A Forever Family Collection

CHAPTER SEVEN

THE PLANE LANDED without incident and the medical team quickly unloaded their kits, including two portable incubators, and made their way to the woman’s partner, who had been waiting at the makeshift runway with his four-wheel-drive.

‘I’m so bloody relieved to see you,’ he began as he helped to load the equipment into the back of the vehicle. ‘I left Sophie’s best friend, Wendy, with her. She’s had four kids of her own so I figured she would be more use than me,’ he told them as they climbed into the vehicle. ‘It’s only a ten-minute drive from here but I can get Wendy on the phone for you if you like. My handfree connection’s not good so I’ll call before I start out and give you the phone.’

Jade watched as he pulled up the number. His fingers were shaking and beads of perspiration were covering his brow. The sun was warm and the air was dry. It was clearly nerves causing his reaction.

‘I have the doctors with me,’ he said into the mobile phone then put it on loudspeaker and handed it over.

‘Hi, Wendy, this is Jade Grant, I’m a midwife from the Eastern Memorial Hospital and I have with me Mitchell Forrester, a neonatal specialist, and also Emma, the Royal Flying Doctor Service flight nurse. The plan is for us to be there to deliver the twins and we are a little under ten minutes away. How far apart are Sophie’s contractions?’

‘About three minutes. I really hope you make it here. I’ve had four of my own but not in a tent and I had an epidural with all of them so Sophie’s doing it the hard way. She’s on a clean sleeping bag on all fours to help with the pain because I don’t have any painkillers to give her.’

‘Three minutes should give us time. I’m happy to hear she’s in a clean and dry environment. Can you see the head of a baby yet?’

‘Yes. The top of the first twin’s head is crowning and Sophie’s got the urge to bear down but I’ve told her to try to hold off until you get here, which I know is easy for me to say.’

‘I’m glad she can see a head,’ Mitchell said. ‘At least the first is not breech and maybe there’s a chance the second has turned in utero.’

Jade nodded her agreement with Mitchell’s comment and turned her attention back to the surrogate midwife. ‘We are only a few minutes away now, Wendy, and you are doing a great job. Just keep Sophie calm, discourage her from pushing, and if you can massage her back it might help with the pain.’

Jade kept talking to Wendy as the four-wheel-drive manoeuvred through the rough terrain to the campsite. It was obvious to them all why the man had not attempted to take his wife into town once labour had started. Jade was surprised, with the way they were all thrown about, that labour hadn’t started when the campers had first arrived. It was not the ideal place for an expectant mother to holiday only six weeks from delivery of twins but clearly by the number of tents she could see at the site, this was a majority choice holiday destination.

As they pulled up Mitchell, Jade and Emma hurriedly climbed out with their equipment. Quite a few people had gathered outside the tent that had become the makeshift birthing suite. They were all trying to offer advice and although it was heartfelt, Jade knew that it probably wasn’t helping Sophie or Wendy.

‘Please make way.’ Mitchell’s voice was firm and the small crowd parted as the medical team approached. Someone held open the tent entrance for them. They had arrived just in time. Sophie was already pushing. Jade covered her hands generously in antibacterial solution, slipped on some gloves and pulled the cord clamps from the birthing kit, along with the Syntocinon to assist with the afterbirth. She dropped to her knees for the delivery.

‘Do you want me on my back?’ Sophie managed to ask before the pain took her breath away.

‘No, you’re in a good position on all fours. It opens the pelvis right up, rather than being on your back. You’re doing a wonderful job, Sophie,’ Jade told her in a soft, calm voice. ‘Just keeping breathing slowly …’

Jade’s words were cut short by the next painful contraction.

‘Can you dampen the towel on her forehead a little?’ Jade directed Jeremy. ‘It’s warm in here and it might help.’

Jeremy dipped the towel in a basin of water that had been brought to the makeshift birthing suite earlier and began gently mopping his wife’s brow. ‘I’m so sorry, darling, that I asked you to come here. It was a stupid idea but I thought you had another six weeks or more.’

