Heat Wave

[Nimue Bevin]

Nimue Bevin had never been in such heat in her life. Whilst attending school, she'd always been able to find a cool room or something to plant herself in. Of course there was also the lake and lots of shade too. The inside of the castle was often drafty, so it was usually cool anyway. The Professor's often used spells to cool the students down on the hottest days. It was mid Spring and would soon be heading into Summer. Nim knew that it was going to get hotter before it got cooler and she simply wasn't prepared. As it was she had her skimpiest clothing on, not to be immodest, but to try and escape the heat. She had been working outside for about an hour or so. Her mother often brought her some water and a cool towel, but it was doing very little to help her. The garden was a wreck. She hadn't worked on it for weeks after the funeral and so now she regretted leaving it to itself. Everything was overgrown with weeds and she had suncream all over her body in an effort to ensure she didn't get burnt. Living with her mother, she had to keep her magic to a minimum as though her mother was aware of magic, using it in front of a muggle was strictly emergencies only really and she didn't want to risk the wrath of the Ministry. Rose had told her all about all those regulations. So she also knew a couple of the loopholes too.

Wiping her brow with the back of her gloved hand, smearing more dirt across her face, Nim knew that she was beginning to look like a pot of dirt would be a fashion statement. Her legs were covered in grass stains and thighs were blotched red from the bite of insects. But she was determined to deal with this garden. Now or never really. She coughed a little as she leaned back to reach for her water, only to realise that it was now empty. She sighed slightly before slowly getting back onto her feet, her knees cracking a little from non use. She fanned herself a little and looked around at her handy work. She was getting towards the end of it all know. Just a couple of more hours and it would probably all be complete. Her hair was beginning to fall out of its plait, but there was nothing she could do about that now. She made to head for the house when something in the corner of her eye caused her to pause. The door to her neighbours house was wide open, something which was setting off the alarm bells in her head. Her neighbour was quite elderly. A lovely older woman that once baby sitted her and her sisters as children. She had no family that were close and so Nim and her mother often looked out for her. The open door was very worrying. Dropping her bottle at her feet, the need for water now forgotten, Nimue vaulted over the fence and landed just next to the barely conscious body of her neighbour. She gasped and dropped to her knees beside the woman, feeling for a pulse and glad to find one. "Mum! Ring for an ambulance! Gladys is sick!" Her mother, who had been watching her from the door, immediately returned to the house. Nimue moved around to shade the elderly womans face from the sun and whispered quietly to her. "It's alright Gladys, the paramedics will be here soon. You're okay. I'm so sorry I didn't see you. Please forgive me."
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[Jamie Llywarch]

With the ambulance rig checks complete (and satisfied that nothing was out of place), Jamie retired to the squad room and climbed into bed. The flimsy metal frame creaked beneath his weight, and the mattress was thin and lumpy, but these were the last of his troubles. He didn't expect to sleep much that night, anyway. If the heat didn't wake him, the radio alarm on his belt certainly would. He knew these endless summer nights, and the endless stream of casualties they brought with them. Heatstroke, dehydration, and, in the most unfortunate circumstances, seizures - and that was on top of his regular patients. His only salvation was the he wouldn't have to face it alone; his shift partner, Bryony, pulled herself into the neighbouring bed and muttered a few half-hearted words of good luck beneath her breath.

Yeah, fat chance.

Thirty minutes after he had drifted off, Jamie got his first call. According to the dispatcher on the other end of his radio, his first patient was a, "fifty year old man suffering from unexplained breathing difficulties.", and he wasted no time before scrambling out of bed and into the ambulance bay, where he was relieved to find Bryony already setting up the rig. Slightly disorientated from the abrupt awakening, he clambered into the van, and they were off.

The night didn't improve after that. They'd barely pulled back into the ambulance bay when their alarms were buzzing again, this time calling them to a squat, terraced house the other side of town, where an elderly man had collapsed on his way to the bathroom. Then, after a quick break for breakfast, they were racing to hospital with a woman whose sick daughter had become severely dehydrated in the night.

In all, he was vomited on once, glared at twice, and thanked zero times. He was half way through cleaning up his uniform when his alarm rang again, ten minutes til the end of his shift. "No way!" he voiced his disbelief aloud, and Bryony looked just as miffed. Still, they got back in the sweltering van and started it up again, pulling up outside their designated house six minutes later. Almost robotically, Bryony grabbed the first aid kit and oxygen bag, whilst Jamie filled his own hands with the first aid kit and, just in case, the defibrillator. Seconds later they were stood in the front porch, and Jamie rapped thrice firmly on the door with the back of his knuckles. It seemed selfish, but he couldn't wait to go home. His uniform smelt funny, his forehead was prickling with sweat, and the thought of seeing Eilwyn again was the only thing keeping him sane.

 

[Nimue Bevin]

Nimue looked up as she heard the ambulance arrive. They'd managed to drag Gladys into the house and now they were waiting. Her mother soon went to the door to allow the paramedics access. Nimue knew that her nephew Ianto was upstairs because she could hear him playing with his toys. He really seemed to like smashing things. Not that he actually meant to break them, but he was a very curious boy by nature, hard not to be with parents like what he had. Not to suggest that his parents were bad, but they also weren't very present. Nim supposed she could understand and would never judge her sister. She would also never assume for her child to be taken care of by someone that wasn't her, even if it was her mother and older sister. She couldn't do that. She didn't think it would be fair on the child nor on her. Stepping away from Gladys, who seemed to be in good hands now, Nim answered and questions that were addressed to her and sat on the chair with her legs crossed. She was sure Gladys would be okay, maybe she could whip up some potions under the premise of herbal remedies. Hopefully she wouldn't get into too much trouble for that.

Nimue was joined at the table by her mother and they looked at each other and held hands across the table. Gladys had done a lot for their family over the years and now there was nothing that they could do to help her. Sometimes the Statute of Secrecy laws were the bane of Nim's existence but she couldn't risk going to Azkaban. One, her sister worked in the Ministry and that could potentially ruin her career and two, it wasn't a very nice place and she didn't think she deserved to be sent there at all. Looking over at the two Paramedics, Nimue took the time to notice that the guy was extremely attractive. He was definitely fit. Nim shook her head as she realised she should not be thinking about these things. "Is she going to be alright?" Nim asked, before moving to get some water for both of them.

Soon they had taken Gladys into the ambulance. Nim watched after them and smiled at the guy. Llywarch, was on his uniform. Lovely last name. "Hi, excuse me, sorry. Is it alright if I give you my number? We aren't family so the hospital would never give use her personal details, but she doesn't really have anyone else. Could you call me? Let me know if she's okay?" Nimue asked, slipping her phone out of her pocket to copy her number onto a piece of paper. "Please call me if you hear anything. I'd like to know she made a full recovery." She said. Well, it wasn't the only reason she'd given the guy her number, but she really did want to make sure that Gladys was safe first.
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