Disclaimer: Basil of Baker Street, Dr. Dawson, and Mrs. Judson are sole property to Eve Titus/Walt Disney Corporation. Amber belongs to ALS123 and used with permission.
It was a beautiful spring afternoon in Regent's Park as mice young and old sat quietly in the white chairs laid out in two even rows on the green grass. Flowers of white and light purple decorated the outsides of the white pathway up to the archway by the fountain. Both Basil and Amber decided to keep everything simple but elegant. Only close friends and family came out for their special day and as expected tears of joy were shed.
While Basil stood proud in his traditional black tux with a white rose bud pined on the left side of the jacket. Amber was wearing a long, elegant sleeveless wedding gown that had a short train. The dress had a V-neck and beading that went from the front of the straps and alongside to just above the waist. A silver band was carefully placed in her hair so that the veil which covered her face and the back of her head stayed in place. To Basil, she looked like an angel, not to say she never looked as such. But on this day especially, she was the most gorgeous woman he had ever laid eyes on. Soon, she would be his wife as he would be her husband for the rest of their days.
As they stood side by side, hand in hand, they recited their vows and exchanged rings. Both Amber and Basil's hearts began to race for they knew and were waiting for those familiar lines that would finalize their union.
"And by the power invested in me and in the eyes of our heavenly father," the priest began, holding his bible in his fragile hands, "I now pronounce you husband and wife."
Without waiting for the mouse to say anything else, Basil pulled Amber close to him, catching her lips with his own in a passionate kiss. It took the poor, young mouse a few split seconds to realize what was happening before she surrendered and deepened their kiss. As their friends and family applauded and cheered, the couple remained in their loving embrace. Nothing else seemed to matter as they fell into their own little world. When they finally parted, their eyes remained on one another as they slowly returned to reality. Taking her hand into his own, they couple turned towards the crowed before rushing down the aisle victoriously.
When the reception was long over, Basil and Amber departed that next day for their two week honeymoon to Verona, Italy. To make their union highly official, that very first night Amber decided it was time to surrender herself to her husband, and within the dimly lit bedroom, she and Basil made sweet love for the first time. To Amber, it was the most memorable moment for though she was not Basil's first; he did all he could to make her first experience worthwhile.
As time came and went, everyone could see the love and admiration between Basil and Amber only grew stronger. There was never a time that Mrs. Judson and Dr. Dawson did not witness the detective grinning happily as he was experimenting with his chemistry set or looking over clues for some case. While Amber wasn't accompanying her husband, she would be assisting her landlady in any chores she could convince the elder mouse into allowing her to do. It was on one of these days as Amber assisted Mrs. Judson in the kitchen as they washed the dirty dishes made from that morning that the landlady caught the poor younger mouse off guard.
"I wonder at times if that grin of yours will ever vanish," Mrs. Judson teased as she handed Amber a washed plate.
"I wonder the same thing," Amber replied. "I never thought anyone could ever make me as happy as Basil has. Sure, we've had our few quarrels, but what marriage doesn't?"
"You are indeed right about that," the landlady agreed. "In fact, if you and Basil never had arguments then I would probably worry."
"I can assure you, you don't have to worry about that," Amber laughed as she continued drying off the dishes and placing them in their proper place. At that moment, both women paused as they heard the sound of children's laughter from outside. This made Amber smile with happiness as she then seemed to drift off into deep thought.
"So have you and Basil discussed about what you plan to do?" Mrs. Judson inquired nonchalantly.
"Huh?" was all Amber said as she was pulled out of said thoughts. "Forgive me, but my mind was elsewhere. What did you ask?"
"I could see that, my dear," the elder mouse chuckled. "I asked if you and Basil have discussed about what you plan to do."
"In regards to what exactly?"
"Well, now that you two are married, I would have assumed that you two would think about taking that next step."
For a moment, Amber had to really think about what it was that the elder mouse was talking about. What else could she and her husband possibly have to look forward to that they haven't already? That's when it finally hit her. "Oh…," she soon realised as her cheeks began to blush at the mere thought.
For as long as Amber could remember, her dream of starting a family of her own once she did marry was always there in the back of her mind. However once Mrs. Judson brought it up, it made her think. Would Basil want children or would he stand his ground of remaining childless regardless of the fact that he was now a married mouse?
Shrugging, she simply replied to the elder mouse, "W-well, we have and we decided that we were going to wait for a bit. Basil and I are in no rush for that sort of thing just yet."