‘I’m not sorry we came on the camping trip,’ she muttered, between panting and pushing. ‘But with this god-awful pain, I’m just sorry that I ever had sex with you. And, for the record, I’m never doing it again!’

Another powerful contraction came and the first baby’s head emerged. A mass of black hair first, then a wrinkled forehead and tiny face.

‘Just push slowly as you breathe,’ Jade told her. ‘We don’t want to rush the baby.’

There were a few more contractions and Sophie’s first baby was born into Jade’s waiting hands. ‘You have a little girl.’

Mitchell stepped closer and with sterile hands he reached for the tiny girl, who was not as small as he had imagined she would be for the gestational age. Given their surroundings, he was glad there must have been a discrepancy in dates, as a low birth weight baby might have struggled with a natural birth. Jade clamped and cut the cord quickly, and Mitchell wrapped her in sterile sheeting and took her aside to check her. Emma could not put the child to the mother’s breast, as there was the second baby to deliver.

Another contraction began and the second baby was on its way quickly. A foot appeared and then with the next contraction it disappeared again inside Sophie.

‘It appears that that we are looking at a breech birth after all,’ Jade announced as Emma watched on, ready to collect the second baby so that Jade could look after Sophie during the third stage of delivery. ‘I prefer “handsoff” breech births if possible so we will be taking this slowly.’

The next painful contraction came, and Sophie groaned loudly.

Both feet appeared this time and then with each following contraction a little more of the second baby was exposed. With each breath Sophie pushed her second baby a little farther into the world. With concern on his face, her husband mopped her forehead as Jade coached her through the process. A little while later, with no intervention, the hips and stomach of the equally good-sized second baby girl emerged. Finally her little face and then her mop of thick black hair appeared.

‘Another girl,’ Jade announced.

Mitchell watched and saw that while her little heart was beating and the cord was still pulsing, she was not breathing on her own. He carefully handed the first baby to Emma, then placed an infant non-rebreather over the baby’s nose and mouth and began resuscitation. He had been prepared as it was commonplace for breech babies.

‘Breathe, baby girl,’ Jeremy called to his tiny newborn daughter.

Jade could see the panic on his face and Sophie’s. ‘Don’t worry,’ she reassured them. ‘It’s not unusual and Dr Forrester knows exactly what to do.’

A few moments later the little girl began crying and so was Jeremy with joy and relief. Jade gave Sophie the prepared shot and the placentas arrived with a single contraction for each. Jade checked the placentas thoroughly to ensure they were complete and nothing had been retained in Sophie’s uterus that could lead to haemorrhage, as she was already at increased risk of haemorrhage from delivering twins. Jade tended to Sophie as Mitchell and Emma tended to the two baby girls. Mitchell checked the second baby’s vital signs and, like her twin, she was in good health with a good weight.

‘You’ve been fortunate. Even with a breech birth you won’t be requiring any stitches,’ Jade announced after the birth.

Mitchell had assessed both babies and noted that although they were small they were healthy and would need no additional support. Clearly there had been some mix-up with dates and for all concerned it was a welcome mistake.

‘Although I have no concerns about the health of your daughters, we need to get mother and babies to hospital immediately,’ Mitchell announced, as he gave the firstborn to the father for a cuddle while he packed away his medical kit. ‘Can you drive us back to the airstrip? I will need you to take it very slowly.’

Jeremy looked with joy at the tiny miracle in his arms, then at his second daughter, being held by Emma. He turned to look lovingly at his wife as a smile played at the corners of his mouth. ‘They are perfect and beautiful, just like you.’

She stared in silence at the man who had given her the two most precious gifts in the world. ‘They are beautiful, aren’t they?’ she said as she drew in a deep breath. Then, apparently forgetting the others still sharing the tent, she added, ‘But we’re still never having sex again!’

It was a bumpy ride to the makeshift airstrip where the pilot was waiting. They had travelled slowly in a convoy of four-wheel-drives with the assistance of the other campers.

