The Lemon Arc: Sidestory
The Best Christmas Gift
written by NemKess
Relena sighed and eased back into the padded desk chair. One hand rested lightly on her distended belly and she used the other to lightly message her temple.
"It isn't fair," she grumbled to herself. "Nine months, they said. Nine months my ass."
Her doctor had failed to mention that nine months in medical terms actually translated into 'somewhere-around-42-weeks/10 months-if-you're-lucky'. And she, apparently, wasn't to be so lucky. Despite three false alarms that had had Heero rushing her to the hospital, Christmas Eve had arrived and she was approaching two weeks passed her projected due date.
A look of mixed love and disgust filled her expression as Relena looked down to survey her body. Doctor Knoeller had assured them (when Heero had blurted out his worries about 'how huge she is') that she was on target weight wise and it was only due to her own usual petitness that made her look so large here at the end of her pregnancy. As much as she loved the life that rested inside her, Relena was more than ready to get her body back.
Not that she could really complain too much. She'd had a reasonably easy time of it. She'd had none of the morning sickness that she'd been warned so stridently about. No cramps or swelling or anything else of the like. The only difficulty she'd had was the exhaustion. All she'd wanted to do for the last three or four months was sleep.
She smiled as her thoughts shifted to her equally exhausted husband.
Heero had been as understanding as could be expected. He'd worried incessantly (especially about her weight) and driven her absolutely batty with his insistence that Sally check her out every time they saw their old friend. He'd also gone out and bought nearly a dozen baby books. Anytime he wasn't hovering over her (and often even if he was) the exasperating man would be seen with his nose buried in one or another. He kept careful watch over everything she ate or drank and forced her to get the recommended amount of exercise no matter how tired she complained about being. Though Relena loved the man dearly and knew she'd be grateful after the baby was born, there'd been times when she could have cheerfully killed him.
More than once, it had only been the interference of others that had kept Heero's hide intact. Even Milliardo had laughingly pulled her off him a couple times.
Men, she thought with a grimace. They simply had no appreciation of the true nature of pregnancy. It was her last thought before she succumbed to her sleepiness.
Heero smiled fondly when he found his wife asleep in her office chair. It was the only one she found even remotely comfortable and as such, was moved from room to room with her.
he sobered as he leaned against the wall and ran his gaze down the length- and width- of Relena's body. He didn't care what the doctor said. His gut instinct told him that she was far too large to deliver safely; and he hadn't lived as long as he had by not trusting his instincts.
Neither Dr. J or Aiden Lowe had taught him to be religious, but as Christmas approached, he often found himself praying to whatever deity might hear him that she and the baby be all right. He'd gained so much in the last two years. Heero doubted he could survive having it all yanked away with his own soul still intact.
Shaking off his dark thoughts, the Japanese man crouched down beside his sleeping spouse.
"Relena, wake up," he shook her arm gently. "Relena, everyone's here. Time to wake up sleepyhead."
Heavy eyelids cracked open just enough for him to see a sliver of blue before they dropped again.
"Go 'way."
"Everyone's here to exchange gifts, Relena. You were the one who decided that you had to have a Christmas party," he reminded her.
Her eyes snapped open and she scowled at him for a minute. He didn't even manage to open his mouth again before her expression cleared and she smiled.
"Okay, Help me up."
Putting both arms around her, Heero braced himself and eased her up and onto her feet. He tightened his grip as she swayed slightly.
"Are you all right?" The former pilot couldn't have hidden his concern if he'd wanted to.
"I'm fine, Heero. I just stood up too fast, that's all." Though skeptical, he moved away, keeping one arm around her just in case. He decided right then, as he watched her ungainly movements getting ready, that he'd make the doctor induce the next time they went to the hospital. And if the woman didn't, well, he wasn't above using a little creative coercion to get his way.
A happy smile settled onto Relena's face as she surveyed their friends and family gathered around her. She'd worried, when she'd planned it, about the wisdom in inviting them all to a Christmas party. Only a handful of them actually celebrated the holiday, after all. But everyone had shown up and appeared to have put aside their own beliefs in favor of the spirit of the season.
She laughed softly as she sorted through the loose wrapping paper to find the gifts that had gotten buried at her side on the sofa.
