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Claire laughed. ‘No. Because it was my idea and that was all the reason they needed to make me do it. You should meet the others in the next few weeks.’
‘How about you have dinner with me tonight and fill me in on how you envisage the centre will run?’
Claire wasn’t fooled by his innocent smile. Same motive as before, just disguised in a different wrapper. Who was she kidding? If her life were at all normal then she’d have jumped at the chance. He was, after all, a very attractive man. But there was so much about her life that was complicated.
It was far easier to deny herself completely than to suffer the inevitable heartache. That was the mantra she lived by. Despite this, Claire felt a flutter in her chest that was an entirely new experience for her. Why? She hardly knew the man!
‘Take a seat.’ Claire indicated behind him. ‘I’ll fill you in now.’
He laughed but pulled up a chair anyway. Claire continued.
‘Pregnant women, when they first make contact with the hospital, will be offered our service. If they decide it’s for them, they’ll have their initial consultation with you. If they’re suitable, you’ll refer them to us. All their subsequent appointments will be with us. We’ll see them every four weeks until twenty-eight weeks, and then every fortnight until thirty-six and then weekly until they deliver. Same as usual. If they haven’t delivered by forty weeks then you’ll see them again to check everything’s OK.’
‘Right. I assume it’s short stay? How long do they stay after the baby is born?’
‘Twenty-four hours generally. Each case will be different, of course. It’ll also be influenced by demand. If women wish to stay longer, they’ll be transferred to one of the postnatal wards. The hospital’s Community Midwifery Service will follow up the women who choose early discharge. Then we see them here again six weeks later.’
‘Very good.’ He nodded. ‘But what about the birth? What pain relief do you offer? What’s the procedure if complications develop?’
‘We offer gas and pethidine, although we’d prefer to try alternatives first.’
‘Such as?’
‘Heat, massage, positioning, water. However, if the client wants something stronger, or if complications develop, we transfer them to Labour Ward. We continue to be their midwives and will still deliver their babies, and then they come back to the birth centre afterwards, depending on their level of intervention.’
Campbell continued to fire questions at Claire. She answered them in full.
‘One more question, Sister West.’ He smiled, his green eyes glittering with mirth.
‘Yes?’ she replied warily.
‘Do you like Thai or would you prefer Indian?’
Claire groaned and rolled her eyes. ‘Neither.’
‘Italian?’
‘I’m not going to go to dinner with you, Campbell. Quit asking.’
‘I never quit. My mother says I’m the most stubborn person she knows.’
‘Well, I think you’ve just met your match.’
‘I’m not going to go away, Claire. I won’t give up.’
‘Always get what you want, huh?’
‘No, not always. I’ve just never wanted anything so much before.’ Campbell’s pager beeped and he whisked it off his belt, frustration marring his handsome face. ‘Saved by the bell, Claire West. I’ve got to go. Labour Ward needs me.’
Claire stood, grateful that he was finally leaving and that she’d be able to breathe properly again. He stood at the same time and suddenly their bodies were a whisper away from touching. She wanted to close the gap so badly, she had to look down to cover the surprising reaction his proximity had caused. Something was wrong—she’d known him for less than two hours! This shouldn’t be happening.
‘This isn’t over.’ The low timbre of his voice slid down her spine as he pressed two fingers beneath her chin and raised her head. ‘It’s just the beginning.’
She held her breath and stood very still, watching his green eyes glitter with promise. And then he was gone and Claire sagged into the chair, relieved to be alone.
Well, his mother was right. Claire had never met someone so determined. If he pursued her as relentlessly as he had today, how long could she hold out against his resolve? Especially when she knew, deep down, that if the circumstances of her life had been different, she wouldn’t have hesitated.
Claire couldn’t deny she was attracted to Campbell, and it had been a long time since she’d felt that about a man. It had been a long time since she’d even been with a man. And many had tried. One or two had even been quite persistent. But despite their ardour, she’d been unmoved.
It had been easy to stick to her guns when the men in question had done nothing for her. But Campbell was a real enigma. Could she honestly say she was indifferent to him?
Claire shook herself. It didn’t matter. She was still bound by her no-relationship policy and it was one she must adhere to, no matter what artillery he used to try and persuade her.
She might be appealing to him now, but Claire knew from bitter experience that initial attraction waned. She need only think of Shane to be reminded of that. Campbell didn’t know it, but she was doing this for his own good.
