A Baby for the Flying Doctor (14 page)

Phemie sat down and clipped herself into her seat. Moments later, they were in the air and when she looked across at Gil, it was to find him peering out the window. ‘I’m sorry, Gil.’

‘About?’

‘What I said before. It was bad timing and I didn’t mean any offence.’

‘Is it true?’

‘That I don’t want to marry? Yes.’

‘Then don’t be sorry. At least you’re honest. A man can’t help but admire honesty in a woman even if she’s saying things he doesn’t want to hear.’ He turned and continued to stare out the window.

Phemie tried to take his words at face value but her mind was in a whirl. Was he just saying that to be nice? As he’d been married once and it had ended in pain, she’d been quite surprised when he’d intimated marriage earlier on. Was that what he really
wanted? Did he really plan to marry again? If he was willing to take such a risk again, surely that should indicate his feelings for her were indeed growing stronger with each passing day.

But what about the distance factor? They lived on opposite sides of the world. How could they possibly get married, or even begin to think along such lines when there was the huge obstacle of geographical location to consider?

It was probably just as well she’d admitted the truth to him. Telling him she planned never to marry was the right thing to do and now they could go back to their own lives at the end of this week, him in his country, she in hers.

It couldn’t matter that she thought him the best man in the world. It couldn’t matter that she wanted him to hold her hand, to be near her, to kiss her for the rest of her days. It couldn’t matter that she had fallen in love with him because if she
did
let it matter, she would disappoint him in so many different ways. It simply wouldn’t be fair to commit to a relationship, to marriage with Gil when she knew there was a risk of having a Down’s syndrome child.

Then again, Gil had been wonderful with Anthony. He seemed to accept people for who they were, from whatever walks of life they had come. What would happen if they
did
get married, if they
did
have children and if one of those kids
had
Down’s? She glanced over at Gil who was still peering out the window, excitement etched on his features. How would he react? She presumed, from what she knew of him, that he would embrace that child—any children they had—with the utmost love and conviction. When she thought of it like that, it certainly made a very appealing picture.

Gil was definitely challenging her, making her think of how different things could be. She’d always thought it would be safer not to risk having children, not to risk passing on the TT21 gene, but even the fact that she was now thinking about the possibility
of an alternative life from the one she’d mapped out for herself illustrated just how much Gil was influencing her life.

For now, though, Phemie decided it was best to leave any other attempts at conversation and instead focused her mind on Gemma Etherington’s possible needs.

When they were close to landing, Phemie ran through what would happen next so Gil wasn’t floundering. ‘As soon as we land, we’ll be driven by ute to the homestead and then the real fun begins.’

‘I completely comprehend the situation as it pertains to the medical emergency but I have to confess it’s quite thrilling to be
flying
to someone’s house to help them out.’ He shook his head in wonderment. ‘England is so small. Australia is so vast.’ There was excitement in his tone and Phemie couldn’t help but smile, pleased he seemed to have let go of their previous conversation. She knew it was by no means over but for now it was as though a medical truce had been called. They needed to be able to rely upon each other for the sake of their patient.

‘I know how you feel.’

‘You do?’ He seemed surprised.

‘Of course. We’ve all felt exactly the same way when we head off on our first call with the RFDS. Flying to a patient’s home is different from driving there or having them come to you. It does become second nature to you after a while because it’s a part of your everyday life. Although having you here, with your exuberance, helps us all to rekindle the love of what it is we do.’

‘Good.’ Gil nodded. ‘Glad to be of help even before we’ve hit the ground.’

‘Right…well, as Ben mentioned, Gemma’s having her seventh child but back in January when she was about twenty weeks, she had a few problems. There were a few ante-partum bleeds but Melissa managed to sort everything out. Gemma, however, was put on complete bed rest for the duration of her pregnancy. Rajene, who’s a retired midwife from Tarparnii, lives
next door and has been performing daily checks on Gemma and the baby, giving the necessary steroid injections and any other treatments Melissa’s prescribed.’

‘A Tarparniian midwife, eh?’ Gil was clearly impressed. ‘I’m looking forward to meeting Rajene.’

‘Of course. I keep forgetting you worked in Tarparnii and with Dex, no less.’

