Joseph, My Son

Chapter 12

Prudence galloped into the yard to find Elly gripping the upright beam supporting the edge of the roof porch. She was crying, her face betraying pain and fear. Pru gathered her into her arms and ushered into the house.

"What is it? Is it the baby?"

Elly could only nod "yes".

"Come, let's get you to bed and then I'll ride to town and get Doc Martin."

"No!" It was both a command and a plea. "Don't leave me! I'm so scared!"

"Elly," Prudence tried to be soothing. "I helped out when my mother gave birth to my youngest sister, but that was just by bringing in hot water and keeping everyone out of the room. The midwife did everything and this was my mother's fifth child. She hardly needed any help at all. I don't know what I can do to help you. I certainly don't know how to stop your labor. Please let me go get the doctor."

"No, I can't let you go, Pru! I'm going to lose this baby. The doctor can't help me, not now." She gripped her sister-in-law's hand even harder. "I'm afraid. I'm so afraid!"

A contraction caught her, and she cried out. Prudence hadn't thought to bring her watch with her; that was something that she wore only for school. She wanted to ask Elly if she had a watch of her own, when she spied a small clock on the mantle of the fireplace across from the bed.

When the contraction ended, Pru asked, "Exactly how many months along does the doctor think you are?"

"Six months," she replied softly. Pru smiled knowingly and looked at Elly. Joe must have gotten tired of waiting for the formal wedding ceremony.

"That's alright honey. It's only a little bit off. No one's going to pay any attention to a month or two one way or another. And it means your baby is older, bigger, has a better chance. Now, I'm going to get some water boiling and start preparing the linens you'll need. Do you have any whiskey or brandy in the house. I've heard some people say that it can stop an early labor."

"In the cabinet in the dining room. We've got some of both."

"Which do you prefer?"

"Brandy, if I must."

"It's worth a try. I'll be back in a minute."

The contractions were about eight minutes apart. Prudence didn't have the knowledge to know if the baby was positioned properly for birth yet. She didn't really know anything about premature births except that for a child born at six months, survival was very unlikely. Yet she knew that the two of them would fight with every ounce of strength to bring the child through.

Thank goodness, Joe had the foresight to have an over abundance of firewood at hand. The house needed to stay warm, especially once the baby was delivered. Elly's contractions were slowly getting closer together and lasting longer. For the moment, there was nothing to do but convince her that producing a live baby wasn't out of the question and that it would be possible to keep it alive.

For her part, the young mother to-be was scared to have Pru leave her side for even a few moments. The alcohol hadn't done anything to stop the labor, but at least it allowed her to rest a bit in between contractions.

The men and the cattle weren't all that far away, at least as the crow flies. They were pushing the cattle up a mountain less than ten miles from where the women were, but it would take a week or more to accomplish. Both Elly and Pru were both wishing as hard as they possibly could that somehow, their husbands would know what was happening and abandon the cattle drive and arrive at their sides. Still, it was all wishful thinking, and they would just have to put it out of their minds as best they could. There wasn't much to distract the young mother-to-be from the waiting. She was too pre-occupied to engage in chess, checkers, or card games. The only thing available was the book that Eleanor had been reading. It was one of Charles Dickens' latest publications, and it was just as well that he was paid by the word for his work. The deeply detailed narrative would occupy many hours.

It was close to the next dawn when Elly's cries became intense. "I have to push, Pru, I have to push now!" she declared.

Prudence checked the other woman's degree of dilation. The baby's small head was visible, but not yet crowning. "Soon, Elly, soon, but not just yet." With the next contraction she could see that the baby was turned face upward. Not the normal presentation, but not the worst. Thank goodness it wasn't a breach! She contemplated trying to turn the baby over, but the next contraction came, convincing Prudence that it would be better for both mother and child to not attempt the maneuver.

At last, the baby's head crowned. "Alright, Elly! With the next contraction push with all your might. Push! Push! PUSH!"

