Baby's First Christmas

Michael waited until the EMS worker was out of earshot then turned to Kate. He knelt beside her and took her hand in his. “Kate, this is a big step.” He searched her eyes. “Are you sure?”

Kate nodded. “Yes. If you hadn’t been there to bring my—to bring our—baby into the world—” Well, she didn’t even want to think about what might have happened. “Michael, I owe you so much,” she said softly, meaning it. “Timmy and I both do.”

It was swiftly apparent gratitude was not what he wanted from her, but it would do for now. “I’m the one who owes you, Kate,” Michael told her softly. “Not just for now.” Again, he looked at their sleeping newborn son and released a wistful sigh. “But for a lifetime.”

Thinking about it, Kate knew he was right. Through Timmy—and fate—she and Michael were going to be connected forever.

“IT’S ALL OVER the hospital,” Kate told Michael an hour later, after she and Timmy had been settled into a private room in the maternity ward.

“No kidding,” Michael drawled, even as he marveled at how pretty and together Kate looked after all she’d been through. “It’s bigger news than the original virgin birth.”

Kate sighed, her full breasts rising and falling beneath the soft cotton of her hospital gown. Her lips thinned to a soft, rosy line. “I don’t know how I’m going to tell my parents.”

Michael paced to the Plexiglas bassinet beside Kate, where their baby slept. Because she had requested the rooming-in arrangement, Timmy would be with her as much as possible during her stay in the hospital. Reassured their son was undisturbed by their low voices, Michael edged to Kate. He could imagine how difficult it was going to be for her to tell her parents about the mix-up at the fertility clinic. He hadn’t told his parents, yet, either.

Sliding his hands in the pockets of his trousers, he brought her quickly up to speed about her family. “They’ve both been called, by the way.”

“What?” Her expression incredulous and upset, Kate rose halfway off her hospital bed.

“When you registered for the birth, you listed both your parents as next of kin, but there were two phone numbers, your father’s law office and your mother’s home. The emergency room nurse asked me who she should call. I didn’t know, so the clerk called both.”

“Oh, no.” Kate covered her face with her hand. “Did they reach both my parents?” She looked at him from between spread fingers.

Michael nodded, wondering what the big deal was. “They’re on the way to the hospital as we speak.”

“Oh, no,” Kate moaned again, looking even more distressed.

“Something wrong?”

Kate nodded vigorously. “The two of them can’t be in the same room together.”

Kate’s sister, Lindy, who had been called to come to the hospital, walked in. Kate looked at her, distressed, and swiftly explained. “You have to do something.”

Evidently agreeing with Kate’s assessment of the situation completely, Lindy sprang into action. “I’ll head off Dad downstairs in the lobby. Meanwhile, when Mother gets here, you do your best to make her visit as snappy as possible. And then I’ll bring Dad up when the coast is clear.”

“What’s going on?” Michael asked curiously, figuring if he was going to land in the middle of some familial calamity, he should know the reason for it.

“My parents separated last summer, at my mother’s insistence, shortly after I told them I was pregnant with Timmy. My mother said she just needed some time and space to herself, but that doesn’t make any sense.” Kate shook her head and sighed. “I never thought either of my parents would have a mid-life crisis, and that goes double for my mom, who made the family her whole career.”

“Any chance she’s suffering from the empty nest syndrome now that you’re having a child of your own and your younger sister’s about ready to graduate?” Michael asked kindly. He’d seen it in other families.

Kate looked perplexed. “My dad and Lindy think so, but I’m not sure it’s quite that simple. Unlike my dad and me, my mother has always been ruled by her emotions. And right now her emotions are running at an all-time high. Add to that the fact my dad’s protesting her petition for divorce and feeling pretty hurt and angry. My mom is being really stubborn and closemouthed about whatever it is that is going on with her and—well, you can just imagine how awkward it is when they do see each other. Right now, it’s stretching it for them to say a civil word to each other. Suffice it to say—” Kate paused to draw a ragged breath “—I don’t want them up here together.”

“Too late,” a pale but elegant-looking blonde in a tailored suit said as she swept into the room, a well-dressed man in a business suit and Kate’s sister, Lindy, fast on their heels.

“Mom—Dad.” Kate flushed scarlet as Michael looked at Kate’s parents and took in the unmistakably stiff body language of a couple at war.

