Buch lesen: «Saving Baby Amy»

CHAPTER ONE

HOSPITAL GOSSIP WAS a bit like the wind: unpredictable and prone to sudden gusts in one direction or another. Information could easily end up at the furthest corner of the hospital before it came to the notice of the people involved. So it was no particular surprise to Chloe Delancourt that she’d walked all the way over to the canteen before hearing a piece of news that quite obviously pertained to her.

‘So what’s all this about your boyfriend and a baby?’ One of the other junior doctors joined her at the end of the queue.

‘My boyfriend?’ Jake was long gone, and if he did have a baby it was nothing to do with her.

Petra grinned. ‘All right, so he’s not your boyfriend. Since he’s good looking, single and living with you, that might be classed as an omission on your part.’

‘You mean Jon?’ Chloe had only seen Dr Jonathan Lambert for a total of about ten minutes since he’d moved in two weeks ago.

‘How many good-looking men are you living with currently?’

‘Just the one...’ The ten minutes had been more than enough to notice that he was good looking. And that he had a delicious smile. But apart from that all she really knew about him was that he was a good friend of her brother’s and he kept the bathroom tidy. He’d started his new job at the hospital six weeks earlier than anticipated and had needed a place to stay because the renovations on his own house weren’t finished yet.

‘Glad to hear it. If there was more than one of them, I’d be looking for an invitation to come over for dinner at the weekend.’

Chloe shrugged. ‘Come over anyway, I’m not doing anything tomorrow. It’ll be just the two of us, though, he’s not exactly made his presence felt.’

‘If he’s working nights then I suppose you wouldn’t see much of him during the week...’ Petra was obviously turning the idea over in her head.

‘Or the weekend. He spends every waking hour over at his place. I’ve hardly seen him.’ Maybe Jon was avoiding her. Or maybe he just took the promise that she’d hardly know he was there very seriously. Whatever. It suited Chloe not to get too involved with a face as handsome as his.

‘Well, he’s here now. With a baby.’

‘What kind of baby?’

Petra rolled her eyes. ‘Two arms, two legs...the usual. A little girl, he was calling her Amy...’

‘What?’ Chloe almost dropped her tray and instead thrust it into Petra’s hands. ‘Where is he?’

‘He was in A and E about five minutes ago. Someone said he’d asked for directions up to Orthopaedics—’ Petra broke off as Chloe turned, running for the doors of the canteen.

* * *

Chloe had sprinted across the courtyard and up three flights of stairs, back to her own department. Jon had been up to Orthopaedics and left a message that he was going back downstairs to A and E. By the time she got down to the Paediatric A and E department she could hardly breathe so it was just as well that the receptionist knew what she wanted without Chloe having to say so.

‘That was quick, I’ve only just paged you. They’ve just gone through. Consulting Room Three.’

The pager in Chloe’s pocket buzzed suddenly and she jumped, switching it off. Taking a deep breath, in an effort to slow her racing heart, she thanked the receptionist and walked slowly towards the consulting rooms.

If Amy was here, then where was Hannah? And if Hannah had left her child with Jon that posed a whole slew of other questions that Chloe really didn’t want to think about until she was sure of the situation. She knocked and turned the handle of the consulting-room door before whoever was inside had a chance to answer.

Jon was lifting Amy out of her car seat. He’d obviously dressed quickly, because his shirt was buttoned up wrong, leaving one red checked tail slightly longer than the other at the front. Amy fretted a little, and then seemed to decide that the strong cradle of Jon’s arms was a safe place.

‘What...?’

She hadn’t noticed how blue his eyes were before, or how tender. Or that his light brown hair, falling across his brow, gave him a slightly boyish look. Or that his hands seemed so large and capable next to Amy’s tiny fingers.

‘Sit down.’ Amy stirred slightly at Jon’s words, and then snuggled back against his chest. For a moment it seemed the best place in the world to be. Held in his arms without a care in the world.

But if Amy didn’t seem concerned about the whereabouts of her mother, Chloe was. ‘Where’s my sister?’

‘Hannah’s at your place.’ The tenderness in his eyes seemed reserved just for Amy, and he gave Chloe a more dispassionate look. ‘Sit...’

Clearly something was up, and he wasn’t going to tell her until she was sitting down. She bit back the temptation to tell him that she was a doctor too, and that she’d been working at this hospital a good deal longer than he had. Even if she did feel far more like a slightly panicky aunt than a doctor at the moment.