With a mighty effort, Eleanor bore down and birthed her son. Despite the warm towel that Prudence had in her hands, he nearly slipped passed her, dangling momentarily near the floor before she was able to flip him over and on to the towel. He was very small and wrinkled, still covered with dark, downy hair all over his body and grayish. After an agonizing moment, the child drew breath and mewled. His cry wasn't as loud or as strong as a full-term newborn's would have been, but it didn't matter as both young women burst into tears of happiness and exhaustion. He began to pink up and he cried some more. Wrapping him tightly before laying him in his mother's arms, he was still covered with amniotic fluid. She added more wood to the fireplace to keep the room extra warm and then Prudence decided that she had to give the bell another try. The sound of it wasn't meant to carry across the mountains of the Ponderosa, but having experienced one miracle already, she gambled on receiving another.

She stood up, wiping her hands on her apron when Eleanor caught her arm. "Don't go. We made it this far by ourselves. We can wait a few hours before you go for the doctor."

"I thought of summoning someone else. Let's see just how loudly I can ring that bell and if either of our husbands can hear it."

"Yes! Try it!"

The sun had risen on a beautiful warm spring day and Pru was feeling invigorated as much as she felt excited. Wrapping her hands in the apron material, she pulled and pulled on the rope with all her might. She kept on ringing the bell for nearly half an hour, praying that each peal would push the ones before it farther and farther.

In a meadow bounded on two sides by the tall ponderosa pines, the men of the cattle drive were finishing their breakfasts and saddling their horses. Adam, Hoss and Joe were standing side by side next to Sport, Chubb and Cochise. As one, they stopped filling up their saddle bags and looked at each other. Ben noticed their surprised expressions and strode over to them.

"What's the…"

Adam hushed him urgently.

"Do you hear it too?" asked Hoss.

"Yeah," replied Joe. "It's the emergency bell." Without saying another word all four men quickly mounted and took off without leaving an explanation.

XXXXX

The first house they came to was Hoss and Pru's. When they quickly realized that Pru and Polly were gone, they all re-mounted and headed as quickly as they could for Joe's house on the near mountain.

Joe didn't even bother to throw his horses reins around the hitching post at the front door. He just threw himself off Cooch and ran inside to find Elly deeply asleep in their bed and Prudence sitting next to the roaring fire rocking the small baby.

"Elly, wake up. Joe's here," she said to the other woman.

For his part, Joseph didn't even look at his sister-in-law. He hadn't registered the bundle she had in her arms, but as the rest of the men quietly came in, they were more than aware of what she was holding.

"Elly, Elly! I'm here," Joe said, stroking her hair.

"You are here! You came! You must have heard the bell."

"Yes. Somehow we all heard it. What is it, darling? The baby?"

"Yes! Look! We have a son, Joseph, a son!"

It was then that Joe looked at what Prudence was holding. He walked slowly over to her, afraid to look at his child until she uncovered the child's face. He was asleep and Joseph took him very gently in his arms, fearful that the tiny infant could succumb to any little movement. He looked at Pru, a questioning look in his eyes behind the tears that were forming.

"Yes. He's alive. He's tried to suckle, but it's a little much for him. I did get a little water into him, drop by drop. His heart is strong, Joe. He's a fighter. I would place my bets on him."

He walked over to Elly, who had propped herself up in bed. "My miracles…" he whispered as he sat down on the bed with her. He took a long, shuddering breath as the tears finally coursed down his cheeks.

