The Midwife's Christmas Miracle (7 page)

‘I’m not happy about the baby’s heart rate,’ Lucy explained gently. ‘It’s slower than it should be, which means your baby is starting to show signs of distress.’

‘But this didn’t happen with the other two,’ Emma protested. She turned to her husband. ‘Did it, Peter?’

‘No, it didn’t,’ he stated emphatically. ‘Are you sure that machine is working properly?’

‘There’s nothing wrong with the equipment,’ Lucy assured him. She could tell they weren’t happy with her findings but there was little she could do about it. The baby was her first concern and she knew that she needed a doctor to take a look at it.

Lucy explained all this to Emma, then went to the phone and asked the switchboard to page Diane. The registrar phoned her back almost immediately to say that she was with a patient who was threatening to miscarry and didn’t know how long she would be. She suggested that Lucy page Max if it was urgent.

Lucy sighed as she contacted the switchboard again. Although she would have liked a little more breathing space before she saw Max again, obviously it wasn’t to be. She would just have to play it cool and not allow herself to get carried away. Max may be an extremely attractive man but she wasn’t about to embark on another disastrous relationship. She had learned her lesson the hard way and she wasn’t going to repeat her mistakes.

Max was on his way out of the hospital when his pager beeped. He groaned as he turned round and headed back inside. So much for hoping he might get an early finish for once, he thought ruefully as he made his way to the lift. Lucy met him in the corridor and he had to make a
determined effort not to react when he saw her standing there. However, he couldn’t deny that his heart seemed to be kicking up a storm and it was annoying after he had resolved to behave sensibly from now on.

‘Did you want me?’ he asked, adopting a deliberately neutral tone.

‘Yes. I need you to take a look at a patient for me, please.’ She led the way to the delivery room and paused outside the door to hand him the printout from the foetal monitor. ‘As you can see from this, the baby is showing signs of distress. It’s the mother’s third child and she’s roughly six centimetres dilated, but I wasn’t happy about waiting.’

‘It could be a while yet before the baby is born,’ Max agreed, glancing at the tracing. He reached past her to open the door, feeling his senses spin when he realised all of a sudden just how petite she was. Her head barely came up to his shoulder yet for some reason he had never noticed it before. It was difficult to concentrate as he followed her into the room when at every turn he seemed to discover something new and fascinating about her.

‘Dr Curtis would like to take a look at you, Emma,’ Lucy explained as she led him over to the bed.

Max dredged up a smile, determined that he was going to get a grip on himself. ‘Lucy tells me that your baby appears to be a little distressed, Emma. I’d just like to examine you and see what’s happening, if you don’t mind.’

Emma didn’t look too happy as he gently examined her, feeling her tummy first so that he could check the position of the baby in case that was the cause of the problem. Everything was exactly as it should be; the baby was lying with its head well down, in a perfect position to be born.

‘That’s fine,’ Max said moving to the bottom of the bed. ‘Baby’s in a good position so that isn’t the problem.’

‘We never had anything like this happen with the other two,’ Emma’s husband said curtly. ‘Are you sure there really is a problem?’

‘I’m afraid so. I know it must be hard to accept after you’ve had two trouble-free births, but trust me when I say that we all want the same thing. We want to make sure that your baby is safe and well.’

He carried on with his examination when the couple didn’t raise any further objections, frowning when he spotted a loop of the umbilical cord protruding down through the mother’s cervix. ‘Take a look at this,’ he said softly to Lucy.

She bent down to look and nodded. ‘I see what you mean, although it wasn’t there before.’

‘It’s probably slipped further down as the baby’s moved down the birth canal.’

Max straightened up, knowing that there was no time to delay. ‘A loop of the umbilical cord is protruding down through your cervix, Emma. It means there’s a very real danger that your baby could be deprived of oxygen. The safest way to avoid that happening is to perform a section.’

‘A section!’ Emma exclaimed in dismay. ‘You mean you want to operate?’

‘Yes. If you were fully dilated, I might have recommended a forceps delivery but we can’t afford to wait. A section will be quicker and safer.’

‘I don’t know…I mean, I never imagined anything would go wrong.’ Emma bit her lip. It was obvious that she was upset at the thought of having her baby delivered by Caesarean section when she’d expected to have a normal birth.

‘Dr Curtis wouldn’t suggest a section unless he was absolutely sure it was the best thing to do,’ Lucy said quietly.

Max felt his heart lift when he heard the conviction in her voice. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind that she meant what she said and the fact that she so obviously trusted his judgement filled him with joy. He cleared his throat, not wanting her to suspect how moved he felt by her vote of confidence.

