The young woman’s face was lined and strained with worry. She had the young-old look many of the prostitutes wore, and she was careful not to look directly at Fiona. Her clothing was worn and dirty and it had been some time since her last bath, judging by the smell. Fiona immediately pitied her, hers was not an easy life and most of the prostitutes were dead by the time they were thirty.
Fiona nodded in acceptance and immediately began gathering what supplies she felt she might need. She grabbed her basket and loaded it with her instruments and a few herbs and turned to follow the young woman.
Kellach stepped out onto the tiled walkway. “Where are you going?”
Fiona nodded to the young woman. “Her sister is in labor and she needs my help. I have to go.”
Kellach regarded her solemnly. “Be careful. If you have need of me, send someone and I will be there.”
Fiona’s lips curved, “I know,” she said. “You didn’t need to tell me.”
“Do you want me to accompany you now?”
“No, we will be fine, and if I need you, I’ll send for you.”
He reached out and touched her face. “Things are not good down there.”
Fiona turned and started after the young woman. Tanith yelled after them. “I’ll be along shortly. I’ll leave Machar and Conan with Mother.”
On closer examination, the young woman was younger than she first appeared, probably no more than fifteen years. She was one of a large group of mixed-heritage children, having dark eyes and hair, and much lighter skin than the full Orientals. Many of these children were abandoned at birth because of the stigma of their blood and left to survive along the fringes of the settlement, doing whatever they could to survive. Anger at the indifference directed at these children flowed through Fiona. Some things were just not fair.
They hurried along and entered an area of the settlement known to be inhabited by felons, thieves and other low life. The girl led Fiona to a rundown hut and entered through a ragged curtain. The interior was dark and her eyes fought to adjust. The squalor was overpowering. Smells assailed her, rancid grease, smoke, and old perspiration. A small rickety table with two old stools and a cot appeared to be the only furnishings in the room.
An ancient harridan, filthy beyond belief, leaned over a very pregnant young female, who lay on the cot, moaning and twisting. The pregnant girl appeared even younger than the one that led her here, probably no more than thirteen. The harridan fought to keep Fiona from approaching the bed, muttering epithets and refusing to relinquish her control. She pushed the crone roughly aside, anxious to see what damage she might have caused so far.
“What’s her name?” Fiona asked, laying her hand on the girl’s too warm forehead.
“She my sister. Her name Mei Mei,” the girl said. “My name Xio Li.”
“Where are your parents?”
“Mother died two winters back. We never have father.”
Not surprising! It happened all the time. She’d seen cases like this at the University Hospital where she trained. The difference was, these girls had no where to go and no one to help them. They were alone.
“Put some water on to boil and let’s some air in here,” she instructed Xio Li, who rushed to do her bidding.
The harridan again tried to push Fiona away and, not having the time to deal with her, she shoved the filthy old woman out the door. “Don’t come back in here—ever.”
“She village midwife,” Xio Li said. “But many she care for die in childbirth. I don’t want my sister to die.”
“I don’t want her to die either.”
Fiona opened her basket and took out some clean aprons, putting one on and handing the other to Xio Li. They scrubbed their hands thoroughly with an antiseptic wash she’d created from Golden Seal and dried their hands on clean cloths she kept for just such an emergency. She quickly scrubbed down the table and laid a cloth over it and unwrapped the few instruments she was able to acquire. She gave the young girl a cursory examination. The young girl’s heart was beating too quickly and erratically and her eyes were glazed in pain.
“How long has she been in labor?”
“Since yesterday. Midwife come but Mei Mei still not have baby.”
“You let her go this long without coming for me?” Fiona was incredulous. This poor little girl, hardly more than a baby herself, had been laboring for over twenty-four hours. It was a wonder she still lived, the conditions here were terrible.
“I hear you good healer. Midwife say ‘no’ but I come for you anyway. You help her?” Her black eyes pleaded.
