Hidden Rings of Strength
Chapter one: The Wrong Side of Fate
"Quinn… Quinn!" She yelled at him breathlessly, as she gripped the sides of their home, barely having the strength to keep standing. Her insides were constricting and contracting from the slightly overdue life moving inside of her, causing weakness inside the carrier. "Quinn you gotta get up!" she panted, crying from the kitchen. Suddenly she winced, gritting her teeth, as another contraction came rippling through her. A random moan escaped from her tightly shut jaw. Sweat beating, and running down her body, "Quinn…" she weakly repeated. She knew she was due sometime, she knew the contractions would start, but this was happening rather quickly. Waking out of a sound sleep to a sharp pain, then finding herself having full blown contractions within seconds back to back. "QUINN!" She half screamed as another ripple of pain went through her.
A deep red Dodge appeared from the doorway, his eyes wide as he found his wife on the floor gasping and panting. Before he had the process of what was going on, water oozed on the floor… Causing his heart, his oil pump, to skip a few beats…. "Y-Your in labor?" he asked dumbfounded.
She looked over at her husband and laughed, "NO! I'm screaming my head off, hunched over like this because I thought it'll be funny…. WHAT DO YOU THINK!" She hunched over again, moaning rather loudly, "GET DOC."
Feeding off of her emotions, panic sank in deep within the Dodge, "Oh my! Oh my! Baby time… Oh my!" He rolled to the door… then rolled back to her… then rolled to the door… completely confused on what to do. "Alice…"
"JUST GO GET DOC!"
He jumped at the sound of her voice, "ALRIGHT!" he shouted in shock as he raced out of the door.
"Oh my, Baby's coming … baby's coming…" He paused as he got hit with reality…. "I'm gunna be a father!" …. He paused as he let the thought sink further and further into his subconscious…. "Oh geez… oh my… oh geez…" he raced over to the clinic and pounded on the locked clinic doors, "DOC!" Wham Wham Wham "DOC!"
The sliding of the lock of the other side of the door sounded causing Quinn to back up a few feet, "Quinn?" A dark almost black, blue Chrysler 300 showed up in the door way, trying to blink away sleep from her eyes. "What's going on? Everyone okay?"
He normally would of said a very well, educated sentence stating the situation in full detail, however what blurted out of him was "BABY'S COMING!"
Her eyes widened at the news of her daughter going into labor. "Oh my… oh MY!" She rolled back shutting the doors behind her, but still letting her words getting heard from the other side of the door."Hudson… Hudson. Wake up sweetie. Alice is going into labor."
"huh?... what's going on..?" a groggy gravelly voice sounded in the room.
"Alice has gone into labor."
There were grunting noises sounding from the other end of the room, and a bit of creaking noises heard from a stiff body… "We should have some time…." Came from the half asleep voice. "This is their first baby…."
Quinn felt something inside him tug hard. Some sort of knowledge that proved the doctor wrong. That tug wound up pulling him right in to the clinic, "No… she's in full time labor. We gotta hurry!"
The 300 stood in the other door way to the office, where the old Hudson Hornet sat behind his desk. Knowing him, he probably was working most of the night with little unimportant things and ended up falling asleep behind his desk again.
"Quinn, I understand, you're a first time father, your emotions are a little high…" the Hornet spoke calmly as he pulled away from his desk with a medical bag in tow, "But you can't just expect that once she's in labor she'll have the baby on the spot. It usually takes hours and hours for the baby to be delivered."
He rolled into the clinic, sliding a few drawers open, looking for some things for his bag. "The contractions have to be about 5 minutes apart before we really have to worry."
Doctor Hudson drew up a few cloths from the spare drawer and gently placed it in his bag…. "Then again, if the water breaks we have to worry about infection, contractions or not, she'll have to come in as soon as possible."
Quinn blinked slowly…. "But…."
Doc waved at the Chrysler "Kendal can you get the clamps, I must of left them in the other drawer while I was cleaning the place."
Kendal opened the drawer nearest hers, and took out a few clamps, "Quinn, it's just the nerves of being a first time dad getting to you. Just take a few deep breaths and relax."
Quinn looked at both of them seeming so nonchalant about the birth of his child, made him panic even more… " but, Mr. and Mrs. Hornet! PLEASE I beg of you! There… there is water all over the floor and she hunched over and gasping for air, I just beg of you PLEASE come quickly…"
The older couple paused, and looked at each other with alerted eyes. "Water?"
