A Very Special Child

‘I see.’ Laura frowned as she thought about what he’d said. It was rare for urine to flow back towards the kidneys but, unfortunately, some children were born with this problem. Instead of urine passing into the bladder and being stored there, it flowed back up the ureters. In Katie’s case this meant that urine had actually refluxed into the complex system whereby her blood had been filtered of impurities.

‘So how long did this go on for?’ she asked in concern. ‘And did Katie need surgery to sort out the problem?’

‘Fortunately not. By the time Katie was two she’d stopped refluxing so there was no need for surgical intervention. However, she’s had several bouts of UTI in the past eighteen months so her GP referred her to us for investigation. We decided that she would fare better on long-term antibiotics to prevent further infections.’

He shrugged but Laura could tell that he was as concerned as she was. ‘There was no problem when her father was around because he made sure that she took the medication as per instructions. However, since he disappeared off the scene all that has gone by the board.’

‘What a shame! Doesn’t Katie have any contact with him at all now?’ Laura asked in dismay.

‘Not from what I can gather from her GP. He was so worried when the mother eventually took Katie to the surgery that he contacted me direct and asked if we could admit Katie immediately. And I’m glad he did.’

Mark’s tone was hard. ‘The poor kid has lost a lot of weight in the couple of months since we saw her last. My main concern now is that renal scarring may have occurred because of the renewed bouts of infection. However, there’s no way of knowing until we see the results of the ultrasound scans and X-rays, which are booked for the end of this week.’

None of them said anything. Laura suspected that they were all mentally crossing their fingers that the scans wouldn’t show any irreversible damage to Katie’s kidneys. It was hard to believe that any mother could have been so careless as to put her child at risk the way Katie’s mother had done.

The beep of a pager suddenly broke the silence and Mark grimaced. ‘That’s for me.’

He picked up the phone to respond to the call while Laura, taking her cue from Rachel, got up to leave. It was obvious that the meeting was at an end and suddenly she couldn’t wait to get down to the real nitty-gritty of the job. She had always loved nursing and her natural enthusiasm had been whetted by Mark’s obvious commitment. Suddenly, she knew that her fears had been groundless and that she would cope, and couldn’t help smiling as the last of her uncertainty melted away.

‘Why the smile? Not that I’m objecting, of course. A smile like that could light up the dullest day.’

There was a teasing note in Mark’s voice as he replaced the receiver, but it didn’t conceal the fact that he’d meant what he’d said. Laura felt a ripple of heat spread from one small point in the very centre of her being and radiate outwards, filling her with a pleasure so intense that she was sure it must show. She rushed into speech, afraid that he might ask her what was wrong. Frankly, that was the last thing she wanted to have to explain when she wasn’t sure of the answer herself!

‘I was just thinking that maybe I would be able to cope with this job after all,’ she blurted out. She saw Mark frown and immediately wished she’d stopped to think before saying that. After all, she didn’t want him having doubts about her ability to do this job.

‘Of course you can cope! Why on earth would you doubt it?’ he demanded. He folded his arms across his chest and stared at her, and she shifted uncomfortably.

‘Oh, well, I was just worried that I might find it difficult to slot in here,’ she mumbled, then jumped as he gave an openly sceptical laugh.

‘If I didn’t know better then I would swear you were fishing for compliments, Laura Grady.’ He suddenly reached out and gave her a gentle shake. ‘You’re going to fit in here perfectly! I can guarantee that.’

‘Can you?’

Was that really her voice? Laura wondered shakily as she heard the husky tones which supposedly emerged from her lips. She swallowed then tried again, afraid that Mark would think her a complete ninny, acting this way. ‘I mean, thank you. I appreciate your confidence, Dr Dawson.’

‘Make that Mark, and there’s nothing to thank me for. I knew as soon as I read your CV that you were the right person for this job. I was away on a course when the interviews were held but I’d already made my views clear to the board. I’m only glad that you accepted the post, Laura. Dalverston General needs nurses of your calibre.’

He gave her a last warm smile before he left the office. Laura stood right where she was before she realised that Rachel would be wondering where she’d got to. She squared her shoulders as she headed for the door. Mark’s belief in her was something she intended to live up to…starting this very minute!

