A Time for Peace (18 page)

"Good medicine, huh?" he asked.

Jenny nodded, remembering how Hannah and Chris had brought the sonogram over to show Phoebe when she'd been ill. It had taken her mind off being ill and really helped her heal. "The best."

He laid a hand on her shoulder. "You're such a good
mamm,
Jenny."

With that he turned and left her staring after him.

H
e's okay."

Jenny glanced at Hannah. "Who?"

"You know who. Joshua."

"I'm not sure he was ready to go back to school yet. What if he has a headache?"

"The teacher will send him home," Hannah told her.

"But I won't be there."

"Matthew will be. And Chris. And Chris's dad."

Fern glanced back over the seat. "Every mom worries."

Jenny smoothed her skirt. "I guess. I just remember what awful headaches I had when I had a concussion."

"But Joshua told you he hasn't had one in several days," Hannah reminded her. "And Mary's there to keep an eye on things."

"We're going to have a nice lunch out," Fern said as she drove. "Hannah should be popping out that baby this week and then we girls won't have time for lunch or shopping for some time."

"Popping out, huh?" Hannah muttered.

Fern took her hand off the steering wheel and patted Hannah's hand as she sat beside her in the passenger seat."Nothing to it, dumpling. You'll be fine."

Laughing, Hannah shook her head. "Dumpling? Yup, I guess I look like one."

"Term of endearment, honey," her mother-in-law told her with a chuckle. "But I guess it's not far from the truth, huh?"

She glanced in the rearview mirror. "You okay back there, Jenny? You're being kind of quiet."

Jenny pressed a hand to her mouth. "I'm—I'm afraid I'm not feeling too well. I—" Suddenly, Jenny had to get out of the car and quickly! "Fern, pull over, please!"

"I never knew you to get car sick before," Hannah said as she exchanged seats with Jenny.

"I've never been car sick before." Jenny sank down miserably in the seat. "Are you sure you can fit back there? I don't want you to squash the baby."

"I'm fine," Hannah said.

They went on to town—Jenny insisted she was fine now— and had lunch. Well, Fern had lunch, eating for two while Hannah pushed food around on her plate and Jenny sipped from a glass of water.

"I know you're under a lot of stress," Hannah said as she refused dessert. "But I've never known you to get car sick," she repeated.

"First time for everything," Fern said cheerfully and shared a story about how Chris had once thrown up in the family car on a trip.

Jenny felt even less like eating after that.

"I think I'll go get another piece of that pie," Fern said. "You sure you girls don't want something from the dessert buffet?"

Hannah shook her head and pushed her plate away. "No, thanks."

The minute Fern was out of hearing range Jenny turned to Hannah. "What's wrong? Something's wrong."

"It's nothing," Hannah told her.

Jenny frowned but Fern was already back with her pie. Talk returned to shopping for the baby. They explored a baby store and visited Stitches in Time where Fern bought adorable knitted "cupcake" hats for the baby in pink
and
blue, just in case.

And Jenny saw that Hannah was flagging and finding places to sit wherever they went.

So Jenny went to Fern and quietly suggested that they return home. "If you say anything to Hannah about cutting our shopping short she'll insist she's fine," she whispered.

"She does look a little peaked," Fern agreed. She pronounced the last word with the emphasis on the first syllable.

A few minutes later, Fern announced that her feet hurt and asked if anyone minded if they returned home. Jenny said she was tired and after looking at each of them, Hannah quickly agreed.

Halfway home, Hannah suddenly screamed and bent over in the car.

Startled, Fern swerved onto the shoulder of the road and the car stopped in the soft dirt. "Oh, my! Is everyone all right? Hannah? Jenny?"

Hannah lay back in her seat. "Fine," she said weakly.

Jenny unhooked her safety belt, climbed out of the front seat, and got into the back with Hannah. She placed her hand on Hannah's abdomen. "Are you in pain?"

"I—yes," Hannah gasped. "I just had the most horrible pain. And my back—it's been hurting all day." Her eyes were filled with fear.

Fern turned to look at Hannah. "Honey, why didn't you tell us? You might be in labor. It starts sometimes in the back."

"No, I'm all right, I—" she stopped and cried out again.

"Jenny, put your seat belt on," Fern directed. "I'm driving us to the hospital to have her checked out."

But the car had become stuck and it refused to move. Jenny unhooked her seat belt and leaned over to do the same to Hannah's so she could be comfortable while they waited for help.

