The Midwife's New Year Wish

by Jennifer Taylor

  She hurried out of the office with Nick hard on her heels and went to open the front doors. The paramedics quickly unloaded Karen Johnson from the back of the ambulance and rushed her inside, rattling out information as they pushed the trolley towards the examination room.

  ‘Patient’s name is Karen Johnson, aged 32, and she’s thirty-five weeks pregnant,’ the young woman paramedic recited. ‘Her husband told us that she’s under your care so you should have her notes on file. She was conscious when we arrived but had lost a lot of blood so we’ve given her a litre of saline and have just set up a second.’

  ‘Thanks.’ Katie bent over the trolley. ‘Hi, Karen, I didn’t expect to see you here quite so soon.’

  ‘I didn’t expect to be here,’ Karen murmured. She was obviously in a great deal of pain and that, allied to the massive blood loss, had left her very weak so Katie didn’t waste any time as she pushed open the doors to the examination room and helped the paramedics roll the trolley inside.

  ‘Let’s get her onto the bed, stat!’ Nick ordered, bringing up the rear. He put out a restraining hand when Karen’s husband tried to follow them into the room. ‘Can you wait outside, please, sir?’

  ‘But I want to know what’s happening,’ Clive protested, trying to get past him. ‘Why is she bleeding like that? Does it mean that she’s going to lose the baby?’

  ‘I’m sorry but we don’t have the time for this right now,’ Nick said firmly. ‘Please, wait outside. I’ll come and tell you what’s happening as soon as I can.’

  With that, he closed the door and walked straight over to the bed. Katie tried to hide her dismay as they quickly transferred Karen from the trolley because, in her opinion, Nick had been a bit rough on the poor man. She found herself mentally crossing her fingers that he wouldn’t turn out to be a bit of bully like some of the obstetricians she’d worked with over the years. Her mums had a right to expect the kind of birth they wanted and she’d fight tooth and nail to make sure their wishes weren’t ignored.

  ‘Hi, Karen, I’m Nick Lawson, the new specialist registrar on the obstetric unit. It just so happens that you are my very first patient here in Dalverston so I’m going to make sure you get five-star treatment from here on.’

  Katie frowned when she heard the teasing note in Nick’s voice because it was a world away from the manner in which he’d treated Karen’s husband. As she listened to him she quickly stripped off the blood-soaked sheet and set up the foetal monitor which would record the baby’s heartbeat and the frequency of the mother’s contractions.

  ‘I want to examine you if that’s OK?’ he said, gently palpating Karen’s swollen abdomen. ‘Just yell out if it hurts or give me a good old thump if it makes you feel better.’ He grinned at her. ‘I’m tougher than I look!’

  Katie was amazed when Karen gave a wobbly laugh. The poor soul was in a great deal of pain and terrified as well, but the gentle teasing had helped to reassure her. She stood to one side, ready to attach the monitor as soon as Nick had finished his examination. He was gentle but thorough, she noted, and she couldn’t find any fault as he quickly established the baby’s position before turning to her.

  ‘Let’s get a tracing of the baby’s heart rate, please, Sister.’

  ‘Yes, Dr Lawson.’ Katie quickly strapped the ultrasound transmitter to Karen’s tummy, glancing round when Nick said softly in her ear, ‘Can you turn up the sound so Mum can hear that her baby’s all right?’

  Katie nodded as she set the dials so that a rhythmic beeping noise was emitted by the machine and she saw Karen’s face crumple in relief.

  ‘Oh, I can hear him! He’s all right, isn’t he? I thought he was…’ She couldn’t go on as tears overwhelmed her. Nick took hold of her hand and squeezed it.

  ‘Your baby’s fine, Karen. His heartbeat is a little faster than it should be because he’s getting a bit distressed so I’m going to have to deliver him by Caesarean section. I know it wasn’t what you’d planned but it’s the best thing for both of you.’

  ‘I don’t care what you do so long as my baby is all right,’ Karen gulped.

  ‘We’re going to do everything possible to make sure he’s fine so you just hang on in there.’

