The Doctor's Forever Family

by Marie Ferrarella

  She made it sound as if she knew firsthand, Tina thought. She wondered if Miss Joan did have any children of her own stashed away. But she would ask her at another time. Olivia needed her now, if only to be there and show her support. Tina fervently wished she could do more, but everything that could be done was up to the doctor.

  “Thanks,” she murmured to the woman on the other end of the line. Knowing that Bobby was being taken care of allowed her to focus her attention exclusively on her sister.

  The thought that she was lucky to live in a place like this flashed through her mind once again.

  Terminating the call, she slipped the phone back into her pocket.

  Guttural sounds escaped through lips that appeared to be pressed together as Olivia, once more urged by Dan to push, bore down and pushed for all she was worth.

  Pushed and had nothing to show for her efforts except a clear-down-to-the-bone exhaustion.

  Exhaling, struggling desperately to suck in enough air to sustain herself and keep from passing out, Olivia once again fell back against Rick’s strong hands. At this point, she was almost boneless in her exhaustion.

  “It’s never coming out,” Olivia cried almost despondently.

  Concern was etched into Rick’s face as he looked at Dan. It was apparent that this was an Olivia he was unfamiliar with. Olivia Blayne Santiago was nothing if not feisty and a born fighter. Definitely not someone who gave in to despair.

  “Should she be getting a C-section?” Rick asked.

  Dan shook his head. He knew how much Olivia wanted to give birth naturally so he wasn’t about to go that route unless he absolutely had to—for her sake, not his own.

  “We’re getting ahead of ourselves,” Dan counseled. “The baby’s in a very good position now. It’s almost here.” His eyes once again met Olivia’s. “You can do this,” he told her. “Just a little longer. Hang on just a little longer. It’s only going to be a few more—”

  He didn’t get a chance to finish his sentence. Olivia was arching again, her back forming one half of a parenthesis as she writhed in pain.

  “Push, Olivia, push,” he ordered.

  To his surprise, she didn’t. “I can’t,” she cried, exhausted.

  Rick took over. Still behind her, his hands against her back, propping her up, Rick leaned forward, his lips against her ear. “C’mon, baby, push. You can do it. I know you can,” he coached urgently. “Now push!”

  “If I can do it, you can,” Tina told her, joining in. “You were always the one who could do anything she set her mind to, remember?” She saw Olivia’s eyes shift toward her. “Let’s get this over with so that Bobby can have someone to play with closer to his own age than Miss Joan.”

  She succeeded in making Olivia laugh—and it mysteriously seemed to give her a second wind.

  The next moment, riding the cusp of a contraction, Olivia bore down again and pushed. Pushed until there wasn’t an ounce of strength left within her.

  But there was no need for any more strength. With a lusty squall, Olivia and Rick’s baby exploded into the world.

  “What…is…it?” Olivia asked in a drained whisper, unable to even lift her head to see the baby that Tina had taken into her arms.

  “The most beautiful baby girl the world has ever seen,” Tina declared, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears and love.

  “She looks just like her mother,” Rick murmured to his wife, choking up as he bent over to kiss Olivia’s damp forehead. “You did good, baby.”

  “Congratulations, Olivia. You have a healthy baby girl,” Dan told his patient.

  Moving his stool back, he rose. Only then did he realize that his knees felt just the slightest bit weak and fluid.

  Stripping off the rubber gloves, he tossed them into the wastebasket as he silently congratulated himself. He had just had his first successful solo delivery.

  More and more, he began to understand why Warren had chosen this route. Not just to work with those whose access to medical services was limited, but to experience that indescribable high that came from being in the trenches, from seeing firsthand what being there, offering help and hope, meant.

  He’d never felt quite so alive before—

  Except perhaps, he silently amended, glancing over toward the trio, when he’d kissed Tina.

  Chapter Twelve

  Two minutes ago, Rick had been beyond elation. So in love with his brand-new, only minutes-old baby girl there was no way to properly measure it. No way to properly measure how much he was in love with his wife all over again, either.

