The Drowning Tide (Blair Dubh Trilogy #2)

by Heather Atkinson

  When he’d first moved here he’d thought perhaps he’d made a mistake. Now he realised it had been just the thing to do. This place, just like his own village further up north, was a magnet for evil and it must be eradicated before it seeped out into the surrounding areas, infecting the very earth. The weight of the rifle on his back was reassuring, his one companion in this world.

  He turned the binoculars back to Freya who had beaten three murderers and he felt the connection with her that he had back in the pub when their eyes had met and again in the church when they’d discussed evil. She was the only other person he’d encountered on this paltry planet who had gone through something similar to what he’d endured. Part of him longed to talk with her and discuss how she felt about it.

  “No,” he said firmly. He was a lone wolf. One day he would accomplish his reason for moving to this village then it would be time to move on, the fight against evil was never ending.

  As he watched the people below scurrying about like ants he reached behind him to caress the butt of the rifle, breathing in and out slowly. Now was not the time. This was Freya’s show. Soon he’d have his own.

  Will sighed as his mum continued to fuss over him. Her domineering ways were keeping his nurse at bay. She kept insisting on doing things for him he wanted Moira to do. He’d drawn the line at letting her take him to the toilet and insisted she call a nurse. To his chagrin it had been a male nurse. He’d hardly seen Moira since his mother arrived, apart from snatched glances when she’d passed his room and he was being discharged the day after tomorrow.

  Fortunately he had a plan.

  “You know what I’d really like Ma?” His lips were healing but it was still quite difficult to talk. He had to take his time and concentrate on forming the words, like a child learning to talk again.

  “What?” she said, all eagerness to help.

  “My photography magazines. I’m going out of my heid with nothing to read.”

  Photography was what he’d actually wanted to do as a career but he’d always been too afraid to leave fulltime paid employment to try. After what he’d been through that held no fear for him anymore, his career in the prison service was over anyway. He’d try for his dream job as part of his fresh start. Despite how physically weak he was inside he’d never felt stronger. Standing up to Harry the bastard Jacobs had been a big part of that.

  “But I have to go to the shops for that, they don’t have them in the hospital shop. I’ll have to leave your side,” replied his mum.

  “I’ll manage.” He felt guilty for deceiving her, she was really coming through for him, which was a surprise given how the rest of his life she’d been quite an indifferent mother. Perhaps the prospect of him dying had been a wake-up call?

  She heaved herself to her feet and smiled down at him. “Leave it with me. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

  “No rush. Take some time for yourself Ma, you need a break.”

  “I might go to a café for a brew and a sticky bun while I’m out.”

  “Go for it, enjoy yourself. You deserve it.”

  She planted a gentle kiss on his scarred forehead before waddling from the room.

  Will breathed a sigh of relief. So far so good. Now all he needed was for Moira to come in. He knew she was on duty, he’d seen her pass his window not twenty minutes ago.

  He managed to get himself into a sitting position then pressed the call button for the nurse, disappointed when a thin blonde woman entered the room.

  “Where’s Nurse McDiarmid?” he said. “She’s my named nurse.”

  “She’s with another patient at the moment. Can I help?”

  “No, it has to be her.”

  “I’ll send her in when she’s done.”

  “Thanks.”

  He waited fifteen minutes for her to come, all the time panicking that his mother would return before she arrived. His heart leapt when he saw her pass his window then his door opened and she was there in all her soft round beauty.

  “Is there a problem Will?” she said in her sweet voice.

  “No, I’m okay.”

  While she waited for him to come up with a good reason for calling her he became nervous, wondering if he’d read into the situation something that wasn’t there.

  “I’m going home in a couple of days.”

  “I know,” she replied.

  He’d caught the look of disappointment then and his heart soared. She didn’t want him to go.

  “I’ve not had much chance to talk to you since my ma arrived.”

  “So I noticed.”

  “Sorry about her.”

  “It’s okay. She just wants to do everything for you. Understandable after she almost lost you.”

  “You are such a good woman,” he said, attempting to smile but it hurt too much so he let his face drop.

  “I’m not sure I deserve that title.”

  “Why, can you be bad too?” he said mischievously.

  She flashed him an impish smile. “I have my moments.”

  “Intriguing. I don’t want to leave the hospital.”

  She approached his bed, sympathy in her eyes. “Now I know the prospect of going out into the world with your injuries is a daunting one but you mustn’t be afraid. People are more understanding than you think.”

  “I don’t want to leave because I’ll never see you again.”

  Moira was unable to repress her smile. “Do you want to see me again?”

  He took her hand and gently encouraged her closer to his bedside. “Very much. I feel a connection with you Moira that I’ve never felt with anyone else before.”

  Before she could reply he’d pressed his lips to hers. Realising what he’d done he hastily pulled back. “I’m sorry, I…”

  She flung her arms around his neck and kissed him. Will slid his arms around her waist and pulled her close, ignoring the pain. It was worth it.

