She hesitated for the briefest of seconds before accepting his hand and getting out.
The fire and rescue station was busy. The crew were all enthusiastic about the latest project and anxious to help in any way they could.
‘Welcome to bedlam!’ said the captain, holding up his hands. ‘I keep telling them to leave the workmen to get on with it, but they can’t stop talking about the project!’
Arissa smiled. Enthusiasm was good. Enthusiasm was something she could harness.
Philippe had moved over and was locked in a conversation with one of the workmen who was standing with a huge sledgehammer, ready to burst a hole in the wall.
‘It’s great to see Prince Philippe back.’ The captain smiled. ‘And great that he’s finally getting the opportunity to fulfil his role.’
It was the way he said the words and the familiarity of his gaze towards Philippe.
Arrisa couldn’t help but ask. ‘You know him?’
The captain nodded. ‘Since he was a boy. The King and I served together a thousand years ago in the army. We’ve remained friends. I’ve watched these children grow up.’ He sounded vaguely proud.
Curious, she asked, ‘And what do you think?’
He smiled at her. ‘About Philippe? He’s made for this. He’s going to make such a difference. Our health service has needed an overhaul for such a long time. He’s so invested in this. After his recent experience no wonder.’ He put his hand on his chest. ‘At heart, Philippe’s a doctor. He’ll always think like a doctor and act like a doctor. But for his country?’ He nodded slowly. ‘He knows what has to be done. He knows how hard it will be. I think free maternity care could make the world of difference in Corinez, and I can’t think of a single person who could do the job better than he can.’
Pride. It was there in every word. She could see the admiration in the guy’s eyes. The respect.
Part of her ached. Because that was exactly how she felt too. She loved him. She admired him. She respected him. None of what had happened had been his fault. Maybe he should have second-guessed the possibility, but could she really have expected him to, when it hadn’t happened before?
Something the captain had said intrigued her. ‘What happened before?’
The captain gave her a curious look. ‘The abandoned baby. It was his last patient.’ He shook his head. ‘Hypothermia. He’d been left in the cold for too long. Philippe was heartbroken. He spent two days in the hospital at the little boy’s bedside.’
Her heart twisted. She didn’t want to ask. ‘What happened?’
The captain shook his head. ‘He didn’t make it. We found him just too late.’ The man sighed. ‘That’s why this is so important. We can’t ever let that happen again. That’s why everyone here is so behind this project.’
Now she understood. Now she understood the occasional far-off look in his eyes. Some of the things he’d said—and why he’d been so interested in the safe haven scheme right from the start. It all just made sense.
Her stomach flipped. And her story. Her story must have affected him too. At the moment she’d told him she’d only been thinking about herself, not realising that Philippe understood in a completely different way—he’d lost a baby just like her. Her heart melted. This project linked them both. As she gazed across the room and watched his passion as he spoke to someone it seemed like fate that their paths had crossed. As if it had been written in the stars.
The captain touched her arm and smiled. ‘Dr Cotter, are you ready?’
She didn’t have time to think any more. Of course. She was here to talk to them about protocols. She could do that. The captain led her towards the staff room; the smell of coffee and cookies was already drifting towards her. Her stomach growled in appreciation. The captain laughed and shouted over to his staff. ‘Come on, guys. Our girl is hungry. Let’s not keep her from the food.’
She forced herself to smile as the men filed into the room. Philippe was not among them. It was almost as if he was deliberately trying to stay out of her way. The question was—did she really blame him after how she’d acted yesterday? And how could she make it up to him?
* * *
It was officially the worst day of his life. Last night he’d written the statement he was currently holding and spent all the hours in between looking over every word.
What he wanted to do was speak to Arissa. But he didn’t want to warn her in advance. At some point today there was a good chance she would walk out of his life for ever.
He was determined that wouldn’t happen. But he was equally determined that he had to let her follow her own heart. Her happiness meant more to him than anything.
