Chapter Text
No more children.
Arthur sat down heavily on the sofa and pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes, letting the news sink in. Of course he'd known that Tess' last pregnancy hadn't gone well, she'd been confined to bed rest for the last two months of it, and was still there now even with Annie almost two weeks old. He pulled his hands from his face and tried to listen as the doc explained why having another baby would be such a risk to Tess' life. Unfortunately, Arthur had a hard enough time following medical jargon when he was clear headed, and right now his mind was reeling, but he got the point - no more kids.
"...so she could probably start getting up and about now," Arthur forced himself back to paying attention to what the doc was saying, "but I want to stress that she needs to go slow, and ease back into her regular life. I don't want to hear about her out there wrangling her sheep for at least a month, and then only if I say so."
Arthur groaned, "Oh Lord. She ain't gonna want ta hear that, she's been itchin' to get outta that bed ever since you said she had ta stay in it."
Dr Owens gave Arthur a sympathetic smile and pat on the shoulder as he made his way to the front door, "I know, son, and that's why I'm leaving it to you to deliver the news. Good luck," and with a tip of his hat he was gone.
"Coward," Arthur muttered as the door swung closed. He rose to put on the kettle for tea (he wasn't walking into this conversation without some sort of peace offering) and, as he waited for it to heat, Arthur looked around at his little home and the life he and Tess had built inside it.
Open to the main living room, the kitchen area was bright but small - barely big enough for the large round table that sat in the corner beneath the windows. Tess thought him extravagant, but Arthur had insisted on the table. Once getting past his initial panic at being a father again, he had dreamt of big family dinners with himself, Tess, and at least four or five kids. Arthur sighed sadly, looking over the chairs now destined to remain empty, until his eyes reached the last chair and he couldn't help the small smile that crept onto his face. There laying on the seat was one of Bessie's dolls, forgotten when Tilly had arrived to take her and her new baby sister up to the main house to be spoiled by their grandfathers while the doctor examined their mama.
Crossing to the table, Arthur picked up the toy. It was just a simple dolly that Tess had knitted from yarn dyed pink, wearing a little dress made from fabric Arthur recognized as being from one of his old ruined shirts. It was nothing fancy, but Bessie loved that little doll with all her heart. Arthur's smile grew wider at the memory of how his daughter's face had lit up when Tess had presented her with the toy.
Arthur took the doll and moved to the bookcase in the living room. There he placed it on the lowest shelf, along with Bessie's picture books, the little wooden horse Uncle Charles had carved for her, the fancy new package of crayons Grandpa Dutch had bought to spoil her with (Arthur was itching to play with those himself, if he's being honest), and the harmonica Arthur still wanted to smack John for giving her (Daniel would definitely be getting a drum this Christmas.) His eyes ranged over Bessie's little treasures and as he imagined Annie's own eventually growing the pile, Arthur felt such a swell of love and pride in his heart that he thought his chest just might burst from it.
Tess is right, he thought, I am a silly man.
Perhaps he would have liked a large brood, but Arthur had two beautiful children and an amazing wife who's health he would never dream of threatening. It was already more than he deserved, or had ever imagined he could have. How dare he ask for more?
Besides, he chuckled to himself, if I want more kids around, I imagine Abigail'd be more'n happy to loan a couple out.
Just then the teapot came to a boil and the smile fell from Arthur's face - shit - he still had to tell Tess she had to take it easy for another month. Arthur put an extra lump of sugar in the tea, swallowed hard, and headed down the hall.