Author's Note: Okay, so I'm not sure what I think of this idea AT ALL. I've wanted to do it for a while now and I finally managed to get this first chapter done this afternoon, but before I go on to do a second chapter I want to know what you all think of this idea. If you like it, brilliant! If you don't, however, please tell me and I won't write more because I want to write things that YOU want to read. I hope that you'll all be honest with your opinions and happy reading!
'Dowling street please, Nurse Smith, the Jones baby appears to be on its way.' Anna stirred as Sister Elizabeth spoke to her after opening the door to her bedroom and stepping inside one morning, a gentle sigh escaping her as she opened her eyes and watched the Sister set a fresh cup of tea down on her nightstand. 'Mrs. Jones woke to contractions around two hours ago.'
She nodded with a yawn as she sat up in bed. 'Thank you, Sister.'
'You're welcome.' The Sister replied. 'Oh, and good morning.'
She then turned on her heel and walked out of the room before closing the door after herself, Anna running a hand through her hair whilst she reclined back against the headboard of her bed before reaching for her teacup. As she took a sip she smiled to herself. Even though being a midwife and nurse meant late nights and very early mornings, she would never complain.
Her mother and grandmother had both served as midwives back when they had been her age. Her grandmother had stopped serving when she had broken her right hip after falling off of her bicycle after a birth when she had been in her fifties, and her mother had stopped serving when she had fallen pregnant with her and her idiotic boyfriend had left her to deal with it.
She had known – from quite a young age – that she had wanted to be a midwife after she had left school. Some of her relatives had told her that it was much harder to become a midwife now than it had been when her mother had been her age and that getting her hopes up would have been foolish, but – as always – both her mother and grandmother had believed in her.
She knew that she never would have managed it if the two of them hadn't had faith in her.
After draining the rest of the tea from her teacup she returned it to her nightstand, pulled the covers back and climbed out of bed before approaching her wardrobe. She removed her pale blue uniform from its hanger after opening the door before going back over to her bed, laying her uniform down on the foot of it and leaving her bedroom to walk down to the bathroom.
It didn't take her long to wash her face and brush her teeth before she went back to her room to get dressed. Once she had taken off her pyjamas and pulled her uniform on over her head she buttoned up the front of it, a sigh escaping her when she sat down on the edge of her bed and started to pull on her stockings. There was a knock on her door just a few seconds later.
She smiled as her friend and colleague, Gwen, opened the door and stepped inside. 'You must be cursed.' The red-head laughed whilst looking at her. 'You're always out before breakfast.'
Anna giggled in response. 'Will you please make me some toast when I get back?'
'Sure.' Gwen nodded.
'You're a life-saver.' Anna told her.
Gwen gave her a smile. 'Mrs. Jones or Mrs. Price?' She asked.
'Mrs. Jones.' Anna winced. 'I've been her midwife for two years and I'm still terrified of her!'
'Mrs. Jones?' Gwen raised a brow, 'But she's so lovely!'
Anna slipped her left foot into one of her shoes. 'I know. I'm not scared of her because she's a horrible person, I'm scared of her because the last time I held her hand during a contraction she almost broke it. She has the worst pain threshold and the strongest grip I've ever known.'
She watched the corners of Gwen's mouth curl up into a smirk as she tried her hardest not to laugh, but after the two of them had looked at each other for a couple of seconds they burst into laughter. 'Oh, I have to go. The poor woman's been having contractions since four.' Anna said as she stood from the bed after slipping into her cardigan. 'I should be back for lunch.'
'If you're not, I'll have your piece of cake so that it doesn't go to waste.' Gwen smiled at her.
'Touch it and it'll be the last thing you do.' Anna replied with a small smirk.
Gwen raised her hands in mock surrender and giggled. 'Yes, Ma'am.'
Anna then shook her head with a good-natured eye-roll before stepping past her and walking down the hall to the staircase. Once she had gone downstairs and retrieved her medical bag she hurried to the front door before leaving Downton Place and descending the steps in order to go to the bicycle shed. 'Here we go.' She said to herself as she put her bag on the bicycle.
Once she had pulled her bicycle out of the shed she mounted it, pulled her long tresses of hair into a bun and began to cycle further away from Downton Place and closer to Dowling Street.
