A/N: Ok Kiddos, i've booted KT out of my a/n. Well, you would, wouldn't you? Anyway, this one isn't a comedy, it's a fic written back in Sept. 02, again for a TS3 facfic competition. The premise was to write about the birth of Pipers baby, and include all 3 sisters (else, I may have left one out. *looks innocent*).It's two parter... enjoy, R&R, part 2 will follow next time (the end's a real kicker!).
*
Coming Home - Part One
*
There are no words to describe how it feels. Imagine you are small, and a large, powerful, sweaty man has you in a bear hug. Every thirty seconds he squeezes you extra hard; add to that the fact that you're in the dark. Each time he crushes you, your heart races in panic, simply because it's a terrifying experience. You literally cannot breathe. It's because of the pressure on the umbilical cord but... am I confusing you? Birth. I'm talking about birth. Of course, you may remember it, and that the moment we finally emerge from birth canal is when we have to hop into the body, but, then again, maybe you don't. Not everyone does. Some do, and will talk about it as a young child, but then the cares of life weigh on their shoulders and they forget. I remember and I know I'm supposed to. It's important to my family, but most of all I need to be able to explain to them why. Piper Halliwell, my Mother, will certainly want the answers. She's that kind of woman. I wonder how'll she react when she finds out my thoughts on what happened in the hours running up to my birth. Am I confusing you again? I'm Sorry. For those of you who don't remember, you are always near your mother, just not actually in the baby body she is growing for you until it's time to be born. So, you see it all, you hear it all,and sometimes, it's interesting.
The midwife frowned as she took Piper's blood pressure. "Hmmm, it's a little high," she mused, but then as she looked into Piper's eyes, her face brightened considerably "But pretty normal at this stage of pregnancy. Any oedema?"
Paige screwed her face up in confusion, her head tilting ever so slightly to the right, "odem-what you saying now? Is that serious?" Piper let a small laugh and looked across indulgently at Paige. They were in a small examination room of the hospital whilst the midwife went through the routine checks any sensible pregnant woman endures once a week for the final month.
"No, Sweetie, she means water retention." Turning her gaze to the midwife she answered, "Well, yeah, a little."
The midwife pressed on Piper's ankle as she spoke to her, "Ok, Piper, on the whole, you're doing really well. I've written your notes about the protein in your water. It is something we need to keep an eye on, so rather than come in next week we'd like to see you in two days." Pipers face darkened at this revelation, and whilst pulling herself up awkwardly into a sitting position questioned the midwife, a small frown danced on her forehead,
"But... you just said I was doing ok. Why do you want to see me?"
Paige immediately latching onto the worry in Pipers voice, overreacted slightly as she looked alarmed and said, "Yeah, if it's something to worry about shouldn't she be in the hospital?"
The midwife, obviously used to dealing with this situation, was slightly jaded in her response "It's not a major concern, just something we need to monitor. I suggest you relax as much as possible. Would you like me to schedule a home visit for you, say, Thursday morning?"
Piper, looking decidedly tired now into her 38th week of pregnancy looked almost relieved "Oh. Well, that would be love-"
"Impossible!" blurted Paige, "remember, we have that... thing...
with the people... so-" she looked intently at Piper, frantically trying to communicate with her eyes that it was far too risky to have the midwife visit the Manor.
Weary, Pipers shoulders visibly sagged as she sighed "Yeah that's right. Ok, I'll get Phoebe to drive me next time Paige, you don't need to take time off."
Paige and Piper left the hospital room and walked down the cool white corridor to the double doors that led to the car park. Paige, her arm linked through Pipers, stopped suddenly and slightly tugged on her arm "You know, you are supposed to rest, and it's-" she looked down at her watch, "oh no, the traffic is going to be at a standstill Piper. Lemme orb you?"
"No, Paige. Granted this little sucker orbs me places of it's own free will every now and then, but what is my mantra for this pregnancy?"
