Always the Midwife, page 1
The perfect midwife…
Dedicated midwife Sophia Toulson always has a baby to hold—it’s a special part of her job that helps her cope with her infertility. But sometimes a girl just wants to have fun—and hunky motorbike-riding paramedic Aiden Harrison has the perfect proposition…
The perfect fling!
Aiden devotes his life to his injured brother and his patients—he never dates a woman more than three times. Sophia should be his ideal fling…but he soon realizes that three dates may never be enough!
Midwives On-Call
Welcome to Melbourne Victoria Hospital—and to the exceptional midwives who make up the Melbourne Maternity Unit!
These midwives in a million work miracles on a daily basis, delivering tiny bundles of joy into the arms of their brand-new moms!
Amid the drama and emotion of babies arriving at all hours of the day and night, when the shifts are over, somehow there’s still time for some sizzling off-hours romance…
While these caring professionals might come face-to-face with a whole lot of love in their line of work, now it’s their turn to find a happy-ever-after of their own!
Midwives On-Call
Midwives, mothers and babies—lives changing forever…!
Dear Reader,
One of the perks of being a writer is the joy of including things that are special to me in my stories. Or exploring things that have always intrigued or inspired me.
I got to do this a lot in Aiden and Sophia’s story for the Midwives On-Call continuity, and that made it a real joy to write.
I adore Melbourne. I’ve spent a lot of time there in the past decade or so, because it’s home to some of my very best friends and my daughter has been living there for the past three years. So I got to include places like the Southbank in the central city, and Queenscliff—which isn’t part of the city but is gorgeous and so worth a day trip if you’re ever lucky enough to be spending time in Melbourne. I even gave one of my friends (and her dog) a cameo appearance in the Queenscliff chapter! :)
I also got to learn a lot more about murderball, or wheelchair rugby, and I find that totally inspiring. Throw in some babies, a gorgeous paramedic for a hero and a “three dates” rule that’s begging to be broken, and it’s no wonder I had so much fun writing this book.
I hope you have just as much fun reading it.
With love,
Alison xxx
ALWAYS THE MIDWIFE
Alison Roberts
Alison Roberts
lives in Christchurch, New Zealand. She began her working career as a primary school teacher, but now juggles available working hours between writing and active duty as an ambulance officer. Throwing in a large dose of parenting, housework, gardening and pet-minding keeps life busy, and her teenage daughter, Becky, is responsible for an increasing number of days spent on equestrian pursuits. Finding time for everything can be a challenge, but the rewards make the effort more than worthwhile.
Books by Alison Roberts
Harlequin Medical Romance™
The Honorable Maverick
Sydney Harbor Hospital: Zoe’s Baby
Falling for Her Impossible Boss
The Legendary Playboy Surgeon
Maybe This Christmas…?
St. Piran’s: The Wedding
NYC Angels: An Explosive Reunion
Always the Hero
From Venice with Love
200 Harley Street: The Proud Italian
A Little Christmas Magic
Visit the author profile page
at Harlequin.com for more titles.
For Annie, Carol and Linda—who will always
make Melbourne a very special place to visit for me.
Love you all xxx
Midwives On-Call
Midwives, mothers and babies—lives changing forever…!
