The Army Doctor's New Year's Baby (9 page)

Rain pelted
so hard Megan was soaked running the twenty feet to Lyall's vehicle. She jumped
in with a shiver and huddled in front of the warm air blower. She was cold and
wet, but at least by the time her morning surgery ended, the nausea had
subsided. It always faded in the middle of the day, or that had been the
pattern over the last few weeks.

Lyall
glanced at her as she grabbed a hank of hair and squeezed the rain out onto the
floor of his police car. "Are you feeling better today? You've got a bit
more color in your face."

She laughed.
"I'm fine, thanks." The last few weeks had been awkward between them.
She'd kept avoiding Lyall's questions about why she was ill. Normally she
confided in him, but Daniel must be the first person to know about the baby.

Lyall revved
the engine and pulled away, ducking his head to view the tops of the mountains.
Megan followed his gaze. The mountain peaks were obscured by heavy gray clouds,
sheets of rain sweeping down the valley.

"I hope
this weather doesn't catch anybody out. Don't fancy trekking up there today to
pull some climber out of trouble."

Megan didn't
either. She'd have to consider when to suspend her mountain rescue work. She
didn't want to put her baby at risk. When Daniel came home, they'd discuss it.

She
shivered, not from cold but anticipation. He'd texted her to say he was coming
back early with a casualty. By tonight he would be home.

She planned
to cook Daniel roast venison. Over a candlelit dinner, she'd break the news of
her pregnancy. A twinge of worry hit her but she pushed it aside. Daniel
would
be pleased about the baby. Every time she imagined his reaction, he grinned his
wonderful grin and hugged her.

Rain slashed
over the windshield, such a deluge the wipers couldn't keep the glass clear.
"Don't you just love Scotland," she said.

Lyall sang a
few lines of "Bonny Scotland." Megan joined in and they sang at the
top of their voices as they bumped through potholes in the road, unable to see
more than a few yards ahead in the awful weather. When they finished, they both
burst out laughing.

How she
wished she could confide in her friend that she was pregnant. If it were any
other secret, she would have told him. She and Lyall had always been close and
shared confidences. This was the first time another man had come between them.

They pulled
up in the Kindrogan courtyard outside the back door. Megan summoned her
strength, then shoved open the car door and dashed through the downpour to
reach the warm kitchen.

Standing in
a puddle, she shrugged out of her coat and kicked off her sodden pumps. Lyall
followed her. While he shook their wet coats out the door, Hew arrived in his
Kindrogan Estate Land Rover and ran inside with a sleepy Fergus in his arms.

Megan put on
the kettle. She wanted to have a quick lunch so she could get on with preparing
for Daniel's return. "Anyone want a sandwich?"

Both men
replied in the affirmative as her phone dinged with a text. She pulled it out
of her bag and stared at the screen.

Power at
last. Charged my phone! Leaving soon. Can't wait to see you tonight. All my
love, Daniel.

Megan
whooped with joy. She couldn't wait to see him.

Lyall raised
his eyebrows. "Who's that from?"

"Daniel's
coming back early."

"Don't
tell me. Pretty boy has injured himself," Lyall said with a cynical twist
of his lips.

"No.
He's bringing a casualty to the clinic. I'm getting fed up with your snide
remarks, Lyall. What's Daniel ever done to you?"

He stared at
Megan for long moments, then shook his head and started unlacing his wet boots.

The kettle
boiled, its whistle splitting the awkward silence. Too happy at the prospect of
seeing Daniel to be annoyed, Megan's smile flashed back as she returned her
attention to her phone. Daniel had sent her a video of him in winter uniform
standing beside a helicopter. "Just boarding," he'd said, and showed
her a view inside the helicopter. "It's a Sea King. Makes me feel right at
home."

She smiled
at that, remembering the time he'd accompanied the mountain rescue team.

"Can't
wait to see you, sweetheart. I love you." He pressed his lips to the tips
of his gloved fingers and blew her a noisy kiss.

Megan's
heart fluttered like a trapped bird. She held the phone against her chest and
sighed with pleasure. Tonight would be wonderful.

Hew was
pouring out the tea, so Megan grabbed the loaf of bread and cut slices. She
filled sandwiches, then cut them in quarters and heaped them on a plate. After
handing out smaller plates, she sat down and watched Daniel's video again a few
times, ignoring the long-suffering glances of the men who had to listen to
Daniel's romantic words along with her.

Daniel was
coming home and he loved her. That was all that mattered. After watching the
cute video, she was even more certain he'd be pleased about the baby. He really
was the sweetest, most romantic guy she'd ever met. And he was hers.

