The Doctor's Unexpected Proposal

by Alison Roberts

  ‘But it’s her baby.’

  ‘Oh, babe,’ Mike whispered. He got to his feet. ‘Come here.’

  He pulled Emily’s chair back and took her hand. As he helped her stand up, he drew her into his arms.

  ‘I love that you don’t understand,’ he told her softly. ‘You are the sweetest and most loving person I know, Em.’ A comforting kiss was pressed into her hair. ‘And one day you are going to make the most wonderful mother.’

  That longing changed. Developed sharp edges and became something close to panic. Emily had already been there, hadn’t she? Been there, tried that and failed miserably enough to make another attempt a terrifying prospect.

  She needed to tell Mike. He already knew about her failures in the relationship stakes. Would knowing that she had failed in her attempt to become a mother make him think any less of her?

  It might. Mike was Greek. Family was important enough to have contributed to bringing him back to settle in the small town of his childhood. His siblings were scattered and his mother desperate for a tribe of grandchildren living nearby. Emily could almost hear Sophia right now. ‘Such a nice girl, Michael, but she’s not Greek. And what if it happened again? What if she can’t produce a healthy child? No children…no grandchildren.’

  Mike hadn’t noticed Emily’s silence. He kissed her hair again.

  ‘You smell nice, too. Good enough to eat.’

  It was too easy to turn her face to look up. To smile, knowing that it would be taken as an invitation to kiss her. And it was even easier to accept the kiss. To return it and know that within a very short space of time she would lose herself so completely that she could bury those fears.

  She had promised herself she wouldn’t cast doubts. ‘It’ wouldn’t happen again. They had told her that at the time. The fact that the cord had been wound around her baby’s neck and strangled him during labour had simply been a tragic accident. She would tell Mike all about it, of course. But not just yet.

  Not while what they had between them was itself a newborn and taking its first breaths. She had made one mistake already today in trying to talk to Megan while she was still weak. She wouldn’t make that mistake with Mike. Or with their relationship. Her past had been buried for ten years. It could stay that way just a little longer. Until she was confident the strength was there to handle any stress the revelation could provoke.

  All they needed was a little time. Hopefully, it was all Megan needed as well. Lucky needed his mother. Emily knew she was too personally involved with this case. She also knew it was ridiculous to feel that if she could put that baby into his mother’s arms and see him accepted and loved, it would somehow exorcise a ghost from her own past.

  Ridiculous it might be, but it was undeniably there. Like a powerful omen. If—no, when—Megan accepted Lucky, then Emily would know that somewhere in her future was another baby of her own.

  Mike’s baby.

  And when he knew about her past he would understand and be patient. He wouldn’t rush her into something she was afraid of. Just like he wasn’t rushing her into bed with him. He would win her trust as he had done before she’d climbed into his helicopter, and then he would be there to support her and keep her safe while she pushed those personal boundaries.

  The gentle kisses that were spiralling so easily into passion made Mike’s embrace a haven that Emily did not want to lose. She didn’t need to think about anything else while she was in Mike’s arms. She couldn’t think of anything else with any coherency anyway.

  She felt absolutely safe for the moment and with the feeling of safety came a sense of urgency. Emily wanted to cement this bond. To take the fairy-tale her life had suddenly turned into a little further. To find out whether the fantasies she had been harbouring for too long had any basis in reality.

  Besides, they were standing in the kitchen of the doctors’ house and it was hardly the place for passion like this. Emily pulled away from Mike’s kiss just far enough to allow her lips to move and for speech to be audible.

  Mike groaned softly. ‘You’re not thinking of going to bed already, are you? And leaving me here alone?’

  ‘Yes.’ Emily smiled. ‘And no.’

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  EIGHT years.

  Emily counted them off on her fingers as she sat on the edge of her bed the following morning, wrapped in a towel, with tendrils of hair still wet from its wash dripping over her shoulders.

  Including her last year at medical school, she had spent eight years in full-time clinical practice. How many nights would that represent? And how many of them had been virtually sleepless?

