Englishman at Dingo Creek

by Lucy Clark

  Why was she feeling like this? She hardly knew this man and despite the fact he made her feel like a blushing schoolgirl simply by looking at her, she also knew he would be gone soon. It was a fact she accepted. He had a life in England and she had a life here. Two completely different worlds and she knew, apart from the two weeks he was now forced to endure out here, he’d never survive longer. Still, it didn’t stop her from feeling the way she did right now at the prospect of seeing him again.

  ‘Sebastian?’

  Maisy slept at the end of the hall and there was no way Danny wanted to wake her friend. She knocked again, a little harder. ‘Sebastian?’ She didn’t have time for this. Putting her hand onto the knob, she started to turn it.

  ‘Aagh!’ She jumped in fright a second later when the door was wrenched from beneath her hand. Sebastian was standing on the other side of the threshold. She glanced down the corridor and was glad no movement came from Maisy’s room. She turned her attention back to Sebastian and stared.

  ‘Dannyella?’ His voice was gruff, heavy with sleep and, oh, so sexy. He was wearing a pair of boxer shorts—and nothing else. His lean, white, muscled body was…cute. Gorgeous and…white. She opened her mouth to speak but no words came out and she was sure she felt her tongue uncoil and hit the ground.

  ‘Dannyella? What’s wrong?’ He rubbed at his eyes.

  ‘Er…emerg—’ She cleared her throat and forced herself to look past him. ‘Emergency.’

  ‘Right. I’ll meet you downstairs in two minutes.’ He shut his door and she heard him moving about on the other side of it.

  ‘Move, legs,’ she grumbled knowing that if she didn’t get going within the next two minutes Sebastian was going to open his door and find her standing right where he’d left her. She would look like such a drongo.

  She crept back down the stairs and paced the floor, waiting for him. ‘You should be thinking about your emergency, not how inviting Sebastian MacKenzie looks when he’s sleepy,’ she muttered. A creaking sound on the stairs made her turn.

  ‘I gather I don’t need to bring anything?’ he asked as he descended.

  Danny shook her head, deciding the action was safer than forming words.

  ‘Let’s go, then.’ He continued past her, right out the door. She hurried after him and climbed behind the wheel of her four-wheel drive. ‘What’s the brief?’ he asked as she swung out onto the road.

  ‘Geena Finoochi. She may be in labour.’

  ‘What’s she doing having a baby way out here?’

  Danny bristled slightly at the censure in his tone. She turned off to the airstrip. ‘Just because she lives in the outback, it doesn’t mean she can’t have a baby, Mac.’

  He turned to look at her at the use of his new nickname. Interestingly enough, he found he liked the way she said it. He frowned and pushed the thought from his head. ‘That wasn’t what I meant. I thought she’d go to the nearest town where there was medical help.’

  Danny stopped at the airstrip and reached around to the back seat for her hat and her medical bag. ‘A lot of women do. They go to Katherine or Darwin, depending on their circumstances, but a lot of women choose home births.’ She climbed from the vehicle and shut the door. ‘Women have been giving birth since the beginning of time, Mac. I’ve delivered and assisted in over eighty-five births and have my diploma in maternity medicine as well as general surgery.’ She headed to the waiting helicopter. ‘Come on.’ As she spoke, the blades of the chopper started to slowly spin, the whine of the engine getting louder.

  ‘Where are we going?’ Sebastian had to raise his voice as he walked along beside her.

  ‘To Geena’s house. It’ll take over an hour to get there by car and by then it might be too late. This is the way things are done here in the outback. This is Thomo.’ She gestured to the pilot.

  Sebastian offered his hand and had it enveloped by the elderly pilot. ‘How’s it going, Mac?’ Without waiting for a reply, Thomo continued, ‘Sit yourself down and strap yourself in and we’ll be on our way in just a sec. You ’right there, princess?’

  ‘Ready when you are.’ Danny smiled as she did up her seat belt.

  Sebastian noted that the pilot seemed to melt at the smile she aimed at him. It appeared men of all ages weren’t immune to her natural, diamond-in-the-rough charm.

