Chapter 28 – Emmett – A Good Choice

"It doesn't fit!"

I blinked into wakefulness at the sound of Rosalie's furious shriek.

"That's it. I have nothing- NOTHING!- to wear!"

I strained to see through to the kitchen, and saw Rosalie stamping in with a shirt that gaped open over her belly and a look of complete outrage on her face. "This blouse was the last thing I owned that buttoned up over my stomach and now it doesn't! What am I supposed to do now?"

Hannah giggled behind her hands, and Ma looked up at Rosalie with a long-suffering sigh. "Wear something of Jack's or Emmett's…they'll fit."

"I can't wear men's clothes!" Rosalie was so appalled I couldn't stop my grin.

"Well, it's either that or wear your delicates," Ma snapped. "I can't produce maternity clothes out of thin air, particularly not when I have my hands full with nursing. Wear one of the men's shirts and we'll see about going shopping this afternoon, since you've got money now."

"Ohhhh…this is ridiculous!" Rosalie flung herself out of the kitchen and a moment later I heard the door of the armoire slam into the wall as she opened it with force. "I can't believe I am so FAT!"

Ma came in to the living room with some oats, which she proceeded to try and spoon feed me.

"I can do it myself!" I grabbed the spoon, wincing as the movement pulled across my chest. Every single move I made hurt, but I was determined not to be a burden and just gritted my teeth as I struggled to feed myself lying down.

Ma watched with mild amusement. "You always were a stubborn child. Always determined to 'do my own self!'" she said, mimicking a baby's voice, before she added in her regular tone, "I thought you might want to get up today?"

"Yes, I would," I answered. I was sick and tired of looking up at the living room ceiling and suffering the indignity of Pa helping me pee. "Did Rosalie find herself some clothes?"

"That girl is certainly theatrical," Ma sighed. "I'm assuming she's found something to wear, although she's probably off sulking about it…you didn't choose the easiest girl in the world, Emmett!"

"I didn't choose her," I said simply. "She and I…it just is."

Rosalie appeared in the door then, and I didn't bother to hide the smile that curved across my face just at the sight of her. Wearing an old plaid shirt of Pa's with a dusty skirt and bare feet, her hair bound up in an untidy knot at the back of her head, she was a long way from that vision of perfection I'd first seen at her wedding. But as she smiled at me from the doorway I didn't think she'd ever looked so beautiful, because now she was looking at me. And in a few minutes, when Ma was gone and we were alone, she was going to kiss me, and say that she loved me, and I would know that now she was mine.

"Nice shirt," I said, unable to resist and nearly ruining everything as the thundercloud descended on her face and she kicked my leg. "Just kidding!"

"You're hilarious," she muttered grumpily.

"You're fine like that," Ma sighed. "You look quite respectable Rosalie, but if you like you can go into town this afternoon and buy yourself some maternity clothes."

Rosalie looked horrified. "I'm not going out in public like this!"

I couldn't help laughing, even though it hurt so bad that it brought tears to my eyes. "Maggie'll go and do it for you. She loves shopping."

Rosalie brightened. "She won't mind. I'll go and see."

She hurried out of the room, and Ma looked after her and shook her head. "I never saw you with a city girl, Emmett." She peeled the bandages off my chest, and I bit down hard on my knuckles to stop myself from screaming when she had to tug harder on parts that had stuck to me. "But Rosalie tries her hardest, I'll give her that. She wouldn't leave your side the whole time you were so bad."

"I know." My memories of the days of fever were hazy, but the one thing that stood out clearly was Rosalie's angel face hovering above me. "I remember that."

"Maggie and Hannah are going to go," Rosalie said, returning and lowering herself to sit beside me with a long exhalation. "I told them to buy themselves something too, anything…they'll have fun."

Ma looked at her in disapproval. "They don't need anything Rosalie. You ought to be saving that money…you'll be glad to have it when the baby comes." She looked down at me with a faint frown. "And Emmett won't be able to work for weeks even if something comes available. You're not to go near that horse either. I'm sure you've got a couple of broken ribs under the gouges, so you are going to have to take care of yourself. Rosalie and I did not nurse you through that fever to have you go and make yourself worse."

