was a good man, a guarded, opinionated and stubborn one, with an overly cautious nature, but nevertheless a good man with a sad past. They spent a little while comparing the Australian landscape to the Cotswolds and then Charlie unexpectedly excused himself and made his way over to a very pregnant woman.
Juliet watched as he chatted with her for a moment and the two of them returned to the table.
The tall, ash-blonde woman was wearing a very tired smile and said, still chatting to Charlie, ‘I can’t join you but thank you for asking, Charlie. After they make my sandwich, I’ll be heading home. I just finished up a long surgical repair of anomalous pulmonary veins on a newborn. It went well but I need a good sleep. I’m exhausted.’
‘I’m not surprised. You’re pregnant and insist on keeping up a fairly heavy surgical roster. You’ll have to slow down soon,’ he told her. ‘But while you’re waiting for your food, let me introduce you to Dr Juliet Turner and her daughter, Bea. Juliet’s the in-utero specialist brought here from Australia to assist with the quadruplets.’
Sienna approached with her hand extended. ‘Welcome aboard, Juliet. I hope you enjoy your time here.’
‘Thank you,’ Juliet said as she met Sienna’s handshake, immediately liking the other woman.
‘Sienna is Teddy’s neonatal cardiothoracic surgeon,’ Charlie explained. ‘And one of the very best so we’re fortunate to have her.’
‘Said by Teddy’s best OBGYN,’ Charlie’s very tired, very pregnant colleague told Juliet. ‘But I should go... It’s nice to meet you, Juliet. Perhaps we could meet up for coffee soon.’
‘I’d like that, thanks, Sienna.’
‘Mummy, ith that a printh?’ Bea interrupted.
Juliet turned her attention to her daughter. ‘Is what a prince, sweetie?’
‘The man up there,’ Bea said, pointing at the large television screen in the corner of the tea room. ‘Ith he a printh?’
Juliet watched the news coverage and read the footnotes on the screen. ‘Yes, he is a prince. It’s Crown Prince Sebastian Falco of Montanari.’
‘Does he have a printheth?’
‘Not yet, sweetie, but he is engaged to be married and they’re making quite the fuss of him. I suppose if you’re a prince they will make a fuss of everything you do.’
‘Will I ever be a printheth?’
‘You’re already my princess,’ Juliet said as she kissed her cheek.
Sienna suddenly grabbed the seat that Charlie had offered. Juliet noticed she had also suddenly drained of colour.
‘Is everything all right?’ Juliet asked. ‘Would you like some water? You look terribly pale.’
Charlie rushed to the cooler and, taking a bottle of water, undid the cap and passed it to Sienna. ‘Get this into you.’
Juliet didn’t understand what had happened as she watched the woman stare at the screen as if she had seen a ghost. She said nothing as she sipped her drink and then looked away from the screen and into the distance.
Charlie’s pager abruptly beeped. ‘I’ve been summoned. Looks like there’s another baby about to enter the world. Will you be all right, Sienna? Should I get Oliver to take a look at you?’
Sienna shook her head. ‘No, I’ll be fine. I’ve suddenly lost my appetite. I really need to go home.’
Juliet walked Sienna to her car, and made sure the other woman was safely on her way. She thought that Charlie was right, that Sienna needed to look at slowing down as her pregnancy progressed. It was obviously taking its toll on her.
* * *
The next day, Juliet managed to meet with the anaesthetist to discuss the change of plans. He agreed that the dual purpose epidural would be the better option and that information would be passed on to the rest of the team. She then headed to Georgina’s room to let her know the change to the preferred anaesthetic and explain the benefits of Charlie’s suggestion of an epidural. The results of the daily scans were emailed through to both Juliet and Charlie and thankfully there had been no change to the TTTS status and Juliet wanted to pass this information on as well.
She checked in at the nurses’ station and was told that Leo had headed home to let the family know the latest update and have a good night’s sleep at Georgina’s insistence. He had spent a few nights at the hospital since his return from New York and she knew he would fuss over her if he stayed that night and not get any rest himself. Juliet knocked on the door and asked if Georgina would like company.
‘If you have time that would be lovely,’ the mother-to-be answered as she invited her to sit for a while. ‘I’ve been here less than a week and I’m going a little stir crazy. I can’t imagine how women confined to bed for months cope.’
‘You do what you have to do, and, believe me, if you were told bed rest for nine months to have healthy babies, you would do it. It’s just a mother’s natural instinct.’
‘I suppose I would,’ Georgina agreed. ‘But I would still be a little loopy by the end.’
Both women laughed before turning the subject to something a little more serious. Juliet wanted to know about the supports in place for when the babies finally went home. While it wasn’t her role, she was interested to know how much assistance would be available as she reinforced the fact that four babies would be an enormous workload for the next few years.
‘The babies’ grandparents live very close to us, and I have a housekeeper, so I won’t be struggling in terms of running the house,’ Georgina answered. ‘I’m very fortunate, and I know that Leo will be very hands-on too.’
‘Leo’s also running the family business, so he may not always be able to help, so please don’t try to be brave if you feel overwhelmed at times. Let those around you know if you are struggling,’ Juliet told her. ‘Get extra help and take some time for yourself, even if it’s just a ten-minute soak in a bubble bath. It will help you to re-energise, regroup and get right back to being a mother.’
‘That sounds like you’ve been through it.’
‘I have, believe me, but not with four babies. I only had one, she’s four years old now, but it was a full-time job for me for the first few months.’
‘Didn’t your husband help at all?’
Juliet paused before she answered, thinking back for a moment to when Bea was a baby and then to even before that, to how scared she was as the delivery date drew closer. The fear that engulfed her some days knowing that she would be bringing up Bea alone. And how some nights she lay awake worried that she would not be enough for her daughter. That she wouldn’t cope. But she did.
‘I wasn’t married. I’m a single mother.’
‘And a surgeon,’ Georgina responded. ‘That’s amazing. You’re bringing up your daughter alone and holding down a career.’
‘It’s not been that difficult. Bea’s almost at school now.’
‘But
