Galveston, Texas
1863
The young girl cried out in pain as she clutched the sheets so tightly that the whites of her knuckles could be seen in the small light that had been provided by the various candles that had been placed around the rather drab room. She couldn't contain the sobs that racked her body in between the contractions that continuously racked her body to the point where she felt as though she would burst from within. For a day and a night, she had been like this as her body desperately tried to eject the child that she had carried not yet to full term as the midwives and Dr. Santiago worked diligently around her for both her and her baby's life.
"You must stay strong, Rebecca," said her mother as she grasped her daughter's sweaty hand within her own. "Your babe is almost here. I can see the head already and it will not be much longer until you can hold them in your arms and sing to them, love."
"No mama, I cannot," gasped the younger woman through her labored breaths. "Something is wrong. I can feel it."
"Shh shh," said her mother as she brushed a dark lock of hair away from her sweaty brow, "do not speak like that darling. Both you and your baby will be fine."
The girl looked as though she wanted to say something further, but another wail racked her precariously small body as both the midwife and the doctor yelled at her to push, but it was obvious that the strength was being sapped out of her with every push.
"Don't stop pushing, Rebecca. You're so close," said her mother comfortingly as she looked down at her daughter, who looked to be in a tremendous amount of pain, not the mention the exhaustion that was so evident in her soft brown eyes.
"It hurts," whispered the girl as she tried to weakly grasp her mother's hand, "I don't know how much longer I can take of this."
"How close is the child to be being born?" asked the mother as she turned to look at both the Doctor and the midwife.
"Soon," she said in a very thick Mexican accent. "One more push, then baby out."
"Just one more push Rebecca and the baby will be out," said the Doctor as he addressed the tired girl who was no older than eighteen. "One more push, that's all I'm asking."
"Did you hear that? One more push and this will all be over," said the mother as she kissed the back of her daughter's sweaty palm. "One more push and the child will be here."
"He should be here, mama," said her daughter weakly as she looked up at her mother with bleary eyes. "Where is Jasper? Has he come back already?"
The older woman frowned at her daughter's delirious state as she looked around for a man that she would never see again with such hope in her eyes. It broke her heart to see her child desperately searching for the boy that she had loved so much and who had fathered her child.
"Oh darling," she said as she caressed her daughter arm, "I'm certain he'll be here soon."
The lie rolled easily enough off her tongue, but she did not have the strength to tell her daughter the truth. She could not bear to see her child so heartbroken by the news that she had received earlier that very same day. The pregnancy had been hard enough for her, she didn't need to carry that burden just yet.
"He said he would marry me," gasped Rebecca as she clutched her swollen middle, "then it won't matter that the baby is illegitimate. It won't- "
She cried out in agony as the contraction havocked her already weakened and frail body as both the doctor and the midwife yelled at her to push with all her might, and although it wasn't much, it was enough as the cry of a newborn filled the air.
Rebecca collapsed onto the bed with a moan as the umbilical cord was cut and the squalling infant was wrapped up in a blanket before it was handed over to its grandmother. The older woman carefully picked up the child as she looked down into its soft, wrinkled face that was still covered in the afterbirth.
"Wha-what is it?" asked Rebecca weakly as she looked up at her mother and her child. "Is it healthy?"
"Yes. She is healthy and strong," said the midwife as the older woman sat down on the bed and handed the little girl off to her mother.
"Oh, mama look at her. Isn't she beautiful?" asked Rebecca weakly as she rocked the bundle in her arms.
"She looks just like you did when you were born," she commented with a smile as she watched her daughter fawn over her own daughter, a moment only a mother could understand as her heart swelled with pride. She already loved her granddaughter fiercely, despite the unfortunate and irresponsible actions that had brought her to them.
Illegitimacy aside, this child was a gift from God.
"Lydia," whispered Rebecca as her eyes started to grow distant, "her name is Lydia."
Rebecca started to grow very pale as her eyes started to focus in and out and her breathing began to slow considerably down, but she could not take her eyes off the babe in her arms who was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen in this world.
"Isobel," said the Doctor urgently as he called the midwife back over to the foot of the bed where he had been ever since the child had been delivered, "she's bleeding out."
