Hi, I'm sorry it's be soooo long since I last posted a chapter, i've had a lot of exams but i'll keep it up to date now, I promise. I've made this chapter extra long to make up for it. I hope you enjoy reading! And please review afterwards, it would mean a lot :)x
"There" Mary whispered as she placed Matthew's hand on her blossoming baby bump.
"I can't believe it!" Matthew replied, he didn't have the words to describe how it felt to finally feel his son or daughter kick. It was the first time he had - he had never been in the right place at the right time - but this time he was and he was delighted.
Mary looked up at him and smiled as she held his hand pressed against her. It was the most perfect moment, the first time the three of them had been together in that way. The baby had kicked many times before but every kick was special to Mary and this time was even more special seeing as she got to share it with Matthew.
Matthew bent down and gently ran his hand over the bump before pressing a kiss to it.
"I love you" he whispered to his unborn child. "And I love you" he said, as he rose back up to Mary's height and pressed a warm kiss to her lips.
Mary sighed and smiled against his lips. She felt as though she were in heaven. Nothing made her happier than being with Matthew, he was the one person she could trust, the one person that could make her forget all the bad things and make her feel as though she were the most special woman alive.
"I have to go into Thirsk tomorrow to meet a chap who is interessted in one of the cottages, you don't mind do you?" he asked, braking the silence.
"No, of course not, go. What time must you leave?" she asked back, taking a seat by her bedroom window.
"I'll leave first thing, I should be back in time for luncheon." he replied, walking over to where she was sitting. "Will you be alright while I'm gone?" he asked, a concerned look on his face.
"Matthew, of course I'll be alright, I still have a month yet and besides you'll probably be back before I even get out of bed." she joked - she had had a tendancy to stay in bed longer than she should during her pregnancy, it hadn't been an easy one; she had been quite ill during the first few months.
"I know, but I can't help but worry my darling." he replied, taking her hands in his and stroking over them with his thumb.
"You worry far too much, I'll be fine, honestly." she answered, smiling up at him.
Matthew woke up to a pale white sky, he quietly got out of bed, trying not to wake Mary. He walked over to the window, hoping that it hadn't snowed overnight but luckily it hadn't. He snuck past the bed towards the door but a creaking floor board caused Mary to stir.
"Matthew?" she whispered in a groggy voice.
"I'm going to leave a little earlier for Thirsk, it looks like it might snow later on and I wouldn't want to get stuck there." he whispered, walking over to her bedside and pressing a warm kiss to her forehead.
"Oh, drive carefully then." she said before closing her eyes.
"I will, see you later." he whispered before leaving the room.
After been woken by Matthew, Mary couldn't get back to sleep so once the clock struck seven, she decided to get up.
"Anna, would you get out my winter coat, the red one with the fur collar?" she asked the young maid. "I think i'll go for a walk and it's rather cold today." she added.
"Of course m'lady." she replied. "But if you don't mind me asking, do you think it is a good idea to be going on walks on your own in your condition?" she asked, concerned.
"Oh Anna, not you too..." she sighed. "I'll be fine, I'm going on a walk, not a ten kilometer jog." she answered, rolling her eyes.
Anna nodded not knowing what else she could say, Lady Mary had obviously already made her up.
"If that's all m'lady, I'll fetch your coat now." she said, picking up Mary's night clothes that were hanging over a chair.
"Yes, thank you Anna." she replied, smiling at her.
Shortly after, Mary left her room and headed downstairs for breakfast, she usually had a tray brought up to her room but she was tired of being cooped up in her bedroom all day, she needed to get out for a while.
"We don't normally see you at breakfast." Robert said as she walked into the dining room.
"I felt like having breakfast downstairs today." she answered as she made her way over to the food.
"Good morning M'lady." A young man said as he lifted a glass lid off of the plate of fresh bacon. Mary didn't recognise him but judging by his clothes he must have been a new footman. He seemed quite polite, but he looked like a shy sort of man.