* * *
‘Ready for the last patient, Campbell?’ Sister Andrea Marshall asked, poking her head around his office door. She’d been nurse in charge of Obstetric Outpatients for the last five years. She had been at St Jude’s for as long as Claire, and they had done their midwifery training together.
He stretched and smiled at her, noting her keen interest. She’d been flirting with him all morning. A month ago he wouldn’t have hesitated but, since meeting Claire, all other women had ceased to exist. Still, her interest was flattering to his increasingly deflated ego. A harmless flirtation with a busty blonde was exactly the right medicine.
‘Sure, Andrea, send her in,’ he said, his mind distracted by the challenge Claire presented.
That she had been avoiding him, and quite successfully too, hadn’t escaped his notice. Still, he was prepared to wait. All good things came to those who waited. Didn’t they? And with the birth centre officially opened last week, Campbell knew she wouldn’t be able to shun him for ever.
Andrea ushered in his patient and handed him the chart.
‘Hello, Mrs Craven. I’m Campbell Deane. Congratulations on your pregnancy. Twenty weeks already.’ He smiled and shook his patient’s hand, noting the area of darkened pigmentation across her face, which was common in pregnancy and caused by hormonal changes.
‘Call me Lex, please.’
‘So, you’re planning on having the baby here at St Jude’s,’ he said, flicking through the chart.
‘Yes, Dr Deane, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about.’
‘Please, call me Campbell.’ He’d never been comfortable with the blind reverence afforded to doctors. His mother had always taught him that respect should be earned. He didn’t consider that what he did for a living automatically made him better than the next person. We’re all just cogs in a wheel, his mother, a midwife herself, insisted. Besides, his four sisters, three of them nurses and one a GP, were always ready to cut him down to size should he let his position go to his head.
‘I got a phone call last week from the receptionist at the birth centre—I’m in! I’m so excited.’ Her dark, wavy hair bounced as she laughed.
Campbell joined her, noting her glow of excitement. ‘Well, congratulations again.’
‘Thanks. I’ve really wanted to have my baby there ever since I heard about it.’
‘Oh, yes? And why’s that?’
‘Well, I’ve read so much about active birth and I really like the philosophy. I’ve bought and borrowed every book there is on the subject. The whole concept of a birth centre is fantastic. Kind of like a home birth but with medical back-up if you need it.’
‘I think we need to put you in charge of advertising.’ He laughed. ‘You sound like an ideal candidate. Have you thought about how you’re going to cope with the pain?’
‘I’d like the baby to be in the best possible shape when it arrives, so drug-free is my ultimate aim. I’ll try all the alternatives first. But I’m flexible. You hear enough horror labour stories to know it’s going to hurt.’
‘Good for you. I think flexibility is definitely the key.’
‘The receptionist said I needed to see you first and get a referral.’
‘That’s right, so let’s do it. Hop up on the examination bed over there.’ Campbell walked to the door and called to Andrea, who was sorting through a mountain of charts. ‘Andrea’s going to stay while I examine you. Blood pressure first.’
He pulled the cuff down from the wall and quickly took Lex’s BP. ‘Perfect,’ he said, smiling. Next he asked her to slip her skirt down slightly so he could feel her abdomen. ‘Sorry, cold hands,’ he apologised in advance. What was it with hospitals? The air-conditioning always seemed set at freezing.
Campbell shut his eyes as he gently probed Lex’s abdomen, feeling for her burgeoning uterus. He found the top and Andrea handed him a tape measure. He measured the distance from her pubic bone to the where his hand was. Twenty weeks exactly.
‘Would you like to hear the baby’s heartbeat?’ he asked.
‘Of course,’ she said with a laugh.
Andrea gave him a hand-held Doppler. It was similar in appearance to a transistor radio. He squeezed a daub of gel on Lex’s abdomen and turned the machine on. He fiddled with the volume control and turned it down until the noise was less jarring. Manipulating the transducer through the gel, he quickly located the steady whop, whop, whop of the baby’s heart.
They were all silent as the noise filled the office. Campbell loved this part. The sounds of new life never ceased to amaze him. The miracle of it all. This was why he’d become an obstetrician. He grinned at Lex and saw the shimmer of tears in her eyes.
‘What a beautiful noise,’ he said.
‘One hundred and sixty-four,’ said Andrea, who had counted the beats.
‘Excellent,’ said Campbell, switching off the machine and wiping gel off Lex.