Over the next four months enter the magical world of the Melbourne Maternity Unit and the exceptional midwives there, delivering tiny bundles of joy on a daily basis. Now it’s time to find a happy-ever-after of their own…
In April, gorgeous Greek doctor Alessi Manos is determined to charm the beautiful yet frosty Isla Delamere…but can he melt this ice queen’s heart? Just One Night? by Carol Marinelli
And when Dr. Oliver Evans’s estranged wife, Emily, crashes back into his life, old passions are reignited. But brilliant Dr. Evans is in for a surprise…Emily has two foster children! Meant-to-Be Family by Marion Lennox
In May, midwife Sophia Toulson and hardworking paramedic Aiden Harrison share an explosive attraction…but will they overcome their tragic pasts and take a chance on love? Always the Midwife by Alison Roberts
And hotshot surgeon Tristan Hamilton’s passionate night with pretty student midwife Flick has unexpected consequences! Midwife’s Baby Bump by Susanne Hampton
In June, free-spirited locum midwife Ally Parker meets top GP and gorgeous single dad Flynn Reynolds. Is she finally ready to settle down with a family of her own? Midwife…to Mum! by Sue MacKay
And when beautiful redhead Phoebe Taylor turns up on former army medic Ryan Matthews’s doorstep, there’s only one thing keeping them apart: she’s his best friend’s widow…and eight months pregnant! His Best Friend’s Baby by Susan Carlisle
Finally, join us in July, when brooding city surgeon Noah Jackson meets compassionate Outback midwife Lilia Cartwright. Could Lilia be the key to Noah’s locked-away heart? Unlocking Her Surgeon’s Heart by Fiona Lowe
And renowned English obstetrician Darcie Green might think playboy Lucas Elliot is nothing but trouble—but is there more to this gorgeous doc than meets the eye? Her Playboy’s Secret by Tina Beckett
Experience heartwarming emotion and pulse-racing drama in Midwives On-Call this sensational eight-book continuity from Harlequin Medical Romance™.
These books are also available in ebook format from Harlequin.com.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
CHAPTER ONE
THE BLIP OF the foetal heart monitor had definitely slowed down. Her decision might be a no-brainer but Sophia knew it wasn’t going to be popular.
‘I’m sorry,’ she told her patient, ‘but I’m not happy with the way things are going. We need to get you to hospital.’
‘No-o-o…’ First-time mother Claire Robinson had her heart set on a home birth. ‘You said I’m almost fully dilated. It can’t be much longer.’
‘You’re exhausted, sweetheart. Every contraction is harder for you and things are slowing down.’ She still had the hand-held Doppler against the distended abdomen of the pregnant woman. ‘Can you hear that the baby’s heartbeat has slowed down, too? It’s a sign that baby is getting distressed.’
‘What does that mean?’ Claire’s husband, Greg, was looking pale and anxious. ‘Is the baby in danger? Is Claire in danger?’
‘No.’ Sophia hastened to reassure them both. ‘But that’s what I want to make sure isn’t going to happen. The labour hasn’t progressed quite the way we wanted and…’ How could she tell these parents-to-be, without scaring them, that it was her instinct that something wasn’t right that was making the transfer seem urgent? ‘Let me make a call and see how far away an ambulance might be.’
The call was answered instantly.
‘My name is Sophia Toulson,’ Sophia said. ‘I’m a midwife with the Melbourne Maternity Unit at the Victoria. I’m at a planned home birth…’ She moved away from the young couple, lowering her voice as she gave the address details and then voiced her concerns.
‘An ambulance is probably fifteen minutes away,’ the dispatcher told her. ‘But we do have a SPRINT guy in your locality.’
‘SPRINT?’
‘Single Paramedic Response and Intervention. An intensive care paramedic on a motorbike.’
‘I think we just need the transport,’ Sophia said. ‘It’s not an emergency…’ But she could hear the note of doubt in her own voice. An exhausted first-time mother and a stalled labour. The potential for an emergency was there. Was that why alarm bells had started ringing?
‘I’ll change the plan,’ Claire offered desperately, as Sophia ended the call. ‘I’ll have more pain relief than the gas. You can rupture the membranes. Whatever it takes…’ She was sobbing now. ‘We don’t want to have our baby in a hospital…’
‘I know.’ Sophia smoothed damp strands of hair back from Claire’s face. ‘But you know what the really important thing here is?’
She didn’t wait for a response. Greg was perched on the end of the bed, holding Claire in his arms as she lay back against him. She caught his gaze and then Claire’s.
