The Registrar's Convenient Wife

‘You want me to do the lumbar puncture?’ Claire guessed.

He nodded. ‘I really hate doing them.’

Claire brushed the backs of her fingers against the baby’s cheek. ‘I’ll try not to hurt you, little one. I’ll get the pack while you sort out the bloods,’ she said.

Weird, Eliot thought as he took the blood samples and labelled them carefully. Although he’d spent a week on the ward, it felt as if they’d worked together for years. It was as if she could read his mind. Or maybe it was just as Tilly had said: Claire was a good doctor. She knew her job so well that of course she could second-guess everything he was going to say. Just as she would with any other SHO.

‘Can you hold him in position for me?’ Claire asked.

‘Sure.’ Gently, Eliot manoeuvred the baby into position.

‘Thanks.’ Claire counted down to the space between the third and fourth vertebrae and cleaned the area thoroughly. Then she gave the baby a local anaesthetic, waited a couple of minutes for the lignocaine to numb his back, then took the sample of cerebrospinal fluid. ‘All done, littlie,’ she said softly to the baby. She capped the needle and put a fresh sterile swab over the puncture, pressing on the area to stop the flow of fluid, then applied a spray dressing.

‘There you go,’ she said, stroking the baby’s arm. ‘We’ll have your mum up to see you any second now. And Eliot’s going to sort out your temperature and make it easier for you to breathe.’

She’d used his first name almost unconsciously, and Eliot was shocked by the pleasure that glowed through him. No. He couldn’t start thinking like that about Claire Thurman. She might be single, but nothing could happen between them. Number one, she was his boss. Number two, and most importantly, he had to put Ryan first. Number three, Claire had made it very clear she wasn’t looking for marriage and babies—if she didn’t want her own child, she certainly wouldn’t want to take on someone else’s.

This relationship was going to be professional only, he told himself. And he wasn’t going to start thinking about her chestnut hair, how it might look if he loosened it from the stern French pleat and let it run through his fingers. He wasn’t going to start thinking about what colour her dark eyes would be when she’d just been kissed. And he definitely wasn’t going to start thinking about her beautifully shaped mouth...

‘So you’ll explain to the mum that we’re going to feed him through a line?’

Eliot pulled himself together with difficulty. ‘And that if it is group B strep, he’ll need to be in for ten days or so.’

‘Right. I’ll get this lot off to the lab, then.’ She swiftly measured six drops of spinal fluid into three sample bottles and labelled them.

Just as Claire was about to leave, Shannon Hooper brought Leona Peters up in a wheelchair.

‘Is he all right?’ Leona asked, visibly panicking.

‘He’ll be fine. He’s having a bit of a rough ride at the moment, but we’re keeping him comfortable while we find out what the bug is,’ Claire said. ‘I’m Claire Thurman, the senior registrar on the neonatal unit. I believe you’ve already met Dr Slater, who’s looking after Ricky for you.’

‘Yes.’ Leona’s face was pinched with strain.

‘It can be a bit scary up here, with all the wires and equipment,’ Claire said, ‘but try not to worry. It’s there so we can make sure he gets enough oxygen and his temperature’s under control. I’m taking these samples off to the lab, and Dr Slater will tell you more about what’s happening.’

Eliot smiled reassuringly at Leona. ‘We think he might have something called group B streptococcus. It’s a bacterium that lives in just about everyone’s body at some point, usually without any effects, but babies can’t cope very well with it—especially if they’re a bit early. We’ve put Ricky on some antibiotics, and he’s going to find it very hard to feed for the next day or so—he’ll be tired because he’s found it a bit difficult to breathe—but we’re going to give him some food through a line in his arm until he’s up to feeding again, and he’ll be able to take some breast milk from you later.’

‘Can I touch him?’ Leona asked.

‘Of course you can. Hold his hand, stroke him, talk to him—he’ll know you’re here and it will help him.’

‘How long will he be in here?’

‘It depends how he responds to the antibiotics,’ Eliot said. ‘Probably ten days or so.’ Unless there was a complication such as meningitis, when it would be another three or four days. ‘It’s probably best to take it day by day for now.’

‘Is he going to die?’ Leona asked, her face crumpling.

‘We’ve caught the bug early, so he’s got a much better chance than if we’d left it,’ Eliot said. ‘There’s a ninety per cent chance he’ll be fine. Those are pretty good odds.’ Though it still meant there was a ten 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.’