To be fair, though, Pippa decided as the afternoon wore on, most hospitals checked labouring mothers only every fifteen minutes or so, making sure things were progressing smoothly.

The mother’s support person was supposed to provide company.

‘So where’s your family?’ she asked. They were listening to music-some of Amy’s favourites. Pippa had needed to do some seriously fast organisation there.

‘Home,’ Amy said unhelpfully. ‘They made me come.’

‘Who made you come?’

‘Doc Riley. There’s not a doctor at Dry Gum Creek, and they don’t have babies there if Doc Riley can help it. Mostly the mums come here but Doc Riley said I needed… young mum stuff. So they took me to Sydney Central, only it was really scary. And lonely. I stayed a week and I’d had enough. There was no way I could get home but I knew Doc Riley was here so I got the bus. But the pains started just as I reached here. And I’m not going back to Sydney Central.’

That explained why Amy was in a relatively small hospital with seemingly not much obstetric support on hand, Pippa thought, deciding to be a little less judgmental about Amy being on her own.

‘Why didn’t your mum come with you?’

‘Mum says it’s stupid to come to hospital, but she didn’t tell me it hurt like this. If you hadn’t been here…’ Another contraction hit and she clung to Pippa with a grip like a vice.

‘I’m here,’ Pippa told her as Amy rode out the contraction. ‘Hold as tight as you need. Yesterday I was staring death in the face. It’s kind of nice to be staring at birth.’

Riley was in the final stages of stitching Hubert Trotter’s toe when Jancey stuck her head round the partition.

‘She’s good,’ she said.

‘Who’s good?’

‘Our night swimmer. She’s been up to the kids’ ward in her gorgeous silver and pink dressing gown, and she did the best plea you ever heard. Told them all about Amy having a baby alone. Talk about pathos. She’s borrowed Lacey Sutherland’s spare MP3 player.