Reawakened by the Italian Surgeon

by Scarlet Wilson

  Autumn gave a solemn nod as she moved over to one of the pairs of mannequins. This one was sealed in the amniotic sac. One of the babies would likely need cardiac surgery before delivery. The delicacy and precision of the operation would be absolutely crucial. Performing in utero surgery was a real skill. She didn’t envy Lizzy and Leon their task.

  The lighting in this room was as bright as in any theatre, and a whole host of tiny instruments was laid out on the tables at one side. She walked over, her eyes scanning along the trays, instantly looking for the tools she might need for her surgeries.

  She hadn’t even heard Giovanni move, so the low voice behind her made her jump. ‘Just give me a list of what you need. You’ll have it in days.’

  She could feel his warm breath at the back of her neck. He was very near, obviously looking at the trays too.

  She should step to one side. They were too close for comfort. But she pressed her lips together for a second and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath.

  It was too soon. Too soon to consider anything. She’d never felt a pull like this before. It unnerved her. She was always the calmest person in the room. So why didn’t she feel like that today?

  ‘Most of what I need is here already. There might be a few specialist instruments. I’ll give you a list later.’

  Now she did step to the side and turn to face him. ‘Can we meet the parents now?’

  He gave the briefest nod of his head. ‘Of course.’

  As he turned towards the door again she let out her breath. The air-conditioning in the room kept its temperature steady. She just wished her body would do the same.

  She was just tired. That was what it must be. She’d been running on adrenaline since his call last night. Because what she really didn’t want to do right now was acknowledge the way her skin prickled and her heart-rate picked up any time she was around this man.

  They had to work closely for the next few months. All her focus had to be on these babies. And Giovanni Lombardi was a distraction she definitely didn’t need.

  CHAPTER THREE

  GIOVANNI LED HER to a large, comfortable room on the far side of the maternity unit. It was close enough to all emergency facilities without being in the middle of an impersonal ward.

  He beamed as he walked into the room. ‘Gabrielle, Matteo—I want you to meet Autumn Fraser. She’s a specialist surgeon from Scotland.’

  He turned towards Autumn as he moved to a comfortable sofa.

  ‘Autumn, this is Gabrielle and Matteo Bianchi. Gabrielle is from Geneva, where they live, but they are staying with us. Matteo is from here, and has rented a villa in Rome, and Gabrielle is being monitored on a daily basis.’

  Autumn could see the worry lines on the faces of both parents. They’d likely had the shock of their lives when they’d learned about their babies. The nerves and the strain were apparent even at first glance.

  Autumn walked over to them, holding out her hand to shake with each of them. ‘It’s a pleasure to meet you.’ She knew how important it was to earn the trust of parents. And she was quite sure she would be every bit as anxious if she were in their shoes.

  She sat next to Giovanni as he started talking again. ‘I told you I was going to find a surgeon to lead the second team.’ He put his hand on his chest. ‘I’ll be leading the team working with Hope, and Autumn will be leading the team working with Grace.’

  Autumn’s stomach gave a little flip. He’d mentioned this would be a trial agreement. But introducing Autumn as the surgeon leading the other team didn’t seem like any kind of trial.

  ‘The babies have names? That’s fantastic,’ she said. ‘I love them.’

  Gabrielle gave a nervous half-smile, her hands on her swollen stomach. She glanced at her husband. ‘We did it a few weeks ago. We thought that if we gave them names now, it might bring us good luck.’

  Autumn understood. Parents often had different opinions. She’d done other surgeries on conjoined twins where the teams had been called Twin A and Twin B. Some parents were terrified of naming babies who might not make it. They wanted to wait until they were actually born, then give them names.

  Gabrielle and Matteo obviously wanted their daughters to be known by name from the beginning. Some people thought it might make their children more real. For them, as well as for others.

  Giovanni gave a slow nod. Autumn knew he could have told her earlier, but it was clear he’d wanted to give the parents their place. She put her hand on her chest. ‘So, I’ll be in charge of Team Grace. I can promise you that we’re going to plan for both your daughters carefully and do all we can to give them the best outcome possible.’

  She could see Giovanni’s sideways glance. It was always important in conversations like these that surgeons didn’t promise they could save the babies. Autumn would have loved to do that. But these surgeries were filled with risks, as were the surgeries prior to separation. She could guarantee she would do everything she could for Team Grace, but anything else would be unethical.

  Giovanni leaned forward. ‘So, both myself and Autumn will talk you through all the aspects of the separation. But we don’t want to overwhelm you. You know that Leon and Lizzy have to do their surgeries first? Once they have finished, we’ll take over. But just know that we’ll be working hard behind the scenes to get things ready for our surgeries after the Caesarean section.’ He leaned forward and put his hand on Gabrielle’s. ‘One day at a time. Just know we’re always here.’

  Gabrielle blinked, unshed tears visible in her eyes. She gave a silent nod.

  Giovanni stood up and Autumn joined him. ‘Nice to meet you both,’ she said. ‘If you want to talk to me, just let one of the staff know and I’ll be here.’

