"What you need to understand is that Kate, your wife, she lost a lot of blood due to the massive internal injuries she suffered. We have been working very hard to stem the bleeding which was mainly in her abdomen. We delivered the baby and the wee one appears to be fine but we are monitoring her closely."
The surgeon was removing his green apron which was splattered with blood. He deftly removed his gloves, rolling them up one inside the other, and placed them in the bin at the side of him.
"It's a girl?" Celia tightened her grip on Caroline's hand and looked at her grief stricken face.
"Yes but we knew that." Caroline showed little emotion to the news and turned her attention back to the surgeon.
"We had to remove Kate's uterus in an attempt to stop the bleeding. It was touch and go for a while and we nearly lost her on the operating table. But we think we have stemmed the bleeding."
Caroline stared at the surgeon, not really taking all this in. She dabbed at her eyes with the cuffs of her cardigan.
"Your wife is very poorly, very poorly indeed. The next 24 hours will be crucial and she will require round the clock attention and care."
Caroline slowly lifted her head and opened her mouth to speak. She frowned and then looked first at her mother and then back at the surgeon.
"So she is, she is err, she's not dead? Can I, can I see her? Can I see her please?" She looked imploringly at him, her blue eyes bright with tears.
Celia lay her hand on Caroline's arm.
"I'm not sure that's a good idea love."
"I need to see her mum. I need to see her and I need to tell her things. I need to be with her."
The surgeon intervened.
"You can see her but only for a minute. She is unconscious but you should talk to her. Tell her you're there. I am sure she will know."
Caroline nodded and stood up, reaching out her hand which Celia took.
They walked quickly to the recovery room where Kate was, Caroline anxious not to loose another second of time.
Caroline covered her mouth and took a deep breath. Her wife of just 1 day lay in front of her, attached to machines that were helping her breath, machines that were keeping her alive and keeping track of her blood pressure, her heart rate and her oxygen levels.
She sobbed and reached out her hand, gently stroking the back of Kate's hand, careful not to dislodge the IV tubes that were attached. She stroked her forehead and lifted a piece of dreadlocked hair off her face and tucked it behind her ear.
"You're very pretty" she whispered and she choked back her tears, her bottom lip quivering and her chest quickly raising.
"Kate, I need you to get better do you understand? I need you to get better and come home and help me look after our little girl. I am going to see her soon and I am going to tell her that both her mummies love her very much. I will give her an extra big kiss from you. If she grows up to be half the woman that you are, we will both be very proud of her. She will have the world at her feet. But I need you to be there with me. I can't do this on my own."
The surgeon stepped forward and lay his hand gently on Caroline's shoulder.
"We need to leave Kate now to get some rest. Come on, I'll show you where your daughter is."
Caroline leaned forward and gently kissed Kate, brushing her lips against her nose and her forehead as she stood up.
"I love you Kate." This was probably the first time that Caroline had said this to her and she meant it will every being of her soul.
She turned around and walked towards the door, stopping one last time to look over her shoulder at her broken and battered wife who lay fighting for her life. She blew her a kiss before following her mother out of the door.
Alan dropped out of step and sat down with Gillian and Gary, who had been waiting patiently for news of Kate.
Gillian characteristically wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.
"How is she? Kate?"
Alan sat down, looing at both his children. He patted Gillian's knee.
"It's not looking good."
Gillian looked away.
"Oh God. Poor Caroline. And I sent her a text yesterday. A stupid text. I was pissed you see. Me and John we were, we were pissed. Anyway, I sent her this text and it said, it er said that I hoped she had a shit day." Gillian looked down at Alan's hand which was still on her knee.
"You did what? Gillian!" He opened his eyes wide and stared at her.
"I know. What a twillock eh?"
Gary remained silent, he eyes following Celia and Caroline as they disappeared through the door at the end of the corridor.
They quietly entered the room which was dark and silent. There were 3 incubators lined up against one of the walls and Caroline slowly walked towards them, scanning from left to right to find her daughter. She spotted her straight away and let out a gasp. She was so perfect, so fragile, so small.
"Mum, look." Celia walked to the side of Caroline and linked arms with her, pulling her close and rubbing her upper arm.
