(no subject)
It was quite a nice hospital, thought Mr. and Mrs. Young. Dr. Lord, who had been only too happy to show them around, agreed. The facility was well funded, and the equipment top-notch. She had promised their health and safety.
Adam had nodded and smiled, stating that as long as the Chattering Order of Saint Beryl had nothing to do with the place, he was content.
It was then that Alanna had an unexplained coughing fit.
-- -- --
Alanna always thought that the time between first labor pain and delivery would be unbearable in its length. In actuality, it happened surprisingly fast.
No sooner had they stepped outside the bar than they were filling out paperwork, and Alanna gave Adam a suspicious look that he studiously avoided. Would you rather have taken a taxi, his silence seemed to ask. Alanna shrugged and watched Lucy sip a much needed cup of tea.
Raven's hand was still clutched firmly in hers, and although he had not asked for it back, it was impossible not to notice that one of the babies in a nearby poster was now sporting a mustache.
Paperwork and surgery preparation complete, Dr. Lord delivered bumbling reassurances that did the job simply because they were heartfelt. All business in the operating room, she explained each step until Alanna asked her not to, choosing instead to keep her eyes on Adam and pretend he didn't look a little green around the edges.
"It's a boy!" The baby's cry seemed a little timid, a little angry at being moved, and Alanna announced, "Thom."
Next, a baby girl. She gave a token protest, as if declaring her presence to the world, then settled down. Neither mother nor father noticed the tears streaming down their faces.
"He's not breathing," a nurse murmured beyond the drapery. Biting her lip until it bled, Alanna let loose a creative curse and demanded to know what was going on. Adam winced at her grip.
Dr. Lord called out numbers and a series of complicated words, working too quickly for explanations. Alanna's eyes met Adam's, and although not a word was spoken, a great deal was said. "He's very small," the doctor finally gritted out.
Eventually, an eternity later, a plaintive wail echoed off multiple stainless steel surfaces. "Now he's breathing," Adam whispered, forcing the words past the relief clogging his throat.
But really, it all happened so fast. Alanna sobbed with a reckless smile that made her look like she could take on the world. Adam rather thought she could, and grinning, bent to kiss her forehead. The whole room was lighter somehow, and while Dr. Lord was busy stitching, the nurse lowered the drapery so the new parents could get a look at their second son.
Alanna didn't see much beyond the blood and needles. She fainted.
-- -- --
"Mr. Young? Shouldn't we wait for your wife to awaken before you select names and sign the birth certificates?"
"...No, that's okay. We've discussed them."
"Very well. Thom Alan, Grace Thea and James Brian, was it?"
"Yes."
"Well done. Those are lovely names. You wouldn't believe what some people come up with."
"Oh, trust me when I say I might have an idea."
-- -- --
At the edges of consciousness, Alanna hears a slow, steady beep. Beyond that, voices and laughter, and footsteps echoing down a corridor. She opens her eyes slowly, licking her lips, and smiles.
She can see her feet at the end of the bed without leaning sideways.
"Oh good," she says in a pleased sort of voice, "I'm still alive."
Adam had nodded and smiled, stating that as long as the Chattering Order of Saint Beryl had nothing to do with the place, he was content.
It was then that Alanna had an unexplained coughing fit.
-- -- --
Alanna always thought that the time between first labor pain and delivery would be unbearable in its length. In actuality, it happened surprisingly fast.
No sooner had they stepped outside the bar than they were filling out paperwork, and Alanna gave Adam a suspicious look that he studiously avoided. Would you rather have taken a taxi, his silence seemed to ask. Alanna shrugged and watched Lucy sip a much needed cup of tea.
Raven's hand was still clutched firmly in hers, and although he had not asked for it back, it was impossible not to notice that one of the babies in a nearby poster was now sporting a mustache.
Paperwork and surgery preparation complete, Dr. Lord delivered bumbling reassurances that did the job simply because they were heartfelt. All business in the operating room, she explained each step until Alanna asked her not to, choosing instead to keep her eyes on Adam and pretend he didn't look a little green around the edges.
"It's a boy!" The baby's cry seemed a little timid, a little angry at being moved, and Alanna announced, "Thom."
Next, a baby girl. She gave a token protest, as if declaring her presence to the world, then settled down. Neither mother nor father noticed the tears streaming down their faces.
"He's not breathing," a nurse murmured beyond the drapery. Biting her lip until it bled, Alanna let loose a creative curse and demanded to know what was going on. Adam winced at her grip.
Dr. Lord called out numbers and a series of complicated words, working too quickly for explanations. Alanna's eyes met Adam's, and although not a word was spoken, a great deal was said. "He's very small," the doctor finally gritted out.
Eventually, an eternity later, a plaintive wail echoed off multiple stainless steel surfaces. "Now he's breathing," Adam whispered, forcing the words past the relief clogging his throat.
But really, it all happened so fast. Alanna sobbed with a reckless smile that made her look like she could take on the world. Adam rather thought she could, and grinning, bent to kiss her forehead. The whole room was lighter somehow, and while Dr. Lord was busy stitching, the nurse lowered the drapery so the new parents could get a look at their second son.
Alanna didn't see much beyond the blood and needles. She fainted.
-- -- --
"Mr. Young? Shouldn't we wait for your wife to awaken before you select names and sign the birth certificates?"
"...No, that's okay. We've discussed them."
"Very well. Thom Alan, Grace Thea and James Brian, was it?"
"Yes."
"Well done. Those are lovely names. You wouldn't believe what some people come up with."
"Oh, trust me when I say I might have an idea."
-- -- --
At the edges of consciousness, Alanna hears a slow, steady beep. Beyond that, voices and laughter, and footsteps echoing down a corridor. She opens her eyes slowly, licking her lips, and smiles.
She can see her feet at the end of the bed without leaning sideways.
"Oh good," she says in a pleased sort of voice, "I'm still alive."