His Diamond Like No Other (Mills & Boon Medical) (16 page)

Sean angled his head slightly, indicating he wanted her to come over and give him a second opinion on Carly’s injuries. ‘What’s the situation? Police on the scene yet?’ His tone was still calm and she picked up on the fact that he was trying not to scare or worry Carly too much, especially in her present condition.

‘Just arrived. First ambulance is through. Paramedics attending.’ She kept her words calm, logical, professional. Sean was right. She could do this. She stepped forward and reached into his medical kit, pulling on a pair of fresh gloves. ‘Hi, Carly. I’m Jane. Just stay as still as possible.’ She hoped her tone sounded reassuring and when she glanced at Sean and saw that proud smile on his face, her confidence soared.

‘We have some cuts and abrasions to the legs and face.’ Jane felt Carly’s arms and checked her hands. ‘Both wrists need splinting and possibly right elbow.’ She took the stethoscope he proffered and listened to Carly’s breathing. Then she pressed the stethoscope to Carly’s abdomen and listened closely for ten seconds. She looked up, staring directly at Sean, realising that what she heard were the sounds of a baby going into distress. ‘Carly, we need to check your blood pressure before we can get you stretchered up.’

Jane stood up and spotted a paramedic, carrying one of the usual large emergency kits they always used, heading in their direction. ‘Over here,’ she called, and within a moment the paramedic was putting a cervical collar around Carly’s neck while Sean took Carly’s blood pressure and Jane found an extra blanket.

‘We need to put a blanket beneath her hip so we can keep the baby off the vena cava and stop the risk of deoxygenated blood.’

‘Agreed.’ Sean called over a few of the police officers to help.

When Carly was stabilised with her neck brace and a non-rebreather mask fitted over her mouth and nose, Sean put his hands on either side of Carly’s head. ‘On my command,’ he said as the emergency workers and Jane got into position, ‘we’ll brace and roll.’ Sean looked at the team before giving the command. With brisk but careful movements they rolled Carly to her side while Jane placed the blanket into position before Sean gave the command to roll Carly back.

‘Carly, have you felt the baby kick since the accident?’

‘Yes,’ the frightened woman replied, her words a little muffled beneath her mask.

‘That’s very good news,’ Jane reassured her. ‘I’d just like to have another feel of the baby. OK?’

‘Yes,’ Carly said again.

Jane concentrated, carefully feeling around Carly’s abdomen, visualising the different body parts of the baby, checking where they were. ‘Head’s definitely engaged,’ she remarked a moment later.

‘OK. I think we can get Carly stretchered up,’ Sean said, ‘then off to the hospital. I’ll phone ahead and speak to the obstetric registrar.’

The paramedic nodded and started taking Carly’s observations. Sean and Jane stood and ripped off their gloves, walking a little way away from their patient. ‘The baby’s not liking this at all,’ Jane remarked.

‘Carly’s BP is not where I’d like.’

‘We’ll need to watch her,’ she agreed. ‘Perhaps get a cannula in now.’

‘Good idea. We’ll need to put it in her ankle as both wrists are fractured.’

They turned and went back to Carly, letting the paramedics know they needed that extra line in, just in case. Jane took Carly’s blood pressure again and agreed with Sean’s assessment that it was a little low. She assisted the paramedics as they shifted Carly to the stretcher, Jane once more doing obs and checking the portable baby sphygmomanometer, which showed Jane that the baby wasn’t taking too kindly to what was happening to its mother.

When they had Carly safely in the ambulance, the paramedics doing observations once more, Jane inserted the cannula into Carly’s ankle.

‘I’m going to get an update on what’s happening with Carly’s friends in the mini-van,’ Sean told her. ‘She keeps asking and the information might help to settle her down if she knows her friends are all right.’

‘Yes. Good thinking,’ Jane replied, and pointed to a nearby police officer. Sean jogged over and spoke to the sergeant then headed back.

‘Hi, Carly,’ Sean said as he came into the ambulance and sat next to her. ‘Your friends who were travelling with you are fine. The driver, Kieran, has a broken nose and a few cuts and bruises. The people in the back have seat-belt bruises and a bit of whiplash. That’s it.’

Carly seemed to relax at this news, closing her eyes and breathing out with relief. ‘They’re OK,’ she murmured.

‘Let’s monitor oxygen saturation and repeat fifteen-minute obs,’ Jane instructed. ‘I want to take a closer look at the baby.’ She used an amplified stethoscope to obtain a more accurate reading of the baby’s heartbeat, not liking what she heard. She felt the outside of Carly’s abdomen and decided it might be best to do an internal.

