per cent chance they might lose him...‘How are you feeling?’
‘Rotten,’ she admitted. ‘I thought when you had a baby it was like being a bride—you’re meant to be all sparkling and happy and radiant. But...’ She shook her head. ‘All this. It just doesn’t seem real.’
‘Hey. Don’t be too tough on yourself. Having a baby’s hard work. What they don’t tell you is that afterwards you just feel shattered and want a good sleep. Plus your hormones are settling down and your milk’s coming in, so you’ll feel all over the place for a couple of days. Trust me. This time next week, you’ll wonder what all the fuss was about.’
‘Really?’
‘Really.’ Though it hadn’t quite worked like that for Malandra. He suppressed the thought rapidly. Hopefully Ricky wouldn’t have to go through what Ryan had five years ago.
Leona gave him a watery smile. ‘Maybe.’
‘Hey. Come and give your son a cuddle—that’ll help you feel better.’ He wheeled Leona next to the incubator. ‘Put your hand through the porthole here and let him hold your finger.’
‘He’s holding on,’ Leona said, sounding amazed.
‘We’re keeping a close eye on him, and all these machines are just helping us check his temperature, how much oxygen is in his blood, how fast his heart’s beating and how fast he’s breathing. I’ll introduce you to the nurse who’ll be looking after him on this shift,’ Eliot said, ‘and she’ll be able to tell you where the phone is, where the vending machine is and that sort of thing.’
‘Intensive care. It sounds so...’ Leona’s face crumpled; she covered her face with her hands and started to sob.
‘It sounds scary, I know, but he’s in the best possible hands,’ Eliot soothed. ‘Try not to worry. Really. We know how precious he is to you, and we’ll take the best possible care of him.’
Leona sobbed harder, and Eliot patted her shoulder, wishing he could comfort her and knowing that if he didn’t leave soon, he’d be late and...
Hell. He was damned if he did, damned if he didn’t. This was definitely one of those days when he wished he’d suppressed his love of medicine and found himself a nice steady administrative job somewhere, where his hours would be regular and he could take work home to make up for not staying late at the office.
* * *
If only Tilly hadn’t said it. Easy on the eye...Maybe a toyboy would do you good...
No. Claire was going to stick to her plan: no relationships until she made consultant. And then whoever she married would have to accept that her career came first and children wouldn’t even be an issue.
And yet...Damn. She kept seeing Eliot Slater in her mind’s eye. The kindness on his face as he explained procedures to a distraught parent. The gentleness in his eyes as he treated a tiny baby. Worse, her mind supplied other images. His pupils widening as he looked at her. Those beautiful green eyes darkening with passion. His mouth parting as it lowered to—
No. This wasn’t fair. Why couldn’t she have had a female locum? Or a man who was silver-haired, the favourite-uncle type? But, no, she got a man two years younger than she was, with film-star good looks. Dark curly hair that he kept cut short and tamed for work, fair skin, beautiful green eyes and a mouth that promised a mixture of passion and vulnerability.
But, as she’d said to Tilly, Eliot Slater was probably already involved. She couldn’t remember what it had said on his file, but even if he wasn’t spoken for, she had a feeling that Eliot had his own ghosts to deal with. According to his résumé, he was thirty. By now, she’d have expected him to be a registrar. But he was still a senior house officer, and he worked as a locum. A locum who only did day shifts. Maybe he was looking after an elderly parent and had to fit in work around day care?
But that was none of her business. She wasn’t going to get involved. All she had to worry about was whether Eliot Slater did his job properly. And so far he was doing just fine. He’d picked up a case of potential sepsis—and as they’d caught it early enough, little Ricky Peters stood a good chance.
* * *
Eventually Leona stopped crying, and Eliot mopped up her tears and called her husband to explain the news. He was just about to leave the ward when he heard Claire’s voice. ‘Can I have a quick word, Dr Slater?’
As long as it was quick. ‘Sure,’ he said, willing himself not to look at his watch.
‘I just wanted to say thanks. You did a good job with Ricky Peters,’ Claire said.
Praise indeed from Claire Thurman...but her face said the rest of it for her.
Eliot couldn’t stop himself. ‘For a locum, you mean.’
She frowned. ‘I’m not with you.’
‘I overheard you talking to Tilly earlier.’
‘Oh.’ Her face was impassive. ‘Well, you do leave dead on the dot. And you don’t do nights.’
He nearly said, ‘Locum’s privilege,’ but stopped himself just in time. He needed Claire on his side, not against him. ‘I’m committed to my job, Dr Thurman. While I’m on duty, I’ll give a hundred per cent. But I can’t work longer hours, for personal reasons.’
Claire waited, as if giving him time to explain, but Eliot had no intention of doing that. He didn’t want pity from anyone. And he particularly didn’t want pity from Claire.
Though he wouldn’t allow himself to speculate about what exactly he did want from her. It was way too dangerous.
‘See you tomorrow,’ he said, and walked out of the door.
CHAPTER TWO
OH, GREAT. He would have to get stuck in a traffic jam. Eliot rang home and the answering-machine kicked in. He stifled the panic that lurched in his stomach. Of course Fran hadn’t left Ryan on his own. She wasn’t Malandra. She’d wait until he got home. Probably she hadn’t heard the phone, or she was busy cooking Ryan’s tea or something.
The message ended with a long beep, and Eliot gabbled his message. ‘It’s me—I’m on my way but I’m stuck in traffic. I’ll be back as soon as I can.’
By the time he finally walked through the front door, he could feel his blood pressure simmering. He took a deep breath and reminded himself to stay calm, for Ryan’s sake.
Ryan was in front of the TV, half watching a cartoon and half concentrating on a complex model of a robot that he’d made from K’nex, snapping the rods and links together as if he instinctively knew the right pattern. Eliot always marvelled at how his son could produce an intricate three-dimensional jet or helicopter with a moving rotor in such a short space of time.
‘Hi, son.’
Ryan didn’t look up, he just muttered, ‘Hi, Dad,’ the way he usually did. Eliot suppressed the yearning to have his son run to him and hug him and look into his eyes and laugh. Hello, Dad. I missed you. I love you. Followed by lots of chattering
