Author's Note: I'm back with another chapter! I hope you all enjoy this one as much as you've enjoyed the previous ones, and as always please let me know what you thought at the end! x
Anna released a deep sigh as she traced the rim of her teacup with her thumb when she was sat on the settee on her first night in London a little over a fortnight later, the anxiousness that she was feeling clear in her eyes as she chewed on her lower lip. She and John would be going to the surgery on Harley Street in the morning so that doctor Ryder could examine her and reveal whether or not she was in fact infertile, and she couldn't remember the last time she had felt so scared. Thinking she was infertile was one thing but knowing it was another.
She knew that - even if it turned out that she was incapable of having children - she would still have Adelaide and that served as such a comfort to her, but even so she still longed to know how it felt to have the child that she and John created kick from inside of her. As she leaned back against one of the cushions on the settee she placed her hand on her flat belly through her nightgown and brushed her thumb against where her unborn baby lay. She knew that there was a chance that she would miscarry, but she was trying not to think about it.
It was a short time later when she felt a presence in the room with her and looked up from her teacup, a small smile forming on her lips as her gaze fell on her husband and she saw him stood in the doorway as he leaned against the doorjamb. 'Can't sleep?' He asked as he entered the room, Anna shaking her head in response while she watched him approach her.
He lowered himself down into the empty space beside her on the settee once he had reached her, allowing his arm to wrap around her waist before he pulled her close and she rested her head on his shoulder on instinct. 'I'm so scared about tomorrow.' She told him after a couple of silent moments had passed. 'If it turns out that I'm infertile then I'm never going to be able to give you a child and I'm going to end up losing this one.' She gave her belly a stroke. 'I'm just going to be sat around...waiting to miscarry.' John sighed at hearing her voice break.
'I know you're worried, darling.' He said against her hairline after placing a kiss on it when he turned his head in her direction. 'I am too, but like you said a couple of weeks ago: until you and I know for certain that you're infertile, we have to stay positive and keep thinking about what our lives are going to be like when our baby is born.' Anna shifted in his hold to meet his gaze. 'I don't know what the doctor is going to find out tomorrow,' He caressed her cheek with the back of his hand, 'but what I do know is that sitting here all night thinking about the worst outcome isn't going to help you feel better.' Anna nodded, leaning against his side.
He left a kiss on her brow while stroking her back. 'Are you going to come back to bed?'
'Yes.' She replied. 'Just let me go and get rid of this.'
He watched her leave the settee with her cup of tea before she walked out of the room and he got up to do the same, switching off the light as he did so. She met him at the foot of the stairs after tipping her tea down the sink and rinsing the cup, a tired smile on her lips as she slipped her hand into his. 'Come on, you.' He squeezed her hand. 'You look exhausted.'
He began to ascend the stairs again then, Anna slipping her fingers through the gaps in his own as he guided her up them and down the dimly lit landing which led to their bedroom.
'It's no mystery, Mrs. Bates,' Doctor Ryder cleared his throat as he clasped his hands atop his desk when he was sat opposite the two of them in his surgery following her examination the next day, 'You suffer from cervical incompetence, meaning that the neck of your womb is weak and as the foetus reaches three months or so it becomes too heavy to be supported.'
'So it's not unusual?' Anna asked as she held Adelaide in her lap.
The doctor shook his head. 'It's bad luck, but not unusual.'
'And you can treat it?' John spoke up, the hope evident in his voice.
'Certainly.' Doctor Ryder smiled. 'The procedure is called cervical cerclage.'
'Go on.' Anna pressed gently.
The doctor turned back to her. 'I would insert a stitch, a large one, in the neck of the womb.'
'Is - is it painful?' She inquired.
'It's more uncomfortable than it is painful.' He admitted. 'It's quite quick, though.'
'But it works?' John raised his brow.
'I'm afraid I can't make a blanket promise.' Doctor Ryder said. 'It works in many cases.'
Anna ran her fingers through Adelaide's hair as she snuggled up to her. 'And when would you do it?' She asked him after ensuring that her daughter was comfortable in her embrace.
'At around twelve weeks.' He told her. 'I'd normally come to your house and perform it there; then you'll be able to focus on resting without having to worry about the nuisance of travel.'
'I wouldn't go to hospital?' The relief was evident in her voice.
'Oh, no, it's not worth it.' He shook his head.
Anna turned her head in her husband's direction before offering him a smile of joy, her heart swelling with love for him when he took her hand and ran his thumb across her knuckles. He turned back to doctor Ryder a few moments later, however, with a slight crease between his brows. 'She's almost ten weeks pregnant now, so would it be possible for us to set a date for her procedure today?' He inquired, doctor Ryder humming in response as he nodded at him.
The doctor turned on his chair for a moment before reaching for his calendar, Anna and John waiting in silence for a time while they waited for him to check it. 'I would be able to do the procedure on the second of October if that works for you both.' He said, looking up at them.
