‘Half the nurses and doctors here are in love with him. The other half are married.’ Linda laughed. ‘Thank goodness I’m in the second half. Otherwise I’d be doomed to have my heart broken, like the rest.’
Caitlin wasn’t used to such frankness and wasn’t sure how to respond. Thankfully, as she was searching frantically for a more neutral subject, Andrew himself appeared.
‘They told me I’d find you here,’ he said, pouring himself a glass of water from the cooler and gulping it greedily. ‘I wondered if you wanted to see the paeds wards before we have lunch. Your theatre list starts at 1.30. Right?’ She eyed him, mentally readjusting her opinion of him in light of what Linda had told her.
Caitlin stood. ‘I’d love to see the children’s ward,’ she said. ‘And meet the staff.’ She finished her coffee and rinsed her cup. ‘Thanks, Linda,’ she said as she followed Andrew out of the staffroom. ‘I’ll see you after Theatre.’
She followed Andrew out of the staffroom.
‘I don’t think we should leave Mrs Levy any longer,’ she said. ‘She’s showing all the signs of pre-eclampsia—raised blood pressure and protein in her urine. If we don’t deliver her and her condition gets worse then there is a chance she’ll start fitting and we’ll lose her. I’m sure neither of us want to be faced with a maternal death.’
Andrew turned and looked at her. ‘The last two scans place her at twenty-eight weeks,’ he said. ‘There’s not been much growth since then.’ He frowned. Caitlin wondered if he was unused to having his opinion challenged. Underneath his easygoing exterior she thought there was a man who, once he had made up his mind, was loath to change it. It was clear in the way the staff acquiesced to him that he was used to being deferred to. On the other hand, so was she. She trusted her instinct, and if she were back in Ireland nobody would have questioned her decision.
‘If we deliver her now, then there is a chance the baby won’t survive,’ he continued. ‘Even another couple of days would give it a better chance.’
Caitlin held her ground. ‘If we wait another couple of days and the mother develops full-blown eclampsia then there’s a good chance that we’ll lose the baby as well as the mother. Is that a risk you’re prepared to take? Because I’m not sure I am.’
They stared at each other, neither willing to give an inch.
‘We should go and speak to the patient at least,’ Caitlin said eventually. ‘We should give her all the facts and let her decide.’
‘Do you think that’s fair?’ Andrew countered. ‘If she decides to go ahead and let us deliver the baby, and the baby dies, she’ll carry that burden always. She’ll always wonder if she made the right decision.’
‘And if she takes your advice and waits, and she and the baby both die, then what about the rest of her family? She has two children under the age of five. Do you think it’s fair to leave them without a mother?’ Caitlin felt her voice catch on the last words as an image of her niece and nephew growing up without their mother flashed across her mind.
Andrew looked at her sharply. ‘Are you sure this isn’t becoming personal, Caitlin?’ he asked softly.
Caitlin gritted her teeth in frustration. She never let her personal feelings or emotions interfere with her professional judgement. But that didn’t mean that she looked on her patients just as obstetric dilemmas—she prided herself on taking all aspects of their lives into account when making a clinical decision. How dared he suggest otherwise? Even if he already thought of her as some sort of pathetic female that needed rescuing. Now he was accusing her of being over-emotional and letting her worry about her sister cloud her judgement. Well, she would soon put him right.
‘Let me make one thing absolutely clear, Dr Bedi. It’s important we understand one another if we are going to be making joint decisions about patients.’ Her voice was cold and clipped, even to her own ears, but she made no attempt to soften her tone. ‘The decisions I make are always—’ she emphasised the last word ‘—made on the basis of what is good for my patient. I never let personal feelings cloud my judgement.’ Aware that she had curled her hands into fists, she made herself relax. What was it about this man which caused her to have such strong reactions?
‘I’m glad to hear it, Dr O’Neill,’ he said calmly. ‘Because if I ever had reason to think you weren’t up to the job, believe you me, regardless of the friendship I have with your family. I wouldn’t hesitate to have you removed from the case. Now, do I make myself clear?’
CHAPTER THREE
STUNNED, Caitlin could only stare open-mouthed at Andrew.
‘Well, now that we understand each other,’ she said stiffly, ‘shall we continue?’ She marched off in what she hoped was the general direction of Paediatrics, not caring whether Andrew was following or not. Of all the insufferable, conceited, big-headed…She was fuming to herself when Andrew caught her arm and stopped her in her tracks.
She glared at him, before seeing the look of apology in his deep brown eyes.
‘I’m sorry,’ he said, ‘that was unforgivable of me.’
‘Yes, it was,’ Caitlin said. Then she softened at his look of genuine remorse. ‘Do you really have doubts about my clinical judgement?’ she asked, puzzled. ‘I know you had me checked out thoroughly before you arranged the job for me.’
‘I did,’ Andrew said. ‘And I don’t have doubts. It’s just…’ He hesitated. ‘Let’s just say that I have my reasons.’
‘Shouldn’t you tell me what they are?’ Caitlin said.
‘There’s no need. I agree we should wait for the scan results before we decide what to do. Okay?’
Caitlin was tempted to press further, but she could tell from the set of his chin that she was unlikely to get anything more from Andrew. But she was a patient woman. Whatever it was, she would find out soon enough.
‘Okay,’ Caitlin said. ‘Now, let’s go and see this paediatric ward of yours.’
After a quick tour of the children’s ward, Caitlin left Andrew checking his patients and made her way to the scanning room where Mrs Oliphant was waiting for her.
‘Hey, how are you doing?’ Caitlin said. Mary just smiled weakly.
Caitlin passed the catheter then turned the monitor towards her patient and pointed to the screen.
‘Look,’ she told the anxious woman. ‘You can see both the ovaries. That’s the left one and there’s the right. And see that little blob there? That’s a follicle with an egg developing inside. So far so good. Everything is normal.’ She withdrew the catheter. ‘You can get dressed now.’
Once Mrs Oliphant was dressed and sitting down, Caitlin turned to her. ‘I’ve also had the blood results back. And they’re consistent with the scan we’ve just done. Your ovaries are looking good. And the embryologists have told me that Richard’s results are also normal. So I’m going to suggest that you go home and keep trying for another six months. If you’re still not pregnant by then, we’ll talk about IVF. But I’ve got a feeling that you won’t need it.’
Mary relaxed and smiled broadly. ‘It’s such a relief to know,’ she said. ‘I can’t tell you how worried I’ve been.’
‘Sometimes,’ Caitlin said gently, ‘I find that once couples relax, nature just takes it course. And if it doesn’t, well, you can come and see me again. But for now I want you and Richard to go home and have plenty of sex.’
She saw a happy and relieved Mary out, and then asked whether the scanner could be taken to the antenatal