‘I won’t get on the plane without Jeremy,’ Sophie suddenly announced when the pilot explained that her husband could not fly back. There simply was insufficient room.

‘We’re at capacity as it is. Your husband will have to drive back to Adelaide.’

‘I won’t do it,’ she said, clinging to her husband’s T-shirt. ‘I want him with me and our babies, or I won’t take the flight.’

Mitchell considered Sophie’s request. She had been through so much in the past few hours and her request was not unfair or irrational. The woman was in good health and both babies were healthy and he knew they would more than likely be discharged from the hospital in a week or so. They were both a good weight and had no obvious medical problems.

He crossed to Jade, hopeful that she would agree to take the later flight. Emma was the only choice to travel with Sophie and Jeremy. She was the flight nurse and knew the plane’s equipment, and if turbulence occurred it would not be an issue to her. She could also more than adequately meet the three patients’ medical needs.

Jade tentatively agreed. ‘So we’ll fly home later this afternoon, then?’

‘Yes,’ the pilot explained. ‘Head back to the campsite in the four-wheel-drive for a couple of hours until I get back … Or you could hit the road but it would be about a six-hour drive.’

‘We’ll wait for you to return,’ Mitchell said. ‘There’s been some bad weather and I don’t know the condition of the road.’

The pilot nodded and, after loading the passengers, he took off.

Jade watched the plane disappear from sight. She was enormously relived that Sophie and her two beautiful babies were on their way back to the Eastern Memorial with Jeremy and Emma but she felt uneasy that she was on the ground with Mitchell.

One of the drivers from the campsite suggested they all head back to the campsite and have something to eat. Then they could return in two hours for the return flight. It was just before five in the evening and with daylight saving the sun wouldn’t set for hours.

Mitchell and Jade agreed.

‘I’ll call home on the way and let them know you’ll be late tonight,’ Mitchell said as they climbed into the vehicle for the ten-minute trip back to the campsite. It was quicker going back as they didn’t have to take it slowly for Sophie and the babies.

The early vegan dinner was lovely and much needed. Jeremy and Sophie’s friends insisted on providing a healthy spread of food as a thank you for all that Jade and Mitchell had done in ensuring Sophie and the babies were fine. Mitchell and Jade didn’t realise how hungry they were until they started eating. There was an abundance of everything and it was beautifully prepared and very tasty.

‘As I said, Eastern suburbs hippies do the whole Woodstock thing in style,’ he whispered in her ear. ‘And they take their four-wheel drives to a campsite in the middle of nowhere so they’re not exactly roughing it.’

Jade smiled as she took another bite of her salad. ‘But maybe next time they shouldn’t do it when one of them is heavily pregnant.’

The time was passing quickly and Jade was preparing to head back to the makeshift airstrip when a call came through.

‘Dr Forrester, it’s Doug from the RDFS base in Adelaide. I’m just calling to inform you that there’s been an emergency on a sheep station just north of you and unfortunately the pilot has been redirected there and won’t be able to collect you this evening. I can have a plane there in the morning.’

‘I guess that will have to be okay. What time do you want us back at the airstrip?’

Jade was busy thanking her hosts for their hospitality.

‘Fine,’ she heard him say as she headed to the four-wheel-drive. ‘We’ll be there at nine a.m.’

Jade’s jaw dropped. There had to be some mistake.

‘Be where at nine in the morning?’

Mitchell drew a breath, well aware that Jade would not like his answer.

‘The airstrip.’

‘No, we can’t be staying here tonight. Why? What happened?’

‘An accident at a sheep station is more urgent than us, I’m afraid, so we’re here till the morning.’

It was a disaster. Jade was upset and although she knew she had no right to be angry with Mitchell, she still felt that it was his fault in some way. She had never spent a night away from Amber and worried how the little girl would react.

Mitchell saw her stiffen and stare coolly at him. ‘I’m not wanting to be here any more than you, believe me. I’ve done my fair share of camping over the years and I quite like the king-size bed and the air-conditioning I have back in Adelaide. But we need to make the best of it. I’ll see if they have a spare tent so we can have one each and we’ll get the bedding organised now.’

