HOLLY finished taping up the dressing. ‘OK, Tess. I’m pleased to tell you that Charlie’s going to be fine. His arm will feel a bit sore, and he’ll need that dressing on for a while to prevent any infection getting in—but at least Kieran’s a doctor so he can change it for you.’
‘You know my brother?’ Tess asked.
‘Your brother?’ Holly gaped. Hadn’t Judith said that Kieran was married? And the little boy looked so like him, with fine dark hair and those huge dark eyes. ‘I’m sorry. I thought he was…’
‘What?’ Tess asked suspiciously.
‘Your husband,’ Holly admitted, embarrassed.
Tess shook her head. ‘That’d be funny, if…’ She sniffed. ‘No, you don’t need to know what a mess my life is. Kieran’s my big brother. He’s letting us stay with him for a while.’
‘Right.’ Holly coughed. ‘Do you want me to ring up to the ward? Or can I ring your mum?’
‘Definitely not my mum.’ Tess shook her head. ‘I’ll be fine. I just feel so stupid. I didn’t think Charlie could even reach up the stairs. I thought it was safe. He’s crawling, but he hasn’t started pulling himself up—well, not until today. I put my coffee on the stairs while I was doing my hair, and the next thing I knew…’ She scrubbed away a tear. ‘I’m such a bad mother.’
‘Hey. Of course you’re not. Accidents happen.’ Holly stroked the little boy’s hair. ‘You wait till he gets really mobile. He’ll be into everything and you’ll need locks everywhere, he’ll empty your handbag down the loo, and he’ll end up falling over and banging himself so he gets a huge bruise about five minutes before you’re due to see the health visitor.’
Tess gave her a watery smile. ‘Have you got kids of your own?’
Holly flinched inwardly. ‘No. But one of my old school-friends is a health visitor and she’s got a fund of stories like that.’ She forced a smile to her face. ‘I’ll ring up to Maternity for you. I won’t be a minute.’
She escaped to the phone and dialled Judith’s extension.
‘Maternity, Jude Powell speaking.’
‘Hiya. It’s Holly. Is Kieran about?’
‘Sorry, Holls. He’s in Theatre, doing a section.’
‘Ah.’ Holly paused. ‘Well, you’ll do. Can you come down to ED?’
‘Sure. What have you got for me?’
‘Tess Bailey.’
Judith froze. Kieran’s wife was in the emergency department? ‘What’s wrong?’ she asked carefully.
‘Scald. To Charlie—her little boy, that is. She’s in a bit of a state.’
‘I’ll get someone to page Theatre. Kieran’ll want to know if his son’s injured.’
‘Nephew,’ Holly corrected.
‘What?’ Was she hearing this right?
‘You got it wrong, you dope. So all that ranting to me and Zo at Giovanni’s the other night…You leapt in completely the opposite direction and hit the wrong conclusion by miles. She’s his kid sister.’
‘Oh, my God.’ So Kieran wasn’t married. Tess really was his sister. But she’d been so sure.
‘Jude, you didn’t tell him he was a two-timing, low-life scumbag, did you?’
‘Sort of.’ He’d told her the truth and she’d called him a liar. And she’d been formal and even a bit prissy with him for the past week.
‘I foresee a very large humble-pie job,’ Holly teased. Then her voice sobered. ‘Actually, I’m glad he’s not here. Tess needs to talk to someone professionally and I’d rather it was you.’
Judith frowned. ‘Zo’s the paediatric specialist, not me.’
‘Charlie’s going to be fine. This is a maternity thing. Post-maternity. I can’t discuss things over the phone.’
Post-maternity? Judith thought fast. ‘How old’s the little boy?’
‘Ten months.’
So the chances were it wasn’t a post-partum haemorrhage or severe bleeding after the birth. ‘If I said PND, would I be a million miles away?’ Postnatal depression was very common, and it wasn’t always picked up.
‘About two millimetres, I’d say. Good leap this time, Jude.’
‘I’m on my way,’ Judith said. She called in at the midwives’ station on her way out of the department. ‘Lulu, if anyone needs me, I’m in ED.’ She scribbled a note on the whiteboard. ‘When Kieran comes out of Theatre, can you get him to buzz down to me, please?’
