Page 65 of Emergency Engagement
“Uh-uh,” Hunter answered. “Not yet. My girl Madison’s going to do this, right, sweetheart? You’re ready to meet this baby you’ve been taking such good care of for the last nine months. Hold her in your arms and show her what a strong, brave, pretty mama she’s got.”
Madison sounded less than convinced, despite Hunter’s impressive confidence. He listened with half an ear as Hunter gave her a pep talk, and mentally worked out the logistics of loading her into the rig and navigating the traffic to the nearest ER. He could get it done in ten minutes—fifteen max. With his mind so deep in plan B, he almost didn’t hear his partner say, “Beau’s going to come around to your side and climb in. He’ll support you while you push, okay? He’s way more comfortable than a hard car door.”
Okay, plan B went on hold for now. He hurried to the other side of the car and got in. She more or less fell against him.
“That’s right.” Beau turned so his chest supported her back. “Let me take your weight.” As she relaxed, he gently inched her hips closer to Hunter. His partner spared him a grateful glance.
The next contraction hit hard. When it finally let go, his partner had the head in view, but Beau had an armful of exhausted, trembling, and borderline incoherent woman. He caught Hunter’s eye and nodded toward the ambulance.Transport her.
Hunter shook his head, and then called Madison’s name in a sharp voice.
To Beau’s surprise, she responded. Hunter’s smile mirrored his own relief.
“Stay with me, sweetheart,” Hunter said. “Next time, when the contraction comes, I want you to push as long as you can. Not hard, but long. Got it?” While Hunter issued the instructions, he placed supplies on the drape.
Madison’s small frame stiffened as the next spasm gripped her. She leaned forward and put her whole body into the push. Beau supported her with one hand between her shoulders and the other against her lower back.
“Oh God. Oh God. Oh God.”
In his mind he added a fewOh Gods of his own to the mix. Apparently God was listening, because Hunter called, “That’s my girl. You’re doing great.” The moment of triumph was short-lived, however, because he followed with an urgent instruction to stop pushing.
Beau held the whimpering woman, feeling helpless as shakes rattled through her. Hunter moved quickly, his attention locked on the action in front of him. Beau couldn’t see much from his position, but he knew enough about the process to realize Hunter was dealing with a cord situation, and prayed he could resolve it. Transporting now, with mother and baby in distress due to an unmanageable nuchal cord, would be a nightmare.
He almost high-fived his partner when Hunter said, “Sweetheart, you’re almost done. One last push…there you go…a little more.” Next thing he knew, Hunter had a baby in his hands. Her little chest expanded; Beau released a breath of his own. While Hunter cleaned, dried, and wrapped the infant, Beau eased Madison into a more reclined position and attempted to check her pulse.
The new mom had different priorities and kept trying to sit up. “Is she all right? Is she breathing?”
As if activated by the sound of her mother’s voice, the baby cried out. The little bleating sound told him she wasn’t having any problem drawing in air.
Hunter grinned. “Aw. Is that any way to say thank you? Want to go to your mama?” He placed the baby into Madison’s outstretched arms.
Beau took the additional towels Hunter handed him, and then the stethoscope. “Hey, Madison?” He waited until she turned her head and smiled at him.
“Isn’t she beautiful?”
“She’s gorgeous.” And she was. Pink and vigorous. “Your first post-birth duty as a mom is to hold her and keep her warm while I listen to her heart and lungs.”
Heart rate and respiration were strong and steady. He helped Madison listen to her baby’s heartbeat while Hunter clamped and cut the cord. Beau collected some medical history while his partner dealt with stage three. The cops made themselves useful and got the stretcher out of the rig, and then finally, Beau held the baby while Hunter lifted Madison onto the stretcher.
He walked behind them, staring into the newborn’s blurry eyes, and overheard Madison ask, “Back in the car, when you promised my baby and me would be okay, how did you know?”
Hunter looked back at Beau before answering. “Gotta have faith in happy endings. Otherwise, what’s the point?”
Good question.
He pondered it for the drive to the hospital, and back to the station, and the same answer kept shoving its way to the front of his mind, along with an epiphany he needed to share with a specific someone. Now. By the time they’d clocked out he was frantic to get to Savannah.
“You headed home?” Hunter asked, apparently oblivious to his urgency.
“Not exactly, no. You?”
“I’m thinking about making a stop by the hospital, just to check in on our last call.”
“Good job tonight.” He clapped a hand on Hunter’s shoulder. “You did everything right.”
Hunter grinned. “I was sweating like a damned soul running a marathon in hell.”
“It didn’t show.”
