Episode 1
December 23 1989
Wales, UK.
He drove fast, his tense gaze fixed on the road. He was a skilled driver, and despite the treacherous condition, Suzie felt no alarm, until he braked sharply and cursed at something he had seen on the road ahead.
"Traffic jam!" He said. "I'd forgotten how easily the roads clog at this time of the year. Its blocked solid."
"Oh no! We could be hours getting to the hospital," she said in despair.
"No, I can take another route." He wrenched the wheel, turning the car down a side street. "We'll have to cut across country this way. Its longer but the roads should be free and there'll be less delay."
Suzie couldn't follow the twists they took in the next few minutes, but soon they were out in the country. The lights had disappeared and when she peered out the window she could only make out fields stretching into the distance.
"I don't know where we are," she said. "Is this anywhere near the hospital?"
"We're almost - Shit!" The words were torn from him as the car suddenly skidded on a patch of ice. He fought with the wheel trying to keep steady, while waves of terror engulfed Suzie.
They stopped with a thunderous impact. Suzie sat shivering, trying to grapple with the dread that possessed her mind.
"We've just lurched into a ditch," he said in a shaken voice. "Are you all right?" Receiving no answer, he looked closely into her face. She looked like she had seen a ghost. "Susanna..."
"The baby," she gasped. "Its started."
Michael looked in horror at her protruding stomach and back at her. "Oh no, the shock - hang on honey."
He tried to start the car but the engine whirred without sparking into life. Suzie clutched her stomach, waiting for the next pain, praying that her baby wouldn't be born like this.
Michael got out and placed his shoulder against the front of the car. Suzie felt the vehicle rock as he strained to push it out of the ditch. Another pain tore through her. Horrified, she realized that it was only a few minutes since the last. The shock of the impact had sent her into labor, and there wasn't much time.
Michael got back in beside her. "I can't get it free," he said grimly. "How are you?"
"Not good. Its coming fast."
He snatched up his phone. "It'll have to be an ambulance then," he said dialing furiously.
***
He turned back to her after cutting the call. "It may take them half an hour but babies don't come that fast, surely?"
"I don't know," she said in painful gasps. Looking into his eyes, she saw a reflection of her own alarm that the baby might be born like this.
"Is there anything I should do for you?" He asked. "You'll have to tell me."
"I want to lie lower," she said arching her back.
He set to work immediately, pulling levers and adjusting seats. She felt her headrest lower slowly until she was almost lying flat on the seat. Before she could thank him, another pain tore her apart. She gritted her teeth in sheer agony and a few tears escaped her eyes. She had attended childbirth classes, sometimes in the company of her husband but no amount of training or breathing exercises had prepared her for this terrible raw agony that was tearing her apart. She had been assured of doctors, machines and analgesics to relieve the pain but now, she had nothing but her husband's strength.
She turned to that strength now, burying her face against him as he half-sat beside her, cradling her head.
"I'm cold," she whispered.
Instantly, Michael was tearing off his overcoat and laying it over her, tucking it up to the neck. She closed her eyes, trying to gather her energy for the next contraction. The world was dark and full of agony. It seemed impossible that she should survive. A long mysterious tunnel opened up in her consciousness.
"Michael," she gasped.
"Yes __ yes, I'm here."
"If __ anything happens to me__"
"Hush," he said quickly. "Nothing will happen to you honey."
"But if__if something happens__promise me__," she gasped as another contraction hit her into unconsciousness
(To be contd)
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