  And then the doctor had said that Olivia and the baby should go to the hospital at Pine Ridge in the morning and suddenly, everything felt as if it was crashing down around him.

  Rick’s face was a mask of concern as he forced the words out, his voice hardly above a hoarse whisper. “Is there something wrong?” Fear ate away at his gut as he waited for the doctor to answer.

  Dan was quick to reassure him. “No, there’s nothing wrong, but—”

  Rick frowned. “Then why do you want Olivia and the baby to go to the hospital?” he asked.

  The answer was simple. Because the hospital had equipment that Dan didn’t. Because there were standard tests to perform that he couldn’t. “To make sure that everything is as good as I think it is.” Trying to look as positive as he could, Dan placed a comforting hand on the sheriff’s shoulder. “Think of it as a standard checkup.” He smiled at Rick. “Your wife is healthy, your daughter’s healthy, I just want to make sure I didn’t overlook anything.”

  “Don’t give the doc grief, Sheriff. He’s just got everyone’s best interests at heart. Better to be safe than sorry, right, Doc?”

  All three occupants in the exam room turned toward the sound of the low, dark bourbon voice. Miss Joan walked in, taking command of the room by her sheer presence.

  Deep hazel eyes immediately focused on Forever’s newest resident. Miss Joan’s face softened and transformed into a wreath of smiles as she came forward.

  “Oh, now, you two have got to get started on another one as soon as Olivia’s a little stronger.” Her approving glance swept over both parents. “You do absolutely beautiful work.”

  Having folded a sheet several times over, Tina had wrapped her new niece in it and was still holding her, remembering what it felt like holding Bobby when he had been only minutes old.

  Miss Joan stopped beside her. “Let me hold her for a second,” the woman urged. Very carefully, Tina transferred her precious bundle into Miss Joan’s arms. The latter beamed and sighed as she gazed down at the infant. “You forget how little they are when they start out,” Miss Joan murmured. Looking up at Olivia, she asked, “Got a name for her?”

  Exhausted but radiant, Olivia shook her head. “Not yet,” she confessed. “I want to see what her personality’s like before we give her a name.”

  “Sounds like a good idea to me,” Miss Joan agreed, unable to tear her eyes away from the baby in her arms. Very gently, she began to sway. After a moment, the baby’s huge blue eyes began to drift shut.

  Though Rick’s fears had begun to settle somewhat, he still appeared concerned. “You’re absolutely sure there’s nothing wrong?” he asked Dan.

  One of the lessons that had been passed on to the physicians in his graduating class was not to guarantee anything. They were doctors, not gods and for the most part, he’d believed that. But he could see that, although Rick hadn’t put it into so many words, he needed peace of mind after having gone through this emotion-draining experience with his wife.

  And, Dan reasoned, most likely there was nothing wrong with either mother or infant. So he broke a cardinal rule. He gave Rick the guarantee the man was looking for.

  “I’m sure. But I’d be behaving recklessly if I didn’t tell you to take them in to be double-checked at the hospital. Nothing wrong with getting a clean bill of health from two sources,” Dan told him. “But for now, I’d say you both need to get some rest—if your new daughter wi
ll let you,” he added with a smile, lightly running the back of his hand along the infant’s cheek. The baby stirred, but went on sleeping.

  “I’d say you all do,” Miss Joan told not only Olivia and Rick, but Tina and Dan, as well. But the bulk of her attention was on the newly minted family. “Which is why I’m going home with you,” she told Rick. “I’ll take care of the little princess for you tonight and you two can both get some sleep.” Now her gaze took them both in. “And that’s not up for debate.”

  Olivia and Rick exchanged glances and then Rick nodded and answered, “Sounds good to us.”

  Tina realized that she was both exhausted and wound up all at the same time. There was no other explanation why this question hadn’t struck her the second she saw Miss Joan come in.

  “Where’s Bobby?” Tina asked.

