Bride on the Children's Ward / Marriage Reunited: Baby on the Way (26 page)

‘Just. Pressure.’

‘Great. Hold still for me now.’ She made a small incision along the rib.

‘Jack, I need the haemostat. Yep, that’s it. It’s sterile so be careful not to touch it.’ She slotted her fingers in the handles. ‘Can you get the tube ready to open, please?’

She pushed the blunt nose into the cut, up and over the rib, through the cartilage, felt the small give as it entered the chest cavity.

‘Okay, Jack. Ready for you to open, please. Thanks,’ she said as she grasped the end of the tube with the blood-stained clamp. Pushing gently but firmly, she threaded it through the incision into the lung space.

‘Okay, Danny. You should start to notice a difference in a minute.’ She checked the one-way valve on the tube before taping a dressing into place over the wound.

The sphygmomanometer cuff was still in place around Danny’s arm. She reinflated it and took another reading. There’d been a drop in his blood pressure, but it wasn’t dangerously low. She’d check again in a minute, make sure it was coming back up.

Danny blew out a breath as she picked up his wrist. ‘Thanks, Liz.’

‘My pleasure, Danny.’ She smiled at him. His pulse was stabilising and his breathing had definitely eased. ‘I think you’d better stay off ladders for a while, though.’

‘He will be,’ said Sarah, coming back to kneel at his side, sniffling back her sobs when she saw he was all right. ‘The ambulance is on its way, Liz.’

‘Well done, Sarah.’ With her fingers still on Danny’s radial pulse, Liz studied the younger woman’s pale, puffy face. ‘Is Suzy asleep?’

‘No. I’d not long put her down. The noise must have woken her. She’s playing in her cot.’ A look of dismay crossed Sarah’s face as she put a hand on her stomach. ‘Oh, dear. I wanted to go to the hospital with Danny.’

‘There’s no reason why you can’t.’

‘But I can’t think who to ask to mind Suzy. Normally I’d ask Debbie, but she’s away.’ Her voice tailed off as her face began to crumple.

‘I’ve got a better idea.’ Liz squeezed Sarah’s shoulder. ‘Why don’t you pack a bag for you and Suzy? And both of you can come into the hospital with Danny. We’ll fix you up a family room for the night. I know the management so I can pull some strings for you,’ she teased. ‘Not quite five-star accommodation, but the staff are very nice.’

Sarah gave a small hiccuping laugh, some of the tension easing from her face. ‘Oh, Liz. Could you?’

‘I’d prefer you weren’t out here on your own. Besides, I have an ulterior motive. This way I can check your blood pressure and be sure you’re getting some rest.’ Liz’s lips twitched. Jack’s words coming out of her own mouth. She lifted her gaze to find him looking straight at her. Her pulse spiked. Phew, perhaps she should check obs on herself.

‘It’ll be through the roof at the moment,’ Sarah said.

Liz took a moment to make the connection. ‘Oh, yes. Your blood pressure. After Danny’s acrobatics.’

‘Sorry, love.’ Danny sounded sheepish as he reached out for Sarah’s hand.

Liz felt like a voyeur, witnessing the loving glance that passed between them.

A siren wailed in the distance. ‘There’s the ambulance, Sarah. How about getting that bag organised?’

‘I’ll let the ambos know where we are,’ said Jack, leaving her alone with her patient.

‘Thanks for looking out for Sarah, Liz,’ Danny said when his wife had gone.

‘My pleasure.’ Liz began measuring his vital signs again. ‘You’ll both rest easier if you don’t have to worry about each other.’

‘Yeah. So am I going to live, Doc?’ Danny smiled tiredly.

‘I think you will if Sarah takes your ladder away.’ Liz deflated the cuff, pleased with his progress.

He chuckled. ‘Thanks. I thought I was done for. How soon do you reckon I’ll be back at work?’

‘We need to see how your lung stabilises over the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours.’ Out of the corner of her eye Liz could see Jack returning. His booted feet stopped beside her.

