The Neonatal Doc's Baby Surprise

Who knew when she would have another chance? There was no telling what the week ahead might bring. She at least needed to buy breakfast items.

All her life she’d been a Girl Scout type of person. Always prepared. In fact, she was known for it. Many a friend in college had turned to her because they knew she’d have what they needed.

Once her roommate had asked to borrow a stapler. Amanda had directed her to the middle desk drawer, in the back, on the left-hand side.

Her roommate’s response after she had located the stapler had been, “How do you do that?”

Amanda had answered, “I always put things back where they belong.”

That part of her personality hadn’t endeared her to her stepfather. Despite her being so prepared, and planning things down to the detail, he hadn’t accepted her. No matter what she’d done or how good she had been it had never been enough for him. Yet she was loved by the rest of her family.

After washing her face and brushing her hair, she slipped on a clean set of clothes and put on a pair of sunglasses. She needed to stay up for a little while to get acclimated to the time-change. To help with that she decided to walk around the neighborhood in search of the store she’d read about in the notebook.

Heading outside, she turned west along a tree-lined sidewalk. After a few missteps she soon found the small grocery store, not far down the street. She smiled at the girl behind the counter and went down the first aisle.

Picking up a couple of boxes of macaroni and cheese she could use in an emergency, she added a few more items that she could pop into the microwave. She would have liked to buy a gallon of milk, but that would have been too heavy to carry back with all the other stuff she’d gathered.

If she continued to do this type of shopping she would definitely need a rolling bag to make the transportation easier... And if she wanted a wider choice, like fresh produce, she would have to either rent a car or hire a taxi and go to a larger supermarket.

The thought of renting a car came and went. Her trying to drive in town on the opposite side of the road would be more nerve-racking than beneficial especially when she wasn’t familiar with the streets. She’d maybe ask someone to drive her when she became acquainted with more people.

She did know one person. Yeah, right. Like she would ask Lucius West to drive her around while she shopped. That wasn’t going to happen.

With both hands full of heavily loaded plastic bags, Amanda left the store and trudged back to the apartment. She had to admit she might have over-bought, but still she had little choice but to keep walking. Not soon enough for her, she arrived.

Setting the bags on the floor, she collapsed on the couch. She wouldn’t have considered herself out of shape, but after such a long plane ride, and not having rested properly, she’d overdone it by going to the store. She’d learned her lesson.

On autopilot she put the cold groceries away, leaving the others until later. With that done, she took a hot shower and climbed into bed.

Her eyelids lowered. The bed was comfortable enough, but somehow the memory of Lucius’s shoulder seemed just as nice.

CHAPTER TWO

THREE MORNINGS LATER, as Lucius walked down the hallway toward the procedure room, he thought of Amanda Longstreet. She’d been interrupting his thoughts more often than he wanted to admit. Somehow she had made an indelible impression on him during their brief encounter. But right now he needed to concentrate on his patient. This woman had been trying to have a baby for three years. Nothing so far had proved successful.

As an infertility doctor, he considered hers the type of case he lived for. As a human being, it tore at his heart. He only ever saw women who were desperate for a baby. They either had trouble conceiving or carrying a baby to term. Whichever, his encounters with them invariably included high emotions.

Because of that he always went in and spoke to his patients, instead of just showing up to do the procedure. They were often nervous and fearful, which might contribute to whether or not the in vitro procedure was successful. The calmer and more confident the woman could be, the better the chance of conception.

Entering the room, where his patient waited on the procedure bed, he walked toward her with a sincere smile and hopefully warm assurance. He noticed his nurse, Lucy, was laying out instruments. Another person standing nearby caught his eye. His smile faded a little as he did a double-take.

Amanda.

She grinned and he nodded.

What was she doing here?

He understood she was a Labor and Delivery nurse. Surely that was where she should be. His role was getting women pregnant. It was what he excelled at, although he always had a hard time figuring out how to describe what he specialized in. Usually he defaulted to a very clinical definition.

