Jan returned with the equipment he’d asked for. Adam swung the stethoscope around his neck. Now he had something to focus on, something he knew how to do. At school, science had been his saving grace. He’d known how to deal with facts and figures and found the certainty of what would happen in a given situation incredibly soothing.
He warmed the stethoscope between his hands before picking up his tiny niece and balancing her in the crook of his arm. Adam slipped the instrument under her vest and onto her impossibly small chest. During his career, he’d held smaller babies and listened to tinier hearts—but none of them had been linked to him as this little one was. She had his blood running through her veins and they shared DNA.
Adam took in a deep breath, the enormity of the situation crashing down on him. He’d rushed straight to the hospital from the airport, not stopping even to change or drop off his luggage. Only now did he realise he had no equipment—no baby clothes, no car seat and even worse, no clue what to do.
Of course, physically he knew very well what he was supposed to do with a baby—his training had taught him that much at least. He’d spent his share of nights feeding premature babies, sometimes it took hours for their tiny tummies to take even a few ounces of milk and he’d even changed the odd nappy.
That was the easy stuff, the biological necessities. Put food in, clean waste material the body did not need. Rinse. Repeat. He could do that.
But the other stuff—the emotional things he’d watched other parents do in a way that seemed second nature—rocking, singing and silly baby talk? Adam didn’t know how to do any of those things.
Perhaps he was fooling himself thinking he was the best person to care for the baby, there was probably someone else considerably more well suited to the task—someone like Penny, for instance.
She seemed a loving person, she hadn’t taken her eyes off the baby during his examination and she certainly seemed willing to stand up for what she thought was best. Surely, as a foster carer, she knew how to rock, sing and talk a baby’s language?
At that moment, the baby took hold of his little finger, her grip surprisingly strong. It was a simple reflex motion but with his niece’s tiny fist curled around his finger, Adam’s decision was made.
He would fight tooth and nail for this child and ensure she would want for nothing. He would not let her down the way he had her mother. Hell, he’d learn how to do all the things she needed, how hard could it be?
High heels clicked on the linoleum floor and alerted Adam to another visitor. A tall, dark-haired woman with a file stuffed full of papers in one arm and an oversized bag in the other stopped next to them.
“Doctor Reynolds? I’m Megan Crowther, the child’s social worker. It’s nice to meet you, although I’m so sorry it has to be under these circumstances.”
Adam reached out and shook her hand, inclining his head in acknowledgement of her condolences for his sister.
His sister.
Adam laid the baby back in her crib and fought the impulse to bunch his hands into fists. He wanted to hit something—or someone—preferably the drug dealer who had sold his sister the drugs that resulted in her death.
Grief tore at his insides, raking through his stomach, leaving him raw and empty. With great effort, he forced his face into a neutral mask and breathed deeply. “I’ve just checked her over again. She had a small convulsion a moment ago. Everything seems okay now, though.”
“She’s had a few,” Megan told him. “I’m assured they will stop as her body becomes accustomed to living without drugs.”
“Absolutely.” He nodded in agreement. “But, of course, I have experience in dealing with babies in similar situations so there will be no problems when I take her home.”
Megan looked between Adam and Penny. “Penny is taking Baby home. She’s an approved foster carer with years of experience. She’s also taken care of drug dependent babies in the past.”
“She’s my niece. My flesh and blood, I should take her.” Tiredness was getting the better of him. He should take her, it was his duty, he was family. But he should have said he wanted to take her. Needed to take her. Had to care for her so he could put right his mistakes with Kate.
“I’m afraid you need to be assessed before we can allow her to live with you.”
“Assessed?” Adam’s voice rose a notch. This was ridiculous. He was a doctor, a children’s doctor for goodness sake. Who else could be safer?
“Yes,” Megan’s voice became more businesslike. “You will be assessed either by myself or a worker from the family and friends team. As you’ve been out of the country, we will need to carry out checks to ensure nothing untoward happened in Africa.”
“Untoward?” he snapped.
“We must make sure you don’t have a criminal record and we will need an up to date DBS form.”
He understood they didn’t want to hand the baby over to just anyone but surely his occupation spoke for itself? “I have a DBS form.”