Lie In The Sound
Chapter 4: The Night
It happened so suddenly. I woke only hours after I'd fallen asleep to find that my water had finally broken.
"Gippal…" I shook him softly, terrified. This is really happening. "Gippal, wake up."
He opened his eyes groggily, yawning. I winced as it began again. My exhaustion had not faded with my drugged sleep. If anything, it was worse.
He stared at me in confusion, and once he realized where he was, he appeared to be concerned. "You alright, Rikku?"
I shook my head. "It's happening… I… the contractions started again. I think you should go and find a doctor."
He paled under his tan, and gripped my hand tightly for a moment. "You'll be alright while I'm gone?"
"I think so… hurry. I'm kinda scared." I leaned back on the pillows as he got out of the bed. He rushed out of the room to find a doctor as I waited, gripping the sheets tightly.
Night had fallen. Djose was quiet as the stars emerged. The beach was calm, the moonlight reflecting off of the surface of the water. We walked along the waters' edge, holding hands, silent with the rest of the world. The waves hit the beach softly, sparkling under the night sky. The velvet sands seemed to melt beneath our feet as each new wave returned to the sea.
He smiled and stopped, looking out at the water. "Look, Rikku… dolphins." The beautiful animals jumped and leaped, rivulets of water dripping from their sleek bodies as they cleared the surface. I laughed. He caught my hand and pulled me in for a kiss, so tender and gentle that my knees went weak. When we pulled away for breath, we simply stared into each others' eyes for a long moment in time. A moment in which all time seemed to stop.
I rushed out of the tiny hospital room and into the long hall. I pulled my little CommSphere from my pocket and waited for it to connect with the Machine Faction's townhouse in the residential are of Luca. Tidus' face looked back at me after a couple of moments. "What's up, Gippal?"
"Rikku thinks it's time. I just thought you guys might want to know." I waited for his response as he processed what I'd said.
"We'll be there in twenty minutes." He set the sphere down and began to yell for the others without bothering to shut the contraption off. I disconnected and jogged the rest of the way to the nurses' station.
The little old nurse from earlier sat behind the counter. She looked up at me patiently and kindly smiled. "Can I help you?"
"Miss Rikku says that her contractions started again and asked me to get a doctor," I said in a rush. I don't know how the woman understood me, but she gripped my hand and smiled encouragingly.
"Sonny, don't you fret. You go back to your girl, and I'll be right in with the doctor." She stood and walked down the hall in the opposite direction of Rikku's room, towards the staff area. I nodded to myself and stood for nearly a minute. …what do I do now? Who else do I need to call? Cid… no, I'll have Yuna do that… maybe she'll want some water. Or something… coffee?
Suddenly, I heard her yell echo through the hall. "Gippal! Get back here!"
"Oh… oh, right." I ran off toward her room once more, feeling as if I was one of my inventions, running on a program, not seeing anything, not feeling anything… not knowing anything.
She laughed as we drove swiftly toward the temple, the cool night air whipping her loose hair behind us. The ocean was calm that night, splashing gently against the rocks just offshore. I flushed when her arms tightened around my waist as we tilted into the sharp turns of the highroad. As I drove on, time seemed to blur, to halt.
As I began to slow down when we reached the crossroads, she leaned forward. I laughed softly. "Rikku, what are you doing?" Her lips softly grazed my neck, and I took in a sharp breath. I could feel her grin against my skin as she trailed soft kisses to my ear.
"Do you want me to stop?" she asked hesitantly, whispering just above the hum of the air streaming past us. I shook my head, also hesitant, as we came into the view of the dark and majestic Djose Temple.
I held his hand tightly and bit down on some of the ice that the nurse had brought, tears streaming down my cheeks. Gippal never uttered a complaint, though I could see something out of place in his face. I don't know if I was hurting him physically, or if it hurt him to see me in pain. As soon as I released his hand from my machina-like grip, he reached for a little cloth and began to squeeze it to get his blood flowing once more. Were I able to smile, I would have. He looked amusing, squeezing a bundled up cloth, staring at the wall distractedly.
I took the moment to breathe deeply and rest my eyes. I felt numb between each contraction, until all the muscles in my body seemed to tighten and solidify, so tight, so painful that I often struggled in my attempts to stay quiet. I was in a different room now, a bigger one with less decoration, with more scary looking… utensils, I guess you could call them; there were no comforting little windows in here, no bright and colorful pictures on the walls. There were some strange beeping machines in the corner, some of which were attached to me. Gippal had told me that they were alright, it wouldn't hurt me, that they were medical devices his faction had approved, tested, so on and so forth. To be honest, this far along, they could have stuck needles in my arm and I wouldn't have cared. I was an idiot, as always, and I voiced it. The next thing they did, of course, was set me up with a 'drip bag', which would place much needed fluids and medications directly into my blood stream, by way of needle. Yay.
