Midwives On Call: From Babies To Bride

‘You made it. Didn’t see you up there, bro.’

‘Wouldn’t have missed it for the world. You rocked it, man.’

Sophia nodded her agreement, unable to wipe the grin off her face. ‘Most exciting game I’ve ever watched,’ she said. ‘Of anything.’

Nathan Harrison’s eyes were the same unusual shade of brown as Aiden’s and they had the same ability to focus with instant intensity. The slow grin was eerily familiar as well.

‘You have to be Sophia,’ he said.

She nodded again but didn’t miss the glance that flicked between the brothers. Or the disconcerting way Nathan was shaking his head as he looked back, still grinning.

He must have seen her confusion. ‘Sorry. It’s just that it’s the first time I’ve met one of Aiden’s girlfriends. He doesn’t usually give me the honour.’

Because a three-dates rule didn’t allow for inclusion in a private part of his life? She hadn’t imagined that hesitation in inviting her, had she? Or underplayed the significance? But she had no idea whether it meant anything. Or whether she even wanted it to mean anything.

The moment could have been incredibly awkward but it was the girl beside Nathan who saved it.

‘There’s a first time for everything,’ she declared. ‘Otherwise nothing would ever change.’ She grinned at Sophia. ‘I’m Sam,’ she said. ‘And I’m delighted to meet you—which is what Nate’s really trying to say.’

‘I knew that.’ It was impossible to miss the significance in the glance Sam shared with Nathan. Their love for each other was blindingly obvious.

So was the bond between the brothers. Aiden declined the invitation to join the team and supporters at a local bar, saying he had a horribly early start the next day, but she could hear the fierce pride in his voice when they took their leave.

‘You did good, man. Can’t wait for the next game.’

Aiden could feel the remnants of a ridiculously proud smile he’d been suppressing as he started up the old van he’d used to collect Sophia that evening. He could also feel the way she was looking at him. The intensity was almost palpable.

‘Aiden?’

‘Yeah?’

‘That call you got at the beach the other day.’

‘Yeah?’ Oh, help. He’d hoped that had been forgotten by now. That he’d put things right. It had needed something special and inviting her into a part of his life he’d never shared with a woman had seemed like the way to go, but maybe he’d been wrong.

Maybe he was still in the dog box.

‘Was it a call from Nathan?’

‘Um … yeah …’ He turned his head, the query of why she was asking on the tip of his tongue but the word never escaped.

He didn’t need to ask why.

She understood.

She might not have any idea why the bond was so strong between him and Nathan but she knew it was there and how important it was.

Weirdly, he could feel something inside his chest crack and something warm seeped out.

Something really nice.

He did have a really early start tomorrow but that hadn’t been the real reason for declining the after-game social occasion with the team. He’d known he wanted to take Sophia home and be alone with her.

And the desire to do that had just leapt right off the scale.

CHAPTER SEVEN

THIS WAS THE way the last date should have ended.

Once again, Sophia was pressed against her front door the moment it shut behind her but she wasn’t standing there with her head bowed, listening to the sound of a fading engine.

This time, it was her back against the door. And her arms, as she lifted them in a helpless gesture, unable to think of anything else to do with them as she met the intensity of the kiss she was receiving.

Who knew that you could actually taste desire? Was it her own or Aiden’s or the chemical reaction of mixing them that made this so incredibly delicious?

For the longest time, that was enough. The silky glide of tongue against tongue. The endless variations of pressure in lips that was a conversation all by itself. But then Aiden’s hands left her neck, where they’d been cradling her head, and they trailed down to cup her breasts. His lips left hers to touch the soft skin below her ear where she could feel her own pulse pounding and suddenly it wasn’t enough.

Not nearly enough.

And she knew what to do with her arms, now, too. She could wrap them around his neck and run her fingers through the softness of that closely cropped hair. Press her lips against that vulnerable spot on his temple.

She couldn’t say who started moving first. If it hadn’t been her, Aiden didn’t seem to have any problem finding her bedroom, but it was a tiny house. The interruption of removing clothes felt like a nuisance and Sophia hastily stripped off her sweater at the same time Aiden peeled off his leather jacket. They both kicked off their shoes but then they looked at each other and abandoned undressing to kiss again.