Fiona set Xio Li to cleaning the hut, but mostly to keep her out of the way while she examined the girl. The baby’s head was down and in position but the cervix was only three centimeters wide. Her contractions were coming hard with very little result. Fiona went through childbirth in her mind. What could she do to push this along? She undressed the girl, washed her thoroughly and put clean drapes on the bed. Everything was as clean as she could make it.
Tanith arrived shortly after and they went about making preparations for seeing this through. Hours passed and still the poor child labored. Fiona feared that the end was near. So many women here died in childbirth, and this child was too young by far. Tanith once told her that at least a third of the women died during and shortly after childbirth and the large number was appalling. No wonder women here were a premium, so few survived daily living.
Fiona sat down next to Xio Li. “Do you know the baby’s father?” Perhaps some help could be had from him.
Xio Li nodded her head. “Darragh. He one of the guards for the witch Voadicia, come here and take little sister many times. I not want him to, but he mean and hurt her.”
Sick at heart, Fiona could only wonder at the misery these two young girls were forced to endure.
“I try to get him to take me, but he only want Mei Mei. He only man Mei Mei have. I have many but he not want me.” Xio Li dropped her head, wringing her hands.
“We shall see if we can change that,” Fiona said softly. “If you were given the chance, would you want a different life?”
Xio Li’s head jerked up and her eyes gleamed with hope. “Can Mei Mei have different life, too?”
“Yes,” Fiona said, suddenly realizing that she was offering hope when she had no hope to give.
Tanith’s sympathetic gaze found Fiona. She put her hand on Xio Li’s head. “You cleaned here very well and I have need of some new servants. Perhaps we can work something out later, when this is over.”
Fiona smiled her gratitude. She owed Tanith so much already.
Fiona had not felt any movement from the baby for some time and, fearful that the baby had died, she made a decision. She had assisted in three C-sections while at the University, along with the normal births she attended, and the signs were all there. This child would not have a normal birth, and if she didn’t do something soon, neither Mei Mei nor the baby would survive.
“Xio Li, we need to talk. Your sister will die if I don’t help her.”
Xio Li shook her head ‘yes,’ she understood the gravity of the situation. Her eyes filled with tears as she wrung her hands.
“I want to try to take the baby, but you have to be very strong and help Tanith and me.” She held Xio Li’s eyes with her own. “Where I am from, we open up a woman’s stomach where the baby lives and take it out. Then the baby and the woman survive. Do you understand?”
Xio Li’s head tilted. She looked puzzled. “How do you do this?”
“We have to make a cut here,” she moved her finger down Mei Mei’s distended stomach, “and when it’s big enough, we reach in and take the baby out.”
“How will my sister live?” Xio Li asked fearfully. “Baby not important,” she cried. “Mei Mei is! Mei Mei can get another baby later.”
Xio Li’s words were clear. She valued her sister above the life of the baby, and that given the choice, she wanted Mei Mei to live. Babies died all the time and it was easy to make another.
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Fiona took a deep breath. Could she do this? There didn’t seem to be many choices otherwise. If she didn’t, both Mei Mei and the baby would die. There was a chance Mei Mei might survive if she went forward and perhaps even the baby, although she had no way to check the baby’s heart rate to see if it had even survived thus far. Her hands were clammy and shaking. She had better settle down or all three of them were in big trouble. Tanith gripped her hands. She’d worked uncomplainingly alongside Fiona and shared the burden, but they were both tired and strain was evident in their faces.
“If we are going to do this, we had better start. You have done this before, right?” Tanith asked.
“I’ve never actually done it by myself. I’ve just helped, but I know what needs to be done.”
“Then let’s proceed, her time is short if we do not.”
Fiona agreed. Mei Mei’s face was ashen and her lips were tinged with blue. She smoothed the hair from Mei Mei’s face and said a quick prayer in English, “Please God, give me the strength to do what has to be done and guide my hands. Amen.”
“What say you?” Tanith asked.
“I’m asking my God to guide me and give me strength.”
Fiona looked around the room, not exactly the best operating conditions but it would have to do. She handed out lengths of cloth and instructed Tanith and Xio Li to tie a length around their hair and then cover their lower faces. She did the same. She looked at her two cohorts. They returned her look and moved towards Mei Mei.