"Yes Ma," I said, instantly feeling guilty. Getting mauled by the bear hadn't exactly been my fault, but it still meant that I'd be sitting around idle for most of the summer. Sure, Rosalie had the money she'd got for selling the rings, but the thought of me being supported at all by Royce King's money made the sourness rise in my throat.

"I don't really care what Miss Adeline says about the money," Rosalie said, a little defiantly once Ma had left. "I hated those rings and I'm glad they're gone. Anything you want, let me know and I'll buy it for you. Anything to make you better again." She picked up my hand and kissed my fingers.

"I don't want anything," I said, at the same time as my traitorous mind thought of the juicy sweetness of the oranges and some good new tack for training the mare. "You should use it for yourself, or the baby. Or hey!" I exclaimed, suddenly inspired. "I know what you can use it for! Buy some lumber and supplies and I'll build you a bedroom."

"A…what?" Rosalie looked startled. "A bedroom?"

"Yeah," I grinned at her. "You don't want to share with Hannah and Maggie forever, and have Stephen and Will come crowding in once winter comes too, do you? Especially not with a baby."

"Well, no," Rosalie acknowledged. "But can you do that?"

"It'll be easy," I said confidently. "Pa and I talked about doing it before I left for Rochester, but we didn't have the funds. We'll just add on to the end of the house. Pa knows what to do…he built most of the rest of the house."

"But you can't build anything!" Rosalie exclaimed. "Emmett, you haven't even got off the floor since you were hurt!"

"I'm getting up today," I protested, adding a little grudgingly, "Of course, I don't mean I could do it right now. You'll have to give me a week or two first. And I can get Albie and maybe Jeb to help as well. But you can't tell me you wouldn't love the privacy."

Rosalie smiled at me. "Yes, I would. And probably everyone else would like some privacy from a noisy, crying baby once it gets here too!"

"I don't know about that," I said. "All the girls are mad about the idea of a baby, and even though Ma doesn't say anything I know she's going to love it too. You'll probably have to fight them off to even hold it yourself."

"I'll take all the help I can get," Rosalie said apprehensively. "I'm terrified of being solely responsible for an infant. But if you can do it, a private place for the baby and I would be absolutely wonderful."

I nodded, but at the same time I couldn't help thinking that a private place for Rosalie and I might be pretty wonderful too. Not that I knew what was going to happen between us, and not that I was planning anything, but just in case!

Things between us had changed during the days when my life had hung in the balance. Rosalie had confronted her feelings and been honest with herself and me that she loved me. I felt as though I had always loved her. But even though the love was real, that didn't make it simple. Rosalie was married to someone else and noticeably pregnant with his baby. What this meant for our future together could only be guessed at.

Rosalie read to me until I slept, which I did by mid-morning. As well as the never-ending pain of my chest, I was constantly exhausted and could barely stay awake for longer than an hour or two at a time. Ma said it was probably the amount of blood I'd lost and went and bought a tonic that smelled like bear shit and tasted worse. I was sorry I'd said anything.

When I woke in the early afternoon, Pa and Ma helped me up to my feet. I swore like a blue streak at the pain of it but, seeing the genuine tears in my eyes, for once Ma forgave me my dirty mouth and said nothing. Once I was steady on my feet, Rosalie moved closer and took my hand.

My ribs were constricting my breathing. A couple of them must be broken, I thought, remembering the feeling from a fight I'd come off worse in a year ago. I did my best to breathe steadily and shallowly, fighting the waves of dizziness that were washing over me. For a moment I shut my eyes, letting the sharp spears of pain fade away before I tried to walk. It was the first time I'd been on my feet in days, and I felt as weak and wobbly as a newborn calf.

"Emmett? Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm good…give me a minute."

