The Army Doctor's Christmas Baby by Helen Scott Taylor

women
who passed through his care had changed since he had kids of his own. Now he
could identify totally with the parents he saw sitting white-faced with shock
at their youngster's bedside.
    Tyler lay awake, an iPod on his pillow, earbuds in his ears.
He pulled them out with his good hand and fumbled to switch off the device as
Sean approached.
    "No hurry, Private. Take your time."
    "Yes, sir."
    "How are you feeling?"
    "Well as can be expected, sir."
    The young man had made incredible progress in such a short
time. Often soldiers with severe blast injuries suffered from fungal infections
due to contamination and the conditions they lived under, but Tyler had tested
negative and his face was already healing well.
    "Today's the day then, Tyler. You understand what's
going to happen?"
    "Yes, sir. You're going to take muscle and bone from my
ribs to build me a new hand."
    Sean nodded, with a smile to encourage the lad. "That's
right. It will take a good few months to heal, but with patience and
physiotherapy, you should be able to use your right hand for most tasks."
    "As long as I can hold my girlfriend's hand, that'll be
excellent, sir. She doesn't like holding my left hand. Says I don't hold her
right."
    Sean smiled, his chest tight with emotion. He didn't usually
get this involved with his patients. His feelings for Kelly had stirred him up
inside and made him more sensitive.
    "Tell your girlfriend she'll have to make do with your
left hand for a few months, then she can have the right hand back."
    "Yes, sir. Thank you, sir. I appreciate what you're
doing for me, Doctor. Mum said this operation is something special."
    "We're going to record it as a teaching aid for other
surgeons. We'll also have some visiting doctors in the viewing gallery during
the operation."
    "I'll be the star of the show and sleep through it
all," Tyler quipped. The boy was incredibly brave and cheerful considering
what had happened to him.
    "You certainly are a star, Tyler. You and all our lads
who risk their lives."
    The young man's expression sobered. "Thank you, sir. I
appreciate your saying so."
    "A nurse will be along shortly to prepare you. I'll see
you tomorrow to talk you through how things went. Okay?"
    "Yes, sir."
    Sean nodded and left the ward, heading back to his room to
change. Anticipation surged along his veins. He and Radley had planned
meticulously. Everything was in place. But there was no escaping the fact this
was a radical procedure, something untried and experimental. He prayed it
worked and that by next summer Private Tyler could hold his girlfriend's hand.

Chapter Six
    Kelly didn't like to leave Zoe and Annabelle in the hospital
day care, but it was only for a couple of hours. She really wanted to watch
Sean operate. He'd bounced ideas off her before he discussed them with Radley,
so she knew exactly how he planned to reconstruct the patient's hand. He'd
invited her to join the visiting surgeons in the viewing gallery to watch the
idea put into action.
    In the day care, two smiling young nursery nurses took the
babies' hands. "Hello, Zoe. We haven't seen you for a long time, have we.
Come along, Belles, are you going to play with the others?"
    With only a moment's hesitation, Zoe toddled off beside the
young women. Annabelle didn't even spare Kelly a glance. She trotted away
chattering to herself and laid claim to a plastic rocking horse.
    "I can see they're going to be fine here," Kelly
said to the supervisor.
    "Yes, they fit in well. We don't have many tantrums
from Colonel Fab's little girls." The woman grinned at the mention of
Sean's nickname. Kelly suppressed an eye roll. She supposed she would have to
get used to women's reaction to Sean.
    After checking the time on her phone, she headed across the
car park to the impressive space-age structure of the military hospital. Weak
winter sun reflected off the many windows, making the ultramodern building
glow.
    The main doors swished open as she approached. She crossed
the