  As they left the room Autumn could feel the weight of the meeting on her shoulders. Giovanni was walking alongside her, and his hand brushed against hers, drawing her attention. The buzz going up her arm was instant and undeniable.

  ‘The first introduction is always the toughest. I’m trying to give them space to process everything without overwhelming them. Lizzy and Leon are their primary caregivers right now.’

  She raised her eyebrows, sure that it must be driving him crazy, and he nodded.

  ‘Yep, I find it difficult not to constantly check things. But I have a short meeting first thing every morning with Lizzy and Leon, then I drop in to see the parents at some point during the day.’

  ‘You need them to have faith in Leon and Lizzy.’

  ‘Absolutely. We’ll take over when we need to.’ He stopped for a moment and leaned on a railing to look out over the wide entrance and the floors beneath them. ‘This is one of the most complicated cases we’ve ever had.’

  Autumn joined him, leaning down and looking at the bustling hospital. She could see the sigh of absolute relief from everyone who walked through the front doors, out of the searing heat of Rome and into the air-conditioned space inside the hospital. She shivered, not sure if it was caused by the temperature around her, the man next to her, or the huge pressures of the surgery ahead.

  ‘Do you have a gestation in mind that you think we’ll need to work to?’

  He nodded. ‘I’m approximating around thirty-two weeks right now. Lizzy and Leon’s surgery will be soon. From there, it just depends on how Gabrielle and the babies do after that. We could require immediate delivery, or we might manage a reasonable amount of time after that.’

  Autumn nodded. Everyone knew that babies tended to do better the closer to normal gestation they were delivered. Most twins these days were delivered before forty weeks. These babies would never last to that point. But thirty-two weeks wasn’t unreasonable. If things went well, both babies might be able to breathe with minimum assistance at that stage, and would also have the ability to suck, swallow and feed. Every baby was an individual, and they wouldn’t really know until the twins were here, but thirty-two weeks was
something to aim for.

  She turned to face Giovanni. ‘So, we’re likely have a maximum of seven weeks to prepare for this surgery?’

  Part of her body was going into panic mode. The intricacies of her liver surgery were going to be more than difficult. The separation between Hope and Grace would be tricky enough, and once that was done she would literally have to build Grace a liver, hoping she could also sort out an adequate blood supply.

  ‘Are you okay?’

  Giovanni moved quickly, his hand on her arm, and she caught the woody scent of his aftershave.

  ‘Fine,’ she said quickly. She wanted to start practising right this second. But she knew it was a bad idea.

  Giovanni’s fingertips on her arm pressed gently. ‘How about an early dinner? I know a five-year-old who would love to meet you.’

  She hesitated. She wanted to get back to her hotel room, lie down on the giant bed and just let it swallow her whole. Processing...there was so much processing her brain had to do right now.

  ‘Sofia wants to meet me?’ she asked.

  One eyebrow flicked upwards. ‘She picked you.’

  ‘What?’ His words came as a complete surprise and left her momentarily stunned.

  He gave a serious nod as he steered her down the corridor again. ‘Truthfully. She looked at all the faces I had on my computer screen and told me to pick you.’

  Autumn’s skin prickled in annoyance. ‘I hope you’re joking.’

  Giovanni shrugged. ‘Let’s just say you were already joint top of the list anyway.’

  Autumn stopped walking. ‘Joint?’ She couldn’t keep the indignation out of her voice. ‘Who did you think matched me?’

  He named another surgeon from the US, who specialised in paediatric liver surgery. She wasn’t quite so offended, but still annoyed.

  ‘I’m better than him...’

  He opened the door to the office he’d shown her earlier, where her bag and jacket were stored. ‘It was your studies into the psychological trauma of separation that swayed me.’

  She’d just bent to pick up her bag and stopped dead. ‘Really? You know about that?’ That was another surprise. Most fellow surgeons just looked at her skill set and success rate. They didn’t look into the other aspects of medicine she’d explored.

  He nodded as he moved towards her. ‘I’ve read your papers. I like your concepts. I don’t have your depth of knowledge, but I’ve often wondered about the trauma of separation for conjoined twins. And I don’t mean the physical trauma.’

  Her mouth was dry. ‘You believe there’s a psychological side?’

  She’d met other scholars who wouldn’t be convinced about the principle of psychological trauma for neonates. It was almost a relief to find someone who believed in it and was interested to learn more. Too many other surgeons just wanted to talk about clinical procedures and techniques.

  ‘Of course I believe it.’ His husky voice revealed no doubt.

  She could have sworn some magical creature had just run down the length of her spine.

  Giovanni tilted his elbow towards her. ‘Let’s pick up Sofia and go for dinner. I’ll drop you back at your hotel afterwards.’

  ‘You don’t mind eating early?’ She knew Italians were known for their late dinners.

  He shook his head. ‘I have a five-year-old who I like to get to bed at a reasonable time. Believe me, Sofia needs no excuse to be up half the night.’

  Autumn hesitated. She was tired, but she had to eat, and she still hadn’t planned how to travel to and from the hospital. She gave a slow nod. ‘Thanks,’ she said, then added, ‘I’d love to meet Sofia. Just to let her know that I’m truly the best candidate.’

