Against the Odds

“Knock, knock…” Alex peeked around the door with a smile before she pushed it open into Matt and Charlotte’s hospital room, Harry following hot on her heels. Her smile pulled even wide when she saw them both. Charlotte was sitting on the edge of the bed, her hand firmly clasped in Matt’s, who had almost certainly been coaching her through every single contraction. “Hi, Mummy and Daddy.”

“Well, we will be if he ever decides to come out,” Charlotte joked, smiling at their two new visitors.

“You’ve only been in labor for a few hours,” Matt chuckled. He squeezed her hands and leaned in to press a kiss to her forehead before turning to greet his sister and Harry.

“Impatient as always,” Harry teased, earning a glare from Charlotte. “I’m sorry, love,” he apologized as he stepped over to kiss her cheeks. “Not the time, I know.”

“Not if you want to live to see your nephew,” she replied with narrowed eyes, bringing a laugh from the others around her.

“How are you feeling?” Alex asked softly as she stepped over to kiss Charlotte’s cheeks. Her hands moved gently to her friend’s belly and she couldn’t help the emotion that bubbled up within her. “Are the contractions bad?”

“Well, they’re not a walk in the park,” Charlotte shrugged. “But they’re still manageable.”

“Are you still thinking you’re not going to do the epidural?” Alex asked.

“I’m going to hold out as long as I can,” Charlotte nodded, determination flashing in her eyes.

“Brave woman,” Alex grinned.

“Very brave,” Matt echoed. His entire face was full of love and pride and Charlotte couldn’t help but smile up at him, loving him for being so supportive.

“Jesus,” Alex sniffed. “You two are going to make me cry.”

Harry chuckled as he put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his side. “Darling, you cry at everything.”

“I know,” Alex sighed, bringing laughter from everyone before she turned to Matt. “Have you called Mom and Dad?”

“Yep,” he nodded. “They were hoping the baby would wait till they moved here, but it’s only two weeks, so they’ll see him then.”

“Mom’s probably dying having to wait that long,” Alex giggled. “You can Skype them after he’s here.”

“Of course,” Matt chuckled. “Where’s Emma?”

“She stayed at Highgrove with my father and Camilla,” Harry offered. “We didn’t want to drag her from bed at ten at night. They’ll bring her back into the city with them tomorrow and she can come meet her baby cousin.”

“That sounds – oh!” Charlotte gasped. One hand flew to her belly and the other reached for Matt, her fingers wrapping tightly around his as a contraction began to move through her.

Alex’s eyes widened and she looked up at Harry who squeezed her shoulder and smiled down at her. “Let’s let them concentrate on having a baby, what do you say?”

“Of course,” she smiled back. She reached out and rubbed Matt’s shoulder, offering a wave and nodding towards the door to let him know they were going to let them have their privacy. Matt nodded and mouthed a quick ‘thank you’ before turning back to his wife, all of his attention moving to doing everything he could to help her as she worked to bring their son into the world.

***************

Alex’s eyes slid to the side and she couldn’t help but smile as she took in her husband. He was sitting in the chair next to her in the small, private waiting room that had been set aside for them. His phone was out his hands and his eyes were cast downward, but his fingers hadn’t moved over the screen in several minutes. She knew without having to look that he had that look in his eyes, that hazy, lost in thought look.

She leaned over and bumped his shoulder with hers. “Care to share?”

He blinked and then his gaze swung up to meet hers. “Share?”

“Mhmmm,” she nodded. “You know…tell me about whatever you’re over there daydreaming about?”

“Ah,” he chuckled. He shifted to stuff his phone back in his pocket and then turned to face her. “I was thinking over the day when it might be us in there doing that. Having a baby.”

She smiled smugly. “I knew it.”

“Ha!” Harry’s head tipped back with his laughter. “Of course you did, love.”

She laughed and then leaned in a bit closer, her voice dropping a bit lower. “I was thinking of that too.”

Harry’s eyes flashed wide and he swore his heart skipped a beat in his chest. “Yeah?”

“I love it when you get that look on your face,” she giggled.

“What look?”

“Like you want to go make babies right now.”

He grinned wide and leaned in even closer. “I do want to go make babies right now,” he whispered.

Alex held his gaze and everything in her body wanted the exact same thing – to throw caution to the wind and start working on adding to their family right that very moment. And just as she was about to ask him to remind her why they decide to wait a year, there was a knock at the door and their attention shifted; moving to the baby they wanted to meet rather than the one they wanted to make.

“Come in,” Harry called out, winking at Alex as he moved back from her and they both stood. Patrick, Alex’s PO, opened the door and Charlotte’s doctor came in quickly.