He raised his chin and nodded to his nurse, then concentrated on his patient.

When he reached Nancy Davis, the prospective mother-to-be, he placed his hand over hers for a moment. “How’re you doing?”

“I’m fine. Just a little nervous is all.”

He quickly shook hands with her husband, who stood meekly in the corner.

The woman added with a desperate undertone, “This has to work.”

“I understand. I know you’ve been through this a couple of times before, but you don’t need to worry. I’ll be doing all the work here, and I’m going to try something a little innovative during this procedure. I think it will make a difference. I’ve had success in the lab with it, and that gives me reason to be optimistic. We’re not only going to hope this takes—we’re going to believe it will.”

She offered him a weak smile. “I sure hope so, Dr. West.”

He did too. “You’ve taken your medication?”

“Yes. But I really need...” She gave a soft sob.

He didn’t doubt her need. Even for him, forty thousand dollars or more each time to try and have a baby was a lot of money. It could even grow into more if there were complications. Like multiple babies...

“We’ll get started here in a moment. I’m just going out to wash up and then we’ll be ready to go.”

He left, and soon returned to find Lucy prepared to proceed. Amanda stood beside the patient, near the end of the table, so they could easily see each other. The two women were talking quietly. Nancy’s face was expressive as Amanda spoke.

Lucius approached just as Nancy laughed softly. Apparently Amanda had said something funny. The unease he’d seen on his patient’s face earlier had disappeared.

He appreciated what Amanda had done. It was crucially important to this procedure that the patient was relaxed. For some unexplained reason it seemed women were often more likely to conceive when they stopped fixating on becoming pregnant. When they just let go. Amanda was helping with that part of the transfer.

He pulled his rolling chair out, settled on it, and moved to Nancy’s feet. “I’ll be telling you what’s happening every step of the way.” He moved closer. “Let me know if you feel any discomfort.”

“Okay.” Nancy’s answer was weak, unsure.

“This shouldn’t take more than a few minutes. Then we’ll let you sit for a while.”

The patient’s husband moved closer and took Nancy’s hand.

“Just like last time?” Nancy asked.

“Yes.”

Lucius removed the long flexible tube that held the embryos from the incubator Lucy had rolled to his side. He literally held this couple’s hopes in his hand. If all went well, they would soon have a baby.

“Now, this may feel a little different from last time. The embryos aren’t at body temperature yet. I want your body to warm them to your own natural temperature.”

Amanda’s soft gasp caught his attention for a second as she stepped back to stand at his shoulder. Was she planning to interrupt? She made no further move. He returned his full attention to the procedure, forgetting everyone and everything but positioning the embryos in just the correct spot.

Moments later he’d finished, and pushed the stool back so he could see Nancy.

“Now, we’re going to let you sit quietly for about thirty minutes. Remember you may have breast tenderness, bloating, cramping, or constipation during the next week or so. I want to see you back in two weeks for your pregnancy test.”

“Thank you, Dr. West.” Nancy looked at her husband and gave him a hopeful smile.

Lucius headed out the door. In the process of removing his gloves and gown he looked back as the door opened. Amanda entered.

“Nurse Longstreet.”

“Hello again, Dr. West.” Her words were almost as cool as his.

“How’re you adjusting to the clinic?”

“Fine. I’ve met a lot of great people here.” She followed him in the removal of her sterile clothing.

“I’m glad to hear it.”

Done, he started out the other door of the room.

“Can I have a minute of your time?” she asked suddenly. “I have a couple of questions about the procedure.”

“Oh. Like...?” Something about her tone made him think it might be less curiosity and more concern—or, worse, censure.

“I understand it’s not protocol to put embryos in until they’re at body temperature, so I was wondering exactly why you felt the need to do it?”

His eyes narrowed and his jaw tightened. He wasn’t used to hearing that tone in relation to his work. “And you know about this protocol how...?”