After three long hours of Mrs. Jones screaming and squeezing her hand, Anna let out a sigh of relief as she smiled and cut the cord of the wailing newborn that was next to her on the bed. 'Goodness me, Miss Jones, you've got quite a pair of lungs on you, haven't you?' She used one of the warm towels that Mr. Jones had supplied to wipe down the little girl whilst speaking.
'Miss Jones?' Dorothy breathed from where she was collapsed against her pillow. 'It's a girl?'
'Yes, Dorothy, you have a daughter,' Anna informed her as she used another warm blanket to swaddle the whimpering newborn, 'and she is so, so perfect.' Once she had eased Dorothy's little girl into her arms she got up from the foot of the bed and walked around to her side, the two of them sharing a smile as she lowered her down into her arms. 'You were so brilliant.'
Dorothy looked up at her once she had held her daughter in her arms for a minute. 'I couldn't have done it without you. I know that I told you the same thing after you delivered my David two years ago, but I mean it and you deserve to know it. You told me once that I could choose whoever I wanted to be my midwife, but I don't want anyone other than you to be with me.'
'That means so much to me.' Anna rested a hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze before leaving her side to go and sit back on the foot of the bed and prepare for the placenta. 'Do you and your husband have a name in mind for her?' She raised her brow as she watched her gaze at her little girl in wonder, Dorothy looking into her eyes after a couple of seconds.
'Richard always said that I could choose the name if we had a girl.' She admitted. 'Before this morning, I couldn't think of a single name. Now that I'm holding her though, I know what I want to name her.' She lowered her gaze to her little girl again before stroking her little face. 'I want to name her Anna. After you. If…if that's alright.' She admitted as she looked at her.
Anna felt her eyes sting with tears of happiness. 'It's more than alright.' She reassured her.
'Her full name is going to be Anna Emilia Jones.' Dorothy revealed. 'After you and my Mum.'
Anna smiled. 'It's beautiful. Just like her.'
The placenta was delivered in the next few minutes and once she had checked it over to make sure that it was intact, Anna packed her medical bag once again and closed it. 'I know that he won't be home until late this evening, but would you pass on my congratulations to Mr. Jones when he gets home from work?' She inquired once she had moved to stand beside her again.
'I will.' Dorothy nodded. 'I promise.'
After giving her a smile, Anna reached out to give the snoozing infant's face a stroke with the back of her forefinger. 'I have to get back to Downton, but I'll come back tomorrow morning to see how you're both getting on.' She explained before she and Dorothy said goodbye to one another and she turned on her heel to walk out of the bedroom and then out of the little flat.
Once she had left the flat and closed the front door behind herself she placed her medical bag on the back of her bicycle and secured it in advance to mounting it again, tucking a couple of errant strands of hair back behind her ear and starting to make the journey back to Downton.
It was just before 10:00 when she made it back to Downton Place and after taking her bicycle back to the bicycle shed she unclipped her medical bag and walked up the steps to the front door, a tired sigh escaping her as she opened the door and walked into the building. Once she had shut the door after herself she headed for the autoclave room to sterilise all her things.
It took her quite a while, but soon enough she had sterilised her last instrument and was able to start putting them back into her medical bag. Before she was able to do that, however, the sound of footsteps grasped her attention and she turned her head just in time to watch a man enter the room. 'Excuse me,' He said whilst he looked at her, 'I was looking for Sister Hilda.'
'She'll be up in her office.' She replied with a smile. 'I can fetch her for you if you like.'
The elder man shook his head in response as he gave her a smile of his own. 'No, I don't want to bother her if she's busy. I can come back later.' He began to approach her. 'Since I'm here though, I feel as though I should introduce myself. I'm John Bates, the new G.P.' He said as he extended his hand to her, Anna sliding her own into it before she permitted him to shake it.
'Of course!' She nodded. 'Sister Hilda mentioned that we would be getting a new doctor. I'm Anna May Smith, district nurse and midwife.' The two of them let go of each other's hand.
'How do you do?' He took a step back from her.
A silence fell over the two of them for the next couple of seconds.
'Sister Hilda is quite caught up with some things this morning, but I'm sure that she wouldn't mind if you came and had lunch with us if you need to talk to her.' Anna looked into his eyes.
'I wouldn't want to impose on your lunch.' He shook his head.