  Unfazed, Miss Joan said, “I took him back to Lupe when I realized what was going on and that Olivia and Rick here might need help.” She gave Tina an encouraging smile. “Don’t worry, Baby Girl, your son’s in his glory, being looked after by half a dozen girls.”

  Ordinarily, Miss Joan’s part-time waitress looked after Bobby on the days she didn’t work at the diner. Lupe’s younger sisters were all in school during the day. But not at this time at night. That assured Tina there would be no lack of eyes on the little boy.

  “I figured you might want to get a little rest yourself tonight,” Miss Joan suggested. It was no secret that the woman had a way of anticipating needs, of being more sharply intuitive than she appeared to be at first glance. “Consider it my gift to you.” Still holding the baby and loving every moment of it, she turned toward Dan. “Is the new mama strong enough to be moved?” she asked.

  Olivia appeared exhausted, but there was no reason to believe she couldn’t sit in the car and be driven home. “I don’t see why not—as long as she doesn’t have to walk home.”

  As if in response, Rick scooped his wife into his arms and picked her up. “She doesn’t have to walk at all. I’ll take it from here.”

  Secure in his arms, Olivia sighed as she leaned her head against her husband’s chest. Miss Joan, carrying the baby, followed closely behind the pair. He had noticed before she came in that the woman had removed the boxed infant seat from the trunk and set it up in Rick’s car.

  Dan brought up the rear for form’s sake and to field any last-minute questions from either of the new baby’s parents.

  It wasn’t until he saw Rick deposit his wife into the backseat and then round the hood to get into the driver’s side while Miss Joan took the seat beside Olivia, securing the infant in the car seat, that he realized that someone was missing.

  Tina.

  Nevertheless, he remained where he was, waiting until Rick started the car and then pulled away. The moment the vehicle had put some token distance between them, Dan turned around and went back into the clinic.

  It seemed almost eerily still compared to all the commotion that had taken place just a little while ago. Had Tina ducked out when he wasn’t looking?

  The reception area was empty. He made his way into the exam room where he’d welcomed Forever’s newest citizen. That was where he found Tina. Olivia’s sister was busy, putting things away and cleaning up.

  She was running on charged energy, he thought. When had she gotten her second wind? And how could he get some?

  “You don’t have to do that,” he told her, nodding at the sheets she’d stripped off the examination table.

  “It’s not going to straighten itself out,” she told him matter-of-factly. Turning her attention to the pile of hand towels that had been discarded on the floor, she found her wrists being suddenly caught in midtask.

  Stilling her hands with his own, Dan advised, “At least wait until morning. I think you did enough for one night.”

  “I didn’t do anything,” she protested. “If anyone did anything, it was Olivia. And you, of course,” she added quickly, not wanting him to be insulted. “You were very good with her.” And she was really grateful for that. “She was trying not to show it, but I know Olivia was afraid.” Just as she had been when faced with giving birth. “You made it easy for her. Thank you,” she added after a beat.

  Dan shrugged off the compliment. “I was just there to catch the baby.”

  She fixed him with a look. There was modest and then there was just too modest. “You’re forgetting that you were the one who turned the baby,” she reminded him. Heaven only knows what condition Olivia would have been in if he hadn’t been there.

  Pausing, Dan debated whether or not to say more. But the situation had turned out well, so he saw no harm in making the admission now. “That was my first delivery.”

  Tina was aware of that. She assumed he was referring to his first delivery in Forever. But the look on Dan’s face made her uncertain enough to ask. “You mean here, in Forever, right?”

  “No, I mean at all,” he told her. “I’ve never delivered a baby before by myself though I’ve assisted.”

  “I thought that doctors were supposed to know everything.” She smiled coyly.

  “Somehow, I didn’t get enough experience in that area.” He shrugged. But inside, he was still riding a high crest. “I didn’t think it really made all that much of a difference, since I was set to become a radiologist.”

