"Polly, go! We will be fine!" I told the older woman as I was trying to usher her out the door. "Maybe I should stay. You're not far from that baby coming." she replied, looking concerned. "I've got another 4 and a half weeks, Pol. I'll be fine!" I assured her. "A weekend with Ada will do you some good." I added, resting a hand on my bump. She still looked unsure but she picked up her bag and left, giving me a final kiss on the cheek as she went.
As I walked into the still closed shop, Finn came running out of John's office carrying one of my thick accounting books. "Stop running!" I called over to him. "And where are you taking my books?" I asked, hands on my hips. Tommy came out of his office. "For the next few weeks, they are not your books." he told me, taking it from Finn. "You need to rest, not be bent over these all day." he added. "We can't do much about John bending you over all night." Arthur called from the blackboard, never missing an opportunity to joke about me and John. I narrowed my eyes at him as John came in through the front door. "Did you know about this?" I asked, gesturing to Tommy. "Tommy and I had discussed it." he told me, coming over and leaning against the table next to me. "And when were you planning on discussing it with me?" I asked, looking between the brothers. "We are discussing it now." Tommy countered. "Really? Because I feel like I am being told." I replied, crossing my arms over my chest. The men shared a look. "As your bosses, it's been decided." Tommy told me, finally turning back to me. "As my bosses?" I echoed, looking at him incredulous. "As your sister and your wife, fuck you." I responded, turning on my heels and leaving without turning back.
I had used my anger to clean mine and John's house from top to bottom as I couldn't do my usual thing and get drunk in the Garrison. By time I had finished, it was beginning to get dark and I settled on the sofa to read.
It was a few hours later that I was woken up by a sharp pain in my stomach. Opening my eyes, the room was dark apart from a small amount of light from a street lamp. Looking over at the clock, it was past 10. Then I felt another sharp pain and putting my hand over my lower stomach I could feel it harden then softening as the pain went away. I was in labour. I took a few calming breaths before standing, stretching out slowly. I walked over to the door, not bothering with a coat as I left and made my way across the road to the shop. There were some lights on and when I walked in, I found Robert and George in the shop. "Hey, where is everyone?" I asked, smiling at the boys. "Down the Garrison, I think." Robert responded. I nodded. "Of course. I need you two to help me." I told them, they look at each other unsure but quickly looked back to me as I felt another contraction move through me causing me to grip the edge of a nearby table.
"Robert, you need to go to number 12 Great Barr. Ask for Anne and tell her that I'm in labour and Polly and Ada are in London, I need her to come here as soon as possible. Then you need to go to the Garrison and get John and bring him here. Do it in that order, do you understand?" I instructed. He nodded, getting up and putting his hat on his head as he walked out. "George, I need to you start boiling some water and to help me upstairs." I told him.
Ten minutes later, George had helped me get comfortable on mine and John's old bed and had gone downstairs to boil water. I heard a knock on the door and then feet on the stairs. George arrived in the open doorway first. "The lady is here from Great Barr." he told me, moving so Anne could come into the room. She was a small lady around Polly's age that was known to the women to advise and examine young girls when they have found themselves pregnant or during a miscarriage. "Hello, Evie. Polly chose a hell of a day to go away." she joked. I smiled at the woman. "Thank you for coming so late, Anne. I didn't know who else to call on." I told her. "It's no problem sweetie, have you had your waters yet?" she asked, placing her bag on the floor and sitting on the bed next to me. I shook my head. "We might be in for a long night then. Fetch me some towels and let me know when her husband is here." She told George, effectively dismissing him. He went back downstairs as Anne started feeling my stomach.
A small frown came across her face. "What's wrong?" I asked, watching the woman carefully. "He's not in the right place." she told me, pressing harder on my stomach to try to manipulate the baby inside me. "She. Polly thinks it's a girl." I told her. "Well, Polly is nearly always right." she replied, still frowning slightly. "Let's get you out of this dress." she added, taking my hands and helping me off the bed as another contraction pulsed through my body. I bent over slightly, crying out quietly. "It's alright, dear." she told me rubbing my back while the contraction passed.