When I opened my eyes Ma, Pa and Rosalie were all looking at me anxiously. I could see the others crowded in the doorway behind them, and I had to laugh at the spectacle I was making just by standing up, even though it ended in a sobbing groan I couldn't hold in.

"Oh, stop being a baby," Rosalie said bossily.

"Stop being a baby?! Let's get a bear to maul YOU and see how you feel then!" I said in indignation.

Rosalie laughed a little. "I'm not so silly as to let a bear get me," she retorted, but her hands were gentle and her arm steady and strong as she led me out to the porch. "Let's get you outside."

They had arranged pillows on one of the rockers so that when I gingerly lowered myself in to it I was half reclined, which took some of the pressure off my chest.

"Are you okay?" Rosalie leaned closer.

"Yeah." I took a deep breath, and then dimpled at Rosalie. "You could give me some kisses though…that would make me better."

Rosalie snorted. "Don't get too carried away. Your parents are three feet behind you."

I grinned at her and then tipped my head back, enjoying the feel of the sun on my bare skin. The claw marks the bear had left in me stretched from my shoulder all the way down to my abdomen, and it made me shudder to look at them and realise how close I had come to not making it. Ma was right when she said I was lucky, that the angel on my shoulder must have been looking out for me. I stretched out a hand and felt my angel girl on earth taking hold.

"You look horrible."

I opened my eyes to see Elizabeth staring in fascination at my injuries, which Ma had suggested I leave bare to the sun and air for a little while.

"Thanks, trouble," I said amiably.

"You're much more trouble than me," she said seriously, walking closer and patting Rosalie's belly. "Hello baby. You can feel the baby moving," she told me importantly.

"I know," I said with a grin, remembering the weirdly alien feeling of the little creature wriggling around under Rosalie's skin.

Elizabeth looked with interest at my hand wrapped around Rosalie's. "Are you going to be the baby's daddy?"

"I think so," I said. I glanced at Rosalie, my heart thudding fast. This wasn't anything we'd talked about, but loving Rosalie and wanting to be with her included her baby and I wanted her to know that I was more than okay with that.

Rosalie's face gave nothing away, but she said lightly, "Do you think he would be a good choice?"

Elizabeth considered. "Maybe," she said cautiously. "But he doesn't really know anything about babies."

"That's okay," Rosalie said. "I don't really know anything about babies either. We can learn together." And she squeezed my hand and my future shimmered and turned in a whole new direction.

"I know a lot about babies," Elizabeth said confidently. "Sometimes I help look after the babies in the nursery at church."

"Oh, well in that case you can teach us all about it," Rosalie said gravely.

"I will! And Mama said I can make something for the baby," she said excitedly. "Some knitting, or maybe sewing a toy."

Elizabeth continued to prattle about her plans for making something for the baby but a car, bumping its slow, careful way down the road, caught my attention instead. It looked modern and sleek and shiny, completely out of place on our dusty old road, and my stomach tightened with apprehension.

Rosalie was on her feet, her face white and her eyes wide with fear. I reached towards her, cursing the mess my chest was in as I was brought up short by pain.

"Rosa," I said, "It's okay. Whoever it is, they can't do anything."

I could see the single figure in the car, but I couldn't identify him. Surely Royce King wouldn't have come all this way? I hoped not. Pa was at work and I couldn't even stand up by myself, so for all my promises of taking care of Rosalie I didn't really know what I could do.

"Elizabeth," I said quietly. "Can you go tell Ma to come out here, and bring the shotgun?"

Elizabeth's eyes went wide and Rosalie choked out a laugh. "You're not going to need to shoot anyone!"

"I don't expect I will," I said with a faint grin. "But it doesn't hurt if they think I might."

"It's not…" Rosalie swallowed hard as the car nosed into the yard. "It's not Royce. It's Pierce Kennedy. He's a friend of Royce's, and a lawyer."

"What would he want? What would he do?"

Rosalie rose to her feet and dusted off her skirt, standing tall with her head held high and, despite the bare feet and man's shirt, looking every inch a lady. "I guess we're going to find out."