Unexpected Help
"RAMON!" When Jacqueline finally got over the initial shock of seeing one of her dearest friends for the first time since she awoke on the ship all those days ago, she smiled and welcomed him in. "When did you get here? Why are you here? How are Siroc and Duval? How-"
"Woah, woah, woah. Give the man a break. He's only been sea sick for the last fortnight." A blond-haired man entered and put his hand on the Spaniard's shoulder. "Siroc! I am so glad to see you both. But how…" Siroc smiled at the beauty in the bed and she suddenly realized that she was no longer in a musketeer's uniform. What would they say when they noticed that she was a woman, that she was pregnant, that she already had two children that would be in any moment. But she needn't have worried. Somehow she had already known that they knew, anyway, but it still came as a slight shock.
"Ah, Jacqueline, as beautiful and sceptical as ever, I see." Siroc continued to smile from his post behind Ramon. Jacqueline let her face smooth. These were her friends. She should have known that she could count on them. "We just anchored an hour ago, actually. We stopped by Gerard's place but nobody was home. We figured this was the next best place to look." "Looks like we were right, mi amigo." Ramon smiled warmly at her from the armchair in which he had seated himself. Siroc moved from his side and walked over to the window. He pulled back the curtain with his pointer finger to reveal the hour of the day. She could tell by the amount of light that suddenly streamed in that it was about noon. She frowned, wondering how long she had been unconscious.
"So, it looks as though you are already prepared for the baby." Ramon stated slowly. She could tell by his face and by the way he spoke – or didn't speak that he was still groggy from the voyage overseas. That's when she remembered that she was going into labour. She quickly ordered the men to go in search of d'Artagnan and a doctor and Siroc, only happy to oblige, rushed out to seek out a helping hand. Ramon, on the other hand, remained where he was. A slow in his breath and the little noises he was making with his mouth told her that he was asleep. Might as well leave him be, she thought to herself. I know how awful those boat rides can be when you're not used to sailing.
D'Artagnan ran in less than two minutes later, Siroc and a grey-haired woman in tow. "Jacqueline." He whispered when he was finally by her side again. He looked over at Ramon and mumbled something about how it was nice to see him again and that he loved him dearly but that he could have done something to help. But he only said it loud enough for Jacqueline to hear and she smiled at him, at how concerned he was about her. That was something else that hadn't changed. She could still count on him to lose his head over anything that went wrong with her. Even when she argued until she was completely worn out that she was fine. He never listened to her then; he was just as stubborn as she was sometimes.
Footsteps could be heard racing towards the room at a great speed. Maquenzie and Gabriel. She smiled. The children entered the room not a moment later, not knowing who to run to first. They greeted Siroc and Ramon excitedly and then rushed over to their parents to describe their excursion into the village with Ashlee and Mickiale, the children down the street. Jacqueline was intent on listening to them but the midwife quietly shushed them and ushered everyone out of the room. Jacqueline saw the worried expression on Maquenzie's face as she heard that she was soon going to be a sister again, and Jacqueline called the little girl towards her. "Maquenzie, my dear." She lowered her voice so that only she could hear what she was about to say next "Do not worry. Just because I will have this baby, it does not mean I will love you any less. It just means that you will have to share my love with another child. You're good at sharing though, aren't you? You share your toys with Ashlee, don't you?" The little girl nodded. "Well, this will be the same, alright? I will never love you or Gabriel any less because I have another child. You will always be my baby, no matter how old you are, no matter how many brothers or sisters you have. Come here." She held open her arms and Maquenzie crept into them, holding her mother tight. "Okay, Maq, its time to go now. Say goodbye to Maman and go with Uncle Siroc and Uncle Ramon down to the park, ok?" He leaned down to whisper into her ear. "The four of you can pick some daises for when Maman wakes up." Maquenzie smiled again and whispered to her Papa, "and some lilies for the baby, too!" Then she rushed out the door, followed by her two uncles and Gabriel.
"Now," d'Artagnan turned to Jacqueline, "let's get this baby out of you." Jacqueline frowned again and he laughed. "Calm down, sweetheart. I didn't mean that to be cruel." "Maybe not," she replied "but I still don't want you to be in here." She saw the hurt on his face and stretched out her hand for him to take. "I just want it to be a surprise this time." She didn't mention the fact that she was too scared about going into labour to have anyone else in the room. She didn't know what it was like to have a child, she couldn't remember anything from the days Gabriel and Maquenzie were born and she feared the worst. That damn d'Artagnan. If he ever gets me pregnant again I'll- a signal from the midwife told her that it was time to push and she hesitatingly obliged. The pain seared through her entire body like a knife carving out her insides. She had never felt anything so painful in her entire life. It was like being shot a hundred times in the same spot. Actually, she thought with a small internal laugh, this was worse than being shot. But the sound that filled the room next was too much of a blessing to continue. At first, it sounded like a tiny laugh, followed by an even smaller wail.
