Little Men

"Farewell Appearance"

Chapter Five: Enter Two

It wasn't before long, that Bess just could not conceal her pregnancy, from those around her as two months became four. It was November now and the air had begun to turn cold. Summer had left its cruel mark on Plumfield and now had retreated from once it came.

The young girl that Bess had been was gone. Nan could see that clearly. When Dan died the light had gone out of her eyes. She was a woman- a mother, the Bess that Nan knew was no longer there. The doctor in Nan was unsure of what to do to help her widowed friend. She wasn't eating and she wasn't sleeping. It was as if she had given up on life once life had given up on Dan.

It didn't help matters much that Amy had refused to speak to her daughter once she found out about the baby, yelling: "I can't believe you let this happen! We told you not to marry him! Now look you're left alone and with child! How could he have let this happen!" Even Mrs. Jo could do nothing to calm her sister this time, stating: "They both decided. He's dead Amy, I think they've been punished enough." In the end, though she had never truly cared for Mrs. Laurence, Nan couldn't help feeling the same as Amy about the situation. The baby would take Bess away from school and the life of luxury that Amy wanted for her. She wanted her to travel and paint. Not be a seventeen year old mother.

Nan had lived most of her life without her mother and she knew how cruel it was for a child to grow up with out the guidance of both parents. At least Nan had been able to have a mother, even if it was only for a short time. Both Nat and Nick could hardly even remember theirs and Dan hadn't known whose his were. Now, Bess was going to do the same to Dan's child, forcing it to always wonder who he or she were. It wasn't fair.

For Bess, who had always known her mother and father, and had had all her family around her, she had probably never even wondered what a lack of a father would do to a child. But for Nan who had lived it, she couldn't help but feel anger to her friend and to Dan. She had thought it had been illogical for the pair to get married in the first place and now this. Bess was hurt, the baby would be hurt, and Dan had died without even knowing he was to become a father.

Still, it didn't take long for Bess' poor treatment of herself to catch up with her and the baby. When finally, it was Nat who convinced her to take care of the child of the man, whom she had been so determined to marry and whom she claimed to love. Nat usually so quiet stood sternly as he told Bess that Dan would not have wanted Bess to give up on herself. He would have wanted her to live the many years she had left. Thus, even though Dan had thought he hadn't left a mark with his life, had in fact left a huge gap, that Nat was sure would never be filled.

The other students were engrossed in another year of study at Plumfield. Bess continued to attend but Nat knew that she most likely would not finish her last year. Nat tried to take Dan's advise to heart but there wasn't much he could do for Bess when the despair that she felt was one that he felt as well. Furthermore, Nan had buried herself once again in her studies. Therefore, it was difficult for Nat to show his affection for her.

It seemed that Plumfield was unraveling at the seams.

"How is she today?" Meg Brooks questioned her sister. What her niece was facing now was something that Meg and Jo had experienced and never wished on anyone, least of all Bess. "Amy keeps asking me to check up on her. I wish she'd just come herself." Meg continued. With Daisy and Demi at school now it was common for Meg to feel lonely in that house all by herself. Perhaps in time Harrison and herself would become engaged but for now she was alone.

November had made way for March. Thanksgiving and Christmas had seemed to pass by Plumfield, though no one minded, because none was in the mood for it anyhow. It was one thing to have the people they cherished die suddenly from one ailment or another, but to painfully watch the slow death of someone so young had damaged them all, and to see Bess struggle with a pregnancy alone and the realization that she would have to raise the child alone thereafter saddened the house as well.

Bess had barely spoken since Dan's death eight months before, she hadn't painted or spent time with the other students of Plumfield. And now as Meg went upstairs to visit with her niece, Bess seemed fit to deliver her child on her own.

"The baby's coming!" Bess yelled through a contraction. "Help me, Aunt Meg."

Before long it seemed that nearly all of the women of Plumfield had arrived in Bess' room. Jo and Meg held firmly to their niece's hands reassuring her that everything would in deed be alright, while Nurse Nan helped the baby along with Asia by her side. They had sent Nick to fetch Dr. Pierce, Laurie and Amy but he nor they had returned.

"I need Dan!" Bess cried out as her baby slid into the world. The new mother lay back in exhaustion, unsure of what to do with the child.

"It's a girl," Nan cried happily holding up her best friend's child, and then the newborn made herself comfortable in Bess' arms. However, she began to feel another contraction. "There's another one coming!"

Meg smiled. "I guess it runs in the family, sweetheart." she stated thinking about her own twins, getting into some sort of trouble she was sure, around the house.

"Push!" called out Nan handing the little girl to Asia. Jo and Meg held Bess' back up so she could push harder, while the door swung open to reveal Mrs. Amy Laurence.

"Dr. Pierce is in Boston," the grandmother stated. "Are you alright, Bess?" Forgetting for a moment, the eight months in which, she had not spoken to her daughter and it seemed that Bess had forgotten as well, as she reached out for her mother's hand.

"You have a baby boy," the nurse raised up the crying baby for Bess to see but the young women had fallen unconscious. "She's hemorrhaging!"

The twins cried, unaware of the peril their mother was in, as their Great Aunt Josephine and Great Aunt Margaret, lifted them up and took the children into the hall for their grandfather and the rest of Plumfield to see, as Nan shooed all out of Bess' bedchamber. However, Amy was a force to be reckoned with and refused to leave her daughter's side while Nan tried all that she could to save her friend. Perhaps the poor health that Bess had plagued upon herself since Dan's death had made her weak, too weak for the birth of two, or perhaps she had given up on life completely.

Fortunately for the unnamed boy and girl, their mother clung still to life and Nan's ability saved her; restoring her faith in herself and medicine.

Meg eased herself into Bess' room, giving the twins back to their mother. "When are these two going to get a name?" Meg sang softly a lullaby, smiling down at the sleeping children.

"Hannah Rose Anthea Madison." Bess confirmed kissing her daughter's and then her son's face. "And Daniel William Madison, Junior."

"Hannie and Danny." Mrs. Brooks dubbed them.

"I don't think I can do this, Aunt Meg," From the moment she laid eyes on Hannah Rose and Daniel, she had fallen in love with them, but every look also jabbed a pain so fierce into her heart. Her daughter's head full of dark almost black hair, Danny's sparkling brown eyes and the way his lips seems to turn up exactly how his father's did, all reminded Bess of Dan. "Mother was right."

"I know it hasn't been that long since Dan's death. But, Bess you made a decision and now you have to honor it. It's about them now not you. " Meg continued. "When John died I felt the same way you do now, but Demi and Daisy had to come first. "

All that she knew had faded so quickly once Daniel Looking Forward Madison had been put into the ground. Perhaps she should do what his name dictated, and not worry about what had been or what might have been. All the love that she felt for Dan, she would pour into his children and she vowed to never speak of him again.