There seemed to be progress; at least that's what everybody had hoped. Jac had been by her daughter's side when she needed her mother most. Jonny had watched on with pride as Naylor had kept a bedside vigil over their daughter after her major surgery. The surgeon had looked on with a pretence look of disgust as Maconie had sung words of love to the sedated child.

So when Jonathon had left Jac and Emma alone for a mere half an hour whilst he got a much needed and refreshing shower he was knocked for six to find his ex-partner had made a quick exit. The chair which she had filled laid empty and their daughter all alone.

'Hey, did Jac say where she was going?' enquired the Scotsman to a lone nurse

'No, sorry' was her reply before carrying on checking the young child's stats.

Jonny ran his hand through his dark curly hair in despair. He stepped towards the open cot where Emma lay and held her hand softly. The baby had undergone major surgery just days ago, but she looked better than her father could ever remember in her short life.

'Where's your mummy then, hey?' he whispered, noting her surgery incisions were looking visibly better

'Ah Jonny!' greeted Mr Soli, clattering through the NICU doors 'I have good news for you. You're beautiful baby will be taken off sedation and ventilation in a short while'

'Really? Is she ready?'

'We won't know until we try. Her stats are encouraging' he explained 'It's good news Jonny, don't look so worried!' the neonatal consultant laughed, placing a hand on Maconie's shoulder. Jonny responded with a beaming smile.

'I have to find Jac!' he replied before running out of the unit and down the corridor.

Her attempt at hiding from Jonny had come to nothing. An hour after leaving he caught up with the red head exiting theatre. The Scotsman was now dressed in his blue Nurse's uniform, ready to start another day at work, another day away from his baby daughter.

'So you opted to do a decortation rather than be with Emma?' he asked angrily, following Jac down the corridor.

'Our baby is in the NICU with three monitors and five full time staff. What am I supposed to do?' she stated, trying to make Jonny look irrational. 'I'm being paid £110,000 a year to do my job, not sit around uselessly at her side!'

'Jac! I have no choice; I have to be at work. But you- you could be at her side, talking to her. Or even be at home getting her room ready!'

'I've been with her!' she stated getting frustrated 'We've bonded, okay? It was awesome! And we'll bond again some more later'

'As much as you hate to admit it, your life has changed now-both our lives have changed. We're parents. Stop acting like nothing in your life has changed!'

'Well it has' replied the Consultant bluntly, pivoting on her heel.

'How exactly?'

'I'm online shopping on sites I've never used before' she insisted before turning and signalling to two delivery men to enter her office. Jonny looked on confused before charging after her. Around the corner in the Darwin Naylor stood signing a clipboard as she ushered the men out. Jonny slammed the door after them and sat on the sofa, staring at the abundance of boxes surrounding the pair of them.

After a stunned silence from the nurse he blurted out his anger 'So you just went and bought...everything?'

'Days of the week bibs, steriliser, car seat and a baby monitor so sensitive I'll be able to hear her hair grow' she announced, looking rather pleased with herself.

'And you didn't think-it just never occurred to you that this might be something nice for us to do together?' Jonny had spent months imagining the moments he would spend getting his daughter's belongings ready, and all that had been snatched away by Naylor.

'I thought you wanted me to bond?' Jac retorted

'I do but she's my daughter as well! Surely it would have nice for us to buy her things together, as her parents!'

'I bought you a present' she grinned pulling out a baby carrier and throwing it at the curly haired male 'In bland, to match your girlfriend'

'Rude'

'Given her progress and ability to breathe alone' Whispered Solis 'I think now would be a good time for you to hold your daughter'

'Really?!' exclaimed Jonny exciting Jonny. Jac stood beside him with the opposite facial reaction

'Yes' smiled the baby's consultant 'So if you sit down Jac I'll pass her to you' he instructed, gently lifting the baby out of her cot

'You go first, Jonny' she grunted

'No, she's your wee girl. You gave birth to her Jac. You hold her first' he offered, resisting the temptation to cradle the girl as soon as he could. The fierce woman sprinted out of the room, unable to take the pressure anymore.

'Sorry. She's-she's not taking this too well'

'The only thing that matters here is your daughter' replied to older male, gently passing the baby over to her father who sat in the chair.

As the small infant was placed in her father's arms for the first time, Jonny instantly realised what love really was. The warmth against his chest made his heart flutter with excitement. She wriggled, nestling into her dad more, and stretching her arms out.

'She's so tiny' he muttered as she let out a little murmur 'Hello-hello. Yes- isn't this fun' trying to comfort the child. Stood next to him, Mr Solis looked on happily; yet another potential happy ending. Inside his head his brain whirled tirelessly to concoct a plan to get Jac to bond with her daughter.

'Why don't you bring that nice girlfriend of yours to see her? What's her name? Bonnie?' proposed Jeremy, putting his plan into action.

