Calling the Midwife.
The end of April would feel very different from the start for many reasons that year, and not least because of the change in Seth's circumstances. That change did have the biggest impact on those that were in Ohio, of course. Skylar had made good time along the road, and managed to get home a good two hours before Seth was expected. He found his wife waiting for him, now employed in her new capacity as Seth's primary carer. The moment that her husband stepped out of the car she was there to embrace him, and that contact made him cry, but only for a moment. Then they set to the task of unloading all of the boxes, and then having made swift work of that, started on the unpacking.
The pictures that had graced the hallway of his New York apartment were hung on the walls in his new room, and his books were placed in a reasonable order on the new bookcase that was a replica of the one that he had had back in the city. The bed was remade with the bedclothes that had graced his old bed. His toiletries were set out on the shelves in the en-suite wet room, his clothes placed in drawers or hung in the closet. It was not his own home, and it never could be, nor would Skylar ever purport that it should be the same as his own place, but it was as close as they could make it. Most importantly, it was not a sterile hospital room, which would have been the only alternative…
The thing that he knew would shock Seth the most about his room, however, was the bed itself. The fact that it was there had been a shock for Skylar too; it had arrived unexpectedly the previous afternoon, with a simple handwritten note from Aaron Carmichael, stating that it was not being used in the downstairs bedroom in their home at Dalton yet, and it made more sense for Seth to 'borrow' it for as long as he had use for it. "He will not like this one bit," said Skylar with a shake of his head after he read the note. "Do you know something else; I don't think that Mrs Carmichael knows anything about this either, or she would have mentioned it to me…"
"Well, whether other people like it or not, this will be a boon to me, because you know as well as I do that Seth will not be as mobile as he was now," replied Julia. "Before you say that it is only his legs that are affected, remember that you use your legs to help you sit up in the bed of a morning, and so will he, no doubt. This bed will allow him to sit up in bed by himself, and that gives him a little more independence…"
When Seth arrived, his first action was to wheel himself to his new room, something that they all allowed. He stopped on the threshold, and stared at the room he had seen only once before in person, when it was still unfinished. It was bright, airy, and well, with his own belongings on show, it felt a lot like a home, not just a temporary resting place for his last days and weeks. Then Julia drew his attention to the bed, Skylar watching in trepidation for his reaction. To his surprise, Seth just laughed and smiled. He had known at Christmas that the bed had been bought when it had been for his benefit - and then his smile broadened as he saw the look on Mrs Carmichael's face and realised that she was very surprised to see it in the room. He decided that he would quite like to be a fly on the wall when she arrived home and saw her husband…
Thad arrived not long after 6pm to pick her up and drive her back to Dalton, but he made time to speak to Seth, whom he found sitting in his battered old armchair in the otherwise sleek and modern lounge. "You are looking well, given all of the circumstances," he said quietly. "Now be honest, how are you holding up with all of this?"
Seth smiled, and said, "It is what it is; my wings are one step closer now. I will miss the bustle of New York, and everyone that is there, but her I am in the bosom of my nearest and dearest friends, and that is exactly where I need to be." Seth paused, looking round to see they were still alone, then said quietly, "There is something I need to tell somebody, but you can't repeat it now. You might all get a surprise in nine months. You recall I asked you all what you thought about me being a sperm donor? Well, I have done a Sebastian, and if it works…"
Thad looked confused for a moment, and then it dawned on him exactly what Seth meant. "Wait, you mean…? Does Ollie know? And more importantly, who was it with?"
"Yes, I do; Yes, he does, and I am not at liberty to say, at least not until it is definite," replied Seth.
"Well, er, fingers crossed I guess…" replied Thad, still amazed at the turn of events.
