She looked at Lottie on the couch, and Aaron wasted no time checking her out. He settled in at the end of the couch and got ready to examine Lottie, and for a moment it seemed as if she recognized him.
“Zeke,” she murmured woozily, mistaking the doctor for her husband. “You're here at last.”
Zeke rushed to Lottie, stroking her face as he brushed strands of hair from her eyes. “I told you I'd make it,” he whispered tenderly. “I just figured it would be a good idea to bring the doc with me.”
“I'm glad you did,” Lottie said, and then a stab of pain sent her back into unconsciousness.
“Doc?” Zeke said urgently. “You gotta help her.”
“I'm all set on that one,” Aaron said, nodding at the other room. “Could you two wait in the other room while I do what I have to do?''
“Of course,” Sally replied, relieved to have something to do. She grabbed Zeke's arm and steered him gently toward the kitchen. “Let's give Dr. Jessup the space he needs to help her.”
Zeke went with her reluctantly, looking back over his shoulder as Aaron positioned himself on the couch to examine Lottie. He lifted her legs and commanded Lottie to push, but Lottie was still drifting in and out of consciousness.
Quickly, Aaron determined what the problem was. The baby was stuck, with his head tilted slightly in the birth canal in a way that was preventing the rest of his body from emerging. That was the reason all of Lottie's pushing had been in vain, and Aaron knew he had to act rapidly to fix the situation.
Fortunately, the situation wasn't as dire as it appeared. Aaron was able to reposition the baby without any trouble, and after that he used smelling salts to bring Lottie around again.
“Lottie!” he said, raising his voice to make sure she could hear him. “I just need you to help me with one more thing, and then it will all be over. Can you push when I tell you to?”
“Huh?” Lottie looked up, and when she did she saw two doctors in front of her, which was quite confusing. She blinked away the double vision, then realized it was Aaron Jessup, and she smiled weakly at his request.
“I think so,” she murmured. “I'm sooooo tired, though.”
“I know, dear,” the doctor said gently. “But I promise, all I need is one more push when I tell you to.”
“I'll try,” she said gamely, sweat dripping down her face.
“All I can ask,” Aaron smiled. “Ready?”
“Uh huh. . .”
“All right then. . .one big push. . .now!”
Lottie heaved with all her might, until it felt like her body might explode. At first the baby wouldn't cooperate, but then Aaron managed to get him turned properly, and the child emerged, wailing like a banshee as soon as he came into the world.
“There we go,” Aaron said, taking the infant boy and wrapping him in the blanket Sally had set on the table next to the couch. “That should do quite nicely.”
Zeke came rushing out of the kitchen, with Sally hard on his heels. “Is she OK, doc?” he asked, rushing to Lottie's side.
Sally was right with him, and she immediately began attending to Lottie. Meanwhile, Zeke realized that the doctor wasn't the only other male in the room, and he listened to the caterwauling in sheer amazement.
“I believe this little guy is yours,” Aaron said, handing the boy to Zeke as he approached. “Congratulations, Zeke. . .looks like you're a father!”
Zeke took the child, overwhelmed by the moment, then brought the child to Lottie and knelt by her side on the couch. “I believe you were responsible for this,” he said, grinning, and Lottie giggled.
“I think I had some help in that department,” Lottie said, smiling with exhaustion. “Merry Christmas, Zeke.”
Part 2 - Saving the Christmas Miracle Baby
When Aaron got back to the office, he was nearly as exhausted as Lottie had been. There was a certain amount of tension that came with delivering babies, and that stress tended to multiply whenever the mother was in physical distress.
So even though the solution to Lottie's delivery had been simple, dealing with the aftermath wasn't.
Fortunately, Rachel was wonderful in that regard. She'd learned to read him like a book, to the point where she could simply look at Aaron and tell what he needed after such a delivery.
“Uh oh,” she said as soon as he walked in the office door. “Another tough one?”
“Yes and no,” Aaron said, doing his best to manage a small grin. “Minor problem, simple solution, lots of nervous moments.”