The pilots, still trying to appease her (and in Duo and Milliardo's cases, their own wives) had been especially extravagant. Trowa had given her a lifetime pass to the circus, complete with tickets for free games and treats. Quatre, easily the wealthiest of them, had given her the deed to a hide away cottage in the North American Rocky Mountain Range. He'd also given his solemn vow never to divulge it's location to Duo or her brother. That had brought indignant grousing from the two men and much laughter from everyone else. Duo and Hilde had given an offer of free babysitting services whenever the need arose. To everyone's amusement, both Relena and Heero had blushed at the obvious double entendre in Duo's words. The former Shinigami had also gallantly presented her with a pair of fur lined cuffs to help her... how had he put it?? "Keep control of your wayward hubbie." That comment had led to a mock tussle between Heero and Duo amid the strewn ribbons and paper on the floor.
Once the pair had been settled down again, Wufei had declared that, since he'd had no part in her wrecked wedding night, he had no need to give such grand gestures. Instead, he presented her with an elegant katana and the promise to show her how to use it in the event such a thing ever happened again. Her brother had, after all, barged in on Sally and himself that night to figure out how to keep Relena from killing everyone.
Milliardo's gift had brought tears to her eyes. He'd found the only surviving portrait done of their family before the fall of the original Sanq Kingdom and had it restored. He'd also commissioned the same artist to do another once the baby was born.
Heero had found an antique snowglobe of a small brown teddy bear that played a pretty tune. As she'd exclaimed over it, he'd held her tightly and whispered his love in her ear. That, she thought again, was the best gift of all.
There had been other, more simple and practical things from Lady Une, Mariemia, Catherine, Dorothy, Pagan and her mother.
It had been, thus far, the best Christmas Eve she'd ever spent.
She settled back into her husbands strong embrace and let herself drift off again.
Contentment was not an emotion that Heero had known well during his youth, but it was definitely what he was feeling as he snuggled Relena closer to his chest.
Outside, a soft blanket of snow had fallen the countryside. Around him, the people he'd come to consider his friends shared quiet stories of Christmas's passed.
The holidays had never meant very much to him before he'd come here. The life of an assassin, even a young one, left little time for such frivolities.
His thoughts came to a grinding halt as the muscles under his hands noticeably tensed and Relena whimpered. He'd been watching her all night and knew that she'd been having light contractions off and on.
"Do you want me to check her over while you phone your doctor?" Apparently he wasn't the only one who'd noticed. Sally's expression was calm and knowing.
"Thank you," he responded before shifting Relena out of his arms and stretching her along the sofa. This was it, he decided. False labor or not, they were having this baby tonight.
It was nearly 15 hours later when Heero sat beside the hospital bed where his wife slept, restlessly shifting around trying to find a position that eased constant ache in her abdomen. He shuddered faintly and ran a hand through his hair, his thoughts echoing the doctor's earlier words.
No Broxton-Hicks contractions this time. This was the real deal.
And unfortunately it appeared that at least some of his worries had been justified. Though Relena's contractions were back to back, each one coming hard on the heels the one before, she'd only dilated two of the ten centimeters needed and her water hadn't broken. The pain didn't seem to be anything she couldn't bear yet, but he couldn't help but wonder how long that would last. Dr. Knoeller had explained that some labors, especially for first timers could last up to 36 hours or so. And that was for someone who's labor progressed normally, something that wasn't happening in this case.
If this kept up, the plan was to break the water sack for her and hope that it would kickstart the dilation process.
Heero's next shudder was accompanied by a grimace. He'd been dumb enough to ask for details and now it was all he could do to keep his last meal down where it belonged. It all seemed too primitive and barbaric to him, but Sally had assured him that it wasn't. That it wasn't even unusual. He didn't care.
His wife was hurting and there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it.
"How're ya holdin' up?" Turning, he could see Duo standing just inside the doorway. Although he'd urged everyone to go on to their own homes, they had all decided to try and stick it out with him. He was both grateful and irritated. He didn't particularly want them seeing either Relena or himself as they were, him helpless and her in pain, but at the same time, it was nice to know that they cared so deeply.
"Fine."
