Warning! This is a sequel to Hana's Diary, and if you haven't read it, you should. I've been told it's quite enjoyable, but I don't like to boast, so do whatever you want!
Like Never Before
When Fareeha pushed her bed's comforter to slide into bed, she only had a single thought in mind. It's tomorrow. Tomorrow was the day their baby was due. Baby. She was going to become a mother. No matter how often she had repeated it to herself in the past nine months, it still didn't change the fact that this whole thing felt like a dream. She looked over at the light emanating from the bathroom door. All she could see from the bed was the still wet glass panel of the shower.
"Ya Amar? Everything okay?"
"Yes, I'm coming, don't worry."
Angela left the bedroom, her shirt taunt over her large belly. Fareeha watched her with a loving smile. So many feelings passed though her every time she saw her very pregnant wife.
"Here, I'll help you."
She was about to stand and help Angela in their bed, but the blond quickly brushed her off and sat down on her side.
"I can still do things by myself, you know?"
"I know I just... wanted to help."
Angela laid down, and with a smile she murmured:
"Come here."
Fareeha obeyed instantly, and they held each other as close as possible. Fareeha rested her head on Angela's shoulder, her left hand entwined with her wife's, when her right rested carefully on her large belly. She could feel every frequent kick of their daughter.
"It's tomorrow." she declared almost absentmindedly.
"Are you scared?"
"Yes. Are you?"
"I'm scared that something went wrong. I know I said it worked perfectly with mice, and monkeys, and sheep, but we are more complex. What if..."
Fareeha caressed lightly her baby bump. Angela's shirt was slightly too small, since she had not wanted to buy the size above. Her pale skin was smooth and strong under Fareeha's touch, like a shell. This had been Angela's only fear for the past nine months. Not the fact that she would become a mother, but what if this experiment had been a mistake, and they ended up with a misshapen baby? Every time Fareeha smoothed her worry with the same argument:
"No matter what, I will love our daughter. Even if she turned out to be a little monkey."
Angela smiled, and pressed a kiss on the crown of Fareeha's head.
"Plus, every single doctor we've seen so far has said everything was normal. Why would it change suddenly?"
Angela let out a sigh.
"You know me, always worrying over nothing."
Fareeha pressed a kiss on Angela's jaw.
"It's okay. We'll see tomorrow who will be the one to worry."
Fareeha passed her hand over Angela's belly once again, when a strong kick prompt her to stop. Angela couldn't help but whimper. Fareeha frowned and looked up to her wife.
"Are you okay? Was that a contraction?"
"No. Just a very excited baby."
She took in a deep breath, as if to erase any trace of pain in her.
"I'm okay. It'll be worst tomorrow."
Fareeha propped herself up on her elbows, and kissed Angela.
"Sleep, Ya Amar, you'll need all your strength tomorrow."
She then slid down Angela's body until she could place a kiss on her belly.
"And you, don't bother your mother too much, got it?"
No kick followed, as if their daughter had already fallen asleep.
"Liebchen?"
Fareeha stirred. She was used to it by now, Angela needed to go to the bathroom and she was blocking her arm or something. She rolled over, her back to her wife. She was only half-alseep and knew almost unconsciously when Angela would come back, to roll back to her.
"Fareeha?"
Angela shook her a little and she frowned. Was it day already? No, she could tell. Her eyes were still burning from a lack of sleep, not from the sunlight seeping through the shutters.
"Fareeha!"
This time her eyes shot open, and she quickly turned to her wife, who was still half laying in bed, her hands on her belly.
"I think the contractions have began."
"Now?! But it's..."
She looked over at the alarm clock on her bedside table.
"It's a quarter after one!"
"Liebchen I don't think the baby cares about the time."
"What do we do?!" Fareeha asked in a panic.
She jumped form the bed and frantically began to pack their stuff in their bag. Thanks to Angela's planning, they had already sorted out what to take with them to the hospital. They had decided to pack everything in the morning. Fareeha guessed morning now meant one a. m.
"Fareeha, perhaps we should get to the hospital?"
"The hospital, yeah! Let me just get dressed!"
Without thinking too much, Fareeha put on jeans and a sweater over her pajamas, a tight sport short and a simple dark blue shirt. She threw the bag over her shoulders, and ran to Angela's side of the bed, where Angela had began to stand up.
"Can you... help me change?" Angela asked as Fareeha held her up.
"I don't think it matters what you wear... Here!"
She let go of her wife for a few seconds, enough to catch the first jacket she found, her leather one, and hand it to Angela.
"Let's go!"
"Fareeha, please, breathe. I'm the one in labor, not you!"
Fareeha took in a long deep breath.
"Okay, let's go."
Walking to the car took more time than the ride to the hospital. While they were walking down the stairs of their building, Fareeha proposed on multiple occasions to carry Angela to the car, which the blond refused. She'd have to be blind not to notice her wife's nervousness. It was almost comical. How could a soldier and chief of security who had seen more than a fight in her short life could be so nervous? When they finally reached the car Angela was almost tempted not to let her drive, but that would have been a bit silly. Her belly was so big she couldn't reach the stirring wheel anymore.