  “Well, after watching you in action just now, I would have to say that would have been a complete waste of some pretty impressive talent.” Her eyes shone as she told him, “You looked like a natural.”

  While her words were flattering, he considered the source. “Thanks. But I suspect your range of experience with doctors isn’t exactly all encompassing and knowledgeable.”

  That was true, Tina silently conceded, but that still didn’t change things. “You don’t have to take a bite out of every apple to know a good one when you taste it.”

  The moment the words were out of her mouth, Tina looked as bemused as he did. Maybe more.

  “That’s a pretty folksy adage,” he observed.

  “I know,” she admitted. She shook her head. “I have no idea where that came from. I guess that means I’m finally turning ‘native,’” she speculated. The thought made her smile rather than cringe with self-critical dismay, the way she knew it might have at the mere suggestion less than a year ago.

  Nodding toward the rear of the clinic, she made a suggestion. “Why don’t you go upstairs, Dan? I’ll just stay here a little longer, finish what I’m doing.” He was making no effort to go so she added, “Don’t worry, I’ll lock up for you when I leave.”

  She was surprised when Dan asked, “Do you have to leave?”

  The question seemed so innocent, but it suddenly accelerated her heartbeat. Tina wasn’t completely clear why. In the blink of an eye, she could almost feel her blood rushing through her veins, bathing her in a warmth that was all enveloping.

  He meant nothing by that, Tina silently insisted, trying her best to cap the intense excitement building within her. It was just a throwaway line, nothing more. No reason to think he meant anything by it.

  Still, she heard herself answering in a gentle, low voice, “No, I don’t.”

  “Good, because I could use the company right about now.” The incredible sense of satisfaction at being part of the birthing process still wove through him. He was much too keyed up to sleep.

  At this point, nerves whirled through her and her fingertips had gone moist while her throat had turned drier than sand.

  Taking a breath, telling herself to get a grip, she asked him, “Want to go stargazing? It’s a good night for it.”

  The sky looked as if a celestial being had upended an entire sackful of stars, scattering them through the heavens.

  Dan didn’t want to be outside with her. Outside there was always a chance of prying eyes watching them and right now, he wanted her all to himself. He wanted to be with her without having to wonder if their every move, their every word, would be scrutinized by someone from Forever.

  �
��Maybe later,” he replied. Taking Tina’s hand in his own, creating a bond that felt almost surreally intimate, given that they stood in the middle of a room that had seen so much activity only moments before, Dan had a counterproposal for her. “You said something about going upstairs.”

  Yes, she had. But she’d meant for him to go up alone while she remained here, getting everything squared away for tomorrow. She’d intended for him to get some rest. If they both went upstairs, neither one of them would get any rest. Not for a very long time.

  The thought made her smile.

  “Yes I did,” she answered quietly, waiting for him to make the next move.

  His hand still linked with hers, Dan drew her over toward the rear of the clinic, where the stairs that led to the upper floor were located.

  There was no hesitation on her part.

  And with each step she took, her heartbeat accelerated a little more until, at the top of the landing, it did a drum solo.

  He wanted to kiss her.

  Had to kiss her.

  Without taking another step toward his bedroom, Dan turned to face her again. His long, skillful fingers slipped into her hair, framing her face.

  Bending his head ever so slightly, he kissed her. First softly, then with more and more feeling and intensity.

  Just like the first time.

  Tina could feel herself losing ground. The floor beneath her melted away, leaving her suspended in a nebulous place with no boundaries. A place from where, any second now, she would begin free-falling.

  Her arms entwined around his neck, Tina leaned her soft, yearning body into his. The hard contact registered instantly and heightened her excitement tenfold, increasing the heat that soared through her. She stopped thinking. Desire took the helm, making gratification, and the man who could give it to her, her ultimate goal.

  Her heart almost hurt, it raced so hard. She would have been seriously worried about the organ cracking a rib and breaking through her chest—if she could have linked her thoughts into a coherent whole. But there were no coherent thoughts, only fragments swirling around her brain.