The sound of screaming broke the silence though this time it was high pitched in a way that could only be that of an infant.
Relief washed over Theo when the midwives began to move, revealing Fleur sitting up against a mountain of pillows with a naked pink bundle in her arms. Tears instantly pricked at the corners of Theo’s eyes.
The midwives seemed not to notice him standing in the doorway, too busy with their work.
“Theo, perhaps it would be best if you were to wait outside,” Ember suggested from behind him but Fleur looked up from the bundle in her arms as if his voice had alerted her to their presence.
“Theo!” she exclaimed, sounding much more energetic than he would have expected. “Come in. Come here!”
“Ember, be a dear and go and announce the new arrival to your brothers,” their mother suggested, clapping her son on the shoulder before gesturing him down the hall.
Ember nodded silently and disappeared.
Theo remained where he was frozen to the floor, too fearful to move toward the bed. It wasn’t until his mother gripped his forearm and began to urge him forward that he was able to move.
“Don’t look so frightened,” Fleur chuckled as they approached the bed and the midwives finally moved away to give them some room. One of them had tucked a cotton blanket around the small bundle in his wife’s arms and Theo could just see a small, swollen face screwed up with eyes tightly closed.
“How are you feeling, dear?” Lyra asked, leaning over to nudge a corner of the blanket out of the baby’s face so she could get a good look at her grandchild.
“Tired,” Fleur replied.
“And sore I expect,” Lyra smiled sympathetically. “We will leave you all for a while but one of the midwives will wait just outside if you need anything.”
“Thank you.” Fleur smiled, her eyes brimming with gratitude. She adjusted the baby into one arm and reached out with her free hand to grip the other queen’s fingers for a moment.
Theo was more than grateful to his mother, not only for being there during the labor but also for the love and kindness she had shown to his wife.
She offered her a smile as grateful as his wife’s when she passed and she gave his shoulder a squeeze in passing. When she reached the door, urging the midwives out before her, she paused to say, “Congratulations, both of you.”
Then they were alone and Theo hovered beside the bed, unsure as to what to do.
“Theo, my love, stop hovering and come and meet your daughter,” Fleur insisted, reaching out her free hand to him. Theo’s breath caught in his throat. Everybody had been talking for months about how they hoped his son would be happy and healthy and yet secretly in his mind, Theo had been hoping to have a daughter.
He reached for Fleur’s hand, surprised when she pulled him down onto the bed beside her. He edged on carefully, not missing the way that she rolled her eyes at him.
“I am not going to break if you sit on the bed,” she laughed, squeezing his fingers. “And neither will she.”
She then turned her face down to the babe in her arms and the smile that spread across her face was an expression he hoped he would remember for the rest of his life.
“Will you take her from me?” Fleur asked, beginning to move the baby toward him. “She’s much heavier than she looks.”
Heart pounding, Theo sucked in a deep breath and held it, holding out his arms so that Fleur could hand the baby over to him.
The moment that she lay in his arms Theo knew that his entire world had changed. It was as if the axis of his world had suddenly shifted, focusing on the tiny creature in his arms. She wriggled slightly and let out a small whimper before seeming to nuzzle in against his chest.
“She...she is beautiful,” Theo stammered, unable to hold the tears back any longer. “Just like her mother.”
The small amount of hair that was little more than fuzz on the infant’s head appeared to be mousy-brown just like her mother’s and Theo found himself hoping that she would be just like her. If you have her beauty and her brains, you will be one lucky little girl, he thought, stroking the back of the baby’s head with his thumb.
“I think she looks like a Rose, what do you think?” Fleur asked, her voice trailing off in a yawn. Theo smiled, unable to stop himself from thinking just how beautiful and radiant she looked even though she was clearly exhausted. Her hair was sticking out at odds and ends and slicked to her forehead with sweat but to him, she had never looked more gorgeous.
“Does that have nothing to do with Rose being your mother’s name?” Theo asked, amused. They had been arguing over names for both boys and girls for months. Glancing down at the child in his arms, he asked, “What do you think of the name Rose?”
The infant gave a small cooing noise and Theo felt another tear run down his cheek.
“I think she likes it,” he said gently. “I think it suits her too.”
When Fleur gave no response, Theo lifted his gaze from the child and glanced at his wife. Her head had rolled back onto the mountain of pillows behind her and her eyelashes fluttered against her cheeks.