Three Weeks Later
Fortunately, Ruth's recovery from her back injury was textbook and she was allowed back to work (albeit on light duties due to her pregnancy) after the two weeks leave was up. Of course, all her colleagues had found out about the impending arrival and less than five minutes in to her first shift back for Ruth to find out that Mac and Noel were organising bets on all baby related matters. Ruth couldn't bring herself to stop them – she blamed the pregnancy hormones for her change in attitude despite the fact she still wasn't suffering with the pregnancy symptoms.
Unfortunately, all of her colleagues knowing about her pregnancy also meant it was impossible for Ruth to try to go on full duties, no matter how hard she begged. Being on light duties was pretty dull and Ruth started to get a craving for coffee despite the fact she hadn't been allowed one for three weeks now. Sneaking down to the coffee machine, she tried to look inconspicuous as she pressed the number she knew off by heart for a coffee with milk, no sugar. Just as she picked it up a figure knocked it out of her hands, making the coffee spill all over the floor.
"Jay, what did you do that for? I was only going to have the one!" Ruth said, without turning round. She thought it was such a Jay thing to do.
"Sorry Ruthie but I had to get your attention somehow." The voice definitely wasn't Jay's – it was Jonathan's. His tone was joking but there was the usual undercurrent of menace beneath it.
"Jonathan, what are you doing here?"
"I need your help. My friend, she's hurt but she won't come in to hospital. Ruthie, she's hurt really bad! Please come and help her!"
"Jonathan, it's the middle of my shift – I can't just disappear. Sorry but you're going to have to call an ambulance like everyone else for her."
"No, you're going to help her." His tone went from desperate to angry as he grabbed her by the arm and steered her out of the department and in to the back of a beat up wreck of a car waiting in the hospital car park.
Ten minutes later, Ruth and Jonathan arrived at a houseboat on the Holby canal. It turned out Jonathan was telling the truth. Inside, a 17 year old girl, obviously heavily addicted to drugs even at her young age, with a large cut to her leg and lying barely conscious on the kitchen floor.
"Jonathan, I have no equipment. I can't do anything. She needs to go to hospital."
"You're lying, I know you are. I've seen those hospital shows. Docs can do all sorts even when they don't have any equipment so you're going to make her better."
"Jonathan, those shows aren't real. In real life, doctors need clean bandages and drugs to treat patients."
"No, you're lying. All you need is some water and a tea towel. Look, I've got them ready for you."
Ruth knew she wasn't going to get anywhere with Jonathan so decided to do her best to clean and dress the wound with what Jonathan gave her, although she tried to use the dirty tea towel as little as possible. It turned out it wasn't enough.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"Home. I've dressed the wound as best I could and now I'm going."
"No. You're going to stay here until I know she's better."
"Jonathan, it will take weeks, if not months, for her leg to completely heal and that's with proper medical attention – not some water and a tea towel."
"What do you need then? I'll go and get it for you."
"Jonathan, no. I won't have you robbing some chemists for supplies. Think, Jonathan, you'll go back to prison for a long time all because you won't let her go to hospital. Look, if you take her to the ED, I can make sure the Police won't get involved. Please just let me go.
Jonathan pondered the idea for a moment but then shook his head.
"Sorry, Ruth but I told you she's not going to hospital."
"You're being ridiculous. Don't you think people will wonder where I am?"
"No, Ruth, I don't think they will. There's so many doctors at that hospital I don't think they'll miss one … and don't pretend you have some sort of social life and that your friends will miss you. I'll go get some supplies for you if that's what you need but don't think about leaving. I'll find you then you'll regret it." Ruth hated that tone, the tone he'd used to threaten her with a beating when they were little – usually followed by a beating no matter if she did what he wanted or not.
However, Jonathan had underestimated his sister. Five minutes after he'd left, Ruth had managed to break down the door within seconds of her first attempt at it and was running down the canal side shouting for help when a ripple of pain shot through her abdomen which made her stop in her tracks. It went away as quickly as it came so Ruth convinced herself it was just a stitch. Just as she was about to start running up the canal side shouting for help again, she saw a familiar figure ahead.
"Dr Kier! …"
"Dr Winters isn't it? What on earth are you doing down here? You'd better not be stalking me!" Dylan replied before Ruth could explain further.
