Rory’s phone vibrated in his pocket as he walked out of the meeting. ‘Clauds?’ he said, surprised to see her name flash up on his iPhone.
‘Rory! I’m so glad you answered!’ she said, her voice sounding strangely high-pitched.
‘To what do I owe this pleasure?’
‘Without wishing to alarm you, I’m in a taxi with Lucy and we’re on the way to the hospital. Her waters broke while we were out shopping and she appears to be having contractions!’
‘Oh my god! Is she there? Can you put her on?’ His heart rate had skyrocketed at this announcement. ‘Luce? Are you all right?’
‘Hi Rory,’ she said. ‘I’m okay, don’t worry but I’m afraid the baby might be coming rather early.’
‘Have you spoken to the midwife?’
‘Yes I’ve just called the hospital. They think I am in labour. It should be okay, the baby should be fine. Will you come as soon as you can?’
‘I’ll jump in a cab right now. See you there, oh and keep your phone on you,’ he said as he hung up the phone. He flagged the very next black cab he saw and instructed the driver to head straight to the hospital. Unfortunately, just as the driver rounded the corner, they entered an enormous tailback. There had clearly been an accident up ahead. After several minutes they were still sitting stationary as the lights ahead turned from green to orange and back to red without a single car moving. Rory began to tap the keys on his phone to try and find a travel alert. It seemed that the whole area was totally gridlocked. He scanned the map on his screen but there were no tubes or trains nearby. He tried to figure out his best bet. Should he stay in the car or get out and run? He felt sick with nervous anticipation as he willed the traffic to clear. It was an infuriatingly slow process. His knuckles were white as he drummed his fingers on the seat next to him. He wanted to shout in frustration. Finally, after what seemed like hours, the traffic began to get moving. Slowly but surely, they crawled past the accident. Two cars had collided with each other at a set of lights. Unsurprisingly as soon as they passed the incident the roads began to clear. Rory asked the driver to step on it as he picked up his phone to call Claudia and give her an update as to his whereabouts.
When he finally arrived at the hospital, Rory raced through the corridors, asking the first nurse he saw where he could find the labour ward. He held his phone up to his ear as he ran, listening to Claudia telling Lucy to breathe as she groaned in pain. Things seemed to be moving ridiculously quickly with Lucy’s labour. ‘Tell her I’m almost there!’ he shouted into the receiver, pressing the button for the lift frantically, willing it to arrive quickly and for the baby to stay put for a few moments longer.
Arriving on floor five, he hurtled down the labour ward, getting directions from Claudia as he ran. He pushed open the door to room 137 and saw Lucy lying on the bed. A midwife was by her side; things were clearly progressing fast. ‘Lucy!’ he called as he ran over to her bed. ‘I’m here! It’s okay, it’s okay.’
Claudia let go of Lucy’s hand gratefully and stepped back from the bed as Rory bent down to kiss her forehead. It was clammy with sweat and her cheeks were flushed.
‘Rory!’ Lucy paused mid-pant. ‘I’m so glad you’re here. I was so worried you might miss it.’
‘Me too!’ said Claudia. ‘You put the frighteners on us, I can tell you. I’m not quite sure how much of a birthing partner I am cut out to be! And this looks like it’s going to be the world’s shortest labour!’
‘You’ve been wonderful, Clauds…’ Lucy tailed off and gripped onto Rory’s hand.
He thought his bones might break from the strength of her grip as another contraction swept through her. It was awful to see her in so much pain. She was using the breathing technique they had been taught in their antenatal classes. Short, sharp bursts of breath.
‘Good, you’re doing your breathing,’ he said, joining in for moral support with the rhythmic breaths. After a minute or so the contraction stopped and Lucy’s body relaxed once more.
Turning to face Claudia, Rory said, ‘Clauds, how can I thank you? You’ve been amazing taking care of her so well. You are a true legend.’ He was eternally grateful to her for stepping into the breach. He knew it must have been difficult for her with her fear of hospitals.
‘I’m just so glad you’re here now, before the gory action really starts!’ laughed Claudia.
‘Thanks Clauds,’ said Lucy. ‘I really mean it; you truly are the best friend a girl could ask for!’
‘Right, I think my work here is done! I shall leave you soon-to-be-parents to it and see you when you are a little family!’ she said. She gathered her belongings and bent to kiss Lucy on the cheek. ‘See you when you are out my little future godbaby,’ she said, leaning down to kiss the bump.