"I actually think that it is Principal Carmichael that needs to have his fingers crossed. By the looks of things, he didn't tell his wife what he was going to do with the bed. Can you thank him on my behalf, if he survives…"
There would be no angry screaming at the Carmichael house that night though, not had Thad ever imagined that there would be. The next morning, Skylar found himself being packed off to the office by his wife, and Seth was left to get used to his new routine. He was grateful that Julia had stepped up to be his nurse, as he did not think that he would have found it possible to deal with a stranger in that role, not at this stage. What still worried him was if he would still be able to cope with it as time went on, and he would potentially have to let her do much more intimate things for him; he did not know how easy he would find dealing with that. He wasn't sure that he could even have accepted Skylar doing them for him. His hope, one that he kept to himself, was that he would not be around by the time things progressed to that stage…
The following day saw him making his way to the hospital for his first official check up with Dr McLeod, and he found it strange at first; then he realised that it was because there was no swarm of medical students watching. He informed his new doctor of that, and Hayden had laughed out loud. Then he suggested that if he was truly missing them all, they could arrange to have their consultations on Zoom or Skype so they could watch…
"No, I don't think so," Seth replied. "I mean, it was good for them all to be able to observe me, and they learnt from it, but I draw the line to being on camera."
"I can't say that I blame you there," Hayden replied. "Well, I am pleased to say that there is no change in your physical numbers since last week, but how are you doing mentally? Moving home can be stressful at the best of times, and it has to be even more so when doing it means giving up a degree of your independence."
"It is okay. I mean, I am with my best friend. It is not a hospital or a nursing home. That I could not stand. I guess that it won't be too long anyway; I think that I will be getting my wings soon enough…" Seth stopped, realising what he had just said, and waited for Hayden to reply.
"Oliver told me that you had a strong belief in that. I am actually inclined to agree with you about heaven and angels…"
Those words would echo through Seth's head as Julia drove them home that day. It was good to know that Hayden had his back; that he knew that he believed, and that he was content to just let life run its course. He knew that he had to look forward, and make the most of whatever time he had left. The visit from David Thompson the next day would be a wonderful place to start…
In New York itself, the first few days after Seth left saw the rest of the little community looking down sadly at his little apartment as they walked past. Wes asked Jeff on Thursday morning if they could cross the street rather than walk right by, as he felt too sad, and his papa agreed, as he felt sad too. The next day however he was able to walk past it without an issue, although Jeff noted that he had looked pointedly in the opposite direction as he had done so. Nick was smart enough to realise that this observation meant that his husband had done exactly the same…
On the Saturday morning, Beats announced at the breakfast table that he was going to join Flint at the synagogue that morning; Elliott was on the early shift, so his words were spoken to Dante and Ty; the elder of his two boys had nodded, understanding exactly why his more or less atheist father felt the urge to pray. He was a little more surprised 15 minutes later when he found himself being asked to take care of Evie as well as Ty, as her two fathers had to go out also, and from what he could gather, they were going with Beats to the temple… Flint was not in the least bit shocked when his three friends had quietly joined him in his row at the quietest of the Sabbath services; they were also unsurprised when Rabbi Hirsch mentioned Seth by name in the list of those that they had to remember in their prayers that week. Beats placed his hand on top of Flint's, a gesture of thanks, and then all four of them bowed their heads and prayed for good things for their friend.
Back on the street, Kitty was busy on her laptop, except it was not for work. She had begun to do research into the provision of care for those in Seth's position without familial support across the nation, and she was appalled at what she was finding. There were some issues with hospice places for those with cancer, but there was generally some sort of support, which was as it should be. For those with MND however there was often very little or nothing at all. One of the states in that position was Ohio. It occurred to her that Dalton Academy did the usual charity drives throughout the year, so it might be possible for them to try and raise funds for the provision of better care for those with MND in their area. After all, what better tribute could there be for one of their own? She resolved to send Thad an e-mail, just dropping a friendly hint…
Across town that morning, there was a gathering at the Hummel-Warbler house. Cooper had decided that it would be nice to gather his little family of sorts around him for once, now that they were all back in the city, and particularly because some of the younger men that he viewed almost as brothers had been having a rough time as of late. To that mix he had added his latest co-star Marley, who had accepted and was bringing Ryder with her, and Adam, who was trying to settle back into life in the city, and was finding it harder than he had imagined, as so many of his old friends had moved away. He had been the first to arrive, apologising profusely for being so early, but he had just had to escape from his apartment. His neighbours had arrived home noisily at 4am, and had been playing boy bands from the late 20th century at full blast ever since.
"I know that the song says that Broadway Babies do not sleep until the milkman is on his way, but I do. It would seem that everyone else in the building is either a night owl like them, or stone deaf!"
