It's been ages since I've posted anything in this archive, the author realizes as she writes this. But I recently got into Loonatics Unleashed again and this hit me.

Full summary next chapter.

ENJOY!

Or not…

Lisa See wrote in her book Shanghai Girls, "Having a baby is painful in order to show how serious a thing life is."

The woman who was going through this experience herself has realized just how much truth that quote contained.

The woman gripped the blanket as she pushed with all of her might. She tried desperately to ignore the pain as she did. It was as though someone was stabbing a hot poker into the pelvic area and her lower abdomen.

The other woman – an anthromorphic bunny approaching her thirties – coached her, rubbing her leg in a comforting manner as she collapsed from the pain. An anthromorphic man – the bunny's husband – rubbed her face with a cool cloth.

The couples' six-year-old son was in the kitchen, playing with a gaming console. He was told to stay out of the way to allow the couple to safely deliver this child. That was an order he followed without hesitation.

"She's crowning," the bunny whispered, "You're doing great. She's nearly out. Just a few more pushes."

This made the woman more determined to bring her child into the world. The seemingly endless hours of discomfort and extreme pain would soon be worth something.

And that something that would make suffering all of that pain and discomfort worth it was the cries of a newborn baby.

"Looks like that doctor got it right for a change," the man joked as he looked at the baby.

"She is so beautiful," the woman whispered.

The woman was coated in a thin layer of sweat, a result of her exhausting work.

"Avery!" the man called as the baby was swaddled in blankets, "ACE!"

Six-year-old Avery, who responded to Ace more than he did Avery, came running in. Immediately, he approached his mother, who was holding the wailing newborn in her arms.

"She looks funny," Ace shrugged.

"So did you when you were born," his mother retorted.

Watching the family together with her child, the woman suddenly remembered another quote that rang true.

It was a Skye Hardwick quote and she had said:

"A birthmother puts the needs of her child above the wants of her heart."

And what she was about to do was going to do just that.

"You know you can always change your mind," the man said to her gently.

She was with this family for a reason. The family, as repayment for taking her in and caring for her throughout the pregnancy, was to receive the baby, whom they would raise as their own.

But the family was also prepared for another possibility. Sometimes, birth mothers who originally had their heart set on adoption often changed their minds when the baby was born and they got to see the child for themselves.

But this woman is determined to follow through with this plan.

No matter how much it would break her heart.

"It will be safer for her this way," the woman whispered.

"What will her name be?" Ace asked, glancing at the three adults in the room.

"You are giving us the greatest gift," the soon-to-be adoptive mother whispered as she shifted her gaze between the child and the child's birth mother, "It is only fair you get to choose her name."

The woman, no matter how much it would hurt her in the future, glanced at the baby.

All she could see was the baby's face peeking through the multitudes of blankets. Her face was round with plump little cheeks people would take pleasure in pinching. She knew that her appearance would change in time as her features became more defined. So would her eyes. Her child was viewed to be a Caucasian baby. In correspondence with the science surrounding the appearance of newborn babies, the baby's eyes were blue. Her true eye color – whether it will be green like her mother's or any other eye color in the broad spectrum of genetics – would not be known for a few months at the most.

The woman had a name in mind for the child. It was a name that kept appearing in her mind since she first learned of the child's existence.

"Brylee. I want her name to be Brylee," the woman said firmly.

"Brylee Bunny," the man mused, "I like that."

"It's pretty," Ace said as he looked at his sister excitedly, "Can Avery be her middle name?"

"Brylee Avery Bunny does have a nice ring to it," the man nodded.

"Would you like to hold her? To say goodbye?"

The woman looked up at the other woman who would take her child in surprise. That was the last thing she expected. She would have thought most adoptive parents would have been active in keeping the child away from their birth mothers in the fear of having the birth mother suddenly changing their mind.

But this couple had no reason to hold that fear. This woman was firm in her resolve.

The baby made all kinds of noises as she was nestled into the woman's arms. The eyes were gazing up at her.

"You are destiny to be; Rebuilder of great home. Restorer of mighty nation," the woman whispered to her, "For now, we must part. But I promise you, Brylee, when the time is right, we will meet again."

She handed the child back to the family. She watched as they began interacting with the baby as though she was their own child.

It hurt her heart to see this. But as she kept saying…

She was no longer hers.

That last quote, the "you are destiny to be…" was by Lailah Gifty Akita from Pearls of Wisdom: Great Mind. I liked the quotes.

Hopefully, I'll have the next chapter up soon. But university is a bitch. Fortunately, I'm on a break until the 27th of July. I'll hopefully have at least a good start by then.

No flames please!

BYE!