Wake the Dawn by Lauraine Snelling

moment and squeaked. Not a real cry, but a squeak. Do we have something to feed her?”
    Ben touched the baby’s cheek and she turned her head, rooting for a nipple. “Will you look at that?” He swapped a look with Hannah that made him blink. “I’ll tell Esther.”
    “Oh, and the man over there. He woke up for a bit and muttered something. I told him where he was but I think he went back to sleep before he heard me much.”
    “We’ll attend your leg, too, shortly. Sorry about the long wait.”
    “You take care of the others. Me and the Lord are doing our part in here.”
    Ben ignored the last part of her statement and found Esther back with Denise. Patients were lining the hallway now, some sleeping, some waiting. “She’s awake.”
    “Our baby?”
    “Yes, do we have anything to feed her?”
    “Formula in the pantry. There are bottles there, too.”
    Ben left the room. He’d never fixed a baby bottle. But surely Hannah would know. When he entered the break room, Bo sat right next to the wheelchair, his tail brushing the floor at Ben’s entrance but his eyes never leaving the baby.
    Hannah gave him a pat. “That’s some dog you got there.”
    “He found her. I’m getting formula and bottles. Can you tell me what to do?”
    “Guess you can read the instructions well as I can, but we’ll do it. You better get someone in here now to watch that man. He’s coming to.”
    “Right.” Ben returned to the waiting room. Dennis and Yvette were hustling back out the door. Must be another call. Rob would be working in one of the other rooms. Ben went to the desk where Barbara was talking on the phone. At least a few of the landlines must still be up. “We need someone to watch that guy we operated on.”
    “Ask Ansel over there. He can wait in there good as out here.”
    “What is their problem?”
    “Well, might not be a problem yet, but his wife’s contractions are about four minutes apart. And this is her second baby. That child asleep in his arms is two and a half.”
    “I know.” Ben crossed the room to where the small family sat. He’d known Ansel since grade school and Beth since her family moved to town when they were in junior high. They used to be in the same Bible study.
    But that was before.
    He crossed to them. “Glad to see you’re okay. And Barbara told me your circumstances. I have a big favor. Could I please move you into the break room to watch a man who had surgery? Hannah is already in there taking care of a baby but she has a bad leg and can’t walk. The good thing is, you’ll be that much closer to one of the rooms if…”
    He paused as Beth sucked in a huge breath and panted her way through a contraction. “How close?”
    Ansel checked the clock. “Three minutes.”
    Ben stared from Beth to Ansel and back again. Just what we need! “Okay, we can lay your daughter on a pallet on the floor; hopefully she’ll stay asleep.” He shook his head. “We don’t have another room right now. Come with me and let me go see what I can do. Wait. Beth, should I find you a wheelchair?”
    “Thanks, Ben.” She heaved herself to her feet. “Walking is better anyway.”
    Ben showed them into the break room. All he could find to lay Ansel’s kid on was a stack of folded scrubs. With apologies, he arranged them in a corner.
    “That’s okay.” Ansel laid his daughter down and tucked his jacket around her.
    Ben tied their surgery patient down to the gurney with cannulas so he couldn’t roll off. Or climb off or…the dummox. He checked the IV drip. The fellow was pale but breathing okay. He had gone back to sleep.
    “Sorry, Hannah.” He returned to the wheelchair. “Got sidetracked.” Again.
    “What do you need, Hannah?” Beth asked.
    “A bottle fixed for this little one. Ben said the supplies are in the pantry.”
    “I can do that.” Beth leaned her hands, stiff-armed, on the counter and panted again. When it passed, she waddled to the pantry and looked down the shelves until