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Chapter 5: Pain of Life
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Giles struggled to right the large stack of books he was carrying and press the elevator button at the same time. He didn't succeed. "Blast," he muttered as the texts tumbled to the floor, even as the doors began to close behind him. This was one of those days when he sorely missed the quiet sanctuary that had been Sunnydale High School's library.
"Hello all," he said breathlessly as he passed through the door to Willow's room. "I trust everything is ... not at all alright." Giles could read the bad news on the teen's faces.
Willow attempted to smile. "Hi, Giles. Whatcha got there?"
"Oh, these? Nothing. Just ... I thought we might be here a while, and that perhaps I could do some research while we were waiting." Giles set the books down on the bedside table and moved to Willow's side, smoothing her hair with his left hand. "How are you?"
"Um ... there was this movie once where a woman said something about trying to squeeze a watermelon out of an opening the size of a lemon. That's about how I feel." Willow suddenly found her blanket extremely interesting. "I'm only 26 weeks, and they can't stop the contractions, Giles."
"Oh." The Englishman was at a loss for words. "Oh, Willow. I'm so sorry."
Willow pulled herself up to a sitting position. "Nope. No more of that. I've been sitting here feeling sorry for myself, but the truth is this baby is going to be born, right? And being all sorry isn't going to help. So ... good vibes from now on. I mean, the baby has a fifty percent chance, right? So lets not treat him like he's already dead. Okay?"
"Yes ma'am." Xander stood at attention and saluted.
Buffy took Willow's hand. "But aren't you scared, Will?"
"Scared? I've never been so scared in all my life. Not even at the ascension! But right now there's nothing I can do but wait, so I figure why be miserable?"
Oz nodded appreciatively. He hadn't realized until this moment how strong Willow had become in his absence.
"Well then, are we ready to go?" Doctor Haskel entered the room, covered from head to toe in blue scrubs. The only recognizable part of the doctor was his glasses, which under other circumstances Willow would have found quite amusing.
Willow swallowed hard and nodded. "I guess so ... I'm not sure I'm ready to be a mom, but I guess I can't put it off any more, can I?"
"I suppose not. I can allow you to take one person into the birthing room, if you would like."
Willow locked eyes with Oz. Some sort of communication passed there, a silent understanding. ~I want you to be there, but that doesn't necessarily mean I want you back.~
"Okay then," Oz looked to the doctor. "Let's go."
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"Alright, Willow. Push!"
The redhead's sweat-soaked brow furrowed with pain as she pushed, gritting her teeth against the pain. Oz marveled at her strength; Willow was squeezing his hand so tightly he thought the bones of his fingers might snap.
"Wonderful. You're doing great. I can see the head. Now on three, I want you to bear down and push, okay?"
Willow nodded wearily. Eight hours of labor felt a lot longer than it sounded.
"Ready? One, two, three!"
This time, Willow could not hold back the cry of pain. It was as if something was ripping her open, trying to tear it's way into the world. She had nightmares when she first learned of the pregnancy, dreams in which she had given birth not to a human child but to a wolf that literally clawed it's way into life. For a moment, she wondered if this might really be the case.
Then it was over. The pain and pressure dissipated, and Willow knew she had become a mother.
But why was it so quiet?
Oz helped her to a sitting position, and together they watched the team of doctors and nurses work on their child.
"You have a baby girl," Doctor Haskel said as he walked over to the new parents.
"Can we see her?" Oz asked quietly.
The doctor shook his head. "We're moving her to the neo-natal intensive care unit right now. You can see her there in a little while."
"Why isn't she crying?" Willow was crying herself. "Is she okay? What's going on?"
Doctor Haskel sighed. "We're concerned that your child isn't getting enough oxygen into her lungs. At this stage of development, a baby's lungs aren't developed enough to breathe air. There really isn't anything we can do right now but wait, and see how she fares. If she survives the night ... there's a good chance she will survive in the long run." With that, he rejoined the rest of the team attending to the child.
"Survives the night?" Willow turned to Oz with sheer panic in her eyes. Last night had only been the second night of the full moon, which meant that tonight ...
Oz closed his eyes. "Wolf moon." Their child was on the very edge of survival. Would she be able to survive the trauma of the transformation?