‘Sure,’ the senior midwife said. ‘Problem?’
‘Nothing major,’ Judith said carefully. He hadn’t mentioned his sister in the three weeks he’d been working there, so he must have a good reason. And she didn’t want him to panic. Holly had sounded very matter-of-fact about Charlie’s injury, and she would have told Judith if it had been really serious.
Five minutes later, Holly had introduced Judith to Tess and explained what had happened to Charlie.
‘Kieran’s in Theatre at the moment, so I’m afraid you’ve been lumbered with me,’ Judith said. ‘But you’re very welcome to come and wait in his office. I can get you a cup of coffee or something.’
Tess’s eyes filled with tears. ‘I don’t think I’ll ever drink coffee again!’
‘It wasn’t your fault. You didn’t know he’d pull himself up for the very first time this morning and grab your cup.’ Judith took a touch-and-feel book out of her pocket. ‘How about playing with this, little one, while your mummy and I have a chat?’ She opened the book. ‘Look, here’s a fluffy lamb. Can you stroke his coat?’
Charlie’s eyes brightened and he rubbed the woolly material.
‘It’s a real shock when something like that happens, isn’t it?’ Judith asked, turning back to Tess.
Tess nodded, her face blanching. ‘I panicked. My baby was hurt and it was all my fault. All I could remember was that you’re supposed to cool a burn, so I put his arm under the tap. He was screaming and screaming, and the ambulance man could hardly hear me when I rang for help.’
‘You did the right thing,’ Judith reassured her. ‘Holly says he’ll be fine—because you kept the skin cool, there’s a very good chance he’s not going to have a mark on him.’
‘I was just doing my hair, that was all.’
‘Tell me about it,’ Judith said with a grimace. ‘Why does long hair get so many knots in it? It takes ages to dry, and sometimes I think about having the whole lot cut off.’
‘But you’ve got beautiful hair!’ Tess looked at her. ‘You’re the one who was singing last week, aren’t you?’
Judith nodded. ‘I saw you with Kieran.’ And the way Tess had clung to his arm. She’d thought at the time that Tess was his wife, scared that her husband was going to start seeing someone else. And all the time, she’d been Kieran’s sister, not wanting to go out or face people she didn’t know. He’d tried to explain and Jude had refused to listen. ‘Do you manage to get out much? It must be hard, with a little one.’
‘I don’t mind. I’d rather stay with Charlie anyway.’
‘How about mum-and-baby groups?’
‘They’re a bit cliquey. I did go, but…’ Tess let the idea trail away.
‘Might be worth trying a different one. Some of them are vile, but some of them are really nice,’ Judith suggested. She glanced at her watch. ‘Actually, I’m due a break. I don’t know about you, but I’m starving! How about we go to the café, I shout you a cappuccino and a cake, and Charlie can have some juice and enjoy himself in the play area?’
‘I…’
‘Don’t believe the fibs your brother tells you about hospital food. They refurbished our café here, last year, and the food’s great.’ Judith grinned. ‘Which is just as well, because I can’t cook for toffee.’
‘You can’t? But…what about all the food at your fundraiser?’
‘Not my work—that’s Zoe’s. She’s my best friend, and Holly’s. She does the cooking, I do the singing, and Holls extorts the money. Though maybe we should rope you into selling tickets for us.’
‘Me? But I’m—’
‘Pretty, with a lovely smile, and you’ve got an advantage we haven’t.’ Judith nodded at Charlie. ‘Get him to give one of those gorgeous gummy smiles, and they’ll be queuing up for tickets!’
Eventually, Judith persuaded Tess to join her in the hospital café. Over coffee, Tess started to relax with her and finally started talking. And Judith’s suspicions were confirmed: Tess was definitely suffering from postnatal depression. Though when Tess had explained one or two things, Judith could see why Kieran had missed it.
‘You ought to be getting back. I don’t want to get you into trouble for being late.’
‘I won’t be.’ Judith smiled at her. ‘But it was really nice to meet you, Tess. I hope you’re going to come in and show Charlie off to us on the ward. And come out for a pizza with Holly, Zoe and me one night.’
‘It’s nice of you—’ Tess began.
