Needed: Full-Time Father (Medical Romance)

by Carol Marinelli

  ‘You’ve missed him.’ A doctor she vaguely recognized peered out of his door as Madison rapped loudly on Guy’s. ‘He left a couple of hours ago.’

  ‘For the airport?’ Madison checked, trying to hold back her tears, nodding her thanks when the doctor nodded back. She raced back down the stairs and headed for her car.

  It should have been a half-hour drive to the airport, but everything seemed to be against her—red lights, night roadworks, even the security guards at the airport, who told Madison in no uncertain terms that there was no way she was leaving her car at the entrance, that even if she only needed five minutes she’d have to go to the short-term car park.

  Which took five minutes to find!

  And five minutes to find a space.

  Her lungs bursting, she raced through the multistorey car park. Bypassing the lift, she raced down the stairs, scanning the unfamiliar signs, racing towards International Departures but knowing she was already too late. As she skidded in she frantically scanned the terminal for a sign of him. She eyed the departure and arrivals screens and only then did she acknowledge that it was useless. She didn’t even know where he was going, only that surely he had left already. And there was no one for a man like Guy to say goodbye to.

  The departures board whirred into action, the white letters spinning rapidly, updating the information as Madison just stood there. She watched as several words changed from boarding to departed and finally acknowledged that she’d lost him.

  That she’d left it too late.

  ‘Looks like I’m going to miss it!’

  Hearing his deep voice, the last voice she had ever expected to hear again, Madison jumped. Turning around abruptly, her tear-streaked face gaped as she saw Guy standing before her. His backpack was on the floor beside him, his ticket and boarding pass in hand, and all she could think of was that he was beautiful, and all she could be at that moment was grateful.

  That, for whatever reason, he was here.

  That, for whatever reason, now at least she would get her chance to say goodbye properly—to admit the truth, that, however impossible, however improbable their relationship might be, she would always, quite simply, love him.

  ‘Guy.’ Her voice was a croak, her first instinct to fall into his arms, but she held back, terrified of crowding him, terrified that if she moved, if she blinked, if she spoke even, somehow he might just disappear.

  ‘I couldn’t go, Madison.’ Guy’s voice wasn’t exactly strong either. Pain was etched on every feature, crushed, devastated eyes held hers. ‘I couldn’t go without saying goodbye. I know that we’re not right for each other, but I couldn’t leave it like that.’

  ‘I know,’ Madison gulped, because she did. Knew that even if they couldn’t make it, what they had had was worth acknowledging, that what they’d shared was worth that much at least.

  ‘I wanted to explain to you why I was leaving, but I can’t. You have to understand that. I promised I wouldn’t say anything, I promised Yvonne, I promised Gerard…’

  Slowly she walked towards him, watched as this proud, remote man attempted to reach out to her one final time. She met him halfway. ‘You don’t have to break that promise, Guy, I’ve already worked it out. Gerard was your father, wasn’t he?’

  And when finally he nodded, Madison could only wonder how she’d taken so long to see it. It wasn’t just their features that were the same, but their dignity, their poise, their compassion.

  The loudspeaker announcing departures startled them both, and Guy gestured to the revolving doors. ‘Shall we take this outside?’

  ‘Have you really missed your flight?’

  ‘Probably.’ He shrugged. ‘There’ll be one tomorrow.’

  She reluctantly nodded, accepted that he was leaving and reminded herself that she was grateful to at least say goodbye. She waited for him to pick up his belongings and followed him outside.

  ‘When did you find out?’

  ‘Two years ago.’ Guy blew out the breath he had been holding. ‘Mum would never tell me who my father was. Sometimes she said that she didn’t really know, but finally she admitted that when she was a junior doctor she’d taken a gap year and gone to work overseas. That’s where they met. They had a brief fling and I was the result.’

  ‘Did Gerard know?’ Madison asked, but Guy shook his head.

