Send the Snowplow (7 page)

Jaycee stepped out into the hall and dialed her cell phone. “This is Jaycee at Pleasant Meadows again. We have a problem.”

Chapter 13

The rhythmic slap of a mop across tile floor let Jaycee know that at the least, Chris could follow simple directions. That was something. His voice carried through to the hallway where she stood. “She’s having another one!”

Jaycee covered the phone with her hand and yelled back, “That’s what happens during labor.”

“Did you say labor?” She already thought the dispatcher sounded young, but the crack in his voice made her lower her estimation of his age even more. 

“Sorry. Yes, you heard that right. I’ve got a woman in labor.”

From inside the commons room, the telltale screech of dividers against tile sounded. It always made her teeth hurt, but in this case, it was another reassuring sign that at least she had some level of backup. And an audience. She imagined Harold slurping on soda and eating popcorn like it was the best show of his life. As for Marilyn? She didn’t even want to know what was running through the horror queen’s mind.

“You’re in a hospice, so you have like, hospital equipment, right?”

“Hospice, hospital, I know they sound the same, but they aren’t. We’re not equipped to deliver a baby.”

The sound of pages turning came through the speaker on her phone, followed by the dispatcher’s frazzled voice. “I’ve got crews coming your way, but it’s going to take a few hours to get to you. I can talk you through an emergency delivery.”

Jaycee had to suppress the urge to laugh. “It’s not that I can’t deliver a baby, but I have limited power, heat, and phones.” Speaking of... She glanced at the power remaining on hers. “And my cell phone battery isn’t going to last.”

Chris’s yell came from the commons room, “Jaycee, we need you.”

She covered her phone with her hand and called to him, “Just breathe.”

“She is.”

Right. “Not her, you!” Jaycee uncovered the phone and put it back to her ear. “Just tell them to hurry, okay? Snowplow? Send it this way.” She disconnected the call and shoved her phone into her pocket.

As she rounded the corner, she nearly tripped over Marilyn, who was sprawled out in the middle of the dark hallway, a knife beside her, and what looked like blood on her chest. Jaycee stooped down and picked up a couple of ketchup packets. She gave Marilyn what she hoped was a stern stare. “I thought you were afraid of the dark and ghosts?”

Marilyn’s eyes popped open, and she broke out in a broad grin. “I’m an actress, my dear. I plan on going out in style.”

And it confirmed her suspicions about the whole, “who can get more attention from the nurse game,” between her and Walter. “I’m sure you will, but not tonight.”

A loud moan from Valerie got both of their attention. Marilyn popped up from the floor with surprising agility for a woman with terminal cancer. “I’ll behave. Go on.”

Jaycee burst through the door into the commons room and rushed to where Valerie paced near Brad’s bed. The expectant mom gave her a look filled with pure terror. Jaycee runs back to the commons room. “Are they coming?”

It would take some finesse to keep this situation under control.Jaycee moved closer to Valerie and brushed the laboring woman’s hair out of her face. “They’re working on it. You said you wanted some memories? Wish granted.”

“What do you need?” Chris touched her arm. He either hadn’t developed the poker face necessary to keep things calm in a crisis, or he really was that scared. Neither of the possibilities helped the situation. 

Jaycee pulled him aside and ticked off a list on her fingers. “Pull in a bed from an empty room. Extra plastic sheets. Towels. Cut a blanket into smaller squares. Baby size.”

Harold yelled from the other side of the room, “Can we start a fire to boil water?”

Jaycee walked over to the emergency supply kit and pulled out a couple of bottles of sterile water. “That’s only in the movies, and it’s usually to get some idiot out of the way.” She turned to Chris and lowered her voice, “Kill Harold.”

“I heard that. I’m already dying, you know.” Harold yelled in return.

She laughed. “I’m sure you did, and tonight you’re making me believe in euthanasia.”

Walter laughed so hard he snorted. “I can see it now. Kevorkian, Dahmer, and you. Marilyn can star in the movie.”

Chris leaned close to her. “What are we going to do with them?”

Jaycee shrugged. “Focus on the priorities. Right now, that’s getting things ready in case this baby comes before the ambulance gets here.”

As if on cue, Valerie cried out. Chris jumped about a mile into the air then headed to the door. “I’ll go get the bed.”

Harold shook his empty bag of popcorn at Chris as he rushed past. “Hey, bring back more popcorn, I’m out!”

