Dr Cinderella's Midnight Fling

‘I’m not sure. This week, I think.’

‘Right. I’ll have a word with the shop manager and make sure it’s not on sale in the hospital this week. If necessary, I’ll buy their entire stock of the magazine myself. I can’t do anything about people who buy it elsewhere and bring it in, but my guess is that anyone who knows you—staff or patient—will be fuming on your behalf.’ He looked grim as he handed the phone back to her. ‘And those who choose to spread gossip or make stupid comments to you—well, their opinions are worth nothing in the first place, so just ignore them, OK?’

‘Thank you.’ She felt humble beyond belief that her boss was prepared to buy up the entire stock of magazines to try and spare her from an awkward situation.

‘I take it that—’ he said something in Greek that she didn’t understand, but from the expression on his face it definitely wasn’t anything complimentary ‘—sister of yours was behind this?’

Jane spread her hands. ‘She asked me to do the interview months ago. It was meant to be a feature about twins, “the beauty and the brains”. Except I was up to my eyes with work and exams, so I said I couldn’t do it. I thought she’d just forgotten about it.’

‘More like she used it to have another dig at you, because she’s incredibly jealous of you.’

‘She can’t be. There’s absolutely nothing to be jealous about. She’s a supermodel,’ she reminded Theo.

‘She’s also heading towards thirty and she’s not going to get the same kind of work opportunities she had when she was eighteen. Looks don’t last, but education does. You’re clever, your career will be going from strength to strength while hers is starting to go more slowly, and everyone who meets you really likes you. That’s why she’s jealous,’ Theo said. He sighed. ‘Do your parents know about this?’

‘Probably not. But I’m not going to say anything. You know my mum’s fragile.’

‘I know depression’s tough to overcome,’ Theo said gently, ‘but it doesn’t mean you can just give up on being a parent to your children. When have either of your parents ever put you first?’

Jane didn’t want to answer that. ‘It’s OK.’

Theo gave her a sympathetic look. ‘You’ve got more patience than anyone else I know.’

‘It’s not easy for Mum. She was right at the height of her career when she fell pregnant with Jenna and me and had to give it all up.’ According to Sophia, pregnancy had ruined her skin and her figure; and, with the crippling post-natal depression she’d suffered afterwards, she’d never been able to return to her modelling.

‘You know, Maddie could say the same thing. Being a mum means that she’s had to give up some of her career choices, and I’ve turned down offers as well because I don’t want a job that’d mean I can’t give her and our daughters enough time. But neither of us would change a thing, because the girls have brought so much joy to us,’ Theo said softly.

Jane had to swallow hard. What would it be like to have a family who loved her unconditionally, the way Maddie and Theo felt about their children, instead of making her feel guilty for being born? What would it have been like if Jenna had supported her and cheered her on through the long years of studying medicine, instead of pulling her down and mocking her all the time?

Though it was pointless dwelling on it. She couldn’t change the way they were. All she could do was try to love them as best as she could—and, since Shaun had betrayed her with Jenna, that had meant from a safe distance. Which, she supposed, made her just as bad as them.

Theo reached out and squeezed her hand. ‘Sorry. I’m overstepping the mark. It’s not my place to criticise your family. Though I wish they’d appreciate you for who you are.’

He paused. ‘Do you want me to call Maddie? Or Sorcha?’

‘No. I’ll be fine.’

‘Hmm.’ He looked at her. ‘Is that article the reason why you disappeared from the ball so early last night?’

‘No.’ Not exactly. She definitely wasn’t telling him the real reason behind that.

‘Sure?’

‘Sure,’ she confirmed.

‘I’ll believe you—for now.’ He smiled at her. ‘Now, go and have two nice days off, forget about that stupid article, and come back all bright-eyed on Tuesday morning, yes?’

‘OK, Theo.’ She dragged in a breath. ‘And thank you.’

‘Any time.’

On Tuesday morning Jane had just checked up on her first patient when Theo walked in. ‘Janey, have you got a moment?’

She looked over at him, saw the man in the white coat next to him, and her knees went weak as she recognised him.

Oh, my God.

He couldn’t possibly be… Could he?

Theo’s next words confirmed it. ‘I’d like to introduce you to our new consultant.’

If Theo said his name was James or Bond, she was going to collapse in a puddle of hysterical laughter.

‘Edward Somers,’ Theo continued. ‘Ed, this is Jane Cooper, one of our F2 doctors, but it’s not going to be long before she makes registrar.’

She could feel her face going bright red and there was a tiny, tiny smile lifting the corner of Ed’s mouth. Oh, please, don’t let him say anything about Saturday night…

‘Good to meet you, Jane,’ he said politely.

Then she realised she’d been holding her breath, waiting for him to spill the beans. Clearly he wasn’t going to do that: because it wouldn’t reflect too well on him, either. She smiled at him in relief. ‘You, too, Edward—or do you prefer Ed?’

For a second, she could swear he mouthed ‘James Bond’, but then he said, ‘Ed. May I join you in your rounds?’

‘I—well, sure.’ She spread her hands. ‘You’re the senior. I guess you should lead.’

