'... Are you sure you're alright?'
'Positive.'
Phoenix anxiously folded his arms. He felt on edge each time she squeaked from the contractions. It was obvious that Maya was trying to downplay the labour pains in order to keep him calm. He wasn't stupid, he knew what contractions were... but the circumstances made him nervous. He had always imagined his first natural child would be born in a hospital with plenty of doctors and drugs around.
But they were in the Kurain Village, a backwater 19th century-style Japanese settlement where the Elders and nuns were the doctors (more like quacks, Phoenix thought) and midwives.
'You really need to calm down, Nick,' Maya sighed, rubbing her heavily swollen abdomen. 'If there is one thing that Kurain women understand, it's women's health.'
Phoenix tried not to scoff. (I thought the one thing Kurain women understood was spirit channelling!)
'Traditionally the women born here without spiritual powers had to find some way to contribute to society,' Maya went on, as if answering his thought, which she probably was. 'So they become nannies, nurses, midwives and so on. It'll be fine... Ow!'
He instinctively grabbed her hand.
'Is it another contraction?'
'Yep,' she hissed, gripping him tightly. 'They're starting to hurt more and more...'
'Are you sure you don't want to go to a hospital?'
'It's too late now, Nick,' Maya spluttered out. Her grasp became even tighter and her wincing more intense, 'Ouch... ouchouchouch a-ha ow!'
Phoenix felt like an idiot. He should be able to do more than this! Holding her hand simply didn't seem like enough. Once she released his hand again, he reached up to stroke her hair.
She smiled at him
'You can be such a wuss,' she teased.
He scowled. 'I just don't want anything to happen to you. Either of you...'
He placed a hand on her bump.
'Nothing is going to happen,' she tried to assure him again. 'I'm healthy as a horse.'
'I just worry,' Phoenix muttered. 'After all, my aunt—'
'Nick, please,' Maya said firmly, trying to keep smiling. 'I know, really. I know.'
Phoenix nodded.
He wished he could be calm, cool and collected. He had faced some tense and stressful situations in his role as an attorney but nothing quite compared to this. Maya had always been his weak spot; the one his enemies knew was an easy target. Seeing her withering in pain was upsetting, but knowing how many things could go wrong for both Maya and his unborn daughter was driving him mad.
There was a light tap at the door.
'Pardon me,' rang in the voice that was just as quiet as her knock. The door opened to reveal Sister Iris, carrying a clean white sheet in her free hand. She bowed politely to her pregnant mistress. 'It's merely me again, Mystic Maya. I have come to see how far along you are...'
She stood at the end of the bed, gently lifted the sheet.
'Have you had any irregular contractions or pain since I last checked?'
Maya fluttered her eyes coyly.
'You mean apart from this massive pain in my side?'
Her eyes flashed a glance at Phoenix. Had he not known Maya as well as he did he might have started panicking again.
He turned his head towards Iris.
'As you can see, her humour is painful too.'
Iris smiled and placed the sheet neatly over Maya once again.
'It seems like you're half way there, Mystic Maya,' she informed the mother to be. 'The closer you get, the shorter the time between contractions will be. Try to keep comfortable and I'll return in another half an hour to check again.'
She turned to Phoenix and offered him a respectful bow.
'Um, there is also a crowd of people waiting in the hallway,' Iris informed them, touching her cheek thoughtfully. 'Mystic Pearl and Miss Trucy are among them, but the other two I am unfamiliar with. The boy has a unique hairstyle, though...'
Maya pulled herself to sit up, trying to "keep comfortable" as Iris had said.
'They would be our "other" kids,' she joked. 'Let them come in. They'll probably be better company than worry-wart here.'
Phoenix rolled his eyes.
'Then I shall let them enter,' Iris agreed, and she bowed once more before turning to clean her hands. She dabbed them dry with the clean cloth she had brought before picking everything up to leave again.
Phoenix stepped forward to open the door for her.
'Thank you,' she smiled.
Once she was through, he closed the door again.
It wouldn't be long for Maya's blessings to enter filtered down the corridor to where the "children" were waiting.
'Did you really have to tease me like that in front of Iris?'
'Why? Trying to impress her?' Maya said jokily.
'Don't be silly! It's just it makes us... look like we're bickering...'