They drove for about three minutes. The hospital was just down the street. Their apartment had been handpicked by Angela, so she could be as close as possible from her working place in case of an emergency. While Angela had never had in mind that kind of emergency, she had never been more happy of her choice.
Another good thing about Angela's working place, everyone knew who she was. As soon as they had passed the front door the nurse at the reception recognized her, gave her a wheelchair, and together they ran to the pediatric ward, Fareeha frantically pushing Angela as if they were caught in a race. Soon enough Angela was set in the monitoring room, her clothes discarded and replaced by a hospital gown. The midwife taking care of her declared that she was at two centimeters, then left them alone.
Fareeha suddenly felt rather calm. Strangely, just sitting in the monitoring room, holding Angela's hand, made everything feel more normal. She took in a deep breath and looked over to her wife. Angela seemed to notice how she had calmed down, and asked:
"How are you?"
"How am I? You're the one in labor."
"I'm fine."
Fareeha looked around. All of the equipment in the room wasn't so foreign to her anymore. Through the window the night sky was barely illuminated by the slim crescent of the moon.
"So, what now?"
"Now we wait. It can take a few hours at best."
"Well then, let's hope for the best."
Fareeha yawned. Angela chuckled.
"Sorry I woke you up."
"Now that's stupid! I don't want to be asleep while you're giving birth to our daughter!"
Fareeha sighed.
"I'm going to have to call my mom."
"You can wait until the morning."
"Oh no. It'll be worst the longer I wait."
She searched through the hastily made bag until she found her phone. She then stood up and pressed a kiss on Angela's forehead.
"I'll be right back, Ya Amar."
"I'll be right there."
She exited the room and stretched. This hospital smelled like any she had ever been to, only it was a smell she now affiliated with Angela. Suddenly antibacterial didn't smell so bad anymore. She noticed the coffee machine a few steps away, and decided to take one. She searched through her pants pockets. While Angela hated when she stored coins in her pockets, because she forgot them there and they could brake the washing machine, she had never been more glad she actually had that bad habit. She insert a few coins in the machine, pressed the button for an black coffee, and while a plastic cup was being filled she found her mother's number. It rang only but once before Ana picked up, not one bit sleepy or tired like Fareeha had imagined she would be at one a. m.
"Fareeha, is she already in labor?"
"Hum... yeah. How do you know?"
"Really? You call at one a. m. You don't call often already, but at one a. m.?"
Fareeha sighed. She suddenly heard a loud voice in the background, one she recognized as being the typical voice which could be heard in an airport.
"Are you at the airport?"
"Of course I am! My grand-daughter is due to arrive today, and so am I! We should arrive in five hours at worst, if our plane is not delayed again."
Fareeha addressed a small prayer to whoever could hear her. Delay her mother's plane again.
"We? Is dad with you?"
"Of course he is. Hana is here too. Alright, I have to go, they delayed our plane again. Those flight attendants are going to hear from me! I'll see you in five hours!"
"Bye..."
She hang up, pocketed her phone and picked up her coffee. She blew on it while walking back to Angela's room. She found her wife staring out at the night sky. Angela was better at being sleep deprived. She looked barely tired, as if she had slept enough. Her gaze turned back to her wife and she smiled.
"So, how did things go?"
"Hum... well, my parents are already at the airport, Hana is with them. Mom said they'll be here in five hours, but it could take more if she strangles a flight attendant or two."
She sipped on her coffee while Angela gave her a confused look.
"Their flight is being delayed."
"Oh..."
"Miss, please, why has our flight being delayed again?" Reinhardt asked.
He was taller and larger than most if not all people waiting in front of the gate. About two hours ago the gate for their flight had been indicated, but their flight was being repeatedly delayed, and he began to fear what would happen if his wife became impatient.
"I'm sorry sir but the plane is still in maintenance, we won't be able to depart for at least another hour."
Reinhardt sent another glance to his wife. She sat on one of the metal bench, their suitcases and Hana beside her. While Hana didn't show any sign of fatigue just yet, he could see her eyes fluttering. She'd been playing on her hand-held console for the better part of the evening, and Reinhardt wondered how the device wasn't out of battery yet.
"Can you assure me that in an hour we will be gone."
Before the flight attendant could reply, there was another announcement, and the screen showing the diverse flights in attendance changed. Their plane was now delayed for another hour. Reinhardt sent another glance to his wife. Ana was pocketing her phone and said something to Hana before she stood up and walked as quickly as possible to the front desk.
"Oh no..."
Reinhardt quickly turned around, taking so much space he almost blocked the entire desk.
"Honey, please, calm down."
"Don't worry, I just want to speak with the lady."
Reinhardt had no choice but to step aside and let his wife talk with the flight attendant.
"Why has our flight been delayed again? I need to be in Zürich before dawn, and at this rate this is not happening."
"I'm sorry, ma'am, but as I was explaining to your husband..."
"You're not talking to my husband, you are talking to me. And if our plane does not land in Zürich before my grand-daughter is born I will personally hunt down every person working in this plane."
"Please, ma'am, calm down or I will have to call the security."
Ana narrowed her eyes, making the flight attendant tremble under her gaze.
"Honey, please?"
"I will not let this slide any longer."
And on those worlds Ana turned around and walked back to Hana. Reinhardt sheepishly looked back to the woman in uniform.