  ‘Mum chose not to tell him. She wanted to go it alone—I told you she was ahead of her time. I contacted him a couple of years ago and we were both blown away by how much we had in common—not just how we looked, but the fact that we were both doctors, both interested in AID work. Gerard was appalled that he hadn’t known about me and wanted to make up for all the lost years. The only problem was Yvonne. Even though it had happened years before they were together, Yvonne simply couldn’t accept that he’d had a child by another woman. She was terrified of people finding out and what everyone would think.’

  ‘But what about Gerard?’ Madison asked. ‘He wasn’t like that.’

  ‘He loved Yvonne and he loved his kids. He felt as guilty as hell for all the pain he was causing them. In the end I told them all that I didn’t want to cause trouble, that I’d never reveal who I was. I had just wanted to get to know Gerard better. That was the only reason I looked him up—to fill in a few blanks. I never wanted to disrupt anyone’s life so I headed back overseas, just stayed in touch via e-mail and the odd phone call.’

  ‘Until the consultant’s position came up,’ Madison said for him. ‘What made you change your mind?’

  ‘It was Gerard’s idea. He wanted to get to know me better, too, and I have to admit I jumped at the chance. Only Yvonne wasn’t at all keen, but he finally won her around, though we both agreed that we’d never reveal we were related. Gerard finally got her to understand that we just wanted the chance to spend some time together. I promised Yvonne it would only be for six months, that I just wanted to get to know my…Gerard.’

  ‘You can say it, Guy,’ Madison whispered, but he shook his head.

  ‘No, Madison, I can’t. Yvonne doesn’t want me around, she’s made it very clear.’

  ‘She can’t make you leave!’ Madison gasped. ‘Surely you know that.’

  ‘She can’t make me leave,’ Guy agreed, ‘but she can pull the plug on the scholarship.’

  ‘She wouldn’t,’ Madison gasped, but Guy just stared back at her, hopelessness etched on every feature.

  ‘When I told her that Gerard had died, I promised her that I wouldn’t breathe a word, but that now more than ever I had to stay on at the hospital, that they couldn’t lose both the consultant and director in one day. I thought she was coming around to the idea. I was discreet at the funeral…’

  Madison’s mind flicked back, marveling at the strength of him, that in the midst of his own very real, very personal grief somehow he had reached out and comforted her.

  ‘I even thought she was worried I was going to contest the will. I swore I wouldn’t—that the last thing I wanted was Gerard’s money—and for a while things went quiet. I got on with work and met you…’

  ‘What happened, Guy?’ Madison’s voice was firm now, needing to know what had happened, what had made this beautiful, honourable man change his mind.

  ‘After that meeting, when she asked to have a word, Yvonne told me that I had two weeks to leave, that if I didn’t move away then she wasn’t going to go ahead with the scholarship programme.

  ‘It was Gerard’s dream,’ Guy whispered. ‘You said yourself nothing would have made him more proud than for this to happen. How could I live with myself if I stayed and she went ahead and removed the programme? It’s not just Gerard I’m thinking of but the hospital, too, and all the kids that it would help.’

  ‘Gerard would never have wanted it this way,’ Madison said. ‘She’s asking you to walk out on your career, on a life…’ Madison swallowed hard. ‘And on me.’

  ‘You don’t want me,’ Guy pointed out, and Madison blinked back at him, utterly bemused. ‘Maybe I a
m a drifter, maybe it is all in the genes. Look at my mother—’

  ‘Look at your father,’ Madison interrupted. ‘Look at that side of the gene pool, Guy. And I’ve never stopped wanting you, not even for a second. Why do you think I’m here? Why do you think I’m standing in an airport terminal at this time of night?’

  ‘To say goodbye?’

  ‘To beg you to stay,’ Madison cried. ‘Guy, when I said that about you not being right for Emily, that was me just being defensive. You’d make a wonderful father…’ Clapping her hand over her mouth Madison’s eyes widened, stunned at what she had said, terrified at what she had just confessed, but Guy for the first time since she’d seen him that night was smiling. Smiling that delicious lazy smile.