Ben ushered everyone else out of the room and closed the bedroom door to give the new family some private time together. He hadn't expected to meet his first grandchild under such difficult circumstances. He noticed that his hands were shaking. His three boys had been strong, healthy, babies. Adam had been perfect in every way, being absolutely the typical newborn in weight and length. Eric had been well over ten pounds (being born on the trail in a covered wagon, no one knew exactly what his birth weight had been) and strong enough to hold his head up within an hour after he was born. Ben had joked with Ingrid that he was sure the boy would be up and walking in a week or two! Joseph had been about half of Hoss's size when he was born, but well within the normal range. Like his mother, he was more delicately built. In fact, Ben was sure that Marie had given birth to a daughter when he first saw him, but a second look confirmed that this child was definitely male. Joe's son, on the other hand, was so tiny that it was hard to believe that he could draw breath. He had to be significantly less than half the size of what Joseph had been at birth. But Prudence had said that the little one wanted to live, and he determined that the entire Cartwright family would do anything and everything necessary to accomplish that.

Prudence interrupted the silence the four of them found themselves in. She approached Adam. "We need you to go and get Doc Martin."

"Of course. I'll get right on Sport…"

"No," she interrupted him. "Take Polly. You've ridden Sport hard and long enough. Polly might not be as fast as him, but she's rested."

Before he could object, Hoss spoke up. "Stop at our house and leave Polly there. Take Jack. He'll be able to get you to town and then back here without breathing hard. Go on, get going!"

Without hesitation Adam did as he was told, although he felt odd on the small mare. She was willing to ride hard for him and he swore he would never forget that little part of his whole family's "adventure".

When his brother strode out the door, Hoss turned to his wife. She'd been up for more than twenty-four hours, and she looked drawn and very tired. "You managed this all by yourself?" he asked as sat her down on the divan.

"I had the easy part."

"I wouldn't say that your part was all that easy," Ben interjected. "How did you manage to ring that bell so hard?"

She sighed tiredly. "I don't really know. The only thought in my head at that moment was, 'they've got to hear it, they've got to!' And somehow you did. That's all that I care about." She leaned her head on Hoss's broad shoulder.

"Why don't you take a little nap while Pa and I get some food rustled up for you and Elly. You both could probably use some sustenance right about now."

"That sounds perfect." She was asleep before Hoss could stretch her out, put a pillow under her head and remove her boots.

In the kitchen, Ben first made a big pot of coffee while Hoss started peeling potatoes.

Quietly, so that Joe wouldn't hear, Ben said to his middle son, "That baby is so tiny. It will be touch and go for quite a while. Both Joseph and Eleanor are going to need all the support we can give them. I'm not going to ask him to deal with any ranch work for quite a while."

"I know, Pa," Hoss responded, nodding his head as he picked up another potato. "I'll do whatever I can to pick up his load and you know Adam will also. Having Teddy and Sally Ann Whitman coming will be a big help as well. They're both strong, willing young 'uns and they're as good-hearted as Pru."

"Yes," Ben sighed. "Family. I think that Eleanor is beginning to understand what that's all about."

XXXXX

Doc Martin had been in the bedroom with Elly, Joe and their baby for a long time and the rest of the family were growing more worried as they waited. Adam had detoured on his way back to inform Eleanor's mother and aunt and uncle of the baby's early arrival, and they had made it up to the house as quickly as they could. At last the physician came out, a small smile on his face.

"That boy is hanging on. He is trying his darndest and with a modicum of good luck, he might just make it. I'll be back tomorrow. Joe has all the instructions for his care and for what Eleanor needs right now. "

"Well, I'm going to stay and take care of her, of course!" declared Leandra Hood.

"That's good. A new mother can really benefit from all the support and care she can get after a birth as traumatic as this one was and Ben and his family need their rest as well. You can all go in and visit a little. Just don't overstay your welcome. I'll see myself out."

The group was large for the size of the bedroom, but the young couple were happy to have the company. If Joe and Eleanor were concerned about their child's survival, they didn't show it. They were both beaming, delighted in their son and in each other. Elly, her blonde hair hanging loose, was holding the baby and Joseph was holding her. Ben thought the little grouping would have made an excellent subject for a Renaissance painting.

"We want you to know that we've picked a name for our son; he'll be called 'Andrew Joseph', after Elly's late father and me, and we'd like Prudence and Hoss to be his godparents." Joe said without any formality.

And so it was settled.