Critical Condition

by Nicki Edwards

  She introduced herself to Matt’s mum who had arrived, checked Matt’s identification wrist band and handed him the painkiller and a cup of water.

  Matt swallowed the tablet with a murmured thanks and a gulp of water and went back to watching Liam.

  “Don’t tell Matt, but I’m going to take all the stickers off to confuse him,” Liam said to Poppy.

  “I’ll still figure it out,” Matt replied.

  “I tell you, this kid is a flippin’ genius.”

  Liam passed the messed up cube back to Matt and turned to Poppy. “Watch this.” He pulled his phone from his pocket and set the timer. “On your marks, get set, go.”

  Matt’s fingers flew and before Poppy knew what she was looking at, he handed the completed cube to Liam.

  “Twenty seconds,” Liam said. He slapped Matt on the back. “Your time’s slipping. Last time you were here I saw you do it in under twelve.”

  Poppy’s mouth dropped.

  “My record’s four point six-six seconds,” Matt announced. He puffed out his little chest. “Faster than the world record. Mum’s got a video of it on her phone.”

  “You’re a freak,” Liam said. “I can’t even pull the stupid thing apart and put it back together in that amount of time.” He stalked off, pretending to sulk.

  “He shouldn’t have called you a freak,” Poppy said, smiling at Matt.

  Matt shrugged. “I get called that all the time. I don’t mind.”

  “You been doing it long?” Poppy asked, pointing to the other cubes on the table. She had no idea cubes came in so many different sizes.

  “A year or so.”

  “Wow. You’re good.”

  He nodded. “Yeah, I am.”

  Poppy bit her lip to hide her smile. She loved it when kids had no problem with admitting they were good at something.

  “I do my fastest times when I’m waiting for doctors,” he continued. He gazed around the busy department. “Is John here today? He’s nearly as good as me at the cube.”

  “John who?”

  “Doctor John. He’s funny. He always makes me laugh.”

  “If he ever gets sick of emergency medicine, he’d make an amazing Clown Doctor,” Matt’s mother added. “Matt loves him.”

  “I’ve only recently started here so I don’t think I’ve met John yet but I’ll be sure to keep my eye out for him. Sounds like he’s special.”

  *

  Liam left Poppy with Matt and he and his partner, Danni, headed to their next job. He loved being able to see Poppy multiple times during the day. She might be embarrassed that he kissed her in public, but she’d get used to it. There was no way he could keep his distance when he was near her.

  He and Danni pulled up outside a 1950s style block of flats. Their patient’s unit was on the top floor and there was no way up except via the three flights of concrete stairs.

  “Race you to the top, shorty,” he called over his shoulder to Danni as he bolted for the staircase.

  Her heavy breathing behind him urged him faster and he made it to the top well ahead of her.

  “Why do you always need to prove you’re fitter than me?” she asked when she arrived on the landing seconds after him. She bent over while she caught her breath.

  “I’m proving that I might be old but I still have what it takes.” He bumped her with his hip.

  “You’re not faster, it’s just that you’re twice as tall as me and you can take the steps two at a time. It’s hardly fair.”

  A small child girl with wet cheeks opened the door before Liam had a chance to knock. Judging by her size she couldn’t be much older than three or four.

  “I’m Kiara,” she announced, “and I got nits.”

  Liam took an involuntary step back and shuddered. His head itched immediately.

  “Did you call the ambulance, sweetie?” Danni asked, dropping to one knee and getting eye to eye with the little girl.

  Kiara’s head bobbed up and down. “Yep. Mummy said if I called the amboolance you would come fast. I watched you run up the stairs through the window.” She pointed to the window. “You were faster than her,” she said, looking at Liam.

  “Why did Mummy need you to call the ambulance?” Danni asked.

  “Mummy got upset because I got nits again.”

  Liam thought he’d seen it all, but if they’d been called out for a case of head lice he wasn’t sure he could hold his tongue.

  “What’s wrong with your mummy?” Liam asked.

