Forget Me Not

Chapter Fourteen

Arthur dropped Victoria and Aurora off in his car so they wouldn't have to carry presents. Arthur helped to carry the presents from the car to the living room. He then turned to Victoria as Aurora tore away, probably to check on her teddies.

"Are you okay? You haven't spoken much."

"There's not much to say," Victoria replied.

"Well... We're always a phone call away." Arthur kissed her cheek and left.

Victoria and Aurora put away the presents. Victoria placed the photograph on Aurora's chest of drawers. She then put Aurora in the bath and they had their usual warm milk in front of the fireplace and the flashcards before bed. Aurora's speech had come along so much in the space of time it had taken for Nathan to forget them up until now. Victoria felt her heart swell as she realised just how much. She put Aurora to bed, kissed her and then went to bed herself, exhausted from the busy day.

On Aurora's actual birthday they spent the day with Sienna and Jude. Victoria's parents had bought Aurora a pop-up princess tent and the Moana DVD which she absolutely adored. Instead of trying to remove her from the tent, they stayed at the house instead. Sienna had made a cake, a one tier cake with Smarties around it and 'Happy Birthday Aurora' in pink icing on the top. They each had a slice.

"I'm going to get fat with all this cake." Victoria said as she lay on the sofa, feet up on a cushion. Jude and Sienna took an armchair each while Aurora dozed in Jude's lap.

"Fat-ter." Her father corrected. Victoria threw a cushion at his head which bounced off and fell to the floor. Jude stuck his tongue out.

"That's bump fat and baby fat. It doesn't count." Sienna said, sipping on a glass of sparkling water.

"God I miss wine," Victoria said. Her parents laughed at her.

Aurora fell straight to sleep that night. She was exhausted from all the fun again. Victoria took a quick shower and that's when it happened. She felt the familiar pain of contractions but they were quick, sharp and didn't return. She got into bed when the next one had struck. She rode it out, breathing sharply and fell asleep while the pain was gone.

The contractions continued the next day but with hours between them, Victoria wasn't panicking. She was certain these were just Braxton Hicks. She turned out to be right as the pain stopped after a warm bath. Victoria packed her hospital bag anyway, just in case.

Victoria had her last hospital appointment for her thirty-eight-week scan. She took Nancy as Arthur had the day off and could pick up the kids from school and nursery. Freya took them into the examination room and Victoria pulled up her shirt. Freya applied the gel.

"Baby's still moving? No problems?"

"Yep. My little boy kicks me about sixty times a day and moves way more than Aurora did. I can't wait to get him out of here." Victoria laughed. Freya moved the scanner around and smiled.

"He's growing beautifully. Heartbeat is very strong."

"I did have some Braxton Hicks a few weeks ago but apart from that, I've not had any issues."

"That's good. Great to hear. And you'll be coming into the hospital in two weeks time. You'll have me and another midwife called Greta Johnson."

"That's good to know. Is Greta new? I don't think I remember a Greta from when Aurora was here."

"That was four years ago," Freya smiled. "Yes Greta is quite new, she's been here a year but she had a transfer. She's been doing this longer than me. You'll love her, she's so nice."

"Well if she's good enough for you, she's good enough for me," Victoria said as she wiped off the gel.

"Everything will be fine," Freya promised. She gave Victoria the scan photo and Victoria thanked her for everything and left with Nancy.

"Have you thought of any names yet?" Nancy asked.

"I have. Nathan and I both did... But... It's hard to decide knowing that Nathan may or may not even care what I choose."

"You should just choose. I'm sure no one will mind. It's your son too."

Victoria shrugged. She still cared. She minded too.