Author's Note: This chapter has a steam warning in the beginning, the section start and end is marked.
I also wanted to put this out there. The arrival of Baby Thornton is from the true story of my great grandmother. With the exception of the timeline and characters, I tried to stay as true to that story as I could. In real life it happened in rural Minnesota, USA in March 1909 at my great grandparents home and not in town and it was during a snowstorm. The main characters in the birth and who they would be in real life
Elizabeth = My great grandmother Olive
Jack = my great grandfather John
Faith = my great grandfather's sister Margaret
Carson = local country doctor (some of his person details have been given to Carson so he has a back story.)
Frank = my great grandmother's brother Fr Michael (newly ordinated priest home for a visit, caught in the snowstorm.)
There is some graphic descriptions during the birth, I have tried to tone it down, but it is what it is and I have heard the story with all the gory details from the time I was little. I am sorry if it upsets people me the way that I describe things, like I said, I have tired to tone it down.
... ... ... ...
Chapter 297 – Dr Carson Shepherd
After supper on Wednesday night Jack cleaned up the kitchen and Elizabeth sat at the table and they talked more about the house. Even through Faith had said there were no signs of labor, Jack wanted Elizabeth to be able to relax. Once the kitchen was cleaned up, Jack helped Elizabeth back over to the settee where they settled for a bit. They sat there and talked a bit more about girls' names, but still couldn't agree on anything. Again they tabled the discussion. Jack wanted to see how much Elizabeth was up for. He didn't want to push her, but he really wanted his wife before they wouldn't be able to for several weeks.
"How about I lock up down here." Jack said. "Then we can go upstairs and have some fun if you are up to it."
"Sounds good." Elizabeth said.
Jack helped Elizabeth up and she started upstairs while Jack locked up downstairs.
… …. …. (Steam alert)… …. ….
When Jack got upstairs, Elizabeth was brushing out her hair. He quickly changed and then went to help her finish her hair. She tried to braid it, but Jack was distracting her with kisses on her neck and shoulder. She turned on the bench at the dressing table.
"You make it hard to focus." Elizabeth said.
"That is the point." Jack said.
"You are going to have to help me with my hair in the morning." Elizabeth said.
"Of course." Jack said.
Jack pulled Elizabeth to her feet and kissed her while backing her up to the bed.
"If something hurts." Jack whispered. "We will stop."
"I don't want to stop." Elizabeth said. "We will be fine."
Jack pulled Elizabeth nightgown off and dropped it on the floor before helping her into bed. Jack took a seat next to her and caressed her breast and leaned in for another kiss.
"I mean it." Jack said. "I don't want to hurt you."
"Help me sit up with another pillow." Elizabeth said. "Then I want you to love me."
Jack helped Elizabeth with the second pillow, shed his clothes and laid down next to her. They were exploring each other's bodies. Jack cupped Elizabeth's breast as he he kissed her. She squeezed them, causing her to moan. Elizabeth ran her down Jack's taut abdomen and then down his leg, brushing his manhood. Jack gasped and continued to kiss Elizabeth. He left a trail of kisses down Elizabeth's chest and brushed his tongue across her nipple, causing Elizabeth to gasp. They continued to explore each other, building the ever present fire to a fever pitch.
Finally, Jack moved over Elizabeth and looked at her. She smiled at him and opened her legs, giving him access. Jack quickly entered his wife and pushed in as deep as he could. Elizabeth arched her back and reached for Jack, but it was hard with her baby bump. Jack was careful not to put pressure on her bump, but he was loving his wife. To help Jack drive deeper, Elizabeth brought her legs up and locked them behind Jack. They finished climbing the mountain, falling over the cliff together.
Afterwards, Jack fell back on the bed next to Elizabeth. She turned onto her side and teased her husband by dancing her fingers over his chest and abdomen. She brushed his manhood and made it jump. Jack hissed and arched his back. Elizabeth sat up and continued to tease Jack. He had reached down and was teasing her as well. Finally, Elizabeth couldn't take it any longer and moved to straddle Jack. He helped her lower herself onto him. They climbed the mountain top again and fell over the cliff.
Elizabeth rolled off of Jack and curled up with him. They ended up coming together one more time before finally succumbing to the call of sleep. Jack wasn't sure how long it was going to be before he was with his wife again, but somewhere he knew that it had been their last time before the baby was born. He had whispered a prayer for safety before he drifted off after Elizabeth.
… …. …. (End Steam alert)… …. ….
Wednesday morning, Jack got up and gently woke Elizabeth up.
"Let me help you sit up." Jack said, softly. "I will help you brush your hair and then you can lay back down."
"Okay." Elizabeth said, sleepily.