She knew though that Mrs. Judson could tell the truth, the kind woman said nothing. There were countless times after that Amber wished to discuss it with Basil, but she always ended up backing out. She figured that she'd might as well accept that she may never become the mother she always dreamt of being.
What she didn't know was this way of thinking was about to change, sooner than she would have expected. It was almost a year into her marriage with Basil that she began to feel strange. It first started out with her feeling nauseated and a constricted feeling in any clothes she wore. Thought she really couldn't do much about the sickly feeling, she managed to buy some clothes that she could wear with no problems. Soon, that nauseated feeling became worse as she soon had the need to rush to the bathroom during the day. It was then that this caught her husband's attention. Amber reassured him that she was fine, that she probably caught a stomach flu. Still Basil was not convinced and for the next few weeks, he, along with Mrs. Judson and Dr. Dawson kept a sharp eye on her.
From what they have noticed, more changes seemed to occur in Amber. They saw that she was beginning to move away from foods she loved and onto things she never would normally eat (some of which were quite strange in combination). There were a few times that she would go through mood swings that could not be explained. The most obvious was that her supposed flu never subsided and in fact became worse. It was after a few weeks of this that they all sat Amber down and told her everything they had noticed and in the end, concluded that she was pregnant with Basil's child.
As excited as she was, Amber was indeed scared, just as any first time mother would feel. After finding this out, she decided to pull Basil aside and discuss what they would do. The moment, this was mentioned, Basil reassured his wife that any thoughts she had about him not wanting children was not to be taken seriously. Relieved of such a thing, Amber felt happier about the arrival of their unborn child after knowing that she had Basil's full support.
While time flew by, Amber's pregnancy became more noticeable to those around her. At first, she seemed almost embarrassed by this, but she was always reassured that the changes she was going through were normal and to not dread. To the detective his wife seemed to become more beautiful as she and their child together grew. Never once did he think differently about Amber, in fact, his love for her only became stronger for he soon realized that what is wife was going through was probably the biggest sacrifice any mouse could ever make. Amber was not only sacrificing her body, but even her life.
Every new change both parents experienced was more joyful than the last. Feeling their child kick and move, hearing its heartbeat, being able to speak or sing to them was nothing but a blessing. At night when Amber was asleep, Basil would caress her swollen belly and talk to his unborn child about anything and everything. It was obvious that the detective was anxious for this baby to be born. But he knew that this was a process of patience. All he could do for now was wait.
It was around two in the morning on a chilly November that their long wait was finally going to come to an end. It was a calm and peaceful night as both Amber and Basil slept with contentment. Earlier that evening Amber was complaining about sharp pains around her lower belly and though Dawson was called, he announced that she was fine, but he highly suggested for her to remain in bed and rest for it was only a matter of time until she was ready to give birth. She tossed and turned as the sharp pains continued to get worse, but so not to disturbed her sleeping husband, she did her best to tough them out. After what seemed like hours, Amber couldn't take the pain anymore and began to shake Basil awake.
A moment later, the older mouse began to stir as he groaned from exhaustion. "Basil," Amber began, the sound of fear in her voice. "Basil, get up, please."
"Hmm, darling, what's wrong?" Basil asked, feeling wide awake when he heard his wife's desperate plea. Sitting up in the bed, he noticed the fur on her face sticking. What had happened to cause her to be in such a state, he thought. "Are you all right?"
"No," she answered, her breaths quickening before she doubled over once more. Like an instant reaction, Basil took hold of her, supporting her through the pain. "I…" She grunted. "I think it's time."
Panic soon began to rise as Basil leaped from the bed, but not before laying his wife back down and rushed to wake both Mrs. Judson and Dr. Dawson. After returning to the bedroom, his heart sank when he witnessed tears streaming down Amber's face. Never had he seen her is so much pain; then again, he never expected it. Sitting by her bedside, he took hold of her hand which he began to squeeze instantly.
"Just take deep breaths, Amber," Basil instructed calmly, dabbing her forehead with a wet washcloth that his landlady had brought up, along with a bowl of warm water. Doing as he said, Amber tried her best to fight through the painful contractions. She always knew that regardless of how much of a miracle childbirth was, going through the labour process was not exactly a cake walk. She has felt physical pain before, but what she was experiencing at this moment definitely exceeded everything else.