  When the kiss ended she pulled back slightly and they grinned at each other.

  “I’ve never kissed a patient before,” she blushed. “I want you to know that it’s not something I do all the time.”

  “I kind of guessed that already.” He thought it strange how during one of the lowest points of his life he was suddenly feeling so good. “So you weren’t lying to make me feel better? I really don’t repulse you?”

  “No you don’t and you have the prettiest eyes I’ve ever seen. But you could really use a toothbrush.”

  “Moira, when I get out of here will you have dinner with me? I want to see you out of that uniform.” He realised how that sounded and was mortified. “I didn’t mean…I just want…I errr…oh crap. I’ve never been any good with the lines.”

  “It’s alright, I know what you mean and yes, I’d love to.”

  He brushed his fingers through her fringe. “You know Moira, I was really depressed but now I’ve got something to look forward to. You’re my angel, you have been since the moment I opened my eyes and you were there.”

  Moira positively melted. “And I thought you said you weren’t good with the lines.”

  “Think you can ignore the death breath long enough to kiss me again?”

  She gazed into his beautiful blue eyes and smiled. “I’m positive I can.”

  EPILOGUE

  SIX MONTHS LATER

  Craig clutched Freya’s hand. “Are you sure you’re alright? Can I get you anything?”

  “Will you please relax? It’s just a simple procedure,” she replied. Here she was lying on a bed wearing no underwear, legs akimbo and he was worrying if her pillow was plumped up enough.

  “Sorry,” he said.

  She smiled and took his hand. “It’s okay. Just try and relax, you’re making me more nervous.”

  “Nothing to be worried about,” said the doctor. “It’s a very simple procedure, similar to a smear test. We insert the speculum then introduce a fine tube through which the embryo will be passed. It’s completely painless. Now we’ve agreed we’ll transfer only one embr
yo because we feel Freya you have a very good chance of conceiving.” He turned to point at a monitor mounted on the wall. “You can watch the embryo being implanted there.”

  Craig gazed down at her, eyes shining with excitement and she prayed her womb didn’t let him down. Nora had sold her story about the The Elemental murders to the tabloids in order to raise the money necessary for IVF treatment at a private hospital, which meant they hadn’t had to wait two years. Craig had been furious at first until his mum had reasoned why shouldn’t they get something good out of the nightmares they’d endured before forcing the cash on him. Now they were both incredibly grateful to her.

  Freya cringed as the doctor inserted the speculum and peered inside her. When he remained down there getting an eyeful she became distinctly uncomfortable.

  “Is something wrong?” she said.

  He sat up with a frown. “If you could just give me a moment.”

  “What’s wrong?” she said, panicking slightly.

  “Nothing’s wrong. There’s just something I need to check first.”

  With that he pulled off his latex gloves, got up and disappeared out the door before either of them could say another word.

  “Do you think something’s wrong?” whispered Freya, scared.

  He took her hand. “No I don’t. I think everything’s fine.”

  “What if he’s found something wrong with me? What if IVF won’t work?”

  “He’s not found anything. There’s probably a form we forgot to sign.”

  “I don’t keep the forms up there,” she said, pointing to her crotch.

  “Stop worrying, it’ll be fine. You’re healthy and this will work.”

  She lay back on the bed, breathing deeply in an attempt to calm down. “Do you think it would be alright if I closed my legs? I feel stupid and just a little wanton.”

  “No I don’t. I’ve got a great view from here,” he grinned.

  “Pervert,” she smiled, his joking relaxing her.

  “It’s not my fault you’re incredibly sexy.”

  “I’m getting cold,” she said, closing her legs and pulling her gown back down her thighs.

  “Spoilsport.”

  “Hospital gowns turn you on, do they?”

  “When they’re pushed up around your waist, yes.”

  They were distracted by the doors banging open and the doctor returned towing a machine on wheels, accompanied by a nurse.

  “What’s happening?” Freya demanded. “Is something wrong?”

  “Nothing’s wrong,” he replied, pulling the machine to her side.

  “What’s that then?”

  “It’s a portable ultrasound machine. I need to check something first.”

  “Check what?”

  “Just a procedure before we begin.”

  “See, what did I tell you,” said Craig, although he wasn’t convinced. Used to detecting lies in others he could see the man’s intense frown, hear the deception in his voice but he didn’t want Freya to worry.

  Freya wasn’t convinced either. “Something’s wrong with me, I know it is,” she said, eyes filling with tears.

  “Please Doctor, can you tell us what’s going on?” said Craig, starting to get angry.

  “I’ll do better than that, I’ll show you. I need you to roll your gown up Mrs Donaldson, if that’s alright?”

  “You may as well. Everything’s been on display anyway.”

  A nurse appeared with a blanket to cover up her lower half while the white gown was rolled to just below her breasts. Gel was applied to her stomach.