'Yeah Bonnie, she'd love that'

An hour later and that's exactly what the proud dad did. Instinctively Wallis placed herself in the chair whilst Jonny stood besides her cooing over Emma. 'She's so beautiful Jonny. Even more so without all the wires'

'Isn't she just? She's so light Bonnie. I've had guinea pigs bigger than her'

'Why don't you have a hold, Bonnie?' asked Mr Solis, lifting the baby again without waiting for a response and passing her gently over. Somehow he knew that any moment, after a cooling down period, Jac would barge through those doors and see what she was missing.

And she did. Just as Bonnie got comfortable holding Emma, the Consultant slammed through the doors ready to finally hold her daughter. Instead she was hit by the sight of Wallis cradling her. Oblivious to the problems she was causing the Nurse spoke to Jac calmingly 'Oh Jac, she's so beautiful'

'Do you wanna hold her?' asked Jonny, as if he had to give Jac permission to hold their baby.

'I think that's enough, don't want to tire Emma out' interrupted Solis, taking the baby back. He knew you had to be cruel to be kind. Jac stood to the side, the fury building inside her, as the other two left and then she followed Mr Solis out, he knew what was coming next; and rightly so.

'How dare you let her hold my baby before I've had chance to-' she growled as she was interrupted

'I offered, you didn't want to' was his blunt reply

'I wasn't...'

'Ready? Yep. Jonny was. Bonnie was. Most important of all Emma certainly was'

'I'm her mother'

'Who chose to be the busy Consultant rather than hold her own baby'

'Has it ever occurred to you that I might find the first time... difficult'

'Difficult? Yeah. It's not my concern. What goes on inside your head, it's not my remit. I can't make any difference. I have to put Emma first. I have been in neonatal ITU for sixteen years. It's the most singly depressing and uplifting unit in any hospital. Do you know how many babies I've watched die?'

'What's this? Mine's bigger than yours?'

'One thousand three hundred and thirty four'

'You count' the significance of such a number hit the surgeon like a train. Right then and there she realised her daughter hadn't added to that number. What was she playing at?

'I count every single one. In here we measure lives in minutes. Every single one of those mothers would rip her own heart out for a chance to hold her baby' the male knew Ms Naylor would understand his words, for she too was a surgeon; a highly skilled one. He knew that although she didn't show it, every patient she lost spurred her on to be a better surgeon.

It was obvious to everybody who cared about her that she was struggling. Who could blame her? Their daughter had been diagnosed with a Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia at twenty weeks pregnant. She had subsequently been delivered by an emergency caesarean and her mother, the most talented surgeon in the building, couldn't do a thing to help her.

Naylor didn't have many worries in her life, but her biggest worry was that she would follow her mother's footsteps and fail Emma. Quietly she edged herself into NICU and stood beside her daughter's cot; the baby resting. After several minute Mr Solis broke the silence and looked up from his paperwork. 'You can talk to her, you know?'

'Yeah. She's gonna hang on my every word' the sarcasm mechanism kicking in.

'She knows your voice better than anyone. She's heard it every day.' He reiterated for what felt like the hundredth time 'Don't you think that might be comforting now?'

He was right, and the surgeon knew it. Clearing her throat Jac spoke briskly 'Hello. Hello Emma I'm your' before stopping, unable to admit she was a mother 'I wanna hold her' she insisted, taking the plunge.

'Sorry?' he questioned, aware his plan had worked.

'I wanna hold her' she repeated

'Now's not a good time. She's just come off an O2 top up and a small feed. If you come back in, I dunno, err-' Jeremy continued to be hard on the mother, making her even more aware just how desperately she wanted to hold her daughter. He knew Naylor wasn't used to be declined anything.

'No, I want to hold her now'

'I'm so sorry Jac. In terms of her care cycle this wouldn't be an appropriate time' Lying through his teeth, Solis pushed it as far as he could.

'Let me hold my baby' progress, at last; notable progress.

At the sight of Jac cradling their newborn daughter made Jonny go weak at the knees. Mr Solis had paged him discretely, knowing he wouldn't want to miss the moment Jac held their baby for the first time. In her mind, Jac was still unsure about the move but she felt ready to make such a big move. Solis backed away after placing the child in her mother's arm, leaving them to enjoy the moment together.

The smile that crept across Naylor's face was completely natural, one of pure happiness.

'You were right, she's so tiny' whispered Jac to Jonny who was crouched on the floor besides them. 'And so light' At the sound of her mother's voice Emma wriggled her arms around, stretching her legs out and snuggling into her mum's warmth. Like most new parents, Jac took a deep inhale of her daughter's smell.

'Now, what d'ya think she smells of?' asked Jonny beaming before the pair replied in unison 'Toast.' Trying not to disturb the baby he stood up gently and took out his phone, standing in front of the pair. 'Smile Jac' he instructed, taking Jac's first photo of a mother, their daughter a natural in front of the camera.