Chapter 15
Vincent looked up to meet Catherine knowing eyes, and smiled at her.
"You were right, my love! About everything."
She giggled. "Will you put that in writing?"
He laid a soft kiss on her lips.
"Anything you want, my Catherine!"
"A... hem!"
They reluctantly left each other's eyes, remembering they were not alone in the chamber.
"May we be the first ones to offer our congratulations to the new parents?" Peter asked with a mischievous smile.
He bent to kiss Catherine's cheek and lightly caressed the baby's tiny head. "Way to go, girl! I'm so happy for the two, no, the three of you! And I'm sure your parents are, too! " he added with misty eyes.
She nodded with a tight throat. "Thank you, Peter! Having your support through it all made me feel like having theirs, too!"
Father hugged Vincent. "Congratulations, son! Maybe one day you can forgive me for telling you for so long that all this would never be possible. Believe me, I have never felt so happy to be proven wrong!"
Vincent grinned, displaying all his teeth. "Maybe I should ask you to put that in writing, too?"
"What, and ruin my reputation?" Father retorted with a wry smile.
Lena and Mary also offered hugs and wishes, then Lena addressed Father. "Shall I go and tell everyone? They're all waiting!"
Father smiled. "I'll take care of that!"
He tapped Pascal's name on a pipe, followed by a series of short codes no one in the chamber understood but apparently Pascal did, for soon after the message began sounding, loud and clear, in all the tunnels. "Catherine and Vincent have a little boy, the portrait of his father! All three of them are well!"
Vincent's sensitive ears perceived it first, then everyone in the chamber could hear as the rumbling sound of happy exclamations, of laughter and cheers, swelled to fill the corridors and chambers. The whole community was noisily rejoicing at the news, and it went straight to Vincent's heart that the birth of one like himself could be the reason for such joy. It made him understand at last, and accept deep inside, that he was loved not in spite of his differences but for all that he was. And so would his son.
He turned to Father, his gaze filled with wonder. "Everyone knew..."
"Yes," the older man replied "And everyone hoped. Pascal made me learn those codes weeks ago, making it very clear that it was out of question that I let anyone but him make that particular announcement to our community!"
Well-wishers began to gather at the entrance of the hospital chamber, hoping to get a glimpse at the new tunnel-dweller, but Mary kept them out.
"Please give Catherine time to recover!"
"Thank them all for me, please, Mary!" the new mother said. The baby was now through with his first meal and lay quietly asleep in her arms. Vincent could feel her weariness as she lay back against the pillow.
"You need to rest, now, Catherine. I'll stay with you."
"Maybe she would rest better in her own bed." Father said. He briefly examined her. "Everything seems to be going fine, I see no reason to keep her here any longer. And should a problem arise, we'll be close by."
Mary gently took the sleeping baby from Catherine so that Vincent could lift her in his arms, wrapped in a blanket, and they left the chamber followed by Lena who carried Catherine's clothes.
The tunnels outside were still full of people, who promptly made way with awed whispers and even a few quiet cheers, craning their necks to get a sight of the newborn.
"Vincent, what are you doing?" Mary suddenly protested on seeing him turn into the wrong tunnel.
"Just taking Catherine to her chamber, Mary." he answered quietly.
Mary first shook her head in wonder but obediently followed and finally smiled her understanding as Vincent carried his beloved to his own chamber, to tenderly lay her in his own bed. "I'll be right back!" she said, handing the baby to its mother before exiting the chamber with Lena.
Vincent smiled down at the lovely picture offered by Catherine and their son, in his bed, bathed in the golden, dancing light of his familiar stained glass window. He could hardly believe it was not a dream.
"Would you like to hold him, Vincent?" Catherine asked softly. "You haven't had a chance yet!"
With an eager nod he reverently took the small bundle from her, cradling it safely in the crook of his great arm, and settled himself on the edge of the bed to get better acquainted with his son. How small and light he was, yet what a huge place he already took, that tiny being he was responsible for bringing into the world.
