"Mama." A small child calls out, too quietly to be head. A sob erupts from the brown haired child's mouth, this gaining the attention of her father, who stumbles out of the bed, making his way to the voice.
"Mama?" The child asks again, the urgency apparent in her voice. Her father comes and sits on the side of her bed, putting the hair that was covering her eyes behind her ears.
"What's wrong Emma?" She just sits up, burying her head in his chest, sobbing the same word over and over again. He sighs, picking her up and taking her to the front room, laying her on the sofa, desperately trying to calm the small child down. Eventually he gives in. Choosing rather to suffer the rath of the ice queen than to hear his daughter in such distress. He dials the number he's memorised.
She picks up after the fourth ring. Sleepily asking who it is. When she hears the Scottish accent she panics, she can hear the crying in the background. He begs her to come and help him, she tells him she will be over as soon as possible. He tells his little girl that her Mama is coming.
She's right, she was over quickly. Jonny wonders how many traffic rules she broke. But she's here, rushing over to her baby. She snuggles up to her, sniffing into her jumper. The one she had just thrown on, in the rush to get out.
"I had a bad dream. " She cries, "You died." She hugs her little girl tighter.
"Mamas not going anywhere." She says, stroking her back. The sobbing child reminds her of all the nights she spent like this, except she didnt have anyone. Emma does, she has mummy and daddy and auntie Jasmine. Jac swore that she would never leave her baby, she wouldn't be left to sob into her pillows, Emma knows that Jac is never far away. On stormy night's, Emma climbs into her bed, sleeping next to Jac. She also knows that when she's at daddy's, Mama is only ever one phone call away. "Nor is daddy " Jac whispers into her hair. He smiles, going to join them. They all snuggle down on the sofa, Jonny putting a blanket over the two of them, it's November, it's pretty cold, even with the heating on.
They sit their in silence, as the small girls sobbing comes a halt. The child settling down to sleep. Jonny soon falls into the same breathing rythem as Emma. Jac stays awake, cuddling her baby. Except she's not such a baby anymore. She's nearly 4. She's not such a baby anymore, she's a child. She's her child. Something she never thought she would have. She thought she would be alone for the rest of her life, and then Emma happened.
Emma is the single best thing to happen to her. Watever anyone thought about Jac, it couldn't be denied that she was a bad mum to Emma. She was given everything Jac never had. She wouldn't be the child in the class who didn't have things, Jac would make sure of it. Jac would make sure that she never felt at a disadvantage, that she wasn't sure that she would eat that night. Because she was Jacs daughter, and she puts her first, she wouldn't jump sticks to India and have a baby. No, Jac was sure she would never be like Paula.
She even gave Emma the chance to spend time with her family. However much she resented Jasmine, Emma adored her. She's pretty sure it's because they are about as mature as one another, but Emma adored Jasmine, Jasmine adored Emma and that made Jac happy. Emma was the reason Jasmine stayed, Jac couldnt quite bear to let her younger sister gp, so she tempted her with Emma. As much as she annoys Jac, she actually quite likes Jasmine. She's everything Jacs not, kind, funny, loyal. The list goes on. But Jac doesnt mind, because, for the first time, she's happy