Just the Two of Us

by Georgie Capron

  ‘Don’t worry. I’m just glad you are here now!’ she said as she caught her breath. ‘I don’t think it’s going to be too long now.’

  Rory thanked his lucky stars that he had made it in time.

  ‘Keep breathing,’ he said as one contraction turned into another, and another. She was breathing in the gas and air as though her life depended on it.

  Soon the minutes and seconds of labour began to blur into one long, continuous frenzy of breathing, gritted teeth, stamping feet, sighing and groaning. He was vaguely aware of people coming in and out of the room, of the midwife talking to Lucy and giving her instructions. All he could focus on was Lucy. It broke his heart to see her in so much pain. If he could have traded places with her he would have done so in a heartbeat.

  Finally, after one monumental last push from Lucy, the baby arrived. As Lucy collapsed in an exhausted heap back onto the pillows, tears of happiness streaming down her face, Rory inspected the baby at close quarters. ‘It’s a girl!’ he cried. He lowered his head to Lucy’s to kiss her, his eyes wet with tears. He was shaking his head in disbelief at the miracle he had just witnessed. It was hard to believe that a new life had arrived in the world. In the room where seconds earlier there had been only three of them, now there were four.

  A few seconds later the midwife placed their tiny newborn baby on Lucy’s chest. Despite having arrived four weeks earlier than planned, she was perfect. Words could not describe the flood of unconditional love that coursed through Rory like a tidal wave. He could barely believe his eyes, this perfect little bundle of tangled limbs and dark hair was his baby, their baby. He knew with absolute certainty that no matter how this baby had been created she was unquestionably his daughter. For a second he was brought to tears at the thought of how close he had been to throwing it all away. How could he have been so stupid? As he touched her miniscule fist with the tip of his index finger, she curled her fingers around his. Lucy looked at him. His heart was swollen with love for her and their new baby daughter. He couldn’t stop smiling. He felt like the luckiest man in the world. He bent over and gently kissed her. ‘I love you so much.’ he said.

  ‘What shall we call her?’ Lucy whispered, unable to take her eyes off the baby’s face. They were both utterly mesmerized by her charming, tiny features.

  ‘You know what?’ he said. ‘I think she looks just like an Annie.’

  Lucy smiled, staring down at the baby’s perfect little face, still red and wrinkled in protest at her abrupt arrival in this cold and mysterious outside world. ‘Annie,’ she said. ‘It’s perfect!’

  The midwife examined Lucy once again, lifting the blanket that was covering her modesty. Rory saw a flicker of alarm glance across her face. She tried her best to conceal her concern, quickly rearranging her features into a professional smile, but Rory hadn’t missed the initial look of worry at whatever it was she had seen.

  ‘I don’t want to worry you, my love, but I’m going to have to call for the doctor,’ the midwife said. ‘There’s still quite a bit of bleeding down here.’ She pressed a button on the side of the bed.

  Rory’s heart skipped a beat. This was clearly not what should be happening after a natural delivery. He smiled reassuringly at Lucy who was looking at him anxiously over Annie’s tiny head. She looked so tired, after everything she had just been through to safely deliver her baby this was the last thing she needed to hear.

  A few moments later a doctor appeared. He was accompanied by a nurse. They seemed to enter the room in a hurry, giving both Lucy and Rory a smile and introducing themselves before huddling around Lucy’s notes several paces away from the bed, talking to the midwife. After a muted discussion which Rory was unable to overhear despite straining his ears, they came over, explaining to Lucy that they were going to examine her to see what the problem was. Quickly, they began to attach various monitors to her, picking up her heart rate and inserting an IV into her arm. Rory could see the worried look on the kindly midwife’s face once again. Whatever was happening was clearly a cause for concern. He felt a wave of panic rise up in his chest, a tightening sensation that quickened his breath. The doctor wasn’t pausing to make chitchat. He examined Lucy and checked the monitors, frowning as he spoke to his fellow medics using jargon that neither Rory nor Lucy understood.

  ‘Is there something wrong?’ Rory asked, determined to gain at least some control of the situation, to find out what was actually happening. He put his hand on Lucy’s to reassure her as she clutched little Annie close to her chest.

  ‘You are bleeding quite heavily,’ the doctor explained to Lucy. ‘I’m afraid you’re still losing rather a lot of blood.’

  ‘Is that normal?’ asked Lucy.

  Rory suddenly noticed that she was looking very pale. The shock and emotion of Annie’s arrival had been so enormous that he hadn’t stopped to think about how Lucy might be doing. Why was she losing so much blood? Something must have happened during the birth. His heart began to pound and he felt a wave of panic rush up his throat.

