Chapter XVI

Preparations

"Here, let me help you up," Anselm begged.

"I'm perfectly capable of getting out of bed myself, thank you," Bergljot snapped.

Two months passed since Gwandoya died and was resurrected. His vision was getting a little worse each day, but he was still able to see well enough to get along. Bergljot was getting bigger as well. Her mood swings were worse, too.

"I'm going to call Renatus after breakfast. You know, give them an update."

"Okay. What do you want?" Anselm asked as she got dressed.

"A glass of orange juice and a piece of toast," she said.

"Come down when you're ready."

Bergljot sighed as her husband left the room. She pulled out her baby book from the table next to the bed and opened it. Inside, she found a picture of her mother when she was four and a half months pregnant. She looked from the picture to her reflection in the mirror and was surprised to see that she was somewhat larger than her mother had been.

Well, I'm sure it's not very important, she thought. Bergljot laid down the book and went to breakfast.

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"You seem to be doing just fine," Renatus smiled an hour later. She and the group from Itziar were sitting around the sphere on Ogden. They listened politely as Bergljot updated them.

"I'm glad you brought Doya back," Leilani whispered. "I felt his soul start to enter the Lifestream, but it refused to stay in the flow. That must be why he became a Heartless and didn't just die."

"Only five more months, right?" Strifer asked, changing the subject.

"Yeah. I haven't even thought of names yet," she realized.

"Maybe you should name it after on of Doya's kids," Yuffeth suggested.

"No, I think it'll be too painful for him, having to remember his children every day."

"Well, congratulations," Renatus nodded. She turned serious. "The other worlds have sent messages. No Heartless have been seen on any worlds since you arrived back at Drummond."

"You don't think Ansem's up to something, do you?" Ken'ichi looked at Bergljot.

"Could be. He may be toying with us. Who knows? Maybe he misses having a little competition."

"Any Heartless there? Other than the ones that killed Gwandoya?" Yuffeth asked.

"Yeah," Bergljot muttered sadly. "More are gathering every day. They can sense a heart forming. I fear that when I give birth, we'll be totally surrounded and defenseless."

"You'll be fine," Renatus reassured her. "You didn't say how Sephiroth was turning out."

"He's not really that bad. He's tough and really quiet. But his voice…" she paused, trying to think of how to describe it. "You can tell that he's hard, but there's a softness under there. I think with some help, it can break through. He's going through the transition from evil to good with few problems."

"Hurry back," Leilani whispered. "I want to battle him as soon as possible. I don't know how many more times I can be reborn."

"Don't tell him I said this," Bergljot began. "But do you know why he killed you? Other than the fact that you were looking for a way to kill him."

"I never knew there was another reason."

"He was in love with you."

Silence followed this statement. Leilani blushed and looked at her with a shocked face as Bergljot explained the incident with Kalliope.

"Anyway, I thought you might like to know that. I have to go. Anselm and I have some things to discuss and… preparations to make."

"We look forward to seeing you," Renatus concluded. She turned off the Commsphere.

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"Anselm, we need to talk."

"What about?" Anselm asked as he washed the morning's dishes.

"I want to talk about the baby," she began pushing him. Sephiroth walked in. "Whoa, mister muscles. And just how is sleeping handsome this morning?"

"Shut up," Sephiroth yawned as he whacked Bergljot over the head. He had been asleep since dusk and most of the morning. Sephiroth hadn't even bothered to put on the belts that fit over his chest or his cloak. He looked strange and off balance with his wing sticking through only skin and no cloth. His hair was knotted in several places. He opened the fridge and began foraging for food.

"Here," Anselm tossed him a banana. "I'll toast some bread."

"Thanks," Sephiroth looked at the fruit in disgust. He peeled it slowly and took a bite. He struggled to chew it and swallow.

"I guess you're more of a meat-eater, huh?" Bergljot smiled.

"Yes."

"Do you mind for a minute? I have to talk to my husband."

"Of course," Sephiroth nodded. He took his toast and went to join Gwandoya in the living room.

"What do you want to talk about?"

"First of all, I want to discuss what we're going to do about when the time comes," Bergljot sat at the table.

"We aren't going to be able to get a doctor here," Anselm thought aloud as he sat next to her. "No doctor could be able to make it past the Heartless. I guess that means one of the bedrooms."

"Okay. You'll have to be with me."

"Of course."

