"So you'll really call her Eve?" Grace smiled up at her Mother, the three of them were sprawled comfortably on the large squishy settee in the cozy living room. As Colin had suspected, the rain came in around midday just as he and the rest of the family headed out for the day, leaving Connie, Sam and Grace to enjoy the afternoon alone.
"Well, so far it's the only name on the list, so it's winning by miles." She smiled, placing her hand on her daughter's beanie clad head. She was laying between her parents, curled up with her feet on Sam's lap and her head cushioned comfortably on Connie's bump. She felt Sam's hand come to lay on Grace's shoulder, his fingers brushing against hers gently as her palm remained sat protectively on the side of Grace's head. Stroking at her skin he encouraged her to look his way as Grace became engrossed in the film. Offering her a comforting smile, he allowed himself to feel genuinely happy for the first time in months. This was his family and he'd die to protect them.
"Why are you so angry about this?" He questioned but yet again seemed to be conversing with the back of her head as she started walking away, prompting him to follow. "Connie, it's not a big deal-"
"Taking our daughter away on holiday at a time like this is definitely a big deal, Sam." She hissed, throwing his and her washing into the clothes hamper near their chest of drawers. Finally turning to face him she had to gather her inner strength to stay as calm as she could, despite how angry she was. They'd been back from his parents little country cottage for only two weeks and he was desperate to go away again, this time it was technically a school trip for the weekend but since Grace wasn't attending school and was instead doing work from home she wasn't given the opportunity. Until of course Sam had paid the Principal a visit, Hugo had been talking about it with Grace and it honestly hurt Sam's heart to see his daughter so upset to be missing out. They'd organised for her to come along, providing she had her own transport there and had either one of her guardians with her. Their reservations couldn't allow for both parents to come and since Sam had no commitments to the hospital, he'd be the one to go with her.
"It's Scotland and for three days, you know, it's not like we're leaving the country for months on end." His brown eyes blinked down at her, not that she could see since she was actively avoiding his gaze. One hand came up to rest on her hip, leaning back on one leg to ease the extra weight she was carrying with her bump. She still wasn't buying it, forcing him to continue with his justifications. "Look, I know you're worried about something happening-"
"Yes, I am and it should the primary concern for both of us. Not just me." Her eyes met his at last, her voice becoming hushed yet stern to avoid Grace overhearing their argument, it was almost nine in the evening and Grace was just settling into bed in her room down the hall. "You and I both know the risks, Grace doesn't. So for you to suggest this little trip and have me be the bad guy and say no-"
"So that's what this is really about? You don't want to seem like the unreasonable parent?" His snippy question merely received an ice-cold look from her before she opened her mouth with more fury.
"You know that's not what my issue is, Sam." Ending her sentence with his name was always a clear warning for him to leave it at that, but when did he ever pay attention to warnings? Never.
"I just think she really needs this right now, just a couple of days with fresh air and different surroundings with her classmates. She just wants to be a kid again." Allowing his eyes to flicker over her face, he could see her thinking it through until eventually she gave him an extremely stern look before opening her mouth to speak.
"Two days." Raising her brows for emphasis she awaited his agreement. "You come back on the second day, that's it. And you call me on both of those days." Her hand remained propped on her hip as she used the other one to point up at him authoritatively but she was forced to cease the action when he moved in closer to her, a large smile on his face as he watched her eyes follow him the entire time.
"She has not stopped talking about this all week, she'll be over the moon." His palms found her hips instantly, pushing her hand out of the way in order to hold her in exactly the way he wanted. She remained rigid, her head turning away from him but she couldn't keep it up long. "And you're sure you don't want to go?"
"I can't." She sighed before looking up at him, her features considerably softer now, so much so that he felt it was safe to initiate a short yet meaningful kiss. As he pulled back from the heartfelt moment their conversation picked up exactly where it had left off. "We're a consultant down, it's going to be like piccadilly circus there all weekend." Her right hand moved to cradle the front of her bump as she spoke, causing Sam to smooth his own palm over it too, a fond and marvelled look on his face.
"You two'll be alright without us for three whole days?" He asked sweetly, referring of course to herself and their unborn baby.
