Detective Daddy

Bruce’s receptionist, red-haired Wendy, made a big fuss over the baby. “What a little darling,” she cooed. Giving Dan a sideways look, she added, “Never thought I’d see the day you’d be carrying a little one around.” Shifting her attention to Fay, she said, “Come right in through that door. Doctor’s with a patient, but we’ll get you nice and comfortable in an examining room while you wait.”

Dan followed Fay to the room Wendy indicated. “Want me to stay with you ’til Bruce comes in?” he asked.

She shook her head.

“You can bring the baby into the back office,” Wendy told Dan. “Doctor’ll want to examine Ms. Merriweather before he looks at her daughter.” Turning again to Fay, she said, “I’m going to bring you some forms to fill out while you wait.” Shooing Dan ahead of her, Wendy bustled out.

One of the forms, Fay discovered after Wendy returned with them, was the information needed for the baby’s birth certificate. She smiled as she wrote down the name she’d chosen: Danielle Marie Merriweather. Perhaps Dan wouldn’t mind that she’d named her daughter after him, but she’d decided not to take the chance, so hadn’t told him. And wouldn’t.

By the time all the forms were filled in, a fortyish woman entered and set a small tray down on the top of a cabinet. “I’m Ellen, the office nurse,” she said. “I’m here to weigh you and take your blood pressure.” When she finished, she added, “Doctor Sorenson wants me to get a blood sample, too.”

With practiced efficiency, she drew the blood. Eyeing Fay assessingly, she said, “Are you okay? You look kind of pale.”

“Just tired,” Fay said.

“You’ll have to do it sooner or later anyway, so why don’t you undress, slip into a gown and get up on the table where you can stretch out?” Ellen indicated a corner with a curtain pull. “The gowns and a sheet to cover yourself are in there.” She gathered up the tray and the filled-out papers before leaving the room.

Fay did as the nurse suggested, breathing a sigh of relief when she was flat on the table. Damn this lethargy. She fought to stay awake, but her eyelids were drooping shut when she heard the knock at the door before it opened. The doctor. He looked enough like Dan so she thought she could have picked him in a crowd as Dan’s brother, even though he had a slimmer build and his eyes were a lighter shade of blue.

“Hello, Fay,” he said. “I’m Bruce Sorenson, Dan’s brother.” He held out a hand to her and she shook it.

“Thanks for seeing me on such short notice,” she said.

He didn’t release her hand, but turned it over, peering down at her fingers as he said, “No problem. Dan filled me in a little about what happened after you got lost in that storm and found your way to the lodge. I’ll examine your daughter later. First we’ll see about you.”

Letting go of her hand, he leaned toward her, saying, “I’m just going to pull your lower lid down for a moment.” He checked one eye, then the other.

“Dan mentioned that you bled quite a bit before delivering the placenta. Any marked bleeding since then?”

“No, not really.”

“From the looks of things, you may have anemia. I can’t tell for sure until I take a look at your blood under the microscope, but I strongly suspect that’s the reason for the persistent fatigue Dan mentioned to me.”

Fay swallowed. “You did say anemia, not leukemia?”

“I did. It’s not uncommon and is easily treated with medication and diet. Anemia is an entirely different condition than leukemia. There’s no connection. You should be feeling your old self in a few weeks, give or take a day here and there.”

“That long?”

“Don’t look so alarmed. You need rest, a good diet and medication to bring your count back up and that takes time. I strongly suggest you stay at a place where someone can help you with the baby.”

“My aunt lives in Duluth. I can call her.” But how was she going to get there alone? Just being a passenger on the short drive here had worn her out.

Someone tapped on the door and Ellen stuck her head in.

“I’m ready to do the exam,” Bruce said to the nurse, who then entered the room.

Fay prepared herself for the poking and prodding she knew would come, her attention fixed on the problem of getting to Duluth rather than the exam.

“Everything looks good,” Dr. Bruce told her when he finished. “There’s no sign of infection, your uterus feels normal and so does everything else. Once we get you over what I suspect is anemia, you’ll be fine. When you get home, though, be sure to have your doctor examine you. I would suggest you refrain from sexual intercourse for at least a month. Your own doctor will tell you when you can resume.”

Fay felt her face flush with embarrassment. Didn’t he realize sex was the last thing on her mind? “I wasn’t planning to do anything like that.” She could hear the indignation in her voice.

“Good.” He smiled at her, then turned and left.

Ellen helped Fay down off the table. “Once you’re dressed I’ll take you to the back office. Doctor’ll want to talk to you after he examines the baby.”

Fay found Dan there. “Bruce is taking a look at Marie,” he said. “Everything okay with you?”

