Hey Jude
Summary: Karma and Amy had nine whole months to prepare for this moment; they had read all the books and taken all the classes and decorated and redecorated the nursery at least three times. However, when the moment actually occurs, as it turns out, the only thing they ever really needed each other. Oh, and Karma's voice is quite a help too. |Future Fic|
Warning: Includes childbirth; also a Karmy baby.
Pairing: Karma Ashcroft/Amy Raundenfeld
Disclaimer: I own nothing besides the Karmy baby.
Author's Note: This is a future Kamy fic that takes place ten years in the future. :)
Growing up, everyone always talked about what kind of family they wanted, how many kids they were going to have, what they would look like, what kind of sports they would play and all of those little annoying details. Amy had never done that, she had never sat down and decided that she would have two boys and a girl, the boys would play soccer and the girl would be a ballet dancer with brown hair; she never picked names or color schemes or swooned over infant clothes as she walked through the mall.
Amy Raudenfeld had never been that kind of girl.
Babies are messy; no matter what they spend their entire day doing, they always come back with jam hands- with sticky hands that they just want to touch you with. Kids are accident-prone, no matter what happens, they are always bleeding or bruised. Kids are always getting into trouble, always breaking things, or breaking other kids. And as an adult, you are responsible for raising them for eighteen years, for feeding and clothing them, drying their tears, taking them to and from soccer practice. It just always sounded like so much work and hassle and responsibility that Amy did not want.
However, when it is late one night and Karma looks at her with her eyes shining so brightly and asks her for a baby, Amy cannot verbally state any of those reasons. In fact, she couldn't say anything other than "okay" and allowed herself to fall into Karma's arms and warm kisses, losing herself so deeply within her that she could not tell where one of them began and the other ended.
The discussion as to who would carry their child had been very long and very technical. Although she and Karma had been married for nearly three years now, and had been together much longer than that, they had not really prepared for this moment. Mainly because Karma never thought that Amy would say yes, but also because Amy never thought that Karma would be willing to sacrifice her singing career for a tiny human. They spent nights upon nights trying to decide how they would have their child (adoption? IV, sperm donor) and who would carry the baby (Karma did have a singing career, but Amy hadn't always been sold on the idea of being as huge as an elephant).
Finally, one night, as Karma laid on Amy's chest with her soft fingertips tracing shapes onto her porcelain skin, she looked up at her so loving that Amy swears that she might just burst completely and asks her to have her baby. She looked up at her so sweetly and whispered that she wanted Amy to grow a little baby Ashcroft, a perfect little mixture of the both of them. It is a declaration that is so very sweet and it shakes Amy to the core of everything that she is, and it is suddenly a request that the tomboyish blonde could not say no to; no matter how badly she hated the idea of being a swollen human incubator.
When Amy agreed, they began trying for a baby right away. Karma wanted a baby Ashcroft and what a better way to get a baby Ashcroft than to use Ashcroft spawn. Zen had agreed to be their sperm donor; after all, he had been harassing them for a niece or nephew to spoil since that Fourth of July party in which Amy got down on one knee and asked Karma to spend the rest of her life with her. It took a lot of tries, a lot of shots from the OBGYN and a lot of "special goods" from Zen (because Karma wanted to be the one to knock Amy up, not some Joe at the hospital). Finally, on the fourth attempt, on September 22nd, Amy took a test and suddenly two pink lines were staring up at her.
Pregnant.
Gasping as the silent tears fill within her eyes, she raced to Karma who had been sitting in their bed, glasses on her head, and a book in her hands. There had been no words to verbally speak the fact that their entire lives were about to change so Amy just simply slid the test down into her book. When Karma looked at the test, her entire lit up in excitement and they both began to cry, falling into one another.
Honestly, neither of them stopped crying for the next nine months.
Amy's pregnancy had gone by rather smoothly, besides the obvious morning sickness that the blonde swore would haunt her every day in her pregnancy. (Even though Karma had reassured her numerous times that by the end of the first trimester it should be over). Oh, and there had also been the fact that the baby completely lost its mind every time that Karma opened her mouth, rather it had been her speaking, or her singing. The baby would kick and wiggle and sometimes, Amy would swear punch, just to get its Mama's attention. It had been a response that swelled Karma's head three times its original size and a response that bruised Amy's insides. Farrah had engulfed the two ladies in parenting books, swearing that they had to raise her grandchild 'right' because, as two ladies, they may not have another chance and chalk this one up to being a guinea pig. Lauren helped shopped for the baby (after all, if there is anything that the twenty six year old is good at, it's shopping.) And Karma had decorated and redecorated the nursery so many times that Amy honestly could not tell you what color it is now.
