Topic: A New Life

Evan Lassiter

Date: 2012-12-29 10:16 EST
Christmas had come and gone, and despite the fact that everyone was slightly on edge due to the nearness of a certain woman's due date, it had been a companionable couple of days. The snow was not yet deep enough to hold them all captive at the Brambles, and the track showed the signs of the visitors that had gone back and forth to and from the neighboring farmsteads to share in the celebration of the season. It had been a peaceful celebration of the family holiday, and though there had been some sadness over those who were not with them, there had been a good deal of laughter to ease them through it.

The sense of relief, however, was not long lived. Restlessness had descended upon Mrs Lassiter as Boxing Day had gathered apace, and as night fell on the 26th, it became clear that the birth they had all been hoping would hold itself off just a few days more had come upon them on the coldest night of the year thus far. Jodie had immediately taken charge, but even her sound good sense and experience couldn't hurry nature. By the afternoon of the 27th, Marin was still suffering with her labor, exhausted and pale, and increasingly frightened with each contraction that wracked her body. She'd been set up in her parents' old room, the room where she herself had been born, small and breathless in the middle of the big bed as she struggled to keep up with the difficulties of giving birth.

Evan had been through the birth of a child once already in his life. Maggie's birth had not been an easy one, and there was little a man could do to help with such things but watch and wait and pray, and Evan wasn't much for praying. He'd taken to pacing the hallway during those times when Jodie had banished him from the room to do God only knew what. Mostly, he sat by Marin's side and held her hand or wiped her brow and tried to offer loving and patient words of encouragement. There was little more he could do but wait, and the waiting was enough to drive him to madness.

Marin had never been so tired. Though at the beginning of the long labor she had been able to snatch a few minutes of sleep now and then, there had been no opportunity to do so for the past several hours. Each time a contraction ripped through her, she cried out, fighting not to push down as Jodie snapped at her not to, clinging tightly to Evan's hand. But now, not even the contractions could draw from her more than a whimper, her strength all but gone in the interminable wait for nature to take it's course.

Kneeling at the end of the bed, Jodie finally gave her the signal to push, and so she did, using what little strength she had left to try and force the baby from her womb. "There now, love, it's all goin' to come good, I promise you," the older woman was saying as she gently urged the young mother on, sharing a concerned look with Carla. They had carefully arranged a sheet over Marin's knees a few minutes before, to keep the sight of the birth from both parents. Neither woman thought this was going to be a good day. "One more, love, and the baby's head will come free."

As the contraction bit down in her belly, Marin let her head rise from the pillow, squeezing her eyes shut, clenching her teeth, and pushed for all she was worth, gripping onto Evan's hand harder than anyone might have thought was possible. She could have sworn she felt the bones grind together under her grip as, with a horrible burst of pain, she felt a rush of heat and liquid spill from her amid the quiet gasps from the women at the end of the bed.

"Oh, my ..." Jodie cast a sharp look at her daughter-in-law, stilling Carla's shocked response to the gush of blood that accompanied the baby's head, holding the silent child steady as Marin's head fell back against the pillows.

Evan didn't know much about childbirth, but he knew enough to know something was wrong. He'd held his tongue thus far, knowing the women had things well in hand, or as well in hand as they could, but he looked clearly worried. There were circles under his eyes from lack of sleep, and he hadn't eaten much more than a few quickly-gobbled down biscuits and coffee, but a little sleep and some food, and he'd be fine. It was Marin he was worried about. She'd been at it too long, and he knew it. The baby should have been born by now, and the delay didn't bode well for mother or child. He held fast to her hand while he swabbed her face with a cool cloth, more than once, forcing himself to hold his tongue from lack of patience and an overabundance of worry. He gripped Marin's hand tightly as she made that final push, surrendering his stubbornness to a quietly whispered prayer to let the baby come at last and give his wife some peace.

He watched Marin's face as she went pale, struggling to bring their child into the world, his stomach twisting into knots, blaming himself for putting her through such pain. He refused to think that he might lose her. No God could be that cruel as to take another woman from him again. He heard the gasps of the women tending to the birth and jerked his head toward them and the sheet that covered his wife's legs and blocked the sight of their child's birth. "What's wrong?" he asked, a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.