Kate’s younger sister lifted her hands in a helpless gesture. “I tried, but neither was willing to let the other go first.”

“There are some things parents should do together,” Kate’s mother said.

“This is still one of them,” her father agreed.

“Hello, Kate.” Kate’s mother bent to kiss her, her deep and abiding affection for her daughter evident. “Congratulations, darling.”

“Thanks, Mom.” Kate’s voice was muffled against her mother’s silvery blond coif.

She headed for the bassinet to look at her new grandson. “He is so darling,” she murmured proudly.

Kate’s father hugged Kate, too, then approached the bassinet from the other side. He regarded his new grandson with affection, finally murmuring, “He looks a lot like you did at that age, Kate.”

Kate beamed. “You think so?”

Her father nodded. “Absolutely.” Straightening, her father turned to Michael. He extended his hand. “I’m Ted Montgomery. This is my wi—this is Kate’s mother, Carolyn Montgomery, her sister, Lindy. And you must be Michael Sloane—the doctor who helped deliver Kate’s baby.”

“Right.” Michael shook her father’s hand, not sure this was the time to get into the details.

Ted gave him a look of sincere gratitude. “We’re very lucky you came along when you did.”

“I’m not so sure about that, if everything I just heard from the head nurse is true,” Carolyn said. She looked at Kate, then Michael. Her gaze zeroing in on him suspiciously, she asked in a low tone, “Is it true? Are you the father of Kate’s child?”

SILENCE REBOUNDED in the room. Even Lindy looked completely, thoroughly shocked. “I can explain,” Kate said, flushing.

“I think you’d better.” Kate’s father sat on the window ledge while her mother continued to pace, her high heels making a staccato sound on the polished linoleum floor while Kate filled them in on the mix-up at the lab.

“I just found out about it myself,” Michael told them.

“And he told me,” Kate added.

“I see.” Kate’s father looked grim.

No doubt he was thinking about all the legal and familial complications. Her mother looked upset, too. Whereas her matchmaking sister looked intrigued. “Michael and I have already talked about it. Everything’s going to be fine,” Kate hastened to reassure them.

Again, her parents exchanged uneasy glances that needed no verbal delineation, then her dad looked at Michael. It was obvious, divorce or no, he was speaking for both of them. “I assume that means you’re going to be reasonable about this.”

Michael nodded gallantly. “I wouldn’t think of behaving any other way. I’m not here to make trouble for Kate or little Timmy.”

Kate’s dad regarded Michael gravely. “I’m glad to hear that.”

Knowing her dad was just getting warmed up, Kate said quickly, “I’m pretty tired.” She looked at her parents, knowing at a time like this they were hard-pressed to deny her anything. “Maybe you could come back tomorrow. One of you in the afternoon and one of you in the evening?”

Her parents looked at each other, the tension that had been there earlier resurfacing. “I’ll take the afternoon,” her mother volunteered.

“I’ll take the evening,” her father said.

“In the meantime is there anything you need for me to bring you?” Kate’s mother asked.

Kate shook her head and fought the sadness that threatened to overwhelm her. She wished her parents would drop this foolishness and get back together. “No, I’m fine. Thanks.”

“How about your suitcase, with your nightgown and robe?” Carolyn persisted.

“I’ve already promised Kate that I would go get it,” Lindy said.

“All right, darling.” Kate’s mother patted her shoulder gently.

“Call us if you need anything,” her dad said.

Her parents kissed her and left, walking far apart as if they were strangers. Lindy hugged Kate, promised to return with the suitcase and followed them out the door.

Michael stood. “I’ll go, too.”

“No.” Kate reached out and caught his hand before he could depart. “I need to talk to you a minute, Michael.” She tugged him closer until he sat on the edge of her bed. “I’m sorry my father grilled you that way.” Kate shook her head in mounting exasperation, already knowing what Michael didn’t, that this was just the beginning of her father’s involvement in the situation. “Sometimes he can be such a lawyer.” Making mountains out of molehills.

Michael grinned, understanding and accepting her father’s protective behavior. “That’s okay,” he said gently. “In his place, I probably would have behaved much the same way. And speaking of reactions—your mother didn’t say much.”

Kate made a face and predicted dryly, “Which is another curious thing. Before the separation from my dad, she would’ve lectured me soundly and told me she knew this cockeyed plan of mine to have a child via artificial insemination would lead to trouble. Since she left my dad, she tells me to go for everything and grab as much gusto from this life as I can.”