"She's gorgeous love, just like her mum"
One of the nurses came from behind her station and walked over towards them.
"Can I help you?"
"Err, I am here to see my err, my daughter. This is her. Is she OK?"
The nurse looked quizzically at Caroline.
"And you are?"
"I am her mum. Well, one of them. Her other mum is, she is err, she was knocked down and she is in, she has just come out of theatre and she is, well, she is still unconscious."
The nurse looked at the chart that was on the bottom of the baby's incubator.
"Ah, I see, yes. Kate McKenzie-Dawson is the birth mother. And you are Kate's wife?"
Celia interrupted.
"Yes, that's right. They were married yesterday. How is the baby?"
"She is doing fine. She is here as a precaution as she is slightly premature. But she is a healthy weight and we aren't unduly worried about her. She just needs a bit of help to get her started. We'll keep her in the incubator for a few days and make sure she get's some extra oxygen. Does baby have a name yet? It's no problem if she doesn't. We just like to be able to call them something other than baby."
"Yes, err Kate and I had well, we had decided on a name for her. I wanted to wait to see her, to see what she looked like before we decided but Kate insisted. Flora. Her name is Flora."
Celia smiled. "What a beautiful name. It is so fitting love."
"Can I, er can I" Caroline was pointing to the holes in the incubator. "Can I touch her?"
"Of course you can" replied the nurse. "You just need to wash your hands first."
Caroline diligently washed her hands and dried them on a paper towel, making sure that she didn't touch anything before she got back to the incubator. She put her hand into the hole, hesitated and withdraw it.
"I'm scared mum."
She took a deep breath, stared straight into Flora's face, and put her hand in again. This time, she reached out to her tiny hand and, just as she had done with Kate, she stroked the back of it, her touch as delicate as the wings of a butterfly. Flora's lips moved and her bottom lip protruded slightly. She pursed her lips and relaxed her face again. Caroline crooned to her.
"Hello sweetheart. I am so excited to meet you. Me and your mummy have waited so long to welcome you. And it's, well, it's not quite the entrance that we had planned for you but you are here now and let me tell you something. You are the luckiest little girl in Harrogate because you have 2 mummies who love you to the moon and back."
Celia stepped forward and put her arms around Caroline's waist, hugging her tight and whispering in her ear.
"Yes she is love. She is one very special and precious little girl."
Gillian had been very clear about not wanting John around when Gary and his wife turned up for Sunday lunch so, feeling very dejected, he had set off home straight after breakfast.
He made good time and was back in Harrogate before lunch time. He planned to drop by the supermarket and pick up something for lunch convinced that Caroline and Kate would be out of the house - it was the day after their wedding after all.
As he turned the corner into the high street, his mobile phone fell off the car seat.
"Bugger." He reached his left hand down and fumbled about on the floor, feeling for his phone with his fingertips. Taking his eyes off the road for a split second, he located it and picked it up.
As he was straightening up, he heard a loud bang and his car swerved slightly.
"Shit." He looked through his wing mirror and his rear view mirror but couldn't see anything. "Must have knocked a wing mirror or something. Shit."
John pulled the car up in the next available space and casually walked back down the road towards the supermarket. If he had hit another car, perhaps he should leave a note or something.
As he neared the supermarket, he noticed that a crowd was gathering at the side of the road and he hurried to see what was happening.
He could make out someone laid on the floor, face down and in an awkward position.
"I didn't get the make or model of the car but it was green or blue I think. It just turned the corner and hit her then carried on down the road. Is she dead?"
A man was knelt down, feeling the neck of the injured woman.
"No she isn't dead but her pulse is very weak. She needs to get to hospital quickly."
John suddenly felt faint. He looked down at the woman and the reality of what he had done hit him. It wasn't a wing mirror he had collided with. He had run someone down and carried on driving. And with the amount of alcohol Gillian and he had consumed the day before, he was probably over the legal driving limit.
"Do we have a name? Has anyone checked her handbag?"
"Yes. Driving licence says she is Kate McKenzie."
John felt the bile rise in his throat and he swallowed hard. He turned on his heel and ran back towards his car. Stopping briefly to lean on the car door, he bent over and threw up, retching loudly as he emptied his stomach contents all over the road.