Chapter Twenty-Four
I'll Always Be Right There
Auron caught her before she hit the ground, and administered the one hi-potion he had remaining to her. It stopped the bleeding, but did not completely make the wound disappear, which meant it could break open and start bleeding anew at any time.
He had to get her to Macalania, to Yuna. Yuna could heal her completely, and she could make sure that the baby was safe – but only if they got there in enough time. He carried the unconscious girl outside, to where the airship was docked.
They boarded the flying machine, and Auron immediately took her to one of the bedrooms. He laid her down on the bed, and then knelt beside her. He felt the airship lurch to life and soon they were airborne.
It would be over two hours before they would make it to Macalania – he hoped she would make it.
Rikku woke a while later, and felt a terrible hot stinging pain in her lower abdomen. Looking down, she saw the blood on her clothes, and remembered the fight with Gippal. She remembered something else, as well, but she was sure that she had been hallucinating from the loss of blood.
The door to the room slid open then, and Rikku gasped as Auron entered, carrying a cup of something steaming. She sat up, still staring. He looked – so different! Younger, like he had on the spheres they had all seen. Still handsome. Still perfect.
"It was you," she said quietly, as he handed her the cup of soup. "The whole time." She took a ragged breath, and then looked back up at him. "How?"
Auron sat down beside her, and brushed the hair off of her face. "It's a long story," he told her. "Are you sure you want to hear it now?"
Rikku looked at him in disbelief. "I thought you were gone forever, and last night, the night I made the biggest mistake – you showed back up! And you ask if I really want to know how?"
Auron laughed a little. "Okay, you win," he said. "Braska came to me in a dream," he began.
He told her the whole story, and when he was finished, he waited for her response.
She was silent for a long time. "So this is for good? You're actually – alive again?"
He nodded. "This is for good. I'm not going anywhere – at least, not without you." He smiled softly as he looked down at her rounded belly. He placed his hand over it, as he had done the night before, and the baby kicked at him again. "Or you," he said quietly.
Rikku smiled. "She knows who you are," she told him.
Auron raised his eyebrow. "She?"
Rikku nodded. "I've been calling her that, since I know she's a girl!" she said simply. Auron didn't even dare argue. He knew the child was a girl as well. Braska had told him.
She put her soup on the table beside the bed, and smiled at Auron softly. "Gecc sa," she whispered. "Bmayca."
Auron looked deep into her eyes and then pressed his lips to hers. He pulled away after several minutes. "I missed you," he told her, burying his face in her hair.
Rikku held him close to her and slowly rocked back and forth. "I missed you," she told him. "I missed you horribly. Some days, I really just wanted to die."
Auron looked up into her face. "Rikku, I am sorry," he told her. "I wish I could've told you everything before, so you wouldn't have had to hurt."
Rikku shook her head. "No. This is the way it was meant to be. And we're together now, and we will be forever. All the hurt – it was worth it, just to get to this moment. Having you back in my arms? It erases all those bad days." She kissed him again. "Hu syddan fryd, remember? I love you no matter what."
He laughed then, a good long laugh that he had needed to get out for a very long time. "Oh, Rikku," he murmured, playing with her hair. "I love you."
They arrived in Macalania, and Auron refused to let Rikku walk. "That wound could reopen at any time, and we don't want that." So he carried her into the Travel Agency, where the others were waiting.
Yuna smiled when she saw them together – he was carrying her, her head was resting on his shoulder. Then she noticed the blood on Rikku's dress. "Blood, Sir Auron?" she asked.
"Gippal," Rikku said tiredly. "Gippal found me this morning. I guess he was trying to kill both the baby and me. Luckily, Auron came back before he could do any more damage. He – he had one hi-potion, but I think I need more healing."
Yuna nodded, and motioned for Auron to bring her into one of the rooms. Auron laid her down again on a bed. Yuna looked at him and smiled sweetly. "If you don't mind, I need full concentration for this healing. Could you – wait outside?"
Auron looked like he wanted to protest, but Yuna would hear none of it. "It'll only take a minute," she told him, pushing him out the door.
She turned back to her cousin, and carefully lifted the gown so that she could place her hands on the wound. She closed her eyes and chanted the words for Full-Cure. A bright light surrounded Rikku as her cousin said the words and she no longer felt any pain.
Yuna finished, and then collapsed on the ground. "Whew. That one – that one takes a lot out of you," she said jokingly.
"Are you okay?" Rikku asked, sitting up.
"I'm fine. The important thing is – you and the baby are both fine now too."
Rikku found her satchel of belongings sitting beside her on the bed. Quickly, she changed out of the blood stained dress and into a light and breezy pink dress. She had always hated dresses, but had recently found them much more comfortable during these last few weeks of pregnancy.
She left Yuna alone in the room to recuperate from the healing spell. She found Auron sitting in the lobby with the others, and she walked over to him. She leaned down and whispered something in his ear, pulling him out of his chair as she spoke. He followed her, an uncertain look in his eyes. She led him back to the hallway, while Lulu, Wakka, and Kimahri watched in amusement.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Wakka cried after they were out of sight. "They aren't gonna – isn't that bad for the baby, ya?"
Lulu shook her head and exhaled noisily. "Oh, Wakka, really! It's perfectly fine! In fact, it may help speed things along," she told him.
Kimahri just sat silently, but Wakka would've sworn that the beast was laughing at him. "If you say so, Lu," Wakka said, still uncertain.
