Chapter Text
Trixie checked the time on the watch hanging from her uniform as she stepped out into what passed for fresh air this close to Lisbon Buildings. She’d just finished the last prenatal visit of her morning rounds and was more or less on schedule to make it home in time for lunch. She strapped her case back onto her bicycle with the ease of practice and after a moment's hesitation, didn’t turn onto the most direct route back to Nonnatus. Instead, she retraced her steps back the way she’d come from her previous visit. If there was no sign of the bicycle at the entry to the stair then it would only have been a five minute detour and if there was, well she’d just stop in to see how things were going.
It seemed such an odd idea, that she’d be the one to stop in and see how Sister Julienne was getting on with a delivery. The sister had been first on when Trixie had retired yesterday evening and she had a vague recollection of having heard the telephone going not too much later. It wasn’t uncommon for labours to last a long time but they’d been particularly busy this week and the sister had gone without support. So when Trixie had cycled past her bike earlier, she’d felt an edge of concern that she was still there and decided that it couldn’t do any harm just to check in when she was done.
Seeing that Sister Julienne’s bicycle was still there, Trixie slowed, swinging a leg over her own bike and dismounting easily. She parked up and entered the stair, hoping that she could remember which door it was that she was looking for. In the end, the sounds of labour removed any doubt about where she was headed.
"Midwife calling," she said, knocking the door and turning the handle. Homes where a woman was giving birth had a certain feel: sometimes they were full of relatives and other children, other times, like today they were seemingly empty. But as she stepped inside Trixie was aware that the usual sort of calm purpose of a well managed labour was missing. “Hello?”
“We’re in here,” Sister Julienne said, opening a door at the end of the hallway that clearly doubled as kitchen, living room and bedroom for Mr and Mrs Cooper. The sister looked done in was Trixie’s first thought, and though she offered a smile in greeting, it didn’t seem to get close to her eyes. “You’re a very welcome, if unexpected sight,” Sister Julienne added quietly.
“I was just passing at the end of my rounds,” she said partially truthfully, unfastening her cloak, certain that she was going to be staying.
“Well, however it’s happened,” the sister said. “Could I prevail upon you to see to young Frank’s nappy before anything else?”
“Certainly,” she said. “You must be Frank?” she asked the older of the two infants who was currently hiding behind Sister Julienne’s legs. Coaxing him out, Trixie led him across the room to where the sister had laid out the necessary supplies to deal with the obviously soiled nappy. Presumably changing the boy had had to go back on hold when his mother had another contraction.
“Now Emily.” She heard Sister Julienne say, turning her attention back to the exhausted looking woman lying on the bed in the corner of the room. “See, Nurse Franklin is going to help us manage the little ones so that we can focus.”
“Oh dear,” Trixie said as she managed to get Frank lying down on the towel and unfastened the pin. “You must have been quite uncomfortable,” she said, breathing through her mouth and reaching for the bowl of water and the cotton wool.
“Sorry, I’ve been letting them eat anything and everything,” Emily said. “And he’s been right upset.”
“Don’t worry about that just now,” Sister Julienne said, though Trixie thought she sounded strained. “Have a barley sugar and–” she stopped unnaturally and Trixie looked up from where she was re-pinning the clean towelling around the toddler. "Will you excuse me for a moment?" The other woman got awkwardly to her feet and left the room with an unsteady haste that set off even more alarm bells.
Trixie dealt with the soiled nappy and washed her hands thoroughly before crossing to where Emily seemed to be dozing.
“Right sweetie,” she said. “I’m just going to check how things are going.”
“Sister said not to push yet but I thought this one was on its way when I called last night.” If Sister Julienne was telling her to not push, then either she wasn’t fully dilated or the head wasn’t engaged. Hopefully that meant she’d have time to check on Sister Julienne before other events overtook them.
“You’re almost there now,” she said. “Just breathe through the pain,” she said, feeling the building contraction. “That’s it,” she encouraged as Emily panted. Trixie spotted Sister Julienne’s logbook sitting next to her bag and twisting her head to read the careful notes, confirming her suspicion that this had just been a very slow second stage. It was unusual in a third child but there was no indication that there was anything wrong. The foetal heart rate had been strong and steady not long before she’d arrived and Trixie would check it again when this contraction was over.