She looked over at her father for answers but he didn't seem to want to take his eyes off his newspaper.
"Do we have a new footman?" she asked.
"Oh yes, didn't I tell you? Carson was in need of a second footman so here he is." he answered.
"Ah, I see and what is his name?" she asked as she raised a brow.
Robert didn't seem to know what to say, he looked like he'd been asked a trick question at school. "Er..." He looked over at the young man for an answer.
"It's Andrew, Milord." he replied, turning quite red with embarassment.
"Ah, I'm sorry about that, I do apologize." Robert said before turning back to his newspaper.
"That's alright, Milord." he replied as he straightened his posture.
"Has Matthew already left for Thirsk? I was under the impression he was leaving later on." Robert asked curiously, without taking his eyes off the paper he was reading.
"He left early, he said it looked like it could snow and he didn't want to get stuck there." she replied as she took a seat next to her brother-in-law.
"What have you got planned for today?" Tom asked her.
"She's eight months pregnant, I shouldn't think she has anything planned." Robert interrupted.
"As a matter of fact, I think I'll go for a walk after breakfast, down by the pond." she replied.
"I don't think that's a very sensible idea." Robert said, looking over the top of his newspaper.
"I do wish everyone would stop worrying about me, some fresh air might do me and the baby some good." she replied, taking a sip of her tea.
"If you say so, but don't be gone long." Robert answered, raising his eyebrows.
"I won't, I just need to get out of the house for a while." she said. "What about you? Have you got anything planned?" she asked Tom, changing the subject.
"I thought I might spend the day with Lily. Sybil and Edith are going into Ripon for fittings and seeing as Matthew is in Thirk I doubt we'll be visiting the cottages - that is unless you wanted to go down." he asked Robert.
"No, that's alright, Murray's coming over from London today." he replied.
"Oh? What for?" Mary asked.
"I don't know, he was quite adamant he come down here and tell me himself." he answered, putting his paper down.
"It all sounds very serious, do let me know why he came." she replied. "I'm going now, I'll see you later." she said before getting up.
"Be careful." Robert said.
Mary gave him a knowing look before leaving the room.
"You wouldn't go with her would you?" Robert asked Tom.
"You heard her, she said she wanted to be alone." he answered before getting up from his seat.
"She doesn't have to know that you are going with her, just walk near her and keep an eye on her." he said, trying not to sound too obvious.
"You mean follow her?" Tom asked surprised.
"I'm just worried about her, she doesn't seem to realise that in a month she will be giving birth to a child..." he sighed.
"I won't follow her, I don't think that's fair. But I will take Lily out later and I'll keep an eye out for her but I honestly don't think there is anything to worry about." he replied.
"Thank you and I hope you're right, she doesn't seem to be getting much rest."
As she left the house, she pulled her coat tighter to block out the cold. The temperature seemed to have dropped a few degrees and the sky looked rather pale. She looked up at the sky, closed her eyes and breathed in the fresh air before setting off walking down the path.
The cold air seemed liberating in a way, she was glad to be alone with no one to bother her or to worry about her. She honestly didn't know what all the fuss was about, she had read that it was healthy to go on walks during pregnancy.
All of a sudden, little white snowflakes began to fall from the sky. She had always loved the snow ever since she was a little girl. She imagined taking her son or daughter to play in the snow with Matthew by her side. Just the thought of it made her smile. Remembering that Matthew was in Thirsk she hoped that the snow wouldn't settle, stopping him from getting home. She thought about heading back to the abbey seeing as it had started to snow but she decided not to - she carried on walking down towards the pond.
"Daddy! Daddy! Can we go outside?" Lily cried as she noticed the snowflakes falling from the sky.
"I'll tell you what" Tom began, handing his daughter her coat. "If you put this on, we can go for a short walk together, would you like that?" he asked.
"Yes!" The little girl replied, sounding delighted.
"Come on then" he said before fastening the buttons on her coat, taking her hand in his and making his way to the front door.
