Their Baby Surprise

‘I’ve not felt at all well lately, Dr Mackenzie,’ Miss Parish replied in her forthright way. ‘I had a nasty cold a couple of weeks ago and it’s left me feeling very wheezy and breathless.’

‘I see. Have you had a cough as well?’ Rachel asked, picking up her stethoscope.

‘Yes, and I’ve been bringing up phlegm too.’

Miss Parish’s mouth pursed with distaste and Rachel nodded sympathetically.

‘Horrible for you, I’m sure. Now, I’d just like to listen to your chest, if you wouldn’t mind.’ She waited while Miss Parish unbuttoned her coat then listened to her chest. ‘And I’ll take your temperature too,’ she told her once she had finished doing that.

Miss Parish sat perfectly still while Rachel checked her temperature. The reading was higher than it should have been and Rachel nodded because it confirmed her suspicions. Sitting down at her desk again, she smiled at the old lady.

‘It looks as though you have bronchitis, Miss Parish. The symptoms you described certainly point towards it—wheezing, shortness of breath, a persistent cough that produces considerable quantities of phlegm. Your temperature is higher than it should be, too, which is another indication.’

‘Bronchitis? Well, I never!’ Miss Parish looked shocked.

‘It’s an acute form and we can treat it quite easily with a course of antibiotics,’ Rachel said soothingly. She wrote out a script and handed it over along with detailed instructions aimed at making the old lady more comfortable in the interim.

Miss Parish listened attentively to what she said then nodded. ‘I shall follow your advice, Dr Mackenzie. Thank you. I must say that I was very sorry to hear what had happened to your son. It can’t be easy for him, having his wedding cancelled like that.’

‘I’m sure Ross will deal with it,’ Rachel replied evenly, hoping to avoid any further well-meaning comments.

‘Oh, I’m sure he will. Once he gets over the shock, I expect he’ll realise that it’s better it happened now rather than later.’ Miss Parish stood up. ‘So many young couples end up getting divorced these days and that must be just as distressing for them, I imagine.’

Rachel frowned as the old lady bade her goodbye and left. Would the marriage have ended in divorce if it had gone ahead? she wondered. A couple of days ago she would have pooh-poohed the idea but she was no longer so sure. Heather obviously had had her doubts and that was why she had called the wedding off.

She sighed because it just proved how difficult relationships really were. Even those that seemed guaranteed to succeed could and did fail. It took both love and an awful lot of commitment to build a lasting relationship, not to mention that vital spark Matt had mentioned. That was essential too. Thinking about Matt immediately reminded her of what had troubled her all weekend and she groaned. She didn’t want to go down that road again!

She buzzed in her next patient, a young woman with a screaming toddler suffering from a nasty ear infection. It was hard to make herself heard over the din the poor little mite was making but Rachel was glad because it blotted out any other thoughts. She didn’t want to dwell on what a special relationship Matt must have had with his late wife when it was so painful, didn’t want to sit here daydreaming about him when she had work to do. It wasn’t the best way to get things back onto a normal footing, which was what she desperately needed to do.

Lunchtime arrived and Rachel hurried to Ross’s room to see how he had fared. She caught him as he was about to leave and her heart ached with motherly concern when she saw how drawn he looked. Having his wedding cancelled at the eleventh hour must have been a terrible experience for him despite the brave front he was putting up. She wasn’t sure that he should be at work, but he was adamant that he wanted to be there when she broached the subject.

They chatted for a couple of minutes, but her heart was heavy as she watched him leave. No matter what Ross claimed, she knew he must be devastated by what had happened. A tear trickled down her cheek and before she could wipe it away, Matt appeared. He took one look at her and gently steered her along the corridor into his room.

‘Is it Ross?’ he asked as he sat her down in a chair and offered her the box of tissues off his desk.

‘How did you guess?’ Rachel blew her nose and tried to get a grip on herself. The situation was difficult for Matt too and she didn’t want to upset him as well.

‘Simple deduction, Watson. If you eliminate everything else, whatever you’re left with, no matter how improbable it seems, must be the solution.’

Despite herself Rachel laughed. ‘Is that a fact, Sherlock?’

‘It certainly is, Doctor.’ Matt smiled back her at her and her heart immediately lifted. She couldn’t deny that she was touched that he should try to cheer her up when he must be feeling extremely low himself.

‘So how is Ross holding up?’ he asked, placing the box of tissues back on the desk.

‘Fine, according to him.’ She shrugged when he looked quizzically at her. ‘You know Ross. He isn’t one to wear his heart on his sleeve. He was the same when he was a child, very self-contained and serious…a little too serious, in fact.’

‘Did he have much contact with his father while he was growing up?’ Matt asked quietly, and Rachel tried to hide her surprise. It was the first time he had ever asked her a personal question like that in all the time they had worked together and she couldn’t help wondering what had prompted it that day.