"You will have to excuse my wife, she's a bit nervous. We are going to Zürich to visit our daughter and her wife. They are about to have a baby, you see and..."
Before he could finish his explanation, he felt Ana's gaze on him.
"I'm sorry."
He walked away, leaving the flight attendant as confused as afraid as she should after meeting the Wilhelm-Amari couple.
Reinhardt sat back down next to his wife, and took her small hand in his large ones.
"You know stress is not good for you. Why don't you go and buy a tea, something to take your head off this all mess."
She sighed.
"Your right. I need to calm down."
With her free hand she picked up her pursed which had been neatly tugged beside Hana.
"Do you want anything?"
"No, I'm okay."
He let go of her hand and she stood up and wandered to the closest snack shop. Hana finally looked up from her device, and asked:
"It reminds me of that time she went to pick me up in kindergarten."
Reinhardt chuckled and took Ana's empty seat to be closer to Hana.
"She's just nervous. It'll be better once we're there. If we get there."
Hana looked back in the direction Ana had gone, then whispered:
"I can't even imagined what it must have been like when Fareeha was born."
Reinhardt chuckled, his eyes lost in the fondness of the memories. Oh, it had been quite a show, something the nurses at the hospital had remembered for a long time.
"She was scared back then." he declared "Now its different. It's not the same type of scared, you know."
She shrugged.
"You don't seem scared."
"I'm not. But I am nervous nonetheless. I am about to meet my grand-daughter, perhaps the only one I'll ever have. It's a new addition to our small family. Don't you remember what it was like when Sombra and you became sisters?"
"I think I hated it, just because I hated Sombra. But now that she's gone, I think I'm going to miss her."
"See, this is what I mean. Family makes you feel thinks with more intensity."
Hana nodded, and took her phone out of her pocket. Since it was only the middle of the afternoon in Los Angeles, she had kept her dads updated on the situation. Jack had just replied, telling her good luck with Ana.
"Was Ana talking to Fareeha on the phone?" Reinhradt asked.
"Yeah. They're in the hospital, I think."
He nodded. That was why Ana had suddenly gotten angry. Time was ticking now, he knew.
"Isn't there anything we can do, instead of being stuck in this stupid airport?"
He shrugged.
"Unless you can find us a plane and a pilot, I believe we are stuck."
Hana was about to sigh and go back to playing, when an idea suddenly popped into her head.
"Oh my god! I know what we're gonna do!"
"Hana?"
She took her phone out of her pocket, and quickly brought it to her ear. It rang a few times, but finally Lena answered.
"Han... It's one a. m. The fuck are you calling for?"
"Lena, go and wake up your dad. Tell him Captain Amari and Lieutenant Wilhelm need a plane to Zürich in the next hour."
"What?"
"Lena, We need a plane to Zürich now!"
"'Kay! Okay! I'll go talk to him! But you owe me one!"
Hana sent a hopeful look at Reinhardt, who smiled brightly. While they both waited for Lena to answer, Ana came back with a paper cup in hands, a smocking tea inside. She sat beside Reinhardt and asked:
"What is going on?"
"Hana had an idea. She asked Lena to wake up her dad, so he could take us to Zürich!" Reinhardt explained.
Ana's full attention was now on Hana's phone.
"Hello, this is Wing Commander Oxton..."
Hana recognized the voice of Lena's dad, although sleepy.
"Mister Oxton, it's Hana! We..."
But before she could add anything, Ana yanked the phone out of the girl's hand, and declared:
"Wing Commander Oxton, this is Captain Amari. We are in need of a pilot to take us to Zürich under the shortest time possible. Can you take us?"
"Well, we could take one of the cargo planes... They're at..."
"The airport, in the military section. We'll be waiting."
On that, she ended the call, and stood up. She quickly walked toward the exit, and Reinhardt and Hana barely exchanged a glance before they picked up their bags and suitcases and ran after her.
Fareeha had barely finished her coffee that the door of Angela's room opened once again. Fareeha recognized them all as her wife's colleagues who had helped them. The first was a doctor in genetics, the other a gynecologist, and the last one was the director of the hospital, who had founded the project. As they entered, Angela straightened slightly, but never let go of Fareeha's hand.
"Doctor Ziegler" the director asked "how are you feeling?"
"I suppose about to give birth should be the correct answer. Have you warned the journalists yet?"
Fareeha sighed. Most of the time she could forget that this all thing wasn't just any normal pregnancy. It was an experiment too. She squeezed her wife's hand to get her attention.
"Angela, I know you want a Nobel prize, but that can probably wait after our baby is born, can't it?"
Angela smiled with embarrassment. She sometimes had to remind herself that it wasn't just an experiment, it was also a step forward in her family's life, a new member to make their little family bigger, ever so slightly.
"Of course, you're right. I'm sorry."
The gynecologist began to prepare one of the machine, which Fareeha recognized as the ultrasound scanner. Meanwhile, the doctor in genetics explained:
"As soon as she's out, we'll do one last genetic check up, just to make sure everything is okay. I'm sure we can call the press afterwards."
"Good." Angela declared.
"Good luck Doctor Ziegler." the director declared before he and the other doctor left the room.
