The Midwife's New Year Wish

by Jennifer Taylor

  ‘Idiot!’ Mel retorted, smiling at him.

  Katie turned away because she couldn’t bear to see how Nick would respond to her friend’s overtures. She’d thought he’d wanted to kiss her just now because she was special, but maybe she’d assumed too much. After all, he had told her about the long periods he spent abroad and it was doubtful if he had much female company while he was away. He probably would have behaved the same way with any woman just now and the thought was so painful that it was hard to hide her dismay when Mel immediately launched into a discussion about Nick’s love life as soon as he’d left.

  ‘You’ve spoken to him more than anyone else has, Katie, so what’s he told you?’ Mel demanded, tucking into the bacon and egg Katie had placed in front of her with relish. ‘Has he mentioned a girlfriend to you?’

  ‘No, but most of our conversations have been about work,’ Katie replied shortly, sitting down.

  ‘Pity.’ Mel sighed. ‘It would be so much easier if we knew something about him, wouldn’t it?’

  ‘I know that he’s been working overseas,’ Katie volunteered because she felt mean about withholding the information. After all, it wasn’t Mel’s fault if Nick was a bit of a flirt, was it? Her stomach lurched at the thought and she hurried on.

  ‘He was in India for quite a while from what I can gather. In fact, that was where he was before he came to Dalverston. He spent some months working over there, setting up a new maternity unit.’

  ‘Really?’ Mel’s expression brightened. ‘Doesn’t sound as though he has a “significant other”, does it? I mean, he’d hardly have spent all that time abroad if he was in a proper relationship. And the fact that he’s moved all the way to Dalverston is another indication that he’s not attached. He’d have stayed in London if there was someone special in his life.’

  ‘You could be right.’ Katie got up and plugged in the kettle, hoping Mel would let the subject drop. She’d never even considered the possibility that Nick might be involved with anyone else and it shocked her that she’d given no thought to something so important.

  ‘I hope I am, but there’s an easy way to find out, of course,’ Mel declared, grinning like a cat who’d just been offered a dish of cream. ‘I think this calls for action, don’t you?’

  ‘What do you mean?’ Katie demanded, turning to look at her friend.

  Mel laughed. ‘What do you think I mean? Oh, come on, Katie, you’ve got to admit that Nick Lawson is the first eligible male we’ve had working in this place for ages! OK, I know that you don’t go in for flings because you’re still hoping for the love, marriage and happily-ever-after scenario, but I’m not like you. I want to have a bit of fun while I’m still young enough to enjoy myself and Nick strikes me as the ideal candidate to have it with. I just need to give him a nudge in the right direction and I know the perfect way to do it, too. I’m going to invite him to the New Year’s Eve ball!’

  ‘He might already have made plans for New Year,’ Katie said, trying to hide her dismay. She certainly didn’t have the right to vet who Mel dated, but the thought of her going to the ball with Nick was almost more than she could bear.

  ‘I doubt it,’ Mel scoffed. ‘I mean, he’s hardly going to drive all the way back to London for one night, is he? No, I’m going to ask him if he’d like to go to the ball and see what he says.’ She pushed back her chair and stood up. ‘Wish me luck?’

  ‘Of course.’

  Katie managed to smile but she was glad when Mel left because she doubted if she could have kept up the pretence for much longer. She cleared everything away then went to fetch her coat. A lot of the shops were starting their after-Christmas sales that day so she’d go into town and see if she could find herself any bargains. At least it would give her something to do until it was time to report for duty.

  She took a short cut through the car park and had almost reached the gates when she spotted Mel and Nick standing beside his car. They were both laughing and Katie quickly turned away before they noticed her. It was obvious they were getting along famously so she could only assume that Mel’s plan had worked. Maybe she should be happy for her friend but, as she made her way to the bus stop, Katie realised that she’d have given anything to be the one going to the ball with Nick on New Year’s Eve.

  ‘It’s really kind of you to invite me but I’m not sure yet if I’ll be working over New Year. Can I let you know?’

