A, B, C...H

By Donna and Ev

            Adam woke from a sound sleep, startled awake by some noise.  He blinked and looked around, then sighed.  It was Millie moaning in her sleep.  She had done that a few nights now.  He tried to settle back to sleep, but gradually realized that the moaning didn't seem to be stopping.  He frowned and gently touched her shoulder.  "Millie?  You all right?"

            His wife opened her eyes. "I think this is it," she told him. "Perhaps you should send one of the lads to go get Fontanna."

            Adam blinked, fully awake now.  "Now?"  He leaped out of bed, unfortunately taking the covers with him.  "Oh.  Sorry."  He put the covers back over his wife and started pulling on his clothes.  "I'll send Gideon.  He's the fastest.  I'll be right  back."  He was rushing off down the hall, still buttoning and tucking as he went.  He slammed the door to the brother's room open and gave a kick to the brother in the first bed next to the door. "Gideon! You've got to go get Fontanna!" 

            His youngest brother shot up out of bed, grabbing for his pants, and in his haste, managed to put them on backwards. "On my way!" he said as he stumbled out the door, hopping on one foot as he put on his boot.

            Adam was racing back to Millie already.  "Hurry up!  What are you standing around for?"  Back in the bedroom, he paused.  He had no idea what to do.  "Millie, what do I do?  I don't know nothin' about babies."

            Millie just chuckled. "Don't worry, Adam. Doctor Adams said I should have a perfectly normal birth. Do you think it will be another boy?"

            "Well, there hasn't been a girl born in the family in a long time.  I'd guess this is another boy, all right."  He smiled.  "You have any ideas what we should call him?"

            "Hannibal?" she suggested. "We should continue the naming tradition, you know."

            Adam smiled.  "I'd like that.  I don't recall Hannibal being in the Bible, though.  Maw would probably approve, though.  She had the devil of a time finding an F name.  That's why Frank is so sensitive about his name.  He doesn't like people to know his full name is Frankincense."  Adam chuckled and sat gently on the bed beside his pretty wife.  "Are you sure there's not something I can do for you while we wait for the midwife?"

            "You can rub my back," Millie sighed. "It really aches right now."

            Adam successfully hid a sigh of relief.  This request didn't seem so hard.  "I can do that."  He began to gently rub her back.  "Is this the right spot?"  He could hear his brothers talking in the next room.  It sounded as if they were all up now.  Hopefully they would behave themselves and stay
quiet.

            "Yes," she sighed. "Would you tell your brothers that I'm sorry I'm not going to be able to fix them breakfast this morning?"

            "I think they'll understand, Millie.  I don't want to leave you. What can be taking Gideon so long?"  He wouldn't admit it out loud, but he was afraid the midwife wouldn't be there in time and he would have to deliver the baby himself.

            But the sound of horse's hooves outside of the house announced that someone was there. A few minutes later, Fontanna came in the room, followed by all of his brothers, who wanted to see what was going on.

            Adam would have shooed them all out immediately, but Millie insisted on letting them see she was all right.  "Hello, boys.  I'm sorry I won't be able to fix you breakfast this morning.  But you'll have a brand new niece or nephew soon."  She smiled at them all.

            The all gathered around the bed, being actually pretty good for a change. "Maybe it is time some of us ask our lady friends if they are ready to settle down. It will be a lot easier on you not
having to take care of all of us too," Caleb said with a serious look on his face.

            "Only if you promise me you will all live close by so we can all see each other all the time.  I've gotten used to all of you lunkheads." Millie smiled at them, but it turned to a slight frown as a contraction began.

            "The houses we have been working on are almost done!" Frank said. "If we get cracking on 'em, we can complete them this week!"

            "I guess you better get busy, then."  Millie reached out and squeezed his hand.  "For now, I think it's better if all you boys wait in the other room."

            "Yes ma'am!" they all called out, then crowded through the door. It wasn't long before the sound of hammers could be heard ringing through the morning air.

