‘That’s why we’re here to update you,’ Georgie said gently. ‘Mollie’s heart stopped, which was why the nurse asked you to come away—it’s really not very nice for parents to see, but please don’t worry because I’m glad to say we got her heart started again.’
Mollie’s mum had a hand across her mouth in horror. ‘Her heart stopped? Oh, my God. Is she going to be all right?’
‘We hope so,’ Ryan said, ‘But at the moment we need to keep her sedated and cooled down, to make sure her brain doesn’t start swelling. We’ve got her on a ventilator, which makes sure she breathes properly, and we’re keeping a very close eye on her.’
‘A ventilator?’ Mollie’s mum gasped, her eyes widening in horror. ‘She’s sedated? So she—you’re keeping her asleep?’
Georgie squeezed her hand. ‘It sounds scary, and it looks scary, but it’s the best way to keep her safe right now. In a couple of days, we’ll wake her up and see how she manages or if she needs further support.’
‘My baby.’ Mollie’s mum was clearly having trouble processing what had happened. ‘Can I see her?’
‘Of course,’ Ryan said. ‘Because we’ve sedated her, I need to warn you now that she won’t respond to you the way she normally does, but she’ll still be able to hear you if you sit and talk to her, and she’ll definitely know if you’re holding her hand.’
‘Can we call anyone for you?’ Georgie asked. ‘Mollie’s dad?’
‘I... He’s away working on the rigs. He’ll be devastated.’
‘We’re happy to talk to him if you need us to,’ Georgie said. ‘Is there another relative or friend who could come and be with you? Your neighbour?’
‘No—he had to go to work after he dropped us here.’ Mollie’s mum looked anguished. ‘I’ll call my husband but I don’t know when he’ll be able to get here.’ She shook her head as if to clear it. ‘Everyone’s at work or they’re miles away and won’t be able to get here for ages.’
‘I’m due off duty shortly,’ Georgie said, ‘so I’ll stay and sit with you until someone can join you.’
‘But you’ve been at work all day.’
‘I’ll sit with you. Come on. I’ll make you a cup of tea, and introduce you to the nurses in the intensive care unit, and keep you company for a bit. I’ll sit with Mollie while you call her dad and whoever else you need to call.’
‘That’s—that’s so good of you. You’re a kind lass,’ Mollie’s mum said.
‘And I’m due a break around tea-time,’ Ryan said, ‘so I’ll come and have my mug of coffee with you, too. And you can ask us anything you want and we’ll do our best to answer.’
Mollie’s mum looked close to tears. ‘Mollie’s our only one, and we had three rounds of IVF to get her. If anything happens to her...’
‘It’s much too early to start worrying about that,’ Georgie said, giving her a hug. ‘And your Mollie’s a fighter. We got her back after her heart stopped, so let’s take it one day at a time for now.’
Mollie was still touch and go the next day, but her father had flown in from the oil rig to be there with his wife and baby. On her breaks, Georgie went in to see them with coffee and sandwiches.
‘Thank you, that’s kind of you, but I can’t face anything,’ Mollie’s mum said.
‘I know you’re worried sick,’ Georgie said, ‘but you need to keep your strength up. Both of you. You’ll be no good to Mollie if you keel over, will you? Eat.’
Though there was a nasty moment later in her shift in the ward round, when Georgie was checking Mollie’s obs and the little girl’s heart rate started dropping; thankfully, by the time she’d grabbed Ryan to come and help, Mollie’s heart rate had gone back to where it should be.
‘Sorry. I wasted your time,’ she mumbled when they left the room.
‘No, you did the right thing,’ he said. ‘Is there anything else?’
Yes. I want you to stop being so ridiculously stubborn and give us a chance.
But she knew it was pointless even trying, and she wasn’t going to let him reject her again. ‘I don’t think so,’ she said coolly, and went back to doing her ward round.
Normally, Ryan didn’t take his work home with him.
But he couldn’t stop thinking about little Mollie. The terror in her mum’s eyes when she’d realised how serious the situation was. The way Georgie had been so calm and so kind, patiently going over things again whenever either of Mollie’s parents asked her to explain something.
And it wasn’t just being a good doctor. Georgie, he thought, would make a great mum. He’d watched her on the ward with their sick patients, and she seemed to have a knack for knowing just when a little one wanted a cuddle or a story. She made time to do it, too, even if it meant she missed a break or had to eat her lunch while she was catching up with paperwork.
Georgie would be at the heart of any family she made.
She was good with Truffle, too. Even though she’d had little contact with dogs before coming to Scotland, she’d made an effort with his Labrador, learning how to play games to distract the dog and tire her out while she was on enforced rest. Just as she’d be with a fractious child.
‘You treat her the way that other men would treat their child. You’ve told me yourself that she’s your family...’
Her words to him, that awful morning, came back to haunt him.
Did he treat his dog as if she was his child?
And did it follow that maybe, just maybe, he might know how to be a dad?
‘You’re putting all these barriers in the way, but they’re not as big as you think they are.’
Was she right about that, too? Was he worrying too much? Could he overcome his resistance