‘You are correct. I went there not long after the death of my family.’

‘Your
family
?’
Phemie was stunned. ‘You didn’t say…’ She stopped and waved away her words. ‘I’m sorry, Gil. It’s none of my—’

‘Business?’ He finished for her, his eyes dark and cloudy as he spoke. ‘When I told you the other night that my wife had died in a plane crash, I left out the other detail, the one which still grips my heart every time I bring it up.’

‘Gil. You don’t have to—’

He held up his hand to stop her. ‘I want you to know, Euphemia. With the way my feelings for you are intensifying, you have a right to know.’

‘Gil—’

‘Shh. You see, June, my wife, was travelling home, having taken our eight-month-old baby girl to see her family in Italy. My Caitie, my beautiful Caitie. June was holding her on her lap…’ The rest of his sentence hung in the air and with both of them being emergency medicine specialists, they knew all too well the circumstances that would have followed.

‘Oh, Gil.’ Immediately, she reached across and took his hand in hers, her eyes filled with love. Her heart churned with the pain he must have felt, how he would have thought his world had been destroyed, how he would have questioned everything over and over again. Why? Why had it happened? Why had his family been taken from him? She’d heard before, from close friends, that it was possible, when you were really close, really connected
with someone special, that you could feel their pain as though it were your own. That was how Phemie felt now, as though it was
her
pain,
her
family,
her
utter devastation. So strong was the bond she’d somehow forged with this man that she was deeply affected.

‘How soul-destroying.’

Gil was overwhelmed at her response and put his hand over hers. He’d received sad looks, pitying looks, sympathy from everyone he’d worked with. Phemie’s open and honest emotions were so very genuine, and he couldn’t help but be touched.

‘Almost there,’ Sardi said, and both Phemie and Gil looked out the window as they flew over the Etheringtons’ homestead. Neither of them spoke. Neither of them moved, their hands staying intertwined until they’d touched down, and even then it felt as though the only reason they were letting go was because they needed to work.

Every time she tried to distance herself from him, something happened to draw her closer again. Not that she hadn’t wanted him to share his most soul-destroying past with her. She was honoured he trusted her and it did help her to understand him better. Why he’d locked himself away, why he’d written so many articles, conducted such a variety of research projects, why he’d accepted the travelling fellowship. Anything and everything to help him come to terms with what had happened to his family.

His family.
Gil had been a father and there was no doubt, given the way he’d tenderly spoken his daughter’s name, that he’d loved being a dad. That was another reason why there was absolutely no hope for them as a couple. Even if she entertained the idea that Gil might want her, might want to be with her, even marry her, they could never have children. It was too risky.

Gil’s brightness returned as they climbed into Ron Etherington’s four-door ute. Phemie decided to follow his example and be bright and happy but that didn’t stop his revelation from playing over and over in the back of her mind. She
climbed into the back seat, urging him into the front so he could get a close look at the ‘outback’. Soon they were bumping over a dusty track, which Ron obviously thought was a well-defined road. Then again, maybe the man was taking a short cut as his wife was in labour.

‘I dropped Rajene off at the house about ten minutes ago. I’ve gotta tell ya, Pheme, I’m mighty glad she lives close by. Gems was starting to pant and said the pains were getting worse every time she had a contraction.’

‘Sounds as though things are moving along nicely.’

Ron laughed and took his hand off the wheel for a second. ‘Look at me. I’m shaking. It’s been like this every single time one of the kids has been born. I turn into a mess but this time…’ He sobered a little. ‘What with all the problems and everything…’

‘Melissa has kept us apprised of Gemma’s condition and as she’s been taking it easy and resting and generally doing everything she’s told, Gemma’s given this baby the best chance in the world. Plus, she’s carried it almost to term. Thirty-six weeks—that’s excellent, Ron.’

‘Good. Good. Almost there. Hang in there, my beautiful Gem,’ he called with a whoop, even though there was no way his wife could hear him. ‘The cavalry is coming.’

The makeshift road was less bumpy now and as Ron rounded a bend, the homestead came into view. It was just as Gil had pictured, having only seen the roof from up above. It was long, slightly raised off the ground and a wide verandah circled the entire building. The epitome of an outback homestead. He loved it.