As he opened the door, the little girl ran outside into the snow. He loved the fact she was happy all the time, it made him smile. He was grateful for all that he had; a beautiful wife, a daughter, a home and a family. It all seemed perfect, he never wanted any of it to change.
He watched his little girl run ahead of him and dance around in the snow. He ran up behind her and grabbed her, lifting her up above his head and spinning her around as she giggled.
"Down daddy!" she laughed.
"How about we walk down to the pond and see if we can find any reideer footprints?" he asked his daughter as he put her down and took her hand in his.
"Really?" she asked enthusiasticly, her eyes sparkling as she looked up at her papa, waiting for his answer.
Just then, in the corner of his eye, he thought he saw someone familiar, sneaking around in the trees. No, he said to himself, it can't be, I must be seeing things.
"Daddy?" she asked again.
"Why not?" he said, smiling at her and stroking her cheek.
"Come on then!" she answered, tugging on her papa's arm.
Tom giggled and followed her. Mary will probably be on her way back by now, we might pass her on the way down, he thought.
As Mary turned around to head back, she felt a little faint and decided to rest for a minute or two. She knew that there was a bench just around the corner so she decided to walk round to it and sit down.
Just as the bench came into view, she saw a man sitting on it. She couldn't make out who it was as he had his back turned to her. But never the less she needed to sit down for a while so she carried on walking towards it.
As she got closer, she recognised the man. She felt her heartbeat speed up and she took a deep breath. She had hoped she would never see this man again, after everything he had done to her she was rather scared to talk to him again although she would never admit it. What was he doing here anyway? Why was he sat on her bench? He couldn't be waiting for her, he couldn't have known that she would be walking this way, could he?
Having heard the footsteps behind him, he turned around to greet her, a smug smile on his face.
"Ah, Mary. I was starting to think you wouldn't turn up." he said in a sly voice.
Mary swallowed before answering. "Richard..." she whispered. "What are you doing here? I thought my father had told you to stay away." she asked, not getting any closer to him.
"Oh Mary, Mary, don't be so naïve. Did you honestly think that you could send your dear papa to pay me off, so that I wouldn't publish this scandal of yours?! The old dapper only offered me fifty pounds and I'm almost certain I can make more than that by printing your story." he said harshy, getting up from his seat and making his way over to Mary.
"Don't insult my father." she replied in a firm voice.
"Oh I'll do whatever I like." he answered, getting closer and closer to her, causing her to take a step backwards.
"Don't come any closer!" she said in a shaky voice before instinctivy placing a hand on her bump.
"What's the matter? You're not afraid are you?" he began, a slight grin on his face. "Of course you're not afraid, why would you be? After all, you'd be my wife now if it wasn't for that middle-class solicitor!" he said, raising his voice. "We could have been so good together, you and I." He whispered into her ear as he stroked a strand of hair out of her face which caused her to shiver.
"Why won't you understand? I don't want you, I love Matthew!" she replied, trying to hide her fear from him.
"Now you listen to me." he said, getting rather angry. "You embarassed me in front of everyone the last time we were together and now you will pay. Mark my words Mary, you will pay."
Mary felt light headed, she was terrified of this man and of what he could do to her but she wouldn't let him have the last word. He had nearly ruined her life, he had nearly killed her but she was determined to show him that she wasn't afraid and that she was a strong person.
"And how are you going to do that?" she asked, curiously, her voice trembling.
"Let me ask you this; how do you think I knew that you would be out here today, in this exact spot?"
It was only then that she realised, he must have been watching her. She swallowed and took a step backwards but he grabbed her arm and pulled her closer. She wanted to scream, to shout for help but she knew that if she did no one would hear her and Richard would know how scared she really was.
"I've been watching you Mary. Everywhere you go, everything you do, I know everything. You'd better keep this child close to you, you never know when I might be watching. Oh and I hope your husband is the hero you make out he is because you never know when you might need saving." he said, smiling at her as he released his grip on her arm and turned around and headed off in the other direction.
