Chapter Text
“... and how are your revisions, Nurse Busby? Sister Julienne asked during dinner.
“I’ve completed the chapter on placenta previa,” Delia answered.
“Very good,” the head nun smiled. “I was thinking this morning that it’s about time you shadowed a midwife and put into practice some of the things you’ve learned.”
“That would be lovely,” Delia agreed. She had looked forward to getting some hands-on experience for quite some time now.
“I have a twenty-eight year old secundigravida in her third trimester,” Nurse Crane offered. “She’s as fit as a horse—practically sneezed out her first. I suspect her second will have just as little trouble. She would be a lovely candidate for our Nurse Busby to have as a first, just to give her a taste of what a routine home birth is like in person... instead of on the telephone.”
A fit of giggles plagued the dinner table and Delia blushed. It was only a few months ago that she experienced the rewarding feeling of delivering a baby over the phone.
“That settles it then,” Sister Julienne agreed, “Nurse Busby, you will be partnered with Nurse Crane for the remainder of this case.”
Delia glanced across the dinner table and gave Phyllis a thankful smile, to which she received a wink in return.
000
“Midwife!” Phyllis announced their arrival as they entered the large apartment, the door already unlocked and waiting for their arrival. “And midwife trainee!” she added when she remembered Nurse Busby was in her company.
Delia stepped into the apartment and immediately admired the well-kept space. The infrastructure of the old building was humbly below average, but the apartment appeared freshly painted orange with modern furniture and lots of potted plants. Crystal lamps and gold-accented woodwork made it obvious that someone had, or had inherited, money. It also appeared that the flat’s inhabitants spent a lot of time taking care of the home.
“In here...” a voice called out.
Phyllis and Delia followed the voice into one of the two bedrooms and found the single mother sitting on the floor beside a big bed.
“My dear!” Phyllis ran over to the heavily pregnant woman, Delia right by her side.
“I didn’t fall...” the mother reassured as the two nurses helped her to her feet and onto the bed to have a seat. “I wanted to...” she lifted the small emery board that was in her hand, “But I can’t seem to reach my toes anymore, not with this little one growing bigger and bigger everyday.” She placed her hand on her large belly.
“We would be happy to help you with that, Miss Kent,” Delia reassured.
“Please, Nurse, call me Ellen.”
“Ellen…” Phyllis said firmly, “We can do that for you. No need to roll on the floor like a toppled beer bottle.”
“Joan usually helps me with them,” Ellen explained. “She does everything for me now on top of taking care of Joey. I wanted to save her the trouble.”
“I’m sure she doesn’t think it’s any trouble at all,” Nurse Crane reassured.
“I know that, Nurse, it’s just... I’ve become more of a chore for her than… a friend.”
Delia did not fail to catch the slight hesitance in Ellen’s voice when she referred to her flatmate. It made her consciousness perk up, and she began to notice clues in the apartment that she did not notice when she first entered. For one, was the hair curlers on both night tables, indicating both women slept on the same bed despite having two bedrooms in the flat. Second, was the collection of small black and white photos on the dresser of the two women with Little Joey, appearing very much like a nuclear family. In one photo, Joan was wearing a bowtie and tophat that matched the ones Little Joey was wearing.
“I understand,” Phyllis nodded, and she really did understand. “Nurse Busby here will perform your check-up and I will file those nails down for you.”
“Oh thank you,” Ellen Kent sighed in relief, “You two are real angels.”
Delia smiled and began to go through the routine check she had already learned to do, in theory. Phyllis sat herself at the foot of the bed and began to file down their patient’s toenails while she watched her pupil complete the task on hand.
“Oh...” Ellen smiled when Delia placed her hands on her large belly. “Your hands are nice and warm, Nurse.”
“So I’ve been told,” Delia smiled and palpated the flesh beneath her hands. She couldn’t help but recall how her warm hands and Patsy’s cold ones complimented each other so well. It made her miss Patsy all of a sudden.
The door to the apartment opened moments later and a little boy of about three years of age came running into the room.
“Little Jo,” Ellen smiled when she saw her little man.
“Big Jo and I got these for you, mama...” he handed her the small bouquet of baby’s breath.
“You did?” Ellen took the flowers and looked at her roommate, who was standing at the door frame.
“Getting the royal treatment, are we?” Joan asked when she saw her roommate being tended to by the two nurses.
“This is simply routine, Miss Holmes. We do what we have to to keep our mothers in good shape,” Phyllis reassured, not mentioning that they found Ellen on the floor trying to tend to her nails herself.