The gynecologist brought the machine closer and raised the hem of the top of her gown, to unveil her belly. Fareeha stared longly at it. She didn't know what she expected, so close to the end. That it would have doubled in size? That it would be agitated by kicks upon kicks, like in Alien? No, it was just the same as before, only things had changed now. They already had, but this made it so much more concrete. She watched as the gynecologist applied the usual cold gel on it, and turned the machine one.
"Let's do one last check-up, shall we?" he declared.
Her gaze went from her wife's baby bump to the screen. It used to be rather blurry, when a few months ago she looked at the screen and only saw dark inky stains and gray dots. Now it was clear. It was the shape of a baby, just ready to be delivered.
"Well, everything seems normal to me. I'll see you in a few hours, Doctor Ziegler."
He turned the device off, and placed a few napkins on the gel left, which Fareeha quickly cleaned away. He left the room with a smile to his colleague. Once Angela's belly was as clean as could be, with her gown covering her belly again, Fareeha sat back down next to her wife and took back her hand in hers.
"Everything is going to be fine, see." she declared. "She's going to be perfect."
Angela smiled.
"Of course she is. She's ours. Half you, half me. If she isn't perfect I don't know what else she can be."
Fareeha chuckled. It seemed Angela's feared had finally been brushed off, or at least she had pushed them aside.
"So, what now. Do we just wait?"
"Now is a game of patience, Liebchen."
Fareeha nodded, and suddenly felt Angela's hand squeeze hers strongly.
"You okay?"
"Remember when I said I had a strong resistance against pain? I think I was wrong."
Fareeha's panic came back in a blink.
"There's nothing I can do? And the epidural?"
"We have to wait until I'm at seven or eight. If we do it too early it'll wear off by the time the baby comes. And nobody wants that."
Fareeha nodded, and without letting go of her wife's hand she rummaged through their bag until she found Angela's bedside book, the one she'd been reading those last few days while she was in maternal leave. Well, she had tried, but she had fallen asleep most of the time, so she had barely read a few pages.
"How about I read you your book, in the meantime?"
"Why not, maybe I'll fall asleep again?"
Fareeha smiled, and managed to open the book at the correct page without letting go of Angela's hand.
"Remember, you can squeeze if it hurts too much, I'll take the pain."
"Thank god its your left hand then."
Fareeha smirked, then began to read:
"She went back without pressing herself, walked around the large buildings. Their tops were now hidden by the dark gray clouds in the sky. She crossed the street, and all buildings disappeared to leave the way to suburb houses. The clouds grew darker, and denser, charged with water. Thunder rolled in the Californian valleys. The sun barely shone, leaving the world around her colorless..."
Angela did fall asleep at one point, and Fareeha stopped reading a few minutes later. She watched longly Angela's calm expression. Only in sleep was she that calm. Usually she would have her brows furrowed behind her glasses when she worked, or a smile on her lips when they cuddled, or when Fareeha made a terrible joke. Now the skin of her forehead was smooth, barely marked by worried line. The corner of her lips came to a rest, her lips slightly apart. Only it had barely last ten, perhaps fifteen minutes. There was another contraction, and she greeted her teeth, her eyes opening suddenly.
"You okay?" Fareeha quickly asked with concern.
"It's alright. I guess I won't be able to do better than a power nap tonight."
"You want me to start reading again?"
"No, it's okay. I'll give your voice a break."
Her eyelids flustered slightly, and she rubbed the sleep off her eyes with her free hand.
"What time is it?"
Fareeha took her phone out and declared:
"It's almost three. A midwife should come around, right?"
"Probably. What about your parents?"
"I don't know, they haven't send me anything since. Either they are on the plane or still stuck in the airport. At the police station in the worst case scenario."
Angela smiled.
"You don't want to call them again?"
"No, I'll stay with you. I don't want to miss a thing."
"Oh yeah, the way I'm suffering is so entertaining."
Fareeha shook her head.
"You know what I mean."
There was another contraction. Angela gripped Fareeha's hand, and Fareeha silently received her pain.
"They're getting closer."
"It's a good thing, right?"
"Yeah." Angela declared through her greeted teeth. "It's a good thing."
Angela had managed to go through another power nap. Her grip slackened during her sleep, and Fareeha took the opportunity to fetch another cup of coffee. The hospital was pretty silent since they had arrived. Fareeha wondered if Angela was the only woman in labor in the pediatric wing.
There was a sudden ruckus coming from the wing's reception desk, and a voice she recognized too well. She sighed, and took her coffee out of the machine. She walked up to the reception, until she saw her mother angrily shouting at the nurse.
"My grand-daughter is about to be born and you won't let me see my family!"
"I'm sorry ma'am but it's the standard protocol, I can't..."
The nurse tried to calm Ana down, but it was a complete failure. Thankfully both women noticed Fareeha before anything could escalate too far.
"Fareeha, tell this woman to let me through!"
The nurse gave her a look of concern.
"Mrs Amari-Ziegler, is it true?"
"It's okay, they're with me."
The nurse nodded, and Fareeha turned around, expecting her mother to follow her. She did, but she wasn't alone. Hana quickly walked up to her to greet her.
"Hey Fareeha, how are things going?"