“He thinks I have anemia,” she confessed. “That’s why I’m so tired all the time. Otherwise I’m fine. Once he’s confirmed the diagnosis, he’s going to give me some medication and wants me to eat well and take it easy for a month. As long as I can get to my aunt in Duluth, that’ll be no problem.”

Dan gestured toward the phone on the doctor’s desk. “Call her.”

Fay hesitated. “Do you think your brother will mind? I do have a phone card.”

“He won’t care. Go ahead.”

When she reached her aunt’s number, Fay heard the answering machine kick in after four rings. Instead of the familiar message about not being able to come to the phone, she heard a different one.

“Please call me at 619—”

Fay forgot the rest of the numbers as she grabbed a pen from the desk and looked for something to write on. Fortunately, her aunt’s message repeated the numbers and she scribbled them down.

She hung up and glanced at Dan. “That’s a San Diego area code,” she told him. “My aunt must be visiting her daughter. Strange, she had no plans to go there.” Fay used her phone card to dial the California number.

Aunt Marie herself answered. “Oh, my dear, Fay,” she said. “I was hoping you’d call. Gwen was in a frightful car accident and we almost lost her. I flew out immediately when I heard and I’m taking care of the boys and, of course, Roger. Poor man, he’s beside himself with worry. Thank the Lord she’s improving and they think she’ll recover completely in time. I’ll be staying right here until she’s back on her feet again. How are you doing?”

Realizing she couldn’t burden her aunt with any more of a problem than she already had, Fay said, “I’m so sorry to hear about Gwen’s accident. I just called to tell you that you have a new niece. Both of us are fine.”

“A baby girl! Isn’t that wonderful? I’m so happy for you.” Aunt Marie went on for a bit, then said goodbye, saying she was heading to the hospital to visit her daughter.

“Give Gwen my love,” Fay said and put down the phone.

“So going to Duluth is out of the picture for you,” Dan said.

She nodded, wondering what she was going to do.

“You obviously aren’t strong enough to drive home yet,” he told her. “I’m still on leave for the month of May, so the best solution would be for us to return to the cabin where you can rest and recuperate until your blood count’s back to normal, and I can help you take care of the baby.”

“You what?” Dr. Bruce asked from the open doorway, his eyebrows raised.

Fay hadn’t heard him approach and, obviously, neither had Dan.

“Am I hearing right?” Bruce continued, staring at Dan. “You’re actually offering to care for an infant for a month?”

“I delivered her, didn’t I?” Dan’s tone was gruff.

“You didn’t have much choice. Though I have to admit you did okay.” He smiled at Fay.

“Ellen will bring your baby to you shortly. She weighs seven pounds, ten ounces and is 20 inches long. All indications are that she’s a healthy, normal little girl.”

At his last few words, Fay realized she’d been holding her breath, waiting to hear more bad news. She sighed in relief.

“The baby’s blood count is normal,” Bruce added, “but yours indicates a definite anemia. I’m going to give you an injection right now and then a prescription that you should fill before going back to the cabin, if that’s what you decide to do. I want you to call me if you have any new symptoms and come in for another blood count before returning home.”

“Thank you,” she said.

“I reported the phone and electric lines being down,” Dan answered, “so they’ll be getting to them as soon as possible.”

Bruce gave Dan a measuring look as he drew liquid from a small vial with a needle and syringe. “Dan, if you want to take on this responsibility, who am I to argue? You seem to have done a fairly decent job of baby care so far and Fay does need to have someone to help her. I do agree it’s best if she doesn’t undertake a long, tiring trip right now.”

“But I don’t want to impose—” Fay began.

“It’s no imposition,” Dan told her. “Think about it. You said yourself there’s no one back in Archer to help out. Your aunt is in California, not Duluth, but here I am. Me and the cabin.”

She bared her upper arm for the shot, thinking she couldn’t argue with what Dan had said. It did seem to her, though, that Dr. Bruce wasn’t too keen on his brother taking her back to the cabin. Was there some reason he didn’t approve of her? He surely couldn’t think she was out to trap Dan into marriage. Ridiculous. Especially in her condition.

The needle pricked through her skin, the injection stinging for a brief moment, but she hardly noticed. Her attention was fixed on why Dan had offered to take care of her and Marie. She’d have thought he’d be eager to see the last of the trouble she and her daughter had caused him. At the same time, she was glad he had offered, even if he’d done it out of a misplaced sense of obligation. She was the one obligated, not him.

It wasn’t only that he’d solved her problem. If she were honest, she’d have to admit, she’d rather be with him than to entrust her baby to someone she wasn’t sure she could count on.

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