Disclaimer: I'm just playing with Suzanne Collins' characters and her world. They're hers. Not mine. Any lines from the books are hers too.
AN: Adding warnings for deaths, and apologizing in advance. Thanks to NurseKelly for putting up with my bellyaching over this story.
Kaleidoscope, pt 17
Madge waits at the bottom of the steps with Briar as Daisy slowly makes her way off the porch.
The last month of her pregnancy has been rough, to say the least.
Dizzy spells, back pain, and swelling, she'd grown so big so quickly the midwife said her body simply wasn't keeping up.
"Some people just aren't built for having babies," she'd told her, echoing the sentiment Madge's old, long dead, midwife had told her. It's not comforting, nor does she think it's supposed to be.
Gale's constant worrying grows more and more justified with each passing day, and Madge does all she can to shake it off. She'd been smaller than Daisy when she got pregnant, and as hard as the delivery was, she'd survived and had three more, quite uneventful pregnancies.
Daisy is sturdier than she ever was, a little taller, and she's got Gale's genes. She'll be fine.
At least that's what she keeps telling herself.
"That midwife is an idiot," had been Briar's assessment of the situation as she'd studied her library books harder, determined to be prepared when her newest niece or nephew made their appearance.
Today, at least, Daisy is having a good day.
She's smiling, a bit winded, but eager to go for a walk, and Madge and Briar are willing and available to go with her on one.
"Just down to Sage's," Briar reminds her as they finally, slowly, start the journey.
Daisy nods, smiling as they maneuver around muddy puddles and scattered garbage, the remnants of a storm that had blown through the night before.
It had cleaned the air, and eased some worries.
The winter had been dry. More than a few fires had sprung up from careless fires and sparks from machinery at the mines. They'd all been minor, thankfully, but in the Seam there was always the potential for disaster.
A few old women sitting on their porches call out to Daisy, inquiring about how long she has left and wishing her luck.
When they finally make it to Sage's Daisy is winded, sweating and pink in the face, so she sits on the steps to catch her breath.
"You go in, I'll be fine," she tells them. "I just need a minute."
Briar drops down beside her and waves Madge off. "I'll watch her."
Rolling her eyes, Daisy mutters that she doesn't need watching, but doesn't argue. She's too out of breath.
Stepping around them, up the steps, Madge grimaces as the boards groan under her as she reaches out and knocks on the door.
It's quiet inside, and she half wonders if Abilene has gone to town to see her parents when the locks click softly.
Smiling, Madge starts to greet her, but the words stick in her throat when she spots the frozen smile tacked on Abilene's face.
"Madge," she half sighs, a trace of relief ebbing into her features.
"Is something wrong?" Madge asks, trying to look over her shoulder. It does little good. Abilene is too tall.
"I-no...I have a visitor," she says simply, moving for Madge to come in.
Stepping over the threshold, Madge frowns as she looks around.
Her gaze stops when it finds a man sitting at the kitchen table, Jessamine in his arms.
At first Madge thinks it's Abilene's dad or Uncle Emmer.
Delly doesn't venture into the Seam much to see her daughter, more at ease with Abilene coming in to see her. Ryes has made his way to their home more than once though, especially during Abilene's pregnancy.
"She's my little girl," he'd told Madge. "I'll come see her as much as I can."
He doesn't come half as much as Gale is at Daisy's, but proximity is a large part of that. A five minute walk down a few roads is very different than making the journey from Town.
Emmer has been known to come to visit too. Abilene is his only niece, and clearly his favorite family member, his doting on her has annoyed Gale since she first got pregnant.
Abilene wouldn't be tense about Ryes or Emmer visiting though.
Frowning, Madge studies the man for a moment.
He's well dressed. A crisp blue shirt and black pants, blond hair neatly combed down, polished black shoes…
"Peeta?"
The figure sits up a little, shifts from their position of focusing on the baby, and turns in the seat.
