Hot Docs On Call: Surgeon's Seduction. Carol Marinelli

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СКАЧАТЬ a hawk. I won’t let them out of my sight.”

      Linda sighed and nodded, staring back up at the ceiling.

      Sam stepped out of the way of the anesthesiologist and glanced up in the gallery. He could see Holly amongst the crowd of eager onlookers. Whenever Dr. Ootaka did a surgery he always garnered a lot of attention. Enzo and Kimberlyn would’ve been all over this. He missed them.

      The room was filled with some of West Manhattan Saints’ finest surgeons.

      His mother should be pleased with that, instead of harassing him with endless texts about wasting his time when he should be focusing on pediatrics. And if he’d changed his mind about pediatrics then he shouldn’t be slumming in OB/GYN when he could switch over to neuro. She could pull some strings.

      Even though he hadn’t read the texts, he knew exactly what they said, because they were always the same.

      Always. It annoyed him. As if he wanted her help. Sam didn’t want anything from her.

      At least that was one thing his mother had going for her; she was a creature of habit.

      Sam moved toward Mindy as Linda drifted off and they put the tube down her throat. Sam watched the monitor closely, keeping his distance.

      “She can’t be under too long, Dr. Ootaka,” Mindy piped up as she took her seat next to the fetal monitor. The steady sound of the two heartbeats beat in time with his own.

      “I’m well aware of that, Dr. Walker. Ten blade.”

      The surgery began as laparoscopic incisions were made and the camera inserted to get a better look at the damage done to the spleen.

      “You should really move closer,” Mindy whispered. “You could learn a lot from Dr. Ootaka.”

      “I’m fine right here, Dr. Walker.” Sam eyed the monitor as the heartbeat of twin A began to rise, but just slightly.

      “Are you sure?” Mindy asked.

      “I promised her that I wouldn’t take my eyes off the babies. Even if it means they’re still inside her.”

      “Okay, then.” There was a hint of admiration in her voice and it secretly pleased him that he had impressed her.

      Don’t think about that.

      All eyes in the gallery were focused on Dr. Ootaka and his team.

      “Do you know what injection I gave Ms. Bayberry before we came in here?” Mindy asked casually.

      “Is this a test?” Sam asked confused.

      “Sort of. Just passing some time. So do you?”

      “Since the risk of pre-term labor is high I would hope that you injected some corticosteroids into her, thus speeding along lung development of the babies.”

      “Correct, Dr. Napier.”

      “I’ve dealt with preemies before, Dr. Walker. I do work in pediatrics.”

      “What about a micro-preemie? Have you ever delivered or worked on a micro-preemie before?”

      Sam grinned behind his mask. He could never forget Maya, who was Enzo’s niece. He had been there when she’d come in. She had been his charge and he’d made it his personal mission to take care of her. Maya was alive because of him. “I have. In my first year.”

      “You’ve seen a lot, then,” Mindy remarked.

      “I have, and I hope to see more when I gain a fellowship spot with Dr. Chang.”

      “No disrespect to Dr. Chang, but she’s not a neonatologist. If you want to work with preemies you should be working with Dr. Hall in the NICU.”

      “Dr. Hall is a great surgeon, but I need a peds fellowship before I move into neonatology. Like you, I want many feathers in my cap.”

      “You’re very sure of yourself.”

      Sam didn’t respond. They’d had this discussion before and it didn’t bother him that she thought of him that way. In surgery that was a compliment. Suddenly an alarm went off and Mindy leapt to her feet.

      “Dr. Walker, what is going on down there?” Dr. Ootaka demanded. “This is a delicate procedure.”

      “I am well aware of that, Dr. Ootaka,” Mindy snapped. “One of the twins is distressed.”

      “Is she in labor?”

      Mindy shook her head. “No. Just the baby being active and jostling around.”

      The general surgical team had stopped what they were doing so as not cause any more damage by the moving baby and because of that Linda’s blood pressure went down.

      “Dammit,” Mindy cursed under her breath. “We have to get that baby to calm down. If it doesn’t, I’ll have to deliver or risk the mother bleeding out because they can’t repair her spleen.”

      Sam thought back to when his stepmother had been pregnant with twins. The boys had been active and the only way his father had been able to get them to settle down had been to talk to them softly, in a deep, even voice.

      “Let me try.” Sam stepped forward and placed his hands on Linda’s belly. Leaning over, he began to recite an old Gaelic song his father used to sing to his brothers. He was very aware that all eyes were on him and that everyone was listening to him sing, but he didn’t care.

      He’d made a promise to Linda Bayberry. It was better if the babies stayed in utero.

      The alarms disappeared, the jostling settled and the babies were no longer a threat to their mother’s spleen removal.

      “Whatever you’re doing, Dr. Napier, keep it up,” Dr. Ootaka said. “It’s unconventional, but it works and that’s the most important thing.”

      It was a compliment and Sam took it and continued singing, his hands on the side of Linda’s abdomen where the more restless twin was. As if in appreciation of his singing, a gentle kick nudged his palm, reminding him why he did what he did in the first place.

      Mindy smiled as she watched Mr. Bayberry lean over and kiss the top of Linda’s head, his hand on her belly. Linda was still groggy and missing her spleen, but the babies were okay, though Mindy had every intention of keeping Linda in the hospital for some time to monitor her, especially since she’d had a major organ removed.

      It was touch and go, especially when that one twin had started acting up and then Sam had stepped up and calmed the fetus down. As if the fetus had known the mother trusted him.

      He’d sung to the babies. Calming them and melting her heart.

      Would Dean ever have done that? She seriously doubted it.

      Sam might put up barriers to keep people out, but he had such a soft spot, especially when it came to children, and for her that was something that was highly attractive in a man.

      Dammit.

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