by Sarah Morgan
He heard the fear in her tone and instantly snapped into professional mode. He dealt with people’s fear on a daily basis. He could deal with fear. It was the baby he wouldn’t be any good with.
‘All right, let’s sit you down.’ He pulled out a kitchen chair but she refused to let go of his arm.
‘I don’t think I want to sit down.’ She gave a tiny whimper and rubbed her bump. ‘I want to walk, or push.’
Push?
‘Don’t push!’ Josh felt sweat break out on his brow. This couldn’t be happening to him. He should have stayed in bed. He should have—
‘Josh!’
‘Please, don’t push.’ He wondered if there was any way he could remove his arm from her grip without offending her. At this rate he was going to need stitches. ‘Not until we know what’s going on. I’m going to ring Mac and—’
‘No!’ She still held him tightly. ‘Don’t leave me. I tell you I’m going to have this baby on your kitchen floor any moment.’ She gave a hysterical laugh that turned into a sob and Josh eyed his mobile phone, which was just out of reach. If she’d let go of him for a second, he’d be able to grab it and call someone.
‘Louisa—’
‘Hopeful wants something to eat.’ Archie walked into the kitchen and stopped dead, his eyes popping out of his head. ‘What’s the matter with Louisa? Her face is all funny.’
Josh gritted his teeth. ‘Her baby is coming.’ And that probably wasn’t something a six-year-old was meant to see. What did six-year-olds know about babies? He didn’t want to frighten him.
But Archie looked more excited than frightened. ‘Here? Now?’
‘Here. Now.’ Josh wiped his brow with his forearm and was suddenly struck by inspiration. ‘Archie, I need you to do something for me. I need you to pass me my phone from over there and then go to your house and wake your mum up.’ Hadn’t she told him that her last job had been in obstetrics? ‘Tell her that Louisa is having her baby and that she needs to get over here now. Do it, Archie.’ He gritted his teeth as Louisa almost amputated his arm with her fingers. ‘Do it now!’
Archie looked at him then grabbed the phone, virtually threw it at Josh and then disappeared back through the door at a run.
* * *
From the depths of sleep, Kat heard her name and shot out of bed, her heart racing. ‘What? Archie? Is that you?’
‘You need to come now!’ He raced into her bedroom, panting and almost bursting with excitement. ‘It’s an urgency.’
Urgency? Still half-asleep, she tried to translate. Urgency? Emergency? ‘What’s an emergency? What are you talking about?’
‘The baby’s coming and Josh doesn’t know anything and you have to come now! He said so or it’s going to drop on the floor.’
‘What baby? What floor?’ She grabbed her shorts but Archie pulled at her arm.
‘You haven’t got time to change. It’s coming. It will probably be on the kitchen floor by now. You have to hurry.’
‘What will? Who will?’ What was he talking about? ‘What baby?’
He looked at her as though she were stupid. ‘Louisa’s baby! It’s coming out of her tummy and Josh is looking really weird. He’s got that face I use when you make me eat broccoli! And you need to come now!’
‘Oh, my God…’ Suddenly understanding what he was trying to tell her, Kat slipped her feet into her trainers and raced after him, wondering how he knew that Louisa’s baby was coming.
She ran into Josh’s house and found him crouched on the floor next to Louisa, who was sobbing and fighting for breath.
‘It’s OK, sweetheart.’ Josh had his arm round Louisa’s shoulders and was desperately trying to reassure her, but there was no missing the relief on his face when he saw Kat. ‘She thinks she’s having the baby.’
‘I don’t think, you great idiot,’ Louisa yelled, thumping him hard with both her fists. ‘I know. Do you think I’m stupid or something? Do you think I don’t know when I’m having a baby?’
Josh flinched and Kat tried not to smile. Josh was such a talented doctor that she’d never imagined a situation where he’d be out of his depth, but clearly this was one of them.
‘Have you examined her?’
He looked at her in horror. ‘She’s my sister-in-law,’ he muttered, and Kat gave a sigh.
‘She’s a woman in labour, Josh, and judging from the way she’s cursing and thumping you I’d say she was in transition. We need to examine her. She mustn’t push before she’s fully dilated or she could damage her cervix.’
