surgery was the quads’ best hope and she would be damned if she would stand by and have Charlie convince the Abbiatis otherwise.
* * *
Juliet returned to the computer at the nurses’ station and caught up with the Abbiatti quads’ and their mother’s observations before heading off in the direction of Georgina’s room. She stood at the T-junction reading the room signs to ensure she had the right wing.
‘So let’s get you around to meet the parents of the infamous four,’ Charlie said, startling Juliet and making her spin around. It was a voice that she would now recognise anywhere. ‘I didn’t want you to get lost on the way to the consult. I want the Abbiatis to hear your plan and make up their own minds. Despite what you may think, I do play fair.’
‘Um...thank you,’ she said with a little frown causing a furrow on her forehead. He wasn’t playing fair in her books. He was on a mission and the way he looked, the way he spoke, his seemingly impeccable manners, none of it was playing fair.
He ushered her in the direction of the patient’s room and she walked alongside him refusing to acknowledge to herself how he was unnerving and confusing her. Since Bea was born, Juliet felt confident in her appraisal of men and their intentions very quickly. No matter how cleverly they spun a story or expertly delivered a well-versed pick-up line. They were all the same and she knew not to trust them.
But Charlie, she had to silently admit, was the most difficult case to sum up that she had stumbled upon to date.
They walked in silence for a few steps, but as they neared the ward Charlie stopped and turned to face Juliet. ‘There’s something I’ve been wanting to say to you.’
Juliet’s eyes widened and quizzically looked everywhere but at Charlie. She really didn’t want to look into his eyes, not in such close proximity. Finally her gaze came back to him. His look was intense and she swallowed nervously.
‘What is it?’ she asked, not sure she wanted to know but equally puzzled. Even now, in his white consulting coat, he looked as dashing and irresistible as he did in his head-to-toe black leather motorcycle gear. His broad shoulders were not hidden underneath the shapeless clothing. A body like his could not be masked by anything. His boots very loudly announced bad boy even if the rest of him was temporarily dressed to indicate tame. There were definitely two sides to Charlie Warren.
‘I’ve had time to reflect on my earlier behaviour and I wanted to apologise for jumping to a conclusion about you,’ he told her.
Damn! Juliet swallowed again. How she wished with every fibre of her being she had refused the secondment and remained in Perth. Safely tucked away from what Charlie Warren could risk making her feel. It was scaring her. She had known him for less than two hours and he was confusing her more than she’d thought possible. All of her reservations and irritation about Charlie seemed to vanish, with the sound of his voice. It was a bedroom voice. Husky and innately masculine but with undertones of compassion....and tenderness.
Why did he have to apologise? Being angry was her best line of defence. Now what would protect her from herself...and whatever she might begin to feel about Dr Charlie Warren?
‘GEORGIE, LEO...’ CHARLIE BEGAN as Juliet entered the room carrying some handwritten notes on a clipboard along with the printed obs. ‘This is Dr Juliet Turner. She is the in-utero surgeon who has travelled from Australia to consult on your pregnancy. She will be providing another option with regards to the condition the boys have developed. I must say upfront that I’m not supportive of this option for reasons I have already explained. However, Dr Turner has flown a long way to explain the procedure and answer your questions so I will hand over to her.’ He paused and turned his attention to a very stunned Juliet. ‘Dr Turner, let me introduce Leo and Georgina Abbiati.’
Juliet couldn’t believe that he had just put doubt in the Abbiatis’ minds before she opened her mouth. Despite his apology and consideration in ensuring she made it to the consult, he was not giving her any other professional courtesies. She stepped forward with her hand outstretched. ‘Very pleased to meet you.’
Juliet knew she was up against his bias. He was stubbornly conservative and not open to accepting proven progressive procedures just as her father had suggested. It was not what she would expect at face value from the motorcycle-riding doctor. The two seemed miles apart. She drew a deep breath hoping Charlie would leave any further opinions until they were alone in his office and show a mutual professional respect and, as he said, hand over to her. She was not about to back away from her belief that the in-utero surgery was the best and most logical option for the patient. In the limited time Charlie had given her, Juliet had read the last few days’ patient notes and it was exactly as she had first thought: an open and shut case in favour of laser surgery. The twin-to-twin transfusion needed to be halted immediately.
‘It’s a long way to come just for our babies,’ Leo said as he tenderly stroked his wife’s arm. ‘And we appreciate it. This is a huge decision for us to make. It’s our babies’ lives we’re talking about.’
‘Of course it is and I was more than happy to travel here so that you and your children have options to ensure for the best possible outcome,’ she replied empathetically. ‘The hospital board and the Assistant Head of Obstetrics believed it necessary for me to come and discuss the next management strategy that can be employed. Can you please tell me what you know about your babies’ condition, so that I don’t repeat anything that either Dr Warren or Mr Darrington have already covered?’
‘We know that the two girls are okay and the two boys are sharing an artery or something so one of our boys is getting lots of blood and the other one not enough. Georgie’s been having a special diet hoping to get all of them big enough in case they came early anyway. She’s twenty-nine weeks tomorrow.’
‘You certainly have an overall picture of what’s happening. Twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome, or TTTS for short, is a condition of the placenta that affects identical twin pregnancies. The placenta itself is shared unequally by the twins so that one of your sons is receiving too little blood to provide the necessary nutrients to grow normally and the other too much and so his heart is being overworked. Your TTTS was diagnosed at stage three, which is already advanced, and unfortunately has progressed to stage four.’ Juliet paused. She knew that she needed to be honest but what she had to say would be hard for the parents-to-be. ‘I am not telling you this to add to your concerns but I need to tell it how it truly is and, while the recipient baby is coping at the moment, if we do not surgically intervene that can change quickly and he can suffer heart failure. If that happened, it would immediately cross to stage five and we cannot save him and you will only have three babies. And even then their survival will be compromised.’
The expressions on Leo’s and Georgie’s faces fell further. ‘What do you think, Charlie?’
‘I agree with Dr Turner that the boys’ condition is serious but I feel the high-protein diet has assisted with the babies’ gaining weight and if we continue on that path we may be able to deliver within the next two weeks if necessary.’
Juliet felt as if she were playing a polite game of medical ping-pong but she had to keep serving. ‘I would like to commend Dr Warren for the exceptional care he has provided to you and your babies up to now, but unfortunately your boys’ condition has worsened. I’m not convinced that without surgical intervention you’ll be able to carry four healthy babies for long enough for a good outcome,’ Juliet countered.
‘But