The dark blue windcheater on the chair next to him had been hanging in her hallway for the past two weeks, and was probably the most familiar thing about him. Chloe moved it, draping it over the backrest. When she sat down, an elusive hint of his scent halted the clamour of her senses for a moment, as if they’d paused to appreciate it. This wasn’t the time, or the place...

His eyes and the slight curve of his lips invited calm. No... Actually, they invited surrender, and that wasn’t something that Chloe was prepared to give. ‘Tell me what’s happened.’

‘Hannah was worried about Amy and she took her to her own doctor this morning. He told her that Amy just had a virus, but Hannah thought it was something more so she brought her to you.’

‘And...?’ Chloe reached across to feel Amy’s forehead. She was a little feverish, and her cheeks were flushed.

‘I agreed with Hannah. So I brought Amy here, where she could be examined and treated properly.’

‘But where’s Hannah?’ Chloe couldn’t keep the frustration from her voice.

‘She’s at your place. She was...a little distressed.’

‘A little distressed?’ Chloe frowned at him. Jon didn’t need to play the situation down for her benefit.

‘She was crying her eyes out, and she insisted on staying behind while I brought Amy here.’ Chloe’s eyebrows shot up and he flashed her a cool smile. ‘It’s okay. I got to know Hannah quite well when she was staying with James. She wasn’t entrusting Amy to a stranger.’

So, however distressed Hannah was, she was still thinking straight. That was something. James had mentioned that a friend of his had helped out a lot with Hannah, spending time with her and letting her talk, but Chloe hadn’t realised it was Jon.

But if Hannah had found someone to talk to in Jon, then Chloe couldn’t see how. He seemed somehow distant, as if Amy was the only person in the room he could trust with an unreserved smile.

‘Then you’ll know that Hannah’s...vulnerable.’ Chloe twisted her lips. Vulnerable wasn’t quite the right word. Hannah could be surprisingly strong and very determined. But she was young. Troubled sometimes.

‘I know that she’s almost ten years younger than you, and that she was only nine when you lost both your parents. That you and James have done your best to look after her, but it hasn’t always been easy.’

‘No, it hasn’t.’ Chloe hadn’t made it any easier. Hannah had always wanted to live with her, and Chloe had worked hard, saving every penny she could and adding to her third of the money from the sale of their parents’ house so that she could afford a home for the two of them. She’d bought the house, and then two months after they’d moved in Chloe had fallen ill. Hannah had gone to live with James instead, but had never really settled.

‘Look, Hannah’s okay for the moment.’

Okay for the moment. Most people had learned to settle for that where Hannah was concerned, but Chloe wanted more for her sister.

‘You do know that Hannah’s still only eighteen? And that Amy’s father isn’t on the scene?’ Hannah had run away two weeks before her sixteenth birthday. Chloe had been too ill to do anything but worry, while James had moved heaven and earth to find their sister. When he had, she’d been living with a boy of nineteen, who had been more than eager to give her up when James had wondered aloud whether Hannah’s queasy spells might be morning sickness.

‘Yes, I know. She’s all right.’ It seemed that Chloe was going to have to take his word for it, because Jon’s face showed no evidence that he really understood the gravity of the situation. His whole attention was focussed on Amy.

‘I’d just feel a bit better if she were here and I could see for myself.’ Her words sounded rather more accusing than Chloe had meant them to.

‘I felt that Amy needed to be looked at sooner rather than later, and that was my first priority. Hannah calmed down when she saw I was taking her concerns seriously and promised to stay put while I was gone.’

‘Yes...I’m sorry. Thanks.’ None of this was Jon’s fault. Hannah had put him in a difficult position and he’d taken the only decision he could. Chloe stretched her arms out towards Amy. ‘I’ll take her now.’

He didn’t move. ‘Why don’t you let me examine her? I can do it now—my shift won’t be starting for another three hours.’

‘And you’re better qualified than me?’ There was something he wasn’t saying, and Chloe guessed it might be that. It was true, after all. Jon’s speciality was paediatric emergencies, and even though he’d only been here a couple of weeks he was already gaining something of a reputation as an excellent doctor.

‘Yes, I am. And I’m not Amy’s aunt.’ He said the words dispassionately. ‘I dare say you’re a lot better at dealing with Hannah than I am. Why don’t you give her a call, while I fetch my stethoscope from my locker?’

Maybe he was just giving her something to do to keep her quiet, because it seemed that he had already come to some kind of agreement with Hannah. But he was right. Chloe nodded and Jon delivered Amy into her arms.