'Nick, just because I'm in labour doesn't mean I have to take on a cute little "mother-to-be" persona,' she said.
That was when the contractions started to come again. He rushed forward to take her hand.
Without a knock or warning, the door flew open and the "kids" entered: Pearl, Trucy, Apollo and Athena. To many it would seem odd that Phoenix's two apprentices were there at his wife's childbed but they had never been conventional; those two were just as much a part of the family.
Seeing Maya trying to hide her agony wrenched at Phoenix's chest; he knew she didn't want them to worry. It wasn't rocket science to see that she was in pain.
'M-mommy, is it... really painful?' Trucy gasped.
'Oh Mystic Maya,' Pearl added, wrapping her arms around her foster sister. Trucy, in turn, gripped her back, 'Isn't there anything we can do to make it hurt less?'
(Send her to a hospital where the drugs are,) Phoenix thought. He just couldn't let it go! It was true though that Maya's birth was going completely natural. There would be nothing to deliver the baby with but Iris and herself… and him.
'If she had gone to a hospital like I said so...' he muttered under his breath, not fully realising that he was saying it and not just thinking it anymore.
'Say that one more time and I will break you hand!' Maya threatened with a scowl.
She winced in pain and gripped his hand ever tighter.
'Owowow!' he cried.
'Oh sorry,' she snapped back, 'Does that hurt?'
Athena clutched Widget, feeling overwhelming sympathy for her boss's partner and wishing the noise would disperse. That and she was hoping that her little nano would not blurt out what she was really thinking.
Too late.
'Ms. Fey is really stressed. Mr. Wright, stop annoying her!'
Phoenix's head snapped around so quickly, it cracked.
'Ow, Jesus!' he groaned, barely managing to scowl in Athena's direction.
'Eep,' Athena cried, leaping back a foot. 'I-I'm sorry, Boss. Um, I guess what Widget meant to say is that... Ms. Fey's noise is a little too high for me to ignore and... Well, maybe we should be keeping her relaxed?'
Maya forced a smile.
'I'm perfectly fine,' she gritted through her teeth, 'Despite worry wart over there, I'm fine. Fine.'
Meanwhile Apollo stood in the corner with an unconvinced eyebrow raised. She was less convincing than he was when he said that word. (Maybe if she yelled it?) he wondered.
He cleared his throat and held up a colourful bouquet of flowers.
'Anyway,' he began nervously. 'Us four all pitched in and brought these to cheer up the room. Pearls said it was a little bare in here...'
He came forward to place them on the bedside table while all the girls approached Maya, doing their best to avoid Phoenix.
Phoenix could tell they were all judging him.
Was it so terrible that he hated this set up? Maybe he should just let it go and accept that this was how Maya was going to give birth. After all, these days so many women were having their babies at home with just a midwife to help. It was just the fear of something going wrong. If that happened, what would they do?
He had probably spent too much time looking at the complications during childbirth page on Wikipedia...
Maya finally let go of his hand.
He wiggled his fingers to get the blood flowing again.
'I'm going to get a glass of water,' Phoenix announced to the room. 'Would you like some more ice chips?'
Maya rubbed her stomach and shifted about again in discomfort.
'Fine,' she snipped back.
She managed to smile again when Trucy shoved Apollo out of the way to kneel beside the bed. The poor boy frowned in annoyance but only Maya seemed to notice. (Poor kid) she thought.
Trucy's hand went straight to the bump and she stroked it affectionately.
'So is my sister any closer to coming...?'
Phoenix didn't hear the tail end of that sentence.
He closed the door and took a deep, clean breath.
Calmly he walked down the end of corridor to quench his thirst and retrieve Maya some ice chips. They were kept in the kitchen, a room he had been used to visiting several times a day to retrieve his heavily pregnant wife a variety of things leading up to the birth.
'Ugh, I didn't mean to frustrate Maya,' he groaned.
Phoenix continued to mutter to himself as he entered the kitchen.
Again, his mind went over all the things that could go wrong, things that her midwife might not be able to deal with. It wasn't that he doubted Iris's capability as a midwife. He knew she had taken proper courses to pass the time while in prison... but still…this was Maya.
Even if she was in a hospital he would probably still be panicking.
But being so far away from the nearest hospital...