  ‘Not quite this much, no.’ said the doctor. ‘I’m afraid we’re going to have to get you into surgery as quickly as possible. We need to find out what’s going on so that we can stop the bleeding.’ The doctor was using a calm and steady tone to explain the situation to them but Rory had had enough experience of doctors to recognize when they were trying their best not to reveal too much. The mere mention of surgery had sent his heart rate rocketing skyward. He was filled with dread at the thought of something happening to Lucy.

  The midwife took the baby from Lucy’s arms as the medical team, now joined by a second doctor, bustled around her. Lucy sobbed that she didn’t want to leave her baby, but the midwife had already whisked her away, giving her no choice. Rory took a couple of stunned steps backwards as they moved Lucy onto a gurney. His heart was beating loudly in his ears; he felt anxiety prickle up and down his spine. His head began to ache. He wished he could slow everything down and just get his head around what was happening but he knew that there was a reason for the urgency. She needed help quickly.

  ‘You’ll be all right,’ said Rory as he moved closer to her, bending down to kiss her. His eyes were brimming with tears. She looked afraid and frighteningly pale, so small and vulnerable lying there. So helpless.

  ‘But… Annie,’ she whispered, her eyes filling with tears once more.

  ‘I’ll stay with Annie, don’t worry,’ Rory said. ‘I love you… You’re going to be fine, just as soon as they fix you up. It’s okay Luce, don’t worry.’

  It was all happening so incredibly fast. Too fast. Before he knew it they were wheeling her out of the room. He wanted to shout at them to stop, but he stood there, helpless to do anything but watch. ‘She’ll be alright, won’t she?’ he repeated to the doctor as he steered the gurney into the corridor. Rory felt his head spin. He could tell just how concerned the doctor was from the look in his eyes. The doctor nodded curtly at him and vanished out of the door.

  ‘There, there love,’ said the midwife as Annie began to cry gently. ‘It’s okay, daddy’s here.’ The midwife gave Annie to Rory. His eyes brimmed with tears as he cradled the tiny bundle in his arms for the first time. He could hardly believe how light she was. How fragile. His heart expanded yet again with an overwhelming surge of love. Lucy should be here with them. This wasn’t right. His heart wrenched at the thought of her scared and alone.

  ‘Where have they taken her?’ he asked, dumbfounded by what had just happened. The room seemed desperately empty all of a sudden.

  ‘They’ve taken her up to surgery, dear,’ she said. ‘She’s in the very best possible hands, don’t you worry.’ She gave him a kind smile and patted his hand, squeezing his arm gently.

  Rory sat down on the chair in the corner of the room as the midwife stripped the blood-stained sheets from the bed, still warm from where Lucy had been lying just moments before. He had heard of complications from childbirth, of course, but never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that som
ething like this would happen to her. He prayed that she would be all right, that it was just a routine procedure, easily fixed.

  The midwife chatted happily away to Rory about her grandchildren as she bustled about the room, no doubt trying to distract him from what was currently happening to Lucy. Rory could barely take in what she was saying. His ears were ringing. He felt so helpless, there was nothing he could do to protect Lucy now, she was in the hands of the surgeons. There was nothing he could do but wait. It felt so wrong, so unnatural that she wasn’t there with them. His heart felt twisted with angst and his nerves jangled with fear.

  He sat in the same spot, waiting for Lucy, for what felt like hours. Every time someone came in to check on Annie, his heart leapt into his mouth. He was longing for news. Whenever he asked for an update, all anyone said was, ‘She’s still in surgery.’ The panic rose steadily inside him as he realized quite how long she had been gone. Annie was sleeping in her tiny cot next to him. Rory kept his eyes fixed on the door, repeating silent prayers over and over again in his head. He had never felt so utterly helpless, so completely desperate.

  Eventually the door opened once again. It was the doctor who had come to see Lucy earlier. He walked quietly into the room. Rory felt his heart skip a beat. He felt as though everything was happening in slow motion. As if he couldn’t engage with the situation properly. He braced himself for what was to come.

  Epilogue

  The wind whisked their cheeks as they stood in a huddle on the beach. Annie, zipped into her waterproof romper suit, was picking up fistfuls of sand and dropping them delightedly into her lap. Her chubby cheeks, already red from teething, were flushed from the brisk breeze and her bright blue eyes sparkled. Rufus and Tiggy were racing around chasing the waves and each other, barking at the spray, clearly in their element.

  ‘I can’t believe a whole year has gone by already,’ said Lucy, crouching down to pull a crocheted blue hat over her daughter’s fine brown hair.

