Back so soon?" Nathan asked as his son approached the front gate.
Tristan walked slowly behind a skipping Katie, both were soaked from head to toe with muddy hands and feet. They carried their shoes in the hands while their wet hair stuck to their foreheads, a few loose strands getting away.
Tristan nodded. "I was getting tired…And she – "He said, gesturing to the five year old in front of him "was wanting to play mud-guppy again."
Nathan put a hand on his shoulder, silently thanking him for being so patient to the little girl. "Sounds like a lovely time to me." He said with a smile. "Wouldn't you agree Katie?"
The little girl's smudged face smiled up at him. "Tristan and I always have fun!"
Nate chuckled and smoothed out her now unruly curls. "Of course you do…But, it's almost supper time, isn't it? You'd better be getting on home now."
"Yes…alright." She said reluctantly. Katie started to run towards her home next door, and then she paused and turned back around. "Do you want to play tomorrow Tristan?"
The boy looked at her, then up at his father, who in turn nodded. Tristan sighed and turned back to her. "Sure…why not."
Katie merely smiled and continued to walk towards her front gate.
Nathan smiled as he walked up the steps to the door. "She just looks up to you son."
Tristan plopped down on the last step and ruffled his damp hair with his hand, letting the straggling fringe of his straight bangs hang in his eyes. "I know…"
His father turned in the doorway, and noticed that Tristan watched Katie while she walked up path, entered her yard and reached up to open the door and went in side, all the while not moving his gaze until the youngster inside. Again, Nathan smiled to himself, knowing the little girl was finally growing on him – though he knew the tough young man of nine would never own up to the idea.
Nate walked into his home and went to the back of the house into his kitchen to wash up. He had missed the feeling of walking in to his home and smelling the aroma of freshly baked bread, hearing his wife say his name, his son's hugs. Now, being home for almost a month and a half he was becoming accustomed to these things once again. He saw his wife standing there preparing dinner and went up behind her. "Hey!"
Lucy jumped, a bit of flower flying up in the air. "Nathan Harrington! I've told you I don't know how many times not to scare me like that." She chided lightly.
He laughed and kissed her on the cheek. "Sorry love, I couldn't resist."
She continued to roll the dough and took the other patch out of the oven, seeing that is had properly risen and was ready to cool. Nate washed his hands in the basin and was beginning to dry off when the back door suddenly flew open.
Lucy jumped again at the startling noise, looking up to see a very wide-eyed William Turner standing in the doorway.
"Will! What's –"but she didn't have time to ask before the blacksmith broke in.
"Elizabeth." He said with a bated breath. "She's gone into labor."
Lucy quickly wiped her hands on her apron. "Oh dear…"
"Nate, can you fetch Mrs. Yates for me?" He asked anxiously.
"Of course, right away." He said before taking his jacket on the nearby hook and throwing it around himself.
"I'll go to her Will." Lucy said while she took her shawl in her hands. Before she made it out the door she turned back to the two men. "I swear my heart will never survive all of this excitement you two so generously furnish." Then she shook her head in good humor and went past Will to his home next door.
"What was that?" Will asked bewilderedly, his head still spinning from the episode he had moments before with Elizabeth.
"Nothing mate. Listen, I'll go to the Yates as fast as I can. You just go back to your wife, she'll be asking for you." Nathan said as he went out the back door towards the stable.
Will promptly turned around and hurried to his wife. Just before running over to the Harringtons' he and Elizabeth had been in their bedroom. She had been complaining of dull pains all day, how they had been in her lower back then crawling down to her lower stomach and hips. He had made her stay in bed to rest; administering firm back rubs where the pain was so evident. Then that's when her water had broken.
Katie sat quietly next to Tristan and Nate while Will paced the floor. Old Mr. Yates sat in the chair near the corner, still slowly working away, widdling a stick of wood while he let the shavings drop into his lap. His face still holding the composed countenance it always had. The screams from upstairs could be heard throughout the whole house. Every time another sound was heard from her parent's bedroom, Katie's head would perk up and her eyes would grow wider. Tristan, for once, wasn't thankful for the little girl's silence. He knew she was frightened but didn't dare try to comfort her too openly. Nate stood and went over to Will and put a steady hand on his shaking arm. "Will, do you want a drink? Something a bit strong, perhaps?"
He shook his head and gave his friend a fleeting smile. "No. No thanks."
Mr. Yates turned his head to the expectant father. "It doesn't get any easier, does it?"
"I'm sorry?" Will asked, unsure of what the old man meant.
"Well I've been through this four times with me own kids, and eleven times with me grandkids… and let me tell you lad…it doesn't get any better than this." He said with a smile playing on his wrinkled features.
Will let out a short laugh. "Thank you, well at least I know I'm not the only one who feels this worried the second time around."
He then saw Katie on the sofa, her hands wrapped tightly around her doll, her head pinned down to her chest, afraid to look up again at the frightening sounds. Her father went to her side, kneeling down to see her face. "Cricket, do you want to go outside, or over to Tristan's house?"
Tristan looked at Katie, slightly hopeful she'd say yes so they could both leave this room and go his home, where there wasn't so much bloody screaming. It was nerve wracking! He could only vaguely remember when Katie was born. Just flashes of things, like the wooden horse Nathan had given him to keep him occupied and the fact that he strained to hear every word these English speaking adults were saying. But he never remembered the feeling of wanting to grimace and hide. Much to his surprise Katie shook her head solemnly. "No." She said. "I'll stay here with you Papa. I want to be here when my little brother or sister comes."