A discordant
burst of bagpipes music cut into the silence. Lyall dug his phone from his
pocket and swiped his hand across his mouth to wipe off crumbs as he glanced at
the screen.

"It's Duncan." He frowned and put the phone to his ear.

"Hi,
Dunc." He listened for a few seconds, his frown deepening.

Why had Duncan called Lyall instead of her or Hew? The thought flitted through Megan's mind, but
she was too preoccupied to wonder for long. After lunch, she would clean her
bathroom and change the sheets on her bed. This time, Daniel could share her
room.

"You've
already called RAF Lossiemouth?" Lyall asked.

Megan's
attention snapped to Lyall as his words penetrated her thoughts. "Is this
a mountain rescue callout?" she mouthed at Hew. He shrugged.

Lyall nodded
to himself. "Okay. We'll prepare. I'll keep you posted."

Slipping his
phone back in his pocket, Lyall glanced at Hew, his expression guarded.

"Was
that a callout?" Megan asked.

Lyall
scraped back his hair.

"Lyall."
There was something about the grim set of his mouth that made Megan uneasy.
"Why did Duncan call you?"

"They've
lost contact with the helicopter Daniel's in."

Fear slashed
along Megan's nerves. Her hand clenched reflexively, scrunching her napkin.

"Where?
When?"

"About
fifteen minutes ago, over the Cairngorms."

Suddenly it
all made sense. Duncan had called Lyall to mobilize the mountain rescue team.

A tiny
whimper escaped her lips and she pressed a hand over her mouth. This couldn't
happen. She couldn't lose Daniel. She tried to summon positive thoughts, tell
herself he would be all right, but people died in the Scottish mountains every
year. If his helicopter had crashed in the bad weather, his chances were slim.

She jolted
to her feet, her chair scraping back with a sickening squeal. "I'll
change. We need to leave."

Lyall came
around the table and tried to put his arm around her. "It's not a good
idea for you—"

She
sidestepped, throwing up a hand to hold him off. "Stop it. I'm coming.
This is not up for discussion."

There was no
way on earth she would stay here when Daniel might be on the mountainside hurt.
If he was lost out there, she would find him or die trying.

***

Daniel
spluttered in the cold water. Why had they made him do the ice-breaker drill?
He was cold and wet, his thermals clinging to his skin. His head throbbed when
he tried to move, and his leg was trapped in the ice.

He was going
to drown.

Panicking,
he struggled, thrashing his head from side to side, trying to breathe.

Then he came
to.

Freezing
water beat against the side of his face, trickling into his ear and down his
neck.

Where the
hell was he? Slitting his eyes open, he saw twisted gray metal with mist
swirling past, and rain—heavy, incessant rain mixed with hailstones.

This wasn't
the ice hole.

For a
moment, relief rushed through him. Then he remembered: thick clouds, zero
visibility, buffeting wind, the pilot fighting for control, then the helicopter
crashing, careening along on its side like a crazy fairground ride, equipment
tumbling around, banging into him. He must have been knocked out.

Daniel
dragged in a breath and released it, the sound emerging as a shivery groan. He
lifted a hand to his head, relieved that he could, and touched the throbbing
ache above his right ear. With his gloves on, he couldn't determine how bad the
injury was.

"Major
Fabian, can you hear me?"

Lucidity
returned fast now. Daniel held a forearm over his face to shield his eyes from
the icy rain and peered towards the voice. The pilot leaned through a gap in
the twisted wreckage, blood pouring from a wound on his head.

Daniel
grabbed something sturdy beside him and used it to help himself sit up. Pain
screamed inside his head. He had to close his eyes and concentrate on breathing
until the discomfort subsided. He wiped a glove over his face and it came away
bloody. Running his hand over his face again, he searched for the injury. His
whole head throbbed, but he located the source—a laceration in his hairline.

"Can
you get up, Major?" The pilot called to him again. "I need medical
help over here for the copilot."

Daniel had
to swallow and suck in a couple of breaths before he could answer. "I'm
trying." There was something on top of him. He shoved aside a box and some
packs that lay on his legs to reveal a metal girder angled out from the misty gray
mass of the wreckage, pinning his left shin.

He shoved at
it. Pain ricocheted up his leg and blasted the air from his lungs, leaving him
panting. Unless the pilot could shift the girder, he wasn't moving anywhere.

"I'm
pinned down," he shouted, hating the feeling of helplessness.

"Okay.
I'll come and help you. Give me a moment."

