Hi! I’m your MM secret santa.I hope you enjoy your gift and merry Christmas!
His breath was visible as he stepped outside of the house, crystals forming in the air in front of his. George stepped out beside him and exhaled heavily, giggling as he did so.
“I can see my breath!” George squealed, his eyes bright. His cheeks were already rosy from the cold.
Matthew picked up his son, groaning as he did so because George, at four, wasn’t so little anymore, and blew in his face. “Can you see that?”
“Yes!” George giggled
.
Mary stepped up beside her husband and her son. “What are you two getting up to?”
George slid down Matthew’s body. Once on the ground, he grinned up at his mother. “Look,” he said, exhaling again.
“Is that because of the cold?”
George shrugged, noticing Tiaa running out the front door. His own breath had lost its luster and the dog was much more interesting.
“Speaking of the cold, are you sure you should come?”
Mary’s hands instinctively cradled her abdomen. “I’m only eight months gone, I’ll be perfectly fine.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want you to get ill, not so soon before she’s born.”
“Why are you so convinced it’s a girl?” Mary asked, smirking. “You were convinced that George was a girl and look how that turned out.”
“Well, why are you so convinced that we’re having another boy?
"The kicking. A lady would never kick that much.”
Matthew rolled his eyes and took his wife’s arm. “Come on George,” he said, motioning to his son who had now become interested in throwing snowballs at Tiaa. If he didn’t want to get yelled at by Robert, George needed distraction. “Are you excited to go on a sleigh ride?”
“Yes, and after we’re done, you can feed them apples. They’ll like that a lot. Does that sound fun, Georgie?” Matthew took his son’s hand in his own, and led him behind the house to the stables. A rented sleigh was there, as well as Isobel and the groom.
The highlight of Matthew’s early Christmases had been sleigh rides just outside of Manchester, which his parents took him on every year. He wanted his son to experience the same thrill.
“Granny! We’re going to ride the sleigh!” George shouted, running into the arms of Isobel.
“I’m coming with you, darling,” Isobel said, lifting him into the sleigh. She turned to Mary with a critical eye. “Are you certain you want to come?”
Mary rolled her eyes and stepped into the sleigh with Matthew’s assistance. “I’m barely eight months gone, I’ll be alright. And Matthew brought plenty of blankets to keep us warm, as well as hot drinks.”
“If you’re sure,” Isobel said.
The horses moved under the command of the two grooms in the front of the sleigh, and they were off through the crystalline beauty that was the grounds after a fresh snowfall. George pointed out all of his favorite places on the grounds as the sleigh went past them.
“Mama, are we going ice skating this year?” he asked as they passed by the frozen pond. Instead of going on the New Year’s shoot, Matthew and Mary took George ice skating the past few years.
Mary glanced at Matthew. “I don’t know. Darling, would you rather take George on his first shoot this year?”
“Not a chance,” Matthew replied, his tone frigid. “Of course we’re going ice skating, Georgie.”
“Well I’m not,” Mary said. “Not in this condition. I’ll just watch George skate circles around you.”
Matthew ducked his head and laughed. He wasn’t a very good skater, but he’d much rather make himself look like a fool skating than look competent while holding a gun. And there was no way that he was letting his son shoot.
“Why can’t I go shooting?” George asked petulantly.
“You’re four, darling. That’s much too young to go on a shoot. I was only joking. And your father doesn’t like shooting very much.”
“Why? Grandpapa likes shooting.”
Mary patted her son’s head. “He’ll tell you someday, when you’re older.”
George nodded and looked up at the sky. “It’s snowing.” He stuck his tongue out excitedly. “Look, I caught one on my tongue!”
“Does it taste good?” Matthew asked. At George’s exuberant nod, Matthew stuck his own tongue out.
“Granny, you should try it.” George said.
“Thank you George, but I think I’ll refrain,” Isobel replied, patting her grandson’s head. “It’s starting to snow harder. Hopefully it won’t all dump down on us.”
The sleigh pulled through the deepening snow, into an area Matthew only recognized as near where he had renovated a couple of cottages. The snow was beautiful, but the wind was biting, and Matthew saw that all of his family had miserable faces.
And Mary looked like she was in pain.
“Mary? Darling, are you feeling alright?”
She nodded. “I’m alright, it’s probably just best if we go now…”
Isobel reached across the sleigh to take Mary’s hands. “Is it coming now?”
“I don’t know… maybe?” She winced and leaned back against the seat. “We need to go home. Right now.”
