John would not have been surprised if the room that they had been placed in had been cut out of the hospital building and transplanted into somewhere near the equator; he was dripping in sweat but had no way to tell whether it was because of the heat of the room or the situation that he found himself in. He certainly was not the only person in the room feeling warm, Harriet was drenched through from the effort that she had been engaging in since she arrived.

"One more big push Harriet!" Nurse Williams looked as worn out as Harriet did, and she wasn't even the one who had to push. The only person who looked calm in the room was Sherlock, who was lounging in the armchair near the bed.

"Again?! You're telling me I need to push again?" Harry exclaimed, but she sounded absolutely exhausted. The colour had drained out of her face; her cheeks were no longer rosy pink but a dusky shade not far off that of sour milk. Initially Sherlock had felt slightly uncomfortable about remaining in the room as events proceeded further, but he had almost zoned himself out from Harri's shouting and the encouragement issuing forth from John and the nurse – he was watching, actually he was observing what was going on. He had no greater right or medical knowledge than that of John, his doctor friend or the nurse, but working in his field of work for so long had made him wary to the possibilities that could occur – and these possibilities didn't pan out well…

"Baby's head is crowning now, so one more big push and that should be it done!" Nurse Williams said reassuringly. "You're doing so well Harriet, just a little bit more and then you'll be able to have a bit of a rest."

"I had a plan… and a list… of things I had to do before I could think about the baby!" Harry panted, "I haven't got the flat sorted out, or a cot, or anything like that for the baby… I haven't even thought of names! Or got any baby clothes!"

"Harry, don't think about any of that! We can think of baby names, and we'll get you some baby clothes." John repeated for about the millionth time. "It's just a little bit more effort and we'll have baby here – all that other stuff will be fine, I promise you. I told you I was going to look after you; I'm not going to go back on that."

"Thank you," She whispered, from the look on her face it was quite obvious that she was having the beginnings of another contraction.

"Right Harriet – last one!" Nurse Williams told her, "One really big push, that's it."

John's heart had leapt into his mouth, he felt as though every nerve in his body might be trying to break free from inside him. This was a huge moment. John could hear Harry's teeth grinding together as she put all of the effort she could muster into this final push; John had been ignoring everything else that Nurse Williams was doing down at the end of the bed, until she said:

"That's it! That's it! Well done Harriet! The head's nearly out!" It all happened very fast – suddenly Harry was leaning back, letting out great gasps of air; the room was flooded with the doctors and nurses from the midwifery team that had been in the room earlier. "That's it! Welcome to the world baby!" In the quickness of the moment, John and Harry waited with baited breath to hear the baby cry for the first time – there seemed to be an incredibly long, resounding silence, despite the amount of people that were present in the room. Nurse Williams didn't even pause to tell them what sex the baby was, but wrapped the small body in a towel and carried it over to where the paediatric doctor was waiting.

"What is it?! Is everything okay?" Harri called frantically, "Oh my god. It's not… Why is it not crying?" She tried to push herself up on the bed, but John and Nurse Williams held her back.

"You need to let the team do their work Harriet." She said quietly, but John was feeling a sinking in his stomach – he could see the doctors and nurses huddled around the bay with the tiny figure lying on it. Oh god, this might not end well…

It seemed like a lifetime until there was the smallest of gurgling sounds and then the unmistakeable wail of a baby crying. John let out the breath that he hadn't realised he was holding and turned his attention quickly back round to Harry.

"Oh my goodness Harry! You did it!" John grabbed his sister into a tight hug, her face so pale but she reciprocated the hug well enough for John to suspect no wrong.

"Is it okay?" Harry asked quickly, the moment that John had let her go. Nurse Williams had moved over to where the team had been rapidly assessing the baby, bundling it up in clean cloths to bring it across to Harriet before they clothed it.

"Congratulations!" Nurse Williams told Harry, the still crying bundle in her arms, "It's a boy." She passed the boy across to Harry – who took her son into her arms and held him in such a way that an outsider would be likely not to think this was her first child.

"A boy." Harry breathed, looking down at the small bundle in her arms which had settled down slightly with her tender hold. John felt a strange swelling of pride inside him as he looked down at the tiny baby, which was bright pink and in need of his first wash; he could only imagine how Harry was feeling at this moment. "Is everything alright with him?"

