‘AND CHRISTMAS STARTS NOW—a day late,’ Rachel said with a smile. ‘The turkey’s in, the pigs in blankets are cooking, the veg is all prepped, your filo pastry snake is resting in the fridge, Saskia...and I think we’ve earned Buck’s Fizz.’
‘It’s so nice to see you happy,’ Saskia said. ‘I’m glad you and Tim talked properly and sorted it out. He’s lovely.’
‘He is. I think Mum would’ve liked him.’ Rachel poured orange juice into three wine glasses at the kitchen table and topped them up with Prosecco.
‘Happy Christmas, Mum.’ Meg raised her glass. ‘And this next year’s going to be so much better.’ She smiled. ‘Even with exams.’
‘Seconded,’ Saskia said.
‘Thirded,’ Rachel said, not to be outdone. ‘Right. Pancakes.’ She’d made the batter before she’d started the veg; she cooked a pile of them swiftly on the hob, while Meg made coffee and Saskia brought out everything else.
‘Do you remember when you used to use a squeezy bottle to draw pancakes in the shape of Rudolph, and give him a raspberry for a nose?’ Saskia asked.
‘And we’d have them with tons of golden syrup and sprinkles,’ Meg added.
‘And now look at us,’ Rachel teased, gesturing to the table. ‘Vegan pancakes with blueberry compote and dairy-free Greek yogurt.’
‘Things change,’ Saskia said. ‘And next year will be different again. You might not even be living here, still.’
‘Wherever Tim and I decide to settle,’ Rachel said, ‘it will always have room for both of you. And, just so you know, he said it two seconds before I could.’
‘We’re just glad to see you happy,’ Meg said. ‘And we’re really looking forward to meeting his family properly today.’
‘Me, too,’ Saskia said. ‘It’ll be lovely to have a big family Christmas again.’
Just turning into your road, Dad. x
Tim scanned Hannah’s text and texted back.
Locking front door now. x.
Jamal managed to park outside their gate, and Tim opened the boot of the car to stow the champagne and chocolates he’d bought as his contribution to Christmas dinner before squeezing into the back next to Sophie.
‘Merry Boxing Day,’ he said.
‘Merry Christmas,’ Hannah said. ‘I’m so looking forward to meeting Rachel’s daughters.’ She turned her head to smile at her father. ‘And we never thought we’d see you looking happy at Christmas again.’
‘I’m happy,’ he said gently.
‘And we’re glad,’ Sophie said.
An hour later, everyone was sitting round Rachel’s dining room table, with a glass of champagne—sparkling elderflower for Hannah, and for Jamal who was driving—and Rachel was carving the turkey. The girls had bonded immediately, and by the time they sat at the table it felt as if they’d all known each other for years instead of for a few minutes. Tim had been tasked with making Hannah sit down and stay put, and everyone else had brought in dishes of veg and trimmings, until the table was practically groaning.
Sophie had made eco crackers from recycled paper, containing a packet of wild flower seeds, a terrible joke contributed by Tim and a challenge card to do over coffee. Everyone tried Saskia’s filo pastry ‘snake’ and pronounced it delicious; and the room was filled with conversation and laughter and the clinking of cutlery against china.
If she could preserve a moment in time, Rachel thought, it would be this one: having a full house again, feeling part of a big family, and with everyone relaxed and talking and laughing.
She met Tim’s eye and was pretty sure he was thinking the same.
Even clearing up was easy; Meg sat at the piano, playing Christmas songs and making Hannah sing along while everyone else cleared the table and Rachel stacked the dishwasher.
They were in the middle of having a very rowdy game of Monopoly when Hannah excused herself from the table. ‘I swear this baby’s dancing on my bladder.’
She’d just walked out of the dining room when they heard a wail of distress.
‘Hannah?’ Rachel rushed out to the hallway, followed closely by Tim and Jamal.
‘I’m so sorry. I didn’t make it to the loo in time.’ Hannah grimaced. ‘If you can let me have a cloth, I’ll clear up.’
‘Honey, it’s fine,’ Rachel reassured her. ‘It’ll take me seconds to do it.’
‘Sweetheart, given that you’re a week overdue, are you quite sure that was your bladder?’ Tim asked.
Hannah looked horrified. ‘You mean—that was my waters breaking?’
‘It’s a possibility,’ Rachel said, ‘but don’t panic yet. Have you had any kind of contractions?’
‘I’ve felt twinges on and off all day, but they’re just Braxton-Hicks. Twinge—ow!’ Her face turned pale. ‘This one isn’t weak!’
‘Hold on to me,’ Rachel said, and Hannah clung to her arm during the contraction.
‘We’re going to get you to the kitchen, you’re going to make yourself comfortable leaning on the back of a chair, I’ll get you a glass of water, and we’ll plan what we do next,’ Rachel said.