Jack helped Elizabeth sit up and brushed her hair out. She then quickly braided it. Jack helped her get comfortable again, and made sure she had a glass of water.
"I am going on rounds." Jack said. "Then I will be at the house. There should be a delivery this morning."
"Okay." Elizabeth said.
Jack kissed Elizabeth and watched her close her eyes. He covered her up and dropped a kiss on her temple before going to finish getting ready. Jack grabbed some breakfast and headed to town while Elizabeth slept. Jack had a lot to do and he wanted to be around in case something happened later. He had a feeling that Faith was wrong and they would have a baby before the weekend was out.
… …. ….
Two hours after Jack left, Elizabeth woke up. She left her hair in a braid, because she planned to do a little cleaning that morning. She dressed in a comfortable house dress and tried to clean up her bedroom. She started to have a few pains, so sat on the bed. She rubbed her stomach.
"What are you doing little one?" Elizabeth asked.
The pains went away so Elizabeth reasoned they were just the practice contractions and she had pushed it a little. She finished picking up the laundry and then went downstairs. She wasn't really hungry, but made some toast and had a cup of tea. She decided that the rest of the cleaning could wait. She grabbed a book and sat on the settee. She had pains on and off, but they weren't strong, nor were they regular. Elizabeth slept and read most of the day. She had a light lunch and went back to the settee to put her feet up.
About three o'clock, Elizabeth woke to a sharp pain up near her ribs. She gasped for air. When she finally was able to gather her breath, she went upstairs and changed into proper clothes and then started to make her way to town. It took a while because she was having pain. She had to stop several times to catch her breath. Even when she got to town, she had to sit on a bench a few times to let the pain pass. She slowly made her way to infirmary. When she got there, Faith was with someone, so she waited for a moment. Elizabeth sat on the bench, rubbed her baby bump and was praying that nothing was wrong. The moment that Faith saw her, she knew that something was wrong. She had Elizabeth lay down on the bed in the second room before she did anything else.
"What is going on?" Faith asked.
"I had a couple sharp pains in my stomach." Elizabeth said. "I thought that I just moved wrong while I was resting on the settee, so after sitting for a bit they went away. I was able to catch my breath and get dressed to come in. I was worried that something was wrong, so I made my way here into town. I had several more pains while making my way here. I had to sit and catch my breath several times. They weren't regular, but they were sharp. The last few weren't as sharp, but I am still worried."
"Okay." Faith said. "You lay there for a moment. I am going to step next door and see if Jack is there. Please try to relax."
"He is out working at the house." Elizabeth said.
"Okay." Faith said.
When Faith stepped out of the infirmary, she looked around and saw Lee.
"Lee." Faith called.
When he turned and saw Faith, she waved him over.
"What do you need?" Lee asked.
"First, I need you to go get Carson from the cafe." Faith said. "I don't have time to explain, just tell him that it is an emergency. After that, you need to find Jack, he is probably out at the new house. I think that Elizabeth is in labor."
"But it is too early." Lee said.
"I know." Faith said. "I will do everything I can, but I need them. Also see if you can find Pastor Frank, prayers are gonna be needed."
"I got it." Lee said. "Carson, Jack and Frank. Anything else?"
"Not right now." Faith said. "Just don't panic Jack or others. We don't need a scene."
"Got it." Lee said.
Faith waited a moment and took a couple deep breaths. She saw that Lee was quickly making his way to the cafe. She took one last deep breath and headed back to check on Elizabeth.
"Is Jack with you?" Elizabeth asked.
"No." Faith said. "I have Lee looking for him. I need you to trust me, okay. Do you trust me?"
"Yes, I trust you." Elizabeth said.
"Good." Faith said. "I am going to do everything that I can, but you have to do what I say. I want you to lay back and put your feet up. I am going to see how that little one is doing."
Faith grabbed her stethoscope and placed it on Elizabeth's stomach, she thought she heard two heartbeats but she couldn't be sure. She hadn't heard two distinct heartbeats before and she started thinking that the echo that she heard before was actually a second heartbeat. Faith, quickly thought about the past few months and what she had heard and felt when examining Elizabeth. Things started to make sense and she was convinced she was right. She put the stethoscope down and felt Elizabeth's stomach, she could clearly make out a baby laying sideways right under Elizabeth's ribs and it also felt like there was a baby head down. She didn't want to panic Elizabeth, so she calmly spoke to her.
"Looking good." Faith said. "Strong heartbeat. I am going to step in the other room and look something up and wait for Jack. I want you to close your eyes and relax."
"Okay." Elizabeth said. "What is wrong?"
"I don't think that there is anything wrong." Faith said. "The little one is probably just trying to get comfortable, relaxing will help with that."