Before she could refuse politely, Judith cut in. ‘I’m not being nice. I mean it. You’ve met Holls, and Zo’s lovely.’
‘I’m not a doctor.’
‘We don’t talk shop all the time,’ Judith said. ‘And you must be used to that anyway, from Kieran.’
‘Yeah. He’s the best, my brother.’
I’m beginning to realise that, Judith thought.
‘I don’t know what I’d do without him.’
‘Do you want to hang on for him?’ Judith asked.
Tess shook her head. ‘I ought to be getting back. Charlie needs a sleep.’
‘I’ll see you soon, then. Do you want me to tell him about Charlie?’
‘Would you?’ Tess bit her lip. ‘I feel so…so stupid.’
‘Not stupid. Unlucky. It could have happened to anyone, so don’t blame yourself. And of course I’ll tell him. Take care.’
Judith kept an eye out for Kieran and when he came back from Theatre, she took him to one side. ‘Can I have a word, please?’
‘Of course, Dr Powell.’
His voice was clipped and she sighed inwardly. This was going to be worse than she’d feared. But she deserved it. She’d frozen him out for the last week. She just hoped that when she’d explained, he’d understand and forgive her.
‘In private.’
He frowned, but nodded and ushered her into his office.
She closed the door behind them. ‘First of all, I owe you an apology.’
‘What?’
‘I’ve been…less than nice to you for the past week. Since you…’ She swallowed. Since he’d asked her out. Since she’d been so desperate to say yes but so convinced that he was married, she’d been rude to him. ‘Look, I got the wrong end of the stick.’
‘You’re not making a lot of sense, Dr Powell.’
If he wanted it straight, he’d get it. And Holly had been right. Judith owed him a very large slice of humble pie. ‘All right. I thought you were married. I’m sorry. That’s why I flew off the handle when you asked me out.’ Not to mention feeling guilty because she’d wanted to say yes. ‘And I didn’t let you explain—and, OK, I called you a liar and I shouldn’t have. I was wrong, I admit it, and I apologise.’
‘Apology accepted.’
The words were there, but they weren’t accompanied by a smile. But she could hardly blame him for continuing to be cool towards her. What had she thought he’d do—beam at her, tell her all was forgiven and ask her out again? Dream on. She had a lot of fences to mend first.
‘Was there anything else, Dr Powell?’
‘It’s Jude. Please.’
There was the merest flicker of warmth in his eyes. ‘Judith.’
OK. She’d compromise. ‘There was something else, actually. Tess.’
‘What about her?’ Suspicion flared into panic on his face. ‘Is she all right?’
‘Yes and no. She came into the emergency department with Charlie when you were in Theatre. He was scalded but he’s going to be absolutely fine.’ She filled him in on the details of Charlie’s accident.
‘She went home. We had a bit of a chat.’
He frowned. ‘How do you mean?’
‘Just a chat, in the hospital café. Um, Kieran, there isn’t an easy way to say this. And I’m probably bending all sorts of ethics here about patient confidentiality, but Tess needs help. I think she’s got postnatal depression.’
He shook his head. ‘No. It’s not PND. I’m not going to betray her confidence, but she’s had a bit of a rough time lately.’
‘With Aidan. I know. She told me.’
‘She told you?’ His eyes widened.
‘Look, I know I’ve been a cow to you since—well, since I jumped to the wrong conclusion, but I can be nice sometimes.’
He grinned. Just for a second, but he grinned. And then he sobered again, his eyes full of worry. ‘She hasn’t wanted to go out or shown much interest in anything, but I assumed she was miserable because of…’ His face tightened. ‘Well. She’s told you about him.’
‘She told me everything,’ Judith said. ‘And, before you ask, of course I’ll keep it to myself. She said she dropped out of college to be with him and your parents have barely spoken to her since, then she got pregnant because she thought it would make Aidan love her more. And then she found out he was seeing other women. Finally, he dumped her—and you came to her rescue.’
‘She’s my kid sister. What was I supposed to do—let her move into some damp little bedsit, which was all she could afford?’ He shook his head. ‘The best place for her would be at home. But she’s convinced herself that she’s let everyone down and Mum and Martyn won’t forgive her—or, if they do, they’ll take over the baby because they think she’s still a kid and can’t cope. Until I can convince her to talk to them, I want her where I can keep an eye on her.’