They had chosen not to find out what the gender is; a decision that constantly annoys both Karma and Lauren. However, Amy made a very good point, one that her in-laws fully supported. Everything about their pregnancy had been so calculated, she at least wanted something to be a surprise and this seemed like the easiest way to do it. Grumbling, Karma had agreed to remain in the dark, mainly because she wanted to please her wife, but also because she had a sneaking suspicion as to what their baby is just based off the sonograms.
She had also been supportive when Amy suggested that she did not want to give birth in a hospital, but rather she wanted to bring their child into the world someplace warm, someplace loving, with gentle hands and nothing but admiration to welcome him/her. Her original maternal instincts warned her that this might not be a good idea, but when Amy looked at her with those big, dark, hopeful eyes she just did not have the heart to say no. (After all, she wouldn't be the one pushing a bowling ball sized head out of her vagina and if Amy wanted to give birth in the water like a whale, un-medicated, then all power to her.)
So, they spent the remaining few months of Amy's pregnancy preparing the nursery and reading books on childbirth and childrearing. Many of these nights were spend in bed with Karma's hand on Amy's prodding stomach, feeling their child swim at the sound of her voice and Amy falling deeper and deeper in love with her wife. However, no amount of reading could have prepared her for the moment that it happened.
It is early one Friday morning in June when Amy's water breaks and the sudden fear that washes over Karma shakes her to the core of everything that she has ever known. They had prepared for this moment for the past nine months, but when Amy starts moaning in pain, Karma manages to forget everything. There is nothing worse than seeing the love of your life in pain, even if it for something that you both so desperately wanted. Amy simply smiles at her in between contractions and Karma remembers something about pressure points and cold wash cloths.
Karma does not remember the hours that manage to pass by, but she knows that they seem to last forever. It seems to be taking forever in which Amy is grunting and groaning in pain, hours of the sweat, of the crying, of the cursing that the baby is never going to come. Hours of watching Netflix, listening to music, trying to something, anything to get Amy's mind of the impending pain and changes that are about to happen. While Karma herself might not be the one giving birth to their bundle of joy, she wants to do anything possible to help Amy smooth the process along.
It is nearly twelve hours later when Amy is in the birthing pool, a suggestion that the midwives had made to them when Amy first suggested that she did not want a hospital birth. With the way that Amy's face contorts in pain, Karma knows that it is not long now until their baby will enter the world and they will officially become parents. She knows that soon they will have a living, breathing tiny human to take care of, and Karma cannot tell if she is excited or scared shitless.
"Karm," Amy moans through a contraction, her hand reaching out for her wife's. Karma is quick to kneel beside of the pool, taking Amy's hand within her own as their fingers lace, her other hand gently brushing the sweaty hair away from her face. Their relationship had been a love/hate throughout this entire process; there were moments when Amy could not stand having Karma's hands on her, and then as the next contraction came, Amy could not handle not having Karma beside of her.
"It's almost time, Ames. We're going to be parents soon," whispers the dotting Karma as she gently places a kiss upon Amy's sweaty forehead, an action that only receives a nod as she pants through her contraction. Although Amy looks like she has ran every mile of this labor, Karma cannot help but think that she is absolutely stunning.
"You… you should get in the pool." Amy breathes sharply through her nose and Karma's heart jumps in her throat. Looking at her exhausted wife, her mouth slightly ajar, Karma sucks in a breath, clutching the towel in the chair beside of the tub.
"Is it…" Karma doesn't finish her sentence before Amy nods, her hands gripping tightly to her very round stomach.
"Soon. Now, could you get in here, please? I would rather not give birth to your baby by myself. I'm sure that I could, but it's not exactly how I pictured this moment," Amy snaps and Karma chuckles, running her fingers through her brunette curls. Even in labor, Amy Raudenfeld is still the sassy, witty woman that she fell in love with all those years ago. Smiling with a nod, Karma stands as she rids herself of her clothing until she is only in a swimsuit and quickly ties her hair into a loose pony tail. Inching forward, she slowly steps into the warm pool, her eyes staying fixated on Amy who is breathing through another contraction as if being directed where to go. Gesturing in a direction, Karma quickly follows as she sits in front of Amy's slightly opened legs, a hand resting reassuringly on her knee.
"We're going to be parents," Karma whispers, the tears burning within her eyes and Amy nods with a soft smile, her fingers lacing around her wife's as she gives them a gentle squeeze. She could tell that Karma is freaking out and if she is honest, she is kind of freaking out about it as well.