  One last squeeze of Karen’s hand then Nick was all business as he turned to Katie. ‘I want bloods for cross-matching and SCBU put on standby. They need to know that we have a pre-termer, thirty-five weeks gestation. I’d like you to assist me, Sister, so can you get someone in here while we scrub up? I’ve already spoken to the anaesthetist on duty and he should be here very shortly.’

  ‘Of course.’

  Katie went to the phone and called the nursing station to ask Abbey to take over from her. She checked the fluid and changed the bag then Larry Price, the duty anaesthetist, arrived, closely followed by Abbey. Nick had already left and she spotted him in the corridor as she went to get changed, talking to Clive Johnson. The man was obviously distraught at the thought of his wife having an operation and she sent up a quick prayer that Nick wouldn’t be too brusque with him.

  She pushed open the changing-room door then glanced back in time to see Nick slap the other man on the shoulder and for some reason her heart felt a bit lighter all of a sudden. Maybe it was silly but she was glad that her fears about him being a bully seemed to have been groundless.

  Her lips snapped together as she let the door slam shut behind her. She wasn’t going to go all soft because Nick might not be the monster she’d imagined him to be. He would need to do an awful lot more than be nice to the patients and their husbands if he hoped to redeem himself in her eyes.

  ‘Can you take him, please?’

  Nick handed the squalling baby boy to Katie then turned his attention back to the child’s mother as the infant was whisked away. Karen had lost an awful lot of blood and the sooner he got this sorted out the happier he’d be.

  He swore under his breath as he carefully removed the placenta and placed it in a dish. Two thirds of the placenta had become detached from the wall of the womb and it was a miracle that Karen and her baby had survived the resulting blood loss and shock. Although placental abruption was fairly rare in the UK, it cost a lot of lives in developing countries where there was a lack of decent antenatal care. The condition was often linked to high blood pressure or pre-eclampsia, although there’d been no indication of either of those in this instance. He’d read Karen Johnson’s case notes and there’d been no indication of anything wrong at her last check-up, two days previously.

  Nick was suddenly filled with self-disgust when it struck him how close they’d come to a tragedy and all because he’d not wanted to tell anyone who he was. He’d put his own desire for some peace and quiet above the welfare of their patients and it was a salutary reminder of how an action could have far-reaching consequences. If he hadn’t been so damned set on doing what he’d wanted to do all those years ago then his brother might never have died!

  ‘Four pounds three ounces, with an Apgar score of six.’

  Nick glanced around when Katie came over to tell him how the baby was faring. Thinking about Michael’s accident always upset him so it was a relief to focus on something else instead. ‘Not too bad a weight considering he’s a month early. His score could be a lot worse, too. Are you going to take him down to SCBU now?’

  ‘If you no longer need me.’ She glanced at the patient and sighed. ‘Poor Karen. She’s had a really rough time. It must be even more of a shock for her because she had such an easy pregnancy. She didn’t even suffer the odd bout of morning sickness like most of our mums do.’

  ‘It’s how it goes sometimes,’ Nick replied flatly because he felt so bad about what had happened. If Karen had been sent to a hospital further away, her chances of surviving would have been greatly reduced. Time was of the essence in a situation like this so it was hard to keep the guilt out of his voice when he asked the anaesthetist for a BP reading. He saw Katie glance at him, as though she’d picked up on it.

  A wash of heat ran
up his face and he bent over the operating table because he really didn’t want her asking him any questions and, after a moment, she moved away. Nick concentrated on the task of suturing as she left Theatre with the baby, stitching each layer of tissue with a skill and speed that came from long practice. Larry, his anaesthetist, whistled as he watched Nick put the last suture in place.

  ‘I thought Niall was good but you’re a real whiz with the old needle and thread. Good job my wife doesn’t work here any longer or she’d be asking for your phone number. She’s been on at me about having some new curtains made for our sitting-room.’

  Nick laughed, appreciating both the joke and the moment of camaraderie. ‘I’ll have to send her an estimate for my services, although I have to warn you that I’m not cheap.’

