Tristan
Title: Tristan
Summary: "I know you wanted to name the baby Trista, after your mom if it was a girl. But since he's a boy I thought Tristan would be okay."
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Warnings: Not telling!
Pairings: LeShawna/Duncan and Gwen/Harold
Winter-Rae: I was watching Lost and decided to try my hand at this. Enjoy.
Tristan
LeShawna looked at her reflection in her bathroom mirror and sighed.
'Girl, you need to get more sleep.'
She ran her hands through her hair and quickly put it up into a ponytail. Considering that she only slept four hours last night she looked like she got a decent nice sleep.
Ever since she had gotten pregnant she had been having trouble sleeping. The baby was very active in the night and seemed to sleep all day. Her doctor told her it was because that with her walking around on her feet all day it mimicked rocking the baby, so it slept. But in the night when she stopped moving and tried to sleep, the baby woke up and decided it was play time.
LeShawna smiled at the thought. The baby wasn't even born yet and already had an idea of what it was like to play.
She opened the vanity mirror and grabbed her toothpaste and toothbrush. She added them to the other items in her overnight bag and then returned to the bedroom. She was going to be driving out to Sudbury today and staying there for the next few days. The visit had duel purposes; the first being she had a course to take and the second being she was going to be able to visit Gwen and Harold.
She tossed the overnight bag into her larger suitcase and clicked off the TV, tired of hearing the noise. She didn't know why it was always left on.
'Probably just a habit,' she thought to herself. She had been looking forward to this trip for some time. It would be nice to see her two best friends again. The course, which was something required for work, wasn't a huge deal to her. She could have taken it anytime but this worked out since both Gwen and Harold had time off.
After zipping up her bag she walked over to her dresser where she kept her lip gloss. After selecting one she started to apply it. However a jolt of pain ran through her. LeShawna steadied herself but as it passed she ignored it and set to her first actions.
When another jolt, this one longer, started she gasped. Something was wrong, she was sure of it. She quickly went to her nightstand table and grabbed up her phone.
"Ah!" she moaned in pain. She tried to breathe through it and stay calm but something in the back of her mind kept saying to her that this wasn't right.
"Emergency services," a man's voice said over the phone. LeShawna gasped in pain again.
"I need an ambulance," she said, her voice quivering.
"What seems to be the problem ma'am?"
"I'm pregnant," she explained, "And I think something's wrong."
She dropped the phone and cried out in pain.
Duncan hurried down the street, dodging out of people's way. Why was it so damn crowded here? He hated crowded areas; he supposed it came from being in juvie for so long. There were never a lot of people in those places, at least in the ones he had been too. The only reason they lived in the city was that LeShawna had been from one and she preferred it.
'The things I do,' he thought to himself, 'Now where is that damn toy store?'
He looked across the street and grinned when he saw it. He hurried across and burst inside. He then started to look up and down the toy shelves, trying to find the desired item. Not having much luck he was about to leave.
"Can I help you?" the clerk asked him, "Is there something specific you're looking for?"
Duncan nodded.
"Yeah, a stuffed teddy bear," he said, "I swear you've got all animals except bears. Weren't teddy bears the first stuffed animal?"
The clerk grinned but humoured him. He could probably tell that Duncan was in a hurry to be someplace.
"Right this way," he said. He walked down another aisle with Duncan close behind him. He shuffled through some of the stuffed toys until he found a white averaged sized bear. Duncan grinned.
"Perfect," he said, "I'll take it."
The clerk brought it back to the register.
"You want it gift wrapped?"
"No, I have to get it to the hospital," Duncan replied as he went through his back pockets and pulled out his wallet.
"Maternity ward?" the clerk asked as Duncan handed him the money. Duncan smiled slightly.
"Yeah."
"Why didn't you say so!" the clerk said, "You must be pretty happy about that. Boy or girl?"
"I don't know yet."
"Don't worry about it," the clerk said, "Kids are great and everyone loves teddy bears."
Duncan was about to reply when his cell phone started to go off. The clerk arched an eyebrow as he answered it.
"Hello? Yeah, yeah I'm on my way."
'Must be a first timer,' the clerk thought.
