A/N: See Chapter 1 for Disclaimer.

Chapter 3: Waiting

Just over an hour later, Hyacinth sat on the bed in front of Elizabeth, allowing her to hold onto both of her hands for dear life as she yelled her way through another contraction. Then when it was finally over, Hyacinth grabbed the wet washcloth that was in the bowl of cold water on the nightstand and bathed Elizabeth's face in cold water to help her cool off. Even though the weather was so cold outside, Elizabeth had told Hyacinth moments before the last contraction began that she was feeling very warm, so Hyacinth was now trying to cool her down and help her feel a little more comfortable.

"Good work, Elizabeth. Good work," Hyacinth told her in a very loving and encouraging tone of voice while patting her face with the cold washcloth. "You've got another contraction all finished and behind you now. Good job." She then put the washcloth back in the bowl of water on the nearby nightstand.

"Thank you, Hyacinth. I really don't think I could do this without you here."

"Not to worry, love. I'm not going anywhere."

"You know, Hyacinth, I just cannot understand all of this. It just doesn't make any sense. How, how, does a woman my age get pregnant and not even know it for nine whole months? How does something this crazy happen?"

"If you don't mind my asking such a personal question, Elizabeth, what have your cycles been like over the past couple of years?"

"Oh, well my periods have always been very irregular my whole life. And I think I can count on one hand how many times I've had a period over the past two years. And when Frank returned from Saudi Arabia this February and took me on that romantic getaway, it had already been several months since I'd had a period. Given my age and all, I was convinced that I'd already started going through menopause. I never imagined for a moment that I had even the tiniest chance of getting pregnant again."

"I do remember how unwell you were feeling when you returned in March, and I remember you telling me that you thought you caught a virus while you were gone."

"Oh, yes. Now that I think about it, I do remember that. I may have been a bit queasy, but I don't remember vomiting. Not even once. And I did feel very weak and tired for a couple of weeks, but I was sure it was because I'd caught something."

"So was I."

"I never dreamed that it could be pregnancy."

"Given the circumstances, it's quite understandable that you never thought you might actually be pregnant. If it had been me, I wouldn't have believed that pregnancy was a possibility either, and I'm a former midwife. Just a little bit of nausea for two weeks. No vomiting whatsoever. No cravings. And if your baby has an anterior placenta, which is when the placenta attaches to the front wall of the uterus, then that would have made it very difficult for you to feel any movement or kicks from the baby. All these things put together, not to mention your age and your highly irregular cycles, it's actually very understandable that we never discovered your pregnancy until this evening."

"Maybe so, but I'm still furious at myself for this. Instead of just staying in bed those first two weeks after I got back, I should've gone to see my doctor. I should've found out what was happening so that I could prepare. I should've been taking prenatal vitamins all this time. I should've been having regular checkups with my doctor to make sure the baby was alright. Emmet's been staying in Gail's old bedroom ever since he moved in, and Frank and I have the master bedroom, and we have a guest bedroom. I could have and should have converted it into a nursery for the baby a long time ago. Now, when I bring my baby home, it won't have anything it needs," Elizabeth said as tears filled her eyes.

And Hyacinth did not hesitate to wrap her arms around Elizabeth and embrace her while she cried. "Now you listen to me," Hyacinth said lovingly. "You've got to stop being so hard on yourself. Any woman in your position would've done the same thing. There is no way you could have anticipated this. There is no way you could have seen this coming. In life, we simply have to do the best we can with the knowledge we have at the present moment. And after that, we have to leave the rest to Jesus and let Him take it from there. You're doing the very best you can in a very difficult situation, and God understands that. And as far as the nursery and all the baby supplies goes, we have plenty of time to take care of all that. I'll organize the biggest Candlelight Baby Shower that England has ever seen, and by the time you bring the baby home from hospital, it'll have the perfect nursery just waiting for it. You wait and see. I'll even find a way to trick Mrs. Councilor Nugent into coming so I can slap her again for you in front of everyone!"

