Chapter 18
On return to the house from school that day Roman, Kimmie and Justin found it all aflutter. None of them had ask why for they knew. Apparently, that day was here. All three were aware it was Caroline's time and had been waiting for the day they came back to find they had a new sibling.
"Has mama had the baby?" asked Kimmie as she saw Henrietta come into view with an awake Kayla in her arms. She had been so excited about the baby coming. She could barely remember when Kayla came, so it felt as if it was the first time all over again.
"She did – now all three of you must go and wash your hands and I will take you two them." None of the children needed to be told twice, as eager as they were to get to see Caroline and the new baby. Within five minutes, the children having changed from their school uniform to clean fresh clothes, they were walking down to Caroline's room with Henrietta.
Henrietta knocked they were called in and for the first time, they clapped eyes on Victor, Caroline and the baby.
Victor sat by the two of them in what could only be called a protective manner. He had not left them since he had first met his son and he found he never wanted to. He simply wanted to stay with Caroline and the baby forever and hold them. But the world was not just the three of them. As he saw the rest of the family, he felt as his family – his life – was complete.
He hoped and prayed he was not going to treat the others in a different manner to the way he treated this little one. He hoped he would not allow the love he felt for his son to elevate him about the other children. Yet he had never had this moment before with his own little new-born baby. It was special in a way he could not describe.
It occurred to him right as he held Caroline then that this was why he had wanted them to come away all along, so that he was going to be the one who had all these precious moments with the woman who he loved beyond all others. He felt as if he was more in love with her than ever. They would raise this child - and all the others - together.
"Mama!" Kayla cooed as she saw her. They had not been apart for long, yet she had missed her.
"Do we have a new brother of sister?" Asked Kimmie as she crosses to the bed.
Caroline beamed at her as Justin too crossed to them. A birth, Caroline could only assume was a good thing for hm after he had had too much death in his young life. "You have a new brother, my love."
Justin did as much as any of the others. Their were five of them now.
In fact, the only one who did not cross to be with them was Roman. For the very first time, he was beginning to put everything together in his mind. It was at that moment of all moments which Roman chose to be a real Brady...
And it was the image before his eyes which made it all fall into place.
Why had he not seen it? Why hadn't he asked why they were not going home, when he knew his mama was having a baby…
This was all due to where his Uncle Victor was sitting. After they had gone into the birthing room in the past, his father had always sat in that seat by his mother, protectively, lovingly welcoming the newest member of the broad…
Being the eldest of three siblings, he had been in this situation before. His memories of when Kimmie had been born were very vague though he knew his father had carried him into the room to meet his little sister. Whereas when Kayla was born, he had walked in as Kimmie had been the one in their father's arms.
And he had felt so grown up. He had had two baby sisters.
And now there was a part of which guessed he should feel even bigger as now he was the oldest of all five of them, if he included Justin which he was always going to.
But for the first time ever, he found the one which he did not want to include was the baby in his mother's arms.
And it was not to do with the baby.
But it was everything to do with his Uncle Victor. Over the time they had been in Greece, there had more than one time when he had wanted to tell him to go away and leave his mother to be, but he did not think he had ever felt such aa desire to as he did right then.
He had to stop it.
So far, Caroline had been as careful as she could be, to shield the children when it came to her and Victor. To their relationship and who they were to one another. But her guard had been down.
She paled as she met her son's eyes. Realisation dawned on the mother as it had done the child.
"Oh darling," but it was to late - he had worked it out. He would not be part of this. And that meant he had to get out of there.
Yet she wanted nothing more than for this not to be happening. "Darling, please come and met your little brother."
"No - I do not want too!" he said and Caroline knew he meant it. The only thing in the world he wanted was to get out that room.
But Victor was not having that.
"Roman, don't you dare talk to your mother like that." It was not so much what he had said but the way he had said it. She knew he would not have it at all.
Especially not at that moment when Victor was feeling so protective.
"I hate you and I hate Uncle Victor and I hate the new baby!" Roman declared. And with that he turned on his heel, fled the room in tears and slammed the door shut.
The newborn panicked in his mother's arms which set his father on edge. He felt ready to beat Roman for the way he had treated his mother and siblings in the last five minutes, not that he ever would. Caroline who had been glowing looked pale and ill. Kayla was balling while Kimmie cried silently with her mother.
