‘She’s definitely over that fever,’ he said, bending down to kiss Sarah’s head. ‘Clever girl.’ He turned and looked at Sheena, who was trying to smother a yawn.
‘Let’s get this small camp bed set up for you so you can get some proper rest, rather than just napping in the chair.’
Sheena nodded, talking as they set up the bed. ‘Now that Sarah’s woken up from the induced coma and they’ve both been fed and changed, exhaustion seems to be swamping me at every turn.’
Will smiled. ‘It’s to be expected. You’ve been through so much, Sheenie.’ He turned down the covers for her and waited while she slipped off her shoes and lay down, her hand covering her mouth as she yawned yet again.
‘Your girls are fine,’ he murmured as he knelt beside her and pulled the covers up, gently tucking her in.
Sheena yawned, wanting to talk to him some more, wanting to thank him for everything he’d done, but her eyes refused to stay open one second more.
Her breathing instantly settled and he knew she was asleep. Tenderly, his fingers swept her hair back from her forehead and his gut tightened as he looked down at this sleeping beauty. Bending down, he brushed a kiss across her lips. ‘Sleep sweet, Sheena,’ he murmured, before walking to the chair and sitting down. He intended to stay here, to monitor the babies and give Sheena the opportunity to have a proper sleep. As the three of them slept soundly, Will nodded. Relaxing back into the chair, he felt a sense of contentment he hadn’t felt in well over a decade. It felt right to be here. With Sheena. With the twins. It felt right to be watching over them.
‘Three beautiful girls,’ he whispered into the quiet room, then smiled.
F
OR
the next few days Will spent quite a bit of time with Sheena and the twins, pleased that Sheena was allowing him the opportunity to really get to know her daughters. Now that both Sarah and Ellie were awake it wasn’t long before they were both off the monitoring equipment and going from strength to strength.
‘Is it Ellie’s turn for a bottle or is she due for me to feed her?’ Sheena asked him over Sarah’s cries, as she finished changing Ellie’s nappy. Will was about to put Sarah into the bath and was ensuring that the clear protective, waterproof bandage was secure over the wound site. Sarah, however, wasn’t enjoying being stripped naked and was quite vocal about it.
‘Sarah’s due for the bottle after her bath. You feed Ellie while I wrangle this minx into the bath.’ As he spoke, he bent down and blew a raspberry on Sarah’s tummy, surprising the little one so much she was actually quiet for a split second before resuming her cries. He chuckled, the warm sound washing over Sheena with delight as she settled in the chair with Ellie. Unbuttoning her top, she settled the baby to her breast, then looked over to where Will was carefully lifting Sarah into the bath, the baby splashing a bit to begin with before settling down to the soothing warmth of the water.
‘Phew!’ Will looked down at the little girl. ‘You certainly have a good set of lungs, sweet Sarah,’ he told her, and was rewarded with a smile. He looked over to where Sheena was feeding Ellie, surprised to find her watching him. Sheena smiled.
‘Peace and quiet … if only for a moment. Ah, Sarah, I envy you. What I wouldn’t give for a relaxing bath.’ Sheena closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the chair. ‘Even for ten minutes, just to soak and unwind and have no demands on my time.’ She opened her eyes and smiled at Will. ‘I guess being a single mother to two little munchkins, my bath dreams are over. At least for the next five years until they start school.’ She chuckled to herself.
Will nodded, listening to her words and mesmerised by the sight of her sitting there, babe in arms, looking so incredibly beautiful and serene. It was clear that she loved her daughters very much and there was no hint of the fears she’d confessed to him almost a week ago outside the operating theatre. He knew they were still there, simmering beneath the surface, but he also knew that she was internally strong enough to cope with whatever life threw at her.
Sarah splashed, demanding his attention once more, and he gave it, murmuring sweet words to her. Both girls had come along in leaps and bounds since the surgery almost a week ago and he couldn’t have been happier with their progress.
Ellie was starting to close her eyes, her little world peaceful and content. Sheena was starting to feel the same. Ever since the surgery she’d felt as though she could now start to move forward with her life. It wouldn’t be too much longer until the girls would be allowed to go home … but first she had to find a home for them to go to.
‘We’ll get there, won’t we, my beautiful Eleanor?’ she murmured, stroking her baby’s head.
‘I’ve never heard you call her Eleanor before,’ Will remarked, glancing over. ‘How did you choose their names? Any particular reason?’
Sheena nodded, sadness creeping into her eyes. ‘Ellie and Sarah were the names of my imaginary sisters when I was growing up.’
‘Imaginary?’ There was no censure in Will’s tone, only intrigue.
