure sounds like you know how to pick ‘em, buddy,” he chuckled.

Stevo was getting some much needed sleep. He and Tom were on call, but he knew if anything went down, his partner would come get him. His dream was shattered by a short siren burst. Jumping out of bed and racing through to the lounge room, he saw the lights flashing through the window. Throwing open the front door, he motioned Tom to keep the noise down.

Tom opened the window, “C’mon, mate; we’ve got a shout.”

“On my way, Tom…try not to wake up me mum, will ya!”

“Too late, darling,” Merri said sleepily, handing Stevo his clothes and waving through the door at Tom. “You both be careful, you hear.”

“Yes, mum” they said in unison, laughing at each other and waving Merri goodbye.

“What, we got?” Stevo asked, all business now he was in the ambo.

“A shout from Millie’s. Sounded like someone fell from the balcony.”

“What the fuck were they doing there at this time of morning?”

“No idea, mate, but we’ll soon find out.”

It took around five minutes to get to Millie’s, and they jumped out and made for the door, kit in hand.

As he spotted their patient, Tom grinned. “G’Day, Colin. Wot you been up to, mate?”

“G’day, Tom, Stevo,” Colin said, wincing a bit from the obvious pain he was in. “Had a bit of a run in with the ground. Ankle’s a bit sore.”

“Run in with a dame is more like it,” Alex chuckled behind him.

Tom knelt down by Colin’s side to check out the damage. The ankle was a technicolour of emerging bruises, and was swollen to more than twice the normal size. Tom touched it tentatively to watch for Colin’s reaction.

Colin swore under his breath, trying to hold it together.

“Hurts more than a bit does it, mate,” he said, watching the sweat on Colin’s forehead. “It’s too swollen to tell for certain, but we’re going to treat it as a break for now.”

“Great. Fuckin’ great,” Colin said, shaking his head. “This is all I fuckin’ need – a bloody broken leg!”

Stevo joined Tom with the air splint. “It could just be a real bad sprain, Col. They are usually much more painful than a break due to the tearing of the muscles, but we’ll splint you up to be on the safe side,” he smiled as he fitted the splint and inflated it.

“Let’s get you on your chariot and we’ll be on our way to Coffs,” Tom added as they helped Colin shift onto the stretcher and headed out to the ambo.

“Got anyone you want me to contact for you?” Alex asked, as he followed along beside them.

“Um... yeah,” Colin said, as Tom and Stevo lifted his stretcher into the ambo. “Got an employee staying here at the inn... name’s Arthur. Arthur Baskin. Ta, Mate! Owe ya one!”

Alex nodded and waved as they shut the doors and he watched the ambo drive away.

TBC...