There was a moment when Jodie was clearly debating whether or not to say anything. She looked from the child in her hands, still half-born, to the too-pale woman sagged back against the sheets, to the worried husband who met her gaze, and came to a snap decision. "Carla, you run down and send Bill down to Mr Hale," she told her daughter-in-law firmly. The younger woman opened her mouth to object, but was silenced by a decidedly hostile look from her mother-in-law. "Now."

As Carla slipped from the room, her footsteps accelerating as she ran down to the main room below, Jodie eased her voice, cooing softly to Marin. "Just one or two more, love, and we're done," she promised, finally looking up to Evan. She met his gaze head on, deeming him worthy of knowing the truth of things. "Too much blood," was all she said, but it was enough. As the next contraction took hold of the mother, Jodie turned her eyes back to delivering the child, guiding the baby as gently as she could, hoping to keep from doing anymore damage as Marin sobbed in pain.

There was a brief look of panic in his eyes, but panic was the last thing Marin needed from them now. She needed them to be level-headed and calm or they might lose them both. Settled on a chair beside Marin, Evan leaned over, his head close to hers. "It's all right, Marin darlin'. One or two more pushes, and it's all over," he whispered encouragingly as he drew the sweat-matted red locks away from her forehead. Please, God, he whispered in his mind. Please, if you're listening, please, let them both live.

As outside the window the sound of hoofbeats signalled Bill's hasty exit from the Brambles to fetch Mr Hale, Marin turned her head toward Evan, her frighteningly pale face twisted with pain as she cried softly, holding onto his hand. "I can't," she sobbed, breathless and weak. "I can't do this ..." She broke off as another contraction stole her voice, as tense as her weary muscles could make her as Jodie very gently eased the silent baby from the birth channel. There was the slap of skin on skin, a terrifyingly long pause, and suddenly the wails of a newborn child filled the room.

Evan Lassiter

Date: 2012-12-29 10:17 EST
Evan touched his forehead to hers, whispering soft words of encouragement. "Yes, you can. Mare, you got to." He gave her hand a gentle squeeze, silently letting her know he was still there and always would be. Her face was so pale and tense it terrified him, but he refused to give in to the fear and the panic. Not yet. "One more push, darlin'. The baby's almost here." He watched as another contraction took her, her face contorting in pain, and his chest ached with worry. He heard the child's birth more than saw it, the newborn's cry filling the room announcing its arrival at last, and Evan sighed in relief. He brushed a kiss against Marin's brow, hoping the worst of it was over. "That's it, darlin'. You hear that' You did it."

The twisted grimace that held her pale face in such drawn lines shifted, producing a heartbreaking smile amid the exhausted tears as she heard their baby protesting loudly at the treatment it was getting at Jodie's capable hands. "Well, now, little love, there's a fine son you've got there and no mistake," the older woman declared, forcibly jovial as she put on a grimace of a smile for Evan and Marin alike. A moment more fussing, and she had the baby boy wrapped up neatly in a warm blanket. "Now you," Jodie pinned Evan with a look. "Open up her buttons, let's set the lad to nursing. Could do some good." She handed the squirming, crying boy to his father, leaving them to try and revive the waning energy of the redhead who lay so listless in the bed, returning her own attention to trying to stem some of the blood hemorrhaging from between Marin's legs.

Evan was bright enough to know what Jodie was up to, but he wasn't ready to admit defeat, nor was he going to tell Marin the gravity of her condition. He wasn't going to steal this moment from her or darken it with bad news. He knew time was important now, if they were going to save her. He carefully, drew back the sheets covering his wife's torso and worked her buttons loose, leaving the thin fabric covering her for the sake of modesty before Jodie handed the newborn to his father. He paused a moment to look on the scrunched up, reddened face of his newborn son who was already searching out his own fingers, however clumsily. "It's a boy," he declared, unable to hold back the sound of wonder from his voice, despite his worries over Marin. He carefully lowered the bundle toward Marin, his voice soft as he called to her again. "Mare, it's a boy. We have a son," he told her gently as he lowered the baby into her arms, nestling him against her and turning him so that the baby could seek out his mother's breast.

