Thanks for all of the support and reviews guys!
I'm in a terrible mood at the moment, but don't think I'm taking it out on this lovable family- I've had this chapter planned for a long time, and my mood is just fuelling the writing, not creating it.
I recommend you have a SINGLE tissue on hand. You won't need any more, or any less...I hope. I've tried to cut down how depressing this is, even though it is an inevitably sad event.
The good news is; I have 2 chapters left of this season, and then we start anew. This means the next chapter is...dun, dun, and dun- the wedding! So- after every storm there is a rainbow, hopefully after this chapter, you'll get something cheery!
For the last chapter I forgot to say, but the twins were still 10 months and it was set at the end of February. This chapter is set just after the twins turn 11 months, in March.
Enjoy!
"Momma- why are we going to the doctors?" Jai held, frustrated, onto his mother's hand as she tugged him along while pushing the twins' stroller herself. Artemis pulled her coat hood over her head and shivered slightly in the morning air. Her cheeks matched the colour of her son's hair, and she puffed out air to keep warm, "Mommy just needs to ask the doctor something. That's all." She glanced into the stroller in front of her, sighing in discontent.
Jai arched his eyebrow, "Okay." The two walked for a few minutes, Jai concentrating on putting the same foot down as his mother, while listening to the stroller zip across the pavement. Every so often, he would break the momentum by kicking a stone or jumping into a shallow puddle. A few cars whizzed past, and Jai envied the people within them. They were warm, cosy and getting to their destination far faster. His father had driven to work that morning, however, and his Mother's mini-van was at a garage getting checked out. He couldn't even run to the hospital; his mother wouldn't be able to keep up.
"Momma." Jai sounded after a while, slowing down his marching pace. Artemis hummed, signalling that he had her attention, and he tried again, "Momma. Why is it so cold?"
Artemis chuckled, shivering slightly, "Blame it on morning, spring weather."
Jai furrowed his brow, and shook his finger at the sky scowling, "Bad weather!"
Artemis nodded, smiling in agreement, and picked up the pace once more, Jai stopping only once to sniff a little pink flower in an otherwise completely green bush. He skipped to her side, looking sideways into the stroller. Magnolia, for once, was completely calm. She was sleeping, her eyes tight together and her little red nose resting on her blanket. Barty, on the other hand, was very red and he was whimpering. He was the reason Artemis was hauling the three of them to the Doctor's office- she was incredibly worried. There was another reason too, but Artemis put that into the back of her mind. Her son was her priority at that moment.
Jai 'oohed' after a large number of silent minutes, pointing at a tall, grey brick building. A few people wandered in and out of it; a man in a white coat, a woman wheeling an empty wheel chair, a sobbing woman, a very happy family holding two bundles, and a solitary young man who looked down at his feet as he clutched a piece of paper in his shaking hands. Artemis mumbled a hello to the latter as she strolled into the hospital.
She placed Jai down onto a chair, and asked him to hold the pram, which he did with determination. She kept her eyes on her children as she rushed to the front desk, "Bartholomew West- twelve fifteen."
The receptionist, a stony eyed, mousy woman, glanced at Artemis and sighed. She pushed her pink lips together, humming as she searched through records in her computer. She smiled softly, "And the twelve forty with Dr Blakely for an Artemis?"
Artemis nodded quickly, "For me, yes." She glanced back to Jai, who waved and pointed to the twins, giving her the thumbs up. The receptionist forced a grin, and pointed to a long hallway to her left, "Dr Lines is in room 215, he's ready for Bartholomew now, if you would like that."
Artemis wrinkled her forehead, before nodding once and making her way back to her children. She, once more, took Jai's plump hand in her own, and began to push the stroller down the hallway. "Room Two-Zero-Eight, Room Two-Ten, Room Two-Twelve..." Artemis slurred softly to herself, keeping her gaze on the metal doors she past. She finally came to room 215. The door stated that it held Dr. Carmelo Lines, Paediatrician on the other side.
The mother knocked quickly, and a deep, "Enter please," rumbled from the other area. Artemis entered, dropping Jai's hand, and pacing to the doctor, who rose as soon as she began to make her way towards him. He had dark skin and a large, genuine, smile on his face. His crescent moon eyes were a coffee colour, and he smelt sickly sweet, like boiled lollies. He stood on tip-toe for a moment, eying the children in the room, before smiling back at Artemis, "And how may I help you today, Ms West?"