  She handed Sebastian a headset which had a small microphone attached so they could hear each other talk. The small, four-seater chopper was soon airborne and she sighed, never failing to be touched by the beauty of the outback. Its uneven landscape, the vastness, and with the stars shining brightly above it was…majestic. ‘Why would you want to live anywhere else?’ she asked rhetorically.

  He had to agree that the moon-bathed scenery below made a beautiful sight and it was like nothing he’d ever seen before. ‘What’s the brief on Geena?’ Sebastian asked a moment or two later.

  ‘This is her fourth child and when I saw her last week for her thirty-two week check-up, everything was progressing fine. She’d had a bit of extra back pain but nothing out of the ordinary. When she called me earlier, she said the back pain was extremely bad so it may be a false alarm but, still, I’d like her checked out.’

  ‘Rightly so,’ Sebastian commented.

  ‘Here we go,’ Thomo said as they started to descend. Bright lights below had been arranged as beacons so the chopper could land. A farm ute was waiting near it. Once they were down, Danny took off her headset and patted the pilot on the arm.

  ‘Thanks, dad.’

  Dad? Well, at least he now knew why this man was under her spell.

  ‘I’m going to stay here and have a snooze until you need me so off you go, then,’ he replied with a proud smile.

  ‘OK. I’ll give you a yell if we need you.’ She climbed from the chopper and rushed over to the ute. ‘How is she, Grant?’

  ‘The pains are worse, Doc.’

  Danny nodded and climbed into the tray of the ute. There wasn’t room for all of them and the medical kits in the front seat. Besides, she wanted to give Sebastian a taste of some ‘outback’ riding. Once he was in the tray, she patted the top of the cab, indicating to Grant they were ready to go.

  ‘Hold on,’ she called as she crouched down. ‘And keep your mouth closed. Bugs just love flying straight in.’

  Sebastian nodded in acknowledgement and she smiled. ‘Can you believe it’s so stinking hot at almost three o’clock in the morning?’ He shook his head. Her smile grew. ‘Can’t tempt you to taste a few bugs, eh?’

  He returned her smile. ‘You might catch a few if you keep talking like this.’

  ‘I’ve eaten my fair share over the years—what’s one more? All accidental, of course,’ she added with a laugh. ‘Good for protein, though.’

  Sebastian shook his head in quiet amusement, his eyes bright with humour. She was like no other woman he’d ever met before and she was…refreshing.

  Grant pulled the ute to a stop and they all headed into the house. Geena was telling her three-year-old off in a very restrained manner, teeth gritted in pain as she leaned against the wall.

  ‘I’ll take care of this, hon.’ Grant scooped his daughter up and carried her back to bed.

  ‘How’s the pain?’ Danny asked as Geena panted.

  ‘Contractions are now only five minutes apart, Doc.’

  ‘I’m Sebastian MacKen—’

  ‘I know who you are,’ Geena said forcefully, before concentrating on her breathing again. ‘It doesn’t feel right, Doc. It doesn’t feel like the others and it’s early. Seven weeks early.’ Geena shook her head. ‘It can’t come this early.’

  ‘Let’s take a look at you, first.’ Danny went through her routine checklist, Sebastian taking Geena’s blood pressure and checking for pre-eclampsia. ‘You’re about six centimetres dilated. Early or not, the baby’s coming. We need to get you comfortable.’ In the back of her mind, she wondered how her English colleague would cope with this unusual outback delivery.

  ‘Can I ge
t in the bath? Like last time?’

  ‘Ordinarily I’d say yes but at the moment, Geena, I’d like you somewhere nice and accessible.’

  ‘On the floor?’

  ‘How about on your bed?’ Danny said softly. ‘Just pretend it’s a birthing suite at a hospital. Most of them look like five-star hotel rooms anyway.’

  ‘Grant won’t like it.’

  ‘Grant will answer to me.’ Danny’s tone stated she was firmly in command here and Sebastian silently felt a bit of pity towards Grant if he did refuse.

  ‘It’s coming, it’s coming!’ Geena gripped tight to Danny’s hand and together they got through the contraction.

  ‘Mac. Find the main bedroom and get it ready. Clean sheets are in the linen cupboard halfway down the hall.’

  ‘It’s a real mess,’ Geena stated.