And time seemed to stop. Taking their clothes off was no longer a nuisance. It was a game to be savoured. A slow reveal of buttons coming undone and zips being separated. Exposed skin that needed exploring. Touching and kissing with murmurs of appreciation and the odd whimper of escalating desire.

Too soon—and not nearly soon enough—they were in her bed and now there were no limits on the touching. No stopping the roller-coaster of sensation that was pushing them towards ecstasy. The interruption of Aiden leaning over the side of the bed to find his discarded jeans and fish in the pocket for a foil packet was unbearable.

There’s no need, Sophia wanted to say. Don’t stop.

But, of course, she didn’t say it. And it wasn’t entirely true, anyway. Okay, there was no way she could get pregnant but there were other reasons to use protection …

And maybe that was why she found the interruption unbearable. She didn’t want to have to think about anything like that—even for the few seconds it took.

Easy to forget about it again, though. To cry out with the pleasure of feeling him inside her and then to simply surrender to the mounting tension that was taking them both to that place like no other. Where the world could stop turning for as long as it took.

It took quite a while for either of them to get their breath back as they lay there, their limbs entangled and the only sound their rapid panting.

‘Oh, my God,’ Sophia whispered, when words were finally available. ‘How did you do that?’

‘I was going to ask you the same thing.’ There was a smile in Aiden’s voice as he eased himself free. He didn’t let go of Sophia, though, and she found herself rolling onto to her side, with her head cradled against his chest. ‘You’re amazing. You do know that, don’t you?’

She could feel the edge of his nipple against her lips as she smiled. ‘I do now. You’re pretty amazing yourself.’

He pressed his lips to the top of her head. ‘Maybe it was the combination.’

‘Mmm.’ Post-coital drowsiness was enveloping Sophia. She could feel herself relaxing into sleep and the thought that she would wake in Aiden’s arms was blissful.

But he moved, just a little. ‘I should go,’ he murmured. ‘I wasn’t kidding about the early start.’

‘You don’t have to.’

The soft sound was regretful. ‘But I know exactly what would happen if I stayed and I only had one condom in my pocket.’

The temptation to say something was even stronger this time. ‘You don’t need to worry about me getting pregnant.’

He moved enough to break the contact between their bodies. ‘Don’t take it personally but I’ve never relied on anyone else for contraception and I’m not about to break that rule.’

‘Oh …’ Sophia could feel the chill of exposed skin. And then she felt the dip of her mattress as Aiden sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed.

He turned then but it was too dark to read his expression. ‘I’m never going to have kids,’ he said quietly. ‘I had to be a father to Nate when he was growing up and that was enough. More than enough.’

There was a world of pain behind those words. But there was also a warning note. He’d shared more than his body with her tonight. He’d shared a lot of his personal life but there were limits. This wasn’t something he was ready to talk about.

He leaned towards her and gave her a swift kiss. ‘I do have to go.’

‘Okay.’

Sophia listened to the sounds of him getting dressed again. She sat up, pulling the duvet around her like a shawl.

‘It was the best half-date I’ve ever been on,’ she told him. ‘Thank you.’

The glimmer of his smile gave her the impression she’d said exactly the right thing. Not pushing him to talk any more about his ‘rules’ or the reason they were so iron-clad.

He came close and this time the kiss lingered.

‘Just as well it was a half-date,’ he said. ‘That means we still have one left.’

One.

Sophia’s heart sank.

‘Would it count as a date if we didn’t go anywhere? Like—if you came round for dinner one night or something?’

Something like a chuckle rumbled in Aiden’s chest. ‘I don’t reckon it would. Do you?’

‘No.’ Sophia injected complete authority into her voice. ‘I’m quite sure it wouldn’t. Give me your phone number and I’ll text you when I’ve had time to go shopping.’

Finding time to go grocery shopping wasn’t so hard because there were supermarkets that regularly stayed open until at least midnight.

Finding time to cook something as amazing as Sophia wanted it to be was another matter. With what felt like a blinding flash of inspiration, a couple of days later she remembered the slow cooker tucked away at the back of one of her kitchen cupboards. Perfect. Getting up a little earlier to get ready for work, she had time to sear meat and brown the vegetables and then all she had to do was push the button and let the cooker work its magic while she worked with Flick for another busy day of home visits.

