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Carrie glanced at him. Her? He handed her some gloves and nodded and smiled at her. Her. She swallowed. She could do this. She’d done it before. Charlie certainly had faith in her.
The gloves took for ever to get on over her shaking hands. She could hear Charlie talking soothingly to Donna in the background. Carrie lifted Donna’s dress and knew instantly she wouldn’t need to do a vaginal examination.
‘How far away is the ambulance?’ she asked.
‘Ten,’ he said.
‘We don’t have ten minutes—the head’s right there. It’s crowned.’
Charlie could see the panic in her gaze that she was trying hard to quell. ‘All righty, then,’ he said calmly. ‘Looks like we’re going to deliver a baby.’
‘But—’
‘Carrie, babies that come this fast don’t usually need anything from us. All you need to do is catch.’
Carrie stared into his calm grey gaze. He looked in control. Confident. She nodded.
Catch.
‘OK, Donna, next contraction, big push,’ Charlie said from his position at the head of the bed. ‘Your baby’s nearly out.’
They had only seconds to wait before Donna started moaning again.
‘That’s it, Donna, big push, good job,’ Carrie encouraged as the girl shut her eyes and bellowed as she bore down, clenching her fists.
‘Head’s out,’ Carrie called, caught up in the excitement and expectation of new life. ‘One more push with the next contraction and it’ll be all over.’
Donna pushed with all her might and the rest of the baby slipped out into Carrie’s waiting hands. ‘It’s a girl,’ she announced, grinning madly at Charlie as he handed her a sterile green towel to wrap around the already vigorously squawking, pink newborn.
Donna was crying and so was her friend. Even Carrie felt tears prick the backs of her eyes. The start of new life never ceased to awe her. She passed the baby to her mother. ‘She’s beautiful,’ Carrie said.
‘Well done, Carrie,’ Charlie said, grinning at her as he came down to join her at the business end, handing her some cord clamps.
He watched Donna with her newborn, extraordinarily moved by the instinctive bonding that was taking place on front of him. The new mother’s eyes were shut and she was rubbing her cheek against her little girl’s forehead. The baby’s tiny perfect hand was touching Donna’s face. How must it feel to hold your baby for the first time?
Donna may have had no antenatal education or read a hundred books on becoming a mother, but she was forming an immediate attachment with her baby. He heard a noise behind him.
‘Ambulance is here.’
Carrie turned and noticed the two officers standing in the doorway while she was still basking in Charlie’s praise. At least the frown he’d been wearing for the last two days had lifted. He was the Charlie from Wednesday, from the day he’d kissed her. His eyes glowed with warmth and happiness.
A joint decision was made to deliver the placenta and then transfer Donna to hospital. ‘You can do it,’ Charlie said.
Carrie nodded, feeling a confidence she hadn’t felt in a long time. The placenta was delivered ten minutes later and Charlie held out a plastic bag for Carrie to place it in. It had to go to the hospital with Donna so it could be checked thoroughly in case it hadn’t been completely expelled.
Carrie was very conscious of Charlie as they stood side by side, watching the ambulance depart. His arm brushed against hers occasionally and it felt warm. It reminded her of the heat from his hand the other day and she felt her stomach clench involuntarily.
‘What happened?’ Angela asked, returning to the clinic in time to see the ambulance pull away from the kerb.
‘We just delivered a baby.’ Charlie smiled.
Angela looked at him incredulously and then threw back her head and laughed. ‘If I’d have known a baby was going to put a smile back on your face again, Charlie Wentworth, I would have put you in a taxi and sent you to the nearest labour ward.’
Angela continued to chuckle as she brushed past them.
‘What the hell did she mean by that?’ he grumbled, staring after his receptionist.
Carrie pressed her lips together hard to stop herself from laughing. ‘Wouldn’t know.’ She shrugged and also left his side.
Charlie watched Carrie’s pinstriped rear disappear down the hallway. He watched Angela busying herself at the desk.
Women!
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHARLIE pulled up outside Carrie’s house and switched off his engine. The smell of Chinese takeaway permeated the car and he hesitated with his hand on the door. Damn it all! This didn’t have to be a big deal. He was just having a meal with a colleague.