Mary nearly collapsed with fear as he walked away. She couldn't hold her tears back any longer. She sobbed as she leant against the nearest tree to steady herself.
"Aunt Mary!" Lily shouted in delight as she ran at full speed down the hill towards her aunt.
"Lily!" Tom shouted after her, but when he realised that she was running towards Mary he relaxed.
Mary didn't want her niece to see her like that so she quickly wiped away her tears and attempted to stand up straight.
"Hello darling!" She said, faking a smile.
As Mary took a few steps towards Lily, she felt rather dizzy and unsteady. She lifted a hand to her head a closed her eyes for a second.
Lily didn't know why her aunt was acting so stange, she usually seemed happy to see her. She took a step closer to her and began tugging on her arm.
As Tom got closer, he noticed the way Mary was standing, although she was pregnant, she never slouched, she always kept her posture perfectly straight. He began to feel a little worried. When she didn't respond to Lily and walked back to lean against the tree he knew that something wasn't right.
"Mary!" he shouted as he ran towards her.
"Daddy, is aunt Mary poorly?" the little girl asked him.
"Darling would you go sit on that bench over there while I talk to your aunt Mary?" Tom asked his daughter who did what he said and happily skipped over to the bench.
"Mary what is it? Is it the baby?" he asked concerned.
"No..." she replied as she began to sob yet again. "I'm scared Tom." she said, not making herself very clear.
"Of what? What are you afraid of?" he asked, trying to figure out what was wrong with her.
"He came back." she answered, lifting a hand to her mouth, tears rolling down her cheeks.
"Sir Richard?" he asked. "Please tell me it wasn't that bastard." he added, looking Mary in the eyes.
She nodded in conformation. "But... how did you know?" she asked, confused.
"I thought I saw him earlier, but I wasn't sure it was him, I thought I must have been seeing things as I know Robert warned him never to return... But now I know differntly. Did he hurt you? What happened?" he asked, laying a warm hand on her arm.
"Tom..." she said before freezing and staring at him with sheer fear in her eyes aswell as the tears. "He's been watching me and I think he may try to hurt the baby... Or me..." she said before braking down in tears.
Tom didn't know what to say, he could only hug her. He couldn't tell her everything would be alright because he didn't know that it would; after the horse race incident he didn't know what Richard was capable of.
"Let's get you back to the house, you must be freezing." he began. "Matthew should be back soon and when he is you have to talk to him about what happened, tell him everything Mary. If your's or your baby's life is in danger, he must know."
"I'll tell him when he gets back..." she replied, looking into thin air.
"Good, now lets head back before we all catch a death out here." he said, offering her his arm which she took. "Lily darling!" he shouted. "Come on."
"Coming daddy!" she shouted back as she ran towards him and grabbed his left hand.
The three of them set off walking back to Downton along the snowy path. More and more snowflakes had began falling from the sky by that time.
Just as Downton came into view, Mary felt a sharp pain in her tummy that caused her to stop walking for a moment and grab her tummy.
"Mary? What is it?" Tom asked, worried.
She closed her eyes for a second and took a deep breath.
"It's nothing, i'm fine." she replied, not wanting to worry anyone.
"Are you sure?" he asked again, growing rather concerned.
"I am." she answered before carrying on walking towards Downton.
Tom wasn't so convinced but he decided to listen to her, afterall there was nothing he could do.
When they arrived back at the house, Carson took Mary's coat and she decided to go straight to her room, she was still feeling rather light-headed but she didn't want everyone to fuss over her so she kept it to herself.
"Tom, I think I'll go rest for a while, would you mind telling the others?" she asked.
"Of course not, should I tell Matthew to go up when he gets back?" he replied whilst taking his coat off.
She took a minute to think before answering. "Yes, please do."
"No problem." he replied, a smile on his face.
"Thank you Tom, thank you for being there." she smiled. She didn't know what she would have done without him, she was lucky he was there.
Mary had been fast asleep but a knock at her bedroom door had caused her to stir. She pushed herself up so that her back was resting against the soft pillows.