Think about all of this was starting to make his own stomach hurt. A lot.
'Perhaps I should eat something,' he wondered aloud. 'Damn it, Maya, why'd you have to be so stubborn?'
Upon entering the kitchen, however, he was surprised to find Sister Iris boiling water.
She immediately turned to face him and bobbed her head politely.
'Oh!' Phoenix gasped, genuinely surprised. 'Iris, um, sorry...'
Iris just smiled and turned back to the pot she was watching.
'Whatever for?'
Phoenix said nothing.
He could feel himself blushing, so certain she had caught ear of the grumbles he had hoped to keep to himself.
Admittedly, the fact that Iris was the midwife was a concern for him. Maya had been the one to ask Iris - of all people! - to be the midwife. Phoenix couldn't help feeling that she only asked Iris in order to help her to feel "part of the family".
(Or perhaps to prove to herself that she doesn't mind that Iris and I used to date?) Phoenix wondered uncomfortably. (That is a sickly thought.)
His silence started to unnerve Iris.
Her face twisted in concern.
'Is Mystic Maya, alright? Would you like me to analyse her again?'
'No, no,' Phoenix swiftly replied. 'She's fine. Well, she says she's fine...'
'But you don't agree?'
Phoenix stared blankly at her, his mind not even able to come up with a reply. He ended up not replying again and instead made his way over to the freezer get the ice chips, allowing Iris's question to just hang there.
Delicately, she covered the pot and turned the heat down so she could cease watching it for a moment. She began to speak slowly, 'If you don't mind my asking... are you quite well?'
His stomach was starting to hurt even more.
'Just hunger pains,' he replied, forcing a smile. 'Plus I'm a bit anxious. It's kinda making my insides spin.'
'I see,' Iris said, tilting her head. 'Are you worried about Mystic Maya's progression? Have you noticed something off with her?'
He leaned against the work top, his hand gently laid on his own abdomen in a manner that had almost matched Maya's stances.
'Not really,' he said. 'To be honest I think I'm scaring her about giving birth.'
'How so?'
He looked away to the side, glancing at the door he had come through. He wondered about how Maya was doing at that very moment. He was within inches of fearing that something bad might have happened while he was gone... but he knew that Trucy would have probably come screaming in by now if it had. Maya had plenty of people around her, all of whom were staying much calmer and cheerful than he was.
(I'm about to have a baby. I should be happy not worried.)
'Everything I say...' he finally said, 'Seems to come back to the possibility that something could go wrong.'
'But Mystic Maya has enjoyed a relatively uneventful pregnancy, has she not?' Iris responded. 'Had there been any risk to her, I'm sure the Elders would have put aside traditions and had her deliver in a hospital, especially knowing the baby is a girl. Besides, our Master is so very beloved by all of us. Her safety is paramount.'
'I know that,' Phoenix immediately replied. 'I know but... well, let's just say my concerns come from personal experience...'
Iris said nothing and politely waited for him to explain.
He sighed, realising he would have to tell her.
'When I was about thirteen my aunt died from complications during childbirth.'
'Oh, I'm so sorry...'
'She was fine until she actually gave birth,' Phoenix went on. 'Then she just collapsed and never woke up again. My mother raised me alone so my aunt and uncle always helped take care of me when I was a kid. The shock of her being there one minute and then just gone the next...'
He folded his arms, his inner demons distracting him from his tummy aches.
'I don't want to scare Maya,' he finished. 'But when I think about it, I scare myself... and when I scare myself, it just rubs off on her... and that's the last thing I should be doing...'
Iris took a sharp intake of breath.
'Well,' she began, churning over all he said. 'Your fears are understandable even if they are misplaced in regards to Mystic Maya. The only thing that is really clear is,' she nodded to herself and smiled, 'your anxiety is more to do with fear of losing the person most precious to you rather than any physical problem with her.'
He sighed. 'I know that.'
'It could also explain your stomach pains as well,' Iris added. 'It is common for men to go through the same motions of pregnancy as their partners. It is simply another testament to your love for her.'
Phoenix stood and thought about it for a moment. There was no doubt in his mind of how much he loved Maya. But he didn't need to be psychoanalysed. He was pretty certain his stomach pains were coming from the fact he hadn't eaten since Maya's water broke.
