Names
Her daughter resting in the crook of one arm, Eileen used her free hand to adjust the blanket wrapped around her. She was a tiny thing, though, bigger than Severus had been when he was born if the weight the midwife told her was true. Eileen had to suppose she just seemed so small to her because it had been almost two decades since she last held a newborn infant. Her eyes lifted from her daughter when a nurse came around to adjust her pillows. Leaning forward to help the woman in her quest to make her more comfortable, Eileen stared at her.
The nurse appeared to be about her age. There were faint lines on her forehead and if she looked hard enough, she could pick out silver-gray strands scattered among her bright blonde hair. Something about the way she kept stealing glances at her daughter made Eileen feel the nurse was a mother. The thought, for some reason, made her want to speak to her.
"I was sure she would be another son," she told the nurse as said nurse straightened herself and Eileen laid back against her newly fluffed pillows.
"Oh?" she replied, a smile making the faint lines in her forehead deepen.
She nodded and looked once again to her daughter. "My pregnancy with her was just like with her brother," Eileen explained to her. "I carried low, which I always heard meant you were having a boy. Add in my headaches and the fact all I've wanted to eat for months is cheese sandwiches…" she trailed off and sighed. Eileen wasn't any more unhappy about having a daughter than she had been at the thought of another son, though, she was more worried. How well would a girl withstand a man like Tobias? She at least had been a woman when they met and when things turned sour. Pursing her lips, she admitted, "Well, she's a surprise."
The woman continued to smile, though, it seemed Eileen's less than happy tone had not gone unnoticed by her. "I can see why you became so convinced!" she said in a chipper voice. Taking a gingerly seat on the edge of Eileen's hospital bed, she asked, "Did you have any names picked for a girl?"
Eileen sighed again. "No."
"What did you have in mind for a boy?" she questioned as she folded her hands in her lap. "Maybe there's a feminine version that would work for her?"
She looked down at her daughter and stroked one of her small hands. "I was partial to Nero or Scipio," she explained. "I thought one of them would go nicely with my older son's name, Severus."
"Those are rather unusual names," the nurse said after an almost uncomfortably long pause.
Eileen huffed and rolled her eyes. Muggles. "Not in my family," she replied.
"Have you thought of naming her after anyone?" inquired the nurse, tone more strained. "Your mother, perhaps?" she offered.
Eileen for a very brief moment toyed with the idea. However, once her eyes landed on her daughter she knew she would never be able to look her in the eye if she named her for anyone in her family. "No, I wasn't on very good terms with her before I left home," she told the nurse. Eileen pursed her lips. She hated now she'd given Severus his father's name, but perhaps inspiration could be found once more in the Snape family. "Though, perhaps I can name her after my husband's mother," she suggested.
"That's a lovely idea," the nurse gushed, sounding much more at ease than she had a moment before. "I'm sure he would be touched."
She didn't think so. Knowing Tobias, he would expect that their daughter has a Snape family name— Even if he would never treat her as such. Of course, she would say nothing of this to the nurse. That would only lead to questions and trouble she was certain. So, instead, she offered a neutral, "Perhaps."
The nurse's shoulders fell minutely. "What was her name?" the woman asked, seemingly trying to stay positive in the face of Eileen's dour attitude.
"Katherine," she answered.
The nurse smiled anew and leaned closer to catch a glimpse of the newly dubbed Katherine. "That's a good name for a girl," she remarked.
"Yes, I agree," said Eileen. A little mundane, maybe, but it wouldn't cause her any problems out on the streets of Cokeworth either. "Though, I reckon no one will call her Katherine," Eileen said after a little more thought. "She'll become a Kate or Kathy… I don't care for either of them."
"Oh. Well, hm," stammered the nurse, seemingly startled by the venom Eileen was spewing toward the potential nicknames. Glancing away and then back at Eileen and possibly-still-Katherine, she said, "Perhaps something in the vein of Katherine? Karen is quite similar and no one will shorten it."
Eileen wrinkled her nose. Absolutely not. "What is your name?" she demanded. If she were lucky, it would be something that wasn't prone to monikers and not too common.
"Mine?" she nurse replied, eyes wide.
"Yes," Eileen said. Giving her a cool look she said, "No matter what, she will need a second name."
The nurse hesitated, but as Eileen continued to stare her down, she said, "It's Darla."
Eileen felt her lips curl with a smile. It met both her hopes. It was not prone to nicknames nor a name that one in a dozen had. Looking back to her daughter, she tested Katherine and Darla together, "Katherine Darla… Darla Katherine…" Once done, she looked up at the nurse and said, "Darla Katherine rolls off the tongue in a rather lovely way, doesn't it?" A feeling of satisfaction washing over her, she added, "No one will butcher Katherine either if it's her middle name."
"No, they wouldn't," agreed the nurse, smiling herself.
"Then that's her name," decided Eileen. Lifting her daughter close to her face, she murmured to the sleeping face of the baby, "Hello, Darla Katherine Snape. Life will not be easy for you, but your brother and I will always be at your side."
The nurse stood up, hands behind her back. "Would you like me to call in your husband and son?" she asked.
"Please," said Eileen. As the woman turned away to leave the room, Eileen called, "Darla?"
She paused mid-step and looked over her shoulder. "Yes, Mrs. Snape?" she questioned, eyes wide and attentive.
Eileen gave the woman the most sincere smile she could muster and said with a warmth she had always reserved for Severus (and now Darla), "Thank you for your help and name."
The nurse, Darla's namesake, grinned broadly. "It's no trouble," she replied with an equally soft and heartfelt tone.
This has always been a little story I wanted to write. Essentially, it's a bit of a companion piece to the second chapter, "Darla", from Black Eyes. I hope you all liked finding out where Darla's name came from and what it could have been if she were a boy.
Thanks a million for reading!