‘And speaking as your new boss, you won’t be back at work until your doctor gives you the all-clear. However long that takes.’

Two paramedics rolled a gurney along the patio towards them.

After the four of them had transferred Danny, Liz tried to get up. Her legs were powerless, the joints locked into position. She felt awkward, ungainly. How embarrassing. She began to rock slightly to see if that would help to get one of her feet under her.

‘I’ve got you.’ Jack’s voice, soft and close behind her as the trolley moved away.

A moment later he grasped her under her arms and pulled to her feet. She expected him to release her immediately. Instead, his hands slid down to her hips. Her knees trembled, threatened to give way. He must have felt her unsteadiness because one hand slid between her belly and her breasts and his arm braced her. Suddenly his torso was pressed against her back. She could feel the solid heat of him through her flimsy top. Her heart hammered against her sternum and she wondered if he could feel the frantic beat.

‘Are you all right?’ His voice was low and gravelly.

‘Yes. Thanks,’ she said breathlessly.

But still he didn’t release her. His fingers splayed across her ribs beneath her arm, his grip sure and strong. Her skin quivered, wanting, needing.

If she moved his hand to her breast, would his fingers mould to her curves? Oh, God. The thought made her weak with desperation for more of his touch.

She turned slightly to look up into his face. His blue eyes were dark and brooding. His mouth hovered above hers. If he bent his head just a little, his lips would mesh with hers. She felt herself sag back into him, her eyelids half closing as a tiny helpless whimper escaped.

‘Am I hurting you?’ His other hand curled around the nape of her neck, sending a thrill across sensitive nerves to shiver through her body.

‘No,’ she whispered, her eyes glued to his, willing him to turn her, to hold her. To kiss her.

Seconds stretched. Abruptly she realised she could hear the clatter of the gurney being loaded into the ambulance. Disconnected thoughts rushed in. The ambulance! Danny! Sarah!

She leapt away from Jack. The action nearly unbalanced her again. His hand shot out to steady her.

Thank goodness the noise had bought her to her senses. In another few moments she’d have taken matters into her own hands and tugged Jack’s mouth down to hers.

‘You coming, Liz?’ One of the paramedics stuck his head around the end of the house.

‘Yes, I’ll be right there.’ Liz bent to pick up her bag, but Jack was there before her. She felt the heat rush to her face as she tightened her fingers around the proffered handle. His expression was inscrutable when she met his eyes. He obviously hadn’t been as affected by that brief, intense contact as she had been. She swallowed hard, struggling to collect her thoughts. ‘Will you bring Sarah and Suzy up to the hospital, please?’

He nodded.

‘Thanks. I’ll see you there, then.’ She turned and walked away on trembling legs.

B
Y THE
time Liz had Danny taken along to the X-ray department, Jack had arrived with Sarah and Suzy. He had the toddler balanced easily on one hip, her precious orange walrus dangling from his hand. The image he made with the child in his arms was gorgeous…and, in an odd way, threatening by the very naturalness of it. He didn’t look at all like a man who didn’t want children.

Liz dragged her eyes away and noticed Sarah’s bag swinging from his other hand. Glad to have something concrete to focus her attention on, she signalled an orderly and arranged for the suitcase to be taken through to Danny’s room.

She turned back to Jack. ‘You’ll be all right to look after Suzy while Sarah and I have a talk, won’t you?’

She heard the words coming out of her mouth, felt the sharp look Hilda, the duty nurse, gave her. What was she doing? Hadn’t she just gone to a great deal of trouble to wangle a sitter for Suzy?

‘Sure.’ Jack’s quizzical look made her wonder if he realised her abrupt change of plans.

‘There’s, um, a box of toys in the corner.’ Perhaps asking him to look after Suzy was inspired thinking. But Liz’s innate honesty wouldn’t allow her the comfort of dissembling. Was she setting him up, hoping he’d fail? Why would she do that? Shouldn’t she want him to have good experiences with children so he’d embrace his own? She shoved the thought aside for later. Right now she had things to do. ‘If you have any problems, um, Hilda’s on the front desk. She’ll help you out.’