Fiona took a few calming breaths. She swabbed Mei Mei’s stomach with more of the antiseptic wash while mentally preparing herself. A small sample of the opium she obtained from the yellow healer was administered to the girl. She instructed Xio Li to watch Mei Mei’s breathing closely and to tell her if it changed and to hold Mei Mei’s arms down. Xio Li nodded. Tanith was to hold Mei Mei’s legs and hand Fiona instruments as she needed them. Mei Mei’s movements quieted and she dropped into a deep sleep.
It was time. Fiona took a sharp knife and very carefully began her first cut. Mei Mei thrashed around, groaning in her sleep. The two women tightened their hold on her arms and legs, holding her quiet. The incision widened and blood began flowing. Tanith grabbed a cloth and wiped it away as best she could. Fiona worked her way down through the layers of tissue until she reached the womb. If she cut too deep, she might accidentally injure the baby and she didn’t want to have to deal with that as well.
Fiona glanced quickly at Xio Li and Tanith. Their eyes were enormous and anxious. The final cut was made and she reached into the womb. She worked the baby around until she was able to pull the baby up through the incision and lifted the baby out. It was a tiny girl! She experienced a moment of panic when she realized the umbilical cord was wrapped around the baby’s neck and her little face was blue. Fiona cut the cord quickly, cleaned the baby’s mouth, and began CPR. The baby didn’t move. She tried again and breathed for the baby. Still nothing. No movements, no little cry, nothing. This couldn’t be happening. A huge lump formed in her chest and tears washed her eyes. Tanith and Xio stood tensely, waiting to see what she would do next. She turned the baby over, slapped it a couple of times on its little back and tried again. CPR, breathing, CPR, breathing. The tiny baby gagged, choked and a loud wail issued from her little mouth.
Xio Li and Tanith began cheering and laughing. Huge tears rolled down Fiona’s face and, in between laughing and crying, she handed the new baby to Tanith, who wrapped her in a warm cloth. She quickly finished up and sewed the incision closed. Mei Mei had quieted, but a quick check confirmed that her breathing was steady and her heart rate, though fast, appeared regular.
She washed the incision again with antiseptic, covered it with an antibacterial poultice made from oregano oil, and wrapped the whole area with clean cloths. Now all they could do would be to wait to see how Mei Mei fared. Fiona took the baby from Tanith and checked her over thoroughly, making sure the cord was well tied off and wrapped her back up. She was so very tiny, probably less than five pounds, but her color was improving with each passing moment. Her little face was scrunched up and one small fist made it to her mouth, where she sucked noisily. Black hair sprang straight up from her little head, giving her the appearance of a baby orangutan.
Xio Li leaned over the baby. “She ugly baby. Not pretty like Mei Mei.”
Fiona laughed. “They all look pretty much the same when they’re first born. Give her a few days and she’ll be beautiful.”
Xio Li’s face clouded. “How we take care of her? No money for food.”
Tanith and Fiona looked at each other. This baby would not survive in these conditions and Fiona wanted more for her. The baby had become very important to her in a very short time.
“Don’t worry about that,” she said. “She will be well taken care of.” How they would accomplish that was still to be seen, but it was something Fiona vowed would happen.
Mei Mei began whimpering and crying and Fiona moved to examine her. Her eyes opened and she cried out in pain. Tanith brewed a soothing tea of willow bark and they forced her to drink it. Fiona considered the girl before her. Where Xio Li was tall and sturdily built like her Caucasian ancestors, Mei Mei was small and slight. Now that her coloring had improved, Fiona could see that she was a beauty, her delicate face a tribute to her Asian ancestors. One such as she probably had no defenses in a world where men took what they wanted. Her resolve strengthened, Xio Li, Mei Mei and the new baby were going to have a better life. She would find a way to make this happen.
Tanith stood and stretched. It had been a long day and it was getting towards night. “Why don’t you go home now to your family, I’ll stay and care for these two,” Fiona said.