"I'm on my way!" Duncan said again impatiently. He grabbed the bear, waved to the clerk and started to leave the store.
"Good luck," the clerk called out.
When the ambulance LeShawna was in finally arrived at the hospital she was still in a lot of pain. She was trying to breathe through it but it wasn't easy. They helped her into a wheelchair and wheeled her into the hospital.
"Everything's going to be okay," one of the nurses assured her, "We're going to get you into a gown and take you to your room.
"Okay," Leshawna said.
Once she was in her room the pain had started to increase. She gasped and cried out again. The nurse had been removing her jewellery and placing it in a bag. When she went for her wedding ring LeShawna jerked her hand away.
"Stop," she said, "What are you doing!"
"We have to remove the jewellery because of the swelling," the nurse said, "I'll leave it right on your bedside table, I promise."
"No, not my wedding ring," LeShawna said, "Please!"
"Nothing will happen to it."
LeShawna forced back her tears and nodded. The doctor on call entered the room.
"Mrs. Knight," he said, "I'm Dr. Stone, I'm on duty for Dr. Pond."
This wasn't her usual doctor.
"Where is he then?" she asked, "What's happening to me and my baby?"
"He's away at a conference."
"Gah!" LeShawna cried out as another contraction started.
"Give her something for the pain," Dr. Stone instructed. The nurse nodded and injected a clear liquid into LeShawna's IV. The doctor then placed his hands on LeShawna's stomach to feel for the baby. He looked up at her.
"Something's wrong isn't it?" she asked as more tears started to fill her eyes.
"Mrs. Knight, the baby is in distress, we have to quickly do some tests to see the proper course of action to take."
"Do whatever you have to do," LeShawna replied, breathing heavily, the medication was starting to take effect and it was making her drowsy, "Just make sure my baby is alright. I can't lose him."
"Is there anyone we should contact?" he asked, "Your husband, your parents?"
LeShawna smiled and nodded.
"Just get Duncan...my husband."
The doctor looked at the nurse who nodded and left the room.
"We'll try to reach him," he promised her.
"Just get my husband," she repeated, her eyes were closed how.
"I'm sure he'll be here soon."
"Duncan."
Duncan ran out onto the side walk and started to flag a taxi.
"Hey! Taxi!"
The yellow vehicle pulled over and he quickly ran towards it. As he opened the door and tossed the stuffed bear inside his phone started to ring again.
"Damn it!"
He answered it.
"I'm on my way," he said, stepping aside for a moment since he couldn't hear who was on the other end very well. Someone bumped into him and he dropped his phone into the street.
"Hey!" he snapped at the guy, "What's your problem."
The guy ignored him and kept on walking. Duncan flipped him off and went to grab up his phone. However, just before he got to it a car ran it over, almost hitting him.
"Oh you have got to be kidding me!" he yelled as he looked at the crushed phone. As he turned he saw that his cab was taking off. The guy who had bumped him and made him drop his phone was now stealing his cab.
"Hey!" he yelled as he ran after it, "Stop! Damn it, I just can't catch a break today!"
The cab pulled away leaving him feeling very annoyed and frustrated, he looked at his watch.
"Crap!"
He ran back to the toy store and back to the shelf that had the teddy bear. He wanted another one just like it, however there were none to be found.
He ran to the clerk.
"I need another bear," he said, "Some douchebag stole my cab after I put the bear inside!"
"Sorry, that was the last one."
Duncan sighed, feeling defeated. Something caught his eye over the shoulder of the man. Another white teddy bear, like the one he had bought before.
"What about that one?" he said pointing to it. The clerk sighed.
"Someone already bought that one; I'm holding it until they pick it up."
Duncan pulled out his wallet.
"How much do you want for it?" he asked.
"It's already paid for."
Duncan slapped two hundred dollars on the counter.
"I need that bear," he said. The clerk frowned. He picked up the bear and handed it to a very annoyed Duncan.
"Alright fine, just don't go losing this one," he said. Duncan growled under his breath and jerked the bear out of his hands.
'Stupid bear,' he thought to himself, 'She better appreciate this.'
LeShawna cried out in pain. The contractions had been getting worse and worse in the past couple hours. She was hoping that this would be over soon; the pain was almost too much for her. Dr. Stone on the other hand had other ideas.