She left the office and glanced along the corridor just in time to see him stepping into the lift. Perhaps he sensed he was being watched because he looked round. Their eyes met in a look which sent a wave of heat washing through her before he disappeared from view, but the damage had been done already.

Laura went back to the ward, responding automatically as Rachel introduced her to the rest of the team, although a few seconds later she couldn’t recall the names of either of the two other nurses on duty that day. Was it any wonder? the voice of her conscience whispered as she hurried off to begin the first task Rachel had set her, getting one of the children ready to go to Theatre.

She bit her lip as she cross-checked Daniel Glover’s name tags against the theatre list, struggling to contain the feeling of guilt. Was she really such a shallow person that she could forget who and what she was just because an attractive man was kind to her? Was it really so easy to forget about Ian and the love they’d shared? She hoped not. But maybe she should remind herself of the facts before she made a fool of herself.

She was Laura Grady, a widow with a four-year-old son who suffered from Down’s syndrome. No matter how kind Mark Dawson might be to her, it wouldn’t change that and neither would she want it to.

All she wanted from life now was the chance to raise her son. She didn’t need anything else because she’d had it all already…a wonderful marriage to a man she’d loved. The memory of the love she and Ian had shared was more than enough to see her through the coming years.

Wasn’t it?

It was that last thought, which slipped in before she could stop it, that worried her most of all.

CHAPTER TWO

IT WAS a busy day but as the time flew past, Laura knew that she’d been right to accept the job. She enjoyed every minute, finding it easier than she’d dared hope to slip into the routine of caring for her small charges.

Rachel had explained that continuity of care was a key criterion in nursing the children, and that they worked a system whereby each nurse was assigned certain children who would come specifically under her care. Cutting down on the number of people who dealt with each child, helped them form a bond. It also meant that the nurses had far more input into the way each child was cared for, and that they were encouraged to make suggestions.

Laura was delighted when she discovered that Katie had been assigned to her care. Learning what she had about the child’s background, had made her more determined than ever to do her best for the little girl. She made a point of stopping to speak to her whenever she got chance throughout the day.

Daniel Glover came back from Theatre and she had a reassuring word with his mother when she saw how anxious Mrs Glover was.

‘Everything went extremely well, Mrs Glover,’ she assured her, smoothing the sheet over the drowsy child. Although Daniel had come round from the anaesthetic, he was still a bit groggy. ‘You’d be surprised how many children have this operation to clear up severe cases of glue ear like Daniel had.’

‘That nice Dr Dawson said that but you can’t help worrying, can you?’ Josephine Glover sighed as she looked at her son. ‘I just wish I’d realised sooner that Daniel had a problem with his hearing but, to be honest, he never acted as though he couldn’t hear me.’

Laura smiled, determinedly quelling the flutter her heart gave at the mention of Mark’s name. She hadn’t seen him since that morning as he hadn’t been back to the ward. She’d heard Rachel telling one of the parents that he was tied up in a meeting but would be available the following day if they wanted to speak to him. The consultant paediatrician, Simon Martindale, was away on holiday so Mark was having to stand in for him, which must have increased his workload.

Now Laura forced herself to focus on Daniel’s worried mother, rather than allowing thoughts of Mark Dawson to intrude. ‘A lot of children adapt to the problem of impaired hearing, so you mustn’t blame yourself. And, of course, the sticky fluid that collects in the middle ear and interferes with the movement of the eardrum and ossicles and causes the problem tends to build up over a period of time. Each time Daniel had a cold or respiratory infection the situation became worse.’

‘I see. But what about these grommets the doctor mentioned—they won’t cause Daniel a problem, will they?’ Mrs Glover queried uncertainly.

‘Not at all. They are just tiny tubes which the surgeon has put into the incisions he’s made in Daniel’s eardrums. Their job is to equalise the pressure on both sides of the eardrum so that the mucus can drain down the Eustachian tubes into the back of Daniel’s throat. They usually fall out of their own accord once the hole in the eardrum closes.’

She smiled encouragingly. ‘Quite frankly, Daniel is going to find life a lot easier now that he can hear what’s going on!’

