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felt truly safe, Tamia drew a deep breath as she passed the command center door. If Rick
caught her leaving, or even out of bed, he d hit the roof. She d seen how worried he was,
and how tightly strung his emotions were. But she had to do this, for his sake as well as
her own.
It was a tense ride up in the elevator, wondering if anyone had the entry monitor
turned on. Apparently not, she decided when no one queried her over the intercom, and
the elevator didn t stop suddenly.
Ten minutes later, Tamia walked through the sliding glass doors of Mount Sinai
Medical Center and strode up to the front desk.
 May I help you? Asked the perky brunette behind the desk.
 Tamia Kuan, to see Dr. Matnes.
 Fourth floor, Ms. Kuan. Room four-eighteen.
 Thanks.
Tamia rode the elevator up to the fourth floor nervously. She hoped to God that
she was doing the right thing by coming here. On the fourth floor, she made her way
quickly to Dr. Matnes office, rapping lightly on the door.
 Looking for me, Captain? A familiar voice came from behind her, and she
turned to see the blonde doctor standing a few steps away, a stack of files in her hands.
 119
 Yeah. Tamia flicked her a nervous grin. She held open the door for Maria, and
then followed her into a sparsely, but warmly, decorated office.
 Have a seat, Maria nodded toward one plush chair as she deposited files on the
top of a filing cabinet.
Tamia settled herself into one chair, unable to keep herself from fidgeting
anxiously.
Maria turned to her desk, frowning.  What s going on, Tamia?
Tamia swallowed hard. God, how did she explain this? Best to go with the
simplest explanation.  I m pregnant.
Maria s sculpted blonde brows shot up.  That is rather a problem for you, isn t
it? But why come here? Mount Sinai has a strict Life-First policy. We don t perform
abort  Her eyes narrowed.  And you don t want one, either, do you?
Tamia sucked in a breath, and shook her head.  No.
Matnes smiled broadly as she settled into her seat.  I knew there was something
special about you. You were too shook up by that miscarriage; though not as much as the
Commander was. She regarded Tamia speculatively.  Do I even need to guess who the
father is?
Tamia blinked, but offered her a hesitant smile as she felt heat creep into her face.
It appeared they d been pathetically lousy at hiding their affair. First Jen, and now
Matnes&  Is it that obvious?
Maria laughed.  Captain, I thought I was going to have to fetch smelling salts
after I told Commander Carinson about the miscarriage. I thought he was going to faint
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on the spot. She grinned wryly, but sadness streaked her mossy eyes.  I ve never seen a
man react like that; especially not a military guy. That wasn t relief, Tamia; it was grief.
Tamia dropped her gaze as she nodded. Rick hadn t gotten over that grief, either,
though he d pushed it aside. She felt like such a traitor, for not telling him about this
baby; but what else could she do? Swallowing hard, she said,  That s why I need your
help, Dr. Matnes. I can t abort this baby. I want it too much, and I won t hurt Rick
again.
 What do you want me to do?
 I need you to help me hide this.
The doctor frowned.  Not easy to do. How?
 First, don t tell anyone what we re discussing here. If anyone calls you about
me, just assure them that I m fine. That includes Rick. He can t know.
Maria didn t ask why. She probably already knew.  What else?
 I need to see an obstetrician. Someone Life-First, and opposed enough to the
Code that he or she won t breathe a word about this to anyone.
Dr. Matnes smiled then.  Now that, I can do. I know just the lady. Her name s
Sherry Faulker; she s an ob/gyn who used to work here, until she decided to open her
own practice. She runs a women s clinic in Chinatown.
 She ll help me? Tamia s pulse sped up, as hope blossomed within her.
 I m sure of it. Maria smiled.  I ll give her a call right now.
Tamia watched nervously as Matnes picked up her phone and punched in a
number.  Sherry? This is Maria Matnes. There was a pause, and then Maria laughed.
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 I understand. Sherry, I ve got someone I want to send to see you. Her name s Tamia
Kuan, and she needs a discreet obstetrician. There was another short pause.  How did
you know? Then, a smile.  Yeah, that sounds about right. I ll fax it over. Okay, I ll
tell her. Thanks.
Dr. Matnes scribbled an address on a prescription sheet and handed it to Tamia,
smiling.  She ll see you immediately.
Relief broke over Tamia, and she smiled.  Thank you so much!
 My pleasure. That Code s immoral, and I m glad to help circumvent it.
They shook hands, and Tamia started toward the door, excitement bubbling
within her. Maria s voice stopped her at the door.
 Tamia?
She turned to see Maria s smile
 Congratulations.
Tamia left the hospital on light feet, a grin plastered on her face. For the first time
in too long, she was high on life; all thanks to the tiny soul she carried within her womb.
Dr. Faulker s clinic was clean and orderly looking from the outside, quaintly
charming among the shop fronts of Chinatown. Smiling at the irony of the China she d
despised for so long now hiding her salvation, Tamia stepped inside the small clinic, and
was met by a smiling redhead with pale green eyes and kind, gentle face.
 Dr. Faulker?
 As charged, the redhead quipped.  You must be Tamia. Lucky for you, I was
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planning on an early lunch today, so the office is clear.
 I didn t mean to intrude 
Sherry Faulker laughed, a rich, open sound that put Tamia immediately at ease.
 Don t worry. If I d had plans, I would have scheduled you for later. Now, she glanced
over Tamia speculatively.  How far along are you?
Tamia shrugged helplessly.  I m not sure. I was injured a while back, and Dr.
Matnes told me that my periods would be intermittent because of the damage.
 To the uterus? Faulker looked worried.
 Not according to her.
Relief crossed the doctor s green eyes.  Good. Okay, let s get you into an exam
room where you can undress, and then we ll see if we can t figure out how you re doing.
Dr. Faulker smiled reassuringly, gesturing for Tamia to enter an exam room.
Fifteen minutes later, Sherry Faulker sat back from her ultrasound equipment with
a smile.  Congratulations, Tamia. Not only are you pregnant, but from what I picked up,
it looks like you re about four months along.
Tamia s heart stuttered. Four months! That meant she had to have gotten
pregnant not too long after she got out of the hospital, before she d gone back on the
shots& the shots!
 Dr. Faulker, I ve been getting my birth control shots for the past two months. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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