Ed smiled at her. ‘Patients are much more important than protocol. You already know them, so I’m happy for you to lead and introduce me while we’re there.’

‘I’ll leave you in Jane’s capable hands,’ Theo said, and headed back to his office.

‘Very capable,’ Ed said softly.

Oh, help.

‘I, um… Look, we probably need to talk, but for now can we keep this… well, just work?’ Jane asked.

‘For now,’ he agreed.

Before she could take him to the next patient, Iris hurried over. ‘We’ve just had a call from the ED. The mum’s twenty-four, she’s eleven weeks pregnant and she can’t stop being sick. Marina thinks it’s hyperemesis.’

‘We’re on our way,’ Jane said.

In the emergency department, she swiftly introduced Ed to Marina Fenton, the specialist registrar.

‘I’m pretty sure it’s hyperemesis. Poor woman—morning sickness is bad enough,’ Marina said. ‘I’ve already done bloods and sent them off for electrolyte levels, blood count and renal.’

‘Thanks, Marina—that’s great.’

‘Mrs Taylor’s through here.’ She showed them to the cubicle where a young woman was retching miserably into a bowl.

‘Mrs Taylor? I’m Jane Cooper and this is Ed Somers. Dr Fenton asked us to come down and see you. Can I get you a drink of water?’ Jane asked.

Mrs Taylor shook her head. ‘I can’t keep anything down.’

‘Taking small sips might help you feel a little bit better,’ Jane said gently, and stuck her head out of the cubicle for long enough to ask one of the auxiliaries to bring in a glass of water.

‘How long have you been feeling like this?’ Ed asked.

‘About a month. I knew you got morning sickness, I just didn’t expect it to be all day and all night and as bad as this.’ She retched again. ‘Sorry.’

‘You don’t have to apologise,’ Jane said, squeezing her hand.

The auxiliary brought in the water Jane had asked for, and Mrs Taylor managed a small sip. ‘Thank you. That’s made my mouth feel a bit less disgusting,’ she admitted.

‘Good. Have you talked to your family doctor or your midwife about your sickness?’ Ed asked.

‘I didn’t want to bother them.’ She shook her head. ‘My sister had it bad, too. She lost weight and felt lousy all the time for the first bit.’

Jane and Ed exchanged a glance; hyperemesis was known to run in families. But it was also more common in women carrying twins—or, more rarely, it could be caused by something more sinister. They needed to run some tests to rule out the nasties.

‘My boss made me come in. I was sick over a client. It was her perfume that set me off—it was so strong.’ Mrs Taylor bit her lip. ‘I really hope he forgives me.’

‘I’m sure he will. He sent you in because he was worried about you,’ Ed reassured her. ‘So, you’re about eleven weeks. Have you had a scan yet?’

‘No, that was meant to be next week. My Jason’s getting the day off to come with me.’ Worry skittered across her face. ‘Is there something wrong with the baby? Is that why I keep being sick like this?’

‘I think you have something called hyperemesis—it’s basically really bad morning sickness,’ Ed said. ‘I’ve treated mums before who’ve had the same thing. It’s really miserable for you, but you’re in the right place and we can do something to help you feel a lot better.’

‘Really?’ Mrs Taylor looked as if she didn’t quite dare believe them.

‘Really,’ Jane confirmed.

‘And it won’t harm the baby? Only my nan said she knew someone who took stuff to make them stop being sick and the baby was…’ She shuddered. ‘I feel like death warmed up, but I’d rather put up with that than risk anything happening to the baby.’

‘We won’t give you anything that’s not safe for the baby,’ Ed reassured her. ‘Dr Fenton told us she’s already done some blood tests, so we need to wait for the results of those. But in the meantime we’d like to give you a scan and see how the baby’s doing.’

‘Has anyone called your husband, or would you like us to call someone to be with you?’ Jane asked.

‘Jason’s on his way,’ Mrs Taylor said.

‘That’s great. We’ll to take you up with us to the maternity unit, then,’ Jane said.

‘And, because you’re quite dehydrated from being sick, I’d like to keep you in for a little while and put you on a drip to replace the fluids you’ve lost. That’ll make you feel a lot better, and we have one or two things that will help you stop being sick but won’t affect the baby,’ Ed reassured her.

By the time they’d taken Mrs Taylor up to the maternity unit, her husband had arrived. Ed ushered them in to the consulting room with the portable scanner, and Jane noticed that he was careful to make sure that the Taylors couldn’t see the screen, in case it was bad news.

‘What I’m going to do is to put a bit of gel on your stomach—sorry, it’s a bit cold, whereas down in ultrasound it’s always warm. All it does is help us get a better picture of the baby,’ Jane explained. ‘It’s not going to hurt you or the baby—I’m sure your midwife’s already told you this, but it’s all done by sound waves.’

Mrs Taylor retched again, and her husband held the bowl for her; when she’d finished, Jane wiped her face with a damp cloth.

‘This baby’s going to be an only child,’ Mrs Taylor said. ‘I’m not going through this again. Ever.’

