Author's Note: Welcome to my new fic :-) I hope that you all enjoy! Happy reading x
Even though she was exhausted and sore and felt as though there wasn't one part of her body that didn't ache, Anna was unable to remove the soft smile from her lips as she held her son on her chest and had skin-to-skin with him whilst propped up against Lady Mary's pillows on the night of his birth. She still couldn't quite believe that he was here. That she was a Mum.
She wouldn't lie and say that his birth had been a breeze because it hadn't.
It had been the most painful experience of her life and at one point his shoulders had become stuck and she had torn, but none of that mattered now. All that mattered was that she had a son who was a perfect weight and one of the healthiest babies doctor Clarkson had ever seen. 'My perfect little man…' She sighed as she gazed down at him and stroked his back tenderly.
He had fallen asleep a few minutes ago underneath the nightgown that Lady Mary had let her have, his hand resting beneath his head on her breast whilst he let out the softest sounds of contentment and snuffled every now and again. She had seen a number of babies in her time, but she was certain that there was no baby tinier or more beautiful than her sweet William.
Over the last few months, she had hoped that her child would resemble John more than it did her, just as John had hoped that their child would resemble her more than it did him, but she wasn't disappointed or upset that their son looked more like her. She adored his soft wisps of blonde hair and his deep blue eyes that made her heart melt whenever she looked into them.
She adored everything about him.
When a shiver coursed through her newborn she left her thoughts and held him a little closer before giggling when he sneezed in his sleep. 'That was quite a sneeze for such a little baby.' She crooned as she traced the curve of his skull with her forefinger, her love for him growing deeper when he cooed and nuzzled against her breast. It was such an honour to be his Mum.
The sound of the bedroom door creaking open made her take her eyes off of him for a second a couple of minutes later, a tired smile gracing her features when she glanced up to see John entering the room with a cup of tea for her. 'You're an angel.' She let out a sigh of relief once he had closed the bedroom door behind him and started to walk over to the large bed again.
He smiled at her as he set the teacup and saucer down on the nightstand before sitting on the edge of the bed, mindful of her legs, and reaching out to cup her cheek in his hand under the curtain of her hair. 'You've made me so proud tonight, you know.' He kept his voice gentle so not to rouse William from his slumber. 'Our son is so privileged to have you for his mother.'
After looking into his eyes for a couple of seconds, Anna turned her head to leave a kiss to the inside of his palm before turning back to him and nuzzling against his hand. 'I feel as though I'm dreaming.' She admitted as her fingertips continued to run back and forth over the upper half of William's back. 'We've waited for years for this and now it…it just doesn't seem real.'
'Just wait until he's waking us up through the night.' He smirked. 'Then it'll feel more real.'
Anna couldn't help but giggle at his teasing.
She felt William shift on her chest after a time and so she gazed down at him before a radiant smile graced her features when she noticed that he was awake. 'Hello, you…' She whispered as she brought the hand that wasn't resting on his back to his cheek so that she could run the back of her index finger down it, her heart swelling when William released a contented coo.
He began to mouth at her breast after a little while and she knew that he was in search of her nipple and so she readjusted herself against the pillows. She then shushed him whilst easing him off of her chest, his impatient whimpers filling the air as she laid him in the cradle of her arms before aiding him in latching onto her breast. 'There we go…' She smiled down at him.
She felt John rise from the edge of the bed when William began to suckle at her breast after a couple of seconds and when she glanced up at him she smiled whilst watching him make his way around to the other side of the bed. When he laced an arm around her after sitting down next to her she laid her head on his shoulder, her gaze focused on William whilst he nursed.
'I can't wait to get you both home, you know.' She heard John sigh into her hair after a while, her lips curling up into a smile as she tilted her head back on his shoulder to look up at him.
'Me either.' She replied.
Her eyes fell shut when he leaned in to press a kiss onto her lips, a surge of warmth coursing through her veins when he brought his hand up to her cheek and brushed his thumb against her skin. The smack of their lips echoed in the quiet room when he pulled back from her, the two of them exchanging a smile as he brushed his nose against hers. 'I love you, Mrs. Bates.'
'I love you too, Mr. Bates…' She reassured him, 'so, so much.'
It was a few hours later, as dawn began to break, when John was perched on the edge of Lady Mary's bed with his son in the cradle of his arms. William had woken him and Anna with his cries a short while ago, but when Anna had made to sit up and see to him he had told her that he would get him so that she could sleep. The fatigue she had felt had been clear in her eyes.
Now that she was sound asleep again and he was holding William close whilst he whimpered and gurgled against his chest, he couldn't stop leaving kisses to his forehead and he couldn't stop looking at him. When Anna had been pregnant with him he had known that he would be perfect but, as he held him to him now, he was so much more perfect than he had imagined.
