Angelo was feeling unbelievably anxious.
In fact, before this very moment, Angelo didn't think it was possible to be this anxious.
Here he was, sitting next to his wife, who lay on a bed screaming in pain, in the middle of one of the most intense storms Zephyr town had ever seen.
And there was nothing he could do.
He felt utterly useless and defeated.
That morning, Angelo was lying in a large bed, next to his beautiful wife, Gretel.
He was in complete bliss, snuggled up in a crook of her neck, breathing in the sweet scent of her hair.
Below the covers Angelo had his hand resting on Gretel's somewhat enlarged belly.
She was quite pregnant, and was expecting in about a week or so.
Before Angelo met Gretel, everything had been a subject to him, beautiful; in it's own right, but a subject for him to paint or model.
Since He met her, his life had expanded into something he never dreamed possible.
And now he was journeying even further into that vast void we know as life; he was going to be a father.
Of his child.
Of THEIR child.
A sudden banging noise made him jump.
What was that? Did something happen outside?
Then another, it was clear to him now that this was the makings of a storm.
Great. He really dislikes storms. He couldn't WAIT for this day to be over.
"A-ah!" Gretel suddenly squeaked in what sounded like a mixture of surprise and displeasure.
"Are you okay? What is it?" Angelo asked worriedly, stroking her hair gently.
"A-Angelo!" She gasped, "It hurts!"
Angelo's head shot up, and his arms were suddenly hovering around her protectively, but he was too afraid to touch her, incase he just made things worse.
"It hurts Angelo!" She winced in pain.
Angelo began panicking, She didn't often use his full name, she normally gave him silly little endearing pet names.
"Wh-what is it?" He stuttered, unsure of what to do. "What hurts?"
"M…my… EVERYTHING!" She screamed in agony all of a sudden. Angelo recoiled and shrieked a little himself.
"Angelo, I think the baby is- AH!" Gretel bit her lower lip, as sweat beads began forming on her forehead; She was clutching herself into a ball on their unusually large bed.
Angelo didn't need to hear another word.
He nimbly climbed around her, careful not to bump her in any way, and dashed from one side of the room to the other, reaching for the telephone.
"Hello?" The voice answered.
"Yes- it's me, Angelo!" He said, as if it had been obvious, but he didn't worry about coming across as rude at the moment.
"Oh Angelo," Said Isaac, the caretaker of the windmills. "How are thi-" He stopped that sentence there. "What is that ungodly noise?" He asked, a little confused.
"That noise" Angelo said bluntly, "Is my WIFE."
"OH!" Isaac sounded very taken aback. "I'll get Nelly right away!"
Angelo heard him put down the phone for a moment, and felt himself grow more and more panicked as each second passed.
He was trying his best to ignore his wife's antagonized cries at this moment; this was all he could do for her.
Thoughts kept racing through his mind, begging Nelly to pick up the phone.
"Hello? Angelo?" Finally.
"N-Nelly! Gretel just started screaming, and I had no idea what-" Another ear-splitting screech filled the small house. "Please help her!" Angelo chocked.
"Okay Angelo, I need you to calm down." She stated coolly over the line. Angelo took a deep breath, but in all honesty didn't feel any calmer. "Now what?" He said shakily, "I need you to come here right away!"
"Go there? I'm sorry, Angelo, but that's just not possible!" She said.
"Not possible?" He began, "Wh-what do you mean?" He almost spat the last part, but didn't have time to apologies.
"There's an unbelievably storm outside, I'm surprised you haven't noticed yet."
Angelo looked out the window to see that there was indeed a ravenous storm that you would have to be mad to go out in.
"B-but I-" He began, at a loss. "Now Angelo," She said it with a firm authority you wouldn't normally hear from her. "It's up to you to help her through this- and by the sound of things" She was obviously referring to the awful noise continuing behind Angelo. "It's not going to be easy."
Angelo nodded, even though there's no way Nelly could have known.
"Okay now listen closely Angelo, the most important thing is for you to-" All of a sudden, her voice was cut off.
"Hello?" Angelo called into the dead-line phone. "Hello? Nelly?" He hung up the phone and tried to call the number again only to find that the phone line really had died.
Curse this blasted storm.
Why did this have to happen now?
But he didn't have a choice, he had to go and get Nelly, no matter what the cost. As he was just about to head outside he heard something utterly heart-breaking.
"ANGELO-" His sweet wife called "PLEASE, DON'T LEAVE ME." She sobbed, the tears streaking down her face.
She was right; there was no way he could leave her, not like this. He ran to her side clutching her hand, which was hot and sweaty.
"I'm not leaving you Gretel, I'm right here, I'm still here." He cooed, while stroking her hair, which had begun sticking to her face.
"I'm sorry," He sobbed, tears stinging his eyes, "I'm so sorry, I won't ever leave you here…"
"A-Angelo, I…" Her voice faded off into silence, a moment of pure horror.
Angelo took a moment to rest his forehead on hers and just cry.
He had no idea what he was doing; he was completely at a loss.
The birth of their child was supposed to be a happy thing, not like this.
He would always tell her that waiting for her them to have a child was the most wonderful feeling.
And that maybe it would be like her, full on energy and pep.
Or maybe even like him, the quiet artist who knew nothing of love until a farmer girl came to town and showed him true inspiration.
But now none of that mattered.
He just wanted them alive. Both of them.
Alive, healthy, and in his arms.
The woman of his dreams and his own child, his flesh and blood, a symbol of his and Gretel's undying love for each other.
That was the way it was meant to be.
Not like this.
This was never meant to happen, they were meant to all grow old together, and maybe even one day watch their own children get married, or become grandparents.
As Angelo clutched to his still wife's hand, with his head bowed low, hair scruffy, and tears flowing freely from his beautiful blue eyes, he let out a weak laugh.
Yes, they would grow old together and see their grandchildren, and great-grandchildren!
They would be in love forever like Stuart and Ethel.
The look on Angelo's face at that moment was one of pure agony, even though; in a strange light he was smiling.
All three of them, they would be a family together.
And they would be his everlasting inspiration.
Angelo saw his wife stop breathing altogether.
"No…" He almost whispered. "NO- ANYTHING BUT THAT, PLEASE DON'T TAKE HER AWAY."
Even the raging storm outside couldn't drown out his voice.
Angelo had just lost the two things most important to him in one fell swoop.
All because he was so useless.
If he had just done something, ANYTHING, It would have been better than this.
Angelo clutched his wife's head and lifted her to his embrace.
She was completely limp.
"I'll… I'll never leave you here." He sobbed, "Not like this."
_
A/N: Y'know what? I hate this story. I just decided it was awful.
Just then.
Bit of a lame ending, too, really.
Not to mention I know next to nothing about the process of birth, I mean, I get the gist but really.
Anyway… I actually came up with the idea because on the day I woke up on Harvest Moon and THOUGHT I was going to see the baby event, but lo and behold, there was a storm.
And Angelo commented on how much he hated it.
It's funny, though, I think I used too many time skipping cheats, because I've been perpetually pregnant for two years now, and Angelo keeps telling me how excited he is, confused little duck that he is, OH WELL.
Anyway, if you liked it then, well, my pleasure.
Be noted that I plan to put up another Angelo fic soon, much lighter and fluffier.