Birthday

“Stop going so dam fa- Ahhhh!” Lillian screamed at the top of her lungs as another contraction tore through her body, starting from her womb. Her brother was wheeling her into the maternity ward of the hospital, the blonde in nothing more than a cloth hospital gown to protect her otherwise naked body. She had insisted on walking to the maternity ward, but her brother had put his foot down on this and she was too racked with contractions to really care. Before coming here, she thought she had just wet the bed, which had become a relatively common occurrence with a baby sitting on her bladder. It was a few seconds after she had pushed herself out of her bed to change her sheets and pajamas that she had doubled over in pain. When one of the servants heard her screaming, they rushed to her aid to find out what was wrong. Luckily, the woman was a mother of her own and knew almost instantly that Lillian’s water had broken.

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The blonde was terrified as she was told her water just broke. Why couldn’t it have just been the simple act of her wetting the bed like previous nights? And why had no one told her just how painful contractions would be?! She had gotten the random ones that occasionally happen in the last trimester of pregnancy, but these were so much different from those. Holy hell! This meant that her baby was ready to be born. No. She wasn’t ready yet though! She thought she was, but now that the time was here, she wasn’t even close.

“No...It can’t be time…” she breathed, starting to panic. She held her swollen belly as another contraction took over her. Oh god! Hissing in pain, she squeezed her eyes shut and grit her teeth, making sure to breathe until it passed. “Miss Hall, there’s no time to waste! We must get you to the hospital now!” the maid told her in a hurried tone, calling for others to aid her. As Sinclair and Lysander came rushing to her side after hearing the sudden uproar, they took charge of getting Lillian to the hospital. As they guided her to the car, the panicked blonde kept huffing out ‘nos’ and shaking her head.

“Ty’s not here yet...He has to be here...!” she whimpered as they ushered her outside to the awaiting car. Lysander grabbed her by her arms, looking her dead in the eye. “He’s not coming Lil! Get that through your head! He’s gone and he’s not coming back!” the male blonde shouted, almost angrily. Her expression looked utterly shattered, like her whole world had suddenly been ripped away from her. Lillian’s knees buckled as she dropped her head, her face contorting in pain. “AHHHH!” she screamed as another contraction tore through her, her brother being the only thing keeping her from falling to the ground.

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Coming into the waiting room, she was parked beside some chairs as Lysander went to go check her in. Taking slow, deep breaths, as she had been instructed to do during those dumb Lamaze classes, she looked down at her swollen body. Her eyes began to sting as tears took them over. “Do not weep Mistress. You know Mister Havens would be here if he could,” Sinclair tried to reassure her. Her glossy eyes shifted over to him. “Then why isn’t he? I’m having his child, his daughter, and he can’t even bother to show up once. To even pick up the phone! Answer a single text?! I don’t care what his priorities are back home, he has new ones now and he’s too preoccupied with his own damn drama that he doesn’t even know it! He never even liked his mother to begin with! He promised me he’d never leave me, Sinclair! That he loved me. Said we’d have a life together after school, and yet here I am alone, about to give birth to his child! How is any of that fair?! His mom is dead, he’s not obligated to her anymore,” she all but screamed at the man, grabbing him by the collar of his perfectly pressed shirt. Although she was glaring and obviously full of anger, from her eyes, tears were streaming down her face.

“Ugh! God dammit…” she cried, letting go of him and curling inwards as another contraction came and went. Lillian didn’t care if the whole waiting room was now looking at her from her outburst. She had every damn right to be upset! No matter how hard she had tried to tell him, get ahold of him, he hadn’t responded to anything! And she wasn’t allowed to go on planes while pregnant. By the time she was able too, she just didn’t want to. Walking around through an airport at seven to nine months pregnant was not a fun thought. The swollen ankles, the aching muscles, the baby sitting on her bladder...Ugh! No thank you.

