by Risk, Mona
“Not at all. He has a lot of admiration for you. He even laughed and said, ‘Be careful with this young lady. She’s worse than a hound when she wants an interview.’ And he added, ‘I’ll see that Ms. Ramsay gets immediate help’. That’s how you’ll have the portable ultrasound coming all the way to your bedside.”
“Really?” Amazing Greg.
“Doctor Greg, please,” Brian said with his sweetest voice. “Now that you have the ear of our big boss, can you put in a good word for me and ask him to send me home. I miss my kids. Tell him I need treatment. I feel...weak.”
They all burst out laughing. The hunky bodyguard was anything but weak.
“Roxanne has to be moved to a bed where she’ll be more comfortable.”
“But I feel great here with all of you around me.”
Greg set a chaste kiss on her forehead. “Don’t give me a hard time, sweetheart. I don’t like difficult patients.”
“Whatever you say, doctor. I’ll obey.” Maybe they’d be able to steal a private moment in the bedroom. She smiled. A bedroom had a door while this living room was more crowded than a local bazaar.
“Bring her to the master bedroom. I washed the sheets this morning,” Leila said.
With Brian and Joe holding the IV bag and pole, Greg lifted her into his arms. Roxanne snuggled against his chest and hooked a hand behind his neck. Being incapacitated had some fringe benefits. Greg carried her to the master bedroom without disturbing the IV drip in her arm and carefully set her on the bed. Then the men left and Leila closed the door behind them.
“Here are underwear and pajamas for you,” Leila said
“I’m useless with one arm paralyzed by the IV.”
“No problem.” Leila helped Roxanne out of her clothes, and into panties and pjs, then covered her with a comforter, and fluffed up pillows behind her head. “I’ll call Dr. Greg now.”
Greg returned, his stethoscope hanging around his neck. “Stay, Leila. I want to examine Roxanne. You’ll act as my nurse.”
“But...” Roxanne huffed and swallowed her frustration. So much for spending a private moment with Greg. He’d donned his best doctor’s expression and would probably order her to stop playing the difficult patient.
Greg put the metallic disc of his stethoscope over her back. “Breathe hard.” He moved the disc up. “Again.” Down. “Again.” Left.
She didn’t wait for another again and kept inhaling deep breaths and exhaling them. “Enough. You don’t need to hyperventilate.”
She arched her eyebrows and waited. Greg eased her back against the pillows and pressed the metallic disc against her collarbone. She looked into his eye, trying to capture his gaze. He kept it glued on his disc and moved it lower. Just at the top of the valley between her breasts.
She heaved a deep breath. Her breasts jutted forward.
He scowled. She bit back a giggle. Now she knew Dr. Hayes was immune to the pretty women who visited his clinic. His poise had reassured her.
The disc skated to under her left breast. She stopped smiling, hoping her nipple wouldn’t harden. “Your heart and lungs sound great.”
Not true. She knew that her heart was beating too fast with him bending over her. And her senses had played havoc with her rational mind.
“Leila, please, lower her pants, just below her belly button.”
As if he couldn’t lower them himself. Or ask Roxanne to do it. Her lips tightened into a thin line. Unfortunately, her stomach had rounded a bit. “I’m showing,” she said with a grimace.
“It’s about time. I want to listen to the baby’s heart.”
Her baby? All sensual thoughts evaporated. Her free hand rubbed the side of her belly and her eyes focused on Greg’s stethoscope. “Can you really hear it?”
“It’s a very powerful instrument. The best. Be quiet now.”
She nodded, afraid to breathe and distract him. He skimmed her middle above the belly button and below, blinked, listened, moved to the right side, and paused.
Silence hovered over them. Even Leila stared at the powerful disc.
Roxanne expected him to say something. He didn’t. His gaze set on her belly, he moved the disc to the middle again, then to the left and paused. A frown gathered on his forehead. He glanced at her.
“What? Please, tell me. Can you hear him?”
He smiled. “Yes, I can hear him well.” He shifted the disc to the right side and paused, then backpedaled to the left. He tilted his head and studied her. “Amazing.”