Artemis glanced at Bart, before un-buckling him from his section of the pram and raising him up for Dr Lines to f. The doctor motioned to a cold, steel table at the back of the room, and Artemis placed Bart onto it. The fair haired child didn't take well to being placed onto a cold surface and began to panic and shriek.
Dr Lines sat the roaring child up and began to look him over, offering kind words and dangling toys to help him calm down. He checked his heart beat, he looked into his panicked grey-green eyes, and he checked his temperature. After a thorough examination of the baby's mouth, he gave Artemis a tight smile, and motioned for her to take the child away.
Bart snuggled against his mother's chest, and the weary eyed woman held onto him as she sat to talk with the expert, "Doctor- is he okay?" Artemis frantically looked into the face of her whining child, biting her lip to the blood. Carmelo offered a warm smile, "It is RSV, Ma'am. Respiratory syncytial looking at the signs, He is also in the early stages of bronchiolitis too."
Artemis looked in shock at Bart, who squeezed his eyes shut and gave a feeble cough, "Is it life threatening?"
Dr Lines sighed, "You came to me at a good time." He fumbled around in his drawers, removing a red box of pills, "Medication to open the airways. He'll be fit and back to his normal state within a week. I'll also send the pharmacy a list of other medication that you can pick up on your way out."
Artemis smiled, her day was getting better. Bart was going to get better. "Thank you." She placed Bart onto her knee, and he clutched onto the table in front of himself, staring at the object with immense interest. "And for my other children? Will they be infected by it?"
The man gave a brief look at Magnolia, who grimaced at him, "There is a chance the young one will get RSV too; it's normally just like a common cold. Just give her a lot of fluids, keep her hydrated and some non-aspirin fever-reducers if you see the signs."
Artemis nodded, smiling, before taking the box of bills and strapping Barty into his seat. She thanked the man again, and then took off to the crèche she knew the hospital had. Bart had to be put into an area where he couldn't infect the other children, by Artemis' request, but Magnolia and Jai were thrown in the midst of the many other kids the day-care held.
The woman took off for her own appointment with a Dr Blakely.
Wally arrived home, tired and irritable. Still, he kissed his wife promptly on the cheek, and dug into his food. After he was nourished, he found Artemis in front of the TV, though she was simply staring at a blank screen. He plopped down next to her, stretching his arm around the shoulders, "Is everything okay with Mew-Mew?"
Artemis sighed, before smiling slightly, "I'm already seeing an improvement. The doctor gave us some pills to open his airways, and some stuff later for the fever."
Wally smirked, "That's great!" He looked at Bart, who was out-cold in the centre of the room, Magnolia playing by his side, throwing blocks around and crawling at a break-neck speed. "But you're not telling me everything, babe. How was your appointment?"
Artemis groaned, pushing her face into Wally's side and covering her face with tanned hands, "I'm pregnant, Wally."
Wally's mouth dropped open, and he exhaled loudly, his eyebrows knitting together. His hand curled into a fist. Artemis hadn't been expecting anything less. Wally was tired, Artemis was tired, and they already had four children, who of which hadn't even reached their first birthday. Sure, they'd be talking by the time Baby Number 5 popped out, but it didn't give Artemis any more consolation.
Wally gritted his teeth together, rubbing Artemis' back. He forced a smile, "That's great." It came out far sharper than Artemis supposed he had wanted it too, but she said nothing in reply. That was, until, Iris ran out of the room from behind the couch, and Jai hurled himself from out of the kitchen, stopping only to shake his head at his mom and dad.
May 14th. Twins, 1 year 1 month. Iris, eight and Jai, four.
Artemis sung softly as she rubbed bubbles onto the dishes she was washing. She placed it one carefully into the joining sink, and paused to tut when water hit her very slightly showing stomach; the stomach which held a much unexpected three-month old child. She had found out she was pregnant when she was a month along; she had surprised herself that she didn't notice the signs.
"Iris! Jai! I packed your lunch!" Jai zoomed into the room, Iris a moment behind him. The boy zipped to his lunchbox, smiling cheekily as he noted an absence of an apple, but the addition of an extra chocolate bar. Iris groaned, "Mom, you gave me two bananas, a bag of grapes and a salad- why did Jai get chips and chocolate?"
Artemis looked at her children in surprise, cracking a glass as she turned too quickly. Blood began to run out of the long, jagged cut in her finger and Artemis suddenly felt very light-headed. She looked away from the bright red blood, sticking her finger under the running water and cursing under her breath. She smiled at her children, however, and created a compromise, "Iris- get yourself something 'unhealthy' from the cupboard. Jai, there's a washed cucumber in the fridge."