'I don't think we have anything planned for that week, do we?' Anna asked her husband.
John shook his head. 'No, we don't, and I can ask His Lordship for a few days off so that I can look after Adelaide for you while you're resting.' The two of them shared a smile before turning back to fact the doctor. 'The second of October will be fine.' John reassured him.
'Splendid.' Doctor Ryder replied before making a note of it. 'Now, I think we're done here. I will telephone a few days in advance so that you both have some time to prepare, but in the meantime I'd like you to rest as much as possible, Mrs. Bates, for an hour at least each day.'
Anna nodded with a smile as she and John stood and she balanced Adelaide on her hip, her daughter lacing her arms around her neck when she lay her head on her shoulder. 'Thank you for seeing me, doctor.' She said while she ran her hand along the length of Adelaide's back.
'It's no problem, Mrs. Bates. I wish you all the best.' He smiled.
Anna and John nodded at him before John opened the door to his surgery and permitted his wife to leave the room first, a smile of pure happiness gracing Anna's features as she turned to face him once he had closed the door behind them. 'I can't believe it.' Tears sparkled in her eyes as she shook her head in disbelief, causing John to chuckle as he took a step closer to her and rested his hand on her waist through her coat before kissing her on the hairline.
'Believe, my darling.' He told her. 'Believe.'
Anna couldn't remove the smile from her lips when she was laying in bed beside her little girl that night and she had an arm around Adelaide's middle, her gaze fixed on her belly as she watched her daughter run the palm of her hand across it through the covers. When John had told her that he thought they should tell Adelaide about the baby once they had gotten back to the cottage after her appointment she had been hesitant, explaining to him that she thought that their little girl was a bit too young to understand. Oh, how wrong she had been.
Ever since the two of them had explained to her - in the easiest way possible - that Anna had a baby growing in her belly she had hardly left her mother's side. When Anna had been sat on the settee with a cup of tea after dinner, Adelaide had sat down next to her and ran her hand over the flatness of her stomach. She understood - despite the fact that she was only three years old - that she needed to be more careful around her mother now and that made both Anna and John prouder than they could put into words. She really was a wonder.
The sound of the bedroom door creaking open prompted her to come out of her thoughts, her lips curving up into a smile as she looked up from her stomach and watched John enter the room. 'Baby, Daddy, baby.' She focused her attention on Adelaide when she felt her pat her on the stomach, a surge of love for her coursing through her veins as she stroked her hair.
'Where is the baby, darling?' John asked as he approached the bed before lowering himself down onto the edge of it and sharing a smile with his wife, revelling in her natural beauty.
'Mummy's tummy.' Adelaide told him when she looked up into his eyes.
'That's right.' He reached out to cup her cheek in his palm and her beautiful green eyes fell closed as he smoothed his thumb across her skin. 'My clever girl.' He tucked one of her curls back behind her ear before her eyes opened again and he was able to see just how worn out she was. 'I think it's time for you to go to sleep, darling, you're so tired.' Right on cue, as though she were proving his point, his little girl yawned and cause he and Anna to chuckle.
He watched his little girl lie down beside her mother a few moments later and smiled when Anna covered her with the quilt and pulled her close. She was born to be a mother, that was something that he was certain of. Once Adelaide had settled in her mother's arms and he was positive that she was comfortable he leaned down to kiss his wife's lips, sighing against her as she rested her free hand on his cheek. 'I love you.' She whispered when they parted.
'I love you too, sweetheart.' He reassured her before resting his hand on her stomach through the quilt. 'You and both of our beautiful children.' The two of them exchanged a smile then before she watched him stand, her gaze following him as he walked around to his own side of the bed before he drew back the quilt and climbed onto the mattress beside their daughter.
It didn't take long for him to get comfortable and once he had rested his head on his pillow Anna turned out the lamp that was sat atop her nightstand, a quiet yawn escaping her when she snuggled further beneath the quilt and wrapped both her arms around Adelaide's frame. 'We should take Addie to the beach while we're here.' She told her husband as she held their little girl close and could feel her warm breath beating against her neck while she held her. 'It's not too cold at the moment and I'm sure she'd like it.' John blessed her with a smile.
'We can talk about that in the morning.' His hand found her hip beneath the sheets. 'Right now, I want you to close your eyes and get some rest. You're going to be so exhausted in the morning if you don't.' He heard Anna hum in response before she let out a contented sigh. 'I love you; you know that, don't you?' He asked her, brushing his thumb against her hip bone.
'Of course I do.' She whispered. 'I love you too, my darling.'
He felt her cover his hand with hers on her hip then before the two of them began to settle down together, the sound of Adelaide's steady breathing sending the two of them off into a peaceful slumber.
Author's Note: Thank you all so much for reading this chapter, I hope you enjoyed it and please review. I'll see you all next time! :-)