  ‘I don’t think the baby’s going to mind,’ Sebastian replied, before heading off. He was just taking clean linen out when a bedroom door shut and Grant came out. ‘All settled?’ he asked the exhausted father.

  ‘Hopefully. Usually our girls sleep like logs but Missy would pick tonight of all nights to wake up and naturally the only person she wants is—’

  ‘Her mother.’ Both men said the words in unison and smiled at each other.

  ‘What do you need the sheets and towels for? Does Danny want them laid out on the floor?’

  ‘Your bed, old chap.’

  ‘What? No way.’

  ‘Dannyella’s orders, I’m afraid. She said you’d answer to her if you protested.’

  ‘Oh, fair dinkum. No way, mate, hey.’ He held up his hands in surrender. ‘She’s got a solid right upper-cut and she’s not scared to use it.’

  ‘So I’ve seen. Which way to the master bedroom?’ Grant pointed the way. ‘Does she always go around beating up the locals?’

  ‘Eh?’

  ‘She settled a…dispute at the pub tonight…er, last night,’ he corrected himself remembering it was now early morning.

  Grant chuckled. ‘Sounds like Danny. Nah, she doesn’t usually beat people up but she’s got a temper on her when she gets going, hey. Ever since her mother left when she was about five, I think. A few years later, some kids teased her about it and when Danny was through with them, none of them ever teased her again.’

  ‘She sounds like a bully.’

  ‘Nah, mate, not at all. Just stood up for herself. But I’ll tell you what, when she came back from medical school and started bossing us around as our doc, we all learned not to push her too far. If she says we’re to set up the bedroom, then stuff what I think, hey, and let’s set it up. After all, mate, I’m just the husband. What have I got to do with anything?’

  Sebastian smiled. Once the room was ready, he returned to the front room to find Geena walking slowly around the room, Dannyella beside her, massaging her back. She looked up and he saw the concern in her face. Something wasn’t right with this baby.

  ‘Let’s get you through to the bedroom so you can relax a little.’ When Geena was settled on the bed, they did the obs again. ‘Seven centimetres. My foetal heart monitor is in my bag,’ she told Sebastian.

  ‘I want to push,’ Geena grunted.

  ‘Then push,’ Danny encouraged.

  ‘I need Grant,’ she panted.

  ‘I’m here, hon,’ her husband said, and took her hand in his. Geena pushed, squeezing her husband’s hand. Sebastian wasn’t sure who screamed louder—Grant or Geena. When the contraction was over, she lay back amongst the pillows and closed her eyes. Grant freed his hand and massaged it. ‘She did this with the other three,’ he murmured with a lopsided grin. ‘Why should this baby be any different?’

  ‘Equal treatment,’ Geena said breathlessly, and Sebastian laughed as he found the baby’s heartbeat. They all stopped to listen.

  ‘Music to my ears,’ Geena whispered.

  He checked the digital readout and shook his head. It was marginally faster than it should be. He met Dannyella’s concerned gaze and he knew her mind was working overtime, going through the different scenarios.

  ‘You rest there,’ she said. ‘I’m just going to contact the flying doctor and—’

  ‘Why?’ Geena’s eyes snapped open in alarm.

  ‘Because once everything is over, I’d like you to have a few days in hospital. Just like you did previously. Your body needs time to recover, Geena,’ Danny said with a smile. With her patient comforted, Danny headed out the room to call the Royal Flying Doctor Service and let her dad know what was happening. She briefed the RFDS on the situation and asked them to alert Katherine hospital. ‘Also, bring an incubator as the baby’s seven weeks prem,’ she said into the handpiece of the HF radio.

  ‘Copy that. We’ll be out there as soon as we can. Over and out.’

  Danny had just finished the call when she heard Geena groaning again. She checked her watch. Another contraction so soon? Now that this baby had decided to come, it wasn’t wasting any time. It would take the flying doctor at least twenty minutes to get here—that might be too late. She’d have to move to plan B. She raced around the kitchen, pulling open cupboards and drawers as she collected some useful things together. Better to be prepared.

  ‘Danny!’ Geena was the one running the show here and when she yelled, it was Danny’s duty to jump. She rushed back into the room, put her things down and pulled on a clean pair of gloves.