  So many.

  And never, ever had any of those sleepless nights left her feeling like she did right now. It had been even harder to drag herself out of bed than it had ever been before, of course, but lack of sleep hadn’t contributed to the difficulty, had it? The magnet that held her there was the man whose bed it was. The man who had proved himself to be the most glorious, generous lover imaginable. Far more exciting than Emily had ever dreamed and embarrassingly attentive to her own pleasure.

  Her fantasies had never included any of that. Had never had him ask where she most liked to be touched or what she wanted him to do for her. Emily hadn’t been able to think of a single thing to say and Mike had been supremely unfazed.

  ‘That’s cool,’ he’d murmured. ‘I’m going to touch you everywhere, then. And try everything—until you tell me you don’t like it.’

  They never reached that point, despite Emily learning things she had never known. If she stopped now to think of the magic Mike had wrought with his hands and fingers…and tongue…Emily would quite likely blush for the rest of the day and people might well guess why, which would mean the effort of returning discreetly to her own room early enough to remain unnoticed would have been wasted.

  Mind you, at the rate she was moving at present, she might not even make it as far as interacting with her colleagues. Emily made a new effort and stood up, moving to her chest of drawers to select some clean underwear.

  The lace of her bra prickled against nipples that still felt overly sensitive. The soft elastic on her knickers brushed her inner thighs and reminded her instantly of the touch of Mike’s lips. Emily stood in front of her wardrobe and couldn’t, for the life of her, make a decision about what she wanted to wear for the day.

  How on earth was she not going to make it patently obvious to everyone that something momentous had occurred in her life?

  A skirt, she decided in desperation, even if it was impractical when there was always the possibility of being sent on a rescue mission. If she went by helicopter, she’d have to change into overalls anyway, and she had every intention of making sure she was included on the helicopter staff roster from now on. She was perfectly happy to fly without wings as long as Mike was her pilot.

  A very private smile stretched almost to a grin as Emily chose a camisole top and a soft shirt to wear as a light jacket. Michael Poulos could make her fly with no aircraft anywhere in the vicinity!

  Cloud nine. That was the expression that pretty much summed up her mood this morning. Amazingly, Emily felt more refreshed than a solid night’s sleep could have achieved. More than refreshed, actually.

  Reborn.

  Of course she could cope with the day ahead. With any interaction with her colleagues and patients. With…anything. Emily grabbed a comb to pull through her nearly dry hair. All she needed now was some brief attention to her make-up and she would be ready to go out for breakfast.

  And Mike would probably be in the kitchen.

  He’d look at her and then she would know it hadn’t all been a dream. That Mike had done and said everything he could think of to show her how much he loved her.

  That she had done the same.

  That she had, in fact, accepted the proposal whispered into her ear in the euphoric, drifting doze in which Mike’s arms had had her cradled at some point during the night.

  Surely she had imagined th
at part of it all?

  Emily couldn’t really have agreed to marry Mike so soon, could she?

  But would it matter if she had? It was what she wanted. What she had wanted for ever. If Mike felt the same way, why should they waste any more of their lives?

  Emily couldn’t wait to get to breakfast now and she shoved her feet into her shoes, cursing the time she had spent just sitting on her bed. She had to see Mike and find out whether he could confirm the reality of their new relationship with just a look.

  Or had he gone back to sleep? Mike had a day off today, lucky thing. Due to the current staff shortages, Emily would not be getting any time off before Saturday and even then she might need to be on call for emergency anaesthetics.

  Maybe she should just peep into his room on her way to the kitchen. If he was still there, she could say good morning properly and start her day the way she wanted to start every day from now on.

  And maybe Mike had had the same thought. The ringing of the phone in her room sent Emily back inside just as she was about to close the door behind her. She was smiling as she picked up the receiver.

  ‘Dr Morgan?’

  ‘Speaking.’ Disappointingly, it wasn’t Mike. Emily recognised the voice of one of the hospital’s switchboard operators.

