The Australian's Bride. Alison Roberts
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temperature. She was a bit sniffly. That’s all.’ He sounded defensive.
Jill said nothing. She was standing at the head of the bed, holding Lily’s hand. Alex caught the look she directed at Charles. Tentative. There was an undercurrent of tension between these two. Understandable, of course. They were worried about Lily and Alex was only too aware that he might not be able to allay those fears. Not yet, anyway.
‘Beth says she was having nightmares.’
‘More like hallucinations,’ Jill whispered.
‘It was a nightmare,’ Charles interrupted Jill. ‘I told you she was upset by that dead bird she found the other day.’
‘But she saw it flying around the room.’
‘She’s running a temperature. She’s in a strange place.’
Lily had opened her eyes again. She looked from Jill to Charles and back again. Her bottom lip wobbled. ‘I want to go home,’ she said plaintively.
Alex leaned closer and smiled at the frightened child. ‘We’ve got you here so we can all take extra-special care of you,’ he said. ‘Do you remember my name, Lily?’
She shook her head. The over-brightness of her eyes and the two red spots on her cheeks were indicating the high temperature she was now running. It was the listlessness and drowsiness that was more of a concern right now, however. Alex had the impression her level of consciousness was down a point or two.
‘How’s your neck, poppet?’ He slipped his hands behind Lily’s head. ‘In here.’
‘It hurts.’
‘It’s just her glands,’ Charles said sharply.
Alex caught his gaze. They both knew better than that. ‘Let’s not take that as read,’ he said mildly as he straightened. ‘Let’s step outside so we can let Lily go back to sleep,’ he suggested. ‘Marcia, can you stay with Lily, please? She could have that dose of paracetamol now.’
The nurse, Marcia, nodded, moving closer to the bed as everyone else filed out.
‘Beth’s right,’ Alex said, as soon as the door closed behind them. ‘On the positive side, we’ve got no rash and a negative Kernig’s sign, but we can’t rule out meningitis without a lumbar puncture.’
There was a moment’s silence as the implications sank in. Meningitis was a scary word, even to the kind of highly trained medical professionals these people all were.
Charles broke the silence. ‘I’ll do it.’
‘No.’ Beth spoke firmly. ‘You can’t. You know you can’t. You have one of the country’s top paediatric neurosurgeons right here. How many lumbar punctures have you done on children, Alex?’
‘I can’t say. A lot.’
‘I’d be guessing it’s a lot more than Charles or I have done,’ Beth said. ‘I’m sorry, but it’s a no-brainer. You’re her daddy, Charles. You get to hold her hand.’
‘I’m staying with her,’ Jill said quickly.
For just a moment Alex’s attention was being diverted. Further along the corridor they were in, Susie was entering the medical centre. She looked almost prim this morning, with her hair tied back in a ponytail. And she was wearing long shorts and a demure T-shirt with a silly picture on it.
No hint of those endless tanned legs, blonde curls brushing bare shoulders or the lace-covered cleavage that had taunted him as he’d tried, unsuccessfully, to sleep last night. Curiously, the way she was covered up this morning only seemed to spark an even more noticeable ripple of attraction.
Especially when she smiled.
Alex caught himself staring at Susie’s mouth. Fortunately, her attention was on Beth.
‘Sorry to interrupt,’ she said, ‘but have you seen Miranda?’
‘She’s in with Jack,’ Beth told her.
Susie was looking at Charles now. And then at Jill. ‘Is everything all right? What’s happened to your cheek?’
‘It’s nothing. But, no, everything’s not all right.’ For a second it looked as though Jill might lose the extraordinary control she seemed to have. ‘Lily’s sick. She’s about to have a lumbar puncture.’
‘We could use your help, if you’re free,’ Alex said to Susie. ‘We might need extra staff to help position her.’
‘Oh…’ Compassion made her eyes an even darker blue, but Alex couldn’t afford any further distraction. ‘Not our Lily.’ She hugged Jill.
‘Let’s get on with it,’ Alex said brusquely. He didn’t want to stand there watching Susie hug people. No wonder Jill was looking ill with worry. Reminding her that Lily would have to be restrained to make the procedure safe hadn’t exactly helped, had it? He gave her a sympathetic smile.
‘Don’t worry,’ he said. ‘Let’s assume this is a needless test, taken to be on the safe side. I’ll use plenty of local and make it virtually painless. With so many people around who know and love her, she’ll be just fine.’
A few minutes later Alex was gowned and gloved. So was everybody else in the now crowded room. Lily stared at them all, wide-eyed and frightened. The tension was palpable and the sooner they got this over with, the better.
‘What gauge needle have you got there, Beth?’
‘A twenty.’
‘Does the stylet fit the barrel?’
‘All checked. We’re good,’ Beth assured him.
‘Right. Lily, let’s get you lying on your side, sweetheart. We’re going to do a test on your back that’ll help us find out what’s the matter with you. It’ll tell us which medicine is right for you. OK?’
‘OK…’
‘Jill, you stay close to her head and hold her hand. Charles, can you keep a hand on Lily’s hip and the legs? Marcia? Legs for you, too, and Susie, I’ll get you beside me with extra support for Lily’s chest and arms.’ He gave them all a significant nod. They would be responsible for holding the child absolutely still.
Beth swabbed the area of Lily’s lower back with disinfectant and Alex pressed along the spine, counting carefully. He knew Susie was watching him.
‘I’m looking for the space between the third and fourth lumbar vertebrae,’ he told her. ‘Have you seen a lumbar puncture before?’
Susie shook her head.
‘It’s not too major.’ Alex spoke very quietly, and Lily was turned the other way, listening to something Jill was saying. ‘The local’s the worst bit.’ He raised his voice. ‘Small scratch,’ he warned Lily.
He felt the girl stiffen as he injected the local anaesthetic and he heard her whimper. He could also feel the change in the firmness of the hold of his assistants. Jill was still talking to Lily but he couldn’t hear what she was saying.
Alex picked up the needle and stylet. Angling the needle in the direction of the umbilicus, he advanced it slowly, withdrawing the stylet often to check for the drip of any cerebrospinal fluid. He knew precisely when he was in the right place, however, with that familiar decrease in the resistance to the needle. Clear fluid dripped easily and Beth had the required three serial tubes ready. Then the stylet was replaced, the whole system withdrawn and a sterile swab pressed to the puncture site.
‘All over,’ Alex said. ‘You were a very brave girl, Lily. Well done.’
‘Well done, you,’ Susie murmured. ‘I barely heard a squeak.’ She helped Jill roll Lily over again. ‘You’re a wee champion, Lily, aren’t you?’
‘What