“I’m Joan Holmes...” Joan greeted Delia and walked towards her, “I don’t think we’ve met before.”
“She’s Big Jo and I’m Little Jo,” Joey informed.
“I see,” Delia smiled and shook the hand that was offered. She introduced herself as the midwife in training.
“So how is she?” Joan asked Delia.
“Her vitals are textbook perfect, and the baby’s heartbeat is right where we want it,” Delia explained.
“That’s great!” Joan smiled, “Can I offer you nurses some of the tea and butter tarts Little Jo and I got at the market today?”
“Oh, that won’t be necessary, Joan, we won’t be here much longer,” Phyllis reassured
“Then please take some to-go,” Joan insisted. “You take such good care of her, it’s the least I can do!”
“Well, it would be rude to say no. Right, Nurse Busby?” Phyllis gave her pupil a smirk.
“It would be rude to say no,” Delia agreed with a smile.
000
The silent car ride home smelled like fresh warm butter tarts. Delia tried to ask about Joan and Ellen on multiple occasions, but she kept shying away. It felt strange to ask, even if it was accepting and understanding Phyllis Crane she was asking.
“Joan and Ellen...” she finally blurted out.
“Yes,” Phyllis nodded her head before Delia could even continue.
“They’re like me and Patsy...” Delia whispered so quietly Phyllis could barely hear it.
“They’re like two bears in a cave,” Phyllis elaborated. “They stick to themselves. I think they’re afraid to make friends, in fear that they would be found out. Breaks my heart. They’re lovely people and they’ve got no family or social support system.”
“Surely they could meet women—like them—if they socialized at the right places,” Delia thought out loud.
“I think they’ve grown too accustomed to being on their own,” Phyllis sighed. “As fear can keep us tethered down and terror can clip our wings.”
Delia frowned and gazed out the window. She suddenly felt lucky. Even if she and Patsy had to love each other in secret, at least they had a loving group of friends who loved them like family.
“Was Little Jo from Ellen’s previous marriage or boyfriend?” Delia asked after some time.
“No,” Phyllis shook her head in denial. “I delivered Little Jo over two years ago. I thought Miss Kent might have already been pregnant when she came to live with Miss Holmes... but it turned out that they had been living together in that flat for nearly a decade. Miss Holmes is a gardener, and Miss Kent was a bookkeeper for the landscaping company she worked at. I assume that’s where they met and worked together… until Miss Kent’s father died and left her a comfortable inheritance. She’s been more of a housewife since.”
“How did they have children?” Delia wondered, a bit intrigued.
“To ask would only satisfy curiosity, not nursing necessity,” Phyllis replied. “So to us, Nurse Busby, it shall remain a mystery.”
000
One week later, Delia was sent to do another routine check after her dayshift at the Sea Matron. Barbara was kind enough to lend her her bike, and she very cautiously made her way to the Kent-Holmes flat without incident, by avoiding busy roads with heavy car traffic. When she got to the old brick building, she carefully parked the bike against the black metal staircase and walked up to the third floor, where Ellen, Joan, and Joey lived in isolation.
“Is she expecting another?”
Delia turned towards the voice before she could knock on the door. On the fire escape adjacent to the Kent-Holmes flat was an older woman with hair rollers, smoking a cigarette and hanging up children’s garments on the clothesline.
“Some women don’t learn their lesson, do they?” she sassed. “Bad enough she gotta raise that boy without a father, and now she has to bring another into the world the same way,” the woman shook her head in disgust. “Heard it’s not even from the same chap who fathered the first. Wouldn’t be surprised if those kids turn out to be criminals, growing up with no proper family and all.”
Delia didn’t know how to respond for a moment. It stunned her that the woman had such hatred for people she didn’t know.
“Lots of criminals come from ‘proper’ families,” Delia replied firmly.
The woman arched her eyebrow and pinned another garment onto the clothesline. She had it in her head that the nurse would agree with her point of view.
“I still wouldn’t trust her if my life depended on it,” she shook her head.
“And I hope you may never need her help,” Delia turned away from the neighbour and quietly huffed to herself. Her blood boiled and her heart pounded, but she tried her best to calm her nerves before knocking on the forest green door.
“Who is it?” a young voiced asked.
“It’s the nurse.”
“It’s the nurse, mum,” he announced.
“The door is unlocked,” Ellen’s voice informed.
Delia opened the door and stepped in before locking it behind her. She closed her eyes and took a moment to compose herself, to release the anger she had just felt for the bigoted neighbour. The last thing she wanted to do was upset Ellen Kent, so she forced a smile and turned to face the expecting mother.
