Nora, Eviefan, Jester Fraser, Marxbros, Jessie McDonald, Marcher, Seletha, Karasuko, A.J. Mackey, Madame Futterbly, Amy and Faith, soccerstar11-5, mildred the fish, Pixie Girl, marrokinhas
You guys, I'm sorry about the last chapter. Yes I know I ended it on a sad, horribly sad, abrupt note but... please forgive me. I admit I love getting a rise out of you all :).
Madame Futterbly: I was sooo tickled at your review: 'you can't trust rick and (::shudders::) jonathan with an infant!' yes, you are right about that! :)
Marcher: an alternative ending? Aaaahhhh!!! You'll see in a few seconds that... well you'll see.
Marxbros: Sorry about that heart attack. Forgive me. Your love/hate relationship with P2P warms my heart :)
And A.J. Mackey: I tell ya!! You either read my mind or peak over my shoulder. More than once you have hit the nail squarely on the head!! And you're right, nothing is easy for these two. If it were, it wouldn't be any fun! :)
Well... here we go...
It was a lie. It had to be a lie.
How could Evy go? How could Evy leave? How could she leave him? How could she?! How could she leave him all alone?
She knew she meant everything to him. She knew he was lost without her. Damn it!! Damn her!! She knew!
So why did she leave him? How could she leave him?
"Richard" Sister Abigail called.
No!! She could not leave. She just couldn't!
It was a lie. It was all a lie. She would wake up. She had to. She had to wake up because he was nothing without her.
"Richard. She's gone..."
If she was gone...
"She's gone..."
He wanted to go too.
But who would raise their kid? He could not do it. Not without Evy. If he left too, who would the kid have? Jonathan?
Hell no!!
That blundering idiot... Well, he did, for lack of a better word, raise Evy after their parents died.
But that was Evy. This is his kid. Could he trust Jonathan? He shuttered at the idea.
Then who? Who would be there for his kid? Who would raise him?
Sister Abigail.
Sister Abigail could raise the baby. After all, she raised him after his father abandoned him.
Guilt.
How could he even think of leaving his kid? Of wanting to give up on everything and leave his kid an orphan. What kind of man was he? He was no better than his own father was.
Rick let out an anguished cry, laid his cheek on Evelyn's stomach, closed his eyes and cried his heart out.
"Richard" she kept calling but Rick was oblivious to everything except the loss, the despair, the pain.
"Richard" the voice kept calling. "Richard... Richard... Richard... Richard...".
In the mist of his tears, Rick felt a soft hand on his cheek.
"Rick..." a small voice broke through his wailing. "Rick..." he heard her faintly calling.
Then Rick began to fall... fall... fall... until he jerked himself... awake.
Rick's eyes popped open and he immediately lifted his head from Evelyn's stomach and looked at her. Her eyes, her beautiful eyes, her beautiful hazel eyes were opened. And they were looking at him.
Rick mentally shook himself. Was he dreaming? Was this some cruel fantasy trying to give him hope, false hope that Evy was alive?
"Evy?" he whispered, frightened that he was imagining things.
"What..." she whispered in a hoarse voice. "What happened?"
"Evy?" Rick said as he moved from the rocking chair and sat on the bed, still unsure if this was reality or fantasy. "Evy?" he said in disbelief as he leaned over her and touched the side of her face. "Evy!!" he uttered desperately, urgently when Evelyn slowly closed her eyes.
"What happened?" she whispered again, licking her dry lips.
"Evy?" Rick cried softly as it began to sink in that she was indeed alive. "You ah..." he choked as hope began to bud. "You had some complications..."
"Where is the baby?" she asked, her eyes still closed.
"He's right here" Rick said as he looked over at the bassinet, then back to his wife. His very much alive wife.
"We have a baby boy?" Evelyn managed a smile.
"Yeah, we do" Rick smiled, tears beginning to form in his eyes, realizing that he had been having a nightmare.
Evy was not gone. She had not left him. She was right here. She was right where she belonged.
"I want to see him."
"I'd better get Sister Abigail" Rick said nervously, still hesitant to pick the baby up. "I'd better get Sister Abigail" he said again, excited, relieved, overjoyed that Evelyn was awake.
He went to the door, called for Sister Abigail and quickly returned to Evelyn's side.
"What happened?" Evelyn asked again as she slowly opened her eyes and looked at her teary eyed husband.
