Rosie and Lee walked off the elevator onto the Maternity Floor. They could hear William yelling at the desk clerk about Elizabeth. Rosie ran over, pulled him towards the waiting room and sent an apologetic look to Cindy, the clerk that had been dealing with the new Grandpa. Grace quickly followed them.
"Rosie, what's going on?" William turned to her. "Why hasn't Beth been admitted yet? Where's Jack? Is something wrong?"
"No sir, nothing's wrong. Elizabeth is down in the ER." Rosie was about to continue but was interrupted.
"The ER? Why is she down there and not in a room up here? Are you sure nothing is wrong?" William frantically asked. He quickly prayed that nothing was wrong with his daughter and granddaughter.
"Mr. and Mrs. Thatcher, there is nothing wrong. The reason Elizabeth is downstairs is because your granddaughter wanted to meet her parents more quickly than any of us thought."
Grace and William looked at each other, confused. "What do you mean, Rosemary?" Grace inquired.
"Elizabeth had only been in labor about three hours when her water broke. Jack called Lee to come drive them to the hospital. I was with Lee so I went along too. While we were in the car, her contractions started coming much closer together and they quickly became unbearable for Elizabeth. We were about two or three blocks from here when Elizabeth said she felt the urge to push. I called ahead to the ER and explained the situation. Based on what Elizabeth was feeling, I knew she would need to be examined in the ER to see how close she was to delivery. It was a good thing I did because Elizabeth was already at ten. If we had tried to bring her up here, she more than likely could have delivered in the elevator. It did take another half hour for your granddaughter to arrive but it was safer that way for both mother and baby."
"Thank goodness!" Grace whispered. "How is the new family doing?"
"They are fine, Mrs. Thatcher. Elizabeth is probably going to be sore for a while but she handled the delivery very well, especially without pain meds. I can tell you your granddaughter is absolutely beautiful. She has Elizabeth's dark hair and blue eyes and Jack's mouth. I think she may even have his dimples."
"I can't wait to see them." William said as he wiped a tear from his eyes. To think he almost missed all this because of his stubborn streak. Now he had a new grandson and granddaughter to love and spoil. Lily's cousin Billy, named of course after his grandfather, was only a little over a month old. He silently thanked God for his health and his wonderful family.
"Elizabeth should be coming up here very soon. Why don't you have a seat in the waiting room and I will keep an eye out for her? I will come back and get you once she is settled in her room."
"Thank you Rosemary." Grace gave her a quick hug. "I am going to call the rest of the family and let them know Lily is here. They are going to be just as shocked as we are. We were expecting to be waiting for hours." She pulled out her cell phone and sat down on a chair. Rosemary waved good bye to her and walked over to the nurse's station.
Grace couldn't decide to call first. She felt Charlotte should be told next but she was driving down from New Hampshire and she didn't want to distract her. Julie was either studying or out someplace with Tom. Grace decided to call her eldest daughter first, since it was early evening in London. She dialed the number and waited.
"Mother?" Viola asked. "We just talked yesterday. Is there anything wrong?"
"No, Dear. I wanted to let you know you are officially an Aunt."
Viola let out a little excited yelp. "Lily's here? How's Beth? May I speak to her?"
"Well, your niece decided to join this world rather quickly. Your sister was only in labor about three to four hours. On the way to the hospital, the contractions speed up and Beth felt like she needed to start pushing. They brought her into the ER and your sister was already at ten. A half hour later, Lily was born. Beth hasn't been brought up to the Maternity floor yet."
"Oh, wow! I thought my labor and delivery was fast at ten hours. Beth must be so tired."
"I'm sure she is." The proud Grandma said. In the background she heard Billy start to cry. "I'll let you go, Viola. Sounds like Billy may be hungry."
"OK, Mom. Tell Elizabeth I will try to call either later today or tomorrow. And tell her I said congratulations" They said their goodbyes and hung up.
Grace was about to call her other daughter when she saw Charlotte step off the elevator. She called her over to the waiting area. "Charlotte, the baby is here already!"
"What? I thought I was going to be pacing the floor here waiting for hours until we got news. What happened? Have you seen the new family yet?"
