Marion Lennox - Bushfire Bride

And, as if on cue, she felt a tremor run through the little body. Another. The baby stiffened. Arched.

Was it more of the same? A further convulsion? The eyes were still unfocused.

‘I need the diazapam.’

‘It’s here.’ Hugo was back with her. Rachel lifted the baby’s slippery little body for a moment as Hugo carefully administered the drug.

Their heads bent together over the tiny child. Elly had stepped back to give Hugo room to manoeuvre. He discarded the packing, then started scooping water over the little head.

Come on. Come on.

They were willing this thing together.

And it worked. Connor’s body gave a long, long shudder-and his little eyes opened. Connor stared up at the strangers above, his little mouth dropped open, his chin wobbled-and he gave a feeble, feeble wail.

It was the sweetest sound. Rachel let her breath out-how long had she been holding it? Almost since she’d seen the baby. She looked up at Hugo and saw her joy reflected in his eyes.

‘He’s back.’

‘We have success,’ Hugo said softly. ‘Well done, you.’

‘Lucky me,’ Rachel whispered. Hugo was continuing to scoop water over the tiny, fuzzy head but the wail was building strength as young Connor realised the indignity of his position. To have this outcome was a gift. A blessing. She looked over her shoulder at the young mother. Katy was quietly sobbing, mascara running in two ugly lines down her cheeks. ‘Will you hold him in the water, Katy?’ she said softly. ‘He sounds like he wants his mother.’

‘I can’t…’ The girl choked on a sob. ‘He shouldn’t be sick. I wanted an antibiotic but Dr McInnes wouldn’t give it to me. He wouldn’t…’ She sank down on a chair and put her head in her hands and Rachel signalled to Elly to take her place with the baby. With a questioning look at Hugo-and an answering nod-she stooped and took the girl’s hands in hers, pulling them away from her tear-drenched eyes and forcing her to look at her.

‘Katy, antibiotics wouldn’t have helped. Connor’s cold will get better all by itself. It’s a combination of fever and this heat that has caused the fitting.’

‘The baby book said keep him warm when he has a cold,’ Katy said defiantly. ‘It said it. I read…’ She sniffed and tried a glare that didn’t come off. ‘I read everything.’

‘You don’t have someone who can give you advice?’ Rachel frowned. ‘Is there a baby clinic in town?’ In the city there were clinics specifically set up for very young mothers who didn’t have the support that an older woman might be capable of finding for herself.

‘No.’

‘There’s not the staff available for a baby clinic,’ Hugo said grimly from behind her. Connor’s cries were escalating and he needed to raise his voice to be heard. ‘I do my best but we need another doctor.’ He hesitated. Then added, ‘What about you? How do you feel about staying in town and helping set a baby clinic up? Plus the rest.’

‘I wouldn’t mind,’ Rachel said before she could help herself, and suddenly she was looking at Hugo and he was looking back at her.

With unspoken thoughts…

But this wasn’t the time-or the place.

‘We need to move on,’ Hugo said, and there was real reluctance in his voice. ‘I’m sorry but we need to move fast. The fire’s broken through the firebreak.’

‘What does that mean?’

‘That we evacuate,’ Hugo told her. ‘Now.’

‘My baby…’ Katy sobbed, and Hugo looked down at the thrashing, screaming infant and grinned.

‘You know, Katy, I reckon your baby might be the least of our problems. We’ll dress him in a nappy and nothing else. There’s shade down at the beach. If he gets hot then you take him into the shallows. In fact, sitting in the shallows seems a fine idea for everyone. It’s your job to keep Connor cool, Katy, while we look after everyone else.’

Later Rachel could only remember the next few hours as chaos. Ordered chaos, but chaos for all that. But the township had been gearing for this event for two days now and when they moved they moved fast.

Firefighting became a lower priority. Once the firebreaks had been breached everyone moved into protection mode. All firefighters were pulled out of the hills-it was pointless and dangerous to stay there. Every able-bodied person was assigned a job. Volunteers went from house to house, ensuring people had left, checking that everything that could be done had been done, then the town was left to fend for itself.

Sam Nieve was in his element. He was the elderly man with the heart condition Rachel had sent home from the fire front. Now he was in charge of what he termed the home guard. He’d taken his role very seriously-he had lists of houses with every occupant, and by the time Rachel and Hugo reached the beach, Rachel accompanying Kim’s stretcher and Hugo supervising the other two seriously ill hospital inmates, he was set up at a makeshift desk, crossing off the name of every town inhabitant.

He’d even set up planking so that every person who arrived at the beach was forced to walk past his desk.

‘This way I know who’s still in their houses,’ he told Hugo, and there was no mistaking the pride in the man’s voice. ‘There’s only three I’m still worried about. Miss Baxter, who’s got a gammy leg and won’t leave because she loves her garden. Les Harding, who’s worried about his crazy feral cats. And Sue-Ellen Lesley. I’ve sent a couple of teams to bring in Miss Baxter and Les and as many of his cats as they can catch. There’s only Sue-Ellen left to worry about.’

‘You didn’t send a team to fetch her in?’ Hugo asked. The hospital stretchers were being set up far down the beach. The idea was that if the fire grew to firestorm status then people could back into the shallows. Every blanket in the town had been collected and was already lying sodden, waiting to cover a needy head.

Kim’s stretcher had already been taken down. In a moment Rachel would go down and readjust the drips that the girl still needed, but Hugo had stopped by Sam’s desk and so had Rachel. She saw the concern etched on Hugo’s face and was immediately worried.

‘Sue-Ellen won’t come if a team of people arrive,’ Sam said, casting an uncertain glance up at Hugo. ‘I tried to tell her the danger but she slammed the door in my face.’

‘Have you seen her today?’ Hugo asked shortly, and Sam shook his head.

‘Not since yesterday. Gary Lewis went up there last night but she wouldn’t let him in either. He’s been on the radio, worrying about her, but there’s nothing I can do.’

‘How did she seem?’

‘Erratic. Jumpy. Angry.’ The two men were looking at each other and their worry was mirrored in each other’s eyes.

‘Problem?’ Rachel asked, and Hugo nodded.

‘Sue-Ellen has schizophrenia. She’s normally good but something like this can throw her. I saw her last week and she was coping well but…’

‘I asked if she was taking her pills,’ Sam said. ‘She told me to go to hell.’

‘She’d say that even if she was taking them.’ Hugo had turned and was staring up into the hills. As if he could see anything. The idea was ludicrous. The smoke was whirling around their faces and visibility was practically zero. The fire trucks had parked on the sand and were surrounding the temporary township in a ring-fire trucks in a semi-circle with the sea at their backs. There was safety here. But not for Sue-Ellen. ‘You know she hates interference.’

‘I was a mate of her dad’s,’ Sam said heavily. ‘I know she stops taking her pills from time to time and I know it used to scare her old man.’

‘Where is she?’ Rachel asked.

‘Out the back of the town,’ Hugo said. ‘She has five acres.’