“I’ve spent the last few days reading your clinic handbook.”

Oh. That wasn’t the answer he’d expected. “I see you are thorough.”

“I try to be.” She continued to look at him, as if waiting for an answer to her question.

Lucius shoulders stiffened as he stood straighter. His staff didn’t ever question his methods or motives. He was considered by most to be ingenious and successful and his staff followed his lead.

“Do you have concerns about my technique?”

“I’m not exactly concerned about it. It’s more like I’m wanting to understand why you did it that way. What if the embryos don’t take because of the temperature? Couples invest too much of their life savings, time and emotion in trying to have a baby for you to go rogue. To do something on a hunch.”

“Hunch!” He stepped toward her, outraged. “I’ll have you know that I’ve been doing this type of procedure for a long time. There is experience and knowledge behind everything I do. I don’t do hunches. Couples come to me for one reason and one reason only. They want a baby and I can often make that happen for them.”

Amanda’s eyes were heated as she glared at him. “I don’t mean to hurt your feelings. I’m asking so I can better understand your thought process.”

“That wasn’t how it sounded to me. It sounded more like you were questioning my ability and my judgement.”

“I’m here to learn about the procedures here from conception to delivery. That’s all I’m trying to do.”

“I appreciate that, but if you’re going to question my skills the entire time you’re here then this exchange may not work.”

He ran this clinic and he wouldn’t have anyone—especially an invited guest—questioning his ethics.

“I’m sorry if I’ve offended you. And I understand your position, Doctor, but that doesn’t mean I’m not supposed to learn and gain knowledge. Part of that’s asking questions. I can’t learn anything from this exchange if I’m not allowed to ask questions.”

“Oh, you’re allowed to ask questions. What you’re not allowed to do is question or react to something I say or do in front of a patient. You are also not allowed to imply, via your questioning, that I might have done something wrong.”

Ms. Longstreet certainly had gall.

“So the great ‘Baby Whisperer’—” she used sarcastic air quotes with her fingers, which made him grind his back teeth “—doesn’t have to explain himself regarding following protocol, or answer to anyone when he has done something outside of the norm. Is that what I’m to understand?”

Lucius shifted from mildly irritated to angry. He took a step closer to her and look down his nose. He couldn’t help but admire the fact that Amanda didn’t move.

“I think you’ve hit the nail on the head. Isn’t that what they say?”

Amanda straightened to her not inconsiderable height, but still only reached to his shoulders, and took a step toward him. Her nose was now an inch or two from his.

“I’m sorry, Doctor, but where I come from the nurses and the doctors are partners. We’re all working toward the same result. We get to question what’s being done because it’s in our patients’ best interest. Our doctors’ egos have to take a back seat to that.”

His lips thinned into a fine line as he glared at her. How dared she imply that he had less than the best interests for his patients in mind?

“I can assure you that my patients always come first.”

“I appreciate that. So why do you mind being questioned about how you do something?”

His ire eased a little. “Maybe it’s the way you asked me. The tone.”

“I didn’t realize I had applied any ‘tone.’”

She appeared innocent. Lucius stepped back. “I think this conversation has become unproductive. I have work to do.”

He left the scrub room and headed down the hallway toward his office. How dared Amanda come into his procedure room for the first time and start interrogating him? Just who did she think she was?

Lucius shook his head. Far more baffling was the fact that he was impressed she had.

An hour later Lucius was still dwelling on his heated conversation with Amanda. Maybe he’d been too rough on her. But Amanda’s questions had reminded him too much of his father. He’d always pushed Lucius to explain his decisions, and had questioned his methods so often Lucius had often ended up second-guessing himself.

With his father now in a care home it had been a long time since that had happened. He’d thought he’d outgrown his reaction to having his authority examined. But clearly one small American woman was all it took to bring his youthful insecurities straight back to the surface. He found it infuriating to have his ego on the carpet.