  “She started yelling and crying then she started swearing and told me to call the amboolance. Mummy never swears. She said God doesn’t like it when we say naughty words.”

  “Were you scared?” Danni asked.

  Kiara scrunched up her face and tilted her head to the side. “Of Mummy?” she asked.

  Danni nodded.

  Kiara’s face crinkled further. “No. Why would I be scared of Mummy?”

  “You were very brave to call the ambulance on your own. You should be proud of yourself.”

  “Miss Laura will be proud. She taught me at kinder.”

  “Where’s Mummy now?” Liam asked.

  “In her bedroom. She hurt her legs and she’s still cwying.”

  Danni stood and exchanged a look with Liam. He shrugged. He had no idea what they were about to find inside.

  “Can we come in and check on Mummy?” Danni asked.

  Kiara opened the door wide and stood aside to let them pass. They entered a sparsely furnished room containing nothing except a sagging couch, an old boxy television perched on a milk crate and a pine table and two matching Ikea chairs. The room smelled of a recently cooked meal but the tiny galley-style kitchen was immaculate with nothing out of place on the benches. Two doors opened off the room. Both doors were closed.

  “Hello?” Liam called out. “Paramedics are here.”

  “In here,” a woman’s voice called out faintly from behind the door on the left.

  Danni opened the door slowly and Liam peered over her shoulder. A woman sat on the floor leaning back against a double bed. Her face was pale and mascara had run like snail trails down her cheeks. Her knees were bent in a V position. A bag of frozen peas perched on one knee, a bag of frozen corn on the other.

  Kiara stood at the door and refused to enter the room.

  “Thank goodness you’re here,” the woman said. “I’m Jess.” She held out her arm to her daughter. “It’s okay, sweetie, come here. Mummy won’t yell anymore.”

  “What happened?” Liam said, going straight to her side and crouching down.

  “I was doing Kiara’s hair – she’s got head lice.”

  “So she tells us,” Liam interrupted with a chuckle.

  “Yeah, well I was over it. It’s the third time she’s had it this month. I’m supposed to start work soon and I was about to drop her over to her father’s when I noticed her hair was full of lice again. I lost it. I didn’t want Kiara to see how upset I was so I came in here, closed the door then jumped up and down like a two-year-old having a tantrum in the chocolate aisle.”

  Liam smiled. “What happened?”

  “I forgot to bend my knees.”

  Liam winced.

  “And I heard them both crack.”

  “You think you’ve broken something?”

  “I’m a nurse. I know I’ve broken something.”

  “Let’s help you up then and get you down to the truck,” Danni said.

  Jess glanced at her.

  “I don’t mean to sound sexist, but I’m twice your size. How are you going to get me down the stairs?”

  “She’s not. I am. Ever watched Bondi Rescue?” Liam asked.

  Jess nodded.

  “I’ll give you a green whistle to suck on then I’ll carry you down the stairs.”

  She scowled at him. “I’m not a lightweight.”

  He flexed an arm. “I might look old, but I’m strong.”

  Danni rolled her eyes. “Ignore Liam. He thinks he has something to
prove.”

  Jess laughed. “Most guys do.”

  While Danni poured the methoxyflurane into the tail of the inhaler, Liam recorded Jess’s blood pressure, pulse and temperature. Her heart rate and blood pressure were both up, which was hardly surprising given the amount of pain she was in. Jess handed the green whistle to him. He took the wrist strap and swirled the stick in a circle to dissipate the drug before handing it to Jess.

  “Put this in your mouth and take a few deep breaths in through your mouth and out through your nose,” he instructed.

  When it was obvious Jess’s pain was slightly more under control, he scooped her up. She wrapped her arm around his neck and giggled. “I’ll bet all your patients love it when you do this.”

  Less than ten minutes later they pulled up at the hospital. After wheeling Jess into a cubicle, Liam searched for Poppy but didn’t see her. Danni waved to him from the truck.

  “Come on. Stop looking like a lovesick puppy. We’ve got another call out.”

  He checked his watch and groaned. “Our shift is nearly over.”

