‘Cool.’ Deflated, he added, ‘But I can’t go as we’re supposed to be at the airbase.’
‘You’re right, we are supposed to be there. But… do me a favour?’ He put his arms out to take Carys. ‘I’m going to put Carys to bed and while I do that, could you go out to the garage, find the tent, open it up in the back garden and we’ll check it. I’m pretty sure it’s ready to go but it’s always good to be sure.’
Confusion gave way to a smile. ‘You mean…’
‘Yeah. You can barbecue another time; your grandparents won’t mind. They’ll get Carys all to themselves, and you and me? We’re going camping. I’ll call your grandparents, see if they mind taking Carys and we can leave early evening.’
He hadn’t seen Beau smile quite so much or move quite so fast since he’d been asking Brad all about the air ambulance.
And the feeling Hudson had right now was priceless.
22
Having not seen her sister for two decades, Nadia always thought that if the time came, she’d be hesitant; it would be a case of forcing herself to put one foot in front of the other to go to see her wherever she was.
She’d never thought she’d rush to her side quite the way she’d done just now.
Monica’s wave of pain allowed her to open her eyes momentarily and realise that her sister was here at her side after all this time. ‘Nadia?’
‘Yes. It’s me.’ She held back her tears. ‘Archie will be here soon.’
‘Giles…’ Monica didn’t get long to speak – contractions were coming thick and fast with no break in between.
‘He’s safe. With a childminder. And help is on its way; please don’t panic.’ There was, however, still no sign of the emergency services.
The next-door neighbour had seen Monica outside, doubled over in pain, and come to her rescue and taken her inside her own house while they waited for Archie, Nadia and Giles. The neighbour had called the emergency services and then calledArchie’s phone and spoken to Nadia. Nadia had had to keep her voice neutral, not give too much away with Giles sitting in the car. The neighbour had offered to go a few doors down to where a registered childminder lived and ask her to look after Giles when the trio arrived and Nadia had agreed, sure that Archie would want the same. And so when they pulled up, Giles had only had to hear that there were a group of kids baking muffins at a house nearby, and that he could join in, to race off happily with his dad.
Archie rushed inside the house, having dropped his son with the childminder, and came straight to his wife’s side. The anguish, the emotion, it was all so much to deal with all round.
And Nadia was starting to panic. Crouched down next to her sister, with no sign of an ambulance or extra help, this was down to her. Archie was the emotional support but she now had to make sure that everything was okay medically until they got Monica the proper attention she needed.
She felt her sister’s pulse. It was racing, possibly more than it should be. On instinct, or maybe to be cautious, she needed to do an exam. Right now, she had to forget that this was her sister. She had to remember her nursing training. She hadn’t trained as a midwife but she’d learned, seen and heard enough to know the basics of what to do.
‘Monica, I’m going to try to examine you, okay?’
A groan, a loud one that took away her words.
She was about to palpate Monica’s abdomen, assess the position of the baby when the familiar sound of a helicopter’s rotor blades had the owner of the house running outside and calling back that an air ambulance had arrived. She’d make sure the paramedics found the house easily. Luckily, the street had tennis courts at the end and Nadia suspected the crew would be landing there. She had imagined a road ambulance would comebut sometimes those were in short supply and with the rural location, a helicopter was probably the best bet.
By feeling Monica’s abdomen, Nadia was pretty sure the baby was posterior – there seemed to be a lot of movement in the belly, indicating the arms and legs might well be facing out with the baby’s spine resting against Monica’s. A posterior birth could mean a longer labour, there was a threat of postpartum haemorrhage; it could be a slow and difficult birth as it was harder for the baby to get through the pelvis.
‘Is everything all right?’ Archie asked.
She nodded. She didn’t want either of them to panic, but she briefed the crew at the door. Bess, bless her heart, was surprised to see her but went straight into work mode.
‘I suspect the baby is posterior,’ Nadia said but not quietly enough.
‘What does that mean?’ Archie had latched on to the word immediately.
She briefly explained it to him while Bess saw to Monica and gave her an internal examination as well as all the other checks they needed to do. There was no time to waste. She was on the scoop and out of the door almost before Nadia had really had time to reassure Archie that his wife was in good hands.
Giles had refused to be left at the childminder’s when Archie briefly went to the house to ask whether he could stay there a while longer. The little boy understandably wanted his dad and he even left the muffin-making behind.
Archie hadn’t argued with his son; there was no time. They needed to get going on the thirty-minute trip by road to the hospital.
‘Where are we going?’ Giles asked.
‘The hospital.’ Archie spoke with a flatness in his voice to mask his panic, his dread, for the sake of his son and to keep this little boy’s world stable at least for now. ‘We’re going to see your mummy.’