"Mary, my darling, it's only me." Matthew said in a gentle voice as he slowly pushed the door open and entered the room.
"Matthew." she smiled.
"Tom told me you haven't been feeling very well and that you had something to tell me, nothing serious I hope?" he inquired as he made his way to her bedside and pressed a warm kiss to her lips.
"He shouldn't have told you that..." she sighed. "I was feeling a little light-headed, that's all, i feel perfectly alright now that I have had time to rest." she replied, looking up into his bright blue eyes.
"You must take it easy for a while my darling, it won't be long now until we are welcoming our child into the world." he said as he took a seat on the side of the bed and laying a hand on her cheek and rubbing his thumb over it.
"Matthew, I said I'm feeling fine now. I was just a little tired. But I do have something rather important to tell you..." she said, looking away from him.
"What is it? The baby is alright isn't it?" he asked, worried.
"The baby is fine..." she sighed, she didn't know where to start. "Earlier today, when I was walking, I came accross Richard..." she said, lowering her voice.
"Richard? What is he doing here?!" he asked shocked. "Did he hurt you again? If he layed a finger on you I swear I'll-"
"No." she said, raising her voice a little and cutting him off. "He didn't hurt me as such, but he threatened to and... he threatened to hurt our baby too." she said, placing a conforting hand on her bump and holding back a tear.
"He did what?! What did he say?" he asked, hardly able to believe what he was hearing.
"He said... he told me that he had been watching me, and that I'd better be careful... I'm scared Matthew!" she said, pulling him closer to her as tears rolled down her cheeks.
"Listen to me Mary. Listen." he repeated as he put his hands on both sides of her head and looked her directly in the eye. "As long as I walk this earth, I promise that I will keep you and our baby safe. No harm will ever come to either of you."
"But Matthew how-"
"Mary, do you trust me?" he asked, cutting her off.
"Yes, I trust you." she replied as she wiped away her tears.
"Then you don't have to worry, I'm here for you, for both of you and nothing will ever change that, do you understand?" he asked, taking her hands in his.
She nodded her head as she was too shaken up to speak.
"I love you Mary." he said before pressing a tender kiss to her lips.
"I love you." she managed to say before tears continued to roll down her -now pink- cheeks.
During the night, Mary had woken up with abdominal pain.
She sat up and placed both her hands on either side of her tummy and took deep breaths, hoping the pain would pass.
Her heaving breathing woke Matthew.
"Mary, the baby?" he asked as he dived out of bed with worry. "Mary is it coming?" he asked again, impatiently waiting for her to answer.
"I don't know, I think so!" she shouted between breaths.
"Oh god!" he said, realising that he would soon be a father. "I'll go call for Dr. Clarkson." he said before running over to the door.
"No!" she screamed. "I need you here! Don't leave me." she said as she reached out for him.
"My darling, I have to get a doctor." he said as he ran over to kiss her on the forehead before rushing back to the door. "I'll be quick, I promise. Everything will be alright." he said, trying to stay calm for Mary's sake.
Mary couldn't even talk anymore, the only thing she could think about was the pain although she tried to concentrate on her breathing.
Matthew ran out of the room and quickly ran down the hall to Sybil and Tom's bedroom which was the closest to theirs. Without even thinking he ran straight it without knocking.
"The baby's coming!" he shouted, waking both of them immediatly.
"Oh goodness!" Sybil exclaimed as she and Tom pushed the covers back and jumped out of bed and headed down the corridor towards Mary's room.
"I'll phone for Clarkson, you stay with her." Tom told Matthew before running down the stairs and making his way to the telephone.
Matthew was thankful but all he could think about was getting to Mary's side.
"Mary darling, just keep breathing." Sybil informed her and she arrived at her side and stroke the hair out of her sister's face.
"Dr. Clarkson will be here shortly, stay stong." Matthew whispered as he took her hand in his and squeezed it tightly.
"Mary, is it happening?!" Cora asked enthusiasticly as she arrived in Mary's room followed shortly by Robert who had been woken by the noise.
