Late at night, Martha Ballard rides hard with Doctor to the Foster cabin after Doctor reveals that Isaac Foster summoned her but explicitly told her not to notify Martha. Doctor distrusts the secrecy and brings Martha anyway, knowing Rebecca is Martha’s patient. Martha is hurt that Rebecca did not ask for her, but she hurries because Rebecca has already been in labor for hours.

Inside, Martha finds Rebecca exhausted, screaming, and far from delivery. Doctor explains that the baby has not turned properly and that Rebecca’s labor is obstructed. When Martha asks why she delayed sending for help, Rebecca admits that she did not want the baby to come, making clear that her terror is tied not only to pain but also to the child’s conception. Martha tells Rebecca that if the baby is not delivered, Rebecca will die, and Rebecca agrees to let them try to turn the child.

Once a contraction eases, Doctor performs a painful internal version while Martha braces Rebecca and presses on her abdomen. Doctor succeeds in getting the baby’s head down, though the position remains difficult. To use gravity and speed the birth, Martha and Doctor turn Rebecca onto her hands and knees; then Martha supports Rebecca’s upper body while Doctor guides the baby’s head. Rebecca’s body finally takes over, and with one last effort she delivers the child.

The baby is a girl. Doctor cuts an unusually short umbilical cord, explaining why the child could not turn, and Martha wraps the infant while Doctor tends to Rebecca. Martha notices a strawberry birthmark behind the baby’s left knee that matches the mark on Joshua Burgess’s temple, confirming Rebecca’s claim about who fathered the child. When Martha brings the newborn to her, Rebecca refuses to take her and, devastated, tells Martha to throw the baby in the river.