Liz sent a pleading look Hilda’s way and was given a well-deserved disapproving one in return. Resigned to having to explain her behaviour later, Liz picked up Sarah’s chart and pinned a determined smile on her face.

‘Let’s go through to a cubicle, Sarah,’ she said, indicating the way. ‘Hop on the scales for me first and then we’ll get you up on the bed.’

‘Oh, no,’ Sarah protested good-naturedly. ‘I knew I shouldn’t have had that extra chop at the barbecue today.’

‘Have you noticed any sudden weight gain since I saw you last?’ Liz jotted the weight down, noting how it had jumped since Sarah’s last appointment six weeks ago.

‘Yes, I feel like an elephant. Much worse than I was with Suzy. But Mum said it was the same for her after her first pregnancy.’

‘You’ve got quite a bit of puffiness, too. Did that start about the same time, can you remember?’ Liz looked critically at her friend, taking stock of her rather swollen hands and face. A quick glance at her feet showed they were worse, with the sandal straps cutting into oedematous flesh.

‘Isn’t that just because I’m drinking so much water with these hot days we’ve been having? I’m always a bit like this in summer anyway. And Mum said it was normal in pregnancy.’

‘Your mum’s right, a little bit of oedema certainly can be normal. But it can also be a symptom of an underlying problem.’ Liz picked up a small yellow-topped specimen jar from the shelf. ‘Feel like giving me a urine sample?’

‘Always.’ Sarah pulled a face as she took the proffered container. ‘Don’t you have the same problem?’

‘Absolutely.’ Liz smiled sympathetically. ‘Some days, my bladder rules my life.’

When Sarah came back, Liz helped her up on the bed and chatted while she tested the fluid sample with a dipstick. She frowned as the pale green square turned darker. A two-plus reading for protein. Not a good sign. She discarded the stick in the biohazard bin.

‘Jack’s a dark horse, isn’t he, Liz? Suzy doesn’t usually like strangers. Not that Jack’s a stranger, but he’s never made a huge fuss over her or anything so she’s not all that familiar with him. But she was really happy for him to carry her and Wally. Which made things so much easier for me. He’s going to be a great dad.’

‘Hmm.’ Liz’s stomach gave an odd little swoop as she fumbled to secure the sphygmomanometer cuff on Sarah’s arm. Luckily her friend chatted on happily, not needing an answer.

Liz released the air valve and took the readings as the mercury fell on the gauge.

‘Had any headaches, Sarah? Nausea? Visual disturbances?’

‘Nothing out of the ordinary. I’ve seen stars a couple of times when I got up too quickly.’ Sarah frowned. ‘Why? Is something wrong?’

‘Your blood pressure is higher than it should be.’ Liz looped her stethoscope around her neck. ‘One hundred and fifty over ninety-two.’

‘But that’s only because of Danny, isn’t it? I mean, he gave me an awful fright.’

‘The stress of his accident might be a contributing factor, but you also have protein in your urine, which tells me that your kidneys aren’t functioning as well as they should be. I want to run some more tests, but for now I want you on pretty strict bed rest to see how your blood pressure settles. I’d like to keep you in hospital for observation for a day or two.’

‘A day off my feet would be bliss.’

‘It might be longer than that, Sarah. I’m concerned that you’re showing symptoms of pre-eclampsia. We should take extra precautions immediately rather than wait for the tests to confirm it.’

‘I feel fine, though. Wouldn’t I feel sick if there was something really wrong?’

‘Not always. It can be insidious.’

‘Surely it’s not that bad. What if I promised to take it easy?’

‘You’re not going to be able to get the rest you need if you’re running around after an active two-year-old.’

Sarah stared, her dismay obvious. ‘But what will I do about Suzy? And Danny, now that he’s hurt himself? Mum’s not coming for another fortnight.’