"Two whole days." She corrected with a firmness before letting an ever so small smile creep across her face. "And yes, I think I'll manage just fine." She stepped out of the embrace to continue throwing his scattered socks, shirts and underpants into the hamper. "In fact, I might not even miss you or your mess."
"You know you can call my Dad or my sister if you need anything-" He was talking whilst seating himself down on the edge of the bed, his face now looking to be plagued with his own worries whilst removing his socks and shoes, ultimately making more mess much to her irritation.
"Sam." She uttered his name calmly as she threw what was in her hands into the ever-filling wicker clothes basket before moving over to him. He was clad in his suit and tie, having been to Grace's school that afternoon, and she was in her newly bought black maternity capri pants, partnered with a stunning black blouse with minor gold detailing in the sleeves. She'd slipped out of her heels as soon as she'd walked through the door at the end of her shift. Her toes thoroughly enjoying the cushy carpet beneath her feet. "Stop stressing." She stood herself between his parted legs, his footwear finally off but that's as far as he'd got before she approached him. Her hands placed delicately on his shoulders before smoothing them up to either side of his neck, her fingers becoming lost in the hair at the back of his head whilst her thumbs came to rest on the sides of his face. His own hands gravitated to the back of her thighs, rubbing at them lovingly and basking in the moment as she started undoing his tie for him. "Like you said, it's only a couple of days." He moved his head to rest on her protruding bump, his right ear pressing up against the fabric of her blouse as if he'd actually be able to hear anything in there. He still hadn't felt a kick yet, despite making more effort to acknowledge her pregnancy and be more involved. He was asking more questions, showing his interest, which she appreciated for the effort but at the same time being asked one hundred questions a day by both Grace and now Sam was going to get quite tedious. She wouldn't have it any other way though.
"So you're letting me go?" Grace's excited voice made them both jump. Automatically, still stuck in old ways, they quickly parted from one another's touch. Connie cleared her throat whilst Sam rushed to his feet, picking up his socks and tie from the floor before doing so.
"Yes, we are." She smiled through her awkward sentence, trying to recover from the initial fright and slight embarrassment. "But on two conditions-"
"I call you every day and I don't forget to take my tablets." She interrupted, beaming enthusiastically, already so in tune to her Mother's way of thinking. The grin she was sporting almost had Connie in tears, she was incredibly hormonal of course but this was the happiest she'd seen her since before her diagnosis. She jumped up and down twice. "Thank you, thank you! I'm going to pack!" She vanished as quickly as she'd appeared in their doorway, leaving them stood smiling to themselves.
Her loud panting filled the room gloriously, the rustling of sheets joining in harmoniously before she let an anguished moan escape. Her brow furrowed deeply and her eyes were heavy with lust. The whole view for him was magnificent, there was no better position to be in than underneath her as she straddled him, rolling her hips expertly over his body. One palm on his stomach and the other one placed slightly further up in the middle of his chest, allowing her to move on him more freely. She'd been riding him for minutes now, selfishly seeking her own pleasure but he couldn't be mad, especially not with the show she was giving him. He was obviously flat on his back, his head on the pillows as their headboard very lightly made contact with the wall behind it every so often with her rapid movements. Every time he moved his hands to feel at her, stroke her or even touch her she forced them away quickly. She was in complete and utter control tonight, and God had he missed her dominant side. He could feel his face starting to flush with the pleasure, not only physical enjoyment but mental pleasure too with the way she was behaving. It was a massive turn-on for him. The sound of his own groan shocked him slightly, his hands instinctively going to grab at her moving hips once more but she wrapped her own hands around his again, before he could make contact, and forced them down to rest on either side of his shoulders. She didn't release him this time. Instead she remained leaning over him, her facial expression dragging another moan from him as she bit at her own bottom lip sensually, growling with impending pleasure.