Mrs Glover looked a lot happier as she was left to sit with her son. Laura carried on with her work and before she knew it five o’clock had arrived. She went to have a word with Katie before going off duty, smiling when she saw the child’s face light up as soon as Katie saw her approaching.

‘I’m going home now, poppet. Is there anything you want before I leave—a drink of juice perhaps?’ she offered, bending to brush the wispy brown hair back from the little girl’s face. There had been a lot of parents in and out of the ward all day, but Katie’s mother had been noticeable by her absence. Now Laura felt her heart ache as she saw the child look eagerly toward the doors as they opened to admit two more visitors, and her ensuing disappointment when once again her mother wasn’t one of them.

‘No, thank you. I’m not thirsty.’ Katie managed a wan little smile as she glanced down at the bedspread. ‘I really like these kittens, Laura. I wish I could show them to Daddy.’

‘Maybe your mummy will phone him and ask him to visit you, then he can see them,’ she suggested, mentally crossing her fingers.

Katie shrugged resignedly. ‘Mummy and Daddy don’t love each other any more. She won’t speak to him when he rings up.’

Laura stifled a groan. It seemed so unfair that the poor mite should have to suffer because of her parents’ break-up. However, there was little she could say so she gave Katie another warm smile. ‘Right, then, sunshine, I’ll see you tomorrow. Be good!’

Katie’s wistful eyes followed Laura as she made her way down the ward. She paused to wave to the little girl then hurried to the staffroom. The other two nurses, who she’d discovered were called Jane Oliver and Cathy Williams, were already there, putting on their coats. They bade her a cheery goodbye, but didn’t wait as they hurried out of the door. They’d disappeared by the time Laura got to the lift. They’d seemed friendly enough but there had been little time to chat as they’d been so busy.

Still, there would be time to get to know one another soon enough, Laura decided, pressing the button for the ground floor. She mustn’t be greedy. Considering it had been her first day, it had gone far better than she’d hoped!

An icy wind greeted her as she left the hospital. It was the end of March and the weather still hadn’t settled down. There had been a mixture of sunny days interspersed with heavy rain for several weeks. This part of northern Lancashire was very beautiful but the weather certainly wasn’t predictable. However, even Laura, well accustomed to the vagaries of the climate, was surprised when it began to snow as she reached the end of the drive. She definitely hadn’t expected that!

Drawing the collar of her coat up under her chin, she hurried towards the bus stop then looked round as she heard a car horn. It took her a second before she recognised the driver as Mark. He drew up alongside her and rolled down the window.

‘Hop in and I’ll give you a lift. Looks as though we’re about to have a bit of a storm.’

He glanced at the sky and Laura realised that he was right as she followed his gaze. The sky had turned a funny yellowish-grey colour, indicating that there was a lot of snow on the way. She hesitated a moment but the thought of the long walk she had once she got off the bus helped her make up her mind.

‘Thanks. I appreciate it,’ she said, sliding quickly into the seat as Mark thrust open the passenger door.

‘No problem.’ He gave her a lazy grin before he pulled out into the traffic. Flicking on the windscreen wipers, he focused his attention on the road as he headed towards the centre of the town. The snow was coming down harder now, sticking to the pavements and turning them white. He didn’t say anything until he’d cleared the worst of the traffic which always built up at rush hour around the cenotaph. Then he shot Laura a smiling glance.

‘Right, where to? I’m afraid I can’t remember where you live from your job application.’

‘I’m sure you can’t,’ she replied tartly. ‘I wouldn’t expect you to.’

‘No?’ He shrugged lightly, guiding the car expertly around a vehicle that suddenly pulled into the kerb without bothering to signal. He seemed unfazed by the manoeuvre and showed no sign of impatience as he drove past, but Laura suspected that tolerance was an intrinsic part of his nature.

She brushed aside that thought, realising that she was making judgements about him which she wasn’t qualified to make.

‘No,’ she stated firmly. ‘I’m sure that you must have read dozens of applications for the job, so why should you recall my details?’

‘Hmm, modest, as well as everything else, Laura. Is there no end to your virtues, I ask myself?’ He laughed to let her know that he was teasing, although there was the strangest gleam in his grey eyes as he shot her a glance.