Matthew’s eyes were wide. Snow fell on his lashes, and he rubbed his eyes before turning around to the grooms at the front of the sleigh. “Please, take us back to the Abbey. As quickly as you can.” His voice shook and Mary reached for his hand.
“I’m going to be alright,” she reassured him. “It takes hours.”
The sleigh was turned around and began on the path back to the house, but it was much slower, and the snow was coming down in droves. Mary kept wincing, and Matthew couldn’t stop his hands from shaking.
“Papa? What’s happening?” George leaned his head against his father’s arm. “Is Mama okay?”
Matthew kissed the top of George’s head. “She will be, very soon.” He didn’t add the silent ‘I hope’.
Matthew’s heart beat even faster. “Excuse me, why aren’t we moving?”
“The snow. It’s too deep. I’m not sure we’re going to be able to get back,” the groom said regretfully. “I don’t know if there’s somewhere around here that could be shelter… I’m very sorry sir.”
“Is it completely impossible to get back? Because my wife is currently in labor!” Matthew shouted, his eyes beginning to fill.
“There’s the cottages you renovated, not too far from here,” Mary said, shaking. It wasn’t clear if she was shivering or if she was getting further along in labor.
“They’re just a little bit further over there…” Matthew said. “But I really don’t think waiting it out there would be the best idea. Not with you…”
Mary stood up in the sleigh and winced again. “Look, what other choice do we have? We can stay out here and freeze to death, we can try and walk home and freeze to death, or we can go find shelter and wait out the storm. Personally, I’d rather not freeze.”
“I see your point,” Matthew said, lifting George out of the sleigh. “Are you going to be able to make it over there?”
“Walking will be good for me,” Mary insisted. “Makes the labor go faster.”
“I think that’s the opposite of what we want.”
“Ah, so you want me to suffer for longer?”
“No, I want to have a doctor here to deliver the baby!”
Isobel put a hand on her son’s arm. “If anything happens, I’ll be here. I may not be a trained midwife, but I know quite a bit about childbirth. Let’s get over to the cottages before we freeze.”
Mary took Matthew’s arm, leaning heavily on him. George jumped up into Isobel’s arms, and they made the short trek to the cottage.
When they arrived, Matthew pressed on the door of the cottage, and to his delight, it was unlocked. Perhaps he should look into making sure they were locked normally, but today there was no greater blessing than the door being unlocked.
Inside, there was a creaky couch, a fireplace, a small table with a few chairs, and a stove. “There’s a bedroom right through here,” Matthew said, looking upon the small and dusty bed with disdain. “I’ll make a fire.”
“Can I help?” George asked.
“Yes, actually,” Matthew said. “Through that hallway and right outside that door there should be a bundle of sticks. Could you bring those in?”
He nodded and ran down the hall.
“I’ve tried to stock all these cottages so that when people move in they have at least a little bit to start off with,” Matthew explained, bending by the fireplace.
“Alright, Mary, let’s go to the bedroom,” Isobel said, with concern for her daughter in law, who was beginning to wince more and more.
Matthew watched them, concerned. “Mary, are you sure you’re going to be alright?”
“She’ll be just fine,” Isobel consoled. “You weren’t here for George’s birth, you’ll see that this is the way things like this go.”
George ran back into the house, the bundle of sticks in his arms. “Here, Papa! I helped!”
Matthew ruffled George’s hair and arranged the sticks in the fireplace. He stood up and went through the cabinet near the stove until he found some paper and matches. He struck a match and lit the fireplace, and embers began to glow.
“I’m scared,” George said, sitting down on the couch. “I don’t like it here. It’s cold and it’s loud and it smells funny. And it’s dark. I don’t like the dark.”
“I know, Georgie,” Matthew said, taking another item out of the cabinet. “Your Mama and Granny are going to need the candle more than we do, but we have the fire to give us light. And soon it will be even brighter.” He lit the candle and took a few quick steps down to the bedroom.
“Mary, Mother? I thought you would like some light,” Matthew said, handing the candle to Isobel. He glanced around the room, and in the new candlelight, he could see Mary, stripped down to her underclothes, grimacing and sweating.
Isobel patted Matthew’s arm. “The baby is coming. Now.”
“But it’s far too early for that!”
“George was early, too. He turned out perfectly fine.”
Mary’s voice came from inside, weak, but determined. “Matthew, get out.”
“Why should I? I want to be here, I want to see our child!”