Exhausted wasn't a good enough word for how Marin felt. She couldn't have strung enough words together to fully describe the bone-deep, soul-shattering weariness that was seeping through her body now that her work was over. It was only with a supreme effort of will that she blinked her eyes open as Evan spoke to her, as she felt their son set into her arms. The unfamiliar weight brought her a little way out of her weariness, her blue eyes slowly focusing to look down as the baby sought out her breast, latching on hungrily. And she laughed; small and breathless though it sounded, she actually managed to find the strength to laugh happily, looking up at Evan with dull eyes. "Handsome as his papa," she told him, her voice hoarse, gently distracted from Jodie's quiet muttering at the foot of the bed. The older woman moved away to the door, opening it a crack to hand out instructions to Carla and Daniel, who were waiting anxiously on the other side.

Evan glanced toward Jodie a moment, frowning worriedly, before turning back to Marin and their newborn son, deeming it wiser to distract her from whatever danger she was in than tell her. Whatever was to happen, he wanted her to have this moment of happiness. It was the least he could give her. He settled himself back down in the chair, leaning close and circling one arm around her as he watched their son suckle at his mother's breast for the very first time, tears filling his eyes unbidden, even as he tried to blink them away. "Beautiful, ain't he" He's got your eyes," he told her gently.

Footsteps moved hurriedly through the house below them as Jodie returned to her business at the end of the bed, packing rolls of fresh towels about Marin's hips, discreetly setting the blood-stained towels out of sight. Marin's smile was tired as she sagged against Evan, her arms feeling heavy even without the weight of the baby in her grasp. "I'm so sleepy," she whispered, the strength draining from her voice as the door opened and Carla came in, carrying a bucket of snow and ice and an armful of clean towels. "What're we ....we going to ..."

When it came, it was terrifyingly quick. Marin's head rolled back, the faint flush that had risen under her pale skin turning to ashen grey as she sagged completely. Jodie's attention snapped up. "Evan, you take your boy and you step away right now, you hear?" she ordered, snapping her fingers at Carla.

His face turned pale as he watched Marin slip so quickly away from him. She was at Death's door and he knew it. Time was of the essence now more than ever, and despite the terror that gripped him, he did as Jodie said, snatching the boy away and stepping back, cradling the small bundle gently in his small arms as he looked on helplessly. "Don't let her die," he muttered quietly, more to God than anyone in the room, to any God who might take pity on them and let her live. "Don't take her away from me," he said, his voice breaking as he pleaded with a God he wasn't sure he believed in, tears spilling over onto his rough, bearded cheeks.

His heart froze in his chest when he saw the amount of blood that she'd lost, as much as Jodie tried to hide it, his chest constricting tightly with grief and terror. They had their boy, but at what price"

He wasn't the only one praying. Jodie's lips moved almost soundlessly as she and Carla turned the diminutive woman onto her side, packing the ice about her hips in a last attempt to still the flow of blood. Marin was silent, too pale, too weak, too torn up from her long confinement. There was little anyone could do.

The thunder of hoofbeats over the snow was barely audible outside the window, but the footsteps that crossed the porch, that hurried across the room below and up the stairs, they intruded upon the mind. The door opened once again, this time to admit a tall man with gentle grey eyes, his face obscured behind a wild white beard. He carried with him an old-fashioned doctor's bag, which he set down by the bed, laying one knee against the blood-stained sheets to smooth his palm against Marin's cold cheek. There was a long moment of silence, as though he were seeing something no one else could see, and he raised his head.

"Jodie, make up a warm room elsewhere," he ordered in a neat, cultured voice. "Carla - clean, dry clothing, if you please. You, sir, you are the husband?" The gentle eyes shifted to Evan briefly. "Come over here and speak to your wife, if you would. She's not gone yet, but she's close to losing her way back."

