Island Doctor To Royal Bride?

‘The fire station here isn’t always staffed and it’s in a quieter street. That’s why we decided this was a more appropriate place than the clinic. If someone wants to leave their baby, they won’t do it while the world is watching. Our clinic is right in the middle of the main street. The rest of the crew who work here are on call. So, someone will always be able to attend quickly to any baby left in the safe haven.’

He started the engine. ‘I take it I’m driving you both to the local hospital?’ His brain couldn’t stop turning over and over.

Arissa was bending over the baby strapped into the back seat. She looked up and smiled. ‘Well, look at that, little Dee, our new doctor is a resident genius.’

He sighed and smiled as he shook his head. ‘Dee?’

She nodded as he followed the signs on the road to the local hospital. It was only a few minutes away. ‘This is our fourth baby. The first two were boys. We decided just to go with the alphabet. Our first was called Amir, our second Bahari. Our third baby was a girl. We called her Chi-tze, and this time, we’ll pick a name beginning with D.’

Now he understood. ‘The babies never have a letter or a note? Something to tell you what their name is.’

He was doing his best to keep his eyes on the road. But he couldn’t help but glance over his shoulder at the woman with dark curls looking down at the tiny baby. He could see the compassion and empathy in her face, making his stomach twist in a way he just hadn’t expected.

She gave a sad kind of smile as she stroked the little girl’s face. ‘Not yet,’ she sighed. ‘I wish they would.’

‘Have you ever managed to reunite a mother and baby after they left the baby at the safe haven?’

Arissa shook her head. ‘I’d love to tell you yes, but the honest answer is no. For two of the babies we never found their mother. Another one, she got admitted with an infection. But...’ he could hear the waver in Arissa’s voice ‘...she didn’t want to be reunited with her baby. She had a difficult history. Even with the offer of support, she just didn’t want to go down that road.’

Philippe turned into the hospital and found a space in the car park. He switched off the engine and turned around. Arissa was talking quietly to the baby. ‘So, have you picked a name yet?’ he asked quietly.

She glanced over at him. There was a smattering of freckles on her pale brown skin, over her nose. Her eyes were the deepest brown he’d ever seen. It was almost as if they sucked him in, holding him in place. For the briefest of seconds their gazes locked in a way that made him hold his breath.

‘I think you should pick the name,’ she replied, the edges of her lips turning upwards. ‘As long as you stick to the rules and pick something with a D.’

He got out of the car and walked around to her side, opening the door and looking down at the little baby. Her face wrinkled and she let out a yelp. He reached down and picked her up as Arissa released the harness on the car seat. He put the baby on his shoulder and patted her back as she continued to yelp. ‘I think she’s hungry,’ he said with a smile. Then something else crossed his mind. ‘We don’t even know if she’s been fed at all. Maybe we should hurry up with the admission process and prioritise the food.’

Arissa closed the car door and walked alongside him. ‘I think we can manage that.’ She gave him a wink. ‘I might know someone.’

It was the oddest feeling. This morning he’d been lying at a luxury resort with two weeks of fine dining and relaxation ahead of him. Now, he had a tiny newborn baby snuggling into his neck and—from what he could feel—currently trying to latch on to him. A beautiful woman, surrounded by the scent of freesias, was walking next to him and making him strangely curious about her, and this place.

It was the oddest sensation. He’d thought he’d wanted to come here to sort out how he felt about the next part of his career—the next part of his life. But here he was, volunteering to work on a day job. Wanting to spend the next two weeks finding out more about this woman and this place.

He almost laughed out loud. No wonder his ex had complained he couldn’t switch off from work. He just didn’t want to. Being a doctor and doing his best for other people was ingrained in him, running through his veins in his blood.

As they walked inside the front doors of the hospital he turned to Arissa. ‘Hey, I don’t know any Malaysian names. I can’t pick a name for this little cutie.’

‘Give it some thought. You’re about to meet a million new people.’ She wagged her finger at him. ‘I’ll warn you now, they’ll all start campaigning for their own name.’

His footsteps faltered a bit. He wasn’t quite sure what she meant. ‘They’ll know we’re looking for a name?’

He looked down at the little face. So innocent. So pure. A little girl abandoned by her mother for a million reasons he didn’t know about.

Arissa reached over and touched his arm. He almost jerked at the feel of her warm fingers on his skin. ‘Our babies are special,’ she said softly. ‘Everyone in the hospital supports the safe haven project. As soon as they see us, you’ll feel like a superstar.’

There was an edge to the way she said the words. A touch of sadness. He looked at her curiously. ‘Does the publicity help?’

She shuddered. She actually shuddered. ‘No. We don’t talk outside the hospital about the babies. We don’t want to do anything to compromise the safety of the person who has left their baby. It’s just internal. Word spreads fast. Everyone always comes to see the new baby.’ She sighed. ‘There’s a lot of love around here. By tomorrow, they’ll have an emergency foster carer ready to take her.’

