Us Against The World

Baby Bean .... Baby North

A/N: To my Blue Eyes... I don't need to say the words, you already know what I want to say.

Chloe' Point of View.

We'd been back from our honeymoon for a little over a fortnight and I'd been relaxing and preparing for the arrival of baby Bean – the nursery looked beautiful, the pine changing table had be re-built and filled with all fresh towels which I'd driven Lucas mad with, by washing them everyday just to make sure they were always clean. He was at the point of tying me to the bed to force me into resting, when I'd suggested that Sarah come over for the day and keep me company as Lucas was busy doing whatever he had to do to keep this country safe...

I was currently in our bedroom getting dressed, I smiled when my eyes were drawn to the large tank of gas and air and various bags and boxes that the company had delivered a week ago – with these oh so obvious items in the room, my home birth seemed so real. I'd loved the idea of giving birth to our baby in the bed we'd created him or her in... Lucas had made it clear he didn't care where baby Bean was born as long as we were both safe, I think the only thing he really thought about was holding his newborn son or daughter in his arms. It was seven in the morning and Lucas had been gone for over an hour already, I hated waking up without him next to me – I'd got so used to him being there when we'd been in Paris and I was struggling to get used to it still. Wincing slightly, I struggled with the blue linen maternity trousers that actually made me feel attractive still, and slipped on moccasins, my usual baseball boots being far too difficult to wear as I couldn't even see my feet past the bump to fasten the laces. Although loving the idea of having another baby with Lucas I was getting tired of feeling like the size of a small house and not being able to walk properly – this pain though from the attack wasn't helping me, my back was always aching but it was worse this morning after a bad nights sleep...

I carried Aeryn from her nursery and began the descent downstairs, wincing once more as the the pain in my side kept building and I knew instinctively that I had a problem, this pain was contractions, I found myself frozen halfway down the stairs, my daughter wrapped around me as I held back a cry of pain. The house phone was down in the lounge, my mobile in the bedroom either way to get hold of Sarah, to get hold of Lucas I had to move... it took me nearly fifteen minutes to make it down four steps, not being able to move when the contractions hit. This couldn't be happening – not now when I'm all alone. I got Aeryn into her travel cot and sank to the floor, the cold sweat running down me as the pain in my lower body intensified and I struggled to breathe through the contractions.

'help... Sarah... baby Bean... NOW.'

I dropped the phone as the next contraction hit, thankful that she lived a five minute drive away and had keys to the house. I lay next to the cot and waited... I couldn't get hold of Lucas and the house phone didn't have any of the others numbers in it, I wanted my blue eyed boy here but I had to get through this. I called the hospital to be told Jenny and another midwife would be with me within two hours, I had a horrible feeling that if it was two hours they'd be too late, gasping for air I lifted Aeryn into my arms and walked what felt like a hundred miles into the kitchen to get her bottle and something to eat. She was crying and holding onto me as if she was aware that there was something wrong with me – I guess maybe the mother and child bond was that strong. Lying on the sofa I pulled Aeryn close to me and tried to relax, playing soft music through the speakers and whispering to my unborn baby to try and calm.

The door flew open and the second best thing I could have seen was standing there, Sarah. She was immediately talking a mile a minute trying to find out what was happening... I finally got her to let me speak, telling her that yes, I'd called the midwife, that no I couldn't get hold of Lucas, and then I broke down in tears. Through all my tears I managed to tell her where my phone was and she ran for the stairs, I took a deep breath, still feeling some form of rational thought I reached for Aeryn and sat her on my knee and read to her... I had to focus on something on other than the increasing pain and the terrifying knowledge that the contractions were getting very close. I heard a heated phone call going on as Sarah made her way back down to me carrying one of Lucas' shirts, my best friend knew me so well, that the one thing that would calm me if he wasn't with me was something of his...