"Oh Hana, I hadn't seen you there. It's going okay, I guess."
Ana caught up with them, still visibly angry at the nurse.
"How dare they keep families from seeing each other?!"
"Mom. It's three a. m. Everyone is tired, she was just following standard protocol. Where's dad?"
"At the hotel. He went to deposit our suitcases and register us. He'll join us once he's done. Where's Angela?"
"In the monitoring room. She was sleeping the last time I saw her."
"Is my grand-daughter coming soon?"
Fareeha frowned.
"I don't know."
"Well, can I see my daughter-in-law, then?"
"I'll... ask her."
They stopped in front of Angela's door, and Hana instantly slid in one of the metal benches next to it. Ana, however, stood behind her daughter, ready to burst through the door.
"Hum... Mom, can you wait? I'll come fetch you, okay?"
"Oh, sure. I'll be right there."
She sat by Hana and Fareeha finally felt at ease as she opened the door. Angela had woken up, and she tiredly smiled when she saw Fareeha.
"Another coffee."
"Hum?"
Fareeha had almost forgotten the plastic cup in her hand.
"Oh yeah. Well, that was what I wanted but then my mom arrived."
"Oh, I thought I had heard her."
Fareeha came to seat back on her chair, and instantly took Angela's hand.
"How are you?"
"As good as can be. The midwife just left. I'm at four. At this rate we can expect the baby by nine, eight at best.
"Nine a. m.?"
"Yes, thankfully!"
Fareeha took a deep breath. This was going to be a long night.
"How about I fetch you something to drink? You must be thirsty?"
"Don't worry, I'm okay for now."
"Oh... You sure? I don't want you to get dehydrated."
"It's okay."
There was a sudden knock on the door, and Ana's strong voice through the door.
"Fareeha, can I come in?"
Fareeha sighed.
"Oh yeah, my mom wants to talk to you."
Angela smiled lovingly.
"It's probably nothing."
Fareeha shared one last look with Angela, their tired eyes questioning each other. Finally Fareeha declared:
"You can come in, mom."
The door opened, and Ana walked in with her camera in hand. She smiled.
"Well, aren't you two adorable! I think it deserves a picture!"
"Mom please!"
Angela giggled lightly. After ten years of knowing the older woman, she was very aware of her antics. It didn't make Fareeha's embarrassment less amusing. Ana quickly took a picture of the two, then shook her head.
"Fareeha, you should be smiling. It's a happy day!"
Fareeha sighed.
"Tell that to my wife who has been in painful labor since one a. m."
Ana took another picture, then finally stopped.
"If you think that's a lot! I was in labor for fourteen hours before you finally decided to show up!"
Angela squeezed lightly Fareeha's hand more to attract her attention than because of the pain.
"Well let's hope she doesn't take that from you."
Ana laughed, and Fareeha sighed. She gulped down her coffee quickly, ignoring the burning sensation in her esophagus, and stood up. She pressed a kiss on Angela's forehead.
"Alright, I'll leave you two to talk. I'll take Hana to the cafeteria, I'm sure she's tired of pretending her DS still has battery."
Angela let go of Fareeha's hand with a smile, and as she brushed pass her mother she ordered:
"Stay with her until I come back."
"Don't worry, I'll take care of her."
She opened the door and closed it behind her. She found Hana still on the bench, checking her phone.
"Anything good?"
She looked up tiredly to Fareeha, visibly in need of sleep.
"Dads are laughing. They have been on a constant laughing loop every time I told them about something Ana did."
"Want to go to the cafeteria? They make a killing chocolate pie. No kidding, I think it almost killed people."
Hana smiled and stood up.
"Sure."
They walked to the elevator, and Fareeha asked:
"How the heck did you get here so fast? Last I check you had an hour of delay on a two hour flight."
"Two hours of delay. I'm sorry but I had to do something, your mom was about to kill the entire staff! So I called Lena, and we asked her dad to take us here. Military planes are much faster than normal planes, did you know that?"
"Yes."
"Well, I did try to delay us. I stayed fifteen minutes in the bathrooms, but I thought Ana was going to brake the door if I didn't come out, so I had too! I'm sorry, I know you wanted me to delayed us."
Fareeha smiled and shuffled Hana's hair.
"It's okay. You did your best."
The elevator door opened, and they walked out. Fareeha knew very well were the cafeteria was, as it was where she usually lunched with Angela when her wife was working.
"How is Angela doing?"
"She's fine. It does hurt from time to time, but at one point they'll give her the epidural, and it'll be better, I think."
They passed through the cafeteria doors. The large room was mostly empty, except for a few nurses and doctors on break, and the relatives of patients also waiting. Hana ordered a piece of chocolate pie, and Fareeha decided to buy a bottle of water, in case Angela really got thirsty.
As they sat down at one of the many empty table, she asked:
"So, how are things going with Lucio? My mom send me the pictures from prom. You looked beautiful together."
Hana smiled.
"I don't know why I was reluctant about us being together. It's the best. It's just like when we were best friends, but now we can kiss. A lot of kisses. I went to see him yesterday, before we left. He asked me to keep him updated, but he probably fell asleep by midnight or something cause he hasn't been answering. I just stopped for now, I don't want to wake him up."