‘She’s two years old. All of her immunisations are up to date and she’s on no medication.’ If she was going to take up the role of concerned aunt then she may as well give Jon all the relevant information. And ask the relevant questions. ‘What do you think?’

‘I don’t know anything for sure yet.’ He got to his feet and walked out of the room, without looking back.

* * *

Jon had woken to the sound of the front door banging closed, and had got out of bed, groggily thinking that he must have overslept if Chloe was home already. And then he’d heard Amy crying and had gone downstairs to find that it was Hannah.

He shouldn’t really have been there at all. But the hospital had asked him to fill in for someone who was sick, six weeks before he was due to start his new job there, and he’d had to find a place to stay in the area. Chloe’s place wasn’t ideal as it reminded him too much of the family that he’d never again be a part of. But the renovations on the new house he’d bought had been the perfect excuse to stay out of her way and only return to her place to get some sleep while she was at work.

Although he’d seen little of Chloe herself, the slightly shabby, eclectic warmth of her home surrounded him. He slept between her sheets, saw her bottles in the bathroom when he went to take a shower and her food in the fridge when he went downstairs to make coffee. And if love had been something he ever wanted to do again, he would already have been a little in love with Chloe’s scent.

But that wasn’t an option. He walked back into the consulting room, armed to the teeth with all the reasons why he shouldn’t get involved with Chloe. She was cuddling Amy in her lap, her phone tucked against her shoulder, her brow creased in concentration.

‘Yes, don’t worry, we’ll make absolutely sure she’s all right. What about you?’

A pause, and then her lips twitched into a smile. It seemed that whatever was being said at the other end of the line was a reassurance.

‘Okay. You’ll stay there until I get back. Promise? Yeah, love you too.’ Chloe caught her phone as it slid from her ear and ended the call.

‘Hannah?’

‘Yes. She sounds all right, but she won’t come to the hospital. She says...’ Chloe shook her head. ‘She’s so terrified that she’s not doing well enough, and that people will think she’s a bad mother.’

Jon nodded. It wasn’t the first time he’d heard that particular sentiment, and it was ironic that it was often the most loving and capable mothers who voiced it. But, then, family relationships weren’t exactly his forte.

‘First things first. I’ll take a look at Amy.’ That he could do, and he knew he could do it well.

He was aware that Chloe’s gaze was on him, an intrusion that felt so warm and welcome that all he could do was try to shut it out. Amy was fretting a little, obviously out of sorts, and he concentrated on soothing her, trying to make the examination into a game.

‘I think she may have a urinary tract infection.’ Finally he turned and faced Chloe.

‘Why?’

A fair enough question. She was a doctor too, and he couldn’t completely relegate her to the role of faceless care-giver. ‘She has a fever, but there’s no sign of a cold. Her blood pressure is slightly high, which is a concern, and...’ He shrugged. ‘I changed her nappy pants before I brought her here.’

‘And?’

This was the part where instinct corroborated medical fact. ‘There’s a particular smell that can point to a UTI in young children. Not always, but it’s an indicator.’

She nodded and Jon thought he saw her lips purse slightly. Maybe it was just his imagination. ‘Is that an old wives’ tale?’

‘It was something that a very experienced health visitor told me when I was starting out. It’s been statistically confirmed since.’

‘Which means you need a mid-stream urine sample?’

‘Yes. I think I can get that the natural way, without having to catheterise her.’

He passed this test every day. Concerned parents, who needed to know whether they could really trust him or not. It was only right that care-givers should question him and weigh everything he did up for themselves, but it was different with Chloe. He wanted very badly to make her smile.

Suddenly she did, and the effect left him momentarily transfixed, taking in all the tiny details that he’d forced himself not to notice before. The way her light auburn hair, scraped back away from her face, escaped in curls around her brow. The tiny freckles across her nose, and her pale skin. Long legs encased in a neat, business-like skirt. She was the kind of woman that a man could spend a lot of time watching.

She reddened slightly—enchantingly—and Jon looked away quickly. It was nothing. He was human, and it was just an echo from a long-gone past, when wanting to watch every move a woman made had been something that might lead somewhere.

‘Did your very experienced health visitor give you any clues about how to get a two-year-old to pee on demand?’

‘As it happens, no. But I’ve picked up a few pointers from their mothers. And I gave her a drink as soon as I got here.’

He bent over Amy, smiling at her, and she rewarded him with a smile in return. That’s what he liked so much about children, they were usually a lot less complicated than adults. ‘Right, young lady. Let’s give this a go.’