'I'm just being selfish,' he finally said. 'She's in there having our baby and all I'm doing is frustrating her. She'd be better off if I wasn't there.'
'I'm pretty certain Mystic Maya prefers having you with her. I'll admit that I don't know what it's like to be in either of your shoes but... your bond is stronger than any I have ever seen between two people.'
She fidgeted awkwardly.
Phoenix found himself fidgeting too.
For that to come from Iris, it meant a lot. It also made Phoenix feel guilty. He had no idea what her opinion of him was after all these years. They had "a history", as some people would call, and it was far from a pleasant one. He had dated her sister (and unknowingly dated her as well), a relationship that ended in Dahlia murdering her ex having failed to murder Phoenix himself, all of which Iris had known about. Then they had accidently met again and it led to another murder, the murder of Maya's mother. The event had been oddly cathartic for Phoenix but it had ended in an eight-year prison sentence for Iris in her role as Godot's accomplice.
His life had since moved on quite a lot and he was sure hers had too.
There no telling what was going on inside her head...
Truth was, he was wondering what was going on through Maya's head when she asked her cousin, his ex-girlfriend, to deliver their baby.
All he could do was force himself to stand up straight and smile as platonically as possible.
'Um, thanks,' he finally said.
'It's nothing,' she said kindly. Then she sighed, 'Truth be told, I am eternally grateful to Mystic Maya and yourself putting such faith in me.'
That made him feel bad considering all his fears and thoughts up until now.
'Not many people were willing to believe in me when I left prison,' she went on. 'But Mystic Maya did. Now, that she has entrusted me with the delivery of her first natural child is like,' she blushed and smiled, 'It's like being reborn myself.'
'Well, then,' Phoenix said, 'I'm glad...'
He then took a serious tone and took a step forward.
'But I want you to swear something to me,' he continued. 'Swear on whatever is most important to you that if you sense there is the remotest possibility that Maya or the baby are in danger, you will support my decision to take her to a hospital, or call a doctor, or-'
Iris silenced him by placing a friendly hand on his shoulder.
She smiled, 'Of course I promise. Mystic Maya is very important to me too, you know. More than I think you realise.'
At that moment the door opened and the lady of the hour hobbled in, followed by her entourage.
Her face was scowling a little.
'What is taking my ice chips so long?'
Phoenix immediately rushed over to her.
'Maya, what the hell!?' he said, clutching her hands so she could support herself against him. 'Is it really a good idea to be walking around?'
'I can't get comfortable in that bed,' Maya protested. 'I'm not forbidden to go for walks. I have a nice crowd of people around me, after all.'
This prompted a comical wave from Apollo who, up until now, had been taking most of the support of his boss's wife.
Phoenix sighed, 'But what if you'd fallen down?'
'I'd have been picked up by my happy little helpers here,' she retorted.
Trucy folded her arms and pouted, 'As if we'd have let Mommy fall down!'
Iris stepped forward again. 'For what it's worth, there is nothing wrong with a pregnant woman walking around if she's uncomfortable. If anything, for some women, it can help them along.'
Apollo raised an eyebrow, 'Is that a fact?'
'Gravity,' Iris stated, offering the younger lawyer a smile.
Phoenix chuckled and instinctively wrapped his arms around Maya again to hug her. She looked up at him quizzically, 'Nick?'
'What?' he smirked.
'Are you okay?'
'I'm fine,' he replied, 'Had a bit of a stomach cramp... but it's gone now.'
'Good...' she winced, crunching up a little again him. 'Oof...'
Phoenix linked his fingers with hers. 'Another contraction?'
She nodded weakly and braced herself against him. He took the brunt of her pain, 'Don't worry, I'm here...' he whispered. It was as if he truly had been away and only just come back. As Maya hissed in pain, he hushed her sweetly. His whole heart felt tight with affection and anxiety. 'I love you,' he whispered absentmindedly.
Maya tightened her grasp on him. 'It really hurts!'
'Her contractions have been getting closer together,' Athena stated, her tone getting anxious herself. 'That's why she wanted to take a walk...'
'Perhaps you'd better sit down again, Mystic Maya,' Pearl suggested.
She came forward to stroke her cousin's shoulder before turning to Iris. 'Is it possible that she'll be ready to give birth soon?'