How had it all gone so wrong, so fast.
X x x
Victor knew a few things. That he was furious with Roman, and it was going to take a while for that to stop. If it was not for his mother, he would deal with what had happened differently. And that it was going to take a while for Caroline to get over what had happened that day – far longer than it would him.
It should have been such a happy day but Caroline looked dejected when he returned to her and his heart went out to her. Caroline was sitting up in the bed with their little son in her arms and he had no need to ask if she had been crying – he could see she had.
Well, this day had not gone to plan, he sighed as he sat on the bed and touched his little son's cheek.
"Is Roman ok?" Caroline asked. If she had had her way then she would have gone after him herself but of course she could not. Instead, it was Henrietta who had gone after and comforted him. He would not have let Victor do it right then. She wished in a way he was older, so that she could talk to him properly and try to explain. But then maybe if he was older he was going to be even more angry. She knew he was a very confused young man. She wanted him to understand. But she couldn't. And bless him, he wouldn't.
She wondered if Kim would sneak into talk to him and check Roman was ok.
That would be a very them thing to do.
She hoped she would. As his Ma, she wanted to do anything she could to make him feel better. God only knew if she could spirit Shawn here to comfort his son she would - she did not need to be told Roman needed his dad.
The truth was he had needed him all these many months they had been here.
"He is a lot calmer - and I am sure he did not mean half of the things he said." Victor however knew the words Roman said were going to be ringing in her ears for a long time to come.
"You do not know our Roman very well yet, do you?" she said bitterly as she hushed their own little one.
"Maybe not but I am trying." He said and she knew he was a little hurt.
But she could not be doing with his ego right then.
"I know you are love."
They should be full of joy right then. And before the two of them went too far, he wanted to reclaim some of their joy.
"So, tell me - has this little man got a name yet?" Truth be told he would love to be a bigger part of this conversation. But he had said if she came with him then she could name their baby. Their son.
"Yes – yes, I think so," said Caroline. Wrongly, between everything else it had not been a topic which had been much on her mind that day. However, in the run up to the birth she had put a lot of thought into it and so now she could see him, she knew his name. it was obvious to her.
"Must I wait to see what we will call our son?"
Caroline looked at him just a moment as if she was nervous, before she spoke. It did seem as if she had found her courage.
"No - we will call him Beaurgard Aurelius."
She said it clearly and firmly knowing he would not like it. And he did not.
Victor felt his back straighten like a rod in anger.
Irish roots. Shawn.
No explanation needed.
She would not back down. He knew she would not change her mind. Straight backed still, he turned and left the room, not bothering to look back at the mother and her little son.
Caroline breathed out and shut her eyes as the door shut and prayed.
For all of them.
For the future.
And for forgiveness.
X x x
Molly Brady did not think she had ever seen a man suffer in the way she had seen her brother do so in the last six months. Shawn had gone to the very depths of despair and yet he had survived. Shawn had had days when he had worried himself sick literally, days when he had done nothing but pace and days when he could not get out of bed.
Yet none of them changed a thing. They had no leads; they did not know where Caroline and the kids were. In fact, no one seemed to be able to tell him if they were dead or alive.
To live as he was in limbo was she knew a fate worse than death for her brother.
A lot of the time it seemed to Molly all they could do was be there in the silence with her brother.
She was getting good at speaking to him through the silence.
It was a role she thought she would play that day as she found Shawn on the pier. She did not announce herself but sat quietly by him.
Yet for once it seemed as if he wanted to talk.
"You know it would be about now around any time now that Caroline would be having the new one."
In his grief for his children, he had thought no less about the one he had not and may never met.
"I know… and I wish you could be with her more than anything,' she would do anything to make it so.
"So do I. But our Mol - what is there to say they are still out there," Molly was not sure she liked that question.
He hadn't voiced anything like that to her yet she thought as a tear dropped down his cheek.
"What does your heart say?"
He paused for a long time.
"That they... they live," he said with a shaky breathe.
He had to believe that to live. Because if he didn't then there was no point in him living was there?
"We'll never stop looking," she promised they would never give up.
She would fight at his side forever. He nodded. It wouldn't end until he had his family back. Or he cradled their bodies.
Brother and sister held hands as they looked out to the water, and let the silence envelope them.
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