Paige rolled her eyes as she said, "Normal, normal, normal. But you know-"
"I'm not going to get normal, I know. But if you think I'm gonna make it worse by orbing here, there and every where when we have a car... you're very much mistaken! Come on!" She paused momentarily as her eyebrows dipped every so slightly into a small frown, before moving as quickly as she could towards the doors. Paige was sure to try and argue her point further and the tightening she had just felt low down in her belly made her nervous. 'Nervous me plus argumentative Paige trying to make a point could easily escalate into trouble.' she thought.
Nearly two hours later they were still not home. The traffic WAS at a standstill, the heat unbearable, and the atmosphere tense and silent. Paige muttered,
"You wouldn't listen would you?" whilst fiddling with the radio. She turned to look at her sister, her eyes leaving the road momentarily, with a smug satisfied look that instantly fell when she caught sight of her. Pale, her face glazed in a shimmer of sweat, Piper looked decidedly ill. "Piper? Oh Honey, you look terrible. I'm turning back to the hospital."
"No... we're nearer to home...just- I'll be fine" Piper almost gasped between breaths. Then she suddenly grabbed the dash leant forward as far as her swollen stomach would allow. As a low animalistic moan escaped her, panic washed over Paige. Her grip tightening on the wheel, she spluttered,
"What? What is it?" instantly forgetting their disagreement over orbing home.
"I think... my water just broke."
"Geez Piper, I only just had the car valeted! That's it, we're orbing to the hospital!" But as Paige was pulling the car over to the side of the road, something in her deepest instinct was telling Piper where she wanted to be.
"The Manor. Orb me home." She no longer cared about her 'normal, normal, normal.' mantra. The warm damp feeling was spreading further beneath her legs, and although heated discussion with Leo had Piper fighting the 'hospital delivery' corner, she now just needed to be at home. Pulling on the handbrake Paige began,
"But-" and abruptly closed her mouth. She thought to herself 'Okay! Even I'm not stupid enough to argue with that look.' and held onto Pipers arm. "Ready?" she gently asked. Piper's lips were firmly pressed together, concentration etched on every contour of her face; she glanced at Paige and nodded.
The swirl of tiny blue lights announced their arrival in the Manor hall seconds before they materialised, but there was nobody there to witness it.
"Leo!" called Paige, "Phoebe!" whilst supporting Piper with her arm around her shoulder. "Why didn't you tell me in the car you were having contractions?" she shot at Piper.
"Hmmm, I wonder why Paige? So that you could orb me somewhere instantly? You know I didn't want that. I-" lurching forward again, her hands instinctively reaching to her stomach she breathed "huuuuuuuurmmmmmmmm"
"Another one?! LEO!" Paige's panic was evident as Leo appeared before them, the same pattern of swirling lights preceding him. "She's in labour, and getting pains every couple of minutes. Is that, like, normal?" rushed Paige as Leo went to Pipers other side. Breathing a long deep breath out Piper muttered,
"Thank you Paige, I'm right here! I can speak for myself!" Leo pulled a face at Paige behind Piper's back as he led her to the couch saying,
"Ok, who do I need to call? Only, in the birth plan, you wanted to be at the hospital-"
"And now I want to be here!" Piper snapped. "My notes are in my bag, ring the number top right, they will tell you what to do-" Suddenly, she put her arms out as if to balance herself. 'Whoa, dizzy.' and then slumped down onto the couch. Whilst Leo rummaged in the bag to retrieve the notes, Paige was looking shell-shocked, as if the events had suddenly hit her, and hit her hard. Although in a daze from the outside, on the inside her thoughts and emotions were churning. 'Prue wouldn't have mentioned spoiling the car seat. Piper wouldn't have yelled at her. She wants her here, not me.'
"I'll get Phoebe, will I?" she said softly and very slowly. At the very moment the words escaped her lips, Phoebe was entering the manor, looking bright, if a little tired.
"I had the best day! I've been nominated for an award-" Seeing Paige she stopped "Hey, are you ok?"
"Uh, I guess. It's Piper." she answered, pointing in the direction of the couch. Paige, continued to look as if she were somewhere else far removed as Phoebe rushed to crouch down beside Piper.