Grace quickly explained what had happened. "We are still waiting for Beth to be admitted up here." Grace turned to go back to the waiting room. Charlotte followed her.
"Grace, where's William? I thought he would be up here pacing, waiting to see his daughter and granddaughter."
Grace looked around the floor and realized it had been quite some time since she had seen him. "Oh, no! I bet he went down to the ER. He was never one to stay still for long." Grace hoped he wasn't making a nuisance of himself. That was the last thing Beth needed. Grace saw Rosemary and Lee at the nurse's desk and walked over to them. "Rosemary, William seems to have disappeared. I think he may have gone down to the ER."
Rosemary, knowing how William could be, agreed with Grace. "I can call downstairs for you and find out." Rosemary offered.
"How about I go down and look for him?" Lee asked. "I can bring him back up here."
"Would you, Lee? I would very much appreciate that." Grace looked relieved.
"I'm sure Jack and Elizabeth will too." Lee said.
"You're absolutely right." Grace replied with a little smile on her face. 'Thank you, Lee." She watched Lee get on the elevator, then turned back to Rosemary. "That husband of mine can be such a pain." She smiled at Rosemary then returned to the waiting room. Charlotte was on the phone with her other son when she got there.
"Ok, Tom. We will see you both a little later." Charlotte disconnected the call. "Julie is with Tom. They are going to come down a little later. They thought it would be better to wait a while so that Elizabeth can get settled first."
"That's a good idea." Grace commented. "We have too many distractions going on right now."
Down in the ER, William had done exactly what Grace had feared. He wanted to see his little girl, well not so little since she now has a little girl of her own. He wanted to make sure everything was fine with the new family. Not that he didn't believe Rosemary but after his health scare he just wanted to make sure his family was OK. He looked around the department, unsure of where to go. He not been so stubborn about Beth's career choice he would have visited here before. He knew that Elizabeth was the nurse manager for the Emergency Department and he was so proud of her.
Just then a nurse happened to walk by and she noticed the older gentleman seemed a little confused. Something about him looked a little familiar. "Sir, is there something I can help you with?" She asked.
"Um, yes there is." He glanced at her name tag. "Emily, I'm looking for Beth, I'm sorry, Elizabeth Thornton. I'm her father."
Emily smiled at him. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Thatcher and congratulations. I'm one of the nurses who helped Elizabeth during the delivery. She's still in the trauma room waiting for transport to bring her upstairs. I can show you where it is."
"Trauma room? Did something go wrong in the delivery? Are my daughter and granddaughter ok?" His voice got louder as he talked to Emily, his voice making it down to the trauma room and to Jack's ears.
Elizabeth began to drift off while she was still feeding Lily. Jack took his daughter from his wife and put her on his shoulder, burping her before settling down in a chair Emily had brought in for him. He stared at his precious little daughter, amazed that she was finally here and looked so much like her beautiful mother. Every time he looked at Lily, he fell in love all over again. Unfortunately his father/daughter bonding time was interrupted by William's voice. Lily started to whimper as she sensed something wasn't right. Jack stood up and gently bounced her until she quieted down, then put her in her bassinette. He walked out into the hallway to speak to his father-in-law.
William spotted him right away. "Jack! What is going on? Is something wrong with Elizabeth and the baby? Why are you still down here? I want to see….."
Jack had had enough. He sent a look to Emily, who understood what he wanted and walked into the trauma room to be with Elizabeth and Lily. Jack then turned to the new grandfather. "William I have to ask you to please keep it down. Elizabeth and Lily are sleeping and your voice can be heard where they are. Elizabeth needs her rest." William looked angry for a moment then realized Jack was right. He nodded, then allowed Jack to move him towards the nurse's desk, away from the trauma room. "Elizabeth and Lily are fine. Elizabeth is in a little more pain than usual because of the fast delivery and it might take her a bit longer to recover but other than that the birth went smoothly."
"Thank heavens. Rosie told us what happened but for some reason I just felt something was wrong." The elevator door opened and Lee walked out, thankful to see William talking with Jack. "May I see them?" William inquired.