‘My job is to keep both you and baby safe. At the end of the day, the only thing that matters is that you get to hold your healthy baby in your arms. I promise that where the delivery happens is not going to take away even the tiniest bit of joy that moment’s going to give you.’
A joy that Sophia might never be able to experience herself but that didn’t mean she couldn’t share it happening for others. It was precisely why she’d chosen this profession. Why she loved it so much. And why she was so passionate about doing whatever it took to ensure a happy outcome.
‘That’s all I want,’ Greg said, his voice cracking. ‘For you
‘But I’m not worried. I’m just so tired…Oohhh…’ Claire’s face scrunched into lines of pain.
‘Another contraction?’ Sophia reached for the Entonox mouthpiece. ‘Here you go. Deep breaths…’
The loud rap on the door made her jump. Surely the ambulance hadn’t arrived this quickly?
‘Shall I go?’ Greg asked.
Claire spat out the mouthpiece. ‘No—don’t leave me… It’s…. Ahhh…’
Sophia wasn’t going anywhere either. The contraction had produced a rush of fluid. Claire’s membranes had finally broken. It was a sign that her labour was progressing again but Sophia wasn’t feeling relieved. Quite the opposite.
The fluid soaking into the pad beneath Claire’s hips had the stain of meconium that meant the baby could be in trouble. And…
Oh, dear Lord…yes…that was a loop of umbilical cord showing.
‘G’day…’ The rich, deep voice came from behind her. ‘I let myself in. Hope that’s okay.’
Sophia looked up. The man was wearing a high-vis heavy-duty jacket. He had a motorbike helmet on his head with the red, white and blue colours of Melbourne’s ambulance service and the title ‘Paramedic’ emblazoned across the front. The chin-guard and visor were flipped up so that she could see his face but she barely registered what he looked like. There was relief to be felt now—that she had professional help in what had just become an obstetric emergency.
‘Claire’s waters just broke,’ she said quietly. ‘We’ve got a cord prolapse.’
‘What’s that?’ Greg was leaning in, trying to see what was happening. ‘What’s going on? And who are you?’
The paramedic’s helmet was off by the time he’d taken two steps closer. ‘I’m Aiden Harrison,’ he told Greg. ‘Here to help.’ He was right beside Sophia now. ‘Modified Sims position?’
‘Knees to chest, I think. Claire? We’re going to get you to turn over, I want you on your knees with your bottom up in the air. Greg, can you help?’
‘What? Why?’ Claire was panting, recovering from the contraction. ‘I don’t want to move.’
‘We’ve got a small problem, guys.’ The paramedic had dropped his helmet and leather gloves, along with a rolled-up kit he’d been carrying. He didn’t sound stressed. Rather, he made it sound as if whatever the problem was, it was going to be easily remedied. ‘Your baby didn’t read the rule book and part of the umbilical cord has come out first. We need to take any pressure off it, which is why we’re going to let gravity give us a hand. Here…let me help.’
Somehow he managed to make it seem like nothing out of the ordinary to be getting a woman in labour to get into what seemed a very unnatural position, on her knees with her head lowered. Sophia was ready with the Doppler to check the baby’s heart rate again.
Aiden listened, his gaze on his watch. ‘Ninety-eight,’ he said. ‘What was the last recorded rate?’
‘One-forty.’ Sophia ripped open a packet of sterile gloves. In a blink of time, this had become a potential disaster. The baby’s oxygen supply was being cut off. ‘I’m going to try and ease the pressure.’
‘Oh, my God…’ Claire wailed. ‘What’s happening?’
‘You’re going to feel me inside,’ Sophia warned her. ‘I’m going to be pushing on baby’s head to take the pressure off the cord.’
Greg’s face was as white as a sheet. ‘How are you going to take her to hospital if she has to stay in that position?’ He glanced sideways to where the paramedic had discarded his bike helmet. ‘You’re not even driving an ambulance, are you?’
‘No, mate. I ride a bike. Gets me where I’m needed faster.’ Aiden reached for the radio clipped to his shoulder. ‘SPRINT One to Base. How far away is our back-up?’