"You sure you're ready for this?" Amy asks in the break between her contractions and Karma grins, wrinkling her nose as she throws her head back, allowing a hearty laugh to escape from her lips. A sound that makes Amy's heart swell and grow nearly three sizes, or at least, that is what she swears.
"I think it's a little too late to back out now, isn't it?" Karma teases, her fingers gently tracing shapes into Amy's skin and the blonde smiles at her, such a brilliant and beautiful smile that Karma falls in love with her all over again.
"Little bit, yeah," Amy smiles softly. Suddenly, a contraction is seizing through her body and she is gripping at the sides of the pool so tightly that Karma swears that she might actually puncture the walls. The second that it happens, Amy knows that there is suddenly no going back. The baby drops down low and without hesitation, Amy is pushing.
"Oh, oh shit. Shit, Amy! Are you pushing?!" Karma freaks and Amy groans, her face turning the darkest shade of red as she bears down into her bottom with every amount of strength that she has.
"I KIND OF HAVE NO CHOICE HERE!" Amy yells in frustration, pushing down harder until the contraction slowly begins to ease. Letting out a huff of hair, she pushes the tangling locks away from her face, glaring at the brunette who sits wide eyed and mouth ajar in front of her.
"Okay, Karma. I get that this is scary for you. But I'm going to need you to do something here. I'm about to push something the size of a bowling ball out of a very, very tiny hole. And you're going to have to do something besides sitting there like a boob," Amy snaps and the hostility in her voice cracks Karma back into reality. Leaning forward in the water, she pushes the warm water against Amy's center, her fingers gently stroking her legs.
"What do you want me to do?" Karma asks so sweetly that Amy thinks that she might just die.
"Shit, here it comes!" Amy yells as another contraction rips through her so tightly that Amy thinks that the baby might just rip out of her. Before she has time to answer Karma's question, she is pushing down, harder, deeper, her face contorting with the amounts of pain that she is in. She can feel the head inching closer to her center, "SING!"
"What?!"
"FOR THE LOVE OF FUCKING GOD, KARMA, THIS THING IS OBESSED WITH YOU AND YOUR VOICE SO IF YOU FUCKING SING, IT MIGHT COME OUT FASTER!" Amy grunts, rolling her head back as she continues to bear down. Glancing down between her wife's legs, Karma sees nothing, no sign of the life that is about to come into the world. Nodding quietly, Karma pushes the warmer water around her wife as she opens her mouth, the most heavenly sound coming out of it.
"Hey Jude, don't make it bad, take a sad song and make it better. Remember to let her into your heart, then you can start to make it better." Karma sings so softly, watching as Amy pushes down so hard that she thinks that she might actually burst some kind of vessel. Letting out an exasperated gasp, Amy grips harder at the tub as another contraction tightens through her and she can feel the head nearing the surface of her body.
"Hey Jude, don't be afraid, you were made to go out and get her. The minute you let her under your skin, then you begin to make it better. And anytime you feel the pain, hey Jude, refrain, don't carry the world upon your shoulders. For well you know that it's a fool who plays it cool, by making his world a little colder. Nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah," Karma sings and Amy lets out a heavy gasp, throwing her head back as she feels the head move closer and closer with every push.
"Karma, sh-shit," Amy moans, her teary eyes finding Karma's, "It's coming." Amy grunts as she pushes down into her bottom once again and Karma nods with familiar tears burning within her own eyes, watching as the amount of dark hair appears at Amy's opening.
"Hey Jude, don't let me down, you have found her, now go and get her, Remember to let her into your heart, then you can start to make it better," She sings sweetly, her hand gently brushing against the dark hair of their baby as Amy pushes against her touches. She watches as a forehead slowly appears, followed by a pair of squinting eyes and Karma thinks it is the most beautiful thing she has ever seen in her life.
"So let it out and let it in, hey Jude, begin, you're waiting for someone to perform with.. And don't you know that it's just you, hey Jude, you'll do, the movement you need is on your shoulder. Nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah yeah," Nose. Mouth. Chin. Choking back a cry, her eyes find Amy's that are ridden with exhaustion but also so much excitement. Biting her bottom lip, she softly caresses their baby's head as she finds the voice that has been stolen from her.
"Hey Jude, don't make it bad. Take a sad song and make it better. Remember to let her under your skin. Then you'll begin to make it, better better better better better better, oh," Karma watches as Amy bears down once again so hard that she lets out of the most heart wrenching yell that she has ever heard in her entire life. She watches slowly as the baby's neck begins to emerge as she is overcame with so much emotion that she nearly forgets how to breathe.
