A/N: A pure-fluff birthday update for a sweet friend, tumblr's theladychelsieofdownton (YellowBrickRoad here). I wrote Chapter 1 last year for her birthday, and left the story marked "in progress" in case I managed a sequel chapter this year.
This chapter takes place, oh, ABOUT NINE MONTHS after the last one ended. :) Please go back and read Chapter 1 if you've not read it or have forgotten how it went, because this one will allude to that and uses the same characters. Neither of them are terribly long.
Happiest of birthdays to the New Year's Eve baby! Love you xxx
CSotA
The beeping of the monitor by Elsie's bedside, along with her deep, regular breaths as she slumbered, were the only sounds to be heard in the hospital room. Charles looked around, taking in some of the details for the first time: the pale green of the window coverings, the soft, blue glow coming from the light in the bathroom, and the way the moonlight was playing across the curtain that was pulled back by his wife's bed.
Two sudden, new sounds swiftly drew his attention: a coo, followed by a gurgle, which had come from the small, warm bundle currently cradled in his arms.
Charles looked down at his newborn son's red, crumpled face; leaning forward, he placed a lingering kiss to the boy's forehead, careful not to scratch him with the stubble Charles knew was now adorning his own chin and upper lip. It had been a long day and an even longer night, but as he breathed in the scent of the baby, his heart was finally at peace.
"Well, James Robert Carson," he murmured, running the back of his knuckle down the side of the baby's face, "what do you think of the world so far?"
James cracked open his eye - brilliant blue, just like his Mum's - and stared at his Papa … and then closed it, squirmed for a moment, and promptly fell asleep once again.
"Charlie?"
Charles looked over to find Elsie staring at him. She was clearly still exhausted, and he felt horrible for having woken her.
"I'm sorry, love," he said. "I didn't meant to wake you."
"You didn't," she reassured him, extending her hand so that he could clasp it. "He's going to need to nurse soon."
"Well, he's just fallen asleep again," Charles admitted, lifting her hand and kissing the back of it. "And it's been just under two hours. Why don't you nod off for another half-hour and I'll wake you at four? Maybe he'll be more ready then."
"Sounds good," she replied, her voice thick with fatigue. "I must look like hell."
"You look beautiful," he countered, rising from the chair and sitting on the edge of her bed.
James squirmed again but didn't wake, and Charles breathed a sigh of relief.
"I do not."
But Elsie smiled in defeat when Charles leaned over to kiss her, his lips lingering on hers for just a moment longer than usual.
"You worked very, very hard today, love," he whispered. "Now rest, and I'll wake you soon enough."
"Alright."
Charles spent the next half hour staring at James. From the dimpled chin to the shock of hair atop the boy's head, he so resembled the Carson men from whom he was descended; and yet, he was his mother's son, too - beautiful, blue eyes, definitely Elsie's nose and the curve of her lips, and the stubborn streak evident even in the struggle to bring him into the world.
Eighteen hours of labor - almost unheard of for a mother's second time around, or so the doctor had tried to explain. But Charles felt the explanation was simpler than anything offered up by the hospital's staff: James was a rather large baby, and Elsie a very petite woman. And so, ten minutes into her nineteenth hour of labor, Elsie gave in and allowed them to wheel her away for a cesarean section.
The half hour passed swiftly, astounding Charles, who wondered how one could simply sit and contemplate the existence of a brand-new part of the family and have the minutes speed on by as they had.
"Good morning, my lad," Charles said, shifting James in his arms once again. He pulled down on the blanket, exposing the boy's naked arms to the coolness of the room, and blew gently on his face. "Time to wake up and have your breakfast, hm?"
James did open his eyes, and even though he knew it wasn't possible just yet, Charles imagined that his boy was scanning the features of the room; in reality, he was probably just becoming accustomed to the changes in light and to the sound of his father's voice.
He reached over and turned his attentions to his wife.
"Elsie?"
