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Chapter Four Zechs woke up to the sound of the blender whirring in the kitchen. He got up out of bed and, pulling on his robe, made his way to the origin of the noise. Sure enough, there was Lucrezia, her bucket of ice cream still laying on the counter. She was getting out the glasses, and finally caught a glimpse of him from behind the cupboard door. "Good morning, Zechs. Care to join me for a peanut butter and brocolli milkshake?" "No thank you," he said, making a disgusted face. "Lucrezia, are you aware that it is three AM?" "Of course I am. I was kind of hungry and the baby is sort of restless. Please stay up with me," she begged him. "You could finish that blanket you were knitting..." Noin trailed off, giggling at him again. "That knitting thing is your fault. I hate knitting," Zechs complained, glancing over at Noin's knitting basket. "Oh, come on, you know you love it. And you're so good at it, too. I bet lots of women wish they could knit as well as you do." She had the giggles now, and couldn't stop herself. Zechs yawned a deep yawn and closed in on his wife. "Please come back to bed. We both need to get some sleep. You can stay up all night when the baby comes." "I know, but I can't sleep. The baby is really kicking in there. I guess she decided that it's not time to sleep." She rested a hand in her belly, which had slowly gotten bigger and bigger. It had forced her to take maternity leave, which angered her. She wanted to keep working as long as possible. However, Lady Une had flat out told her to quit for a while and come back after she had recovered from the pregnancy. Zechs knelt down and pressed his hand against her abdomen. He could feel the baby kick and move inside of her, and couldn't help but marvel at how wonderful it felt to feel the tiny living thing that he and Noin had created. "She's going to be feisty," he remarked. Noins face suddenly changed, and she grimaced. Zechs could feel her shudder and pulled his hand away. "What's wrong? Is it time?" he asked nervously, adrenaline building in his system. "Do I need to call Sally?" It was October second, two days past the due date, and they had been nervously waiting for the baby all week. "I'm not sure. Sally said that there may be false contractions for a while. But this feel different," she explained, wincing again. "I think it may be..." Before she could say anything more, she felt some of the pressure release. Zechs watched as fluid soaked through Noin's nightgown. "Oh no." In a split second, he was dashing for the phone. He dialed while running to get their stuf for the hospital. "Please get up.." he mumbled to himself, grabbing a spare set of clothing for them both. Lucrezia was yelling at him to hurry, telling him that the contractions were getting worse. At last, Sally picked up and answered groggily. "Sally! Noin's started labor. I think her water just broke, so I'm bringing her in to the hospital. She says the contractions are getting worse." Sally was surprised at how nervous her fellow Preventer sounded, and stayed calm. "I'll be there as soon as I can," she reassured, but it was unnecessary. Zechs had turned off the phone and was helping a very upset Lucrezia into their car. He jumped in the drivers seat as quickly as he could and took off down the road. "I definitely think it's time," Noin stated flatly, breathing deeply. "Can you hang on until we get to the hospital?" Zechs asked, praying that the answer would be yes. "I think so," came the reply. He looked over at her. She had her hands resting on her stomach, and was looking straight ahead. He could hear her doing the breathing exercises Sally had taught her. At last, their baby girl was on her way. After months of morning sickness, mood swings, and strange food cravings, the baby was going to be born. They pulled up in front of the hospital before long, and Sally was waiting for them with a wheelchair. Noin hauled herself out of the car and into the wheelchair. Sally could hear her breathing heavily. "How close together are the contractions?" she asked the couple. "About twenty minutes apart." Zechs told her worriedly. "Is that good or bad?" Sally only frowned. "Didn't you have any contractions that were further apart? When did these things start?" "I thought they were those false contractions! How was I supposed to know if they were real or not?" Noin said, wincing. They rolled her into the hospital and through the halls. The secretary stopped Zechs at the desk. She handed him a stack of papers to fill out, but would not let him go with Noin, despite his protests. "I'll be back soon, Lucrezia, I promise," he told her. "No! I'm not having this baby until you're there. You're not leaving me again!" she fumed. She was getting angry, and felt like taking all this anger out on someone or something. She heard Sally mutter something to the effect of "Oh no," and gritted her teeth. I am not going to do this without you, Zechs. The contractions were getting worse, and she could only watch as they wheeled her away from her husband. Zechs filled out the forms as fast as he could. His goal was to get back to Noin as quickly as possible. He could hear her voice from down the hallway. "Aaaghhhhh! Why won't these things stop? Just pull this thing out!" he heard her yell. Oh no. This will be even worse than the mood swings. Do I really want to go back there? It was quiet for a while and then... "I will NOT calm down. I want him here and I want him now!" There was a pause. "Listen here, Sal, I will not have a baby until I have him next to me. And when he's here, I'm going to throttle him!" The former pilot gulped. The nurse was glancing nervously over at him, a look of curiosity on her face. Zechs just filled out the forms faster. "I'm going to kill him! How dare he do this to me! Where is he?" Another pause. Sally must be trying to comfort her. "I don't care where that baby is right now. She is not coming out until he gets here!" Zechs debated whether to go in or run away from the outraged Noin. "Ouch! Okay, okay, I'll send him in," came Sally's voice. Zechs glanced nervously over to the nurse, as if to ask permission. She nodded, a look of fear on her face. "Good luck," she told him, and he nodded. He was going to need it. He headed back through the hallway. Sally was heading towards him, and looked relieved to see him. He could see the marks on Sally's hand, one of which was beginning to bleed. "Beware," she warned. "When she's like this, she'll draw blood."" "So I see," he replied, accepting the medical gown and mask from his colleague. "How far along is