Still in Hyacinth's embrace, Elizabeth laughed out loud. "You may be a good hostess, Hyacinth, but you're an extraordinary midwife," Elizabeth said truthfully.

Before Hyacinth could respond, another contraction started, and all Elizabeth could do was cling to Hyacinth and yell through the pain.

"That's right, darling. That's right. Yell the pain out, love. Just yell it out," Hyacinth told her. Under ordinary circumstances, even if Elizabeth were suffering the most excruciating pain, she still would never have dared to yell so loudly in front of Hyacinth like that. But now, she felt perfectly secure in doing so.

"There must be something we can do!" Emmet cried out a few moments later, anxiously pacing in the lounge as Elizabeth continued to yell. Daisy, Onslow, and Richard were all sitting in chairs near the settee in the lounge while Emmet paced endlessly back and forth.

"Oh, I wish there were something we could do, Emmet," said Daisy. "But the bridge is still washed out, and there's even ice on the roads now. There's no way an ambulance can get to us. And Hyacinth is the only person here who knows anything about obstetrics. Childbirth is a battle, an agonizing and terrible battle, and Elizabeth and Hyacinth are the only ones who can fight that battle now. It's all down to the two of them."

"Okay, I know we don't have a doctor here who can give my sister an epidural. But there is whiskey in the house. I know pregnant women aren't supposed to drink alcohol, but surely we can give her at least a small amount to help with the pain," Emmet said, and in the next moment, the contraction ended and everything was quiet again.

Richard shook his head then and told Emmet, "Hyacinth always said that back in her midwife days, she always had a strong, instinctive feeling in her gut that she should never allow any of her patients to consume alcohol. And her instincts were confirmed in the late 60s, a few years after she left midwifery, when doctors and scientists first discovered that alcohol was harmful to unborn babies. And according to Hyacinth, doctors are now saying that even a very small amount of alcohol can be detrimental to an unborn baby. Even though she quit her midwife career a long time ago, she still keeps up with the latest findings in obstetrics, at least from time to time."

"So there's really nothing we can do to help Liz? Absolutely nothing? Nothing at all?" Emmet asked.

"Trust me, Emmet, if Hyacinth didn't have the situation under control herself, she would've come out here and gotten us a long time ago," Richard assured him.

"Richard's right, Emmet," Daisy told him. "I really do believe that the best thing any of us can do for Elizabeth now is to just stay out of the way. I think she needs privacy and emotional support more than anything, and she's getting that from Hyacinth."

"I know the thought of putting your sister's life in Hyacinth's hands is probably very unnerving, Emmet, but I don't think there's anything to worry about," Onslow chimed in. "We all know Hyacinth's faults very well. She's irritating. She's snobbish. She's stubborn and demanding and overbearing and ridiculously petty. And she's definitely far too self-absorbed. But she does have one saving grace, and that's motherhood. Hyacinth has the deepest and most profound respect for motherhood. Hyacinth has certainly spoiled Sheridan far too much, but I don't think there's a trace of doubt in anyone's mind here tonight that Hyacinth Bucket loves her son with everything she's got in her. Underneath her strict and snobbish and annoying exterior, Hyacinth does have a heart, especially when it comes to babies and little children. Underneath all her bluster, Hyacinth has a very real soft spot in her heart for little ones. And I think we all know that if she has to, she will move heaven and earth to make certain that Elizabeth's baby is born into the world safely. And even though she doesn't always show it like she should, I do believe that Hyacinth cares a great deal about Elizabeth as well. And I don't believe for a minute that Hyacinth would ever let anything happen to Elizabeth if she can possibly help it."

After taking a long moment to really digest everything that Onslow had just said, Emmet nodded and told him, "I never really thought of it like that, Onslow, but now that I do think about it, you're right. You're absolutely right about every word you just said. Thank you."

Onslow responded with a simple nod, and then Emmet took a seat in the one empty chair there in the lounge and continued waiting with all the others in complete silence.