"I Can't Do It!" Queen wailed at the top of her lungs, tears streaming down her face like miniature acid waterfalls. "I'm Too Weak!"
For Queen, it seemed like the clock near her moved forwards too slowly, for her labour turned out to be a painful, arduous and difficult one. The dilation process went fairly smoothly beforehand, but the expulsion process? Not so much, unfortunately. By now, it had lasted for a little over 2 hours, which nobody liked, logically enough.
It was currently 12:06 a.m., also known as 6 minutes after the dawn of a new day.
"You're not too weak, Queenie Beanie" King reassured her. "You're already doing your best."
The cyber monarch took some deep breaths to reassure herself.
"Good job, my Queen" Iggy praised her. "You'll get there, eventually." She gently grabbed Queen's free left hand and caressed its back with her thumb. "I know it's not easy, but like our King said, you're already doing your best, and you can't do more than that."
"I Just Want To Hold The Baby In My Arms So Badly…!" Queen sobbed. "I Want This To Be Over…!" She then flinched upon feeling another contraction, which, contrary to the last few, was significantly more intense. "Ow This Hurts! Ow This Hurts So Much I Can't Even Take It!" Her visor even showed four enlarged exclamation marks while she yelled.
"Take some rhythmical breaths." Iggy swiftly went back towards the footboard of the bed.
The distraught Queen immediately did as she was asked, and only felt slight pain relief down there. Her mind, however, did drastically ease, and her confidence slightly increased.
"Doing great, my Queen. Would you like to try to push again? Everything is okay here."
"Okay Queen You Can Do This. 3, 2, 1…" The cyber monarch took a deep breath before pushing again, almost crushing King's left hand in her now very tightened grip on the right.
"Yeooowch!" King shrieked for as far as his vocal cords let him. "My metacarpals!"
"Nobody Cares About Your Measly Metacarpals You Big Stupid Moron!" Queen's visor showed a large ':(' emote while she shouted.
King was left befuddled at the impulsive insult that he just heard from his very own wife. Usually, he was the one who insulted others…
Fortunately, the walls of the medical room were thick enough to repel all of the yelling and shrieking and not wake anyone else inside of Card Castle up in the process.
"You're doing a fantastic job, my Queen!" Iggy said. "I need you to push again! I can sense some progress!"
Queen took another deep breath before the next push.
"Yeah! Great job! I can slowly see the tip of their head coming in! Keep at it, okay?"
The cyber monarch confidently continued pushing at her own tempo and based on what she could feel down there, and within almost no time, high-pitched and shrill cries confirmed that she was allowed to stop, at which point she sighed deeply in genuine relief.
"Congratulations, my Queen…!" Iggy carefully lifted the newborn spadeling up into her gloved hands. "It's… it's a boy!" Her eyes widened in surprise, for she initially thought the baby was going to be a girl, but her expectations were proven false. "Congratulations on your son, both of you…!" She carefully laid the baby on Queen's stomach, where she gently cleaned him off with a large, soft cloth that she kept handy over her left shoulder in advance.
"You did a terrific job just now, Queenie Beanie" King said with an obvious hint of relief in his voice. "I know it was hard, but you just got yourself right through it. I'm very proud of you." He grabbed his pocket camera from the inner pocket of his cape and took the first few pictures of Queen and the baby together.
"Hi There Sweet Lancer…" the cyber monarch said quietly. "Welcome To: The Dark World… You're Already So Loved…" She planted a very gentle kiss on Lancer's fragile forehead. "I've Waited For You For So Long And Here You Are… I'm So Happy With You…"
Lancer himself eventually wasn't screeching as loudly anymore. His cries were still audible enough, but somewhat sounded a little more fatigued now that he felt his mother's body temperature well enough.
"Lancer, you say?" Iggy said as she briefly laid Lancer in the thick glass box that was nearby so she could ensure him of a nappy, some clothing, which was a unique, black, sleeveless bodysuit with a sole blue spade on its front, and a dark blue blanket with several small black spades on it, which Iggy's mother, Irene, happened to have finished recently. "That's a very unique name you picked for him."
"Isn't It?"
"Was it hard to pick a name?"
"Oh Absolutely. But All Ended Well Fortunately."
"That's very good to hear. Well, a hearty welcome to the Dark World, Lancer."
Once the baby spadeling was all dressed, he was gently laid back onto Queen's stomach, where his cries became a little quieter once more. At this point, they sounded like tiny squeaks of sorts.
"Isn't He Cute Kingy Wingy? He Already Looks So Much Like: You…"
"He's especially very tiny…" King whispered as he got down onto his knees so he could see Lancer from up close. "I don't think I have the courage to pick him up and hold him just yet…" He gently caressed his newborn son's tiny cheek with the tip of his index finger. "Hi there, Lancer. Shh… it's okay. You don't have to be afraid of Dad…"
While the two new parents quietly interacted with Lancer, Iggy took her time to tidy everything in the medical room up here and there. She didn't want the newly-established family to leave while there was still physical disarray to be seen in the room.
