Now I could go into all the details of what happened over the next nine months, but it wasn't much excitement, besides the obvious fact of preparing for the baby, although that wasn't as exciting as one would expect, and you saw why in the last chapter. So I suppose I'll just skip ahead to the day that actually mattered...
It was cold outside and the wind howled against the castle. Susan pulled the blankets up around her neck and curled up as much as she could to keep warm. A shiver ran through her. Caspian, who had been awoken just moments ago by loud gusts of wind and distant thunder, rolled over close to Susan and rubbed his hand up and down her arm.
"Need another blanket?" He asked kindly.
"If you don't mind." She said.
"Not at all. I have to put another log on the fire anyway." He said, rising from bed. He grabbed a log from the stack next to the fireplace and placed it among the coals. Glowing ashes billowed as he poked around with a long stick.
When the fire had been tended to Caspian returned to bed with a quilt from the trunk at the end of the bed. He spread it out over the two of them, pulling it up over Susan's shoulder with care.
Caspian slid down under the covers, laying close to Susan. He placed his arm over her side so it rested on her stomach. "I felt it kick." He whispered. Susan smiled and let her eyes fall peacefully shut.
No sooner had she closed her eyes to rest then a sharp pain pierced her side. She sprang up in bed, hunching over and clenching her stomach. Caspian was up in a moment with his hand gripped tightly around her arm.
"Susan! What is it?" All she could do was look at him with saddened eyes, glazed over with a fresh layer of tears. Caspian nodded. "I'll get the nurse." He scrambled out of bed and dashed trough the hall and down the stairs, paying no attention to the racket he was making.
He knocked rapidly on the door of the nurse's quarters. Shuffling could be heard inside, but he continued to rap on the door. She finally appeared in the doorway wrapped in her robe and her head capped with a night bonnet. "What is it, your majesty?" She asked.
"It's - it's Susan." He panted.
A sudden look of alarm washed over her face. "She's not going into - into labor is she?"
Caspian nodded, still gasping for breath, half out of weariness from running, but mostly out of panic.
"Oh dear." The nurse muttered. "I'll be right up." She promised, then disappeared back into her chambers.
Caspian dashed back up the stairs and into the room. Lucy, hearing all the racket, crept into the hall. She peeked her head into the doorway to see Caspian on the edge of the bed squeezing Susan's hands and saying something quietly. Her eyes were wide with fear and clouded over with sadness.
Lucy swallowed hard, expecting the worst. Caspian rose. "Everything's going to be alright." He promised as he backed towards the door. Lucy ducked away from the door. Caspian eased it shut then jumped when he turned to see Lucy standing there. "Oh! Lu I didn't see you standing there." She said. His eyes darted from her to the floor.
"What's going on?" Lucy asked in a shaky voice.
Caspian let his gaze stay to the floor. "It's Susan. She's, uh, she's gone into labor." He explained.
"But - but it's months early yet!" Lucy exclaimed, glancing at the bedroom door.
"Exactly." Caspian sighed a sigh of grief.
"She'll be alright, won't she?" Lucy hoped.
"I wouldn't be as worried about her as I would-" He stopped and pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut. "-as I would the baby." He said. His voice cracked and choked.
Lucy covered her mouth and nose with her hands. She couldn't bear the thought of watching her sister go through a horrific event such as that again.
"But Aslan wouldn't let anything happen again...would he?" Lucy asked timidly.
Caspian sighed and opened his eyes, which were red and puffy as if he had strained them trying to hold back tears. He opened his mouth as if he was about to say something, but was cut off by a cry coming from the behind the door. He pushed through the door and, as if on cue, the nurse came bustling up the stairs.
Lucy picked up her feet, ran down the hall and burst through Peter's door. Peter was instantly to his feet, his protective instincts kicking in.
"Lu!" He said gripping her arms and drilling into her eyes. "What's wrong?"
"Susan." Her voice quaked. Peter didn't have to ask to know what was going on and the danger it brought about. "Oh Peter what if..." She couldn't finished the sentence. Peter folded his arms over her and sighed.
Just then Edmund clambered into the doorway. "Is it Susan?" He asked. Peter didn't even have to nod to answer the question, Edmund could see it in his eyes. "Should we wake Ellie and James?" He asked.
Peter shook his head. "It's best they not know anything until it's all said and done."
~
Finally, somewhere around two in the morning, the baby was born. It's birth wasn't joyful, or relieving even. The nurses scrambled about tending to the baby, and eventually took it out of the room for further care.
Susan, who was somewhat dazed, strained her eyes trying to catch sight of her child. "My baby! Where is it? What's wrong? Let me see it!" She wailed.
"Susan! Susan! Shhhh! They're taking care of her. She'll be fine." Caspian assured her, and clasped her hand.
"She?" Susan asked.
Caspian nodded. "It's a girl."
Susan's eyes glittered with a spark of happiness amidst all the chaos. She fell back against the pillows and sighed of exhaustion. "Charlotte." She whispered with a slight smile.
Caspian smiled. "Yes, Charlotte. Our little girl." He said.
Susan's eyes fell shut. Caspian slipped from the room and was about to head down the stairs to find out what was going on with the baby when he was stopped by Lucy, Peter, and Edmund.
"They rushed off with the baby, I'm not sure what's wrong. It's a girl, Charlotte...Charlotte Helen, after your mother." said Caspian. "Susan's sleeping." He added, nodding back towards the room.
"Will Charlotte be alright?" Lucy asked.
"That's what I'm going to find out." Caspian said. And with that he took off down the stairs, taking them two at a time.
The nurse met him at the bottom of the stairs and, knowing Caspian's questions, went on to explain that the baby, because she was early, was small and weak, lacking the strength she needed.
"Will...will she live?" Caspian asked with a fire so tense burning in his eyes that if you were the nurse you would be afraid to say no.
"We're doing all we can." Was her only response before ducking back into the room.
After the door was shut Caspian threw himself against the wall and grunted in anger. He ran his hands forcefully through his hair then fell to a seat on the bottom step where he covered his face with his hands and wept.
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Not Even Death Can Come Between Us (3)
Fanfiction(THIRD STORY IN THE 'BETWEEN US' SERIES)