“Not for my sake, for George’s. He really shouldn’t be here, but he is. And he’s not allowed in here. You need to keep him calm. And in any case, you really don’t want to see the process.”
Matthew sighed. “If you’re really sure. But I’ll go keep George company.”
He leaned over her and kissed her forehead. “Stay strong, my darling.”
“I’ll be perfectly alright,” Mary said. “Now go, or George is going to come in here and I don’t really want to explain this.”
Matthew nodded, but kissed her one more time, this time gently on the lips, before leaving the room with a last linger glance. “I love you,” he whispered.
“I love you too,” she affirmed.
George was still on the couch when Matthew returned. “Is Mama okay?” he asked.
“I think she will be, and soon you’ll have a new baby brother or sister,” Matthew said.
His statement was cut by a piercing scream from the bedroom.
Matthew pulled George into his arms and clutched him tight. The screaming was so reminiscent of the front, it was unnerving. But these were the screams that gave life, not the screams that occurred when life was taken away. He bit his lip and turned away from his son.
“Are you okay?” George asked, his sweet voice bring Matthew’s attention back to the present.
“It’s a little scary to hear Mama screaming like that,” Matthew admitted. George wouldn’t understand all of the reasons behind Matthew’s fear, but Matthew could admit that much.
“There’s so much snow outside that the sleigh can’t go. It’s all so piled up that the horses can’t move. So we’re waiting here until it stops snowing so that we can get back. Great place to have a baby, right?” Matthew sighed as he took a glance at his meager surroundings.
George followed Matthew’s path of glances. “It’s like the story we heard at church,” he said.
“Baby Jesus,” George answered. “In a stable?”
“Well, a stable is a place for animals. But I suppose it is somewhat similar. How appropriate, considering how close we are to Christmas.”
Another round of screams rang through the air. This time, even George looked afraid.
“I don’t like hearing Mama like that.”
Matthew kissed the top of his son’s golden hair. “Neither do I. It makes me very scared because I want Mama to be okay. And she will be,” he said, hoping to assure himself as much as George.
“Will she stop screaming if I give her a hug?” George asked.
“We’re not allowed in there,” Matthew said. “Although if we were, I’m sure she’d be very appreciative of your hug.”
George sighed. “I don’t like this.”
“Neither do I, Georgie. But all we can do is wait.”
And wait they did. For hours, amid screams and Isobel rushing back and forth for towels and makeshift equipment, they waited in front of the fire.
Eventually, George fell asleep on Matthew’s shoulder, and Matthew sat there, waiting with bated breath for his mother to come out again.
“Here, let me take him,” Isobel said, reaching out for George. “Mary wants to see you.”
Matthew nearly jumped out of his seat, and ran down the hallway to the bedroom. For a moment, he hesitated, every what if filling his mind. But he pushed the door open, and saw his wife sitting up, in bed, with a little baby bundled in blankets from the sleigh.
“Your daughter,” Mary said, smiling at him.
Matthew took the tiny bundle and gazed upon the face of his newborn little girl. “I told you it would be a girl.”
“That’s the first thing you say to me?”
He grinned and sat on the edge of the bed beside her. “You are the most incredible woman I’ve ever known, and I love you so very much, but remember that for once, I was right. And she’s absolutely perfect.”
“You’re incorrigible,” Mary said. “But I agree that she is absolutely perfect.”
“And everything is alright? You’re both healthy?”
“As far as we know. We’ll go to the hospital as soon as we can get out of here, of course, just to make sure, but I think we’re both fine.”
He kissed her, unable to stop smiling as he did so. “What should we name her?”
“We have to name her after your mother, of course. Isobel brought her into the world, she should be another Isobel.”
“I agree,” Matthew said, “but I’m hoping that my mother will be around a good while longer and it will be confusing to have two Isobels in the family. So what about Isabella? Your grandmother might call it too foreign, but I think it’s a nice variation.”
“Isabella Violet,” Mary replied. “Since Granny will throw a fit if she’s named after Isobel and not herself.”
Matthew smiled and put his daughter back in Mary’s arms. “Welcome to the world, Isobel Violet Crawley.”
“She’ll be a tough one. Born in the middle of a snowstorm.”
“All Crawley women are tough,” Matthew reminded her. He picked Isabella up again and looked out the window. “It stopped snowing,” he remarked. “See, my darling? The world stood still to see you arrive.”
Mary reached to take Isabella. “Is she ready to meet her namesake and her brother?”
“I think our little Isabella is ready for anything.”
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