‘Carly, I’m going to need to check to see if you’ve started dilating.’ There was no response from Carly and Jane called to her, ‘Carly? Carly?’

‘BP?’ Sean asked, reaching for his stethoscope. He listened to her breathing.

‘Dropping,’ the paramedic replied.

‘There’s blood,’ Jane remarked a second later. ‘I think the uterus might have ruptured.’

‘Push fluids,’ Sean ordered. ‘Carly? Can you hear me?’ he asked, his tone firm and insistent.

‘Baby’s going into distress,’ said Jane.

‘Carly?’

‘Mmm?’ The tone was weak, as though Carly really didn’t have the will to fight any more. ‘Tired,’ she mumbled.

‘Come on, Carly. You’ve got a lot to live for. Are you having a boy or a girl? Do you know?’

‘Boy,’ she whispered.

‘BP still dropping.’

‘We need to get the baby out.’

‘It hurts,’ Carly complained, but at least her words were stronger.

‘Carly, your uterus has ruptured. The baby is not doing well. We need to get him out
now
. Do you understand?’ Jane asked, as she prepared the instruments she would need.

‘I’ll organise an anaesthetic,’ Sean stated and together with the paramedic they began to get Carly organised.

‘Carly, we need to get the baby out. If we don’t, we risk losing both of you. Do you understand?’

‘Yes.’

Sean and the paramedic sedated Carly. ‘Review BP,’ Sean requested.

The paramedic nodded, carrying out the instructions. ‘Improving,’ he remarked.

Jane looked to Sean. ‘I’ll deliver. You be ready to receive.’

‘Agreed.’

It didn’t take long for the administered anaesthetic to take effect and soon Jane had the scalpel in hand and was making an incision along the Caesarean line.

‘I need more exposure. Retract,’ Jane called, and Sean duly inserted the retractors. ‘Scalpel,’ she said again, unable to believe the amount of blood. They worked seamlessly together as though they’d been doing it for years, Sean able to pre-empt everything she required. ‘Something has definitely ruptured,’ she remarked.

‘We can keep her stable and once the baby’s out you can take a closer look around.’

‘Agreed.’ Jane concentrated on the present scenario, visualising it in her mind before she reached in to grab hold of the baby’s head. She’d assisted with several Caesarean section births over the years but never in circumstances like this. Thankfully, they had a lot of equipment in the ambulance but still she was having to improvise as she went along. ‘I’ve got him.’ She kept a firm grip on the little fellow and gently brought him out.

‘BP steady and holding,’ the paramedic reported.

‘Ready and waiting,’ Sean said, holding out a sterile towel ready to receive the baby.

‘Out you come, mate,’ she said, and in another moment Jane lifted the baby boy from his mother’s womb and into Sean’s large, capable hands beneath the sterile towel.

‘Clamp and cut,’ he instructed the paramedic, as Jane set about delivering the placenta. It was her job to look after the mother but she was acutely aware of the fact that the baby was not breathing.

‘No tone. Bag him. Begin cardiac massage.’ While Sean and one of the paramedics worked on the baby, she tried to focus her thoughts on discovering the source of the bleed.

‘BP?’ she asked, and the paramedic quickly took the observation.

‘Steady.’

‘Keep maintaining fluids. That’s it, Carly. You stay with us,’ she encouraged the unconscious mother. ‘How’s the baby doing?’ Jane asked.

‘Check pulse,’ Sean said, and the paramedic pressed his fingers to the baby’s groin, everyone silently praying the pulse was there.

‘It’s there! Faint but there.’

Jane breathed a heavy sigh of relief. ‘He’s a strong one.’

‘He’s still having a little difficulty breathing but he
is
breathing. We’ll intubate and get this ambulance under way to the hospital.’ Sean continued to attend to the baby and Jane continued to investigate the source of Carly’s internal bleeding.

‘Swab,’ she instructed the paramedic who was assisting her. ‘I need more light.’ As she’d commanded, a strong beam of torchlight was directed where she needed it. ‘Ah. There it is. Clamp.’ She accepted the instrument and thankfully soon had the bleed under control. ‘How’s the baby?’

‘Colour returning. Five minute APGAR is seven.’