"That is not good!" sympathised Cooper. "I would suggest making a complaint to your landlord, or calling out the noise people, but to be honest, things like that do not get you all that far…"
"I will just need to find somewhere else, because that was the final straw after a lot of other small niggles. The worst of it is that I had to pay three months rent in advance, and I doubt that I will see a cent of that back. It is my own fault; I should have got someone to help me find a place, rather than choosing somewhere on my own, based on my recollection of the area."
At that moment, Sam and Rachel arrived with Barbra; there was a tense moment when Rachel saw Adam for the first time, but then they were hugging each other, and soon were sat on the sofa side by side, reminiscing about the old days. For his part Sam hugged Cooper and Grace, then took Barbra upstairs to join Nils and the twins.
Pam arrived at the same moment as Nick and Jeff, and as she entered the kitchen she was in deep conversation with Wes; Grace raised an eyebrow briefly when she first heard a mention of warm mud, but then it dawned on her that Wes was telling her mother-in-law about New Zealand. She hugged her brother-in-law first, then as he went off to speak to Cooper, she took a moment to have a quiet word with her brother.
"How is Jeff holding up? I know that he was quiet upset about all that happened with Seth…"
"He is doing okay," replied Nick, and then he sighed. "He knows that it isn't his fault, but you know him like I do, and he is still convinced that something he did not do is the reason that Seth is now back in Ohio. Anyway, enough of that - I take it that is the legendary Adam Crawford that has been cornered by Rachel?"
"Yes, the poor soul seems destined to suffer a lot today. He was already woken up at 4am by his neighbours, who appear to still have been partying when he left. It is clear that he can't stay there from what he was saying, so he needs a new place to life ASAP. Otherwise I think that he will lose his mind…"
Nick looked thoughtful for a moment, then said, "Let me have a word with Jeff about that. We have that little apartment above Seth's old one that is furnished as a guest suite, but there is no-one expected to come and need it for quite a bit, so maybe he could move in there, even just on a temporary basis…"
Grace smiled at her brother, then looking up saw that Marley, Ryder and Roderick had arrived too, the former now finding herself the prime target for Rachel's attention. She chuckled to herself, as did her brother, the Duval sense of humour shared, but stopped as she saw her husband walking into the room with a look on his face that made her worry.
"So, Mason just called, and sent his apologies; he isn't going to make it as something has come up. That something being the fact that Jane has just gone into labour…"
"She's what?" said a voice, and both Cooper and Grace spun round to see that Roderick had walked up whilst they were talking and had heard everything.
"Don't worry, they are already on their way to the hospital, and it is still very early in the process, so there is no need for you to rush over and pull a Trixie this time," said Cooper, making Roderick blush.
"Although I am certain that were your assistance required, you would make a very good job of it," added Grace. "If it is any consolation at all, Cooper is usually the one that ends up in floods of tears when we watch that show, and there was one episode in particular when he was inconsolable, and burst into tears randomly for the next few days…" Cooper gave his wife a glare at that, one which only intensified as he realised that the room had fallen silent and everyone had heard her final words…
"I would put my money on that being the episode in which Barbara died from sepsis. I was devastated enough when Phyllis went outside and sat on the steps; as she started to sob, so did I," said Adam. "I would have done anything to have been even give a walk on part in it!"
"And I think the episode where Sister Evangelina died was heartbreaking too. That whole episode was so sad," added Jeff. "Nick and I finished an entire box of Kleenex between us that night - and when they repeat it now, it is still every bit as bad."
"It makes me cry too," said Sam, and Ryder nodded in agreement. After that, the room fell into a round of talk about the BBC show that had captured the hearts of the world, and then into questioning why there were no specific midwives in the health care system here. Nobody could think of a good reason, and Roderick resolved that he would need to ask Ollie if he knew; failing him, he would ask the instructors at college why that specialised role did not exist. I mean, it was a role that had existed long before the NHS had come to the United Kingdom, so had there ever been women in that job here, and if there had been, why had they disappeared?
At that moment, Jane was asking much the same thing as she was being checked over at the hospital. She had been told by her colleagues back in London all about their experiences in giving birth, and it seemed almost universal that they had been allocated one well trained person that did their utmost to be there for them at every stage of the process, before, during and after. At this precise moment she was being prodded and poked by a group of people that she had never seen before; they would examine her, then leave without saying a word. The only constant that she had was Mason, who had made time to attend a few ante-natal classes with her back in London, asking to take one night off a week from the show to do so. As that night had been the same as the day of the midweek matinee, it was no issue.