"Don't stop." He whispered painfully, nodding his head at the intense feeling she was giving him. His begging pleas had a similar effect on her, which became evident when her mouth gaped open slightly with a higher pitched mewl. She could no longer move the way she wanted with her hands on his, so she sat up and moved them back to his heaving chest for leverage. No longer being held in position, he managed to grab at her thighs, her flesh was hot and soft to touch. He couldn't take it anymore, the visuals, the sounds, the physical feeling and even the smell of her was mind-blowing. With one swift movement, he had her on her back, her shoulder-length hair splayed around her head on the pillow as he hovered over her, still bucking his hips in the same rhythm she'd been in. The volume only seemed to intensify with this new positioning. Her high-pitched panting had transformed into an even more erratic and chill-inducing pattern. Her left leg being pushed up by his right hand, angling her in a more suitable position. He remained resting on his left forearm, the entirety of his weight on it as her right hand grabbed at his tensed bicep, her body becoming completely unhinged with ecstasy. With the climax of her orgasm he planted his lips on to hers with an urgency, desperate for even more contact with her but simultaneously trying to muffle her loud euphoric groan. He only pulled away from the lip-lock after three or four more strokes when he felt himself getting close too. His breath was hard and heavy on the air between them. His movements slowed gradually after his rapturous orgasm, her grip on his arm loosening before he felt them on the sides of his face. This time she invited him into a passionate kiss, their breathing still completely irregular as they attempted to regain control of their spent, pleasured bodies. He stroked his palm along the underside of her thigh where'd he'd previously had a firm grip, he couldn't help but smile into the soft kiss when he felt her leg wrap around him, keeping him where he was. Holding on to the moment for just a little longer.
They were awakened early the next morning, not by any electronic alarm but instead by Grace. The first they knew of her presence was the bedroom curtains being opened abruptly, the morning sun cascading into the slumber-filled room dramatically as she pulled each side open. That was enough to wake Connie up, she was curled neatly in front of Sam, her back to his front as they dozed peacefully beneath the warm feathered duvet. She jumped slightly at the bright light, her eyes squinting immediately. At first she thought it was Sam but upon feeling his arm still laying around her middle protectively she was forced to sit up and locate the culprit.
"Come on, wake up!" She called cheerfully before moving to the end of their bed and drumming on the wooden frame loudly.
"Gracie, what are you doing?" She sat up, her eyes still struggling to adjust to the brightness. The drumming noise partnered with Connie's movement was only just starting to stir Sam from his incredibly deep sleep. She was attempting to keep the duvet covering as much of her as possible, despite clothing herself in Sam's large white shirt following their sexcapade last night. She'd needed a glass of water and opted for his shirt on the floor to make the trip downstairs.
"We have to leave soon!" She smiled hard, an extremely sweet and innocent look on her face. She was so excited about this trip, part of Connie couldn't believe she was really about to deny her this opportunity of happiness.
"The rest of your class aren't even leaving until two o'clock, Grace." She yawned, propping herself up on one elbow whilst her other hand brushed the top of Sam's as it smoothed over her abdomen beneath the covers. "It's not even eight in the morning yet."
"I know but Dad promised we could go out and get some more art stuff before we go." She moved her eyes back to her Father who still remained fast asleep close to her Mother. He had stirred for a moment or two but was snoozing again in seconds. "Where's his bag?" She looked around the room from where she stood, her face deadening with the realisation. "He still hasn't packed yet, has he?"
"He's a man, he doesn't need that much." Connie smirked, shuffling out of his embrace in order to get out of the bed. "You grab his bag, it's in the wardrobe and I'll get the clothes." She did as she was told, sharing a few giggles with her Mum as they packed his bag. She was right, he didn't need much and they were done in less than four minutes. Her own bag was almost overflowing with all the things she wanted to bring with her. Once they'd finished they'd headed downstairs, after Connie had dressed, and left Sam to kick out a few more 'Z's'. Grace smiled contently at the kitchen table, feeling more prepared for this weekend away with her Dad. Her attention slowly moved back to her Mother as she watched her caress her bump gently. She was stood with her back leaning against the kitchen side where the sink was, her neat clothes still managing to look extremely flattering on her even at almost six months pregnant.
"Can you feel her? Moving?" Her eyes twinkled with wonder.
