She smiles tightly. She’s not a natural nurse, and we’re both sick of me being sick. The first perforation knocked me for six, and then I had another scare on Bonfire Night. This morning, I realized I’m getting a cold. I probably shouldn’t have gone to the torchlit Burning of the Clocks procession that marks the winter solstice, but Leo had made his own lantern in the shape of a sports car and I didn’t want to miss it . . .

A cold is no big deal, except I’m on edge every time I cough, in case the movement in my chest knocks out one of my ICD leads again. It makes me feel like an old man.

The band begins with ‘Fairytale of New York’. They’re raucous and loud, but still, we all hear Liv’s phone when it rings at max volume.

She leaves the room to answer it which pisses me off. It’s Christmas Eve. Channel Four, or whoever it is, can surely wait.

She comes back in, eyes wide, cheeks flushed, and instantly I feel guilty. ‘What’s happened?’

Her dad is older than mine and had a fall in the summer that almost finished him off. We live in fear of another phone call like that, and I prepare myself for a dash to Hereford.

‘There’s been a crash,’ she says.

‘Shit. Is he OK?’

She shakes her head. ‘Not Dad. That was fire control. It’s a train crash, at Hayward’s Heath. Major incident. Several people dead.’

The look on her face wasn’t shock; it was anticipation.

She doesn’t have to tell me she’s going, I already know she can’t not. Season Two of Into the Fire has just started filming. This could make the whole series, and the fact it’s Christmas Eve will make it an even more powerful story.

Already Liv is heading for the door. ‘Will you apologize to your folks for me?’

‘They know the score.’

‘Cheers.’ She’s already in work mode. ‘How the hell am I going to get hold of anyone else tonight?’

‘I could come with you to do sound?’

I say it without thinking, but once the words are out, I know it’s the right thing. Leo is surrounded by his mates. It was his thirteenth birthday yesterday and he’s grown into a popular kid, laid back and funny. Later they’re all going to watch a bootleg copy of The Last Jedi in Dad’s viewing room, so he won’t notice if we both go. This could be what Liv and I need to bring us closer again.

‘Are you sure?’ She gestures towards my chest. ‘You said you were tired and—’

‘The adrenaline will kick in.’

She smiles and this time it’s genuine. ‘Fuck yes, please.’