Iris complied happily, skipped to the cupboard and removed a box of Coco-Pops, trying to cram it into her lunch bag. Jai raised an eyebrow, "Mom, this cucumber is whole."
Artemis had already left the room, entering the room of Magnolia and Bart, who were lolling around in their cots lazily, "Up you get!" Artemis held her nose, "Eeww. Magnolia, did you-"
"I'M HERE!" Dick burst into the room, almost flipping over in excitement. He ran to Artemis, pressing his hands to his stomach, "I can't believe I'm going to have ANOTHER kid! Me!" He brushed some hair out of his face, "Some say I'm too young, but, I just can't seem to get enough." He pressed his ear to Artemis stomach, and she pushed him away, trying to keep a serious face.
Dick sprang up, and ran to Bart's cot, "He's looking a lot peachier, isn't he! Aren't you?" He tickled Bartholomew, who giggled and protested at the same time. Dick made his way to Magnolia, "Mags!" He reached out to hug her, but backed away quickly, turning to Artemis in disgust, "She's done a big one..."
Artemis rolled her eyes, hoisting up her frizzy haired daughter and placing her onto the changing table, ignoring the noise of complaint from her friend, "Don't do that with me in here!" Dick flew out of the room, seeming a bit more hyped up than usual.
Zatanna entered after him, Artemis having already changed Magnolia. She beamed, "We came as soon as we found out!"
Artemis nodded, "Emphasis on the as soon- I texted you five minutes ago."
"Congrats, hon!"
Artemis sighed, looking to the floor, "Something doesn't feel right about this whole thing..."
Zatanna arched a long, dark eyebrow, "You said that you only went because your test results were-"
"Positive, Negative, Positive, Negative, Negative." Artemis finished, grimacing. Zatanna nodded with haste, moving to Bart's crib and removing him carefully, rubbing circles on his back, "Maybe that's why it feels different. With the other's it was an instant positive and a ready heart."
"Ready heart?" Artemis raised her eyebrows at Zatanna, placing a new nappy onto her daughter's bare bottom.
Zatanna smiled sadly, "Don't take this the wrong way, hon, but I've only been around you three minutes and I'm already getting depressed. You're so lucky! Me and Dick are about to get married, and I can't WAIT to have a baby! That's the feeling you need too! Just...get excited!" An idea suddenly gleamed in Zatanna's blue eyes, and she motioned for Artemis to take Magnolia.
The two of them hurried down the stairs and passed the twins to Dick, who was prancing around the living room with Iris (who was already late for school).
Dick snuggled the duo, before letting the air of confusion around him play at his features. "I love these two and all- but why?"
Artemis looked suspiciously at Zatanna, "Yeah, Zee, Why?"
Zatanna gave Artemis a sly smile, latching onto her hand, "We're going clothes shopping. Baby product shopping. Furniture shopping!" She counted off the names on her fingers, curling one over for each type.
Artemis looked at Jai and Iris, "Get to school you two!" She snapped. Iris and Jai scampered out of the room like frightened cats, and Artemis looked back at her friend with a questioning look, "Shopping?" She deflated slightly, slouching.
Zatanna rolled her eyes, "Don't think of it as a chore." She smiled, before winking at Dick, "I'm taking your credit card, babe." She grinned, "Llam eh tot su tropelet!" Her words were audible, yet rushed and the two women disappeared from sight.
Dick rubbed his head, putting down the gurgling twins, "My credit card?"
June 21st. 4 months pregnant (Twins one and two months. Iris eight. Jai, four) Wally and Artemis are 33.
"Babe?" Artemis spoke quietly. Wally shot up in surprise, rubbing his eyes. He still couldn't see anything, however. The room was pitch-black; it was the middle of the night.
"What?" Wally slurred, swaying before landing back onto his pillow to look at his wife. Her dark eyes were squinting, but full of concern. She whimpered slightly, clutching her stomach, "Wally. We need to get to a hospital." She heaved slightly, before looking back at Wally in fright.
Wally crumpled his brow, "It's too early for that, babe. You're having a bad dream- let's go back to sleep." He shut his eyes, but Artemis shook him again. She was sat up, and she looked afraid. She snarled slightly, still clutching onto her stomach, before doubling over in pain, "Just believe me, Wally. I think I'm going into labour or something..."
Wally flicked on the side table light, and stifled a gasp. Artemis side of the bed was dotted in dark red blood and Artemis herself was pallid, the whites of her eyes yellowing. Wally scrambled out of bed, frustrated by the way the sheets seemed to tangle around his legs. He felt like he couldn't remove himself fast enough. Artemis squeezed her eyes shut, moaning.