‘But what about Amber? You promised me that I would be back to tuck her into bed.’

Mitchell ran his fingers through his hair. ‘I know, and I’m sorry. I didn’t plan for this to happen.’

‘I never said you did, but I’m worried about Amber.’

‘I’ll call my mother and you can talk to her and to Amber while I organise our sleeping arrangements.’

Mitchell dialled and handed the telephone to Jade, who was quickly reassured by Maureen that Amber would be fine and that she would sleep in the room with her overnight. Jade felt better. Not great, but better.

Mitchell, however, wasn’t feeling so great. He had been told they would have to share the tent that belonged to Jeremy and Sophie. It was a state-of-the-art tent and they did have spare clean sleeping bags and pillows to give them. He decided to deal with that problem later. He worried that if he raised that issue, Jade would start the three-hundred-mile trek home on her own.

‘Let’s walk around for a while,’ Mitchell suggested as his footsteps cracked the fallen pieces of eucalyptus bark lying on the ground. ‘Amber is under control back at home and my mother will call if there are any problems. There’s nothing to do but make the most of the time here and I promise nothing daring or risky, just a nice bush walk.’

Jade still wasn’t happy.

It was her worst nightmare. Stuck so far away from Amber. And with a man she had to admit she was growing fond of, despite her best efforts.

If it weren’t for the joy she had seen on Amber’s face when she had talked about spending her day with Maureen and Arthur, Jade would have regretted her trip to Adelaide immediately. But she couldn’t turn back the clock and neither would she, as Amber, Maureen and Arthur deserved to spend time with each other.

She had to be logical. There was nothing anyone could do to change things. She reminded herself that Amber was settled with Maureen and Arthur and they would no doubt be making a fuss of her so she probably wouldn’t be overly anxious. She was the anxious one. She told herself it would be just the one night and then she had four days off with Amber. They would celebrate her third birthday with a trip to the zoo. But not the one that Mitchell had suggested with the roaming lions. Jade liked the petting zoo, where they could walk among the goats, and chickens and ducks. She was slowly getting her anxiety under control. Looking for the positives was the best solution, she decided. It wasn’t the end of the world. She would spend a few hours seeing some Australian bush wilderness up close before she crawled into her own tent, and then in the morning they would be back in Adelaide.

She just didn’t want to get up close to Mitchell. But then she reminded herself that they had a group of campers with them. It wasn’t as if anything could or would happen.

Jade looked down at her nursing uniform, now a little the worse for wear and stained with blood. ‘I think it might be difficult to hike around in this. I mean, the white duty shoes are about the only bit that works. And you’ll look a little silly in your outfit too, a little formal for a bush walk.’

Mitchell looked down at his clothes and realised his long grey slacks and white business shirt and the tie that was hanging loosely from the collar would not be the best outfit.

‘Maybe someone can loan us some clothes,’ he said, and headed over to the group about to begin their bush yoga class. ‘Since we’re here overnight, I was just wondering if you might have some clothes we could borrow until tomorrow.’

One of the older ladies in the group slowly undid her very awkward lotus pose with a grimace. ‘I have some old things that belonged to my daughter and son-in-law. I meant to drop them at the mission but didn’t have time. There’s a bag in the car. I’ll grab something for both of you,’ she said as she stood up. ‘And while you’re off walking I’ll fix up the tent with the new bedding since you’ll be staying the night together. We don’t have a spare tent.’

Jade felt her stomach fall and heart race. That was not how she had pictured the sleeping arrangements. Sleeping in the same tent with Mitchell had her close to panic.

Lying in the dark hearing him breathing. Knowing he was so close. Knowing he was stirring feelings that she should not be feeling.

Mitchell saw Jade flinch and he knew what he needed to do.

‘I’ll sleep under the stars and you can have the tent.’

She let a little breath escape with relief and her pulse returned to normal. She couldn’t share a tent with Mitchell. It wasn’t because she couldn’t trust him, it was because she wasn’t sure she could trust herself.

