She's back!! Mlle.Fox is back and did proof this chapter for me. I am so glad to have her back.
Reviews on the last chapter were down...don't know why...
DARK SIDE OF THE GLASS
CHAPTER 45
Raoul was having a hard time wrapping his mind around what the doctor was saying.
"It may come down to a choice, Viscount; I have never been in this situation before."
"A choice?" Raoul inquired, creasing his brow in concern.
Dr. Monét gave one nod of his head, "Yes, a choice…between your wife or your child."
Panic filled Raoul's eyes and coated his throat; he looked at Phillip and then at his mother…what was he going to do?
Erik and Tarrah chose that moment to come through the door. He had heard her carriage pulling up and had gone out to greet her just as the doctor came down to talk to Raoul.
Noticing the change in the air immediately, Erik narrowed his eyes, turned his head slightly, and lowered his chin.
"What is wrong?"
"It is the baby, Erik…it is trying to be born feet first."
Erik took a deep breath, closing his eyes and raising his chin to the heavens.
"It is not a hopeless situation, by any means, Raoul." Erik glanced at the young doctor and folded his arms across his chest. "So doctor, I take it that turning the baby did not work, are you planning on doing surgery?"
Dr. Monét looked directly into Erik's eyes and lifted both brows, "I have not turned the baby, my lord…I have never attempted such a thing."
Erik held back the urge to roll his eyes and slap his forehead with his hand.
"You were not just going to do surgery without trying, though…were you?"
The young doctor looked hopeful, but then noticed the shocked look on Erik's face.
"The process of turning the baby is quite painful on the mother – from what I have been taught – and can cause severe bleeding resulting in death from loss of blood."
Erik dropped his hands to his side and stood even taller than usual; he was not going to yield on this subject – Christine's life, and the life of her unborn child, rested on the success of whatever decision was made.
Raoul listened intently, and knew that Erik had a point…as did Dr. Monét.
He marched up the stairs, leaving both men staring after him. He careened through the door of Christine's birthing room and was shocked to see his wife's exhausted body coated in a sheen layer of sweat and her beautiful brown hair plastered against her forehead.
"Christine, my love…we have to make a decision that could mean the loss of your life, the loss of the baby's life – or both."
"Or neither." Erik stated as he walked into the room, followed by the doctor.
"Erik…can you help her…please…" Anya rushed to him and grasped his arm, "….she is in such incredible pain."
"Raoul…I have done this before…" Erik assured him, "…it was quite some time ago, but this is a natural act and the basics do not change."
Relief, like a cool spray of water on a hot summer day, washed over him and Raoul felt tears fill his eyes.
He went to Erik and embraced him, practically breaking down in the older man's arms.
"Do what you can, Erik…."
They both looked at Christine and she nodded with a smile of confidence on her tired face.
Erik just nodded his head and became all business.
"Anya, bring me some very warm water, a block of soap, and a towel – I must wash my hands."
He went to the door and called for Tarrah to come up. She was there in an instant.
"I will need more towels, more warm water…warm to the touch, but not hot…a sterilized, sharpened knife and a large bowl."
The women went to gather the items and Erik went to Christine's side. He moved her birthing gown up, exposing her bottom half, and placed his ear to her extended abdomen.
"Doctor Monét, may I borrow your stethoscope?"
He listened again, and smiled when he heard a strong heartbeat…the baby was still doing well.
"He certainly has a strong heartbeat…despite being stubborn about his position right now."
Christine giggled lightly and then closed her eyes, resting quietly until the next strong contraction hit her.
"Christine, this will not be pleasant, but I must see how ready you are for this baby to be born...it is invasive - but is must be done."
She nodded bravely and smiled weakly.
Erik performed the task, bringing on an immediate contraction, which had his heart hurting. He washed his hands again, and turned back to Christine.
"You are fully dilated…which is a very good thing…let us proceed."
Erik turned to Raoul and motioned for him to come over and sit beside Christine on the bed.
"This is highly irregular." The good doctor stated, emphatically.
Erik scoffed and continued his task.
"I have found that the woman does much better if her spouse is present and supporting her…as long as the sight of blood does not make him squeamish." Erik looked at Raoul and smirked, "You are not squeamish at the sight of blood…are you?"
