Disclaimer: I don't own McCleods Daughters or the characters.
Story Description: An AU where BOM is Alex's baby. This will have the missing moments from when Claire was hospitalised after her fall from the horse and continue on until the birth.
His Baby.
Alex watched Claire be lifted into the ambulance, the pallor of her face alarming him. His heart was racing in his chest and he almost missed what Tess had said as they loaded her in. Claire was pregnant. It's mine, were his first thoughts. He looked at Claire who was struggling to maintain consciousness and when their eyes connected he could see she was pleading for him to say it was his. Well it's definitely not that other bastards, he thought.
"It's mine" he said simply to the others, looking Peter Johnson in the eyes and daring him to say different. Alex knew Claire had slept with Peter once after their break up. There was a possibility the kid was the dickhead's but in his heart he knew when this baby was conceived.
6 weeks earlier.
Claire had come to him devastated after watching Peter with his daughters. He knew better than anyone that she could never take him away from his daughters, not after Ruth had left with Tess, and how abandoned she had felt by the woman she was beginning to accept as a mother.
He was meant to only be comforting her, but his heart welled with anger at what that bastard was doing to her. He could see how much Claire loved the man, he couldn't understand it, but he knew how deeply his friend felt and how much she was holding inside, afraid to let anyone witness her devastation. One moment he was holding her in his arms, keeping her safe from her demons, the next he was kissing her and she wasn't pushing him away. Before they knew it they were lost in a moment of passion neither of them would ever forget. He had never felt like this before in his entire life and he knew in that moment, he would never love anyone like he loved Claire.
When he woke the next morning, she was gone and he didn't blame her. He felt like he had taken advantage of her grief, he hadn't meant to go that far. He tried talking to Claire about it a few times after that but she stubbornly refused to talk to him about it. They were mates and for now that was all she could give him.
Alex was so deep in thought he nearly didn't hear Tess call out to him and ask if he wanted to go with her to the hospital. He shook off his memories and headed to the Drover's ute and got in beside Tess, too shaken to contemplate driving. If he drove they'd have an accident in his rush to be by Claire's side.
"Are you okay Alex?" Tess asked. Alex had looked shocked and not completely present after he'd told everyone that he was the father of Claire's baby. Tess couldn't figure out if there was any truth to his words. Claire would have told her if they'd slept together, she was sure of that.
"Yeah, just anxious to get to the hospital and see if Claire is okay" Alex answered, his heart was still racing and he wanted more than anything to push Tess to start the car and stop asking questions so they could get there faster. Nothing could happen to Claire and their baby now. They still didn't know how badly injured Claire was, and he knew it was still early with the pregnancy, she could miscarry easily.
He couldn't concentrate on anything Tess was saying during the trip to the hospital. He just issued non-committal grunts in response to the conversation, gripping the edge of the dashboard hard as he thought of the woman he loved and the last moment he saw her.
Once they arrived he strode up to the admission desk and asked if Claire's ambulance had arrived. The nurse told him she'd been admitted to surgery immediately, due to the bleeding and the severity of the break in her leg. The wait for any word on Claire was torture and he snapped at Tess a few times while she tried to distract him with conversation, feeling bad because he knew she was just as worried.
Finally a doctor started walking towards them and they both stood, both feeling nervous at what the doctor would reveal to them.
"Claire's family?" The doctor called and then waved them into a room where they could talk privately.
"How is she" Both Alex and Tess asked in unison, their hearts racing as they thought of Claire and the baby.
"My name is Dr Warton, Claire's leg was badly broken by the weight of the horse, we've had to put it in traction and she will be in traction for quite a while unfortunately, she lost a lot of blood, so when you see her she will be very weak and might only be awake for a few minutes before falling asleep" Dr Warton warned them.
"And the baby?" Alex asked, knowing Claire would be devastated if she lost it.
"The baby is doing well, although we are monitoring her very closely, she is still in the early stages of pregnancy and even in normal cases, the risk of miscarriage is still greater at this stage" Dr Warton answered watching both of them carefully for any signs of distress or shock. Often the relatives or witnesses of accidents as bad as Claire's were prone to delayed shock once they are told their loved one would be okay.
"But she's going to be okay?" Tess asked, just wanting to know her sister was going to be okay and wanting desperately to see her sister.
"She will eventually, the leg injury is going to take some time to heal and with the pregnancy it will be a little harder for her to recover from, she's going to need you both while she heals" Dr Warton told them and then lead them to Claire's room. She was still in ICU due to the blood loss and looked very pale when they both sat at opposite sides of the bed. They each took one of her hands and both had to blink back tears at the sight of her.