“What? Are you sure? You’re not lying to me.” She clutched her pajama top above her heart.
“I hear it. Loud and healthy. Do you want to hear a baby’s heart?”
“Can I, please?” she begged. Under her hand, her own heart drummed like a tambourine.
Greg set the earphones in her ears and moved the disc to her right side. “Shh, now listen carefully.”
She closed her eyes. And she heard it. “Tatam, tatam, tatam...” Tears flooded her eyes and rolled onto her cheeks. “My baby, my little one.”
Greg took the stethoscope away.
She threw her good arm around his neck. “Thank you. Oh thank you.”
He patted her head and eased away. “Later, darling.” He pulled up her pajama pants.
Leila discretely turned her back and walked out, closing the door behind her.
“Finally alone. We can talk for a few minutes privately.” Greg exhaled his impatience and sat on the bed next to her.
Talking was not exactly how she wanted to use their moment of privacy. But if that was what he wanted. “Yes, tell me about your flight. I didn’t want to ask in front of the others. Especially when I know how you hate—”
“Shh.” Greg placed his thumb across her lips and slowly rubbed their fullness until they parted. Her tongue skimmed the tip of his finger and their gazes met. “Darling, I missed you so much. I went out of my mind with worry about you. This isn’t a romantic place but...”
Not wasting another minute he leaned toward her and cupped her face between his palms. She smiled. “Who cares? I’m a down-to-earth gal. Having you here, next to me, so far away from our country makes it the most romantic moment in my life.”
“I love you, Roxanne. It’s your picture in my heart that gave me the courage to face my phobia. Imagine, I traveled on a plane, a copter, and a military jet for the first time in so many years. And all the time I prayed I’d reach you in time.”
She blinked back tears of happiness and hooked her free hand behind his neck. “I love you, Greg.”
His mouth closed on her lips for a deep insistent kiss and his tongue darted to meet hers in a frenzy of passion. She wished he’d pull her onto his lap, squeeze her against him, and let her feel his love. Unable to breathe, she moaned. He released her mouth and trailed soft kisses along her throat.
His cell phone rang and he cursed. “Dr. Hayes speaking.”
Roxanne tried to recover her breath and resisted the urge to cling to him while he talked in his phone. “We are on the third floor... Do you need help carrying it?... Okay.”
“The guy with the portable ultrasound,” Greg said to Roxanne. “I’ll go see him and explain your case.”
A moment later, Greg returned with a heavyset man who grinned broadly.
“Math Laurens. How ya doing, young lady? First time, I’ll do this type of ultrasound in Iraq.” The man’s chest shook with his laughter. “It’ll go in my book of records and precedents. He, he, he, he.”
Roxanne couldn’t get herself to share his hilarity. The man and his machine would intrude on her baby in a few minutes. I hope you’re doing well, my little one. We heard your heart.
An unexpected panic chilled her insides. What if the ultrasound showed an abnormality?
“Okay, doc. Uncover her belly.” Suddenly serious, the technician rubbed a gel on her skin. “Please plug it in for me.” Greg connected the long electrical cord to the nearest plug and Math turned his machine on. From her bed, she couldn’t s
ee the monitor but Greg faced it.
Math set a wand on her skin, moved it around, and paused, while Greg studied the monitor and she studied Greg’s blank features. No smile, no frown, no scowl. Nothing to let her guess his thoughts. Damn it, they were looking at her baby. She had a right to know what they were seeing.
She pulled on Greg’s sleeve. “Tell me please. Is he okay?”
“Shh. Yes, everything is fine, darling. Let the man do his job.”
Greg pointed to the screen. “Go to the middle. Stop here. Now to the right. Stop. Back to the left.”
“You were right, doc.”
“Right about what?” Roxanne snapped. “Tell me, damn it. Is something wrong with my baby?”
“No ma’am. Everything is great.”
“Repeat the scan one more time.” A strange expression spread over Greg’s face. Eyebrows arched. Lips tightened. He bobbed his head up and down several times.
Roxanne closed her eyes. Something was definitely wrong.
