Chapter 4 - Born in Grief
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
"Julius!" The three yelled.
Oswald tried to run into the crowd towards Julius.
"Oswald!? What are you doing!?" Ortensia gasped.
"Hunny Bunny no!" Fanny cried out.
Julius' eyes widened as Oswald drew closer.
"Oswald, no! Run!" He gasped, pawing and clawing the minions away from him. "Get out of here!"
The other cat looked over at them and snarled. He turned to some of his other minions and commanded, "Don't let them get away!"
Ortensia grabbed Fanny and Oswald's paws and bolted off, followed closely behind by the cat's goons.
"Ortensia!" Fanny breathed out, gripping her stomach. "I...I don't feel so...good…"
"Just breathe!" Ortensia tried to say through her own hurried breathing. "Just...breathe…"
One of the minions lunged and grabbed onto Ortensia's leg, pulling her. She lost grip of Oswald and Fanny's paws as she tripped onto the ground.
"Ortensia!" Fanny gasped, reaching towards her.
"You and Oswald get out of here!" Ortensia replied as she struggled to get free. She turned around and was face to face with him.
Oswald and Fanny hesitated. Feeling another cramp in her stomach, Fanny toppled over in pain. Oswald grabbed her by the arm and hurried off.
To her, he didn't seem vicious … .just … odd ….
She managed to turn herself over and kick the minion off. He looked at her with wide eyes as she staggered up. The minion stared at her curiously as she backed away. "Leave … leave me alone …"
He took a step forward and Ortensia looked confused. "You're .. you're not gonna hurt me?"
He shook his head. "Play!"
"Play?" She asked, cocking her head to the side.
"Play!" He laughed.
"Oooooh, you think we're playing!" Ortensia said.
He nodded.
"Oh uh…" Ortensia thought for a second. "Wanna play …. Uh … tag?"
"Tag! Tag!" He said excitedly.
"Well then.." Ortensia put her paw on his shoulder. "Tag, you're it!" She giggled before running off.
The minion laughed as he followed after her. Ortensia gained speed, managing to outrun the little guy.
She stopped to catch her breath and looked back. Not seeing anyone else coming after her, she kept going.
"Oswald! Fanny!" She gasped out. "Where are you!? Fanny! Oswald!"
"Ortensia!" Her ears perked up at the sudden call and she looked around. "F .., Fanny?"
"Ortensia!" She called again.
She ran towards the sound of her voice and caught up with her and Oswald.
"Ortensia!" Oswald said, as he pulled her into a tight, warm hug.
Ortensia blushed and her gaze went over to Fanny, who was still holding onto her stomach. She let go of Oswald and put her arm on her shoulder. "Are you okay?"
"I think so ,…" Fanny said through clenched teeth. She let out a loud groan as she tightened her grip. "... I … I … I'm … it … it hurts.."
"Oh, honeybun." Oswald frowned, pulling her close and holding her protectively. "It's okay … it's okay … let's find a place to rest."
"What about there?" Ortensia asked, pointing to a small cave nearby.
"That'll work for now." Oswald said, pulling Fanny closer. "But we'll need to find better shelter later."
Oswald gently lead Fanny into the cave, and say her down while Ortensia followed close behind.
Fanny groaned and breathed heavily as she gripped onto her abdomen. "It .. it hurts … Oh God it hurts!"
Ortensia's expression turned from that of worry to being horrified. "Um … Oswald?"
"Yes Ortensia?"
"I ,,. I think she's in labor."
Oswald and Fanny's eyes widened.
"Wait … she's having the baby!?" Oswald panicked.
"I'm having my baby!?" Fanny screeched in fear.
"I … I think so …" Ortensia said, forcing herself to stay calm.
"N … no that .. that can't be .. I .. I'm not due for another m..month." Fanny said through gritted teeth.
"All this stress probably put you into premature labor hunny bun." Oswald said, sitting beside her and pulling her into his lap.
Fanny let out a screech of pain, gripping onto Oswald's arm tightly.
Ortensia jumped, feeling something on her back. "TAG!"
She turned around quickly to see the minion from earlier, clapping and giggling happily.
Oswald stood in front of Fanny and snarled. "You...you stay away from my hunny bun!"
The minion tilted his head in confusion and let out an almost babbling like sound.
Oswald stepped in front of Ortensia, and put up his fists and moved around like an old timey boxers. "Come on! Put 'em up! Put 'em up! I'll show ya what happens if you try and harm my family!"
The minion let out a confused "Whaaaaa?"
