By Request Collection April-June 2016. Оливия Гейтс

relief of increased space between them.

      ‘But you’re here for in-utero surgery … yes?’ Such a delicious Italian accent. Emily tasted the sound like chocolate on her tongue.

      Marco stared at the paper in his hand. He could easily grasp the most complicated sequences of micro-surgery but this he could not fathom. Not only the sudden misbehaviour of his rampant sex hormones but the concept of being inexplicably glad Miss Cooper was not pregnant. It was all very strange. Perhaps with the desk between them his brain would function.

      Before she could answer, the sound of footsteps and a young woman appeared hurriedly at the door. Things fell quickly into place.

      ‘How could you start without me, Mum?’

      Fool. He felt like smacking his forehead. But excellent. He could see the similarities as the still barely pregnant-looking daughter came into his office with a mulish look to her rosebud mouth as she took the other handbag from her mother.

      ‘My apologies, Miss Cooper.’ He smiled and held out his hand. ‘I am Marco D’Arvello.’ Reluctantly the young woman shook his hand. ‘We have yet to begin.’ He extended his apology to Emily. ‘And forgive me, too, Mrs Cooper.’

      The daughter glowered and glanced at her mother. ‘We’re both Miss Cooper. Mum’s Emily and I’m Annie. Illegitimacy runs in the family.’

      Emily. Marco struggled to keep his face neutral when, in fact, he wanted to stand between this little virago and her poor mother. He was slightly relieved to see that Emily had ignored her daughter’s outburst. Truly, family dynamics were none of his business, he didn’t want them to ever be his business, so why did he feel so discomfited by what was going on here?

      He forced himself to concentrate on the younger woman. ‘Then let us discuss your child, Annie.’ He gestured to the other chair. ‘Please, be seated and we will begin.’

      Emily held back the sigh along with the need to fan her face. Maybe she could disappear into the carpet until the air-conditioner cooled her cheeks. Why did her daughter’s newly emergent evil twin have to appear here? The secretive one she didn’t recognise. It was okay. Her daughter was emotional, scared for her baby and angry with the world since Gran had died.

      Emily was pretty angry about that herself but really she just longed for the delightful girl child Annie had been up until the last two months.

      Illegitimacy runs in the family. Cringeworthy at the very least. No chance of sex with him now.

      The thought brought a reluctant whisper of ironic amusement and suddenly she didn’t feel the need to sink into that scratchy hospital carpet; she could focus.

      Which was lucky because they’d carried on without her.

      ‘There are three types of foetal surgery. One we do only with a needle. Another is the opposite, and similar to a Caesarean section where we work directly on the anesthetised foetus, which we remove from the uterus and then return.’

      Incredible what they could do. Emily watched his face. So intense and obviously passionate about something he knew so well. She couldn’t imagine the tension in an operating theatre for such a procedure. It sounded easy. Too easy for reality.

      ‘The risks of premature labour are greatest the larger the incision into the uterus, of course, until sometimes it is better to wait to deliver the baby and perform the surgery ex utero.’

      Annie was chewing her lip. ‘So can we wait for my baby?’

      ‘Those cases depend on the foetal problem. Your baby is twenty-six weeks old, too young for the risk of premature labour or delivery, too old to be left much longer before damage cannot be reversed, and so we move on to the next alternative.’

      He picked up the large envelope of ultrasounds and crossed to the light projector on the wall to clip up the dark images.

      They all moved to fan around the light source. ‘Foetoscopy would be my preferred option in your case. Or Fetendo—like the child’s game—because the instruments are controlled while watching a screen and are less than a pencil width in diameter.’

      ‘Neat.’

      ‘Si.’ He smiled, the room lit up, and Emily felt like grabbing her sunglasses from her bag. Probably just because working permanent nights made you sensitive to light.

      Marco pointed with one longer finger. ‘Your baby has a narrowing of the neck of the bladder.’ He circled the darkness of the bladder on the film. ‘In simple terms, the door to releasing urine from the bladder has closed almost completely and the kidneys are swelling with the retained fluid. I would have wished to perform this surgery at least four weeks ago for maximum protection of your baby’s kidneys.’

      Emily felt she had to explain. ‘We’ve only just found out about my daughter’s pregnancy. This is the first scan she’s had. It’s all been a bit of a shock.’

      Understatement. And not just the pregnancy. Disbelief that her daughter had fallen into the same circumstances as herself had paled when they’d discovered Annie’s baby was at risk.

      Emily’s fierce protective instinct embraced this tiny new member of their family wholeheartedly because already she loved this little dark gnome on the ultrasound films.

      ‘Si. So we will schedule surgery as soon as possible. I believe the repair can be achieved by foetoscopy under ultrasound imaging.’

      He smiled at Annie. ‘The instruments are fine and require a very small incision.’ He glanced at them both under dark brows. ‘Tomorrow?’

      ‘Tomorrow?’ Annie’s squeak made Emily’s hand slip across the distance between them to squeeze her daughter’s cold fingers.

      ‘It’s okay. Better have it done as soon as possible for baby.’ She looked at this man they were entrusting Annie and her baby’s future to.

      His strong profile and unwavering eyes somehow imbued the confidence she needed that these risks were worth it. ‘Do you think much damage has been done to baby’s kidneys already?’

      He tactfully shrugged his broad shoulders and their eyes met and held. She could feel his compassion. His understanding of her fear.

      They both glanced at Annie. ‘We wait. It will be difficult to tell until after the operation. Hopefully the amniotic fluid volume will increase as the bladder is allowed to empty. That will be a good sign.’

      He looked at them both. ‘And in a few months, after the birth, there will be tests to give a true indication.’

      Marco watched the young woman to see if she realised there was still doubt on the final outcome. They did not intrude on the dark sea of the foetal world without good reason. Annie’s eyes, glistening green like her mother’s, were glued to his face. ‘So the procedure is safe for my baby?’

      Ah. She began to comprehend and this part of it he could reassure her on. ‘I have performed foetoscopies many times, and while you must be aware of the risks—your own anesthetic, your baby’s analgesia, which we administer to prevent the procedure causing pain, and the risk of premature labour I spoke about before—to not perform this surgery would ensure a poor quality of life for your child, with extremely damaged kidneys.’

      Annie gulped and nodded. ‘Yes. I see.’

      Perhaps he had been too blunt? ‘I do not say these things to frighten you, but for you to know I believe this needs to be done, and as soon as possible.’ He touched Annie’s shoulder reassuringly. ‘Do you understand?’

      Annie glanced at her mother and nodded her head ‘Okay. But I don’t want to know any more. Let’s just get it over with, then.’

      ‘Si.’ He moved to the door and they both stood up. ‘I will arrange this now.’ He glanced at the notes in his hand. ‘I have your mobile phone number and will confirm the time Annie is to arrive tomorrow morning. You live together?’

      ‘Yes.’