Afterwards, she made sure that a bottle of formula was prepared for Lancer, for he also needed his fairly empty stomach to be satisfied now that his umbilical cord had become his navel shortly prior to the dilation. Said navel would eventually turn into a second mouth, just like King has, once Lancer would reach puberty.
"When do you want the gifts to be brought in, Queenie Beanie?" King asked.
"Once We Both Regained: Our Energy" Queen replied. "I Just Gave Birth To Lancer And Simultaneously Crushed Your Left Hand While Doing So." Her visor showed the ':)' emote. "I'm Very Sorry For That BTW."
"It's okay. My hand isn't actually broken, fortunately. It just felt that way."
"I Also Didn't Mean To: Insult You. I Just Wanted To Focus On Giving Birth And I Highly Disapproved Of: Being Interrupted By You."
"Phew. While you insulted me, I was honestly baffled, since I'm usually significantly better at that."
"Ha Ha Yes True." Queen smiled in a fatigued fashion when she turned back to Lancer, whom she still held in her gentle grasp. "I Hope You Didn't Listen To Me Before You Were There Sweet Lancer. I Cussed At Daddy But That Was Dumb Of Me. Did You Just Hear Me: Apologise? Yes You Did." She planted a teeny tiny kiss on his forehead and gently rubbed his back with her fingertips. "You Should Do The Same When You Cuss At Daddy Okay?"
King softly chuckled at what his wife told their son already. Her sense of humour could oftentimes be too funny to properly comprehend.
At the same time, Iggy finished preparing Lancer's first bottle, which she handed to Queen before carefully adjusting her bed so she sat up a little.
"Thanks Doc" the cyber monarch said with a small but friendly smile as she carefully adjusted Lancer in her arms so that he laid on his back. "I Think I Still Know How Bottle-Feeding Goes."
"That pleases me to hear" Iggy said with a sincere nod and a smile. "If you need help with whatever you still think you're not capable enough of yet, please feel free to let me know."
"I still feel too incapable myself…!" King laughed softly. "I'm still horribly afraid that when I change Lancer's nappy, I might need a bath myself afterwards…!"
"Then That Should Be Left To: Me…!" Queen chuckled back, her visor showing the text 'haha' while she did, while she carefully inserted the teat of the bottle into Lancer's mouth, who immediately started sucking it hungrily. "Ooh Aren't You Hungry Sweetheart…? I Won't Blame You…!" She smiled sweetly at her son while feeding him for the very first time.
When the morning came, however, Queen's physical health had suddenly depleted out of nowhere, much against her own expectations.
Queen felt horribly fatigued and her core seemed to be overheated.
"Now Who Will Take Care Of Lancer?" the cyber monarch asked in genuine distress. "King Can't Take Care Of Him Alone! He Hates The Sound Of: His Crying!"
"I can try to ask Rouxls if he can help me take care of him" King suggested.
"But Does Rouxls Even Have Any Experience With Babies?"
"No. But if you never try, you'll never know, right?"
"I Think He Might Panic When You Make This Sudden Offer." Queen's visor showed the look of disapproval.
"And if you haven't recovered by tomorrow, I'll let him try to-"
"Please don't do that, my King" Iggy interrupted him in a strict tone. "Once the evening falls, I'll do another night shift to take care of Lancer as well. You seem to be pressuring that poor baby too much already."
"And? He's my child, too."
"Please just be mindful while taking care of him while Eiji tends to Queen soon."
"Can't Eiji help?"
"Unfortunately not. He's almost solely educated to take care of Darkners who are aged 18 and up, and he clearly told me that he doesn't want to study to become a paediatrician or anything."
"That's indeed unfortunate, but I'll do the best I can. After all, I did acquire some skills during those parenting classes for the last few months."
"That's the spirit." Iggy nodded in approval. "I wish you the best of luck, my King."
"Thank you kindly."
As King carefully went off with Lancer in his arms and a well-packed nursery bag around his shoulder, Eiji arrived in the medical room.
"Good morning, Iggy" Eiji said. "I heard the news about Queen. I'm concerned. What are the most recommended things I should do to eventually decrease the temperature of her core?"
"Make sure to give her cold water regularly" Iggy replied. "And by that, I mean with ice cubes, not just from the cold side of the faucet."
"So I should attempt to cool her down, you say?"
"Yes, it's quite simple. Oh, and also make sure to regularly change the cold pack on her chest area, for those will lose their coldness very easily with her overheated core."
"Oh dear, this does sound quite serious and concerning. I'll do the best I can while you recover from your night shift."
"I can count on you, Eiji. You're one of the hardest-working medics around here. You work even harder than me and the others combined…!" Iggy shook Eiji's hand firmly. "Have a good one, alright?"
"I will. And you should rest well."
"Thanks." The female Rudinn doctor soon left the medical room.
"Hi Eiji Dear…" Queen said in a somewhat quieter tone than usually.
"Good morning, my Queen" Eiji said as he checked the cold pack on Queen's chest. "Hmm… it's about to lose its coldness. I should provide you with another one."