Evan Lassiter

Date: 2012-12-29 10:18 EST
Evan watched all of this with fresh tears on his face, his heart feeling as though it was breaking all over again. He couldn't lose her, he just couldn't, and yet, there was nothing he could do to stop it. He unconsciously rocked the tiny bundle in his arms, so precious and tiny and helpless. He needed his mother, even more than Evan needed his wife. He didn't even realize he was crying until the gray-haired man pointedly addressed him, looking too grief-stricken to understand what he was telling him to do at first. Evan took up his place beside Marin again, leaning close, his voice full of tears as he called to her gently, calling her back from Death, not ready to let go of her just yet. "Marin, darlin'" Can you hear me" It's Evan." He glanced up at the man, unsure what exactly he wanted him to do.

As Jodie and Carla hurried to do as they were told - a miracle in itself, since Jodie St.James never took orders, even when prefaced with a polite "please" - the man, who could only be Mr Hale, nodded encouragingly to Evan. "Call her back," he told the stricken man as he very gently eased the tiny woman onto her back, tossing the blood and water soaked towels and sheets into a corner. "Remind her what she has to come back to." His hand lay on her cool forehead for a moment, the gentle eyes closing, and for a moment the air around them seemed to electrify, crackling with a power Evan had never encountered before. Beneath the accomplished hand, Marin's skin flushed a rosy pink, the blue tinge to her lips fading to red once more. Mr Hale gasped, shuddering for a moment, before moving himself to the lower end of the bed, turning his attention to the damage that had been done during the birth.

Evan leaned close to his wife as the man turned her onto her back, resting his forehead against hers, just out of the way of Hale's hand. Overcome with grief, it took Evan a moment to find his voice, to summon the courage to speak the words that he normally reserved for private. "Marin," he started, his voice ragged with emotion. "Baby, please," he continued, his voice cracking on the words. "Don't leave me. I love you. You got so much to live for. Our boy....He needs his Mama, and I..." He lowered his head, the tears flowing fresh and freely again.

"Please, honey, I need you. I can't lose you. We....we got so much to do yet." He lifted his head a moment to wipe a hand across his face before continuing, heedless of what the others were doing or if they might hear. "Spring'll be here in a few months. The trees'll be in bloom. It's your favorite time of year, spring. Everything'll be coming back to life. You remember, we're gonna repaint the cottage this spring" And plant some flowers. I can't....I can't do it without you, Mare, please..." He lowered his head, unable to continue, allowing Hale to do what he would to bring her back.

And slowly, something was happening. Under Mr Hale's gentle, sure hands, blood was disappearing from Marin's slender thighs, from the porcelain pale skin that gently renewed its soft flush of pink as the old healer poured his strength, his energy, into mending the damage done, restoring the blood that had almost drained away and taken her life with it. The powerful crackle of magic hung in the air, gathering close around Mr Hale as he grunted with the effort of renewing flesh and blood, pouring life back into the tiny woman on the bed.

As he dropped to one knee, his own energy spent, Marin's still breath came back to her, her chest rising and falling as her head turned toward the sound of Evan's unhappiness. Her fingers twitched against the damp sheets, and very gradually rose to touch her husband's hair, blue eyes blinking open. "What's his name?" she asked, soft but strong once again, as though she had only fallen asleep, unaware of how close she had come to utter ruin.

Evan was aware that something was happening, almost feeling the crackle of energy around him, but he was so lost in grief, his heart nearly broken that his head remained lowered, fearing he was about to lose the only woman he'd ever loved since losing his Ellie all those years ago. Crying quietly, praying silently, even as the others worked around him, he only lifted his head when he felt her move beside him, her fingers touching his hair, her voice soft but vibrant with life calling him out of his misery. His eyes widened in wonder, as if he'd just witnessed a miracle, and he laughed a little through his tears.