This was not a part of the settlement where she felt comfortable alone. Life was cheap and easily lost, but Tanith needed to be with her own family.
“I’ll stay with you. Siran can handle things for awhile longer. You shouldn’t be here by yourself.”
“No, you go home. You need to spend time with your family. I’ll be fine. Xio Li is here and she can help.” Xio Li nodded in agreement. “There’s nothing we can do now but wait. You go.”
Tanith hesitated, indecisive about deserting Fiona, but Fiona was steadfast in her decision. Tanith gathered her things and turned to head out the door. All three gasped as a man stepped in.
“I’ve come to help,” Kellach said. “What can I do?” His eyes roamed around the tiny room, missing nothing. “You should not be here, why did you not have someone fetch me? I have been worried.”
Whatever reason prompted him to come down here, Fiona was grateful. She had not relished the idea of being down here with only Xio Li to aid her.
“Gather your things,” he said. “We are going home.”
Fiona shook her head. “I can’t leave them alone, they need me!”
“Gather your things,” he said again. He walked over to Mei Mei and stared down at her. She opened her eyes and solemnly gazed back. Her weakness and frailty must have moved him. Covering her with the bed linens, he lifted her gently from the bed. “Get the baby,” he instructed the women, “and all of you come with me.”
They rushed around, doing as he commanded, and soon they were all headed back to Kellach’s abode. Night was fast approaching and he moved quickly through the swiftly darkening streets. When Fiona would have entered his home, he shook his head “no” and went another direction. A smaller hut was situated behind Kellach’s dwelling and it was to this place he went. They entered and, although small, it was clean and in good repair. He laid Mei Mei down on the bed and went about making a small fire. Will he ever stop amazing me? He always seemed to know exactly what to do.
She ran to the big house and brought back blankets and a small supply of food and helped Xio Li to start a meal. Mei Mei was exhausted by the trip and immediately drifted off to sleep. Kellach stepped out and came back with a big reed basket covered with a warm blanket, a perfect cradle for the little one. The baby was fussing a
nd sucking harder at her little fist and it was readily apparent that she was very hungry. Tanith ran home and returned shortly with a supply of warm goat’s milk. They dipped a rag into it and rubbed it against the baby’s mouth until she began greedily sucking on it. Peace finally invaded the small group.
As everything was in order, Tanith left to join her family. Kellach watched Fiona with the baby. She was a natural and he felt himself wishing the child were theirs. The firelight flickered lightly on her face as she encouraged the baby to suck. He should leave, he thought, but could not bring himself to do so, and enjoyed the quietude of the moment. Finally, the baby was satisfied and Fiona laid her down in the basket. She moved to Mei Mei, and after checking to see that she was resting comfortably, she turned to him. “You need to rest,” she said.
“What about you? This day has been too long.”
She was drooping with fatigue, “I’m fine, I just need to sit down and put my feet up.”
“Cannot she,” Kellach said, pointing to Xio Li, “watch for awhile?”
“I know how to care for baby and can watch Mei Mei, I not tired!” Xio Li exclaimed.
Fiona considered. She was so tired and Mei Mei did seem stronger, perhaps for just a little while. She relented. “You come for me if anything changes.” Satisfied that everything was in order, she retired for the evening.
When Fiona awoke the next morning, the sun was high up. The room was quiet and she was alone. She jumped out of bed, grabbed a robe and ran down to the small hut. Engai sat near the fire holding the baby and feeding her milk. Mei Mei was resting quietly and seemed greatly improved.
“I heard what happened and I thought you might need help,” Engai said as she rocked the baby. “It has been too long since I held a little one.”
“Thank you for coming over. It was a hard day and night for Tanith and me. The rest did me good. Where is Xiu Li?”
“I sent her to the bathhouse. My nose said she needed it.” Engai laughed. “She has been telling me their story.” Her eyes shadowed. “I will help as I can as well.”
10 Timeless Heroes; A Time Travel Romance Boxed Set Page 12
