"My sister said they come in waves" Erica said, holding tight onto Josephine's hand as she lay in bed. "Like, building up and getting to the top of the hill and coming back down again and her tummy went hard when she was having them. Does it feel like that?"
Josephine shook her head, trying yet failing not to cry. She thought perhaps the baby was coming but this pain wasn't like Erica was describing, not one bit! "No, it's there all the time!" she cried, forcibly scrubbing her free hand over her cheek to wipe away the tears.
"Sister's on her way" Erica soothed, placing her hand on the agitated girl's forehead and finding it red hot. "She'll be down in a sec. Sister'll know what to do. She knows what to do with everything that ever happens to us!" She was trying to keep her mood light and the moment the words left her mouth the door opened, Chummy quickly casting her eye over the girl who was lying prostrate on the bed.
"Now, lets see what all the fuss is about" Chummy began, sitting on the other side of Erica who was still stroking the younger girl's hand. "Where is all this pain?" she asked, seeing Josephine place her hand just about on her right hip, sniffling away but Chummy could see she was trying to be brave about it too. "Is it moving or changing?" she asked turning around more so that she could examine her properly. "Going away and coming back?"
"No Sister" Josephine replied, shaking her head. "Will it go away soon though?"
"One is afraid one can't answer that quite yet!" Chummy replied with an apprehensive laugh. "Now have you been bleeding downstairs?" she asked, all kinds of scenarios running through her mind. Normal early stage labour, bowel obstruction, perforated intestine...placental abruption. She swallowed quickly and composed herself.
"No Sister. Not been bleeding at all" Josephine responded to which the Nurse breathed a discreet sigh of relief, for now at least.
"What about going to the toilet? Ones and twos" the Sister asked, moving onto other problems that may just be causing this girls pain. Good old fashioned constipation was a possibility and she was afraid poor Josephine might be in line for breaking open that bottle of cod liver oil that was sitting ominously on the shelf in the treatment room or cause her to wield a tin opener around that rather enormous tin of prunes stuffed at the back of the kitchen cabinets.
"About an hour ago and this morning" Josephine replied. "Both".
Chummy nodded carefully, ticking off at last one or two of her concerns. "Now when did the pain start?" she asked, gently pressing on Josephine's left hand side, over her belly and away from where she said the pain was. "Lunchtime Sister, but it was only a little bit and everywhere is sore anyway. I just thought it was Baby... Ow Sister! It's hurts on the right when you press on the left!"
Just what she didn't want to hear and Chummy moved her hands across to the right side now. "And this?" she asked, pressing again.
"It's better Sister" Josephine replied breathing heavily. "Goes away a little bit".
"Well then one does think you might be suffering from appendicitis and the little chap might have to come out" Chummy replied, gently rearranging Josephine's dress that had become disturbed in her brief examination. "Erica would you mind awfully if you would mind sitting with Josephine for a few moments more whilst I go upstairs?"
"Course not Sister" the other girl smiled.
"Well?" Peter asked as she came back clearly seeing she had run up the stairs to the attics and was now pulling on another pair of shoes and looking around for her coat.
"Looks like appendicitis. One might have to go to Hospital with her" she replied, her voice drifting away as she trotted into their bedroom, realising she had hung the particular coat she was after in the wardrobe not so long ago and it was quite chilly tonight.
"What about the father or sister?" he asked, wandering in after her and leaning on the door frame. "They're next of kin aren't they?"
Chummy nodded. "Getting her to Hospital is the priority though Peter". She was still spinning around trying now to locate the front door keys as she brushed past him again back into the sitting room. Again he followed and stepped in front of her to slow her down, hands holding gently onto her elbows. "Would you like me to telephone the family?" Peter asked.
"Oh Peter…" she said softly, stopping immediately, for a moment able to focus on him as he blocked her path. "Do you mind?" she asked as he shook his head. "You are such an angel" she continued in a low voice, leaning across to kiss him on the cheek. "Give Freddie a kiss for me too". As she shot out of the door she just about heard him telling her to telephone him and he would come and collect her from the Hospital whenever she needed him to come.