"Elizabeth wants you and Grace to meet her together for the first time once she is brought up to her room." Jack informed him, then looked over to Lee.
"Come on, Mr. Thatcher. Let's go up to the first floor and check out the gift and floral shops. I'm sure Elizabeth would love to have some pretty flowers for her room and maybe you can pick up a little gift for your new granddaughter."
William looked down the hall towards the trauma room, not wanting to leave but realizing Jack and Lee were right. He should see Lily with Grace. "That sounds like a good idea Lee. Thank you." He walked towards the elevator and pushed the up button. Lee looked at Jack, who mouth the words "thank you" to him as the doors opened.
Jack turned and walked back to the trauma room. Lily was crying again and Elizabeth was waking up. Jack rushed in, picked up Lily and gently bounced her while singing a song to her. She immediately quieted down as she recognized the voice and strong arms of her daddy. After she fell back to sleep, Jack walked over to Elizabeth.
"I'm sorry I wasn't in here to get Lily before she woke up." He kissed Elizabeth and looked into her tired but beautiful eyes. "Your father was down here demanding to see you."
Elizabeth buried her head in her hands and groaned. "Oh no! I should have known he would slip away from upstairs."
"Don't worry, Sweetheart! Lee came down and got him."
"Thank goodness. We are so lucky to have friends like Lee and Rosie."
"Yes we are."
At that moment, two nurse arrived from maternity to get Elizabeth and Lily ready to be moved. Jack reluctantly put Lily in her bassinet, then went to stand by Elizabeth as they pushed her gurney out into the hall. About ten minutes later, Jack and the nurses helped Elizabeth get into her bed. She moaned as she settled in.
"Is there anything we can get for you, Mrs. Thornton? Would you like something for the pain?" The nurse named Alicia asked.
"Maybe just some Tylenol for now. I have family coming to see me and I don't want to be groggy."
"Of course. Would you like something to eat?"
"Hmm, just some crackers. I'm feeling a little nauseous."
"Would you like something for the nausea? I can check with your doctor."
"Not right now. I want to see if I can settle my stomach with the crackers. Oh if you have some tea, I would love a cup."
"Of course. I will be right back. By the way, your baby is one of the most beautiful babies I have seen. Once she is registered in the nursey, one of the other nurses will bring her in. I saw on your chart that she ate a couple of hours ago. I'm sure she is going to want to eat again soon." She smiled at the happy couple then left the room.
Jack moved a chair closer to the bed and sat down. He grabbed Elizabeth's hand and nervously played with her fingers while his knee bounced up and down. He looked toward the door and then back to his wife. "I should go to the nursery and check on Lily. Make sure she is being taken care of nicely." He tried to stand but Elizabeth held on tight to his hand.
"Jack, she's fine. As Alicia said, they will be bringing her as soon as they have things settled for her in the nursery." She stroked his hand. "I love that you are worried about her."
Jack grinned at her, feeling his nerves ease away as he gazed into her blue eyes. "Sweetheart, I never thought I would feel this way once she was born. This need to protect her at all costs is so strong. I love her and her Mama so much. I can't let anything happen to either of you." Elizabeth had moved over a bit on the bed and he sat down next to her, wrapping his arm around her while kissing her temple "Our Lily is so beautiful."
Elizabeth had tears falling down her cheeks again. "She is beautiful. I think she is going to have her daddy's smile and dimples."
"And she has her Mama's eyes and dark curly hair."
"Heaven help us when she is a teenager. She is going to have a long line of boys wanting to date her." Elizabeth smirked as she talked, knowing that Jack would probably try to scare boys away from his baby girl.
Sure enough, Jack's expression changed to that of a glare. "I am going to have to lock her in her room until she's 30 and get myself a rifle to keep those boys away."
Elizabeth burst out laughing. "I just knew you would say that." She managed to say in between giggles. At that moment, Lily was brought into the room. "There she is." Elizabeth sighed happily.
