So this chapter's a little short, but I wanted to give it to you quicker considering the horrific cliffhanger at the end of the last chapter lol.
Enjoy, and reviews please! :D
"How's she doing?" Martha asked, locating Gwen outside the door of the operating room.
"I'm not sure. I haven't heard anything yet, but maybe that's a good thing." Gwen glanced at the door uneasily.
"Do you think it'd be alright if I went in to see what I can do?" Martha asked. "I am a doctor."
"Go right ahead. Dr. Hughes—my friend—is pretty open-minded about that sort of thing."
Martha hadn't been gone two seconds before Jack and Jenny skittered around the corner. Jenny's veil had disappeared somewhere along the way, and Jack's bowtie was askew, but they didn't even seem to notice.
Gwen rolled her eyes. "I think the operation room's reached maximum occupation already," she told them, crossing her arms and barring the entrance.
"Oh we didn't plan on going in," Jenny said quickly.
"Yeah, I was there when Jenna was born, and I am NOT witnessing anything like that again," Jack contributed.
"My husband the pansy," Jenny teased, jabbing him.
"Hey! I can handle blood, broken bones, dismembered and mutilated body parts…but childbirth is on a whole different level." Jack shivered.
"Wimp."
"I think I'm starting to realize why there are so many unhappy marriages."
"Well then, I guess we'll just call off the wedding night."
"Did I say 'unhappy' marriages? I meant 'happy'. Completely blissful, actually."
"And don't you forget it." Jenny grabbed the undone corner of Jack's bowtie and pulled him down for a kiss.
"Oi, save it for later! Don't forget you two are in a hospital," Gwen interrupted as three nurses walked by, all casting curious and slightly amused glances at the lip-locked pair.
"Just be glad you got the toned-down version," Jack said, waggling his eyebrows. Gwen shook her head.
If there was one fortunate thing about cesareans, it was that the actual delivery took a relatively short time to perform. No more than three minutes later, Martha reappeared, wearing surgical scrubs and a beaming smile. In her arms was a blue-swathed bundle, a tuft of honey-brown hair that was almost ginger just visible above the blanket.
Gwen, Jack, and Jenny immediately fell silent, their eyes drawn to the infant. Slowly they approached him, gazing at his minute face in awe. His eyes—Time Lord eyes, as they were already attempting to focus on his onlookers—were still deep blue, and his lips puckered in the same way as his mother's and older sister's.
"He's so gorgeous," Jenny breathed, reaching out to touch his velvety skin. "Hallo there, little brother."
"Nice to finally make your acquaintance, August Pond," Jack said with an exaggerated dip of his head.
"How's Amy?" Gwen asked curiously.
Martha's face fell. "Not quite as good as this little fellow, I'm sorry to say. She's bleeding excessively, even now as they're closing the incisions. They've sent for a pack of her blood type. Thankfully it's not rare."
"But she's going to pull through, right?" Jenny said concernedly.
"It's hard to say for sure, but I think she will. She's no quitter, after all." Martha tried to put on an encouraging smile, but the corners of her mouth weren't up to it.
"How is the Doctor taking it?" Jack questioned.
"Good, considering. Though I can tell that, deep down, he's afraid things are going to take a turn for the worse. She is stable for the most part, however. They're preparing to move her to a room now." Martha looked at Jenny, taking note of the longing in her eyes. "Would you like to hold him?" She asked.
"Oh can I?" Jenny said excitedly.
Martha nodded and handed the infant to her, and she took him as if he was made of glass. He seemed to like her, or maybe he somehow figured out they were related from the two hearts beating against him, for he soon drifted off, sighing contentedly. The adorableness was almost too much to handle.
"Here, Jack. Why don't you hold him for a bit?" Jenny said.
"But…but he's so tiny."
"So was Ian, and Jenna. I know you won't hurt him." Ignoring Jack's protests, Jenny just about shoved August into his arms. Inevitably, the ages-old alien hunter's face softened, and he found himself, to his own dismay, speaking to him in baby talk.
So wrapped up were they in the new arrival that no one noticed the cold, merciless black eyes peering calculatingly around the corner from the adjacent corridor. By the time Gwen sensed it and looked up, the owner of the eyes had disappeared.
The Doctor couldn't tear his eyes away from his slumbering son. August fit in his arms so perfectly, and although he was a little bigger than Ian and Jenna had been, he wasn't heavy at all. It amazed the Doctor that, even after three children, the wonder of being a father still hadn't worn off. In fact, it felt like a new experience every time, and he loved seeing what traits from him and Amy would be combined each time a child was born to them. It was never a disappointment.
Reminded of his wife, the Doctor looked up at the figure lying unconscious in the hospital bed across from the cheap sofa he was sitting on. A transfusion bag of ruby-red blood hung on a hook by the bed, a tube feeding it by catheter into Amy's arm. Her head, which was cushioned by a pillow and surrounded by a halo of red hair, was turned in his direction. Her eyes were still closed, and despite the paleness of her skin there was a pleasant, untroubled expression on her face, her hands clasped loosely on her chest. For a moment the Doctor was put in mind of a damsel from a romantic piece of literature, perhaps the Lily Maid, Elaine. He and Amy had, coincidentally, visited John William Waterhouse in 1888 just before the creation of his famous painting the Lady of Shalott, and they'd found it quite amusing that he'd decided to go with red for the Lady's hair afterward. Up until that point he'd been dead set on painting her with blonde locks.
The Doctor rose from the sofa with August still in one arm and went over to her, stroking her cheek as if to make sure she wasn't an illusion. His fingertip grazed over her lips, which were soft and tantalizingly pink, and her eyes fluttered open. While he waited for them to focus, he sat on the edge of the bed and slipped his hand into hers, his thumb rubbing circles into her palm.
The first words out of Amy's mouth were, "I ruined the wedding, didn't I?"
"Of course not! I daresay you improved it. Everyone was worried about August being late, and I'm sure Jenny's thrilled he chose her wedding day for his birthday," the Doctor answered, his eyes crinkling as he smiled.
Amy grinned, and her eyes settled on her son. Her arms automatically reached out for him. Careful not to disturb the catheter strapped to her arm, the Doctor gave him to her, tucking his blanket tighter around his small body.
"I think it's a tie this time, Doctor. I can't figure out who he looks like more," Amy said with a laugh as August's eyes opened and gazed at her sleepily.
"A tie indeed." The Doctor chuckled. "Didn't I tell you he was going to be perfect?"
"You may have mentioned it at some point," Amy said vaguely. Her smile faltered. "Though we still could have lost him."
"But we didn't, thanks to Martha."
"And no thanks to the dolt of a Time Lord who doesn't listen to the instincts of a mother."
"Oi! At least I got you here on time."
"Actually, I believe Gwen was driving."
"Don't I get any credit?"
"Maybe. You did carry me."
"Thank you."
"Although Rhys or Jack could have done that."
"I beg your pardon—"
"Sshh, I wasn't finished. They could have done that, but you and only you stayed with me through it all. And only you can talk to me in my head, which did dull the pain somewhat." Amy's eyes sparkled with gratitude. "Thank you for that."
"Don't mention it." Unable to resist the call of her enticing lips any longer, the Doctor leaned down and claimed them, savoring every second of a kiss he knew was a gift. In a moment like this, it was easy to forget about close shaves and threats, about the dangers lurking nearby and across the universe. But it was also moments like this that made it all worth it.