Nadia found the correct key and went to unlock the door. She was single, but Hudson wasn’t, and lately the energy between them had contained a spark of something she wouldn’t want to admit to. At least not to anyone but herself. She’d never be the one to destroy a relationship, especially when there were children involved. She’d been on the receiving end and would never be that person. But what made it tough was how Hudson seemed to act around her, as if he too wanted more, more than he could have and more than she could ever give.
When Nadia opened up the front door to the airbase headquarters, their conversation stalled completely.
They both stared down at the cardboard box.
‘Did it…?’ Hudson began.
‘It did… it moved.’
‘I don’t think it’s filled with Post-its.’
Hudson crouched down and pulled back the unsealed flaps as Nadia knelt down beside him, her blonde bobbed hair blowing across her face in the spring winds until she hooked it behind her ears.
Neither of them could immediately find the words to convey what they were looking at.
This morning, Nadia had woken from a dream and promptly decided it had been a nightmare. It had left her distressed, spent. Because in the dream, she’d been given the one thing she’d always wanted, but then it had been cruelly severed away from her when she’d woken up. It had felt so real, to have that gift, that one thing.
And now here it was again. Right in front of her.
But this was no dream. This was reality.
There was a baby in a cardboard box, swaddled in a blanket and abandoned, left here at the door to the airbase.
2
‘What have you got over there?’ Maya came into reception where Nadia and Hudson were still frozen in place at the front door.
When Maya stepped closer, the piece of cake she had in a serviette didn’t make it any closer to her mouth. ‘Is that…’
Hudson scooped the baby up into his arms. Nadia couldn’t take her eyes off the little one, who looked remarkably content despite being left outside in a box.
‘A baby,’ breathed Nadia as she held out her arms to take the infant from Hudson.
Maya gently pulled the edge of the soft blanket so she could see the baby’s face properly. ‘Don’t tell me this precious thing was in the box.’
‘Left here, yes. She was abandoned.’ At least she presumed it was a girl given the pink blanket and the same-coloured Babygro her little body was dressed in.
‘How could anyone do that?’ Maya said softly.
By this time, paramedic Bess had come through to see what was going on. ‘My goodness, did someone leave this little one here?’
‘In the cardboard box.’ It pained Nadia to repeat it, it was so cruel an action.
Bess went over to look inside the box and pulled out a piece of paper. She unfolded it and showed it to the others. ‘Her name is Lena.’ The four letters were written clearly, carefully.
Nadia looked down at the little girl again. ‘Hello, Lena.’ Somehow it made it better that the baby had a name. ‘How about I check you over quickly, make sure you’re okay?’
Hudson headed over to the reception desk. ‘I’ll call for a road ambulance.’
Nadia’s job with The Skylarks was predominantly an admin role but one which entailed a lot of medical knowledge and experience, both of which she’d gained working as a nurse prior to coming to Whistlestop River. She was more than qualified to assess Lena and ensure the infant was stable to transport and so she headed to the office where she laid the baby on the top of the table so she could check her over before the ambulance arrived. She wanted to be sure they weren’t dealing with a baby with immediate health concerns and this became more than simply transporting an abandoned infant.
When Lena began to grizzle, Nadia lifted her into her arms again. ‘You’re doing just fine, aren’t you, little one?’ She held her warm body against her. The bright lights probably hadn’t helped to settle Lena; the undressing had probably made her aware that something wasn’t quite right. It might be spring but the weather in late May still allowed a chill to snake its way through the airbase in the late afternoon.
Hudson met her on her way back to reception. ‘The wait for a road ambulance is too long. I’ve called the hospital and notified them of the situation, let them know we’ll be on our way soon. Bess and Noah are still here and are happy to do overtime but the rapid response vehicle is out. So Vik will take Hilda.’
Vik headed for the internal door to the hangar. ‘Flight conditions are good; Maya and I went through them at handover.’ He looked at Lena. ‘We don’t want to take any chances with an infant this young. I’ll start Hilda up, see you out there.’
Bess held out her arms. ‘Let me take the baby to the aircraft.’