‘When we arrive,’ Phemie said, and he angled himself in his seat so he could see her better, ‘I’ll take point. We stabilise, control the labour and do our best to keep everything and everyone calm until the experts get here.’ She patted the medical bags on either side of her. One was the bag Ben had packed and
the other was from the plane, containing the heavier equipment such as a portable sphygmomanometer and a portable foetal heart monitor.

‘Right. Sounds straightforward.’

‘Except that this is Gemma’s seventh child and as a rule she should deliver quite quickly. We don’t have the usual equipment hospitals have so improvisation is key.’

‘Improvise. Right.’ Gil nodded. He was serious, he was concentrating but the energetic buzz that emanated from him was almost overpowering. He was really enjoying this. She was about to ask how long it had been since he’d delivered a baby but didn’t want to worry Ron in case Gil’s answer wasn’t what she wanted to hear. She simply hoped that Melissa and Iris would make it in time.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity since they’d received the call back at the base, Gil and Phemie were rushing through the rear door of the homestead after Ron had practically parked on the back steps.

‘They’re in the bedroom,’ Ron called, leading the way to his wife’s side. The scene that met them on entering the room wasn’t what Phemie had wanted to see. Gemma was lying on her back, propped up on her elbows, her feet pressed hard against the foot-board of their bed. The bed had been stripped of its linen and was covered with a plastic protective sheet. Another protective sheet was on the floor and towels were draped over the polished wood at the base of the bed. Rajene was helping Gemma to breathe through a contraction.

Phemie took the equipment bag from Gil, who’d carried it in, and handed the portable sphygmo to him whilst she set up the foetal heart monitor. ‘Gemma and Rajene, this is Gil. He’s helping out for the week.’

Gemma, red faced and cheeks puffed, nodded but didn’t miss a beat. Rajene gave a polite smile, which broadened when Gil greeted her in her native Tarparnese tongue.

‘Report, please?’ Phemie asked the midwife.

‘She is almost to the full stage of dilatation.’

Phemie had a quick feel of the outside of Gemma’s belly whilst Gil checked her blood pressure with the sphygmo. ‘Very tight. Let’s see what the heartbeat is doing.’ The sound of the baby’s heartbeat filled the air and brought a tired smile to Gemma’s lips and a whoop of elation from Ron’s. A second later Gemma braced herself against the foot board and moaned as she pushed.

‘What? No. That can’t be a push.’ Phemie looked stunned.

‘It was,’ Gemma grunted through clenched teeth.

‘But it’s going to be another half an hour at least until Melissa and Iris get here.’

‘Tell that to the baby,’ Gemma remarked.

Phemie pulled on a pair of gloves and did an internal examination. ‘You’re fully dilated, Gem. I guess this baby’s coming now despite knowing the specialists are on their way.’

‘How long is it since either of you delivered a baby?’ Gemma asked between pants, her question directed at both Phemie and Gil.

‘Uh…a while.’ It wasn’t the fact of delivering a baby that had Phemie on edge but more the fact that Gemma’s pregnancy hadn’t been easy. What if something went wrong with the birth? What if there was something wrong with the baby? She silently wished for her colleagues—colleagues with years of experience in these matters—to hurry.

‘A longer while,’ came Gil’s reply. He looked at Phemie and she could almost feel him reading her thoughts. If everything ran to course, they’d be fine. It was all the unknown variables that concerned them.

‘OK, then. Well, as it’s not been that long since I went through this,’ she panted. ‘I’ll talk you both through each step.’

‘No one’s doubting your experience but I have to say there’s nothing like having the experienced mother to talk the doctors
through the procedure. I think I’m going to need to write this experience up in a medical journal otherwise no one will believe me,’ Gil murmured, and received a laugh from Gemma.

‘I like this one, Phemie. Good-looking and funny. Can we keep him?’

Phemie instantly raised her eyes to meet Gil’s and found him watching her with equal intent. Could she? Could she keep him here with her? In the outback? Would he stay? She hadn’t even thought of that before. Would he give up his life in England, his prestige and fame to become an outback doctor? If he stayed, though, what would that mean for her?