The room does not shift, but it's suddenly dark and quiet. Where am I? Where did the mirror take me? Somewhere helpful I hope.
As soon as I move though, familiar automatic light flick on. I can see I'm in the back storage room of my workplace. Score, familiar supplies here!
Thank you magic mirror!
There's no surveillance cameras in this area but outside in the hallway, so I work without shame or fear. We always have a lot of samples and bulk order supplies anyways. Employees take have supplies for personal use all the time. Even I swipe and use the bandages, medical tape, and asprins for myself.
I don't know how much time I have but it can't be much. We keep generic plastic thank you bags in the second drawer and I fill up as much of the essentials as I can in them. Rubbing alcohol, soap, paper towel rolls, gloves, ties, clamp, and pain killers go in one bag quickly. The other takes a little more searching for specific items but I fill it with local anesthesia, and other more durable medical supplies.
I hope I won't have to use them.
Sure I'm taking a little more than usual but my life is at stake here
It takes just over one minute to grab what I need to. At the last moment I grab a pack of disposable isolation gowns as well.
I look straight into the mirror again. The same thing I've done the only two times I've teleported.
The sound of pained breathing greets me and I'm back in the candlelit room. The water has cooled down to mere warmth indicating more than just a minute passed here. Still the mother looks fine enough. I call for helped from outside the room.
"Two or 3 of you. Experience is not needed but you must follow my directions carefully. "
I beg them the same way I begged the mirror.
"Please! Please help me help her."
It doesn't surprise me that it's the teenagers from before who step up. It's them and an extraordinarily beautiful woman with a cold poker face. In another instance I would admire her ice queen like beauty and maybe go off with so poetic description about her. But now is not that time.
I have them all tie up their hair and wash their hands in warm water and soap. More hot water should be coming in intervals. The sterile gloves, gown and face masks scared the girls at first. Since I was wearing them myself and demanded they do to they reluctantly put them on as well.
"They keep both you and the mother clean. Do you want to touch blood?"
You would think they would want to protect their pretty clothes. I just want to make sure the mother stays safe from any outside germs.
I'm sure it looks and feels strange to their standards, even the ice queen has some difficulty in putting them on. The tight sensations of the glove have them feeling their hands in a mix of wonder and a grimace. The gowns went on easy enough with its simple ties but I could tell they were not too pleased. Well they'll see the benefits soon enough.
Childbirth is always messy.
"Help me rearrange her, her legs must be facing this way. Someone stay with her, talk to her, keep her distracted, make sure she drinks water."
I thought it would be one of the teenagers, who seem to act as Yanyan's mother's maids. But it's the ice queen that goes to comfort her. Well I have more important things to focus on. I instruct the girls to create a curtain over the mother's stomach; it would stress her out less if she doesn't see.
Also easier for me to work privately.
With the supplies I've been hiding under my coat on the floor I carefully clean and disinfect the surrounding areas. Her water has long broken and there's even a little blood dam. Normal in most patients but I pray it doesn't lead to further complications.
With the mother cushioned up from her spine and in the right position, I emerge to speak to her.
"YanYan's mother you are doing very well so far. It won't be long with the rate of your contractions.. But I must offer you this, it is not a scam or a sale because I offer this freely. I have a method to reduce the pain. But-"
"Yes! Yes please do what you need to!"
"But what?! What are the risks?"
The ice queen interrupts, hands clenched around the pained mother. A good friend I note.
"But it's not a common procedure around here. I have the medicine to do this. It is absolutely safe and will not harm either mother or child but you must not speak of this to others, such a thing may cause a commotion and I do not want trouble."
"Valuable and rare things are often like this. If such a good thing exists then please ease her pain."
"Alright, you will feel a little prick two times but that is just me injecting the medicine. Do not be afraid. Keep breathing as I taught you to do so, yes just like that. Keep an eye on her pulse, tell me if it speeds up too quickly."
Behind the privacy of the makeshift curtain I disinfect once more to be sure. After using a warm towel to relax the muscles I inject the local anesthesia on either side of her. It will not numb her completely, she can still push, but it will stop the pain. What medicine in these times can do that?
Well there's that plant but where can I find it here? And how much would it even cost? Modern anesthesia is great.
The rest is to wait and relax the mother as much as possible. She's already doing better since the crowd has been dismissed. It's too stressful for anyone involved but especially the mother.
"You two, help me massage her legs and sides. And I must ask a strange thing, is there any musician free at the moment? Relaxing music can help with difficult births.
Once again the ice queen does the talking.
"All our performers are down at the floor but I shall have someone bring me an instrument I can play."
"That's good. Thank you for obliging, I know I must sound strange."
"I already took you as a very strange person when you burst in here with Lu Shan's face. Screaming that you're a doctor and then forcing the madam out. Strange but you must save her."
Lu Shan…her name is Lu Shan. Okay I can work with that..
"Her name is Lu Shan? You've done so well far Lu Shan, keep repeating your breathing after me."
"The pain? It's…it's fading! It's nearly gone!!!""
"Relax, don't get too excited. It merely means the medicine is working, keep focusing on breathing and pushing like this."
All small talk halts when the baby crowns. I have the girls with clean water and towels ready on the sides as I support the baby's emerging head.
"Keep going, you're doing wonderful. Rest and go, push!"
When the baby's head finally comes out I sigh in relief. No cord or blockage around the neck, good. Next is the shoulders and we're home safe.
Of course that's there the problem lies, the baby is more than a little tilted. What are the chances! It shouldn't be too much of a problem as long as the mother stays relaxed but just in case I apply another warm towel.
"I will massage a near your lower stomach area, do not be surprised. I will not push. Also no one repeat what I do, it can be dangerous if done incorrectly."
You cannot press a child out and I don't want anyone here mistaking an abdominal massage for something else. Carefully I support and ease the baby out, one shoulder at a time, top then bottom.
Safe!
"It's a girl!"
If I wasn't so focused on the crying baby I would have noticed more how there was a stampeding sound outside the room. News gets around fast and soon everyone in this place will hear.
After cleaning, cutting and clamping the cord, then making sure to clean the child with warm water I ask the mother if she wants to see her.
"Yes! "
"Congratulations, she's a healthy baby girl."
"Thank you, thank you so much."
When Lu sham holds the child for the first time I'm hit with how young she looks. We must be around the same age and here she is already with two children. One of them is already so big. I feel fear and pity for her, how young was she when she had Yanyan?
The maid, the less shy of the two meekly and quietly interrupted my thoughts.
"Miss doctor? Are you by chance …When you first came here you said that you found her. Are you a relative of sister Lu Shan?"
"Honestly…I don't know. I don't know yet."
"But the resemblance, even Yanyan mistaken you as sister Shan. And you were so frantic to come here."
"It's true that I'm looking for someone. I don't really know if it's your sister Shan here….But somehow, I have a feeling she's the one. "
"It must be fate! To have come when you did, it can only be fate."
"We can speak of such things later, your sister Shan needs rest and time with her baby. She needs peace the most right now."
"Thank you, thank you for saving sister Shan"
It feels like a job well done but it isn't yet. There's still aftercare to be done. I'll make sure she's taken care of properly and that there's little to no chance of contamination. I have to make sure she lives.
That reminds me.
The next thing I see when I excuse myself to check the mirror gives me a quicxk but shallow sense relief. The words shake me to the bone.
"Save her or die
Time left: 11 days"
Oh come on!!