'She would be moving along pretty quickly,' Iris admitted. 'But considering she has had no epidural, it could be possible.'
With new found strength, Phoenix decided it was time Maya returned to her chamber. 'We need to see how far along you are.'
Pearl took Maya's other arm, 'Let's get you back to your room.'
'I...' Maya struggled to move her gets, 'It hurts so much...'
She was actually fighting back tears. Desperately she tried to hide her face in Phoenix's shoulder, not wanting Pearl or Trucy to see her crying and get frightened. They had never seen Maya look so vulnerable.
Pearl backed away, covering her mouth in fear. 'Oh, Mystic Maya...'
Iris came forward to take her place at Maya's shoulder to lead her along while Apollo opened the door to let them slowly walk Maya through. The whole time she was gently whimpering in pain and each time she did, it broke Phoenix's heart. He could only imagine what agony she was in.
'There's no point in checking you,' Iris told Maya calmly. 'With contractions this close together, the baby must be on her way...'
With Athena and Apollo doing their best to keep the girls calm outside, that left Phoenix alone to comfort Maya as she prepared to bring their child into the world. Once she was back in bed and after a little extra preparation, Iris confirmed what they had already realised - the baby was ready to come out.
'Alright then,' Iris said, her voice betraying a tinge of nervousness, 'It's time to start pushing.'
Phoenix clutched Maya's hand between both of his. They had passed the point of no return now. He then caught the look in her eyes, so delicate and full of fear.
'Nick, I'm scared...' she whimpered.
His heart jumped again, and leaned in to kiss her forehead.
'Don't be, it's alright!'
Then Maya had to start pushing. Tears streaming down her face from the agony, she pushed as hard as she could, then relaxed when Iris told her to. In-between pushes, she panted frantically and looked to Phoenix.
'I feel as if I'm getting split open!' she cried. 'It's so painful...'
He kissed her again, 'I know. Hold my hand as tight as you like.'
Maya managed to muster a chuckle, 'Are you sure? You'll regret it!'
Iris looked up, 'Everything is going really well, Mystic Maya. I know it hurts but you're going to have to start pushing again...'
The contractions came again.
Maya grunted painfully again, her humour gone again.
'Agh!'
She screeched, squeezing Phoenix's hand as tight as she could. He bit his lips trying to hide how much she was crushing him. He had to keep telling himself just how small this pain was in comparison to what she had to be going through.
Maya shot Phoenix a dangerous look, 'It hurts so much and it's all your fault!'
(How is this my fault?) he thought. 'Oh Maya...'
'You put this baby inside me,' Maya replied, reading his mind. 'That's why it's your fault!'
(Damn her ESP!)
'Next contraction will be in about twenty seconds,' Iris announced.
'I don't know if I can push anymore...' Maya whined.
'You can,' Phoenix assured her.
She held his hand even tighter.
'Here we go,' the midwife said, and the pushing began again. Maya truly put everything into it, defiantly fighting against the pain for the allotted time. 'I see something...'
'You do?' Phoenix said keenly, leaning forward to see.
Maya gave him a slap. 'Don't look! I don't want you to see my... you know... that way.'
This really wasn't the time to be vain but Phoenix reluctantly respected her wishes. Iris looked up and chuckled, 'She's probably right. This isn't for the faint hearted...'
Coming from Iris, that was a real kick to his manhood.
Finally, the pain seemed to be subsiding for Maya as she gave it one last, long push. Sure enough the child came: head, shoulders, arms, body, knees, toes and... it was over. With a great sigh of relief, Maya gave life to her daughter.
'She's here,' Phoenix said, equally relieved, and finally having his hands released from their painful grip. 'Look at her...'
Maya slumped down against the bed from the relief of being out of pain, then raised her head to look. Although she was still covered in blood, still attached to her naval stream, and her face was scrunched up from having been brought into this bright, cold world, she was there. She already had a full head of hair, stuck on end from having just been dragged into life.
'Oh God,' Maya finally said, clearly too overtaken with emotion to form comprehensive words, 'She has your hair!'
Phoenix couldn't help but roll his eyes.