“Roxanne, do you want to see the scan?”
She bit her lip. “Not if there’s something wrong with my baby.”
“Nothing is wrong, sweetheart.” He turned the monitor toward her and grabbed her hand. “Look this little thing here is a baby.”
“So small. You sure he’s okay?”
Greg nodded. “As much as I could tell from the heartbeat, it seems very healthy. We can’t tell yet if it’s a boy or a girl.”
“I’m sure it’s a boy,” she said with a smile. Everyone knew it was a boy.
“Wait. Math, move to the left. Look here. You see the baby?”
“Yes, I can see him from the right and from the left. You have such fantastic equipment.”
“Roxanne, you saw a baby on the right, and a baby on the left,” Greg explained while Math moved the detector from the right to the left and back.
The baby showed in the left, then disappeared in the middle and reappeared in the right area.
Greg’s lips curled to one side.
“Oh my God, you mean...you mean. I’m seeing...” She had trouble talking, breathing.
“Two babies, sweetheart. You’re the proud mommy of two babies.”
“Oh.” Her eyes widened and she stared at the monitor. Left. Right. Left. Right. “Two babies,” she mumbled. “Two babies.” She smiled, wanting to hug and hold her tiny babies.
It was wonderful.
It was terrible. How would she handle two babies?
And Greg? Had she lost him? Could she impose on him two children that he hadn’t fathered?
“Ah.” Her head fell back on the pillows.
“Roxanne?” Greg tapped her face. “Damn it, she fainted. Math, give me the alcohol flask.”
The strong smell irritated her nostrils. “Stop it, please.”
“I swear you’ll give me a heart attack at thirty-four. Not an hour of boredom with you, my dear Roxanne.”
“Greg, I need to think it over.”
He opened his hands. “There’s nothing to think or discuss. The two babies are here.” He pointed to her stomach. “And you’ll be very careful from now on so that they can grow healthy.”
“I’m leaving now, doc. Our radiologist will send you a report by email to confirm the results.”
“Thank you, Math. I appreciate you coming here today.”
“Greg, please, can you change my ticket? I want to leave tomorrow instead of waiting till the day after tomorrow. I’m getting claustrophobic in this apartment. I want to go home.”
“Roxanne, you need to understand that you’re supposed to be on bed-rest for at least two weeks.”
“No, please. I can’t stay here. If anything happens again, I may lose my baby. I mean my babies. Oh dear, I can’t believe it.” Tears welled in her eyes. “How am I going to handle that now?” Soon she would balloon, but she didn’t want him to see her enormous, waddling like a duck.
He squeezed her hand. “Don’t worry. You have your doctor with you.”
“I want to go to Kentucky, stay at my mother’s. I’ll work from home. Later, when I have the babies, she’ll help me. Mom is so good with children.”
“Sorry, Roxanne. That’s not possible. We’ll leave the day after tomorrow as planned, but we’re not going to the U.S. It’s too long of a trip. I’ll call Colonel McGee and ask him to allow us to board the C-21 aircraft or any military planes heading back to Ramstein Base. You’ll have another ultrasound there. Depending on the results, you may have to spend a few days or weeks on bed-rest at the American hospital until you’re out of danger.” Greg’s voice sounded cold and professional. He probably already considered her a difficult case he had to treat before more complications arose.
Her jaw sagged and her eyes rounded. “A few weeks?”
Valentine’s Day in a hospital in Germany?
“Please, Greg,” she pleaded with her voice and her eyes. “Any way I can go directly home?”
He shook his head. “I wish I could say yes, but it’s too risky. Two lives are in the balance, now.”
She gulped down a quivering breath and grappled for control. “I’ll do what you want, doctor.”
“Roxanne,” he started. “Talk to me. Share your feelings.”
“I don’t know how I feel.” She raised her hand to stop him from saying more. “Leave now. I want to be alone and rest.”
Greg was a caring doctor, dedicated to his patients. But as he’d said, she’d almost caused him a heart attack.
Should she give up on her dreams of a happy future with him?