  Nick dredged up a smile when Mel told him cheerfully that she’d check back with him later and hurried away. At least she didn’t seem upset by his answer and that was something to be thankful for. He sighed as he took the soapy sponge out of the bucket because at any other time he would have jumped at the chance of spending the evening with an attractive woman like Mel. Although he wasn’t looking for commitment, he was a normal, healthy male and enjoyed female company as much as the next guy did. However, the thought of spending the evening with Mel when he really wanted to spend it with Katie was more than he could handle.

  He cursed roundly as he set to work on his car because he certainly didn’t want to feel like this. Car washing was a job he hated normally, but it was a relief to have something to vent his frustrations on that day. He finished the task in record time and took the bucket back inside, checking that there was nobody about before he went into the kitchen.

  He stowed the bucket away in the cupboard, sighing as he recalled how close he’d come to breaking his self-imposed rules. If they hadn’t been interrupted he would have kissed Katie and that would have been a terrible mistake. Although there was no doubt in his mind that Katie got to him in a way that no other woman had done, he couldn’t use that as an excuse. Katie deserved more than a few weeks of passion, which was all he could offer her!

  Thoroughly disgusted with himself, Nick went back to his room and changed. Although nobody was expecting him to work that day, it would help to take his mind off Katie if he had something to do. He just had to hang onto the thought that if he got through the next three months then he would be back on track, but it wasn’t much comfort. He wasn’t looking forward to leaving Dalverston when it meant that he would be leaving Katie, but what else could he do?

  It had been his brother’s dream to make a difference to people’s lives and now that Mike was dead, he had to see it through. Maybe other people would think he was crazy but it was the only way he could cope with his guilt. Even though he couldn’t change what had happened, he could at least try to make amends. There simply wasn’t room in his life for Katie even though he wished there was.

  The shops were packed with bargain hunters so Katie only stayed for an hour then went back to the hospital. She didn’t feel like sitting in her room so she got changed into her uniform. Although there were a couple of hours left before she went on duty, Jean would probably appreciate an early finish.

  It was teatime when she arrived at the maternity unit so she took over the task of pouring the tea. Everyone wanted to know why she’d come into work so early but she shrugged off the questions by explaining that she’d had nothing better to do. As soon as the patients had been served their meals, she went to the office and relieved Jean.

  The handover was straightforward because there was nobody in the delivery rooms. They’d had just one new admission that day, in fact, a young woman called Amanda Green, who was four months pregnant and threatening to miscarry. She was one of their patients so Katie decided to check on her before she did anything else. Jean had put her in a side room so Katie tapped on the door and went in, only to come to a halt when she saw Nick standing by the bed. She’d had no idea that he would be there so it was a moment before she could gather her composure again.

  ‘Hello, Amanda. How are you feeling?’ she asked quietly, nodding to Nick as she went over to the bed.

  ‘Scared.’ Tears welled from the young woman’s eyes. ‘I’ve always been so healthy that it never crossed my mind that something like this could happen. I keep trying to work out what I’ve done wrong.’

  �
�You haven’t done anything wrong,’ Nick corrected gently. ‘So you must stop blaming yourself.’

  He turned to Katie and his tone was strictly businesslike this time. ‘We’ve done a scan and the baby is fine, which is the good news. Amanda has had some spotting and slight cramping but there’s no sign that the amniotic sac has ruptured. I’ve examined her and it looks like an incompetent cervix is the cause of the problem. Her cervix is a couple of centimetres dilated.’

  ‘Will you be able to put a stitch in it?’ Katie asked evenly, following his lead.

  ‘Yes, that’s what I’m planning on doing. I was just about to explain the procedure to Amanda when you arrived.’

  He turned back to the bed and Katie swallowed her sigh because it was obvious that Nick was keen to forget what had happened earlier. Even though she knew it was probably for the best, she couldn’t help feeling disappointed. She made herself concentrate as he explained the procedure to Amanda because it was easier to think about that than her own feelings.