‘Excellent. Let’s get moving.’ And with Carly and the baby now in a more stable situation, one of the paramedics exited the back and headed around to the driver’s seat, all of them thankful that the police had managed to control the traffic so the area wasn’t as gridlocked.

It wasn’t until they arrived at the hospital, the obstetric registrar and neonatal team waiting to take over, that Jane started to feel fatigue beginning to set in.

‘Well, that wasn’t the sort of ending I’d had planned for our day together,’ Sean remarked after they’d cleaned up. They were in the A and E staffroom, Jane sipping the cup of relaxing tea Sean had made for her.

‘What
did
you have in mind?’ she asked, resting her head back against the wall, watching Sean through heavy-lidded eyes.

He shrugged and came over, sitting beside her and brushing her fringe from her eyes. ‘A quiet chat, a nice cuppa.’

‘Isn’t that what we’re doing now?’ Jane couldn’t disguise the huskiness in her tone and knew Sean was aware of it from the way he raised one eyebrow. That slow, irresistible smile started to appear on his lips. There was nothing she could do to control her emotions. She was exhausted, worn out, the emergency having zapped all her usual shields.

‘Not exactly the venue I’d imagined but I guess so.’ He brushed his fingers down her cheek, tenderly caressing her skin. ‘Jane, you’re tying me in knots. I can’t seem to think straight when I’m around you and I can’t seem to concentrate at all when we’re apart.’

‘I think you’re exaggerating.’

His smile increased. ‘Perhaps.’ He brushed his thumb over her lips, just as he’d done previously. ‘You’re remarkable. So strong and valiant.’

‘I don’t—’

‘Shh. I’m trying to compliment you.’

‘Oh. Sorry.’ She was instantly contrite but somewhere, deep down inside her, she started to feel bold, started to feel that perhaps, with the way he was looking at her, with the way he seemed to be looking into her eyes as though she were the most precious person in the world to him, she might be able to take a chance. She gave him a little smile. ‘I thought you might be wanting to kiss me.’

‘Well...’ His eyebrow rose in interest. ‘That, too.’ He swallowed and brushed his thumb once more over her lips, before edging back slightly to remove the teacup from her hands and place it on the table. He used the opportunity to move in even closer, leaning towards her, pleased when she didn’t pull back but instead seemed to welcome his nearness. ‘Is that what you want?’

‘Yes. Yes, Sean, it is.’ Her lips parted to allow the pent-up air to escape.

He exhaled slowly and came closer. ‘Am I dreaming?’ he whispered, his breath mingling with hers.

‘If you are, then it’s a dream we’re sharing,’ she returned, her tone equally as soft, equally as intimate.

‘A shared dream,’ he murmured, before his lips finally made contact with hers.

CHAPTER TEN

J
ANE COULDN’T BELIEVE 
the way it felt to be kissed by Sean. His mouth was gentle on her own, tenderly moving, testing, allowing her to pull away at any given moment, but that was the last thing she wanted. It was only now that she realised
this
was what she’d been yearning for for so long.

It wasn’t just the fact that Sean wanted to kiss her but the fact that it was
Sean
kissing her. As though waiting for her to make the decision whether to pull away or to continue with this gloriousness, he pressed small butterfly kisses to her lips until Jane reached out to thread her fingers through his hair, encouraging him to stay as close to her as possible.

Even then, even after she’d put more urgency into her kiss, wanting to show him that without a shadow of a doubt she wanted this as well, Sean still hesitated, pulling back and opening his eyes to gaze down into her upturned face.

‘Are you sure?’ he whispered.

‘Yes.’

‘This could change...everything,’ he murmured.

‘Yes.’ Her eyelids fluttered open and she gazed at him with desire in her eyes. Could he see the desire? Could he see just how much she wanted him? Needed him?

Unable to stop herself, she suddenly yawned and then smiled sheepishly at Sean. ‘Sorry.’

He shook his head and brushed one last kiss across her mouth. ‘It’s my fault for not realising how exhausted you must be.’

‘We helped out in the same emergency,’ she pointed out, annoyed with herself for breaking the moment. ‘Why aren’t you tired?’

‘You’ve faced far more than an emergency today. First meeting the rest of my family—’

‘They’re wonderful people, Sean. You’re very lucky.’

‘And if that wasn’t nerve-racking enough, having to face the demons of your past, putting your own personal trauma aside in order to help out someone who was in a similar situation.’

‘I couldn’t have done it without you. You were my anchor,’ she murmured, as he carefully removed her hands from his hair, entwining his fingers with hers.