‘I shall take that with a large pinch of salt, Dr Dawson,’ she retorted, struggling to find just the right note of levity and inwardly sighing with relief when he grinned.

‘Oh, dear, I can see that I won’t be able to soft-soap you, Nurse Grady.’ He changed down a gear as they came to a junction, waiting while a lorry trundled past before he pulled out.

He continued in a more sober tone, ‘Anyway, as it happens, I do remember a lot of what you wrote on your application. Want me to prove it?’

‘That’s up to you.’ She shrugged, determined to let him think that it made no difference to her. However, she would have been lying if she’d tried to deny her surprise when he began to recite from memory.

‘Your full name is Laura Anne Grady and you’re thirty years of age—not that you look it, I might add.’ He gave her another quick grin. ‘You look a lot younger than that. It must be your hair.’

Reaching out, he ruffled the red curls at her temple then returned his hand to the wheel. ‘All those baby-soft curls make you look more like a teenager than a grown woman.’

He carried on before she could say anything, not that there was much she could think of, Laura realised giddily. The action had been so…so natural that it would have been impossible to object. However, that didn’t mean it hadn’t disturbed her…

‘You worked as a midwife on the maternity unit for two years before you left to have your baby.’ He shot her a quizzical look and she struggled to concentrate. ‘Didn’t you think about going back there to work? Good midwives are always in demand.’

‘I did. In fact, when I left to have Robbie I intended just to take maternity leave and go back as soon as I could.’ She shrugged, unaware of the slightly wistful note in her voice. ‘However, circumstances changed and I decided that returning to work wasn’t an option.’

‘Your son has Down’s syndrome, I believe,’ Mark said quietly. He must have seen her surprise because he smiled gently. ‘Rachel told me all about him. Robbie seems to have won her over all right!’

Laura laughed at that. ‘Robbie’s a real little heartbreaker! And I’m not saying that because I’m his mother either. He simply loves people of all ages, shapes and sizes, and they seem to respond to him.’

‘A very special child indeed, but, then, you so often find that children with handicaps are blessed in other ways.’

Laura felt her eyes fill. It hadn’t been all plain sailing since she’d had Robbie—all too often she’d encountered hostility from strangers who had seen the child’s handicap and been unwilling to look beyond it. But there had been no hesitation in Mark’s assessment and it had touched her deeply.

‘Thank you for saying that,’ she said quietly. ‘Not everyone can understand that.’

‘I can imagine. Even in today’s more enlightened times there’s still a reluctance to accept people with disabilities. However, I imagine that Robbie himself is the best antidote to that kind of thinking.’

Laura laughed at that. ‘You’re right. Once people get to know him, any prejudices they have soon disappear. Robbie has the gift of making people love him!’

‘As I said, a very special little boy indeed, and I can’t wait to meet him.’

He looked expectantly at her and Laura took a shaky breath. It had been less a hint than a blatant piece of angling for an invitation, but why? Why would Mark be so…so interested in meeting her son?

She had no idea but it was obvious that he was waiting for an answer so she had no choice but to give him one. ‘You…you’ll see Robbie when you drop me off. He’s at my friend’s house. Claire offered to fetch him from school each day while I’m working when she collects her son, Ben.’

‘Handy. I imagine good child-care arrangements are crucial for any mother who wants to return to work,’ Mark observed.

‘Exactly. That’s one of the reasons this job was so attractive and why I’d decided that returning to the maternity unit wasn’t an option. Babies have a nasty habit of wanting to be born at all odd hours of the night!’

Mark laughed. ‘The theory being that they arrive exactly nine months after they were conceived.’

Laura laughed at that. ‘I imagine that’s something no one will ever prove! Anyway, knowing that I could work nine to five each day was the incentive for going after this job. I desperately need to work, of course, but Robbie’s welfare has to come first.’

‘Well, I for one am really glad that you applied for it.’ Mark gave her a smile which sent a ripple of heat through her body. There was a slight pause before he cleared his throat. However, Laura wasn’t deaf to the roughness in his voice all of a sudden.

‘Anyway, you’d better direct me before we end up in Cumbria. In this snowstorm I don’t think that would be wise, do you?’