That did sound like a mid-life crisis, Michael thought, as he playfully nudged her thigh with his and attempted to lighten the mood and get Kate’s mind off family problems she was unable to do anything about. “Hey, Timmy’s no trouble,” he teased with a wink. “In fact, as far as newborn babies go, he’s a little angel.”

Kate made a comical face at him, then chided dryly, “That wasn’t what I meant, and you know it, Dr. Sloane.”

Michael bestowed on her a sexy grin and covered her hand with his. “Ah. You think I’m trouble, then.”

In a certain, very sexy way, maybe he was, Kate thought a tad wistfully. And suddenly that didn’t seem like such a bad thing. Kate found after all the months alone she was in the mood for a little trouble of the romantic variety, as long as it didn’t unnecessarily complicate her life. Smiling, she said, “I think the situation we’re in is trouble.”

Michael shrugged his broad shoulders. “It is sticky, I’ll grant you that,” he said in a low, serious voice. “It doesn’t mean we can’t handle it. So far, after we both weathered the initial shock, we’ve proven that we can handle it just fine.”

His confidence—his willingness to conquer this challenge—was contagious. It lifted her spirits immediately. Unfortunately, Kate knew there were even rockier roads ahead. And she knew for certain that in the few short hours she’d known Michael, her life had changed. She wanted the chance to see where the future would lead.

Still holding his eyes, she drew a bolstering breath. “The nurse asked me earlier to fill out information for Timmy’s birth certificate. She left the forms in the drawer. You should probably have a look at them, too.”

Michael looked at her thoughtfully as he retrieved the papers.

“I didn’t know how we should fill them out,” Kate told him as he perused the sheets. “So I’ll just come right out and ask.” Kate brought herself up short. She took a deep breath, aware her hands were trembling. “Do you want your name on Timmy’s birth certificate? Do you want to be legally known as his father?”

Chapter Three

Michael hadn’t known what to expect when he had tracked Kate down, but never in his wildest dreams had he imagined he would be so attracted to her, physically and otherwise, or be on hand to single-handedly bring their baby into the world in the back of a powder-blue delivery van. But all that had happened, and it had changed him—and probably Kate, too—forever. Just as the step they were about to take would change all their lives forever, too.

“I think it’s important for a lot of reasons that his birth certificate state the whole truth. So the answer is, yes, Kate,” he told her softly, “I do.” In fact, if the truth be known, he was now hoping for much more than that.

Kate looked into his eyes. Abruptly, she looked as overcome with emotion as he. It had been, Michael thought, one hell of an eventful day. “Then the truth it will be,” she echoed softly.

In the bassinet, Timmy squirmed beneath the white flannel blanket he’d been swaddled in and, his cherubic face pinkening, started to whimper. Michael and Kate turned in time to see his dark lashes flutter open to reveal a pair of big baby-blue eyes.

Michael smiled, amazed at the depth of the affection already welling inside him as he contemplated their newborn baby boy. “Looks like our son is waking up.”

Kate grinned, as eager to get more thoroughly acquainted with their baby as he was. “He’s probably hungry,” she stated, as a pink flush crept into her cheeks. Her glance cut briefly to Michael. “I haven’t breast-fed him yet.”

And, Michael knew, that was supposed to be done within the first five or six hours after birth. As soon as both baby and mother—who were usually exhausted from the birth—were up to it. Glad he was going to be around to witness this, too, Michael asked, “Do you want me to bring him to you?”

Kate pushed the button that raised the head of her bed until she was sitting up. Her green eyes glittered with excitement as she tucked the gently curving ends of her silky blond bob behind her ears. She shot him a grateful glance that made her seem—in his eyes, anyway—all the more angelically beautiful. “If you wouldn’t mind.”

Timmy’s eyes widened as Michael slid one hand beneath his head and neck, the other beneath his back and legs, and lifted him from the bassinet. Michael grinned as Timmy stopped crying immediately and blinked at him.

“Hey, there,” Michael teased in way of greeting. “Remember me? I brought you into the world.” Timmy cooed and gurgled in response as Michael lowered him gently and put him in Kate’s arms.

Kate stroked the straight, downy soft hair on Timmy’s head as Timmy regarded her with unabashed delight. “I think he does recognize you, Michael.”

