A/N: I finished up this chapter really quickly once I got the story up :) Enjoy! xx Mariah


Later that night after dinner, Melinda sat by the fire in her and Jim's chamber, her hands mindlessly drawing circles over her belly, thinking about the future. Jim walked in and took a seat next to me and smiled. He was holding a wooden box in his hands.

"I've been waitin' for a good time to surprise ye wi' this." He said cheerfully.

"What is it?" She asked and sat up in the chair. He handed her the box and she looked first at him smiling and then down to the box. She pulled the ribbon that was wrapped around it and opened it up.

"Apostles spoons," he said as she looked at the silver spoons with a small figure on the stem, "One… for each of the twelve apostles. A christening gift, for the bairn." Jim smiled, picking up one of the spoons and admiring it.

"Jim…" She sighed, her fingers grazing over each one, "where did you get them?"

"They've been passed down in my family for years." He said and set the spoon back in its original place.

Once again, her fears returned to the surface of her mind. "I know it sounds ridiculous but I can't help but wonder if I'll be any good at it. Being a mother…" She met his gaze and he took hold of her hand over her belly.

"Of course ye will," he whispered.

"What if I'm terrible at it though? She asked.

"Ye will no' be terrible. That I know." He bent down and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead.

"How do you know?" She asked.

"The same way ye knew Katherine would be a good mother." He replied easily. "She's a natural, yer sister."

"Yes, she is." She said.

Jim smoothed his hand over her belly, grasping her fingers, "Seeing her with wee Eddie."

"There's nothing like if you had seen her before," she laughed, "What a racket she was, not an ounce of maternal feeling or instinct anywhere to be seen."

"Aye, I can see her being as wild as ye can be," he agreed. "You told me once that she worried about the same things you do now, worried that she'd no' be able to mother or care and so on. What did I tell ye then? I never doubted her now did I? I knew it was in her nature to be a kind and loving mother just as I see it in ye, mo nighean donn." He looked at her, his hand under her chin.

He felt her face crumble and a silent tear fell down her face. "I know how to deliver a baby, how to feed one, how to take care of one when it's ill but that's not being a mother. I only have a few vague memories of my own mother, nothing really to guide me." She whispered, shaking her head.

Jim pressed his lips to hers once again, "What ye don't ken, ye wi' learn. We shall learn together… and remember…" he said, looking down at the spoons still on her lap, "this is but the first of many."

She laughed, her fingers tangled in the locks of his hair at the nape of his neck, "Is that so?"

"One for each spoon," he whispered in her ear.

"You want twelve children?" She asked, her eyes widening and her stomach hurting at the mere thought of delivering twelve children.

"Why not?" He said, completely serious.

Melinda stroked his cheek, scratchy with days-old scruff, "Good God, I do love you."

"I love ye too," he kissed her and slid the box with the apostle's spoons onto the small table beside us and picked her up and carried me over to the bed. He was gentle, as he always was with the baby. His hands caressing her belly as he undressed her and made love to her again.


Melinda woke in the middle of the night, her hands drifting over the swell of her belly. She winced as she felt a sharp pain, and a small kick from the inside immediately after.

She held her swollen belly, which felt hard to the touch, trying to breathe slowly in...and back out. The wave of pain began ebbing away and she kept taking organized breaths until it abated. Outside, the wind was howling through the trees as if trying to whistle but only pushing the air harder and harder.

She looked around the dim room, wondering if it was nighttime or dawn. She noticed the fire had gotten very low and smoldered faintly. Her gaze came to rest on her husband asleep like a rock beside her and felt the pain starting again and her stomach tightened once more.

"Ah," she hissed again as the pain worsened, similar to what woke her up, but different to what she had been feeling over the past few days. Is this it? Is it happening? Is the baby coming early? "Jim," she whispered bracingly after it had eased off again. "Jim!" She poked at the sleeping man next to her, "Jim, wake up!"

"Hmm… what— whassrong?" Her husband slurred, blinking his eyes open. They stayed glazed with sleep and he yawned enormously as he tried to focus.

"I think it's the baby," she told him, groaning in pain as she tried to resituated herself in bed a bit more comfortably.

At this, Jim became fully alert, virtually springing out of the bed. "What? Our bairn? Is it coming now? Right now? Are ye okay? What do ye need?" He asked these questions at a speed that matched the wind howling outside and it took her a moment to process all he had said as she watched him frantically turning in each direction. He stopped, though, when she didn't answer immediately, his face panicked. "Is it bad?"

"I - I don't know," she said, her tone unsure, "I got woken up from this… pain. It just hurt...different than before." Her body answered her doubts, however, as another contraction started in her back and rippled through. She winced, clutching her stomach and Jim hurried forward to crouch next to her, his hand beginning to rub gentle circles on her back.

"Is there anything I can do? Should I call for the midwife, Ella? Or maybe yer sister…?" He asked, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"My sister," she whispered nodding slowly. "She will know if this is something to worry about. Remember… the midwife left to visit her family. The baby isn't supposed to come for some time still."