‘Do you think she’d be able to come sooner?’

‘Liz! You’re really scaring me.’

‘Sarah, pre-eclampsia is a serious condition if it’s not treated properly. We’ll run some more tests. But if you do have it, and I think it’s highly likely, we’ve caught you early. With care we should be able to stop it from progressing.’ Liz laid a hand on her friend’s shoulder. ‘It’s important that we get control of this. For your sake and for the sake of the baby.’

‘The baby? I’m not going to lose the baby, am I?’

‘No, not if we take steps now.’ Liz knew she shouldn’t give such a definitive answer, but with Sarah’s eyes pleading with hers, with her own pregnancy nearing the same stage, she was powerless to resist giving the reassurance. ‘You’re thirty-four weeks. Even if we had to deliver you right this minute your baby would have a great chance. But it will be even better if we can keep him where he is for another three weeks. So, how about it? Will you do the bed rest?’

‘Yes. Absolutely. Just try to get me off it.’

‘Good girl.’ Liz chuckled. ‘We will let you do a bit of gentle exercise, but mostly bed rest until I’ve done a consult with one of the Melbourne Women’s OB specialists. I’ll find out what monitoring we can do for the baby to make sure everything’s the best it can be. Now, let’s get you along to Dustin Base Hospital’s brand-new family room. We’ll discuss with Danny how we’re going to manage this before we settle Suzy in with you.’ She checked her watch. ‘His chest X-ray should be back by now as well.’

‘I’ll get Jack to bring Suzy through now,’ said Liz after she’d finished talking to Sarah and Danny. ‘I want you to ring for assistance if she needs anything. Anything at all. The nurses will pop in to feed her and to check on her through the evening. I don’t want either of you out of bed except to visit the bathroom for twenty-four hours. Got it?’

‘Yes, ma’am,’ they chorused in unison.

‘That’s what I like, well-behaved patients.’ Liz grinned, hooking Sarah’s chart onto the foot of the bed. ‘I’ll come and say goodnight before I leave.’

Her mind on the phone call she needed to make to the obstetrics specialist, Liz strode purposefully along the corridor. When she turned into the waiting room, her steps faltered. Jack was slouched comfortably in a chair, his feet resting on the low table, his long legs bent to form a saddle for Suzy who sprawled on his stomach, fast asleep. One hand rested across the toddler’s back, fingers splayed to hold her securely in position.

The poignant picture pierced straight to Liz’s heart, bringing a painful lump to her throat and quick moisture to her eyes. Fortunately, Jack hadn’t noticed her arrival with his attention focussed on the magazine he held in his other hand. She took two careful steps in reverse and leaned her trembling frame back against the wall outside the room.

Today had presented such astounding revelations about her husband. She struggled to balance them against the reality that she’d thought she knew. Who was he really? The man who didn’t want a family but was prepared to do his duty by his pregnant wife? Or the man who handled groups of children with consummate ease all day then stepped up in an emergency to gently cradle the slumbering toddler of friends?

Intellectually, she knew which she wanted him to be. But why was her spirit so disturbed when he slotted so perfectly into that role?

She bent her head to massage her temple with stiff fingers, feeling the tension there begin to ease slightly. If only she could massage the turmoil out of her beleaguered mind as simply.

‘Liz? Everything all right?’

She jolted out of her reverie to see Hilda looking at her with concern.

‘Oh, yes.’ Liz could hear the husky wobble in her voice. ‘Just, um, reviewing, um, some treatment to make sure I hadn’t missed something.’ She straightened away from the wall and continued brightly, ‘Well, I’d better get on.’

She could feel Hilda’s eyes lingering on her as she took a few seconds to compose herself before facing Jack. She fiddled with her white coat, checking the lapels, adjusting her stethoscope while she took a deep breath. In. And out. Fixing a smile onto her face, she walked back into the room to find Jack sitting up, watching the door expectantly.

She stopped, her fragile poise fracturing as her eyes met his.

