The Midwife's Longed-For Baby

She mumbled something, and Ben nodded and straightened up, squeezing her hand as he left her side.

‘Don’t worry, I’ll look after him.’

He turned to the nurse who was printing up Liv’s labels for the notes. ‘Page me if you need us,’ he said, and hooking his arm around Nick’s shoulders, the bluff Yorkshireman gently but firmly led him away.

CHAPTER THREE (#uc0e24db0-ac17-5c9f-bec0-f3fe1e31bb79)

BEN STEERED HIM through the department and out of the doors on the park side of the building.

The cold March air hit him, and he hauled in a breath and gagged.

‘I feel sick,’ he said, and doubled over, retching emptily.

He felt Ben’s hand on his back. ‘Come on. We’ll find a bench where you can sit down and I’ll go and get us a drink.’

He nodded and straightened up, following Ben obediently across the grass on legs that weren’t quite steady. ‘I thought she was dead, Ben. She was about to step out in front of this massive SUV, right in front of my eyes, and I tried to hold her but she pulled away and fell backwards and it smacked into her and then she was lying there, so still, her feet just inches from the wheels—’

‘Nick, she’s alive and conscious and talking, and Sam will be doing everything he can to make sure she stays that way. Now sit down before you fall down.’

They’d reached a bench, and he didn’t need telling twice. He dropped onto it and propped his elbows on his knees, trying to slow his breathing and regain control of his emotions. After a few seconds he straightened up and glanced across at Ben, who was sitting beside him watching him thoughtfully.

‘Better?’

He nodded. ‘Yeah. Sorry.’

The hand on his shoulder was warm and firm and comforting. ‘Don’t be. You’re in shock, and I’d be just the same if it was Daisy or one of the kids. How do you take your tea?’

‘Coffee, for a start, black, no sugar—and if you put a ton of sugar in it, I’ll pour it on the grass, so don’t even try.’

Ben grunted and got to his feet without bothering to comment. ‘Have you eaten today?’

‘Not since seven. I didn’t manage to get lunch.’

Too busy trashing what was left of his relationship with Liv...

‘Right. I’ll get you something to eat, as well. Stay here.’

He didn’t think he had a choice. He was seriously unsure his legs would hold him if he tried to get up, and he swallowed on another wave of nausea.

Shock, he realised numbly. He was in shock, as Ben had said, but Liv was alive, Sam was looking after her and if he was as good a doctor as he was a sailor, she was in safe hands.

All he could do was wait.

* * *

So this is what it’s like in a scanner, she thought, but she felt curiously detached, as if it wasn’t really happening to her.

It didn’t take long, and then she was wheeled back to the ED, lying on her back staring at the ceiling as it whizzed past and feeling disorientated. She knew the route well, but she’d never seen it from this angle. Weird.

They went through several sets of doors, and came to rest at last in Resus. She was glad they’d stopped. Her head was spinning and even the slight jiggle of the trolley along the smooth corridors had made it hurt more.

‘OK?’ Sam asked, smiling down at her, and she tried to smile back but it felt like a pretty poor effort and she just wanted Nick.

‘I think so. My head aches a bit.’

‘It will. You’ve had quite a bump, Liv, but nothing’s broken and there’s no evidence of a brain injury. You might be pretty sore for a while, though, but your spine’s OK and so’s your pelvis, so we can get rid of all this stuff and someone’ll come and clean you up a bit and then I’ll get you moved out of Resus.’

‘What happened to my clothes? I don’t remember anyone taking them off.’

‘We cut them off you,’ he said, frowning slightly. ‘When you were brought in.’

‘Oh.’ She thought hard, but came up with nothing. ‘I didn’t register that. I suppose you had to. Where’s Nick?’

‘I don’t know, but when I find him he’s going to ask me questions and I gather from Ben that you’re not together any more, so do I have your permission to talk to him about your results, or would you rather I didn’t?’

Her results? ‘Yes—yes, of course. If you don’t tell him he’ll only ask me anyway so you might as well.’

Sam chuckled. ‘That sounds like him. OK, I’ll go and find him while we get you sorted. He won’t be far away.’

* * *

He was in the relatives’ room where Ben had left him when Sam came in. He tried to get up, but Sam put a hand on his shoulder and pushed him gently back down. It wasn’t hard. His legs felt like jelly and he thought he was going to be sick again.

He opened his mouth to ask how she was, but he didn’t need to, Sam got there before him.

‘She’s OK, Nick. She’s doing all right.’

He let his breath out in a rush and crushed the sudden urge to cry. ‘No brain injury?’

Sam sat down beside him and shook his head.

‘No. Not as far as we can see but we’ll watch that. Her CT was clear, her X-rays didn’t reveal any fractures, but she’s got a small cut on her scalp which I’m going to glue, and she’s going to have some colourful bruises. There’s the odd superficial graze from contact with the ground, of course, and she’s going to be sore, but all in all she’s got away with it pretty lightly. Assuming there’s no silent head injury waiting to show itself, she should be fine in a day or so but she might be a bit concussed. She’s got a headache, so I want to keep an eye on that, but it’s probably a bit of whiplash.’

He nodded, swallowing. ‘Can I see her now?’

‘In a minute. I’ll get someone to take you to her as soon as she’s ready. I’m going to keep her on fifteen-minute obs for a while, and I’m probably going to admit her overnight, just in case. She didn’t seem to remember we’d cut her clothes off, but that might just be shock. She was still in the neck brace so she might not even have realised what we were doing, but I don’t want to make assumptions and miss anything.’

Nick tried to smile. ‘Don’t worry, I won’t let you. I’ll be right there by her side and I’ll be watching her like a hawk.’

‘Good. I’ll let you know when she’s ready. Oh, and the police want to talk to you about the accident. I’ll get them to come and see you now. Don’t move.’

* * *

It seemed to take an age before the police were finished with him, but finally he was able to go and see Liv. She was in a bed in the small observation ward, her lashes dark against her pale cheeks, and she looked so frail and vulnerable that his heart wrenched. It could so easily have been so much worse. It might yet be...

The chair creaked as he sat down, and her lids fluttered open and her head turned towards him.

‘Nick?’