"Yes... very much so, all over the kitchen floor!"
The sudden news of water on the floor caused both of them to hustle in stride, "Kendal, I'm gunna go check on her, do you mind finishing the bag packing?"
"Yeah, sure, I got it." Kendal said taking his bag and packing it furiously.
The Doctor went right by Quinn, "Well? Weren't ya in a hurry to get me? Come on, Daddy-to-be, lets get a move on."
With that Quinn was right on his tail, following the doctors unusually fast pace right to the house where he and his wife live.
Just as he pushed past the door, there was a loud scream of his poor hurting wife. He shut his eyes, feeling the tears running down his face…. He loved that they were having a baby together, but the pain that she was in…. the fear that he had within him…. I mean…
… that's how his mother died…. Giving birth to his sister that never made it….
The possible thought of her passing away with his child, caused more tears to run down his face, causing his tires to shake…. 'what if something is wrong..' …. 'what if I have to choose to save either her or the baby….?' … 'what would I do without them…?' … ' would I be able to make it through life…?'…. ' would I be broken hearted like my Dad?'
Kendal pushed open the door, catching a glimpse of her son-in-law weak with emotion. "Oh honey… it's alright," she said as she tenderly rubbed his side, comfortingly, "You'll be so overjoyed when the baby is born. You'll forget about all the pain and suffering on the way up to the point where you hold that little one in your arms."
"Kendal? Is that you?" Doc called from the kitchen, "I could really use your help, it's going to be a little more complicated then we have thought…."
Quinn's face paled at the one word of… "C-Complicated?"
Kendal swallowed slightly, but her eyes were still kind and caring, "Don't worry, it's probably nothing serious. Who said giving birth was a stroll in the park?"
She patted the side of his face, "She'll be fine, she's my daughter after all."
And with that, she moved right into the kitchen out of Quinn's sight. He found himself rolling forwarded to take a peak around the corner, finding his wife on.. the floor .. with… and.. the…
A numb tingling sensation trailed down his spine as one moment he was looking at his wife… and the next he was looking at completely darkness….
. . . . .
….. he found himself opening his eyes to the tiled floor of their walk way…. Resting very oddly on the ground…. What happened? Did he just pass out? His wife… Alice? Is she okay? What about the baby?
He looked around the corner again, a little more cautious then last time… finding himself more listening then watching…
"Alice, you have to push HARD." Doc raised his voice over her loud moaning, "I know you're tired, but the baby is in an odd position which is going to make it difficult…"
"I can't do this!" She gasped, "I can't.. No.. No way…"
"Honey you HAVE too." Kendal chimed in "You don't want the baby in this critical position for long. You have to dig deep!"
"I can't I can't.."
"YES you can!" The mother shouted at her daughter… "You have too! now PUSH!"
Alice's moaning and groaning turned into almost shrieking as Kendal counted the long ten second push…
Quinn looked back over at the scene, and found… a bunch of…. Things…. Just…. Sticking out…..and…..
He started to feel that tingly sensation again causing him to slowly start to lose his sight….
He quickly back up out of sight of the scene, feeling himself starting to regain his sight back. It was bad enough that he passed out… but twice? Nah ah! NOT going to happen….
He focused on a wall, trying to focus on the spot beyond the screaming of his wife….
Then… there was a strange quietness…
He heard his wife panting, gasping for breath. The sound of tires scrambling around… the sound of towels rubbing and wiping…
"It's a boy…" Doc whispered….
Kendal became uneasy and the quietness of the room, "Why isn't he crying…? Can he breathe alright?"
"not sure… I need to take him to the clinic…. There is not enough light for me to see what's going on…"
Quinn's could hear his heart pounding with fear… as Doc whizzed past him with a bundle of blankets in his grasp….
"I-Is he alright?" Quinn asked frantically pulling into the make shift birthing room… finding his wife, a little more collected, but very exhausted, and his mother-in-law, taking care of Alice….
"We… don't know.. that's why Doc left to go check to see what is wrong…." Kendal spoke softly and evenly, "It could be something simple as a little fluid in the airways, or maybe the baby's not a crier… you never know, but it doesn't help thinking the worst…"
Quinn swallowed hard, as he could feel his face paling slowly….
"Quinn…" Alice whispered weakly… "We still have to come up with a name."
Quinn paused… trying to keep the positive thought on his son…. "ah… right… Well…. There is Ezra… and Vance….."
Alice blinked oddly at the odd sounds of those names… "Well… those are… different names…."