"You had some complications" he said as he rubbed up and down her arm. "And Sister Abigail came to help. She delivered the baby and you've been out for the past..." Rick paused to think how much time had passed. "Three days."
"Did you sock the doctor?" Evelyn asked with humor, wondering if she been hallucinating.
"Evy's awake?!" Jonathan burst into the room. "Evy's awake?!" he shouted as he rushed to the bedside.
"Jonathan kept it down!" Rick snapped. "The kid's asleep" he said a bit softer, happy, oh-so happy that his world was coming back together again.
"Hello Jonathan" Evelyn smiled as she closed her eyes.
"Evy, you're awake!" he informed her in a slightly quieter voice.
"Yes Jonathan" Evelyn said, with a smile in her voice. "I am awake."
"Boys step aside" Sister Abigail, who was a few steps behind Jonathan, said when she entered the room. "I need to have a look at Evelyn."
Rick stood and both he and Jonathan stepped back just enough for Sister Abigail to squeeze by them and sit next to Evelyn.
"Evelyn dear" Sister Abigail said, causing Evelyn to open her eyes. "How are you feeling?" she asked as she took Evelyn's hand and looked into her eyes.
"Drained" she said wearily. "A bit tired."
"That's to be expected" Sister Abigail said. "We need to get some food in you."
"I want to see my baby" Evelyn said.
"Yes" Sister Abigail smiled. "I expected you would."
Evelyn watched as Sister Abigail got up from the bed and walked over to the bassinet. She watched as Sister Abigail lifted the baby from the bassinet and walked back over to the bedside.
"He should be waking up in an hour or so for his feeding" Sister Abigail said as she moved the pillow next to Evelyn and laid the baby up near her head.
Evelyn turned her head to look at her sleeping baby. A tear slid down her cheek as she saw her little one for the first time.
"He's beautiful" Evelyn whispered as all of the sickness, mood swings, bloating, uncomfortable, sleepless nights, and long, painful hours of labor were forgotten.
"Yes he is" Sister Abigail agreed as she smiled down at mother and child.
Another tear escaped as Evelyn reached over and began to rub the baby's soft cheek with her finger.
"We need to get some food in you" Sister Abigail told Evelyn. "So that you will have strength enough to hold him. Richard" Sister Abigail said as she turned to walk out of the room. "You need to eat something also."
"Yes ma'am" Rick said sat back down on the bed next to Evelyn and watched her gaze at their baby.
Rick had not eaten since Evelyn went into labor.
"That goes for you too Jonathan" Sister Abigail said over her shoulder as she exited the bedroom. "You need solid food instead of all that strong drink you've been consuming."
"Sure thing Sister" Jonathan said sheepishly, his face turning red. He thought he had been clandestinely consuming his strong drink.
Though he had drunk plenty, he too had not eaten much since Evelyn went into labor.
"I want to hold him Rick" Evelyn said as she continued to gaze at her baby.
"We'd better wait till Sister Abigail comes back."
"I want to hold him now" Evelyn announced as she turned and looked at Rick.
"You sure you don't want to wait?" Rick said.
"Yes. I'm sure" Evelyn said as she began to try and sit up.
"Here let me help you" Rick said.
Evelyn put her arms around Rick's neck and he lifted her up in a sitting position. He then took her pillow, then his and set them up behind her so that she could lean back on them. Once Evelyn was settled, she expectantly looked at Rick and he looked at her.
"You expect ME to hand him to you?" Rick asked in a skeptical voice.
"Yes" Evelyn said.
"I'm not sure I can" Rick said as he looked at the small infant. "I might break him" he blurted out his insecurities.
"Honey" Evelyn laughed weakly. "Don't be silly" she chided. "You won't break him. Just lift him up and hold his head steady."
"I'm not sure Evy..."
"Give it a try O'Connell" Jonathan jumped in. "Evy believes you can do it" he gave his best shot at cheerleading.
"Shut up Jonathan" Rick said.
"Just trying to help ole chap!" Jonathan said, secretly enjoying watching his brother-in-law being totally undone by a tiny infant.