‘Lucy’s right. I am not an advocate for stepping in unnecessarily, believe me. However, there are occasions when it would be foolish not to do so. Your baby could suffer permanent brain damage if he’s deprived of oxygen and that is a risk I’m sure none of us wishes to take.’

‘No, of course not,’ Emma agreed shakily. ‘I’d never forgive myself if that happened. If you think a section is necessary then that’s what we’ll do. Isn’t that right, Peter?’

‘I…um…yes, of course,’ her husband muttered, looking a little shocked.

Max wasted no more time as he went to the phone and informed Theatre that he would be operating. In a very short time, Emma was on her way. He followed the convoy out of the room, pausing briefly to have a last word with Lucy. ‘The baby should be fine and so will Emma. She’ll be back with you in no time at all.’

‘Thank you. I know they’re in safe hands.’

Max felt that little tug on his emotions again. Why did her opinion matter so much? he wondered. He knew he was good at his job and didn’t need anyone to tell him that, yet it meant something really special to know that she believed in him.

He shrugged, trying not to get too hung up on the idea. ‘As I’ve said before, we make a good team, Lucy. I doubt if Emma would have agreed to this op so readily without your input. She was obviously swayed by the reference you gave me.’

She gave a little grimace but he saw the colour that tinted her cheeks. ‘I only told her the truth.’

‘Then thank you.’ His voice dropped and he could hear the emotion it held even if she couldn’t. ‘It’s good to know that you have such faith in me, Lucy.’

He turned away, knowing that he was in danger of saying too much. It would be a mistake to do that, a huge mistake to let himself get carried away. He sighed as he headed for the lift. A few kind words and he was like putty in her hands!

L
UCY
popped into the special care baby unit to see Emma’s baby before she went home. Although little Ruby Rose Baker didn’t appear to have suffered any ill-effects from what had happened, it was normal practice to keep any babies born by Caesarean section in the unit for the first couple of days. Anita Walsh, the community midwife, was there when she arrived.

‘I can’t believe this has happened!’ Anita exclaimed. ‘It was a textbook pregnancy from the start, just like Emma’s previous two were. She didn’t even suffer from morning sickness!’

‘No wonder she was so stunned when she was told that she needed a section,’ Lucy said sympathetically. ‘It must have been a real shock for her.’

‘It was. She was only expecting to stay in for a few hours and now she’ll be here for a week.’ Anita sighed. ‘I know how stubborn Emma can be when she sets her mind on something, so I expect she kicked up a bit of a fuss. I’m really sorry that you got landed with this, Lucy.’

‘It wasn’t your fault,’ she assured her. ‘Anyway, Emma seemed to accept what needed to be done once Max had explained how dangerous it could be for the baby.’

‘Now, that I can believe,’ Anita said with a laugh.
‘Not many women can resist when Max turns on the charm!’

Lucy smiled dutifully but it was painful to have Max’s reputation as a silver-tongued charmer confirmed once more. She tried to shake off the feeling of disappointment that filled her as they left the unit, but it was hard to shift it. Although she knew how foolish it was, she didn’t want to have to see Max in anything other than a positive light.

‘So how are you settling in?’ Anita asked as they headed along the corridor. ‘It must be a big change for you living here after the city. I’m not sure if I could make the move the other way.’

‘I really like it here,’ Lucy replied truthfully, glad to have something other than Max to occupy her thoughts. ‘I certainly don’t feel as though I’m missing out by not being surrounded by all the hustle and bustle of city life.’

‘What about your friends and family, though? You must miss them,’ Anita suggested.

‘I do, but it’s easier for everyone if I’m living here,’ she said without thinking.

‘What do you mean by that?’ Anita asked in surprise.

Lucy sighed when she saw the curiosity on the older woman’s face. Although she didn’t want to go into detail about what had led her to leave Manchester, she could hardly refuse to answer. ‘Oh, just that I split up with my fiancé a few months ago and it caused a bit of a stir. That was the reason why I decided to move to Dalverston, in fact. I wanted to make a completely fresh start.’

‘Oh, dear, I am sorry.’ Anita patted her hand. ‘It can’t have been easy for you, Lucy, but I’m sure you did the right thing.’

‘I’m sure I did too.’ Lucy summoned a smile, although she couldn’t help wondering if she was right to say that.

She sighed as she said goodbye to Anita and went to fetch her coat because she knew what was behind her doubts. It was this situation with Max that troubled her and until she had worked out what to do about it, it would continue to do so. It was worrying to think that she had escaped from one difficult situation only to jump straight into another.