"Hilde and I have to leave for a while, gotta go pick up Jazzy." Heero nodded absently while turning back to the dozing woman. He'd almost forgotten about the Maxwell's baby daughter Jasmine. He startled a bit when Duo's hand dropped onto his shoulder, squeezing. He hadn't even heard the other man cross the room. "It'll be all right, Heero. You'll see."
He tried to smile, but knew it probably looked more like a grimace than anything else. "I hope you're right."
"Hey, I never lie, remember? And I am telling you, everything will work out. They'll both be fine." There was a fierce sincerity in his braided friend's voice that somehow made Heero feel better and he was able to give a more genuine smile.
"Thanks, Duo." He raised his hand and settled it over the one on his shoulder, squeezing briefly. "Now go see to your own kid."
"We'll be back later. Call my cell if there's any change."
Heero nodded and watched as Duo turned and left the room. Dr. Knoeller passed him and entered with a serious look on her face.
"Mr. Yuy, we've decided to go ahead and break her water." Her face was gentle as she continued, obviously remembering his reaction to their last conversation. "Perhaps it would be best if you waited out with your friends until we're done."
"Go on, Heero. You need to get some fresh air anyways." He glanced behind him to see Relena shifting awkwardly on the bed, awake once again. "I'll be fine."
"Relena..." She smiled sweetly and shooed him out. Oh well, he thought. He did need a break from the stress filled room. And it wouldn't hurt to see if someone could show him how to pray.
One hand pushed wet hair out of her face as Relena leaned against the shower wall. She was glad that she'd managed to get her husband out of the room for the last bit, but now she wished for his strong arms to help support her. As soon as the doctor and nurse had finished the contractions that had been mere annoyances and uncomfortable before, had become quite fierce. It was bad enough that they'd put a stool in the shower to help her clean up because she hadn't been able to stay on her own feet for the pain. The hot water was also supposed to help ease some of the agony from her lower back, but so far it wasn't doing it's job.
If it kept getting worse, there was no way she was going to be able to skip the anesthetics.
She grimaced tightly as another pain ripped through her gut and then yelped and nearly slipped off the stool as a pair of arms wrapped around her shoulders. "Don't do that," she snapped.
"Sorry."
The blonde just sighed and leaned back against Heero for a minute before it registered that he was still clothed and standing in a running shower. "Heero, you're getting wet."
"I don't mind."
She smiled and moved back again. If he didn't care that he was getting soaked, why should she? Besides, it was nice to have his strength to burrow into as another contraction hit.
He held her tightly with one arm and shifted the other around so that he could use one hand to massage her back, easing some of the tightness that persisted there even once the pain faded. They sat there like that for another ten or fifteen minutes, Relena struggling to handle it. She'd wanted to do this naturally without drugs, but she had a sinking feeling she wouldn't be able to. Each contraction was worse than the last and it was well past the point where the hot water or Heero's gentle hands were doing any good at all.
Finally she couldn't handle it anymore. "Heero," she whispered through clinched teeth. "Please help me back to bed and.." She broke off with a grunt as she waited for the worst of it to pass. "Then go get the doctor. I need drugs."
Heero nodded and leaned around her to turn off the water. Cold surrounded her for a moment while he moved out into the actual bathroom to fetch a couple of towels to wrap around her. He left her to dry off while he went to find her a clean hospital gown. Getting covered and back into bed seemed to take an eternity, but she knew it couldn't have really been more than a few minutes.
She swept her hands through his messy mop of hair when he bent over her to fluff up her pillows and pull up her blankets.
"I'll be right back," he said softly, brushing his lips over her cheek.
"Oddly enough, I'll probably be right here when you get back." They both smiled at her pathetic attempt at humor, then he was gone.
It didn't take long for her to miss Heero's arms around her as she curled up on her side and whimpered her way through more contractions. Tears slid from her eyes and she clenched them tightly shut, slipping into the hazy surrealness of pain. There was no way for her to know how much time passed before Heero finally came back with a nurse in tow. She was just happy to feel his arms slip around her again as he crawled up onto the bed and spooned against her back.
"It's okay, Relena. Dr. Knoeller called up the anesthesiologist and he'll be here shortly. Then it won't hurt so bad." Neither of them paid any attention to the nurse who was bustling around getting the room ready. "It'll be all right. A few drugs and it'll feel better, I promise."