  ‘Your cervix needs strengthening so I’m going to put a stitch in it to stop it opening any further,’ he explained. ‘It will be done under local anaesthetic using a spinal block, or epidural as it’s more commonly known, so you shouldn’t find it too uncomfortable.’

  ‘I’m sorry, Doctor, but I’m not sure that I understand what you mean,’ Amanda said hesitantly. ‘The cervix is part of my womb, isn’t it?’

  ‘That’s right.’ Nick sat down on the edge of the bed and took a pen out of his pocket. Picking up the file from the bedside table, he drew a diagram on the back. ‘This is the cervix here. It’s a small cylindrical organ comprising the lower part and neck of the womb. It’s made of fibrous tissue and muscle which forms a sphincter, which is just a fancy name for a circular muscle. Are you with me so far?’

  ‘Yes.’ Amanda managed a ghost of a smile. ‘I really should have genned up on all this before.’

  ‘Don’t you worry about it,’ Nick told her with a grin. ‘That’s my job so you can leave the anatomy to me.’

  Katie sighed when Amanda laughed. Nick had a knack of putting people at their ease yet he wasn’t anywhere near as easy on himself. Once again she was struck by the contradiction and it was alarming to realise that she was more curious than ever about him. She knew that she had to stop thinking about him all the time for her own peace of mind, but it was proving an almost impossible task.

  ‘The cervix lengthens during pregnancy and acts as a barrier to keep the baby inside the womb. However, sometimes a weakness can develop and the cervix starts to open, which is what has happened to you. I’ll put a suture—or stitch—round here and that should solve the problem.’

  He showed Amanda the diagram and she studied it for a moment then frowned. ‘But how will the baby be born if my cervix is stitched together?’

  ‘I can remove the suture before your due date so you can deliver the baby vaginally. Or you could choose to have a section, if you prefer,’ he told her.

  ‘Which is best? For the baby, I mean?’ she asked worriedly, and Nick smiled.

  ‘You’re not jumping onto the too-posh-to-push bandwagon then?’

  Amanda laughed. ‘Not unless I really have to! My sister had a section and it took her ages to recover from it afterwards. She was so sore that she could hardly bear to pick up her baby.’

  ‘That can be the downside, although most mums are back on their feet in a week or so. Anyhow, you don’t have to decide right this very minute. You can tell me what you want to do later on.’

  ‘So you really think it will work?’ Amanda asked hopefully.

  ‘I can’t guarantee it, of course, but there’s a very good chance that you’ll be able to carry the baby to term if I put this stitch in,’ Nick assured her. ‘I’ll do it first thing tomorrow morning, which will give us time to see what’s happening. If your cervix doesn’t dilate any more we’ll go ahead.’

  ‘And if it does open up any further you won’t be able to do anything?’ Amanda asked in a small voice.

  ‘If the cervix is more than four centimetres dilated then the chances of a viable pregnancy are greatly decreased, I’m afraid.’ He patted her hand before he stood up. ‘We’re not at that stage yet so let’s just keep our fingers crossed, shall we? Now, I want you to stay in bed and rest.’

  He turned to Katie. ‘Amanda’s husband should be here very shortly so if you could send him to the office I can explain everything to him as well.’

  ‘Of course,’ Katie agreed politely. She made sure that Amanda was comfortable then left her to rest. Anita Walsh, the community midwife, was just booking in a patient when she reached Reception so Katie stopped and had a word with them. The mum was just booked in for the delivery and would be going home straight afterwards so Katie wished her well and carried on. There was a pile of reports that needed doing, plus the end-of-year figures needed collating, and this would be the ideal time to start on them. Yet she hesitated when she reached the office. Nick was in there and suddenly the thought of having to sit in the same room as him when her emotions were in such turmoil was more than she could face.

  She swung round and headed back the way she’d come. She would leave the paperwork until a later date…

  ‘Katie, hang on a second!’

  Katie stopped and turned round when Nick came hurrying out of the office. ‘Is something wrong?’

  ‘A and E have just phoned. They’ve got a girl down there who’s just been brought in by her parents. She’s sixteen and suffering from heavy vaginal bleeding. She’s refused to tell A and E anything but they’re pretty sure that she’s had a baby recently.’

