Our Little Things

Their Symbol of Love

Four months later

It was the month of William and Audrey's childbirth. There still was no sign of William. Thomas, Audrey and Aurora had still been continuing playing the facade of husband, wife and sister-in-law.
Audrey, though hadn't reconciled with William ever since he had left Pemberton, was on cloud nine as she was soon going to meet the beautiful baby girl or the handsome baby boy she had been carrying safely in her womb for nine months. Her mental state along with the baby's health was improving day after day. Audrey was sort of moving on even though she did not know it.
Aurora and Thomas were happy seeing the light of her personality come back. She had regained her smile, her sense of humour, her wit and her wisdom, all that was lost due to her short depression face of William not coming back.
Audrey was being taken care of, more vigilantly and seriously by others now, for she was in her labour month.
While the whole town was sending her love and gifts for the little baby's arrival, the Lady Gresham was narrating her tales of William's childhood that kept her fascinated. Her family was always there for her, at every step, especially Thomas and Aurora.
Everything was going exactly the way it should have. Indeed really well.

But destiny doesn't always agree to the people's desires and wants. Does it? Sometimes it takes turns that leave us devastated.

The day to her childbirth came soon. While Thomas and Aurora fretted over whether the doctors actually knew what they were doing, pacing around, causing Audrey to snap at them as she told them either to shut up or get out.

Opting to shut up and stay, Thomas and Aurora moved to sit behind her, rubbing her back to comfort her through each contraction and each painful shift. As Thomas was her 'husband' for the society, Aurora was told to go out of the chambers to which she agreed, afterall it was the facade they had to play, Thomas kept on whispering comforting words in Audrey's ear, pushing the hair away from her face, Audrey leaned against his chest, breathing heavily and tightly gripping his hand. 

When the time came to Dr. Darcy telling Audrey to start the push, she frantically shook your head in denial and started sobbing uncontrollably. "I can't. I can't do this!" turning her face into Thomas'chest as another blinding pain shot through her entire body. Screaming in pain, and still holding Thomas' hand, she dreams of William at her side, where Thomas was.

"Ahhhh!" shouted Audrey as the pain kept on increasing.

"You can do this, Audrey," he whispers, pressing a kiss on her forehead.

"for William, Audrey. Do it for William."

Thomas stated, weaving his fingers through hers as she gave him a weak nod. 
Breathing out heavily and almost recovering from her last painful contraction, the next wave of pain arrived soon, sending her hunching forward and gripping her stomach as she followed the doctor's order to push. Soon, the final push arrived and the baby was finally born.

"Mr and Mrs Smith, congratulations, you've been blessed with a baby boy!"

It was a small boy with blue oceanic eyes just like William's. Audrey's joy knew no bounds when she looked at her son, William's son, Timothee with all her love and care and held him close to her heart, giving small pecks to both his cheeks.

"You did it Audrey!"

Exclaimed Thomas happily as he gave her one final hug before going out but was stopped by Dr Darcy.
"Sir Thomas, wait!" said the doctor in concern as he took the baby from his mother's arms and shook him gently.

"Why is he so silent?"

said Darcy in concern as he patted the baby's back, pumped little breaths in his mouth but then horror hit him.

"He is not breathing."

said the doctor to Audrey and Thomas who just showed no expression on their faces until Audrey tried controlling her tears and said

"What....what do you mean Doctor Darcy?"

"The baby, I am truly sorry to say this madam, but your baby is dead."

revealed the doctor as he looked down at the baby in his arms, put him in his mother's arms, apologising to both the parents and leaving her chambers.

"No, no, no no, no! Please Timothee, no! You cannot leave your mother my son. Please please, oh lord, why!!! Please...Thomas look at him and tell me he's not dead. Tell me Thomas that the doctor was lying."

Thomas couldn't say anything and gave her the tightest embrace ever as she cried in his arms,

"Timothee isn't dead. He cannot be. He hasn't seen William yet. He hasn't seen the world yet! Gah! He did not even see his own mother properly."

~

Pain.

Blinding, excruciating, unbearable pain.

That was all she could feel.

It hurt her.

It hurt her so much.

That moment felt as if Audrey had been stabbed multiple times by a knife in her stomach and heart and then back from heart and stomach. Slowly too. It was the most painful thing she could have ever experienced. She felt as though as she was ripping apart from the inside.

Her throat was raw from screaming, her nails had torn the skin on her palms from being clenched into fists for so long. She muscles were aching and burning, her head throbbing. But nothing could be compared to the pain she felt in her lower abdomen when the doctor said those words.

Audrey wanted to die that second, praying for it, yet dear woman had to suffer still, forced to go through hours of pain as she attempted to deliver the fetus alone on the cold floors of the cell.
A

fter several hours of screaming and torturous pain, it all ended.

What could have been a beautiful baby boy laid dead in her arms and all she could do was sob on the bed she was laid on, her hand on Timothee's lifeless little chest caressing him with love and sorrow, as she asked herself and Thomas as to why this had to happen.

She held her dead child for a very long time, bleeding both internally and externally, simply sobbing and praying to join her baby boy, her Timothee's, William's son, in death.

"It just cannot be! Nooooo! Please!
It isn't fair! Please baby, please come back... Timothee!"
~

"We have to tell the others Audrey. Your sister Aurora of all the people has the first right to know after you." whispered Thomas in her ear as he touched her head from side while looking down at her dead baby.

The unfortunate news was terrific for everyone. Especially for Audrey and Aurora.
Aurora was heartbroken as if she had lost her own baby. Afterall the efforts they took, the sacrifices they gave, the sorrows they went through, the utter grief her sister had to face, she couldn't even get a fruitful gift out of it.

"How terrible must she had been!"

exclaimed Aurora in sorrow as she cried standing beside Thomas.

"Indeed."

"You know, after all this time, when she had finally achieved solace, peace, love and happiness in Timothee, destiny still did not shine upon her, and is letting her fall into the deep edge of darkness once again.
And I know my sister, I know Audrey. She is a very sensitive soul. She's heartbroken now. I know how must she be feeling. She has no reason to live anymore Tom and no hope at all. I fear she would land or has already landed into depression."

continued Aurora as she tried framing her words from her trembling voice, thinking about what would now happen to her dear sister.