"Dr Fletcher, there's someone here to see you," one of the nurses on the ward said as she popped her head around the door. Looking up from the file in front of me, I frown. "He said that he knows you. He said his name is Henrik."

It takes a second to compute the nurse's words but as soon as I realise who the man is, I leap up from my chair and rush down the hallway, greeting the man with a tight smile. The last time I saw Henrik, it was the morning after I had diagnosed his daughter with an incurable disease. Marina was so young and didn't have much time before she succumbed to her illness, something that made her parents decide to want to spend as much time with her as possible. They had refused to prolong treatment, discharging her a few days later and taking her home. Since then, we hadn't heard from them. 

"Henrik," I say, capturing his attention. Spinning to face me, I see the despair written on his features, the look of a man who had lost faith. He had aged, his dark hair thinning and greying, and his weight had dropped considerably, becoming a shadow of the man he used to be.  Still, I looked past that and kept my professional mask firmly in place. "What can I do for you?"

"I need you to treat Marina," Henrik announced, his words coming out fast, frantic. Pulling a stack of paperwork from the bag that hung at his side, he thrust them into my hands and started to rush his words out again. "There this experimental treatment in America for a similar condition that Marina has. I've researched it and I think it'll work but we can't afford to take her to California. Jules and I gave up our jobs so we could have more time... we want more time, Dr Fletcher. Please help us make that happen. Please."

As much as I wanted to make Henrik's dream a reality, there was absolutely nothing we could do for Marina. Krabbe Disease has no cure and the prognosis is poor in babies and young people; despite experimental treatments, there was nothing I or any other doctor on the planet could do. A quick flick through the research that Henrik had painstakingly printed told me all I needed to know- Henrik is clutching at straws, wanting beyond reasoning to cure his daughter. 

Placing the paperwork on the nurse's counter, I try to find suitable words to give to Henrik that, while they needed to be realistic, should also be reassuring. "How is Marina?" I ask before adding, "What does Julie say about all this?"

"Jules is against the idea," Henrik sighs, rubbing his weary eye before dragging his fingers down over the stubble that covered his cheeks. "She thinks that I'm prolonging the pain and that I should let it go, make the most of the time we have. What if this was your daughter, Dr Flethcer? What would you do? Would you go to the ends of the world to save her? I would. I'm risking my marriage for this because I love my little girl and even if we had all the time in the world, it still wouldn't be enough. Take a look at the research, please. I'll come back tomorrow. Please."

Henrik promptly spun on his heels and marched to the lift, waiting impatiently until the doors opened. When he stepped inside, his eyes were trained on the floor, only looking up at the last moment. I wish I had turned away. I'll never forget that look of loss. 

Taking the research, I hid in the staff room, spreading the papers across the table and starting to filter through the complex information that I was presented with. Highlighting the most important items, on a separate sheet of paper, I scribble down some notes, frowning all the while. Everything written in the research was compelling; I was almost convinced that this radical treatment could work. Shaking my head, I had to keep telling myself that this wasn't a cure. It wasn't even for Krabbe Disease. The condition that they were treating was similar but totally different. 

Whatever my opinion on the matter, there was one thing that I couldn't ignore. Unless Julie was on board with Henrik's plan to treat Marina, regardless of success, no doctor would touch this case. It was an ethical conundrum and a legal case waiting to happen. 

Picking up the phone, I dial my boss' office number, waiting for the call to be answered. "Bob?" I speak into the phone. "I think we have a situation brewing down here. Can you come down so we can discuss it? I'll grab Lewis, too, seeing as he was part of the team that diagnosed the patient."

"I'll be down now, son," Bob replied before hanging up on me. 

Running around the ward, I finally find Lewis hiding in one of the storerooms with the newest nurse to come on board our team. Parting sheepishly, the nurse grabs some gauzes and runs from the room, a deep, crimson blush on her cheeks. Lewis, meanwhile, had a cocky grin on his face, one of those shit-eating ones that I used to wear whenever I'd just...

"God, you're exactly like me when I was your age," I grumble, shaking my head at his behaviour. I knew it was hypocritical but I couldn't help it. Snapping my fingers, I nod my head over my shoulder. "Come on, we need to work on something. Bob is on his way down."

Lewis laughed as he followed me back to the staff room, telling me all about how he and Ashley- the nurse- had been hooking up for a while, almost since her first shift here. The way he spoke told me that he wasn't serious about their relationship which was certain to end badly. 

"So, what are we supposed to be looking at?" Lewis asked, walking ahead of me to enter the room first. When he saw the papers, he scoffed and turned for the door again. "Nope, not today."

His exit was blocked by Bob who had just turned up and fixed his eyes on the same paper covered table. "Oh, my. Isaac, son, you shouldn't have gotten me such an extravagant Christmas present!" Bob exclaimed, albeit slightly sarcastically. Pushing past Lewis, he walks in and picks up some of the random sheets of information, scanning it before picking up another, and another, and another. "Galactosylceramidase. Hold on a second. Is this that patient we had over the summer? Marina... oh, I forget her last name. Am I right?"