  ‘You’re doing fine, Geena. Just fine.’ Sebastian applied the heart monitor again and this time the heart rate was higher than before. ‘All right. This baby is definitely coming and because it’s rather impatient and has decided to come a few weeks early, it might need some help breathing once it comes out. Mac, you’re going to have to rig me up an incubator until the flying doctor gets here.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Rig one up. You wanted to know how GPs work here in the outback, now’s your chance to get some hands-on experience.’

  ‘How? Out of what? You don’t have any oxygen!’ He was looking at her as though she had two heads.

  ‘Geena, I need to borrow Grant. You and I will do just fine and he’ll be back here so you can squeeze the life out of his hand before you know it.’

  ‘But I need him,’ Geena complained.

  ‘I know but I need him to show Mac where to find things. If we don’t do this now, the baby might be in danger. It might need oxygen when it comes out.’ Her voice was gentle but firm.

  It took a moment or two for Geena to relinquish her firm grip on her husband’s hand. He kissed her forehead. ‘Be right back, hon.’ He turned to Danny. ‘What do you need, Doc?’

  ‘Lots of clingfilm and a frame to put it over. I don’t know, a washing basket or lampshade, anything you’ve got lying around that we can rip to pieces. We just need the frame. Also, you do oxy-welding, don’t you?’ Grant nodded. ‘Get the oxygen cylinder from that. Mac should be able to regulate the oxygen so it’s the right percentage. Rig it up on the floor here, put a mattress or sheepskin on the ground with a clean sheet over it.’

  When they both stood there for another second she glared at them. ‘Well, get going.’

  ‘Yes, Doc,’ Grant replied, and rushed from the room.

  ‘Are you sure about this, Dannyella?’ Sebastian asked quietly, while Geena lay resting.

  ‘What else is there?’ She met his gaze and was surprised to see a spark of…was that excitement? ‘The baby will be here within the next ten minutes. Get moving.’

  She thought he was going to protest, to refuse to help out in her non-textbook approach, but he surprised her by saying, ‘Yes, m’am.’ He aimed one heart-melting grin at her before heading out the door after Grant.

  Danny shook her head. Sebastian MacKenzie was full of surprises and the more she was getting to know him, the more she was starting to like him. Really like him!

  CHAPTER THREE

  IT HAD been ages since Sebastian had been involved in a home birth. Most of his patients lived within a short distance of the county hospital and o
nce his patients were about five centimetres dilated, he’d transfer them to hospital. He’d visit a few days later and then provide postnatal care for mother and infant.

  Here, though, Sebastian rushed around with Grant, collecting things and taking them back to the house. They took the mattress out of the baby cot and set it up in the bedroom just as Geena was having another contraction. Grant rushed to his wife’s side and dutifully let her pulverise his hand until it turned a lovely shade of purple. The love shared between the couple was evident and it left Sebastian feeling a little…wistful.

  He placed a double layer of cotton sheet over the new mattress to protect it before starting work on the frame. Grant had found a large old lampshade which had belonged to his motherin-law, and had taken great delight in ripping the covering off. Sebastian grabbed the clingfilm and stretched it over the frame of the lampshade. When they put the frame over the baby, it would create a closed in area where the oxygen would be regulated and the heat and humidity would be trapped in by the clingfilm. It was amazing! Simple, yet effective.

  ‘The head’s crowning,’ Danny reported. ‘You’re doing great, Geena. Just great. Another push when you’re ready.’

  ‘I am never doing this again. Understand?’ Geena glared at her husband. ‘Never again!’

  ‘Of course, hon. I understand,’ he replied, and kissed her forehead.

  ‘That’s what you said after the last one,’ Danny reminded her.

  ‘I mean it this time. Book him in tomorrow, Danny.’

  ‘Book who in where?’ Grant asked warily, looking from his wife to Danny. Danny wiggled her eyebrows up and down and Grant turned a puce shade of green as realisation dawned.

  ‘We’ll discuss it later, Grant. Right now, I need you to be focusing on your wife and child. Ready for another big push, Geena?’

  Geena took a deep breath, gritted her teeth and squeezed her husband’s hand.

  ‘Push, push, push. Keep pushing. Snatch a quick breath. Keep pushing. That’s it. You’re doing great. The head’s coming, good. Good.’