Leaning forwards, I drop off my chair onto my knees and put my hands on the warm wooden boards of the deck. I pant through the pain.

Scott kneels beside me and rubs my back. “You’re OK,” he murmurs. “Breathe, Trish.”

“I think I might be in labour,” I hiss.

“What should I do?”

The contraction is beginning to ease. Slowly, I sit back on my haunches. “It’s gone now.”

I’m embarrassed he’s seeing me like this. Any attraction he may have felt towards me will have been wiped out by the vision of me on my hands and knees panting like a dog.

Slowly, I get to my feet. “Would you mind leaving now, Scott?” I ask. “Something’s come up.”

Scott laughs softly. “See, that’s why I think you’re amazing.”

I walk past him and into the kitchen. “I mean it,” I call as I hear him following.

“I’ll go as soon as someone else arrives, Trish. I’m not leaving you here on your own.”

I pick up my phone and roll my eyes. “I’m calling my midwife now and I’m quite capable of managing this, Scott.”

He crosses his arms and lifts his eyebrows. “Doesn’t mean you have to,” he states.

I call my midwife and she answers on the second ring. “Hi, Trish. Everything OK?”

“I’m fine, thanks. I think I could be in labour, though.”

Leanne listens as I explain.

“It sounds like you may have been in labour for some time. Is there someone there with you?”

I glance at Scott. “Yes.”

“OK, so if you could ask them to time your contractions – how far apart they are, how long they last. It helps to give me an idea how quickly you’re progressing.”

“All right.”

“I’m with a patient now, but once I’ve finished, I’ll pop by and see you.”

“OK.”

Hanging up, I’m about to call Emma, when another contraction causes me to double over, my hands on my knees. Scott rubs my back again.

“You need to time it,” I gasp. “How long it is and how long between each contraction.”

Scott pulls his phone out of his pocket and hits the timer.

Neither of us speak as the contraction builds in intensity, then fades. Scott leads me to a chair.

“What do you need, Trish? Who can I call?”

I reach for my phone, my hand shaking. This is it. I can’t believe it. Oh, God, I’m not ready.

Scott eases my phone out of my shaking hand. “Trish, let me help. I’ll call Lily, OK?”

I nod. Emma. Lily. Mags. I don’t care which one. That’s not true. I want them all here. They’re my squad. My family. I can’t do this without them.