There was a clatter behind her as one of the boys pulled something down from the counter, and she was suddenly very aware of just how difficult it would have been to manage both children while also tending to their mother. Once she was sure that everything was in order with Emily and the baby, she managed to find the makings of bread and butter for the boys. Hoping that it would keep them distracted for a few minutes, she reassured Emily that she’d be back in a moment and stepped outside.
When Sister Julienne wasn’t in the hallway, Trixie was only a little surprised, but the front door was standing open so she crossed to it quickly. Out in the stairway, she immediately spotted the sister, perched side-on on the low wall at the open side of the landing. With her eyes closed and head leaning back against the stonework, she looked utterly miserable. Clearly having heard Trixie’s approach, she opened her eyes and turned her head towards her.
“I’m so sorry,” Sister Julienne said, swallowing carefully. “It’s just so warm in there and then…” she trailed off. In this better lighting, Trixie could see that the sister’s eyes were glazed and despite her grey pallor, there were spots of colour high on her cheeks.
“It’s not all that warm,” Trixie said, reaching a hand out to place on Sister Julienne’s brow to confirm her growing suspicion. “I’m afraid you’re running quite the fever, Sister.”
“Oh,” she said, frowning as though genuinely taken aback to discover this. “I…”
“Well, I think you need to get yourself back home,” Trixie declared. “I’m here now and I can look after Mrs Cooper.”
“But you were only passing?”
“I don’t think that really matters just now, Sister. Come on, let’s get your coat and you can–” She’d gone to help Sister Julienne stand with a hand on her elbow but she only made it halfway up before it became very clear that this wasn’t going to work. “Easy,” Trixie said, guiding her back down so that she was sitting again. “Change of plans, I’m going to call Nonnatus and ask for some help.” Hopefully the others would be back, because there was no way Sister Julienne was going to be able to get herself home.
“The nearest public telephone is out of order and… I… couldn’t raise anyone else in the stair,” Sister Julienne said.
“Ok,” Trixie said, she should have realised that Sister Julienne would have tried to call for support. “Ok.”
“If you can help me back inside,” Sister Julienne said. “I can sit with Emily and the boys while you go to the call box on Ryland Place.”
Mostly because she couldn’t come up with a better solution, and because she really didn’t like the idea of leaving the clearly unsteady sister perched on the open parapet, Trixie slowly and carefully helped Sister Julienne to stand.
Back inside the flat, Emily was panting through another contraction and the boys were happily demolishing a stack of bricks, noisily.
“I thought you’d left me,” the young woman said tearfully.
“Of course not,” Sister Julienne said calmly, seeming to stand a little firmer through sheer force of will. “I am sorry though,” she said. “I’m going to sit here with you,” she continued, urging Trixie to help her sit on the floor by Emily’s head. “Nurse Franklin will make sure everything is still ticking along and then she’s going to phone for some support.”
“That’s right,” Trixie said, taking the sister’s lead. “You’re doing so well, but baby is taking its time.”
One final set of checks and Trixie looked to Sister Julienne.
“We’re still a finger off being fully dilated, foetal heart rate is steady. Can I do anything before I go?” she added quietly.
“A glass of water would be appreciated,” she said, equally quietly. By the time that Trixie returned with the desired water, the sister had retrieved a kidney dish from her case. Seeing that she had spotted this, Sister Julienne gave her a tight smile. “Thank you. We’ll be just fine, though if you could return with as much haste as you can manage…?”
“I’ll be back in a flash,” Trixie said, reaching out and squeezing her shoulder.
Leaving, she ran down the stairs, grabbed her bicycle and cycled as fast as she could the couple of streets over to the nearest working phone box. Fishing a coin out of her pocket she dialled on instinct, and never had she been more relieved to hear the familiar tones of Sister Evangelina utter,
“Nonnatus House, midwife speaking.”