Victoria Thompson: Texas Blonde

Felicity lay perfectly still, as if to do so would ward off the ferocity of the next contraction, but it came just the same, wrenching and writhing its way through her body. As she strained against it, she felt a gush of fluid between her legs, soaking her and the bedclothes.

"My… my water… broke," she managed to gasp when the pain subsided. He hastily snatched up some towels, threw back the bedclothes, and began to mop up the moisture as best he could. But distracted by something far more important, Felicity was only vaguely aware of his efforts. "Joshua, the baby's coming," she said in a voice that reflected her bewilderment.

"I know, honey," he soothed her. "I'll get the doctor and everything will be fine."

"No, Joshua," she corrected him urgently. "I mean, the baby is coming now!"

She knew he didn't believe her. She didn't believe it herself, but then another contraction started and she surrendered to the irresistible desire to push. It couldn't be, she knew that, and yet it was. She felt her body opening, spreading, and she lifted her knees to accommodate as she continued to bear down.

"Lissy, what are you…?" Joshua's voice seemed to come from far away. And then he said, "It's coming!" and she knew he had seen what she had sensed.

As the contraction subsided, Felicity fell back, panting and exhausted, but Joshua would not let her rest. "Just once more, Lissy. Come on, girl, you can do it!"

Of course she could do it, she thought with irritation. What was he yelling about? But before she could ask, her body convulsed again, propelling her child into its father's eager hands.

As one in a dream, Felicity stared at the writhing creature Joshua was holding up for her to see. The tiny, wrinkled face screwed up in outrage and then let out a bloodcurdling wail. It was the most beautiful sound Felicity had ever heard.

"Joshua! He's alive!" she cried, laughing and weeping at the same time.

"No, she's alive," he corrected, having noticed a detail Felicity had missed. He was laughing, too, and his eyes were also moist.

"Give her to me!" Felicity commanded, reaching for the infant.

Being very careful of the cord, Josh laid the baby on her mother's stomach so Felicity could touch her precious treasure. Only as he watched her lovingly stroke the tiny body did he begin to realize the magnitude of what had just happened.

The baby was born. Felicity was alive. The baby was alive. It was all over. Less than five minutes had passed since she had awakened him.

"My God," he murmured, and then he realized that he should probably be doing something. The doctor. He should probably get the doctor. He hastily pulled the bedclothes up to cover Felicity and the baby. "I'm going to send for the doctor. Will you be all right until I get back?" he asked.

Felicity smiled blissfully as she soothed her baby. "Of course," she said.

Josh hurried to the door, but when he threw it open, he almost collided with half the residents of the Maxwell mansion.

"What's going on?" Henry Maxwell demanded as he hastily tied the robe of his dressing gown. "I thought I heard a scream."

"I did hear a scream!" Isabel cried, clutching the lapels of her pink silk robe.

Bellwood, half-dressed, wrung his hands. "Sir, would you like me to…"

"Felicity had the baby," Josh announced to all of them. "It's a girl."

Isabel promptly fainted.

Dr. Strong shook his head as he packed his instruments away. "Did I happen to mention that second births are often easier than first births?" he asked with a quizzical grin.

Reluctantly, Felicity lifted her gaze from the sleeping infant that lay beside her in the bed. She nodded her reply to his question. Her eyes were dancing, but she managed not to grin back.

"Well, young lady, I want you to understand that they are rarely this much easier," he explained with mock sternness.

Felicity nodded again, very much aware that she had experienced a small miracle. This time she did not bother to hide her triumphant grin. Fondly, she returned her gaze to her new daughter. "She's beautiful, isn't she?"

"She's a fine, healthy baby," Dr. Strong demurred. "And that's quite a head of hair she has."

Felicity lovingly stroked the downy black hair her child had inherited from Joshua. "Dr. Strong?" she asked.

"Yes?"

"Will I…" She hesitated, uncertain over exactly how to phrase the question. "Will all my children be born this easily now?"

Dr. Strong considered. "Well, sometimes there are complications that no one can foresee, but I think it is safe to predict that from now on your biggest worry will be staying close to the house during the last month of your confinement."

Before Felicity could respond, someone knocked on the bedroom door. "Come in," she called.

Joshua did so, a worried frown on his face. "Is everything all right?"

"Everything is just fine," Dr. Strong repeated. "And congratulations, Mr. Logan. I don't believe I had a chance to say that earlier in all the excitement."

"Thank you," Josh said, shaking Dr. Strong's hand. "And thank you for looking after her all these months."

"I did very little," Dr. Strong replied with a smile. "And I must say, I'm glad my services were not required here at the end. You and your wife handled everything beautifully."

After Josh and Felicity had thanked him yet again, Dr. Strong took his leave, promising to check back with them in the morning. When they were alone, Josh moved over next to the bed, where he could get another look at his new daughter.

"She's awfully little," he noticed, patting the small bottom.

"She's even bigger than Caleb Joshua was," Felicity said, growing solemn at the sad memory of her beautiful son.

For a moment they gazed at this living baby and remembered the one they had lost. Then Josh realized the importance of what she had said. "Did you say this baby is bigger?"

Felicity nodded, her eyes shining with the renewed hope Dr. Strong's prediction had given her. "Do you know what this means, Joshua? This means we have our life back!"

At his puzzled frown, she explained. "Don't you see? We don't have to be afraid anymore. We can love each other just like we did in the beginning, and we don't have to be afraid that I'll have a baby. I won't die, and we won't lose any more children, either. Oh, Joshua, do you understand? Our life will be just like it was before!"

But Josh stared down at her radiant expression and shook his head. "I don't want our life to be just like it was before, Lissy."

Felicity stared back at him in horror, her hope snuffed. Instinctively, she drew her child closer to her side as if to protect her from whatever awful thing Joshua was going to say. "What do you mean?" she asked warily.

Seeing Felicity's reaction, Josh hastened to reassure her, sitting down on the edge of the bed and reaching out to tenderly stroke her cheek. "What I mean is that I want things to be different for you. When I think back over our marriage, the only time I remember you being really happy was when you first came here, to Philadelphia."

"That's not true!" Felicity protested, but he shook his head.

"It is true. You were never sure of your place as my wife, and that's my fault. You tried so hard to please me, and I never told you how much you had succeeded. I never even told you how much I loved you. And then, when you lost the baby…"

"Don't, Joshua!" she cried, unwilling to let the memory of those awful days mar the joy of the future.

"And then you came here," he continued relentlessly. "You seemed to forget your unhappiness. You were like a different person here, but I got jealous. That's why I wanted to take you away, back home to Texas, where you'd be all mine again. Leaving you here was one of the hardest things I ever had to do."