by Lucy Clark
The job in Australia had been advertised and Heather had been keen so he’d decided to take a giant leap outside his daily grind and do something different.
‘And today was something different.’ He smiled to himself and switched on the light, reaching for the latest surgical journal, which was on the floor beside the mattress. It seemed sleep was evading him tonight so he may as well catch up on his reading. Five minutes later he sat up and looked more closely at the name at the top of the article he was about to read.
‘Dr Megan I Edwards. M.B.B.S., (Hons), M.D., Ph.D, F.R.A.C.S.’ He picked up another journal in the pile and scanned the articles, finding another two written by her. He quickly read all three, his eyebrows rising in astonishment and appreciation at what his new colleague had written. Lochie wondered what else she’d written and whether or not, over the years, he’d read other articles by Dr Megan I Edwards. He located his laptop and logged onto the internet to explore this avenue further.
The next morning, Megan was up earlier than usual, doing her breathing exercises and trying to get her stress level under control. She hadn’t been able to sleep all that well, especially given the fact that Loughlin had offered to drive her to work. At the time it had seemed churlish to refuse but she’d spent half the night thinking about it, about what topics of conversation they might have, whether he’d talk further about his daughter or his life back in Scotland.
It was a country she’d often wanted to visit but never had. In fact, there was a lot she’d wanted to do in life but hadn’t. There had always been something holding her back…her age, her study, her job, Calvin. Of course she’d travelled but it had always been for work purposes. However, she’d never visited Scotland and now that she’d met Loughlin, she was interested to know more.
She was outside her now tidier house, waiting for Loughlin’s ute to head up her driveway. When it did and she saw him behind the wheel, a smile spread across her face. She couldn’t help it. She didn’t want to be happy to see him, yet she was. Spending time with him yesterday had almost been a wake-up call for her.
To her utter astonishment, she’d found herself not only interested in getting to know a colleague a bit better but that she acknowledged she was attracted to him. Then again, she rationalised, every woman in the town was attracted to him, whether they were old or young, married or single. Given that that was the case, it actually made Megan feel as though she was normal.
‘First time for everything,’ she muttered as she walked over to the ute when Loughlin brought it to a halt. Forcing herself to relax, or at least appear relaxed, she climbed in. She had her list of conversation topics all neatly outlined in her mind, what subjects would be suitable and which ones would not. She wouldn’t let him sweet talk her or charm her and even if he did try, she would remain immune. She was a strong woman, in control of her life, and no gorgeous Scottish knight in a shiny ute was going to swoop her off her feet.
‘Top of the morning to ya.’ His smile wide and welcoming. Good Lord. She nearly faltered right then and there in her resolution. Megan angled her head to the side.
‘I thought you were from Scotland. Not Ireland.’
‘What? You think the Irish have the monopoly on morning greetings?’ He tut-tutted and shook his head. ‘You need to get out more, Dr Megan I Edwards.’
She gave him a puzzled look. ‘Sorry?’
‘I’ve been reading about you or should I say I’ve been reading your papers. You’re extensively published, Dr Megan I Edwards. I’m highly impressed and a little in awe.’
It was the last thing Megan had been expecting him to say and it definitely wasn’t on her mental list of acceptable topics. ‘Er…thank you, I guess.’ Why did his words, the way his deep tones washed over her…why did they have to be so charming?
‘There’s just one thing that’s now been driving me a wee bit insane for the past eight or so hours.’
‘And what is that?’ she prompted when he didn’t speak straight away.
‘What does the “I” stand for? There aren’t that many girl’s names that begin with the letter “I” and I’ve been racking my brains trying to come up with as many as I can. Irene, perhaps?’