Just as Faith stepped into the other room, there was a knock at the door and Carson stepped in.
"Lee said you needed to see me." Carson said. "Everything okay, he looked like he had seen better days."
Faith motioned for him to step over to the far side of the room with her.
"No, everything is not okay." Faith said. "First of all, I don't care what happened in the past, I need your help. I know that you have some medical training and I am assuming it was a doctor. I think Elizabeth is going into early labor and I also think that I missed that it was twins. As of right now, her water hasn't broken, but she has been having sharp pains. Also when I was feeling around the baby, I could feel contractions."
"Faith." Carson said. "I can't. You are right, I was a doctor, but I haven't practiced in two years, not since I lost my last patient."
"Carson Shepard." Faith hissed. "You can and you will. I can't do this alone. I need your help."
"Faith!" Elizabeth yelled.
"Coming." Faith called. "Carson, don't go anywhere!"
Faith walked to the doorway.
"What is wrong Elizabeth?" she asked.
"I think my water just broke." Elizabeth cried.
"It will be okay." Faith said.
"No, it is too early." Elizabeth said.
"It is not going to help if you panic." Faith said. "Let's get you changed and then we will do what we have to."
"Is Jack here, yet?" Elizabeth asked.
"No, not yet." Faith said. "As soon as he gets here I will let him back."
"Who were you talking to?" Elizabeth asked.
"Carson." Faith said. "It is going to be okay."
Faith helped Elizabeth get changed and lay back in bed.
"I will be right back." Faith said. "Call out if you need anything."
Faith walked back into the other room and Carson was sitting in the chair in the corner. She walked over to him.
"I can't do this." Carson said.
"Yes you can." Faith said. "I will be here with you, but I have never delivered a premature baby, much less two."
"Okay." Carson said standing up.
Just at that moment, Jack rushed in.
"Is Elizabeth alright?" Jack asked.
"Her water broke." Faith said. "We are going to do everything that we can. I am going to ask you the same question that I asked Elizabeth. Do you trust me?"
"Yes, I trust you." Jack said. "But it is too early."
"Calm down Jack." Carson said. "We are going to everything we can, but I can't let you go in there until you calm down."
Jack looked between Faith and Carson with confusion.
"Calm down and I will explain." Carson said.
Jack took a deep breath and then looked at Carson who nodded to Faith. Carson gave Jack a reassuring smile. Faith led them into the other room and motioned for Jack to sit at Elizabeth's side. Jack took her hand and kissed it. He then started stroking her hair. Faith moved and Carson came and sat down in the other chair.
"Faith, what is going on?" Elizabeth asked.
"Calm down." Faith said. "Carson is here to help."
"Jack, Elizabeth." Carson said. "Faith here figured out that I used to be a doctor. I haven't practiced medicine in over two years, but if you are okay I will see what I can do to help."
"If Faith trusts you." Jack said. "Then we trust you."
"Okay." Carson said. "Let me and Faith step into the other room and then we will be back."
Carson and Faith head to the other room and Jack continued to quietly talk to Elizabeth. Carson went to wash his hands when there was a knock at that door. Faith went to see who it was. She saw that it was Abigail.
"Bridget said Carson was here." Abigail said. "Is everything okay?"
Carson stepped out, with his sleeves rolled up and a towel drying his hands.
"Yes." Carson said. "Elizabeth has gone into labor. I need you to do a couple of things for me."
"What?" Abigail asked.
"I need you to get at least half a dozen hot water bottles." Carson said. "I don't need them right now, but we will soon. I also want you to put two big kettles on with water. Bring them to a boil and then keep them hot and at the ready. I may need you later, but that is all for now. Except for coffee, I am going to need coffee, it is going to be a long night."
Abigail just looked at Carson and then at Faith.
"Trust me." Faith said. "I will explain later. Also until further notice the infirmary is closed to everyone expect you and Pastor Frank if he is outside."
"Yes he is outside." Abigail said. "Want me to send him in?"
"No." Carson asked. "Just ask him to stick close in case we need something."
"Okay." Abigail said. "On it."
"What else do you need?" Faith asked.
"I need blankets, suction, scissors and something to tie off the umbilical cord." Carson said. "Also, I hope that we don't need it, but if I did, would we have the needed supplies to go in for the baby?"
"Yes." Faith said. "Jack made sure we had a fully stocked infirmary. We also have had a traveling doctor from time to time. We have ether and instruments for emergency surgery. Also have carbolic acid for sterilizing. I also still have some of the chloroform from when I needed it for Jack."
"I hope that it won't come to that, but glad we have it." Carson. "Gather the supplies. I am going to go talk to our patient."