Peeta smiles. "Hey, Madge."
His expression is worn, not the vibrant caricature shown on the television, the brighter, wittier half of District Twelve's famed Star-Crossed Lovers. There's exhaustion and ghosts haunting him, even now, as far from the Capitol as a person can get. Still, there's traces of the boy she'd known all those years ago, flickering out behind his smile.
"Madge." He smiles brighter, tilts the gurgling Jessamine up so she can see her. "I came to meet my littlest niece."
Nodding, Madge takes a step forward as Jessamine reaches for her, clearly excited to see her grandma.
Standing, Peeta crosses the room, gently rocking Jessamine, before reaching Madge.
"I think she wants you."
Smiling, Madge takes Jessamine, pressing a kiss to her already thick hair and holding her closely.
To Madge's knowledge, Peeta hasn't had much contact with his family in the years since he'd come back from his and Katniss' Victory Tour. Ryes had mentioned a few visits, when Abilene and her brothers had been very small, but beyond that, Peeta had been absent, a name and a memory and little more.
It's no wonder Abilene is anxious.
"She's beautiful," he tells her, voice just loud enough for Madge to hear.
He watches Jessamine chew on her hand, a wistful smile hanging on his lips, before sighing.
Madge imagines Peeta had probably wanted children. He'd have been a good father. Life as a Capitol prop, a toy and a pretty face, made family a very impractical, possibly dangerous life choice.
"Thank you," Madge murmurs back.
Reaching out, he smoothes the baby's hair before his smile eases.
"You're lucky," he tells her before shaking his head, pushing away whatever thought had cropped up. His eyebrows rise. "Heard you were getting another?"
Madge nods. "Daisy-she's younger-she's due here in the next few months."
Peeta chuckles. "That's great. Really great."
He means it, but Madge can sense the bitterness in his words. He may not begrudge her happiness, but he certainly resents that he's been denied it.
Jessamine begins to fuss, burrowing her face into Madge's chest in a search for food that isn't there
"I don't have that, sweetheart," Madge tells her, looking to the still tense Abilene. "She needs her momma."
Looking relieved, Abilene hurries over and takes her daughter, turning and going into the kitchen further to feed the baby.
Peeta looks disappoint at the loss of the baby, but smiles nonetheless.
"I guess I should go," he sighs before pointing to a small brown package. "I brought her a dress. It's from the Capitol, but it isn't bad. She won't be able to wear it until she's older though."
Remembering the dresses Mr. Abernathy had so often brought her when she was little, Madge nods. It's a thoughtful gift, even if his presence had unnerved his niece.
Madge wonders if Abilene is wary of her uncle because he's never been around, spends so much time in the Capitol, or if she's aware of how precarious a Victor's life can be.
Probably the former. Abilene hasn't got enough knowledge of Victor life to truly understand just why her uncle has stayed more than arm's length from his family.
Peeta understands though. This is probably a singular visit, like the ones he'd made to visit his little niece and nephews when they'd been small.
"I just wanted to see her once," he finally says.
"I know," Madge whispers. "It's okay."
He glances over his shoulder, probably hoping Abilene will reappear with the baby, but shakes his head when she doesn't.
"Tell her thanks for letting me hold her. She's perfect."
Nodding, Madge smiles. "I will. It was good to see you Peeta."
His smile drops a bit and he steps past her.
He stops just short of the door when it opens and Briar steps in, followed by Daisy.
She freezes, putting an arm up and blocking Daisy to the side.
"Mr. Mellark?" Daisy asks, looking confused.
"What're you doing here?" Briar asks, maybe a little more sharply than she intends. Maybe not.
They've met Peeta a few times over the years, probably more than they've met Katniss, during their visits to Mr. Abernathy's, but they aren't familiar with him past pleasantries.
Peeta looks like he might laugh.
"You certainly are Gale's child," Peeta chuckles. "No one seems to remember it, but Ryes is my brother. Abilene is my niece."
