The Best Laid Plans

"Okay, so we'll check into the hospital in an hour or two." Sasha said as she got off the phone with their doctor. Marcy had started having contractions only a few minutes ago but Sasha and Anne were worried.

"It's fine. It doesn't even huuuuurr-" Marcy groaned, before panting and clutching her belly. Sasha and Anne shared a look as Marcy squeezed her eyes shut. Wiping the sweat from her brow Marcy smiled back at them reassuringly. "It just feels like a lot of pressure." She said, trying to catch her breath.

"That's what we're worried about Marbles." Anne said, kissing the top of her head before reaching around to lift her belly. Marcy let out a long grateful sigh.

"Can we put on a movie while we wait?" Marcy asked. Sasha flipped on the TV and flicked over to their recently watched list. She pressed play and the movie began.

"When's Dtaa gonna be here?" Troy asked as he dragged his backpack behind him.

"Soon." Sasha said, scooping him up.

"What's wrong with Mama?" He asked, pointing as Marcy made a face as she felt another contraction.

"Your little sibling is getting ready to come out but sometimes it takes a while." Sasha explained as they sat down beside Marcy on the couch. Marcy took his little hand and put it on her belly.

"They just want to say hello." Marcy smiled weakly as she felt a kick.

"Why are they taking so long?" Troy asked. Anne snorted and he looked at her confused.

"You took a long time too." Anne couldn't help but grin at him before winking at Sasha.

"It's true. You came out when you were ready and we just have to wait for them to be ready." Sasha said, before leaning over to kiss Marcy on the cheek.

"Okay, but when are they gonna be ready?" He asked, looking at Anne. Anne smiled and slowly lowered Marcy's belly. "When do I get to meet them?"

"Maybe later today, maybe tomorrow. We just have to be patient." Anne said, as she joined them on the couch. He hurried off Sasha's lap to crawl onto Anne's. Sasha sighed and gave her a look.

"Right, well I see where I rank." She huffed in mock offense. Anne leaned over to pull her into a kiss.

"The movie…" Marcy complained as they blocked the view. She frowned slightly as she held her belly. The contractions were getting stronger.

"Sorry Mar-mar." Anne teased as she and Sasha both kissed her. She smiled. There was a knock at the door and Sasha got up to answer it. She opened it and Mr. Boonchuy stepped inside.

"Dtaa!" Troy shouted as he ran to the door to give him a hug.

"There's the little man!" He said crouching down to catch him. He giggled as Mr. Boonchuy lifted him into the air. There was a loud pop and he put a hand to his back.

"You alright dad?" Anne asked, coming over to greet him. He grinned through the pain.

"I'm fine Anne. I'm just getting old." Mr. Boonchuy joked. Anne hugged him and he looked over to Marcy. "How soon are we expecting? Your mom wants to know of course." Anne glanced over.

"We're not too sure. We're going to get everything ready and will hopefully head out within the next hour or so." Anne said, chewing her lip. Mr. Boonchuy put Troy back down.

"Anything I can do to help?" He asked, looking between her and Sasha.

"This is already a huge help. Thanks Phâaw-Dtaa." Sasha said, giving him a hug. Anne bent down to adjust Troy's backpack.

"You're going to have so much fun at Dtaa and Yaai's. You'll all come over to visit us in the hospital when it's time to meet your new sibling." Anne promised. Troy nodded and Mr. Boonchuy took his hand and led him out to the car. Anne watched as they got in and left the driveway.

"I'm going to double check our bags and make sure Domino 3 has enough food." Sasha said, jerking her thumb over her shoulder as Anne closed the door.

"Can you pack snacks?" Marcy asked from the couch.

"I don't think you're going to want snacks if they have to induce labor." Sasha called back as she headed to their room. Anne followed.

"Okay but what about snacks for us?" Anne asked. Sasha pulled their bags out and set them on the bed.

"Were you two worried about snacks when I was in labor?" Sasha asked, raising an eyebrow as she unzipped the bags to review the contents.

"I mean, not really, but we were too scared to think about eating." Anne shifted uncomfortably. "I'm still worried about Marcy but this feels more controlled since we're going to the hospital early."

"I'll pack some," She said with a half smile, "But you better not be eating while she's in labor." Sasha paused and gripped the sides of the bags. "I'm so scared for her, Anne." She said avoiding her eyes. "I was in so much pain. I don't want her to go through the same thing." Anne wrapped her arms around Sasha.

"I know. I'm scared too." Anne admitted as she buried her face in her shoulder. They stayed like that for a moment before Sasha turned to face her.

"I'm so sorry, Anne." She said, pressing her forehead to her's. "I don't want you to feel like we are ignoring your feelings. We, Marcy and I, know this has been dysphoric for you. We didn't want to bring it up until you were ready to talk about it but this is kind of a big moment, isn't it?" Anne started to tear up as she gazed into Sasha's eyes.

"I know." She said, wiping her eyes. "But right now all I care about is our family." She said, pulling Sasha into a tight embrace. Sasha gave her a squeeze before kissing her on the forehead.

"Keep an eye on Marcy, will you? I'll finish up here." Sasha said, rubbing her eyes. Anne nodded and left.

"You're missing the movie." Marcy complained from the couch. Anne laughed and strode over. She rejoined Marcy and started to cuddle her affectionately. "Anne!" Marcy laughed before putting a hand to her head.