Chapter Ten
Sitting on a chair by Roxanne’s bed, Greg watched her carefully. He’d injected a light sedative in her IV bag to allow her to relax and she’d finally drifted off. Last night she hadn’t slept all night, although she’d closed the door and refused to sit with their group at the table.
Leila had brought a plate of food to her room. Roxanne ate very little. Later she’d pretended to be asleep when he came to check on her. The news of a twin pregnancy had definitely overwhelmed her.
It had been a shock for him to hear two heartbeats. He immediately understood the reason but didn’t want to tell her anything until the ultrasound confirmed the diagnosis. She’d refused to discuss her emotions with him and he hadn’t insisted.
To be honest, he needed to sort his own feelings, too. No doubt about it, he loved her and had smothered his fear of flying to be with her and rescue her baby. Their baby as he’d called it during his long trip. Like a loving father, he’d decided to be present during the delivery and give their newborn his family name. And then he’d make sure their child would have the happy life Greg had missed so much after his father’s death.
With his mother now suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, there wouldn’t be any doting grandparents on his side, so Greg didn’t mind if the child visited the Diabs, in addition to Roxanne’s family.
To forget his fear of flying, Greg had concentrated on his feelings for Roxanne and planned their future. The sudden appearance of a second baby had taken him by surprise. Could he handle two children he hadn’t fathered?
What’s the difference? If he’d accepted one baby, he would accept the second.
He’d always dreamed of having a large loving family to make up for his lonely childhood.
During the day, he’d paced the floor of the living room when Roxanne refused to let him talk to her. Then he played with little Michael while Steve and Leila went to the French and American embassies. The boy was adorable. Roxanne’s babies would grow into adorable toddlers too.
Next to him, Roxanne sighed in her sleep. He bent and kissed her pale cheeks. Tenderness and desire mingled in his heart. He glanced at the door and tiptoed to the dark living room. Silence had settled in the apartment. After preparing their suitcases, Leila had retired for the night in Michael’s room and Steve occupied another bedroom.
Tomorrow was a traveling day for their group. Leila and Michael had received their tourist visas from both embassies, tha
nks to Steve’s effort, and would be flying to Paris to be with the older Diabs.
Greg returned to the master bedroom and locked the door behind him. Without changing out of his day clothes, he stretched beside Roxanne. Careful not to disturb her IV drip, he wrapped his arms around her.
“Greg,” she whispered and opened big eyes.
“Sleep, my love. I just want to hold you and our babies.”
“Our babies?”
“Yes, my darling. I did my best to save them. I think they belong to me too now.”
“I belong to you too. I love you, Greg.” He kissed her lips as softly as he could and caressed her hair until she drifted off. But he couldn’t close his eyes for hours.
****
Roxanne woke up from a delightful dream where Greg had held her in his arms all night. She shifted. The needle in her arm pricked her. Pain jolted her memory. She hadn’t dreamed. Greg’s kisses had been real. Remembered images flooded her mind. The ultrasound technician, the fantastic news of two babies growing in her belly, her panic and worry that Greg couldn’t stomach her already-made family, the lousy twenty-four hours she’d insisted on spending on her own in that lavish bedroom. But then Greg had taken her in his arms, kissed her, and held her until she slept.
Next to her, the large bed was empty. Had he left early?
“Good morning, Sleeping Beauty. Did you sleep well?” Greg walked toward her bed, clean-shaven, his hair wet. His happy smile brightened the room better than the morning sun filtering through the shades.
“I slept well and had wonderful dreams.”
He brushed her lips with a light kiss. “Leila will help you dress. Today is February 12th. Brian and Joe will take us to the airport in an hour.” Greg disconnected the IV drip and removed the needle from her arm. “You don’t need it anymore. I want you to eat every two hours and drink a lot of fluid.”
“I’ll obey, Dr. Hayes. I promise.”
He chuckled. “I should have recorded your words. I hope you’ll remember them in a few hours and don’t start being difficult again.”
“I won’t Greg. As long as you are with me, I’ll be as sweet as honey.” He burst out laughing at her meek expression. “I need to stop by the hotel to bring my stuff.”
