Please Don't Take My Baby

  ‘I’m just going to phone Sue, next door, and ask her to look after you both,’ I said to Adrian and Paula. ‘Then I can go with Jade in the ambulance.’

  ‘Na. I want me mum to come,’ Jade said, grasping her knees again and moaning loudly.

  ‘Yes, I’m going to phone your mother,’ I said. ‘But there won’t be enough time for her to come here before the ambulance arrives. I’ll tell her to go straight to the hospital.’ Clearly I didn’t know if Jackie was available to go to the hospital with such little notice but I appreciated Jade wanted her mother with her and I dialled Jackie’s mobile first.

  Jackie answered after a couple of rings and when she heard my voice she immediately assumed Jade was missing again, as she had been the last time I’d phoned her. ‘She’s not here,’ she said straightaway.

  ‘No, I know. Jade’s with me,’ I said. ‘Look, don’t worry, Jackie, this might be a false alarm, but I’ve called an ambulance as Jade is experiencing some contractions.’

  ‘I told her she needed to check her dates!’ Jackie exclaimed. ‘I always thought she was further gone than she said.’

  This was news to me. I didn’t know on what Jackie had based her assumption, but now wasn’t the time to ask. ‘She wants you to be with her,’ I said, as Jade groaned loudly in the background so that her mother could hear. ‘Are you able to go to the hospital?’

  ‘Yes. I’ll get Margaret from next door to sit with my kids,’ Jackie said. ‘Tell Jade I’ll see her in A&E.’

  ‘I will. Thank you.’

  I relayed what Jackie had said to Jade, and throwing her, Adrian and Paula another reassuring smile, I telephoned Homefinders. To my delight Jill answered; it was her turn on out-of-hours duty. I explained what was happening: that Jade appeared to be having contractions and I wasn’t taking any chances, so had called for an ambulance. I also said I’d phoned Jackie and that she was on her way to the hospital, where she’d meet us in the Accident and Emergency department.

  ‘Good. Well done,’ Jill said. ‘I’ll inform the duty social worker at the social services. Take your mobile with you and keep me updated; I’m on duty all night. If Jade has gone into labour and has her baby early, it will probably go into an incubator. But first thing in the morning I’ll make sure Rachel has a mother-and-baby placement ready. I suppose it could be a false alarm?’

  ‘Yes, it could be,’ I agreed. ‘But I didn’t want to take any chances, and Jackie says Jade might have her dates wrong.’

  ‘You’ve done right,’ Jill said.

  I ended the call to Jill and again reassured Jade: ‘The ambulance won’t be long.’

  I saw Paula was now looking very anxious with all Jade’s groaning and moaning, so I asked Adrian to take Paula into the sitting room, which he did while I keyed in the number for my neighbour. Sue was a good friend and neighbour and knew I fostered; we’d helped each other out before.

  ‘Everything all right?’ she asked as soon as she heard my voice, for I didn’t normally phone her in the evening. I quickly explained what had happened and before I’d finished she’d said, ‘You’ll need someone to look after Adrian and Paula. I’ll come round now.’

  ‘Thank you so much,’ I said. And I thought: Thank goodness for good neighbours!

  I replaced the receiver and as I did Jade cried: ‘Phone Ty! He needs to come too.’

  ‘I will, but I don’t have his number.’

  ‘It’s in me phone,’ Jade said. ‘I’ll do it.’ Delving into her pocket, she took out her mobile and pressed Tyler’s number. It took him a while to answer, so that Jade wasn’t in the best mood when he did. ‘You need to get your arse up to the hospital now!’ she cried down the phone. ‘I’m having our baby. Yes. Now!’ she bellowed in response to something he’d said. I guessed Tyler had been playing pool with his friends, for Jade now exclaimed: ‘If you finish that game and put pool before me, you’ve had it! Do you hear?’ Poor Tyler, I thought.

  I stayed with Jade in the hall, lightly rubbing her back and reassuring her while we waited for the ambulance. I suggested to her that she might be more comfortable in a chair rather than sitting on the bottom step but she didn’t want to move. Adrian stayed with Paula in the sitting room until Sue arrived five minutes later.

  ‘How are you doing, love?’ Sue asked Jade as she came into the hall.

  Jade groaned loudly.