"Aye, I remember now. Katherine will know what to do." He agreed, pressing a kiss to her lips. "I don't want to leave ye here…"

She whimpered slightly as another pain rippled through her belly and around her back, and she leaned her forehead against his. "I will be fine, okay?" She whispered. "I promise."

He nodded. "Aye. Ye are a brawny and strong lass, aren't ye?" He chuckled, pressing a kiss to her lips briefly as he stood.

"I am," she said, smiling as an encouragement to him.

Her eyes shut as another sharp pain wracked through her body. She heard the door open as Jim walked down the hall to Katherine and Ned's room. In a matter of moments, he was back and her sister was at her side, her hand slipping into hers, squeezing back just as hard as she was.

"You will be alright, Melinda. Don't worry." Katherine smiled and she attempted not to whine out in pain, but it was hard not to and then a sweat began breaking out over her body as the contractions took over. "Brother, will you go and fetch a bowl of cold water and get all the cloths and wee things that Melinda and I have prepared," she told Jim and he took off without a word.

She knew her husband must be worried, and from the look on her sister's face, she was too. This was too soon. Melinda wasn't supposed to deliver for another five weeks, in her own time where she wouldn't be so worried, but now she was very afraid.

It was another three hours of her body contracting, where her insides felt like they were splitting open. Jim was fetching water periodically, unable to sit still for too long before he was up. At one point she remembered clutching on to his nightshirt, twisting the fabric in her hand and pulling his face down towards hers.

"You did this to me, James Clancy, you bastard!" She yelled.

He laughed as he pried her hand from his shirt and wiped her forehead lovingly with a cloth. "Melinda, yer doin' great, keep callin' me a bastard and ye will be fine."

Her sister stood at the end of the bed, her hands spreading her legs open to see if the baby was close. "I canna tell you exactly, Melinda. I've never seen it from this angle, only felt it from where you are sitting," she twisted her lips nervously.

"I have sent word to the midwife so I am hopin' she'll be here by tomorrow or the next day," Jim reassured her, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

Her sister nodded and pulled her shift back down. "It could be a while before you are ready to push, but I promise you, sweet sister, I will help you through this." Katherine collected the sodden cloths and took them to rinse downstairs.

Jim climbed on the bed and sat behind her, his thighs gripping and holding her up against him. "Sorcha… my love," he whispered, his hands rubbing lightly up and down her arms, "yer the bravest woman I know, so strong."

"I don't bloody feel strong right now," she groaned, leaning back into his chest as another contraction, this time sooner than the one before and she grimaced, her eyes shutting, "Goddamn this hurts!" She screamed and Jim's hand pressed against her belly.

He pressed his chin down on the top of my head and started to speak softly in Gaelic, "Gum bi thu, a naoinein bhig, fallain, ionraic, sona air feadh do bheatha gu léir."

"What does that mean, love?" she asked breathlessly, her hand reaching up to grip his neck.

"Och, 'tis a blessin' for the wee bairn, a prayer to be healthy, happy and honest all throughout his or her life." He kissed her cheek and pulled her closer between his body as if he was protecting her and the baby from harm.

They sat there for another two hours, her contractions growing closer with every passing minute. She hoped it would be soon because she felt drained already. Ned brought up food for her to try and eat, but nothing looked appetizing, Jim, on the other hand, ate for the both of them… well, the three of them.

She screamed and pushed back against Jim as another contraction came through, her legs kicking out in front of her on the bed.

"Katherine!" He called for her sister and she came running in, her hands full of clean linen. "I think she's gettin' closer," he sounded worried now, as he had been when the pain first started hours ago.

Her sister placed the linen on the bed and pulled up my shift, "Christ! I can almost see the baby's head, Melinda..." she held her gaze and put her hands on top of her knees, "You need to push when I say so."

Jim reached for her hands and she squeezed them as hard as she could, fresh sweat breaking out on her forehead as she held my legs open.

"Alright, now push, Melinda!" Katherine's hands were cold between her thighs and she pushed with all of her strength, a slew of curse words escaping her mouth.

"That was good, Mel, yer doin' just fine." He encouraged and only tightened his grip around her. "Ye can do this."

"Only a few more moments, Melinda. I need you to push," Katherine said softly, encouraging her as well.

She shut her eyes to the rest of the world and closed off the pain, focusing on the life that was coming out of her. Pushing, she felt her child come out before she heard any cries as the baby took its first breath.

Exhausted, she fell back against Jim and he wiped my forehead, pushing back locks of curls and she opened her eyes to see Katherine holding their baby, cleaning the placenta and blood off. Somehow, Melinda managed to reach her arms forward and Katherine delivered the baby safely into them.

"A beautiful and healthy baby girl," her sister said softly.

Melinda smiled, her finger touching gently against her daughter's rosy pink cheeks. She felt a wetness on the back of her neck that didn't feel like her own sweat, and she craned her neck to see her husband crying above her, his face beaming with love.

"She has yer brown hair, mo nighean donn. She's so bonny," he smiled and wrapped his arms around them, his hand coming to cup the smallness of her head. "I am so proud of ye," he kissed her temple and tears of her own slid down her cheeks, from exhaustion and pure joy. "For growing and birthing our sweet girl. Faith Elizabeth Clancy, welcome to the world," he cooed, his large finger joining hers against the babe's pale skin.