She gripped his hands tightly and pulled them up to her chest, holding them against her breastbone. She couldn't really make heads or tails of anything he was saying, but the tone was getting through, the comfort. Time held no real meaning for her. She just knew that she wanted this over with. Now.
Still whispering softly, Heero slid back off the bed and helped her sit up as another doctor, the anesthesiologist, came in pushing something. On any other day, she might have found his wild blonde hair and brilliant smile quite attractive. Today, he could have been bald and frowning and she still would have thought he was the second best looking thing on this planet, behind only Heero.
"Good evening, Miz Yuy. My name is Doctor Raymond Kowalski. I'll be setting up the epidural for you. You're records say that you aren't allergic to any medication, is that correct?"
"Y-Yes. No. I mean.. Y-yes that's correct, and n.. no, I'm not al-allergic." She had to struggle not to curl up again as gentle hands swabbed her back down with something cold.
"What I'm doing now is cleaning the area where the epidural will be." She stopped listening as he continued explaining every move he made. As long as he made it stop hurting, she didn't really care what he rubbed on her back. There was only the slightest prick and then he and Heero were both helping her to lay back down on her side.
Another contraction hit, this one the worst yet. Her hands clenched her husband's arm tightly and she spared a brief thought to congratulate herself on her foresight in clipping her nails down. And then..
Nothing. The pain seemed to just vanish mid-contraction. After a few seconds, her muscles slowly unclenched themselves and she glanced up to see the doctor grinning at her.
"Feel better now?" Relena could only nod, somewhat dumbfounded at the abrupt end to the agony that had been plaguing her in varying degrees since the night before. Dr. Kowalski nodded with satisfaction and jotted something down on a clipboard. "Good, that's real good. Now, the nurses will be in and out of here every hour to check on you and to see how your labor is progressing. You should try to get as much rest as you can." His gaze moved to Heero. "Both of you."
Heero reached around her to shake the man's hand and then settled back into the chair beside her bed. The I.V. that allowed the pain killers into her system also prevented him from resuming his former position behind her.
She looked down and grinned faintly. She had more tubes and lines hooked to her body than she could count. A glance over towards her husband showed that he had made himself as comfortable as he could, all things considered.
"Everyone left for the evening. I'm supposed to call them once you have the baby." She nodded and continued to watch silently as he stretched and squirmed around in the too small chair. "I didn't think they should wait once the doctor told me we would probably be asleep till then."
"Okay." She stretched out one slim hand to him. He gripped it firmly and stroked her palm with his thumb.
"I love you."
His softly spoken words followed her into slumber.
It was the near frantic voices and hands of the nurses that woke him. Heero shook his head a few times, trying to clear out the cobwebs when he noticed that they weren't just trying to wake him, they were also rushing Relena out of the room.
"Wha-what?" The sight was enough to wake him up quickly. "What's going on? Relena?"
"Calm down Mr. Yuy. Your wife and child are fine." One of the nurses from the morning shift was pulling hospital scrubs over his arms as she explained. "There was a slight problem with the baby's heartbeat, it stuttered for a few minutes and Dr. Knoeller has decided to perform an emergency C-section to prevent further stress to the fetus. Although it is possible for there to be complications, the risks of the procedure are nominal. Once we have Relena ready, I'll escort you to the operating room. From there you will be allowed to sit with her and Dr. Kowalski while the operation is performed. Then the baby will be taken to the newborn room, cleaned, weighed.." Her voice began to just wash over him as he tried to process what he was being told.
Something was wrong with his baby.
They were having to operate.
He shook himself slightly, trying to get a grip on his emotions before they ran away from him. A quick check at the clock showed that he'd been asleep for at least five hours. Six had passed since Relena had broken down and all but begged for pain medication. He hoped she'd gotten some rest as well.
Once he was finally allowed into the operating room, he was met with the sight of an extremely agitated Relena.
"I can't breathe!" Her entire focus was on Dr. Kowalski.
"You can breathe, Relena. The meds are just making it feel like you can't. I promise, you can."
She shook her head almost violently. "No I can't!" Tears had begun to stream down her temples and into her hair. "How can I breathe when I can't feel my lungs?!"