"You don't get it," Bergljot gave him an exasperated look. "You have to act as midwife."

"Why not Gwandoya?" Anselm snapped in disgust.

"He's going blind. He won't be able to see what he's doing. And Sephiroth's fiancée died before she had the chance to get pregnant, so don't even suggest him."

"Fine. This was a really bad time to have a baby, wasn't it?" Anselm smirked.

"This is such a mess. I wish we had never done that," Bergljot began to cry a little. She leaned into Anselm's arms.

"It's okay. We'll get through. Relax," he whispered soothingly. "Only a few more months. They'll go by fast, don't worry."

"Do you want a boy or girl?" Bergljot asked quietly.

"A boy would be strong. But then again, a girl would have more of my wife's beautiful looks. I really don't care, as long as it's ours."

"Don't leave my side for a minute between now and then. Promise?" Bergljot begged.

"I promise."

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The months did indeed fly by as the important day drew ever closer. Bergljot was beginning to worry. She had looked at her mother's eight-month picture and, upon gazing in her mirror, realized she was huge.

"Anselm, I'm scared," she confessed a month before she expected to give birth. "What if the Heartless find a way in? I don't want the dream to come true."

"You'll be fine. I taught Alpha the spell, remember? She's going to stay in the house and keep a watch on how strong it is. She'll renew it if necessary."

Ace and Alpha had been able to dig a tunnel from the basement to the lake and built a makeshift house for them. They were able to travel between the homes safely. The Heartless never suspected a thing. The two of them had been living there since they returned from the islands.

"I don't want this baby anymore," Bergljot whispered as tears formed in her eyes.

"Hey, honey," Anselm hugged her comfortingly. "It's too late now. You'll be all right. You've gone through eight months. One more month, a few hours of pain and you're done. I shouldn't have mentioned the pain, should I?"

"No. But I feel a little better. You've kept your promise. Thank you," she hugged him tighter. She looked at Omega's old basinet next to the bed. "I don't believe this is going to happen. I wanted to have children, but I thought we'd be married a few years first. Then again, I didn't think I would be traveling through space battling monsters. I also expected to conceive here, not up there."

"I love you," Anselm whispered into her ear. "No more sex until the light comes. I swear. I don't want to chance this happening again."

"I don't want to go through this again for a good, long time."

"You won't."

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"She seems to be well," Sephiroth said as he and Gwandoya sat on the windowsill. Bergljot and Anselm had been upstairs discussing what they would do when this time next month. "Then again, I would not know. I am only assuming."

"She is. I remember when Gilda had our kids. It was amazing. I never really believed in miracles until I held my babies for the first time," Gwandoya was polishing his glasses and squinting at the light. He had found a pair of darkly tinted sunglasses that didn't allow any one to see his eyes. They had begun to lighten, making his eyes look as though he had no iris or pupils. He could barely see as it was. "I'm glad I'll still be able to see a little in a month. I want to see the child at least once."

"I am sorry we had to fight you. We are connected now, in a way."

"How do you mean?"

"We have both suffered death, yet been resurrected. We have both had to hurt or be hurt by ones we loved. We each held our wives as they died," Sephiroth sighed. He looked at Gwandoya. "Thank you for bringing me back."

"I didn't do anything," Gwandoya shrugged as he put on his glasses. "How do I look?"

"Not bad," Sephiroth smiled. Bergljot and Anselm came down at that moment.

"Styling, bro," Anselm laughed. Gwandoya gave thumbs up.

"Hey."

"Well, we're all set," Bergljot said shakily as she sank into a chair. She laid a hand on her swollen stomach. "All we need now is for this little one to decide when it wants to come out."

"I hope everything turns out well for you," Sephiroth smiled. He put a hand on Bergljot's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "We have only known each other for seven months, but I feel as though you have taught me more than anyone could learn in that time. Thank you all."

We're here any time you need us," Gwandoya told her. He slipped off his glasses and polished the spots he missed.

"Here, I'll do it," Bergljot said hurriedly. Before he could object, Bergljot seized the eye protection and rubbed them feverishly with the hem of her top.

"And thus begins the most annoying month," Anselm chuckled.

"What do you mean?" Sephiroth gave him a sideways look.

"He means the ninth month," Gwandoya explained. "During the ninth month of pregnancy, women get urges to clean. Don't be surprised if you wake up in the middle of the night and find her trying to strip all your clothes off to wash them."