Megan smiled at the way his r’s had rolled as he’d spoken and she took a deep breath into her lungs, filling them quite deeply for a change, before slowly exhaling. His voice really did have such a soothing effect. When she’d been living in Sydney, she’d struggled to take deep breaths without getting the occasional twinge of chest pain. She hadn’t wanted to see anyone about it given the fact that Calvin had been head of cardiology and had connections everywhere. The pains had become far worse after he’d jilted her, which was to be expected. She’d hoped that the more sedate pace of life in Kiama would help reduce her stress and whilst it had, breathing deeply without a hint of pain had been unachievable until she’d met Loughlin. Yes, Loughlin’s drawl definitely had a soothing effect on her equilibrium…or was it simply Loughlin as a whole who had that effect? He certainly was an enigmatic man and he was expecting an answer to his question.
‘Er…well, it’s no big secret. It stands for Iris. It’s my mother’s name.’
‘Iris.’ He rolled the word over in his mouth. ‘You know, that was one I didn’t even think of. It’s beautiful.’
She was touched by his words. ‘Thank you, Lochie. I’ll tell my mother you said so.’
‘You do that.’ He smiled as he continued the drive to the hospital, once more secretly pleased that she seemed to be mellowing towards him by calling him Lochie. He liked the way his nickname sounded coming from her lips…and he probably shouldn’t. In reading her articles, he’d already started falling for her mind, such was the level of her intelligence. It wouldn’t do to enhance the fascination any further by liking the way she said his name.
They were colleagues. Neighbours. Friends. Nothing more.
When they arrived at the hospital, Megan discovered that another patient had been added to her afternoon list. She spoke to Anthony, her surgical registrar, about it and reviewed the patient who’d been admitted to the ward and was currently fasting.
‘I’ll have to do him last,’ Megan said to Anthony as Loughlin came into the tearoom. ‘It means the list will run late, though.’
‘We could bump Mr Johns.’
‘No. He’s been waiting too long. We’ll just run overtime and leave it at that.’
‘Problems?’ Loughlin asked.
‘Just list juggling. Have an extra cholysystectomy added to the list. Not sure what time we’ll be finished.’
‘Happens.’ He shrugged his shoulders, not seeming too bothered. Had he remembered that he’d all but insisted she accompany him on his little shopping trip that afternoon? Secretly, she’d actually been looking forward to it. Buying a bed was a special experience and she saw it as a challenge to be helping Loughlin purchase one for a twelve-year-old girl, especially a girl she was yet to meet. It had nothing to do with spending more time with Loughlin. Nothing at all.
‘Anyway, let’s get the morning clinic started so that we don’t run even further overtime this afternoon.’ She turned on her heel and walked from the room, still holding her coffee. She’d told herself to keep things strictly professional with Loughlin even though he seemed to be taking huge chunks out of the protective wall she’d built around herself. He was here to work. So was she and that’s what they would do.
Clinic was as hectic as she’d predicted and a ten-minute break was all she had time for before her list was due to begin.
‘There you are.’ Anthony came bursting into the tearoom. ‘What’s the matter?’ He was puffing and took a moment to catch his breath.
‘It’s Romana. She’s gone into labour.’
Megan’s eyebrows hit her hairline as she quickly finished her yoghurt. Romana was Anthony’s wife and she was on the hospital staff. ‘Where is she? Is she here? She’s only—what?—twenty-nine weeks?’
‘Twenty-eight,’ Anthony confirmed as he follow
ed Megan towards the small emergency department the hospital boasted. ‘She’s being brought in. She called me earlier, saying she didn’t feel well and that she was going to go and lie down.’
‘You here to meet the ambulance?’ Loughlin asked as he sauntered towards her. She even liked the way he walked. Honestly, the man really was a well put-together package. He’d been rostered onto A and E duty that afternoon.
‘My wife’s in the ambulance,’ Anthony explained. Megan’s ordinarily calm and sedate registrar was now in a flap. Not that she blamed him. She liked Anthony’s wife but if Romana was being brought in, if the paramedics were saying that she was in labour, it could mean an immediate transfer was needed to New South Wales Children’s Hospital, where both mother and baby would be given better treatment.
‘Ah. Right. Well, then. That puts a different spin on things.’ Loughlin patted Anthony reassuringly on the shoulder.
‘I’ll get the transfer organised,’ Megan said, and headed to the phone.