"Cool. You make a fine couple, actually. And Sombra? She's settled?"
Hana frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, she's moving to LA, right? She's settling well there?"
"Oh, that. I guess she is. Dads are coming back in a few days. Maybe they'll stop by here, to see you and Angela and baby. But I think Sombra's okay there. With Amélie."
Hana quickly took another piece of pie, and Fareeha crossed her arms. She knew for a fact when the girl didn't want to talk, she would start eating big mouthfuls.
"What did you thought I meant by "she's settled?"
"Well, since you were talking about Lucio and I, I thought you meant romantically but..."
Hana bit her lips, then looked around, as if to see if someone was listening to their conversation.
"Can you keep a secret?" Hana's whispered.
"Of course I can."
"Sombra is dating Amélie."
"Her French friend?"
"Yeah. It's been a while, but they don't want anybody to know. Sombra's afraid dads wouldn't allow them to be roommates if they knew they were dating. I discovered it on my own. I had to trick her and all."
"I won't tell them, promise."
"Oh you can, but then Sombra will know I told you and she may just find a way to kill me, even with thousands of miles between the two of us!"
Fareeha chuckled. Hana quickly finished her pie, and after cleaning her mouth she asked:
"So, have you found a name for the baby yet?"
"Well, actually, we have two. See, Angela tried to estimate what our baby would look like from our family trees. She'll probably have black hair, a skin lighter than mine but darker than Angela's, and eyes either blue or brown. So we have two names, one if she has blue eyes, and the other if she has brown ones."
"That's cool. What are they?"
"If she has blue eyes, which I hope, we'll call her Alya. And if she has brown eyes, we'll call her Clara."
Hana seemed to ponder both names for a while, until she finally shook her head.
"Nope, I like both. These are very good choices."
Fareeha smiled.
"If you're done, we should go back. I'm afraid what my mom can say if she stays with Angela for too long."
Reinhardt entered the hospital in a hurry. He had had the hardest time finding a cab from the hotel. He wouldn't have thought that it would have been that hard. After all, Zürich was a German speaking city, and he was German!
He rushed to the reception, and the receptionist's brows shot up when she saw how tall and large he was.
"Excuse-me, I'm looking for the pediatric ward."
"Hum... Second floor to your left..."
"Thank you."
He trotted to the elevator, and felt his phone buzzing in his pocket. He picked up as he stepped in the lift.
"Reinhardt where are you?"
"I'm in the elevator, honey, I'm coming."
"You should have been here at least an hour ago!" Ana complained.
"I know. I just had a hard time finding a taxi."
"Alright. I'll send Fareeha fetch you."
She hang up, and he sighed. This was going to be one hell of a night, or at least what was left of it.
The elevator door opened, and he went to the left. He quickly found the pediatric ward's reception, and as soon as she noticed him, the nurse frowned.
"Sir, can I help you?"
"Oh yes. I'm looking for my daughter. My wife should be there with her."
"I'm sorry sir but since we are out of visiting hours I can't let you pass."
"Oh, okay."
He turned around and found a seat in the empty waiting room. The nurse couldn't believe it. This large bulky man sat patiently, and although he took two seats for himself he didn't complain.
"Dad?"
He stood up as he heard Fareeha's voice calling for him. She trotted to the reception, and looked around. He waved at her and she smiled. They quickly met and he took her in a bear hug which she was used to. She turned to the nurse and asked:
"Is it okay if he comes with me?"
"Yes, you can go ahead."
"Thank you."
They quickly walked side by side back to Angela's room. Fareeha declared:
"You need to do something about mom."
"What has she done again?" he asked.
"She's passing around and its stressing me out like crazy."
Reinhardt smiled.
"I'll see what I can do. How is Angela doing?"
"It's becoming really hard. They should give her the epidural soon but I can't feel my hand anymore. I don't like to see her in pain and there isn't really a lot I can do. It's painful."
He reassuringly placed his hand on her shoulder.
"I know what you mean. It was the same when your mom was in labor. She screamed so much at me I thought she would lose her voice at some point but she kept on going for fourteen hours straight."
They both chuckled. As they approached the door they noticed Hana, who had fallen asleep on the bench like it was a comfy bed, the notebook she'd been writing in by her side. Reinhardt smiled and declared:
"I should have brought her back to the hotel."
"I'm pretty sure she would have come with you anyway. She's very excited."
"Hana is always very excited." he replied.
Fareeha pushed the door opened, and found her mother in her place, holding Angela's hand with a smile.
"Hey, look who I've found." Fareeha declared.
Reinhardt passed his head through the door with a smile.
"Hello! Angela, how are you doing?"
"I'm... holding on."
"Good. Come on honey, why don't we leave those two together for a while?"
Ana stood up and nodded.
"Call me if you need anything."
"Sure." Fareeha declared as she took her seat once again.
Angela's sweaty hand found hers easily, and she instantly gripped it. The door closed behind Ana, and Fareeha managed a smile to her wife.
"It's almost over, I promise."
In the last few hours, Angela had been sweating from pain and discomfort. Her blond hair stuck to her forehead, and her tired eyes looked red.
"Oh no, that's just the beginning..."
Fareeha looked at her phone.
"It's almost six. A nurse should come around."
