Chapter 119 - Pregnancy Troubles

Lizzie had been surprised to find out she was pregnant, but was doing her best to enjoy this and also enjoy being newly married.

Lizzie was worried about her career, she would need to take time out just as her name was getting known. On reflection she wondered if she could turn the situation to aid her celebrity status. She spent a lot of time with Natalie Westgate and when Natalie announced she was pregnant too, Lizzie hoped the press scrutiny would cover them both. 

At first it seemed to work, but then the press began to look for a new angle and they found one in Lizzie's cousin Spock had just had a little baby girl called Elisabeth. 

The River family had always maintained that Spock had a very rare genetic disorder that gave him green skin (rather than the truth that his Dad had been abducted by aliens).

However the reporters had been digging and now were reporting that they were unable to find when Spock had been adopted and after talking to some medical experts they were throwing doubt onto the explanation of a genetic disorder.

They didn't stop there, they then were looking into Lizzie's own very red hair. Lizzie had inherited the red hair from her grandmother Freya River.Freya had been Merlin's (Lizzie's grandfather) imaginary friend, who had turned into a real little girl and Merlin had married her. Again there were no records of Freya birth or adoption and the press enjoyed suggesting more and more outlandish ideas as to why their hair was so red and where this strange little girl had come from.

Suddenly people were giving her funny looks and calling her a freak.It made going out very stressful.There was also a discussion as to what her child might look like when it was born. All in all with pregnancy hormones as well Lizzie found the whole thing very upsetting.

Things have calmed down a bit by the end of her pregnancy and she had started being able to enjoy her pregnancy and look forward to meeting her baby.

One very positive thing was that Natalie Westgate had stuck with Lizzie. She had showed her very public support calling the rumours ridiculous and praised Lizzie's acting talent. Lizzie knew she had a true friend in Natalie.

Before she knew it, it was time.

Lizzie was happy to give birth to a healthy baby boy and name him James River. Harold had changed his name by deed poll before the marriage to River as he understood how important it was for Lizzie to remain Lizzie River.

James was bald so nothing was yet know about his future hair colour, however he did have his Dad's pale skin colour. Lizzie felt guilty that she was happy to see James looking so like his father, but after all the horrible things said about her red hair she was just hopeful that his appearance would do nothing to rekindle them. She was glad to focus on being a Mum and was wondering whether she would ever want to be an actress again after her experiences over the past year.