The Sheikh's Christmas Baby (Shadid Sheikhs 3)

17

Hospitals always made him feel uncomfortable, but it was nothing compared to how he felt as he waited for the doctor. Arella continued to hold her arm like she was in pain, but the scrapes on her arm were minor.

Had she broken her arm? He couldn’t stand the thought that he was somehow responsible for the little girl’s pain.

Finally, after what felt like forever, the curtain separating the rooms pulled back, and the doctor came in. “Hello. I’m Dr. Orion—like the constellation. I see we had an accident of some sort?” The doctor frowned as he looked over the chart. “A dog sledding accident? Were you practicing for the race?”

“Not exactly,” Kashif muttered anxiously. “She keeps complaining of her arm, and I’m concerned that she may have broken it.”

“Well, let’s see what we have now. What’s your name, sweetheart?”

“Arella,” the girl said through her tears.

“What a pretty name! Do you like dog sledding?”

She nodded bravely. “Puppies,” she said as she smiled.

“Yeah, I like puppies too. I have two black labs at home. They like to hog all the bed space.” The doctor smiled gently while he carefully pushed on her arm. Slowly, pulling it out, he rotated it and nodded.

“I don’t feel any broken bones. Arella, can you point to where it hurts?” The toddler pointed to her two cuts. “Yeah, those are some not fun scrapes that you have there. How about I get one of my nurses in here to clean it out and bandage it for you? I think I’ve got some SpongeBob stickers. Would you like one?”

Arella nodded, and Dr. Orion stood. “All right, you sit tight, and she’ll be in here shortly.”

“So she’s fine?” Kashif asked as he balled his hand in a fist.

Dr. Orion nodded. “Your daughter will probably have some bruises in the morning, and she might be sore. Some baby aspirin could take care of that. Right now, we need to clean out those scrapes, but they’re not deep enough for stitches. She was very lucky. Did you fall as well?”

“I’m fine,” Kashif answered quickly, as he rubbed his side. “Just a few cuts. She’s actually not my daughter. Her mother should be here shortly.”

The doctor looked from Kashif to Arella. “Really? You seem very…” Doctor Orion’s voice trailed off and he seemed lost in thought. Shaking his head, he looked at Kashif. “Have the nurse page me when she gets here and I’ll come back to give her some peace of mind. In the meantime, the nurse will be here shortly.”

Kashif couldn’t figure out what the doctor meant, as he looked at Arella. All he saw was a little girl in pain because of him.

For the first time ever, Kashif realized how important Kristy and her daughter were to him. The race be damned. He loved Arella, and in time, he would view her as his own.

And he loved Kristy. Loved her so much that sometimes, when he thought of her, he forgot to breathe. There wasn’t a chance in hell that he was going to walk away from her a second time. And he’d stay to convince her of that no matter how long it took.

He wouldn’t lose her again.

He heard Kristy’s panicked voice filter around the corner, and his whole world turned upside down.

“I’m here to see my daughter, Arella? She’s three. She was in a sledding accident. Please, can you tell me if she’s okay? She’s blood type O. I can’t donate, but her father is here if she needs a transfusion.”

Kashif froze when he heard her. Did Arella’s father work in the hospital?

“Calm down. Your daughter is fine. She has some cuts and bruises, but it’s nothing serious. You can go see her.”

Kashif braced himself as Kristy came running around the corner but stopped short. A multitude of emotions flickered across her face—guilt, remorse, fear—when she saw him.

“Kashif,” she whispered.

She seemed about to say something else before she blurted out, “I need to see Arella.”

Suddenly, he knew that Arella’s father didn’t work at the hospital. He automatically stepped out of the way to let Kristy pass. Emotions swirled inside him, as the pieces started falling into place. The way she kept pushing him away. Her insistence that he stay away from his daughter. He should have known. It should have been so obvious with those dark blue eyes. He saw those eyes every time he looked in a mirror.

Kristy had lied to him.

He was a father.