Chapter 5: Pain of Life
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Giles struggled to right the large stack of books he was carrying and press the elevator button at the same time. He didn't succeed. "Blast," he muttered as the texts tumbled to the floor, even as the doors began to close behind him. This was one of those days when he sorely missed the quiet sanctuary that had been Sunnydale High School's library.
"Hello all," he said breathlessly as he passed through the door to Willow's room. "I trust everything is ... not at all alright." Giles could read the bad news on the teen's faces.
Willow attempted to smile. "Hi, Giles. Whatcha got there?"
"Oh, these? Nothing. Just ... I thought we might be here a while, and that perhaps I could do some research while we were waiting." Giles set the books down on the bedside table and moved to Willow's side, smoothing her hair with his left hand. "How are you?"
"Um ... there was this movie once where a woman said something about trying to squeeze a watermelon out of an opening the size of a lemon. That's about how I feel." Willow suddenly found her blanket extremely interesting. "I'm only 26 weeks, and they can't stop the contractions, Giles."
"Oh." The Englishman was at a loss for words. "Oh, Willow. I'm so sorry."
Willow pulled herself up to a sitting position. "Nope. No more of that. I've been sitting here feeling sorry for myself, but the truth is this baby is going to be born, right? And being all sorry isn't going to help. So ... good vibes from now on. I mean, the baby has a fifty percent chance, right? So lets not treat him like he's already dead. Okay?"
"Yes ma'am." Xander stood at attention and saluted.
Buffy took Willow's hand. "But aren't you scared, Will?"
"Scared? I've never been so scared in all my life. Not even at the ascension! But right now there's nothing I can do but wait, so I figure why be miserable?"
Oz nodded appreciatively. He hadn't realized until this moment how strong Willow had become in his absence.
"Well then, are we ready to go?" Doctor Haskel entered the room, covered from head to toe in blue scrubs. The only recognizable part of the doctor was his glasses, which under other circumstances Willow would have found quite amusing.
Willow swallowed hard and nodded. "I guess so ... I'm not sure I'm ready to be a mom, but I guess I can't put it off any more, can I?"
"I suppose not. I can allow you to take one person into the birthing room, if you would like."
Willow locked eyes with Oz. Some sort of communication passed there, a silent understanding. ~I want you to be there, but that doesn't necessarily mean I want you back.~
"Okay then," Oz looked to the doctor. "Let's go."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Alright, Willow. Push!"
The redhead's sweat-soaked brow furrowed with pain as she pushed, gritting her teeth against the pain. Oz marveled at her strength; Willow was squeezing his hand so tightly he thought the bones of his fingers might snap.
"Wonderful. You're doing great. I can see the head. Now on three, I want you to bear down and push, okay?"
Willow nodded wearily. Eight hours of labor felt a lot longer than it sounded.
"Ready? One, two, three!"
This time, Willow could not hold back the cry of pain. It was as if something was ripping her open, trying to tear it's way into the world. She had nightmares when she first learned of the pregnancy, dreams in which she had given birth not to a human child but to a wolf that literally clawed it's way into life. For a moment, she wondered if this might really be the case.
Then it was over. The pain and pressure dissipated, and Willow knew she had become a mother.
But why was it so quiet?
Oz helped her to a sitting position, and together they watched the team of doctors and nurses work on their child.
"You have a baby girl," Doctor Haskel said as he walked over to the new parents.
"Can we see her?" Oz asked quietly.
The doctor shook his head. "We're moving her to the neo-natal intensive care unit right now. You can see her there in a little while."
"Why isn't she crying?" Willow was crying herself. "Is she okay? What's going on?"
Doctor Haskel sighed. "We're concerned that your child isn't getting enough oxygen into her lungs. At this stage of development, a baby's lungs aren't developed enough to breathe air. There really isn't anything we can do right now but wait, and see how she fares. If she survives the night ... there's a good chance she will survive in the long run." With that, he rejoined the rest of the team attending to the child.
"Survives the night?" Willow turned to Oz with sheer panic in her eyes. Last night had only been the second night of the full moon, which meant that tonight ...
Oz closed his eyes. "Wolf moon." Their child was on the very edge of survival. Would she be able to survive the trauma of the transformation?