A/N: This one goes back to the young, married AU from Restless and Haze. No warnings here, although it mentions a bit about what happened. This is more of the emotional aftermath; so if you are feeling vulnerable, skip this.
It has been exactly one year since they lost their child. He remembered every detail of that day.
By the time Dr. Clarkson arrived there was nothing he could do but make sure that Elsie was not bleeding out more than she should. After examining her, it was determined that the process was complete and that she should clean up and get bed rest for at least a week. The trauma from her fall was the reason for it but Dr. Clarkson was certain that if they wanted to try again, she would be able to carry the child with no difficulty.
Charles regained his composure enough to lift his wife from the ground and carry her to the bathroom where he prepared a bath for her. She did not move much, just a little here and there when Charles was bathing under her arms or legs. She had stopped crying but was not talking; just a stoic body with a pulse, staring holes into the walls.
He washed her with such gentleness and care, draining out the red tinged water and refilling the tub with fresh warmth. He untangled her hair, careful not to pull on the knots and filled a bucket with bathwater. Creating a waterfall he doused her hair, not letting any get in her eyes. He scrubbed every inch that was stained with blood and replaced it with the soft lavender scent of the soap. He wanted to get rid of any indication, any trigger, of what she went through.
Done with the bath he empties the tub and lifts her up to sit her on the chair he pulled from the corner of the room. Using the softest towels they owned, he dried her off lightly but quickly to prevent the cold October air from chilling her. He plaited her hair the best he could using his own observations of her nearly every night. Charles went their bedroom to look for a warm nighty and dressing gown. He almost left the room before grabbing the blanket from the end of the bed.
He found her as he left her, slightly slouched in the chair and staring out the window. Without saying a word he dressed her, wrapped her in the blanket and once again lifted her into his arms and brought her to bed.
Dr. Clarkson, feeling absolutely guilty and sorrowful, took it upon himself to clean the remnants of her pregnancy so neither would have to do it. It was bad enough that they had to watch their future disappear; they shouldn't have to relive the whole ordeal by cleaning. After he was done he wrote a quick note to Charles and left it on the dining table, not wanting to disturb their grieving process, and left.
The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent crying into each other's arms, short naps and awful nightmares. They were utterly exhausted.
He finds her now in the same place as that night, taking a nap on their bed. He crawls on top to her sleeping body and places a tender kiss in her hair. She stirs, as he hoped she would, and smiles; the first thing she sees is his beautiful face.
"How long have I been sleeping?" she asks, rubbing the sleepiness from her eyes.
"Just for a bit. I hope you have a bit of your energy back."
She sits up as she speaks, "If I were to be honest, I feel the same as when I went down."
He puts his hand on top of hers and the action causes her to look at him with worry. "Is something the matter?"
"I wanted…I…I got you something." His nerves are evident and her interest is peaking. She just raises her eyebrows in response.
He reveals the small black box from behind his back and gives it to her. She gives him a quick look before opening it to discover a simple silver necklace with small, round pendant. Engraved on the pendant was the intricate Celtic symbol for motherhood, with one dot in the first loop. A tear falls from her eye and joins the pendant, magnifying the dot.
"It's our child's first birthday," he says somberly, hoping that his gift is not upsetting her.
"It's… gorgeous Charles." She's breathing heavy as she tries to say words before she breaks down completely. "It is absolutely magnificent." She lets her emotions go and weeps, Charles' arms instantly swoops her. They weep together over what could have been but also because of the joy and love that they share with each other and how lucky they truly are.
"We will be just fine love. I think we'll be just fine."
A/N: The symbol is really pretty and if you want to see it you can Google "Celtic symbol for motherhood." You add a dot in the symbol for each child that you have. So as you're popping them out, you add dots haha.