“You have news for us?” Alex asked with a wide smile.

“Ma’am,” the doctor nodded and something about the way he kept his voice low and the way his eyes flashed with urgency made Alex’s smile fall and made her hair stand on end.

“Is everything…”

“There’s been a complication,” the doctor rushed ahead, calm but with urgency in his voice. “The baby is fine – he’s out and healthy but Charlotte began to bleed heavily.”

“Oh God,” Harry groaned as Alex gasped, her hands flying to her mouth.

“I worked on her in the delivery room but I couldn’t stop the bleeding fully. I had the surgeon called in and she was taken into emergency surgery,” he continued, sympathy evident in his voice

“Is she going to be okay?” Alex whispered, her eyes widening and tears surging with the news.

“I’m confident that Dr. Martin can stop the bleeding,” the doctor said firmly. “He is one of the best and he’s in there right now working on her. I’m going to go up there and check on her progress. Best case scenario – he can stop it quickly and she should be out in under an hour. But until then, Matt is…”

“Oh my God…Matt,” she gasped. “My brother…”

“He’s with his son in a recovery room,” the doctor said. “Like I said, the baby is healthy. We got him out and cleaned off and gave him the baby when we pulled them from the room to work on Charlotte. But he’s frightened and nervous and we don’t really want to leave him alone with the baby in the state. He asked us to come get you,” he said to Alex, who immediately nodded and looked to Harry with wide eyes.

“Go, go,” Harry said instantly, nodding his agreement that she should go.

“Okay,” she whispered. “I’m sorry to leave you alone. I know you…”

“Go,” he repeated, reaching out to squeeze her hand. “They’ll give me updates. Go take care of your brother.”

“Okay,” she whispered again. She moved forward into him and wrapped her arms around him tightly. He hugged her close and kissed the top of her head before she pulled back and wiped her eyes. And then with one last look at him she nodded to the doctor and stepped out of the room with him. The door shut behind them with a whoosh and click and he was left inside the room alone.

And the silence was deafening.

He understood that Alex had to go. She was the only person on the entire continent that could help her brother right then; that could give him the type of support he needed to get through the next hour of his life. And he knew that in no way was the twisting in his gut and the emotions swirling inside of him as bad as what Matt must be feeling. It wasn’t even a fraction of what Matt was going through he was sure. But Charlotte was one of his best friends – his oldest friend – and she was in emergency surgery. She’d just had a baby and instead of experiencing the wonder and amazement of her son’s first moments, she was unconscious and her life was in danger.

“Fuck,” he choked out, blinking as tears surged in his eyes. He ran his hands through his hair and turned towards the window in the room. His eyes moved over the city in front of him, now bathed in early morning light. Rush hour was in full force and people were rushing about, going about their normal lives and Harry fought to find a way to channel that, to find some sense of normality that would stop his brain from spiraling out. He knew he needed that, but he couldn’t turn to Alex for that right that moment and he was struggling.

And then it occurred to him that there was one other person who could do that for him without even trying. He pulled his phone from his pocket and slid his finger across the screen to unlock it. He quickly scrolled through is phone book and then dialed the number. He pulled the phone to his ear and bit at his lip, his nerves getting to him while the phone rang on the other end. And then finally, the ringing stopped and the familiar voice came on the line.

“Dad?” Harry cleared his throat, trying to make his voice as steady as possible. “Yes, we’re still at the hospital,” he said in response to his father’s question. “Hey listen, is Emma right there with you? Alex had to step out of the room for a few minutes and I thought I might take the time to say good morning to our daughter.” He took a deep breath and listed as his father said that she was there with him and then handed the phone off to her.

“Hi Daddy!”

Harry let out a breath at her adorably happy little voice and his smile pulled wide. “Hi munchkin,” he replied. He blinked back the emotions that had bubbled forth moments before and then moved back over to his chair, feeling more relaxed as he sat. “Whatcha doin?”

“We just had breakfast. Did you know that Grandpa Charles has chickens here and gets the eggs himself? Oh! Is my new cousin here yet? Did you meet him yet? Does he have a name?”

Harry couldn’t help but chuckle, loving her rapid fire questions. “I haven’t met him yet,” he said softly. “But he’s been born. Hopefully soon, kiddo. Maybe by the time you get here he’ll have a name.”

“Oh, I hope so,” Emma said excitedly.

“Me too,” Harry said, nodding his head and swallowing back the lump that formed in his throat. “But tell me more about these chickens, Em.”