"I'm in labour." A small smile crept onto Pipers mouth as she looked at Phoebe. "This is it; I'm going to be a Mommy. I just- why do I feel so ill? My... my hands are tingling." Leo was dialling the hospital as Phoebe let out a scream. He dropped the receiver and turned to see Piper convulsing.
Part two to follow...
*
Coming Home - Part One
*
There are no words to describe how it feels. Imagine you are small, and a large, powerful, sweaty man has you in a bear hug. Every thirty seconds he squeezes you extra hard; add to that the fact that you're in the dark. Each time he crushes you, your heart races in panic, simply because it's a terrifying experience. You literally cannot breathe. It's because of the pressure on the umbilical cord but... am I confusing you? Birth. I'm talking about birth. Of course, you may remember it, and that the moment we finally emerge from birth canal is when we have to hop into the body, but, then again, maybe you don't. Not everyone does. Some do, and will talk about it as a young child, but then the cares of life weigh on their shoulders and they forget. I remember and I know I'm supposed to. It's important to my family, but most of all I need to be able to explain to them why. Piper Halliwell, my Mother, will certainly want the answers. She's that kind of woman. I wonder how'll she react when she finds out my thoughts on what happened in the hours running up to my birth. Am I confusing you again? I'm Sorry. For those of you who don't remember, you are always near your mother, just not actually in the baby body she is growing for you until it's time to be born. So, you see it all, you hear it all,and sometimes, it's interesting.
The midwife frowned as she took Piper's blood pressure. "Hmmm, it's a little high," she mused, but then as she looked into Piper's eyes, her face brightened considerably "But pretty normal at this stage of pregnancy. Any oedema?"
Paige screwed her face up in confusion, her head tilting ever so slightly to the right, "odem-what you saying now? Is that serious?" Piper let a small laugh and looked across indulgently at Paige. They were in a small examination room of the hospital whilst the midwife went through the routine checks any sensible pregnant woman endures once a week for the final month.
"No, Sweetie, she means water retention." Turning her gaze to the midwife she answered, "Well, yeah, a little."
The midwife pressed on Piper's ankle as she spoke to her, "Ok, Piper, on the whole, you're doing really well. I've written your notes about the protein in your water. It is something we need to keep an eye on, so rather than come in next week we'd like to see you in two days." Pipers face darkened at this revelation, and whilst pulling herself up awkwardly into a sitting position questioned the midwife, a small frown danced on her forehead,
"But... you just said I was doing ok. Why do you want to see me?"
Paige immediately latching onto the worry in Pipers voice, overreacted slightly as she looked alarmed and said, "Yeah, if it's something to worry about shouldn't she be in the hospital?"
The midwife, obviously used to dealing with this situation, was slightly jaded in her response "It's not a major concern, just something we need to monitor. I suggest you relax as much as possible. Would you like me to schedule a home visit for you, say, Thursday morning?"
Piper, looking decidedly tired now into her 38th week of pregnancy looked almost relieved "Oh. Well, that would be love-"
"Impossible!" blurted Paige, "remember, we have that... thing...
with the people... so-" she looked intently at Piper, frantically trying to communicate with her eyes that it was far too risky to have the midwife visit the Manor.
Weary, Pipers shoulders visibly sagged as she sighed "Yeah that's right. Ok, I'll get Phoebe to drive me next time Paige, you don't need to take time off."
Paige and Piper left the hospital room and walked down the cool white corridor to the double doors that led to the car park. Paige, her arm linked through Pipers, stopped suddenly and slightly tugged on her arm "You know, you are supposed to rest, and it's-" she looked down at her watch, "oh no, the traffic is going to be at a standstill Piper. Lemme orb you?"
"No, Paige. Granted this little sucker orbs me places of it's own free will every now and then, but what is my mantra for this pregnancy?"
Paige rolled her eyes as she said, "Normal, normal, normal. But you know-"
"I'm not going to get normal, I know. But if you think I'm gonna make it worse by orbing here, there and every where when we have a car... you're very much mistaken! Come on!" She paused momentarily as her eyebrows dipped every so slightly into a small frown, before moving as quickly as she could towards the doors. Paige was sure to try and argue her point further and the tightening she had just felt low down in her belly made her nervous. 'Nervous me plus argumentative Paige trying to make a point could easily escalate into trouble.' she thought.