Jack jumped off the bed and went over to the bassinet. Lily was awake and her eyes were moving around, taking everything in. She looked like she was smiling. "Hi, Princess." He cooed at her as he gently picked her up. Her gaze moved to take him in; she once again knew her strong Daddy was holding her close. "Let's go see Mama." He walked back over to the bed and placed Lily in Elizabeth's waiting arms.
"Hi Baby Girl." She kissed Lily's head. "Daddy and I love you so much." Elizabeth gently stroked her daughter's face and noticed that Lily was making sucking noises. "Jack could you go into my bag and grab one of the small towels I put in there? Lily wants to eat again and I want to cover myself in case the family comes in while I am feeding her."
'Sure, Sweetheart." He quickly grabbed the towel and handed it to his wife. Then he sat down and watched Elizabeth feeding their daughter. She was so beautiful, her hair in a ponytail draped over one shoulder, her hand stroking Lily's arm. He could just make out Lily's tiny hand splayed on Elizabeth's breast. His girls made such a pretty picture.
Elizabeth looked over to him as she began to sense she was being watched. "What, Jack?"
"You both just look so breathtaking. I can't get over how I have the two most beautiful girls in the world loving me. I'm so lucky to have you both in my life." He wiped some tears from his eyes as he stood up. He leaned down and kissed his wife, then his daughter. "I love you both so much." He managed to say just as they heard a knock on the door.
"Hi guys!" Rosie poked her head in.
"Rosie, come in." Jack told her.
"I have some pretty anxious grandparents out there. I saw Lily was brought in so I thought it would be a good idea to let you have some time alone with her, especially if she wanted to eat. Should I hold off bringing your parents in?"
"No, they have waited long enough. I have myself covered so I don't mind if they come in now." Elizabeth replied with a smile.
"OK, I will go get them."
Elizabeth looked down at her little angel and noticed Lily was having a hard time keeping her eyes open. She pulled Lily away from her breast, put her on her shoulder and burped her. Jack helped her button her nightgown back up and put the towel on the table next to the bed while Elizabeth settled Lily back in her arms to await the arrival of the grandparents. She didn't have to wait long.
"Beth? How are you feeling?" William walked in first carrying a beautiful bouquet of pink roses with an "it's a girl" balloon. Grace was carrying a box from Build A Bear Workshop. Charlotte had a pink gift bag and Elizabeth could see a stuffed giraffe sticking out at the top, with a pink ribbon tied around it's neck. Grace and William walked up to one side of the bed while Charlotte walked to the other side and stood next to her son.
"Oh, Beth! She's beautiful!" Grace whispered as she peaked over the blanket that Lily was wrapped in. "William, doesn't Lily look just like Beth when she was born?" Grace wiped some tears from her eyes.
William couldn't speak; he was so overcome with emotion as he gazed at his gorgeous granddaughter. He swallowed hard several times and took a handkerchief out of his pocket to brush his tears away.
"Daddy? Are you ok? What are you thinking?" Elizabeth smiled as she looked at the amazed look on her father's face. She could tell he was instantly in love with Lily.
"Oh, my sweet Beth! I have found it so hard to believe that I have two daughters that are now married with children of their own when it seems like just yesterday I was having tea parties with you and your sisters in your play room. Now I have a handsome grandson and a breathtakingly beautiful granddaughter, who does look exactly like her mother, except for her mouth, which is all Jack's. I am so lucky to have a family like all of you, especially after how I treated you last year. I am a blessed man and I thank God for all of you, every single day." The tears continued to stream down his face, as well as Grace's and Elizabeth's.
Jack and Charlotte stood by amazed by the scene in front of them. Charlotte sniffled a little as she tried to keep her emotions in check, but she found herself missing Tom. "Mom, what's wrong?" Jack asked as he noticed a tear slid down her face. His mother never cried.
"I'm just missing your dad right now, Jack. He would have loved having a granddaughter. I can just hear him now talking to his friends about his pretty little Lily." She hugged Jack then turned back to look at Lily again. "She is so beautiful, but how could she not be with such beautiful parents?"
Elizabeth looked over at her husband and mother-in-law and saw a tear going down Jack's cheek. She knew he was thinking of his dad just like his mom was. She watched them hug each other, then separate and both were smiling again. "Who wants to hold Lily first?"
