you so much for how you have raised Amber and been there for her every step of the way. Honestly, Jade, after what you’ve done for our family you can pretty much do anything you want and get away with it.’
‘You can stop right there. It’s been hard at times but she is a joy and so precious and I couldn’t imagine a day without her,’ Jade told him. ‘But no matter how grateful your family might be, I wouldn’t overstep the mark and skinny-dip in their pool … ever. Stripping down to a bikini is a stretch for me, let alone running around the pool naked.’
Mitchell smiled but wasn’t sure why she wouldn’t wear a bikini around Amber. It was Australia and the twenty-first century so there was no reason that she couldn’t, and from what he had seen there was absolutely no reason for her not to wear one. Maybe she was telling the truth. Maybe she had been wearing a swimsuit and his eyes had misled him.
‘What colour is your bikini?’
‘It’s kind of skin-coloured Lycra. You could call it nude. Maybe you should check your distance vision.’
‘Damn, maybe I should,’ Mitchell said, laughing. ‘If only I’d known that you were wearing a swimsuit, I would’ve stopped and focused. But, Jade, I must say from my brief glance you looked stunning.’
Jade felt her cheeks redden with the compliment. She knew Mitchell really had looked away quickly. He was a gentleman. If he had stopped to look at her he would have quickly seen she’d been wearing a bikini so decency really had made him look the other way in a hurry.
Although now she felt quite self-conscious that he had seen her in the skimpy swimsuit and she felt the need to explain why she had been wearing something so at odds with her normal dress code.
‘I haven’t worn it in years. I don’t think it’s the right image any more, particularly around a little girl. I think Amber would prefer to see me in something a bit more respectable.’
Mitchell did not break eye contact as he looked at his dinner companion and the woman who was slowly claiming more than his attention. She was getting closer each day to claiming his heart. ‘I would have to disagree with you on that one, Jade. I’m sure Amber would think her aunty looked gorgeous in a bikini. I know I did.’
THE CALL CAME through from the Royal Flying Doctor Service just as Jade was scrubbing in the next afternoon. It was her last shift for the week, then she would have four days off with Amber to visit the zoo and have a birthday picnic.
‘I can leave immediately,’ Mitchell said as he saw the paediatric consultant scrubbing in. He knew NICU would be well covered. ‘Do you have the gestational age?’
‘Around thirty-four weeks.’
‘Thirty-four weeks, so not critical, but there are two babies to consider. If you have your flight nurse ready I’ll bring a neonatal nurse with midwifery experience.’ Mitchell knew exactly whom he would take on the trip. He had spied her scrubbing in for her shift.
‘We can transport the three of you.’
‘Good, as I said, thirty-four weeks is not critical but twins can mean smaller babies so if there are complications I would prefer to have additional hands on board. Please let the pilot know I will arrange ambulance transportation to the airport straight away. ETA fifteen minutes.’
Mitchell hung up the phone and, looking around the NICU, quickly found Jade. With long, purposeful strides he crossed to her just as she was about to take Costa’s obs.
‘I need you to come with me. It’s urgent.’ He signalled Alli to come and take over Costa’s care from Jade.
Jade didn’t doubt for a second by the tone of Mitchell’s voice and the look on his face that it was something serious. His brow was knitted and his jaw rigid as he spoke.
‘I need you to walk as we talk,’ he said, leading her from NICU. ‘I want you to travel with me to the Outback, to near a small town in the central Flinders Ranges. It’s called Blinman and it’s about an hour’s flight from here. We have premature labour with twins and the town has no medical facilities. The woman was on a camping retreat with her husband and friends when her waters broke.’
‘Why me?’
‘Because you have both neonatal and midwifery skills and you have just scrubbed in, so you are fresh,’ he replied matter-of-factly. ‘Alli and Laura have some midwifery behind them but they are about an hour from finishing long shifts. They’re tired and you’re better placed to help.’
They had reached the doors of the hospital and the ambulance bay at a ridiculously fast pace.
‘But what about Amber?’
‘She won’t even know you’ve gone with me. It will be just over an hour’s flight time and by the sound of it the babies are close to being born so we will be back by dinner at the latest and I’ll let you knock off and go home the moment we get back. You’re not due to finish until late so you’ll be home earlier than usual.’
‘Isn’t there a flight nurse and doctor on board already?’
‘No, just a flight nurse. She will meet us at the airport. This is still deemed a high-risk delivery and there is enough room in the emergency retrieval aircraft for a three-person medical team, the mother and two portable cribs According to the RFDS, the mother is not fully dilated but well on the way so I’m thinking maybe four hours all up. Your shift has only just begun so we should return in plenty of time for you to get home to kiss Amber goodnight. I’ll text home and let them know we’re both in the air and we’ll be back in a few hours.’
‘Why would an expectant mother head to the bush? What was out in the middle of nowhere?’ Jade asked as she and Mitchell climbed into the ambulance.
‘Sounds like eastern suburbs hippies, doing yoga and meditation for a week,’ he returned with a roll of his eyes. ‘Eastern suburbs means nothing to you, I know, but basically they are well educated, financially secure people who head to the bush to centre themselves once or twice a year. I have nothing against it but travelling over rough terrain probably wasn’t the best idea. It may or may not have brought about the early labour but it’s happened and she’s in trouble. Last antenatal check, twin two was still breech.’
‘She’s definitely going to need our help, then,’ Jade replied.
They arrived at the plane fifteen minutes later. The pilot warned them of bad weather rolling in from a tropical storm in the northeast, bringing a high chance of turbulence. He had exchanged intermittent radio contact with the patient’s partner, Jeremy, on the ground as his mobile service coverage wasn’t great and the storm-clouds were interfering. He would be making his way to the nearest makeshift airstrip. The flight nurse had ascertained that the woman was coping with the pain, she was as comfortable as could be expected in a tent and had another female companion with her. Then radio contact had been lost.
‘Emma Kingston,’ the flight nurse introduced herself as she boarded and buckled up.
‘Mitchell Forrester, neonatologist, Eastern Memorial.’
‘Jade Grant, neonatal nurse.’
‘And