"God, I want to die!" Amber shouted as another powerful contraction shot through her. Basil did the best he could to coach his wife through the pain, but he was lost as to what to do for it was obvious he has never been through such a terrifying situation as this.
"You're doing just fine, love," he whispered, kissing her hand. "Don't give up. Please don't give up."
The detective did all he could to fight back the sting of fresh tears as time seemed to slowly drag on. In fact, if it weren't for the faint echoes of the clock tower indicating the twelfth hour, he would have been made unaware. His fears rose for he could see how exhausted Amber was becoming. Would she make it Basil wondered, or would she slip away from him for good? Shaking these thoughts from his mind, he kept whispering words of encouragement to his wife.
Finally, the moment arrived as Dr. Dawson instructed Basil to prop Amber up with the pillows as the detective and Mrs. Judson held her legs. As she felt another contraction coming on, Amber took a deep breath before leaning forward. Almost like a burning sensation, she screamed from the pain. She wanted it all to be over.
"Don't stop now, Mrs. Brettman," Dr. Dawson encouraged. "You're almost there."
"I…I can't!" she yelled as she tried to push once more. "God, just kill me, please!" Amber pleaded, tears streaming down her face.
"Don't give up," Basil said this time. Taking her hand, she squeezed tightly as she pushed once more. "Come on," he continued to coax her. Looking down, he saw what seemed to be a dark round dome slowly emerging from his wife. "Come on Amber, you're almost there. We can see the head."
"It hurts…," Amber declared, her voice tired from the crying and the pain. "Get it out of me."
"The head is almost out, darling. Just keeping pushing."
Nodding, she took another deep breath and leaned forward once more. Amber thought getting the head out was bad, she felt as if she were being torn from the inside out as she did her best to push the baby the rest of the way. Soon, she felt relief as the pain suddenly subsided and she fell limp against the pillows, gaining her breath from her endeavours. As she kept her eyes closed, hearing nothing but her heavy breathing, it was soon disturbed by the loud screeches of her new-born's cries.
"Is that…?" Amber began to ask, slowing opening her eyes.
"Yes," Dawson answered proudly. "It's your son."
With a weary chuckle, she held out her arms in wanting to hold her son. After the umbilical cord was snipped and the young mouse cleaned and wrapped in a warm blanket, the doctor placed the child delicately across his mother's breast. Tears of joy streamed down Amber's cheeks as the glanced down at her son. He seemed the perfect mixture of her and Basil.
"Hello, sweetheart," Amber said in a low whisper while she brushed the infant's cheek with her finger. "I'm your mommy." She chuckled again, as her son yawned. As much as the pain was hard to bear, in the end, it was well worth it.
"I knew you could do it," Basil said as he too shared his own tears of joy.
Glancing up at her husband, she smiled. "I couldn't have done this without you." Leaning forward, Basil caught his wife's lips in a passionate kiss. "I love you."
"I love you too and I'm so proud of you."
"I'm just glad it's finally over. I don't know which was worse, the pain or the waiting."
"I believe we can equally say both, darling. I'm just relieved you two are all right." Gently, Basil placed a delicate kiss on his wife's forehead before lying beside her on the bed. "I never imagined he'd be so tiny."
"Nor did I," Amber agreed, her voice tired.
"You're exhausted, my dear, perhaps you should rest," Mrs. Judson suggested, her smile still noticeable as she too dabbed her eyes with her apron due to the beautiful scene before her.
"I know, but I don't think I could," Amber said, glancing back down at her son. "I feel that if I do, I'll miss something grand."
"My dear, Amber," Basil interjected with a chuckle, "I'm pretty sure you won't miss much." With that said, Amber began to feel the baby stir, looking down she was mesmerized by the sight of her child looking up at her with such bright eyes. Chuckling, Basil added, "I suppose I should take that back."
"It's all right," Amber replied. Taking her son's hand into her own, she said, "He's so beautiful. Hello, Alex."
"Alex?"
"You don't like it?" his wife asked, sudden worry in her voice.
"No, it's not that, it's just…How long have you had that name in mind?"
"Oh, for a while actually; I've always loved the name Alexander. But if you disagree that's fine."
Smiling lovingly, Basil shook his head before taking their son into his own arms as that Amber could rest her head on his shoulder. "It's perfect and I wouldn't have it any other way." Sharing another loving kiss, the couple remained as they were, watching their newborn sleep peacefully before they too did the same.