Her eyes opened and stared up at us, a shining ocean blue, just like her father's. "She's ours, Jim." She settled back into him, content to not move for quite some time, "Our creation."

"I know. Faith the best thing ye could ever give me, Melinda. She is already so precious to me, as are ye." He whispered against her ear. "I love ye both more than life."

"As I love you," she smiled back at him.

They laid together on the bed for hours, their eyes never leaving Faith's face as she began to smile, her eyes crinkling. She counted ten small toes and ten small fingers, which the babe she watched clasp onto her father's the minute he reached for her hand.

Seeing the look in his eyes and the way her heartfelt, Melinda would gladly give Jim as many children as he wanted, even if he wanted eleven more.


The first week after Faith's birth, she and Jim rarely left the comfort of their bed. She took turns being held by both of them and sleeping in their arms, she never wanted to let her go. Now she held her child in her arms, her pink cheeks glowing like the sunrise, and smoothed her finger over her tiny nose. Jim had fallen asleep next to her, his snoring a steady rhythm that was making her own eyes close.

It also warmed her heart that she now had a family to help raise her. She had only had Katherine as long as she could remember, even before her father passed because she was far too young when her mother and grandmother died. Jim's family became hers when she married him, his brother Daniel had warmed up to her now, especially during the pregnancy, helping her whenever her husband wasn't readily available. She had grown closer to her sister as well, not that they hadn't been close already.

Jim stirred in bed, his legs stretching, and his foot pressed against her chilled calf. He was always so warm, and he exuded body heat at all times, her little furnace. He groaned, as he sometimes did after a hard sleep, "Hello, Melinda," he smiled, and leaned over to place a kiss on Faith's head, "Hello my wee angel."

She shifted her into his arms, "I'm just going to go to the privy. I've been waiting for you to wake up," she kissed him and rose from the bed.

"Ye coulda woke me, lass." He whispered because he always talked to softly around Faith as if he didn't want to disturb her delicate ears.

"No one could wake you when you snore, Jim," she laughed and slid a wool robe around her shoulders and walked down the hall. Seeing the pictures of Jim when he was little hanging on the walls always made me tear up. They were here, in his childhood home, with their own baby and hopefully there would be many more little Clancy's running around in the future.

"Out of bed? Privy or lookin' for food?" Katherine asked her as she descended the stairs.

"Both actually, and perhaps a little walk around the garden will do my legs some good." She said, smiling at her. "Where is Ned?"

"He is asleep with Eddie upstairs. I woke a little while ago and couldn't fall back asleep, so I came to knit by the fire." Katherine explained and resumed her knitting by the hearth. "You and Jim both have barely left the bed, a little sunshine could do you both some good. I don't blame you though. I was the same with Eddie and the first few days are always special. A miracle to hold in your arms."

"Faith is indeed our little miracle," she paused at the end of the stairs.

"Melinda… I just wanted to say thank you — for welcoming us here." Katherine said and stood met her on the stairs. "I know that you are my sister and that we each carry a duty to family, but you and Jim have shown me, Eddie and Ned the upmost kindness by letting us make a life here."

"Don't worry, little Kat." She engulfed her in a hug and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "Jim and I are happy to have you here with us and to have family so close now that we have a child to raise. It's nice having you live with me again, the both of you or should I say the three of you."

"Well, it is wonderful to be with you as well, dear sister," Katherine said, smiling at her. "Go do your business and I'll fetch you something to eat."

When her sister walked toward the kitchen, Melinda almost half ran to the privy outside. It was true what they say. After one gives birth, everything down there was just a bit looser.


Not only did she have the help of Katherine and Ned, but they also had Daniel.

He looked almost menacing, his wild eyes and his bushy beard, he was always there to offer a joke at the most inappropriate time. She sat on the front steps that led into the main house and watched as Daniel walked around the yard, holding Faith so gently in his big arms. The big bear had turned soft for his little niece.

"He's good wi' her, isn't he?" Jim said from above her and she turned her face to look at him.

"Yes, he's very gentle actually." She said, giggling. "Something I didn't quite take him as being." She had always thought of Daniel as a fighter, but he was actually a gentle giant.

"Aye, Daniel tends to only show his softer side once and a while," Jim said as he took the place beside her, grabbing her hand and intertwining it with his fingers. "I have been thinking about who should be Faith's godfather, and I ken that it should be both of our decision, but what do you think about my brother?"

She looked back over at Daniel, slowly bouncing Faith and whispering things in Gaelic to her, "I think it would be perfect, Jim. I know he would protect her as if she were his own."

"Wonderful! And for her godmother, 'tis can be yer choice if ye would like?" He asked, gazing at her lovingly.

"I was thinking my sister would be a good choice," she said, just in time to see Katherine scoop Faith into her arms.

Ned was beside her, holding a sleeping Eddie in his arms, who had gotten so much bigger in the short amount of time they had been in Leoch. The seven-month-old slept soundly on his father's chest as they walked up and past them to put both babes down for their naps.

"That is a perfect choice, love." He said, leaning in to kiss her sweetly on the lips.