Playboy Doctor to Doting Dad by Sue MacKay

her. Occasionally even she knew when to keep quiet.
    Pete muttered, ‘If Dr Flynn has checked him out, why are you concerned?’
    ‘Abigail has a valid point. Darren’s bruising is abnormal. It doesn’t hurt to take another look. Better to find she’s wrongthan send the boy away with an illness we overlooked. Always listen to your staff. They see things you might not.’
    Abby knew Pete would give her a hard time about this later, but it felt good to have her concerns taken seriously. After all, she did have some knowledge about these things.
    ‘I’m going to take a blood sample from Darren. Clotting factors and a blood count. Is that what you had in mind?’ Kieran cocked an eyebrow at her.
    ‘Yes. But I hope I’m wrong about the diagnosis I’m considering.’
    Unfortunately she wasn’t. The lab rang within an hour.
    ‘Darren has leukaemia.’ Kieran’s jaw tightened. ‘We’re sending him to Day Stay for a pathologist to do a bone-marrow aspiration to determine the type.’
    Abby’s heart squeezed for Darren and his father. Their lives were about to be turned upside down and inside out. Their situation was unimaginable for any parent.
    ‘I’d better go and tell Jim.’ Kieran stood as though glued to the floor. His hand dragged down his cheek. ‘I hate this part of the job.’ Then he muttered something like, ‘And today it seems worse.’
    ‘Want me to come with you? Or sit with Darren while you take his father to your office?’ Abby didn’t know how she’d cope if anyone ever had to tell her something as devastating about Seamus or Olivia.
    ‘How does a parent deal with this?’ Kieran croaked.
    She shivered. ‘Let’s hope we never have to find out.’
    Telling Jim Shore that his fun-loving son was gravely ill and needed more tests had been one of the hardest things Kieran had ever had to do.
    For some inexplicable reason young Darren’s plight rocked him on a deep personal level. For the first time during his career as an emergency specialist the sense of regret andpain for his patient felt too close. He couldn’t understand his feelings, but they were very real. He’d always found this side of his job hard but today was especially difficult.
    Other patients awaiting his attention gave him a much-needed distraction. But later, when the pathologist phoned down as a matter of courtesy to tell him that the bone-marrow results showed acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, Kieran’s head spun. Even though he’d been expecting the result, he found it difficult to accept. He’d known what the initial results meant. But Darren was a child, a happy boy full of life.
    Just like Seamus.
What if something like this happened to his little boy? Would he survive the pain of watching his son becoming extremely ill? How did a man cope as he watched his child being put through intensive and painful treatment?
    Abby touched his shoulder lightly. ‘Are you all right? I saw you on the phone.’
    He shook his head. ‘That was the pathologist confirming Darren has ALL.’
    Sadness and horror filled Abby’s eyes before she quickly turned away, murmuring, ‘These are the days I hate my job.’
    ‘I know what you mean.’ But today felt worse than ever before. Today he understood on a deeper level what Jim Shore might be feeling. And it was sure to be a lot worse than Kieran could imagine. A band of pain throbbed in the back of his head.
    Abby said, ‘I feel like rushing to the crèche and hugging the kids tight, to reassure myself they’re fine and that nothing can touch them.’
    ‘A natural response, I’d have thought.’ He squeezed her hand before moving away. ‘Take five to go and see them.’
    ‘Are you sure?’ Her eyes widened. Surprised he could be so understanding?
    ‘Absolutely.’ Well, he surprised himself at his sense of helplessness right now. The only thing he could think to do was send Abby to see the children.
    Her smile was thanks enough. ‘Come with me. Seeing the kids might make you feel a