Dizziness
swirled in Daniel's head. With a groan, he lowered himself back down and threw
an arm over his face. Clean mountain air filled his nose, then the acrid tang
of aviation fuel. At least the temperature and heavy rain would cool any hot
metal likely to ignite the flammable liquid.

Metal
groaned and clanged in counterpoint to the incessant drumming of rain on the
helicopter's hull as the pilot pushed through the wreckage. When the man
arrived, Daniel noticed his arm tied against his chest in a blue sling and a
bleeding gash across his forehead. His medical training kicked in; for a little
while he forgot his own situation.

"Did
you lose consciousness?" Daniel asked, wondering if the guy had a skull
fracture.

"No.
Wish I had. Hurts like blazes."

"What's
your copilot's condition?"

"Unconscious
but breathing."

"How's
the patient I'm traveling with, Private Montgomery?"

"I
can't find him."

Daniel sat
up again, wincing as the pain in his head flared. He scanned the area for signs
of Monty. Through the haze of pelting rain and mist, he could see nothing but
twisted wreckage and debris.

"Monty,"
he called at the top of his voice, gritting his teeth at the resulting head
pain.

No answer.

"I only
had a quick look outside. I didn't want to leave Frank for too long." The
pilot gestured in the direction he'd come.

"We
need to move this metal bar that's trapping my leg so I can search for
Monty." Pain pounded through Daniel's skull even harder at the thought
he'd lost his patient. He prayed the young man was all right.

The pilot
kicked away some more debris to give himself space, then using his good arm, he
tugged at the fallen girder ineffectually. He shook his head. "I'm not
going to move this on my own. You'll have to wait until the cavalry
arrives."

"Did
you radio for help?"

"The
local mountain rescue group is on the way."

"Where
did we come down?"

"Cairngorms."

They were
near Kindrogan. Megan might be with the rescue team. Her smiling face filled
Daniel's mind and hope pulsed through him. He wanted to see her so badly, it
brought tears to his eyes.

Conditions
were treacherous. Visibility down to a few yards. Megan peered into the mist
and picked her way over slippery rocks, fists clenched in her gloves, muscles
taut and teeth gritted. She moved as fast as she could, bending into the
gale-force winds.

A punishing
mix of snow, hailstones, and freezing rain whipped around her as if trying to
drive her back. She paused to wipe her goggles and pull the scarf higher over
her nose and mouth before she pushed on.

When she
heard Daniel's helicopter had come down, she bottled up her emotions and
slapped on a lid. She couldn't let herself feel or she would fall to pieces.
That was not an option. Daniel needed her. He was out here waiting for her and
she wouldn't let him down. The fear he might be dead nipped at the edges of her
mind, but she refused to believe she would lose him.

She lost her
footing on loose rocks, going down on her knees. Flanking her silently, like
self-assigned bodyguards, Lyall and Hew each put a hand beneath her arms and
pulled her to her feet. Once she made it clear she was coming, neither of them
had argued. They'd simply stayed with her, watching out for her.

After
brushing herself off, she pressed on, breath short in the thin air, muscles
burning with effort, maintaining a punishing pace. Most of the team had fallen
behind. Even with their high-visibility jackets and flashlights, she couldn't
see them anymore. Only Lyall and Hew kept up.

Lyall tapped
her arm and gestured for her to stop while he pulled the GPS tracker out of its
case. The three of them crowded around it, squinting at the illuminated
display. Lyall raised a hand and they headed the way he indicated. They were
nearly there.

Through the
low cloud and torrential rain, a light waved in the distance. "Look,"
she shouted to be heard over the howling wind.

There had
been four men in the helicopter, so the mountain rescue team had brought four
stretchers. They'd even borrowed the all-terrain Sno-Cat with caterpillar
tracks from Glenshee to carry the casualties back, if necessary. The vehicle
had to drive a longer way around than they had walked. Lyall had wanted her to
ride in it, but she was determined to be the first to reach Daniel.

With renewed
determination, Megan jogged forward against the wind, her heart pounding with a
potent mix of hope and fear. Someone was waving that light. It might be Daniel!

As they
approached, a man's form resolved out of the murk. One glance at his silhouette
told her it wasn't Daniel. The shock of disappointment nearly took the feet
from under her.

Behind the
figure lay the uneven, dark bulk of what must be the helicopter wreckage.

"Hello,"
Lyall yelled over the wind.

"Thank
God. It's good to see you." The man stepped back into the relative shelter
of the battered metal carcass.

