Chapter 27: A Glorious Day
Raoul's POV
Two months later...
Time passed quickly as spring began to bloom in France. After Faust had ended I took my maternity leave from the Opera Populaire. Since the weather was warm Raoul had taken time off from the firm and we had once more ventured to the house by the sea. We spent wonderful sunlit days at the shore, just the two of us. Now I stood on the deck of our cottage, looking out at the waves as they rippled up against the sand. I felt an arm find its way around my waist and my now rather large stomach.
"Hello, love," I said, smiling.
"Hello Little Lotte. How are you feeling today?" he asked. "Am I going to have to coax that child out of you? I wish it would come already."
I laughed at his impatience. "Raoul you can't rush these things, you know. The baby will come when he or she is ready."
Then as though the child inside of me could hear our conversation, I felt a sudden pain and let out a small gasp.
"What's the matter Christine, does something hurt?" asked Raoul, his baby blue eyes concerned.
"I think the baby must have heard us talking because I think its coming," I said, short of breath now.
Raoul stared for a moment as though frozen with shock. Then he spoke, his words unsure.
"I'll get Jacques to ride for the doctor and I'll stay here with you," he stuttered. "Is that all right?" He looked at me desperately, his hands shaking slightly. But I had anticipated this; truthfully I had thought that he might be much worse. From the tales I had heard of Father's state during my birth, I thought Raoul was doing quite well.
"That's fine," I said calmly, gritting my teeth in pain. "Please hurry."
With that he picked me up carefully in his arms and laid me delicately down on our bed. "I'll be right back," he promised as he ran out the door, his hands in his hair, his face slightly pale. I heard his footsteps moving frantically through the house and heard his worried voice calling out for Jacques. A few minutes later he came back into the room, his eyes looking wild, his blonde hair askew.
"Jacques is on his way. Are you going to be able to hold on until the doctor gets here?" he asked as he knelt next to the bed.
"Yes I think so," I said. "Ouch!" I let out suddenly as another contraction came on.
"Here, take my hand and squeeze it as hard as you need to when you're in pain," he suggested as he put out his hand.
I took it and smiled a bit through the pain. This very gesture was one of the reasons that I loved Raoul so much; he stood by me through everything and we were always there for each other when we needed one another. The minutes passed and the contractions came closer and closer together. I kept squeezing Raoul's hand and noticed that his fingers were turning red. I pointed this out to him and he responded that that small pain was irrelevant compared to mine. I would have laughed at the truth in this, but it only made me hurt more. Then I felt a searing contraction and I cried aloud. At the same moment the door came open and the doctor came in, trying to catch his breath.
"Ah, well I can see that I got here in time. I was quite surprised when Jacques came riding up. Its a good thing that I live just down the road." He cast a glance at Raoul. "Will you be staying or leaving Vicomte?"
I looked up at Raoul and gave him a pained smile and grasped his hand. "I'll stay," said Raoul shakily, reading the expression in my eyes. I could tell that he was terribly nervous."Is everything going to be all right with Christine and the baby?"
The doctor nodded."It will all be fine Vicomte, never fear," he responded reassuringly.
An hour later however, 'All right' was not how I would have described the scenario. I was yelling out in pain and sweat poured down my face. I grapsed Raoul's hand so firmly that I was sure that he had lost all feeling in it.
"Just one more push Vicomtess, just one more!" exclaimed the docotor encouragingly. I yelled out and gave one last burst of energy. "Its a girl!" said the doctor gleefully. "But, oh my! It seems we have another one on the way!"
"What?" asked Raoul, astounded. "Do you mean to say that Christine is having twins?"
"Yes," answered the doctor simply. "And here it comes!"
I felt another searing pain and squeezed Raoul's hand. This one however, came much more quickly than the first had, and after a few minutes I felt relief as the second child came. As the pain subsided, the shock that I had just delivered not one, but two children, set in. I had had no inkling that I would be having twins.
"Its a boy Christine," said Raoul. " We have a beautiful baby girl and a bouncing baby boy," he breathed, his voice filled with emotion.
I smiled up at him, loving the expression that was there in his kind and handsome features. We had created two new lives with our love, and it was the most thrilling emotion that I had ever experienced.
"Congratulations to you both," said the doctor, as he placed the twins in my arms.
I noticed that the girl had deep brown eyes like mine and little sprouts of blonde hair from Raoul. The boy on the other hand, had piercing blue eyes like Raoul and dark brown hair like mine. As I held my babes in my arms, I had never felt such a need to love unconditionally or to protect. Raoul leaned over and looked at the children with adoration and fascination in his eyes.
"What do you want to name them darling?" he asked as he swept my sweaty curls from my face.
"I was thinking Gustav and Gabrielle. How does that sound?"
He grinned. "I think that sounds perfect"
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Later that day after the sun had set, I awoke to the sound of Raoul sliding into bed beside me.
"Hello there," he said as he kissed my cheek. "How are you feeling?"
"Exhausted," I responded truthfully. "But so very happy."
"I should say so," said Raoul. "I don't know how women manage to do that. I just put Gustav and Gabrielle back in their cribs. I attempted a lullaby, but I know yours would be much better."
I chuckled. "You have a nice singing voice," I assured him.
"Its all right I suppose, but you my love, have the voice of angel," he said as he wrapped both arms around me, holding me close.
"Can you believe it Raoul? We've started a family of our own. It seems so wonderfully surreal," I said, burying my face in his shirt, a smile pulling at my lips.
"Its feels magical Christine, I've never felt anything like it. I experienced a whole new ruch of feelings when I held them today," he said as he planted a kiss in my hair.
"Raoul," I said quietly.
"Yes?"
"I love you so much," I said, loving him even more now than I had before, which I hadn't thought possible.
"Oh, Christine," he said, and I knew he was smiling. "I love you too, so very much."
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A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry it took so long to update, but getting ready to go to college is hard work! Talk about the paperwork! Anyway, I hope you like this chapter. There's only one more chapter left after this, which I'm almost done with. It will be an epilogue which takes place eight years after the twins are born. Thanks once again to all of my wonderful reviewers; I love you guys! Please read and review, I can't wait to see what you think!