The concern about her student was still there but had been pushed into the background. Flick had dismissed her reaction to coffee after that Caesarean case as being due to a bit of a tummy bug and Sophia had been embarrassed that she’d blurted out the first suspicion that had sprung to mind—that Flick might be pregnant. The fact that she’d been pale and quiet for a few days after that fitted with her having been off colour and if she still seemed on the quiet side now, that could well be due to the extra studying she was doing. Flick seemed determined to learn everything about her chosen career and today was a great one for introducing her to things she hadn’t done before.

It was good for her to have her teaching to distract her, as well. If she hadn’t had Flick in the car with her as she negotiated the heavy traffic in places, she might have been tempted to wonder about how that meal was progressing as it simmered gently.

Or notice the desire that was simmering a little less gently deep in her belly. Would they go to bed again? Or maybe the real question was when and not if. Before or after dinner?

The car jerked a little with the firm pressure of her foot on the accelerator. ‘What do you think is the most important thing about the postnatal care we give for up to six weeks after birth?’

‘Support,’ Flick answered promptly. ‘Help with things like breastfeeding and bathing baby and how to cope with fatigue.’

‘And?’

‘Monitoring the health of both the baby and the mother. Especially after a Caesarean in case of infection. And making sure they don’t think that breastfeeding is a reliable form of contraception.’

Hmm. Expanding on that topic was not going to help her stay focused. ‘Good. What else do we do?’

‘Watch out for signs of postnatal depression?’

They discussed the kind of signs that could be important as Sophia drove them to their first visit of the day but their first mother—Judith—seemed to be coping extremely well, having had a home birth two days ago.

‘I’m lucky I’ve got Mum staying. I’m getting plenty of sleep between feeds.’

‘Looks like baby’s getting plenty of sleep, too.’ Sophia smiled at the tiny, perfect face peeping from the folds of blanket in Judith’s arms.

‘I’ve been a bit worried about today’s visit, though. I’m not sure I want her to have the test.’ Judith’s voice wobbled. ‘It’s going to hurt her, isn’t it?’

‘They usually cry,’ Sophia said gently. ‘But I think it’s more about having their foot held still than any pain. It’s a tiny prick. And the crying helps. It makes the blood come out faster so the test is over quickly.’

‘It’s important, Jude.’ Their patient’s mother was sitting nearby. She looked over at Sophia. ‘There’s all sorts of diseases it can test for, aren’t there? Treatable things?’

‘Absolutely. More than twenty different disorders, in fact.’

‘Like what?’

‘Maybe Flick can tell you about some of them.’ Sophia smiled encouragingly at her student.

‘There’s hypothyroidism,’ Flick said. ‘And cystic fibrosis. And the enzyme disorders that prevent the normal use of milk.’

‘And amino acid disorders,’ Sophia added. ‘Things that can lead to something like brain damage if they’re not picked up but which can be easily treated by following a special diet.’

‘But she’s not going to need a special diet for ages. I’m breastfeeding. Can’t we put the test off until then?’

‘It needs to be done as soon as possible after baby is forty-eight hours old.’ Sophia checked her watch. ‘And that’s right about now.’

‘I’ll hold her, if you like,’ Judith’s mother offered. ‘Why don’t you go and have a quick shower or something?’

‘No.’ Judith closed her eyes. ‘If it has to be done, I want to be the one holding her. Let’s just get it over with.’

Flick stored the card with its four blood spots in Judith’s file. ‘I’d better remember to take that to the lab later,’ she told Sophia as they drove to their next appointment. She shook her head. ‘Poor Judith. I think she cried more than the baby did. Imagine how hard the six-week vaccinations are going to be for her.’

‘Remind me to give her some pamphlets about that on our next visit. And we’ll talk to her about how important it is.’

They had a hearing screening test to do on a final visit to a six-week-old baby later that morning and a lesson in hand-expressing breast milk for a young mother in the afternoon.

‘I want my partner to share the night feeds,’ she told them. ‘And he really wants to, don’t you, John?’