Rick looked at Evelyn's expectant gaze once more before getting up from the bed. He frowned at a grinning Jonathan as he turned and walked to the other side of the bed. Rick nervously reached out his hands and scooped them underneath the baby's head and bottom. He slowly lifted the baby from the bed as he kept a keen eye on him. Rick then walked slowly, ever so slowly back around the bed. Once he got back to Evelyn's side, he bent down and placed the baby into his mother's waiting arms.
"See" Evelyn said as she cradled her baby. "You didn't break him."
"Good job ole chap!" Jonathan smiled.
Rick ignored Jonathan as he sat back down.
Jonathan watched as the new parents gazed down at their baby and wanted to let the new family have a bit of privacy.
"Well old mum," he said as he stepped next to the bed. "You gave us all a scare" he leaned down and kissed Evelyn's forehead. "Try not to do that again" he said when he was standing upright again.
"I'll try not to Jonathan" Evelyn said as she looked up from her baby to her brother.
"I'm going to leave you two alone with my nephew here" Jonathan grinned at the infant.
"Jonathan" Evelyn called and Jonathan turned his gaze back to her. "Thank you."
"Ah!" Jonathan waved her off, not wanting to get too sentimental. "It's the least I could do in the face of all you do for me" he grinned and winked at her then turned and left the room.
Both Rick and Evelyn sat in silence as they watched their baby sleeping. After several moments, Evelyn spoke
"He's beautiful isn't he Rick" Evelyn said took his tiny fist and rubbed her finger over his tiny fingers.
Beautiful?
Rick would not exactly call him beautiful. Boy and beautiful just did not seem to fit together. Had they had a daughter, he would not hesitate call her beautiful but a boy. Beautiful? He did not think so.
"If you say so" he said as he leaned closer and kissed the tip of Evelyn's nose.
"If I say so?" Evelyn sounded offended. "Don't you think our baby is beautiful?"
Evelyn was quickly returning to her old self.
"Evy, calling a boy 'beautiful' makes him sound like a pansy" Rick looked back at the baby.
"He isn't a 'pansy'!" Evelyn asserted will all the strength she had. "He's a beautiful baby boy."
"Call it what you want" Rick said as he continued looking at his son. "But it still sounds pansy-ish to me."
"You are impossible" Evelyn retorted.
She wanted him to think their baby was beautiful. He refused to think of their kid as 'beautiful', let alone say it.
"And you" Rick leaned in again. "Are beautiful" he whispered before he planted a sweet kiss on her dry lips.
You guys, I'm sorry about the last chapter. Yes I know I ended it on a sad, horribly sad, abrupt note but... please forgive me. I admit I love getting a rise out of you all :).
Madame Futterbly: I was sooo tickled at your review: 'you can't trust rick and (::shudders::) jonathan with an infant!' yes, you are right about that! :)
Marcher: an alternative ending? Aaaahhhh!!! You'll see in a few seconds that... well you'll see.
Marxbros: Sorry about that heart attack. Forgive me. Your love/hate relationship with P2P warms my heart :)
And A.J. Mackey: I tell ya!! You either read my mind or peak over my shoulder. More than once you have hit the nail squarely on the head!! And you're right, nothing is easy for these two. If it were, it wouldn't be any fun! :)
Well... here we go...
It was a lie. It had to be a lie.
How could Evy go? How could Evy leave? How could she leave him? How could she?! How could she leave him all alone?
She knew she meant everything to him. She knew he was lost without her. Damn it!! Damn her!! She knew!
So why did she leave him? How could she leave him?
"Richard" Sister Abigail called.
No!! She could not leave. She just couldn't!
It was a lie. It was all a lie. She would wake up. She had to. She had to wake up because he was nothing without her.
"Richard. She's gone..."
If she was gone...
"She's gone..."
He wanted to go too.
But who would raise their kid? He could not do it. Not without Evy. If he left too, who would the kid have? Jonathan?
Hell no!!
That blundering idiot... Well, he did, for lack of a better word, raise Evy after their parents died.
But that was Evy. This is his kid. Could he trust Jonathan? He shuttered at the idea.
Then who? Who would be there for his kid? Who would raise him?
Sister Abigail.
Sister Abigail could raise the baby. After all, she raised him after his father abandoned him.
Guilt.
How could he even think of leaving his kid? Of wanting to give up on everything and leave his kid an orphan. What kind of man was he? He was no better than his own father was.
Rick let out an anguished cry, laid his cheek on Evelyn's stomach, closed his eyes and cried his heart out.