‘Yes,’ said Lucy, addressing her bump, ‘the sooner the better please!’ With that, another huge groan reverberated around the room as she was swept up in yet another wave of pain. Lucy’s body tensed and her cheeks reddened as she gritted her teeth and waited for the contraction to pass.
‘Luce, I’m so sorry it took me so long, the bloody traffic was awful…’ he said, taking hold of her hand and pushing her fringe away from her eyes.
‘Don’t worry. I’m just glad you are here now!’ she said as she caught her breath. ‘I don’t think it’s going to be too long now.’
Rory thanked his lucky stars that he had made it in time.
‘Keep breathing,’ he said as one contraction turned into another, and another. She was breathing in the gas and air as though her life depended on it.
Soon the minutes and seconds of labour began to blur into one long, continuous frenzy of breathing, gritted teeth, stamping feet, sighing and groaning. He was vaguely aware of people coming in and out of the room, of the midwife talking to Lucy and giving her instructions. All he could focus on was Lucy. It broke his heart to see her in so much pain. If he could have traded places with her he would have done so in a heartbeat.
Finally, after one monumental last push from Lucy, the baby arrived. As Lucy collapsed in an exhausted heap back onto the pillows, tears of happiness streaming down her face, Rory inspected the baby at close quarters. ‘It’s a girl!’ he cried. He lowered his head to Lucy’s to kiss her, his eyes wet with tears. He was shaking his head in disbelief at the miracle he had just witnessed. It was hard to believe that a new life had arrived in the world. In the room where seconds earlier there had been only three of them, now there were four.
A few seconds later the midwife placed their tiny newborn baby on Lucy’s chest. Despite having arrived four weeks earlier than planned, she was perfect. Words could not describe the flood of unconditional love that coursed through Rory like a tidal wave. He could barely believe his eyes, this perfect little bundle of tangled limbs and dark hair was his baby, their baby. He knew with absolute certainty that no matter how this baby had been created she was unquestionably his daughter. For a second he was brought to tears at the thought of how close he had been to throwing it all away. How could he have been so stupid? As he touched her miniscule fist with the tip of his index finger, she curled her fingers around his. Lucy looked at him. His heart was swollen with love for her and their new baby daughter. He couldn’t stop smiling. He felt like the luckiest man in the world. He bent over and gently kissed her. ‘I love you so much.’ he said.
‘What shall we call her?’ Lucy whispered, unable to take her eyes off the baby’s face. They were both utterly mesmerized by her charming, tiny features.
‘You know what?’ he said. ‘I think she looks just like an Annie.’
Lucy smiled, staring down at the baby’s perfect little face, still red and wrinkled in protest at her abrupt arrival in this cold and mysterious outside world. ‘Annie,’ she said. ‘It’s perfect!’
The midwife examined Lucy once again, lifting the blanket that was covering her modesty. Rory saw a flicker of alarm glance across her face. She tried her best to conceal her concern, quickly rearranging her features into a professional smile, but Rory hadn’t missed the initial look of worry at whatever it was she had seen.
‘I don’t want to worry you, my love, but I’m going to have to call for the doctor,’ the midwife said. ‘There’s still quite a bit of bleeding down here.’ She pressed a button on the side of the bed.
Rory’s heart skipped a beat. This was clearly not what should be happening after a natural delivery. He smiled reassuringly at Lucy who was looking at him anxiously over Annie’s tiny head. She looked so tired, after everything she had just been through to safely deliver her baby this was the last thing she needed to hear.
A few moments later a doctor appeared. He was accompanied by a nurse. They seemed to enter the room in a hurry, giving both Lucy and Rory a smile and introducing themselves before huddling around Lucy’s notes several paces away from the bed, talking to the midwife. After a muted discussion which Rory was unable to overhear despite straining his ears, they came over, explaining to Lucy that they were going to examine her to see what the problem was. Quickly, they began to attach various monitors to her, picking up her heart rate and inserting an IV into her arm. Rory could see the worried look on the kindly midwife’s face once again. Whatever was happening was clearly a cause for concern. He felt a wave of panic rise up in his chest, a tightening sensation that quickened his breath. The doctor wasn’t pausing to make chitchat. He examined Lucy and checked the monitors, frowning as he spoke to his fellow medics using jargon that neither Rory nor Lucy understood.
‘Is there something wrong?’ Rory asked, determined to gain at least some control of the situation, to find out what was actually happening. He put his hand on Lucy’s to reassure her as she clutched little Annie close to her chest.