"Don't say that. No woman would do that," Sephiroth chuckled at the thought while Anselm and Bergljot laughed hysterically.

"Oh no?" Gwandoya raised his eyebrows. "Then how do you explain me waking up several nights during both of Gilda's pregnancies and trying to have sex with her because she's tearing my pajamas off my back?"

The group shut up immediately.

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The day was only a week away. Hundreds of Heartless were gathered around the house twenty-four hours a day. Alpha had returned to the house and was doing her best to practice the spell. She renewed it each day when she sensed the power weaken. The men in the house were busy with final preparations. Sephiroth helped Bergljot get around the house when she needed it while Gwandoya stalked Anselm to make sure he knew what he had to do when Bergljot gave birth.

"For the final time, I know! Now, SHUT THE HELL UP!" Anselm screamed when Gwandoya approached him once more to talk about the procedure for getting the baby out.

Bergljot didn't have it any easier. She felt weak and bloated, and all she wanted to do all day was either clean or sleep. She was also the one that had to endure painful kicks from the baby in the middle of the night, when she took a shower, when she ate, and every other moment of the day. She knew that the more motions the baby made, the closer the due date was. Bergljot was so big, she could hardly get out of bed in the morning. She finally tried to subtly induce labor. Anselm and Gwandoya had warned her not to, that it would make the baby come before it was ready and increase the chances of complications, but she didn't care. She was tired of being pregnant and wanted to get it done and over with. Anselm finally forbade her to leave the upper level of the house.

"I'm not chancing you tripping on the stairs," he explained when Bergljot objected. She knew that he knew she was trying to induce labor, but she had no other choice but to obey with no arguments.

"I hope she does not suffer too much pain," Sephiroth said the morning after she was isolated.

"Why?" Gwandoya asked. "I'd have thought you'd want to see someone suffer. I thought you were evil."

"Yes, but she is different. She has treated me differently than any other person. She has been friendly and gentle."

"She'll be strong," Anselm said. "She always has been, and this is the perfect time to prove that strength. I think she's brave. No pain any man has ever suffered or will ever suffer can compare with that of childbirth. I actually admire her for that."

"I am glad I am a man," Sephiroth sighed.

"Hey, look what I found yesterday," Gwandoya smiled. He pulled two black boxes out of his coat and handed one to Anselm. "Walkie-Talkies. I'll keep one down here, and you take one up when she's ready. Radio me when we can come up or if you need help for any reason."

"Sounds good. I hope she comes out okay."

"We'll be down here if you need us," Sephiroth comforted him.

"Do you realize what you just did?" Gwandoya stared at him.

"What?"

"You used a contraction. You said 'we'll' instead of 'we will' like you usually do," Anselm pointed out.

"I suppose," Sephiroth chuckled. "You're speech is starting to wear off on me."

"Anselm?" Bergljot called softly from the top of the stairs.

"Be right there," Anselm returned as he stood. "Be back in a minute."

"Gilda sounds like she was a good woman," Sephiroth whispered without looking at him. "I wish I could have met her."

"You will someday. Hopefully, that day is a long way off," Gwandoya looked at Sephiroth. "Are you okay?"

"I am in awe. There is so much love and caring between the three of you. I doubt I will ever again feel as I did when Kalliope was alive," he muttered. Gwandoya's jaw dropped as he thought he saw a few tears build up in Sephiroth's eyes. The two of them sat in silence.

Anselm walked in hurriedly a few minutes later. He looked a little scared as he collected the radio and a small sports bag.

"Are you okay?" Gwandoya asked as he stood up.

"Yeah. I'll be fine in a while."

"What's wrong?" Sephiroth demanded as he, too, stood. The answer made them sit back down very slowly.

"She's ready. Her labor started late last night. I'm going to be a father in a few hours."

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Aw… So sweet… Ahem. Anyway. This chapter is full of random junk that I came up with to give a little time between the last chapter and the next. It should pick up after the next one. The next chapter is going to be from the viewpoints of Gwandoya and Sephy-chan only. No, you won't have to visualize… that. You'll get a break from Bergljot until the very end of the next chapter, too.

And to Soul Vagabond: IF DEAD PEOPLE ARE SUPPOSED TO STAY DEAD, DOES THAT INCLUDE SEYMOUR AND SEPHIROTH?????

Anyway, thanks again for all the reviews, people!