Posted on Sunday, 26 December 1999

Mary Heighton reached for the nearest chair and sat down, placing her hands on her pregnant belly. She glanced up to see her husband, Elliot, grinning at her. Mary gave him a scowl and grimaced as her child decided to kick.

"Don't even look at me like that, Elliot. If you laugh at me one more time, I just might decide to leave you."

"A runaway pregnant woman. I think I would like to see that." he laughed, getting up out of his chair and crossing his study to stand in front of her.

"Ooof," she stated as the baby kicked again. "I think it's dreadfully unfair the baby had to come near Christmas. It's always been my favorite season and now I cannot do anything!"

Elliot grinned and shook his head at her complaints. His wife was not usually one to complain, but in the past eight months, he thought his wife had been turned into Caroline Bingley. He knew Mary was stressed. If she had known she was going to be carrying their child, she would never have volunteered for Christmas to be at Cedar Hill, but she had decided to be daring long before their joyous news.

"Did you miss your walk today, little one?" he teased. She was not in the mood for his teasing, and that was why he did it.

"Stop it. I don't want to even think about a walk. The thought makes me cringe. You can go, you are not as large as me." after that emphatic speech, she glanced precariously at the size of her belly.

"You're beautiful, Mary," he said solemnly.

"You have never been good at lying, El," she said, finally giving him the smile he had wanted from her.

"Thank you, my dear." he gave her a kiss on her nose.

Just as Elliot had sat down to kiss his wife properly, the door knocked. Elliot sighed.

"Yes?" he asked.

A maid came in to announce Mr. and Mrs. Darcy and their son, Peter. Mary heaved herself off the chair and grabbed her husband's arm. As they started out the door, Elliot looked at his little wife and smiled.

"Let the games begin."

Four hours and twenty three minutes later, Mary wished she had never heard of Christmas. Mrs. Bennet was giving her tips about mothering every five seconds, Mr. Bennet kept pestering her about her newest book, and Kitty was moping because she was away from her fiancee`. Two year old Peter Darcy and two year old Eric Bingley were fighting over something or another and Jane and Lizzy were unsuccessfully trying to quiet them. While she was corned by her mother and father, Mary threw a helpless look at Elliot who was having a fun time talking with Darcy and Bingley.

The dinner went horribly. Eric was allergic to carrots and so could not eat two of the dishes. However, he decided they looked good and decided to taste them anyway. He had only gotten one small bite in, when his mother caught him. In trying to stop him, she stood up and knocked over the gravy bowl. Not only did the gravy spill everywhere, the dish that Elliot's aunt had given them for their marriage broke. Jane was aghast and apologized profusely, but one could not stay mad at Jane for very long.

They all decided to keep the cake until later, much to the great disappointment of the two young boys. Elliot led Mary into the sitting room where he sat her down into her favorite chair and then pulled another up to sit next to her.

"It has not been that bad, dear." Elliot told his wife, successfully reading her mind.

Mary gave him a look that suggested she thought he was crazy.

"At least the tree is still up," Elliot pointed out.

Mary realized this was true. She had worked very hard to get that tree looking just right. Elliot had been out for three hours searching for the perfect one (he would not let her go out because of her condition, the silly man) and when he found it, he had to cut it down and take it all the way back to the house himself. They had both decorated it. The candles on it filled the whole room with light and the ivy around the tree seemed to make the room more festive and cheery. They were proud of their first Christmas tree.

"Have you thought of any names yet, dear?" Mr. Bennet asked.

Mary looked at Elliot and smiled. "Marybeth Jane if it is a girl, and Morgan Thomas if it is a boy."

"That's very nice, Ma-" her father started.

"Morgan! Marybeth!" Mrs. Bennet cried, forcing everyone to cringe and try their hardest not to hold their ears.

"What kind of a name is Morgan?!" the screeching continued.

Elliot answered for her. "My grandfather was named Morgan and he was a very fine gentleman. Thomas is named after Mr. Bennet. We wanted to honor them. Marybeth Jane, is a combination of Mary, Elizabeth and Jane. " Thankfully, Elliot was not mad. He had a rather short temper with her mother (well, shorter than everyone elses!), but he did not seem too angry today. He gave Mary a look and said with finality, "Those are the names we have chosen."

Mrs. Bennet harumphed and moved over to talk to Darcy and Bingley, who gave each other fearful looks. They tried to get away, but she was upon them too quickly.

"You won't name your next child Morgan, will you, Mr. Darcy?" she asked quickly, shooting Elliot a hateful look.

"You will have to excuse her, Elliot. She expects one of her grandchildren to be named after her. How's business?" Mr. Bennet asked, interested.

Mary tried to listen to what her husband was saying, but the incredible pain she was feeling was too overbearing. Her child had never kicked like this before. It felt like the child was doing somersaults in her womb. She silently told him or her to stop and then gripped her stomach. Elliot had noticed her discomfort while speaking with her father, and looked at her with concern.

"Are you all right, Mary?"

She nodded, her eyes closed with pain. "I believe it is something I ate. Do not be alarmed."

She was in such pain she did not even notice when Peter Darcy decided to climb the Christmas tree. She heard her sister scream and Darcy yell, but by the time she opened her eyes, all she saw was her tree falling to the floor. Mary stared dumbly as the men put out all the candles. She wanted to cry. Her beautiful tree! She looked over at Elliot to see his despair also, and instead saw him grinning.