‘Of course you do. Look, Kieran, I was wrong about you and I’m sorry. I couldn’t have been more way off beam.’ And, after what his sister had gone through, Judith knew that the accusation of two-timing had really rubbed salt in the wound. ‘You’re a great support to her.’
‘But she asked you to tell me about Charlie.’ He bit his lip. ‘Did she really think I’d go off at the deep end over an accident?’
‘No. She’s blaming herself, that’s all. She adores you, Kieran. She’s just seeing things a little differently from how they really are. I think Tess needs professional help.’
He sat down and shook his head. ‘PND. Now you’ve said it, I can see all the symptoms. Everything I blamed on Aidan—it’s not that at all. It probably even made things worse between them. And I’m a doctor. How the hell could I have missed it?’
‘You weren’t the only one. Her health visitor didn’t pick it up either. I assume her health visitor knew what was going on with Aidan?’
Kieran spread his hands. ‘Your guess is as good as mine. I had no idea there were any problems between Tess and Aidan until she rang me to let me know she was moving. She’s always kept things like that close to her chest. I said I’d help her move her stuff, but I had to pull rank before she’d let me. When we got to her new place and I saw the mould on the ceiling, I threw a fit and took her straight back to my place. No way was I going to leave her in that dump.’ He frowned. ‘But she should have done the Edinburgh questionnaire.’ The short questionnaire checked for symptoms of depression in new mums. ‘Maybe she slipped through the net.’
‘Maybe not. She’s bright enough to see where the questions were leading. Maybe she thought Charlie would be taken away from her if she admitted how bad she was feeling. It’d be easy to fake the answers and tell her health visitor what she wanted to hear—that she was feeling absolutely fine.’
‘And all the time she wasn’t.’ He tapped a pen on his desk. ‘I still can’t believe I missed it.’
‘Sometimes it’s easier to see things when you’re on the outside,’ Judith said gently.
‘I need to ring her, see how she is.’
‘Sure. But don’t nag her, will you? She’s really upset. It was a genuine accident.’
‘You really do have a low opinion of me, don’t you?’ Hurt blazed in his eyes for a moment, then he pulled the shutters down.
‘No.’ Judith swallowed. ‘Look, I…’ There was no easy way to say it, but he deserved an explanation. As much as she could give. ‘I’m sorry. I don’t have very good judgement where men are concerned. Holls says I ought to have “naı¨ve” tattooed on my forehead. The last bloke I dated, um, turned out to be married. I had no idea. I fell for every single lie, every excuse. Anyway, it means that I get the good guys wrong sometimes, too, as well as the bad ones.’
‘Thank you. I think.’
‘Could we start again?’
He tipped his head on one side. ‘How do you mean?’
‘Welcome to the ward, Mr Bailey. I’m Judith Powell, one of the registrars—my friends call me Jude.’ She held her hand out.
He paused so long that she thought he was going to reject her. And then his hand clasped hers. A warm, firm handshake. ‘Hello, Jude. I’m Kieran.’
He was the one to break the contact. Funny, shaking hands didn’t normally make her knees go weak. But she couldn’t do anything about it right now. She needed to give him time, time to find out that they could be friends. And time to help Tess. And then maybe—just maybe—they could see where things were heading between them. ‘I’ll see you later,’ she said softly.
‘Yes. And thanks for helping my baby sister. For listening.’
He didn’t say it, but she could see it in his face. And for not judging her as harshly as you misjudged me.
Once he’d reassured himself that Tess really was all right, and wasn’t panicking over Charlie, Kieran replaced the receiver and rested his elbows on his desk, propping his chin on his clasped hands.
He hadn’t expected this. Hadn’t expected Judith to apologise so honestly. And to admit that she had lousy judgement in men. She’d been hurt before, which explained why she was single, not wanting to risk it again—and it might even have something to do with her lack of confidence in herself professionally.
So where did they go from here?
Right now, he didn’t have any answers. And she’d been fairly definite about ‘friendship’. Anything else was just going to have to stay in his dreams.
