I'M A DOCTOR, GET ME OUT OF HERE

For once, Connie Beauchamp wasn't telling the ED staff to get back to work. She was delighted by their reactions to her news.

The previous owner of Redmyres Grange, the eccentric Harry Harper, had been in touch with her. He'd had an idea for fundraising that would cause a sensation. If a team of three doctors, three nurses, two paramedics and one of the reception staff, plus a responsible manager, were brave enough to spend three days and nights in the sinister but opulent mansion with its history of tragedy, Harry would give £150 thousand to the hospital fund. Harry didn't specify why he'd chosen the numbers that he had.

Connie knew that several of the staff would want to volunteer for this and had ducked the responsibility of choosing by having all interested parties put their names in a box, from which she would draw the members of staff to make up the teams.

Names were dropping into the box very quickly, mainly because some of the staff had feelings for others although they believed they were being discreet about it. Jacob Masters had oh-so-nonchalantly dropped in his piece of paper, and Connie smiled to herself, knowing why. Ben Chiltern, aka Lofty, with more enthusiasm than actual courage, had wanted to help get the money for the childrens' ward, so he'd steeled himself to volunteer. Cue Dylan Keogh's submitting his name. Dylan believed that stupid boy Lofty needed somebody to look out for him – at least that was his excuse to the rest of the staff. With Caleb Knight and Ethan Hardy, there was no explanation needed. Cal wanted to show more courage for his younger brother, while Ethan wanted to prove he could be as laid back as Cal under pressure. Iain Dean and Kathleen Dixon, always known as Dixie to the rest of the staff, had represented the paramedics and Jack Diamond had almost vaulted across the reception desk to submit his name. Rita Freeman, who had shuddered visibly at the idea, had sneaked back after a late shift to submit her entry. But she would rather have died than admit it was because she wanted to get closer to Connie Beauchamp, even though Jacob was obviously after her. There was very little about Jacob Masters that was subtle. Robyn Miller and Louise Tyler were also in fierce competition and the staff prepared themselves for sulking from one or both of them if their name wasn't drawn. Lily Chao, after declaring long and loud that this was a stupid idea, managed to slip her name into the box under cover of leading a patient to a cubicle.

"Connie never comes in the pub! Re-sult!" grinned Cal on the night the names of the volunteers were to be drawn. Connie had just walked in, wearing a black power suit, red blouse and the highest heels known to humanity.

"The first round's on me. Well done all of you for volunteering!" she said, her voice cultured but piercing at the same time.

After everybody was settled with their drink, the big moment came. Jacob stood next to Connie, on the pretext that he had to make sure the numbers were right.

"Not that there's any competition for our Jack anyway, but I still want a big cheer when his name's drawn" he announced.

"Jacob, whose draw IS this?" Connie said coldly.

Then her professional smile came back and the names were drawn.

Jack, as the Lone Receptionist, got his cheer.

Louise glared across the room as the winning nurses were announced as Lofty, Robyn and Rita.

Jacob's outraged pout amused the crowd. But, he thought, I'm not beaten. Not getting my name drawn doesn't mean I'm going to be a good boy and stay away.

Fortunately there was no friction between Cal and Ethan; along with Dylan they were the three chosen doctors. Lofty's heart gave a strange little twist at this. He hoped he wouldn't wail like a baby if he saw – oh, there were no such things as ghosts, were there?

Lily said snootily:

"Well, who cares? The best of the staff will be where they belong – in the ED."

"I didn't think you'd leave Dervla" Ethan said to Dylan.

"That little madam will be living the life of Riley in Doggie Day care while we're at Redmyres" Dylan scoffed.

The rest of the evening went well, with Connie actually giggling aloud when Iain and Dixie did a kind of square dance, chanting "We ain't afraid of no ghosts".

They really should have been.

Louise came up to Robyn with a nasty smirk on her face.

"I've been doing some research in the library."

"Well, yeeHAH!"

"Very nasty place, Redmyres Grange. Oh it's swanky enough on the inside, from the photos. But there's been some very unfortunate deaths there."

Connie swept past.

"That's enough, thank you, Louise. Mr Harper has very kindly agreed to take all the winners out for a meal and tell us all the former history. Just to see if anybody gets cold feet."

"If you drop out I can fill in for you" Louise smirked.

"In your dreams" Robyn retorted.

"Hey" said Jack, who loved his dreadful puns, "There might be a skeleton staff here and at Redmyres next weekend, eh?"

Robyn hit him over the head with a newspaper.

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