‘You are bleeding quite heavily,’ the doctor explained to Lucy. ‘I’m afraid you’re still losing rather a lot of blood.’
‘Is that normal?’ asked Lucy.
Rory suddenly noticed that she was looking very pale. The shock and emotion of Annie’s arrival had been so enormous that he hadn’t stopped to think about how Lucy might be doing. Why was she losing so much blood? Something must have happened during the birth. His heart began to pound and he felt a wave of panic rush up his throat.
‘Not quite this much, no.’ said the doctor. ‘I’m afraid we’re going to have to get you into surgery as quickly as possible. We need to find out what’s going on so that we can stop the bleeding.’ The doctor was using a calm and steady tone to explain the situation to them but Rory had had enough experience of doctors to recognize when they were trying their best not to reveal too much. The mere mention of surgery had sent his heart rate rocketing skyward. He was filled with dread at the thought of something happening to Lucy.
The midwife took the baby from Lucy’s arms as the medical team, now joined by a second doctor, bustled around her. Lucy sobbed that she didn’t want to leave her baby, but the midwife had already whisked her away, giving her no choice. Rory took a couple of stunned steps backwards as they moved Lucy onto a gurney. His heart was beating loudly in his ears; he felt anxiety prickle up and down his spine. His head began to ache. He wished he could slow everything down and just get his head around what was happening but he knew that there was a reason for the urgency. She needed help quickly.
‘You’ll be all right,’ said Rory as he moved closer to her, bending down to kiss her. His eyes were brimming with tears. She looked afraid and frighteningly pale, so small and vulnerable lying there. So helpless.
‘But… Annie,’ she whispered, her eyes filling with tears once more.
‘I’ll stay with Annie, don’t worry,’ Rory said. ‘I love you… You’re going to be fine, just as soon as they fix you up. It’s okay Luce, don’t worry.’
It was all happening so incredibly fast. Too fast. Before he knew it they were wheeling her out of the room. He wanted to shout at them to stop, but he stood there, helpless to do anything but watch. ‘She’ll be alright, won’t she?’ he repeated to the doctor as he steered the gurney into the corridor. Rory felt his head spin. He could tell just how concerned the doctor was from the look in his eyes. The doctor nodded curtly at him and vanished out of the door.
‘There, there love,’ said the midwife as Annie began to cry gently. ‘It’s okay, daddy’s here.’ The midwife gave Annie to Rory. His eyes brimmed with tears as he cradled the tiny bundle in his arms for the first time. He could hardly believe how light she was. How fragile. His heart expanded yet again with an overwhelming surge of love. Lucy should be here with them. This wasn’t right. His heart wrenched at the thought of her scared and alone.
‘Where have they taken her?’ he asked, dumbfounded by what had just happened. The room seemed desperately empty all of a sudden.
‘They’ve taken her up to surgery, dear,’ she said. ‘She’s in the very best possible hands, don’t you worry.’ She gave him a kind smile and patted his hand, squeezing his arm gently.
Rory sat down on the chair in the corner of the room as the midwife stripped the blood-stained sheets from the bed, still warm from where Lucy had been lying just moments before. He had heard of complications from childbirth, of course, but never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that something like this would happen to her. He prayed that she would be all right, that it was just a routine procedure, easily fixed.
The midwife chatted happily away to Rory about her grandchildren as she bustled about the room, no doubt trying to distract him from what was currently happening to Lucy. Rory could barely take in what she was saying. His ears were ringing. He felt so helpless, there was nothing he could do to protect Lucy now, she was in the hands of the surgeons. There was nothing he could do but wait. It felt so wrong, so unnatural that she wasn’t there with them. His heart felt twisted with angst and his nerves jangled with fear.
He sat in the same spot, waiting for Lucy, for what felt like hours. Every time someone came in to check on Annie, his heart leapt into his mouth. He was longing for news. Whenever he asked for an update, all anyone said was, ‘She’s still in surgery.’ The panic rose steadily inside him as he realized quite how long she had been gone. Annie was sleeping in her tiny cot next to him. Rory kept his eyes fixed on the door, repeating silent prayers over and over again in his head. He had never felt so utterly helpless, so completely desperate.
Eventually the door opened once again. It was the doctor who had come to see Lucy earlier. He walked quietly into the room. Rory felt his heart skip a beat. He felt as though everything was happening in slow motion. As if he couldn’t engage with the situation properly. He braced himself for what was to come.