room and sat down at her desk. It felt good to be back. She turned her head and glanced around the room. In the corner was a basket stuffed with toys that she’d selected herself and the walls were covered in posters that she’d chosen from the wide selection available to her. Everything was just as she’d left it. The heaviness that had settled inside her lifted and she switched on her computer and pressed the buzzer.
Sandra tapped on the door a few seconds later, her husband by her side. ‘I’m pregnant, Nurse Duncan.’ She was bursting to tell the news, her smile dominating her pretty face. ‘I missed a period and I did the test yesterday and it was positive.’
Full marks to Kyla for observation, then. ‘That’s great, Sandra. Congratulations.’
‘I couldn’t sleep at all last night, just thinking about it. I want to have it here, on the Island, and I want you to deliver it,’ Sandra blurted out, and Evanna gave a careful smile.
‘Why would you want to have him, or her, at home?’
‘Because I was born on Glenmore and I want the same for my children.’
‘You were the third child,’ Evanna said evenly, opening her drawer and pulling out the appropriate forms. ‘First babies are better born in hospital, Sandra. I can quite understand your wish for the delivery to be as natural as possible, but we can achieve that in hospital.’
‘But I’m young and healthy. Is it because it makes more work for you?’
‘It isn’t the work for me that’s a problem. I love the home deliveries. But having a baby at home does come with risks,’ Evanna said, her voice level. ‘No obstetrician would ever advise a woman to have her first baby at home. And the other problem is that Glenmore is quite remote. No matter how carefully we monitor you, things can change very quickly in childbirth. Emergencies do happen and when they do, you want to be within easy reach of a specialist unit.’
‘But there’s the helicopter.’
The memories came rushing back. The evil weather. Catherine critically ill. ‘If the weather is bad, it can’t fly,’ Evanna reminded her gruffly, and Sandra was silent for a moment.
‘I’m sorry. I didn’t think. You’re thinking about what happened to Dr MacNeil’s wife, aren’t you? When Catherine became ill they wanted to fly her to the mainland but the helicopter couldn’t get here. She died because of it.’
And Logan, griefstricken and racked by guilt, had made a heroic effort to save the baby.
His daughter. Little Kirsty, now a bouncy, healthy one-year-old.
Evanna felt sadness swamp her but kept her expression neutral. This wasn’t the time to think about Logan. ‘Catherine MacNeil was an extremely unusual case. It’s unlikely that the outcome would have been different, even if she’d been in a consultant unit on the mainland.’
‘But we all know that’s why Dr MacNeil won’t consider home births.’ Sandra sighed and glanced at her husband. ‘I hadn’t really thought about it properly. Perhaps it would be more sensible to have it in hospital. What do you think?’
Her husband nodded, visibly relieved by her change of heart. ‘Definitely. You know that was always my preference.’
‘The community unit is lovely. I just spent a week there as part of my refresher course,’ Evanna told them. ‘I did three weeks on the labour ward in the hospital and a week at the unit. They’ve done up their delivery rooms to look like bedrooms so it’s home away from home, really. I think you’ll like it.’
‘But I can have most of my care with you and Dr MacNeil?’
Evanna nodded. ‘Absolutely.’
‘Will I need to go to the hospital at all?’
‘You’ll need to go to there for an ultrasound scan between ten and thirteen weeks,’ Evanna told her, reaching for a leaflet, ‘and then again between eighteen and twenty weeks for another scan. Apart from that, providing there are no problems, we can do everything else here. Today I’ll take some blood from you so that we can check your blood group and screen you for some conditions.’
She ran through all the tests that could be done and Sandra looked at her husband.
‘We want all of it, don’t we? I’m not taking any chances. You know how long we’ve waited for this to happen.’
‘Can you step on the scales for me, Sandra?’ Evanna stood up and reached for some blood bottles. ‘I’ll just weigh you and check your blood pressure and then I’ll take the blood. You can make an appointment with Dr MacNeil to discuss the results and he can listen to your heart and lungs and that sort of thing.’
‘I don’t even dare look at how much I weigh. Mind you, I’ve been feeling so sick that I’ve stopped eating so that might help.’ Sandra closed her eyes tightly and pulled a face. ‘Is it awful?’
‘No.’ Evanna scribbled the number on a pad ready to input into the computer. ‘Have you actually been sick?’
‘Oh, yes.’ Sandra stepped off the scales and slipped her shoes back on. ‘The moment I wake up I just need to dash to the bathroom. It’s awful.’
‘Try eating a dry biscuit before you move in the morning.’ Evanna checked her blood pressure and recorded the result. ‘That’s fine. Now, I’ll just take that blood sample and you can do me a urine sample and then we’ll leave you in peace for a while! Let me give you a pack of information that you can flick through when you have a moment.’
‘Is it still all right for me to use the gym?’
‘Absolutely.’ Evanna took a pack out of her desk and handed it to Sandra. ‘It’s important to stay fit and active. You’re not ill, you’re pregnant.’
Sandra smiled. ‘I know. And it feels fantastic. I don’t even care about the sickness, I’m so excited.’
‘It’s normal to feel sick in the first few months of pregnancy but we’ll keep an eye on the sickness. Let me know if it gets worse. Make an appointment to see Dr MacNeil and another to see me next week. That way, if you have any questions from what you’ve read, we’ll have plenty of time to go over it. I’ll send the forms through to the hospital and they’ll contact you about the scan. They always try and give islanders a late morning or early afternoon appointment so you have time to get the first ferry out and the last ferry home.’
‘Thanks, Nurse Duncan.’ Sandra virtually floated out of the room and Evanna watched her go with a wistful smile.
What would it be like, she wondered, to know that you had a new life growing inside you?
Giving herself a mental shake, she stood up and walked into Logan’s room. ‘I’ve just seen Sandra. She’s pregnant and she’ll be making an appointment to see you for a check-up.’
Logan had his eyes fixed to the computer screen. ‘Tell me you talked her out of having a home birth.’
‘I talked her out of it. How did you know she was even thinking about it?’
‘I heard a rumour in the pub.’ His long fingers tapped several keys and the printer whirred. ‘Why