“Alright!” Lysander said as he came back to the two of them. Lillian looked up at him with tired eyes. “You’re all checked in and set up with a room. Let’s get you there so we can get this baby out of you already.” Taking hold of her wheelchair, he led her through the door that other women had gone through, wheeling her to a vacant room. Breathing through another contraction, she looked around the room to find she was currently the only occupant. Thank God! A nurse came in not long after Lysander had parked her right beside the bed to get her in it.

“Hello Miss...Hall,” she said checking the chart for the name. “I’m Cindy and I’ll be your nurse this evening. Now, let’s get you into bed so we can examine you.” Helping the pregnant woman into the bed, she was hooked up to all the necessary machinery before Cindy, her nurse, wheeled a chair towards the end of the bed and sat down. Slipping a glove onto her hand, she asked Lillian to place her feet in the stirrups as she checked to see how far along, she was dilated. Lillian flinched at the feeling of a hand probing around inside her. It felt weird for it to be anyone else other than Ty; each and every time since finding out she was pregnant. Pulling her hand out, she tossed the glove into the biohazard bin and wrote a few things down on the chart. “Alright Miss Hall, looks like you’re about three centimeters dilated right now which is good. Dr. Rumlow will be in shortly to check on you and see how you’re progressing. Now if you need to use the bathroom, just use this button right here,” she moved over to one side of the bed and held up a small, worn remote, pointing to a blue button. “Either I, or one of the other nurses will come to assist you. For now, would you like a cup of ice chips?” “Yes, please,” she replied with a slight nod.

Dropping her head back against the pillow, she sighed heavily and blew blonde bangs out of her face. This was going to be a long night! And she barely got any sleep. Since she was only three centimeters, and it was roughly eight o’clock, she might as well get some sleep in while she had the chance. She didn’t know when the doctor was coming anyways. Relaxing into the bed, she sighed softly as she closed her eyes. “How long do you think this is gonna take?” Lysander griped as he shifted around in the small couch provided to the guests of the patient. Lillian’s eyes snapped open in annoyance, looking over at him with a glare to match. “Are you telling me to hurry up and have my baby?” she questioned menacingly. The blonde male stiffened in his seat at the sound of her voice and the feel of her eyes burning holes into him. “N-No! That’s not what I meant!” he stuttered defensively. “I-I just was wondering if you thought it’d be a long pregnancy or not.” She eyed her twin with contempt for a moment before giving up. “I dunno…” she sighed. “I hope it’s fairly quick.” Lillian closed her eyes trying to sleep.

Apparently, sleep was a precious commodity. The blonde could barely get any amount of rest with the contractions that burned her every few minutes. This baby was already a week and a half overdue, couldn’t it just come out already?! “Good evening Miss Hall,” an unfamiliar voice greeted as they entered the room. Sighing heavily, the blonde opened her eyes and looked towards the owner of the voice. “I’m Dr. Rumlow.” Lillian threw her head back with a huff. Of course, she had to get an attractive male doctor to help deliver her baby! “Hi,” she replied as she brought her head back up to look at him. “Alright, let’s see how you’re doing,” he said as he put her chart down and put on a pair of gloves.

Lillian turned towards the window in her room and watched as the clouds that had darkened the sky briefly parted, showing the full moon. A full moon. Tonight, of all nights? After a few seconds of staring at the moon, she felt her baby move and then a particularly painful contraction. The blonde cried out as her hands instantly went to the swollen part of her body, curling into herself as she waited for it to pass. “Alright Miss Hall, just breathe. It’s almost over,” her doctor coached as he sat at the end of her hospital bed and positioned the stirrups for her. When the contraction finally passed, she fell back into her bed with a slightly labored breath. “I need you to put your feet- Thank you,” he requested, Lillian doing so before he even finished his sentence. “Now why don’t you tell me a little about yourself. Is the father here tonight?” It was a tactic she had heard doctors use to keep their patients calm; making them think about anything other than their pain and the nerves of about to give birth.

