The novel “Hospital Station” by James White was published for the first time in 1962. It’s a fix-up of five short stories published in the previous years. It’s the first book in the Sector General series.

When two workers are killed in a work accident during the construction of a section of the Hospital Station, O’Mara is suspected of negligence. An investigation must shed light on the events and in the meantime, the man is assigned the task of looking after the victims’ very young child.

For O’Mara, babysitting is a complex task because he knows nothing about what a child who belongs to that alien species needs. This is another problem considering that he will only be acquitted thanks to the testimony of another worker with whom he has a far-less-than-friendly relationship.