  “No choice. We’re closer.”

  His heart sped. “What is it?”

  “Woman in labor. Contractions less than two minutes apart.”

  He beamed. “My favorite call outs. Bets are on. What will it be? Boy or a girl? Home birth or hospital?”

  It was Danni’s turn to groan. “Don’t sound so excited. I’ll bet you fifty that the mother’s hoping for a hospital birth over a home birth. And I’ll bet you another fifty it’s a girl.”

  “You’re on.”

  Chapter 38

  “You two make such a gorgeous couple,” Emma said. “Liam is smitten.”

  Poppy blushed. “I told him he wasn’t allowed to kiss me when I’m at work.”

  Emma laughed. “Good luck telling my brother what to do.”

  “I have noticed he likes to be in control.”

  Emma stopped wiping down the bench and stared at her. “You’re so good for him. After Lily, I wasn’t sure he’d ever find anyone again.” She touched Poppy’s hand. “At the rate you two are going, you might be my sister-in-law one day soon.”

  A sudden wave of dizziness came from nowhere. Poppy grabbed the side of the desk and closed her eyes. Was she going to be sick? When she opened her eyes again, Emma had a concerned look on her face.

  “Are you alright? Sit down. Was it the sister-in-law comment? Or something else I said?”

  The room swam again and Poppy gladly dropped into the chair Emma pushed out to her. “No, it wasn’t that. To be honest, I’m not sure. I’ve been feeling lousy for the past week or so. Just washed out. I think I might be coming down with something.”

  “Have you seen a doctor?”

  “No. I’m sure it’s nothing. Just a virus. I’m probably rundown and need to eat more red meat.”

  Emma cocked her head to the side. “Or you’re pregnant.”

  Poppy’s stomach tightened. “I can’t be.”

  Emma grinned. “Unless you and Liam are sleeping in separate beds – which I doubt – there’s every chance you could be.”

  “But I can’t. I’m on the pill.”

  “There’s always that one percent chance,” Emma said.

  Poppy blinked and wondered if she was going to faint.

  When was the last time she’d had her period? She stared into space, mentally calculating back in her head. She remembered she had it at the funeral, but had she had another one since then? She forced herself to think. The funeral was months ago.

  Poppy leaned onto the desk and dropped her head into her hands. “I can’t be pregnant,” she repeated.

  “Pick up a stick, pee on it and prove it,” Emma said, grabbing her by the hand and dragging her toward the pan room. She came back out with the familiar yellow lidded plastic pathology jar. Thrusting it toward Poppy she nudged her in the direction of the toilets. “Go. I’ll wait here.”

  Poppy snatched the jar from Emma’s hand and bolted to the bathroom. She quickly peed and when she had finished, Emma was waiting for her, gloved hand outstretched.

  “No way are you going to test my wee,” Poppy said, stalking off to the pan room with her little jar. “I’ll do it myself.”

  She grabbed the pregnancy kit, ripped it open and thanked God hospital pregnancy kits didn’t take long to give a result.

  Moments later she felt Emma’s arm across her shoulders and she opened her eyes.

  “Congratulations,” Emma whispered, holding up the pregnancy kit.

  A large plus sign left no room for doubt.

  No wonder she’d been so tired. And so stupid. She was a nurse, how had she not noticed the signs? The slight weight gain, the way her breasts were extra sensitive to Liam’s touch, the tiredness, the nausea, the dizziness? The way she couldn’t stomach her usual morning cup of coffee or how the smell of vegemite made her gag when previously she’d loved it?

  “Liam will be thrilled.”

  Poppy looked at her in horror. “He’s not going to find out.”

  Emma went pale. “You’re not going to—?”

  “You don’t understand. I can’t have a baby.”

  Emma frowned. “Why not? Liam wants kids. Surely you know that. Look how he is around Joel’s kids. He’s always wanted to be a dad.”

  “I can’t deal with this now. I have to go,” Poppy said. She grabbed the pregnancy test kit and her urine sample and threw them in the bin.

