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He shook his head, a tiny motion that replaced the warmth in Liv’s body with ice. What she needed was a full obstetrics surgical suite, an experienced anaesthesiologist and theatre nurses, and preferably a neo-natal ICU nearby. What she had was a baby in distress, a terrified mother and father, and Callum.

‘OK, Marie. Just concentrate on your breathing. I’m just going to try and relieve the pressure a bit.’ She slid her fingers into place, holding the baby’s head in a better position. ‘Just concentrate on your breathing, and we’ll talk in a minute. Just breathe. There’s a good girl. You’re doing so, so well.’ She coaxed her through the rest of the contraction.

‘All right, you’ve done really well.’ Liv rubbed her leg soothingly.

‘OK.’ Marie nodded eagerly.

‘Besides, you’ve got two doctors and the local police sergeant as your husband. You wouldn’t get this much attention even if you were in the hospital.’ She shot a wink to the sergeant. ‘Now, I need you to stay calm, and we’re all going to work together to get baby here as soon as possible. You’ve got something called a cord prolapse. That means the umbilical cord is trying to come out first, and baby is pressing on it when you have a contraction.’

‘Oh my God, is that bad? That sounds bad!’ Her husband started to panic.

‘Harry, she knows what she’s doing.’ Marie’s faith in her touched her deeply, and made her more determined than ever to make sure this was a good outcome for them all. ‘You heard what she said, she’s a specialist. Right, Dr Callum?’

‘One of the best I know.’ He nodded, and Liv’s heart warmed a bit. She knew what she was doing, and Callum knew that she did too. His confidence in her bolstered her own.

‘But it’s bad?’ Harry persisted.

‘If we don’t get baby out fast, it could be. But we’re not talking about that, because we’re all going to work together to bring baby into the world. OK?’ She pulled the emergency delivery kit out of her bag and spread it out beneath Marie’s akimbo legs. ‘Harry, do you want to come here and loop your arm around Marie’s leg? We need to keep her knees up to help keep her pelvis in the best position. And it will give her something to brace against. Now, Marie, with your next contraction I’m going to try and help you. I need you to just keep breathing, and when I tell you — and not before — I want you to push harder than you’ve ever pushed before, OK?’

‘How can I help?’ Callum was by her elbow, gloved up and reassuring.

‘Take her other leg. Keep an eye on the monitor, and Marie, and be ready to catch.’ She tore open the packet that had kept the forceps sterile. ‘I’m really sorry, Marie, but this next bit is going to be uncomfortable.’ She angled the forceps and slid them into place, using years of experience to make sure that the positioning was the best she could get it, and the cord was as protected as possible.

‘It’s coming. Ohhhh, I really need to push . . .’

‘Just breathe, Marie.’ Liv checked the positioning of the forceps and cord before putting her weight behind the shiny silver instruments she hoped would help her guide the baby safely into the world. ‘OK. Now, Marie. Push!’ She leaned back, concentrating on keeping the tension perfect. She carefully applied more and more pressure, pulling harder and harder.

‘Come on, Marie. Really bear down and push. As hard as you can.’ Callum’s voice was demanding and urgent.

Finally, finally, after what felt like an age, Liv felt the baby start to move and carefully eased him towards daylight, maintaining the tension until she could see a head full of thick dark hair, visible even beneath the blood and mucus of birth. ‘OK, Marie, I’ve got the head. Stop pushing and just breathe again. Just take a moment to relax, and then you’re going to give me one more really big push, and then you’ll be able to say hello to your newest family member.’

‘Did you hear that?’ Harry looked at his wife with utter amazement. ‘We’ve nearly got a new baby. You’re doing so, so well.’

‘You really are,’ Liv agreed as she slid her hands in position to deliver the shoulders. ‘Callum, can you be ready with the cord clips and scissors?’

‘Ready.’

‘All right, Marie, one more big push and you can meet your baby. Push hard now, really, really hard!’ She supported the baby’s head while helping the first shoulder to be delivered. ‘Nearly there, keep going, Marie!’ A few moments later the other shoulder was out and Liv was able to gently guide the baby into the world. He was a little floppy and lacked the healthy pink she’d really want to see. She could feel the weight of Callum’s gaze as she snapped the clamps quickly into position, and snipped the cord.

‘Is it a boy or girl?’ Harry leaned forward eagerly. ‘We wanted to wait to find out.’

‘A boy. You have a son.’ Liv tapped the bottom of his feet, willing him to take a breath.

‘Why isn’t he crying? Is he all right?’ Marie struggled to sit up.

‘Just give me a moment.’ Liv held her hand out for the suction bulb Callum was holding ready. She used it to suction the mucus and other delivery muck from the baby’s nose and mouth before giving his chest a brisk rub. ‘Come on, little guy.’

‘Oh my God, he’s not breathing. Oh please, God, no!’ Marie started to shake and cry.

Liv did her best to focus, and gave the baby a few firm taps to the back and closed her eyes in relief when she felt him gasp. When he let out his first mewling whimper, she let out a breath that she hadn’t even realised she’d been holding.

She smiled as she listened to his chest, gently pressing the stethoscope to his rapidly moving ribs. Tenderly, she wrapped him in a blanket and held him up for his parents to see. ‘You have a boy. A beautiful, healthy little boy. Here you go, Dad. You and Mum can give him a nice cuddle for a few minutes. If we need to, we can give him some oxygen, but he looks like he’s pinking up nicely.’

‘You’ve done a brilliant job, Marie,’ Callum praised her. ‘You too, Liv.’

‘Nah—’ she flushed — ‘Marie did all the hard work, I just offered some guidance.’ She knew it had been more than that, but didn’t want to make a big deal of things. ‘Can I use your bathroom please, Harry?’

He nodded, not taking his eyes off his son. ‘Second door on the left.’