‘Problems?’ He arched one brow.

‘No. No. Um.’ She swallowed and tried to gather her thoughts. ‘Would you be able to take Suzy along to the room now? I’ll get someone to come down in a few minutes to give her dinner. And, um, I need to make a phone call before we can go home.’

‘Sure.’

Before he could say more Liz was gone, leaving only the memory of her stricken face. Jack sighed, feeling suddenly tired. She was confusing him. One minute she was open and approachable, the next so prickly and cold that he didn’t know whether to advance or retreat. With the way her eyes darted away every time he caught her gaze, he was beginning to get the feeling that she couldn’t bear the sight of him.

And she’d looked so ill at ease just now. A far cry from the calm, competent professional who’d acted without hesitation to save Danny’s life a couple of hours ago.

When he’d helped her up after the paramedics had taken Danny to the ambulance, she’d been so soft and warm as he’d held her against his chest to steady her. Her dark hazel eyes had clung to his, almost seeming to invite his kiss for those precious seconds before they’d been interrupted. The timing had been appalling and a moment later she was moving away, the opportunity lost. Too late now to wish he’d gone with his first crazy impulse to swoop on her slightly parted lips. Her response, or lack of it, might have answered at least one of the questions swirling in his mind.

He tossed the magazine back onto the table and shifted Suzy’s weight in his arms. The toddler murmured a sleepy protest as he got to his feet. His lips curved as he looked down at her. She was so relaxed she seemed boneless. Just the way Emma used to lie in his arms all those years ago, so innocent, so trusting. His heart swelled with the memory.

In just under three months it would be his own child he’d be holding in his arms. He never wanted his child to feel the destructive fear and uncertainty he’d felt while he was growing up.

Safety and security. That’s what children needed. They needed to know the adults in their life would do the right thing, or make a damned good attempt to.

Whatever happened between him and Liz, they had to make sure they did the right thing as parents.

He looked down into Suzy’s untroubled face and suddenly realised how fiercely he wanted to be there for his child. Not just a part-time father at weekends. He wanted it all. And he wanted Liz in his life, in his bed. In his heart. He firmed his resolve. He was prepared to wait, but he wasn’t prepared to let go.

He smiled grimly.
Look out, darlin’
, he warned his wife silently.
Things are going to change around here.

Later, Jack walked through to the lounge at home with two cups of freshly-brewed green tea.

‘You—’

‘I—’ Liz accepted one of the drinks. ‘Sorry, Jack, what were you going to say?’

He grinned at her, appreciating the picture she made with her glossy dark hair now loosely curling over her shoulders. She seemed to be glowing with good health. Pregnancy obviously suited her. ‘Always the way, isn’t it? Nothing to say since we left the hospital and now we both want to talk at the same time.’

‘Hmm.’ She looked into her drink as though she might see the answers to the world’s mysteries there.

Refusing to be put off by her lukewarm response, he sat on the two-seater couch beside her, resting his arm along the back and curving his body towards her. He smiled mentally at the brief, wary glance she shot him from the corner of her eye. ‘I was going to say that I thought you were fantastic today.’

That got her attention. Her head came round and troubled hazel eyes met his.

‘What do you mean?’

‘With Danny.’ He reached out to tuck behind her ear a strand of hair that had curled across her cheek. Her eyes darkened briefly before she looked away.

‘Oh, that.’

‘You saved his life today,’ he said softly.

She shrugged. ‘It’s my job.’

‘Yes, it is. All the same, I enjoyed watching you work. I saw how quickly he went down. One minute he was great and the next…’ He grimaced. ‘If we’d had to call the ambulance and wait for them to arrive, I don’t think he’d have made it. Because you were there he got the treatment he needed when he needed it.’

After a small pause he said, ‘Which reminds, why were you there?’

Because his eyes were still on her, he saw her almost imperceptible start.

‘Oh. Um, I—I wanted to talk to you. And—and I wasn’t sure how long you were going to be at the station.’