Michael studied his son’s cherubic face, deciding Ted Montgomery was right—Timmy did have Kate’s chin. And nose. And eyes. Along with his daddy’s dark, straight hair. “I think he knows your voice, too,” Michael said.

“Probably.” Kate chuckled. “I’ve done nothing but talk and sing and read to him for the last nine months.”

Somehow, Michael thought, as he went to get a diaper from the corner of the bassinet, that didn’t surprise him. He had known from the first Kate was going to be one devoted mother.

He brought the diaper back and watched as Kate unwrapped the white flannel blanket. They changed him together, marveling over his tiny perfect form, as Timmy squirmed. Deciding to reswaddle him after he’d been fed, Kate lifted Timmy toward her. Abruptly, she looked unsure how to proceed. “I’ve never done this before.”

“And you’re feeling self-conscious and would like some help,” Michael guessed, finding that perfectly understandable. He touched her shoulder compassionately, then volunteered, “I’ll go see if I can round up a nurse.”

When he returned—alone—a scant minute and a half later, Kate had lowered one shoulder of her gown, draped the white cotton diaper over one shoulder and was cuddling a loudly protesting Timmy to her breast. Trying not to think how beautiful and sexy Kate looked, Michael shoved his hands in his pockets and announced as he neared, “They’re really swamped. Every baby on the floor has decided he or she is hungry now. They said maybe ten minutes.”

“I tried but I can’t get him to nurse.” Kate looked at Michael helplessly.

Knowing that wasn’t unusual for first-time mothers and their babies, Michael shut the door to her room to insure their privacy and crossed to her side. “Let’s see what we can do to get you more comfortable,” he told Kate gently, repeating what he had learned over the years as both a physician and an uncle.

“For the first few feedings, lying on your side may work best,” Michael told her with a reassuring smile. “So, the first thing we’re going to need to do is get you situated.”

Michael took a loudly squalling Timmy from Kate and cradled him against his chest. With his free hand he pressed the button that would lower the head of her bed. And then helped Kate—who was still moving a little stiffly after the delivery—into a reclining position. “And then pull your arm out of your gown entirely so you’ll have more freedom of movement,” he said.

“Right.” Kate flushed crimson.

“Okay.” Michael helped her free her arm while still maintaining her modesty as best as he could. “Can you shift onto your left side?” Keeping his actions as clinical as possible, he helped her do so. “Good. Let’s put this pillow beneath you.” He moved it longwise, so it cushioned her from head to breast. “And we’ll put your left arm up, like this, so you can rest your head on your upraised arm. And move this cloth aside.” Keeping his mind resolutely on the task at hand, he gently exposed her breast. “Now we’ll get Timmy in here—” Michael placed Timmy on his side, facing Kate, and brought the infant as close as possible to his mother “—and try again.”

Still crying and clueless about what to do next, the newborn turned away and wailed even louder. “See?” Kate cried, distressed, her whole body tensing at her son’s rejection.

Figuring the sooner mother and son connected, the better, Michael looked at Kate, asking to simply show her—through touch—what needed to be done. “May I?”

Flushing and looking a little shy, Kate nodded. Michael covered her hand with his and lifted her nipple toward Timmy’s lips. He touched the top of Timmy’s bow-shaped lips with the tip of Kate’s breast, then the bottom lip, then the top again, repeating the motion gently until Timmy’s mouth opened. Michael continued to help her as he explained, “Once Timmy’s mouth is open, place your nipple in the center so he can latch on.”

Kate’s gaze was fastened on both breast and baby. “He’s not doing it,” she said, obviously disappointed this was proving to be so difficult for both of them.

“Then let’s try it again,” Michael said, aware how silky and warm her skin felt beneath his fingers. “Upper lip. Lower.” Michael smiled as Timmy’s crying quieted and progress was made. “See, he’s starting to root around a bit. Yeah,” Michael said victoriously, as Timmy’s cheeks moved in and out in a clumsy attempt to nurse, “there he goes.”

“He’s nursing!” Kate said as Timmy stopped wailing and latched onto her breast with all his might.

“Darned if he isn’t,” Michael said proudly, feeling as contented and happy as Kate was that this first hurdle with their son had been climbed. “Now there are a few more things to watch out for,” Michael cautioned. He paused, wary of interfering too much. “If you want me to show you…”

Kate nodded and shot Michael a grateful glance. “Please,” she said, eager to learn. “Starting with how long I should nurse him.”