  ‘You think she might be the mother of that baby I found?’ Katie exclaimed.

  ‘I’d lay odds on it. It’s too much of a coincidence, isn’t it? Anyway, I’m going straight down to A and E to see her so could you get one of the side rooms ready, please? And can you keep it quiet, too?’ His tone was grim. ‘It appears the press have been hanging around and the last thing we need is them getting to hear about this. The poor kid has enough on her plate from the sound of it.’

  ‘Of course,’ Katie agreed in dismay. ‘You were right, Nick. If it does turn out that she’s the baby’s mother I was wrong to prejudge her. The poor kid must have been scared stiff and I feel really terrible about what I said now.’

  ‘Don’t go blaming yourself,’ he said quietly. ‘You weren’t to know, were you?’

  ‘No, but I could have been a bit kinder,’ she admitted guiltily.

  ‘Katie, if more people were like you the world would be a much better place, believe me.’

  He touched her lightly on the cheek then strode away. Katie bit her lip as she watched him hurrying to the stairs. He gave out such mixed signals that it was no wonder she felt confused. One minute he was pushing her away and the next…Well, the next he was behaving as though he really felt something for her. Was it just that he was an inveterate flirt and couldn’t help coming on to a woman—the gentle touch, the intimate smile, the lingering eye contact? Or was there more to it than that? Did Nick really feel something for her, perhaps?

  She spun round in a sudden fit of impatience because there was no time to stand there worrying about how Nick might or might not feel. If he had any real feelings for her he’d tell her so…

  Wouldn’t he?

  A sudden chill ran through her because there was no guarantee that Nick would ever admit to his feelings.

  ‘I’d like to get her straight to Theatre so can you arrange for a porter to take her upstairs, please? It looks as though part of the placenta has been retained and I’ll need to get it sorted out as quickly as possible.’

  Nick sighed when the young A and E nurse apologetically explained that there were no porters available at the moment. Even though it was Boxing Day, the accident and emergency unit was a hive of activity and the staff were struggling to cope.

  ‘Don’t worry about it,’ he told her. ‘I’ll take her up myself as soon as I’ve had a word wi
th her parents. If you could just let Theatre know that I’ll be there in a few minutes that would be a real help.’

  He peeled off his gloves and tossed them into the waste sack as the nurse hurried away. Jodie Carmichael was a very sick girl and he found it difficult to contain his anger as he went back to the bed. She was still refusing to admit that she’d had a baby and he found it absolutely deplorable that she was so afraid to tell the truth. He intended to find out why she was so terrified but first he needed to explain to Jodie what was going to happen.

  ‘Hi, Jodie, how are you feeling now, sweetheart? Is the pain any better?’

  ‘A bit,’ she muttered, staring at him with terrified blue eyes.

  ‘Good. The drugs I’ve given you will help a lot but I still need to get rid of all the stuff that’s making you so ill. That means I’m going to take you to Theatre for an operation.’

  ‘Will it hurt?’ she asked, her lower lip wobbling ominously.

  ‘No. You’ll be fast asleep and won’t feel a thing so don’t worry about that.’

  He glanced round when there was a sudden commotion at the next bed. A junior doctor from the paediatric unit was kicking up a fuss because there was no one available to take his patient up to the ward. Nick frowned when he heard the young man subject the staff to a barrage of abuse. He quickly excused himself and went over to speak to him.

  ‘You need to calm down,’ he said firmly, drawing the younger man aside. ‘The staff are under enough pressure as it is without you giving them any more hassle.’

  The young doctor coloured angrily at the rebuke but obviously decided it would be wiser not to say anything. Nick left him to make his peace with the staff and went back to Jodie.

  ‘Sorry about that. It’s very busy today and tempers are getting a bit frayed. Anyway, I’m going to move you out of here as soon as I can but I need to speak to your mum and dad first. Do you want me to give them a message from you?’

  ‘No.’ Tears trickled down Jodie’s face and she quickly turned her head away.