            "They're good boys, Adam."  Millie made sure to tell him that, then turned to Fontanna.  "I'm so glad you're here.  I was hoping to have a little help.  All these men..."  She smiled fondly.  "They're good for helping a horse or a cow, but they've never had to deal with a woman having a baby."

            Fontanna chuckled. "That is for sure! It is good that they have something to keep them busy." She smiled as she saw a couple of the leprechaun lasses pop out of nowhere and start bossing their intendeds around.

            "Yes.  Always plenty to do, and those leprechaun girls will keep them on their toes, all right.  I really like them."  She frowned again as a strong contraction began.  "Could you tell me how close I am?"

            Fontanna checked her. "Just over half way," she told the laboring mom. "I venture it will be just after lunch time that this one makes her appearance."

            Adam gasped.  "There hasn't been a girl born in our family in a long time.  You sure it's a girl?"

            Millie smiled and took his hand.  "I think as long as it's a healthy baby, it doesn't really matter, does it, Adam?"

            "A girl would be wonderful!" he said, jumping up to get the worn family bible from a nearby dresser. Thumbing through the pages. "Hannah! Her name will be Hannah!"

            "That's a good name.  I like it."  Millie smiled up into his eyes.  A slight moan escaped her lips with this contraction.  She could feel things happening that were distinctly uncomfortable.  "That was a big one."  She sighed when it was over.

            "Yes," Fontanna said, lightly touching Millie's brow. Suddenly she felt refreshed and rested!

            "Well, I don't know what you did, but thank you,"  Millie smiled. "I heard that the fae could do some wonderful things.  You can tell this baby is a girl?"  She stroked her belly, smiling.

            "Yes," Fontanna said, gently massaging Millie's stomach. "Now relax and rest while you can. In a few hours you will need all your strength."

            "A few hours?  That seems like a long time right now,"  Millie sighed wistfully.  Another contraction took her and she got a determined look on her face.  "Is there any way to speed this up?"

            "No," Fontanna said with a smile. "Things are progressing normally. Now rest."

            As Millie closed her eyes and dozed, the brothers outside were going from one small house to another. They had been building them in a semi-circle around the main farm house. The leprechauns summoned some of their male kin, and the next thing they knew, the cabins were being completed faster than they could ever imagine. "It will be a grand wedding here soon," one of them
said with a grin.

            Gradually, the contractions became harder and closer together. Finally, she could feel the baby's head moving down.  "Oh my...  I feel like I have to push finally!"  Millie was glad she was at this point, but a little nervous about it too.

            "Yes," Fontanna said, touching Millie once more, giving her another burst of strength. Adam helped hold his wife up as she strained to give birth to the first female Pontipee child in several generations!

            Millie was determined not to take long.  She made each push count as much as she could.  In only three pushes, baby Hannah was wailing in indignation at the light and cold she had never seen before.

            "She is beautiful!" Adam said with a huge grin on his face. Running to the window, he pulled it open, then hung his head out. "It's a girl! A beautiful little girl!"

            The hammering and other activity outside stopped.  All the brothers came running up to the window.  "A girl?"  The news went from one to another.  Gideon looked up with a smile on his face. "I'm an uncle!"  He promptly passed out on the ground.

            With a long suffering sigh, Caitlin put his head on her lap. "What am I goin' to do with ye, little man?" she grumbled, dabbing his head with a damp cloth. She looked up at the open window. "Tell yer woman that there will be a grand weddin' come next Tuesday! Three of us so far will be tying the knot!"

            "Four," Ephraim said with a smile, his love, Lady Amber at his side.

            Adam smiled down from the window.  "She'll be right glad to hear that."  He turned back from the window, then back again.  "I forgot to tell you the name.  It's Hannah.  We're taking up where mom left off."

            On the bed, nursing her firstborn, Millie just smiled. She had a feeling between Adam and the rest of the Pontipee brothers, they would easily make it to the end of the alphabet!