  ‘I’ll bet you’re not!’ Larry chuckled. ‘It must be a nice little sideline for you.’

  They finished off soon afterwards and Nick thanked the rest of the team who’d assisted him. Although he’d been the major player, he couldn’t have managed without Larry and the scrub nurse, not to mention Katie, of course. A buzz of heat sprang up in the pit of his stomach at the thought of Katie but he tamped it down as he went to get changed. Katie was a wonderful nurse and he must focus on that fact rather than any other of her assets from now on.

  Clive Johnson was pacing the waiting room when Nick went back to the maternity unit so he didn’t drag it out and add to the poor man’s agony. He told him simply that Karen and the baby had come through the operation and there was a very good chance they would both recover from their ordeal. Naturally, Clive wanted to know what had happened so Nick explained how the placenta had detached itself from the wall of the womb and it had been that which had caused the massive bleeding.

  He didn’t expound on the seriousness of the situation because Clive wasn’t up to it right then. However, he guessed there might be more questions later so he gave the man his phone number and told him to call him if he wanted to chat and left it at that. Abbey was in the corridor so he asked her to take Clive to SCBU to see his baby son.

  Once that was done then, by rights, Nick knew he was free to leave but he was loath to take himself off in case anything else happened. Maybe he didn’t have to stay but it would make him feel better so he went into the office and switched on the light. There was a kettle on top of the filing cabinet and it struck him all of a sudden how thirsty he was. He’d not had a drink since he’d arrived and a cup of coffee might just put a bit of fizz back into his veins and see him through the night.

  He flicked the switch on the kettle then spooned coffee granules into a mug, added whitener and sugar—three large spoonfuls—and sank down onto the nearest chair. It had been quite a day, one way and another, and he was already bone tired from the long hours he’d been working recently. The kettle soon came to the boil and switched itself off but Nick never even noticed because he was fast asleep by then, his dreams full of babies crying and women with swollen bellies begging him for help…

  Something green suddenly appeared just beyond his field of vision and his eyelids twitched. He could just make out a cap with a pompom, some pointy-toed boots and freckles—lots and lots of red and green freckles…

  He sighed wistfully when a familiar little elfin figure suddenly materialised right in the middle of his dream. His life would be so much better if he had someone like Katie to share it with.

  CHAPTER THREE

  KATIE was on her way back to the delivery suite when she spotted a light on in the office. She sighed as she immediately changed course. They’d been inundated with memos recently about the need to save money by turning off lights and it was hardly setting a good example to leave one on in the office.

  She glanced at her watch as she opened the door and frowned when she saw that it was almost two in the morning. She hadn’t been into the office since Karen Johnson had been admitted so the light must have been burning for hours. They’d had three new admissions that night although, thankfully, none of them had presented with any problems. One mum had just delivered a healthy baby girl and was on her way to the ward, and the other two were well advanced with their labours. With a bit of luck both mums would have given birth before she went off duty so the day staff would have a clear run…

  Katie stopped dead when she spotted the figure slumped in a chair. She’d thought Nick Lawson had left ages ago but obviously she’d been mistaken. Now she wasn’t sure what to do, whether she should wake him or leave him to sleep, and before she could make up her mind, his eyes suddenly opened.

  ‘Did you want me?’ he muttered, dragging himself upright in the chair.

  ‘No. I just came to switch off the light. I spotted it when I was passing and thought I must have left it on by mistake,’ she replied hurriedly, wondering why she felt the need to explain how she happened to be there. Was it because Nick looked so appealing with his dark hair all rumpled and the shadow of a beard darkening his jaw?

  She wanted to deny it but she was too honest to lie to herself. She might not like Nick for the way he’d tricked her but she couldn’t deny that she responded to him, and it was hard to reconcile two such conflicting emotions after what had happened with David.

  ‘Oh, I see.’ He stood up then groaned as he began hopping up and down on one leg. ‘Drat! I’ve got pins and needles in my foot.’ He flopped back down onto the chair and removed his shoe so he could knead his toes. ‘That’ll teach me to fall asleep in the chair. I was only going to sit down while the kettle boiled but I must have dropped off.’

