Lizzie glanced at her watch again.
“I’m going to have to check you, okay?”
Charlie’s face was red and damp with a sheen of sweat as she recovered from the contraction. “Okay. I’d rather it was you than Josh.”
Lizzie laughed again. “I bet. Listen, don’t worry about a thing, okay? One little baby and three doctors? This is going to be smooth sailing.”
Josh and Dave returned, but Lizzie didn’t think about seniority or anything else. She just took charge. “Dave, you find a way to boil some water or dig out some alcohol so we can sterilize those scissors, and Josh, you find something we can use for a clamp for the cord, okay? And I’m going to need some towels. Has your water broken yet, Charlie?”
“Not yet,” she answered.
“Okay then. I want a garbage bag, too, Dave, and a pile of towels.”
Lizzie rooted around in Charlie’s bag and found a pair of sterile gloves. “Okay, Charlie. Let’s see how far along you are.”
Another contraction came, though, and Lizzie glanced at her watch. Barely two and a half minutes and things were speeding up. The contractions were getting closer together, and as Charlie breathed Lizzie could tell that her friend couldn’t speak through the pain. She was still panting when Dave returned with a bag and towels, and when Charlie saw him she shot him a glare. “This is all your fault,” she groaned, leaning back and closing her eyes.
He drew back as if burned.
“Don’t worry,” Josh said, coming into the room with a basin and a bottle of alcohol. “She’s just in transition.”
“Just in transition? Just in transition?” Charlie growled, opening her eyes to include him in her wrath.
“And this is why men don’t have babies,” Lizzie soothed. “Okay, guys, you stay up there for a moment while I have a look.”
She knelt in front of the lounger and eased the garbage bag under Charlie’s bottom, then layered a couple of soft towels before pulling the sheet down. “There. Now let’s get your underwear off, sweetie.” Charlie was already covered with a light blanket—apparently the feeling cold bit was true.
Lizzie’s exam was brief and she was glad she and Josh hadn’t taken any longer arriving. “This isn’t going to be long at all. Are you ready to be a mom? You’re doing so great.” She pulled down the blanket and looked at her best friend. “You can do this. You’re nearly there.”
Dave sat on the chair Lizzie had abandoned and took Charlie’s ha
nd. “I’m here, honey. I’m so proud of you.”
Lizzie looked up at Josh, who was taking the stethoscope out of Charlie’s bag.
“I love you, Dave.” In between contractions now, Charlie’s voice softened and Dave touched his lips to hers. Josh needed to listen to the baby, but Lizzie could tell that he didn’t want to interrupt the moment.
Another contraction built and Charlie leaned her head forward, holding Dave’s hand, breathing in rhythm until Lizzie realized they were all matching her breath for breath.
Josh moved in and had a listen as Charlie rested for the short time between contractions. He met Lizzie’s gaze and frowned. “The heart rate’s a little slow.”
“She’s progressing well, though.” Unease began to trickle through Lizzie at the suggestion that something might not be 100 percent right. “Do you want me to try to move things along?”
“What’s the heart rate?” Charlie asked, still slightly out of breath.
Josh put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “Not low enough for you to worry about. You put on your mom hat and leave the doctoring to us, okay? We just need you to do your job, which is going to be to push. Very soon, I hope.” Josh looked down at Charlie. “We got this, Charlie. I promise.”
Again with the skitter down Lizzie’s spine.
Outside, the hurricane raged, shaking the cottage with its fury, whipping branches off trees and churning the ocean into a dark-gray froth. But inside they were only focused on Charlie and her labor. During the next contraction her water broke, and Lizzie and Josh worked to take away the wet towels and replace them with new, soft ones. At the next check Lizzie gave Charlie the all clear. “If you feel like pushing, go ahead. Just let your body do the work, okay, honey?”
Dave uttered words of encouragement, but it was four more contractions before the urge to push overtook her.
“She’s crowning!” Lizzie exclaimed, beaming at Charlie. Lizzie focused on the baby, on Charlie, tried to ignore the small voice in her head that told her not to get too comfortable. Not to miss anything. The last baby she’d delivered—
No, she couldn’t think like that. That was an entirely different situation with an accident and a preemie and—
“Lizzie,” Josh’s voice interrupted her thoughts. “Hey.”