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‘Thank you,’ Adam said, hugging him again. ‘Things are so awful, Rob. I’m barely hanging on here.’

‘Let’s sit down. I want to say hello to Sarah.’ Rob swallowed hard as he looked down on Sarah’s motionless body. He put his hand on her head and leaned down to kiss her cheek. ‘Hey, Sarah,’ he said softly. ‘I’m sorry I didn’t get here sooner. You really need to wake up so we can dish the dirt on this guy.’ He looked around at them. ‘Has there been any further news?’

‘They’re saying it’s not good,’ Adam told him. ‘Did you make any headway on finding a neurologist in Toronto?’

Rob nodded. ‘Yes, there’s a friend of a friend who’s at the Scarborough. He said he’d look over all the medical notes and let me know.’

‘Great, great,’ Adam said, stroking Sarah’s arm.

‘Adam,’ Rob said, ‘what did they say to you?’

Adam shrugged. ‘I’m not sure if they’re on the ball here. I really want another opinion.’

Rob looked at Mia. ‘What was the news?’

Mia looked down. ‘Em … we had a meeting this morning. The team said that Sarah has no brain-stem activity. They said she won’t wake up. The life support is keeping her alive. They told us she’s … uhm … that she’s gone.’

Rob stared at her. ‘Jesus, Adam, I’m so sorry. Can the baby survive?’

Mia looked at Adam. ‘We just got a second opinion, and it corroborated the team’s conclusion. The baby is still alive, but without the support system of Sarah’s body …’

‘Forget that,’ Adam said sharply. ‘Ben is alive in there. We’re going to focus on that and get him all the help he needs to make it through. They can deliver him early and then we’ll care for him.’

Rob looked at his brother, then back at Mia. She could tell that he understood what was happening. ‘OK,’ Rob said. ‘Well, I guess we cling to the positive for now. Right?’

‘Exactly. Keep hassling for that opinion,’ Adam said. ‘We might just get the right answer from your guy.’

‘I’ll do that,’ Rob said.

‘I’m so glad you’re here,’ Adam said. ‘Now that you’re with me, I feel better. I can’t thank you enough.’

‘I wouldn’t be anywhere else,’ Rob said. ‘I’m mad about Sarah, you know that. And Ellen really wanted to come, but she couldn’t get the time off work.’

‘No, that’s fine,’ Adam said. ‘If we do end up movingSarah to Canada for treatment, Ellen will be able to help sort it from that end, so it’s actually perfect.’

Rob took a deep breath, and Mia could see that he was really struggling to control his emotions. Adam was so hyper and distracted, he was like a different man. The whole thing must be so shocking for Rob – to find Sarah like this, and Adam half crazed with grief. It was all horribly surreal.

The door opened and Angela came in. ‘More interruptions,’ she said brightly. ‘Only me. I just need to do the monitor.’

‘Do you want us to leave?’ Mia asked.

‘I’d really like them to stay,’ Adam said quickly.

Angela looked uncertain but she said, ‘OK, no problem. It only takes a moment.’

‘What’s that?’ Charlie said.

‘It’s a Doppler foetal monitor,’ Angela said, as she raised Sarah’s pyjama top. She placed the device against Sarah’s belly and moved it around. There was a sound like radio static, then suddenly the room filled with the pulsing throb of a heartbeat. It was steady and strong.Du-dum, du-dum, du-dum.

‘See,’ Adam said, grinning at them. ‘There he is. That’s my Ben.’

Mia’s heart broke. Oh, Sarah, she thought, your little baby.

‘Wow,’ Rob said, listening in wonder. ‘He’s like a little galloping horse.’

Adam laughed. ‘Yeah, that’s it. He’s a fighter, I can tell. Isn’t that the most beautiful sound in the world?’

It filled the room, pulsating through each of them. It was the sound of life.