‘Here you go,’ the woman said, and handed Jade some denim shorts and a T-shirt and Mitchell a pair of cargo pants and a tank top. ‘They might not be a perfect fit but they’ll be better than what you’re wearing now for out here in the bush.’

Jade smiled and took the clothes. ‘Thanks so much. I’ll launder them and drop them off at the mission next week.’

Jade disappeared into the tent and when she emerged, Mitchell’s jaw dropped. The tiny denim shorts fitted like a second skin with her long bare legs pouring from them. The tight T-shirt that bared her midriff was also the perfect size, in Mitchell’s opinion, but he was sure Jade would not agree. He was certain her prim and proper alarm would be ringing.

‘I’ll check if she has anything else for me to wear. This is obviously for someone a few inches shorter,’ she said, tugging at the hem of the top, trying to hide the bare skin.

‘I think you look great … in fact, better than great. There’s no time to change, the sun will go down and we won’t see anything if you try on everything in the mission bag. Let me throw on my hand-me-downs and we can get out of here and take in some sights of the Aussie scrub.’

Jade felt so self-conscious. It had been so long since she had been out in public in revealing clothes and she wanted to pull the denim fabric down to cover her legs as well. But there wasn’t any spare fabric and none was about to magically appear. The shorts were so small and the T-shirt was stretched very snugly over her breasts. She was at least grateful she had worn a sports bra and not a lacy number.

Mitchell emerged as if he had chosen the outfit. Jade knew he couldn’t have done better with a stylist. The tank top showed off his perfectly sculpted arms and the cargo shorts sat low on his hips, just the way he liked them and the way she had seen him wear them at the beach.

Remembering the fact that Mitchell had already seen her in her bikini, and the others were involved in an Outback yoga class, and the kookaburras definitely wouldn’t care about her attire, she decided she had no choice but to let it go.

‘Looks like you’re about to get your first sighting of marsupials from the land Down Under,’ Mitchell said with a smile.

He grabbed some bottled water from the campsite cooler and they headed off through the dry scrub with the leaves and bark snapping under their feet. The air was still dry and warm and Jade could smell the distinctive scent of the eucalyptus leaves. She was thrilled when half an hour into their walk she spied a lizard sunning itself on a hollow tree branch. The brown and black scales blended with the tones of the bush surroundings and it became almost invisible.

‘Would poisonous snakes, like rattlesnakes, be around here?’ she asked as she surveyed the tufts of dry grass dotted on the red dirt around her.

‘There are poisonous snakes, but we don’t have rattlesnakes, they’re one of your countrymen. I’d say the deadly brown snakes would be the ones to watch out for around here.’

‘That’s a help.’ She laughed as she jumped from one large boulder to another. ‘That’s the colour of most snakes!’

‘Then maybe,’ he called to her, ‘don’t try to pat any of them.’

Mitchell loved seeing that side of Jade. She was carefree and spirited. He wished they could stay here for a week and get to know one another. To see how much more he could uncover about the woman who was now standing atop a two-foot rock and smiling into the setting sun.

She was perfect and he was dangerously close to falling for her.

They were having such a great time that Jade even forgot how inappropriate her outfit was. The Outback and Mitchell were both captivating and distracting. The walk was wonderful with the scent of the warm summer night and the wildlife sounds all around them.

‘So how do you like Outback Australia?’

‘Well, it’s definitely a far cry from LA,’ she said as she climbed over some rocks to where he was standing. ‘Can you tell me more about where we are?’

‘As your personal tour guide—unpaid, I might add—I can.’ His mouth curved into a ridiculously handsome smile. ‘This is the Flinders Ranges National Park. We’re about three hundred miles from Adelaide …’ He paused as he realised immediately that it also meant from her niece.

‘And Amber,’ she added dryly. ‘But I’m okay, really.’ She decided the rock could be her makeshift seat in the sun as she dropped down onto the hard but warm boulder for a rest while she enjoyed the view. ‘I’m sure Maureen and Arthur are spoiling her rotten and, to be honest, I couldn’t be happier about it. She needs to know she has family who love her as much as I do.’

