Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever own Final Fantasy IX, or the related characters, places, etc. (I wish I could though. ;_;)
A/N: Greetings everyone, remember me? ^o^ As I was going through and re-reading some of my older chapters (for editing purposes) I noticed this chapter and I came to the conclusion that the original was written very poorly. I went through and re-wrote it, now it's satisfactory. I may end up re-writing several chapters to this story actually, but it's all a matter of when I have time. (Those of you who have been keeping track of Keep Yourself Alive know that I'm not the fastest person at updating).
Chapter 4
Lindblum castle was silent as it usually was so late at night. In the Regent's sleeping chamber, Cid and Hilda were sleeping soundly when the phone on their bedside table rang. Hilda mumbled something incoherent and rolled over and Cid opened a single eye to glare at the accursed object. It rang a second time.
"Get the phone dear," Hilda said sleepily.
"Huh?" a very tired Cid asked groggily, looking at his wife through the darkness. The phone rang a third time.
Sighing, Hilda sat up. "I'll get it." She leaned over her husband and delicately picked the phone up off of its hook. "Hello?" she asked into the receiver trying not to sound too groggy. "What!?"
"What is it, Hilda?" Cid groaned and rolled over.
Hilda quickly glanced at the clock on the wall. Three o'clock in the morning. "No, we'll be there," she said, turning the knob on the kerosene lamp. Cid yanked the blanket over his head to escape from the sudden light. "Yes, we'll be there as soon as we can."
She hung the phone back up and immediately got out of bed.
"Who was it? Why did you turn the light on? It's still early."
"That was Zidane, Garnet is having her baby."
"What!?" That woke him up. Cid shot up from his laying position and looked wildly around the room.
"Her water broke a little over an hour ago. We need to go to Alexandria castle."
"I know that!"
Hilda rolled her eyes and slipped into some clothing as fast as she could. "No time to dress up, dear. We need to leave now."
"Okay, okay," he muttered as he put on a pair of socks.
"I'm going to wake up Eiko. She'll be very excited." And with that, Hilda bustled out of the room, brushing the tangles from her auburn hair at the same time.
"Eiko? Eiko, honey…" she rapped on the door.
"Hm?" was the tired reply she got. "It's three a.m., what do you want?"
Carefully, the older woman opened the door so that a small amount of light flooded the room. The twelve-year-old Eiko turned away from the door and shoved her head under her pillow.
"Garnet is having her baby. Don't you want to go see it?" she asked, turning on the light in the room. Eiko sat up, her short purple was severely tangled and her eyes were droopy.
"Can't you tell her to wait until a later time?"
Hilda chuckled, "No, honey, I'm afraid not. Nature does what nature intends."
The preteen blew air through her mouth and dragged a hand down her face. "Alright, I'm getting up."
"No time to dress up sweetie, we need to leave soon. Just put on something comfortable," Hilda said as she bustled back out of the bedroom.
Eiko shook her head and got up to shut the door just in time to see Cid hurry past, clamping his belt over his thick stomach, "G'morning, Eiko. Better get ready fast."
"Gah, I know!" she grumbled, closing the door.
When the Fabool family had finally arrived, it seemed as if everyone was gathered in the hallway outside of Garnet and Zidane's bedroom. Hilda and Cid sat down on a red sofa that was directly across the hall from the door, and Cid wrapped an arm around Hilda's shoulders almost as if to keep her warm.
Immediately upon entering, Eiko caught sight of the fifteen-year-old Vivi and walked over to talk to him. In the far corner, Freya and Fratley stood talking to a very tired looking Amarant. Their several kids, who had seemed to have gotten bored waiting, had fallen asleep on the floor, covered by a blanket a servant had brought them.
The entire Tantalus crew was there as well. Marcus sat in a chair, arms folded, trying to keep himself from nodding off. Blank was pacing the length of the hallway in such a fashion that one would think that he was the father-to-be. Baku, Zero, Benero and Cinna were all playing a game of poker on the floor, and Ruby sat nearby watching.
"You don't think something happened, do you?" Blank asked aloud to himself. Ruby jumped up and ran over to him and touched his arm reassuringly.
"Don't worry, hun. If something had happened, I'm sure that we'd know by now."
Blank sighed then resumed his pacing. Vivi had been tracing Blank's movements with his eyes and was starting to become very dizzy.
A cry of pain and loud moaning could be heard from behind the closed wooden door. Hilda clutched her chest, the sound alone was so heart-wrenching. "The poor dear, I wish they'd let me in to see her," she mumbled into Cid's chest. Blank's eyes widened and he ran back to the door and tried the handle.
"Locked!" he spat.
"It's been locked for over an hour now," Baku said, standing up, holding on to his back all the while. "Why don't you go fer a walk or somethin', Blank? Yer makin' poor Vivi here dizzy from all yer pacin'!"
Another cry was heard. Ruby's eyes softened and she walked over to Blank whose eyes had widened. Before she could say anything of comfort, he began his pacing all over again.
Just as Blank thought he couldn't take it anymore, the door slowly creaked open. He spun around to look at who was coming out. As a matter of fact, everyone's eyes were on the door. Dr. Tot scurried out, right past everyone who had been waiting.
"Hey! Was it a boy or a girl? Is the baby healthy? Is Garnet alright? Did Zidane pass out?" Blank began pummeling him with questions. The doctor just smiled and continued to walk off. "C'mon man! Answer me!"
"I'm sworn to secrecy. I'm not allowed to tell anyone anything."