‘Is your hospital bag in the car?’ Tim asked.
‘Yes, with my pregnancy notes.’ She gave them a watery smile. ‘Jamal says I need to take them everywhere.’
‘Yes, you do,’ Jamal said. ‘Oh, my God. Are you really in labour, Han?’
‘It’s looking that way,’ Rachel said. ‘It’s just a matter of how fast it’s progressing.’
In the kitchen doorway, Hannah had another contraction; this time, it was clearly sharp.
Rachel glanced at Tim, guessing that, like her, he’d realised how short the time was between contractions and that his daughter was actually in advanced labour.
The main thing was to make sure that the parents-to-be—and grandfather-to-be—didn’t start worrying. Especially given Hannah’s recent scare about the baby’s movements. Which meant giving them distractions. ‘Jamal, can you time the contractions for me? Tim, can you tell the others and grab Hannah’s hospital bag? And, Hannah, you’re doing brilliantly,’ Rachel said. ‘Keep breathing for me. Nice and deep.’
The next contraction came in five minutes, by which time Tim had told the others, brought in the hospital bag and followed Rachel’s directions to get the thermometer, blood pressure monitor and stethoscope from the kitchen drawer where she kept the house medical supplies, and the magnetic pad and pen from the front of the fridge.
‘Do you want me to examine you?’ Tim asked.
Hannah shook her head. ‘I love you, Dad, but—’ she grimaced ‘—I’d rather you were at the non-business end with Jamal, talking to me.’
‘Understood. And it’s all going to be fine, sweetheart,’ Tim said.
‘Rachel, I know it’s a lot to ask,’ Hannah said, ‘but would you? Examine me, I mean?’
‘I’d be honoured,’ Rachel said. ‘Tim, can you take down all the stats for me?’
‘For the midwifery team’s records?’ Tim asked. ‘Ready when you are.’
Rachel took Hannah’s pulse, temperature and blood pressure, and Tim noted down the readings.
‘Just as well I’m in a doctor’s house,’ Hannah said shakily.
‘You’re going to be fine,’ Rachel reassured her. ‘Most people would have a thermometer with their medical kit, and the blood pressure monitor’s a middle-aged person thing,’ she said, trying to make Hannah smile. ‘I’ll agree that the stethoscope isn’t standard, though.’ She checked the baby’s heart. ‘All sounds good. Do you want to hear, Hannah? Jamal?’
While Tim helped Hannah with the stethoscope, Rachel felt Hannah’s abdomen to check the baby’s progression. This definitely felt like established labour.
‘Tell me when your next contraction ends, and then I’ll examine your cervix,’ she said.
She was shocked to discover that Hannah was already eight centimetres dilated.
‘Your hospital’s in Hackney, right?’ she checked.
‘Yes,’ Jamal confirmed. ‘We were going in tomorrow for Hannah to be induced.’
‘Hackney’s a good three-quarters of an hour’s drive from here, plus we’ll need to get you up to the ward.’ Rachel squeezed Hannah’s hand. ‘Hannah, I don’t want to frighten you, but realistically I don’t think you’re going to make it to hospital. We’ll call an ambulance, but I think there’s a very good chance your baby’s going to arrive before they do, because you’re in active labour, and you’re already eight centimetres dilated.’
‘You mean—I’m going to have the baby here?’ Hannah’s eyes widened.
‘You need to call your midwife,’ Rachel said, ‘and I’d like to talk to her, too. Not because I think there’s anything to worry about at all, but just a quick professional chat, and you’ll need to give her your permission to talk to me. Is that OK with you?’
‘I...’ Hannah looked dazed.
‘I’ve delivered several babies,’ Rachel reassured her, ‘as well as having my own. Your dad’s delivered babies, too. This might not be quite according to your birth plan, but your antenatal team probably told you that babies have a habit of ignoring birth plans.’
‘Yeah,’ Hannah said shakily.
‘Make the call, sweetheart,’ Rachel said. ‘And, Jamal, can you ring the ambulance?’
Hannah called the hospital and spoke to her midwife, while Rachel swiftly read her birth plan, then handed the phone to Rachel. ‘My midwife’s called Naseera,’ Hannah said.
‘Thanks.’ Rachel smiled at her. ‘Hello, Naseera. My name’s Rachel, I’m an emergency medicine consultant, and we’re with Hannah’s dad, who’s head of the Emergency Department where I work,’ she said. ‘Hannah’s doing fine, but I think we’re looking at precipitous labour.’ The normal length of labour for a first-time mum was around thirty hours; precipitous labour was where the baby was born within three hours of regular contractions commencing, with a sudden onset of intense contractions and little time between them. ‘Is there anything Tim and I need to know about?’