Laura dragged her thoughts into some semblance of order and glanced out of the window. She gasped as she realised how hard it was snowing. ‘I never thought it would stick like this!’

She peered through the glass, wishing that she’d been concentrating harder. It wasn’t fair to have dragged Mark out of his way and then get them both lost!

She suddenly recognised where they were and sighed in relief. ‘Oh, take the next turning on the right. Claire and Sean live in the third house down that road.’

Mark did as she’d asked. He drew up carefully alongside the kerb, although the car still slewed because already the snow was quite deep. ‘Stay there and I’ll come round to help you,’ he ordered, getting out before she could protest.

Laura opened her door but before she could step out Mark was there, his hand fastening firmly around her elbow to steady her. ‘Careful!’ he warned solicitously. ‘It’s really slippery underfoot.’

Despite the warning and the steadying hand, Laura felt her feet skid from under her. She made a desperate grab for the nearest solid object and coloured as she found herself clinging to Mark. He grinned down at her, his grey eyes sparkling with amusement and something which made her heart beat faster than it should have been doing.

‘Twice in one day? That horoscope was uncannily accurate, wasn’t it?’

‘Uh…It looks like it.’ Laura struggled to hide her confusion as she cautiously straightened. She took a careful step back and held out her hand. ‘Thank you very much for the lift, Mark. I do appreciate it.’

‘I hope that wasn’t intended as a brush-off?’

‘I’m sorry?’ She stared at him in bewilderment, not sure what he’d meant.

He gave her a lazy grin as his hand fastened around her elbow again and he steered her towards the house. ‘You promised that I could meet Robbie, if you remember?’

‘Oh, but surely you want to get off home? I mean, it’s snowing so hard…’ She stopped and took a deep breath then looked him squarely in the eyes. ‘Why are you so keen to meet him, Mark? I don’t understand.’

He returned her look steadily enough but there was puzzlement in the depths of his eyes. ‘Neither do I understand why it’s so important, Laura.’ He reached up and brushed a snowflake off her cheek; his touch was so gentle that she shivered. ‘I just know that it is.’

There wasn’t anything she could say to that. Her heart seemed to be beating itself to death as she carried on walking towards the house on legs that weren’t quite steady. She was glad of Mark’s support because she doubted whether she could have managed the couple of yards which was all it took to reach the front door. Her mind and body seemed to belong to someone else at that moment, to someone she barely remembered from years gone by. It wasn’t really she who was experiencing this feeling of excitement and anticipation, surely?

It was a relief when the door suddenly opened and a small, familiar figure came hurtling out of the house because once again she knew who she was—Laura Grady, widow and mother!

‘Mummy! I’s had tea with Ben.’

‘Have you? Why, you lucky little boy!’

Laura swept her son up into her arms and hugged him. He planted a kiss on her cheek then promptly turned his attention to the stranger.

‘Who’s you?’ he demanded.

‘My name is Mark, Robbie. I’m a friend of your mummy’s.’

It was all the cue the child needed. Reaching over, he grabbed hold of the man’s neck and transferred his affections to his new friend.

Mark laughed as the little boy kissed him soundly on the cheek. He swung him up into the air, grinning at Laura as Robbie squealed his delight. ‘A real little heartbreaker indeed.’

Laura nodded, not sure how to handle the way things were moving so fast. It was a relief when Claire suddenly appeared and started chivvying them indoors. ‘Come in before you freeze to death, you idiots!’

Laura stepped inside, realising belatedly that she should explain Mark’s presence. ‘Mark…Dr Dawson, I mean, very kindly offered me a lift because it was snowing.’

Claire grinned wickedly as she glanced at the tall man with the child clinging around his neck. ‘Dr Dawson, is it? Making sure your new staff show you due respect, eh, Mark?’

He grinned back. ‘Something like that.’

Laura stared from one to the other, feeling a little like Alice must have felt in Wonderland. ‘You two know one another?’

‘Of course. Claire and I often ran into one another when she was in A and E. That was before she decided to do her bit for the world population, of course.’ He shot a teasing glance at the other woman’s very pregnant tummy as Claire laughed.