The Greek Doctor's New-Year Baby
Mrs Staveley looked at her, and Madison saw the exact moment that her patient realised that she, too, was pregnant. ‘You’re expecting.’
‘Nineteen weeks,’ Madison confirmed.
Mrs Staveley swallowed. ‘Doesn’t it scare you, doing what you do?’
‘Because I know all the worst-case scenarios, you mean?’ Madison smiled. ‘A little. But, then, there are a lot more mums who have uncomplicated labours. And I know all the midwives and all the doctors in the maternity unit, so I know I’m going to be in good hands.’
‘Especially Dr Petrakis.’
Madison smiled. ‘He’s the best doctor I know.’
Theo brought Mr Staveley in to see his wife, and he and Madison withdrew to a discreet distance.
‘You did a deal with me,’ Theo reminded Madison. ‘Mrs Staveley’s conscious again, she’s reunited with her husband and I’m going to see her baby and bring her a Polaroid back. So you’re going home.’
‘Theo—’
‘Don’t argue.’ He stroked her face. ‘You look tired, honey. And that’s not fair on you or the baby.’ He sighed. ‘Sorry. I shouldn’t have let you be on this case.’
‘In high-risk cases, you need a registrar to assist you. Which would be me. It’s my job, Theo.’
‘But this was upsetting.’
‘For you, too—I saw the look in your eyes before you switched to obstetrician mode.’ She paused. ‘You can’t shield me from the difficult cases, Theo. It’s my job.’
‘True. But I want you to go home now and rest—and I mean rest, or I’ll tell Katrina and she’ll tell your mum who’ll nag you stupid.’ He kissed her lightly. ‘I’ll be home when I can. I need to be here for now.’
She knew why—if there were any post-operative complications, they were more likely to show up in the next couple of hours. ‘OK. I’ll see you when I see you.’
Madison was sitting with her feet up on the sofa when Theo called. ‘Everything’s fine, though I’ve told the ward to call me if there’s any change,’ he told her. ‘And, Maddie—the Staveleys want to call their daughter Thea.’
‘After you?’ She felt the tears pricking her eyes. ‘That’s lovely.’
‘I’m coming home now. Have you eaten?’
‘I was starving, so yes. But I can cook something for you.’
He laughed. ‘Honey, now I know you love me, if you’re offering to go into the kitchen and cook something willingly. Don’t worry. I’ll call the pizza place and get something delivered for about ten minutes after I’m due in.’
‘And garlic dough balls,’ Madison said.
He laughed again. ‘At least you’re having a reasonable pregnancy craving. See you soon, matia mou.’
And as soon as he was home, he wrapped her in his arms. ‘I’m so glad to be home with you, Maddie. Today was one of the worst emergencies we could’ve had.’
‘And you got her back, Theo.’
‘The team got her back,’ he corrected. ‘And it’s made me realise. I’m still panicking inside that something might go wrong…but if it does, the chances are very, very good that you and the baby will both be absolutely fine.’
‘I’m glad you realise that.’ She paused. ‘But we still have to get the results of the amnio.’
‘Whatever they are, we’ll get through it,’ he said, stroking her face. ‘I love you, Maddie, and I love our baby, and nothing’s going to change that.’
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
EVERYTHING was fine…until the day the amniocentesis results were due.
When they heard nothing, Theo spent the evening pacing about, unable to settle. ‘I can’t stand this waiting. Tomorrow I’m going to look it up on the system at work,’ he declared, scowling.
‘Theo, you know as well as I do it takes at least three weeks to grow the cells. Today’s the earliest we could hear—it might take another few days.’
Which would drive him absolutely crazy.
‘We just have to wait. Besides, using the system like that at work is unethical. Not to mention it’ll get you into trouble with data protection and what have you,’ Madison pointed out.
He raised an eyebrow. ‘Don’t tell me you weren’t thinking exactly the same thing.’
‘Actually, no.’ Her face looked slightly pinched. ‘I’m too scared to see what’s there. This isn’t like exam results, where I always knew roughly how I’d done. This is nature—and I have no control whatsoever over it.’