"How Many Cold Packs Are There…?"
"Don't worry, enough for you to hopefully cool you down, which, to be precise, is about 30. We have a whole drawer in the freezer dedicated to them."
"That's A Big Relief…"
The male Rudinn doctor went to the freezer to grab a new and bigger cold pack for Queen to replace her current one, and subsequently made her a large cup of water with plenty of ice cubes, which he placed onto her bedside table.
"Thank You Doc…"
"No problem. Is it okay if I check on you for a bit and ask you some questions?"
"Sure But Be Careful While Checking On Me Since Touching Overheated Core Areas Can Give You: Burn Scars."
"Don't worry, I've also learned quite a few important things about your species during my studies." Eiji sat down on a nearby chair. "Now, have you experienced an overheated core earlier in your life?"
"Only When I Had The Usual Childhood Diseases When I Was Young."
"So like the pixelated pox and the 6th virus?"
"Yes."
Meanwhile, Queen was suddenly reminded of her late mother, who had an overheated core as one of her causes of death. This made her very sad and heartbroken.
"Are you alright, my Queen? You seem very distressed."
"My Mother Passed Away From A Highly Overheated Core Nearly: 6 Years Ago…"
"Oh dear, I'm very sorry to hear that. I presume you're afraid to meet the same fate?"
"Unfortunately Yes…"
"I'll make sure you won't, and I'll do the best I can that way."
The cyber monarch grabbed one tissue from the box on her bedside table and blew her nose well before refreshing herself with some of that cold water from her cup.
"Now, before I'll check on your cooler if it's still working properly, I briefly need to put you on stand-by mode. Do you mind, my Queen?"
"No I Don't Think So… Said Switch Is On My Back Though…" Queen carefully turned onto her right side to make her back functions easier to access for Eiji.
"Alright. You'll be powered back on soon." Eiji waited for a few seconds before putting Queen on stand-by mode, after which he took a gander at her back. "Okay…" Somewhat reluctantly, he opened the gridded lid on the back of her head. "Hmm… no dust, no damage…" He grabbed a flashlight from his doctor's coat in order to take a closer and better look. "Just a few scratches, but that's what you get from ageing. Furthermore, it all looks just fine." He turned the flashlight off, put it back into his pocket, closed the gridded lid and turned Queen back on, carefully laying her back down on her back. "Oops, forgot about that cold pack." He carefully put the fortunately still cold enough cold pack back onto her chest.
The cyber monarch herself had to take her time to regain her senses after briefly having been on stand-by mode.
"What… What Happened…?" she mumbled. "Oh Right A Check…"
"Your cooler is still doing fine, my Queen, which is good news."
"Phew That's A Relief…"
"Conclusively, I think it's indeed solely your core that's overheated, and as long as I keep on treating you with cold water, cold foods and those cold packs, there'll be a large chance that within a few hours to even a few days, you'll be fully recovered."
"I Won't Be Able To See Lancer In The Meantime Though…" Queen had burst out in tears. "I Miss Him So Much…! I Could Only Hold Him For What Seemed A Few Minutes…!"
"Lancer, you say? Is that your child?"
Queen quietly nodded.
"That's a nice name you picked for him." Eiji carefully petted the cyber monarch's head to somewhat comfort her. "I understand why you miss him. The mother is usually with their newborn child for a way longer time, and I'm very sorry that your overheated core has robbed you from that beautiful opportunity. If it makes you feel any better, I was born too early myself, and I had to spend an entire week at a neonatal intensive care unit in one of those glass boxes! My mother couldn't bond with me for that entire week!"
"That Sounds Awful…! In That Case I Shall Do My Best To Recover Within Less Than: A Week. Anything To Hear His Cries And Feel His Soft Body From Up Close Again."
"I shall do as much of my best to help you recover. I don't want to break your motherly heart… I mean, motherly core that you only just developed. And by night, Iggy will help you and take additional care of Lancer."
"Thank You Kindly Doc I Mean Eiji I Mean I Don't Know How To: Address You."
"Call me whatever you want. You don't have to be overly polite the entire time. You do deserve a break at a difficult time like this."
Queen smiled weakly before slowly draining the rest of her cup of cold water, which was refilled just as soon.
She subsequently quietly prayed to herself for a quicker recovery, which she concluded with the whisper of a well-meant "Amen" before giving in to some increasing fatigue and critical battery power by closing her not-directly-visible eyes and rolling over onto her right side.
"Do you need to be charged, my Queen?" Eiji asked.
The cyber monarch quietly nodded, letting Eiji plug her charging cable into an extension cord so that she didn't have to get out of her bed to be charged.
"There you are. While you charge, you're not on the hard and uncomfortable floor for the time being."
"I Usually Charge… In My Bed… Despite… Short Cable…"
"I'll leave you be. You even sound fatigued. If you need anything, I'm always around, alright? Rest well."
Within almost no time, Queen had swiftly fallen into a much-needed sleep, her inner fan trying its hardest to cool her and her core off while she did.