Raoul shrugged his shoulders and did as he was told. He actually sat behind her and pulled her tired body into the haven of his chest with his legs at her sides, and rested her head upon his shoulder.
Erik took her hand and spoke to both of them.
"What I am going to do is reach inside you, Christine…I am going to turn the baby until the head is pointed down and then – we hope and pray – the baby will be born on its own without any further intervention." He frowned and dropped his eyes, "It will be painful and most uncomfortable…" he looked them both in the eyes, "…at least I have been told that it is."
He laid everything out and readied himself.
"Be ready, Dr. Monét…this could very well bring on the birth immediately."
The doctor shook his head and waved his hands, "I will, but you seem to have everything under control."
Christine started screaming with her next contraction, and Erik went to work.
♥♣♦♠
The moment he heard the baby's loud wale, Raoul released the pent up emotion he had been holding since entering the room; tears of relief fell as he watched the doctor sew Christine up. He saw Tarrah and Lavanya tending to the newborn, and he held Christine's exhausted body against his chest, smoothing back her sweat drenched hair and noticing the peaceful haze in her eyes and the smile that played about her lips.
"Congratulations, Viscount, you have a son."
Raoul stared in wide-eyed wonder as the baby was placed at his mother's breast. Christine was crying tears of joy and could not take her eyes off the sweet face of her son.
"Erik….thank you…"
She looked around the room to thank the man who had saved her life and the life of her son, but he was nowhere to be found.
"Where is he?"
Raoul looked around the room; noticing for the first time that the door leading outside was slightly ajar.
"He must have slipped out to give us some time, but he needs to be here…I owe him everything."
Raoul started for the door, but Lavanya stopped him.
"I will go to him; you stay with your wife and newborn son."
The door led out into the large garden. Lavanya admired the roses and perky dahlias that were in full bloom. In the middle of the garden was a circular fountain with a small walking bridge that swept over into a picturesque gazebo.
His back was to her as he sat on the inside bench; but his head was hung low as though he was sleeping.
"Erik?"
His head moved slightly, but he did not look at her. Lavanya crossed the bridge and eased into the gazebo. When his eyes touched hers, she knew there was something wrong.
She rushed to him and held his head in hands, it was then that she noticed he held his side and there were bright red stains covering the front of his shirt.
He smiled wearily into her panicked eyes, trying to ease her fears.
"I just over exerted myself…I will be fine."
She gently pulled the shirt from the waist of his pants, but found her hands held back by his.
"Anya…I am fine…." He murmured, nuzzling her neck with the warmth of his breath. "You will have plenty of time to undress me when we get home."
His wink, although utterly destructible on her defenses, did nothing to ward off the worry in her eyes.
"Let the doctor have a look, Erik…I would feel much better."
Erik laughed, but the grimace that interrupted it proved he was in a great deal of pain.
He stood and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, trying not to rest his entire weight on her; but she refused to let him hurt himself any further.
"Lean on me, my love…Raoul is asking about you and so is Christine."
He took slow, deliberate steps, and still managed to bury his nose in her hair, breathing in her stabilizing and sensual scent.
"It was a bit awkward, helping Christine birth her child…I had never been close to any of the others…they were strangers."
Lavanya turned her face up to look him square in the eyes, and a proud, glorious smile covered her face.
"Your boundless knowledge never ceases to amaze me…I do not think there is anything you cannot accomplish if you put your mind to it."
She placed a quick kiss on his stubbled jaw and he smiled, "Would it be terribly rude of me to just want to go home…" he asked, "…there is a certain part of my anatomy that is still protesting the interruption earlier."
His lulling baritone purred into her ear and her entire body caught fire.
"Erik Lacroix….you are insatiable!"
He looked aghast for a moment, but then his shock turned to seduction as they entered the room.
"No more than you, my bride…no more than you."
Erik enjoyed a hero's welcome, as well as some much needed medical attention; but he noticed that Christine's eyes never left her baby's tiny, perfect face.
After the doctor closed his wounds again, and Erik regained some of his energy, he started to get up, but Raoul's hand forced him to remain seated.
"Do you want to hold Loring?" The younger man asked, proudly presenting his son to the man who had brought him into the world.
The look of pure terror on Erik's face would have been comical under any other circumstances, but no one in the room laughed.
