Free The Rebel and the Baby Doctor by Joanna Neil Page A

well, she turned back to him and said, ‘The thing is, I’ve had an idea for raising funds for the neonatal unit. We always need more equipment, and it would be great if we could expand the unit so that we could treat more babies.’
    He raised his brows. ‘That sounds as though you’re becoming protective of the little ones in your care. I thought you had your mind set against being a children’s doctor?’
    ‘Well, yes, but it isn’t that.’ Phoebe checked the monitors once more and noted down the results on her observation sheet. Thankfully, the baby seemed to have suffered no ill effects from the earlier problems. ‘It’s just that they do such good work in the unit, andeven if I can’t be the one to stay there and work with them, I could do something to help.’ She fixed him with a direct look. ‘Or you can, by working with me to set this up.’
    ‘Set what up? What are we talking about?’
    ‘A sponsored walk.’
    He was unimpressed. ‘Well, that’s not going to raise a whole lot of money, is it? You’d have to get half the hospital involved to get anywhere near the amount you’d need.’
    ‘We’ll work on that. Stop being such a wet blanket. Anyway, you don’t have any choice but to agree. I’ve made up my mind. I told you, I’ve been brooding on this.’
    ‘Scheming, more like.’
    She glowered at him. ‘And then there’s the raffle to organise…And I thought a barbecue would go down well in the evening. We could charge an entrance fee or simply add a bit on to the cost of the food.’
    ‘And I’m supposed to help with all this?’ He raised dark brows. ‘You’re a hard taskmaster. I’d say there was a bit more than two days’ worth of effort involved there, wouldn’t you?’
    ‘And why not? Let it teach you a lesson.’
    They might have gone on with the banter, except that the ambulance came to a halt and the driver cut the engine. They both realised that they must have reached their destination at last.
    The driver came to open up the doors of the vehicle, and between them they brought the baby out of the ambulance and wheeled her into the hospital. A team was waiting to receive her, and Phoebe handed over all the paperwork that travelled along with the infant, while Connor talked to the consultant about the baby’s case notes.
    ‘Thanks for all this,’ the consultant said, doing a swift check of the baby and assessing the state of the monitor readings. ‘We’ll take it from here,’ she said. ‘Do you want to take a break for an hour or so while we look her over? That way, if we need any more input from you, we could perhaps get back to you before you make the return journey. Sometimes things crop up that we might not have planned for, and it would be easier to deal with them if the transfer team is still around.’
    ‘That sounds fine to me,’ Connor murmured, sending a swift glance towards Phoebe. She nodded acknowledgement and he continued, ‘Our driver has gone off to find himself something to eat, so we’ll be around here for a while longer.’ He gave the doctor his mobile number.
    ‘Thanks. You might like to wander around the hospital gardens for a while. There’s an arboretum on the east side of the building, with terraced areas and a lily pond, and there are picnic tables where you can sit and eat lunch, if you like.’
    ‘That sounds like a pleasant way to while away an hour,’ Phoebe said.
    They found their way to the hospital restaurant and bought crusty salad rolls and fruit buns for lunch, with cold drinks to wash them down. The driver was talking to a fellow ambulanceman, but he waved acknowledgement when they indicated that they were going outside.
    ‘So who was this guru that you wanted to bring into the hospital?’ Phoebe asked as they walked along the path to the wooded area.
    ‘He’s someone I met in London, a friend who works in the City. Essentially he’s a troubleshooter, but he also acted as a financial advisor to me once I made up my