It was almost eight p.m. before Max was ready to leave. After he’d finished in Theatre, Diana had paged him about her patient. By the time they had discussed possible courses of treatment, he’d needed to check on Emma Baker again. Still, the upside was that he’d been far too busy to think about Lucy.

He groaned as he made his way across the car park. Every thought he had these days was followed by another one about Lucy and it was scary to know how hung up he was on her. Maybe he had made plans to address the situation, but it was the here and now that worried him, what would happen in the next few weeks. Although he’d had no problem avoiding commitment in the last three years, it was different with Lucy, very different indeed, and that’s what worried him. He simply couldn’t trust himself to do the sensible thing.

It was a disquieting thought and he found it impossible to shrug it off as he got into his car. There was a Christmas market being held in the town that week and there was a lot of traffic about when he left the hospital so it took him twice as long as normal to reach the town centre. The market was being held in the main square
and the traffic was even worse there because of the numerous diversions that had been set up to avoid it. Max followed the signs, wishing that he had stayed in work until the market closed. At this rate he’d still be driving around at midnight!

He had just reached the junction with the main road when he spotted a commotion on the pavement. A young woman had collapsed and a crowd was starting to gather around her. Pulling into the kerb, he jumped out of his car and hurried over to see if he could help.

‘I’m a doctor,’ he explained as he pushed his way through the bystanders. He crouched down next to a young man who was obviously with the woman and introduced himself. ‘My name’s Max Curtis and I’m a doctor at Dalverston General. Is there anything I can do to help?’

‘It’s my wife. She…she’s having a baby!’

The man looked as though he was ready to keel over at any second so Max moved him aside. He smiled at the young woman. ‘My name is Max Curtis and I’m a doctor. As luck would have it, I work in the maternity unit at Dalverston General.’

‘Thank heavens for that!’ she exclaimed.

‘Can you tell me your name and when your baby’s due?’ he asked, checking her pulse.

‘Alison Cooper and my baby
was
due on New Year’s Day, although I don’t think he’s going to wait that long,’ she added ruefully.

‘So how long have you been having contractions?’ he continued, wanting to build up a clearer picture of what was happening.

‘I’m not sure. I’ve been having pains on and off for a couple of days but I assumed they were Braxton Hicks’
contractions. I wanted to visit the Christmas market tonight, so we drove over here from Ulverston, but as we were walking back to the car, my waters broke.’

‘And how long ago did that happen?’

‘About ten minutes,’ she began, then groaned as another contraction started.

Max checked his watch, needing to know how frequent her contractions were. He also needed to examine her, although he was loath to do so with all these people watching. He was just trying to work out how to afford her some privacy when he heard someone calling his name and glancing round he saw Lucy pushing her way through the crowd.

‘What are you doing here?’ he demanded, feeling his heart squeeze in an extra beat as she crouched down beside him.

‘I just got off the bus and saw the crowd. Somebody said that a woman had gone into labour, so I came to see if I could help. I take it that someone has phoned for an ambulance?’

‘I did,’ Alison’s husband told them anxiously. ‘It’s taking ages to get here, though.’

Max bit back a sigh. With the amount of traffic on the roads that night it could be a while before an ambulance arrived. In the meantime, he and Lucy would have to deal with the situation. He turned to her, trying not to notice how pretty she looked in the light from the streetlamp, but that was like trying not to notice if the sun was shining. Every cell in his body seemed attuned to her as they crouched side by side on the pavement and his racing heart seemed to race that little bit faster. It was hard to appear the calm professional when his emotions seemed intent on doing their own thing.

‘We need to examine her but not here with everyone watching. Can you find somewhere close by which would give us some privacy?’

‘Of course.’ She looked around then pointed towards a row of shops across the road. ‘I’ll see if anyone has a room they will let us use.’

‘Great. Thanks, Lucy.’

‘No problem.’

She gave him a quick smile as she stood up. Max let himself bask in its glow for a second before he turned his attention back to Alison. There was a time and a place for everything, he reminded himself sternly, although maybe that wasn’t the best advice. He was trying to
avoid
getting involved with her, not staving off the moment until a later date!

Lucy could feel her heart racing as she hurried across the road and sighed. It wasn’t just the adrenalin rush from dealing with this situation that was causing it to happen. It was being with Max that made her feel so keyed up. Maybe she didn’t intend to get involved with him but it was proving harder than it should have been to stick to that.

She pushed the thought to the back of her mind as she hurried into the first shop she came to, which happened to be a sweet shop. The shop keeper, an elderly woman, had been watching what was happening through the window and came hurrying to meet her.

‘Is that young woman all right? I’m on my own in here, otherwise I’d have gone out to see if I could help.’