She scoffed in response. 'You wouldn't be. It would also give the other midwives and nurses a chance to meet you before clinic tomorrow afternoon. We eat at 12:30, so if you can get here for 12:15 you should have enough time to introduce yourself and talk to her before we all eat.'
'All right.' He nodded. 'As long as you're certain Sister Hilda won't mind, Anna.'
'She won't.' She reassured him. 'She's as grateful to you for coming here as the rest of us.'
John looked at her for a moment. 'Was doctor Browne's death as awful as it sounded?'
'It was.' She almost shuddered at the thought. 'They never found the driver that hit him.'
'But they're certain the driver was drunk?' He raised his brow.
She nodded. 'Witnesses said that the driver was swerving all over the place beforehand.'
'I'm sorry.' He sighed.
'We're all sorry,' She told him, 'but there's nothing that anyone can do about it now.'
He knew that she was right. 'I hope that I'll do him proud.'
'I think you will.' She admitted. 'I'm always here to lend a hand if you need me.'
'Thank you, Anna.' He replied. 'Now, I had better be going. I'll be back at 12:15 like you said.'
'Brilliant.' She said. 'I'll see you then, doctor Bates.'
Once she had watched him walk out of the room her stomach grumbled and she remembered that Gwen had promised to make her some toast. The thought of being able to eat after such a tiring morning made her smile and so, after closing her medical bag, she made her way out of the room before going down the hall to the kitchen. 'You angel.' She smiled over at Gwen.
'Jam or marmalade?' Gwen asked after placing the slices of toast on a plate.
'Jam, please.' She replied as she sat down at the table.
Once Gwen had found the jam and spread it over the toast she carried the plate over to Anna and set it down in front of her, a smile gracing her features as she pulled out the chair next to her and sat down. 'How did things go with Mrs. Jones this morning?' She raised her brow.
'Far smoother than I thought.' Anna informed her. 'She even named her little girl after me.'
'That doesn't surprise me.' Gwen said. 'Mrs. Jones won't let anyone other than you near her.'
Anna smiled at her before taking a bite of her toast and humming in satisfaction as she ate it. 'I never thought that I would love a piece of toast so much.' She laughed after swallowing it.
'You deserved it after this morning.' Gwen told her. 'I'm just going to check the call board.'
The red-headed midwife then rose from her chair before leaving the kitchen, Anna smiling to herself as she sank her teeth into her jam on toast once again and leaned back in her chair.
She didn't tell her often enough…
But sometimes she adored her best friend.
It was late that evening when Anna was stood in front of the sink in the bathroom whilst she brushed her teeth, her gaze fixed on her reflection in the little mirror whilst she moved the toothbrush back and forth. Lunch with doctor Bates, the nurses and the Sisters had gone well earlier on. She had learned quite a lot about him in that hour and was growing to like him.
He had told her and the others about what it had been for him as a doctor whilst the war had been raging. Knowing that he had been the one to take care of children and others who had failed to get into air-raid shelters in time had broken her heart. The thought of people getting hurt because of a stupid war angered her more than she could ever hope to put into words.
Even though it had saddened her to hear about the horrors that John had seen in the war, she had to admit that getting to know him had been so nice. He was such a gentle and kind man and he had made her and the others chuckle more than once with some of the funnier stories he had told them all. There was no doubt in her mind that he was going to be a good doctor.
After spitting out the toothpaste and rinsing her mouth, she turned off the tap before starting to leave the bathroom. She turned off the light before closing the door and walking towards her bedroom, a tired sigh escaping her when she entered and closed the door in order to start getting dressed for bed. She was relieved when she was able to snuggle beneath her covers.
She laid in the dark for a while after turning off the light on her bedside table, thinking about what clinic was going to be like tomorrow. John was new and yes, the two of them were still getting to know each other, but she hoped that things worked out for him. She hoped that the mothers showed him the same kindness and respect that they had shown to doctor Browne.
Doctor Bates, even though he had told her things about himself, was still a mystery to her.
She had never met another man like him before and…and she longed to find out more.
Author's Note: Thank you all for reading chapter one and I hope you'll review to let me know what you think! Also, I HATE the title of this fic and so - if you want to see more - please could you help me to think of a better title by leaving suggestions at the end of your review? I would be so grateful if some of you could do that. Thank you! x