It was the rush of a blue swing coat that caught Chummy's eye as she sat in the cold Hospital corridor as Sophia almost ran towards her, recognising her immediately patiently waiting. She had long spoken to the Doctors when they realised she was the Sister from Aston Lodge and were rather forthcoming in their urgent discussions to take Josephine immediately to Theatre and really had to explain little when Sister Noakes said she had already arranged for the family to be telephoned and they were on their way.
"Sister?" Sophia said, her father hobbling along twenty paces behind her. "Sister? How is she?"
"She is alright" Chummy replied, standing up to greet them both. "They have confirmed that it is appendicitis and taken her to theatre. They…." she paused, really wondering how the next news was going to be taken. "They are going to deliver the baby too. They believe that she has the beginnings of peritonitis..."
"Which is? Sister?" the father asked, arriving at their side, interrupting and failing to introduce himself or shake the Sister's proffered hand out of politeness if nothing else.
"Inflammation of the layers of tissue inside her abdomen. Its safer for the baby to be born" Chummy replied.
"Would the baby be alright?" Sophia asked tentatively, stealing a glance at her father as the three stood marooned in the middle of the hallway.
"I imagine so. She is coming up to 37 weeks now so she is term" Chummy smiled, trying to hide the worried frown and the yawn that was sitting at the back of her throat as the hesitantly spoke. Twenty or so passed as the three sat side by side, making painful small talk nobody daring to bring up the fact that by now the child could well have been born but it was Mr Baker-Clough who was the first to break the silence. "I simply cannot bear standing around" her father announced suddenly getting up out of the uncomfortable chair. "Sophia…you stay and wait. I will drive the Sister back to the Lodge. We do not need to keep her from her family."
"Pa are you sure?" Sophia asked, head flying up only to be dismissed with the wave of his hand.
Between Chummy and Mr Baker-Clough they walked in silence again across the front of the Hospital to where he had parked their car on the street outside. He never liked leaving the car to all and sundry outside but this time needs must. "Sister I gather you know that Robert will be sentenced on Friday" he began as they sat side by side and he turned the ignition and then paused.
"One does" she replied.
"I…. " he began, taking his hands off the steering wheel and resting them on his lap; having more than considered whether he ought to be raising this with the Sister, but he knew she was married to a Policeman so be probably had an inkling about these things worked already. "I have been able to take assurances that he will receive such a sentence that will remove his presence from our lives for several months"
"Oh?" Chummy replied, nearly choking as he started the engine and drew the car away.
"Yes" he responded with a sharp nod of the head. "When she is discharged from Hospital she will come to live with me and Sophia. We will take care of her as family should". Chummy certainly agreed with him that they should support the child in what would now be her recovery from what was serious abdominal surgery and, as Chummy already knew from her own experience with Freddie, she would need support around her.
"Of course…" she replied, out of instinct if anything but other thoughts pressed themselves to her lips. "One does not believe she will accept such an arrangement".
"Oh she will Sister" he replied somewhat ominously to the Nurse's ears as they turned a corner. "I…Sophia and I have talked at length and we will accept the child into the family and Sophia will assist to bring the child up. He or she is still our blood regardless of who the father might be. I know that my daughter does fear losing the child and one intends to discuss with her that she may keep the child on condition she returns to our home".
"And Robbie?"
"She will forget him Sister" he replied. "Mark my words".
His words rankled as Chummy walked briskly upstairs to the attics. It seemed everyone was asleep and as she crept past Peter and Freddie, she found herself in the bathroom washing quickly and throwing her nightdress over her shoulders as the cool linen enveloped her body. As she walked back into the bedroom Freddie was standing up in his cot, hands holding onto the sides and she could just about see he was smiling at the fact that Momma was home at last.
"Hello handsome" she whispered going across to pick him up. "It's far too late for little bears like you to be awake..."
"Hugs" he said, pushing his arms around her neck and nuzzling close. "Mumma hugs".