They could all hear the woman’s voice on the other end. ‘Should be with you in less than ten minutes.’
‘Copy that. Make it a code one.’ He nodded at Greg. ‘Hang in there, mate. We’re under control.’
‘I’m getting another contraction,’ Claire groaned. ‘Ohhh… I want to push…’
‘Don’t push,’ Sophia warned. ‘Not yet.’
She looked up to find Aiden’s gaze on her face. A steady gaze but she could see he knew exactly what she was trying to decide and the almost crushing responsibility for making the right choice here.
‘The cord’s pulsatile,’ she told him. ‘And Claire’s fully dilated.’
Aiden nodded. If they were in hospital right now, an assisted delivery with forceps would be the fastest and safest way to get this baby out. With Sophia using two fingers to push on the baby’s head, the cord was being protected and the blood and oxygen supply was still adequate. She knew what she was doing, this midwife. Intelligent-looking woman, in fact, which probably explained the anxiety he could see in her eyes. She had to know exactly how dangerous this situation was for the baby.
Her hand was probably already aching, although Aiden couldn’t detect any signs of discomfort. Could she keep this up until they arrived at the hospital? The other option was not to slow down a natural delivery but to try and speed it up. To get the baby out fast enough to avoid potentially devastating complications from lack of oxygen. She was still looking at him and he got the feeling she was following his train of thought.
‘She’s also exhausted,’ she added. ‘Labour’s been a bit protracted. That was why I called for an ambulance in the first place. I’m not sure…’ Sophia bit her lip as her words trailed to an inaudible whisper. She hated feeling indecisive and it rarely happened, but a baby’s life was at stake here and there was another option. But if they encouraged Claire to push and she was too tired to be effective, they would have to wait for another contraction and they could end up in a much worse position, with the baby’s head cutting off any oxygen supply. The baby could end up with severe brain damage. Or it could die.
The weighing-up process was lightning fast but agonising. Sophia found she was holding the gaze of the paramedic. Light brown eyes, a part of her brain noted. Unusual. It was a calm gaze but it was intelligent. He knew what the issues were. It was also confident. Crinkles appeared near the corners, like a smile that didn’t involve a mouth. There was a good chance they could pull this off.
It was Aiden who broke the eye contact. He crouched beside the bed so that he could look up at Claire who had her forehead resting on clenched fists.
‘How tired are you, Claire?’ he asked.
‘She’s stuffed, mate.’ It was Greg who responded. ‘We never thought it was going to be this hard, you know?’
But Aiden didn’t seem to be listening. He was holding Claire’s frightened gaze now.
‘The best thing for your baby is going to be getting born as fast as possible,’ he said. ‘And we can help but you’re going to have to do most of the work. Do you think you could do that?’
‘I want to push,’ Claire said with a sob. ‘But I’m scared.’
‘We’re here with you. How ’bout we give it our best shot with the next contraction?’
‘O-okay. I’ll try.’
‘Good girl.’ He was smiling at Claire now and the mix of approval and confidence in his voice was compelling. Sophia could have felt defensive about having someone else make that decision for her, but instead she was as ready as Claire to put every effort into making this work. She believed it was the right decision. It would work.
Who was this knight in shining armour who’d ridden up on a motorbike instead of a horse just as things were turning to custard? This paramedic with his warm brown eyes and streaked, golden-blond hair that made him look like a surfer.
When the next contraction was due a couple of minutes later, they turned Claire onto her back again and Sophia released the pressure holding the baby’s head away from the cervix and the cord. The clock was ticking from that moment on and the three of them, Aiden, Sophia and even Greg—who couldn’t help but catch the urgency—coached Claire into giving everything she had. And then a bit more.
‘You can do it,’ Aiden told her firmly. ‘Push, push, push. Keep going. Push.’
‘Crowning,’ Sophia confirmed. ‘Keep going, Claire.’