  Adrian and Paula, having heard Sue’s voice, came out of the sitting room. ‘Hi kids,’ she said. ‘Don’t look so worried.’

  ‘Is Jade having her baby?’ Paula asked, while Adrian smirked, embarrassed.

  ‘I’m not sure,’ I said.

  Then we heard an ambulance siren come along the high road and turn into the top of the street. Sue went to stand with Adrian and Paula at the end of the hall while I waited with Jade. As soon as the ambulance pulled up outside the house I opened the front door, ready. Two paramedics – one male and one female – climbed out of the front of the ambulance.

  ‘This is Jade,’ I said to them as they came into the house. ‘She’s seventeen and I’m her foster carer.’

  ‘Hi, I’m Dave and this is Lyn,’ the male paramedic said.

  They went over to where Jade was sitting on the bottom step and Dave knelt down so that he was at eye level.

  ‘How are you doing, Jade?’ he asked.

  Jade groaned loudly in response. Dave asked Jade some questions: When was her baby due? When did the contractions start? How often were they coming? Lyn then checked her pulse and blood pressure while Sue, the children and I waited anxiously.

  ‘Are you coming in the ambulance?’ Dave asked me.

  ‘Yes please. Her mother is meeting us at the hospital.’

  Dave then asked Jade if she could stand and they would help her walk to the ambulance.

  ‘I want to go on a stretcher like you see on the telly,’ Jade said.

  Dave laughed but he went out to the ambulance and returned, not with a stretcher but with a collapsible wheelchair. ‘I bet you’ve seen these on the telly too, Jade,’ he said. ‘Much better than a stretcher.’

  Standing unaided, Jade sat in the wheelchair while I went down the hall to say a quick goodbye to Sue, Adrian and Paula. ‘I’ve no idea what time I’ll be back,’ I said.

  ‘Don’t worry,’ Sue said. ‘I’ll put the kids to bed if necessary.’ Then to Adrian and Paula: ‘We’ll be fine, won’t we?’

  They nodded, and I knew they would be fine. They liked Sue and when she’d babysat for me before they had been allowed to stay up past their normal bedtime and play for longer.

  I kissed Adrian and Paula goodbye, thanked Sue, and returned down the hall to where Dave was wheeling Jade over the doorstep. Remembering to take my handbag, I followed them out and closed the front door behind me. Lyn had gone ahead and was already in the back of the ambulance with the doors wide open. As we went down the front path Jade’s mobile rang. It was Tyler and he must have told her he was on his way to the hospital, for Jade said: ‘Good. See you soon, Ty. Hey! Guess what? I’m leaving Cathy’s in a wheelchair, and there’s an ambulance waiting with flashing lights, just like you see on the telly!’

  Having got Jade settled on to the couch in the rear of the ambulance, Dave closed the back doors and went round to the driver’s seat, while Lyn stayed with Jade and me in the rear of the ambulance. Lyn had a kind and gentle manner and seemed used to talking to teenage girls; she easily established a rapport with Jade. As she checked Jade’s pulse and blood pressure she talked to her in a reassuring manner and told her that while her blood pressure was up a little that was quite normal. Then she asked Jade if she was looking forward to having her baby.

  ‘Will it hurt?’ Jade asked, as she had previously asked me.

  ‘A bit,’ Lyn said. ‘But you’ll be able to have an epidural if you want. And before you know it, it’ll all be over and you’ll have a bouncing baby. Do you know the sex of your baby?’

  Jade shook her head.

  ‘Jade was due to have a scan o
n Wednesday,’ I explained as the ambulance turned a corner and the siren wailed. ‘She missed an earlier appointment.’

  From the way Lyn was talking it sounded as though she thought Jade was definitely in labour and about to have her baby, although neither she nor Dave had said so. ‘Jade’s not due for at least another month yet,’ I said. ‘Do you think she is in labour?’

  ‘Could you be out on your dates?’ Lyn asked Jade.

  ‘Dunno,’ Jade said.

  Fifteen minutes later the ambulance pulled into the ambulance park at the side of the main A&E entrance. Dave got out and opened the rear doors, and then he took out and unfolded the wheelchair. Lyn helped Jade off the couch and down the steps while I followed with Jade’s coat, which she’d taken off in the ambulance. Once seated in the wheelchair, Jade took out her phone and was about to use it. ‘Not in the hospital, Jade,’ I said. ‘It affects the instruments.’ She sighed but closed her phone.