"Sometimes, she hasn't kicked much yet. But you on the other hand." She smiled, shaking her head. "You wouldn't stay still." Their smiles were mirrored for a short time until Grace's sort of slowly dissipated, forcing Connie's brow to twitch with concern. "Grace?" Prompting her gently, she awaited a response whilst setting her mug of decaf down on the side next to her.
"The baby will be okay, won't she?"
"Yes, she's doing fine-" Connie began, flying straight into reassurance mode but Grace cut her off softly.
"No, I mean after she's born, when she has to help me. That won't hurt her, will it?" She glanced down, obviously worrying about the welfare of her younger sibling despite her not even being born yet. "I'm her big sister, I'm supposed to look after her. Not hurt her."
"No, Gracie." She cooed, her heart tensing with emotion. "No, it won't hurt her. It'll all be over in five minutes and they take the stem cells from the umbilical cord. So she won't get hurt or feel any pain whatsoever, alright?" Her eyebrows framed her worried eyes causing the troubled expression to be emphasised. "I know it's hard, but I need for you to stop worrying about all of this. Right now we just need to concentrate on getting you better, okay?"
"Okay." She whispered quietly and nodded. "When she's born, she can have my room."
"Ah, very sneaky." She smiled. "And what? You'll move into the big guest room? I can see right through you." She smiled harder upon seeing Grace smiling sheepishly.
"What? I'm just trying to be nice." She laughed, dusting her toast crumbed hands off over her plate whilst finishing the last mouthful.
"Of course you are." Her brow raised knowingly before she grabbed the empty plate and moved over to the sink. "Speaking of being nice, perhaps you should go and give your Dad another wake-up call-"
"No need." His voice interrupted croakily, like there was a thick layer of sleep still coating his words. "I'm up, what's for breakfast?" He stretched dramatically, causing his suit to crinkle with his movements.
"Whatever you can find." She finished drying her hands on the tea towel before throwing it at his chest with a devilish smile. "Grace just ate the last piece of bread." Continuing on past him she headed back into the hall and upstairs leaving Sam stood staring at Grace as though he'd been brutally betrayed.
"What?" She shrugged. "You snooze you lose, Dad."
He managed to find a half of a weetabix in a box at the very, very back of the mostly empty cupboard. A little apprehensive to eat it, but it's all there was so he finished every last bit. The grimace never left his face for the entirety of the small meal though.
"Come on, Dad!" She called again from the car, her impatience getting the better of her whilst he and Connie stood in the front doorway.
"Don't forget-"
"To call you, I know." He smiled down at her, she was focused on Grace in the car with an extremely worried look on her face. He only managed to gain her attention when her put his hand under her chin and physically turned her head to face him.
"Sorry, I know, it's just-"
"Two days, it's just two days. She'll be fine, I'll be fine, we'll be fine." His smooth and velvety voice had always been slightly caramelly and soothing. His eyes flicked from her eyes down to her lips as she licked the bottom one anxiously, after observing the mesmerising quirk of hers he soon found his eyes on hers again as he spoke. "And you take it easy with work, I don't want to come back to find you've been there for forty-eight hours straight."
"Yeah, right." she scoffed with a small smile. "I can barely manage an eight hour shift right now as it is."
"Good." He smiled weakly before leaning down to kiss her. It was long, deep and meaningful causing poor Grace to look away with disgust. They weren't normally the pair for public displays of affection, particularly in front of Grace but since his back was to her he figured she couldn't see. However, she wasn't stupid. She knew what they were doing. Connie broke the kiss, completely not wanting to drag it out too long in front of Grace.
"Go." She whispered. "It's two days and madam over there is getting impatient." She crossed her arms snugly across herself, which was becoming more and more difficult by the week with her continually protruding bump. Instead they now kind of crossed just above it and slightly rested on it.
"I'll call you as soon as we get there, make sure you answer." He laughed at her quick, impatient nodding as her grabbed his back and headed to the car. She stayed to wave them off, purely for Grace's benefit. And that was it, they were gone.
The working day seemed to have flown by, before she knew it her watch was reading almost eight o'clock. She was leaving soon, and was actually extremely glad of it. Her feet were in absolute agony, her lower back felt like it was on fire and she had the worst heartburn she'd ever had in her life.