Lulu shrugged. "Just watch. She'll be in labor by morning."
Back in the bedroom, Auron was having the same concerns as Wakka. "But the baby . . ." he said, as Rikku nuzzled up against his neck and began removing his black shirt.
"It's fine, Auron, totally fine. The baby is super protected in there. We will not hurt her!" She began kissing down the line of his neck, and he groaned inwardly.
"Rikku," he moaned.
"It has been over eight months since we've seen each other. After I give birth, it'll be six weeks before we'll be able to do this again. Six weeks. Do you really want to wait that long?" She had removed his shirt by then and had thrown it across the room. Now, as he sat long ways on the bed, she sat over him, one knee on either side of his legs, and began fumbling with the button of his pants. She leaned in and gave him a long, lusty kiss.
He laughed to himself and kissed her back. She looked so pretty in that pink dress – and she had such an ethereal glow about her. Whoever had said that a woman was at her most beautiful when she was pregnant hadn't been too far off. Auron had no desire to deny her any more. He had one desire at the moment, and that was to join with his Rikku.
So he did, and it was amazing. Afterwards, they collapsed onto the bed in a sweating, gasping heap and slept.
Rikku woke up when she felt a twinge of pain in her abdomen. Sighing, she stood up, and pulled her long white nightgown over her head, and started to walk towards Yuna's room.
Just then another cramp hit her, and she doubled over. And that was when she noticed the puddle at her feet. "Oh, gods," she breathed. She turned around slowly and walked back to the bed.
"Auron, Auron, wake up!" she said.
He opened one eye lazily, and saw Rikku doubled over by the bed. "Rikku? What's wrong?" He was immediately concerned.
She shook her head. "N-Nothing's wrong. Go get Yunie. It's time."
Auron shot out of bed so fast that Rikku thought he was going to kill himself by tripping over the sheets that he had gotten himself tangled in. She managed a tiny giggle as he helped her to lie back on the bed.
He pulled on his pants and quickly ran down the hall to Yuna's room. Within minutes, both Yuna and Lulu were in the room. Candles were lit, towels were gathered, and Auron was told to wait in the lobby.
By that time, both Wakka and Kimahri had woken as well. They sat in the lobby with Auron, who looked more nervous than they had ever seen him. Truth be told, Wakka hadn't thought that Sir Auron was even capable of being nervous until then.
Even in the lobby, they could still hear Rikku's shrieks of pain. Finally, Auron couldn't stand it. "It sounds like she's dying in there! Is that what it's supposed to sound like?"
Wakka shrugged. "How should I know? I don't got a baby."
Auron rolled his eyes and turned to Kimahri, who just nodded. "It hurts Rikku, yes. But is good pain. End result well worth it."
Auron sat back then, slightly more relaxed. Kimahri was wise, and he had always been a good friend to Auron. All they could do now, was wait.
Several hours later, Lulu came out. Auron stood up, but she put her hand up. "Not yet," she told him.
"Is it supposed to take this long?" he asked her in a quiet voice.
"It's okay. First babies often take the longest. She's doing very well. It shouldn't be much longer now."
As if in response, the sound of a baby's wail broke the silence of the Inn. Lulu's eyes lit up and she hurried back into the room. This time, Auron followed her.
Yuna stood there, carefully cleaning the baby. When she saw Auron in the doorway, she motioned for him to come over. She handed him a small switchblade. "For the umbilical cord," she told him. "You have to cut it."
He did so, and then Yuna held her hands over the child and whispered a few words. Light enveloped the baby, and when the light dissipated, the child was completely clean. Lulu handed Yuna a soft blanket, and she swaddled the infant.
Smiling kindly, Yuna turned to Auron. "Rikku still has a bit of work left to do. Until she is done, would you like to hold your daughter?"
Auron had never seen anything so tiny in his life. He took the baby in his arms. "Watch her head," Yuna cautioned him. "You have to hold it up." Finally, he had her positioned just right, and all he could do was stare.
She had Rikku's delicate features, and his dark hair. When she blinked open her eyes, he could see that one was a vivid emerald green and one was a dark and velvety brown.
He had been staring so long, that he didn't hear Rikku say his name at first. "Auron!" she said again.
He looked up. Rikku looked tired, but beautiful. Her hair was damp, and hung loose around her shoulders. Her smile was that of exhaustion and expectation. "May I hold her now?" she asked with a smile, arms outstretched.
Auron walked to the bedside, and knelt down to Rikku's side. Rikku took the baby and stared at her, just as Auron had done. "Oh, she's beautiful," she breathed.
Lulu and Yuna stood back and smiled at each other. Yuna went to get the others, and brought them back into the room with her. They all stood at the door and watched the scene before them.
Auron, kneeling by the bed, placing a kiss first on Rikku's forehead, and then on the baby's. Rikku, staring at both of them in wonderment. The baby, sleeping soundly in her mother's arms, with her tiny fist curled around her father's little finger.
"Awww," Yuna whispered. It was perfect.
"What are you gonna call her?" Wakka asked, breaking the reverie of the moment.
Rikku and Auron both looked up at the same time, and Rikku smiled at everyone. "I want to name her Lilia, after my mother," she told them. Auron nodded.
"Lilia," Wakka said. "Yeah, that'll do."
Everyone laughed, and then turned to leave the new family alone.