"That is probably not a good idea…I am certain he would be terrified…" Erik laughed off the insult, but the sincerity of his words and the pain with which he spoke them, was quite palpable, "…I do not want to be the source of nightmares."
Christine sat up straighter in the bed and found a force behind her voice that would have stopped a thief – dead in his tracks.
"Do not ever say such things about yourself, Erik….never again." She chastised, boring her fiery eyes into his dejected face. "You are beautiful in every way there is to be beautiful, and my son will think so also…hold him in your arms and speak to him…your voice ,alone, carries the beauty of the angels."
Erik stared in stunned wonder at Christine - her words meaning more to him than he would have thought they would. He gulped down his panic as Raoul lowered the tiny spot of heaven into his large, suddenly cumbersome arms.
Erik laughed – a light, joyful sound meant only for the babes ears – and then he spoke.
"You are the fingerprint of God…how perfect in your innocence…" his eyes scanned the peaceful features and the breath of fine, brown hair that covered the babe's perfectly round head. "…what a wonder you are."
The infant – having just been born – simply opened his deep blue eyes for a brief moment – blinked a couple of times, yawned, stretched like a jungle cat – and fell asleep in Erik's arms.
The smile that Erik bestowed upon everyone was translucent…and tears shimmered in his eyes.
"I never was able to stay around after the birthing…he is the first baby I have ever held." Erik glanced down at the bundle that slumbered against his chest. "I have never seen anything so perfect."
Raoul agreed, and knelt down beside the chair in which Erik sat; staring at the features of his son.
"Wait until you hold your own child in your arms…this moment will fade when compared to that one."
Erik did not look up, but Anya noticed his shoulders slump – if only minutely.
"You are right; however…I doubt that any child of mine will look…"
He did not finish his sentence, but remained quiet. He continued to admire the baby and then tenderly brushed his long index finger over the soft cheeks and dimpled chin – before handing the infant back to his father.
All the emotion left his voice and his face before he looked up and found Lavanya looking at him with deep concern; his eyes immediately dropped to the floor and he shoved himself out of his chair.
"We should leave and let the family have some time alone." Erik said, standing up and heading for the door.
She silently agreed and followed him out the door.
♣♥♦♠
He was slower than usual, but he still moved with elegance and grace…and Lavanya found her eyes wandering to the tightly muscled curve of his backside and the long, lithe legs that tapered down into the leather, riding boots he wore.
She watched him painfully step up into the carriage and sit down; and then she sat beside him…he still had not looked at her.
She took his hand in hers and gently massaged his fingers, loving how he curved them toward her as she did so.
"You are staring at me." He grumbled.
"I am." She affirmed.
"Why?" He grunted.
"I am picturing what our children will look like."
He turned to look at her with those words, frowning and cocking his head to the right.
"Anya…"
"Erik, what is the problem…talk to me?"
He turned away and stared out the window, shaking his head in denial.
"Erik?"
His shoulders dropped and he spoke in a voice that was far more harsh than he had intended.
"Me….I am the problem."
Lavanya pulled back from him as though burned, "Do not dare, Erik…do not go to that dark place again…the place where you were when we first met…" she warned, "…and if you do…do not think for one moment that I will not come in after you…because I will."
He caressed her features with his eyes…something she loved to watch him do; it was like a warm breeze playing upon her skin.
"I cannot assure you that any child conceived from my seed will not be cursed with my face." Erik finally admitted, feeling lower than dirt.
Lavanya put her palm to his cheek and smiled through the sudden tears that filled her eyes.
"My love…this is what bothers you?"
Ignoring her soft, loving words, Erik continued.
"You should be the wife of a perfect looking man that will give you perfect looking children….not some old, deformed, mostly insane monster."
Those words made her angry and her green/blue eyes sparked with the indignation she was feeling.
"You have insulted the man that I love one too many times…you make sure that he understands that I do not care about perfect babies and perfect men…he is as close to perfect as I want him to be. He is beautiful of form, of soul, and of mind, and I will love any child that we create together – no matter what – simply because it will be our child."
She was not screaming at him, but Erik felt every word dig into his skin and firmly attach itself to his spirit.
He finally smiled and kissed her upturned lips with a touch of passion…affirming what he had on his mind.
"Alright…" he surrendered, "…I stand corrected."
TBC