He hadn't expected to fall in love with him so fast. He had thought that it would take a couple of days at least to fall head over heels, but his heart had swelled the moment he had set eyes on him. When Anna had let him cradle him in his arms for the first time and he had gazed up at him through squinted blue eyes, the love that he possessed for him had deepened greatly.
He doubted that it was possible to love him more than he did now.
When he heard Anna stir behind him as she shifted into a more comfortable position to sleep in he moved so that his back was pressed against the headboard. Then, as he gazed down at her sleeping form, he eased one arm out from beneath William so that he could tuck a blonde strand of hair back behind her ear. She deserved to rest. She had made him so proud of her.
When he had been standing outside the bedroom door whilst she had been working to deliver their son he had been forced to listen to her groans and cries of pain and he had hated every moment of it. He had longed to be with her – to hold her hand through all of the contractions and pain – and the thought of her having to endure all of that without him had pained him.
The scream that had torn free from her throat when William had crowned had made him feel sick, but his nauseousness had lasted minutes at the most before relief and pride had surged through his veins when the sound of his son's screams had reached his ears. He knew that he wouldn't think the same in a week or two, but his screams had been the most perfect sound.
He drew the backs of his fingers down Anna's cheek as he watched her sleep before a smile of adoration graced his features as he knew that he was the luckiest man alive to be able to call her his wife. She was the bravest woman he had ever met and he hoped that she knew that. 'I love you…' He whispered to her once his hand had left her cheek and he held William closer.
When he turned his attention back to their son he realised that he had nodded off in his arms with his hand resting on his chest, his eyelashes beating against his cheeks as he snuffled in his sleep. Knowing he would be far more comfortable in the Moses basket that Nanny Wright had brought in for him a couple of hours ago, he rose from the bed and walked around to it.
He then laid William down in it, being mindful not to wake him, before using the backs of his fingers to stroke his cheek and coming away from the Moses basket once he was certain that he was settled. He decided that it would be in his best interests to get a little more sleep since he wouldn't get a lot of it once he was back at the cottage, and so he walked back to the bed.
Once he had pulled back the quilt and climbed back into bed beside his wife he laid down and reached out to run his fingers along the line of her jaw. She looked radiant as she slept next to him. You wouldn't think that she had given birth mere hours ago. He shuffled closer to her after tracing the line of her jaw to kiss her on the brow, a smile on his lips as he drew back.
Her eyes flickered open a little when he settled down beside her and he felt his heart swell in his chest when she offered him a tired smile. 'What time is it?' She whispered after shifting into his embrace and resting her head on his chest, his arm wrapping itself around her waist.
'I think it's around seven-ish.' He replied whilst burying his nose in her hair.
'Can we go home soon?' She asked.
He massaged her waist. 'Soon, darling, but I want you to get at least another hour first.'
'I won't argue with you about that.' She giggled before tilting her head back against his chest.
'You're so beautiful; you know that, don't you?' He stroked her face.
She scoffed in response. 'I don't feel beautiful. I'm in desperate need of a bath.'
'I'll run you a bath once we're at home.' He reassured her. 'Then you can get some more rest.'
'How's Will?' She raised her brow whilst stroking his chest.
'He's alright.' He said. 'He's sleeping again.'
She smiled with a gentle sigh of relief. 'I'm glad.'
After looking into her eyes for a few seconds he brought his hand to her cheek and grazed her bottom lip with his thumb. 'Come here.' He told her softly before she stretched up somewhat to press her lips against his. The kiss started out innocent and slow but when his tongue gave her lower lip a stroke she opened her mouth beneath his and allowed him to deepen the kiss.
For the next few minutes the two of them shared a soft yet passionate kiss, her head lying on his shoulder whilst she ran her fingers through his hair and her tongue danced with his own as he held her close by the waist. When the need to breathe became too intense, however, she nipped his lower lip before pulling back from him and letting him press his forehead to hers.
'Well, that was nice.' She breathed as she brushed the tip of his nose with her own.
'That was very nice.' He agreed. 'I love you so much.'
She allowed her eyes to flicker open before she replied with: 'I love you too.'
'We should get some sleep.' He ran his hand up and down her back underneath the silk quilt. 'Who knows when Will's going to wake up next?' He revelled in Anna's giggle as she settled.
Once she had snuggled into him and rested her head on his chest again, her arm draped over his stomach as she tangled her leg with his, he kissed her on the head and allowed her scent to invade his senses. 'Sweet dreams, my love.' He whispered into the soft strands of her hair.
'And to you, darling.' She mumbled as slumber started to claim her. 'The very same to you.'
Author's Note: Thank you all for reading chapter one and I hope that you all enjoyed! I also hope that you'll leave me a review so that I know what you thought and if I should continue with this fic. Thank you all for your support and I'll see you in the next chapter! x