Doctors who did his type of work had to have a strong sense of self-worth—otherwise they would give up. Too often disappointments outweighed celebrations. He lived for the uplifting and exciting times when a woman became pregnant. He needed those to fortify himself against the times when he had to tell a couple the process had failed. He’d seen the pain and the agony too many times. He thoroughly enjoyed the days he attended the Labor and Delivery Room, to see a couple holding a baby after clinging to that dream for so long. Because of those moments he hated to have his efforts second-guessed.

At one time he’d planned to have children of his own when he married, but he had been young and had thought he had plenty of time. The clinic had just opened and it was doing amazing things with great outcomes. He’d nurtured his work, thinking his wife was happy. Instead she had become steadily disgruntled with his long hours.

Melanie had been left to herself too much.

He’d known she enjoyed the social side of being a doctor’s wife, and the perks of being married to a rising star in infertility medicine. He’d believed she’d be satisfied with that for a while, but he’d misjudged the depth of her loneliness.

Even when he’d realized he still hadn’t been able to tear himself away from the clinic. And when he’d finally tried to make it work, to make changes in his schedule, her answer had been a firm no. Melanie’s parting remark had been that he seemed a lot more interested in giving other people babies then he was in having his own.

That hadn’t been true. And yet he hadn’t felt Melanie’s loss like he should have. He’d decided maybe she was right. He was more married to the clinic than to her. After she’d left, he’d seen a few women on and off, but had never let a relationship get past casual. He’d made his mistake and learned from it. He wouldn’t try that again.

There hadn’t been enough time then and nor was there now to give to a wife and family. There wasn’t time for the attention they deserved. He would need somebody who understood the importance of his work and who didn’t demand to have his attention on her full-time. That would be a rare person, indeed. One he didn’t have time to search for.

Amanda remained perplexed about what had gone wrong between her and Lucius. She’d had no idea asking questions would overstep any professional boundary down here. But she was used to protocol being closely followed and she’d only wanted to know why he hadn’t stuck to the usual script.

She had been willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. All she’d wanted was to understand the logic behind his decisions.

But apparently she’d overstepped his boundaries in general—personal as well as professional.

She’d done it again. Another man was feeling challenged by her. Intimidated. Some of the men she had dated had accused her of being too rigid, too controlling. She hadn’t been what they wanted. She was too demanding. Time after time with a man, as soon as she’d let her guard down and allowed her true nature to show, he’d found fault with her character. None had been tactful in their criticism.

After the shock and heartache of her last love interest’s rejection, she’d put her dream of finding Mr. Right, getting married and starting a family to one side for a while. Instead she’d turned her concentration on her career goals and put all her energy into achieving them.

That had meant coming here to Harborside and being involved in the amazing work Lucius and his staff were doing in reproduction. The experience would be an important stepping-stone to becoming Director of Nursing at her clinic back home.

Somehow she had to neutralize Lucius’s animosity and earn his respect. She had to put them back on the footing they’d been on before he’d left her apartment that first night.

She had no doubt he was a gifted and dedicated doctor. But how could she have known that asking forthright questions about his procedural decisions was off-limits? Come to think of it, he’d become annoyed with her far too quickly. Did that unexpected reaction mean she’d called attention to him doing something he shouldn’t? Or was he hyper-sensitive for some other reason?

She shook her head to clear the unanswerable questions away. She’d spend her time learning and gaining all the invaluable experience she could while she was here, and stay out of his way as much as possible.

After he’d left her in a huff she’d gone back to the Labor and Delivery Department. There she’d joined one of the nurses she had met on her first day at the clinic.

Apart from Lucius, everyone on the staff had been friendly, and more than willing to answer her questions. If they didn’t know the answer off the top of their head, they’d made an effort to find out.

Now, as Amanda strolled toward her apartment, she found herself continuing to be distracted by her confrontation with Lucius.