"A laugh," the midwife noted with a grin, "a good sign. A very good sign indeed." Jacqueline smiled and started to get up. "Woah, where do you think you're going, little missy? You still have one more to go." "One more to go?" Jacqueline looked at her incredulously. She couldn't believe that she had just endured all that pain, only to go through it all over again. "Yes, milady, one more to go." Jacqueline groaned and flopped down onto the pillow as the older woman went over to place the screaming child into a crib beneath the window.
D'Artagnan, who had not doubt been listening at the door, had burst in the moment her heard the wails of his newborn child. Jacqueline saw him look up from the baby in the old woman's arms and place his eyes, instead, on his wife across the room. He smiled at the thought of having another child, then frowned at the pain he knew it caused his beloved Jacqueline. But it had been her that suggested having another baby. She must not mind the pain afterwards if she wanted to continue having babies with him. He knew she loved their children as much as he did and figured that she would continue to ignore the suffering she did in order to have more. And this time, more was what she would get. He walked over to her and held her hand, a gesture he had come accustomed to over the last ten years. He knew it comforted her to know that she was not alone and he wanted to make her as comfortable as he could, for as long as he could. He saw the pain that flicked across her beautiful face and wiped away the sweat that formed on her brow each time that she pushed.
It seemed like hours went by when it only could have been about two minutes. The little being's wails were heard at last and d'Artagnan breathed a sigh of relief. He leaned in to kiss Jacqueline and she let him, delighting in her accomplishments. She couldn't believe what she had just done. Not the kissing part, although she still felt shy each time that his lips touched her own. She was proud of herself and dearly wished that her parents could be there to witness such a miracle. Now she knew why her mother and father had loved her and Gerard so much. It was hard not to become attached to some one after going through so much just to give them life. She looked up at d'Artagnan and wondered what she had done to get so lucky. A wonderful husband, four beautiful children, a healthy family. Jacqueline didn't know what to say. D'Artagnan seemed to be having the same trouble. He just starred down at her for so long that she began to feel self-conscious and told him to go over to see what she had had. One boy and one girl, he told her. Just what she had prayed for.
"Now, about names." He said. "I was actually thinking about it and thought that names of my old conquests would not be appropriate for our daughter." He laughed at her expression and continued "I am just kidding, my love. But I still do not think Lucille or Marie to be suitable names for such a beautiful, tiny thing." Jacqueline looked up at him and thought for a moment. "How about Lily? Lily Sarah d'Artagnan." D'Artagnan's face softened and he looked solemn for a moment. "Your mother was as important to you as mine was to me. Maquenzie has my mother's name, Rose, and I think that our new daughter should have yours." Indeed, d'Artagnan remembered signing the birth certificate with the name Maquenzie, as they had agreed upon, and then adding 'Rose' as the middle name whilst Jacqueline was resting. He smiled at the memory and gave Jacqueline his consent in the form for a kiss. "Now, how about our little man over there?" d'Artagnan lifted both of the babies from the cradle and placed little Lily into her mother's arms. He embraced the sleeping boy and held him close, taking in the wonderful scent. He cherished it, for he knew that it would not last long. He had to eat sometime.
"You choose." Jacqueline smiled at the baby she held and then at d'Artagnan and her son in turn. "Alright," he said. "But not Henri. That was a joke. I would never name our child after myself." Jacqueline smirked. So that was his name. Having no recollection of their marriage, she could not have known his name. He had never confided it to her before the carriage ride. That seemed so long ago now. Like a memory from a dream.
D'Artagnan was starring down at the little boy as though he had never seen anything as beautiful in his entire life. She realized that it was how he looked at all of his children; how he looked at her, too. She was suddenly overcome with love for the man who had risked everything, his entire life, for her. He had always been there for her. How could she ever have thought that everything wouldn't turn out fine? Her life was perfect. He was perfect. She looked at him standing there, taking in the sight of his new heir. "How about Noah?" he said at last. "I know how much you like that story." Indeed, it was her favourite bible story. Had she told him about it? She couldn't remember. She felt like crying again. Crying tears of joy at the miracle she had just witnessed, tears of love for the man whom cared so much about her and whom she equally cared for, as well as tears of sadness at the realization that, even after about a week, she still had no memory of her past with her new family. Or with her old, for that matter. How had Gerard survived? That letter had sounded so bad, without any hope at all.
Jacqueline felt herself falling again as she thought this and fought dearly to hold on to consciousness. She was being pulled harder and faster and she felt weak, helpless. There was nothing she could do. She closed her eyes, keeping the picture of d'Artagnan in he mind. Remembering Lily and Noah, Maquenzie and Gabriel, Ramon and Siroc, and her beloved brother, Gerard. She didn't know what was happening, but she did know that there was no way she was going anywhere without her memories. Not this time. She opened her eyes again for one last glimpse of her family before everything fell apart, but she saw nothing. All was black. This is it, she thought this is what death is like. This time I can't fight it. I won't be coming back this time. And once again, Jacqueline gave herself up for dead.