The look on Josh’s face was so comical that Kat couldn’t help laughing. ‘Calm down, Josh. Childbirth is a normal part of life. It isn’t an illness.’
‘I think I prefer illness.’
She walked into the room and crouched down next to Louisa, her voice calm. ‘Louisa, you’re going to be fine, sweetheart. There is absolutely nothing for you to worry about. My guess is you’re in transition and this is the worse bit. Just carry on swearing and thumping Josh and in a minute it will pass.’
‘But whether I’ll be alive at the end of it is another matter entirely,’ Josh muttered darkly, wincing as Louisa’s fingers dug deeper into his flesh. He eased himself away. I’ll put the kettle on. Don’t you need hot water? In the movies they always have loads of hot water at the ready. I’ll get you hot water.’
Kat let out a sigh and wondered what had happened to his usually razor-sharp brain. Then she caught the look in his eyes and realised what was the matter. He was worried about Louisa. ‘Putting the kettle on sounds like a great idea. Once it’s boiled you can make me a nice, strong cup of coffee,’ she said calmly, ‘because I’ve just woken up and I need some help. And pretty soon Louisa will want a cup of tea. Do you have any medical equipment at all in this house?’
‘I can run to gloves. Nothing else. I called an ambulance. And Mac is on his way.’
‘Well, I have a feeling this baby might not be prepared to wait. Get me the gloves, Josh.’ They were better than nothing. ‘And I need some help to move Louisa to your sofa. She’ll be more comfortable there.’
Louisa screwed her face up and held onto Kat’s hand. ‘All that backache I’ve been having—I must have been in labour and I never knew.’ She gave a tiny mew of panic. ‘I’m scared, Kat—I should be in hospital.’
‘Nonsense. I can’t think of a better place to have a baby than at home with people who love you.’ Kat crouched down and took her hand. ‘You’ve just got yourself all in a panic and you’ve forgotten about your breathing. With the next contraction I want you to breathe with me—remember everything they taught you in those hideously boring classes.’ She slid a hand onto the top of Louisa’s abdomen and felt it begin to tighten. ‘Right, now, breathe—that’s it. Good…fabulous.’ She coached Louisa through the breathing, waited for the contraction to pass and then gestured for Josh to help her move Louisa onto the sofa.
Then she quickly washed her hands and slipped on the gloves. ‘We need to check that your cervix is fully dilated and effaced before you begin pushing, Louisa,’ she explained, ‘so I’m just going to examine you.’
‘I’ll go out and check on Archie and see if there are any signs of an ambulance,’ Josh muttered, backing away so fast he almost fell over.
Kat was concentrating on Louisa. ‘This might be a bit uncomfortable.’ She felt what she needed to feel and decided that it was a good thing that her last job had been in obstetrics. ‘Well, you’re completely right, of course. This baby is coming any minute,’ she said calmly, then looked up to see Josh standing there, a strange expression on his handsome face.
‘It’s coming? Really?’
Kat smiled. ‘Yes, it’s coming. And everything seems fine. Relax.’
Something flickered in his blue eyes. ‘I’m going to be an uncle…’ Stunned, he blinked for a few moments and then seemed to suddenly stir himself. ‘What do you want me to do?’
Finally he sounded like the Josh she knew and Kat breathed a sigh of relief, k
nowing that, if things didn’t go according to plan, she might well need his help.
‘Get some towels or blankets or something because your wooden floor isn’t the best landing mat for a baby. And then calm down and enjoy it. It’s not every day you see your own niece or nephew born.’
Louisa screwed her face up. ‘I want to push.’
‘Then push.’ Kat slid an arm round her shoulders and encouraged her, but Louisa gave a tiny sob.
‘I want Mac. I really want Mac.’
‘He’s coming, angel,’ Josh said quietly, sitting down beside her and taking her in his arms. ‘In the meantime, I’m just going to have to be a substitute. A pretty poor one, I know, but I’m the best there is. Go on, amputate my arms if you need to, but when this is over, I’m cutting your nails.’
Louisa buried her head in his shoulder and laughed. ‘But you hate babies and everything to do with children.’