Her red eyes began to sting thinking about how Ty wasn’t where he should be. He should be here! Right beside her, holding her hand and telling her everything was going to be alright. She needed him; now more than ever. This was his baby too. She was beyond terrified to do this alone. She was only eighteen and didn’t know the first thing about taking care of a child. It’s not like she had anything to fall back on; her own childhood was nothing short of a mess. She needed him! All those promises he made her, obviously they didn’t mean anything to him. He didn’t really love her if he could so easily walk out of her life like it was nothing. “No, he’s not,” she replied bitterly. Drying her eyes, she refused to answer anymore questions on the subject.

“Well, good news,” he said as he got to his feet and tossed his latex glove away. “As of right now, you’re eight centimeters so it shouldn’t be too long now. If you’d like, we can give you the epidural now.” “Give me the drugs,” she answered quickly and firmly. After that last contraction, she wanted to be as doped up as possible. There was no way she was having a natural birth! She may have a high tolerance for pain, but this was unlike any pain she had ever felt in her life. Each time it felt like she was being ripped in half and that was not the type of pain she’d like to endure all throughout her labor. “Alright, I’ll get right on that. I’ll come back to check how you’re progressing in a little bit. For now, just relax and if you get the urge to push, just call for one of the nurses.” Lillian nodded silently as he left the room. “Gimmie my phone,” she demanded as she held out her hand towards her brother. “What? Why?” he asked with a confused look. “Lysander, if you don’t give me my phone right this second, we’re about to have some serious issues,” she threatened with a sharp glare. Her twin jumped slightly, a nervous look overtaking him before getting up and handing her the phone.

To: Ty

From: Lil

Subject: I’m trying, for the billionth time, to get ahold of you. I’m at the hospital, about to give birth to our baby...Please Ty, I need you…

Typing in the address of the hospital, she began sniffling as tears rolled from the corner of her eyes. She didn’t care when he got here at this point, she just needed him. She couldn’t do this alone. If anything, she just needed him for support. When she had finished and sent the message, her hands dropped to her sides as she squeezed her eyes shut to try and stop her tears from falling. Stupid hormones! A short few minutes later, she felt her phone buzz in her hand. Her heart jump started. Was it him?! Did he finally answer- No. Her happiness shredded as she looked at her phone to find it had only been an alert about an incoming blizzard. And to make things worse, it was only 11:15 at night. This was going to be the longest and worst night of her life.

As the minutes ticked by, she munched on ice chips every time she felt hungry and tried to get any rest where she could. Her contractions were steadily getting closer together as midnight approached. Thankfully, a nurse had come in and administered her epidural, so the pain was lessened. It wasn’t gone, but it was bearable now. The whole time she waited for the inevitable birth of her daughter, she wondered what Ty could be doing right now. Had something terrible happened to him while he went to visit his mother? Was he just terrified of becoming a father? Had he moved on from her and found someone else? The very thought made her want to hurl.

God! She was so uncomfortable! There was no room to move in these damn beds, especially since being nine months pregnant. With a frustrated sigh, she looked out the window once again. It looked like the blizzard was already beginning to start as snow was falling. Well, it wasn’t like she’d be able to go back home tomorrow anyways. Slowly turning her gaze upwards towards the clouds, she watched them once again part and the full moon come into her view. Staring up at it, almost mesmerized, she felt her baby move before her gaze widened. “AHHHH!” she screamed with all the power in her lungs. The contraction was too painful to be dulled by the drugs. “Lil-” “Get the doctor...Noooooow!” she cut him off as another contraction came. Lysander jumped from his seat and rushed out of the room to go find either the doctor or the nurse.

“Alright Miss Hall, let’s check on you real quick,” Dr. Rumlow said as he placed gloves on his hands after coming back into the room with Lillian’s nurse and her brother. “Good news! You’re fully dilated and it’s time to start pushing.” Finally! “Is anyone staying?” he asked, looking up at the pain riddled blonde. She shook her head, “No…” she whimpered as another contraction began. “Then I’m going to have to ask you to leave the room.” Lysander looked over at his ailing sister with apprehension. He didn’t want to leave her to do this all by herself, but he wasn’t about to argue about it either. Complying, the twin left the room without a word. “Okay Miss Hall, what I want you to do is hold your legs up towards your chest and push for ten seconds each time you feel the urge too. And make sure to breathe,” the doctor told her as the nurses moved around the room to get everything ready. Inhaling deeply as she nodded, she swallowed and wrapped her hands around the back of her knees.

