dialed the hospital number as she scooped up her car keys. Before she got an answer, her phone buzzed.
Adem.
She hung up on the hospital and answered his call. “Hey, I’m sorry to disturb you, but I have a patient coming into the Queen Victoria with some troubling symptoms.”
“Like what?”
He didn’t ask why she was calling him—a neurosurgeon for a pregnancy issue. For that she was grateful.
“She has a terrible headache, and she’s really scared. And Naomi isn’t one to panic without a good reason. Any chance you can ask someone to meet us there? I’m on my way in.”
“I’m five minutes out. Headed back now. See you soon.”
The line went dead. And if Naomi’s problem turned out to be a simple migraine?
She grimaced. Simple migraine. That was an oxymoron if she ever heard one. It could be that a change in blood pressure had set one in motion. Except that many migraine sufferers experienced a lessening of symptoms during pregnancy due to the change in estrogen levels.
Well, she could hope that’s all it was. And since Adem had volunteered to come without her specifically asking him to, it wasn’t like he was changing plans just for her.
She hoped, anyway.
But he could have passed her off to a colleague, if that were the case.
It took her a little longer to make it to the hospital, since she had to come across town. By the time she arrived, Adem was in the A&E waiting area. He was in jeans and a white button-down shirt, the mixture between ultracasual and business attire a stunning combination that made her mouth go dry. She did her best to shake off her familiar reaction to him.
“Sorry to ask you to come.”
“You didn’t.”
She frowned. “Sorry?”
“You didn’t ask me to come, so don’t apologize. It was my choice.”
He was right. It was. But she still felt guilty. “I appreciate it.”
“Were you on your way out?”
“Out?”
“You’re dressed up.”
She glanced down. Ah, she normally had a lab coat on over her blouse when she was working, and at the clinic she dressed a lot more casually, so maybe she did look different. “No. I tend to wear a skirt when I come in here, since the atmosphere is different from the clinic.”
“I should have figured.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Before he had a chance to respond, Carly spotted her patient walking up the path, one arm wrapped protectively around her belly, while her husband gripped her other hand, their daughter, Tessa, perched on his hip.
God. Naomi would be devastated if something happened to this baby. “That’s her.”
Grabbing a wheelchair, she rushed out the doors, not waiting for Adem. She had Naomi sitting in a flash.
“What’s happening to her?”
Her husband Douglas’s eyes were full of concern. Although they were from a deprived area of the city, they did their best to provide for their daughter and unborn baby. “I’m not sure, but—”
Adem went down on his haunches, a penlight in his hands. “I’m Mr. Kepler. I hear you have quite the headache.”
“Yes. It’s horrible. I called Douglas home from work. I never, ever do that.”
Adem glanced up at the other man. “I’m glad you came. We’ll get you inside in a minute. Can you follow the light?” He flicked on his penlight and took her through a set of commands right there outside of the hospital.
“Your pupils look good,” he said. “Let’s put you in an exam room. Douglas, you and...”
“Tessa.”
Adem smiled. “You and Tessa can come in with her, if you’d like.”
“Yes, please.”
“Carly, can you get them in and registered? I’m going to check on something. I’ll be right back.”
Without another word, he walked back into the hospital. Had he found something troubling, despite his comment about her pupils?
Douglas wanted to wheel his wife inside, so Carly took Tessa in her arms, talking to the child as they made their way to the admissions desk. She went up to the window and explained the situation.
“Go on to exam room three. It’s a slow night. We’ll come in and get her information in a minute. I’ll let Mr. Kepler know where to find you.”
So Adem had stopped at the desk? There was no sign of him right now. Maybe he really was canceling plans. He was dressed to go out to a restaurant. Her heart plummeted.
Well, so what? Hadn’t he asked her why she was so dressed up?
None of your business, Carly.
Maybe not, but she was suddenly glad he thought that some man might want to take her out for a night on the town. She could have shown the neurosurgeon a thing or two, if it had been him. Especially after his reaction to her blue dress.
Really? Because you haven’t shown a man a thing or two in, like...well...ever. Even her relationship with Kyle had been...sedate. Even as they tried for a baby.
Maybe Frieda was right. Maybe she really didn’t know how to have fun.
Why the hell did she keep thinking about that?
She found the exam room and took Naomi and her husband inside. “Do you think you can get on the exam table? I want to listen to the baby’s heart.” Thankfully she’d remembered to wind her stethoscope and shove it into the pocket of her skirt before coming over.
Handing the baby back to her father and feeling a little twinge of emotion as he enfolded the child in his arms, she took out her stethoscope. “I’m just going to ease your slacks down.”
Naomi was wearing the very type of stretchy wear that Carly had changed out of, so rolling down the waistband was a simple affair. A quick kick from the baby, visible through the skin of the woman’s belly, assured her that it was alive. She breathed a word of thanks, warming the scope against her chest before placing it against Naomi’s abdomen. She listened, moving the instrument to a couple of different spots before finding what she was looking for.
There. The baby’s heart was strong. She counted the beats. Perfect. Not too fast. Not too slow. “I hear your baby.” She stood and looked down at her patient. “Other than your headache, does anything else seem out of the ordinary? Any bleeding? Signs that your water has broken?”
“No. I was doing the
