December 15

It all started out as a normal day.

Inuyasha and I had breakfast together. Then I stayed inside while he went out to get some more firewood. While he was gone, I read a book while Nico sat next to me (he used to sit on my lap but there isn't any space anymore). When Inuyasha got back we cuddled under a blanket by the fire. It was all peaceful and cozy.

Then I suggested we have some tea.

"I'll get it," Inuyasha said.

"Do you mind if I get it? I want to stretch my legs a little bit."

"Alright, go ahead."

I went over to where we kept the tea in the kitchen cabinet. "Do you want green tea or black tea?"

"Green tea is fine," he replied.

Just as I was taking the tea out, I nearly dropped it when I felt a really intense contraction. "Ah!" I exclaimed as I clutched my stomach.

Inuyasha was by my side in a second. "What's wrong, love?"

"That was a really big contraction…" I hadn't felt one that intense yet. The realization started to settle over me. Did this mean it was time?

"Is there anything I can do? Do you need me to get you anything?" He locked eyes with me and then he understood. "Is the baby coming?"

I nodded slowly. "I think so."

"Damn...damn it...okay, um, what do we do?" He was clearly panicking now.

"Go get Kaede," I said. I was starting to feel more worried by the second. I didn't know what to expect from here. How soon would the pain start? When would the next contraction come? Was my water going to break soon? I had so many questions.

"Let's make sure you're okay first. Come lay down."

So he took me to bed and made sure I was comfortable. Then he gave me a kiss and ran off to get Kaede. The time that I was alone was agonizing. There were so many emotions running through my mind: fear, excitement, longing to hold my baby. Meanwhile, I waited for the next contraction to come and for my water to break but nothing happened. I assumed it was a slow process but once things really got going, it would be more intense.

Soon after, Inuyasha returned with Kaede in tow.

"So it's finally time?" she said.

"Thank you for coming so quickly," I said.

"Of course, dear. And Sango will be here soon as well."

Inuyasha sat next to me and held my hand; he was shaking slightly from nervousness. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine so far."

"How many contractions have you had so far?" Kaede asked.

"Just one."

"Has your water broken yet?"

"No."

"Hmm." She spent a few minutes examining me. "You're not in labor yet."

Inuyasha and I were shocked. "What?"

"You aren't having consistent contractions and you aren't starting to dilate yet. It hasn't started."

At that moment Sango came in. "How's everything going?"

"It's a false alarm, Sango," Kaede said as she gathered her things.

Sango nodded understandingly. "I see."

"But wait, I had a really strong contraction though," I said.

"Did you have another one soon after?" Sango asked.

"No…"

"Your contractions will be seconds apart when you're going into labor. You won't miss it."

"So what are we supposed to do now?" Inuyasha asked.

"Give it a day or two more," Kaede replied. "I know it's frustrating. False alarms are common, especially with your first baby since you don't really know what to expect yet. Come get me when you think you're going into labor again."

Kaede and Sango left the house and I leaned back on the pillows and sighed in annoyance.

"So much for that," Inuyasha said, sounding disappointed as well.

"I was so ready," I said. Sure I had been afraid, but after thinking I was about to go into labor and accepting that fact, knowing that it wasn't actually happening was a huge letdown.

"Maybe it'll happen tomorrow?" Inuyasha suggested.

"Or later today?"

We were silent for a moment as we thought about that. Things were getting very serious now. There was no telling when this baby was going to come. All we knew was that we needed to be on high alert and ready for anything.

"What should we do now?" Inuyasha asked.

All I knew was I needed something else to think about or this was going to drive me mad. "I could really use that tea now."

It's evening now as I'm writing this. I'm sitting at my desk as I usually do. We haven't had any more false alarms or anything since then. In fact, the rest of the day was pretty normal. But now that I've had at least a glimpse of what's to come, I feel so on edge. Every ache and discomfort makes me think that something is happening. I'll be so relieved when this is finally over and the baby is here.