Ill Conceived Plans

Family ties

HAVING a baby just before visiting hours when you have a lot of friends and family is asking for trouble or at least asking to be inundated. Though getting out early might be the key!

Sabine and Dave had been joined by Neville, who'd grabbed Sarah's bag and a change of clothes for Dane, and Lizzie who was here to visit Emerald – but close to going home. They were the only ones in the waiting room with everyone else on standby.

First babies take a long time to be born – mostly and so it was decided that the rest of the friends and family would "wait and see" – but young Lysander was an eager beaver and just three and a half hours after his mother made the hospital his father was cutting his umbilical cord and an hour later the little family were all back in Sarah's room.

That's when Dane made a rookie mistake and sent the picture out of Sarah and the baby. They had not long settled into the room and Sarah had managed a quick shower and a change of clothes but that was all. Soon Lizzie, Neville, Sabine and Dave were ooohing and aahing over the newborn – though Dave and Sabine left a short time later to let the two Hilditch-Huntington couples talk and bond and cry.

Neville kept shaking his head as he watched Dane and Sarah with their newborn. It was something he'd always thought inevitable but had never really thought would happen. But here they were. They'd finally made it this far and it had only taken them 17 years since that drunken night at the family home when they'd finally lost their virginity to each other – not that they knew he knew that at the time. He'd been hopeful then that they'd actually figure out they were meant to be together and of course they hadn't but then he supposed they had a lot of growing up to do back then. However as Sarah held their son and Dane starred at them like they were the moon and stars, he crossed his finger. It was nice to be a family there in the room together again, things had been tense between all of them after the accident, blames were laid even if those thoughts were never really uttered out loud. But Lysander was a new beginning the sign of a family healing – unless these two fucked it up.

Lizzie was still in a wheel chair while her pelvis healed but it was nice to see her smile, it was nice to see the two sister-in-laws looking comfortable together again. Em's lungs were finally working on their own and she was putting on weight – though he doubted she'd ever be as big as her cousin Lysander who was already eight and a bit pounds and more than 21 inches long.

"You look really happy," Neville whispered to Dane as Lizzie took the little boy from Sarah for a cuddle.

"I am," Tom hissed back.

"For the first time I feel........." he thought about the next word cautiously – "content" he finished.

"I've asked her to move in with me – just platonically at first I don't want to rush her."

Neville rolled his eyes.

"Yes because knowing and loving her since you were kids is rushing her," he sighed and Dane laughed. "This is Fox remember!"

And Neville sighed again. Yes, she was one of a kind his cousin/sister – a walking contradiction, strong and independent and yet riddled with self-doubt particularly when it came to personal relationships. He guessed it was the Aspergers but then, in that case, Dane must be well up on the spectrum too – heaven help them when Lysander started to show his true colours, he guessed the little boy was going to be a handful. But it looked like he was going to have two equally strong-willed parents to guide him. He wasn't supposed to but Neville knew what had been going on – he always did – he knew something was up with Sarah and he'd spoken to Petra and then Boyd and Dmitri, and although a little hurt she hadn't said anything – he knew why – he knew he would try to talk Fox out of it. But he also knew that it had to be her decision, no one wanted to be the person she blamed for making a decision she'd regret and no-one wanted to drive her to make the wrong decision. Everyone including Boyd and Dmitri had hoped that this would be the out-come – Dane, Sarah and Lysander together.