‘No complications during pregnancy and the baby’s the normal size for dates,’ Naseera said. ‘Obviously you know Hannah was going to be induced tomorrow. She says you don’t think there’s time to get here.’
‘No,’ Rachel said. ‘We’ve called the ambulance, but I think this baby’s going to get here first. The good news is, Tim and I have both delivered a baby.’
‘Am I on speaker phone?’ Naseera asked.
‘No.’
‘Good, because I need to ask—given your specialty, I assume it’s quite a while since you or Tim delivered a baby?’
‘Yes.’
‘OK. Obviously you can’t list them for me, because we don’t want Hannah to worry, but I’m just checking you know the potential complications of precipitous labour?’ Naseera asked.
‘We do,’ Rachel said. With a fast labour, there was a risk that Hannah’s body didn’t have enough time to stretch slowly and prepare for the baby’s birth and might tear. There were potential complications such as heavy bleeding, a retained placenta and even shock after giving birth, plus a greater risk of infection for the baby.
‘All right. You’ve got the ambulance on its way, and I’m here if you need backup advice over the phone,’ Naseera said.
‘Thanks. We’ll keep you posted,’ Rachel promised, ended the call and handed the phone back to Hannah. She could see the worry etched on Tim’s face and gave him a reassuring smile.
‘OK, Hannah. I’ve had a look at your birth plan, and I think we can tweak it,’ she said. ‘Just for now, keep standing, so your contractions work with gravity. I think you might be more comfortable giving birth in the living room, plus we can keep it nice and warm for the baby, so I’ll get that prepped.’
‘But—I can’t,’ Hannah said in horror. ‘I’ll mess up your living room.’
Rachel gave her a quick hug. ‘No, you won’t. Everything will clean up. The important thing now is you, and how you want to do this, and what position you want to deliver in. We’ll try our best to do as many of the things you planned for the birth, but the tough thing is that I don’t have anything to give you for pain relief.’
‘I’ve got a TENS machine in my hospital bag,’ Hannah said.
‘We can help you put it on, but there might not be enough time for the endorphins to work, sweetheart,’ Tim warned her gently.
‘I can run you a warm bath, for pain relief,’ Rachel said. ‘Though you won’t have the space to move around.
‘No, I’ll manage.’ Hannah bit her lip. ‘Though I’m scared. I thought I’d be induced tomorrow, and everything would be in hospital. This feels out of control.’
‘I promise you, love, your body knows exactly what to do,’ Rachel said. ‘Let it guide you. And music can help your body release endorphins. Have you got a birth playlist, or is there any kind of dance music you really like?’
‘I’ve got birth playlists on my phone,’ Hannah said. ‘It’s a bit like my running playlist for the hard bit, and then something gentle for when the baby arrives. They said at antenatal, you match your music to your mood.’
‘Perfect. We’ll connect your phone to my speaker. I assume you did breathing exercises at antenatal classes?’ Rachel asked.
‘Yes,’ Jamal confirmed.
‘Can you breathe with Hannah while I get the living room ready?’ Rachel asked.
Between them, Sophie, Calum, Saskia and Meg followed Rachel’s directions. They put a shower curtain on the carpet to protect it and stop Hannah worrying and covered it with clean sheets; there was a stack of clean towels ready to dry the baby; and they put the heating on to make sure the room was warm enough for the newborn.
‘If the doorbell goes,’ Rachel said, ‘that’ll be the ambulance.’
‘We’ll go into the kitchen when Hannah’s in the living room, so she’s got a bit more privacy and we’re not too noisy for her,’ Meg said. ‘Yell if you need anything. Cup of tea, hot soapy water—whatever it is, we’ll be on it.’
‘Thank you.’ Rachel hugged her.
Between them, Jamal and Tim supported Hannah through to the living room, and Rachel brought her portable speaker through.
‘We’ll keep you walking about,’ Rachel said, ‘and we’ve got plenty of pillows. There’s a shower curtain under those sheets, so there’s nothing at all to worry about. You’ll be meeting your little one very soon, and we’re all here to support you. Anything you need, you tell us, and we’ll sort it.’
‘Can I have just the lights on the tree?’ Hannah asked. ‘Or will that be too hard for you?’
‘I’ll use the torch on my phone if I need light,’ Rachel said. ‘Let’s make this how you need it.’
‘Twinkling lights,’ Hannah said. ‘And music.’
Jamal connected Hannah’s phone to Rachel’s speaker.
‘I want the upbeat one until I need to push,’ Hannah said, ‘and then I want the piano one.’
Jamal pressed ‘play’, and the beginning of The Beatles’ ‘Here Comes the Sun’ floated into the air.
‘Great choice,’ Tim said. ‘Are we walking or dancing?’
‘Dancing,’ Hannah said.
