Page 37 of Prognosis Baby Daddy

Katya turned slightly and placed the kidney dish on her trolley, draped with sterile towels and returned her attention to the procedure. There was now a sizeable area on Ten-ti’s head, about six centimetres across, where there was no skin to cover the skull.

‘Closure device,’ said Ben.

She had already anticipated his needs and he held out his hand at the precise time she was handing him the instrument. The transfer was seamless. No pauses or fumbling, just smooth and flawless. Textbook. A well-oiled team.

Katya had never seen these devices until now. There hadn’t been much call for them in the MedSurg environment. Ben used them quite a bit and she’d even seen him use them under local anaesthetic at the bedside. They looked a bit like a fancy can-opener to her but the results were fantastic.

Ten-ti’s wound was too wide for normal closure. The wound edges were too far away from each other to sew together and would normally require a skin graft. But this tricky little device was designed to stretch the skin so the margins could be brought together and then safely sutured or stapled. It worked by applying a controlled amount of tension evenly along the wound margins and exploiting the elastic properties of skin while minimising its tendency to recoil.

Ten-ti’s head had been shaved around the tumour site to allow easy visualisation of the wound edges and Ben now applied the device to them. When he was satisfied with the placement he locked the device in place and started to turn the tension knob, beginning the stretching process. After twenty minutes Ben was satisfied with the approximation of the edges of the wound and he sutured it closed, using the conventional method.

‘There,’ he said, turning to Katya. ‘She’ll be as pretty as a picture.’

Katya couldn’t wait to see Ten-ti’s reaction when she woke up and realised that the disfiguring growth, which had bled and caused her so much pain, was no more.

That was going to be a smile worth seeing.

Almost as good as the one that sparkled in Ben’s eyes. His excitement and satisfaction at a job well done was palpable. He so obviously thrived on how his brainchild, the Lucia Trust, was making a real difference. She grinned back at him under her mask, struck by how different he was from the man she’d known before.

He was still as handsome, as toe-curlingly gorgeous, but at MedSurg he’d been cocky and arrogant and conceited. Overly confident. He’d matured in a few short months and she wondered about the catalyst for that. Had it just been Mario’s death? She had the feeling, the more time she spent in his company, there was so much more she didn’t know about him.

Would never know about him.

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A few hours later,Katya hurried from the theatre to visit Ten-ti. A wizened old woman with no teeth and a navy blue nun’s habit smiled at Katya as she entered the room. The foundation always paid for a carer to accompany the patient and one of the nuns from the orphanage had escorted Ten-ti.

‘Is she still asleep?’ Katya asked, sitting on the opposite side of the bed.

‘Yes,’ the nun replied.

Katya had been surprised to find that Mi-tung had a smattering of many languages and spoke quite good English. The old nun had kind eyes and Katya was pleased that Ten-ti had known this woman’s kindness.

Ten-ti stirred at the sound of Katya’s voice and her eyes fluttered open. Her gaze fell on Katya, and Ten-ti gave her a weak smile. Katya smiled back and stroked the little girl’s hair. There was a small dressing over the suture line but that was all there was to remind everyone that a few hours ago a large growth had disfigured this little girl’s beautiful head.

‘It’s amazing,’ Mi-tung said in her quiet voice. ‘Thank you,’ she added, bowing to Katya. ‘We thank you from the bottom of our hearts.’

The old woman had tears in her eyes and Katya felt humbled by her emotion. She reached across the bed, over Ten-ti, and held out her hand. Mi-tung didn’t hesitate and took it immediately. The old woman’s hand felt soft and wrinkly and they kept their hands clasped as they watched Ten-ti sleep.

Ben found them there a few minutes later. He watched silently from the doorway for a moment. It was rare to see the softer side of Katya. She looked just like any mother sitting by her child’s bedside. Concerned, dedicated.

His mind skipped back to yesterday afternoon. The memory was so vivid he could almost taste her lips, hear her moan, feel her hard, scrunched nipple against his palm.

‘Here you are,’ he said, deliberately interrupting his thought processes, not giving his body a chance to become any more aroused. He walked up behind Katya’s chair and casually placed his hand on her shoulder. Her muscles tensed and he massaged her there gently encouraging her to relax.

For a moment Katya wanted nothing more than to lean back against him and purr at his touch. But she held herself erect, very conscious of his fingers trailing a path of fire from her shoulder to her neck.

‘How’s she doing?’ Ben asked.

‘Sleepy,’ Katya said, wincing at how blunt it sounded.

Ben smiled at Mi-tung and removed his obviously unwanted hand. ‘I’ll check back later,’ he said, and withdrew.

He went to his office and shut the door. He sat behind his desk, removed his theatre cap and rubbed his hands briskly though his hat hair. He’d forgotten how infuriatingly stubborn Katya could be. Yesterday, and on other occasions, he’d seen plainly that she’d wanted him. But right now she obviously couldn’t even bear him touching her.

He drummed his fingers, frustrated beyond words. The very last thing he wanted to do was stand beside her this afternoon and operate. Her cinnamon scent was driving him crazy, taking him right back to yesterday. To their night together. And he knew they couldn’t go on like this.

Something had to give.

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