Grace, who had also been watching Jack and Charlotte spoke first. "I think Charlotte should hold her first." She sent a look to William and he nodded, understanding what his wife was telling him.
Charlotte was shocked for a moment then walked over to the bed and gently took Lily from her mother's arms. Lily whimpered a little but quickly settled down as Charlotte bounced her. "Hello there Lily. I'm your grandmother Charlotte. You are such a beautiful little angel." She bent her head and gave her granddaughter a soft kiss on her little head.
Jack gazed at his mother holding his daughter in her arms. The scene before him was almost as beautiful as watching Elizabeth nurse Lily. He couldn't wait to get to his sketch pad and work on the images he had in his head.
Charlotte walked over to Grace so Lily's other grandmother could get a chance to hold her. Lily fussed a bit with the change of arms but quickly calmed down. William stood behind his wife and looked down at his new little granddaughter. He kissed Grace's temple while he watched Lily open her eyes and look around. Her gaze stopped on him and she lifted a hand out from the blanket she was wrapped in. It appeared like she wanted Grandpa to hold her. Grace carefully turned around and handed the baby to her husband.
This time, Lily didn't fuss with the change of hands. She stared right up at her grandfather and it seemed like she was smiling at him. He stroked a finger down her face and was about to put his hand back on her bottom when she grabbed his finger. All the women in the room sighed at the cute sight.
"I think someone loves her Grandpa very much." Elizabeth smiled at her father.
"The feeling is quite mutual." The ecstatic Grandpa replied. He moved to go sit down in the chair in the corner of the room while Charlotte and Grace brought their presents over to the new mother.
"Beth I bought this for Lily and there is a little something just for you in the box." She handed the gift to her daughter.
Elizabeth knew there was a stuffed animal in the box because of where it came from. She opened it and pulled out a teddy bear dressed in a nurse's uniform, including a name tag that read "Lily". "Oh, Mom! The bear is so cute! I can't wait to put it in Lily's room." She reached into the box and pulled out an envelope and opened it up. Inside were what looked like coupons, for different things she might need help with as a new mom and Jack as a new dad. She looked at her mother with questioning eyes.
"Those are for you and Jack to use whenever you feel you need a break. There are coupons for babysitting for however long you may need, a home cooked meal, help with the apartment. Whatever you feel you might need. Charlotte and I came up with the idea after we talked about how life was like for us as new mothers."
Charlotte came over to sit on the edge of the bed with Elizabeth and handed her the bag with the giraffe. "When Jack was a new born, Tom was still new on the force. He was on the night shift so that meant I was up all night with Jack and when Tom came home, he would go to bed. I was basically with Jack 24 hours a day with no break and very little sleep, unless Tom managed to get a weekend day free. I was going stir crazy after just a few weeks. I was so tired and I craved adult conversation. As you know, my mother wasn't around to help me so I was alone. At the time, we lived in an apartment building and the woman who lived next door to me could tell I was nearing the end of my rope. She showed up one afternoon with coupons just like those which would give me time to go take a bath or go get my hair done. One of the other women in the building would babysit Jack for me. It was one of the best gifts I ever received."
"Beth, your grandmother did the same for me. The coupons came in especially handy after I had you since you and Viola are so close in age. It was hard with your father gone on business so much. One day while Charlotte and I were planning your shower we started talking about being new mothers and it came out that we both had people who came up with the brilliant idea of the baby sitting coupons. So we decided to do the same for you."
Elizabeth brushed tears away from her cheeks, then grabbed their hands and squeezed them. "Thank you so much. This means a lot to me, but Charlotte how are you going to be able to baby sit for me when you are a couple of hours away in NH?"
Charlotte glanced towards her son and motioned for him to come over. "I decided that since both my sons are settling in around Boston, that maybe I was time to sell the house and move here as well."
Jack was shocked. "Really? You're going to sell the house?" He hugged his mother as a tear came down his cheek. "Thank you so much, Mom. It means a lot to us that you want to be closer to your granddaughter."