‘Whoever told you that?’ Josh gave a lopsided smile and stroked her hair awkwardly. ‘I’m brilliant with children. Just ask Archie. I’ve been practising my technique on him. It still needs a bit of refining but I’m improving daily.’
Grateful that he was distracting and calming Louisa, Kat examined her again. ‘This baby is nearly born, Louisa,’ she said gently. ‘You’re doing so well. Just one more push.’
Where was Archie?
Suddenly anxious about her son, she glanced over her shoulder. Josh intercepted the look.
‘I told him he’s on ambulance duty,’ he said roughly. ‘I’ve stationed him in the garden with Hopeful, watching the road. Was that the right thing to do? I thought that a practical lesson in human reproduction might not be appropriate at his age.’
‘Exactly the right thing to do.’ She was immensely touched that, given everything that was happening, he’d still given thought to Archie’s feelings. ‘Uncle Josh.’ She felt Louisa’s abdomen tighten under her hand and turned her attention back to her friend.
‘This is it, Louisa. I can see the baby’s head.’ Remembering everything she’d learned from her time on obstetrics, she watched the head emerge and stopped Louisa from pushing. ‘Pant, now, that’s it.’ Kat encouraged her as the baby’s head was born and then let out a breath of relief. So far so good. ‘Well done. You’re nearly there, Louisa. The shoulders will come with the next contraction.’
She felt a flicker of panic. What if something went wrong now? What equipment did they have? Nothing…
Then she reminded herself that there was no reason why anything should go wrong. Plenty of women had babies with no problems at all. Why shouldn’t Louisa be one of them?
Even as she had the thought, Louisa screwed up her face with the contraction, held tightly to Josh and the baby slithered out into Kat’s waiting arms and started to bawl loudly.
Josh breathed out heavily and hugged Louisa tightly. ‘You clever thing.’ He looked at Kat and a big smile spread across his face. ‘And you’re a clever thing, too, Dr O’Brien.’
She shared his sense of relief that so far everything had gone smoothly. ‘You have a little girl,’ she said softly, lifting the baby carefully and giving her to Louisa. Then she wrapped mother and baby in blankets and felt some of the tension drain from her.
Which was all wrong, of course, she mused, because there was still the placenta to deliver and she hadn’t cut the cord.
At that moment Archie raced into the room, Hopeful at his heels. ‘The ambulance is coming. I heard it and—’ He broke off and stared at Louisa and then at his mother. Ts that it?’
‘Not “it”, sweetheart,’ Kat said gently. ‘Her. She’s a baby girl.’
‘Wow.’ Archie tiptoed across. ‘Can I see?’
Flushed with her success, Louisa smiled at him and pulled the blanket down so that he could take a closer look. ‘Of course you can. Isn’t she beautiful?’
Knowing that six-year-olds weren’t blessed with tact, Kat held her breath, waiting for Archie to make some ingenuous comment about how wrinkled and screwed up the baby was, but instead he stared in wonder.
‘That’s amazing. Why is she crying? What’s the matter with her?’ He looked at Josh. ‘I don’t understand why she’s crying. Does she want something?’
‘Don’t ask me,’ Josh drawled, his eyes fixed on his baby niece. ‘She may only be small, but she’s still a woman and what they want is always a total mystery to the male species. Get used to it, Arch. It’s a fact of life.’
Archie gave a nod and they shared a look of masculine understanding. ‘Right. Maybe she just wants a cuddle.’ He gave the casual shrug of an expert. ‘Girls usually like cuddles.’
‘Good idea,’ Louisa said, holding the baby closer. The newborn immediately stopped crying and Archie beamed.
‘I was right! You see? Simple.’
From outside they heard the roar of an engine and the shriek of sirens, and Mac raced into the house moments later with the paramedics on his heels.
‘I got your message. Is she OK? Has she had it?’ He stopped dead at the sight of his wife in the arms of his brother, a tiny baby cradled in her arms. ‘Oh, my God…’
‘Yes, to all those questions. I’m an uncle.’ Josh kept his arm round Louisa, a smug expression in his eyes, ‘and, if I say so myself, I’m pretty good at it. With Archie’s help, we’ve got this whole baby thing sorted.’
