ROLE CHANGE TWENTY TWO
FINAL CHAPTER. THANKS TO MY REVIEWERS.
Cal, his face almost white, came hurrying into the Maternity Unit.
"Are you all right, darling?"
"Never better!" She indicated the cot beside her.
"And look who's here – your daughter!"
"But…"
Cal had expected to learn that either Sophia or the baby were undergoing an operation. He couldn't believe that Ethan had delivered the baby himself.
"Ethan and Liza were stars."
"Liza?"
"That girl's a keeper, Cal. She took an emergency day off work and went to join him at home."
"But the RTA and roadblock?"
"She walked – or rather, sprinted."
But Cal was hardly listening, though he nodded to show he understood. He was looking adoringly into his daughter's sleeping face.
"I know you wanted Matilda for a girl, but it'd be nice to include Ethan as well because of his looking after me."
"You're not going to call our daughter Ethan? Or-" Cal shuddered – "Ethel?"
"No, twerp, there's an Irish name, Aithne," Sophia spelled it, "That's pronounced "Ethnee."
"Now that I like. Matilda Aithne Eliza Knight. Or Anderson-Knight, whichever you prefer?"
"Caleb Knight, are you proposing?"
"If you want me. We can go and get the ring when you're a little better."
"Better? I've never felt so good in my life!"
"I mean, when you're up to shopping, Minx!"
"If I didn't want to wake our lovely daughter, I'd thump you!"
"Thump me – but please say if it's yes or no!"
"What do you think, darling?"
"It's a yes from you?"
"Certainly is!"
Ethan called Liza at her office a week later.
"Hi, are you free to talk?"
"Absolutely!"
"Fancy pushing my wheelchair round London next weekend?"
"I'd push your wheelchair to the ends of the earth, gorgeous, but what's happening?"
"You know the new Pride and Prejudice musical? Guess who's got front row tickets for us?"
Liza gave a very un-lawyer like squeal.
"So you like that, then?"
"I love it!"
Ethan steeled himself to be brave and said:
"Um… do you want a single room of your own?"
"No, I want a double disabled room so I can look after the man I love properly."
"The –" Ethan's heart was bounding inside him now, "You've just made me ridiculously happy, Liza!"
"I'm going to make you even happier. I'm taking you to dinner tonight to thank you for next week's treat."
"NOT that place where-"
"Ethan, don't even begin to say it!"
David managed to bring Alex over to see Ben twice during the next year. One of the visits was at Christmas, which helped to ease the pain Ben would always feel in his heart at that time of year. Dylan was thrilled – though nobody could have told it from his face – because Alex shouted "Big Dog, Big Dog!" when Dervla came trotting into the room.
"We might be moving to France or Germany soon, Ben. Things in Corvaine are becoming worse – we've had two general strikes in six months and there have been demonstrations against the Royal family already."
"Not much of a Royal family now, with Stefan and my Sara gone."
Ben hastily changed the subject before he gave in to misery again.
"Maybe I could visit you and Alex if you move."
Ben recalled all this now; time had flown by since that conversation, and Alex was two and a half. Like the news item that had torn out his heart previously had come out of the blue, so did the next one. He was relaxing after a favourite television programme, enjoying that state of idleness where it was too much trouble to switch off the TV set.
"The small mid-European country of Corvaine is in a state of revolution. The Crown Prince Alexander has apparently disappeared along with his guardian David-"
Ben's cry of agony cut off the rest of the sentence. He switched off and went mechanically to the bedroom, where he lay, too devastated for tears, his heart physically hurting his chest.
He wondered how easy it was to die of a broken heart. At this moment he felt it was possible.
He almost didn't hear the frenzied knocking.
David, with Alex in his arms, stood at the door.
"This is a fine welcome for your son and your friend, Benjamin!"
Weeping with joy, Ben engulfed them both in a hug. Then he ran to switch on the heating.
"I just managed to get him out of there before the destruction really began" David told him, "He made things easier for me because he's such a quiet little boy. One day I'll tell you about our journey, it was -er – not a pleasurable experience."
"This is your home as well as Alex's for as long as you need it", Ben reassured him.
They all seemed to doze on the sofa until morning.
"Morning, Alex" David ruffled the toddler's hair as he woke, blinking. Alex was about to cry until he saw Ben smiling at him.
"Nice Ben!" Alex smiled back.
"Do you want to go and see my friend later? The one with the big dog?"
"Big dog! Big dog!" whooped the small boy.
"What's Big Dog's name?" David asked gently.
Alex looked scared.
"Big Dog" he persisted, his lip quivering. He hoped the mean-eyed man he remembered wasn't coming to shout at him for being stupid.
Ben smiled.
"What do you shout to Big Dog when you want her to come and play with you?"
Alex beamed. He DID know!
"Derber!"
"Close enough."
"Alex" David said gently, "What about calling Ben 'daddy' from now on?"
"NOOOO!"
Ben felt a little hurt but didn't push things.
"Shall we go into Ben's kitchen and make breakfast?"
David held out his hand. Alex refused it.
"Noooo! Want Ben!"
And Ben realised, contentedly, that it didn't matter whether Alex called him ratbag in future, as long as the little boy liked him.
They all sat round at Robyn's, everybody making sure Alex was the most important guest at the party. Max showed the little boy tricks to make him giggle, Ethan, who was now walking with just a stick and no longer needed the wheelchair, read him a story, Robyn cuddled him. Liza, the beginnings of a round little belly making her dress bulge a little, looked at Alex and dreamed of her baby that would be due next Summer. Matilda Knight kept smiling across at Alex – "The little minx, she's starting already!" Cal crowed, while her baby brother Ryan Mark slept contentedly in his mother's arms.
"By the time he gets used to being here, it'll be time for him to start school" Ben told Dylan happily as they discussed Alex's future.
"But what about things like a birth certificate? Not wishing to put a damper on anything" Dylan said bluntly.
David laughed.
"Dylan, I've passed Ben off as a Prince, I created several official documents in the process – are you saying I won't be able to forge a simple birth certificate?"
Ben and Dylan laughed aloud, even though Ben was silently addressing Sara:
"Look, darling. He's safe. He's happy. And soon I'll tell him about his beautiful mother. It doesn't hurt so much now, darling, and I have my lovely son safe and sound with me, but I'll love you till I die. And I'll make Alex happy, my love, I swear."
Humming contentedly, Ben carried Alex back to the party.