They were prepared, had been for nearly two months now. It had been quite a surprise, a gift from the gods really, when Hephaestion had told Alexander that he was a month with their child. Alexander was thrilled, jumping up and kissing his true love over and over, and then kneeling down and cooing to Hephaestion's still flat stomach. Now, however, he was still thrilled, marveling at what the doctors called "impossible," but Hephaestion was not. At eight months with child, he had constant back pain, and the nausea and dizziness that had presented itself in the second month had reappeared, making it nearly impossible for him to get up in the morning. He had also managed to scare Alexander out of his wits a few times with what were called "false pains." The midwives said, to his relief, that he would give birth within a few days, if not a week.
"How are you feeling today, my love?" Alexander said good morning in this way as he sat on the edge of their bed and reached behind Hephaestion, rubbing his lower back with skilled fingers.
"I'm tired, Xander. The babe refused to settle last night. But he is now asleep, and I am awake. What cruel games the gods play!" the babe jumped inside him and he groaned, "You woke him!"
"Forgive me, Love. He just knows his father's touch, as he knows his mother's."
"Don't touch me!" with a hard shove, Alexander found himself sprawled out on the floor. Hephaestion began to sob, and Alexander carefully got up from the floor, going to hug him again.
"Hush, it's all right. I know you are tired, but just think, soon you'll be holding our babe in your arms. Our little Helios."
"I don't want it anymore! I mean, I want the babe, but not this body!"
"I know Love, I know."
"I feel gross, and disgusting, and bloated! My feet and back hurt consistantly, and I can't get up or even walk on my own anymore! I can't even sit comfortably!"
"Shh... it will all be over soon. You can rest for the day if you want."
"No. He'll go back to sleep if I move. Help me up?" as Alexander went around to Hephaestion's side of the bed.
"Of course. Ready? Up, easy... There we are. Where would you like to go?"
"Kitchen. Babe wants tuna salad," Hephaestion smiled, rubbing his belly in slow circles.
"I will make it for you personally. My son and lover deserve only the best. Come on. Slow..."
After he was certain Hephaestion was settled, Alexander went off to council, swearing that if Hephaestion needed him he would be with him in moments. Hephaestion ate heartily, and then went back to his room to read and relax. After a few hours of reading in bed, he felt the strong urge to use the washroom. With a bit of a struggle, Hephaestion got up from the bed and across the room to the bathchamber. It was only after he went that he realized his water had broken. Calm as ever, he washed his hands and made his way to the outer doorway, calling a servant.
"Go find Alexander. Tell him, quietly, that my water has broken. Tell him I am in no pain. Go. Don't run."
The boy only nodded and turned and began to walk toward the council room. Hephaestion rubbed his belly to calm the babe that would soon be in his arms, gazing at the world in wonder."Finally," was his only thought.
"I am here, my love," Alexander came to him in a few minutes, panting, chest heaving, "I came as soon as the boy told me. Are you- Oh gods..." he bent over, trying to catch his breath.
"Calm, Xander," Hephaestion bent to help him stand, "It is early. I am in very little pain. Everything will be all right."
"Your water came out clean? The babe is in no distress?"
"Yes, and if he were, I would know. Rest."
"No, I can't. We must get you to the harem-"
"We will go when the birth comes closer. Don't worry, everything is set. Now, let us distract ourselves with that celebration you had planned for just this occasion. I would very much like to see it."
"Are you sure you do not need Bagoas?" Alexander was wary.
Hephaestion laughed, "I am sure, Dear. Do not fret."
"Well, just say and I will fetch him."
Three hours later, Hephaestion was sitting on the couch he was sharing with Alexander, clapping in time with the music when the pains began to gain strength. Hephaestion felt one and half bent over, one hand on his lower back and one on his belly. He held his breath as the pain peaked. As it peaked, he felt another gush of water, as his water had been steadily leaking during the three hours, soak the couch beneath him. Alexander was sitting beside him and felt the seat of his chiton get damp. He looked over to see Hephaestion in pain.
"Love, are you okay? QUIET! Deep breath Love. Are you okay?"
"I don't think I can wait any longer, Xander..."
"Ptolemy! Fetch Bagoas! NOW!"
