They eased Magda down onto the nearby sofa. Obviously no one was worried about getting it entirely wet.
‘Tell me what’s happening,’ said Rhuaridh.
Kristie was tempted to clear her throat and remind them all that two perfect strangers were in the room, but the woman she thought was Magda looked up and waved her hand in a throwaway manner. ‘Carry on,’ she said as she grimaced.
‘Another one?’ asked the woman quickly.
Magda nodded and gripped tightly onto the man Kristie suspected was her husband.
Rhuaridh finally seemed to remember they were there. He pointed at his friends. ‘Magda, David, Miriam, this is Kristie and Gerry from the TV show.’
Since Magda had already waved her hand in permission it seemed like he didn’t feel the need to say anything else.
Kristie could see the way that David was looking at Rhuaridh. It was odd. She was brand new to these people but could already see a world of emotion without hearing any words. David was holding back panic, Magda had an edge of fear about her, and Miriam—who must be the midwife—had her professional face in place, while worry seemed etched on the lines on her forehead.
Rhuaridh knelt by the sofa and held Magda’s hand. ‘I thought you had this planned to precision.’
She patted her stomach, keeping her eyes firmly fixed on Miriam’s actions as she attached the monitor. ‘It seems Baby Price has his or her own plans.’
Miriam spoke in a low voice as she made the final adjustments. ‘Spontaneous rupture of membrane a few hours ago. Labour has been progressing well with no concerns. Magda’s around eight centimetres dilated, but she feels baby has stopped moving in the last ten minutes.’
‘It’s a boy,’ said Rhuaridh. ‘He’s having a little sleep before the big event.’ The hoarseness in his voice gripped Kristie around the chest. He was worried. He was worried about his friend’s baby.
Magda tutted. ‘We don’t know it’s a boy. We want a surprise.’
She was scared to make eye contact with Gerry. This was beginning to feel like a bad idea. An old man tragedy she’d almost been able to bear. Anything with a baby? No way.
Miriam flicked the switch and the monitor flickered to life. After a few seconds a noise filled the room. Kristie almost let out a cheer. Even she could recognise the sound of a heartbeat.
But the rest of the room didn’t seem quite so joyous. Magda clenched her teeth as she was obviously gripped with a new contraction.
All other eyes in the room seemed fixed on the monitor. Kristie leaned forward, trying to see the number on the screen. Ninety, wasn’t that good?
‘What’s happening?’ asked Magda.
There was sense in the room of collective breath-holding. The numbers on the screen and the corresponding beat noises crept upwards.
Rhuaridh and Miriam whispered almost in unison. ‘Cord prolapse.’
This was all way above Kristie’s head.
Magda let out a small squeak of desperation. ‘No.’ As a doctor it seemed she knew exactly what that could mean even if Kristie didn’t.
Rhuaridh pulled out his phone and dialled. ‘Air ambulance. Obstetric emergency.’ His voice was low and calm. He moved over to the corner of the room where Kristie couldn’t hear him any more. By the time he’d finished, David had walked towards him.
‘Tell me what’s happening.’
Rhuaridh nodded. ‘The cord is coming down the birth canal before, or adjacent to, the baby. It means that every time Magda has a contraction, there’s a risk the cord can be compressed and affect the blood flow to your baby.’
‘Our baby could die?’ David’s words were little more than a squeak.
Rhuaridh shook his head, but Kristie could see the tense muscles at the bottom of his neck. The tiny hairs prickled on her skin. She was useless here—no help whatsoever. What did she know about medical emergencies?
She walked over to the window and looked outside, putting her hands on her hips and taking a few breaths.
The midwife’s voice cut across momentary panic. ‘Magda, we’re going to change your position. Kristie!’ The voice was sharp—one you wouldn’t hesitate to follow. ‘Run upstairs to the bedroom and grab me all the pillows on the bed.’
Rhuaridh finished his call and moved over to help move Magda onto her side. Kristie did exactly what she’d been told and dashed up the stairs in the house, turning one way then the other until she found the room with the large double bed and grabbed every pillow on it. She paused for the briefest of seconds as her eyes focused on the little white Moses basket at the side of the bed. The basket that had been placed there with the hope and expectation of a beautiful baby.
She held back the sob in her throat as she ran back down the stairs and thrust the pillows towards Rhuaridh. He and Miriam moved in unison. Rhuaridh spoke in a low voice as he helped adjust Magda’s position with some pillows under her left flank and her right knee and thigh pulled up towards her chest. ‘The position is supposed to alleviate pressure on the umbilical cord.’ His words were quiet and Kristie wasn’t sure if he was explaining to her or to David.
Magda’s hands were trembling slightly. She was scared and Kristie’s heart went out to her. How must this feel? All of a sudden this felt like a real intrusion instead of a filming opportunity. How dared they be there right now?
Rhuaridh’s gaze connected with hers. She wasn’t quite sure what she was reading there. His voice seemed a little steely. ‘Gerry, the air ambulance will land in the field next to the house—you might want to get that.’ Gerry nodded and was gone in the blink of an eye.
She was still looking at those bright blue eyes, trying to control the overwhelming sensation of being utterly useless in a situation completely out of her area of expertise. Right now all she could do was send up a prayer that both Magda and this baby would be fine. It was amazing how quickly a set of circumstances could envelop you. Was this what every day was like for a doctor?
All of a sudden she had a new understanding of her grumpy doctor. This was a situation he could end up in any day, and today it involved a friend. She could almost sense the history in the room between them all. The long-standing friendship, along with the expectations. If something happened to Magda or this baby, things would never be the same again.
The monitor for the baby kept pinging. At least that was reassuring. Miriam and Rhuaridh had a conversation about whether another examination should be carried out. Both agreed not, though Kristie averted her gaze while Miriam did a quick visual check to reassure that no cord was protruding.
Rhuaridh moved over next to her and she caught a whiff of his woody aftershave. ‘What’s gone wrong?’ Kristie whispered. Magda was holding her husband’s hand, her eyes fixed on the monitor that showed the baby’s heartbeat.
Rhuaridh spoke in a low, quiet voice. ‘Magda wasn’t at high risk for anything. She’d planned for this home birth within an inch of her life. Cord prolapse is unusual, and Magda has no apparent risk factors. But, right now, every time she has a contraction, the baby’s heartbeat goes down, meaning the cord is being compressed.’
‘Can’t you do anything?’
He shook his head. ‘The cord isn’t obviously protruding, so we just need to get Magda to hospital as soon as possible. This baby needs to be delivered and Magda will need to have a Caesarean section.’ He ran his hand through his hair, the frustration on his face evident. ‘We just don’t have the facilities here for that—or the expertise.’
‘How long does the air ambulance take to get here?’
‘Usually not long,’ he said, then looked upwards as a thud-thud-thud noise could be heard in the distance.
Kristie’s heart started thudding in her chest. Maybe everything was actually going to be okay?
Magda let out a groan, and Kristie held her breath as she watched Rhuaridh and Miriam move to support her as she was hit
by another contraction. All eyes were on the monitor, and although the heart rate went down, it didn’t go down quite as much as it had before.
Rhuaridh glanced towards the door a few times. Kristie could see him weighing up whether to ask David to go and meet the crew or whether to go himself.