Briar and Daisy exchange a look, as if they had in fact, forgotten that.
"I'm leaving, if that's okay," Peeta says, pointing at the door. He gestures to Daisy's middle. "Congratulations, by the way."
She only nods in response.
Stepping from the door, the girls watch him exit, Briar quickly shutting the door in his wake.
They're all quiet for a moment, then Abilene peeks out from the kitchen, still looking uncertain.
"I was rude," she mutters, chewing her lip as she looks at Madge.
"You were smart," Briar counters, going to her and taking Jessamine, inspecting her for injury. "What did he want?"
Madge presses her hand her to forehead and sighs. "He just wanted to see Jess, Bri. There's no harm in it."
Briar looks unconvinced, but stays quiet, holding Jessamine closer.
Looking at Abilene, Madge smiles. "You weren't rude. You were a wary mother. Peeta understands."
Briar mutters that they don't care if he understands, and Madge almost points out that she's spent her entire life around Mr. Abernathy, but bites the words back.
Peeta won't be back, it's a pointless battle.
Instead, she sits on the couch with Daisy and takes Jessamine back from Briar and enjoys their afternoon.
They have that luxury, unlike Peeta.
#######
An hour passes, Madge is sitting on the back porch with Jessamine sleeping in her arms when someone whistles.
The girls are inside, working on dinner, and whistling isn't something they normally do to get her attention, so she frowns and looks around.
Someone whistles again.
"You sleeping?" A rumbling voice asks.
Smiling, Madge finally spots Ephraim at the edge of the porch, leaning on the railing, his helmet dangling from his hand.
"No, just resting. She was fussy, so I brought her outside to rock her."
He nods, smiles as Jessamine yawns in her sleep.
"Briar here?" He asks, reaching in his pocket and pulling out a bar of chocolate. "She asked me about getting this for Daisy for her birthday."
Nodding, Madge leans back and knocks on the window. "Bri, come out here."
There's clattering from inside, muttering, then the back screen opens and Briar pops out, bits of greens still stuck to her shirt.
"Oh, good," is all she says, taking the bar from him, tucking it in her pocket. "The ramps aren't up yet."
He nods. "Whenever, I'm not going anywhere."
"Whatever," Briar grumbles, running a hand through her hair, grimacing when she realizes she's smeared dirt in it from cleaning the greens. "We still on for Saturday?"
He shrugs. "Unless you changed your mind."
Madge almost laughs.
Briar has been taking Ephraim out into the woods with her for the past few weeks.
"He's a shit hunter," she admits. "I think he just likes being out of the fence. Reminds him of home."
Madge keeps her opinion, that Ephraim just likes spending time with her, wherever that might be, to herself. She doesn't want to scare Briar off the one friend she seems to have.
"Don't wear those damn shoes," she warns him. "I'm serious, Lew, boots or your ass sits out."
He rolls his eyes, but nods in agreement.
Turning, Briar starts to open the door and leave, tossing a 'see you later' over her shoulder, when the noise starts.
At first, Madge thinks someone is yelling, maybe a kid has fallen and is crying for their mother. Then the wailing gets louder.
Ephraim steps away from the porch, looks up at the sky just as the back door flies open and the other two girls rush out.
"I don't even see a cloud," Ephraim mutters.
Briar is as pale as Daisy as she looks at him, voice shaking. "It's not a storm warning."
She's gone, hurdling the rail, before explaining.
Daisy goes to the edge of the porch, watches Briar go, her hands gripping her belly as her breathing speeds up, eyes fill with tears.
"Sit down," Madge commands her, handing a now crying Jessamine off to Abilene, sensing Daisy might collapse. "Daisy, sit."
"What's the siren?" Ephraim asks.
He knows it's bad. A siren is never good.
Swallowing down bile, Madge guides Daisy to the rocker, smoothes her hair and tries to sooth her before looking back at Ephraim.