Mitchell was surprised. It was a huge step for Jade. He hoped he’d had something to do with her shift in demeanour. She was still far from the wild child that David had spoken about, but she was even further from the governess in those shorts.

‘We all do,’ he said, and their eyes met for the longest time.

Jade pointed ahead and purposely broke the spell. ‘So what’s over there?’

Mitchell didn’t want the moment or the feeling to end. For the first time in his life he loved the way he felt about a woman beside him.

Finally, he looked across the landscape and answered. ‘Bunyeroo Gorge is about twenty miles from here. It’s a great drive with spectacular views and a trip through the gorge itself. The last time I travelled through there, a few years ago, there was a fair amount of water, which added to the driving experience but we won’t have time to do it today. Maybe if you want to see more of Australia we could come back.’

Jade was surprised by the invitation. She had not thought past this trip, and definitely not planned that they would spend additional time together, but it made her feel good that he had. She smiled at the thought of exploring the wilderness with Mitchell.

‘Some of the rock formations are over six hundred million years old,’ Mitchell continued. ‘Then there’s the Brachina Gorge, which is particularly awesome. It’s rugged country but stunning up there.’

‘So you’ve spent a great deal of time travelling around Australia?’

‘I backpacked around when I was eighteen. I needed some space of my own and to not be responsible for anyone else so I took off and worked odd jobs to pay my way. I do love Outback Australia.’

‘Tell me some of the history,’ Jade said, then added, ‘Your history, not the gorge’s.’

Mitchell took Jade’s cue and sat down on a rock not too far from her. ‘Not much to say. I travelled a lot after graduating, I told you that in the plane. I worked overseas and I’m back in Adelaide for a while. That’s about it.’

‘What about your childhood?’ she said, lying back a little on her rocky platform above the dirt. ‘Did you want to study medicine because of your stepfather? Did he encourage you during your high-school years?’

Mitchell wished that Arthur had been there while he’d been in high school. That would have made his life much easier and particularly his mother’s and brother’s lives.

‘No,’ he replied as he waved a horse fly away from his brow. ‘Arthur came into my mother’s life when I was already in medical school. My father was long gone and she met Arthur when she was working as a dental receptionist. He needed an emergency appointment and she squeezed him in to see the dentist and that was it. Arthur asked her out to dinner after the dentist put in a temporary filling, and they’ve been together ever since. They say it was love at first sight.’

‘What a romantic story,’ Jade said as she stretched her legs out in front of her and instinctively curled her toes. ‘It sounds like David and Ruby. Theirs was love at first sight too.’

Mitchell said nothing. He couldn’t relate to the idea. Falling in love and settling down had always been the furthest thing from his mind. In his mind love didn’t last and the collateral damage scared him to the core. But for some strange reason, sitting with Jade, it suddenly didn’t seem so unnerving.

‘I guess they’re the lucky ones,’ she said, looking up into the pink and purple striped sky that hung over them like a giant patterned canopy.

‘Lucky perhaps the second time around, but not even close with the first,’ he said without thinking.

‘So her relationship with your father was very unhappy.’ She turned to face him, her expression suddenly serious.

‘Let’s just say he let us all down, shattered the family, but we got through,’ Mitchell said, climbing back to his feet. ‘Not without some scars, mind you, but it’s much too great an evening to waste it talking about my father.’

They walked in silence and enjoyed the sunset. While Jade was curious about Mitchell’s father, she didn’t bring it up again. He obviously didn’t want to discuss it further and that was his prerogative. But it did make her think it might be an underlying reason for his behaviour over the years. His father’s actions had definitely impacted on Mitchell.

They were both mindful they needed to be back before it was completely dark. Mitchell had a good sense of direction so he knew they would be safe. Jade realised how she once again she felt safe just being near him. And now knowing a little more about the man, feeling safe with Mitchell wasn’t scaring her at all.