Angela clenched her teeth as she gripped viciously Fareeha's hand. In the ocean of pain she'd been floating through those last few hours, Fareeha was her only anchor. Fareeha leaned closer to her, and pushed a few strands of hair away from her face.
"I owe you big time for this one."
"You don't owe me anything. You took care of me, you're still taking care of me right now, and I know you'll take care of me and her after."
Fareeha stood up just enough to press a kiss on her hot forehead.
"I could have done it, you know. Carry her."
Angela managed a smile.
"If you're so incline in carrying a baby I'll let you carry the second one, okay?"
"Wow there. The first one isn't out yet."
Angela tried another smile, but the next contraction made her grimace.
"Yeah, and if she could hurry, she would forever be my favorite."
The door opened a few minutes later, and the midwife checked for the sixth time on Angela since she had arrived. She finally declared:
"You're almost at eight. Let's do the epidural, and move you in your room, alright?"
Fareeha took Angela's hand in both of hers.
"See, almost there Ya Amar. Almost there."
Angela only nodded. The midwife left and came back with a few other nurses. Together they rolled Angela's bed out of the room, and through the corridors until she reached her own room. Of course, as soon as Ana noticed that they were moving, she followed, leaving Reinhardt to carry a still very much sleeping Hana and her notebook to the end of the corridor. They placed the bed inside the room, and the gynecologist joined them shortly after.
"So, Doctor Ziegler, how are you feeling?"
"What do you think?"
He chuckled, and began to prepare the epidural. Fareeha found a chair to sit back beside her wife, just like before, while her family waited outside. The doctor asked Angela to roll to the side, and he placed a long needle in her back. Angela slowly rolled back to her initial position, mindful not to take the tube down. Fareeha watched with a grimace the catheter draining a strange liquid in Angela's back.
"Alright, the epidural should help soon. I'd say you're just a handful of hours away now. Anything I can get you?"
Angela took in a deep breath.
"Beside a large dose of morphine, no."
He chuckled again and went for the door:
"Alright, have someone call me if you have any problem."
Hana was dreaming. She found it so vivid, incredibly so, that she knew for sure she would remember everything as soon as she would wake up. But her surely beautiful dream was all but gone when a painful yell pierced through her sleep bubble, and she stood up in panic. She was not on the same bench she had fallen asleep on, she knew, or someone had moved the coffee machine since then. There was another yell, coming from the room behind her, and she shivered. That voice sounded too much like Angela's. She looked around, her sleepiness all but gone. Her diary rested closed on the empty seat beside hers, her pen carefully placed on it. Ana stood in front of the door, as if it had been closed on her. Reinhardt sat beside her, and he seemed just as anxious about the yells as she was. When he noticed she was awake he managed a small smile.
"It's okay. The baby is coming."
There was another yell, more strangled this time, as if she had already lost her voice. Hana then noticed how Ana flinched at the sound. Reinhardt must have noticed too, as he declared:
"Honey, don't stay there, come here."
She nodded and moved to seat by his side. He enveloped her in a large hug with one hand.
"Everything is going to be fine."
Hana noticed the strength of his voice, how he was sure of what he was saying. There was another yell, softer this time, and another one, although this one was more high-pitched, and unmistakably one belonging to a baby. Hana found herself smiling, and noticed beside her how Ana was happily crying.
Fareeha was crying. She didn't thought she would be, but she was. She had just cut her little girl's umbilical cord, and watched as the midwives cleaned her from the layer of blood enveloping her. Immediately, a small blood sample was taken, making her daughter cry even louder. Once she was wrapped in a pink blanket, the midwife turned to Fareeha and smiled:
"Congratulation, it's a very healthy baby girl."
She handed her her daughter, and Fareeha found herself crying again. She took her with all the carefulness she could muster. The little baby slowly but surely stopped crying as she began to rock her. She made her way back to Angela and sat beside her.
"Look, Angela, you were right."
Angela, too tired to even sit, craned her neck to see her daughter. Fareeha angled herself so that the little girl could be between the two of them. She had a small patch of black hair on her head, and a skin tone lighter than Fareeha's, but darker than Angela's, just like she had predicted. Her little mouth moved as if she wanted to indicate to her parents that she wanted to eat. Fareeha chuckled.
"It's already feeding time? Wow, you don't even let your mommy rest, do you?"
She carefully handed her to Angela, and during that brief exchanged their baby girl opened her eyes. Her tiny fist closed around one of Fareeha's finger, as if she didn't want to leave her just yet. Angela began to laugh happily, while Fareeha looked mesmerized at her deep blue eyes.
"She has blue eyes."
"All babies have blue eyes when they are born." Angela declared as she placed her little girl against her. While the baby's grip was strong, she let go of Fareeha's finger as soon as she was placed in feeding position.
"No, she has exactly the same blue eyes as you. I can see it."
"So it's Alya then?"
Fareeha smiled.
"Alya."
Alya closed her eyes as she seemed to enjoy her breakfast. Fareeha chuckled, and looked around. Everyone had left the room and neither of them had noticed. She looked at the door. She found strange that her mother hadn't burst through it at the first chance she had.
"Do you want to go and fetch your parents?" Angela asked.
Fareeha smiled and shook her head.