Charles shook her shoulder gently, and she woke immediately.
"Mm? Oh, there he is," she said sweetly, extending her arms for her baby. "My lovely boy."
"That he is," Charles agreed, placing James into her arms and unsnapping her hospital gown, lowering the panel over her swollen breast. He watched as she expertly tugged open the baby's mouth and helped him to latch on.
"It's funny how it all comes back," she murmured as James began to suckle. "I'd worried it wouldn't. It's been so long since Aubree was a baby."
"But you were a natural then, too," he praised her, pushing her legs over a bit so that he could sit on the bed. "And so is he - look at that! Proper form and everything."
He looked up to see Elsie smirking at him, and he just laughed.
"I know," he said before she could comment, his eyebrows waggling. "Just like his father."
She giggled as she slapped his wrist, and then they both turned their attentions back to the beautiful, strong boy in her arms.
"Welcome to the world, James," Elsie cooed. "Your sister is so looking forward to meeting you."
"She'll be here sometime around lunch," Charles said. "Anna texted last night, said Aubree had fallen asleep at ten. All things considered, I'd say that's not too bad."
Elsie looked up. "Better than I'd have expected. Oh, I hated to send her home, Charlie."
"You needed her not to be here, Els. There's nothing wrong with that."
"I know. But I don't want her feeling excluded. We'll have to work hard to be sure she doesn't feel left out."
"Well," Charles reasoned, caressing Elsie's knee absentmindedly with his hand, "there are two of us and two of them, right? So when we need to, we can sort of divide and conquer. I'll be sure to do some special things with Aubree while you and James are resting at home, and when you're up to it and he's taking a bottle, then you can have some girls' time and leave him with me."
"You're remarkable, Charlie. Did you know that?"
He just looked down at James and gave his wife's leg an extra squeeze, too overcome with joy to reply at all.
oOoOoOoOo
Aubree showed up at eleven in the morning, freshly bathed and with a flower poking out from her braided hair. In her hands was a stuffed bear, which she'd insisted needed to arrive today in order for James to receive it on his actual birthday.
"You've got the same birthday as the bear," she told her baby brother. "See? On the tag it says '31 December.' Just like you!"
Her squeal startled James, who jerked in Elsie's arms.
"Ohh," Aubree said quietly, "I'm sorry, Mummy."
"Don't be. You just startled him is all. The world isn't always a quiet place, and he'll get used to sleeping amidst all the noise of it. The bear was a very, very thoughtful gesture, Aubree. Thank you."
She leaned over and kissed her daughter's red hair, tickling her chin as she did so and making Aubree giggle.
"How are you?" Anna asked from where she stood at the foot of the bed. "Honestly."
"On a scale of one to ten, as they keep asking me, the pain is about a six. Not bad, considering I'm overdue for medication."
"She wants to go home," Charles rumbled from the bedside chair, and he reached his hands out to help Aubree climb up onto his lap. "Today."
"Which isn't going to be happening," came a clipped voice from the doorway.
Anna turned to see the doctor who'd just entered, and she took the woman's hand when it was offered.
"Doctor Clarkson, I presume?" Anna asked, and the woman nodded. "Anna Bates."
"Pleased to meet you. I'm sorry to have missed you last night. And it's Isobel, please. My husband is also a doctor here, down in Pedes, and it gets rather confusing," she laughed. "So, Elsie, a six, eh?"
"Yes, ma'am," Elsie informed her. "So … tomorrow?"
"Day after at the earliest," Isobel said, sitting at the computer to enter a few things. "He's nursing well?"
"Like a champion," Elsie told her.
"Good, good," Isobel muttered, typing. "I'd like to take him for a couple of hours and have you eat with your family, and then let you get some rest. Charles can come and get him around two, if that's okay with you. We'll do the routine measurements and things and then we won't need to disturb you the rest of the day."
"That sounds perfect," Charles piped in before Elsie could speak. He glanced over at her and the look he sent her was clear as day: You will eat and you will rest.
