Page 31 of Dr. Off Limits

I needed to focus. I took a deep breath in and tried to recall some acronyms.

We only travelled one floor down and the lift stopped. This lift was completely full now, there was no way there was room for anyone else.

The doors opened to reveal an elderly lady using a frame, alongside six or seven other people. Everyone in the lift shuffled backward to make room for her. Someone slipped in front of me, causing me to stumble backward—right into Jacob’s chest.

He emitted a growl that vibrated between my legs.

“Sorry,” I said as he took hold of my shoulders and set me back on my feet. His hands were larger than I remembered. They were warm and firm and I wanted to sink back and have them roam all over my body so I could memorize their feel.

The lift started moving again. We made it another two floors before the doors opened again. This time the lift was so full that the people waiting just tutted and eye rolled and let the doors slide shut again.

Jacob sighed and his breath reached the back of my neck. Instinctively, I tilted my head to the side, like my body wanted more and was positioning itself to bask in the slightest whisper of his sighs, like a flower shifting to face the sun.

Finally we made it to the bottom floor. When we got out of the lift, Jacob charged ahead. I’d walked all these corridors, trying to memorize the layout of the place, but each floor was set out differently. My spatial awareness was on a scale of bad to horrendous. I couldn’t find my way out of a paper bag without Google maps.

We arrived at the nurses’ station and got pointed in the direction of Bay 3.

The curtains were open and a very young woman sat in an orange plastic chair. Next to her was a baby dressed in a baby grow, kicking his legs and smiling. He looked happy enough, except his head was turned to the side. “I’m Jacob, one of the pediatric doctors here at the hospital,” he said, introducing himself to the woman. “Can you tell me your name?”

“I’m Amy. And this is John,” she said, nodding at her baby.

Jacob stepped over to the baby. “Good morning, John. I’m Jacob.” When Dr. Off Limits was being sweet, I could melt all over the floor like ice cream in a heatwave.

Jacob stepped back and addressed Amy. “As we’re a teaching hospital, I have two new doctors with me today. Is that okay?”

Amy nodded.

“If at any time you feel uncomfortable, let me know and Dr. Peters and Dr. Scott will step out.”

Amy nodded again.

Jacob smiled and turned back to Gilly and me. He looked between us. “Dr. Peters, what would you do first.”

Gilly looked like a deer caught in the headlights. She clearly hadn’t been expected to be put on the spot. “I... I’d... I’d order a scan,” she said.

Jacob looked back to me. “Dr. Scott?”

I should mumble that I didn’t know, but I didn’t want this beautiful, clever, impressive man to think I was an idiot.

“John’s blood pressure and temperature is normal. He’s nine weeks old and the chart tells me he’s in the fiftieth percentile for weight. He seems well to look at him.” I turned to Amy. “Is he well in himself?”

She nodded.

“His head is turned significantly to his left.” I turned to Amy. “Tell me why you came in today?”

“It’s just his head. He doesn’t move it. It’s like it’s fixed to the side.” Her voice started to break.

“It’s okay,” I said. “You’ve done the right thing by bringing him here. When did you first notice that John’s head was bending to the left?”

“It’s hard to say,” Amy said and she took a deep breath. “He likes to lie on the sofa and watch television. I noticed that if I turn him around, he just stares at the back of the sofa. He doesn’t turn his head to the telly.”

“Has that been since birth?” I asked.

“Maybe. I mean, I think so,” she replied. “Not as bad as this. He used to look forward.”

I nodded. “Was everything okay at his six-week check?”

She shrugged. “We’ve had to rearrange that a couple of times. I’m due to take him next week.”

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