‘Do you really think that’s going to be necessary?’ Anthony stared at his boss.
‘It’s Romana, Anthony. She’s one of our own. I’m not taking any chances. Lochie and I are trained in emergency medicine as well as general surgery but not in prenatal obstetrics. This is one for the big boys.’
Loughlin couldn’t keep the smile from his face as Megan used his nickname. Again, it just went to illustrate that she was starting to thaw a little towards him, to let him peek through the cracks in the wall she’d built around herself. Most of the other staff had taken to calling him Lochie straight away but, as he’d already guessed, Megan wasn’t the type of woman to let anyone into her inner sanctum and if she did, they’d need to earn the right.
He squared his shoulders, watching as she spoke firmly but calmly to Anthony. She really was brilliant. He’d known it yesterday when they’d been working together but after reading her articles…the woman had amazing insight and perception when it came to medicine and he appreciated her clever mind.
Anthony was still spluttering his protests. ‘But work? The list?’
Megan placed a hand onto his shoulder. ‘Irrelevant. From this point on you’re officially on leave.’ She nodded firmly and as she spoke into the telephone receiver, Lochie couldn’t help but be impressed at the way she was taking charge of the situation.
She thought she was stand-offish, prickly, but she wasn’t. She was doing her job. She didn’t see herself as a member of this community but she was, especially as he’d just heard her use the phrase ‘one of our own’. He wondered when she would realise that? Oh, yes, she was quite a woman.
By the time the ambulance arrived, the helicopter that would transfer the young family to Sydney was well on its way. Romana had received oxygen and salbutamol to try and stop labour.
‘I’m hesitant to do an internal,’ Megan said, ‘in case I do more harm than good.’ She checked the baby’s heartbeat and was pleased with the effect the bronchodilator was having. ‘There’s no oedema of the feet or hands, which is a good sign.’
Nicole, who’d come off the ward to assist her friends, took Romana’s blood pressure and attached the oximeter, which would measure the oxygen saturations at regular intervals. ‘Blood pressure is elevated. Pulse is higher than normal but starting to steady.’
‘Don’t you have an ultrasound machine?’ Loughlin asked, and the look he gave Megan said that at that moment he was wishing for all of his big hospital equipment, which was usually right at his fingertips whenever he needed it.
‘It’s on its way.’
‘Where is it? Did someone just take it out for a stroll?’ His words made Romana smile and when she did, Anthony visibly relaxed. It was the right thing to say at the right moment and Megan was beginning to realise that Loughlin’s gift of reading people, of understanding their emotions, was no doubt one of his biggest assets as far as his work went.
‘We only have one sonographer on today and she’s flat out.’
‘I’ll go and get it,’ Loughlin volunteered. ‘Just tell me where it is.’
‘It’s on its way,’ Megan assured him. ‘Now, Romana, I’d like you and Anthony to go to Sydney.’
‘But things are settling,’ Romana protested.
‘Yes, they are, and whilst the baby’s heartbeat is nice and strong, we want to keep it that way. Besides, this baby is special. You’ve had trouble in the past with keeping babies in this trimester. I’d prefer it if you had the best care possible for the rest of your pregnancy. Now, can you describe the sensations you had?’ Megan wrote down what her patient told her and when the sonographer arrived with the ultrasound machine, they stepped aside to let the woman do her work.
‘You all right?’ Loughlin asked Megan, his words quiet.
‘Sure. Why?’
‘I don’t know. You seem a wee bit…oh, I don’t know how to say it…attached.’
‘To whom?’ Please, she prayed silently. Don’t let him realise that I’m intrigued by him.
‘By your patient and her husband.’
‘Oh. Right. Well, Romana’s a nice lady and Anthony’s my colleague.’
Loughlin tut-tutted quietly and shook his head. ‘They’re your friends, Dr Megan Iris Edwards. You’re nowhere near as friendless as you think. And here I was, feeling sorry for you.’
‘And I’m feeling sorry for you, too,’ she teased quietly.
‘Why is that?’