"The mines," she tells him, struggling to keep her voice steady. "There's been a collapse."
#######
Gale is in the middle of approving some bullshit document, a request for safety equipment they'll ever receive, when he feels the ground rumble under him.
One of the filing cabinets falls over, spilling pointless documents across the floor. The drawers jiggle noisily, and Gale's metal cup, filled with lukewarm water, shudders and topples off the desk, splattering water on his filthy boots.
Then the sirens start.
It's a long, low wail, echoes around the room as Gale gets to his feet and opens the door, dreading g what he'll find.
Outside, the clear blue sky is filled with billowing black clouds, belching upward from one of the mines.
His heart stops.
Before he can even think, he's running with the other men toward the mine, heart starting again, racing.
When he reaches the site, men are already stumbling out, bleeding and coughing, screaming alongside the siren as their friends haul them away from the still raining debris.
Pulling a rag from his back pocket, Gale covers his mouth and begins shouting orders, directing men around.
"Stabilize the opening!"
"Get the injured out of here!"
"Cover your faces!"
Time seems to stand still as more men crawl from the mine, injured, unable to walk. A few are carried, already dead, unknown to their panicked friends.
Then Gale spots Thom, blood and dirt caked in his hair, nose crooked, struggling with a limp figure tossed over his shoulder.
Gale freezes. Maybe it's been several hours, maybe it's only been seconds, but he's only just realizes which mine he run to.
His brothers are down there. Rory and Vick are down there.
"Thom!" He screams, running toward him.
Thom doesn't hear, just keeps stumbling, yelling hoarsely over the din for help.
When Gale reaches him, he's seconds from telling him to drop the body, the man is either dead or close to it when he realizes who it is.
Vick.
He's not moving, still as death even as Thom hobbles on a clearly busted ankle, trying to escape the mine.
Grabbing Thom, Gale shouts at him, tells him to stop as he takes Vick from him.
Vick is pale, a dusky gray color, dirt thick in his hair, a deep gash across his cheek that's oozing.
It takes Gale moment to notice his worst injury.
"Vick…"
His left leg is mangled, blood trickling out, bone and muscle clearly visible. It may as well be a hunk of meat dangling off his body.
Gale freezes, watches him, just like he'd watched Madge all those years ago, praying he takes a breath.
He almost cries when Vick's chest rises and falls, a ragged cough following it.
"...and then Rory threw him at me and told me to go, Gale, I just-I just went-and the elevator stopped and they were pulling it manual-"
Gale looks at Thom, now tugging at his bloody hair, face tracked with tears, and realizes what he's said.
Rory is still down there.
His brother is still down there.
Mind racing, he starts to pick Vick's gangly frame up, when someone knocks into him, pushing him out of the way.
It's a woman, a Peacekeeper, wild red hair and a stern glare as she presses a pale finger to Vick's neck.
He doesn't ask why Peacekeepers are there, why they're helping, his mind is in too many places to even wonder about it.
"Alive! We need to tourniquet that leg though, or he's gonna bleed out before we can lob it!" She shouts over her shoulder at another Peacekeeper.
Before Gale can say anything, another Peacekeeper has dropped down and cinched a belt around Vick's leg.
"Move him out!" The redhead shouts before looking at Gale and Thom.
"Not injured! Move along!" She turns to Thom and hands him a rag, takes his hand and presses it to the wound on his head, still oozing blood, trickling down his face, into his eyes. "Walking wounded! Get to the medical station!"
Thom is too disoriented to argue, just nods and begins to wander in the direction she'd indicated, behind the men moving Vick, but Gale stays.
"My brother is down there!" He tells her. "I'm a supervisor!"
She looks unimpressed.
"Little difference that'll make!"
Out the corner of his eye, Gale spots Sage, his crisp white Corps shirt filthy with blood and dirt as he helps cart injured away from the collapse.
