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Sophie pushed her mug further away.
    'Do you know, I've had four cups of tea already this morning and I'm still thirsty?' Ruby was still watching the mug.
    'Really? Do you usually drink so much tea in the mornings?'
    'I have lately but I really must stop.' Ruby sighed. 'It's getting annoying, having to get up so many times at night.'
    The possibility of diabetes was Sophie's first thought. 'I want to test your blood-sugar level,' she informed her patient as she lifted a blood-glucose testing kit from her cupboard. 'I'll just need to prick your finger.'
    Sophie ran through the appropriate history-taking, examination and lab tests she might need to instigate while she waited the sixty seconds for the meter to finish counting.
    'Nineteen mmol per litre,' she read out. 'That's rather too high, Mrs Murdock.'
    'Is that because of my asthma, dear?'
    'No. High blood sugar is usually indicative of diabetes. I'm going to check you out thoroughly and then we'll have a chat about your diet and exercise routines. Come and stand on the scales for me.'
    'Oh, dear.' Ruby moved reluctantly towards the scales. 'I do hope you're not going to tell me I have to eat salad.'
    An hour later, Sophie had told Ruby Murdock a great deal about her diet and the need to start some exercise.
    'I'm going to write you out what we call a green prescription. You don't take it to the chemist but it's still very important,' she told Ruby firmly. 'It's going to be for a ten-minute walk once a day. Do you think you can manage just ten minutes?'
    'I expect so, dear.' Ruby nodded bravely.
    'And you might even think about your housework. Vacuuming is very good exercise.' Sophie tried to keep her tone professional. 'Felicity does that for you, doesn't she?'
    'Oh, yes. She's doing it right now. I'm going to ring when I'm ready to go home. My wrist is still very weak,' Ruby continued anxiously. 'I couldn't possibly manage the vacuuming.'
    Sophie made a note to refer Ruby to a physiotherapist. She wouldn't mention it today. They both had quite enough to think about. Sophie hunted Oliver down between his patients. She was concerned enough about Ruby to put her personal agenda with her supervisor entirely to one side. Oliver responded in kind. He appeared to be listening carefully to Sophie but she couldn't help noticing that he tended to look to one side of her. It gave her the eerie feeling that she had someone standing beside her. She took a quick glance herself. No one else was waiting silently for Oliver's attention.
    'I've ordered fasting glucose tests, a lipid profile, serum creatinine, haemoglobin and a urine analysis,' Sophie told him briskly. 'Have I missed anything?'
    'What's her blood pressure like?'
    'Borderline. One-forty over ninety.'
    'Asthma control?'
    'Improving.'
    'What's her BMI?'
    Sophie shook her head. Ruby's body mass index was clinically obese. 'Thirty-one,' she told Oliver. 'Her weight's been going up steadily for years. Should I have started her on active treatment? Like metformin?'
    'Not yet. When's she getting the lab tests done?'
    'She's going to see if Felicity can take her in tomorrow.' The glance Sophie shared with Oliver acknowledged the increasing pressure on Ruby Murdock's daughter.
    'Wait for the results,' Oliver advised. 'I'll go through them with you and I might sit in on the next visit. It's turning into quite a complicated case for you.'
    'It's good practice.' Sophie smiled, partly from relief that she could still interact on a professional level with Oliver despite her mixed personal feelings. 'But I've spend far too long with one patient.'
    'That's exactly why we don't give you too many,' Oliver reassured her. 'So you can take whatever time you need to be thorough. You've done well, Sophie. Diabetes is an important problem to have picked up on.'
    Sophie carried her cold cup of coffee to the staff-room and tipped it out. Janet was sitting on the couch with Toni.
    'Hi, Janet. Did you have a good weekend?'
    'No. It was an unmitigated