I take her arm and lead her to the door. Lottie reappears with one of Pen’s pregnancy skirts and a clean set of underwear.
“Thought you might like to change before we go,” she says breathlessly.
“Lottie, I love you,” Pen says, grabbing Lottie and pulling her in for a hug. “What would I do without you?”
“You’d have to deal with Dad all by yourself.” She grins and shrugs. “Dad, stop standing there and help the mother of your child, my baby… oops, nearly. Get out of her wet trousers and into something more comfortable. Uncle Caleb has brought the car around and is waiting for you. He’s put the bags in the boot.”
I jump into action, my head spinning. This is so different from Lottie’s birth. Darra had been induced. It had been calm until the contractions had really hit, but we had already been at the hospital.
Lottie and I help Pen into her skirt.
“I love you, Penelope Dawson,” I say, leading her into the hallway and down the stairs, my arm wrapped around her ever-expanding waistline.
Pen breathes deeply.
“Back at you, big man. Let’s do this,” she says, her eyes shining. “I think you were right about the contractions, Lottie,” Pen says, her white knuckles gripping the banister.
Lottie grabs her phone.
“Tell me when the next one hits.”
We make it halfway down the stairs when Pen bends double.
I curse under my breath.
“Okay, let’s go with the next one,” Lottie says, her eyes meeting mine.
We continue making our way slowly down the stairs and across the hall when Pen is hit with another contraction.
“Er, Dad, that was barely three minutes. I think we need to speed this whole process up, or I’m not sure you’re going to make it to the hospital.”
Mum appears next to me.
“I’ll call an ambulance.”
I scoop Pen up into my arms.
“No need, Caleb is waiting. We’ve got this.”
Mum rushes forward and opens the front door. Taking Pen’s hand in hers, she smiles.
“Hey, Franny, sorry to ruin the party, but I think your grandchild wants to be a part of it.”
“Same as its father. Elijah made an impromptu appearance, so it definitely runs in the family. Now get yourself to hospital, labour is enough drama for one day. A home birth… I think we can live without.”
Her arm snakes around Lottie’s shoulder.
“We’ll follow later.”
I make my way through the front door, Pen still in my arms. Caleb hops out and opens the back door.
“Your chariot awaits,” he says, making Pen chuckle.
“Thank you, kind sir, but can we get a shift on?”
“At your service.”
The rest of the family has followed us out of the house.
