John paced back and forth, running his hands agitatedly through his hair.
"What's taking so long?" he moaned. "Why did they chuck me out? I ought to be in there with her! What if something happens? What if…?"
Scott grabbed him by the shoulders and looked his brother in the eyes.
"John, calm down, okay?"
"But my wife…my baby… something's wrong…all that blood…I'm losing her! Scott, I can't go through that again, I can't. I need to be with her!"
Kayo exchanged glances with Isla, who grabbed her brother-in-law by the elbow and tugged.
"Come on Johnny, sit down for a bit. You'll only wear yourself out with all this pacing, and Amy is going to need you at your best until she recovers. Grandma, Brains and Virgil know what they're doing."
John sat down reluctantly on the holo-table, but still unable to relax, found his left foot continuously jiggling. Kayo sat beside him and enfolded him in her arms.
"Amelia is strong, John. She'll come through this. Whatever happens, we're all here for you."
John looked around at his family. They were all here. Scott and Kayo, Gordon and Penny, Alan and Sonia, Isla, and in the background were the kids, Isaac and Joshua, Serendipity, George and Billy being watched over by Parker. And dad. Dad who had been through more than any of them. He had lost a wife, and he had lost a son…his firstborn son Neil.
John was not customarily a worrier. He liked to collect facts and figures, possibilities and options. He liked to have them all at his fingertips. Well, he had collected facts about pregnancy. The likelihood of something going wrong for someone as strong and healthy as Amy was minute. He had allowed himself to believe that everything was going to be great, when suddenly…there had been a lot of blood, and he had been bundled out of the infirmary, the door closed on him.
And he had started to worry. Big time.
Dad caught Scott's eye, and after a moment, Scott nodded.
"Come on Kayo, Gords, Grandma is going to busy for a bit. Let's get lunch started, shall we? A buffet would be best…"
Watching them go, John stood up and made to follow, but his father rested a hand on his shoulder.
"Come on son. Let's take a walk."
John shook his head.
"I can't…what if…?"
Jeff was firm.
"I understand John, really I do, but they'll call you by your watch, remember?"
"Alright." John said, clearly reluctant. "But not far. Maybe just down to the beach and back? Twice around the pool?"
Jeff smiled.
"Come on."
They strolled mostly in silence, listening to the gentle lapping of the waves on the shore, and the breeze through the palm trees that lined the edge of the beach. Despite himself, John felt his spirits, and with them, his hope lifted a little by the beauty around him. Until he made the mistake of thinking too deeply. He remembered his own heartbreak from years earlier, he recalled Virgil's profound grief over the loss of Constance, was it six or seven years ago now? He had watched his brother suffer, knowing there was not a darned thing he could do or say that could take away his brother's pain. The thought of possibly going through that very same thing himself all but made his heart stop.
He stopped walking, and Jeff, finding himself suddenly alone, turned back and drew his son into a hug. He felt his son shaking slightly in his arms, then sat down on the sand, pulling John down with him.
"Thinking the worst?"
John shrugged.
"Terrified of the worst happening. Am I wrong?"
Jeff shook his head.
"No. She's your wife, and you love her more than life itself. I know that feeling well."
John wanted to ask his father how he had coped after losing mom, but the words died in his throat. Losing Amy…Amelia didn't bear thinking about. He would die too if he lost her. Jeff pulled John close.
"Sometimes the worst does happen, son. Sometimes the mother and the child both are lost, leaving their family devastated. But that is…in figures…something like zero point zero zero zero one two percent? In other words…"
"…She will be fine." John finished for him with a faint smile. "I know. I've done the numbers already. I'm just…scared. Being International Rescue tends to teach us not to trust in those kinds of percentages. We deal with that very, very unlucky minority every day."
Jeff nodded sadly.
"That we do, and the upshot is that it can make us very cynical. One thing life has taught me is to never imagine the worst-case scenario. Worst-case scenarios rarely happen anyway, and if it does happen, it will be hard enough to deal with. There is no value in worrying and fretting over things that probably will never happen. That would be the very quickest way to getting yourself an ulcer! Now, how about a cup of Penny's tea while we wait for news?"
Thirty minutes and three refreshing cups of Lady Penelope Tracy's tea later, and John's heart had started to ease its frantic hammering a little. There was a bleep from John's watch, and everyone froze. A moment later, Virgil's face appeared on the screen.
He smiled.
"Congratulations big brother. You're a daddy!"
John's heart stopped.
"And Amy?"
"She'll be fine. She's sleeping at the moment. You can come down to see her in ten minutes, but in the meantime, grandma has someone I think you will want to meet."
They swung round. Grandma reached the top stair and paused, looking around the kitchen.
"Here you are, baby. Here's your daddy! John, come and meet your daughter."
My daughter! John stared round at his family for a moment, then the next second, grandma was beside him, beaming proudly, a tiny pink bundle in her arms. She kissed John's nose and tenderly placed the infant in his arms.
Big blue eyes were already open and watching him, staring into his own. From beneath the soft white blanket, faint tufts of ginger curls peeped out. Tears pooled in John's eyes and rolled down his cheeks. He didn't care. My baby. He thought, staring at the beautiful baby in his arms. My daughter. A wide smile crept over his face. He smiled through his tears at the warm smiles around him.
"Hello my little Lucy." He kissed the tiny girl on the forehead. "Welcome home."