He stops as they place another man on the cart, and Gale can see the tremor in his hand as he helps shift the load, but he doesn't hesitate. He's gone to where ever the medical station is in the blink of an eye.
"-I'm not suggesting it! I'm ordering!" The little redhead yells, turning to the other Peacekeeper. "Get him out!"
Gale starts to run to the mine, she's not big enough to stop him, but gets caught before he's taken two steps.
"Sorry, Mr. Hawthorne."
"Lew! Damn you!" Gale snarls, elbowing him, trying to shove him off. "Rory is down there!"
"And he wouldn't want you down there too," Lew gently tells him as he pins his arms to his sides, begins dragging him away. "You know that."
As much truth as there is to his words, Gale doesn't care. His brother needs him.
Debris flies around them, fills the air, already thick with screams and the coppery scent of blood and death, as Lew drags him away. Inching him further and further from the mine. Further from Rory.
He doesn't know how they get to the fence around the mines, but he struggles the entire way.
"I'm sorry," Lew keeps telling him, even as Gale shouts abuse at him, calls him every name he's ever heard, cursing him to hell for what he's doing.
"Dad!"
Arms fling around him just as Gale realizes he's been released.
"Briar?"
She's crying, her tears soaking through his dirty work shirt as she holds him tighter.
"I saw Uncle Vick," she tells him, voice cracking on every word. "Sage-Sage said it was his and Uncle Rory and Uncle Thom's mine. He said he hasn't seen Uncle Rory-and Aunt Chaparral ran in-Lew said he doesn't know where she went-and if that was-"
Gale shushes her, closing his eyes and squeezing her closer.
Rory will be fine, he lies to himself. Lew had been right, his brother would strangle Gale if he did something as stupid as go into a dangerous mine to look for him.
"Show me Vick," he tells her, needing the focus of someone he can help to occupy his mind. "He looked bad."
Vick needs him. Vick he can help.
The ground under them shudders again and Gale has to remind himself to breath.
Rory will be fine.
#######
They pull men from the mine well into the night.
Sanderson and his boy are pulled out, several of the men from Gale's old crew, all dead.
Then they find Rowan Barrows.
He's at the bottom of the shaft when they finally get the second collapse cleared away, solely to salvage the metal. The bodies found are incidental. From what they piece together, he was among the men manually cranking the elevator up, just as Thom had said.
Daisy doesn't make a noise as the little redhead Peacekeeper shows her the body, just nods as her wide blue eye fill with tears.
She's a widow. His baby girl is a widow.
Her knees buckle, she wobbles, then starts to collapse, caught by Miles before she hits the ground.
"He can't be gone," she tells Miles as he holds her up, walks her from the body. "He said he wouldn't leave me. He promised."
Promises don't stop the worst though.
Silent sobs wrack her body as Gale takes Miles' spot holding her.
He tells her it'll be okay, she's not alone, she's strong…
None of that matters though, none of it helps as she cries harder, asks him what shes going to tell their baby.
Every now and then Gale has to remind himself where and when he is. It feels more like a memory than a moment, the here and now with a heartbroken pregnant woman crying on him.
It's Daisy, not his mom, who's lost a husband.
Gale wishes he could spare his son-in-law more thought, but he just can't.
They don't find Rory's body at the bottom of the elevator shaft.
Chaparral doesn't cry, doesn't ask why. Her chin quivers and her eyes brighten, but she doesn't cry in front of anyone.
She stands tall, her curls bushing out as she does her duties as magistrate, which now include signing hundreds of death certificates. Including her husband's.
"I keep expecting him to walk in," she tells Gale when he finds her at her office, buried in her work, freckled face blotchy and eyes pink. "I don't want it to be true, but I know it is."
She laughs, watery and broken.
"Tell your mom I'm sorry. I can't be-I can't handle everyone right now. I just can't."
Her mourning is her own, and Gale simply nods and gives her a hug.
"We're still family, okay?"
She nods.