‘When I was at boarding school, especially during the holidays when all the other girls went home to their families and I was left to rattle around the property all on my own, I used to imagine I had two older sisters who would be there, too. The three of us would go off into the woods around the boarding house and we’d explore together and have wonderful adventures.’ Sheena smiled at the memory of her schoolgirl dreams. ‘Then at night I’d imagine that they’d push their beds next to mine, one on either side to protect me, so I wasn’t all alone in the large empty dormitory.’
‘How old were you?’
‘About six or seven.’
Will’s heart constricted at her words, feeling empathy for little Sheena and anger at her parents for leaving her all alone.
‘As I grew older, I would still imagine quiet yet determined Ellie and loud, protective Sarah by my side, always in the back of my mind for whenever I needed them most. I have no idea where I initially pulled the names from but when I knew I was having twin girls, those were the two names that seemed to fit perfectly. My girls—only this time, it would be me who would always protect them.’
Will looked away from her, swallowing the lump that had lodged in his throat. He glanced down at Sarah, still happily splashing away, and discovered his vision was a little blurry. ‘Why did you never tell me any of this? About your childhood?’ he asked.
Sheena shrugged. ‘I guess for so long I didn’t want to remember. It was a time in my life I tried hard to forget. Besides, you used to tell me the most wonderful stories about your family, about your siblings and the mischief you used to get up to, and it was all so alive and colourful and real. It helped push the bleakness of my own childhood further into the back of my mind and it’s only been recently, since I’ve had the girls, that I find I can think back to that time without being swamped with feelings of complete desolation and rejection. That time is gone. I can’t get it back. I have to look forward. I have a future with my girls and I want it to be bright and alive and colourful. Filled with love and laughter.’
Will nodded in approval. ‘That’s the way to do it. Move forward.’
There was a strength to his words that made Sheena wonder whether he’d been referring to something other than her childhood memories. She watched as he took Sarah from the bath and wrapped the little girl carefully in the towel, picking her up to cuddle her dry. He was so good with both the girls and it was clear as Sarah snuggled into him that they were both becoming attached to him.
Was that a good thing? She knew Will was only supposed to be working at Adelaide Mercy for another month before he was scheduled to return to Philadelphia. Would he return? Would he stay here and accept the job Charisma had offered him?
On the day after Sarah had woken up, the CEO had headed up the press conference, with the media being allowed to photograph both girls, lying in their separate cribs, and the hospital staff who had been responsible for the life-changing surgery. When Charisma had been giving her report, she’d mentioned to the press that she was hopeful of securing the services of Dr William Beckman for the next two years but they had yet to work out the details of the contract.
Since then Will hadn’t mentioned it to Sheena and she hadn’t wanted to ask or pry. The friendship they were both working hard to maintain was still so new and she didn’t want to pressure him one way or the other. Whatever he decided, whether to stay or go, had to be his own decision and she would respect whatever he chose. Would he consider staying in Adelaide as moving forward with his life? She hoped so because having him around, talking to him, sharing these special moments with her girls, was something she’d come to quickly treasure.
‘Speaking of moving forward.’ he remarked, clearing his throat, and Sheena could sense uncertainty in him. It was in the way he straightened his shoulders, pushing them back and raising his chin slightly, that helped her to recognise the feeling. His firm arms still securely held a squirming Sarah but even though her daughter wriggled, there was no danger of Will dropping her.
‘How would you feel about taking the girls out of the hospital tomorrow?’ He turned back to the change bench and laid Sarah down, quickly fixing a disposable nappy into place, ensuring the bandaged area was thoroughly dry.
‘Out?’ Sheena was surprised by this suggestion. ‘Oh … um … I hadn’t even thought about that.’
‘You’ve been cooped up in this room for well over a week.’
Sheena carefully switched Ellie to the other breast and when her daughter was once again settled, she glanced up at Will. ‘Do you think it’s all right to take them out? Where would we go? What would we do? How would we get there? I don’t have a car.’
‘Whoa, there.’ Will chuckled as he finished dressing Sarah, who was once again squirming and registering her displeasure at being dressed. ‘Don’t go stressing about this, Sheena. For a start, I think the girls are both perfectly well enough to head outside. Tomorrow is supposed to be a nice day, not too hot, not too cold, and I thought perhaps we could start with the park. A walk. In the sunshine. A bit of fresh air and Vitamin D.’
‘But I don’t have a pram.’
‘The hospital has one. Even a twin pram so the girls can be propped up and take a look at what’s going on around them.’
Sheena’s mind was working overtime, puzzling its way through scenarios.
‘If you think it’s too soon—’ he began, but Sheena held up a hand to stop his words.