"You're talking just fine. That means you're breathing."
She just shook her head some more. Apparently having it pointed out had robbed her of her speech. Her eyes met his when the nurse led him to sit next to her head. He looked over the room, letting his curiosity take his mind off what was really going on.
Relena was strapped to a padded table with her arms stretched out to either side and restrained. Dark blue sheets formed a small room like space from her chest down, keeping them from seeing what the doctors were doing.
Despite all the blood and gore he'd seen over the years, a lot of it from his own body, he couldn't help but be glad he didn't have to see Relena's.
Things progressed quickly once he was settled. Thirty minutes and several extremely lame jokes- passed between the drugged Relena and the apparently normally crazy Dr. Kowalski- later, a nurse stepped out of the sheets and moved over to the corner of the room with something.
He struggled to see from where he was but the woman was shielding it quite well.
What the hell? he thought. That has to be the baby, but it's totally quiet.... Isn't it supposed to be crying or something?
Luckily, Relena was still too far gone to notice that conspicuous absence of noise.
Seconds seemed to take forever to Heero as he held his breath and waited to hear something, anything that would prove that his child was alive.
It was then, finally, that he saw a small fist beating in the air, followed by a thin wail. He smiled, vastly relieved as the nurse turned back around and brought the baby back.
"Congratulations, Mr. Yuy, Mrs. Yuy. You have a beautiful little girl." Dr. Knoeller stated with a tired smile as she too came out from under the sheet and took the baby from the nurse for a moment. Then she passed the infant to him. "Ten fingers, ten toes, everything seems to be in order."
"Congratulations, did you hear that Relena?" Dr. Kowalski was smiling as if it was his achievement.
"Can I see her, Heero?" Relena's voice was thready, she was already very close to falling asleep. Apparently enough of the anesthetic had worn off that she didn't' feel like she was suffocating anymore.
He held on for a moment more, taking in the beautiful blue eyes and the soft cap of dark baby hair. A grin slipped out as he memorized the rounded cheeks and head. Something to tease Duo about later, Jasmine's head had been cone shaped and it had looked squished. The difference, he supposed, between being born naturally and being cut out.
Still smiling, he tipped the little girl sideways so that Relena could see her from the table. The desire to touch, and her frustration at not being able to shown brightly in her eyes.
They were only allowed a few minutes before the nurse took the baby back and the doctor began shooing him from the room. "Don't worry about a thing, Mr. Yuy. We'll just stitch her back up and then she'll be brought back to her room. You go with your baby."
He was torn as he walked out. On the one hand, he wanted to stay with Relena. On the other, he really wanted to get to know his brand knew baby.
Daughter, he thought. Called it. Rebecca Lynn it is.
A smile lit his face and his pace picked up as he remembered the sweet little face. He was a father. Who'd have thunk it?
Light was the first thing Relena was aware of. Bright rays of sunlight were peeking through the curtains and falling all around the bed, including in her face.
The second thing she noticed was the soft cooing and murmuring coming from her bedside. She cracked one eye open just enough to see with. And them promptly had to blink to make sure she wasn't imagining the sight before her.
Heero had angled the chair away from her bed and sat scrunched down in it with his feet propped against the railing. Cradled against his thighs was a tiny infant with a shock of dark hair. One tiny fist gripped one of his pointer fingers while the other held tightly to the bottle that Heero was holding for her. Father and daughter seemed to be completely oblivious to anything other than each other.
Relena couldn't quite hear what he was saying, but the baby could and cooed in response to it. And his face. She'd never seen such a look on his face, not even for her. His expression was at once deeply loving and fiercely protective. This was Heero, a father, with none of his usual barriers and armor. Everything he felt and thought was clear there on his face.
If she hadn't already loved him so much, she knew she would have fallen in love with that look all over again.
The urge to hold her baby was nearly overpowering, after all, she hadn't done so yet and it had been several hours since the operation. Still, Relena stifled it. She wanted to enjoy this vision a little while longer.
She smiled as it occurred to her that it was the day after Christmas.
Her husband and her daughter. Talking in that secret language only understood by other fathers and daughters. Happy and healthy.
She'd been given truly the best Christmas gift ever and she knew she was blessed.