“I understand completely,” she replied. “I had a feeling it was something like that as soon as Zeke walked in the door.”
“They'll be fine,” Aaron reassured her, thinking of others as always. “Lottie's as strong as they come. Once the baby had been delivered, she was almost up and around by the time I left. And that was only moments later.”
“Hmm,” she said, taking his hand and giving him a gentle buss on the cheek. “Well, as much as I'd like to make the rest of your day easier, I'm afraid that's not likely to happen.”
“Uh oh,” Aaron said, frowning. “What's going on?”
Rachel sighed. “Another baby crisis, I'm afraid.”
He shook his head. “Must be a run on them for some reason today,” Aaron commented. “Maybe its a Christmas Eve event. Who've we got this time around?”
“Willa,” Rachel said, checking her patient chart for the day, which was posted on the wall. “Willa McCourty.”
“Really?” Aaron said, slightly surprised. “She's had a very easy pregnancy to date, at least from what I remember.”
“Right you are,” Rachel said after fishing Willa's file from the pile of papers on her desk. “No complications to date.”
“She's got another child, right?” he remembered. “The foundling they discovered in the remains of First View?”
“Right again,” Rachel replied, nodding. “And as far as I know, there are no problems there, either. Their last visit was a while ago.”
“But that means they've got their hands full this time around,” Aaron noted.
Rachel smiled. “I would say so,” she said. “How'd you know?”
He shrugged. “Lucky guess. So she's out in the waiting room?”
“Umm. . .no,” Rachel said, giving him a cheeky grin. “That's where things get a little complicated.”
“OK?”
“Jasper's out back, I'm afraid,” she explained. “He's waiting for you.”
Aaron blinked and shook his head, trying to digest this latest tidbit.
“OK. . .and where is Willa?”
Rachel sighed. “Out at the McCourty farm,” she said. “Apparently she's in considerable distress, but Jasper couldn't give me any other details. I'm afraid he's rather upset.”
“Understandable,” Aaron replied. “So what's the upshot of all this?”
“Well. . .,” Rachel said, trying to sugarcoat the news with a pleasant grin. “How would you feel about going for another horseback ride?”
Aaron rolled his eyes and grabbed his medical bag. “My, we're all just full of surprises today,” he said, half to himself. “Have people forgotten that they're supposed to get sick and come here, not the other way around?”
“Apparently they have, at least for the day,” she said. “Come, husband, I'll walk you out back to meet Jasper with you.”
“I do appreciate that,” he said, taking her hand. “These nervous husbands can be something of a handful.”
“Well, Jasper's in worse shape than Zeke was, possibly,” Rachel explained. “That's the bad news.”
“Oh dear. . .that's not good at all.”
As soon as he opened the back door, Jasper came running up to him, nearly knocking Aaron down as he did.
“Doc, there ya are, at last,” he said, breathless. “I thought I was gonna wear out this patch of ground pacing. Couldn't even think of staying put in your office to wait for ya.”
“Well, hopefully we can manage to fix whatever's going on,�
�� Aaron said, trying to get Jasper to calm down a bit. “What was happening when you left?”
“It's Willa,” he said, rubbing his hands together as he looked over nervously at his horse, clearly wanting to get Aaron to the farm as quickly as possible. “She went into labor early this morning.”
“That doesn't sound so bad,” Aaron commented. “A little early for her, but not catastrophic.”
“Yeah, that's what I was thinking when this all started,” Aaron agreed. “Then things started goin' south in a hurry.”
“After how long?” Aaron asked, shifting into diagnostic mode.
“I dunno. . .maybe an hour or two.” Jasper replied.
“And since then?”
“Things kept gettin' worse,” he continued. “The other McCourty women attended to her and did all they could, of course, but it didn't seem to help much.”
“What were her symptoms?” Aaron continued.
“Stabbing pain, I believe,” Jasper replied. “She wasn't in a position to talk about it much, I'm afraid. We tried to make her more comfortable for a while, but then it became obvious that she needed a doctor.”