"Richard" she kept calling but Rick was oblivious to everything except the loss, the despair, the pain.
"Richard" the voice kept calling. "Richard... Richard... Richard... Richard...".
In the mist of his tears, Rick felt a soft hand on his cheek.
"Rick..." a small voice broke through his wailing. "Rick..." he heard her faintly calling.
Then Rick began to fall... fall... fall... until he jerked himself... awake.
Rick's eyes popped open and he immediately lifted his head from Evelyn's stomach and looked at her. Her eyes, her beautiful eyes, her beautiful hazel eyes were opened. And they were looking at him.
Rick mentally shook himself. Was he dreaming? Was this some cruel fantasy trying to give him hope, false hope that Evy was alive?
"Evy?" he whispered, frightened that he was imagining things.
"What..." she whispered in a hoarse voice. "What happened?"
"Evy?" Rick said as he moved from the rocking chair and sat on the bed, still unsure if this was reality or fantasy. "Evy?" he said in disbelief as he leaned over her and touched the side of her face. "Evy!!" he uttered desperately, urgently when Evelyn slowly closed her eyes.
"What happened?" she whispered again, licking her dry lips.
"Evy?" Rick cried softly as it began to sink in that she was indeed alive. "You ah..." he choked as hope began to bud. "You had some complications..."
"Where is the baby?" she asked, her eyes still closed.
"He's right here" Rick said as he looked over at the bassinet, then back to his wife. His very much alive wife.
"We have a baby boy?" Evelyn managed a smile.
"Yeah, we do" Rick smiled, tears beginning to form in his eyes, realizing that he had been having a nightmare.
Evy was not gone. She had not left him. She was right here. She was right where she belonged.
"I want to see him."
"I'd better get Sister Abigail" Rick said nervously, still hesitant to pick the baby up. "I'd better get Sister Abigail" he said again, excited, relieved, overjoyed that Evelyn was awake.
He went to the door, called for Sister Abigail and quickly returned to Evelyn's side.
"What happened?" Evelyn asked again as she slowly opened her eyes and looked at her teary eyed husband.
"You had some complications" he said as he rubbed up and down her arm. "And Sister Abigail came to help. She delivered the baby and you've been out for the past..." Rick paused to think how much time had passed. "Three days."
"Did you sock the doctor?" Evelyn asked with humor, wondering if she been hallucinating.
"Evy's awake?!" Jonathan burst into the room. "Evy's awake?!" he shouted as he rushed to the bedside.
"Jonathan kept it down!" Rick snapped. "The kid's asleep" he said a bit softer, happy, oh-so happy that his world was coming back together again.
"Hello Jonathan" Evelyn smiled as she closed her eyes.
"Evy, you're awake!" he informed her in a slightly quieter voice.
"Yes Jonathan" Evelyn said, with a smile in her voice. "I am awake."
"Boys step aside" Sister Abigail, who was a few steps behind Jonathan, said when she entered the room. "I need to have a look at Evelyn."
Rick stood and both he and Jonathan stepped back just enough for Sister Abigail to squeeze by them and sit next to Evelyn.
"Evelyn dear" Sister Abigail said, causing Evelyn to open her eyes. "How are you feeling?" she asked as she took Evelyn's hand and looked into her eyes.
"Drained" she said wearily. "A bit tired."
"That's to be expected" Sister Abigail said. "We need to get some food in you."
"I want to see my baby" Evelyn said.
"Yes" Sister Abigail smiled. "I expected you would."
Evelyn watched as Sister Abigail got up from the bed and walked over to the bassinet. She watched as Sister Abigail lifted the baby from the bassinet and walked back over to the bedside.
"He should be waking up in an hour or so for his feeding" Sister Abigail said as she moved the pillow next to Evelyn and laid the baby up near her head.
Evelyn turned her head to look at her sleeping baby. A tear slid down her cheek as she saw her little one for the first time.
"He's beautiful" Evelyn whispered as all of the sickness, mood swings, bloating, uncomfortable, sleepless nights, and long, painful hours of labor were forgotten.
"Yes he is" Sister Abigail agreed as she smiled down at mother and child.
Another tear escaped as Evelyn reached over and began to rub the baby's soft cheek with her finger.
"We need to get some food in you" Sister Abigail told Evelyn. "So that you will have strength enough to hold him. Richard" Sister Abigail said as she turned to walk out of the room. "You need to eat something also."