The door opened once again, and Carla slipped back inside, a dry nightdress over her arm for Marin. She paused in the doorway, wide eyes casting over the scene as it met her gaze - Mr Hale knelt weakly at the end of the bed; Evan laughing through his tears, his son clutched against his chest; and Marin, smiling, stroking her fingers against her husband's cheek and definitely not dead. "Oh, how wonderful," she declared, hurrying forward to set the nightdress down beside the bed. "Mr Hale, are you all right?"

Marin lifted her head to watch as the old healer was helped up onto his feet, awkwardly pushing herself out of the wetness that soaked the bed. She remembered Mr Hale from her childhood. You only ever called for him when nothing else would do ....and suddenly she knew what she'd missed. Her arm curled about Evan's neck, lips touching a warm kiss to his cheek as her eyes lowered to their son in his arms. "Was I gone long?"

Evan shook his head silently, either at a loss for words or unable to trust his voice not to betray the tumult of emotions he was feeling at first nearly losing her and then having her back, so lost in his emotions, he nearly forgot the baby boy that lie nestled in his arms. "Thought I lost you," he muttered, brushing a kiss to her lips, before turning his eyes to the bundle in his arms. "You wanna hold him' Reckon he's hungry."

"Not yet." Mr Hale looked up from where Carla had settled him in an armchair. "She needs dry clothes, a warm bed. Then she may rest. You may all rest."

Marin offered the old man a gentle smile, her fingers never stilling their slow caress through Evan's hair. She still felt tired, yes, but the pain was gone, the ache in her hips and belly had been swept away, the heavy listlessness of her limbs was clean. She knew enough to know she had been Healed. "Thank you," she told him, unsurprised to be ignored as Carla slipped forward to help her change her clothes.

Evan was still too overcome with relief to give Hale much notice. If he had a chance, he'd thank the man later. It would more than likely sink in later how close he'd come to losing his wife and how much he owed the man for saving her. It was nothing short of a miracle, as far as he was concerned. "Caleb," Evan declared, as if the name suddenly came to him from the great beyond. "What do you think of Caleb?" He turned his eyes to the small boy in his arms, who looked completely unlike his older half-sister.

Evan Lassiter

Date: 2012-12-29 10:20 EST
It took a moment for Marin to respond as Carla whipped her out of her chilly nightdress and into the warmer, dry cloth that she had brought with her. With Marin sat on the edge of the bed beside her husband and son, stronger than most women would be even after a usual delivery, thanks to Mr Hale's intervention, the younger woman slipped away again to tend to the exhausted healer. Marin smiled at Evan's suggestion, brushing her fingertips against his cheek before lowering that hand to stroke a single finger down their son's cheek, laughing a little as the screwed up face turned toward the digit, his mouth open. "I like Caleb," she agreed quietly. "But only if you agree to Evan as his second name."

The tears Evan had shed at the fear of Marin's death had turned abruptly to tears of happiness, his heart swelling with overwhelming relief and joy. He waited patiently while Marin changed into warm, dry clothing, studying his son's face, noting the differences between him and his older half-sister and the similarities to his mother. Once she had changed in fresh clothes, along with the bedding, he settled himself beside her on the bed, the small bundle cradled in his arms. He laughed along with her, happiness bubbling up from somewhere deep inside him, old and familiar and yet, altogether new. "You sure?" he asked, tilting a green-eyed glance at her. So long as they stayed away from his own middle name, he was agreeable to sharing his first.

Blue eyes smiled at him as she leaned against his arm, touching a kiss to his shoulder as her hand curved protectively to the crown of their son's head. "I'm sure," she nodded confidently. Her gaze drifted downward to the baby boy, dozing in his father's arms. "Hello, Caleb."

Evan mirrored his wife's smile before looking back to the small dozing bundle in his arms. "Caleb Evan Lassiter," he recited, letting it roll off his tongue to see how it sounded. "It's a good name," he decided, turning to carefully hand the baby off to his mother, for the very first time. Evan moved with the surety of one who'd already experienced all this, who'd already had a child and knew the proper way to handle a newborn, carefully cradling his head and body as he carefully passed him on.

"Meet your mama, Caleb," he said as he carefully laid the baby in Marin's arms.

