[Depictions of child birth and partial nudity]

Pony was off doing Pony things again, and Karen was bored even as she wasn't feeling well. She was in her yard hanging wet laundry, feeling so sluggish with her belly being as round as it was. The ache in her back was rough but she thought nothing of it otherwise, and she knew nothing about the pains in her abdomen that came and went other than they hurt enough to take her breath away and give her pause. She was in the middle of hanging one of her skirts when the pain came worse than ever, followed by the splash of her waters breaking as it hit the ground at her feet. She gave a cry and found herself on the ground, a great pressure filling her. Oh! Oh no!

She sobbed with both fear and the pain of it as she tried to roll onto hands and knees, but slipped in the mud created by that water breaking in combination with clothing that still dripped. "Help me!" she cried out to no one, "Somebody... please..." she went on in a breathy voice, her head tilting back until the pain went away. Only then did she manage to get up and start making her way toward her house... slowly.

Gabriel wasn't too keen on going to Mrs. Calloway's house again after the blessing of that house. He had told himself over and over again that there must be a reasonable explanation for all that the woman had related. And yet when he had left, he had felt properly spooked. It had given him a bad night's sleep, since every noise or rustling of the curtain had made him sit up. No, he was not keen on returning there. But Whitby did not have many Catholics, and it was Gabriel's job to make sure they did not lose any of them to the protestants and to look after their spiritual wellbeing. He really should go check on her. He hoped she would be alone, so that he would have an excuse to leave quickly and 'visit another time'.

Well, she was alone indeed, but as he was to find out in a couple of seconds, that would hinder him exactly from leaving. The priest approached the yard when he heard the call for help and he began to run over, slipping on the old worn and uneven steps that led down to the yard, and landing on his hands and bum. But he pushed himself up, despite a sore wrist, to enter the yard. Then he saw her. Mrs. Calloway was walking to the house slowly, as if she was in great pain. "Mrs. Calloway!" He called out. "Are you alright!?"

Of all the people to come running, it was the priest... A man who was not qualified to help with birthing babies... But she could not be more grateful in that moment. "My waters have broken," she wheezed out and pointed to the front of her skirt, the back being muddy from her tumble. She was about to say more when the pain came again. The young woman braced her hands on the house and she squatted to try and alleviate the pain. She sobbed with both fear and the pain of it radiating through her. "Oh, but it hurts so bad," she whimpered, white knuckled.

Sweat poured from her forehead already, she managed to grab the latch to her door and pushed it open with a flop against the wall, grabbed her belly and stumbled inside, only to end up on her butt. She already had the urge to push, there was an odd sensation of immense pressure. She remembered from nursing what that was and blurted out, "Forgive me," and hoisted her skirts over her knees so she could feel. It was with alarm that she felt the crown of the head. "It's coming now, I can't make it to the be-heh-heh-heh-hed." Her teeth chattered and her body seemed to shudder.

Gabriel had studied quite a bit. He was well-educated for this town. He knew how to lead a community. He had a lot of experience dealing with different kinds of people. But if there was one thing he knew nothing about, it was female anatomy - let alone how to help deliver a baby. When she said her waters had broken, he panicked and looked around, desperate to find someone who could handle this situation better than he. Though the yards were usually crowded, there was no one there today. He began to sweat.

"Stop!" he said, as she stumbled into the house, and he hurried after her. "You'll... hurt yourself..." Too late. He panicked even more when she lifted her skirt. He hadn't been that exposed to a woman's body since the day he was born. He had to do something now, he knew. But still he stood there uselessly.

"O-okay! Stay here!" he finally said, unnecessarily. He rushed out and into the street.
"You there!" He grabbed the arm of a random boy who was just running by. "Get a doctor! I'll give you five shillings if you're back in ten minutes! Ten if you're back in five!" The boy ran off as fast as he could and Gabriel rushed back in. "Hold on! The doctor is coming!" he shouted as he reentered the house. Please hold on.

As if she could stop the inevitable from happening. "Can feel... the head..." she panted out... "Coming now... can't wait... Oh God, please!" she prayed and gritted her teeth. What was she to do? Hold the head, she remembered, so it wouldn't come out too fast and tear tissue too much. "Towel there," she pointed to a pile of clean laundry in a wicker basket that could be seen in the parlor. "Twine in kitchen, scissors too." Her head rolled left and right against the wall and she felt another pain, and wasn't even pushing but could feel the child move. She was so frightened, one could see it in her eyes.

"Harold! Oh I need ye so bad, my love!" she lamented just before she bore down because she hadn't a choice. Because it was early for the child to come, it didn't take long at all for him to come... a dark haired lad who was tiny and purplish, squirming as he sought to breathe... With trembling fingers, she did her best to clear his airways of mucus and he gave a soft little cry.

Gabriel rushed to grab the towel, praying several hail Mary's in his head. Mary. Had the birth of his dear Lord been this... bodily?! Well that was a different perspective on the Holy Virgin.. There was no time to reflect on it. Gabriel placed the towel where she had instructed, but already the baby was coming. The young, sheltered priest was staring straight at her.... female bit... and at a baby pushing his way through it. He wanted to take it, but even in her state, she was more confident than Gabriel, whose hands were shaking, and she took the child, before he could do anything. It was all so... bloody... "What do I do...?" he asked, for he had already forgotten the rest of her instructions. His brain had shut down altogether.

"Give me the towel," she said tiredly, "Then and get the twine and the scissors. I think ye have to tie the chord twice and cut between the two knots... Oh, bother... What a time to have ta remember what I've learned as a nurse." Assuming he gave her the requested linen, she wrapped the little one up and gently wiped at his little face that reminded her of her husband so.

"Right." He got up to look for the instruments. Wait! Was he going to have to cut? He swallowed. But then he brought the instruments. "T-tie it were?" Goodness... half of that cord was still... in her. He looked. Then looked away quickly.

He would have had to cut it if the doctor and the boy hadn't shown up. The doctor relieved the priest and took over, thank the heavens for that, thought Karen as the man hurriedly washed his hands and took over... it gave Gabriel a chance to look away from the carnage that giving birth brought. Of course, he was recruited again to hold the child while Karen was carried to the bed. Just after the bits that were still in her were delivered, more pains were to be had. Within a half an hour, there was a baby girl a little smaller than the boy with hair more like Karen.

It was over quickly, which didn't surprise the doctor a bit, "Tis common with twins that they come early... but they seem perfectly healthy, and God willing, will remain so." When he left the room, he placed a hand upon the priest's shoulder and said, "Thank God you showed up when you did, Father. She might be in some trouble from birthing the first one... I sent the boy to fetch a woman to help her dress in a shift and change the linens, but she might be feverish later because the birthing wasn't very clean."

His prayers were answered at last. Gabriel gave the boy the promised money, and stepped outside for a moment to catch some fresh air and try not to faint. Then he was called in to hold the baby boy. Good! He could do that! Hold a baby! Let the doctor do the dirty work! He sat there with the sleeping child, looking down at what he had just been so frightened of, and suddenly quite amazed at how tiny and fragile this little sleeping baby was. He thought it was almost a shame that he had to hand the baby over once the second child had been delivered.

"Thank you, doctor. I'm so happy you showed up... Anything you can do to keep the fever down?"