the doctor that Private Price’s wife is going into labor and everyone in camp knows Victoria is a screamer when she’s not happy.”
Devin headed for the door. “Take care of it, Annalane. I’ve got men waiting for me. Surely even you can handle a birthing.” He was gone before she could answer.
Annalane grabbed a basket she’d put supplies in and shoved it toward the sergeant. “Let’s go. Babies don’t wait.”
Cunningham led the way. “Did your brother ever deliver a baby?”
“Not that I know of,” she answered, aware that most of Devin’s experience had probably been on corpses.
“That’s what I figured. He looked a might pale. How about you?”
“I’ve delivered a dozen or more near battlefields. Wives wanting to see their men one more time before the baby came.” They moved through the tents and corrals along the outside of a wooden stockade that held supplies, as she added, “The hospital where I worked only treated veterans, but some women didn’t know that until they arrived, already in hard labor. We kept a room ready for emergencies like that. Over the four years I was there, I welcomed many a life into this world and helped the mother mourn the passing of a few wee ones who didn’t make the crossing.”
The sergeant smiled. “Mrs. Price will be real happy you’re here. She didn’t much like the idea of having the doc come. She tried to talk to your brother last week about how to prepare, her being still two years from twenty and all. He told her she had no business following her man into unsettled territory and should try to make it home before she went into labor.”
Annalane thought that sounded exactly like what Devin would say. She stepped into one of the new two-room cabins built for married men. The smell of fresh-cut wood greeted her, along with the sound of a woman crying for help. She sounded far more frightened than in pain.
“Set the supplies down, please, Sergeant. I’ll need a stack of towels and a large washtub, cleaned and scrubbed with soap and hot water.” She passed a man standing at the bedroom door, looking like he might pass out at any moment. “And, Sergeant, take Private Price with you.”
Sergeant Cunningham followed orders.
Annalane moved to the bed already stained with blood. “I’m here to help, Victoria, so don’t you worry. Together we’re going to deliver this baby.”
A girl not out of her teens looked up, wide-eyed and near panic. “I don’t know what to do,” she shouted, as if Annalane might be deaf.
“I do,” Annalane answered. “You can call me Anna. I’ll help you through each step. We’re going to climb this mountain one step at a time.” She pulled a small pair of scissors from her apron pocket. “First, I’m going to place these under the bed right below you. My grandmother used to tell me they will cut the pain in half for the rest of your labor.” Annalane smiled, realizing the girl believed her. “And when the baby comes, I’ll know right where the scissors are when it’s time to cut the cord. Now, Victoria, the first thing I want you to do is lean back and relax. When the next contraction comes take deep, slow breaths and let the tightness roll over you, knowing that it’s not pain, but just your body practicing for the job it’s got to do.”
The girl followed orders and Annalane did her job. Nine hours later, she carried a newborn son to the private, who still looked like he might pass out. He kissed the top of his son’s head, then walked into the bedroom.
“You did a fine job, Anna.” Sergeant Cunningham smiled.
She collected the stained towels and sheets. “She did all the work. I only helped.”
When Anna got back to the infirmary, a meal was waiting for her. She hadn’t expected her first duty to be delivering a baby, but she was glad. It reminded her of why she loved nursing. Not the dying and hurting, but the healing and helping.
She was almost asleep in her chair when someone stepped into the little clinic.
“I beg your pardon. Is it too late to call?”
Anna stood. “Lieutenant Dodson?” He was not a big man, in size or manner. She would have had to slump to be eye to eye with him, and Anna refused to slump. Despite what her brother thought, she wasn’t interested in a man who planned to consider her because he “couldn’t afford to be picky.”