"What's wrong?" Anne asked quickly. Marcy didn't respond right away as she screwed her eyes shut. "Sasha!" Anne shouted. After a minute Marcy smiled weakly.

"It's fine Anna-banana it's just-" Marcy started and frowned. Sasha hurried out with their bags.

"Get the car ready." Anne said, trying to pull Marcy to her feet. Sasha nodded and left without another word. "Mar-mar? I need you to tell me what you're feeling." Marcy struggled to her feet and suddenly clutched Anne for support.

"It's nothing. I just got this sudden headache." Marcy tried to reason as Anne helped her to the door. "The contracts don't hurt, it's just-" She tried to shake her head. Sasha reentered and looked to Anne.

"Get her into the car. I'll clear up everything here." Anne said, carefully shifting Marcy over to Sasha.

"Hey Marcy?" Sasha asked, trying to look into her eyes. "Can I carry you?" Marcy would have blushed if her head wasn't throbbing.

"I love it when you do." Marcy laughed through the pain. She put her arms around Sasha's neck as she hoisted her up. She headed to the door as Anne ran around turning lights off, closing windows, and checking on things. "This has kind of been a fantasy of mine. I just wished my head didn't-" She clenched her teeth. A minute later Anne was locking the front door before climbing into the car. They sped off towards the hospital. What felt like moments later Marcy was lying in a hospital bed as the doctor and nurses hurried to prep her.

"You're going to be okay." Anne said, holding her hand and kissing it. Marcy looked around the blurry room.

"Are they going to fix my headache before we have the baby?" She asked keeping her eyes closed to avoid the sting of the harsh white lights.

"They're going to get the baby out first." Sasha said, squeezing her other hand. Marcy cracked her eyes open. Why was she leaning forward? Anne had her hands on her shoulders.

"You need to stay still." Anne said calmly as she looked into her eyes. Marcy's heart jolted when she felt a sudden sting in her back. She started to panic. "Look at me. You need to stay still." Anne repeated. Marcy was so scared but she trusted Anne. She started to cry and Sasha kissed the top of her head.

"We're here Mar-mar. We're here." Sasha soothed. Despite her headache making it nearly impossible to think she started to put the pieces together.

"Don't let them cut me open." Marcy begged as she clutched their hands. Sasha was saying something to the doctor. "Don't let them cut me open." She cried and Anne wiped away her tears.

"It's going to be okay Marcy but we need to get the baby out now. We need to keep you both safe okay? Trust me." Anne said reassuringly. Marcy continued to cry but nodded. Sasha returned and a mask was put over Marcy's mouth. She was terrified as she had flashbacks before losing consciousness.

A glowing light protruding from her chest. Her friends yelling out. A flash of light. Andrias barking orders. Everything going black. Andrias alone, crying as he begged for her forgiveness.

Marcy woke up sobbing. She couldn't remember anything. Was she in the hospital or back in Amphibia? She heard soothing voices and felt gentle reassuring touches. She opened her eyes to see Sasha and Anne beside her. Her headache was gone and she couldn't feel part of her body.

"The baby?" She asked moving a hand over the blanket that covered her lower half.

"She's fine. They're just going to keep an eye on her for a little while." Anne said softly. Sasha caressed her cheek.

"We're here. We're not leaving you." She said brushing Marcy's hair out of her face. Marcy was scared to touch her abdomen.

"Will it scar?" She whispered.

"Not if we can help it." Another voice answered. Marcy looked over to see Jenny and Mr. X. "Though to be honest, you might not need our help. That altered DNA of yours seems to have given you quite the boost to your body's healing abilities. Why in fact it-"

"She doesn't need to hear that." Sasha snarled at him.

"Fair enough." Mr. X said, raising his hands.

"What happened?" Marcy asked, looking between them curiously. Sasha crossed her arms and Anne shrugged. Mr. X straightened his glasses.

"Once the baby was delivered your body almost appeared to start repairing itself while they were closing you back up." He said pulling out his phone. "Almost appeared to. What did we say again Jenny?" He asked. "Ah, yes, it was a trick of the light. The doctors were inclined to agree so there is nothing to report." Marcy hesitated and lightly touched her belly.

"There's still stitches." Anne said, kissing her. "Whatever they gave you back in-" She trailed off, "-Well, it seems like it's supposed to help you heal faster." The doctor and a nurse returned with their baby.

"And there's the birthday girl." Mr. X said, clapping his hands together. He looked at the three of them. "I'm afraid business calls so we'll have to catch up another time." He waved and gave a wink. He and Jenny left. The nurse placed the baby into Marcy's arms.

"A healthy girl." The doctor smiled, "Now that we are past the delivery we can look forward to your preeclampsia resolving itself. We'll want to keep you under observation for about 48 hours to monitor your progress." They left shortly after. Marcy looked down at the wriggling bundle in her arms.

"So, do we finally get to hear the name you picked out?" Sasha asked, sticking a finger out for the little hand to grab. Anne reached out to smooth out the few wisps of hair on her head.

"Yeah, I'm excited to finally hear it." Anne said, staring at their baby lovingly. Marcy held her baby close to her chest.

"Andria." Marcy whispered as she looked into her daughter's twinkling eyes. There was a pause.

"What!?" Sasha and Anne both demanded.