"Headache?" The older woman's voice made her jump slightly. Connie was just leaving the nurses station where the bay beds were situated, unconsciously massaging her skull as she was walking when the female patient stopped her in her tracks.
"Uh, yeah, long day." She offered her a small smile just be polite before starting to walk away again but the woman's voice stopped her once more.
"It's a sign you could be having a boy, you know?" She smiled to herself wistfully, as though she was remembering good times. "Least that's what people told me anyway."
"Right, I uh, I didn't know that." Nodding kindly, she tapped the patient file in her hands. An extremely weak attempt at trying to look as though she had work to do and needed to leave when in actual fact she was about to head home to her quiet, empty house.
"So, is it?"
"Sorry?"
"The baby, is it a boy?" She had her chubby fingers interlaced across her front as she sat upright in the bed.
"Uh, no, actually she's a girl." There was a short pause. "Look, I really-"
"My Timmy was a boy, them old wives tales were all right for me."
"Well, I mean they're all fifty-fifty chances so-"
"Sorry, I forget you doctors don't think whimsically like I do." She laughed briefly before the happiness completely faded, it struck a strange cord with Connie. "Just ignore me sorry, I'm probably keeping you from something important. You know, me and my running mouth. I never stop, only when I'm asleep." She laughed again, fidgeting with her fingernails.
"No, no I uh, I'm just clocking off actually." Moving towards the bed, she scanned around for any relatives. "You don't have anyone with you?"
"Me? No, nobody." She smiled. "Just me, myself and I."
"So there's nobody I can call? What about your son, Tommy was it?"
"Timmy." Her face glowed for a second with the mere thought of him. "No, I lost him a couple of years ago now. He was only sixteen bless him. Left a big old gaping hole in my heart he did."
"Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that." She cringed slightly but quickly recovered as this was often a regular occurrence with their line of work. Dealing with life and death was a daily situation for her.
"He was perfect, as soon as he was born I knew he was the best thing that would ever happen to me." As Connie was at the bedside now the woman's eyes landed on her bump. "Is this your first?"
"Second, I have another daughter, Grace."
"Ah, Grace, what a lovely name." Her eyes moved back to Connie's, her face was bruised and bloodied up. "My youngest, Olivia, she was the most beautiful baby. I adored her."
"Where is she? You don't want her here with you? It looks like you had nasty accident, you don't need any help once you're discharged?"
"No, not Livvy." Her face became stoic, almost hardened. "We don't speak." Connie's eyes flickered over the lonely woman's facial features, she couldn't help but feel her sadness wash over her.
"Maybe you could make amends? I'm sure if she knew you'd been admitted she'd be worried-"
"You don't know my Livvy." She smiled tearfully. "She's had a hard life, sometimes I think I made a mistake with her but I wouldn't have forgiven myself if I didn't try." The lack of context had Connie slightly baffled, but simultaneously intrigued causing her to lean on the bed railing.
"She was an unplanned pregnancy?"
"No, no quite the opposite actually. My son, Timmy, he was really unwell and the doctors told us out best option was to have another baby, one that would save him." Connie's mouth went as dry as a bone, she could hear her heart beating loudly in her ears as the ward around her seemed to slow down to a still. This stranger before her was still talking but what she was saying Connie had no idea, it was just white noise now. It remained that way for at least thirty seconds before her mind freeze thawed and slowly her senses all started coming back to her. It happened in such a quick rush in fact she almost jumped at the sound of the woman's voice. "Anyway, his illness came back not long after and we lost him."
"Olivia was a saviour sibling?" Her dry scratchy voice hit the air like fingers in a chalkboard in her own head.
"That's it! A saviour sibling, couldn't think of the technical word sorry, barely finished secondary school me!"
"Does she know?" Ignoring the lady's small talk she wanted all the information she could gather.
"Know what? That she was born to save Timmy? Yeah, we never wanted to hide the fact from her, you know, in case it came out accidentally years down the line."
"So the treatment, it didn't work?" The emotion was starting the shine through her choked sentences, despite her best efforts to hold them back.
