EPILOGUE

Maggie managed to convince Nash the next morning she was perfectly capable of going into work for her shift. They drove to his place so he could change his clothes and then headed into work full of Christmas spirit, despite not getting much sleep.

And she was pleased she did. They were able to give Alice and Brett the best Christmas gift they were ever going to get — they extubated Toby. With the tube out, Toby’s silent cries finally had a voice, if a little croaky.

He was even able to get out of bed and have a proper cuddle with his parents. Best of all, for the first time in weeks, safely snuggled in his mother’s arms, he gave them all a great big smile.

‘This is just the best,’ Alice said, looking down at a happy Toby with tears in her eyes. ‘There were a couple of times I thought this day would never come.’

Nash and Maggie exchanged looks. Toby’s parents hadn’t been alone in their pessimistic view.

After lunch Nash sidled up to Maggie. ‘Thanks for my gift,’ he murmured, rubbing the gum nuts together. ‘Guess we’ll both be able to keep in touch with our roots while we’re over there.’

Maggie nodded, the smell of eucalyptus wafting towards her. ‘Guess so.’

‘You missed your Secret Santa gift,’ he said.

She frowned. ‘No, I didn’t. I opened it while you were on round. I got a coffee mug.’

Nash raised an eyebrow. ‘Really? But I just saw one under the tree for you.’

Maggie looked puzzled as she walked towards the tree. ‘I must have missed it. It’s probably part of the first gift. They must have become separated,’ she mused as she bent to retrieve the small package wrapped in a red ribbon.

‘Hmmm,’ Nash said noncommittally, grinning like an idiot behind her.

Maggie opened the second gift without giving it a lot of thought, pretty sure it’d probably be some kind of accessory to the first. Maybe a box of tea bags or something.

It wasn’t until she hit blue velvet that she realised the gift wasn’t from her Secret Santa. But from Nash. She turned to face him, her hands shaking.

‘Nash?’

Nash smiled down at her. ‘Open it,’ he murmured.

Maggie’s fingers were trembling so badly it seemed to take an age to prise the lid open. When she finally managed it, the ring took her breath away. A large square cut blue sapphire sat on the plump velvet cushion.

‘Oh, Nash,’ she whispered, unable to tear her gaze away from it.

Nash, his own fingers a little on the trembly side, took it out of the box. He’d made such a hash of the last proposal he was determined to make this one special.

‘Will you make me the happiest man in the world, Maggie? Will you marry me?’

Maggie couldn’t believe it. The background noise of the unit faded as the world narrowed down to just the two of them in this moment.

In a few short months all her dreams had come true. She, the man she loved and their baby were going to become a family. ‘Yes.’ She smiled, looking into his incredible blue eyes. ‘Yes.’

Applause rang out around the unit as they became aware of their surroundings again. Nash grinned at her as he placed the ring on her finger. ‘Merry Christmas, Maggie May.’

Maggie stood on tiptoe and wound her arms around his neck. ‘This is going to be a hard Christmas to top.’

‘Maybe, but I’m going to spend the rest of my life doing just that,’ he promised.

And they kissed again in front of their very appreciative audience.

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Read on for Ch 1 of Prognosis Bad Timing.