"Oh no," Hannah whispered. She turned to Jenny. "I think I just had an accident."

"Don't blame you," Fern said as she rummaged in her enormous purse. "I about went in my pants when you screamed like that. Listen, don't worry about it, car's a rental. Now, where
is
that cell phone?

Jenny glanced down at the floorboard and that's when she saw the trickle of blood running down Hannah's leg. Before she could think what to say, Hannah grabbed her arm and her fingers bit into it as she went into another convulsion of pain.

"Fern!" Jenny hissed.

The woman turned and raised her brows.

"Do you think you have a blanket in the trunk? I'd like to keep Hannah warm."

Fern started to say something but then she sensed Jenny's urgency. "Sure, hon, I'll get it."

"Hannah, let me help Fern find that blanket," Jenny said, prying Hannah's fingers off her arm.

"She can't find it herself?" Hannah responded irritably and then she apologized.

"It's okay, sweetie, I'll be right back."

Jenny scrambled out of the car and ran to the rear of it to find Fern pulling the cell out of her purse. "Call 9-1-1," she said, pulling a blanket from the trunk. "Tell them Hannah's not just in labor, she's bleeding. Then call Chris. Try not to panic him but tell him to get here fast."

Fern dropped the phone and when she picked it up, they saw that the back had come off and the battery landed in the dirt. Jenny picked it up, brushed it off, then tried to push it back into the phone.

"Here, see if you can do it," she said, thrusting the phone into Fern's hands. "I'm going to go back to Hannah. We have to keep her calm and warm."

Just then a car pulled off the road and a woman got out."You need help?"

"Kate!" Jenny said, recognizing the female police officer."Have you got a cell phone?"

"Sure," she said, pulling it out. "Who do you need to call? Road service?"

The passenger door opened and Malcolm stepped out. "Hey, can I help?"

"We're trying to call 9-1-1. Hannah's in labor and she's bleeding."

Kate made the call, identifying herself and stressing the urgency for an ambulance. Then she gave the cell to Fern, telling her to call Chris.

Fern yelled into the cell the moment it appeared it was answered, telling Chris that Hannah was in trouble and to come quick.

A car whizzed past, too close for comfort, as Fern hung up.

"She doesn't know she's bleeding," Jenny warned Kate as they rounded the car.

"Malcolm, do a little traffic control and motion to drivers to slow down and go well around us," she directed.

"I'd be better off helping," he said. "I was a medic, remember?"

Kate paused, then nodded. "Okay, let's see what we can do until the paramedics get here."

She glanced at Fern. "Maybe you can do the traffic control, make sure some dummy doesn't run into us. Just stay safe."

"I'm on it," Fern said, folding her arms over her chest and watching the road.

They opened the car door on the side opposite the road."Hey, Hannah, I hear the baby's decided to come," Kate said in a calm tone.

"Oh, please, help me! I don't want to lose this baby!"

"We're not going to let that happen," Kate assured her."Listen, Hannah, you remember Malcolm?"

Hannah nodded as he stuck his head in the space next to Kate.

"He was a medic in the military. Can he help me with you?"

Before she could respond, Hannah stiffened and then she was crying out as another contraction seized her. Malcolm took her hand and let her squeeze it, wincing at the strength of her grip.

"Breathe through it," he said calmly. "Don't fight it. We'll see what's going on in a minute." When it eased, he smiled. "Good.Have you gone to childbirth classes?"

"Yes." Tears began rolling down her cheeks. "I don't want to have my baby here."

"The ambulance will be here and you'll be in the hospital before you know it. Now, let's get you more comfortable, okay?"

Together, he and Kate eased her down on the backseat while Jenny went around to the other side so that she could sit with Hannah's head and shoulders in her lap and hold her hand.

Kate began to tear away the blood-soaked skirt of Hannah's dress.

Fern appeared at the door and paled when she saw what was going on. She thrust the plastic bottle of hand sanitizer she kept in her purse at Malcolm.

"Good thinking," he said, squirting some of the stuff into his hands, then Kate's.

Jenny felt a wave of nausea wash over her when she saw the blood running down Hannah's leg but she forced herself to look at Hannah and keep her attention. "Well, this is an exciting end to a day of lunch and shopping, don't you think?"

When Hannah lifted her head to see what was going on, Jenny leaned closer so that her sister-in-law would have to focus on her face. "What are the names you're thinking of using again?"