########
Hazelle crumbles, clinging to Posy as they mourn a lost son and brother.
"My baby is gone," she whispers, more to herself than Madge as they sit vigil at Vick's bedside. "My Rory is gone."
Fern hugs her grandma before going to get more water and to check on her mother and little brother.
Mopping Vick's brow, Hazelle wipes a tear away.
Vick's improving, slowly but surely.
Over the past few days, he's woken up several times, delirious with pain but the fevers have subsided.
They'd cut his leg off at the knee, leaving a bloody stump in its place.
It had to go, as mangled as it was, as much blood as it was costing him, but the reality of it was hard to see.
Blood soaked gauze and a roughly sewn skin, a vacant space where his left leg had been. Charity hadn't been able to stomach changing his bandages, letting the task fall on Fern and Boone, who'd both taken the work in stride.
"It's okay dad," Fern told him as he'd mindlessly whimpered during a bandage change Madge had witnessed. "Boone's just cleaning it."
He'll never go back in the mines, not like this. Not that any of them would want him too.
Everyone dreads telling him that Rory, his best friend, his big brother, his protector, is dead.
"I should've got him out," Thom tells them when he comes by to bring soup Bristol made.
He looks awful.
His face is bruised, nose crooked, one eye swollen shut, limping badly as he apologizes endlessly for not trying harder, failing them all.
"You saved Vick," Charity consoles him. "That's what Rory would've wanted."
She isn't wrong, and Thom knows it, but he still holds himself like a man guilty of a sin past forgiveness.
Madge and Posy watch as Hazelle presses a kiss to Vick's forehead before following after Fern.
"I don't know what to feel," Posy finally says, voice flat, empty of everything. "I miss Rory, but...I'm happy Vick survived...I don't-what am I supposed to feel?"
Taking her hand, Madge smiles, a few tears trickling out the corners of her eyes.
"I don't know."
Because there's no answer.
Slumping over, Posy's face crumples before a sob claws out her throat.
"I don't know what to do."
Holding her, Madge watches Vick's reassuring breathing, steadier than it's been in days.
"Me either."
#######
Miles stands with Daisy as their grandfather gives her Rowan's medal.
It's warm outside, and the air hasn't been deemed necessary by the Capitol yet, so all the windows in the Justice Building are open, filling the hall with the scents of spring.
Freshly blooming flowers, trees, upturned earth, and the crispness of fresh dew.
None of that erases the death hanging in the air, around all the families of the dead.
Wives, children, mothers and fathers, are all lined up for convenience, for Madge's father to give them his condolences and the Capitol's cold medal.
When he gets to Chaparral he pauses, gives her a pat on the shoulder, and passes her the medal without saying a word. Madge doubts her sister-in-law wants either words or a medal, but she's bound by her position to accept the medal, keep up the appearance. Madge supposes her father had given her his silence as a gift. His sympathies can't be put into words. He'd liked Rory.
Madge watches as he moves on to the next, a mother, then a son, then Daisy.
She looks small, frail and broken beside Miles, who is standing tall and defiant at her side. The loss has aged most of the people standing around her by decades, but Daisy seems younger. The only sign she isn't a child is the growing belly under the dress Madge had hemmed for her the evening before.
Her grandfather's smile falters and he fumbles with the medal before Miles takes it from him.
Reaching out, he pulls Daisy into a hug.
It's probably not something he's supposed to do, but he's undoubtedly past caring. His grandchild is hurting, and there's nothing he can do. A hug is a privilege, probably something he can pass off as a fit of familial affection if questioned.
The moment lasts only seconds.
He whispers a few words, presses a kiss to her cheek, then pats Miles on the shoulder before moving on.
The ceremony lasts maybe an hour, then they all spill out into the Town, puffy eyed and somber.
"Here," Chaparral hands the medal to Hazelle. "I want you to have this. For Rory."
Hazelle's eyes fill with tears as she takes the medal, turns it over in her hand.