The midwife's eyes widened for a fraction of a second before she was fetching towels and tools from the Doctors medicine bag for him in such a hurry that she seemed like a blur.
"What is going on? Is my daughter alright?" asked the mother in concern as she watched the Doctor pull away a towel drenched completely in blood. Her own daughter seemed to oblivious to what was happening around her or to the fact that she was losing a great amount of blood as she stared down at the newly named Lydia.
They ignored her as they continued to work, their voices low and hushed as they quietly conversed with each other.
"Will someone please tell me what is going on?" demanded the mother as her grip on her daughter's hand tightened.
"The blood flow won't stop," said the midwife hurriedly. "She's bleeding out."
"Well then do something!" cried the mother. She could not lose Rebecca. She had already lost one child, she couldn't lose another one.
Seconds seemed to pass by like minutes as Rebecca grew paler and paler as the blood flowed out of her body at an impossible rate that could not be stopped, not even by the Doctor or the midwife who were doing everything within in their power to keep the new mother alive. But it was no good.
Rebecca said nothing the sensation of floating overtook her and the world around her started to fade in and out as her poor mother watched in horror as her only living child began to slowly slip away from her.
"Please, Rebecca. You must hold on," begged her mother as she fell down to her knees, her hands clasped around the wooden cross that hung around her neck. "Lydia has already lost her father, please don't let her lose mother as well."
"I knew it," said a feeble Rebecca as he eyelids started to flutter softly, "he's dead, isn't he?"
"They believe so, yes," she brushed a sweaty strand of brown hair away from her daughter's pale forehead. "He was on his way here, just like he promised but something happened. I'm so sorry, Becca. I know you loved him."
"What happened?" asked the young girl, her voice barely above that of a whisper as she looked up at her mother with sad eyes. "How-?
"They think it was a wild animal attack, but they're not sure. They found his horse yesterday. It was-" she closed her eyes as she trailed off. She didn't dare think of what happened to the poor boy. There was no point in dwelling on Jasper's fate at the moment, not while her daughter was struggling to survive. Whatever had happened to the poor boy, it was out of their hands.
"I knew it," whispered Becca weakly as her grip tightened on her babe, her gaze traveling over to the crucifix that hung on the opposite wall. "He's gone, mama. He's really gone."
"I did not want to tell you until after you delivered," said her mother with tears in her eyes. "but he was on his way here, just like he promised-"
Rebecca held up her hand to silence her mother, "he's in Gods hands now. I just want to make sure that our daughter will be cared for when I am gone."
"Don't speak like that. You're going to be fine, Rebecca. You and Lydia."
She did not want to accept that her daughter was going to die, but she could feel death in the room already, just as it was when her son had been taken from her. She could still hear the Doctor and the midwife yelling at each other as they did everything within their power to save her daughter, but she knew it was no good. God intended to take her daughter that day and there was nothing she could do about that.
She grasped the cross that hung around her neck and held back her tears that were threatening to fall down her tanned cheeks as she let out a silent prayer to heaven above asking for courage and strength to do what was needed for her poor daughter after she departed this world.
"Promise me, mama," whispered Rebecca, her voice strained. "Promise me."
"Oh darling," she said as she brushed a sweaty strand of hair away from her clammy skin. She could feel her heart already breaking into a million pieces as she looked at her dying daughter, her only living child in this world. "I promise. She will be loved and cared for with your papa and I. She will never want for anything, Rebecca. You have my word."
Rebecca nodded as she allowed her head to fall back against the pillow weakly as everything around her started to go black. She could feel herself slipping away from the world, away from her child whom she could still feel wriggling around in her arms.
"Please mama, give her his name," said Rebecca as her eyelids began to flutter and her breathing became more and more shallow, "he was a good man and he would've loved her dearly."
And with that, Rebecca Kane closed her eyes and breathed her last as her soul departed.
AN: Just a creative take on why Jasper was heading to Galveston when he ran into Maria. This story starts out slow and shows more about Lydia's past and the unfortunate circumstances she was left in when her mother died and father went "missing." Criticism and feedback are more than welcome. If you have something you want to say, don't hesitate to do so.
Enjoy :)