Cheren Gomez had been working the front desk at St. Gherkin's Hospital for 30 years and had never been surprised by anything. The drive was always the same, with the occasional loco cabeza needing a choice gesture with her hand nearest the car window. As usual, she waved hello to the lift gate operator in the parking garage and took the elevator up to the first floor to get back to her desk in the main lobby. She closed her eyes for a second while she sat down, and as she sat she felt her ears pop and the sounds of confused and disgruntled people. When she opened her eyes she saw her realm in total disarray. There was a measured and consistent "boom" sound as every door down the hallway to her right burst open. All Cheren could do was sit back and exhale at the first surprise of her career.
Donna didn't care about what anyone thought of her, all she knew was that she was going to be an aunt very soon and needed to be there when it happened, well, maybe not there there, but maybe someplace in the general vicinity. Maybe the next room. They have waiting rooms right?
"Shit!" she swore as she realized that she had flown past her staircase. She doubled back and stopped on the landing to make sure no one would be able to recognize her as the thing that nearly tore their hospital apart. She stopped at the desk at the maternity ward, and asked if a Diana Prince was in.
"Let me see…" replied the receptionist. She glanced at a roster on her desk and continued. "Yes, she came in this morning."
"Is she okay?"
With a laugh that sounded more like a grunt, and without looking up "As okay as anyone squeezing a kid out their nether regions can be"
It was at that moment that Donna remembered that doctors were known for their macabre sense of humor. "When do you think she'll be done?"
"What are you, twelve? I don't know, it could take all day."
It was as that moment, that Donna realized that this was not a medical professional, but a DMV worker in scrubs, and so she just sat down in the chair farthest from the desk, and took out her phone. She tried Clark first, as she was sure he would be with her.
"Hey. Heard the news. She alright?" she waited a moment for the tone that signified that the message had been sent.
Five minutes: No reply
Ten minutes: No reply
Thirty Minutes: No reply. Although Kori did send a picture of an interesting bug she found on the Titan's Tower lawn.
At that moment, a man in scrubs and a mask came out of the door that led to the hospital rooms
"Clarice, we've got a fainter! Can you get in here; we've got 300 pounds of pure muscle on the floor in the Prince room."
The DMV worker who was apparently named Clarice sneered back over her nail file "Sunshine there's with Prince."
The Doctor turned to her and pulled down his mask "Good news, the baby's fine, bad news, Dad's out cold."
She followed him through the ward to Diana's room where a nurse was trying desperately to hoist Clark's unconscious body off the floor. Even with her super strength it was still a bit of a chore to throw him over her shoulder and get him to the waiting room. Diana was being medically examined to start her on the path to recovery, so Donna had to sit with Clark while they waited for her. In a few moments she saw him sir.
"Welcome back to the world of the living, Kent."
"Oh!" his head snapped to attention
"You been passing out a lot lately?" inquired Donna passively
"Yeah, Wally decided it would be a laugh to synthesize Mauve Kryptonite, which, as it turns out erratically spikes my blood pressure."
"And that makes you faint?" asked Donna skeptically.
"I think so…"
"Sure you didn't just see your kid for the first time and couldn't take it?"
"I can't imagine that would be why."
"Because despite your steely exterior, you're really a wide-eyed innocent?" offered Donna.
Clark just exhaled deeply and did not address her question. "It's a girl."
Donna's eyes lit up. "Really? Mother'll be thrilled!"
"Speaking of Mothers" Clark got out of his seat to embrace his parents who had just arrived.
"Did it all go smoothly Son?" asked Mr. Kent
"Yes." lied Clark
"I'm glad to hear it, Clark. Congratulations!" tears rolled down his mother's face as she hugged her son.
"Am I too late?" panted Kara Kent from the doorway "I've just flown in from Cambodia…"
"Late for what?" asked Clark
"The Birthing, of course! I wished to carry out the traditional birthing rites of-" she cut herself off upon noticing Clarice behind the desk and improvised a place of origin: "Finland"
"Yes, Finland. Where we are from." declared yet another visitor.
"Karen!" exclaimed Clark, "I didn't expect to see you here!"
"How could I not come by to give my congratulations to the happy family?"
"Speaking of family, where is the little bundle of joy" piped Donna, who had been watching the reunion as an outsider from the other part of the family.
"Well, let's go see her." Replied Clark, as he led the group to the window through which all newborns were kept for their first night.
The elevator finally reached the fifth floor and the doors opened to an empty waiting room. The girl crept through the eerie silence and tapped a tiny bell on the desk. A blond secretary rolled her chair to the desk.
"You part of the Finland brigade too?"
"uhh… what?"
"If you're looking for the giants they're the first left down the hall.
Being extremely weirded out and possibly offended, Cassandra Cain just responded with "I'm here to see Diana Prince?"
Back In her room, Diana began to wonder when she would get to see her baby. Or, anyone for that matter, as she had been out of her examination for half an hour and not even Clark, whom she had a vague memory of having fainted while she was in labor, had come in to say hello. She didn't have to wait much longer before Cassandra Cain wandered into her room.
"Hey Diana! Congratulations!"
"Cassie! Take a seat!" Diana was delighted that someone was finally visiting. "Have you seen her yet?"
"Not yet, the lady at the desk told me that a group of Finns were down the hall looking at the babies, and it sounded like a large group so I just came in here."
"Well, nobody else has found us yet. Clark was here, but… I don't know what happened to him."
"Huh. Well. It was a girl, right? Your mother's going to be, relieved at least."
"Yeah, it wouldn't have made her position any easier if she'd been a boy." Chuckled Diana
"I think she'd have loved her either way." Grinned Clark as he came in cradling his daughter.
"Clark!" exclaimed Diana "Let me see her!"
Small and incredibly newborn-looking as she was, her daughter was the most beautiful thing she'd yet seen. She was sleeping soundly wrapped in a pink blanket that the hospital provided, and had a small wisp of dark hair.
"You two thought about names yet?" beamed Mrs. Kent
"Yes, but we haven't found one we like."
"Well I'm sure that whatever you choose will be great."
"Thanks, Mrs. Kent. We'll try our best to find one that will fit."
The entire family watched the sleeping child, and did not notice the additional figure in the doorway.
"What about Adriane?"
"Mother!" exclaimed Diana
"Yes, Dear, what type of Grandmother would I be if I did not come to dote upon the child?"
She clapped an arm around Donna's shoulder and knelt down near her eldest daughter to better see her grandchild.
"All the makings of a fine warrior" grinned the Queen of the Amazons "May she have Athena's wisdom, Aphrodite's beauty, Hermes' swiftness"
"Rao's judgement" added Kara as she improvised her Kryptonian rites to sync well with Hippolyta's Amazonian ones
Hippolyta finished with "And Hephaestus'… creative talents!" She was mildly surprised at the fact that no cups were raised, and there were no shouts of agreement, as one would surely have found at her home, save for Kara, who had knelt into a sort of respectful gesture.
With her entire family present and overjoyed, young Adriane's eyes slowly opened and she saw for the first time the faces of her adoring loved ones.
Seeing this brought tears to Diana's eyes, and she knew, deep in her heart that they would live on as they always had, with their heads held high knowing full well that they had each other now more than ever to depend on, regardless of any obstacle.
A/N: Thank you all so much for sticking with me these… at least two years while I finally got around to updating every blue moon or so. This is the end of this story, and I'm sorry this chapter kind of went all over the place, but I think it's a decent end to the story. Once more, Thank you all so much for sticking around and I hope to see you all again in future efforts! –The Boy Who Cried Godzilla