"There's certainly nothing wrong with his lungs!" John smiled, resting his hand on Harry's shoulder as he took in the sight of his sister and his nephew.

"He'll need a thorough check, but it seems like he is perfectly developed for his age." Nurse Williams said reassuringly. "He is very premature, but his lungs and everything else appear to have developed well."

"Thank you." Harry replied, her eyes were welling up with grateful tears. John was fumbling with his other hand in the pocket of his jeans, and he pulled out his phone. "I want to get a picture of the two of you." John said taking a few steps back from the bed, and bringing both Harry and his nephew into focus on the screen on the phone. Once he took the photo Nurse Williams held out her hand:

"We better get one with uncle in as well." She said, John beamed – it felt strange to be called an uncle. He put his hand back onto Harry's shoulder and smiled as she snapped a photo of the three of them. "Aaaw, it's lovely. You should both be very proud." John took the phone back and stared at the photo for a long moment, the rest of the room was almost completely silent as Nurse Williams moved back to dispose of some of the equipment she had been using, and Harry was still staring, enamoured, at her son. John had lost himself in his own thoughts when Sherlock's voice broke the calmness within the room.

"Something's wrong." His voice stated sharply, John turned and stared at him in utter amazement, but Sherlock's gaze was not at John or the nurse – he was staring directly at Harriet. John followed his gaze, and saw that Harry's arms had become much looser so the baby was nearly falling out onto the bedclothes, and her eyes were glazed over.

"Harry?" John asked, but there was no response. "Harry, are you alright?" Still nothing. Nurse Williams had turned to look now, "Do you have a pen light?" John asked her and she delved into her pocket and produced one. John placed his hand on Harry's head, she was clammy and warm, he shone the light across her eyes. Almost as instantly as it had come, the warm swelling feeling deflated from inside him like a balloon with a puncture. "Nurse Williams, can you take the baby? Please – quickly!" She rushed forwards and retrieved the baby from Harry's arms, just as her eyes rolled upwards and only the whites could be seen. "Oh my god, help! Help!" John shouted, slamming his hand on every button on the alert panel above Harriet's head. "Oh god – Harry? Harriet?!" John shook her shoulders gently, but she was completely unconscious. "Something's wrong!" He remembered that Sherlock had been the one to notice that something was not right. "What did you see Sherlock?" John barked sharply. "How did you know something was wrong?"

"I just saw her staring… nothing else." Sherlock replied, John had pulled back the covers that had been covering half of Harriet's body. At this instant, he had no inhibitions about this being his sister rather than any other patient; he was pulling at the tie of her gown as Kevin ran into the room, followed by another nurse.

"What's going on?" Kevin asked suddenly.

"She just went unconscious! Something is wrong!" John shouted in reply; Kevin almost pushed him out of the way to gain access to the side of Harry's bed. Pulling aside the front of the gown, Kevin, John and Sherlock could see that the left side of Harry's torso was a mottled purple colour – the other side was exactly the same.

"Oh my god!" John exclaimed, his hands flying up to his face and gripping at his cheeks.

"She's bleeding internally, we need to get her into surgery to stop the bleed." Kevin said instantly, unhooking the bed and turning off the brakes in preparation for moving it. "Jenni, I need you to page Dr. Barker and Mr. Douglas – I need them to meet me in theatre three asap." The small nurse to whom he had been talking nodded and rushed off. Kevin, and another doctor who had appeared because of the alert call that had gone out, were moving Harry's bed – pushing it olut of the room and along the corridor; John ran along behind him.

"Can I do anything to help? I want to help! I was an army surgeon!" He cried.

"John, you know I can't let you operate on your own sister." Kevin answered, "You need to stay here, look after the baby –I'll keep you completely informed." They left John behind at the double doors to the theatre; he stood for a few moments, running his hands through his hair in frustration. He hated being unable to act – unable to help. After several minutes pacing back and forth across the entrance to the double doors, he turned back and walked along the corridors to the room that he had left Sherlock, Nurse Williams and his nephew in. As he approached the room, the only sound that he could hear was that of a crying baby. Surely, the baby must know also that his mother had just been rushed way; maybe too, he could sense the fear and anxiety.