"Have you called for Clarkson?" Robert asked from the other side of the room, not wanting to go any closer.
"Tom has just gone down to call him." Sybil replied without taking her eyes off her eldest sister.
By the time Clarkson arrived, nearly the whole household had been woken and were patiently waiting for the news. Tom, Robert and Matthew had been kicked out of the room although Matthew would have prefered to stay by Mary's side. Edith had decided to leave the room too as their was nothing she could do but wait. Mary had Sybil, Cora and with her and as far as Edith was concerned they were all she needed.
Cora and Sybil stayed by Mary's side and supported her as much as they could. Mary was stuggling to catch her breath and Dr. Clarkson was advising her to take long deep breaths in order to ease the pain but Mary didn't listen to a word he said, she did it her way, she had never listened to anyone before and she had been perfectly fine up until now so she decided breathe the way she felt was right.
"Right M'lady, I want you to push when you feel the next contraction." Clarkson said firmly.
"You can do it Mary." Sybil told her in her sweet innocent voice.
Mary looked up at her youngest sister and tried to smile but as she did she felt the next contraction so she turned back and gripped hold of her tummy and pushed as hard as she could and screaming at the top of her voice.
Doctor Clarkson took the time to examine her quickly but he couldn't yet see the baby's head.
"You must push harder M'lady, I can't see the head just yet. Breathe through the pain and push again as hard as you can at the next contraction." he told her.
"I can't..." she panted. She felt so hot, her forehead had turned shiny with sweat. She wondered how any woman could get through this. She had never felt pain like it.
"Of course you can, you're the stong one Mary, if I can do it so can you." Sybil whispered, trying to confort and reassure her.
Mary couldn't concentrate on what her sister was saying, all she could focus on was giving birth to a healthy child.
More contractions passed and she had pushed each time but the baby still hadn't been born. She was exhausted from pushing, she didn't know how much more she could take.
"Is there anything we can do?" Cora asked the doctor as she grew more and more concerned for her daughter and her unborn child.
"We will need towels and hot water if you could get them." he replied.
"I'll be right back darling." Cora said as she kissed her daughter on the forehead and left the room.
She ran down stairs towards the servants hall in order to get what Clarkson had asked for.
The rest of the family had been waiting in the library but hearing someone running down the stairs, Matthew ran into the hallway, closely followed by the others to see what was going on.
"How is she? It's been a while, tell me she's alright." Matthew asked Cora with a worried expression on his face.
Cora didn't know what to tell him, she herself didn't know what was going to happen so she couldn't tell him that everything would be alright.
"The whole process is taking longer than what it normally should..." she replied. "But that-"
"Oh god, what does that mean?!" he asked, growing more and more concerned.
"That doesn't mean that the baby won't be delivered healthy. It's just taking longer than it should but Clarkson has it under controle. Now if you'll excuse me I have been asked to get towels and hot water." she said, trying to sound as reassuring as possible before turning around and heading towards the servants hall.
"I can't wait any longer." Matthew said as he turned to face Robert.
"My boy, there is nothing you can do but wait." he replied, laying a hand on his son-in-law's shoulder.
"There is, I can be there for her. She needs me." he said having made his decision before running towards the stairs.
"Matth-" Robert shouted but he had already disappeared up the stairs towards Mary's room.
"Mary, Mary my darling." he said as he pushed the door open and rushed to her side.
"I don't think it's wise, you being in here." Doctor Clarkson pointed out.
"I want... him here." Mary managed to say as she reached out for him.
"Let him stay." Sybil said, as she smiled understandingly at Matthew.
Having Matthew by her side had made Mary feel stonger somehow, she felt more complete with him, especially now that he was holding her hand.
"Be strong my darling..." Matthew whispered into her ear.
"On the next contraction, I need you to push harder than you ever have before." Clarkson said. He was beggining to feel worried himself, and was starting to wish that Isobel was there with him although he could believe that he actually wanted her there, but somehow she kept him calm. He was glad Sybil was there at least, she was a trained nurse after all.