  ‘I’m sorry, I know it’s awfully early but I’ve got an outside call for you. A Honey Cooper. Do you mind taking the call?’

  ‘Of course not. Put her through.’ Emily sat on the edge of her bed again and barely repressed a sigh. Her day had started already, it seemed, and any intimate thoughts about Mike simply had to be banished for the time being.

  ‘Dr Morgan?’

  ‘Call me Emily. Is that Honey?’

  ‘Yes. Look, I’m terribly sorry, but I won’t be able to get in to see Megan today like I said. I tried to tell her myself but she’s asleep and the nurse suggested I talked to you…’

  ‘Don’t worry,’ Emily said.

  Honey was talking very quickly and sounded as upset as she’d been the other night when Mike and Emily had arrived at the rundown station. She could imagine that the expression on the older woman’s face was just as anxious as well. Megan’s mother must have been very pretty in past years but the impression Emily had kept was one of a woman exhausted by hardship.

  ‘I’ll explain to Megan later on, when she’s awake, Honey.’

  ‘I missed the bus.’ Emily’s words did not seem to have been any comfort. Honey sounded as though she was struggling not to cry. ‘The truck had a flat tyre and by the time I got to Gunyamurra, the bus had gone already. I’m using the phone in the general store. I thought if I couldn’t see Megan, at least I might be able to talk to her, but…but the nurse said she’s sedated so even if she tried to wake her up she might not be able to talk to me.’

  ‘Yes.’ Emily’s mind focused more sharply at the reminder of Megan’s sedation and the reason for it. Talking to her mother might be just what Emily needed to find a way to achieve real communication with her teenage patient. ‘It’s nothing to worry about, Honey. Megan’s on the mend now. She just needs a period of rest to help her recuperate.’

  ‘But she’s still in Intensive Care!’

  ‘It’s a precaution. She has been seriously ill and we want to keep a very close eye on her for another day or two. She’s off the ventilator now and breathing well on her own, so that’s very good news, isn’t it?’

  ‘Oh, yes! Oh, I’m so relieved. I’ve been worried sick and I couldn’t tell Jim why.’

  ‘How do you mean, Honey?’ Did Megan’s mother know about the baby after all? If she did, then Emily wouldn’t be breaking her promise to Megan by discussing the issue, would she?

  ‘I know about it.’ Honey’s voice became muffled, as though she was cupping her hand close to her mouth. She also lowered her voice so that Emily had to strain to hear her. ‘About the…miscarriage.’ There was a tiny pause and then Honey’s voice became clear again. ‘Isn’t that what made her so sick?’

  ‘It…um…could have contributed,’ Emily said cautiously. Damn. Honey had no idea she had a live grandchild and that meant that Emily couldn’t try and assess what level of support might be forthcoming from Megan’s family. ‘Right now, I think getting Megan back on her feet is more important than worrying about the cause of the infection.’

  ‘So she’ll still be able to have a baby one day? It hasn’t done any permanent damage?’

  ‘Not as far as we can tell.’

  ‘And I won’t have to tell Jim?’

  ‘Not if you don’t want to, Honey. Or if Megan doesn’t want him to know.’

  ‘Oh, she doesn’t. Of course she doesn’t. We couldn’t…’ Honey was definitely crying now. ‘I was so scared about what I could say without making him sick. His blood pressure, you know. It’s…’

  Emily let Honey talk on, making encouraging noises as she realised that being able to air her concerns was calming the woman. She heard about Jim’s heart attack and the problems ever since. The drought and the broken fences. The sick cattle and the veterinary bills that couldn’t be paid.

  A soft knock at Emily’s door distracted her for a moment and when Mike’s head appeared, she completely missed something Honey was saying about how their phone had been cut off so they only had a radio for emergencies.

  Emily covered the mouthpiece of the phone for a second as Mike leaned down and kissed the top of her head.

  ‘It’s Honey Cooper,’ she whispered. ‘I want to see what I can find out that might help with Megan.’