How long had she been doing this for?! Each contraction felt like she was being torn in two and it felt like she was getting nowhere with her pushing. After the nurse had finished counting to ten for what felt like the hundredth time, Lillian dropped her back against the bed and huffed out a breath. She was only allowed to catch her breath before the doctor told her to push again. Pushing herself back up, she took a side glance out the window to see the blizzard raging outside but the clouds parted just enough to let the moon peek out. How...Weird. Quickly turning back to the matter at hand, Lillian shrieked as another contraction came, along with the urge to push. “You’re doing good Lillian. Keep pushing,” Dr. Rumlow encouraged. “Alright, I see the head.” After the ten second count, she panted softly, feeling her heart racing having heard him say he could see her baby. This was really happening now! She was giving birth to her and Ty’s baby.

She wasn’t catching her breath long before another urge to push came over her. “Good. Good.” he said as the baby began to emerge. There was no way to describe the pain of pushing out a baby, except all she wanted to do was scream. Every single part of her, down to her very cells, hurt. Another push. “AHHHH!” she screamed. Each push was excruciating and each time she screamed out at the top of her lungs. As she screamed, the lights in the room sparked and then shattered; startling everyone but Lillian. The room was bathed in darkness, the only light being offered to them was the light of the moon. Lillian’s brows came together as her world suddenly began to spin. What was happening? She suddenly felt so weak. “Nurse! She’s starting to hemorrhage…” she faintly heard the doctor say before she fell back against the bed. Everything was going numb. Her lids fluttered as she lulled her head to the side, her gaze staring up at the moon.

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“Ugh! I’m so tired of being pregnant!” Lillian groaned angrily as she set a few bags of groceries down onto the large kitchen island. The kitchen staff looking at her with puzzled faces. They had slowly gotten used to the elite blonde working in the kitchen with them, learning how to cook, but sometimes it was still surprising to them. A young brunette, a few years older than Lillian, came up to her side to help with unloading the groceries. “Did the appointment go alright Miss?” she asked with her blue eyes glancing over to the annoyed blonde.

Slinking over to a seat at the island, that had been placed there specifically for Lillian, she grunted as she maneuvered her enormous body into the chair. “Oh yeah! Appointment went fine, if you count the fact that she doesn’t wanna come out!” she snarled. “A week overdue already. I can’t handle being pregnant much longer. I shoulda asked them to just take her outta me right then and there.” “Oh Miss, you shouldn’t rush things like this,” the young woman replied softly, unaffected by the blonde’s bad attitude. “She’ll come when she’s ready. And it’s fairly common for a woman’s first pregnancy to be overdue.” Lillian dropped her chin into her hand as she watched the brunette make her way around the kitchen as she put away the food that had been bought. “How did you handle it?”

The young woman blushed pink as she gathered a few boxes of sweets the blonde had bought for herself. “I uh...I didn’t actually. I was just like you. In fact, my husband didn’t like me very much towards the end because all I did was complain,” she chuckled sheepishly.

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“Oh babe! That’s great news!” Lillian congratulated as she heard the news of Ty getting his first book published. A huge smile formed on her lips as she happily clutched the phone to her ear. Casting a glance down at the plate placed in front of her, she slowly pushed it away, not feeling very hungry at the moment. She hadn’t for a few days now...Or, she wasn’t hungry for anything that had been placed in front of her lately. “Do you think you could get away and come visit me, Mr. Author?” she asked in a somewhat seductive tone as she leaned forward on the island and twirled blonde hair around her finger. “Alright great! I’ll get everything ready.” She hung up the phone, eagerly hopping out of her seat and dancing around. Oh...No, shouldn’t do that...The blonde grabbed the side of the counter as her world began to spin and she suddenly felt rather weak.