"You can do this." Matthew whispered again as he wiped a couple of strands of dark brown hair out of Mary's face.
A few seconds later, she pushed as hard as she possibly could, nearly breaking Matthew's hand in the process and to top it all off, she nearly deafened him but screaming straight into his right ear.
"Well done M'lady, I can see the head!" Clarkson said, sounding full of joy.
Mary sighed in relief although she knew it wasn't over yet, but at least something had finally happened.
After a couple more pushes, the baby was finally delivered.
"It's a boy!" Matthew said, as he bent over to see his baby son, overcome with joy.
Mary was just happy that she had delivered him safely and that now it was all over. She threw her head back onto the cushions and took the time to breathe.
Although Mary and Matthew both had smiles on their faces, Sybil and Clarkson didn't share the their enthusiasm. Sybil looked over at Dr. Clarkson, let go of Mary's hand and joined him at the end of the bed.
Without saying a word, Clarkson scooped him up and took him to the table at the other side of the room.
"What is it? What's the matter?!" Matthew demanded to know as he jumped off the bed and walked over to the doctor and Sybil.
"Matthew? Why isn't he crying? Where is he? Why isn't he crying?!" Mary asked, growing more and more worried and raising her voice. She couldn't understand why they had taken her baby away from her. All she could see was the back of Sybil and who seemed to be doing something to her newborn baby.
"He isn't breathing." Sybil said as she turned round to face her sister.
"What?!" She asked, shocked. What was happening? Where was her little boy?
"Do something!" Matthew shouted at the doctor.
Just then, the door opened and Cora entered with her hands full.
"I've got the- What's going on?" she asked, as she saw everyone except Mary gathered together at the other side of the room. She looked at her daughter for answers.
"He isn't breathing." Mary said slowly, staring into thin air as if she didn't know what was happening anymore.
Cora dropped everything she was carrying and hurried over to where the others were standing.
"Help him! Please!" Matthew shouted over and over again.
Doctor Clarkson was just about to give up when suddenly the most perfect sound filled the air; the cry of a newborn baby.
At that point everyone sighed in relief.
"He's a strong little chap, I'll say that!" Clarkson said, he couldn't help but smile. This was one of the best parts of his job, saving children's lives.
Cora rushed over to pick up a towel and handed it to Sybil who wrapped the baby up in it and handed him to Matthew.
Having heard her baby cry for the first time had made Mary cry tears of joy, she had never felt so relieved, so happy.
Matthew took the little bundle over to meet his mama for the first time. Cora admired her new grandson as he passed in front of her.
"He's so beautiful." Matthew said as he handed him to Mary.
For a moment she just stared at him, the beautiful little boy that lay there in her arms. She admired his features - he took after Matthew in everyway - he had the most perfect blue eyes and silky blond hair, just like Matthew's. He was perfect.
"Hello darling." she whispered in a low, mother-like voice. She reached for his little hand and offered him her finger which he slowly wrapped his tiny fingers around.
Matthew leaned in and pressed a warm kiss to Mary's forehead but moved her head up and stared into his eyes before pressing a long tender to his lips.
"Thank you." she whispered, still staring into his perfectly blue eyes.
"What for? You did all the hard work my darling and I am so very proud of you." he replied.
"You came back." she whispered.
"I'll never leave you again, I'm always going to be there for you, like I promised. Nothing will keep me away from you anymore. I love you so, so much.
"I love you too." she replied before turning her attention back to her son. She staired at him for a while and she couldn't stop herself from smiling.
"What shall we call him?" Matthew asked.
"What about George?" she suggested after having thought about it for a while.
"George sounds perfect." he replied, looking down at his son. "Hello George" he whispered as he very gently ran his finger over his delicate cheek. "I'm your Papa."
End of chapter 5. Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed it. Please, please, please review! It will encourage me to write quicker and better.
Next chapter: Could someone be in danger?