Marin's smile faltered a little as she found herself holding the baby quite literally. Everyone had told her that maternity was instinctual, but she couldn't help worrying a little that she was going to drop Caleb, or do something equally heinous. Admittedly, he didn't have far to fall with her in bed, but even so. A blush lit up her cheeks as the infant's head turned, mouth insistently open and butting at her breast through the cloth of her night-gown. She looked up at Evan helplessly. "I've run out of hands."

Evan chuckled a little at his wife's awkwardness with the baby, confident she'd learn quickly and become an expert in days. Having a newborn was hard work, and while he was willing to do whatever he could to help out, he lacked the proper equipment to keep a newborn tummy full. "Hold him with one arm and unbutton with the other," he instructed, mimicking the action with his arms, but finally relenting with a laugh and reaching to help her. "Here, let me," he said as he carefully drew the front of her nightgown open so that the baby could find her breast and learn how to latch on.

She eyed him with teasing sternness as he chuckled at her, relieved when he didn't make her do it all herself straightaway. She still felt tired, yes, but there was something reviving about feeling her son, her firstborn child, suckling at her breast, knowing that despite the trauma of the past day and half, she'd succeeded in giving Evan the son she'd promised herself she would present him with. "Thank you," she told her husband with a warm smile. "It's going to take a little while to get used to this." A low chuckle sounded from across the room. Mr Hale was apparently enjoying how quickly his patient had recovered from her near death experience.

Evan slid an arm around his wife and leaned closed to brush a loving, affectionate kiss against her brow, smiling as he watched her bond with their son for the very first time. He would have replied to her statement, but he'd forgotten that they weren't alone, and he tossed a glance at the old man that had saved her life when he heard him chuckle. He still wasn't quite sure how the man had managed to save her, but instinctively knew that it had been nothing short of a miracle. Evan shuddered at the memory of all the blood Marin had lost, muttering quietly and mostly to himself. "It's a miracle."

"Not quite," the old man said in a weary, but kind tone. "Magic, lad." That much seemed to have exhausted him, his head tipping back to rest against the chair as he closed his eyes for a long moment.

Marin looked up from her awed contemplation of her son, looking between the two men. "Mr Hale is the local healer," she told her husband softly. "We don't call on him unless nothing anyone else does is working. I don't know how he does it, but he takes the pain into himself and repairs the damage, all with the gifts he was born with. But it takes him a long time to recover."

Evan had never heard of such a thing before. Oh, he'd lived in Rhy'Din long enough to have heard tell of healing magic, but he'd never witnessed it with his own eyes until now. Still, the part of him that was a simple farmer, born and bred, preferred to think of it another way. What was a miracle if not a form of magic, after all. "You call it what you want, it's still a miracle to me." And that miracle didn't just consist of the man saving Marin's life, but it also included the greatest miracle of all - the miracle of birth. "Reckon I owe you a debt of gratitude," he admitted seriously.

Mr Hale opened his gentle eyes, marking Evan's serious face with a slow nod. "When I have need, I'll call on you," he said quietly. "What goes around comes around, one deed earns another." His thin lips quirked into a brief grin. "I delivered your wife. Seems only fitting I should be here for her firstborn."

"Much obliged," Evan replied, thanking the man for his assistance with both momentous events, though Evan had only been witness to one of them. As far as Evan was concerned, whatever the man needed or wanted from him, whenever he needed it was his for the asking. "You gonna be all right?" he asked with a hint of concern as he regarded the elderly man.

Mr Hale nodded wearily. "I will be," he assured the younger man. "More importantly, your wife is hale and hearty, and you have a bonny son there, too. A few days of aches and pains in an old man isn't a high price to pay for that sort of joy." He turned his smile onto Marin as she leaned into her husband's side, approving of the protective, loving embrace shared. "You chose well, sea lion," he informed the redhead with a nod. "See you treat him well."

She laughed softly, nodding in answer to the old man. "I'll do my best, Mr Hale."

