The Secret Princess (N.H.)

Chapter 2: My Boys

Rewritten 8/15/15

"Last First Kiss" is playing as I start to wake up the next morning. I turn off my alarm and pad over to the bathroom. After relieving myself, brushing my teeth and washing my face, I go over to my closet to change. I had a tendency of stealing/borrowing articles of clothing from the boys from time to time, while they were home or away. Currently, I stole Niall's Derby County sweatshirt to sleep in. I strip myself of his sweatshirt and gently toss it onto my bed and change into a long sleeve and some sweats; my scrubs are at the hospital where they must be kept and cleaned for hygienic purposes and lawfully regulations.

I quickly do my makeup, consisting of tinted BB cream, a thin line of eyeliner, loads of mascara, contouring and setting powder. I French braid my naturally straight caramel brown hair down my back before going back into my closet and lacing up my Nikes. I grab my cross-body purse, making sure I have all my essentials, and head down the hall for breakfast. I start a cup of tea and throw some yogurt, granola and fruit in a bowl. It's warm in the flat as I eat breakfast and scroll through my phone.

I received a couple texts from the boys, saying how they missed me and were excited to see me soon; they also notified me of their departure before their flight took off. I scroll through Facebook a bit before rinsing out my cup and bowl. Then I grab my black fleece Northface and umbrella before locking up the flat and heading down to the garage.

It's not long before I'm cruising down the busy morning traffic of London. The hospital isn't terribly far from the flat, a fifteen to twenty minute drive at most. Mid-tempo music fills the silence as I pull into the employee parking lot. I rush to get inside, away from the cold. Soon, my shift starts and I'm in a good mood.

I'm a neonatal nurse at the hospital; I work with infants as soon as they're born until the moment they leave to go home with their parents. As soon as I exit the break-room and walk down the hall, a figure approaches me.

"Good morning Ara!" Kennedy Jensen exclaims; she's been my best friend (besides Liam) since we were kids. We've attended all the same schools and she currently works as a mid-wife at the hospital.

"Good morning Ken!" I exclaim, pulling her into a quick hug. A sudden scream interrupts us and we take off down the hall. A woman is sitting in a wheelchair, screaming bloody murder, and being wheeled by whom I can assume is her husband. This can only mean one thing.

"Contractions are between five to six minutes apart; and the epidural was just injected." Dr. Grace Halls says, not even looking up from the clipboard holding this woman's information.

"We'll get her situated Grace." Kennedy assures her, taking the wheelchair and wheeling the woman down the hall. Dr. Hall as insisted that her delivery team call her Grace so she knows its us when it's time to work.

"It's too early for this Grace." I chuckle as she hands me the clipboard.

"You have the easy part here Ara." Grace chuckles back as she bustles down to the patient's room. I scanned the patient's file; her name was Daphne Robertson and her husband was Chad; it was noted that they didn't know the gender of their baby and wanted to be surprised. Some half hour or so later, I'm in the delivery room about to witness the miracle of life once again.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Around twelve-forty, I'm off work. I had changed back into my normal clothes and was walking to my car. Typically the first pregnancy takes the longest to deliver, obviously due to things stretching and such for the very first time; later births are much quicker. The delivery took about three and a half hours since it was Daphne's first pregnancy. They ended up having a baby girl and named her Hope Cassidy; she was beautiful and healthy, and her parents were so in love with her. It still got all happy and gooey inside, despite how many times I've seen this before.