Will grinned and kissed her cheek.
"Mama will be alright?" she asked, her eyes pleading.
He thought back to when little Tristan had said almost the exact same thing when she was born. So, he gave her almost the same reply.
"Yes, I'm sure she'll be fine. No reason to worry."
Another hour went by, then two, then three, then….Will had lost all track of time. His chest was in knots and he hadn't really stopped moving since that afternoon when Elizabeth and the other two women shut themselves up in his bedroom. He had moved from the living room downstairs, to pacing up stairs, then pacing outside, to back in the living room and up stairs again. Nathan had halfheartedly joked that he was going to wear holes in his floors if he wasn't careful but Will paid no mind to anything anyone was saying – his wife's cries were still echoing in his ears. No one had come out of that room for quite some time now. Before, Lucy had made trips downstairs to gather more rags or another bowl of water, but now, nothing. Two or three times Will went to the door, putting his ear to the wood panel, straining to hear anything from the other side that might give him some sort of information. He had called to them, asking if he could come in, or if they could come out and talk to him, but still no reply…only a "Be patient Mr. Turner…" from Mrs. Yates, or a "Just hang on Will…" from Lucy.
He truly wasn't sure how much longer he could hold on. He remembered being this anxious, this nervous and worried with Katie's birth but again, like Mr. Yates had said – just because this was his second time to go through this, didn't mean it made it any easier. The only reason his heart didn't explode was because he told himself that Katie had taken much longer, surely there cant be anything wrong if the birth is quick, right? For a moment, Will relaxed a bit and sighed. He ran his hands though his loose hair and leaned against the wall, letting himself slide down on to the floor. Just then, the bedroom door opened and Lucy stepped out.
Will stood at the sound of the knob turning. "Is it done? Are the baby and Liz alright?"
Lucy gave him a smile, a very odd, coy smile. "Mr. Turner…may I be the first to congratulate you on the health of your wife and the birth of your twins."
Will stared back at her, obviously dismayed.
Then Lucy threw her arms around him in a quick, firm hug. "Twins Will! Go in, see them for yourself." She said as she pulled away with a broad smile on her flushed face.
Again, a stunned Will stood there, still holding out his arms from embracing Lucy. "But I…"
She couldn't help but laugh at his reaction. "You can't say I didn't warn you." She said. "I had a hunch all along."
The blacksmith finally closed his mouth. He raised one hand very slowly and scratched his head and looked like he was trying to speak but was at a loss for words. Lucy knew he was going to need a little bit of a shock back into reality.
"Well get in there then!" She said as she grabbed his arm and pushed him towards the cracked door.
Now, as things were starting to become clear to him again, Will could hear crying. He could see Mrs. Yates moving about the room though the crack in the door. He could see Elizabeth's lower half lying in the bed, but from where he stood he couldn't see her face. Slowly, he pushed the door open further and stepped inside. It was like Deja-vu seeing Elizabeth lying there, prostrate on the bed, almost like her body floated there above the floor, so delicately hanging on to stay attached to this world. His heart began to race again and he saw the sweat still running from the side of her face. As he drew closer he could see that she was holding the bundles against her…each of them resting in the crook of her arms. Again, he began to approach slowly, when she saw him from the corner of her eye and smiled.
"Will…come…come here." She said quietly, her voice raspy and gentle.
He could see as came nearer that the babies were feeding, quietly suckling and contently resting there with their mother. Slowly, he bent down, apprehensively touching the two blankets in her arms. "Lucy told me…but I – I didn't believe her."
Elizabeth smiled again and nodded her head to the right. "This is your daughter." Then her eyes fell on the bundle to the left. "And this is your son…"
"A boy and a girl…" He breathed. A wide smile crept across his once bewildered face. "I don't know what to say. I'm truly amazed." He said, smiling down upon her. He took his finger and brushed his daughter's tiny nose then looked over to his son who was almost asleep and gently touched his cheek. Then, as gently as he had acquainted himself with his newborn children, Will took his finger and ran it down his wife's cheek and stopped at her soft, pouted lips. She smiled and closed her eyes as Will lent down and administered a tender kiss. "Elizabeth Turner…you amaze me." He smiled.
She gave him a tired grin. "Sometimes I amaze myself."
He chuckled and gave her another gentle kiss before he turned to see his daughter enter the room.
"Mama?" she questioned hesitantly, still holding her doll close to her chest.
"Katie, dearest, come here." Her mother assured her.
Will moved slightly to the side, so his daughter could approach the bed. He put his large hand on her back to encourage her. The little girl peered over the blankets to see the babies' faces.
"Katherine, this is your brother….and your sister…" She said slowly, watching her daughter's reaction.
The little girl looked long and hard at the two little people, examining their tiny faces, looking at one of their hands that poked out from under their cover and seeing their tufts of dark hair on the top of their head…and she smiled. "I'm a sister!" She said proudly.
Elizabeth laughed softly and touched her daughter's cheek. "Yes you are. And such a good sister you'll make."
"What are their names…?" she asked after a moment.
Elizabeth looked at Will who shared her gaze for a moment. They smiled, already knowing the answer.
"Abigail…" she said.
Katie smiled. "I like that." She nodded in approval
Then Elizabeth bit her lip and looked down at the baby boy in her arms. "And William."
Katie's face squinted for a moment and she shook her head slowly. "But that's Papa's name…" Her daughter pointed out so helpfully.
Will knelt down beside them all and took his wife's hand in his own, resting it on her lap, while putting his free hand around Katie. "That's why he's our little Liam.