  Lyn called a goodbye and stayed with the ambulance while I followed Dave, pushing Jade in the wheelchair. We went into the hospital, down a short corridor and into a curtained cubicle. A nurse appeared and helped Jade out of the wheelchair and on to the couch. Dave collapsed the wheelchair and said goodbye. I thanked him as he left.

  ‘Is me mum here?’ Jade asked the nurse.

  ‘I’ll find out in a moment,’ she said, setting up the monitor.

  ‘Shall I have a look?’ I asked, to save her the trouble.

  ‘Yes please, and can you register Jade at reception?’

  I left the cubicle and went down the corridor that led into the main reception and waiting area. It was busy, with the rows of seats full of people waiting to be seen. As I appeared through the double doors Jackie rushed up to me.

  ‘I’ve just arrived,’ she said, breathless. ‘How is she?’

  ‘A nurse is with Jade now,’ I said. ‘I guess we’ll know more when she’s been seen by a doctor. I’ve been asked to register Jade. Can you come, as you know all her medical history?’

  Jackie and I went to the reception desk, where Jackie gave the information that was requested, and then I showed her through the double doors, back down the corridor and to the cubicle where I’d left Jade.

  ‘Oh Mum!’ Jade cried as soon as she saw her mother.

  Jackie went over and hugged her daughter, all previous hostility between them now gone.

  ‘The doctor will be in to see Jade soon,’ the nurse said, and left the cubicle.

  Jackie pulled the only chair in the cubicle closer to the bed head and sat beside her daughter while I hovered at the foot of the bed. Jade seemed to be more relaxed now she was in hospital and had stopped groaning; I suppose she felt reassured. While I was more than happy to stay for as long as necessary, as mother and daughter talked I began to feel I was intruding and that perhaps I should offer to leave Jackie alone with her daughter for a while. I was thinking of suggesting that I sat in the waiting area when Jade looked up from the bed and said, a little rudely: ‘You can go home now. Me mum’s staying with me.’

  ‘I can stay,’ Jackie confirmed, glancing at me. ‘Margaret is looking after the kids. She can stay all night if necessary.’

  Had Jade been a younger child in care I would have had to stay even if the child’s mother had been present; as the foster carer the child was my responsibility, and to leave her alone with her mother would have been unsupervised contact. But at Jade’s age she could decide who she wanted with her in hospital and she wanted her mother, not me.

  ‘All right, if you’re sure,’ I said.

  ‘Yeah. I’ll see what the doctor says and take it from there,’ Jackie said.

  ‘I want you to stay, Mum!’ Jade cried theatrically, grabbing her mother’s hand.

  ‘Yes, I’m staying, baby,’ Jackie said. Then to me: ‘Give me your number and I’ll phone you when there’s any news.’

  ‘Thank you,’ I said, and gave Jackie my mobile number. ‘Do you want me to get you a coffee or anything from the machine before I leave?’

  ‘No thanks, love. I had one earlier.’

  I said goodbye to Jade and Jackie and came out of the cubicle, still not really knowing if Jade was in labour. It was now after 9.00 p.m. and I went through reception and outside, where I stood under the canopied entrance and phoned for a cab. While I waited for the cab to arrive I phoned Homefinders. Jill answered and I updated her.

  ‘Thanks, Cathy,’ she said. ‘Jade will be in the hospital overnight whatever the outcome, so go home and get some sleep and I’ll speak to you in the morning.’

  The cab arrived ten minutes later and so did Tyler, although he didn’t see me, as he was in too much of a hurry, and ran straight past.

  It was 9.30 when I arrived home and Adrian and Paula were asleep in bed. Sue was watching television. I told Sue I’d left Jade with her mother, who would phone me when there was any news.

  ‘Jade’s very young to be having a baby,’ Sue said.

  ‘I know.’ Sue, like most of my friends, appreciated I couldn’t discuss the children I fostered and didn’t press me for more details.

  I thanked Sue again as I saw her out. ‘You’re welcome,’ she said.