  “Keep your eye on the monitor,” said the doctor, rolling the transducer across her abdomen. “There,” he said.

  “What?” said Craig, frowning at the grey images.

  “There is your baby,” smiled the doctor.

  They both stared at the screen with their mouths open.

  “You haven’t transferred the embryo yet,” said Freya.

  “I don’t need to. You’re already pregnant, from the looks of it you’re about three months along.”

  “But…but…,” began Craig.

  “I had a period two weeks ago,” said Freya.

  “Are your periods very erratic?” said the doctor.

  “Yes,” she murmured, unable to take her eyes off the little blob on the screen.

  “It’s still possible to have periods while pregnant.”

  “How did it happen?” said Craig. “I’ve got a low count.”

  “Again it’s still possible to get pregnant, although the odds are stacked against it. I’d say you’ve been very lucky.”

  When a sob escaped Freya’s throat she clamped a hand down on her mouth. “Sorry.”

  “You are one amazing woman,” said Craig, grabbing her face in both hands and kissing her hard. “Bloody hell I love you.”

  “I love you too and we’re going to have a baby,” she said, smiling through her tears. She looked to the doctor. “I don’t understand how you knew.”

  “I realised when I inserted the speculum to look at your cervix. A pregnant woman’s cervix is very different to a woman’s who isn’t pregnant. It rises back and is softer. I spotted it straight away.”

  “Thank God you did,” said Craig.

  “I can’t believe it,” said Freya. “I just can’t believe it.” She broke into a grin that took Craig’s breath away. “We’re going to be a mummy and daddy.”

  “We are.” Craig was grinning so hard his face was starting to ache. This was the happiest day of his life.

  “What about the embryo?” said Freya. “We can’t just discard it, it’s part of us.”

  “We can keep it frozen for you, just in case you decide you’d like another child and struggle to conceive.”

  “And refreezing won’t hurt it?” said Craig.

  “Not at all, not with the new vitrification technique we use.”

  “In that case, yes please,” she said. She couldn’t have borne a possible child of theirs simply being discarded because they had really bad timing.

  “I’ll arrange it. We’ll leave you in peace to come to terms with this news. May I be the first to say congratulations,” smiled the doctor.

  “Thank you, thank you so much” said Craig, vigorously shaking his hand.

  The doctor collected up his equipment and left, followed by the nurse who wheeled out the portable ultrasound.

  Craig and Freya looked at each other and laughed, a happy carefree sound. Freya flung her arms around his neck and hung on tight.

  “You did it,” she said. “I knew you could.”

  Not only was Craig delighted by the prospect of finally being a daddy but his manly pride had been restored too. Finally he was a real man again.

  “Docherty’s dead, Mandy’s locked up in a mental hospital and we’re going to have a baby. Now’s our time to be happy,” said Craig, stroking her hair back off her face. The image of Docherty trying to strangle her while making those disgusting moaning sounds would stay with him forever and he swore he would never take her for granted.

  “It’s about time,” she smiled, eyes dancing. “I can’t wait to tell your mum.”

  “They’ll be able to hear her cries for joy over the border.”

  “Do you think it’ll be a girl or a boy?”

  “It doesn’t matter. This baby is ours, part of you and me. That’s the only thing I care about.”

  “You’re right, although a wee Craig Junior would be nice.”

  “Craig Junior,” he frowned. “We need to have a good long talk about names. If it’s a girl I like Rose.”

  “For my mum.” She pecked him on the lips. “Thank you. We could call her Rosie or Petie if it’s a boy, for your dad.”

  “Agreed. Wow, we’re ahead of the game. We’ve already got the names picked out and you haven’t even put your underwear back on.”

  “Quick, pass me my clothes. I want to tell everyone we know.”

  “Slow down. From now on you take it easy. No rushing ab
out, no stress, nothing but six months of rest and relaxation.”

  “Oh good, does that mean you’re going to do all the housework?”

  He hesitated before saying, “alright then.”

  “I’m only joking. Craig I’m pregnant, not made of glass. I can still live a normal life.”

  “Sorry, I just really really want this baby,” he said, resting his hand on her stomach.

  She pressed her forehead to his. “Me too. Everything will be fine. Just so you know this baby is never going to Blair Dubh. I’m sorry but every time we go there someone tries to kill me and I’m not putting our wean in danger. Your mum will have to come to us to visit.”

  “That’s fine by me. I never want to see the bloody place again. I’ve been trying to convince Mum to move but she won’t budge. She can’t bear to leave that house.”

  Freya’s eyes shone with happiness. “It feels like some sort of evil curse has been lifted. Everything will be okay from now on, I can feel it.”

  “You’re right babe. This is our time,” Craig smiled before kissing her.

  Nora burst into the pub. “I’m going to be a grandma,” she cried.

  The residents of Blair Dubh got to their feet and released a cheer.

  “So the lad finally did it,” smiled Gordon. “Whatever you want Nora, on the house.”