"No, no. Dr Kier, there's a woman in that houseboat by the boathouse with a gash to her leg in urgent need of medical attention. Please, you need to help her." Ruth replied breathlessly, still out of breath from running up the canal side.
"And you didn't think to ring 999?"
"I left my phone at the hospital – long story – but you need to get to her quickly before …" Another jolt of pain shot across her abdomen, making it impossible for Ruth to continue with her explanation.
"Dr Winters, have you had this sort of pain before?"
"It's just a stitch. Had one just before I saw you too, completely normal."
"Ruth, you know that's not the case. Are you absolutely sure you've only had one other contraction?"
"Contractions? I'm not in labour, I'm only 30 weeks gone – it's way too soon. It's just a stitch; you need to go and get the girl and take her to hospital."
Dylan sighed. "Fine, I'll go and get the girl but you are going to the hospital too," he said as he turned and started walking back to his car. Ruth quickly followed suit.
"Whatever, we just need to get the girl before my brother gets back."
"Your brother? What on earth has he got to do with this?" Dylan stopped in his tracks, a metre from the car.
"I think she's his girlfriend or something but he was the one who kidnapped me from the hospital and brought me here."
"Kidnapped? By your brother? No wonder you're so odd."
"Pot, kettle, black," Ruth muttered to herself before saying curtly "can we just hurry up and get to her before he gets back?"
"Yes, yes. Get in – it'll be quicker to drive up there." Dylan unlocked the car door and jumped in.
Barely a minute, they arrived back at the houseboat.
"This boat here?" Dylan asked.
"Yes."
Dylan grabbed his kit (he was supposed to be on duty with Swift Medics tonight) from the boot before following Ruth into the boat.
"Hello, can you tell me your name?" Dylan asked the girl.
"Kit."
"Kit, how did you get this injury?"
Before she could answer, the door slammed shut – Jonathan had returned.
"Ruthie, I told you not to go anywhere." His tone was sickly sweet, which Ruth knew meant trouble. Sure enough, ignoring Dylan, Jonathan grabbed Ruth by the throat and shoved to the opposite wall. Dylan did a good job at hiding his shock at this.
"Mr Winters, I'm one of Ruth's colleagues. We're just trying to help your friend."
"Yeah, well, no one's leaving until she's properly better."
"She needs to get to hospital now – as does your sister."
"My sister? I barely touched her, did I, Ruthie?" Ruth knew better than to disagree with Jonathan.
"I wasn't talking about that. I meant she's in labour."
"Ruthie in labour? Give me a break. I'm not that stupid. She isn't pregnant – she ain't got a bump," he said pointing at her still flat stomach. "Who would go near enough to her to knock her up anyway? Not you I hope." Jonathan was laughing now.
"No, Dr Winters and I are just colleagues as I said earlier when I also said we need to take your friend to hospital now." Dylan was trying to distract Jonathan as he saw Ruth was having another contraction, making their need to get hospital even more urgent.
"Jonathan, how about Dr Kier dresses the wound here with his kit then we take her to the hospital? We can say she just fell down the canal side and cut her leg on a dumped sign or something?" Ruth was realising maybe Dylan had been right so knew she needed to persuade her brother to let them go as soon as possible.
"How do I know you won't just say I did it? I'll go back to jail – I ain't going back, Ruthie, not ever!"
"Kit hasn't told us any different to my version of events so that's what Dr Kier and I will have to say at the hospital."
"Ok but if I find out you've dobbed on me Ruth, you know what will happen."
Dylan got to work on cleaning and dressing the wound, which was slowed down by Jonathan wanting to know what Dylan was doing. Ruth helped as best as she could but she was getting contractions every two minutes now. Both Dylan and Ruth knew there wasn't a lot of time left. Dylan managed to clean and dress the wound in double quick time and even managed to convince Jonathan to help carry Kit to the car by playing to Jonathan's sexist mind. Just as they managed to get Kit into the car, Ruth collapsed in a heap.
"Baby's coming now!" She managed saying whilst panting for breath.
"Ruthie, you can stop with the baby nonsense now – I'm letting you take her to hospital. Come on get up." Ruth just grimaced in pain as another contraction hit.