Severely disappointed, everyone returned to what they had been doing. The door opened a second time, this time Zidane walked out, his face pale and his eyes tired. He was massaging the hand that Garnet had most likely been squeezing.
"So?" Freya pressed him.
Zidane exhaled, sat down in an unoccupied chair, then looked up at the ceiling.
"So?" she asked again, a little more demanding.
"So…" he sighed, closing his eyes. "…I'm a father."
After a few seconds of stunned silence, everyone began cheering in unison.
"Congratulations!" several people said at once. Zidane nodded at them and smiled as big as he could.
"She's the most beautiful baby ever!" he boasted, throwing out his chest.
"So, who gets to see her first?" Ruby asked, very excited.
"We only want small groups in at a time, Dagger is very tired, you know." Everyone nodded.
"I say grandparents go first!" Baku spoke up.
"Follow me," Zidane slammed his hands against his knees and pulled himself up. Cid, Hilda and Baku followed him into the room, and Baku closed the door behind him.
Dagger lay in her bed, tiny beads of sweat clinging to her forehead and her black hair sticking to her face. In her arms she held a white bundle. Automatically, Hilda ran to her side. "How are you, dear?" she asked worriedly, dabbing the sweat from her face with a cloth.
Dagger's voice came out thin and strained, but she managed, "I've been better."
"Take a look at Alexandria's newest princess!" Zidane exclaimed. Carefully, Dagger handed him the bundle and he walked slowly to the center of the room and gently pulled the blankets away from the infant's face. The three crowded around him.
The child looked up with her big blue eyes, groping the air with her outstretched hands. Her hair was jet black, just like her mothers, and in the middle of her forehead, Hilda noticed a small nub of a horn. Also, to everyone's amazement, she had a tail, just like her father's.
"Wow, she looks jus' like Dagger!" Baku exclaimed and slapped Zidane hard on the back. "I guess it's better, fer her sake!" he laughed heartily and Zidane smiled sarcastically.
"So, you wanna hold her?" he asked, looking at Hilda.
Her eyes lit up, "Can I?" Zidane nodded and handed her the bundle. Slowly she swayed, holding the tiny infant. "Oh, you look so pretty. You're going to look just like your mom," she whispered. Hilda never had the opportunity to have her own children. After an accident she had as a teenager, the doctors told her that she would not be able to safely carry a child of her own. Never had she held a baby, never had she felt small fingers wrap around her index finger. The baby opened her mouth and yawned, her small tongue stuck straight out, licking the air, and her eyes shut tight. "So precious…" she said quietly, "So precious."
Blushing slightly, she realized she was hogging the child and passed her to her husband. Cid was more awkward with holding her than Hilda. He didn't have the maternal instinct Hilda had.
"When's it gonna be my turn?" Baku whined immaturely. Cid chuckled and passed the baby over to the big man.
"So what's her name?" Baku asked, rocking the baby slowly.
"Amethyst Tribal," Dagger answered from her corner of the room. "Amy for short."
Baku beamed and looked back down at the delicate child, "Ya know what? One o' these days, the boys n' I are gone take you on an adventure. Jus' like yer mom an' dad went on!"
"We'll have to wait for that one," Dagger smiled and held her arms out. "Now, can I have my baby back?" Baku laughed and gave Amy back to her mother.
Since many other people wanted to come in and see the baby, the three didn't stay long to chat. Instead they waved and exited the room so that Beatrix and Steiner could enter.
"Your Majesty," they said in unison and kneeled in the doorway.
"Enough with the formalities!" Zidane laughed. Blushing, Beatrix stood back up and walked to stand beside Dagger while Steiner and Zidane talked amongst themselves.
"Do you want to hold her, Beatrix?" Dagger asked feebly.
"I would love to, Your Highness!" Dagger smiled and handed Amy to her. "Oh, Your Highness," the general breathed, "She is so beautiful. Oh! And she is a summoner as well!"
"Yes, and I can only hope that her life isn't as complicated as mine was," Dagger thought, remembering the painful memories of the Extraction Ceremony and her mother's greed.
"I hope that our baby is just as beautiful as her," Beatrix said as she continued to sway. This made both Zidane and Steiner face them from their side of the room.
"We're having a baby?" Steiner asked excitedly. As she handed Amy back to Dagger, Beatrix nodded, blushing a second time. "When did you find out?" he asked, grabbing her hand.
"The other day. I went to the doctor so that he could run some tests."
"We're having a baby!" Steiner turned to Zidane; his eyes were wide and full of excitement. "We have to go tell the others!" Beatrix nodded as Steiner led her out of the room.
"Congratulations again, your Majesties!" she exclaimed before leaving.
"I'm happy for them! Aren't you?" Zidane asked looking behind him. No response came from Dagger. "Dagger, honey?" No reply. Quickly, he pulled a chair up beside her and grabbed her hand. She was sleeping, the slow rising and falling of her chest made her seem so peaceful.
Careful not to wake her up, Zidane picked Amy up off of Dagger's chest and placed her in her bassinette. Looking between the two sleeping girls, he thought quietly to himself, I must be the luckiest man on Gaia.
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That's more like it, ne? I'm definitely proud of this chapter (in comparison to the older version) XP It was almost an embarrassment looking back on that one. Oh well. One down, and 25 to go! (Lol. I doubt I'll be re-writing all 25 chapters) o.O I don't have enough time on my hands. Please leave me a review, and flames and feedback are greatly appreciated. ^o^