"Well…. I wouldn't say Quinn is normal." He lightly laughed, getting a weak laugh out of his wife….
"I feel like I have a name for him…." she whispered softly… "someone that we know…."
Quinn looked at his tired wife with soft, loving eyes, softly kissing her fender affectionately. "Someone we know..?"… He paused for a long time… "we are NOT having a Mater…."
Alice laughed again, this time a little stronger, causing the Dodges heart to melt…. Oh how good it was to hear her laugh again….
"No no…. a while ago…. " She paused for a long time…. "I kind of liked his name…. Azure… Al… A something…."
Quinn could feel his expression become confused…. "The…. Jeweler guy Alex?"
Her eyes quickly lit up at that, "YES, that's him, Alexander."
"You want his name to be Alexander?" her spoke softly, nuzzling her tenderly, missing the touch of her….
"Maybe not… Alex…. But I like the xander part of it…"
Quinn smiled, "Zander with a Z or Xander with an X?" he chuckled warmly.
She paused for a while…. "Well… Xander with an x is pretty different I think…."
"Oh! Xander is a nice name." Kendal jumped in , picking up a few tools and utensils… "Xander David sound kind of nice together…."
Alice smiled, and looked up at Quinn, "What do you think?... Xander David Comenetto?"
Quinn chuckled, "I think David is always a good middle name for a boy…"
…. And with that… there was a bit of a silence in the room….. now having a newly named baby….. it was … just a waiting game of his health…
"Do… Do you think that…." Alice started… as she looked up at her mother, "That… it might have to do with me and Quinn both having gifts…?" she whispered softly…. "I mean…. Has that ever happened before….?"
Kendal rested in thought…. Thinking about her bloodline… "Well… Not really… I recall some gifts actually skipping a generation… but .. never anything similar to this…."
Quinn and Alice's faces weakened…. "Maybe the two powerful bloodlines were too much for the poor little guy…." He whispered softly….
For a time, everyone around the room, just sat with heavy hearts of the possibilities….. Could a child from two gifted parents even have powers?... or… can they even survive….?
"At this point…." He whispered…. "I don't care what's wrong…. I just want the little guy to make it….he doesn't have to have a gift, or doesn't have to be perfect…. I just wanna hold him and love him as my own…." He felt tears running down his face, but he didn't care…. It was as true as the time when he said I do at the altar with her…
Kendal gave a soft sigh, "well for better or for worse we-…"
The door opened… causing all of them to grow very quiet…
In rolls in the Doctor, still holding the bundle of blankets in his tires….. "He's breathing fine." He whispered softly… " His airways are clear, he's of healthy weight, and for the most part is functioning fine…."
Quinn gave a huge sigh, "Oh thank the Lord.." he said, as he quietly rolled over to the Doctor…. "Can… Can I hold him…?" He asked gently…
The Hudson smiled a weak smile "He's your son… of course you can." The Hudson's tired slowly passed the wrapped up bundle of blankets to the Daddy….
Quinn looked at his son softly sleeping in his embrace, His Autumn leaf orange paint stood out from the off white blankets, a little brand new Mustang Boss….. "Oh my…" He whispered…. "Another Mustang…." His chuckle was broken as he felt the tears of joy building up in his eyes ….. "He's gunna be a spunky one like his Momma…"
Alice warmly chuckled as she looked at her son for the first time, "My little Xander is going to make Quinn go nuts."
She gently touched the little one, causing the baby to open his eyes…. Ice…. Ice blue, so light blue it was almost white….the center of his eyes, had a starburst of a soft brown…. A type of blue hazel…..
The Hudson Hornet became very uneasy as he left the two caress and love their new baby, Which quickly was picked up on by Kendal. "How is he…?" she asked concerned
The Hudson took a moment, then looked over at his wife…. "He's healthy and strong…" His eyes lowered right to the ground….. "however…"
"However what…?" Kendal asked her eyes weakened tenfold… "What's wrong…?"
Doc looked over at the couple…. Then back at his wife…..
"Xander! Gotta get up." He heard his mothers sweet musical voice calling his name, causing him to wake up slowly. He leaned forward stretching out his tires, flexing them…
He felt himself yawn, letting the sleep escape from him. Another warm day. Another day to figure out what his little 8 year old self was going to do…
He slowly moved forward, feeling for the curtains, as he pulled them to the side, letting the bright warmth from the outside graze his hood…..
He opened his Ice Hazel eyes to see…
… nothing….