Dylan ran over to Ruth and was shocked to see that the baby's feet were already nearly out.
"Ruth, I need you listen to me, alright?" Ruth nodded. "Ok, right, push, push, push – stop!" Dylan said as the torso came out. As it was a breech birth, the baby needed to be turned when the shoulders were about to be delivered so they didn't get stuck. "One more push, Ruth." Sure enough, one push later, Ruth gave birth to a baby boy who promptly cried the place down. Dylan clamped and cut the umbilical cord quickly and handed the baby over to Ruth.
"Hello, little one." Ruth didn't think she'd ever been so happy or so scared as she was holding her son for the first time. Jonathan and Dylan managed to get Ruth and her son into the back of the car alongside Kit before opening the passenger door for Jonathan.
"I'm not going to hospital."
"Your sister's just had a baby – don't you want to go with her?"
"No. I'm not going anywhere near that place." Jonathan then ran off into the fields by the canal. Dylan knew the two women needed him to take them to hospital more than he wanted to give chase to Jonathan to knock some sense in to him.
Dylan didn't think he'd ever driven so carefully in his life – after all, he had a new born 10 week premature baby in the back. Driving in to the Holby hospital car park, Dylan parked right by the hospital doors.
"You two," he shouted towards Jeff and Dixie, "I've got two female patients and a male premature new born here in need of urgent medical attention."
"Whoa, hi Ruth, hi little one – you could have mentioned the new born baby was Dr Winters'," Dixie said to Dylan.
"Put Kit on the stretcher – I'll wait."
"Ok, Jeff, you wait with Ruth whilst Dr Kier and I take this woman in and grab a wheelchair for Ruth."
"So, have you thought of a name for him yet?" Jeff asked Ruth after Dixie and Dylan had gone in to the department with Kit.
"No, I … it's something Jay and I need to decide together, you know?"
"Just an idea but Jeff Fauldren has a certain ring to it, don't you think?" Ruth just laughed in response.
Dixie, Jay and Dylan returned from the department with another stretcher for Ruth as well as an incubator for the baby.
"Why do you want me to help?" Jay was puzzled at why Dixie had demanded he come outside to help with the patient.
"Jay!" Ruth called out as soon as she saw him.
"Ruth, what on … the baby! … Our baby!" Jay was in shock as he realised he'd become a dad.
"Your son is very small; he needs to go up to the SCBU to be checked over. However, you can have a quick cuddle with him before he goes in to the incubator." Dixie explained.
"He's so little," Jay said as Ruth handed their baby to him.
"But chatty like his daddy!" Ruth joked.
"Right, Ruth, time to get out of this rust bucket and on to the trolley." Jay put the baby in to the incubator then picked Ruth up out of the back of the jeep and put her on to the stretcher.
Dixie, Jeff and Jay pushed the stretcher (with Jay by her head so he could whisper words of comfort to her when she was pushed through the department – he knew how embarrassed she would feel). Meanwhile Dylan took the incubator up to the SCBU.
After an examination by Zoe, it was decided that Ruth needed to stay in overnight for observation. The SCBU staff said due to his early birth, the baby would have to stay in for a week at least due to his premature birth which was definitely not in a hospital.
Afterwards, Jay came in to the cubicle with a photo of their son he'd obviously snuck up to SCBU to take.
"He still doesn't have a name – the others are getting annoyed. They've already all lost out on the due date and birth weight bets." Jay said jokingly.
"Well, we agreed you would choose his first name and I would choose his middle name so you can't just blame me." Ruth smiled.
"Ok, well my nana has always begged me to use her dad's name if I ever had a son – something about him being a hero in World War One. He was called Saheed and as she always said, it means bliss, which is what this," Jay indicated around them, "is."
"That's so sweet. I was thinking – and don't get angry – but because he delivered our son, I think he should have the middle name Dylan."
Jay wasn't angry at all but did laugh. "Don't you think that will be a bit of a mouthful – how about Keogh instead as a middle name?" Ruth nodded as Jay went over to the reception desk to tell Noel and Big Mac their decision and she picked up the pen lying on the side, writing on the bottom of the picture "Saheed Keogh Fauldren".
Uni's about to start so I won't have time to continue this story. However, feel free to yourselves instead.