she?" "That baby will be coming any time now. She's really eager to get out. I think her mother is ready to have her out, too. Noin's about seven centimeters dialated. Any later, and you would have had to deliver the baby in the car." They entered the birthing room, seeing Noin lying on a hospital bed with a nurse hovering around her. Her eyes lit up when she saw Zechs, and he nervously crossed over to stand by her side. She immediately grapped onto his hand and squeezed it as tight as she could. "I thought you weren't going to make it. Please don't leave me," she begged, loosening her grip a little. "I won't leave you, Lu. I promise," he comforted. "Now you need to push. Soon, it will all be over." He looked down as Sally got out the needle for the epidural. Her look begged him to distract her until she could apply the medicine, and Zechs gave her a slight nod. "Won't it be nice to have the baby out? And we can take her home and put her in that crib in the room that we painted. Do you remember painting that room for the new baby?" "Of course I remember!" Noin snapped, pushing as hard as she could. Suddenly, she felt a poke, then, part of her went numb. She grasped onto her husband's hand tightly. "I think the baby's coming now," she mumbled, still trying to relax and breathe. "Think of your exercises, Lucrezia. Take a deep breath and help me time the contractions. This isn't any harder that combat." To Zechs' surprise, his wife grabbed a bunch of his hair and yanked it down so they were face to face. The pilot grimaced, and looked into Noin's furious eyes sheepishly. "This is ten times worse than any pain you could experience. Imagine having the skin burned off your body and having as many broken bones as Saturn has moons. That's how painful childbirth is, only worse, so don't talk to me about combat. If you don't shut up right now with your calm and happy routine, I will personally tear every strand of hair out of your scalp." Sally was chuckling slightly at her friend's threats, but was still fully aware of the labor. She made a few checks and announced that the cervix was fully dialated. It was time to start pushing. Noin took in the deep breath as she had been taught. Her husband could feel her crush his hand with every push. At least she had let go of his hair. He kept trying to coach her, ignoring the curses and insults coming from the laboring woman. This was even worse than the mood swings. "Here she comes. Zechs, I need your help over here," Sally called. Zechs removed his hand from Noin's grasp and moved over to Sally. The baby's head was slowly emerging, and Sally was helping to ease the tiny thing out. It's like a tiny miracle. I can't believe that it's coming out of Lucrezia, he thought to himself. Sally instructed him to fetch some towels to dry the baby off with and a receiving blanket to wrap it in. He quickly complied, and handed her the things she needed."Keep pushing," Sally urged. Soon, the shoulders were out, and the hips of their tiny baby were almost out. Zechs hovered next to Sally, worried about his wife. The labor had been going well and Sally said it was pretty quick for a first child. He was glad that they had an experienced doctor like her to help them. The Preventer agent was brought back to reality when Sally started to call him. "Do you want to deliver your daughter?" she asked. He nodded, and did as she told him to. The baby was so small, and finally, it's tiny feet came out. Zechs had the newborn in his hands and it was covered in blood and fluids, its tiny eyes still closed. Sally cut the umbilical cord, and handed him a few towels. Carefully, he dried her off and wrapped the tiny thing up in the blankets. And then, it began to cry! Startled, he looked frantically over at Sally, who was taking care of the afterbirth. "It's okay, Zechs," she reassured. "It just means she has healthy, well developed lungs. You'd better get used to crying." For the longest time, he just held the tiny thing in his arms, not able to believe the love that he felt for this delicate creature, this tiny miracle. Time passed, and all he knew was that tiny child and it's mother, and the new role that he had to play. The new father walked over to his wife, who looked exhausted. Gently, he relinquished the tiny bundle into Noin's arms. "Look at how tiny she is!" she marveled. She's so beautiful. The baby cautiously opened it's eyes. Both parents gasped. "Look at those eyes! She has your eyes," Noin marveled. "I disagree. I think Lucia has darker eyes, like yours." "No, she doesn't. Melea's eyes are closer to a nail blue." "I thought we decided on Lucia Anne," Zechs argued. "No. I'm her mother, and I say her name is Melea Katerina." There was a knock on the door and Sally went to open it. She conversed quietly with someone outside, then turned to the new parents. "Are you up for visitors? Relena, Lady Une, and Mariemaia are here," she asked. Noin nodded, and Sally let the two in. Relena went over to her brother right away. "Congratulations Milliardo! We caught the first shuttle we could as soon as we heard. Is it a girl like you planned?" "It is," he answered, glancing back at the tiny bundle in Noin's arms. "All she needs now is a name. We just can't seem to agree on one." "What about Tamara? That's a pretty name," Relena suggested. Noin tried the name out. "Tamara Melea Peacecraft. I like it," "Tamara Lucia Peacecraft," Zechs corrected. Sally sensed an argument brewing and stepped in. "What about Tamara Victoria?" she asked. "Tamara Victoria Peacecraft it is then. A beautiful name for a beautiful little girl," Noin said softly. Mariemaia watched the new baby, riveted. "So that's your new baby? She sure is tiny! Did she really come out of you?" she asked. Lady Une put a hand on the child's head. Noin smiled. "What do you think of her, Mariemaia? You know, you were a baby once, just like her," she said, her voice suddenly quiet. The group carried on for some time. At last, Zechs turned around to find his wife fast asleep. Gently, he scooped the new baby up into his arms. He was so proud of this tiny bundle. They could raise her to be a pacifist, and she would live in a world free of hate and war. Sally chased everyone else out, and left the couple alone with their newborn. "She's such a miracle," he marveled, sitting down in a chair. "A tiny miracle." He watched as the tiny child fell asleep. I hope I will be a good father, he thought. And I hope that she will be a good kid. He laid the infant down in a small bassinet, and leaned back in the chair. It had been quite a day. |
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