Nearly two hours later they were still not home. The traffic WAS at a standstill, the heat unbearable, and the atmosphere tense and silent. Paige muttered,
"You wouldn't listen would you?" whilst fiddling with the radio. She turned to look at her sister, her eyes leaving the road momentarily, with a smug satisfied look that instantly fell when she caught sight of her. Pale, her face glazed in a shimmer of sweat, Piper looked decidedly ill. "Piper? Oh Honey, you look terrible. I'm turning back to the hospital."
"No... we're nearer to home...just- I'll be fine" Piper almost gasped between breaths. Then she suddenly grabbed the dash leant forward as far as her swollen stomach would allow. As a low animalistic moan escaped her, panic washed over Paige. Her grip tightening on the wheel, she spluttered,
"What? What is it?" instantly forgetting their disagreement over orbing home.
"I think... my water just broke."
"Geez Piper, I only just had the car valeted! That's it, we're orbing to the hospital!" But as Paige was pulling the car over to the side of the road, something in her deepest instinct was telling Piper where she wanted to be.
"The Manor. Orb me home." She no longer cared about her 'normal, normal, normal.' mantra. The warm damp feeling was spreading further beneath her legs, and although heated discussion with Leo had Piper fighting the 'hospital delivery' corner, she now just needed to be at home. Pulling on the handbrake Paige began,
"But-" and abruptly closed her mouth. She thought to herself 'Okay! Even I'm not stupid enough to argue with that look.' and held onto Pipers arm. "Ready?" she gently asked. Piper's lips were firmly pressed together, concentration etched on every contour of her face; she glanced at Paige and nodded.
The swirl of tiny blue lights announced their arrival in the Manor hall seconds before they materialised, but there was nobody there to witness it.
"Leo!" called Paige, "Phoebe!" whilst supporting Piper with her arm around her shoulder. "Why didn't you tell me in the car you were having contractions?" she shot at Piper.
"Hmmm, I wonder why Paige? So that you could orb me somewhere instantly? You know I didn't want that. I-" lurching forward again, her hands instinctively reaching to her stomach she breathed "huuuuuuuurmmmmmmmm"
"Another one?! LEO!" Paige's panic was evident as Leo appeared before them, the same pattern of swirling lights preceding him. "She's in labour, and getting pains every couple of minutes. Is that, like, normal?" rushed Paige as Leo went to Pipers other side. Breathing a long deep breath out Piper muttered,
"Thank you Paige, I'm right here! I can speak for myself!" Leo pulled a face at Paige behind Piper's back as he led her to the couch saying,
"Ok, who do I need to call? Only, in the birth plan, you wanted to be at the hospital-"
"And now I want to be here!" Piper snapped. "My notes are in my bag, ring the number top right, they will tell you what to do-" Suddenly, she put her arms out as if to balance herself. 'Whoa, dizzy.' and then slumped down onto the couch. Whilst Leo rummaged in the bag to retrieve the notes, Paige was looking shell-shocked, as if the events had suddenly hit her, and hit her hard. Although in a daze from the outside, on the inside her thoughts and emotions were churning. 'Prue wouldn't have mentioned spoiling the car seat. Piper wouldn't have yelled at her. She wants her here, not me.'
"I'll get Phoebe, will I?" she said softly and very slowly. At the very moment the words escaped her lips, Phoebe was entering the manor, looking bright, if a little tired.
"I had the best day! I've been nominated for an award-" Seeing Paige she stopped "Hey, are you ok?"
"Uh, I guess. It's Piper." she answered, pointing in the direction of the couch. Paige, continued to look as if she were somewhere else far removed as Phoebe rushed to crouch down beside Piper.
"I'm in labour." A small smile crept onto Pipers mouth as she looked at Phoebe. "This is it; I'm going to be a Mommy. I just- why do I feel so ill? My... my hands are tingling." Leo was dialling the hospital as Phoebe let out a scream. He dropped the receiver and turned to see Piper convulsing.
Part two to follow...