This trip was a good idea, all of this was exactly what he needed after graduation. Tyrese had been wanting to celebrate something, and a trip to New York was perfect, as was this trip to the beach. He got to piss Lysander off since he was staying in the estate for a while, and that was always fun. But what Ty really wanted to celebrate was graduating with a scholarship and publishing his first book. Sure, he hadn't chosen which school he'd be going to and wouldn't be until he knew what he and Lil were doing as far as being together went, and it wasn't likely he'd sell any books at all; nevertheless, this was exactly what Ty had always wanted. He was writing books and staying by the side of the person he loved. Well, sort of anyway. They each went home after graduation and this was only a visit, but they were also talking about moving to.... someplace together before school started. Ty just didn't want to live in the city, especially the bustling New York. He was digressing from the point that this, was the best thing ever. It felt great being a graduate.

The only downfall was deciding not to see his mother before she died. It wasn't because he was angry still, he just.... His aunt told him it was a bad idea and he'd gotten too afraid to go. He attended her funeral afterwards, but he still felt guilty. Did she die thinking her only son didn't love her? It was strange though; she hadn't left him anything in her will or said anything in regard to him before she passed. Tyrese, not even wondered anymore, but knew his mother had never cared about him. It hurt, but for now he was holding it together as long as he was with Lillian. Pulling out of his thoughts, he blinked down to her face as they held hands and walked with the waves flowing up to their ankles. She looked nervous, and a pensive expression was barely hidden behind his own eyes. He could sense that something was on her mind; for the last week or so she'd been sick throughout the day. Tyrese noticed her scent had changed, besides the usual scent of blood, she just smelled like a different person. She had a higher temperature than normal too.

Ty had been worried it was the scent of a sickness, a serious one. Scents tended to change when there was the presence of disease, and after watching her heave into the toilet several times a day for several days in a row he urged her to see a doctor. He knew she had set up an appointment for this morning but hadn't gone with her. So, he'd been waiting ever since she got back, not wanting to force it out of her, for some kind of news about what was going on with her. He nibbled his lip, stealing glances at her face before sighing. He let go of her hand, crouching down and picking up a shell. He kept turning it in one hand, staying kneeled to the ground for a good few minutes in utter silence. Finally, he tilted his head and looked up at her, making it obvious he wanted her to say what was on her mind, now. He was going to grow grey hair just from worrying! He would need to know if she was sick, and how serious it was if she was keeping him in suspense.

"Uhm Ty..." she began, her fingers fidgeting nervously with her shirt. She couldn’t not tell him. He was the father after all. Everything would be alright; he wouldn’t just skip out on her. They loved each other way too much. "I went to that doctor's appointment today..." She swallowed hesitantly as she looked down at her bare feet, watching her toes dig into the sand. This was so nerve wracking! What if he got mad at her? "I- Mmm...I..." Her twitching hands moved down to her pelvis, nervously, but lovingly touching the area. "I'm pregnant..." Petrified, she waited for him to explode with anger or anxiety.

She tentatively began, Tyrese watching her fumble with the hem of her shirt before nodding as she let him know she had indeed gone to her appointment. She kept fidgeting, and he sighed under his breath, standing up and facing her. He waited, patient yet anxious, as she stuttered out some more syllables and held her stomach. Was she in pain?! His brows furrowed and he took a step closer, reaching to touch her arm. He was going to support her, she knew that. "I'm pregnant." Ty paused, his eyes leaping from her stomach to her face. What? He leaned back, his hand moving to his hip while the other pushed his hair back to keep it at bay and exposed his brow. A very short huff, an unformed laugh, left his lips. He was quiet for a while, her expression growing worried, before a grin spread across his lips. "LILLIAN!" He laughed, picking her up and spinning her around. He put her down, doubling over with another laugh before he straightened up again, sniffling and quickly swiping a tear off his cheek. "You're pregnant!" He hugged her waist, pecking several kisses on her lips. "That's great. It's unexpected, but I’m happy."