‘She’s fine, or she will be if we can get her somewhere a little more private,’ Lucy explained. ‘She’s having a baby and the pavement isn’t the best place for that.’

‘Good heavens!’ the old lady exclaimed. ‘A baby? Really?’

‘Yes. I know it’s a lot to ask but do you have a room we could use? An ambulance is on its way but it could take some time to get here with all the traffic. It would be better if she could wait somewhere a little less public.’

‘Of course, dear. You can use the storeroom.’

The old lady opened a door and showed her the storeroom. Although it was full of boxes, it was warm and clean and would be perfect for their needs. Lucy thanked her and hurried back to tell Max the good news.

‘We can use the storeroom in the sweet shop. It’s ideal for what we need.’

‘Good.’ He lowered his voice. ‘I don’t think this baby is going to wait for the ambulance to arrive so let’s get her inside as quickly as we can.’

They helped Alison to her feet and then with Max supporting her on one side and her husband on the other, they led her over to the shop. They had to stop halfway when another contraction began and Lucy could understand Max’s eagerness to get her inside. The old lady had found some clean towels and laid them on the floor to form a makeshift bed and they quickly got Alison settled. Lucy helped Alison out of her underclothes and waited while Max examined her. The baby’s head was already crowning and she knew it wouldn’t be long before it was born.

‘It’s not going to be long now,’ Max confirmed, smiling at Alison. ‘It must be every child’s dream to be born in a sweet shop, I imagine.’

Alison laughed. ‘It’s not what I had planned, believe me.’

She broke off when another contraction began. Lucy
beckoned to her husband and told him to sit down beside her and hold her hand. He still looked very shaky and the last thing they needed was him fainting. As soon as the contraction ended, she turned to Alison.

‘I want you to wait until you feel another contraction begin before you try to push this time.’

‘But I want to push now!’ Alison exclaimed.

‘I know you do, but you’ll only tire yourself out if you try to push too soon. You need to work with your contractions and use them to help you deliver your baby.’

Alison did her best to follow their instructions and in a very short time the baby’s head emerged. Lucy gently supported the head as it turned until it was once more in line with the baby’s body. After another couple of contractions first one shoulder and then the other were delivered before the rest of the baby slid out into her hands. Lucy laughed when the child let out an angry wail.

‘Congratulations! You have a beautiful little boy. And he obviously has a fine pair of lungs from the sound of it.’

She gently cleaned the baby’s face with one of the towels then placed him on Alison’s tummy, smiling when she saw the awe on the parents’ faces as they saw their son for the first time. She glanced at Max, wanting to share the moment with him, and was shocked by the emotion she saw in his eyes. He was staring at the child with such longing that she felt her heart ache, even though she had no idea what was going on.

There was no time to ask him either as the sound of a siren announced the arrival of the ambulance. The crew carried a birthing kit on board so once the cord had been clamped and cut, and the placenta expelled,
Alison was placed on a stretcher and loaded on board. Lucy wrapped the baby in a blanket and placed him in his mother’s arms.

‘You did brilliantly, Alison. Not many women would have coped so well in the circumstances. You should be proud of yourself.’

‘Thank you. Although I wouldn’t have managed half so well if you and Max hadn’t been there,’ Alison told her sincerely.

‘It was our pleasure.’ Lucy ran her finger down the baby’s soft little cheek then climbed out of the ambulance. The crew closed the doors and that was that. She sighed as she watched the vehicle making its way along the road. ‘Talk about being in the right place at the right time.’

‘It was fortunate,’ Max agreed, but she could hear the grating note in his voice and once again found herself wondering about what she had witnessed.

Bearing in mind Max’s reputation as a womaniser, she would never have imagined that he would be keen to have a child of his own. However, there was no doubt about what she had seen and she had to admit that she was intrigued. She longed to ask him what was going on, yet at the same time she knew it could be a mistake to do so. Her emotions had been all over the place recently, so could she risk getting drawn into a situation she might not be able to handle?

It was the uncertainty that scared her most of all, the fact that she couldn’t answer that question with any degree of assurance. She sighed softly. In her heart she knew that it would be better if she left things alone rather than delve any deeper, yet it was hard to do that.
The truth was that she hated to think that Max might be suffering and not be able to do anything to help him.

Max could feel the flood of emotions that had hit him as he had watched Alison’s baby being born swirling around inside him. He had honestly believed that he had come to terms with the fact that he would never have a family of his own, but he couldn’t deny the yearning he’d felt just now and it filled him with sadness. There was no point wishing for the impossible, no point at all hoping that a miracle would happen. He would never father a child and that was the end of the matter.