"Oh so its cuddles you want" she continued, still keeping her voice quiet, tightening her arms around him and breathing in the presence of her little boy. "Mumma does love you, lots and lots".
"Love Mumma" Freddie replied, heaving a big sleepy sigh as she felt tears prick at her eyes. "Who taught you to say that?" she asked, surprised but touched beyond words. It was the first time he had said it. "As if one didn't know…" she turned seeing Peter still fast asleep, breathing steadily with his back to her and she smiled, forcing the tears away. Freddie was starting to pick up her moods; joy and upset and although her heart was leaping at his simple words, she didn't want him to see her tears. "Let's put you back to beddy-byes, shall we?" she said, unravelling his arms and placing him back down into his cot, tucking him in. She pressed a kiss to his forehead and watched as his eyes fluttered closed, pleased it seem that he had had his fill of cuddles for now.
Chummy slid into bed and willed her eyes to close, listening to her son as he settled and grabbed hold of the knitted bunny that had been his bedfellow since he was born. She too sighed, taking off her glasses and staring at the ceiling, too anxious for sleep, too agitated to allow her mind to wind down. She could do with talking to Patsy or one of the Sisters but she could hardly telephone them this time of night. If she could just sleep, even for a few hours, she might feel better and could telephone Nonnatus in the morning. Yes, that's what she'd do.
That was, however, not remotely happening and as she listened to the clock tick, tick, tick, each second was moving interminably slowly. She sighed again, eyes wandering around the room as she felt Peter move, turning towards her in sleep and drifting his palm over her middle. Gently she placed her hand on his. If she breathed, relaxed, began to count sheep she might fall asleep.
"Was she alright?" he suddenly asked, voice heavy with sleep but she must have woken him up too. Chummy turned her head to find his eyes half open.
"Appendicitis and they are going to deliver the baby. It's too risky" she replied. He already knew she had as good as diagnosed the problem herself some hours ago.
"Oh…Did you see the father?" he asked.
Chummy laughed quickly, recalling the conversation in the car particularly, thinking she might just talk to Peter now and run it over with Patsy in the morning too. "Oh I certainly did. He thinks he can broker a deal with her that she keeps the baby, goes home with him and forgets Robbie".
"Is that such a bad thing ?" Peter asked, thinking it over. "She'll have her child, have the security".
"But she won't have the person she loves..." she responded, half thinking aloud.
"The child will love her and like you said, the family do seem to be trying" he replied, fighting his eyes closing again.
"Yes I know but it just felt like he was trying to enter into some kind of contract with her. A business deal . Bribery even". It was so unpleasant to sit there in the car with him. He reminded her too much of how her own parents minds worked, trampling over any views and opinions she might have and indeed stamping so far on her feelings that she dare not raise a peep in response as she knew exactly where the conversation would end up.
"She is a child still Camilla and he still has responsibility for her" Peter noted as she shook her head in disagreement. This child was now a mother after all. "Look Camilla" he began. When he normally said 'look Camilla' she knew she was going to be put in her place. He didn't do it often but it seemed that this was one of those times. "She is fifteen. To the law she's a child, whether she has her own child or not, her father has responsibility for her and Robbie is going to jail. It's no place for a child to grow up knowing their father thinks its acceptable to house break or be forever on the run".
"I know". She suddenly remembered something. "The father was very sure he was going away for a long time".
Peter looked down for a moment and scowled, in two minds whether to tell her what he had recently found out but deciding to as he wasn't intending on keeping any secrets from her at all. "Foster said that the local beak is a friend of the father's".
"Can't anything be said?" she asked knowing exactly what Peter's statement meant in the grand scheme of Robbie finding himself in jail.
"And accuse the judiciary of corruption?" Peter asked, even though he knew full well what might have gone on behind the scenes, it was a line – for his own professional prospects - that he had no intention of crossing. She sighed and shook her head.
"We can't do any more than we have Camilla" he concluded, taking up her hand. "We just can't".