Megan's
glance swept over him, an immediate professional assessment of his condition
second nature. His arm was in a sling and he had a laceration on his forehead,
but he was walking wounded, lucid and alert. "Where's Major Fabian?"
she shouted, her heart thumping so hard she could hardly draw breath to speak.

"In
here." The man turned and stepped farther inside the wreckage, leading the
way. "My copilot is still in the front and we lost a man as we came
down."

Megan heard
his words but they slid over the surface of her mind, barely registering, her
gaze glued on the prone figure a short distance away. She stumbled and
slithered over bits of crumpled helicopter, ripping off her goggles, desperate
to see Daniel. She fell to her knees at his side, a sixth sense confirming that
this was the man she loved before she saw his face.

"Daniel!"

She leaned
down and his arms wrapped around her awkwardly as they were both bundled in
thick clothes. She buried her face against his chilled cheek, a hint of his
familiar fragrance surviving the cold, wet conditions.

For long
moments she clung to him, unable to do anything except fight the tears of
relief that threatened to burst free.

"I love
you." She pressed her lips to his ear, whispering through her tight
throat.

"Sweetheart,
I'm so relieved to see you. I knew you'd come."

She
swallowed hard. Got herself under control. "Are you hurt?"

"My
head and shin."

"Your
head?" With frantic fingers, she pulled her medical pack off her back and
unclipped it. She dug around for wipes and cleaned the blood and dirt from his
skin, her gaze scouring his beloved face for injuries. The laceration on his
forehead was nothing serious. She ripped off her gloves, and gently felt
through his hair.

A nasty lump
had come up above his ear, but it didn't appear serious. Her breath leaked out
in a gust of relief. She pressed her lips close to his ear. "Minor
contusion above your right ear and laceration to your forehead that will
require stitching. Nothing to worry about."

"Good."
His eyelids fell, and fear spurted through her.

"Daniel,
stay with me." She cupped her hand around his cheek.

"My
head hurts."

"Hold
tight. I'll give you a shot in a moment." She sat back on her heels to
examine his body. There were no obvious injuries. The only problem appeared to
be a metal girder bent at an angle, trapping his lower leg.

Her gaze
rose to find Lyall standing nearby with Hew. "We need to free
Daniel," she said.

Lyall
nodded. He and Hew tried to lift the metal bar, putting their backs into it.
The thing didn't shift. "We'll get the others to help," he shouted.

Megan
gripped Daniel's hand, not wanting to leave him, but she was the doctor on the
team and there were other casualties.

"The
copilot's in the cockpit." The pilot waved his arm to indicate where.

She leaned
down, put her mouth to Daniel's ear. "I've got to treat the others."

"I'll
be okay. You go," Daniel said. As she drew back, he grinned. Not quite his
usual megawatts smile, but so familiar it clenched her heart.

Tears
flooded her eyes and she wiped them away. She had to hang on to her composure
until this was over. Climbing between the twisted pieces of metal and scattered
equipment, she followed the pilot to find a man still strapped in the copilot's
chair. His head lolled to the side, but there was no obvious sign of injury.

She took his
vitals. "Has he regained consciousness at all?"

"No."
She checked him over and found a bump on his head, but apart from that he had
escaped with little obvious physical damage.

"We'll
get him loaded on a stretcher and into the hospital. They can do further tests
to find out why he hasn't regained consciousness. You mentioned a fourth
man?"

"We
must have lost him sometime during the crash."

Miraculously
the helicopter windshield had survived, cracked but intact, providing a measure
of protection from the weather. She stared out at the hailstones running down
the glass in the deluge. If the fourth guy was outside in this weather,
probably injured, he would die if they didn't find him soon.

"Some
men will come with a stretcher and load your copilot. Stay with him for the
moment."

She headed
back through the obstacle course, noticing the deepening gloom as dusk fell.
Night came early in this sort of weather.

"We
need to get moving before dark falls," Lyall said as she neared him.

"Have
the rest of the team arrived? I want to lift the metal bar off Daniel's
leg."

Megan's gaze
went to Daniel, to the blue eyes she loved so much. Even here in this terrible
situation, he still managed to buoy her spirits. Despite the circumstances, her
heart leaped and bounded. He might be hurt but he would be all right.

She crouched
at his side, taking the hand he held out. The rest of the team arrived and a
group of men heaved the metal girder off his shin, the wrecked helicopter
creaking and groaning as it shifted.

She checked
his tibia and judged it might be fractured. They wrapped him in thermal
blankets and strapped him onto a stretcher. The copilot was loaded onto a
stretcher and carried out.

Lyall sent a
team to search the trail the helicopter had scraped over the ground, searching
for the fourth man.