Yuna and Tidus were swapping places with Gippal every thirty minutes or so, keeping me company while the others took turns sleeping. I thought it was sweet of them to stay for him, for the baby… for me. Glancing up at the clock (my only wall adornment), I reached for Gippal's hand, gently brushing against his warm skin. He took it calmly, the look on his face telling me that he was preparing just as steadily as I had been for another contraction to come along. My voice shocked me every time I spoke. It wavered and broke, quiet from all the abuse of my screaming. "No, no… not yet." He smiled softly and simply held my hand anyway. I pointed weakly at the clock. "Yuna's turn."
Gippal looked up, too, and sighed heavily. "I'd rather not miss any of this, I've missed too much already." Despite my exhaustion, my lack of will to do anything besides rest, I raised my hand to his cheek and ran my thumb along it gently. He closed his eyes, and I gently brushed my fingers through his hair.
"I'll have them send for you when it happens." Yuna stood in the door, her hair mussed. I hadn't seen her look so worried since those last days of Sin… the days I'd hated the most.
Gippal looked at me with tired eyes before smiling. "Not long now, Rik, not long. I'll be right down the way, alright?" I nodded and smiled as he hesitantly kissed the back of my hand. He stood and clapped a hand lightly on Yuna's shoulder as he exited, giving her a look of appreciation. She nodded to him and walked toward me, taking his place at my side.
"What a gentleman…" she sighed, handing me the ice bucket. I took a few chunks and popped them in my mouth, nodding a bit. She reached for my hand; she could always sense them coming, almost as if she were feeling them, too. I squeezed and waited it out. It hurt, but I knew she was working her summoner voodoo on me to keep me from going insane. And I was grateful.
We stood near the spot where we'd parked the hover, holding each other ever so softly, thrilled by the small contact. We were lost in one another's eyes, breaking our gaze only for swift seconds, for tiny kisses. He squeezed my hand gently, and began to walk toward the temple. I followed without a thought.
He pulled me inside, shutting the large stone doors behind us. He pulled me close again, and kissed me in that amazing way of his, holding me around the waist, his other hand busy entangling itself in my hair. The temple was empty tonight. Everyone remained at the party in the Moonflow, celebrating the anniversary of the day the High Summoners' party had brought us peace. Everyone but us.
We made our way slowly through the main chamber of the temple, our kisses becoming more passionate but no less tentative as we tripped over spare machina parts and tools. Gippal's smile made my heart melt; the emotions in his eyes made it melt even more.
I almost fell into my cot in the room just down the hallway. The hospital personnel had been more than happy to set up a little rest area for the High Summoner's companions. I had wanted to yell at them for not offering so for Rikku, but Tidus had shut me up.
"Is this almost over?" Tidus groaned from his cot, rolling over to squint at me.
"I talked to one of the nurses on the way in… said that she's almost completely… dilapidated or something."
Tidus raised an eyebrow. "You sure that's the right word?"
"Nope, but it sounds good enough to me. I guess it means she'll be delivering within the next hour." I leaned my head back against the wall, too restless to try and rest.
Tidus sat up, too, and grinned. "I can't wait to see this kid. That'll be the most exciting part."
I felt my heart jump into my throat, pounding fast. I could almost feel the color drain from my face. "I'm really nervous."
Tidus just shrugged. "You have a right to be nervous. You didn't even know about the baby until yesterday, you know? Don't sweat it."
"What the hell are we doing? I'm nineteen… Rikku just turned eighteen three months ago… how are we supposed to take care of a baby? We can barely take care of ourselves!" I buried my face in my hands, all the stress I'd been hiding suddenly jumping out from its hiding place.
"No wonder you two are so perfect for each other, you both say the same things. I swear, Rikku was talking about that the day we got here. And the day after that. And then the day you got here…"
"I get the picture," I said moodily, running my hands through my already disheveled hair.
"Listen, alright? You need each other right now. When the baby decides to stop hurting its mother and get outta there, you'll need each other even more. You'll be able to handle this baby, and everyone else will help. Wakka and Lulu have experience. Yuna works with kids at the hospital, she knows all the tricks to make them stop fussing… I like kids, kids like me. Paine…"
"… we might want to keep the baby away from Paine for a while, until they can bond." I smiled a bit, my nervousness slipping.
"My thoughts exactly." Tidus fished about in his pocket. "So, you've got plenty of help, and there is nothing to be afraid of." He grinned triumphantly and tossed something to me. "Wakka picked these up for us this afternoon."
I squinted in the dim light. "A cigar?"
"Yeah, apparently you smoke 'em when babies are born, when the fat lady sings, whatever. I don't understand Wakka all the time… but we got nice smokes out of the deal, so why not?" I shook my head, closed my eyes, and waited.
I was aware of everything. It was amazing and yet astounding at the same time, what love could do to you. I'd locked my door behind us as we stumbled through the darkness and into my room. We were both laughing at each other and at ourselves for tripping so many times in our efforts to get this far. Now, as we sat on the edge of my bed, I didn't have to watch out for sharp metal pieces underfoot. All I had to concentrate on was her.
I kissed her neck softly, gently. There'd been two other women in my life so far; I felt more for Rikku than I ever had for the other two combined. Rikku was everything. I wanted her so badly, and yet I held back, savoring every moment I spent with her, making sure she was okay before moving on. She let off a little purr as I softly kissed her collarbone. She was so fragile, and yet… so strong.