  Mike nodded. ‘Breakfast?’

  Emily shook her head, her expression calculated to let him know that she regretted having to forgo that time with him. ‘It sounds very difficult for you all, Honey,’ she said into the phone. ‘You must be missing having Megan around to help at the moment.’

  Mike blew her another kiss as he stole away. ‘Later, babe,’ he said softly. ‘Good luck.’

  ‘We can’t really manage without her,’ Honey was saying at the same time. ‘Such a shame she hasn’t been able to go away to university. She’s so bright. She topped her year with the School of the Air.’ Honey sighed heavily. ‘But that’s just the way things are…until the rains come, anyway.’

  ‘Is Megan happy at home?’

  There was a short silence, as though the question was puzzling, and Emily hoped she hadn’t been too blunt. It seemed obvious to her that the kind of workload and pressure Honey had been describing on a nineteen-year-old girl who would rather be away at university could well be a major factor in Megan’s depression. If so, it was another area in which her patient needed assistance.

  ‘I just wondered what she was normally like,’ Emily added. ‘It would be good to know—in terms of assessing her recovery. Is she a talkative girl? Cheerful?’

  ‘She used to be.’ Honey sounded sad rather than anxious now. ‘This last year’s been tough on all of us. I know Megan was terribly disappointed about not being able to go away but she understands. She knows we can’t afford it and she knows how much her dad relies on her. She wanted to stay to help. She loves her dad, Dr Morgan. And the farm. She says she can always go away later. When things are right again.’

  Had they ever been right? Emily wondered. Another thought occurred to her as she ran through a mental list of the signs and symptoms of chronic depression.

  ‘Has Megan always had a problem with her weight?’

  ‘No. But I’ve always been a bit on the plump side so maybe she’s inherited the tendency. It’s probably my fault. I do tend to make a lot of food. We haven’t got much here but at least there’s always food on the table, even if it is mostly roast beef and potatoes.’

  The sound of another voice interfered with Honey’s last words and then Honey sounded anxious again.

  ‘Mrs Considine’s just warning me how much this call is going to cost. She doesn’t look too happy about putting it on our account.’

  ‘The hospital will cover the cost, Honey, don’t worry.’ Emily was sure Charle
s would be able to swing that somehow and if he couldn’t then Emily would have it deducted from her own salary.

  ‘I’d better go anyway. I need to get home. Goodness knows what Jim will be thinking he has to try and do, seeing as he doesn’t think I’ll be home before tonight.’

  Emily’s pager sounded as Honey was speaking and Emily nodded. ‘Looks like I need to start work, too, Honey. It’s been good to talk to you.’

  ‘I feel ever so much better, Dr Morgan.’

  ‘Call me Emily,’ she reminded Honey.

  ‘Look after our girl for us, won’t you?’

  ‘Of course.’ In fact, ICU was where Emily needed to go now. With a bit of luck Megan might be awake and in a better state to talk to her. Having her mother’s conversation to relay and break any ice would be a great help. ‘I’ll tell Megan that you rang.’

  ‘Give her my love. And from her dad, too.’ Honey was crying again. ‘We do love her, you know.’

  ‘I know. I’ll tell her.’

  ‘You’ll call, won’t you? If she gets worse again?’

  ‘Of course. Try not to worry, Honey. You take care of yourself.’

  Ten minutes later, Emily wondered if she’d done the right thing in telling Honey not to worry.

  She was more than a little worried herself.

  Standing beside Hamish at the central desk in the unit, she examined the strip of paper that Megan’s cardiac monitor had printed out automatically when the alarm had been triggered.

  The long burst of QRS spikes were far too close together, indicating a dangerously rapid rate. They were regular but that wasn’t reassuring.

  ‘It could be supraventricular.’

  ‘Let’s hope so,’ Emily agreed. If it was the largest chamber of Megan’s heart producing this rhythm they could be in trouble again. A ventricular tachycardia could easily degenerate into fibrillation and cardiac arrest.