Vincent studied the baby's features, first dwelling on the differences that would set the child apart. Will you ever forgive me for that, my son? Then the tiny flat nose quivered as the baby's cleft mouth made faint sucking motions, and the brooding father found himself grinning from ear to ear with love and smug pride. His son was just beautiful, absolutely adorable!
Vincent raised his eyes to meet Catherine's amused gaze.
"Yes, he's beautiful, isn't he? Just as I knew he would be. Like his father." she said.
And, at that minute, he believed her. In her loving eyes, on his son's sweet face, Vincent finally got a glimpse of his own beauty. Awed, he bent to lay a small kiss on her lips.
"Thank you, my love!" he said softly. "Thank you for your patience, and your trust. Thank you for believing, thank you for loving me, and for..." his hand rose to gently caress the baby's cheek "... the most wonderful gift a man could dream of."
"Thank you, Vincent! If only just for existing, just for being you!" she fervently answered. "I must also thank you for your perseverance. After all you fell in love with me... twice over!" she added with a crooked grin. And thank you for this wonderful and... so very timely gift. Do you know what day it is today, Vincent?"
"It's April tw... oh, Catherine!"
"Yes, three years tonight, my love!" she beamed.
Her eyes darted to the table where Lena had put her clothes. Following her gaze Vincent rose to get the pouch. "Your mother's rose! You kept it with you all that time."
She took it from his hand and opened it. "Not just the rose."
Vincent's eyes filled with tears as he contemplated their carefully chosen first anniversary gifts lying together in her palm, those small but meaningful tokens of their love that she had kept close to her heart for so many months, patiently waiting for the day when they would see the light again.
Both their hands trembled as he took the crystal and she helped him slip it around her neck. Then he bent his head so that she could put the pouch back where it belonged.
"Happy anniversary, my love!" she whispered.
He was about to kiss her when a small crowd suddenly invaded the chamber. Mary and Lena led the troops, carrying a big basket containing Catherine's and the baby's things. Behind them came Jamie and Mouse with the cradle, and William closed the march, a big tray in his hands.
Catherine and Vincent exchanged a wistful but smiling look, remembering that they had not gone through it all alone. All along they'd had the loving support of their family, and it was only normal that those who had shared their sorrow and their hopes would now want to share their joy.
Mouse and Jamie put the cradle down near the bed and watched with pride as Vincent carefully lay the baby in it.
"Just right!" Mouse beamed. "Little Vincent in Vincent's cradle!"
"Shh, Mouse, don't wake him up!" Jamie whispered, smiling down at the sleeping baby. "He's really beautiful, Vincent! Just like you!"
He looked at her sharply. So Catherine wasn't the only one who...
William's for once carefully restrained voice interrupted his thought. "Except that you were a tiny, scruffy little thing. This one definitely isn't! Just look at those cheeks!"
"Thanks to you and your marvelous food, William!" Catherine said.
"Speaking of which... I've brought you some tea! Not the same as before, this one is for nursing mothers, to help milk along. And soup for you and Vincent. You both need to regain your strength!"
As soon as the tea and soup had been swallowed Mary shooed everyone out of the chamber to examine Catherine once more and help her into a fresh gown.
"Now you rest, dear! Your child will wake you up soon enough. Be sure to call me when he does, I'll come and help."
Vincent closed the entrance drape of his chamber behind her and slowly walked back to the bed, letting out a sigh of relief that made Catherine giggle.
"Alone at last! Not that I don't love them all, but... now that I have you back, all of you, I feel selfish! I want to have you all to myself!"
"And I you, Catherine." he admitted, sitting down on the bed to take her in his arms, feeling a deep poignant joy as she tucked her head under his chin in her own very special way.
"How could I forget thee?" he softly wondered.
She shook her head. "You didn't! Not here" she added, laying her hand on his heart. "Here you knew me all along."
They both felt it then, the fierce current of dark pride rising from deep inside him in silent answer.
