The Surgeon's Fatherhood Surprise by Jennifer Taylor

was in charge of the three-year-olds, and Alison didn’t interrupt them. She simply waved as she passed and hurried out of the door. Glancing at her watch, she realised that she would have to get a move on if she wasn’t going to be late for her first appointment.
    She made it to the surgery with five minutes to spare. Sue was on duty at the reception desk that morning, and she grinned when Alison rushed in.
    ‘You look as though you’ve run the three-minute mile.’
    ‘It feels like it, too,’ Alison gasped. She glanced around the waiting room and discovered that her first patient had beaten her to it. ‘Just give me a minute to take off my coat, then you can send Mrs Baxter up. Oh, and tell her to use the lift, would you? I don’t want her climbing the stairs.’
    Alison hurried up the stairs, turning right when she reached the top. The nurse’s room was at the end of the corridor, next to the lift, and she left the door open so she could hear her patient arrive. She hung her coat on a peg, then booted up her computer and brought up Audrey Baxter’s notes.
    Mrs Baxter had been diagnosed recently with angina, a condition whereby in sufficient oxygen was carried via the blood to the heart. Although there were a number of causes for the condition, the most usual one was atherosclerosis—a build-up of fatty deposits within the arteries which caused them to narrow. Dr Donnelly had requested a cholesterol test, which was why Audrey had an appointment with her that morning.
    Alison got up and popped her head round the door when she heard the lift arrive. ‘This way, Mrs Baxter. Come straight through.’
    ‘Right you are, my lovely,’ Audrey Baxter replied cheerfully. In her early sixties, Audrey had worked at the postoffice until she had retired the previous year. She now helped out at the church, and was always cheerful and always abreast of all the local gossip. She smiled as she plonked herself down onto a chair.
    ‘I was glad to take the lift, I can tell you. I’ve been feeling a bit breathless this morning.’
    ‘Are you having pains in your chest?’ Alison asked in concern.
    ‘Not really pains, as such. It just feels a bit tight, as though something’s pressing on it.’
    ‘I’ll give Dr Donnelly a call and ask him to take a look at you,’ Alison said immediately. She dialled Adam’s extension but there was no reply, so she phoned the reception desk. ‘Has Adam arrived yet?’
    ‘No. He just phoned to say that he’ll be late because he had an early callout,’ Sue explained. ‘Nick’s here, if you need him.’
    ‘Thanks, Sue. I’ll give him a call.’
    Alison phoned Nick’s extension and explained that she would like him to see a patient. He arrived a few minutes later and she quickly explained the situation before he examined Audrey.
    ‘Have you been taking the low-dose aspirin that Dr Donnelly prescribed for you?’ Nick asked after he’d finished listening to Audrey’s heart.
    ‘Well, no, not really.’ Audrey looked sheepish. ‘It seemed a bit daft to take tablets when I was feeling fine, so I’ve only been taking them whenever I have a pain in my chest.’
    ‘I see. How about the glycerol trinitrate spray? I assume that Dr Donnelly advised you to use it if you had any pains or constriction in your chest?’
    ‘Um…well, yes, he did,’ Audrey admitted.
    Nick shook his head. ‘You need to follow Dr Donnelly’s advice. If you don’t, the situation will only deteriorate.Aspirin thins the blood and helps avoid the danger of clots forming, but it won’t work if the tablets are left in the packet. And you must carry your spray with you wherever you go, in case you need it.’
    ‘I shall, Dr Tremayne,’ Audrey promised, looking suitably repentant.
    ‘Make sure you do,’ Nick said firmly. ‘You’re not helping yourself by not taking the medication. You could, in fact, be putting yourself at greater risk of having a heart attack.’ He waited to see if that had sunk in then