‘I’m just trying to work things through. I’d need to pack a bag for each of them. Change of clothes, extra nappies, express some milk. It’ll be a lot of work. A lot of preparation.’
‘True.’ He lifted a bathed and dressed Sarah into his arms and came to sit in the chair next to her. ‘Twins are a lot of work and require a lot of preparation. Going out, for even an hour, means you pack the same amount of clothes and paraphernalia as you would if you were going out for the day.’
‘How do you know so much about what to pack and how to change nappies and bath squirming little girls?’
‘I used to help my mother with my younger siblings. I think I first changed my brother’s nappy when I was about six or seven. It was disgusting but that’s the way things went in a large family. The older ones helped to care for the younger ones.’
‘Sounds great.’ Sheena smiled at him, watching as he held Sarah in his arms, the little mischief-maker blowing raspberries and waving her arms about with joy. Ellie could hear her sister and started to wriggle, trying to see what was going on. Sheena eventually gave up and laid Ellie over her knee in order to expel any wind.
Sarah leaned towards her sister, arms held out towards her, as Ellie reached for her twin. Will quickly laid Sarah on his knee so both girls were lying on their stomachs, holding hands across the small gap between the two chairs.
‘They love each other,’ Sheena remarked. ‘No matter what else happens in their lives, they’ll always have each other, and that makes me very happy.’ She exhaled slowly, then looked at Will. ‘OK. Let’s take them out tomorrow.’
‘I can see you’re concerned and I know it’s a big step for you,’ Will soothed. ‘But the girls are healthy enough for this next adventure.’
‘So long as we don’t get hounded by any press and we can just enjoy ourselves, I think you’re right that it’s time for an adventure of a different kind. One that doesn’t involve a trip to either the operating room or Radiology.’
‘Agreed, and they’ll be safe in the care of their loving orthopaedic surgeon and their paediatric mother. No dramas.’
‘Promise?’ Sheena reached out her free hand to him and he instantly took it, squeezing it with reassurance.
He nodded with determination. ‘Promise.’
Later that evening, as Sheena sat in the chair, Sarah feeding in her arms, she thought about Will. He’d been so close, so attentive, so wonderful to her and the girls these past few days. Although she’d had many other friends stopping by to help out, Will’s presence had made a difference
to her.
She knew he was their surgeon, that he was obliged to visit them, to make sure their wounds were healing nicely, but after the kisses they’d shared, Sheena had started to open up to the old feelings she’d tried to hide from. Will had been a major part of her life and for so long she’d tried to repress the way he’d made her feel, but now … was it right to want him back in her life? Would she get hurt again? Would the girls? It was clear they loved him, especially Sarah, who always seemed to calm more quickly whenever she was in Will’s arms.
‘You’ve got good taste,’ Sheena whispered to her daughter as the baby finished her evening meal. Ellie was still sleeping but would no doubt wake for her feed the instant Sarah was finished. She knew she’d never be bored, raising twins on her own. There would be always something that needed to be done.
She closed her eyes as she thought about Will’s idea of taking the girls to the park the next day, feelings of panic racing through her. She knew she’d become institutionalised, having been confined to the walls of the hospital grounds for such a long time, and that even heading to the park for a few hours would do her and the girls the world of good, but she couldn’t help the feeling of apprehension that had ripped through her when Will had first suggested it.
‘They’ll be safe …’
She could hear his voice so clearly in her mind, picture his face before her, breathe in his scent all around her. Sheena sniffed again, then frowned as she realised she really
could
detect his earthy scent. Opening her eyes, a smile came instantly to her lips as she saw him standing there … with one hand behind his back.
‘Hi. I didn’t hear you come in.’
‘I wasn’t sure whether you were asleep or not. Sarah is.’ Will looked down at the baby sleeping contentedly in her mother’s arms without a care in the world.
‘I was just thinking,’ she murmured, and stood, carrying Sarah back to her crib. ‘How about you? How has the rest of your day been? Still writing up my girls’ operation for a journal article?’
‘The article is coming along nicely.’ He waited, trying not to be impatient to give her the surprise he’d spent the better part of the last two hours organising. He was starting to feel like a kid at Christmas!
She tucked the blankets around the sleeping babe, being careful of the bandaging before turning to face him. ‘I’m excited and nervous about tomorr—’ She stopped. ‘Will? Why are you holding a loofah behind your back?’
‘Darn. You saw it.’ He held out the loofah, which was on the end of a smooth wooden stick. ‘It’s for you.’
‘Uh … thanks …’ Sheena accepted the gift, not at all sure what was going on. ‘I’m a little confused. Are you saying that I smell?’ She sniffed her clothes. ‘You’re probably right. With stuff coming out both ends of the girls, it’s no wonder I stink.’