"Nah nah nah nah nah nah, nah nah nah, hey Jude. Nah nah nah nah nah nah, nah nah nah, hey Jude. Nah nah nah nah nah nah, nah nah nah, hey Jude. Nah nah nah nah nah nah, nah nah nah, hey Jude. Nah nah nah nah nah nah, nah nah nah, hey Jude," Karma sings and suddenly there are shoulders, arms, a stomach, a waist and then, finally, as Amy's body collapses back into the pool, their baby is here.
It's finally here.
No longer able to contain her emotion, Karma lets out a heart-warming sob as her hands gently cradle her baby under the water, slowly lifting it to the surface. He is a perfect mixture of the two of them, she notices quickly as she studies the infant. A mixture of Karma's dark hair and complexion, but it has Amy's facial features. Sniffling as the tears roll down her cheeks, Karma moves upward in the water to lay the baby that is now crying onto Amy's chest.
"We have a baby," Karma whispers so simply as if it had been the answer to all of the world problems. Looking through her tears at her wife, Amy lifts the baby's wrinkled legs and lets out a warm, hearty laugh, gently allowing her thumb to brush against the dark hair.
"We have a daughter," Amy murmurs through her tears and then she laughs once again as Karma's fingers gently brush over their daughter's foot, "that's fitting. I have no idea what to do with one of these. Good thing she has you, huh?" Her gentle eyes meet Karma's tear filled ones and Karma thinks that her heart might just burst with the amount of love that she feels. Gently, she reaches for the scissors on the counter beside of them, and waits for the cord to stop pulsing before she cuts it and gestures toward the baby as if asking Amy's permission to hold her. Smiling at her wife, Amy gently cups her face, kissing her softly before she hands her the infant.
"God, she's so tiny," Karma swoons, her thumb gently brushing over their daughter's cheek and Amy rolls her eyes in frustration.
"Well she didn't feel fucking tiny," Amy grunts.
"Language!" The brunette scolds and Amy cannot stop the smile appearing on her face at just how motherly she already sounds. Leaning over, she rests her head upon Karma's shoulder, glancing down at the tiny life that they created together. It is weird to think that this is the tiny person that had been kicking the inside of her ribs for so long, this is the person that made her go pee every three seconds, this is the person that made her crave the one thing that she could not have, peanuts.
"She's pretty," Karma coos, her thumb gently tracing the lines on their daughter's feet.
"She's perfect. Like her Mama," Amy replies, catching Karma's affectionate gaze. Smiling at her wife, Karma leans forward and gently places a kiss upon her lips, the amount of love rushing through her veins incomparable to anything that she has ever felt before in her life. Pulling away, she looks down at the sleeping infant that is nestled in her arms, hidden safely away from the rest of the world.
"What should we name her?" The brunette asks. They had spent the whole nine months creating a list of names for both genders, each working with other to get something that remotely sounded okay and something that would not cause their child torment for the rest of its life. However, in this very moment, Amy does not think of the list. She does not think of the hours they spent awake in their bed trying to decide what name to give their little rascal. No, much like the flicking of a switch, Amy knows exactly what perfect name would suit their perfect angel.
"Jude," the blonde states so simply that it must have been absurd that Karma never thought of it in the first place. Darting her eyes from their daughter's perfectly round face to her wife's, Karma cannot suppress the smile that is playing upon her slightly parted lips.
"Jude?"
"She's definitely a Jude," Amy responds, her fingers gently sliding over the baby girl's stomach, moving with every breath that she takes. Smiling in response as the tears prick within her eyes once again, Karma nods her head with a sniffle.
"Jude Harper Ashcroft?" Karma asks and Amy grins such a brilliant grin that it would almost put the sun to shame. Nodding her head as her fingers lace around Karma's behind their daughter's head, Amy places a soft kiss upon her cheek before nuzzling her nose into her neck.
"Jude Harper Ashcroft sounds absolutely perfect," Amy yawns, the exhaustion slowly taking over her body. Choking back a cry, Karma begins to slowly rock Jude in her arms, holding her a little extra close to her body; so close, in fact, that she could feel the heat radiating off her small body. She is such a little miracle, Karma swoons, the most impeccable piece of the two of them. And to only be a few minutes old, she suddenly already holds all of Karma's heart within her tiny hands. Running her index finger along Jude's hands, her heart jumps into her throat when the baby latches on, refusing to let go. Smiling through her tears, she gently lifts the baby upward, placing a soft kiss upon her forehead as everything inside of explodes in joy.
"Na, na, na, na, na. Hey Jude," Karma sings quietly, looking down at her daughter so tenderly before glancing back over to her slumbering wife. She has everything that she ever could have dreamed of, everything that could make someone's happily ever after come true.
And suddenly, Karma sighs, looking down at her perfect angel, she wants for nothing.