Elsie sighed, but she nodded her agreement.
"May we eat in here?" Aubree asked, clearly delighted. "In Mummy's room?"
Isobel stood and nodded sweetly at the beautiful girl. "You may. And we've even got room service here! You fill out this little card," she added, handing the menu card to Aubree, "and give it to the nurse just out there at the desk when you've finished."
Aubree followed where the doctor was pointing, and she saw the nurse at the desk wave a little hello to her; Aubree waved back, and then turned her attention back to the card.
"Then, in about half an hour or less, someone will bring the food up here."
"Brilliant," Aubree whispered, her eyes alight with joy. "Thank you!"
Isobel chuckled as she headed toward the door. "My pleasure."
Charles took James and placed him in the rolling bassinet, then handed him off to Isobel.
"Take good care of him," he mumbled gruffly, and Isobel was touched to see the love with which Charles was looking at his son.
"We always do," was her reply, and she patted his arm. "Now you go back there and love on your girls for a bit, hm?"
Charles sniffed and nodded, and he felt Aubree tug at his hand.
"Papa? I need help reading some of the menu."
He sat with her again and they made selections, and then Anna left for a while to run some errands of her own.
"I'll be back at seven to fetch you," she told Aubree, who nodded.
"I've got my coloring books and pencils," Aubree said happily. "I'll make you a picture!"
"That'd be lovely," Anna said, kissing her forehead.
Elsie watched as Anna left, and she encouraged Aubree to come and sit beside her in the bed once the menu selections had been turned in at the nurses' station.
Charles waited until Aubree was settled and then he reached over and took the brush from the bedside table, moving to brush Elsie's hair and smiling as she sighed with happiness.
"That's heavenly," she told him.
"It's nice when Papa brushes my hair, too," Aubree said as she nestled in next to her Mummy.
Charles smiled, and then leaned forward and kissed Elsie on the head.
"I love you, my precious girls," he said, his voice quavering with his overwhelming emotion.
"We love you, too, Papa," Aubree informed him.
"Yes, Papa," Elsie sighed, leaning back against his side, "we do. Very much, indeed."
The rest of their time was spent having their lunch, then an early dinner, and coloring, with Elsie dozing off a few times and Aubree checking on her to be sure she was feeling well. Aubree got to sit in the bed and hold her brother, placing a generous amount of soft kisses on his forehead.
"He smells nice," she commented to her mother, and Elsie nodded.
"It's lovely, isn't it?"
And Aubree was fascinated by watching Elsie nurse James. She knew that was how many mothers fed their children, but she was surprised by the gentle gurgling sounds, and by the fact that Elsie putting the baby on her shoulder and patting his back would cause him to burp. She had no recollection herself of having been fed this way, as Elsie had weaned her just before her first birthday.
As it came close to the time Anna would be arriving, Charles reached down and picked Aubree up, settling her on his hip and smiling as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Now, I want you to be a very good girl for Anna," he said, kissing her on the nose, and she nodded.
"I will, Papa," she told him, her face serious. "And for you and Mummy, when you get home with James."
Just then, James cooed in his cradle.
"He knows his name!" Aubree cried delightedly, and Elsie and Charles laughed.
"Perhaps he does," Charles said.
And, with that, Elsie reached out and took her husband's hand in one of hers.
"I love you so much," she told him. "I feel like this is going to be the best New Year ever."
"It will be," Charles agreed with a smile. "And I love you, too."
"And me?" Aubree asked innocently.
"And you," he clarified. "'With all that I have, and all that I am.' I love you, Elsie and Aubree ... and now James makes three."
Elsie glanced at his waist, where the chain of his pocket watch was peeking out, and smiled, her heart full of joy for her amazing, wonderful family.
A wee review would be lovely! That's it for me for a bit - I'll see you all in a couple of months! xxx Best wishes for a Happy, Healthy New Year. x