He left Andrea to help her straighten up, walking back to his desk to peruse her chart once more.
‘Swabs are negative. Blood tests unremarkable. Haemoglobin good. Any foetal movements yet?’
‘I’ve been feeling fluttering for a couple of weeks now.’
‘Good,’ he said, writing in the notes. ‘Any concerns?’
‘Nope.’ She shook her head.
‘All right, then. You can give the birth centre a ring and organise an appointment for four weeks.’
‘Oh, thank you so much, Dr Deane … I mean Campbell. You don’t know how much this means to me.’ She jumped up and shook his hand vigorously. ‘Actually, I think I’ll go up there now. I haven’t seen it yet and I can make my appointment while I’m there.’
‘Good idea,’ said Campbell, grateful for this golden opportunity. Look out, Claire West. Here I come. ‘I’ll walk you there,’ he offered.
Lex Craven’s excited chatter occupied most of Campbell’s attention on the short walk. As they alighted from the lift on the fifth floor, Campbell listened less, becoming tuned into his body’s anticipation. He could feel his heart thudding in his chest and echoing in his ears.
His stomach growled, reminding him that it was almost two o’clock and he hadn’t had anything to eat since breakfast. Maybe he could persuade Claire to join him for some lunch? Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
He saw her the second he walked through the doors. She had her back to him, talking to a client, and he noticed the easy way she held her body when she didn’t know he was around. She was too erect and straight when she talked to him. Like she was afraid that if she relaxed, even for a nanosecond, she might get too close.
He loved how her white uniform fitted her perfectly. It accentuated her lushness, flattering her curves and emphasising her cute derrière. It was a stark contrast to her rich olive skin and her midnight-black bob. Just watching her now, his fingers itched to feel its silky weight.
She turned to usher her very pregnant client to the door and spotted him. He watched with dismay as her clear brown gaze became muddied with caution.
‘Campbell,’ she said. ‘This is a surprise.’
Obviously not a pleasant one, he thought. In fact, looking at her expression, he felt about as welcome as a venomous snake.
‘I’ve bought Lex Craven for a visit. I’ve just given her a referral.’
Claire had to stop herself from breathing a sigh of relief. He was here professionally. She’d been very busy in the last couple of weeks, which, while tiring, had been advantageous. She’d seen him rarely and when it hadn’t been avoidable, her excuses to take her leave had been completely genuine. No matter how brief their contact, she never felt in control of herself around him. He made her feel … clumsy. Claire was terrified of clumsy.
‘How wonderful to meet you,’ said Claire, greeting their latest client with delight, temporarily forgetting her Campbell-induced anxiety. ‘Go on in and make yourself a cuppa,’ she said, indicating the commonroom. ‘I just need to have a quick word with Campbell.’
Campbell raised his eyebrows as Lex disappeared into the room. She wanted to chat? Was that good?
‘Campbell, I’d like you to meet Shirley Miller, one of our clients.’
‘A pleasure.’ He smiled and shook her hand. He hadn’t met her yet so his registrar must have seen her.
‘Shirley’s thirty-three weeks and her baby has just decided to go breech.’
‘Bit of a swimmer, hey?’ he joked lightly, and Shirley laughed.
‘My other three have been breech until the last four weeks.’
Ah. Fourth child, he thought. That explained her very large tummy. He would have put her closer to term.
‘Could you feel the position properly?’
‘Pretty sure it’s lying frank,’ she said.
‘Well, you’ve got a few weeks yet for the baby to turn.’
‘Here’s hoping,’ said Shirley, and held up crossed fingers. ‘I so want to have the baby here.’
‘We’ll cross that bridge if and when we get to it,’ he reassured her. ‘Did Claire give you some postures you can try at home to encourage the baby to turn?’
‘Sure did. I’m going home right now, before the kids get home, to try them out.’
She said her goodbyes and they watched her leave the premises.
‘She does understand she’ll have to deliver in the labour ward if the baby doesn’t turn?’
‘Of course, Campbell,’ Claire said testily, annoyed at her body’s response to his nearness. ‘Don’t worry. I won’t break any of your mates’ precious rules.’
‘No need to be so touchy,’ he teased, his green eyes sparkling. ‘I didn’t make the rules.’
‘I’m sorry,’ she said. ‘You’re right. But one day, Campbell … one day I hope that we’ll be able to offer all kinds of births here.’
‘Amen to that,’ he said, hand on his heart.