"Thank you."
Chaparral starts to leave, but is stopped when Hazelle pulls her into a hug.
"Don't be a stranger. We're still family."
Madge looks away, presses her face to Gale's chest and lets a few tears trickle out before pulling him with her toward where their children are waiting.
This isn't their moment, and they need to get Daisy home.
#######
Weeks slip by, some days in the blink of an eye, others seem to last years.
Vick heals, though his spirits are dim as his prospects.
"I just miss him," he tells Madge as they sit on his back porch, watching Boone help Charity hang laundry on the line.
She almost tells him it gets better, but doesn't.
She's never lost a sibling. Maybe that wound never heals.
Briar moves in with Daisy, trying to keep her sister going as she settles into life without her husband, a future as a single mother.
"She's just so quiet," Briar tells Madge as she comes by to check on them. "I just-what do I do?"
Madge shakes her head. "I don't know."
She has no answers for anyone lately.
Briar chews her lip, eyes on her hands as she picks at the dirt under her nails.
"I have to force her to eat-she sleeps all the time-she only drinks water when I'm around…" she sighs, tugs at the tail of her ponytail. "She really loved him, and now she's all alone."
Pulling Briar into a hug, Madge smiles.
"She's not alone."
Daisy has that rare luxury of having a family that loves her wholly and without question. She'll never be alone.
"I'm just worried about her. Maybe Miles should come over here. She seems to do better with hi-"
She's cut short by something crashing inside, then Daisy screams.
"Briar!"
Madge rushes in behind her daughter.
Inside, Daisy is standing in the kitchen, a bowl of strawberries upturned at her feet, a puddle of water formed around her.
"I think-I think my water broke."
Briar nods. "Yep."
"How long have you been contracting?" Madge asks, putting a hand on Daisy's stomach, now firm.
Daisy shrugs through a grimace.
"I don't know," she finally says. "Since last night, maybe?"
Briar makes a frustrated noise.
"You were in labor and you let me go into the woods?"
Daisy mumbles something about it not being a big deal as Briar begins rattling off things she's read, what she remembers about Jessamine's birth, ordering Daisy to walk, walk, walk...
#######
It's several hours before Daisy is ready to deliver.
She screams, tears and sweat rolling down her face and dripping off her chin as Briar helps her stay sitting.
The little red headed Peacekeeper sternly tells her to push.
Ephraim, who had come after Wren had run off and found him for Briar, insisting he bring 'party drinks', had rushed off to find her when instead of a head, Briar had shouted that it was 'a damn foot' coming out.
"Winifred's a doc," he told them as she'd hurried into the bedroom behind Madge. "I thought she might could help."
She'd blown in and immediately commanded Briar go to the head of the bed and told Madge she was in charge of 'doing exactly what I say'.
It feels like hours stretching out around them as Daisy cries, pushes on command, begs them to 'get it out'.
She's mid scream when another noise mixes with it, a brittle little cry.
"You got a girl," Winifred cheerfully tells them as she passes the baby to Madge.
The baby squalls, flails it's little arms as Madge tries to wipe away the blood from its face.
She's perfect. Dark hair and a set of lungs.
Madge laughs as she imagines Gale. He's going to be beside himself with two granddaughters.
"Push, girl," Winifred tells Daisy, trying to deliver the placenta. "It's gotta come out."
Madge looks up from the baby and starts to go to the top of the bed to hand her to Daisy, when another cry fills the air.
"There she is!" Winifred laughs as she holds another baby up.
For a moment Madge is too stunned to speak, it isn't until Winifred makes an impatient noise that she realizes what's been said.
"Had that one off and take this one. I need to get that placenta out."
Handing the first baby to a very confused Briar, Madge takes the second.
"Twins?" She asks as Daisy laughs, taking her older daughter from her sister. "Girls?"
Daisy's face is shiny with sweat and tears as she studies the baby, smiling as she runs a finger down her tiny nose, inspecting her little fingers before looking at Madge.
