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‘Fine, Doctor I’ve been walking up and down the ward for thirtyquite well’

‘Very well, from what I saw,’ Stacey added

‘Don’t get too carried away,’ Noah told his patient ‘After such a deep tear, that calfto take time to fully heal’

It was a typical ward round, and afterwards Noah stayed a fewin a few s

Though Liz see going with our hot surgeon?’ she asked as Stacey tried not to watch Noah striding along to the lift, his shoulders back and his head high

Stacey wasn’t sure about anything except she was falling deeper in love with Noah, and still didn’t knohere they were headed ‘It’s great catching up with hiain’

Liz snorted ‘I htbulb in the room but I ain’t blind’

She laughed What else could she do? If she said anything Liz would put her own interpretation on it and probably be closer to the truth than Stacey wanted anyone to get

They ed two shared breakfasts over the week, her parents enthusiastically pushing her out the door with pro her to the nursery or settling down for the day at home with Granddad Stacey skipped onto the train and off at the other end, racing to the hospital cafeteria for toast and coffee, and ti the issues between thereat just to have tis, after dinner was over, the dishes were stacked in the dishwasher, and she’d read the requisite stories to Holly, she’d phone Noah ‘Hoas your day, apart fro and an appendectomy?’

‘You missed out the three hernias’

‘They didn’t coht’

‘She did? Cool’ Noah sighed For the first time in days he sounded irritated

‘So her throat

‘What do you want? How do you see this working out? Why haven’t you said anything about this, Anastasia?’

Anastasia, but not the having-fun one Pounding set up behind her ribs This discussion had been lurking in the background even during the fun moiving you ti a dad’

‘Right I’m there Tell me what you want’

‘It’s hard I’ve been Holly’s mother all her short life, been there for her all the tiine any other way to raise my child’ She certainly didn’t want to divide the time with her father

‘She has two parents now’

‘I knohat that entails I really do’ She could hardly say she wanted to be with hi on that

There was a silence that seeet heavier by the second Then, ‘We’ll talk over the weekend’

‘Okay’ She could let it go for now and enjoy the relief of not co to a final decision just yet More time to enjoy as a solo parent

Noah found a bottle of headache pills and so His head had been pounding alland tedious All he’d wanted was to spend tih and share everything Okay, he’d fallen for her fast Too fast? Or had this been three years in the ht up with her he wanted to make up for lost time? That was more likely the answer, and the deeper in love he beca? Well, today he was about to find out, as Anastasia and Holly would be here soon

Anastasia had been completely honest with hi his for him beyond a friend who had a child with her She didn’t appear to be out for all she could get She hadn’t gone all si when he’d shown her around the house, hadn’t made overtures about how Holly would be happy here and how she’d have to accohter if she was to spend time with him

Yet the past kept waving at hi him how easily he’d been duped before But Anastasia didn’t know coldness of the heart It wasn’t in her What if they married? Would shemore and more, never satisfied hat she had? Given how she was happy with the little she did have, he couldn’t see her changing radically On the other hand, suddenly finding herself well offto spend large and become fixated with the whole lifestyle he was desperate to avoid

Ding-dong The doorbell rang out