Thinking of that made Jane smile, as she recalled the night that he had been late getting off stage, and had come straight to the class in his costume. There had been a few startled looks from the other mothers-to-be when a Mormon elder had run in and interrupted proceedings. Mason had realised that all eyes were upon him, had gone bright red, then rather sheepishly had said "Hello!" whilst waving his hand. That had reduced Jane to hysterics…
Her smile went as she felt a twinge of pain. Mason was sat by her side, gently stroking her hair, knowing that this was just the start, and thus he was reluctant to take her hand quite yet. He knew what his wife was going to go through would potentially be much more painful, and his hand wasn't ready to be squeezed yet. "I wish that one of these people would stay in the room for more than a couple of minutes, and would actually speak to us," hissed Jane. "Right now, the idea of giving birth in the bedroom of a slum property in 1950s Poplar is very attractive, because then the nurses actually stayed with the mother!"
"Well, my love, firstly I do not have a time machine, and secondly, although it is not very homely, this room is probably more hygienic than a slum," said Mason. "That said, the next nurse stays, even if I have to barricade the door to keep them here…"
Moments later, an older nurse walked in, and introduced herself in a tone that Mason instantly recognised, and before he knew it, he was chuckling. As the nurse looked at him over the top of her glasses, Mason said, "I am sorry, we have just arrived back here after several years of living in London, and to hear that voice is strangely reassuring."
The nurse smiled, and said, "I do find a lot of people saying that to me these days; I think it has a lot to do with a certain show produced by the BBC. Well, to make your day even better, I was trained at the Royal London Hospital, which is the nearest to Poplar, and even appeared in the show from time to time. I worked there for five years as a midwife before my husband was offered the job here, and we emigrated."
"You can't leave!" said Jane, and the nurse laughed.
"I have no intention of doing so, but I warn you both now, when I give an order, it is obeyed!"
Jane nodded, and Mason replied, "Yes ma'am!" then blushed as he realised that he had spoken in his Bert voice…
"I am so sorry," said Jane quickly. "My husband is a Broadway actor, and when he is nervous, he sometimes falls into his character. It can be rather disconcerting, and in this case, sound rude."
"Oh, I know that he is, and give him his due, that is a very convincing cockney accent. So, whilst I get ready to get started, why don't the two of you tell me how London is doing these days. For a start, tell me how it was to be living there when the dear old Duke passed away…"
They talked away so much that Jane barely even noticed that her contractions were getting stronger, and more frequent. Mason meanwhile did exactly as he was told, supporting his wife in all that was happening, breathing along with her and letting her squeeze his hand when she needed to. The conversation about London over, Mason was prompted to talk about his forthcoming show, and he soon found himself spilling the beans about the let down they had had from the actress that was supposed to have played Mary.
"I never liked her myself," the nurse said. "Far too many airs and graces whenever you saw her, and completely forgotten where she came from. Acting like that does you no good in the end…" Mason laughed at her judgement, and then they all started to, until Jane gasped as a sharp pain hit her. "Right, so to use a theatrical term, we are ready for the grand finale. When you are ready, my dear, it is time for you to push…"
Mason had been preparing himself for this moment for some time, having heard tales from so many of his contemporaries that had been where he was now. To that end, he had even considered splinting his fingers together so that there was less chance of serious damage to them as his wife grip his hand in a vice like hold as she gave birth to their first child. In the event, it turned out that it was nowhere near as bad as he had been told, nor did his wife inform him that he was solely to blame for every crime, tragedy and conflict that had befallen humanity in the last thousand years. He had breathed with her and encouraged her as he was directed by the nurse, and had been on hand to mop her brow as and when required too.