The young father nodded. The look and smile he gave his partner was exactly what Sophia would want for herself. Overflowing with love and a determination to provide support—even if it meant sacrificing sleep. Unaccountably, an image of Aiden filled her mind. How ridiculous was that? He was so against the idea of ever having a baby that he wouldn’t trust anyone else to deal with contraception.

‘But I really hate the thought of using one of those breast pumps,’ the mother continued. ‘It’s so … mechanical.’

‘Hand expression isn’t hard. We’ll show you how to do it.’

Flick took notes as Sophia provided the instruction. By the end of the day she’d also had plenty of practice taking blood pressures and temperatures on mothers, weighing babies and filling in report forms.

‘You’re getting very competent,’ Sophia told her. ‘You’ll be doing all this on your own in no time.’

‘Thanks. I’m loving it.’ Flick opened her mouth as though about to say something else but then she merely smiled. ‘See you tomorrow, Soph. Have a good night.’

Sophia smiled back. ‘I intend to. You have one too.’

‘Oh, man … that has to be the most amazing thing I’ve ever smelt.’

As an icebreaker, on opening the door to her dinner guest, this was enough to make Sophia smile and stop wondering about what was going to happen before or after they ate.

‘Let’s hope it tastes as good as it smells.’ At least that was something she was pretty sure she didn’t need to worry about. She’d been pretty impressed herself to come home to the aroma of those slow-cooked lamb shanks with red wine and mushrooms. The potatoes were cooking now and all she needed to do was mash them and dinner would be ready.

They had time to relax and, seeing as Aiden was holding out a bottle of very nice wine, it would have been rude not to taste it.

‘Come in. I’ve got the fire going. It’s pretty cold out there tonight, isn’t it?’

‘Sure is.’ Aiden went straight to the flames of the small gas fire and stood with his back to it, his hand fanned out to catch the heat. He looked around. ‘This is really nice.’ His grin grew. ‘Can’t say I really noticed the other night.’

That grin—along with a ghost of a wink—chased away any lingering awkwardness over this date that wasn’t a date. Suddenly, Sophia felt completely comfortable in his company. No, it was more than that. Being with him in this small, book-filled room with the smell of hot food and the sound of rain on the roof felt … well, it felt like home.

‘It is nice, isn’t it? Most of this stuff isn’t mine, though. I’m house-sitting for a nurse at the Victoria who’s gone overseas for a year. Sad to say, the year’s half-over now. I’ll have to start thinking about finding a place of my own before too long.’

‘Where were you before this?’ Aiden took the corkscrew Sophia handed him and dealt expertly with opening the wine while she took a couple of steps back into the kitchen to fetch glasses.

‘Canberra. It’s where I grew up.’

‘You’ve got family there?’ Aiden poured the wine.

‘Just my parents. Dad’s a pharmacist and Mum’s a teacher.’ Sophia sat down on the sofa and it felt good when Aiden came to sit beside her. ‘How ’bout you?’

‘No folks. There’s just me and Nate. Mum died due to complications with his birth.’

‘Oh … that’s awful. Do you remember her?’

‘Yeah …’ For a second, Sophia could see the pain of that loss in his eyes but then his gaze slid sideways, as though he knew he might be revealing too much. ‘Not as well as I’d like to, though. I was only six when she died.’ He took a huge swallow of his wine.

Sophia’s heart ached for the little boy who’d lost his mother. She’d never lost one of her maternity patients but she knew it still happened in rare cases and she could imagine how terrible it would be for the whole family.

‘That smell is driving me mad.’ Aiden’s tone had a forced cheerfulness to it. An attempt to dispel any negative vibe? ‘I didn’t get time for lunch today.’

‘Oh …’ Maybe she couldn’t do anything to comfort that little boy of years gone by but she could certainly fix this. ‘Let’s eat. Why don’t you choose some music to put on while I mash the potatoes?’

His choice was surprising. ‘You went for vinyl?’

‘Retro, huh? The girl who owns this place is really into the old stuff.’

Sophia laughed. ‘It’s more like she’s never thrown anything out. Dot’s in her early sixties. At least you chose one of my favourites. I adore Cat Stevens.’

‘Me, too.’ Aiden took the plate from her hands but held her gaze. ‘And how did you know that lamb shanks are my all-time favourite food?’