"Xander, I'm frightened," Hephaestion began to cry.
"I promise you, everything will be fine. Trust me."
"I trust you..."
"Cassander! Help me carry him to the harem. Up you go Love, that's it..."
Bagoas was making sure everything was ready when Alexander and Cassander came into the specially prepped room, carrying a quietly crying Hephaestion.
"Oh! Gods!" Hephaestion gave a shout, and this prompted Bagoas into action.
"Lay him down. How far apart are the pains? I'm just checking the babe's postion, Honey. Relax, breathe," as Hephaestion tried to get away from Bagoas' hands by trying to turn onto his side.
"Thirty minutes or so between each pain," Alexander answered.
"Looks like you will be here quite a while Honey. It's all right. Gentlemen, if you would please leave."
"Alexander..." Hephaestion reached for him.
He went, giving Hephaestion a soft kiss on his brow, "I love you, Phaiston. I will pray for you..."
As Hephaestion caught his breath as another pain hit, Bagoas tried to coach him.
"Breathe Honey, you must breathe," Hephaestion shook his head forcefully, then let the breath go in a rush as the pain ended, "Listen to me. The more you breathe during your pains, the less they will hurt and the healthier the babe will be. So try and breathe next time okay?" Hephaestion nodded, "Now there's one other thing I must check. Just relax."
"What are you going to do?" Hephaestion panicked as Bagoas spread a bedsheet to cover his naked waist.
"I am only going to check your progress. Everything's fine. All right, you're at two centimeters. You're coming along nicely, but you have a way to go yet. Would you like your herbs yet?"
"Please."
Bagoas prepared his black haw tea and began to burn some lavender.
"I have a few boys I have chosen to help. Is that all right?"
"Of course. Ohhhh..." he moaned, clutching his belly, "Bagoas!"
"-... Boys! Honey, this is Arsalan, Danish, Naveed, Soroush, and Xerxes. Boys, you know what to do. Breathe Honey. Good, good! Better?" as Hephaestion lay gasping, a sheen of sweat covering his body. Hephaestion glared at him, but he ignored it.
Soon enough, in the early evening, Hephaestion was deemed ready to give birth. Bagoas sat in front of him, sitting crosslegged on the bed, ready to catch the baby.
"Now, Honey, I want you to grab onto this bar up here," he tapped the gold bar above their heads, "when you feel the need to bear down, okay?"
Hephaestion only blew air through his nose loudly. He hated Bagoas more than he did Alexander right now. How could this man- this eunuch- talk down to him? It made him want to choke him.
"AHH! ALEXANDER!" his toes curled around the smaller gold bar at the foot of the bed, one hand clenched around the bar that was overhead and the other closed tightly around Naveed's fingers.
Two hours more, and it was over. Hephaestion gripped the bedsheets, screaming as Bagoas' assistants held him up and wiped his brow.
"ALEXANDER!" He collapsed against the pillows, frantic and in pain, "Where's Alexander? Where is he? He needs to be here!"
"He is just outside, awaiting news. Everything will be all right.
"Without being able to answer, Hephaestion sat up, going rigid as another contraction hit. As he relaxed again, Bagoas looked horrified."Oh Zeus..."
"What is it? Is something wrong? My baby!" he began to panic.
"Everything will be all right, I promise. Just relax."
Knowing that something was wrong, Hephaestion pushed as hard as he could on the next three contractions. Finally he was finished, and the baby was washed and cared for.
"Why isn't he crying? Where is he? Give him to me," but Hephaestion's pleas were ignored, and the baby was taken to Alexander.
"It was a breech stillbirth, my lord. The placenta was birthed first, and Lord Hephaestion bled out."
Alexander looked up at them just after being handed the son he would never get to enjoy, "Is he all right?"
"Fine, my lord."
"You never told him, did you?" Alexander face blackened with rage, "He deserves the right to know his son, even if it is for but a moment! Leave me, I must enjoy my son while I can... Helios," he looked at his son fully for the first time, and noticed the dark dark hair, "Oh! You are not a Helios, are you? I love you, so much..." Alexander, despite himself, teared up.