  ‘I know!’ said Rory. ‘It’s unbelievable how the time has flown. Just think… a year ago we were in the hospital. You were probably just coming out of surgery...’

  ‘I was so completely out of it, I can barely remember.’ Lucy thought back to those first few days with Annie as she had begun her long road to recovery. ‘It feels like such a blur.’

  Rory shuddered at the memory. ‘Didn’t that give us a fright?’ he said as he scooped Annie up into his arms and swirled her around. She gurgled in delight at her favourite flying trick.

  They walked down to the seashore, pulling their coats closer around them. It was a bitterly cold day. The water gleamed silver under the afternoon sun. Rory whistled loudly and Rufus and Tiggy came bounding through the waves, splashing icy cold water as they went, exhilarated from their run along the beach.

  ‘We better get you home for tea!’ Lucy said to Annie. ‘Granny’s made you a very special birthday cake!’

  Gus and Ginny absolutely doted on their granddaughter, spoiling her rotten at any given opportunity. They had been unbelievably excited to find out that they would soon become grandparents for a second time, this time to a little boy. Ollie and Sofia had recently come over from Buenos Aires for a few weeks, taking advantage of Sofia still being able to fly. They were currently holed up by the fire with Gus, Ginny and Granny Annie, taking refuge from the cold while Lucy and Rory took the dogs for a walk. They were all so besotted with the newest addition to the family. It would be the McCullan’s turn next…they were flying to Ireland in a couple of days’ time to continue Annie’s birthday celebrations there.

  ‘Are you ready?’ asked Rory. ‘Shall we head back up?’

  ‘Let’s go,’ she replied. She leant across and kissed him. ‘Happy birthday darling girl!’ she said as she kissed Annie on the cheek. Annie smiled at her and Lucy’s heart swelled with emotion. She had never known she was capable of such overwhelming love. The love she felt for Annie was limitless; it amazed her on a daily basis. Becoming parents had strengthened her relationship with Rory in a way she had not anticipated. They were so closely bonded after everything they had been through, so completely united in their love for each other and for their daughter. It had brought them closer together and she knew now that she wouldn’t be able to survive a single day without her family by her side. She reached for Rory’s hand and they made their way back across the golden sand, the three of them together, her own little family, looking forward to a warming cup of tea and a slice of Ginny’s famous chocolate cake.

  We hope you enjoyed this book!

  Georgie Capron’s next book is coming in summer 2017

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  Acknowledgements

  About Georgie Capron

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  Acknowledgements

  I would like to thank various people for making this book possible. First and foremost, my sister Emma, an amazing editor who managed to find time to guide me through the formative stages of writing my first novel despite her own formidable workload. Her patience, wisdom and expertise played a crucial part in helping me take the idea that started as a tiny seedling in my imagination and getting it out into the world. I would also like to thank my twin sister Sophie and my mother Polly for reading endless first drafts and giving me invaluable feedback along the way.

  As part of my research I would like to thank my friends Carice Irwin-Clark and Sophie Walton for their help and insights into parenthood. I would also like to thank The London Women’s Clinic for taking the time to answer my numerous questions about donor insemination.

  I owe a huge thank you to Bea Corlett, my agent, who played an enormous part in building the plot and adding depth to the story with her initial edits.

  I have been very lucky to work with Caroline Ridding and Sarah Ritherdon at Aria. Their support and encouragement has been invaluable. Sarah’s editing is sensitive, meticulous and incredibly skilful and makes the whole process as enjoyable as possible. I would also like to thank Jade Craddock for her detailed and enormously thorough copy editing. The rest of the team at Aria, Nia Beynon, Yasemin Turan and Geo Willis have all helped in bringing my dream of publishing my debut novel into reality, for which I am eternally grateful.

  Lastly I would like to thank my family for all their loving support over the years. They always made me feel like achieving anything I put my mind to was possible, and it turned out, they were right. And finally to my husband, Tom, thanks for putting up with me… you are definitely my very own Rory McCullan, and I am very lucky to have you.

  About Georgie Capron

  GEORGIE CAPRON lives in South West London with her husband. She works as a primary school teacher, and writes during the holidays. She studied Italian and History of Art at the University of Edinburgh, and loves travelling, yoga and all sorts of arts and crafts. Just the Two of Us is her first novel.

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  Addictive Fiction

  First published in the UK in 2017 by Aria, an imprint of Head of Zeus Ltd

  Copyright © Georgie Capron, 2017

  The
moral right of Georgie Capron to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

  This is a work of fiction. All characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

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  A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

  ISBN (E) 9781786693341

  Aria

  Clerkenwell House

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