Within moments, she was lying on her back, her wild hair spread out like the wings of an angel over the soft pillows. Our kisses were a bit rougher now, and our breathing had sped up. We were excited, we were young… I pulled back reluctantly. "Rikku… we should stop."
She looked confused, almost hurt. "What if I don't want to stop?"
I rested beside her, my arm draped over her waist. Tonight was perfect. The timing was perfect. But I had to be sure… she had to be sure.
"I don't want to hurt you."
Her beautiful, expressive eyes softened. "You won't."
I hesitated. "I don't want you to think that you… we… made a mistake."
"I won't. I love you." She smiled, and I smiled softly back. She scooted a bit closer, holding my gaze. "Being with you in any way could never be a mistake."
I brushed her hair away from her face, my hand shaking softly. It was then that I realized that I was nervous. She was shaking, too. I took her hand, intertwining our fingers. "I love you, too."
She smiled softly. I ran a hand down her back, slowly, and she shivered at the touch. "Gippal…"
"Are you sure?" I asked, looking her straight in the eyes.
She nodded softly. "Yeah… I'm sure." She kissed me again, pulling me to her. I didn't pull away.
It felt almost as if I were being torn into pieces. I heard myself screaming, so tired that I felt detached. I could feel the pain, but it was numbing now too. My skin was white, paler than ever before, and I was crying as I pushed with all my might. "I can't do this any more… I can't!"
"Rikku, ed'c ymsucd ujan, ugyo? Zicd y meddma muhkan! E bnuseca!" Gippal was trying his hardest to keep me going, slipping into the comforting verses of our people in an effort to calm me down. I appreciated it, but this was getting to be too much.
"Just one more push, Rikku, the head will be clear, and then you'll be done. Just one more, big push, Rikku, c'mon!" Yuna said encouragingly.
And so, I went at it, clutching tightly to them. I couldn't help but wonder why a baby that was a month premature was so very hard to deliver. I pushed again, with a loud yell, and I waited. Finally, after all the stress, there was a bit of relief as the baby's head cleared. I heard Gippal suck in a breath at the sight of our child, as I leaned back for a rest. I breathed deeply, crying even more profusely as Yuna tenderly ran a cloth over my forehead. "Am I almost done, Yunie, please say I'm almost done…"
"You're almost done, sweetie, almost there."
Every touch, every kiss… I was so aware of his body, of mine. He was so gentle with me, so patient, slow and loving. He knew to stop and let the pain fade, and he concentrated on making me happy. It was awkward at first, making love, but that first time, it was a perfect kind of awkward. He only wanted to please me and show me how much he cared; I felt the same way. It was amazing. We'd always been connected, but in that moment, our emotions were so strong that you could almost touch them, so strong that they flooded our minds and our hearts.
I was seventeen. We were in love… the night was all that mattered.
Rikku took my hand as she lay back, as the baby came all the way into the world. Yuna stepped back into Tidus' arms, hugging him and squealing happily. I grinned like a fool when I heard the baby cry, a small, weak sound that was music to my ears. Rikku grinned tiredly as she shut her eyes, breathing heavily.
The doctor held the little one up for us to see. "You've got a little girl!" All my nervousness vanished for a moment as I let go of Rikku for the moment to move closer to the baby. She was still a mess, of course, and so tiny… she was a miracle.
In a daze, I cut the cord (the one honor that modern doctors give to the fathers… it kind of seemed like a rite of passage to me...) and watched as they bundled her up. "Can I hold her?" I asked, grinning so wide I thought my face would stick that way.
"We have to take her down for a check up, since she's early. You can follow us, if you'd like, or you can stay with Miss Rikku." I looked to Yuna, who was watching Rikku, her face suddenly not smiling, pale as Rikku's had been the moment before.
"What? Yuna, what is it?" I asked, my fright returning ten-fold. The little monitors that had passed my approval just last month began to go off, beeping, blinking. I turned back to the doctor, who handed my daughter off to a nurse.
"Have the doctors in the neo-natal department do a complete check-up. Make sure they know that she's a month premature, and that I'll be sending her father down shortly." The nurse nodded and took the baby from the room quickly as I stood, frozen, staring at Rikku.
Yuna was shaking, and even cheery Tidus looked frightened. "There's so much blood…" he whispered. The doctor was calling down the hall for extra help, and it seemed that this moment, a moment that was supposed to be happy, filled with celebrations, had turned into something straight out of a nightmare.
I ran to Rikku, holding her hand tightly. "Rikku… Rikku, you're going to be alright, okay? Rikku… can you hear me? Answer me, please! Rikku!" Her eyes remained closed, her hand did not return my grip, and her breathing was becoming shallow. "Rikku… Rikku, stay with me, c'mon… don't leave me… please, hold on…" I paled, my skin as white as hers. The noises around me faded away. All I could see was her ashen façade… all I could feel was fear.
And now, the actual plot is ready to start, my faithful readers. Thank you so much for all of the reviews! Please, keep them coming! I might start looking for a BETA for this fic, as well, if you are interested, let me know! Thanks again, I hope you enjoyed.
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