Yellow Dress//Bill Denbrough

N i n e t e e n

I was taking a break from writing this, but last night I had a dream that I was pregnant (I'm sixteen bahaha) and I knew it was my heart telling me to write. Lowkey dislike this chapter but I hope you tolerate it.

Claire shivers in her mother's arms, and Carn pulls her blanket tighter around her. Her sweet little face scrunches up, pre-cry.

"No, no, no, please," Carn begs her. Other than the fact that Carn is the only one who can feed her, Bill is the one who's better at calming Claire down. Unfortunately, he's in the hospital cafeteria, microwaving ramen for their own lunch.

It' too late. Claire's shrieks pierce through the small room, reverberating off the walls.

"Please don't cry, beautiful. No, no, no..."

Squeezing out of her eyes are fresh tears, accompanied by earsplitting screams. So Carn does the only thing she could think of in the moment- sing.

"I can show you the world, shining shimmering, splendid."

Her voice is soft and melodic, just barely off pitch every once in awhile. Although she could be imagining it, it seems as though Claire may be calming down.

"Tell me princess, now when did you last let your heart decide?"

Her bawling does begin to cease, just a bit.

"I can open your eyes, take you wonder by wonder. Over sideways and under on a magic carpet ride."

Falling asleep almost instantly, Claire's cries are replaced with gentle deep breaths. Carn beams at the sleeping baby in adoration, still trying to wrap her mind around the fact that she is indeed the mother of this beautiful little girl. With Claire, she's in a whole new world.

"A whole new world, a new fantastic point of view. No one to tell us no, or where to go, or say we're only dreaming. A whole new world, a dazzling place I never knew. But when I'm way up here, it's crystal clear that now I'm in a whole new world with you."

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When hearing a knock at the door, Mike glances up from the baby, snoozing in her warm incubator. Figuring it would just be another Loser, Mike shoves past the thick layer of It's a Girl! balloons to open the door quickly and return to his "babysitting" post.

But instead of the welcoming face of a friend, he's met with Carn's mother.

"Mrs. Holland! Oh, I'm sorry, it's Mrs. Jackson now, isn't it?"

She nods. "Hello, Mike. Is my daughter here?"

"She's actually in the shower right now. Is there a message that you'd like me to give her?"

"I'd rather talk to her or Bill myself. Is he here?"

"He's helping Carn."

Mrs. Jackson makes a face like she had just caught a whiff of some repulsive smell. Quick to come to their defense, Mike adds, "She just gave birth. She's kind of having some trouble walking around."

"Alright, then. Well, since neither of them are around, could you please let them know that I'll be in the waiting room? I heard at church that Carnation had her child and I- I, uh- well, I want to see my grand baby."

"Granddaughter."

"I'm sorry?"

"They had a girl. You have a granddaughter."

"Oh. Right. Thank you," she awkwardly backs away from the door and towards the lobby. Mike sighs, unsure of what Carn and Bill's reactions will be to his story.

He waits with Claire until an unsteady Carn, supported by Bill, waddles from the bathroom. "Hey, Mike. Thanks for watching her."

"It was my pleasure."

"How i-i-is she?" Bill helps Carn sit down before picking his daughter up and rocking her back and forth.

"She's great! But there is something that you should know," Mike scratches the back of his neck, trailing off.

"Hm?" Carn asks, brushing through her sopping wet hair.

"Uh, Carn's mom dropped by."

"What?!" she exclaims. "What did she want?"

"To see Claire."

"Oh. Th-th-that's.... nice o-of her?"

With an emotionless face, Carn shakes her head.

"I think I'm just going to grab a soda..." Mike mumbles, leaving.

When he's gone, Carn only has one word to say.

"No."

"C-Carn."

"We are not letting her anywhere near the baby. No. If your parents come, you can decide if you want to let them see her. But not my mother."

"I-I would."

"Would you?"

"Yeah. I w-w-wouldn't buh-be th-thrilled about it, b-b-but I'd still l-l-let them."

She's silent for a couple of minutes, pondering what to do. But her persistence finally relents as a certain feeling washed over her. Sympathy, perhaps?

"Bill? Could you please grab her from the waiting room? I can take Claire."

Mild shock crosses his face. "Uh, sure."

Handing the newborn to his girlfriend, Bill disappears for a moment or two, but comes back accompanied by Jan.

"Hi," she says to her daughter, who tries to avoid eye contact. "Is this your baby?"

She nods.

"She's beautiful."

Carn softens a bit. "Thank you."

"What's her name?"

"Claire. Claire Daisy."

"Claire Daisy. That's so sweet. And her last name is Denbrough?"

"Yes."

"Well, I don't want to intrude, I just wanted to see-"

"Wait! Would you..." Carn takes a deep breath and offers the unimaginable. "Would you like to hold her?"

Her mother smiles a bit. "I'd love to."

And very gently, Carn hands Claire to her. Bill watches from the doorway, nonchalantly leaning in the doorframe and grinning at Carn.

"Hi, sweetie!" Jan coos. "Aren't you cute?"

She seems to be really happy holding Claire, or at least content in the moment. Carn almost feels guilty when the clock hits four.

"Do you mind if I take Claire back now? The doctor wanted me to feed her at four."

"Oh, of- of course," she places her back in Carn's outstretched arms. "I should probably head home, anyway."

"Thank you for coming, though. Bill and I- we really appreciate it," she assures her mother truthfully.

"It was good to see the three of you. And Carnation-" she hesitates. Carn waits for an apology, on the edge of her seat. "She's, um, really cute."

Then she leaves. Carn looks down at her feet.

"She doesn't want me back..."

Bill sits next to her, wrapping his arm around her. "I'm sorry, C-Carn.

"I don't want her anymore. You're my family now."