As for Jane, she had also heard her fair share of horror stories, but it seemed that those things did not apply to her, as everything went in exact accordance to all the textbooks ever written on the subject. She had in her mind been prepared for several hours of gruelling birthing, but in the end the final stage of the labour lasted not much more than twenty minutes, and then there was the most wonderful and primal of sounds, and a nurse happily announcing that they had a son…
They had chosen not to be informed in advance of the sex of their child, knowing that it would make no odds to them anyway, but the smile that they gave each other was the confirmation that they were both more than happy to have had a boy. That then left the thorny problem of his name. When they had informed their parents that they were expecting their first child, a whole string of names had been thrown at them; those family names that came form illustrious ancestors. The problem was that Mason's parents had turned up their noses at every name that Jane's parents had suggested, and of course, vice versa. They too had found it hard to agree on a potential name, not wanting to cause upset with either set of parents, until one night, as they squabbled light heartedly over the issue, Jane had blurted out something as a joke - and both of them had realised that what was intended to be funny was actually not such a bad idea…
With the greatest of care, the nurse that had brought their son into the world and had cut his cord, had then wiped him down and swaddled him in a blanket, before handing over to his mother, as Mason watched on in awe. She looked at the two doting parents and said, "He is absolutely perfect; he is going to be a heartbreaker when he grows up, mark my words. Now, have you thought about a name? I see from the notes that unlike the majority of people these days, you chose not to know the sex of your child in advance, which is how it should be in my opinion. It can of course make it a little harder when names come into question, as it is harder to find two perfect names…"
Mason smiled, and said, "To be honest, the whole name business was a nightmare, until my dear wife, fed up with my parents saying that every name her parents suggested was wrong…"
"…and vice versa no doubt…" interjected the nurse.
"Exactly. So Jane said that we should just plump for Bert and Mary, seeing as they were the reason that we were going to be able to come home. I admit that I thought such a choice was inspired at the time…"
"Both of them good, old-fashioned names, and so much more suitable for a poor child than some of the modern rubbish that I hear, trust me. So, this is little master Bert. Now, what is Bert short for?"
"Now that we haven't decided upon. Of course, the Bert in the show is actually Herbert, but I am afraid that I have discounted that already, as it is too predictable, and well, I know that the British use that name as a derogative term. So that leaves us with Albert and Hubert," said Jane.
"I see. Well, you are of course omitting the fourth choice, but then again I suppose that the novels of Mr Wodehouse are not as well known or read on this side of the Atlantic…" Mason and Jane both looked at the nurse curiously, so she went on, "You are ignoring Bertram. It is of course the least well known of all of the variations, but does have the advantage of giving this young man the correct initial. It is also frequently shortened to Bertie. Albert is very nice, but it can be shortened to Al, or Albie; Hubert is often shorted to Huey, as in Donald Duck's nephew…"
She stopped, as she saw the two new parents looking at each other. "Bertram McCarthy - I love it!" said Jane.
"Yes, me too," replied Mason. "Thank you so much for that nurse, that is our decision made. You have truly been an inspiration."
"Nonsense; I just gave you a push in a direction that you had not considered when it came to choosing his full name. Now, I have to let the doctors back in, so that they can check over everything, which is frankly ridiculous, but then my job here is done. All went according to the textbook, if I do say so myself…."
The nurse let herself out, and within two minutes the room was full once more with doctors, one in the middle of examining Jane, the other her newborn son. Mason found himself pushed to the sidelines, and in the end Jane suggested that he head outside until everyone had gone. He agreed, and sat in the chair outside the door. As he did, he was surprised to suddenly find himself presented with a blueberry muffin and a cup of coffee. Looking up, he saw their nurse again.
"All of this fuss, when back in London, had everything been okay, the only check would have been by another midwife. The doctor only found themselves involved if there were complications, or a caesarean was required. The only reason that I can see for all of it is to help build up your bill, although hopefully, when all of the new healthcare regime is fully implemented, a lot of things will change." Looking around, she lowered her voice, and said, "There is even a rumour that there could be the appointment of recognised midwives. It would seem that the First Lady is also a fan of the BBC…"
Mason smiled, then said, "One of my friends happens to be the senior speechwriter to the President, and I can confirm that she does love the show. As for the rest, I think you can be very hopeful, that is all I will say. Now, it has occurred to me that my wife and I were very rude, and did not even ask your name. We were so caught up in everything else…"
"Oh, don't worry about that. It is perfectly normal. Now, I must go, but in answer to your question, my name is Phyllis Crane…" She showed him her ID badge to confirm her words, then winked at Mason, and walked away, leaving him with his mouth wide open. Then he chuckled as he pictured Roderick's face, and indeed Jane's, when he told them both that his son had been delivered by a trained midwife called Nurse Crane…