‘Keep breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth,’ Rachel said, ‘and pant through your contractions. And we’ll dance until you feel you need to do something different.’
Tim sang along, and Rachel joined him.
When a contraction hit, Jamal encouraged Hannah through the panting.
‘You’re doing brilliantly,’ Tim said.
Four songs later, the ambulance still wasn’t there—but Hannah was ready to push.
Rachel examined her. ‘OK. The baby’s crowning. Let’s get you on your hands and knees.’ And please, please, don’t let this be complicated, she begged silently. Please don’t let the cord be looped round the baby’s neck. Please just let this work. Let this be a Christmas of joy for Tim and his family.
‘I’ll change the music,’ Tim said, and switched the playlist. Jamal knelt beside Hannah, supporting her and telling her he loved her.
‘When you feel the contraction,’ Rachel said, ‘push.’
Fauré’s ‘Sicilienne’ floated into the air as the lights twinkled on the Christmas tree, and Hannah began to push.
Tim put his hand on Rachel’s shoulder, letting her know he was there if she needed him. ‘Good girl, Han. Keep going,’ he said softly.
‘That’s the head delivered,’ Rachel said. ‘You’re nearly there, Hannah. Next contraction, and your baby will be here.’
Hannah pushed again.
‘That’s great. The shoulders are through,’ Rachel said.
And finally, the baby slid into her hands. She wiped his mouth and nose then checked him over, adding up the Apgar score. One for Appearance: normal colour with hands and feet slightly blue. Two for pulse, with it being over a hundred per minute. One for grimace, which he’d done when she wiped his mouth and nose. Two for activity, when his little legs kicked. And two for respiration, because he gave the cry she’d been waiting for. ‘Apgar of eight, Tim,’ she said quietly.
She dried the baby; Jamal helped Hannah to move to a sitting position, and Rachel put the baby directly on Hannah’s chest so they were skin to skin, covering them both with a clean towel. ‘Welcome to the world, baby,’ she said softly. ‘Well done, Hannah. We still need to deliver your placenta, but it’s fine. There’s nothing to worry about.’
‘What about clamping the cord?’ Hannah asked.
‘No need to rush it,’ Rachel said. ‘The baby’s getting lots of lovely stem cells and iron through the cord. We can wait for the paramedics.’
‘You did it, Han,’ Tim said, his voice cracked with emotion.
Jamal was sitting next to Hannah, his arm round her shoulders and his head leaning against hers, stroking their newborn son’s cheek. ‘He’s amazing, Han. You’re amazing.’
‘Our baby boy,’ Hannah whispered.
‘Let’s give them a moment,’ Rachel mouthed to Tim, and they quietly moved away to the far side of the room.
‘That,’ Tim said, ‘was such a privilege. To be there when you delivered the baby, to see his eyes open and all that wonder...’
‘The perfect Christmas present. Even if he was a little late,’ Rachel said.
‘We were both working yesterday, so today counts as our Christmas,’ Tim said. He smiled. ‘And this is definitely a different Christmas, a change none of us quite expected.’
‘A newborn for a new Christmas,’ she said. ‘A new start.’
He wrapped his arms round her. ‘Our first Christmas all together as a new family—and now with our newest family member. I’ll remember this for ever. We’ll be talking about this when we’re eighty.’ He smiled. ‘Today, my daughter needed me—and I was there for her. Just as you were.’
‘Just as I know you’d be there for my girls, if they needed you,’ Rachel said gently.
‘Rachel, will you...?’
He didn’t get to finish the question, because the doorbell rang to signal the arrival of the paramedics.
Once the paramedic had clamped the cord, Jamal cut it; then she checked Hannah over. ‘Everything’s fine. There’s no need to go into hospital,’ she said. ‘Just speak to your midwife.’
The rest of the day was spent celebrating the baby’s arrival. Hannah and Jamal hadn’t brought the car seat with them to take the baby home, so Rachel persuaded them to stay overnight, and she and Tim would collect the car seat in the morning. She persuaded Sophie and Calum to stay, too.
Later that evening, when they’d made a drawer into a temporary crib for the baby, the new parents had gone to bed, and everyone else was chilling out listening to Meg play the piano, Tim took Rachel into the garden to steal a moment.
‘Today’s changed everything,’ he said. ‘I’ll never dread Christmas again.’
‘The day we delivered little Arun. One of the best days of my life,’ Rachel agreed.
‘Before the paramedics rang the doorbell, I was going to ask you something.’ He smiled at her. ‘Today’s just underlined what I already knew. I love you and I want to spend the rest of my days with you. Will you marry me, Rachel? Make a family with me, be my love and my wife?’
‘I love you, too,’ she said. ‘Yes.’
‘That,’ he said, ‘is the best Christmas present of all.’
And then he kissed her.