Virgin River (Virgin River #1)(101)

“Thanks. Come in. Just let her get through this next contraction.”

Jack stepped into the room and nodded at Jeremy. “How you doing, man?” he asked. “I’m going to carry your wife downstairs for you—you look pretty exhausted. You and Mel can ride in back with her and I’ll drive.” As soon as Anne seemed to relax a bit, Jack bent over the bed and lifted her easily into his arms. “Hang on, kiddo,” he said. “I’ll get you down before the next one hits, how’s that?”

Mel grabbed her bag and said, “Jeremy, please get Anne’s suitcase.” She followed Jack downstairs, grabbed her coat and while Jack held Anne, she opened up the back of the Hummer and slid out the gurney. “Anne, I want you on your left side, please.” Once she was situated, Mel and Jeremy climbed in on either side of her, kneeling, while Jack got behind the wheel and took off in the direction of Valley Hospital.

Mel kept the fetoscope handy and blood pressure cuff on Anne’s upper arm. She checked her pressure and the fetal heartbeat every few minutes. They were nearly halfway when she reached forward and put a thankful hand on Jack’s shoulder. His hand automatically came up to cover hers. “You were still awake,” she said softly.

“In case you needed anything,” he answered.

She gently squeezed his shoulder, but what she really wanted to do was throw her arms around him. She so appreciated the way he instinctively supported her in her work.

When they got to the hospital they entered the emergency room and, once inside, Mel handed Jack her coat and said, “You should move the SUV. Jeremy and I will take her up to labor and delivery. John’s meeting us. I hate to ask you, but…”

“Of course I’ll wait. I’ll be right here. Don’t worry about me.”

“Am I going to be allowed in?” Jeremy asked while they were in the elevator.

“That’s going to be up to Dr. Stone,” she said. “If it were up to me, I wouldn’t have a problem with it.”

Mel pushed the gurney through the swinging doors and was very happy to see John standing at the sink, finishing his scrub. Hands held up, he turned toward her and gave a nod and a smile. “Number two is set up, Mel. The anesthesiologist is here.”

Beside him at the adjoining sink, pumping the faucet pedal with her foot, was a nurse in scrubs, her mask tied around her neck. She looked over at Mel and with a sarcastic twist of her lips, said, “Another botched home birth?”

Mel’s mouth dropped open and her eyes widened as if slapped. John whirled on the nurse, glaring at her. Then John turned back to Mel and said, “Can you scrub in with me, Mel?”

“I’m prepared to assist, Dr. Stone,” the nurse said from behind him.

“Thank you, Juliette, but I’m leaning toward someone more professional. You and I will talk later.” And to Mel, “You have less than fifteen minutes.”

“Certainly. Jeremy wants to be there,” she said.

“Of course. Juliette, find the father some scrubs. Mel, you’ll find some in the locker room. Shake a leg.”

Mel pushed the gurney to operating room number two and let the circulating nurse pull Anne into the room. She donned green scrubs in the locker room and joined Jeremy at the sink, saying, “If you scrub in, the doctor might be inclined to let you hold your son when he’s born. Just like this,” she said, demonstrating the scrubbing technique. “No guarantees on that, so no pouting. And you’ll have to stay at Anne’s head.”

“Have you done this before?” he asked her. “Assisted in a C-section?”

“Many times,” she said.

“Mel?” he asked. “It wasn’t botched, was it?”

“Of course not. What Anne experienced wasn’t all that unusual. You were there, Jeremy. You see anything happen that bothered you? I trust you would’ve said something or at least asked a question or two.” She smiled at him. “You have one stubborn little boy to raise. Fortunately, we have a very good surgeon at our disposal.”

By the time they entered the operating room, Anne had received her spinal from the anesthesiologist and was much more comfortable. John was ready to begin and Mel took her place next to him, her instruments lying out on the mayo stand.

“Scalpel,” he said.

She slapped it into his hand. “Thank you,” she said. “For what you did out there.”

“She’s a good nurse, but I never figured her for jealous. I apologize for her. We’re ready to retract,” he said. He chuckled. “You do a damn fine job, Mel. I’d let you deliver my wife in a second.”



The ride back to Virgin River wasn’t exactly quiet—Jeremy was a literal motormouth. Jack heard the details of the surgery several times. While Jeremy’s wife was in recovery and his son in the nursery, he needed a lift home to fetch his own vehicle so he could go back. He chattered while Jack drove, and Mel’s head lolled on the seat beside him.

“Exhausted, baby?” he asked her.

“I’ll be fine after a nap,” she said.

“Mel assisted Dr. Stone,” Jeremy sounded from the back. “He asked her to. It was incredible. The things she knows how to do.”

Jack glanced over at her and smiled. “You know what’s incredible, Jeremy?” Jack said. He reached over and squeezed her thigh. “She never surprises me.”