"I have to do a C-section," he told her firmly.
"No!"
"You don't understand the medication we gave you for the pain will make giving birth naturally very difficult."
"You should have thought of that before then," she snapped, "We can't do anything without Duncan here!"
"We've got to do the surgery!"
"Where's my husband?" Leshawna cried out, tears rolling down her face.
"He's not here yet, we can't wait for him."
LeShawna looked past the doctor as she thought she saw Duncan standing in the doorway. However she was mistaken, it was another man with black hair who quickly moved aside. Leshawna felt so exhausted and hurt she wasn't sure what to do.
'Where are you?' she thought to herself, 'I need you with me now.'
"Dr. Stone," the nurse said suddenly, she had been checking on LeShawna, "The baby is crowning."
Dr. Stone was in shock, how was this happening? Not two minutes ago he was going to bring in LeShawna for a C-section, and now the baby was ready to be born on its own? She was either the luckiest woman alive or something else was going on.
LeShawna all of a sudden felt calmer, like she knew everything was going to work out and that Duncan would be here.
"Okay, LeShawna," Dr. Stone said, "You need to push now."
LeShawna did as she was told. It hurt like hell and she was sure not many women could scream like she did but somehow screaming made it easier.
"That's it," the nurse encouraged her, "Push, push!"
"You can do it LeShawna!"
She gave one final push and as the cries of her baby filled her ears she fell back against the bed, feeling relieved and very tired.
"You did it," the doctor said as he handed her the little one, "You have a son."
LeShawna looked at the little boy and smiled at him, tears of joy rolling down her face.
"Hey Baby Boy," she said to him. He had a head full of black hair and blue eyes, he had similar complexion to her only slightly lighter. One could tell that his father was white.
"What a sweet thing you are," she said. The baby cooed, and then reached up and touched her face.
Duncan, carrying the teddy bear, burst through the hospital doors. He was so late. He ran to the front desk.
"Maternity ward, room 176!" he said to the girl. She smiled.
"Through those doors at the end of the hall," she said. He nodded his thanks and quickly took off.
'She's gonna kill me,' he thought to himself. He saw a man in a suit standing outside of room 176.
"Hello," he greeted, "I'm Duncan Knight. I represent the Dawson, Miller and O'Keefe Law Firm."
"Yes?" the man said, waiting for him to get on with it.
"We heard that Mr. Shepard is a grandfather; so Mrs. Dawson, my boss, asked me to bring this gift," he held up the bear as he spoke. The man, a bodyguard of the well off new grandfather inside arched an eyebrow. He had been seeing these young lawyers from other firms trying to suck up to Mr. Shepard plenty of times but this kid seemed different. He was giving the credit to others.
"Wait here," he said, "I'll go and see if he wants to see you."
Duncan nodded but stopped the man for a moment.
"Oh wait a minute, is it a boy or a girl?"
"A girl."
As the man went into the room Duncan reached into his pocket and pulled out the two ribbons he had grabbed at a different gift store; one blue and the other pink. He quickly took the pink one and tied it around the bear's neck like a bow, then waited. Mr. Shepard left the room and nodded to him.
"Hello," he said.
"Mr. Shepard, my boss asked me to bring this, she said that she's looking forward to meeting with you and discussing the merger of the firms. So, congratulations."
Duncan handed him the bear. Mr. Shepard grinned.
"Thank her for me and tell her that I'll call."
Duncan nodded. He then watched as Mr. Shepard brought the bear over to his grandchild and made it do a little dance for her. Duncan grinned.
He left the ward feeling pretty proud of himself and exhausted. He walked past the girl who had been sitting at the front desk.
"Leaving so soon?" she asked him.
"Oh yeah, well it wasn't my baby," Duncan explained. She smiled.
"Well, maybe someday right?"
Duncan nodded.
"Yeah maybe, I pretty much have the best girl around," he said, "But don't rush me; we've only been married about two months."
He waved and left the hospital.
About a week later LeShawna was out of the hospital. She and the baby were healthy and fine now. The swelling in her body had gown down too, now she was putting her wedding ring back on. She looked at it for a moment and smiled.