Half an hour later, his phone shrilled. ‘Must be my day for calling your lot,’ Holly said ruefully.
‘What’s up?’ Kieran asked.
‘Mum with possible suspected abruption.’
‘I’ll be right down.’ He left his office and saw Jude in the corridor. ‘Dr Powell—just the woman I wanted to see. How are you on abruptions?’
‘OK.’ She grimaced. ‘But I’m in the middle of rounds and I’ve got two potentially complicated deliveries. Can we do the viva later?’
‘Not a viva. ED called. But if you’ve got complications looming, I’ll let you off the hook.’ He smiled at her and headed for the emergency department. This was crazy. He was using the feeblest of excuses to make sure he worked with Jude, simply because it was the only way he could be near her.
Not near enough, but he wasn’t going to risk another rebuff.
‘Can you fill me in on the history?’ he asked Holly when he reached ED.
‘Erica Somers, aged thirty-eight. It’s her first baby, and she’s thirty-four weeks. She was in a car crash.’
She didn’t say it, but her expression told him the other driver had been at fault.
‘She’s bleeding, but not as much as I’d expect from her pulse and her blood pressure. She says she hasn’t felt the baby move as much since the accident, though that could be worry on her part. Her abdomen’s tender, and she’s started having contractions.’
‘Have you checked the baby’s heart?’
Holly nodded. ‘Sounded muffled—and bradycardic. I’ve got a portable scanner coming here any moment, and I’ve sent off bloods for cross-matching, Us and Es and a coagulation screen.’
‘Brilliant. Have you got a line in?’
‘Yep. Large-bore cannula.’
‘Superstar.’ Kieran gave her the thumbs-up sign. ‘Can you get someone to chase up the scanner for me, please? And it might be a good idea to get an anaesthetist on standby, just in case I have to do a section.’
‘Sure.’
Kieran went into the cubicle. ‘Hello, Erica. I’m Kieran Bailey, the consultant from Maternity. Holly’s asked me to come and check you over. How are you feeling?’
‘My tummy hurts, but that’s OK. I just need to know my baby’s all right.’
‘Of course you do. We’re getting a scanner so I can check things out for you. But first of all, can I ask you a couple of questions?’
She nodded.
‘Thanks. When you had your last scan, did they tell you whether your placenta was low-lying?’
‘They said everything was OK. I’m having a little boy.’
‘And you’re thirty-four weeks?’
‘It’s too soon for the baby to come!’
‘He’ll be small, yes, but he’s got a very good chance if we have to deliver him now. But the scan might show that everything’s fine. Would you mind if I examined you while we’re waiting for the scanner?’
‘No, that’s fine.’
A quick examination told him that the contractions were becoming more frequent and the resting tone of her uterus had increased. It was looking more and more like Holly’s suspicions were correct. The scan confirmed that it was definitely an abruption. And the cardiotocograph showed that the baby’s heart rate was getting slower.
He checked Erica’s blood pressure. Not good. ‘I’ll be back in a second, Erica.’ He squeezed her hand. ‘I just need to see someone about something.’ He hailed the nearest nurse and quietly asked her to confirm the anaesthetist and prep Erica for a general anaesthetic. Then he rang up to Paeds. Zoe answered. He filled her in on the background and asked her to meet him in Theatre.
Then he returned to the cubicle and held Erica’s hand. ‘Erica, the accident’s caused you to have something called an abruption—that means that your placenta’s coming away from your uterus and the baby’s not getting enough nutrients or oxygen. I need to deliver your baby now,’ he told her quietly. ‘There isn’t time to give your baby corticosteroids to help his lungs mature, so he’ll go straight into Special Care. But the staff here are brilliant and we’ll all do our best.’ He only hoped it would be good enough. With an abruption, there was a risk of between twenty and forty per cent that the baby wouldn’t survive. And the mum was at risk, too, because she was likely to have problems with the blood clotting. ‘I’m afraid it means a general anaesthetic.’
‘So my husband can’t be there? He’s on his way in now.’
‘I’m sorry. But he can wait outside Theatre for you and we’ll make sure he’s kept in touch with what’s going on.’ He squeezed her hand. ‘We’ll do the best for you, I promise.’