The clinic was amazing, and doing some outstanding work—it was everything Kirri had said it was. The only issue Amanda had was with Lucius. Her unintentional professional offense had put a damper on her visit. He had been so kind about taking her luggage up to her apartment, proving her first impression of him wrong. And from that she’d assumed they’d gotten past the initial rough spot of getting acquainted.

Yet here they were.

Kirri was such a charming person Amanda hadn’t imagined there’d be any issue with her brother. And when Lucius had made the comment about the exchange not working Amanda had been shocked. She didn’t appreciate being threatened. She’d actively campaigned to participate in this exchange and she needed to record it on her résumé as being a successful experience. Lucius’s subtle implication that he might send her back to Atlanta in disgrace made her feel sick.

She had to figure out some way to work this out...smooth things over with him. After a night’s sleep and a good think she’d form a plan to convince him that she’d respect his professional space in future.

Climbing the stairs, she entered her apartment. She’d bought a few things at the local department store to make the space a little more “hers”. A vase with a few flowers now sat on the coffee table. She had also found a couple of inexpensive yellow throw pillows to add to the sofa. The items gave the tiny space some personality. She liked living in Sydney. It would be easy to make it like home.

The next morning, she arose determined to speak to Lucius as soon as she could. She’d tossed and turned all night, rehearsing what she would say. Somehow she needed to get him back on her side.

As soon as she had a free moment at the clinic, she went in search of him. After being directed to his office she discovered he wasn’t there. She pulled up the procedure schedule to see if he was doing one. He wasn’t. She finally found somebody who told her to check the nursery.

Despite being sure she’d heard the nurse correctly, she couldn’t imagine why Lucius would be in the baby nursery. But Amanda didn’t argue and went to look.

To her great surprise, she did find Lucius there, sitting in a rocking chair holding a sleeping newborn.

Amanda’s breath caught in her throat. Her heart softened at the sight of the big man holding the small child so tenderly. He looked at ease, like she hadn’t seen him before. As if he had no worries in the world or any concerns about this famous clinic and his part in it.

The man before her now and the man she’d known yesterday were two vastly different people. Never would she have guessed that she would see him like this.

It took her a few moments to compose herself. She stood there enthralled, wanting to take in this perfect example of what was right with the world.

A nurse brushed by her and broke the mood.

Amanda took a couple of steps forward. “Dr. West—Lucius?”

He gave her a preoccupied look.

The fleeting thought that he’d make a good father went through her head. She didn’t need to have those types of ideas about Lucius. They weren’t going to become friendly enough for her to have that kind of opinion about him. Hadn’t Kirri said he was married to his job? So much so his marriage had failed?

“Yes, Nurse Longstreet?”

“I...uh... I was wondering if you had a moment so we could talk?”

“I have a procedure in about twenty minutes.”

She looked around. Was that a no? She wasn’t giving up. “Maybe I could buy you a cup of coffee?”

“I’m sorry, I don’t drink it this time of the day.”

He wasn’t making this easy for her. “A soft drink?”

One of the babies cried. “As you can see, I’m a little busy here. What do you want to discuss?”

She clasped her hands together and took a step toward him. “I’d really appreciate it if we could talk about what happened yesterday.”

He looked toward one of the cribs and nodded his head to the side. “Grab that baby and have a seat.”

Amanda scooped the newborn into her arms. A nurse entered, saw Amanda, and stepped out again. Amanda took a seat in the rocking chair across from Lucius. Holding the baby close, she rocked and cooed. The child settled.

“I believe you have a knack for handling babies,” he said.

The admiration in his voice warmed her in an unexpected way.

“I can do more than deliver them. And I’ve held more than one in my time. Including a niece and a nephew.”

A shadow entered Lucius’s eyes and then was quickly gone. Great—she’d said something else to upset him when she had been trying to gain his trust.

Softly she said, “I thought the babies stayed in the room with their mothers.”