"Mom? Can I hold her?"
It's the silliest question Madge has ever heard. Of course she can hold her. She's her daughter.
It takes some shifting, but soon both babies are quiet and resting in Daisy's arms as she stares at them in wonder.
They clean her up, thanking Winifred as she helps them.
"It's no trouble," she tells them. "Better than barrack checks."
She leaves once she's happy Daisy's bleeding is controlled.
"Send Lew if you need me," she tells them.
A few moments pass as Daisy smiles at the babies before looking up at Madge and Briar.
"Can you get dad? Miles and Wren too?"
Briar hesitates. "You need rest."
"Just for a minute."
"Dai-"
"Briar," Madge gently stops her from arguing, smiling. "A few minutes will be good for her."
And everyone else. They're due some happiness.
Leaving them, Madge goes to the kitchen.
Gale is pacing on the back porch while Wren and Miles are at the kitchen table with Hazelle. She must've come after Ephraim.
"We saw Lew and the lady go, but we didn't tell dad," Miles tells her, jerking his thumb toward the porch. "We we're afraid he'd have some sort of a fit 'cause she said Daisy wasn't ready for visitors yet."
"Is she ready?" Wren asks, already on her feet. "I told Sage I'd come tell him when she was ready."
"Go get him," Madge tells her.
Not waiting to be told twice, Wren races out the front door, letting it bang shut behind her.
"She's okay?" Hazelle asks, standing, hands wringing going together. She can't take another loss.
Madge grins. "She's wonderful."
Gale half falls in the backdoor, having heard the commotion of Wren's exit.
"What's happened?"
Grabbing his hand, Madge pulls him toward the bedroom.
"Come on," she tells Miles and Hazelle.
Gale is tense as they open the door, then she hears him make a strangled noise as he finally sees Daisy.
He steps past Madge and drops beside Daisy, presses a kiss to her sweat soaked hair.
"I have girls, dad."
#######
"Scout's older," Briar tells Wren as they rock the babies.
"Well Sawyer is smarter," Wren shoots back. "She came out the right way."
Rolling her eyes, Briar passes Scout to Vick, muttering that Scout had the right idea hitting the ground running.
Gale laughs.
He's happy that's all they have to fight about at the moment.
Madge comes up behind him and presses a kiss to his rough cheek before passing a plate over his head. "Strawberry shortcake."
Taking a bite, Gale watches Sage try to interest Jessamine in her new cousins, with little success.
Madge sits on the arm of the chair, wraps an arm around Gale and rests her head against his.
They've had a rough year, lost too much, wasted too much time.
But they have the luxury of more time, more chances.
So many don't.
Closing his eyes, Gale can see Rory teasing Vick, making light of the missing limb, telling him he expects him to hop to the mines.
"You aren't getting out of work that easily."
His dad is sitting next to his mom, smiling at their great-grandchildren, enjoying the fruits of a long life and a happy marriage.
Even Barrows is there, trying to hold both girls in his arms, asking Daisy if he's doing it right.
Opening his eyes, Gale blinks back tears.
Ghost and memories are all that's left of them now, which is cruel. Somehow cruel has become normal in their lives though.
He shakes the thought away.
They're alive, and they owe his dad, Rory, and even Barrows not to waste their lives in misery. It's a gift that has an expiration date, but not one they can see.
Pulling Madge into his lap, Gale laughs as she squeals, presses a kiss to her lip.
They're luck for this moment. They need to enjoy it.
#######
AN: ...sorry y'all. Please don't hate me, it's just how the story came out. I cried as I wrote it, if that makes any difference. Anyways, that's the end of this arc (finally), and Kaleidoscope will be on hold for a while so I can work on other stories and decide what direction this story needs to go in next. I'll revisit this universe eventually, but I think the characters (and me) need a little break. Thanks for reading and thanks for the encouragement.