‘None at all,’ she replied, determined that she wasn’t going to make too much of his sudden interest. Maybe he wanted to find out more about the past in the hope it would provide a clue as to how to bring Ross and Heather back together? If that was the case then she was all for it. She would do anything at all to see Ross happy again.

‘Ross’s father made it clear from the outset that he wasn’t interested in him,’ she explained truthfully. ‘I don’t blame him in a way because he was only eighteen when Ross was born. Not many boys of that age are ready to become fathers.’

‘You were very young to be a mother but you coped,’ Matt pointed out, and she sighed.

‘Yes, I know, although I wouldn’t have managed nearly as well if my parents hadn’t supported me. They were marvellous.’

‘It must have been hard, though, even with their help.’ Matt’s tone was gruff and she frowned when she heard it. She couldn’t help wondering why he sounded so uptight all of a sudden, apart from the obvious reason, of course. He must miss Heather dreadfully and the thought made her heart ache for him.

‘It wasn’t easy. Finding the time to study and look after Ross was a real juggle. Looking back, I don’t know how I fitted everything in.’ She gave a little laugh, hoping it would lighten the sombre mood. ‘If I had to do it now, I’d need a few more hours tagged onto the end of each day!’

‘I imagine you fitted it all in by dint of sheer hard work. You should be proud of yourself for what you’ve achieved, Rachel.’

‘I am extremely proud of Ross, although I can’t claim any credit for how he’s turned out,’ she said firmly. ‘Ross put in the effort himself.’

‘I don’t just mean raising Ross but what you’ve achieved.’ Matt leant forward and she could see the light in his eyes, a hint of fire she hadn’t noticed before and certainly hadn’t expected. Her heart gave a little bounce then started to race as he continued.

‘You must have worked incredibly hard to get through medical school. I remember how difficult it was to keep up with all the work and when you factor in a child as well…’ He shrugged. ‘Not many people could have done what you’ve done, Rachel.’

‘I always dreamed of being a doctor,’ she said quietly, deeply moved by the compliment. To know that Matt admired her made all the years of hard work and struggle seem even more worthwhile.

‘And you achieved your dream. You’re a damned fine doctor. Your patients couldn’t speak more highly of you.’

‘Thank you. It means a lot to hear you say that,’ she murmured, feeling a little choked with emotion.

‘It’s nothing more than the truth. You should be proud of yourself. You’ve achieved everything you set out to do.’

Had she? she wondered. Had she really achieved every single dream she’d ever had? Just days ago Rachel would have agreed with him but she was no longer sure if it was true. Once upon a time she’d had other dreams for the future. She had buried them as deeply as she could over the years because there’d been no time to worry about them, but they were still there, maybe not as bright and as shiny as they had been, but still there.

Her heart caught as she looked at Matt and remembered all the hopes she’d had at one time for a happy marriage like her parents’, a loving relationship that would sustain her throughout the years. She had abandoned those dreams because she’d been afraid of what would happen if she allowed herself to fall in love again. She had done it once, fallen in love with Ross’s father, and it had been a disaster…Hadn’t it?

The thought pulled her up short. Having Ross hadn’t been a disaster, far from it. It had been a turning point. Knowing she’d had a child to provide for had given her the impetus she had needed, pushed her to make a good life for herself and her son. Without Ross, she might not have studied as hard, but made another mistake and fallen in love with someone else who might have held her back.

Rachel took a deep breath as she faced the facts, head on. Her life could have turned out very differently if she hadn’t had her son. For one thing, she might never have met Matt.

Matt decided to stay on after evening surgery ended. He wanted to make a start on that report Ambulance Control had requested while the facts were fresh in his mind. After all, it wasn’t as though there was anything to rush home for, was there?

His heart sank at the thought of returning to an empty house, although he knew that he would have to get used to it. With Heather gone he would be spending a lot of time on his own. He had just drafted out a rough timetable of events when there was a tap on his door and Rachel came into the room.

‘I spotted your light was still on as I was passing,’ she explained, coming over to the desk. She frowned when she saw the timetable he had made. ‘Is that about the accident?’

‘Yes. I thought I’d better make a start on that report.’

Matt glanced at the notes he had written, trying not to think about the fact that Rachel lived on her own as well. It had no relevance to his situation, especially as it was obviously her choice to do so. By no stretch of the imagination could he believe that she hadn’t had lots of offers to change her single status.

‘Do you need any help?’

Matt barely heard what she said. Not once in the all the time they had worked together had he wondered why Rachel was single, but now the question clamoured for his attention. She was a beautiful and highly intelligent woman and there must be lots of men keen to share their lives with her, so why had she resisted? Was it because she had never met anyone she had cared enough about to spend her life with?