Things at the fire and rescue centre moved quickly. The workmen literally just smashed a hole in the wall, inserted the premade safe haven cot, then let the technicians ensure it worked exactly the way it should.
As soon as a button was pressed on the outside wall, the cot slid open. A baby could be left inside the cot, along with other items, and the cot closed securely from the outside.
Sensors were everywhere. The cot had lights and heat. It was also accessible from inside the station, so if a baby was placed while the staff were inside, a silent alarm would alert those working. The whole system was designed to give the mother privacy. Nothing alerted until the baby had been left inside and the cot door closed again. From that point on, the fire station silent alarms sounded, along with any attached pagers in case staff were at a fire and rescue situation.
Arissa had made everything go smoothly. She’d reassured all the crew about dealing with a new baby. She’d gone over emergency procedures. Some of the crew had already delivered the odd baby, and knew about the essentials afterwards, but revision was good for everyone.
Links had been established with the local paediatric and social work department to ensure any baby could be quickly checked over then assigned to a temporary foster carer.
Arissa talked with confidence and an easy reassurance—every now and then shooting an anxious glance in his direction. The fire and rescue crew were already enthusiastic; there had only been a few worries, which had easily been ironed out. She told about her own experience of setting up the safe haven cots back in Temur Sapora. She also expressed a sadness that they hadn’t managed to find and help all the mothers, but acknowledged that they could only keep an open-door policy in order to protect the privacy and wishes of the mothers.
He listened to every word that she said. Watching her commitment and honesty made him realise the decision he’d made last night was the right one. Things had to be this way.
As the workmen made the finishing touches some invited members of the press started to arrive. Arissa had finished speaking and did her best to fade into the background. That little act still made his insides twist. Every now and then he caught her looking at him. He couldn’t work out if she was annoyed with him, or was preparing for her time in Corinez to be over. What he really wanted to do was to go over and put his arms around her. But that wouldn’t exactly help her stay incognito. And what Arissa wanted was his first priority.
The captain waved him over as the press settled into their sea
ts. He bent forward and spoke quietly in Philippe’s ear. ‘I like her,’ he said.
Philippe straightened up. The words were unexpected.
‘What?’
The captain nodded in Arissa’s direction. ‘In fact, I more than like her. She’s fantastic.’ He looked Philippe up and down—in a way that only someone who’d known him all his life could. ‘And what’s more, I think she’s the best thing that could happen to you.’
Philippe’s stomach gave a flip. Did he know what Philippe was about to do?
He took a deep breath and looked the captain straight in the eye, a man that knew him better than most. There was a swell of pride in his chest that had been crowded out these last few hours with the fear of letting others down. He took his responsibilities seriously. He looked at the captain’s twinkling grey eyes. ‘Thank you,’ he said proudly. ‘I think that too.’ He glanced across the busy room towards Arissa. She had her hands folded across her chest as one of the other crew members was talking to her. He had no idea how she’d react to what he was about to do.
But every part of it felt right. He was nervous—and that was unusual for Philippe—but nerves and uncertainty went hand in hand with something new.
Something good.
There was a wave from the front of the room and someone clapped their hands to bring the noise down to a rumble.
Philippe took a deep breath and made his way to the front of the room. His speech was in his pocket—but he didn’t need to bring it out. He’d spent most of last night saying it over and over in his head.
He waited until the press members finally stopped talking. He was aware of the inquisitive glances being shot at him. If he gave the press members gathered here today more than half a chance they would bombard him with questions about Arissa.
This was his opportunity to make sure he said what he needed to.
He started quickly. ‘Members of the press, I want to thank you for attending today.’ He cleared his throat and kept his voice steady. ‘You know why I’ve invited you here today. Over the last few years in Corinez we’ve had several occasions where an infant—usually a newborn—has been left alone in a public place. Sadly, you all know what happened to the last baby who was left alone, and it’s our absolute pledge today to ensure the same thing doesn’t happen again. But we also recognise that we have never had services organised to allow a mother to surrender her baby in a safe and anonymous environment.’