  ‘Is that a proposal?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ Madison croaked. ‘But here’s one for you—go and tell Yvonne that you won’t be blackmailed. Go and tell Yvonne that you’re staying where you belong—because, whether or not Emily and I are in the picture, you know that you belong here now. You know that the department needs you…’ She was finding her voice now, anger growing inside for what Yvonne had done. ‘Tell her that she cannot threaten you and she cannot influence you.’

  ‘It’s not that easy—’

  ‘But it is,’ Madison broke in, fighting not just for herself but for what was right. ‘I could just about take losing you if you didn’t want to be here, if you wanted to move on with your life, but I’m not going to lose you all over again because Yvonne has decided that she wants you out of the picture.’

  ‘We could move somewhere else,’ Guy suggested, his eyes imploring her to understand. ‘The AID work would still go ahead. I’d take care of you and Emily.’

  It sounded easy but it wasn’t, and even as he said it Madison saw the hopelessness drift back into his eyes as she shook her head.

  ‘I’ve got a life, Guy, a life I’ve fought hard to keep. And I’m not going to give it away for Yvonne.’

  ‘I understand.’ Utterly defeated, he nodded, his hand reaching for his backpack, but Madison hadn’t finished yet.

  ‘Guy, if we stay together, one day we might have to move, one day we might even want to move, but this is just plain wrong!’

  ‘We’re talking thousands of lives that could be saved, Madison.’ Guy was shouting now. ‘We’re talking about my father’s dream. It can’t just be about me or even us.’

  ‘What would Gerard have wanted?’ Madison asked, watching as he stiffened. ‘What would Gerard have really wanted you to do, Guy? He was an honourable man, he fought for what was right, and he wouldn’t have wanted this. You’re his son, and nothing Yvonne can do can change that fact.

  ‘Tell her.’ Madison stared defiantly back at him. ‘Tell her that you’re staying. Tell her that if she pulls the plug on the scholarship then she’s the one killing Gerard’s dream, not you.’

  And her words must have sunk in because the backpack was down on the floor again. Tension was etched on Guy’s face as he made the most difficult decision of his life.

  ‘We’ll tell her together,’ Madison rasped. ‘And then you’re coming home.’

  ‘Home?’ She heard the question in his single word and it made her want to weep. This loyal, beautiful man didn’t even know what that word really meant, and she realized that although he’d drifted, responsibility was ingrained into him, and that there really was a man in this world she could actually trust.

  Actually love.

  ‘Home,’ Madison said again. ‘To Emily and me.’

  His hand raked through his hair as she bravely went on. ‘We’ll have to introduce you slowly. I can’t just walk in and say that this is the man—’

  ‘Who you’re going to spend the rest of your life with,’ Guy finished for her. The tension left his face as, in the end, that most difficult decision was made easy.

  ‘Come home with me now, Guy,’ Madison said, not a single doubt in her mind. And as his lips found hers and she melted into his arms, let him hold her, let him love her, Madison knew that they would be together, that both of them had found peace.

  ‘Can I see Emily?’ Guy asked, breaking away, staring down at her with love blazing from his eyes.

  ‘Not yet,’ Madison whispered. ‘Because—’

  ‘I understand,’ Guy interrupted. ‘Madison, whenever you’re ready is fine by me. I’m not going to rush you.’

  ‘If you’d let me finish.’ Madison smiled. ‘I was about to say that maybe it could wait until tomorrow as I’ve got a babysitter for the night. The house is empty, I thought that maybe we could spend a little time…’ She gave a very wicked, very tiny grin. ‘Of course, I could ring Helen and tell her we’re coming. If you really want to meet Emily tonight, it’s no trouble to arrange it.’

  ‘Tomorrow will be fine.’ Guy laughed.

  ‘It will be,’ Madison said, and she wasn’t talking about Emily now but about them, about the future and everything it held. ‘Tomorrow will be fine, but tonight’s…’ She nestled back into his arms, reluctant to let him go for even a moment.

  ‘Tonight’s about us.’

  EPILOGUE

  ‘THOSE tablets can make you a bit nauseous at first.’