He gave a nod. Did they have all this set up in Corinez? Was this something he could add into his newly purposed health system? His brain was spinning. He had to make some links. He had to talk to some of his advisors—and to some of the staff and ministers he would be working with.

It was weird. He’d resigned himself to this new life. But he’d never really felt the spark of excitement for it that he did now. The truth was he’d felt a little bitter about his future plans. Or maybe bitter was the wrong word, maybe it was overwhelmed. It was easy to work as a doctor somewhere and complain about lack of supplies or long hours. To be tasked with trying to implement change in a system that was so focused on finance? That was something else entirely. Free healthcare—even just maternity systems—would cost Corinez in a way that hadn’t been experienced before. He had to pitch things just right.

The one thing he was sure about was that he wanted to do well.

And for the first time, things were starting to take shape in his mind.

Thanks to this. Thanks to Harry. Thanks to Arissa.

Her hand was still on his arm and it tightened a little as they walked through the next set of doors. She gave him a smile. Ahead of them was a whole heap of expectant waiting faces. Nurses, admin staff, kitchen aides and cleaning staff were all standing at the nursing station.

‘Word does travel fast, doesn’t it?’ he said in wonder as they all started walking towards him.

‘Welcome to Temur Sapora,’ Arissa said as she raised her eyebrows.

Philippe surprised her. Of course, she’d pulled out her phone and emailed and checked his registration and references—which were all glowing. There was a small gap in the dates in his CV. But she wasn’t concerned. Lots of doctors took a few months out at some point in their lives. Maybe that was why he was here?

After he’d done the obligatory baby checks under her scrutinising gaze, she’d almost expected him to disappear back to his luxury resort. But no.

He stayed at the hospital while the paediatrician did their own assessment of the little girl then admitted her overnight for observation. Instead of leaving, Philippe settled down in a chair next to the cot in the nursery. He even asked if he could give the baby her first feed, which she gulped hungrily.

He wasn’t flustered when crowded by all the other staff who were anxious to see the new baby. In fact, he dealt with it like an old pro, smiling, answering politely and giving everyone a chance to see the new arrival. But what she did notice was the way he expertly circumvented answering specific questions about himself. It made her curious because she recognised the skill—it was something she’d done herself on occasion. How much did she actually know about this guy—apart from the fact he was a real doctor with good references? She made a note to try and find out if he’d been working in the last few months—that was where the gap in his CV was.

Eventually, they were left alone to get the baby settled. She still had half a mind that Philippe would make an excuse and go back to his bed in the luxury resort. But he didn’t. He finished feeding the baby and changed her nappy, all the while firing questions at Arissa about the safe haven scheme and the outcomes for babies like this.

They finally settled on a name—suggested by one of the nursing staff—Dian.

Philippe rested back in the wide armchair and nestled Dian into the crook of his arm, stroking his finger across her forehead and down her nose. ‘Well, little Dian, you’ve had an unusual start in this life. But you’re here, you’re safe, and hopefully your mum is too.’

Arissa could see a million things swirling around in his mind. Part of her wondered if a man who obviously came from money would be judgemental about what led a woman or girl to abandon their baby. But nothing like that came from his lips. All she could read on his face was empathy and part of her heart swelled in her chest at his reactions to little Dian.

In fact, he’d really surprised her. He sat there all night, asking a few questions about what would happen now with Dian, but mainly just holding the baby and talking to her.

‘Aren’t you tired?’ Arissa asked finally.

‘Sure.’ He shrugged, but his dark brown eyes still had a bit of sparkle in them. ‘But no more than usual.’ He looked around. ‘And this...’ he smiled down at Dian ‘...is different. How many times as a doctor have you cursed yourself because you haven’t had enough time to do something? How many times have you wanted a few more hours just to spend with a family, and give them some comfort?’ He gave a little nod as he looked at Dian again. ‘Tomorrow, Dian will go to a foster family, who’ll hopefully have all the time in the world to support her. But for now...’ his gaze met hers again ‘...it’s you, and me.’ Dian gave a little whimper and he tucked her up onto his shoulder and gently rubbed her back. ‘And let’s face it—this isn’t so bad?’ He stretched out his legs and put them on the low table in front of him. ‘What else would a guy do? Eat fancy dinners? Drink champagne cocktails?’ He winked. ‘That is how you think I spend my time, isn’t it?’

Her stomach gave a little flip. Maybe it was time to start making her facial expressions less obvious. ‘I didn’t say that.’

‘Yeah.’ He nodded, a gleam in his eye. ‘You did. But let’s just call it getting-to-know-you time.’

Heat rushed into her cheeks and she gave an embarrassed shudder, before biting her bottom lip and trying to get comfortable in the chair next to him.

She didn’t want to leave Dian either. It just seemed wrong that this poor little girl would spend her first day on this earth without someone to cuddle her during the night. The hospital staff knew her. They weren’t the least surprised to see her settle in for the night, and a few were already casting interested glances in Philippe’s direction. By morning, tongues would be wagging. She’d just have to make sure she introduced him formally as the temporary clinic doctor.

* * *

He was singing. And it totally wasn’t what she’d expected.