"When are you ever wrong?" Lewis says, obviously trying to worm his way into Bob's good books. From the withering look Bob serves Lewis, his plan wasn't working. "So, what exactly are we looking at?"

Explaining the situation, Lewis was the first to make his opinion known. He was supportive of any treatment, although he was coming at it from a purely selfish point of view. Lewis simply wanted the glory and notoriety of working on something groundbreaking, despite the fact that this treatment plan would be a disaster waiting to happen. 

I, meanwhile, was against it. What was the point in trying this highly experimental treatment, knowing that it was never going to work? If we went down this route, we would only be making a very sick little girl even sicker. Henrik had asked me what I would do in his position and while the parent in me would want to fight tooth and nail to have more time, the doctor in me knows that a life like that wasn't a life at all. 

"We'll be famous," Lewis countered after he'd heard my views on the matter. "Bob, agree with me, for Christ sake."

Our boss sighed. "What a mess," Bob declared, pushing his glasses to the top of his head and closing his eyes. "I can sympathise with the parents, truly. They're desperate and they want their daughter to live. We all have hope, it's only human nature. That said, some situations are hopeless, no matter what we do. The research is compelling but it's no use to us. Krabbe Disease is incurable. We cannot treat something that cannot be treated. I'm sorry, Lewis, but not this time."

"But-"

Bob held up a hand to cut off the younger doctor. "No, Lewis. My decision is final. I will accept any repercussions from the father but we are doctors. We have the best interest of our patients at heart and what is in this little girl's best interest is to have a painless death. It's heartbreaking and we all feel these cases. We want what's best." Bob cast his eyes on both Lewis and me, his decision final. He suddenly smiled and turned to me. "You know the nurses are gossiping about you, don't you, son?"

"They are?" I ask, an eyebrow arching with curiosity. "What are they saying?"

Lewis laughed. "You really haven't heard? You are well and truly off the market, according to the ladies. When's the wedding?"

Turning away from them, I shrug my shoulder. "I haven't proposed yet."

I wanted to ask how the nurses knew of the imminent engagement but I didn't want to get involved with workplace gossip- at least, not if I was the person being gossiped about. I'm sure during tomorrow's shift, when Lewis and his nurse friend aren't here, that plenty will be said about their frequent trips to a storeroom. That was the type of gossip I could get on board with, as bad as that sounds. 

"You could always get down on one knee while cooking a roast chicken," Lewis suggested. "It worked for Prince Harry. Just saying."

Bob shook his head. "No, you want something more romantic than that. Christmas Day, maybe."

Smirking, I announce that I already have something up my sleeve but refuse to tell them what it was. The only person who was in on the plan was Sera and that's only because she's too young to understand and also because she was the only one home with me while I made several calls and finalised the smaller details. She'd never rat me out. 

"Well, however you'll propose, I'm sure it'll be perfect," Bob announced. Slapping his legs with his hands, he does that very British thing of saying, "Right!" out loud and then moving towards the door. "Isaac, your shift has ended. Now, off you go. I heard that your family is in town. I'm sure you want to spend time with them."

Groaning, I plead with Bob to let me stay. "I'll even write up the report that explains to Henrik why we won't be proceeding with any medical interventions!"

"No, Lewis can do that as punishment for hiding in the storeroom with Nurse Ashley," Bob smirked. "Tell your mother and father that I say 'hello.'"

With that said, Bob leaves. I hang around for fifteen minutes, wasting more and more time so that I wouldn't have to go home and see my parents and my sisters. From the random text messages I've received from both Martha and Lottie, they seem to be getting along well enough. Then again, they weren't the ones who argued with them and practically banished them from their lives; my seeing them again probably won't end well. 

Packing up my things, I pull out my phone and send Lottie a quick test. Leaving work now. Is everything ok?

Immediately, her reply came through. Everything is fine. Everyone is asking where you are. Will you be long?

Leaving work now, I reply. I'm going to stop off somewhere to buy wine. Lots and lots of wine. See you soon, Lottie. I love you.

I smiled when her last message comes through, an echo of those three little words. Bracing myself, I head out the door and slowly make my way home, bracing myself for what I was about to walk in on. 

Probably not the update you were expecting but hey-ho. 

Fletcher Family Reunion on Sunday! That'll be fun. I'm totally expecting Dita and Alice to shower Sera with lots of love and attention. 

Still have no idea what to do for a proposal- all I know is that it won't involve roast chicken and it most definitely won't be on Christmas Day, New Year's Eve or New Year's Day. Hell, we may not even experience it in Baby on Board!

Joke! Of course it'll happen in this story!

See you on Sunday, peeps.