Zoe shot a wry look his way. ‘It’s usually a bit harder for mum than dad at this point.’
‘God, yes, no, I mean I just don’t know what to do for her, and I’m scared to death of messing up when she needs me most. Even the call handler sounded as if she thought I was making a mountain out of a molehill, but if I hadn’t called them and something goes wrong…’
‘She wouldn’t think that. It’s her job to listen and work it out, and if you have concerns, then she might sound unbothered, but that doesn’t mean they’re not taking it seriously.’
‘But do you think Ottilie will be all right? Is it normal for her to feel so ill?’
‘Hard to say until I see her.’ Zoe gave her most reassuring smile. ‘Whatever’s going on, I’m here, and I’ll get to the bottom of it.’
‘Thank God for that. I’ve never been so glad to have you as a neighbour.’
As soon as Zoe stepped into the bedroom, her instincts were on high alert. Ottilie’s breathing was shallow, and her skin was almost grey as she leaned on the back of a chair. Less than twenty minutes ago, she’d sounded well enough on the phone, but something had changed, and it wasn’t good. She barely looked up as Zoe came in and spoke.
‘How are you doing?’
‘I don’t feel so good, to be honest. Came on suddenly. Not sure if I ought to be worried…’
Her speech was stalled and laboured, as if it had taken a great deal of effort to string anything coherent together.
‘No,’ Zoe lied. ‘I don’t think you should be worried. Nobody finds labour a picnic.’
‘Oh, that’s all right then. For a minute there, I wondered if it was all going wrong.’
Zoe opened her bag and got out a blood pressure monitor. ‘Tell me what’s going on. In what way don’t you feel good?’
‘Don’t know…dizzy…a bit weak, kind of sick…hard to say.’
‘What about your contractions?’
‘I’ve lost track… sorry.’
‘Don’t worry about it.’ Zoe frowned as she read the blood pressure monitor. ‘It’s not that weird to be a bit dizzy and sick during labour. I’m not altogether happy about your blood pressure though.’
‘I thought you might say that. Pre-eclampsia?’
‘Hmm, this is the trouble dealing with someone who knows a little medicine…’
‘Oi!’ Ottilie said weakly. ‘A little? What are you trying to say?’
‘It’s not that high.’
‘Yet.’
‘Don’t will it to get worse!’ Zoe said, trying to keep things light though she was gripped by an urgency she recognised well. She’d attended her share of births that hadn’t gone to plan, and she knew how to deal with them, but having one of her best friends in that situation was hardly her idea of fun. ‘I need you to lie down for a minute.’
‘Deflection…’ Ottilie gave a short nod. ‘I see. God, it hurts…’
‘A contraction?’
‘Yes…no…I can’t tell what’s contractions and what’s just general pain.’
‘Come on…’ Zoe led her to the bed and helped her onto it. ‘Sorry…’ she continued, ‘this isn’t going to be big on dignity, but I need to examine you.’
‘Examine what you like. At this point, I don’t even know what dignity means.’
Zoe sucked in a breath as she checked Ottilie’s progress. ‘OK…’ she said slowly. ‘You’re further on than I would have liked.’
‘You say it like it’s a bad thing.’