There was movement in his arms. It was small, but it was there. And then the the baby began to scream, coughing up the fluid he had inhaled during the birth.
"He's breathing!" Alexander rushed into the room, where Hephaestion was asking for his child over and over again as the assistants cleaned him up.
"Xander, I'm so sorry..." Hephaestion sobbed, "I didn't mean for this to happen... May I hold him one time?"
"You may hold him for all eternity, Love. He is breathing. He is alive. Gentle, mind his head."
"He's alive! Oh, thank Zeus!" the tears turned glad.
"Look, look at him Darling, he's pink. He is alive. And he is ours. I am so proud of you," He kissed his sweaty crown.
"He's perfect. And he has my hair," Hephaestion laughed, "Looks like he is not a Helios after all."
"I already told him that. What about the name Darko instead?"
"He is our gift..." Hephaestion mused, "And he has my dark hair. It's perfect."
"I agree. Darko it is then. My babe..." Alexander cooed, "How are you feeling?"
"Tired..." Hephaestion lay his head against the propped up pillows, giving Alexander a half smile, "I was so frightened when they took him away!" he began to sob, and Alexander took Darko from his arms and put him in the waiting cradle that was nearby. Finally, Alexander sat on the edge of the bed and took Hephaestion into his arms, not saying anything. He just let his Phai cry out his sorrows.
Over the next few weeks, Hephaestion was confined to bed in order to heal and gain back his strength. Alexander found that he rarely let Darko out of his sight, and was holding him at every chance. It was found early that the child was lame and refused to babble as most babies did. Hephaestion took this news badly, and so spent a few days in a deep depression, crying when he thought no one could see, and blaming himself. Several times, Alexander tried to comfort him, but he was inconsolable unless Darko was safe in his arms and nursing from a bottle.
"It's time we get you out of bed, don't you think?" Alexander proposed one morning while their son was still asleep in his cradle.
"Alexander, if this is one of your ploys to get me out of this bed and into yours, I swear..."
"I just want to see you healthy, that's all. But if the lovemaking comes with it, that's fine with me," he dropped his voice to a seductive whisper.
"No Alexander," Hephaestion pushed him away, "I'm still sore."
"Well, in any case, we have to get you out of bed. Come on," He stood up off the bed.
"Now?"
"Of course now. When else? Come on."
"O-okay..." he slipped to the edge of the bed, and Alexander took his arm over his shoulder.
"On three, okay? One-Two-Three!" Hephaestion gasped in fright as he was lifted to his feet, and so clutched Alexander, "I have you, I have you. You're safe. Let's walk, ok? Nice, easy steps," Hephaestion whimpered as he cautiously lifted his atrophied left leg and took a hesitant step, which caused him to rock dangerously on his right. Before either he or Alexander knew what was happening, they were careening to the carpet.
"OW!" Hephaestion wailed as he lay on the floor, pinned by Alexander.
"Oh my gods... Love, are you hurt?" Alexander scrambled off of him, only to hurry to attend to him, "Does it hurt anywhere? Phaiston, talk to me!" as Hephaestion lay on his back, crying, so that the tears ran across his temples and into his long hair, "Here, let's prop you up..." he grabbed pillows from the bed and propped Hephaestion against the foot of the bed.
"The babe..." Hephaestion looked toward the cradle, where Darko was beginning to fuss, having been woken up by the loud crash.
"In a minute, Love. There, are you comfortable? Can I tend to him?"
"Yes, go. I'm fine."
"If you're sure..."
"Go! Gods..."
"Okay... Darko, Love, whatever is the matter? Oh, is your cloth full? We'll have you clean in just a moment," lying him down on a towel on the carpet, Alexander cooed as he undid the cloth, "Oh Love, your tummy must have really hurt..."
"Is he okay?"
"His cloth was close to leaking. Wasn't it, my little prince?" he took a wet cloth in hand and began to clean him.
"Be sure to get where his legs join his body. And be sure to clean his óscheo."
"I know how to clean a baby, Phaistion. Stop fretting. Mommy's being a bit nervous, isn't he? All clean. Come here, my little prince. Ohh..." Alexander picked up his now quiet son and stood up, cooing and patting his bottom comfortingly until he fell asleep.