Alison Roberts - Undressed by the Rebel

‘Maybe I could hold her for a bit, while you open her presents.’

‘OK.’ Max was the one person in the world that Ellie could hand her baby to without a qualm. He took Mouse and positioned her upright against his shoulder and he began rubbing her back gently.

Ellie opened a parcel to find a selection of tiny stretch suits in pink and yellow and the palest green. Another had tiny singlets and hats and one was full of bootees, including a soft yellow pair that looked like ducks. There were toys. Rattles and small, stuffed animals and a brightly coloured play rug. Sleep suits that buttoned up like tiny sleeping bags at the bottom and even a dress that was a smocked white affair with a scattering of exquisite, embroidered flowers and a matching bonnet.

Ellie had to blink back tears yet again as she held it up. ‘It’s gorgeous.’

‘I know it’s probably a bit big but, hey…she’s growing pretty fast.’

‘Max…I don’t know what to say.’

Mouse did. She gave an impressively large burp that made both Ellie and Max laugh and broke the potentially awkward moment.

Except that she had caught his gaze as they laughed and the eye contact held and became something else. Something huge that squeezed Ellie’s heart so hard it was painful. It was Max who looked away first and she hurriedly dropped her own gaze and bit her bottom lip as the silence took on a heavier feel.

Max cleared his throat. ‘I’ve been thinking,’ he said.

‘About?’

‘You.’

Ellie’s heart gave another squeeze and it was a noticeable effort to draw a breath.

‘And Mouse, here.’ Max had tilted his head so that his chin was touching the top of the baby’s head.

‘I know. I really have to decide on a proper name.’ For some reason Ellie was feeling nervous now. What was Max about to say? Give her some last advice before disappearing from their lives? ‘I’m thinking maybe Amelia? Or…or Charlotte?’

He frowned. ‘Definitely not Amelia though I’m sure Jet would approve.’

‘Why?’

‘You know, Amelia Earhart? The famous female pilot?’

‘Oh…’ Jet had been up to visit once in the last few days and Ellie had had the impression he didn’t approve of her at all.

‘I wouldn’t be in a hurry,’ Max said. ‘The longer it takes the better, really.’

‘Why?’

‘Because if you can’t think of the right name, you won’t be able to register the birth and the longer you leave that the better.’

‘Mmm. I’ve been thinking about that myself. I’ll have to use her real surname for that and if Marcus found me because I bought a plane ticket, he might well be able to trace that.’

‘Especially seeing as he had an idea of when the baby’s due.’ Max smiled at Ellie. ‘Good thinking, having her a few weeks early. Gives you a bit of time to play with.’

‘Except that I’ll be registering her birth at about the time she was really due.’

Max nodded but he wasn’t meeting Ellie’s gaze. ‘What if you could legally register her as McAdam?’

‘You mean, change my name by deed poll or something?’

‘No.’ Max turned his head and his gaze locked with hers. ‘I mean I could marry you.’

The world stopped turning for a heartbeat. Ellie had to close her eyes and then open them very slowly just to make sure she hadn’t fallen into some parallel universe.

‘Did…um…did you just say you could marry me?’

‘Yep.’

‘So that Mouse could have your name?’

‘And you. You need a new name, too. It’s not as if I’d be giving away anything I couldn’t still keep myself as well. The perfect gift, if you put it like that.’

‘Apart from ruining your single status.’ Ellie’s breath came out in a huff of laughter. ‘I ‘ve seen the way the nurses around here look at you, Max. There’s more than a few disappointed by your pretend marriage. A real one might take a lot more explaining.’

‘Hey, am I complaining?’ Max flashed her a grin. ‘To tell the truth, I’m quite glad of an opportunity to be unavailable. Could be the making of me, being celibate for a while.’

‘A while? That’s like a piece of string, isn’t it? How long were you thinking?’

Max looked serious again. ‘As long as it takes, just like the string. How long do you think it will take you to settle into motherhood? Find a place you want to be and get your life on track?’

Ellie was silent. The future was huge and blank. The only goal she could focus on was to look after her daughter and keep her safe.

‘Six months?’ Max prompted. ‘A year, maybe?’

Still Ellie said nothing.

‘Think of it like an insurance policy,’ Max suggested. ‘Think about it, anyway. The offer’s there and I don’t offer anything I’m not prepared to follow through.’ He got to his feet and Ellie watched his hands as he shifted Mouse. One hand was under her small bottom and the other cradled her head to protect her neck. He moved her so gently she didn’t stir in her sleep. ‘I have to go,’ Max said quietly. ‘I’ll leave you with the birthday girl but I’ll be back later. We can talk about it when you’ve had a chance to think.’

Left alone, Ellie unwound her legs and climbed very carefully off her bed. She should put Mouse back into her crib to sleep but, instead, she found herself walking slowly around her room.

Thinking hard.

‘You did what?’

The CT scan technician glanced sharply sideways at the two doctors standing in front of the screens that were about to show images of their patient’s head and neck.

‘We’re almost good to go,’ she said nervously. ‘I’ll just check on Stephen.’ She ducked behind the glass screen to where two nurses were preparing a teenaged boy for the scan.

‘I suggested that Ellie married me,’ Max repeated patiently. ‘It’s no big deal.’

‘Are you kidding? It’s a huge deal. Marriage? ’

‘Keep your voice down. I’m supposed to be married to her already, remember? This would just make it legal as far as the paperwork goes. I’m talking name only. Ellie needs a new name. The mouse needs a name. I’m trying to make sure the poor kid doesn’t end up being a “Jones”.’

For once, Rick wasn’t smiling. ‘I suppose you’re planning to put your moniker on the birth certificate, too?’

Max shrugged. ‘I’ve gone this far. What’s the harm in going a bit further?’

Rick whistled silently. ‘The kid is going to grow up thinking that you are her biological father.’

‘Not necessarily. I’m sure Ellie will tell her the truth when she’s old enough to understand. It’s not as though she’ll remember me. I’m talking about a limited time, here. A few months maybe and then we’ll get a quiet divorce. No harm done.’

‘And fifteen years down the track? When a teenager you’ve forgotten about turns up on your doorstep because nobody got round to telling her the truth? What then?’

Max was silent for a moment. He wouldn’t have forgotten about Mouse. No way. Rick cleared his throat as a prompt. ‘I’ll tell her the truth.’

‘Don’t forget to tell your wife and the three kids of your own you’ll probably have by then. Might throw a bit of a dampener on a peaceful evening at home otherwise.’

‘I won’t have a wife and three kids.’ He could sound quite confident about that. Was it because the prospect was distinctly uninviting? An as-yet-unknown woman. Babies. Good grief, he’d been through more than enough in the last week to put him off babies for a very long time. Quite possibly for ever.

‘What if it turns up with an adoptive mother?’ Rick continued relentlessly. ‘Like that Sarah who had your apartment? And they’re there because you’re the last hope to save the kid who desperately needs a bone marrow-transplant or a kidney or a bit of liver? How are you going to feel then? I’ll tell you, mate. You’ll feel like crap. Like you made a very big mistake a very long time ago.’