  She gave him a straight-eyed stare and he laughed.

  As they walked out to the car park she wrinkled her nose. ‘When you spoke to me yesterday, you said you had to make sure I was a good fit for the team. I’m assuming that as you’ve introduced me to the parents, you think that I am?’

  He held the car door open for her for the second time today. There was a gleam in his eye. ‘I might,’ he said, ‘but you still have to pass the final hurdle.’

  ‘What’s that?’

  ‘Sofia,’ he said, and grinned as he closed the door and walked around to the other side.

  * * *

  Giovanni could tell from the expression on her face that Autumn hadn’t worked out yet that he was toying with her.

  He went in to pick up Sofia and she dashed straight out to the car as soon as she knew who was in it. He hadn’t even managed to collect her bag and jacket before she’d climbed into the car and started to fasten her seatbelt, the whole time talking constantly.

  ‘You’re Autumn? Do you know that’s a season? I had to look it up. I’m Sofia. I’m five. How long will you work with my papà? Are you staying with us?’ She started to bounce a little in her car seat, even though she was strapped in.

  Giovanni slid into the car and gave Autumn a grin. ‘Sofia, calm down. Wait until we’re at the restaurant before you start asking questions.’

  Autumn looked dumbstruck. ‘Her English is amazing. Much better than my Italian.’

  He nodded, the feeling of pride making his chest swell. ‘Yes, her English is good. Obviously. As is her Italian. She can also speak a little Greek and a little Japanese. She attends an international school and she seems to pick up languages...’ he wrinkled his nose for a second ‘...how do you say it? Like a sponge?’

  * * *

  Giovanni pulled away and moved into the traffic. It was busy. There was much horn-sounding, gesturing and shouting. It seemed that Giovanni wasn’t shy about shouting either.

  He let out a yell as someone cut in front of them and Sofia started laughing. Her laugh was light. But Autumn was gripping the sides of the seat. She’d heard about the traffic in Rome, but she’d never experienced it first-hand. She glanced sideways at Giovanni, wondering how it felt to drive in this every day, knowing that his wife had died in a traffic accident.

  She literally felt as if an accident could happen around about them at any second. But Sofia didn’t seem upset or worried. She was young... This was likely her everyday normal.

  Around ten minutes later Giovanni pulled up in an older part of the city. As Autumn climbed out of the car, she pulled the damp hair from the back of her neck. The journey hadn’t been quite what she’d expected. Stopping was a complete and utter relief.

  Sofia jumped out and ran into the restaurant. Autumn turned and smiled wearily at Giovanni. ‘Come here often?’

  He let out a low laugh. ‘Perhaps. Watch out or she’ll order for you.’

  As they walked inside, it was clear that this was a restaurant owned by his friends. Sofia had settled herself at a booth and was tapping the top of the table for them both to join her. ‘Autumn, sit next to me,’ she said.

  Giovanni slid into the seat across from her. ‘What am I? Old news?’ he asked. But from the way he was grinning Autumn could tell he wasn’t offended.

  An older woman appeared, kissing Giovanni on both cheeks and putting some water and glasses on the table. She turned and said something in rapid Italian to Autumn, but Giovanni shook his head, clearly explaining that Autumn wouldn’t understand.

  He pointed to the water. ‘Would you prefer some wine with dinner?’ he asked.

  She shook her head. She was already exhausted, and her head was so full. She felt as if even a sip of wine would knock her out. ‘Water’s great, thanks.’

  The older woman switched easily to English, and spoke between two languages as she took their orders.

  ‘Which is best?’ Autumn asked Sofia, pointing at a few items on the menu, who then took great delight in deciding on her order.

  Ten minutes later she had a delicious plate of rigatoni in front of her, in a creamy tomato sauce with bacon through it, along with a heap of ga
rlic bread in a basket between them all. It was hitting all the right spots.

  She’d also answered what seemed like a million questions from Sofia, who was currently tucking in to her dinner. Autumn smiled. Both Giovanni and Sofia had their cloth napkins tucked into their collars. Cute.

  Giovanni glanced at Sofia. ‘It’s the only time she’s quiet,’ he said jokingly. ‘Take advantage while you can.’

  Autumn shook her head and looked at him steadily. ‘She’s a delight.’

  She could see the pleasure in his eyes. He glanced back at his daughter and she could almost feel the strength of his love for her stretching across the table to grab her.

  Sofia wasn’t quite so terrifying as she’d feared a child might be. Drinks hadn’t been spilled yet, nor dinner dropped on clothes—in fact, if anyone was going to do that, it was much more likely to be Autumn. She was struggling to keep her eyes open.

  Her brain started drifting. Father and daughter seemed so easy around each other... She wondered if he ever got strict with her at home or if he was always like this.

  It wasn’t as if she knew anything about bringing up a child. Sure, Autumn had friends with children. She’d even offered to take a good friend’s baby overnight, when her friend had started to look as if she might blow away in a puff of wind. She’d taken the baby back at lunchtime the next day and smiled sweetly, not admitting that she’d been up all night, terrified, watching the rise and fall of her friend’s sweet son’s chest.