"Oswald! Oswald!" Ortensia said, grabbing his shoulder. "It's okay, he's harmless!"
"Harmless?" Oswald scoffed. "Did you see what they did to Julius!? They aren't harmless!"
Ortensia's ears and tails drooped, her eyes filling up with tears. "I … I … I don't think. .. they kn..knew what they … were …. were doing …. their..their leader …. He … he told them to … they were following orders. .. he … he ..."
"Following orders isn't an excuse!" Oswald snarled.
The minion looked over Oswald's shoulder and saw Fanny flailing in pain. He pointed at her. "Hurt?"
"Stay away from her!" Oswald snarled.
"Oswald!" Fanny called out in pain.
He looked back at her before quickly facing the minion again. "You … get out!"
"Oswald!" Fanny cried again.
He turned towards her this time, "I'm coming hunny bun!", and rushed to her side.
Oswald knelt beside her, stroking her palm gently with his thumb. "Breathe, please my princess buttercup, breathe."
"I .. I can't do this… I … I .." She said in near tears.
"You need to." Oswald said, helping her lean against the wall. "Just … just breathe …"
"The … the baby's coming …" She cried.
"You need to push." Oswald said.
"P … push?" She groaned. "I CAN'T PUSH IT HURTS!"
Ortensia sat beside Fanny and grabbed her other paw. "You can do it."
"I can't!" She cried out.
Gently Ortensia stroked her ear with her free hand and gripped her hand tightly.
"Hurt?"
They looked up to see the minion standing in front of them, looking worried. "Hurt?"
"Get out of here!" Oswald barked.
"Hurt."
"GET OUT OF HERE!" Oswald yelled louder.
The minion stepped towards Ortensia and stood in front of her. "Hurt?" He pointed to Fanny.
Ortensia shook her head. "She's in labor."
"Baby?"
"Yes, she's having a baby." Ortensia said.
He sat by her and started stroking Fanny's ear. "Relaaaax."
"Get your hands off of her!" Oswald yelled.
"Oswald …. It's...okay …" Fanny grunted out.
"It's Okay?! Those monsters killed Julius!" Oswald protested.
"I … I don't think he's gonna … hurt. .. us …" Fanny breathed out.
"But hunny bun, how do you know that he ..."
"He would have attacked by now if he wanted to hurt us." Fanny managed to get out. "And...he wouldn't be …. comforting ...me …"
Oswald groaned and turned to face the minion. "Listen, I need to help my hunny bunny right now, you stay put and I'll deal with you afterwards. Got it!?"
The minion nodded before stroking Fanny's ear again. Fanny let out a content noise as she tried to snuggle down more into the dirt to get more comfortable.
The minion kept stroking gently, making Fanny momentarily forget the pain.
"Th .. thank you .." She said giving him a small, gentle smile. "What is your name?"
"Kyle!" He said excitedly.
Fanny giggled cutely. "Well it's nice to meet you, Kyle." Before she let out another groan of pain.
"Fanny, you need to push." Oswald said.
"I .. I can't … I can't …" She cried.
"Push! Push!" Kyle said, stroking her ear more.
"I … I guess I could …" Fanny bit her lip trying to suppress another sound of pain. "... try …"
Fanny pushed and let out another pained groan. The three of them kept gently stroking Fanny's ears, trying to calm her down as she gave birth.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
An echo of cries filled the cave as Oswald held the baby in his arms. "It's a boy!"
"Oh … a son!" Fanny said in glee, before letting out a yelp of pain.
"What's wrong, hunny bun?" Oswald asked.
"It .. it still hurts …" She whimpered.
Oswald frowned and grabbed her hand again. "Just keep calm, okay? The worst part is over now, we just need to get the placenta out. Okay?"
Fanny sniffled and nodded as she started to push again and gritted her teeth. "But it...it still really, really hurts."
"Don't worry, it'll be over soon sweetheart." Oswald said, kissing her cheek gently. "You just gotta push a few more times."
Fanny nodded. She panted as she tried to push it out. A few moments later, she was sweatier than before and let out a pained gasp.
"Sweetie pie, what's wrong?" Oswald said, stroking her ear gently.
"H .. hurts …. I .. I …"
"Um ...Oswald?" Ortensia said.
"What?" He asked, still clearly panicked.
"I … I don't think that's the placenta coming out."
"What do you mean?" Oswald asked, tilting his head to the side in confusion.
"I think … it's another baby."
"What!?" Oswald and Fanny yelled.
"I think you're having twins." Ortensia said.
