Hana lay in her bed in the antenatal ward of Alice Springs Hospital with her hand resting on the mound of her tummy. The machine they’d strapped to her stomach beat out the clopping heart sounds of her baby in a steady, reassuring rhythm and showed no contractions. Inside her belly, below her fingers, a tiny jiggle of movement dragged a small smile onto her pinched face. ‘Thank you, baby, for being a warrior, and staying in there. Now we just have to sort out your father.’
A noise at the door turned her head and she saw Ava, holding a pot of tea and two cups, and Hana waved her in. Thank God for Ava and the whole of Jock’s family. Though Poddy had been a star to drive through the night and be here for her first.
Her sister-in-law put the pot and mugs down on the bedside table and leaned over to give Hana a kiss on the cheek.
‘You okay?’ The words were quiet because it was too early for visiting hours. The perks of working here, she guessed.
Hana thought about the question. Was she okay? She settled for ‘As good as could be expected.’
Ava nodded. ‘Baby?’
‘Jiggling.’ Hana patted her belly and Ava smiled.
‘Contractions?’
‘Stopped.’ Thank goodness. Part two of the world’s most frightening night flight. A flight to save her husband and as an added bonus the worry that she’d have a premature birth or lose her baby.
‘Good.’ Ava nodded again and sat down. ‘Zac’s spoken to the psychiatrist on duty, and they’ll keep Jock sedated for another twelve hours. His neurological signs are good, no fits, no obvious signs of brain damage. The intubation meant he could breathe until the swelling subsided. The rest is recovery. They’ve had consistently good outcomes from that scenario. You got him down quickly.’
Hana flinched. ‘I dropped him.’
‘Good.’ The two women looked at each other and both sets of eyes filled with tears. Ava’s hand snaked out and held Hana’s. ‘Thank you for saving my brother.’
‘It was too close.’
Ava’s eyes narrowed. ‘Maybe it needed to be close to wake him up.’
‘You don’t mean that,’ Hana whispered in horror.
‘No.’ Ava sighed. ‘No, I don’t. Nobody will be sorrier that this happened than Jock. I should have seen how unwell he was.’ Her eyes met Hana’s and there was a fierce intensity Hana hadn’t heard before in her sister-in-law’s voice. ‘That wasn’t Jock who tried to die. That was an illness, an illness that got away from all of us, that we should have seen and treated. We won’t miss it again.’
‘He hid it.’
Ava shook her head again, no doubt in the movement. ‘The illness is devious. Jock is not.’
Hana’s lips trembled no matter how hard she tried to keep them still. She was struggling to comprehend the horror. ‘He must have convinced himself that the insurance policy would save the family farm.’
‘The disease did that,’ Ava said again.
Hana nodded. ‘I know. It twisted the truth until it seemed real. Created the scenario in his mind that everyone would be better off with him dead.’
Ava sighed again. ‘I know. All decisions at Setabilly are joint ones. But we have him safe now, thanks to you.’ Ava squeezed Hana’s hand. ‘And he will get well.’
Hana glanced down at her stomach. ‘He’s only got ten weeks.’
‘He’ll be more himself with the meds in four. Zac says the psychiatrist is brilliant. He checked him out with friends in Sydney. We’re lucky to have the best care.’
Hana jumped on the change of subject. Diversion was good. ‘How is Zac? He was amazing.’
‘Yes, he was. And he’s fine.’ Ava’s voice was noncommittal.
‘Will you see him while you’re here?’
Ava shook her head. ‘He’s going down to Uluru for a week. Mum and I will go home as soon as Jock is awake and stable. We still have a muster to organise. Is it okay if we take Poddy back with us?’
‘He’ll want to go back to help now that he knows I’m okay and Jock’s okay.’
‘Poddy did well to get here so quickly. I wanted to come with him, but I thought Mum would lose it if I went.’
‘He’s a wonderful brother.’
‘Brothers are wonderful. And you saved mine.’ Ava blinked away fresh tears and changed the subject. ‘If Poddy will come back, that would be a bonus.’
Hana put her head back and closed her eyes. ‘And I’ll be no help?’
‘Having you here in town will be an enormous help.’ Ava gestured to the phone with her hand. ‘You’re our contact with Jock. Mim’s staying with you at the flat until Jock’s out of the mental-health unit. Lorenzo’s son is back from Sydney and has organised a muster gang – goodness knows how, but I don’t care. We’ll go back in a few days and get it over with, though the numbers will probably be small. I don’t think Mum even cares.’
Hana thought about Stella. The way she’d seemed to shrink when she’d looked at Jock. ‘Your poor mother.’
Ava lifted her chin. ‘Mum will be fine. We all will be. You worry about yourself and Jock. He’s got the help he needs now and he will get better.’ Hana could hear the certainty in Ava’s voice and it comforted her. Ava would be onto the mental-health team like a … What did she say Granny Mim was like? An eagle onto roadkill.
The gruesome image sat well in Hana’s determined mind. She’d be like one too, until her husband had healed.