There was a baby inside of her, one they put there, and they were parents. Sure, they were a little young, but not terribly so; they weren't so young that they couldn't get jobs and make it work, he'd be twenty later this year. Yeah, this was a perfectly good time to start a family. He was going to be a father! The wolf howled, spinning Lillian around until he lost his balance and fell. "Oh my God, we're going to be parents!" Change of plans, they DEFINITELY had to move in together, they had to get ready for this baby! He was going to be a father!

Lillian couldn’t help but squeal happily, surprised by his acceptance of this rather shocking turn of events. Honestly? She thought he’d be in an utter panic about the news. Ever since the doctor told her she was she had been agonizing over telling him. What if he rejected her, their baby? But none of that mattered now. He was happy! Although he couldn’t spin her around like that anymore, she felt like she’d lose her lunch if it happened again. As he fell back after losing his balance, she couldn’t help the surprised shriek as she fell on top of him. The blonde teen couldn’t help but laugh, enamored by the ecstatic smile that seemed to be plastered onto her boyfriend’s face. Leaning down, she pecked a kiss of her own onto his lips as she pushed blonde hair behind her ear. Digging a hand into the sand to push herself up a little, she looked down at him and smiled, lovingly using her other hand to caress his cheek. “Yes, we’re going to be parents. We have a baby. Our baby- Our baby is on the way,” she said, her voice trailing off into a whisper as she began to cry tears of joy.

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Lillian’s eyes fluttered open, the fluorescent lights burning her unadjusted eyes. Cringing, she brought a hand up to cover her eyes and groaned. What hit her? Geeze. She felt like she just got out of a fight with a sumo wrestler. Looking around the room slowly, she could see her brother and Sinclair sitting on the couch passed out. What time was it that those two were asleep? Looking towards the window, she hummed softly as she noticed the sun was just beginning to rise. “Oh Miss Hall, you’re finally awake. That’s good,” a voice spoke up, causing the blonde to slowly turn her head in the direction of its owner. It was the nurse from the night before. Wait! Her baby. Where was her baby?! The last thing she remembered she was in the middle of giving birth. Lillian tried to get up hastily, finding her world spinning immediately and the nurse gently pushing her back towards the bed. “Calm down Miss Hall, you lost a lot of blood.” What? Lillian’s eyes traveled to the I.V. in her arm and noticed red liquid within the tube. “You began hemorrhaging last night so you need to take it easy for a while.”

“My…” her voice was hoarse, causing her to clear her throat. “My...baby…” The nurse’s expression softened into a smile as she stepped aside a little to show the teenage mother the tiny bundle wrapped up in the plastic bassinet. “We’ve been waiting for you to wake up so you can hold her,” she said as she went to taking a few notes from the machines. Lillian’s tired eyes began to well with tears at seeing the sleeping baby wrapped up in the hospital blanket with the little pink beanie on. Her baby girl. Wincing as she slowly pushed herself into a sitting position, earning a small fit from the nurse, she motioned for the nurse to hand her, her baby. Complying, the nurse handed off the newborn to her mother, making sure to be careful during the tradeoff.

Looking down at the baby in her arms, Lillian brought a hand up to push a portion of the blanket away so she could get a better look at her face. As she did so, the baby girl yawned, bringing her tiny arms up as though she were stretching. The blonde breathed out a chuckle as her eyes overflowed with tears of happiness. She hadn’t done anything, but yawn and Lillian was already in love with her. Although she didn’t let it spoil the moment, the only thing putting a damper on her spirits was the fact that Ty wasn’t here. Her breath was completely taken away when her little girl slowly blinked open her eyes, seeing the red shimmer in them. She was simply perfect. Adjusting the newborn in her arms, she gently pressed her forehead to her baby’s, unable to stop herself from smiling. She probably looked like a moron, but she didn’t care! Lillian’s eyes snapped open when she felt something touch her cheek. Blinking tears out of her eyes, she noticed a tiny hand reaching out to her. “What are you going to name her?” the nurse asked softly. Pulling away slightly, her gaze never left her baby’s face. “Sela”