Anne helped me out of my dress as I held onto the back of my dressing table chair. George brought in some towels and put them on the nearby drawers before going back downstairs. Anne quickly pulled back the covers from the bed, discarding them in the hallway and placing towels down over the mattress. She plumped up the pillows and sat me back onto them, leaning into them to support my back.
The door slammed from downstairs and there were feet on the stairs. "Evie!" John shouted, coming down the hallway. Anne met him in the doorway and he watched me over her head as she whispered to him. He nodded once she had stopped talking and she moved to let him in the room, removing his coat and blazer and hanging them on the back of the chair before sitting next to me. I could hear Arthur and Tommy's familiar voices from downstairs. "How are you doin?" He asked, placing a kiss on my forehead and taking my hand. "I'm okay. Terrified, but okay." I told him. "You're gonna be wonderful." he replied, squeezing my hand.
"Anne said that she thinks the baby is the wrong way round." John told me, sounding confused. I laughed but stopped quickly when another contraction went through me. "Yeah, Karl was as well. It'll be okay." I assured him, once it had passed. "Your contractions are very close together. Are you sure no waters yet?" Anne asked, placing a firm hand on my stomach. I shook my head. "And baby is still moving like she was?" she asked. I nodded. "May I?" she indicated towards me. I swallowed once before nodding.
John re-positioned while Anne took another towel from the side, placing it over my knees as I place my feet flat on the bed and allowing her to feel under my slip. John still had firm grip on my hand which I squeezed as Anne examined me. "You are very close." she told us both, sitting back and watching me for a moment. "Are you feeling okay?" she asked me. I nodded. "I'm going to get some tea and hot water and see where we are then. I am guessing you will be staying for the duration, Mr Shelby?" she asked. His face lost a bit of colour but he nodded at her. I smiled at her as she stood. "If you need me, shout. Walk around if you feel like you want to." she added before leaving.
It was around 30 minutes later that my waters broke. John and I had looked at each other for a moment before he went to the top of the stairs, calling for Anne to come back. Then he was back beside me, holding my hand and brushing my hair from my face as continuous contractions pulsed through my body. Anne was back with her sleeves rolled up and a determined look on her face. "Right, Evie. It's time to start pushing." she told me, sitting on the end of the bed between my legs. I glanced at John who had gone white but he squeezed my hand reassuringly. "You can do this." he told me.
What seemed like an eternity later, cries filled the room. John and I looked at each other stunned before turning to Anne and the tiny baby in her arms. "It's a girl." she told us, smiling. John got a clean towel off the side and wrapped it round the small baby as Anne handed her to him. Anne got her bag and quickly cut the cord, freeing the baby from me as John looked down at the bundle in his arms with awe.
He looked over to me as he came back to the top of the bed, handing me our baby with care. Silent tears came down my face as I looked down at the now quiet baby. She looked up at me with the same calm blue eyes as her father and her head was covered in tiny black curls that replicated my own. I knew one thing for certain as I looked up at John, who had sat beside me and put an arm around my shoulders as he looked down at her, she had our hearts and we would do anything for her.
"Let's clean you up so she can meet her uncles." Anne whispered, smiling at us. I smiled back as I gently handed our little girl to John. Anne helped me clean up with the warm water and change into a clean night dress before taking the soiled towels off the bed and replacing them with clean ones. She swapped the pillows round so that the ones covered with sweat were now in the back and the clean ones propped me up. John sat in the corner the whole time, rocking and quietly talking to our daughter.
Once I had got back into bed, John handed me back our baby before getting some of the sheets from the hallway floor and covering my legs and stomach with them. "I'll take these to get cleaned for you tomorrow. Please come fetch me if there are any issues. I'll send your brothers up." Anne said to John as I got comfy again. He thanked her before coming back to me, sitting on the edge of the bed and putting his arm around me again, using his free hand to take the baby's small one in his.
We heard them coming up the stairs before we saw them. Looking up I saw Finn sheepishly poke his head around the doorway first, taking us in with wide eyes. Tommy and Arthur followed him closely into the room. I smiled at each of them before looking to John. He nodded, kissing my temple. "We would like to introduce you to your niece. Lily Shelby."
A/N They had a little girl! What do you all think?