"I know you're trying to distract me and it isn't working," Hannah told her. But she lay back against Jenny. "Chris. I want Chris."

"We called him. He'll be here as soon as he can."

"He better be. I'm not having this baby without him."Jenny glanced at Malcolm. He looked grim as he checked Hannah.

"The baby's coming, Hannah," he told her tersely. "There's nothing we can do to stop it. Just keep breathing through the contractions, okay?"

He muttered something over his shoulder and Kate went to the rear of the car. Jenny watched her speak into her cell and their eyes met through the rear window. Kate held up her thumb to indicate that everything was going to be all right.Jenny prayed that it would be.

"So are you expecting a boy or a girl?" Malcolm asked them.

"We don't know," Hannah said. "Chris and I want to be surprised.Well, it wasn't his idea but he went along with it when I said I wanted to be surprised."

"Then I guess we'll all be surprised," Malcolm said. "And sooner than you think. Hannah, the baby's head is crowning.Hey, Kate, come here! I can use your help!"

Jenny held Hannah's shoulders and coached her to breathe through the contractions and it seemed just seconds later when Malcolm yelled, "Yes, I've got him!" and the cries of a newborn filled the interior of the car.

He handed the baby to Kate who'd pulled off her sweater to tuck around him to keep him warm.

"A boy!" Jenny called out to Fern. "You have a grandson!"

"Is he all right?" Fern asked, sticking her head in the open window on Jenny's side. "Please, Jesus, tell me he's okay?"

"He looks fine," Jenny told her.

"Look at him, Jenny," Hannah whispered as Kate handed her the baby. "Isn't he a wonder?"

Jenny nodded and said a silent, heartfelt prayer to God for his safe arrival. Neither of them could take their eyes off the baby, its little face scrunched up as it cried and waved its little hands.

"Oh!" Hannah cried as another contraction rolled over her."Am I having another?"

"Afterbirth," Malcolm told her tersely. "You're fine."

But he and Kate wore expressions of concern as it was delivered and they were pressing the soaked blanket on Hannah.

A siren wailed, growing louder as it approached. Jenny said another prayer as the fire engine parked and first responders jumped out. They got their gear and ran up and Malcolm and Kate stepped aside.

"Don't go," Hannah pleaded with Jenny.

"I'm not going anywhere," she told her.

"We need to check the baby out," one paramedic told them and reluctantly Hannah gave him up.

Then Jenny had to get out of the car when another paramedic needed to help move Hannah onto a stretcher.

She stood with Fern at the rear of the car, and Malcolm and Kate joined them.

"She's bleeding more than she should be, isn't she?" Jenny asked him bluntly.

Malcolm met her eyes and he hesitated. Then he finally nodded. "Yeah. But she's got help now."

"I don't know what we'd have done if you two hadn't stopped," she told them and hugged him.

He held out his arms so the blood that coated them wouldn't get on her clothes and shrugged and bent his head. "I didn't do any more than anyone else would have. And it's kind of the least I could do, considering, wouldn't you say?"

"There's nothing 'least' about it," she told him fervently.

A horse galloped toward them, a man on its back.

"Here comes Chris now," Jenny exclaimed as he neared them.

Jenny frowned. Chris looked murderous as he rode the horse right up to him.

"Maybe I should go sit in the car," Malcolm said, backing up.

Chris jerked on the reins and the horse reared, then settled.He jumped off its back and ran toward Malcolm and Jenny saw him look at the blood on his hands and shirt. Grabbing Malcolm's shirt, he shook him violently.

"Where's Hannah? What have you done to her?"

"I—" Malcolm began but Chris didn't give him a chance.He smashed his fist into his face.

Jenny screamed and rushed at him, pulling him away from Malcolm who'd landed on the ground. "No, you don't understand! He didn't hurt Hannah! Kate! Help!"

Kate came running.

Jenny watched her quickly assess the situation. "Chris! Hannah's right over here!" she called. "Come on, you don't want to do anything foolish. Malcolm just delivered your baby."

Chris struggled to rein in his fear and anger, his chest heaving as he stood looking at the blood on the other man's arms.Malcolm shook his head as if to clear it and started to get to his feet, then stayed where he was when Chris continued to stand over him.

Kate held out her hand as she approached Chris. "Please, Chris, your wife needs you right now. She's bleeding heavily and they're loading her and the baby into the ambulance. You need to come with me now. Right now."