"Are you all right there, little Peter?" he asked his nephew.

Peter was angry he had not been able to climb it and started to sulk. "I not little. I big!" He started screaming 'I BIG!' over and over until Darcy took pity on everyone else and took him to another part of the house. When Peter got going, his screaming could match Mrs. Bennet's...almost.

"Elliot, please just have them bring in the cake."

The sooner this night get's over, the better. This is the worst Christmas ever...and it's all my fault!

She felt better as the cake was brought in, carried by their cook. Marta and Mary had slaved over the dessert for weeks. Mary had picked out all the ingredients and described exactly what she wanted it to be like. She had even helped Marta cook it, even though Elliot insisted she should not.

At that moment, Peter and Darcy came back into the room. Eric Bingley wanted to see if his cousin was okay and ran across the room to meet him. Marta did not take notice of the child until he was underfoot, and then the weight of the cake threw her off balance. Mary watched as she tried vainly to stay aright. Just when it seemed she would, the cake fell onto the ground. Mary, however, did not care. She was hurting too much to care at all. She gave a cry of pain out at the exact time the cake dropped.

Elliot went to her side. "It is just a cake, dear. Do not worry."

Mary gasped with pain. "It is not the cake, dear. I think it is the baby."

Elliot's eyes grew wide and he grabbed her arm. "THE BABY! BUT THE BABY IS NOT DUE FOR ANOTHER THREE WEEKS! TELL HIM TO STAY IN THERE!"

Mary unhooked his painful hold on her arm. "Settle down, El. Trust me, I would tell her to stay in if I could!"

Jane and Elizabeth gave each other knowing looks. Darcy and Bingley looked at each other once and silently worked out who would get the doctor. Darcy grabbed his coat and headed out the door without a word. Mary screamed in pain. Elizabeth and Jane took charge.

"Elliot, pick her up. We'll take her to her room." they instructed.

Elliot scooped his wife into his arms and started to carry her up the stairs.

"Darling, could you please stop hitting me?" he asked, as they ascended onto the next floor.

"No! You did this to me, you oaf!" she stopped and then screamed, "Get this thing out of me! Get it out!"

Jane and Elizabeth quickly started to usher Elliot out of the room and sent him downstairs. He started to protest, but knew it was not proper. He gave her a kiss on the cheek, and she tried to slap him. "I love you, Mary."

"I hate you!" Mary screamed, as another contraction pain hit her.

Downstairs, Mrs. Bennet was running around in a craze. "Why did Mary do this on Christmas? She ruined our party!"

Mr. Bennet saw the look in his son-in-law's face and quickly took his wife into another room. He did not want any blood shed. Every scream Mary gave out frightened Elliot all the more. Charles tried to comfort him, but he waved him off. Peter and Eric tried to play with their favorite uncle, but he was too preoccupied. They wanted to play and hide-and-seek, but every time they hid, Uncle Elliot forgot to find them. Within twenty minutes, the doctor came in behind Darcy.

Without greeting anyone, he went right upstairs, directed by Mary's agonizing screams. They waited and waited. Several hours went by and still no one came down. Mrs. Bennet and Kitty had put the children to bed and then had gone themselves. The men opened up the drinks and tried to get Elliot to drink some, but he would have nothing of it. Finally, near midnight, Jane came down the stairs looking frazzled and tired.

Elliot rushed to her side. "How is Mary?"

Jane gave him a small smile. "She is doing very well. Dr. Jones said that it would take only a little while longer."

Jane went back upstairs and then Elliot returned to his pacing. By that time, Bingley and Darcy were dead drunk. They were both lying in their chairs and were laughing at nothing. It was too quiet. Elliot had much preferred when Mary was screaming. At least he knew then that she was alive. As Bingley and Darcy started laughing again, Elliot started to go crazy. He did not think he could handle anymore. Just as he was going to do something rash, Jane came down the stairs with a huge smile on her face.

"Elliot, you may go see her now. You have a beautiful new daughter."

Elliot flew to his feet and bounded up the stairs, taking them two or three at a time. He thanked the doctor and then rushed into Mary's room. He stopped as quickly as he had come in. What he saw made his heart swell with love. His wife lay in her bed, looking rosy and happy, holding a small bundle that was cooing. Mary looked up and saw her husband. She waved him closer.

Elliot kissed his wife on the forehead and told her she looked beautiful. He was scared to look at his daughter. As soon as he did, he fell in love. She was so tiny. He touched one of her little hands and she gripped tight.

"She has a nice hold," he said proudly. Mary smiled.

As he watched, his daughter gave a huge yawn and then smacked her lips a few times.

"She has green eyes, just like you," Mary whispered.

"She has your hair," Elliot whispered back.

Elliot sat down on the bed and kissed his wife again. "I think I have the perfect name for her."

Mary raised her eyebrow in an unasked question.

"Noelle." he said, smiling as his little daughter began to suck on his finger.

"Noelle," Mary murmured, looking at their daughter, "Why I believe that's perfect. She was almost born after Christmas, but I think the time was quarter to twelve."

"This is the best Christmas isn't it Mary, even with the tree and cake?" Elliot asked.

Mary gave him a radiant smile. "With the cake and everything. I love you, Elliot."

"I love you, too, Mary."

They stared at their sleeping daughter for a few more moments until Elliot broke the silence.

"Merry Christmas, Mary."