  I was exhausted but I knew I wouldn’t sleep; I was still high on adrenalin. I made a hot drink and with my mobile on the sofa beside me I watched television until eleven o’clock. Then, more relaxed, I settled Toscha in her basket in the kitchen and went upstairs. I was asleep within minutes and I slept soundly until 6.00 a.m.

  As soon as I woke, my thoughts went to Jade and I took my mobile from the bedside cabinet. A text had come through at 3.21 from a number my phone didn’t recognize. I opened it: Jade had a baby girl at 3 a.m. Courtney. 6lb 8oz. They’re both well. Jackie x

  Chapter Eleven

  ‘Smelly Baby’

  I thought 6.00 a.m. was probably too early to telephone Jackie, especially as she would have been at the hospital most of the night, so I texted: Congratulations! Love Cathy x. I texted the same message to Jade, who I guessed would have her mobile switched on at the hospital, I hoped on silent.

  Before getting out of bed I telephoned Jill, who I assumed would just be finishing night duty. I was right.

  She yawned as she spoke. ‘Hi, Cathy. Any news?’

  ‘Yes. Jade had a baby girl at three o’clock this morning. Courtney. Six pounds eight ounces. Jackie texted that they are both fine.’

  ‘Fantastic,’ Jill said, rallying from her tiredness. ‘That is good news. Although at six pounds eight ounces she doesn’t sound like a premature baby to me – more like full term. Do you know if she’s in an incubator?’

  ‘Jackie didn’t say. But I think she would have mentioned it if she was, so I guess not.’

  ‘So it’s likely Jade had her dates wrong. Oh well, at least they are both well. Do you have any other details?’

  ‘No. Just the text message.’

  ‘OK. I’ll phone Rachel later when I’ve had a sleep. In the meantime let the agency know if you hear any more news, please.’

  ‘I will.’

  The arrival of a baby – whatever the circumstances of its birth or the problems surrounding the mother – is, I feel, a miracle. A new life is truly a wondrous occasion and guaranteed to raise the spirits and put a smile on anyone’s face. As I showered and dressed that morning my heart was light, lighter than it had been since Jade had arrived, for I hoped – no, believed – that now Jade was responsible for a baby she would turn her life around and get back on track. I therefore envisaged a happy ending to what could have been a very tragic story.

  I was still very light-hearted when I woke first Paula and then Adrian and told them it was time to get up and ready for school. ‘Jade had her baby last night,’ I said to each of them, smiling. ‘She’s called Courtney and they are both well.’

  Paula was more impressed than Adrian and, grinning broadly, she said, ‘I’m telling all my friends at school that our big girl has a baby.’ And with a little clap of her hands she leapt out of bed. r />
  Adrian was more reserved, natural for a lad of twelve, and said: ‘I hope she’s not bringing it here. Babies cry a lot and smell disgusting!’

  ‘Adrian,’ I admonished lightly, opening his bedroom curtains. ‘You were a baby once. Just as well I didn’t think that about you. Babies smell lovely. But no, Jade won’t be bringing her baby here. Her social worker will have found her a mother-and-baby placement by the time Jade leaves hospital.

  Just before I left the house that morning to take Paula to school I received a text from Jackie in response to the one I’d sent earlier, congratulating her: Thanks. Tkng day off work 2 go 2 the hospital. Which added to my feeling of well-being: now Jackie was reunited with her daughter and was supporting her, all would be well.

  Let me know if there’s anything I can do, I texted back.

  Thnk u, came the reply.

  For the same reason I hadn’t stayed at the hospital the night before – that Jade had wanted her mother – I didn’t go to the hospital that morning. After taking Paula to school I went home, got on with the housework and some foster-carer training I had been asked to facilitate, and waited for news. I didn’t really expect to hear anything for a couple of hours, as Jill would be sleeping after being on night duty and Rachel would be busy arranging Jade’s transfer. At some point I’d have to pack up Jade’s belongings and either they would be collected or I would take them to wherever Jade was being discharged to. If I was honest, in terms of a fostering placement Jade’s stay with me hadn’t really been very rewarding; I didn’t feel I’d achieved much. Rachel had asked me to teach her home-care skills, but Jade had hardly been at home, so that other than advising her about her diet – fewer fry-ups and biscuits and more fresh fruit and vegetables – teaching her anything hadn’t really been possible.