Ellen Kent was on the floor, again, except this time she was leaning against the couch and Little Jo was using her big belly as a surface for his toy cars to drive on.
“On the floor again, Miss Kent?” Delia teased, although the sight made her heart swell. She too had dreamed of having a family with Patsy. If they ever could.
“Little Jo is playing with his little brother or sister,” Ellen ruffled her son’s hair and then smiled at the nurse. “It’s good to see you, Nurse Busby. Is Nurse Crane running late?”
“It’s just me this time. Nurse Crane had an early labour to tend to.”
“I’m glad you’re here. Joan should be home from work soon,” Ellen tried to sit up from the carpet, but she didn’t seem to have the strength to.
“Are you tired?” Delia asked when she noticed the state Ellen was in. Bags under her eyes, and fatigue present in her muscle tone.
“Haven’t been sleeping well,” Ellen admitted.
“Any discomfort?”
“Just a lot on the mind,” Ellen excused.
Delia approached her patient, placed her bag on the coffee table, and joined her on the floor.
“Nurse Warm Hands, you are,” Ellen smiled when the nurse placed her hands on her belly.
Delia smiled, “Any pain?”
“No,” Ellen denied automatically. “Well...” she decided to be truthful, “Sometimes.”
“Could you describe the pain for me?”
“It’s more of a cramp, I think. Sometimes a burning.”
“Where and when?”
“The cramping is in my lower back, and the burning...” Ellen glanced at her son, who was now driving the toy car up her arm.
Delia followed Ellen’s gaze and gave her a reassuring smile. “Little Jo,” she called the child, “Do you have any toys in your bedroom?”
“Uh-huh,” he nodded his head.
“Could you play with those toys so I can have a moment with your mum? It will only take a few minutes.”
“Okay,” Little Jo agreed.
“That’s my good boy,” Ellen smiled. “So obedient, he is.”
“He is the most behaved little gentleman I’ve met,” Delia agreed. She watched his little blonde head disappear into the second bedroom, and then turned her attention towards the expecting mother.
“Does it burn when you urinate?” Delia asked.
Ellen signed and nodded her head.
“Any other time?” Delia investigated.
Ellen winced at the recent, painful, memory.
“Anything you tell me will be in confidence,” Delia promised.
“It burned the other night…” Ellen huffed.
“During intimacy?” Delia pushed on, acting on the hunch she had brewing.
Ellen closed her eyes and nodded her head.
Delia wrote the complaint down in Ellen’s file full of progress notes.
“Please don’t tell Joan...” Ellen pleaded, “She already worries.”
“Your secret is safe with me,” Delia promised. “When did that start?”
“Some time since your last visit.”
“Can I take a look?” Delia asked and reached for a pair of gloves in her bag.
Ellen nodded her head and lifted her hips to help the nurse remove her drawers from underneath her skirt. She parted her thighs and blushed as the nurse inspected her.
A scent instantly met Delia’s nose, and she began to take shallow breaths to avoid getting a full dose of it.
“Any change in... scent?” she asked as she inspected her patient. Lots of women smelled, but even with her inexperienced nose, she could tell something was different. Especially since she didn’t notice it during the last routine check.
“Oh, Nurse, I always smell different when I’m pregnant.”
With gloved hands, Delia took a closer look. She didn’t fail to notice the bright redness present in Ellen’s inner genitalia. Things were drastically different from the last check indeed. It worried Delia, but she kept her calm composure.
“Have you noticed any other changes?” Delia asked.
Ellen shook her head in denial. “Why, is something wrong?” she began to worry.
“There’s a bit of discharge so I’m going to have doctor stop by tomorrow,” Delia informed. “Just to get a second opinion.”
Ellen shimmied back into her underwear and closed her legs when Delia took her gloves off.
“I would also advise you to refrain from intercourse until you get the clear,” Delia added.
“Is it an infection?” Ellen asked, her blood turning cold in her veins. She had heard of women who began to leak pus and die later from an infection.
“I can't confirm that now,” Delia shook her head, though she had a strong suspicion.
“Is it going to hurt my baby?”
“I don’t know,” Delia sighed again. “We won’t know anything until doctor makes a formal diagnosis.”
Ellen insecurely crossed her arms and bit her thumbnail between her teeth.
“I’ll be here when he comes,” Delia promised. “I won’t let you go through that alone.”
Ellen cracked a sad smile and reached her hand to hold Delia’s.
“You’re so kind to me, Nurse,” Ellen gave the other woman’s hand a squeeze.
Delia gave her patient a reassuring smile, though she worried something terrible could threaten Ellen’s second pregnancy.