Michael repeated what the lactation nurse would tell Kate later. “For today, no more than five minutes on each breast. You can go ten minutes on each breast tomorrow. After that it’ll be fifteen.”

“How often will I nurse?” Kate asked, as she stroked the downy soft hair on the back of Timmy’s head.

A wave of almost unbearable tenderness moving through him, Michael advised, “Once your milk comes in, you’ll probably need to nurse him every three or four hours.”

Again, their eyes met. “What else should I know?” Kate asked Michael softly.

I’m drawn to you, and would be even if you hadn’t just unexpectedly borne me a son, Michael thought. Knowing, however, this was not the time or place for such a confession, Michael turned his attention to his nursing son. Briefly, he explained how to position Timmy to insure he had plenty of room to breathe while nursing, then said, “Make sure Timmy has a hold on the areola as well as the nipple—sucking on just the nipple will leave him hungry. And be sure he isn’t sucking on his own lip or tongue while he nurses.”

Her self-consciousness temporarily forgotten, Kate continued to nurse. She looked so beautiful and angelic it made his heart ache.

She bent to kiss the top of Timmy’s head, then asked curiously, “What happens if he does any of those things?”

“If he starts sucking on his lower lip, you can simply work it free with your fingertip while he continues to nurse. Otherwise, break the suction and start over again.” Michael continued to watch her another long moment, then glanced at his watch. “Ready to switch sides?”

Kate nodded.

Timmy protested at the interruption, but only half as vigorously as before. “This isn’t as hard as I thought it would be,” Kate murmured. Michael noted she was beginning to look and act as completely exhausted and drowsy as their infant son.

“And it’ll get easier every time,” Michael assured her.

Kate grinned. “How do you know?”

“I’ve got four sisters.” Michael pulled a chair up beside the bed, turned it backward and straddled it. “They all have kids, and all of them nursed. It was hard for all of them in the beginning. Even for Winnie, who’s an obstetrics nurse by profession. But my mom, who’s also a nurse, coached them through it, on the phone and in person. So I know the drill—and then some.”

“Plus you have experience as a doctor.”

“Right again.”

In contented silence, they watched the baby nurse at her breast. “I think he’s falling asleep,” Kate noted, yawning.

Michael picked up Timmy’s tiny fist and kissed the back of it. “Poor fella. He’s probably all tuckered out.” Just like his mother, Michael thought. “Want me to put him in his bassinet?” he asked, when Timmy’s jaw went slack.

Kate yawned. “I think you’d better,” she said drowsily.

Michael lifted him away from her. He wrapped Timmy in the white flannel blanket and settled him on his side in the Plexiglas crib. By the time he turned to Kate, she was just as he’d left her, fast asleep. His heart going out to her, Michael slipped her arm into her gown and tucked the covers around her.

“Timmy wasn’t the only miracle today,” he murmured. Knowing she needed her sleep, he gently touched her cheek. Wishing he could kiss her, he slipped from the room.

“YOU’RE LOOKING chipper this morning,” Lindy said as she came in at ten o’clock the next morning with a brimming shopping bag in one hand, a coffee and bake shop bag in the other.

Kate knew that was true. “Maybe because I feel almost human again,” she said. She’d had a long, hot shower and shampoo and changed into her own robe and slippers. Sitting up in bed, she was smoothing the silky blond ends of her hair with a cordless curling iron. She shot Lindy a grateful glance. “Thanks for bringing my stuff over last night, by the way.” It would be a treat to face Michael Sloane in something other than maternity clothes or a hospital gown. “I don’t remember you coming in.”

Lindy opened the decaf cappuccino she’d brought for Kate and put it on the bed tray. “That’s because you were sound asleep, and I didn’t want to wake you.”

Kate nodded, grateful for the extra sleep. “I only woke to feed Timmy.”

Opening her coffee, Lindy kicked off her shoes and settled in, cross-legged, at the foot of Kate’s hospital bed. “Why isn’t he still in here with you, by the way?”

“He will be later. Right now he’s down in the nursery, getting his own bath. They’re going to keep him there for a while.” She had to force herself to remain calm as she took a sip of cappuccino and admitted, “He’s being circumcised this morning.”