Tracy Anne pulls up a screenshot of Val’s most recent sonogram on the bedside PC. Nothing new. Twins. The second baby is in complete breech position. That means the feet want to come out first, and the head wants to come out last. We knew this for the past two months. There was not much we could do except fight off anyone who said we should perform a C-section. But any discussion and planning are in the past. Now the difficult circumstances are nonnegotiable. Now we’ve got to deal with them in real time. First things first: I need to have a very intense discussion with the very screwed-up mother-to-be.

Tracy Anne is helping Val with her breathing and her counting. The tremors from Val’s hands have spread to her arms and shoulders. She is shaking even worse than before. All the lavender cloths in the world are not going to absorb the perspiration that’s streaming out of her.

I hear Deborah Franklin say, “Now perhaps you can see why I ordered restraints. Your patient is going through withdrawal. She should be delivering under general anesthesia. I’m going to call OB for help.”

“You call OB, lady, and you better call orthopedics, too. You’re gonna have some broken bones to tend to,” Troy says.

“Ditto,” I say.

Honestly, I don’t think Nurse Franklin is frightened of me. But Troy, one of the nicest, gentlest people I know, can look absolutely terrifying, weighing in at just under 300 pounds, and with steely eyes that look as if they could flash fire if he wanted them to blaze.

“You people are living in another world,” says Franklin. She can rant all she wants. All I know is that she’s not moving to call OB. And I wouldn’t put it past Troy to try to stop her physically.

From here on in, I just ignore Franklin. I kneel on the delivery bed and hold down Val’s shoulders.

“Listen,” I say firmly but not unkindly to Val. “Like it or not, you’re about to have two babies right now. It’s going to be tough.”

Val screams.

Okay. Yelling back at this frail mother will get me nowhere. I move into soft gear.

“Just stay calm. Concentrate. Just do what I say. We’re in this together. I’ll do my job. And you do yours.”

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

PUSHING. SCREAMING. HOWLING. “EVERYTHING’S looking good with the first baby,” I say to Troy. “But once we start with the second one, we’re gonna need—”

Troy finishes my sentence, “I know…an on-call doc in case we need a C-section with the breech. I already notified OB surgery. Thought I’d best get them ready rather than count on that crazy-ball Nurse Franklin.”

“Good man,” I say.

Deborah Franklin, who has yet to leave the room, says, “C-section, huh? I thought you guys never did those.”