The warmth in that gaze made the pleasure of approval all the more intense and Sophia had to break the eye contact. ‘Lucky guess. Or maybe we just have a lot in common.’

The food tasted just as good as it had smelled. The flames on the fake logs of the gas fire danced merrily and the music was the perfect background. All that was missing, Sophia decided, was candlelight.

Except wouldn’t that make it too romantic to be a non-date? And what could she talk about that wouldn’t take them into ground that might be deemed too personal and put it into the same category?

‘You must have had a busy day, if you didn’t get time for lunch.’

‘Sure did. Two cardiac arrests, one straight after the other, would you believe?’

‘Did you get them back?’

‘Transported the first one with a viable rhythm but I think the downtime had been too long. The second guy woke up after the third shock and wanted to know what all the fuss was about.’

‘No, really?’

‘Yeah …’ Aiden refilled their glasses and then raised his in a toast. ‘Doesn’t happen very often but when it does, it makes it all worthwhile. Even missing lunch.’ He picked up his fork again. ‘Did I tell you how amazing this is? I can’t even mash potatoes without leaving lumps in.’

Sophia smiled. ‘Tell me about the save. How old was he? Was there bystander CPR happening when you got there?’

Aiden told her about the successful case in so much detail she felt like she’d been standing there, watching the drama.

‘You’re really good at that.’

‘What?’

‘Telling a story. You could write a book about your job and people would want to read it.’

Aiden shook his head. ‘I’ve just had practice, that’s all. Nathan is a frustrated paramedic, I think. He always wants every gory detail about everything and doesn’t let me get away with leaving stuff out. It’s become a habit.’

Sophia forgot about any boundaries she might have been watching so that they could keep this time light. And fun. There was such a strong undercurrent to Aiden’s words. It had the strength of showing the bond between the brothers in that Aiden was so used to sharing every detail of his life with Nathan, but it had rocks and rapids in it, too. Did Nathan resent that Aiden was out in the world, doing such an exciting and physical job, while he was trapped in a wheelchair? Did Aiden feel guilty about it?

‘How did it happen?’ she heard herself asking quietly. ‘How did Nate become a quadriplegic?’

Aiden stopped chewing his mouthful of food and swallowed. Carefully. He reached for his glass of wine but didn’t look at Sophia.

‘He got pushed down a set of stairs.’ His voice was flat.

‘Oh, my God …’ If she’d still had any appetite, it evaporated at that moment. ‘How old was he?’

‘Ten.’

A ten-year-old boy who’d probably loved to ride his bike and play soccer or rugby. A boy who’d already had it tough by having to grow up without his mother.

An echo of those sombre words Aiden had spoken the other night slipped into her head.

I had to be a father to Nate when he was growing up and that was enough. More than enough.

Had he been referring to the growing up before that dreadful accident or the trauma of readjustment that would have come afterwards?

She had so many questions she wanted to ask but didn’t dare push further into such personal territory. The silence grew. Aiden was staring at his wineglass.

‘Must have been drinking on such an empty stomach that did it,’ he mused. ‘I never talk about this.’

Then he looked up and caught Sophia’s gaze. ‘Or maybe it’s because I’m with you.’

Something inside her melted into a liquid warmth. Some of it reached her eyes and she knew she’d have to blink a lot to make sure it didn’t escape and roll down her cheeks. Her voice came out as a whisper.

‘You can tell me anything. Or not. You’re safe, either way.’ She tried to smile but it didn’t quite work.

Aiden wasn’t smiling either. He felt like he was drowning in that moisture he could see collecting in Sophia’s eyes. The caring behind them hit him like an emotional brick and tugged at something long forgotten. Poignant.

Did it remind him of the way his mother had looked at him, maybe?

‘It was my father who pushed him down the stairs,’ he found himself telling her. ‘And it was my fault.’

The shock on her face was all too easy to read and Aiden cringed inwardly. He shouldn’t have told her. She would think less of him. As little as he thought of himself?

But then her face changed. She looked like she was backing away even though she didn’t move a single muscle.

‘I don’t believe that,’ she said. ‘Not one bit.’

How could she say that with such conviction? She barely knew him and she knew nothing of what had happened. A flash of anger made it easy to unchain words.