  Guy came into the bathroom and Madison wished he hadn’t. Even after six months together and having obtained a closeness she had never imagined possible, there was still a desire to maintain just a hint of mystery—and being head first down the loo wasn’t exactly going to achieve that!

  ‘I’ll be out in a moment.’ Madison grimaced, standing up and splashing her face with water, staring at the beastly packet of antimalaria tablets sitting beside the bathroom sink.

  ‘I’m fine now.’ A touch pale, Madison came out of the bathroom and perched herself on the bed next to Guy, who was looking at her with concerned eyes. ‘I wasn’t actually sick, I just felt a bit nauseous.’

  ‘It will soon wear off,’ Guy assured her. ‘And it’s necessary. The last thing you want to come home with is a dose of malaria. You have to remember to take them each day and for a month after we get home…’ His voice shifted slightly and Madison watched as his gaze drifted around the bedroom.

  Their bedroom, in their home. The house she had fought so hard to keep, to protect, a real home now. Full of love and laughter and just a touch too much clutter perhaps, but Madison wouldn’t have traded it for anything. And she knew, as Guy stared hard at the massive backpacks bulging on the bedroom floor, his face suddenly pensive, that for the first time in his life he didn’t want to leave, didn’t want to move on even for a little while.

  But he had to.

  Gerard’s dream was taking shape. This time tomorrow they would be boarding a plane for a two-week visit to the rudimentary medical centre that would soon become a hospital, bringing with them the first batch of supplies. They would oversee the first stages of building, laying the foundations for a future of hope.

  ‘How’s Emily?’ Guy asked, his voice concerned. ‘She was a bit teary about us going last night. Madison, if you want to stay with her then that’s OK with me. There will be other trips—lots of them, no doubt!’

  ‘Emily will be fine,’ Madison answered. ‘In fact, I think she’s even more excited about the hospital than we are, and she’s looking forward to two weeks of being spoiled by her grandparents. I explained to her this morning that next time we go, she’ll definitely come. Once there are some basic facilities there’s no reason why she shouldn’t come and see for herself the work you’re doing.’

  ‘We’re all doing,’ Guy corrected. ‘I can’t believe how much everyone has got behind the project. Yvonne was telling me that her church group is holding a sausage sizzle in the high street next week. I almost wish I were here to see it. I can’t exactly imagine Yvonne with a pair of tongs and a mountain of greasy sausages.’

  ‘I can.’ Madison laughed. ‘She’s really changed, hasn’t she?’

  ‘Completely,’ Guy agreed. ‘You know, as much as she hurt me over the last couple of years, trying to
push me away, trying to pretend I didn’t exist, I just couldn’t get angry at her. She was just scared of everything falling apart, worried that once people knew that Gerard actually had a past that didn’t include her, people would judge her.’

  ‘But they are judging her,’ Madison said. ‘Only for all the right reasons now. She’s a great step-mum! She’s really proud of you, and I know Gerard would have been too. It took a lot of courage to stand up to her.’

  ‘Yeah, but if I hadn’t had you beside me, I’d never have done it.’

  The pensive moment over, Guy stood up and started rolling up a very weary-looking sleeping bag to place in the pile next to Madison’s very new, very red one.

  ‘We can zip them up together.’ Guy grinned, catching her staring at him.

  ‘I thought you said that at the end of a long day, doing AID work, all you wanted to do was go to sleep.’

  ‘That was before I met you,’ Guy said, but his grin faded when she didn’t smile back. He took in her pale face and strained features. ‘What’s wrong, Madison?’

  ‘Nothing,’ Madison attempted, but she knew she wasn’t fooling anyone.

  ‘You don’t want to leave Emily, do you?’

  ‘I actually do want to, and after our talk this morning I think she wants me to go now, too. I just don’t think I can.’ Fiddling with her fingers she stared down at the simple gold band Guy had proudly placed on her finger a few short weeks ago. She twisted it round and round for a couple of moments before continuing. ‘I feel really sick, Guy.’