Jane made a soothing noise and glanced at Ed. Please, don’t let it be a molar pregnancy causing the sickness, she thought.

Ed returned her glance; as if he could read her mind, he gave her a reassuring smile and the tiniest nod.

Thank God.

‘I’m pleased to say that the baby’s doing fine.’ Ed turned the screen to show them. ‘I did wonder if you might be having twins, because that sometimes makes the sickness much worse; but you’re having just one. Here’s the heart, beating nicely.’ He pointed out the baby’s heart. ‘Everything’s looking just as it should do.’ He made some quick measurements. ‘And you’re eleven and a half weeks.’

Mrs Taylor brushed back a tear. ‘The baby’s really all right?’

‘The baby’s absolutely fine,’ Ed reassured her.

‘Can we have a picture?’ Mr Taylor asked.

‘Unfortunately, this is a portable scanner, so we can’t print anything from it. But when you have your proper scan next week, they’ll be able to give you pictures then,’ Jane explained.

Ed ran through the treatment plan, explaining what they were going to try and why; Jane found herself chipping in from time to time. It was as if she’d worked with him for years, instead of only half a morning. Whatever the complications caused by their fling on Saturday night, she was definitely going to able to work with this man. He fitted right in to the team, and he treated the mums with respect and dignity. And she liked that. A lot.

‘I like your bedside manner,’ she said when they’d left the Taylors.

He raised an eyebrow. ‘Funny, I find sometimes women run from it.’

Jane felt the colour shoot into her face. ‘I didn’t mean that kind of bedside. I meant how you are with the mums. In my last hospital, I worked with a consultant who was incredibly brusque and treated everyone like idiots, mums and staff alike. He had all the social skills of a piranha, and I swore I’d never become like that myself or be forced to work with anyone like that again.’ She gave him a wry smile. ‘Though I guess I knew you wouldn’t be like that, or Theo would’ve refused to appoint you.’

He smiled. ‘I was teasing you, Jane.’

Her face was burning. ‘Sorry. Everyone says I’m too serious. I’m afraid you drew the short straw and you’ve got the nerdy one to work with.’

‘Nerdy’s good,’ he said. ‘I like clever people. Come on, let’s finish our rounds.’

She introduced him to the rest of her patients. When they’d finished, he said, ‘I think we need to talk. Probably not where we’re likely to be overheard, so do you know a quiet corner somewhere?’

Here it came. Retribution for her acting so madly, so unJanelike, on Saturday. And Sunday. ‘Believe it or not, the most private place is probably going to be the hospital canteen; it’s noisy and people don’t get a chance to eavesdrop.’

‘Good. Let’s go.’

CHAPTER FOUR

‘I’M BUYING,’ Jane said, trying not to think of the last time they’d had coffee together. ‘Black, no sugar, isn’t it?’

‘Yes, thanks. You have a good memory.’

‘Doctors are supposed to be observant,’ she said with a smile. She ordered a black coffee, plus a cappuccino for herself. ‘Do you want a muffin with that?’ she asked.

‘No, I’m fine with just coffee, thanks.’

When she’d paid, she found them a quiet corner. ‘Thanks for not bringing up what happened on Saturday in the department.’

He shrugged. ‘No problem. But we do need to talk about Sunday.’

‘Sunday?’ She’d expected him to talk about Saturday and how they needed to set some boundaries. They were colleagues, nothing more, and what happened on Saturday wasn’t going to be repeated.

‘Sunday,’ he confirmed. ‘I was kind of expecting to see you when I woke up.’

She stirred her coffee, avoiding looking him in the eye. ‘You were still asleep when I woke, so I thought it might be less awkward if I just left quietly.’

‘Maybe. But when you wake up and someone’s left you money after they spent the night with you, it tends to make you feel a bit like a gigolo.’

She nearly choked on her coffee. ‘The money was to cover the cleaning bill for your jacket. I didn’t mean it to—oh, help. OK.’ She blew out a breath. ‘Theo didn’t introduce me properly. Dr Jane Cooper. Good with patients, but her social skills need a bit of polishing.’

‘Want to know how I see it?’ Ed asked softly. ‘Dr Jane Cooper, who’s charming and warm and kind; and, even more charmingly, clearly doesn’t have a clue just how lovely she is.’

It was a far cry from Shaun’s damning assessment of her when she’d asked him why he’d cheated on her with Jenna. He’d said that she was twenty pounds too heavy and six inches too short. Jane knew it was ridiculous—she couldn’t change her height and she had no intention of tottering around in uncomfortable high heels just to please someone else—but it had knocked her confidence as well as destroying her trust. He’d homed in on exactly the same criticisms that Jenna and her mother had always made about her: everything was about appearances, not what lay beneath. She’d thought Shaun was different, that he’d love her for who she was. How rubbish her judgement had turned out to be.

She frowned. ‘Look, I’m not fishing for compliments, Ed. I know who I am and I’m comfortable with that.’

‘Which is just how things should be,’ Ed said.

This was crazy, Ed thought. He didn’t do mad things. He was sensible. But on Saturday night he’d swept Jane off her feet and surprised himself. And he wanted to do it all over again.

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