"Well, it did but it came back, we tried everything but Timmy was such a kind-hearted soul." Every time she spoke of him she seemed to drift off into a sort of dream-like state for a mere few seconds before coming back to the moment abruptly. "He couldn't stand seeing Olivia going through the trauma, you know the emotional toll it was taking on her. She felt responsible for him, since she felt like that was her sole purpose for living."
"Why don't you speak anymore?" Her questions were so direct and specific but this lonely patient was so chatty she was completely unaware of the agenda behind her questioning.
"Timmy's passing hit us all so, so hard. We'd cleared the last hurdle, he was free to start living his life again and then he was just...gone. I spiralled, I couldn't help it. My partner couldn't cope with the grief, we divorced not three months later and I resented my own daughter for failing to save my son, even though there was nothing she could do." She glanced up at Connie who looked like she was about to lose the battle with her tears. "Oh, love, don't get upset." She rummaged around on her bedside table, pulling out some tissues from the tissue box. "Here, don't ruin that lovely makeup of yours." Connie remained quiet, taking the tissues embarrassedly whilst dabbing at the few tears that had managed to escape. "In a couple of months you'll have two beautiful daughters, cherish them both." She squeezed her hand warmly, watching her fighting the tears still.
"Call your daughter." She whispered emotionally. "Please, you'd regret it if anything happened to her." Sniffling for a final time, she put her other hand on top of the stranger's, squeezing it tightly before pulling herself away.
The walk from her car to the front door seemed to go on for an eternity, her brain numb with the sadness she'd just been thrown in to. She was honestly so petrified of so many things, she was scared for Grace and whether she'd be like Timmy and be re-diagnosed. She was scared for her unborn baby and the future that lay ahead of her, would she feel like Olivia did if they told her the truth? And last but not least, what if she feels absolutely nothing when she holds her newborn baby for first time. This pregnancy already felt so much different to her first, with Grace she felt like she was present for every moment of it whereas this time around she honestly kept forgetting if that's even possible. She wakes up in the morning and for maybe five or six seconds she completely forgets she's carrying a baby. Her mind continued to spin with far too many thoughts for this time of night. Finally letting herself in, she cooked herself something simple and ate alone in silence, once upon a time she would have loved this but now she hating every second of it. She'd done a small food shop before work after Grace and Sam left, otherwise she feared it'd be buttered crackers for tea.
With no company and nothing to occupy her she quickly fell back into old habits to pull her mind away from all the worries still loudly buzzing in her brain. Sitting at the desk in the home office she scanned through papers studiously. Her glasses perched on her nose perfectly, the oversized cardigan she'd thrown on with the comfiest black leggings she could find added a homely touch to her appearance, which was finished off faultlessly with a pair of white woolly socks. With a mug of decaf coffee in one hand, she used the other one to hold her pen and turn the pages delicately. She'd told herself to go to bed before nine since she'd heard from Sam earlier and they were both fine and settled into their old, stony hotel in Scotland. But here she was at almost midnight, still scanning page after page after page.
Her whole body jolted with fright when there was a loud knock at the door. Her decaf coffee immediately going everywhere, she set the now half-empty mug down, muttering to herself at the mess she'd made. There were three more louder knocks, initially she'd been annoyed at both the fright and the drink spillage but now that she was aware of time she quickly became concerned. Nobody ever really knocked on her door, unless it was the postman with a large parcel. But at nearly midnight it was hardly likely to be him. She stopped trying to clean the desk and started cautiously making her way out of the room towards the front door. Surely enough, they knocked again. More urgently this time and her breath instantly hitched in her chest.
"Please!" The loud muffled male cry on the other side of the door made her shiver. "Please, Connie, I know you are in there! Please let me in!"
"Wh-Who is it?" She shouted loudly, completely positive she should have just kept quiet an not said a thing but it was too late now. There was no answer this time though, just the soft sound of a body collapsing to the ground, her instinct told her it wasn't anything to be threatened by and before she could even think properly she'd already moved to the door, opening it cautiously. Initially she was looking straight ahead through the tiny gap but she jumped back and moved her attention down to the floor when the weight of his body pushed it open.
"Alex?"