Evan arched a curious brow at the banter between the two of them, realizing there was some kind of relationship there he had not been aware of, nor was part of. There was no jealousy or envy in him, only curiosity, seeing the elderly man as more of a father figure than anything else. "Sea lion?" he echoed curiously, never having heard anyone refer to her as such before.

Evan Lassiter

Date: 2012-12-29 10:22 EST
His wife blushed and laughed, returning her gaze to Caleb nestled against her, leaving Mr Hale to chuckle and shake his head. "I daresay you know the origin of your wife's name, Mr Lassiter," he said with cheery amusement. "What you do not know is just how fierce she can get when those she loves are threatened. Like a lionness protecting her pride. Thus, she became sea lion at a very young age, shortly after she bit me for what she believed to be a failing on my part to save a dying colt."

Evan's mouth fell open for a moment, before he chuckled with amusement. He wasn't all that familiar with sea lions, but he understood what the man was getting at. "I reckon she won't be biting you today," he replied as he turned his gaze back to Marin and their son, gray-green eyes warm with obvious adoration for them both and special affection for his feisty wife.

"No, but I may snore you out of the house," Marin added laughingly, resting her head on Evan's shoulder for a moment before she gently disengaged Caleb, lifting him up to rub his back. "We need to give this little man a wash and, you know, clothes." As the new parents' attention turned to one another and their child, Mr Hale subsided, waiting a moment to gather his strength before rising from his seat and making his slow way to the door. He'd be staying the night, certainly, but not in the same bedroom as his patient.

Whatever the old man said, to Evan, it was still a miracle. A child brought to life amidst the agony of birth and near tragedy of death, two lives saved that meant the world to Evan. His attention turned back to Marin and the baby, he never noticed when Hale slipped from the room, but when next he looked, the man was gone, presumably to allow the little family some modicum of privacy. "I can do that," Evan volunteered as Marin gently burped their son. "You should get some rest. You been through a lot." He didn't again mention the fact that he'd almost lost her and had never answered her question about how long she'd been gone. He didn't want to think on that now. All he wanted to do was savor this moment with his wife and son and thank whatever gods were responsible for answering his prayers.

As much as she wanted to get a handle on the mothering thing, Marin knew she would have plenty of opportunity to do just that over the coming days, weeks, months, and years, only too happy to hand over the wobbly little boy once he had burped hugely next to her ear. "I almost can't believe it," she said quietly, buttoning her nightdress once more. "It doesn't feel as though I've been in labor at all." Her palm turned softly against Evan's cheek. "You need to rest, too, love. You've had even less sleep than I have."

"I will," he promised, as he scooped the little bundle up in one strong arm, cradling him like an old nursemaid. Everything he'd learned from Maggie's birth came back to him, like it had only been yesterday. Her birth had been a difficult one, as well, and it had been weeks before Ellie had regained her strength, during which time Evan did whatever was needed to help, short of nursing their daughter. He smiled as Marin's hand came to rest against his cheek, fresh tears prickling at his eyes, but these were tears of happiness. Now that they were alone, he had no reason to hide what he was feeling, and he needed her to know just what she meant to him, if only he could put it into words, like he had before. "You know I ain't good with words, Mare, but....I'm so happy right now I feel fit to burst."

Her blue eyes shone happily back at him, warm and sweet, and despite the weariness, alight with loving affection and pride. "I love you," she told her gushing husband tenderly, leaning close to brush her lips to his. "I'm so glad you're happy. And I'm sorry I scared you ....it won't happen again. Promise." Her thumb stroked over his lips fondly as she settled back against the pillows. It didn't occur to her to object that she was still in her parents' room, the room she had been actively avoiding for almost a year. Perhaps she'd finally grown up enough to be able to cope with the memories that came with the wide, comfortable space.

He returned her kiss, his lips brushing hers tenderly, before breaking away, blinking back the tears of happiness before he became a soppy soggy mess again. "Reckon I should get him cleaned and dressed before he catches a chill," he remarked, leaning close to brush a second kiss against her lips. "Get some rest. We ain't goin' nowhere." And as soon as he had the baby cleaned up and swaddled tight in a blanket, he planned on doing the same thing, while they had the chance. He'd learned early on that the wise thing to do was sleep when the baby slept. Everything else could wait.