“Well, here I am,” Aaron said, managing a slight smile.
“So what do we do now, doc?”
Aaron sighed, knowing he had to summon up some enthusiasm in a hurry.
“Let's go!” he said, nodding at the beast. “I'll try to do my best!”
Aaron certainly was getting his fair share of hard horseback rides, he mused to himself as they sped out to the McCourty farm. As an experienced scout, Jasper was probably an even more accomplished rider than Zeke, and the pace he was keeping was well beyond quick.
Jasper was digging his spurs in hard, even as they came up on the farm. Aaron found himself wondering if the situation was as severe as Jasper seemed to think it was, and his intuition told him it was.
Jasper nearly dismounted before the horse had completely stopped, and Aaron struggled to keep his balance as Jasper raced into the house. He was able to keep from taking a tumble, but the level of urgency became clear when Jessie rushed from the house, heading straight for Aaron and grabbing him by the arm.
“Doctor Jessup. . .thank goodness!” Jessie said, her face flushed with excitement and concern. “You've got to help her! And the baby!”
Aaron raced into the house when he heard the word “baby.” He had no idea if the McCourtys had managed to hire a wet nurse for the delivery, but he doubted it given how scarce they were in the territory.
Jessie and Susannah were both too distraught to give him any kind of useful information, so Aaron decided to wait until he saw Willa before taking any action.
When he stepped into the living room, he didn't like what he saw at all.
Willa was prone on the couch, giving Aaron a distinct sense of deja vu. She looked to be in much the same state that Lottie had been in—dazed and half conscious, and as soon as he saw her Aaron knew she'd probably been drifting in and out of consciousness for some time.
But there were a couple of significant differences in this scene.
One was the blood stains on the couch. Most of it had been soaked up by the fabric covering the straw cushions, so Aaron couldn't tell how much Willa had bled, but the fact that she had was a bad sign indeed.
And there was another huge difference. Susannah was sitting on the couch, cradling something tiny, wrapped in a blanket. Aaron blinked as he rushed to the couch, realizing that Willa had given birth, and perhaps only moments ago.
And the baby wasn't moving.
It was obvious that both Willa and the child needed Aaron's attention immediately, and for a moment he froze, not knowing where to start. Willa moved about slightly, and when Aaron heard her murmur something incoherent he decided that the baby was a higher priority.
“She's not moving at all,” Susannah said, tears streaking down her cheeks.
Aaron took the infant from her gently, not liking the baby's color at all. He quickly examined the baby, then checked for a heartbeat. It was faint, and the baby's breathing was shallow, a combination of which made Aaron fear for the worst.
“Can you help her, Doctor?” Susannah asked desperately.
“I think so,” Aaron replied. “Can you get me a pan of fresh water, please?”
Jessie instantly ran to the kitchen to fetch the water, and when she arrived Jessie fired back a question.
“Hot or cold? Should I heat it up?”
“Both,” Aaron said. “If you have two pans, that would be quite helpful.”
Aaron had no formal training in pediatrics, which he knew from his time back east was an emerging field of medicine that had very little in the way of established procedures. He manipulated the baby's limbs gently, hoping some kind of small movement would draw a response.
Initially his efforts proved futile. The baby remained quite inert, and Aaron began to fear the worst.
Finally, the child moved slightly. It was just a tiny, spastic leg kick, but it told Aaron that there was hope, and he continued to massage the baby gently, hoping that small movement would lead to another one.
“I saw that!” Susannah exclaimed. “That's the first time the baby moved since she emerged from the womb.”
“It's a start,” Aaron said, beginning to sweat profusely from the tension of the situation. “Can you check with Jessie and see if the water is ready?”
“Will do,” Susannah said, rising from the couch.
Jasper had been nervously pacing back and forth, and now he came closer to Aaron, hoping the movement was a positive sign even though he hadn't seen it.
“Anything I can do, Doc?” he said softly. “I'm itchin' to help.”