"Not yet. Let's wait until Alya is done."
They exchanged a look before both of their gazes fell on the little girl. She looked absolutely perfect, Fareeha didn't need a genetic analysis to know that.
Half an hour later, after Alya had fallen asleep Fareeha finally decided to fetch her family. She opened the door and found her parents hugging on the bench, Hana on her phone beside them.
"Hey, do you want to..." she whispered.
Ana stood up quickly, her camera in hand.
"Ah, finally! You almost made me wait!"
Fareeha sighed, but moved aside for everyone to come in. Ana immediately went to the plastic crib in a corner.
"Oh, Fareeha! She's beautiful!"
Reinhardt moved quickly to his wife, and smiled brightly at the sight of the little girl. Hana was the only one who seemed a bit concern about Angela. She stopped by the hospital bed with a bright smile when she saw that the blond was okay.
"You're alright?" she asked anyway.
Angela smiled.
"Of course I am."
Hana nodded, and threw her backpack off her shoulders. She searched through it for a few seconds before she pulled out a fluffy pink stuffed bunny, with long floppy ears and a little heart embroidered on its belly.
"I.. hum... I bought it for the baby. Is it okay if I give it to her?"
Angela and Fareeha exchanged a look, and they both smiled as Fareeha answered:
"Of course you can. Thank you Hana, it's very nice of you."
Hana smiled and walked closer to the crib. Ana was taking pictures of her poor grand-daughter as quickly as her camera would let her, and still the little girl didn't seem to mind, as she continued to sleep.
"She's a heavy sleeper, just like you." Ana declared to her daughter.
Hana placed the stuffed bunny in a corner of the plastic crib, and looked the little girl for a while. She had a big head compared to the rest of her body, with a small button nose and thin dark hair. To Hana, her fists were the size of a normal thumb. It fascinated the young woman, how small the baby was. Finally she noticed the paper glued to the crib, and read it out loud.
"Alya Amari-Ziegler." she read. "So it's Alya then?"
"Yes."
"It's a very pretty name." Ana confirmed.
Fareeha glanced at her father. He had yet to say anything, which was strange since he was usually boisterous when it came to his emotions.
"Dad? Are you okay?"
"I don't want to wake her up." he managed to murmur.
Fareeha smiled, and looked back at her daughter. She almost wanted to cry again. This was the beginning of something great, she knew.
A month later
Angela had not wanted to go back to work so soon, but there had been an emergency, and one led to another, until she realized it was already almost eleven p. m., and Fareeha was going to kill her. Alya would be starving by then, she had missed at least two feeding times. She drove home quickly, and once again she had never been more glad to work so close to her home.
As she pushed her apartment door open, she frowned. The house was a mess since Alya had arrived, because neither of them had the time to clean it up. She found two empty baby's bottles on the coffee table. At least Alya had been fed. But the weirdest part was the fact that she didn't hear neither of her girls. The few times she had gone back to work she had either found Alya babbling away in her crib while Fareeha slept, or Fareeha had been there to great her while Alya slept.
She was tempted to call out, but if Alya was asleep it would probably woke her up. She took off her coat and shoes, locked the door behind her and walked to their bedroom. Alya also slept there for now, since they had decided to found a bigger place to live, one where Alya could have her room and Angela her office. The lights were off. Through the yellow light coming from the living room she saw Fareeha asleep on their bed, Alya sleeping on her. They had probably both fallen asleep while Fareeha was rocking their daughter to sleep. She smiled. They were belly to belly, Alya's big head resting on Fareeha's chest. It was the most adorable thing Angela had ever seen, and she was almost tempted to let them be, but she knew at one point or another Fareeha would roll, and that would not be good. Instead, she carefully picked up Alya, who kept on sleeping, and rocked her lightly a few times before she placed her in her crib. Fareeha must have felt the loss of warmth as she blinked a few times and asked in a sleepy voice:
"Waz goin on..."
Angela pressed a kiss on her baby's head before she turned back to the bed. She knelled before Fareeha.
"Shhh, Liebchen, don't wake her up."
Fareeha finally managed to open her eyes, and smiled sleepily.
"Oh, it's you..."
"Sorry I had to work so late."
"It's okay. We had a little girl talk."
"Is that so? What did you talk about?"
"Always love your woman, even if she leaves you with a very hungry baby."
Angela smiled and kissed longly Fareeha.
"I love you too."
A few whimpers came from the crib, and both women froze. Quickly, the whimpers turned to small cries, and they both sighed. Angela smiled.
"It's alright, I got this."
Fareeha shook her head and kiss her again before she stood up.
"Go change it your pajamas, I'll take care of the little diva."
Angela nodded, and picked up her pajamas from under her pillow before she went in the bathroom. Behind her she heard Fareeha picking Alya up with a smile in her voice.
"That's not a good way to welcome mommy home, you know?"
A/N: Hi guys! Well, this is the end of the Hana's Diary Universe, at least for now. I really hope you enjoyed this very long story! A little name meaning, perhaps? While Clara is usually associated with light in a lot of languages, which would be fitting for Angela's daughter, Alya actually means "Fly" or "Heaven"in Arabic, fitting both Fareeha and Angela. Plus, I really like that name :)