"I'm happy to do it, Jack. I'm glad you like the idea. I wasn't sure if you would be upset that the house you grew up in was going to be sold."
"Well, I will miss it but we have lots of pictures and memories of that house. It's time for another family to make memories there too, don't you think?"
"I agree, Jack. I feel the need to be closer to you boys and to the next generation of Thornton's. I have secured a job in the hospital day care center. I start on June 1."
Elizabeth let out a gasp, then looked towards her husband; he was shocked too but soon a smile grazed his face. She grabbed Charlotte's hand and squeezed it. "Thank you so much for what you are doing. I have been so nervous about leaving Lily in daycare when I return to work. I know that sounds silly given that I work in the same building but knowing you will be there to keep an eye on her takes a big weight off my shoulders." Elizabeth brushed a tear from her cheek.
"You're welcome, Sweetie. I remember how it was when I went back to teaching and the boys were young. Jack was in third grade and Tom was in kindergarten. They were also in the same building I was but I still worried."
Jack hugged his mom again. "So you have a job now, what about a place to live? Have you looked at all?"
"A little, but I haven't seen anything yet. If I have to, I will commute from NH for now until I can find a place."
"William and I may have an answer to that." Grace jumped in. "When you told me you got the job here, William and I talked about it. We feel so much better knowing Lily will have someone close watching out for her when Beth goes back to work that we decided we wanted to help too. We would love it if you would consider moving into our guest house. It has three bedrooms, two baths and a full kitchen. The commute won't be as bad either."
Charlotte glanced at her son to try to figure out what he was thinking. He nodded his head slightly, indicating he thought it was a great idea. "I would love to take you up on your kind offer but I insist on paying rent. Also paying for my utilities."
Lily was getting a little fussy, so William stood up and took her back to her mother. Then he turned to speak to Charlotte. "We were going to take care of that for you but we also thought you might want to pay your own way. We have no problem with that. In fact, we can work with my attorney to set up a lease for you, if you'd like."
"I would, William. I only feel it's fair. Thank you so much for your offer." She surprised everyone by giving William a kiss on the cheek. Then she turned towards Elizabeth when Lily started crying. "Maybe we should leave. We may have been too much for Lily to handle just a few hours after her birth."
William and Grace looked sad but realized Charlotte was right. Not to mention their daughter looked exhausted. "As much as I would love to stay, you're correct. Beth needs to get some rest too." Grace walked over to the bed and gave both her daughter and granddaughter a kiss. William and Charlotte followed suit and then they left, promising to call later.
After they were gone, Jack sat down on the bed and gazed at his wife and daughter. They both looked so tired. He remembered how earlier Lily had quieted down so quickly when she was in his arms while he sang to her. "Let me take her, Sweetheart. She loves to be in my arms while I sing her a lullaby. She falls asleep so quickly when I do."
Elizabeth sat up slowly in bed, grimacing a little at the aches she felt while she handed Lily to her daddy. "I may even fall asleep while you sing to Lily. You have such a good voice. It's so soothing." She settled back into bed and was about to close her eyes when she motioned for him to come closer. "I need a kiss before I can go to sleep. Do you know someone who can give me one?"
Jack grinned at her. "I think I do." He gently leaned down so as not to disturb Lily, who had once again settled down thanks to being in her daddy's strong arms. He then kissed his wife as she requested. "Close your eyes, Sweetheart. Get some rest while she is. It won't be long before she wants to eat again. I will be right here if you need anything."
Elizabeth nodded her head. "I love you, Jack. So much. I can't believe how much love I feel for both you and Lily. I have been dreaming of this day for so long and it's exactly as I imagined it." A tear fell down her cheek as she closed her eyes.
Jack wiped it away and stroked her cheek for a couple of minutes. "Me too, Sweetheart. Me too." He sat down in the chair by the bed. Lily woke up and whimpered but as soon as her daddy began singing to her, she went right back to sleep. Jack knew he should rest too but all he wanted to do was stare at his beautiful daughter and gorgeous wife. Tears fell down his face as he thought about how lucky he was to have them. Life couldn't get any better than this.