Aaron looked up at him and gave Jasper a slight smile, not wanting to reveal to him how desperate the baby's situation was. He was alarmed by the shallow breathing and the lack of voluntary movement, and the heartbeat was far too faint and erratic as well.
Then, in a flash, an idea came to him. He knew Jasper was a man of strong faith, as were all three of the McCourty triplets. He also knew their wives were just as devout. Perhaps their faith could play a role in a way that was impossible for Aaron to anticipate, and he decided to make a suggestion.
“Actually, there is,” he said, his countenance brightening. “Are you up for another ride back into town?”
“Absolutely,” Jasper replied, grinning. “Might have to take a different horse for that one, though. Just about wore out Scout from the trip to get you. That was a pretty hard push.”
“Well, we may need some assistance from another source,” Aaron said. “Any chance you'd be willing to ride out and see if Parson Robertson is available?”
“I'd be happy to!” Jason exclaimed. “Anything I should have him bring?”
Aaron smiled. “Just his faith, and whatever prayers he might have for this particular situation,” he replied. “I have a feeling that the element of faith may be very important here.”
With that, Jasper sped out the door and saddled up for the ride back to Last Chance. Aaron kept working on the baby, whose condition seemed to improve slightly, until finally he thought he saw another movement.
Then he saw the baby's arm move slightly, and Aaron felt slightly more optimistic. Another idea came to him, and he looked eagerly at Jessie, who was anxiously hovering around the baby.
“Wait a second,” Aaron said, cursing himself slightly for being so forgetful. “Willa and Jasper have another child, correct?”
“Yes,” Jessie replied. “A baby. . .not that much older than this little one.”
“A boy or a girl?” Aaron asked.
“Boy,” Susannah said. “His name is Jason.”
“Huh” Aaron said, eyeing the little girl in his arms. “And where is he now?”
“In his crib,” Jessie said. “Upstairs.”
“He's being quiet for once in his life,” Susannah added with a wry smile. “Its a rarity.”
“Well, let's bring him down here, if you don't mind,” Aaron s
uggested. “Perhaps he can help his new sister.”
“All right,” Jessie said, looking to the stairs. “I'll go get him.”
Susannah looked at Aaron with some curiosity. “What is it you have in mind, Doctor Jessup?”
He smiled. “It's Aaron, please,” he said. “I don't have a lot of experience working with infants, to be quite honest. But in the brief amount of work I've done, its been my experience that sometimes the presence of one can be a comfort to another.”
“It does make sense,” Susannah replied, trying to take some hope from his words.
“And perhaps the fact that they're from the same family might add to that a little,” Aaron added.
Jessie returned with the infant moments later. “What should I do, Doctor?”
“Just pull up a chair and sit close by,” Aaron said. “I just want this little girl to know that her brother is present and accounted for.”
“Happy to,” Jessie said, handing Jason to Susannah to hold while she grabbed a chair from across the room. She sat down next to the couch, looking up at Susannah. “Do you want to sit and hold him, or should I?”
“You can do it,” Susannah said with a slight smile, knowing that holding Jason would help settle Jessie's restless nature. Then she looked at Aaron. “Is there anything else you would have me do?”
Aaron nodded at Willa, who was still prone on the couch. “Just get another chair, and sit with Willa,” he said. “I'll need to look at her in just a moment.”
He waited for Jessie to settle in with young Jason, knowing it would only be a matter of time before the infant began fussing about. Sure enough, Jason began to stir almost immediately, and Jessie held her breath, hoping he wouldn't break into a sudden round of crying.
Instead, though, Jason seemed quite aware of his surroundings. He turned his head almost immediately in the direction of his new sister, and Jessie and Susannah both smiled. Jason had always been a very social infant who was cognizant of just about everything going on around him.
Suddenly Jason began to make gurgling sounds, which quickly turned into something that sounded like cooing. It seemed apparent that he was trying to communicate with the other baby, and that became even more obvious when he reached out for his new sister with both arms.
Christmas Miracles: Mega Mail Order Bride 20-Book Box Set: Multi-Author Box Set Page 61