Not once had Evangeline envisioned labor being easy. She'd been there with Agatha for Chrissie and Aggie. But nothing could have prepared her for the extent of the pain she was going through.
"Everything is going perfectly fine, Mrs. Brown," the midwife assured. "It's time to start pushing."
She got through one with a screech, Mrs. Blatherwick holding on tightly to her hand.
"There ya go!" Mrs. Blatherwick said.
"I want Cedric to be here, too," Evangeline cried.
"Keep pushing and you'll be able to see him soon enough," said the midwife. "Once more now."
Another screech.
She wasn't sure how to go on. Hours of contractions and labor had worn her out. But she could feel the baby moving. She was determined for both of them to make it through this. She knew she couldn't give up.
"One more should do it."
She gave it her all, sure for a moment she'd left her body, but seconds later, the sound of a tiny cry brought her bad to consciousness.
"It's a girl!" Mrs. Blatherwick cried. "A beautiful baby girl."
"A daughter," she breathed.
"She's precious!" Cynthia squeaked.
The midwife smiled as she cut the cord and handed the baby to Evangeline. "She seems healthy... Congratulations!"
"Oh… look at her…"
All she could do was stare at the child in her arms for a couple of minutes, paying no mind to anyone else in the room. She couldn't believe she'd managed to create such a perfect little human.
"Why don't we get you both cleaned up and get her fed so the rest of the family can meet her?"
Evangeline nodded, though didn't want to let go of her little girl.
. . .
"Where's the baby? Is it a boy or a girl?!"
Lily was the first in the room, no doubt the most excited of all the children. The other six hurried in behind her, Cedric shushing them in case the baby was sleeping.
"She's right here," Evangeline said from the bed, tired but radiant with joy.
"A girl! I knew it!"
Pushing past the kids now, Cedric said softly, "Let me see her…"
Once he was at her side, Evangeline passed the baby off to him. Tears formed in both of their eyes.
"We're both fine," she said.
He glanced at her but didn't trust himself to reply. His gaze dropped back to his newborn daughter safe in his arms.
The children surrounded him once he sat down on the edge of the bed, all of them chattering at once as they fawned over their new sibling.
"Can I hold her, Papa?" Tora asked.
"I said I was holding her first!" Lily protested.
"If we're being fair about it, I should be going first," Simon said. "I'm the oldest."
"There will be plenty of time for each of you to hold her in the following days," the midwife intervened.
"She's right," Cedric sighed, though wanted nothing more than to see all of the children together. "We agreed to be brief and let Evangeline and the baby rest."
"But we can't leave until we know her name," Sebastian said.
Cedric looked at Evangeline. "Have you settled on one?"
They'd talked some about names. Over time, they'd started to assume the baby would be a boy. They had several picked out, but not so many for a girl.
"I haven't decided," she said.
"What's in the running?" Eric asked.
"There've been a couple that I've seen in books that sounded nice, but I'm not sure… I feel the name should be more significant than that."
"You mentioned once that you wanted to name her after your mother," Cedric said.
"But you should have a say in it as well."
He chuckled. "I've named a few of these kids. It's your turn."
"What was your mum's name?" Chrissie questioned.
"Winifred," Evangeline answered softly. "But I think I'd like to call the baby Winnie for short. I've thought of my mother more these past several months than I have since I was child… it feels right."
Tora smiled. "I like it."
"Me, too," agreed Lily.
The rest of the children nodded their approval.
"Winnie it is," Cedric said, freeing one of his hands to take Evangeline's. "I think it's perfect."
"We really must let mother and baby rest," the midwife said gently, yet impatiently. "Mr. Brown, you're free to stay a moment longer."
The children grumbled, looking to their parents in hopes they would overrule.
To their disappointment, Cedric only replied, "Cook has your supper ready downstairs. You'll be able to see your sister tomorrow."
With bowed heads, they obediently filed out of the room.
"Would you mind giving us a moment alone, Mrs. Davies?" Cedric asked.
"Only a few minutes, Mr. Brown. It's nearly time for feeding again."
When she'd gone, Cedric chuckled. "As though I'm not familiar with the process."
Evangeline laughed as well as she squeezed her husband's hand. "We'll be on our own again soon enough."
"I suppose I can't be too irritated. She got the both of you through it."
"She said she doesn't have any concerns so long as I continue to rest and eat well. The worst is that I lost more blood than she would have liked, but nothing too alarming."
"Thank God for that."
"You can stop worrying now."
"Eventually… I'll be more settled as the next few months go on."
"The worst is over. I swear to you, I'm going to protect this girl with all I've got. We're going to be okay."
Looking down at Winnie, Cedric said, "Seeing her so peaceful like this I almost believe it."
Tugging on his hand, she said, "Now come here. You haven't even given me a kiss."
With a tearful smile, he shifted closer so he could lean over to meet her lips. "I love you so much, Evangeline."
"I love you, too," she sniffed, letting her fingertips graze the baby's head. "Thank you for her."
"I should be thanking you. You did all the work."
"Yes… Let's not have seven of them," she teased.
"Trust me, you'll spend some time with this one and soon enough be wanting another."
"I'm sure."
Handing Winnie back to Evangeline, he said, "Luckily, that's not a decision we have to make today."
"I still can't believe she's ours."
"Seeing my newborn child never gets old."
"I could freeze in this moment in time and be perfectly content."
Cedric stood, then bent down to kiss both Winnie and Evangeline's foreheads. "Tomorrow will be even better."
"Hard to imagine it."
"We'll have all of the children with us. I don't think Lily will sleep until she holds this baby."
In a whisper, Evangeline said, "Perhaps we can sneak her in when everyone else is asleep."
He laughed, "Darling, you need your sleep more than anyone."
"I couldn't possibly. I don't want to miss a single second."
Kissing her again, he said, "Well, I'm going to leave you to rest anyway. Mrs. Davies' orders."
Likely having spent the duration of their conversation just outside the door, the midwife appeared in a swoop. "Time for your supper as well, Mr. Brown."
"Yes, ma'am."
"I promise he's not keeping me awake."
"I know you're excited, but I promise you, tomorrow is a new day. The sooner you rest, the sooner you can enjoy the company of your family."
Cedric gave her a sympathetic smile as he blew her a kiss from the doorway.
Evangeline didn't argue any further. She was tired, but she was stuck in the surrealness of the situation. It felt like a storybook: Servant girl turned wife turned mother. She knew she was never meant for this sort of life. She was more thankful than she could ever put into words.
A little while later when she, at last, surrendered herself to sleep, she could have sworn she saw a familiar face across the room next to Winnie's crib. She opened her eyes again and she knew then she hadn't been imagining anything. The familiar face smiled kindly and winked.
Evangeline smiled, too, her eyes closing for the final time that night as she said, "Thank you, Nanny McPhee."
End.
I hope you enjoyed! At some point, I might consider posting a compilation of 'deleted scenes' in a separate story. As I've mentioned in the previous note, this story has turned into a monster. I haven't included it all because it has strayed so far from the initial premise. I had to jump ahead to finish this one before I completely lost sight. If anyone happens to be interested in the lengthy, rambling, sometimes random scenes that have come from this universe, please let me know. It's been a treat writing for these characters.