The Sno-Cat
arrived and they loaded the two stretchers on the front. The pilot sat inside
the cab.

"You
head back to the helicopter pickup point," Lyall said. "I'll stay
here for thirty minutes and continue searching. Then we'll walk out before it
gets too dark. The helicopter can come back for us. If we find the fourth man,
we'll stretcher him out by hand."

Megan
nodded. She handed across her medical pack. Lyall wasn't a doctor, but he had
thorough first aid knowledge. All the mountain rescue team did.

She stepped
up onto the front of the Sno-Cat beside Daniel's stretcher, and hung on as the
vehicle bumped and slithered over the terrain. It wasn't designed as an
ambulance, but it was all they had. Leaning over Daniel where he lay bundled
under warm blankets, protected from the weather, she pressed her lips to his
cold mouth, and stroked his wet hair.

Love you,
love you, love you. The words repeated inside her head like a mantra in time
with the beat of her heart. She was so relieved to have him back.

***

Daniel
drifted in and out of sleep, vaguely aware of the jostling, bumpy ride on the
Sno-Cat. Megan leaned over him, her fingers clenched around his, her warm
breath against his cheek, her soft voice in his ear, whispering words of love
and encouragement.

In the past,
he'd never have relaxed and been comfortable putting his safety in the hands of
a woman he was dating. He didn't have much choice right now, but he trusted
Megan. He didn't mind her seeing him vulnerable like this.

He slept for
a while and woke as they lifted him into the helicopter. Voices spoke over him,
packs were dropped on the floor close by, and the familiar smell of aviation
fuel tinged the air. Then the door slammed and the floor vibrated beneath him
as the helicopter took off.

For a few
minutes he couldn't settle, his head pounding again, his shin aching, the pain
streaking up his leg even though he'd had a pain relief shot. Then Megan
clasped his hand. At her touch, the tension leaked from his body and the pain
eased.

They arrived
at the hospital to blissful warmth and dry clothes. Megan stayed with him while
he was x-rayed, and had his leg strapped up and the wound dressed.

As he was
wheeled back along the corridor to his room, the message came through that
Lyall had found Monty and he was okay. They were on their way to the hospital.
Finally Daniel could relax.

Megan
plumped his pillows and gently examined the contusion on the side of his head.
"I'm going to leave this uncovered for the moment. The skin is hardly
broken."

Daniel
didn't care as long as she stayed with him. She sat on a chair beside his bed,
still in the thermal undershirt and waterproof trousers she'd worn for the
rescue. Her hair was tied back, wisps escaping to frame her face in soft red
waves. Her mascara had run, leaving black streaks underneath her eyes, and dirt
smudged her cheeks. But her brown eyes glowed with love and she had a permanent
smile on her lips.

She was the
most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. He never wanted to be parted from her
again.

During the
lonely nights in his tent, he'd run through numerous ways of proposing to her,
trying to think of the most romantic. Lying injured in a hospital bed while she
cared for him was nowhere on that list.

She smoothed
his pillow and kissed him. "Do you want anything to eat?"

"No. I
want to marry you."

Her eyes
widened, and she gasped. "Yes, oh yes. I want to marry you, Dan." She
pressed her lips to his, then kicked off her boots and stretched out beside
him, snuggling into his arms.

"What
about the no-visitors-on-the-bed rule?" he said.

"Forget
it. I'm your doctor. I prescribe hugs and kisses, Major Fabian."

He caught a
strand of silky red hair between his fingers, and savored its texture before
stroking it back behind her ear. A few months ago, he couldn't imagine being in
love; now he was going to get married. How his life had changed. "So, how
soon do you want to set the date?"

"Quickly
might be a good idea."

"Why
quickly?"

"I'm
pregnant."

For a
moment, Daniel's mind blanked with disbelief before he found his tongue.
"How?"

"You
must have bumped your head harder than I thought if you need to ask that."

He chuckled
and pulled her closer. Images of Megan with his baby in her arms filled his
mind, images of the three of them living together as a family. This was what he
wanted, what he'd been missing. No wonder Sean was so happy. He'd already
discovered this secret.

"I
joined the army because I was searching for something more. Yet it was you I
needed. You've given meaning to my life, sweetheart."

"So,
you're pleased about the baby?" The slight hint of doubt in her voice made
him kiss her soundly to reassure her.

"I
couldn't be happier. Fate was smiling on me the day I met you."

"I
think Duncan might have had something to do with it."

"I'll
have to thank him then."

"What
about a summer wedding?" Megan suggested.

"Darling,
I can't wait."