The nurse was a stout woman. Her hair sat in a black bob, and ended around her ears. Her stylist was obviously into the 'bowl-cut'. She took a seat on Artemis bed, and gave a reassuring squeeze to Artemis' hand. She tried to smile at Wally, but he scowled, and bent towards his wife, running a shaking hand through her hair. The nurse spoke in a whisper, "I'm Teisha Bonney- my friends call me Bonnie though." She was speaking directly to Artemis, who opened her eyes wearily, and tried to smile. 'Bonnie' continued, "Your husband is unaware of the situation, as you are, dear. But the Doctor will come to inform you of it."
The Doctor, a tall, lanky man, with rimmed glasses and protruding teeth strode into the room, a sad smile on his age-worn face. His plastic name tag read 'Dr. F. Leeds'. Wally couldn't make out the small writing under those words, but he honestly didn't care. He slumped against the wall behind him, still keeping a hand on Artemis' shoulder, "I regret to tell you, Mr West-"He looked at Artemis, who was breathing deeply- asleep. The nurse beside her sprung out of her spot, and waddled out of the room. Dr. Leeds continued, "And I will regret to tell your wife later, that she has miscarried. We'll be inducing a labour as soon as your wife-"He was fully addressing Wally now, looking into his eyes, "-is ready."
Wally shook his head, his eyes startling green, but lifeless. He squeezed Artemis' shoulder- he knew she had heard; tears streamed down her face and she quaked with silent sobs. As soon as the doctor left the room, Wally realised that he was too.
"I just think I should have reacted better when I found out I was expecting."
Wally shut his eyes, his head moving from side to side, "Don't blame yourself. We both weren't ready to find out you were pregnant."
Artemis locked her jaw, looking down at her stomach, "I feel so empty..."
"Me too." Wally pulled his wife into a hug, tying to keep his breathing steady. Artemis had been discharged from the hospital a week after miscarrying. Although Artemis hadn't been elated when finding out she was pregnant, she was now an emotional wreck at the thought that she would never be able to hold or know her child again.
So was Wally.
The two of them tried to explain in simple terms to Jai and Iris that they would not be getting a new sibling that November as they had hoped. Jai understood that he wouldn't be getting a sibling, Iris, however, understood that her sibling hadn't made it.
The little red-haired girl stayed strong for her parents, though for some reason, she felt empty too. Her sister, who, a day after being 'born' and bathed, had been named Aven, hadn't made it. Iris was mad that she hadn't been happy when she found out her mom was expecting; but at least she had tried to make up for it when her mother was getting on in the months after. That didn't her make her bad, right? Jealousy wasn't a crime...was it?
Even though she would never get to braid her sister's hair, give her advice or become her best friend, she learnt a lesson. For some reason, losing, Aven made her cherish the siblings she did have even more.
She hoisted herself up from the living room floor, giving a final glance to her mother and father, who were holding each other on the couch, snivelling softly. She padded to Magnolia and Bart's room, heading for Magnolia's crib.
She placed a soft kiss onto her sleeping sister's forehead, "I love you so much..." She whispered, she did the same with her brother, "And I promise I'll never be mad at you guys, and I'll always care for you..."Iris took a seat on the floor, hugging her legs to her chest. She hummed a tune that she didn't know the name of, until she herself fell asleep.
The funeral gathering for Aven had been a small, short gathering. Wally insisted that 'Aven', little scarlet and gold flowers were planted around her grave. A few words were said, looks exchanged and hefty sobs cried out.
He was also the one who had no idea what to do when he would come home to find Artemis brimming with tears in the bathroom, he was the one who had no idea what to say when Artemis began to rip items of baby clothing that had been bought for Aven, and he was the one who had no idea how things were going to get better.
However, Wally tried to keep strong for everyone, smiling softly at Dick and Zatanna, who were extremely distraught by the news when they met him at the grave of his child. He was the one who persisted that there be a funeral, he was the one who made sure that Artemis didn't cry herself to the nights following the event, and he was the one who kept a small, photograph of Aven in his wallet.
There. Done. Shoot me, now please. I can't believe I killed a baby.
It's been brought up as a request a fair few times; I had planned it for a while. I'm sorry. Please don't kill me with your words!
There will be a happy chapter up next?
Heh.
-A very apologetic me
p.s Aven IS the name of a flower. They're quite simple things, with large petals and furry looking yellow middles. I suggest you look them up.