  “Please don’t do anything stupid,” Emma said.

  “I just need some time on my own.”

  “Talk to Liam. He deserves to know.”

  Poppy shook her head. “No. I can’t tell him. At least not yet. Maybe later.”

  She yanked the door open and strode out of the pan room leaving Emma standing there with her mouth wide open and tears forming in her eyes.

  Poppy found the unit manager, explained that she was sick and needed to take the rest of the day off. She then grabbed her bag and keys and walked out of the hospital on shaky legs praying she wouldn’t bump into Liam. Or anyone.

  Liam deserved the truth and she should have told him right from the beginning she wasn’t sure she could have kids. Her chest felt tight and she wondered if this is what it felt like to have a heart attack. Or to suffer a broken heart.

  She needed to think. She needed to work out what she was going to do. A baby wasn’t part of her plans. Sure, she and Liam had talked about the future and she knew he wanted to spend it with her, but kids? They hadn’t really discussed that. Like Emma said, of course she knew Liam wanted kids, but he’d never actually asked what she wanted.

  And stupidly she hadn’t told him.

  *

  Liam couldn’t stop grinning. Apart from the fact he’d just won a hundred bucks, he’d also experienced the miracle of childbirth again.

  He and Danni had nearly arrived too late. They’d entered the house and found the stunned father-to-be running around grabbing towels. Minutes later he was cradling his newborn son in his arms.

  Liam was no obstetrician but from what he could tell the mother was fine and the baby looked perfect too but he convinced them to let him take them to hospital for a proper check-up anyway. By the time they loaded them all into the back of the ambulance, the father had more color in his face, the mother was smiling and the baby was suckling perfectly.

  After getting them settled on the maternity ward, Liam went in search of Poppy downstairs. He was bubbling with excitement and couldn’t wait to tell her. The first person he ran into was Emma, and when she blurted out that Poppy wasn’t there and why, Liam didn’t stop to get any more details.

  He tossed Danni the keys to the truck and sprinted back to the station. Climbing into his car he drove home as fast as he dared. His heart was in his throat the whole way.

  Poppy was pregnant! He was going to be a daddy!

  He couldn’t be more excited.

  He sped over the cattle grid and tore up the gravel driveway, screeching to a stop
outside the house. Relief swept over him when he saw her car parked around the side of the house. Thank goodness she was at home.

  He jumped from his car, slamming the door behind him, and flew up the steps to the front door. His hands shook as he put his key into the lock.

  “Poppy?” he called out. “Where are you?”

  He found her in the bedroom, crying, packing an overnight bag. Something tight squeezed around his heart. What was wrong? Had she miscarried or something? Why was she packing?

  He grabbed her and pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her, as much to steady her as himself.

  “It’s okay,” he whispered into her hair. “It will be okay. I’m here.”

  He waited for Poppy to smile, to relax in his arms. Waited for her to say something reassuring like she was just surprised or scared or shocked, but other than her sniffling sobs she remained silent. When she untangled herself from his hug, sank onto the bed as though her legs weren’t strong enough to carry her and refused to look at him, his worry went up a notch.

  He swallowed, desperate to rid his mouth of the sudden dryness. Why was she so upset? He wanted to reach out and place a protective hand on her belly and touch the new life there, but didn’t dare.

  “Poppy, talk to me, please. What’s wrong?”

  When she still didn’t answer, the truth hit him like a truck.

  “Don’t you want to have a baby with me?”

  “This is not about you.” Her throat sounded scratchy, like she’d been crying for days. He’d never seen her like this.

  He rubbed at his jaw. “Um, yeah, it kinda is about me. It takes two to make a baby, and unless …”

  A shooting pain pierced his heart. He inhaled. Adam. Was the baby his?

  Poppy glanced at him. “It’s okay. It’s yours,” she said, through her tears.

  He slumped against the wall. Thank God. His own legs felt like the bones had liquefied. He pushed himself off from the wall and sat beside her on the bed. He kept space between them, not wanting to crowd her. Something was clearly very wrong and he had no idea what it was.