Catherine's eyes widened and she pulled away slightly to look up at him. "Yes, of course! You did it all!" She raised a hand to check Vincent's shocked denial. "Yes you did! Not consciously, you couldn't have. It had to be done at a much deeper, more primal level."
"Catherine!" Vincent was clearly distressed now and she gently caressed his cheek to reassure him before going on, her eyes locked on his to impress her message. "I know you loathe that part of yourself but remember I told you once that it's not your enemy. It's a primal force, but not one of destruction! I see it more as a force of survival, one that saved our lives more than once in the last years. And at that time when both our lives were at stake it took over, as it always does, and you did the only thing that would keep us safe, anchor us together to life. You fulfilled our dream. You made love to me, and gave me your child."
Vincent nodded, reluctantly acknowledging the truth of her words, but still somewhat puzzled. "But, Catherine, why...?"
"Why did you lose your memories? Vincent, you needed to protect yourself while you healed! You blocked out the very memory of that violence that had driven you to madness." She lowered her gaze "And to do so you had to block out your memories of me. Because our relationship had been the direct cause for most of those acts of violence that nearly destroyed you. All my fault."
"Catherine..." he began to protest, but she didn't let him go on.
"Sshh, my love. We'll talk about that later. What matters is that you did it, Vincent! You found a way to give us a new chance and the time together we needed to make our dream come true."
He shook his head. "But at what cost! Catherine, how could I hurt you so much?"
She smiled sadly. "To avoid hurting me even more. Losing you would have killed me! At least I knew you were safe! And you didn't leave me alone, you had given me a reason to hope, and fight." They both looked at the cradle where their son was peacefully sleeping, and smiled at each other.
"Yes," Vincent whispered.
"He was worth it, worth every minute of it! Yes, it was hard, at the beginning but from the moment I learned I was pregnant and made the decision to go Below I began to believe that it was all meant to be. That everything would be all right." She grinned impishly. "And it looked as if you'd been impatiently waiting for me! I was determined to put my hands back on you as fast as possible, but I hadn't dreamed that you'd take the lead as you did. A mere twenty-four hours after my arrival you were reading to me right here at the Falls, and it didn't take you much more than a week to invite me to a concert! You knew me, Vincent, and you knew all along where you were taking us! All your fears hadn't disappeared, but you moved through them with courage, and care. Toward love..." She leaned forward to lay a soft kiss on his lips. "Thank you!"
Vincent was about to protest but a wave of fierce, smug joy rose from deep inside him in echo to Catherine's words and he gladly let it fill him, accepted the rightness of it. With a soft purring growl he kissed Catherine back briefly but thoroughly, offering her all that he was, without holding anything back.
No words were needed and when their lips parted Catherine nodded at him with knowing eyes, her elated joy flooding through their connection.
They held each other's gaze for a few more seconds, until Vincent came back to more mundane matters.
"Catherine, you really should rest now. Our son might wake up soon and you'll need your strength. I'll stay with you!"
She complied with a grateful smile and lay back on her pillow. By the time he finished tucking the quilt around her, she was sound asleep. Vincent kissed her lips softly and drew his big armchair close to the bed.
As he sat there, standing watch over his most cherished treasures in the very chamber where it had all started so many months ago, Vincent fully realized the magnitude of the changes that had occurred since the first time Catherine had lain in his bed. The aloneness he had thought would be his lifelong companion had miraculously come to an end. He now had a beloved woman at his side, a child they would love and raise together, and maybe some day other children. He was aware his new life would change his status in the community and his relationship with all its members, including Father. After all, he too was a father now!
Vincent smiled to himself. It was in his own heart that the most important changes had taken place. Never had he felt so confident in the future and he knew that most of that confidence came from a part of his being he had once hated and fought but never would any more. Fighting against himself had nearly caused his death, and he wouldn't have survived but for the will and strength he had found in those once fearsome and loathed realms of his soul.
One hand holding Catherine's, the other one on their son's cradle, Vincent let that strength flood through him, fierce yet also calm and sure, filling him with warmth, making him whole.
Hello Darkness my old friend!