"Try not to strain her, she needs to be able to rest, if she needs anything for the pain just push the call button and we'll make sure she is comfortable" Dr Warton told them smiling at the love both of them were showing towards his patient.
"Is that okay for the baby?" Tess asked, suddenly wondering how the pain medication could be effecting the baby.
"I've put her on pain medication that is safe to use for a pregnant woman, she will be in more pain than any other patient would because we can't give her too much of it, but we will do our best to ensure she is comfortable during her stay here, which will likely be a couple of months" Dr Warton told them.
"I'll be back to check on her in a couple of hours, if you are concerned about anything at all please, don't hesitate to push the call button" Dr Warton advised them and then walked out of the room leaving them both looking at Claire, clear concern on their faces.
They sat there for a while not saying anything, just watching Claire's face for signs she would be waking soon. They both smiled when they heard a groan and then Claire's eyes began to open.
"God what happened?" Claire croaked as she finally managed to open her eyes. She looked at both Alex and Tess and saw the worry on her face and then looked down at her stomach as she remembered the baby.
"The baby!" She exclaimed and tears sprung to her eyes as she remembered that it was her stupid insistence on riding the Stockman's challenge that had endangered her pregnancy. As she shifted her leg began to throb and she bit back a gasp at the pain.
"Claire, calm down the baby is fine, you're a bit banged up but you are going to be fine" Alex told her, seeing the pain in her eyes and wishing he could take it away.
"My leg" Claire said, still trying to breathe deeply to gain control of the pain she was feeling, her leg felt like it was on fire.
"It's a bit worse for ware and you are going to be in here for a while, but the main thing is that you are alive Claire, both you and the baby are going to be fine, Alex and I will see to that" Tess told her, kissing her cheek and brushing away a few tear drops that had slid down Claire's face. She watched her sister grimace in pain and silently looked at Alex to see if they should call for the nurse. His answering look told her to wait it out and see if Claire asked for something, knowing she wouldn't want to endanger the baby.
"I think I want to-" Claire said groggily as she slipped off to sleep again mid-sentence as the pain and the anaesthetic that was still in her system made staying awake impossible.
"Sleep Claire, Alex and I will be here to watch over you" Tess said trying to smile reassuringly at Alex, while her mind was whirling on how they were going to cope over the next couple of months without Claire at Drovers.
They sat there silently, both lost in their own thoughts until Nick appeared at Claire's hospital room door, a bunch of flowers in his arms. He looked at the woman he thought of as his sister and had once considered marrying and his heart broke at how frail she looked in that bed, with her leg propped up and her face paler than he'd ever seen it.
"She's going to be okay Nick" Tess reassured him as he came and sat in the spare chair in the room unable to take his eyes of Claire to acknowledge what Tess had said. When he'd heard what had happened he'd been terrified for Claire, and it brought back memories of what had happened to him when he'd fell off that bull.
"And the baby? Dad told me" Nick said still unable to take his eyes of Claire to be able to see either of Alex or Tess' reactions.
"They will both be fine in time, Claire will be in hospital for months, god Claire in hospital for months, she's going to go insane" Tess giggled softly.
"I will not" Claire said smiling a little as she woke again to her sister's teasing.
"I know what inactivity does to you Claire McCleod, you are going to be a bear to put up with" Tess said seeing her sisters smile and glad that the pain seemed to have lessoned in the time she'd been asleep.
"You need to take it easy and do everything the doctors tell you for yours and the baby's sake" Tess told her knowing her sister would struggle with the inactivity.
"Yes mum" Claire responded still struggling to feel awake. She knew it was normal to feel this way after what she'd just been through.
"Before I fall asleep again can you tell me how bad my leg is?" Claire asked knowing she probably wasn't going to like what she heard and she was right. After listening to Tess recite what the doctor had told them she knew she was going to have a struggle on her hands to be able to get back in the saddle. By the time she could she'd be showing and she didn't know how that added weight would affect her ability to ride.
"Don't worry Claire I'll help Tess and the girls run Drovers you just concentrate on getting well, Tess we should let Claire sleep" Alex suggested thinking of how long a road ahead they had and where he would fit in.
"Okay Claire we'll go get something to eat and we'll be back when you are awake" Tess told Claire bending down to kiss her gently on the cheek.
"Rest Claire" Alex said as he squeezed her hand and gently brushed her hair behind her ear. He wanted so much to kiss her and rejoice in the knowledge that she was carrying his child but he knew the guesture wouldn't be welcomed just yet.
Alex and Tess walked quietly out of Claire's hospital room looking back to see that she had already succumbed to sleep, both completely wiped by the events of the day.