And everything else would wait. They were lucky to have a house full of friends who were almost as close as family, who would help them keep on top of everything else as they adjusted to having a baby on their hands. No doubt there would be a fair amount of camping out in this bedroom when the new parents awoke again after their first rest, with Jodie and the rest of the household wanting to see mother and child and reassure themselves that all was well. But for now, it was just the three of them, and Marin wouldn't have it any other way. As she settled down against the warm pillows, wrapped up beneath the sheets, she smiled sleepily, watching Evan as he set to making their son feel a little more human.

While Marin rested wearily, Evan set about bathing their young son and wrapping him up, all the while humming a lullabye he'd learned from Ellie back home in Texas. At least, he thought he'd learned it from Ellie. It was either that or he remembered it from his own childhood, but that was doubtful as his own mother was barely more than the ghost of a memory in his mind.

Caleb was as tired as his parents, it seemed, though it didn't stop him from squalling at the top of his lungs as soon as he was put into the water, objecting mightily to the splash of cooling liquid on his skin as he was wiped down and dried. But as soon as he was wrapped up in a soft romper and swaddled once more, he turned quiet, clutching at his own fingers as his lips smacked, nestling into the curve of his father's arm with a loud, sleepy sigh. As the screaming stopped, Marin relaxed, red hair spilling out over the pillow beside her head as her eyes closed, quickly taken by sleep to a place where the scares and pains of the past twenty-four hours could be wiped clean.

Evan Lassiter

Date: 2012-12-29 10:24 EST
The newborn's squalling did nothing to ruffle Evan's feathers, as calm and collected as ever, as though the baby's crying was the most natural thing in the world, and in fact, Evan even smiled and chuckled at his young son, relieved that the boy had the strength to register his displeasure. Once the bathing was finished, he returned to the bed where Marin was resting, prying the boots from his feet, one at a time without the use of his hands, and sliding under the blankets beside her, their son nestled snugly and warmly in his arms. As weary as he was, he knew Marin was the one who needed to get some rest. She was the one who'd given birth, and as much as Evan wanted to help, the primary needs of their child would fall mostly on her for the time being. He remained upright for a while, humming an old favorite tune he remembered from the war. It didn't matter what the tune was or what it stood for, only that it sounded pleasing and comforting to a newborn baby's ears.

As Evan's humming washed over his wife and son, they both settled, nestling close to him in the warm blankets. Caleb slept soundly, one tiny hand gripping a button on his papa's shirt tightly, echoing the way his mother's arm draped itself over Evan's thighs, wrapping the man out of time in the unquestioning affection and trust of two little people who needed him. But there was a space left, unconsciously, for the third little person who had yet to come to Rhy'Din, to meet her father's new wife and settle into a place that had been set aside for her here. But perhaps, now that the danger seemed to have passed, Maggie would one day soon know that she had a home at the Brambles, if she wanted it.

Evan waited until he thought both wife and son were asleep before he stopped humming, settling the small bundle between them as he laid his head against the pillow, his eyes growing heavy, one large, calloused index finger clutched tightly in the infant's hand. "I love you and I'm always gonna be here for you," he whispered. "Both of you," he continued. "I promise." He smiled as he drifted off to sleep, not a care in the world, convinced there was nothing they couldn't accomplish together. Like a magic spell cast over the quiet trio, they slept peacefully, snuggled together, exhausted but content, at peace with the world.

Cocooned in each other's love, they were blissfully unaware or uncaring of any danger that might befall them in the future, confident that together they would face whatever might come their way. One day soon, Evan promised himself, he'd find a way to bring Maggie here, too, so that she could meet Marin and her new brother and make their family complete, and God help anyone who stood in his way.

((Aww. *sniffle* This scene made me cry a little. Think it's happily ever after for our hero and heroine? Think again! ;) Huge thanks to Marin's player, as always. You are AWESOME! :grin:))