"Yes ma'am" Rick said sat back down on the bed next to Evelyn and watched her gaze at their baby.
Rick had not eaten since Evelyn went into labor.
"That goes for you too Jonathan" Sister Abigail said over her shoulder as she exited the bedroom. "You need solid food instead of all that strong drink you've been consuming."
"Sure thing Sister" Jonathan said sheepishly, his face turning red. He thought he had been clandestinely consuming his strong drink.
Though he had drunk plenty, he too had not eaten much since Evelyn went into labor.
"I want to hold him Rick" Evelyn said as she continued to gaze at her baby.
"We'd better wait till Sister Abigail comes back."
"I want to hold him now" Evelyn announced as she turned and looked at Rick.
"You sure you don't want to wait?" Rick said.
"Yes. I'm sure" Evelyn said as she began to try and sit up.
"Here let me help you" Rick said.
Evelyn put her arms around Rick's neck and he lifted her up in a sitting position. He then took her pillow, then his and set them up behind her so that she could lean back on them. Once Evelyn was settled, she expectantly looked at Rick and he looked at her.
"You expect ME to hand him to you?" Rick asked in a skeptical voice.
"Yes" Evelyn said.
"I'm not sure I can" Rick said as he looked at the small infant. "I might break him" he blurted out his insecurities.
"Honey" Evelyn laughed weakly. "Don't be silly" she chided. "You won't break him. Just lift him up and hold his head steady."
"I'm not sure Evy..."
"Give it a try O'Connell" Jonathan jumped in. "Evy believes you can do it" he gave his best shot at cheerleading.
"Shut up Jonathan" Rick said.
"Just trying to help ole chap!" Jonathan said, secretly enjoying watching his brother-in-law being totally undone by a tiny infant.
Rick looked at Evelyn's expectant gaze once more before getting up from the bed. He frowned at a grinning Jonathan as he turned and walked to the other side of the bed. Rick nervously reached out his hands and scooped them underneath the baby's head and bottom. He slowly lifted the baby from the bed as he kept a keen eye on him. Rick then walked slowly, ever so slowly back around the bed. Once he got back to Evelyn's side, he bent down and placed the baby into his mother's waiting arms.
"See" Evelyn said as she cradled her baby. "You didn't break him."
"Good job ole chap!" Jonathan smiled.
Rick ignored Jonathan as he sat back down.
Jonathan watched as the new parents gazed down at their baby and wanted to let the new family have a bit of privacy.
"Well old mum," he said as he stepped next to the bed. "You gave us all a scare" he leaned down and kissed Evelyn's forehead. "Try not to do that again" he said when he was standing upright again.
"I'll try not to Jonathan" Evelyn said as she looked up from her baby to her brother.
"I'm going to leave you two alone with my nephew here" Jonathan grinned at the infant.
"Jonathan" Evelyn called and Jonathan turned his gaze back to her. "Thank you."
"Ah!" Jonathan waved her off, not wanting to get too sentimental. "It's the least I could do in the face of all you do for me" he grinned and winked at her then turned and left the room.
Both Rick and Evelyn sat in silence as they watched their baby sleeping. After several moments, Evelyn spoke
"He's beautiful isn't he Rick" Evelyn said took his tiny fist and rubbed her finger over his tiny fingers.
Beautiful?
Rick would not exactly call him beautiful. Boy and beautiful just did not seem to fit together. Had they had a daughter, he would not hesitate call her beautiful but a boy. Beautiful? He did not think so.
"If you say so" he said as he leaned closer and kissed the tip of Evelyn's nose.
"If I say so?" Evelyn sounded offended. "Don't you think our baby is beautiful?"
Evelyn was quickly returning to her old self.
"Evy, calling a boy 'beautiful' makes him sound like a pansy" Rick looked back at the baby.
"He isn't a 'pansy'!" Evelyn asserted will all the strength she had. "He's a beautiful baby boy."
"Call it what you want" Rick said as he continued looking at his son. "But it still sounds pansy-ish to me."
"You are impossible" Evelyn retorted.
She wanted him to think their baby was beautiful. He refused to think of their kid as 'beautiful', let alone say it.
"And you" Rick leaned in again. "Are beautiful" he whispered before he planted a sweet kiss on her dry lips.