‘You delivered the baby?’ Mac ran a hand over the back of his neck, gratitude in his eyes as he looked at his brother. ‘I don’t know what to say. I don’t know how to thank you. If you hadn’t been here for her…’
‘It was nothing. Really.’ Josh shrugged modestly and Kat and Louisa stared at each other open-mouthed and exchanged a look that said just one thing.
Men.
CHAPTER TEN
‘YOU do realise that you’re wearing your nightdress again, Dr O’Brien?’
The ambulance had departed, taking Louisa to hospital, and Josh and Kat were finally left alone in the kitchen while Archie played with Hopeful in the garden.
She glanced down at herself with a wry smile. ‘You don’t think this is suitable attire for delivering babies?’
His gaze slid down her body. ‘Looks perfect to me.’ His voice was husky and for a moment their eyes clashed.
She was the first to break the contact, reminding herself of all the reasons why she really shouldn’t—couldn’t—be in love with this man.
‘Talking of suitable attire.’ She kept her tone as casual as possible. ‘Do you realise you’re wearing your shirt inside out?’
‘Of course. Archie wears his inside out.’ He poured coffee into two cups and handed her one. ‘And he looks pretty cool. I decided to follow the trend.’
‘You’re basing your fashion decisions on my son’s dress sense?’
‘Why not?’ He sipped his coffee and she laughed.
‘It’s probably only fair to warn you that he never spends too much time looking at himself in the mirror.’
‘I always considered mirrors a complete waste of space.’ Josh ran a hand over his face. ‘What a morning. What time is it?’
‘Ten o’clock?’
‘Is that all?’ He gaped at her. ‘It feels like midnight.’
‘Well, you’ve crammed quite a lot into your morning, Dr Sullivan,’ she pointed out, humour in her eyes as she looked at him. ‘After all, you did just deliver Louisa’s baby, remember?’
He grinned at her tone and slid his hands round the mug. ‘Don’t mock my contribution. My arms and shoulders may never recover. I was in as much pain as she was!’
Kat rolled her eyes. ‘I don’t think so,’ she said dryly, ‘but you certainly made more fuss. I could hear you whimpering with panic behind me most of the time,’ she added, lifting an eyebrow in his direction. ‘Babies not your thing, Dr Sullivan?’
His smile faded slowly and he put his coffee-cup down, a strange expression on his face. ‘Actually, I’m starting to think they might be very much my thing, Dr O’Brien.’
The conversat
ion had gone from light-hearted to deadly serious in the blink of an eye and her heart gave a little jump. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
‘Just that I’ve been doing a lot of thinking over the past week.’ He threw a wry smile in her direction. ‘Given that there was no chance of getting any sleep, thanks to you, I spent my nights thinking. It was that or dig a large hole in the garden.’
‘Why would you need a large hole in your garden?’
‘I don’t need a hole, but digging is the only way I know of getting rid of frustration. And believe me…’ he folded his arms across his chest and looked her straight in the eye, ‘…at the moment I’ve got more frustration than I know how to deal with.’
She blushed. She could have told him that she felt exactly the same way, but she didn’t want to admit that.
She was trying to move on. To put what they’d shared behind them. How could she do that if they kept raking it up every time they were together? They had to ignore the chemistry between them. They had to ignore the way they felt about each other.
‘It’s time I went.’ She spread her hands in a nervous gesture and backed towards the door. ‘I promised Archie a day on the beach and—’
‘Wait! Dammit, don’t just walk out on me again!’ He ran a hand over his jaw and cursed under his breath. ‘Last time we spoke about this I said all the wrong things to you. I know I was clumsy.’
‘You weren’t clumsy, Josh,’ she said quietly, ‘you were honest, and there’s nothing wrong with being honest.’
‘I was clumsy because what I wanted wasn’t straight in my head.’ His eyes burned into hers. ‘But it’s straight now.’
She stared at him. ‘What do you mean?’
‘I mean that I know exactly what I want now.’ His voice was rough. ‘It’s all suddenly very clear.’
She couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t move. ‘And what do you want, Josh?’
‘You.’ His eyes didn’t shift from hers. ‘I want you, Kat. All to myself. For ever.’
A thrill of excitement flashed through her but she stopped it dead, reminding herself that nothing had changed.