Smiling happily, Iris handed the baby to the small gathering of nuns, all elders and all trained in the childbirth as well, who had been watching the process from the corner in case they deemed the situation too dire for Sister Iris to handle. Fortunately, this had been as straight forward a birth as they came.
Meanwhile, Iris made sure one last time that everything had gone as planned. She was relieved to see that they had.
'I bet you're relieved you had that cut now,' Phoenix suddenly said, glancing over as the elders cleaned up the baby and performed... some sort of right.
Maya wiped away the tears in her eyes, both from her previous pain and from the blissful sight of her daughter. 'Shut up, Nick!'
Iris chuckled, 'I think I'm just as relieved as both of you.'
She walked to Maya's side a placed a reassuring hand one her shoulder.
'Everything is fine,' she assured her, and Phoenix seeing as he had been frightened from the off. She made sure to dart her eyes between them, to make sure they both got the message. 'Everything is clear, no bleeding and the baby is healthy. Seriously, Mystic Maya, you really are a natural... and the first birth is always the hardest. It'll hopefully be smooth sailing next time too.'
Maya scoffed, 'If there is a next time...'
Phoenix said nothing. He'd always wanted a few children but now was time to take care of this one. Besides, they already had Trucy and Pearl... and in a weird way there were times when Athena and Apollo felt like kids to him too. He'd be content to stop here.
'Where is she?' Maya finally asked, this having been on her mind the whole time, 'Is she okay?'
One of the elder nuns turned and nodded. 'We are nearly finished, Mystic Maya.'
'Oh, stuff the ritual!' she whined, 'I want to see her...'
Iris sensed the tone in Maya's voice was perfectly serious and went over to pick the baby up herself. Upon receiving a scowl from their second cousin once removed Elder, Iris simply managed to smile and say, 'She is the Master. It's her choice.' She then picked up the baby and handed her carefully to Maya.
Finally, she was able to see what those nine months had all amounted up to. It was so... gratifying.
'Oh, thank you for finally coming out!' were the first words to leave Maya's lips.
Phoenix noticed that the baby already had a Magatama around her neck, a silver one. 'So you get given these right from birth?'
'Main family members do, yes,' Iris nodded. 'Only the Master or the Master's daughters get them, though.'
The new parents chuckled and looked down at the cleaned and content child. She had stopped crying and instead looked up blearily at her mother and father. 'She's opened her eyes,' Maya declared happily, seeing it as a truly ground breaking event. 'God, I can't believe you used to be inside of me.'
She pulled back the blanket to see parts of her hair were still sticking up.
'So, we can't get it to go down, huh?' Maya remarked, now clearly back to her usual mood of lightly teasing Nick. 'I had no idea the "dragged through a hedge backwards" look was hereditary...'
'Maya!' Phoenix groaned, but he still leaned forward to kiss her forehead.
'What?' she chuckled, 'It's true! She looks like you first thing in the morning.'
Phoenix tilted his head to look down at the baby girl. He was trying to pick out any features that exclusively belonged to him, apart from her hair's natural tendency to stick up. Truth was that everything about her felt more Maya than anything else. She was very, very adorable looking. That was all Maya. Maybe her skin tone was like his, though...
Iris tilted her head, 'Have you got a name yet?'
'We're still arguing about that,' Maya sighed.
'Not arguing,' Phoenix added, as if to clarify, 'We're just still... thinking. Rest assured, it'll probably begin with an M.'
'And, of course, she'll have the last name "Fey",' Maya said.
'That really isn't up for discussion?'
'Tradition, Nick,' she responded. 'For example, let's say we go "Mia" after Sis. "Mia Fey" sounds way cooler. It's like the alter-ego for a superhero. "Mia Wright" just sounds like an office worker or something...'
Phoenix folded his arms and smirked, 'Does that mean we're calling her Mia?'
Maya shrugged and looked down at her daughter again.
She then turned to Iris.
'What do you think?'
'It's none of my business, Mystic Maya,' Iris replied, a little surprised to be asked at all. 'Mia is a cute name.'
Maya nodded and turned back to Phoenix. 'Let's see what Pearly and Trucy think. A proper family vote.'
He just smiled and kissed her again, 'Deal.'
Then he nodded to Iris and nodded a thank you to her.
Iris just smiled back and went to re-join the other nuns, all chattering away about how wonderful it was to have a new heir.