And as he sat back in his chair and listen to Emma chatter on, he felt himself calm down a bit, he felt his brain stop spinning. He had been right to call her, to reach out to his daughter for the bit or normality that he needed. Hearing her happy little voice made the wait for news a bit more bearable.

**************

Alex’s fingers twisted nervously in front of her as the doctor led her to the room and pushed open the door. The room was dim, just a soft light over the hospital bed turned on. There was a nurse stationed in the corner, her eyes trained on the other two people in the room; Matt and his newborn son.

“Matt?” Alex called out softly when she saw him, standing and facing the window. He turned and her stomach clenched at the look on his face. She could tell he had been crying and his eyes were wide – more fear and anxiety in them than she’d ever seen and it stunned her. He had a tiny little bundle swaddled in a white blanket in his arms, tucked right up into his chest. She glanced over to the nurse waiting near the door and then back to Matt, and she saw his arms flex around the baby. He was terrified that the nurse was going to take the baby and she knew it. She knew she had to calm him down or they weren’t going to let that baby stay in the room, much less clutched so tightly to his chest.

“They told you what…that Charlotte…” Matt stammered out. The baby stirred in his arms, letting out a tiny cry and Matt’s eyes swung down, his face twisting up as he moved to bounce his son softly in his arms.

“They did,” Alex murmured, stepping in a bit closer. “Do you want me to take him for a minute? Do you need…”

“No…I can’t let him go, Alex,” he whispered, his gaze swinging back up to meet hers. “Not when I don’t know what happening with my wife.”

“No one wants to take him from you,” Alex soothed as she stepped up to him. “I was just asking if you needed a minute to take a breath. But if you don’t, then I’m not going to take him. You are the best person for him right now. They’re just worried about you. I’m worried about you.”

“Alex…” His voice broke and tears slipped from his eyes and Alex’s heart broke for him, for this situation he was suddenly in. “What if she…”

“Hey…” Alex shook her head and blinked back her own emotions. “She has the best working on her right now. And they know what they’re doing and they’ll do everything they can to make sure she’s okay.”

Matt’s face twisted up again and Alex stepped in; her hands moved to his cheeks and pulled his gaze up to hers. “Matthew…listen to me, I know you’re hurting and that you’re scared but you’ve got to calm down just a bit. This baby right here…” One of her hands moved to smooth over the top of her nephew’s head. “He needs to feel how much you love him, how happy you are that he’s here. And he can’t feel any of that if you don’t take a breath and focus on him.”

“I don’t know what to do without…I don’t…” His voice shook and was so low that Alex could barely hear him. “She’s supposed to be here. She’s supposed to be experiencing these moments with me…with him…”

“I know, Matt,” Alex nodded. Tears fell from her eyes and she pressed her hand to her heart. “I know better than anyone. I know what it’s like to have this brand new baby and not have the person who helped make that baby there to share it with.”

“Alex…”

“But that’s not his fault, Matt. Please don’t let your son’s first moments with you be about worry or sadness or what should be.”

Matt blinked several times and she saw him take a breath, she saw him try the best he could to start to calm himself just a little. “You’re right. I know…I don’t…” He shook his head and took another deep breath and then another, closing his eyes for just a moment as he let the second breath out. His eyes were a touch clearer when they opened back up to hers. “Can you help me? Can you sit with me?”

“Absolutely,” Alex nodded. “I would love to.”

“Okay,” Matt took another breath and nodded. He glanced down at his son once more before he turned and moved to the bed, sitting down on it slowly. Alex moved over and sat down next to him and she couldn’t help but smile a bit as she looked down at her sleeping nephew.

“He’s beautiful, Matthew,” she whispered. “Can you tell me his name or do you want to wait…”

“Cooper,” Matt said a bit hoarsely, his eyes swinging up to meet hers. “Cooper Michael.”

“Oh wow,” she breathed. “Cooper Michael Emerson. Dad’s going to be so happy.”

“I hope so,” he replied softly. “God, Alex. What should I do? What should I say to Cooper? What did you say to Emma?”

Alex smiled and her hand reached out slowly, smoothing over her nephew’s head for a moment before her gaze moved back up to Matt. “Tell him you love him. Tell him how much Charlotte loves him. Tell him about his mother and how much he’s going to love her when she gets to meet him. Tell him about her – all about her. Tell him how much you love her.”

“God, I do love her,” Matt whispered, turning sad eyes to his sister and Alex’s heart just broke for him. “And she already loves him so much. I just…I hope she’s…”

“Me too,” Alex murmured, tears pooling her eyes once more. “I really hope so too.”

To Be Continued….