Jaycee ignored him and headed back over to Valerie and Brad. “Keep breathing, Valerie.” She leaned down near the expectant father. “How are you doing, Daddy?”

Brad gave her a weak smile. “Wasn’t sure I’d ever hear those words.”

She squeezed his hand. Jaycee squeezes his hand. “I’m not Santa, but it looks like you’re getting one heck of a special Christmas delivery here.”

“I promised her I’d be in the delivery room before I got sick. This wasn’t what I had in mind.”

Valerie waddled over and kissed her husband on the forehead. “Are you in pain? Jaycee can go get you some medicine. I’ll be fine.” She winced as another contraction overtook her.

Brad looked at Jaycee, concern etching his already pain-drawn face. “She needs it more than me.”

Jaycee shook her head. “In a hospital, yes. But pain meds make you sleepy, and they’d make a baby sleepy, too.” She gave Valerie an apologetic smile. “No epidurals, either. Sorry about that.”

Valerie leaned on the wall and panted through the contraction. “What am I supposed to be doing?”

“You’re doing it. I walked eight hours having Clarissa.” Jaycee palpated Valerie’s abdomen gauging the strength of the contraction. It was rock-hard, and even though she hadn’t been staring at the clock, they were at least every two or three minutes. Yeah, this was a first baby, but combined with the broken water, and the knowledge that Valerie had most likely been in labor all day meant that this baby was coming sooner rather than later.

A series of loud bangs accompanied Chris as he navigated an empty bed through doorway and shoved it into the room. Extra blankets, towels, and plastic sheets piled on top of it. Jaycee walked with Valerie and rubbed her back while Chris moved the bed next to Brad and pulled the privacy dividers into place. Marilyn waved at her as they approached. “I’ve got the scissors from,
Death in Home Ec
, in my room. You can use them to cut the cord.”

Fear crossed Valerie’s face. Jaycee shook her head and laughed. “Thanks, but no thanks.”

The actress turned to Walter who sat near her in his wheelchair, a look of horror etched his expression. “Damn. I was hoping for some real blood on them.”

Walter gave her a hard stare. “Pretty sure I can make that happen.”

“Pig face.” She stuck her tongue out at him.

“Pond scum!”

Chapter 14

She might not have jumped when Valerie moaned with another contraction like Chris did, but the sound and vibration of her cell phone in her pocket did the trick just the same. One glance at Derek’s name on the caller ID was almost enough to send her over the edge. She swiped her finger to answer, and yelled into the microphone. “What do you want?”

“Just wondering if you made it home yet.”

Good God, he sounded like a broken record. She needed a special ring tone so she could just ignore his calls. There might even be an option to send them straight to voice mail. Worth a little research after she did get home and slept for a week. “What part of the blizzard and roads closed did you not get?”

“You’ve been at work almost twenty four hours. I worry.”

 Valerie let out a cross between a moan and a yell. Yeah, this baby wasn’t going to wait for a snowplow, doctor, or Emergency response team. And Jaycee needed to get the suddenly overprotective soon-to-be ex-husband off the phone and get ready to help make it happen.

Now.

Marilyn gave Valerie an encouraging smile, then turned to Walter, who in spite of his apparent dislike for the scream queen, hadn’t moved away from her. In fact, their chairs were nearly touching. “You know, I screen tested for Rosemary’s Baby. I really wanted to do that birth scene.”

Walter waved his hand as if to swat her words away. “Oh, that’s what she needs to hear about right now.”

Marilyn opened her mouth to reply, but Valerie grabbed for Walter’s wheelchair handle to support herself. Unfortunately, her grip caught his shoulder instead. He winced as her fingers dig into his flesh. “Ow! Ow! Ow!”

“Where’s the chloroform?” Walter flinched.

The look Marilyn gave him would have put terror into most people Jaycee knew. It was wasted in this case, since Walter was too busy trying to pry Valerie’s hand from his shoulder to notice. “What century do you think we’re in?”

“The Queen of England used it!”

“In the 1800’s!”

Valerie moaned again and tightened her grip on Walter’s shoulder. This time, he cried out along with her, and nearly as loud.

Derek’s voice came through her handset. “What’s going on there?”

She’d forgotten about the fact that she still had him in an active call. “I’ve got to go. The baby’s coming.” She moved to disconnect, but paused and put the phone back to her ear. “Call the kids. They might have killed each other, or the baby-sitter. Maybe both.”