"A .. another baby!?" Fanny's breathing grew even more rapid. "I could barely give birth to one! How am I supposed to have another one!?"
Kyle stroked her ear more. "Relax! Relax!"
"I … I can't …" Fanny said. "I …"
Oswald laid down next to Fanny, and embraced her. He gently whispered in her ear, "You can do it, hunny bun. Just breathe …. you're almost there, almost there ….. now … push. .. push …"
"O .. Okay …" Fanny sniffled, trying to push. "I .. it hurts …"
"I know, I know." Oswald reassured. "But you can do this, I know you can."
With Oswald by her side, and Kyle land Ortensia massaging her ears, Fanny kept going.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
"You're close, you're so close …" Oswald whispered. "Just one more push … you can do it, sweetheart, you can do it ..."
Fanny huffed out a large breath as she got closer.
"Aaaaaand …" Oswald said. "It's another boy!" He showed the crying infant to Fanny. She smiled weakly as she laid flat on the ground.
"Okay, now the placenta!" Oswald said. "You can do it, hunny bun!"
Fanny's smile turned into a frown as she shook her head. "I ... I … d .. don't … th .. think. ..I c … can …"
"Wh … what? What do you mean?" Oswald asked in a panic.
"Fanny …" Ortensia teared up, stroking her ear again.
"I … I …. I ..I don't. .. th. ... think … I … I … c. .. can … do …. an … anything … I .. I think it's … it's m. … my … t. .. time …" She choked out.
Oswald's eyes widened. "No no no no no no no no! Of..of course it's not Fanny! Your...you're just tired! You … you need rest! And...and you can rest once we get the pla...placenta out!"
Fanny shook her head. "I .. I d … d .. don't think ... so ... my…. my love …"
"F .. Fanny … N … no .." Ortensia cried. "We … we can't lose you too!"
"No!" Kyle added sadly.
"I .. I .. I can barely m … move … I … I'm in terrible pain and … and I just feel so … so … weak…" Fanny coughed. "I .. I … I don't …. don't th … think. .. I … I can hold on … any … longer …"
"B … b .. but .." Oswald whined. "We..we don't know ...we don't know for … for sure that...that...that this is the … the end …"
Fanny grabbed his hand and gripped it as tight as she could. "Oswald … it's okay …" She forced a smile and looked over at Ortensia. "You'll … all be …. Fine …"
She turned slightly to face Kyle. "All of…" and then to the babies. "... You …"
Oswald pulled her into a tight hug and started sobbing. "Fanny … Fanny …. I love you … I love you!"
"I ...I love you … t … too …Hunny Bunny …" She coughed out, giving him a small kiss on the cheek.
Oswald pulled her head onto his chest and kissed her forehead.
Ortensia and Kyle both picked up a baby. Ortensia supported the baby's head and rocked him back and forth as he cried.
"Shhh, it's okay … it's okay …" Ortensia made her voice gentle and started to sing, "Baby mine, don't you cry. Baby mine, dry your eyes, rest your head close to my heart. Never to part, baby of mine."
Kyle watched Ortensia and looked at the baby in his arms. He started rocking the baby super fast and singing at the top of his lungs, "BABY BABY CRRRRRRRRRRY! BABY!"
Oswald, Fanny, and Ortensia looked over, in confusion. Ortensia went over and grabbed Kyle's arms. "No, no, let me show you how to do it."
She started rocking the baby back and forth gently, singing a new lullaby, "Sleep tight, it's time to turn out lights. Slip into bed, and rest our furry heads."
The baby yawned before snuggling close to Kyle's chest and falling asleep.
Uncontrollable sobs shook Oswald's body as he held Fanny close.
"Os … Oswald … please … please be … be … st… strong for .. our … our babies … they … they .. n … need you…" Fanny said.
"I...I can't!" Oswald cried, pulling her closer. "Please ….please don't leave me, my hunny bunny! Please! Please!"
Fanny staggered up slightly and gave him a small peck on the cheek. "I .. I .. love you .."
"I … I .. I love you t. .. too …" Oswald cried.
Ortensia and Kyle went back over and sat beside them.
"Fanny … I ...I need to tell you something …" Ortensia said, now teary eyed herself.
Fanny turned her head towards her.
"I … I … I love you …" Ortensia sniffled. "And I .. .I have. .. f ..for a long time …"
Fanny smiled gently before leaning over and giving her a kiss on her cheek and collapsing back into Oswald's arms. Her breathing was slow, but still even, and Oswald held her close the rest of the night.