badly last night,’ the tow truck driver said. He took her car to the repair garage and then drove her back to her flat. ‘I’m only supposed to take you to one or the other,’ he said, ‘but I remember you. You delivered my youngest last year. My wife had a rough time and you were brilliant with her.’
Ella was really grateful. ‘Thank you so much. Do you want a cup of tea or something?’
‘That’s kind of you, but I’d better not. I’ve got half a dozen other crashes to go to,’ he said wryly. ‘Take care.’
Ella let herself into her flat, started running a bath and put the kettle on. Then, when she undressed, she realised there was blood in her knickers.
She was spotting.
Ice slid down her spine. She’d felt a sharp jerk across her shoulder and abdomen from the seatbelt when the other car had crashed into her, but her car’s airbag hadn’t gone off and she hadn’t banged herself against the steering wheel. She hadn’t thought the crash was bad enough to warrant going to hospital; she’d felt OK at the time, there had probably been dozens of other accidents on the icy roads and there were drivers more in need of urgent medical attention than her.
But now she was spotting, at eight weeks of pregnancy, and that wasn’t a good thing.
Oh, God. Please don’t let her lose the baby. It hadn’t been planned, but it was oh, so wanted.
‘Hang on in there, little one,’ she whispered, with one hand wrapped protectively round her bump.
With shaking hands, she rang Annabelle, but her best friend wasn’t answering her home phone or her mobile. Ella was sure that Annabelle was off duty today; but maybe she was out with Max somewhere and her phone was accidentally in silent mode.
Ella didn’t want to ring an ambulance, because she knew how busy the hospital was right now, and someone else could need to go to the emergency department more urgently. Maybe she should get a taxi in to the Royal Cheltenham?
But right now she was so scared. She really didn’t want to do this on her own.
Oliver.
Given how things were between them and that he’d been so fed up that she’d stayed with Georgina all night after her shift, worrying that she was overdoing things and putting the baby at risk, Oliver was the last person she wanted to call. But her brain was on a go-slow and she couldn’t think of anyone else. Plus he was the baby’s father—he had the right to know that there was a problem.
It took her three attempts before she managed to call his mobile.
‘Darrington,’ Oliver said absently, as if he hadn’t even looked at the screen.
‘It’s Ella,’ she said.
‘Ella? Is everything all right?’
Her teeth had started to chatter and she could hardly get the words out.
‘Ella, what’s happened?’ he asked urgently.
‘A c-car crashed into me on the way h-home, and now I’m s-spotting.’
‘Are you at home?’
‘Y-yes.’
‘I’m on my way to you right now,’ he said. ‘Try not to worry. I’ll call you when I’m in the car so you’re not going to be on your own while you’re waiting, and I’ll be with you very, very soon, OK?’
Ella had had a car accident and she was spotting. That wasn’t good.
Please, please don’t let her lose the baby, Oliver begged inwardly.
The shock of her news had made him realise just how much he wanted the baby.
He headed out to Reception and was really grateful that Annabelle was there; she’d changed duty at the last minute to help cover sick leave.
‘Is everything all right?’ she asked.
‘No. Ella’s been in an accident. She just called me and said she’s spotting. I’m going to get her now, so please can you make sure the portable scanner’s in one of the rooms and keep it free? I’m bringing her straight in to Teddy’s.’
‘Got you. Give her my love and tell her not to worry,’ Annabelle said. ‘Drive safely.’
‘I will.’
As soon as he was in the car, Oliver switched his phone over to the hands-free system and called Ella as he drove to her flat. He could hear the tears in her voice when she answered; it ripped him apart that she was crying and right now he couldn’t comfort her properly or do anything to fix this. But until he’d done the scan and knew what was going on, he couldn’t give her the reassurance he really wanted to give her.
‘Ella, I’m on my way now,’ he said. ‘Teddy’s is on standby and Annabelle’s there—she sends her love.’
‘But Annabelle’s off duty.’
‘No, she swapped duty yesterday to help me out with sick leave cover,’ he said.
He heard a sob. ‘I’m meant to be on a late today.’
‘Don’t worry about that right now,’ he soothed. ‘We can sort it out later.’
‘I never meant for this to happen when I stayed with Georgie,’ she said. ‘I would never, ever put the baby at risk.’
‘I know and you did the right thing—the kind thing,’ he said. ‘You’d have been worrying yourself silly about Georgie and the quads if you’d just gone home.’ Because that was who Ella was: dedicated to her job.
‘The crash wasn’t my fault, Oliver. It really wasn’t. The other driver just couldn’t stop at the junction and ploughed into me.’
Why did she seem to think he was angry with her? ‘Ella, I’m not going to shout at you.’
‘You were near shouting at me yesterday.’
She had a point. He’d gone into overprotective mode when she’d suggested working a double shift. ‘I’m sorry. I’m a grumpy sod and you have the right to tell me to shut up when I start ranting,’ he said.
To his relief, he heard what sounded almost like a wry chuckle. But then there was another muffled sob. ‘Hold on, honey. I’m going to be there very soon,’ he said. ‘And, Ella, I’m glad you called me.’
‘Really?’ She didn’t sound as if she believed him.
‘Really,’ he said firmly.
He kept her talking all the way from his house to her flat. When he got there, he didn’t bother about a parking permit—he’d willingly pay a dozen parking fines if he had to—but just ran over to her door and rang the bell. When she opened her door, he pulled her straight into his arms and held her close. ‘Everything’s going to be all right, I promise.’
‘I don’t want to lose the baby.’ Her shoulders heaved.
‘You’re not going to lose the baby, not if I have anything to do with it,’ he said. ‘Let’s go.’ He locked the front door behind her, held her close all the way to his car, helped her in and then drove to the Royal Cheltenham, holding her hand between gear changes. She was trembling and he desperately wanted to hold her; but he knew that if he stopped to comfort her it would be that much longer before he could give her a scan and see what was going on. ‘We’re not going to the Emergency Department. I’ll do the scan myself at Teddy’s so you don’t have to wait.’
‘I’m so scared, Oliver. I want this baby so much.’
‘Me, too,’ he said. More than that, he wanted Ella as well. Whatever had caused her to back off from him since the party, they could fix it—because she was more important to him