As she disconnected the call, Derek’s voice reached her ears. “Baby? What baby?”

If he wanted to know, he could ask her about it later. Right now, she had other things to worry about. Like making sure delivering this baby didn’t involve diving to the floor to catch it. Jaycee shoved her phone into her pocket and cleared the few feet separating them. “I need to check on the baby, okay?” She pried Valerie’s hand off Walter’s shoulder and guided her toward the bed.

Walter rubbed his shoulder as Marilyn tried to pull his shirt aside. “Did she draw blood?”

The CEO shoved her hands away. “I’m going to draw blood if you don’t keep your hands to yourself.”

Jaycee ignored them and helped Valerie behind the privacy divider and into the bed. Once settled, Valerie reached out to Brad, whose own bed was close enough for the couple to clasps hands. She moaned and yelled again as another contraction bore down upon her.

Jaycee covered her with a sheet and donned a pair of gloves. It had been a while since she’d checked progress on a laboring patient. It was like riding a bicycle, right? Anatomical principles didn’t change, and she was pretty sure she’d still be able to tell what a cervix felt like. And... she wasn’t going to have to worry about it, either. “I can feel the baby’s head.” This time, she yelled. “Chris?”

The male nurse ran around the privacy screen and backpedaled when he saw the exposed view between the folds of the sheet Jaycee had draped over Valerie’s legs. “Whoa!”

Jaycee turned enough to stare him down. “You ever want to survive in the emergency room, you’d better get used to this.”

Chris glanced back under the sheet, then covered his mouth and gagged. “That’s not right.”

Brad struggled to sit up further, concern etching his features. “What’s wrong?”

Valerie screamed again as Jaycee gave Chris a scathing stare. “Everything’s fine. Chris, I need you to be ready with a blanket, scissors, and put a couple pieces of string into alcohol.”

Harold’s voice came from the other side of the screens. “Alcohol? Let’s get the party started! Gin and tonic for me!”

Jaycee blew out a deep breath and gave Valerie an apologetic shrug. “Sorry about the audience. He’s an idiot.”

“I heard that.”

“I’m sure you did. It’s the truth.”

Harold cackled from behind the privacy divider. Valerie’s moans cut him off. Jaycee positioned herself by sitting on the end of the bed, and placed a plastic sheet over her lap. She glanced over the top of the sheet at Valerie and Brad. “Take a deep breath in and push. Chris, help hold her up.”

Happy to move away from the business end of the deal, Chris propped her up using a pillow as Valerie grabbed her knees and pushed. 

“That’s it. Keep it coming.” Jaycee nodded in encouragement as Valerie bore down.

After the contraction ceased, Valerie leaned back against the pillow. Brad patted her hand. “You’re doing great, sweetheart. I love you.”

“Are you sure there isn’t any chloroform?” Valerie gave Jaycee a pleading glance. Another contraction hit, and she moaned while she pushed again.

“I can see the head. Keep at it, Valerie.”

Chris’s eyes widened. He pulled out his own cell phone. “Should I call 911 so they can tell us what to do?”

“Jesus Christ, Chris, focus.” The guy really was an idiot. She must have been nuts not to have seen it, but then again, she’d been more focused on his washboard abs than his rippling intellect.

Valerie’s screams intensified. Jaycee patted her leg. “Almost there, keep going.”

Brad added his encouragement. “Push, sweetheart, push!”

“Push it out, push it out, wayyy out.” Harold chanted the words in a tone reminiscent of a cheerleader from behind the screens.

Marilyn giggled as Walter replied, “I should have guessed you were one of those namby-pamby cheerleaders.”

Harold snorted. “Great view and guess where I got to put my hands? Uh huh. Every day, my friend. Not just on prom night.”

There was another gush of fluid as the baby’s head emerged. Jaycee slid her fingers around his neck and shuddered as they connected with something soft and pulsating. This time it was Jaycee that yelled. “Stop pushing Valerie!”

Valerie squirmed and moaned as she fought the urge to push. Jaycee had to give her credit. There was a point where the body took over, and it was almost impossible to hold it back, but she was doing everything she could to resist. “Chris, I need the scissors and the hemostats. Now!”

“What’s happening? Brad? Jaycee? Somebody help!” Panic rang in Valerie’s voice.