The thought sent another surge of heat through her veins which she decided owed itself to anger. It had nothing to do with the remembered feel of his powerful body as it had pressed hers into the mattress, no connection whatsoever to the fact that just for a moment she’d found herself actually enjoying the contact. She was angry because never in her life had she been so…so insulted!
‘If you imagine that I shall dignify that question with an answer then think again!’ she snapped back.
‘In that case, you’ll understand if I don’t answer your question, won’t you? Anyway, I suppose there must have been a reason why you saw fit to wake me even if it isn’t the one that sprang to mind. Is something wrong?’
She very nearly turned round and marched right out of the hut. She had sensed all along that Jack had a low opinion of her but she hadn’t realised before just how low it was. It was only the thought of Leah which helped curb her temper and remember what she was doing there in the first place.
‘Leah’s in labour but there seems to be a problem,’ she explained through gritted teeth. ‘I might be wrong but I think the baby could be breech. Can you come and take a look at her?’
‘Of course.’ He was out of bed before she could blink, stepping into his trousers and dragging on his shirt as he headed for the door. Meg hurried after him as he strode across the clearing, answering the questions he shot at her to the best of her ability. She felt a trifle stunned by the speed of the transformation as he’d switched back to total professionalism in the blink of an eye. Obviously, work came first on Jack’s list of priorities and everything else came a very poor second. Why didn’t that surprise her?
Jack went straight to the bed. Kneeling down, he smiled reassuringly at the young woman. ‘Dr Meg tells me that you’re having trouble, Leah—may I see?’
‘Yes…’ Leah’s voice was weak with exhaustion and Meg found it difficult to hide her concern as she knelt beside the bed and took her pulse. It was so thready and faint that Meg’s heart plummeted because she knew Leah wouldn’t survive if something wasn’t done soon to help her.
Jack looked up and his eyes reflected her concern as he looked at her across the bed. ‘The baby is lying horizontally rather than breech from the feel of it. There’s no chance of it being delivered normally because its arm and shoulder appear to be jammed in her pelvis.’
Meg swallowed as she realised the implications. ‘She needs a Caesarean section, you mean?’
Jack nodded. ‘Yes. There isn’t any other option open to us at this stage. The only way to get that baby out is by doing a section otherwise we’re going to lose both of them.’ He glanced at the young woman and for a moment his face contorted with pain. ‘It might be too late even now but we have to try.’
Meg didn’t question his judgement because she knew he was right. If they didn’t operate immediately then both Leah and her baby would die. She stood up and there was a new determination in her eyes when she looked at Jack. Even if there was only a slim chance that they could save them then they had to try.
‘What do you want me to do first?’
Jack stood up as well and she felt her pulse leap as he smiled at her because for the first time ever there was a trace of admiration on his face. ‘Reckon we can do it, then, Meg?’ he asked quietly, his voice sounding very deep.
She squared her shoulders, striving for a calm she wished she felt, but it was hard to achieve that state when it felt as though dozens of butterflies were fluttering around inside her stomach. To see Jack look at her that way was everything she could have wished for, even though she wasn’t sure why it should have mattered so much.
‘Yes. If anyone can help Leah, I know you can,’ she said quietly, knowing in her heart that it was true.
He inclined his head in brief acknowledgement but that didn’t mean she missed the flare of some other emotion in the depths of his eyes…
She turned away before her mind could start racing along paths there simply wasn’t time to follow right then. She focused strictly on what Jack was saying as he rattled out a list of instructions. Fortunately, they had all the supplies they could possibly need close to hand, although the thought of performing the operation under such conditions was daunting.
In the end, Meg decided that it would be better not to think about it and just get on with the job. If they didn’t operate, Leah and the baby would die. There simply wasn’t a choice so she had to accept the problems and deal with them.
‘Do you want me to fetch Lesley or Kate?’ she offered once she was sure she knew exactly what he wanted doing.
He shook his head. ‘No, there’s no need to disturb them just yet. I’ll get Moses to wake them if I think it’s necessary, but I’m sure you and I can cope, Meg. However, I will wake Rory. We’ll need him to give the anaesthetic.’
Meg nodded her agreement before she hurried away to collect what was needed, but she couldn’t deny that her heart had lifted when she’d heard Jack say that. Maybe he was beginning to trust her after all? Odd how much comfort she derived from that thought.
Afterwards, when Meg looked back on that night, she found it hard to believe that she hadn’t dreamt it. There had been a surreal quality to the whole event which made it hard to believe it had actually happened.
At Jack’s insistence, more candles and an old paraffin lamp had been brought into the hut to supplement the inadequate lighting, but conditions for performing the operation had still been far from ideal. It had been quite a struggle too to source basic supplies and equipment from the packing cases in the trucks.
They’d had to leave Leah on her bed for starters, as there had been no other suitable surface to use. Meg had covered the straw mattress with several sterile sheets, then had brought in a packing case to lay their implements on, draping that as well with a sterile cover. It had seemed very inadequate protection against infection but it had been the best she could do in the circumstances.
Jack had scrubbed up, then let her help him into a gown, holding out his hands so that she’d been able to snap the thin surgical gloves onto his hands.
‘We need to double-glove for this,’ he advised her softly. ‘It would be foolish to take any risks.’
Meg nodded as she went to fetch a second pair large enough to fit him. Aids was endemic in many African countries so she knew he was right to take extra precautions. She followed his lead and put on a second pair of gloves herself, before going to assist him.
Rory looked up and grinned when they joined him by the bed. ‘Typical, isn’t it? You think you’re going to have a nice peaceful start to things and suddenly find yourself thrown in at the deep end!’
Jack’s brows rose. ‘How many of these trips have you been on now? And when has anything ever gone the way we’d planned it? I think I’d worry more if it did!’
Both men laughed ruefully. It was obvious to Meg that they had a great deal of respect for each other and she found herself thinking how wonderful it must be to be an accepted part of the team. She shot a look at Jack and smiled to herself. Still, maybe things weren’t quite so black as they’d appeared a few hours earlier if he was prepared to let her help him?
‘Right, let’s make a start if you’re happy with everything, Rory? We can’t afford to waste any time.’
Jack glanced at the younger man who nodded. Leah had been given an epidural anaesthetic as the risks to both mother and child were far less than if she’d been given a general anaesthetic in her weakened state. She hadn’t made a murmur when Rory had injected local anaesthetic into the epidural space surrounding her spinal cord. It was obvious to Meg that Leah was completely worn out by the ferocity of her labour and she knew that the sooner it was over the better. As