‘Because you’re going to be assisting me in Theatre all afternoon.’
‘What about A and E?’
‘Nicole can handle it and if not she can call you out, but that shouldn’t happen. Not today.’
‘Are you a psychic?’
She shook her head. ‘Just a doctor who’s learned the cycles of her hospital.’
‘Her hospital? Not getting attached to the area, are you?’
‘I am the clinical director, Lochie, so in essence, yes, it is my hospital and one I’m more than willing to hand over to the next clinical director before I leave. Ah…I think that’s the chopper I hear.’ She was glad of the diversion. With Loughlin standing so close to her, his breath fanning her cheek, the warmth from his body surrounding her own, the scent of his spicy cologne…it was all starting to distract her from her job. All of those things combined with his twinkling brown eyes made a rather lethal combination.
Megan checked the ultrasound screen, happy with the results, before heading out to the landing pad to meet the transfer staff. She’d needed to put some distance between herself and Loughlin McCloud. Not only was the man taking up much of her mental time, given that she couldn’t help but think about him, he was also creating havoc with her body…and that was downright dangerous as she had no idea how to control the way he made her feel.
It wasn’t long before the little family was on board the chopper, Anthony looking more happy and relaxed about the whole situation. Romana had indeed stabilised but Megan wasn’t taking any chances. She’d rather be safe than sorry, especially when she knew the couple had been trying to have a baby for quite some time. Besides, she’d become quite fond of her registrar and his pretty wife. Perhaps Loughlin was right. Perhaps she hadn’t distanced herself as much as she’d initially thought.
‘They’re going to do just fine,’ Loughlin said as he came up behind Megan, who was staring up into the sky as the helicopter took off, heading towards Sydney.
‘I know. Romana’s a strong woman. She’ll make sure that her baby is all right.’
‘True, but I meant the three of them together. As a family.’
‘How can you tell?’ Megan looked up at him and it was only then she realised how close they were to each other. The spicy scent she equated with Loughlin filled her senses and she took a small step backwards, hoping to put a bit of distance between them.
‘Because I’ve been on the end of a bad marriage, a bad pregnancy and a bad delivery.’
‘Your daughter was premmie?’
‘She was.’ It had been the most dreadf
ul, stressful time of Loughlin’s life. Having Romana coming in had brought back memories, and where he thought he’d dealt with them all long ago, it surprised him to not only remember that time so vividly but to also feel a strong sense of Bonnie’s betrayal.
The whole experience had been bitter-sweet. Heather’s life had just begun and he’d been in awe of the baby who was his responsibility. At the same time he’d also watched the mother of his child pull away from both of them as though she would become infected with something nasty if she stayed.
Megan noted the scowl on Loughlin’s face and wondered what on earth he was thinking about to make his otherwise jovial features go so dark. She shivered a little and realised she never wanted him to look at her in such a way. Almost desperate to bring the smile back to his face, she placed a hand on his arm and grinned up at him. ‘And I’ll bet that Heather is now a strong and healthy preteen.’
It worked. His eyebrows lifted and so did his lips, but when he looked down at her, she could still see a hint of pain receding back into his memories. Megan couldn’t believe how wonderful she felt at being able to lift his mood. It was delightful to see him smiling again.
‘Strong, and stubborn, too.’
‘Like her dad?’
‘Aye.’ His smile broadened.
‘You miss her.’ It was a statement, not a question.
‘Och, aye, Megsy. She may be a hot-headed lassie but she’s my hot-headed lassie. I feel as though half of me is missing when she’s not around.’
‘Where is she now? I mean, I know she’s in Scotland but with whom?’
‘With my sister.’
‘And has she also inherited the bossy gene from her aunts?’
‘Aye, she has. In spades!’ Loughlin’s nod was definite.
‘That’s good, then.’
‘Why?’
‘Because at least here in Australia you’ll have someone to keep you in line.’
Loughlin fixed her with a determined stare. ‘You wouldn’t by any chance be teasing me again, would you, Dr Edwards?’