"Much better," she mused. She then looked at herself in the mirror and adjusted her black dress. The doorbell rang and she quickly went to answer it. Standing there was Gwen and Harold. They smiled at her.
"Hey LeShawna," Gwen said, hugging her friend, "How are you?"
"Good."
"Hey beautiful," Harold greeted, hugging her as well. The couple were also dressed up in a suit and dress. LeShawna invited them in.
"I can't believe you guys came," she said, "You didn't have to."
"You kidding?" Harold said, "Of course we did, we know how important this was to you."
"Is anyone else coming?" Gwen asked. LeShawna shook her head.
"No, just us."
Gwen nodded, frowning slightly.
"So where is he?" Harold asked. LeShawna smiled.
She led them to the nursery where her baby was resting in his crib. He was awake and looking around, cooing to himself quietly.
"Oh wow," Harold mused, "He's awesome."
"Thanks."
LeShawna picked up the baby and kissed his head.
"So, which one wants to hold him first?"
"I do," Gwen said. LeShawna handed her son to her best friend. Gwen looked at the little one in amazement.
"He looks just like Duncan, aside from the dark skin of course."
LeShawna smiled and bit her lip.
"Yeah, aside from that."
Gwen handed the baby back to LeShawna.
"So, I guess we should go and see him," she said. LeShawna nodded.
"Right."
The three stepped out of the car and started to walk through the graveyard. Gwen held onto Harold's hand as she walked beside LeShawna. She always knew LeShawna was strong but in this moment she knew just how strong. She was a single mother now, raising the baby of the one man she truly loved.
Losing Duncan had hit all of them hard. He had completely turned his life around after he and LeShawna got together. He finished his sentence in juvie, finished high school, went to university and became a lawyer. He mostly worked young teen's cases, hoping he could help a few of them as well. He loved his job and was really good at it too.
He had been waiting in line at a fast food place when a fight broke out between the two guys in front of him. Duncan had stepped in and tried to break it up, until one of them pulled out a knife. Duncan had been stabbed and died before they could get him to the hospital.
LeShawna, who had been waiting in the car for him, saw one of the guys run out and heard the sirens in the distance. Being a nurse she assumed something was wrong and had run into the place to see if she could help. What she wasn't expecting was to see her husband bleeding out on the floor.
"You okay?" Gwen asked her. LeShawna nodded. The couple paused as they came to the place where Duncan's grace was. They let LeShawna go on ahead, not wanting to interfere.
LeShawna shifted the baby in her arms and knelt in front of the gravestone. She reached out and ran her fingers along the name; Duncan Oliver Knight. He was only 26 when he had been taken from her.
"Duncan," she said, feeling the pain in her heart raise as she spoke, "I promised I'd come to see you when I had our baby. Here he is, our Baby Boy."
She looked up at Gwen and Harold who gave her small smiles, encouraging her to go on.
"His name is Tristan; Tristan Duncan Knight," she went on, "I know you wanted to name the baby Trista, after your mom, if it was a girl. But since he's a boy I thought Tristan would be okay."
LeShawna felt tears roll down her cheeks. She hugged Tristan and kissed the top of his head. The baby, who was asleep, sighed and snuggled closer to his mother's chest.
"Duncan, he's so beautiful," she went on, "He has your eyes."
She sobbed.
"The delivery was hard for me, so I know he's your kid for sure," she said with a smile, "The doctor said I kept asking and calling out for you."
She tried to stop her sobbing.
"But why wouldn't I right? You were always there for me when I needed you."
She paused.
"You were there, weren't you? I felt you there. When it got to be too hard I felt someone there with me, giving me strength."
LeShawna wiped her tears away.
"I miss you so much," she sobbed, "And I love you, more than anything. But we'll be okay. Tristan and I, we'll be okay. But if you want to come around and check on us every now and then, that would be okay too."
She stood to her feet.
"I'll see you again Duncan, one day."
Winter-Rae: Give me a minute...*Sobs loudly* Okay, I'm good. For those who didn't get what I did here. All of Duncan's scenes were flashbacks, while LeShawna's were all current. I know, I'm horrible right? Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this, thanks for reading. Cheers.