  ‘You must have been tired,’ Katie said lightly, hoping her confusion didn’t show. ‘Too many late nights, I expect.’

  ‘Too many late nights on top of too many long days, you mean,’ he replied rather cryptically. He slid his foot back into his shoe and gingerly stood up. ‘That’s better. Anyway, if I’m in your way just say the word and I’ll find somewhere else to sit. I didn’t mean to clutter up your office.’

  ‘No, it’s fine,’ she assured him. ‘Anyway, isn’t it about time you went home?’

  ‘I thought I’d hang on here in case you needed me.’ He shrugged when she looked at him in surprise. ‘I didn’t want there to be a repeat of the Karen Johnson episode. If you’re a registrar down because she’s gone home sick then it could cause problems.’

  ‘That’s very good of you,’ Katie said slowly, wondering if there was an ulterior motive to the offer. Maybe she was a little over-sensitive where Nick was concerned but how many people would offer to work on Christmas Eve if they didn’t need to?

  ‘There isn’t a catch, if that’s what you’re thinking,’ he said quietly. ‘I just feel really bad about what happened earlier. I should have told you who I was from the outset instead of leaving it until we had a near tragedy on our hands.’

  ‘But you weren’t to know it would happen,’ Katie protested, surprised that she should feel a need to defend his actions.

  ‘Maybe not, but that doesn’t alter the fact that Karen could have lost her baby and maybe even her life if she hadn’t received the treatment she needed.’ His deep voice was laced with guilt and Katie frowned because it certainly wasn’t the response she would have expected from him.

  ‘But she did receive the right treatment and it was all thanks to you, Nick. I don’t know why you’re blaming yourself. I mean, we weren’t expecting you to start work until after Christmas so it was really fortunate that you happened to be here in the first place.’

  ‘Maybe,’ he conceded, although Katie could tell he wasn’t convinced.

  ‘There’s no “maybe” about it. It was a stroke of luck that you turned up when you did. Let’s face it, not many people decide to move house on Christmas Eve. They usually wait until after the holidays.’

  ‘It just seemed like a good time to do it.’ He went to the filing cabinet and switched on the kettle again. ‘Everyone’s always so busy at Christmas that I thought I’d have a couple of days to myself to get settled in before I had to start work.’<
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  ‘I see. What about your family, though?’ she asked curiously because it still seemed rather a strange thing to have done. ‘Didn’t you want to spend Christmas with them this year?’

  ‘My parents got divorced a few years ago,’ he explained, pouring boiling water into a mug. ‘Mum emigrated to New Zealand to live with her sister and Dad remarried. He lives in Scotland now with his new wife and family.’

  ‘Oh, dear.’ Katie grimaced. ‘That must be rather difficult—unless you take it in turns to visit them, of course.’

  ‘No. Christmas is just another day so far as I’m concerned,’ he said flatly, stirring the contents of the mug. ‘I prefer to work over the holiday, but it just so happens that I was off this year because of starting this job.’

  He glanced up and Katie shivered when she saw the bleakness in his eyes. She sensed there was a lot more that he wasn’t telling her but before she could think of a way to ask him, he countered it with a question of his own. ‘So what about you? D’you normally spend Christmas with your family?’

  ‘No.’ She summoned a smile but it was difficult to keep the ache out of her voice. If things had gone to plan then this year she would have spent the holiday with David, but after she’d found out how different their views on life were there’d been no chance of that happening. ‘My parents died a couple of years ago in a coach crash. I was an only child and don’t have any other family so that’s why I volunteered to work over Christmas.’

  ‘I see. Sorry. That was a bit tactless of me, wasn’t it?’

  ‘There’s nothing to apologise for. You weren’t to know about my circumstances,’ she said briskly because she certainly didn’t want to be the recipient of his sympathy. Nick Lawson had aroused a lot of conflicting emotions inside her already and she didn’t want to add any more so she swiftly changed the subject. ‘Anyway, I’d better get a move on. We have two mums in labour so there’s always something that needs doing.’