Susan had barely said his name before Charlie's arm were around the two of them, and she felt the feared squeezing sensation. She was grateful he knew her, grateful that he could step in and take charge in that moment, because she was terrible at apparating on her best days--there was no way she'd manage it in this state.
"I don't know what's happened," she said as someone rushed up to her. Maybe he was a healer, but she wasn't sure. All she could focus on was the baby in the man's arms and a strange, outside her own body sort of amazement at how calm her voice sounded. She didn't feel calm.
Susan heard herself rattling off everything even remotely resembling a symptom the baby had had that evening, though she wasn't sure it was important or if anyone was even listening. The man called for a healer, moving toward an empty gurney, and they started work on him immediately, casting spells she didn't know even as they moved into a curtained-off area, calling instructions and information back and forth.
She followed numbly behind them. Close, but not in their way. Charlie was behind her, but she didn't turn to look at him, couldn't think about him right now. Nicky was still silent, still squirming, but not as much. It seemed as if they stood there for hours, and that she didn't take a breath the entire time. Her chest hurt from the exertion of it.
Then the healer's wand flicked again, and she heard a few choked gurgles followed by a renewed flood of tears and wailing. She'd never been so glad to hear him crying, and she burst into tears.