Dragon's Fury

Chapter 22: Labour Day

It was late April and snow still covered the ground, brightly reflecting the suns warming glow as it tried to bring about spring to the still frozen land. The roads were now slush and the trees mostly devoid of their white powdery garnish. A picturesque lodge built into the hillside and surrounded by evergreens provided a welcoming shelter from the wet snow and slush and at the moment for a particular girl awaiting her own start to a new season of life.

Buttercup sat on the edge of a bed, breathing in and out slowly, trying to keep calm as her body underwent yet more changes. One would think she was used to it by now, a body that kept undergoing transformations, but this was different; this change was affecting more than just her.

Over the past week Buttercup had been experiencing gentle cramps and a drastic lack of appetite. Laura informed her that this was a sign that the day of birth was coming very soon, and her body was preparing for the big day. All the extra body fat she had built up to protect them was now being burned off or pumped into the babies directly, hence her lack of appetite. After a week the protective fat layer was now gone, leaving only the shiny dome of her belly to protect her unborn offspring from the elements.

Both of her hands gently rubbed her swollen abdomen in time with her breathing, doing her best to calm the little ones within. Somehow she felt that her babies knew what was coming; that they would very soon be forced out of the comfort and safety of her womb to be born into the big frightening world beyond. Through their bond Buttercup continued to try and reassure them and comfort them with the fact that she wasn't going anywhere, she was still going to be there for them.

It never ceased to amaze her how much her children loved her, how pure and absolute their love was. When she gave birth she was going to miss this connection she had with her children, the empathic bond they shared through their physical connection.

A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts and a familiar voice came gently from the other side. "Buttercup? Can we come in?"

The dragoness smiled and called back. "Door's open."

The door creaked open, revealing the welcoming sight of her sisters, Bubbles and Blossom, entering the room, both carrying items in plastic bags and smiling broadly at their her. Bubbles wasted no time, putting down her luggage and pulling her sister into an awkward hug.

"Oh Buttercup I missed you so much!" She nuzzled Buttercup's cheek and for once the raven haired girl didn't mind. In fact, she rather missed it.

"I missed you too Bubbles. Good to see you're still in good spirits."

Bubbles giggled. "What? You thought I'd turn into a sour puss like you?" She playfully poked Buttercup's forehead. "Never."

Blossom put down her bags and shut the door. "Shouldn't you be covering yourself up better? You don't want to catch a chill do you?"

Blossom was referring to Buttercup's rather immodest clothing. A light blue top ending just under her breasts with short sleeves; and a short matching skirt, was all she wore.

After moving to the lodge in preparation for the twin's birth they had given her the outfit. Made out of much of the same materials as a hospital gown it saved her the worry of soiling her regular clothing. After all, she was going to have more children after this and she would rather not have to go out and buy more clothes if she could help it. Still, Blossoms worrying was like a rejuvenating nostalgia and it brought a smile to her face.

"Don't worry Bloss, the kids are plenty cozy. They're just a little nervous about being born."

Blossom smiled and went over to hug Buttercup from the opposite side as Bubbles. "And you?"

"A little, but it's not as bad as it is for humans since we don't really experience any pain from it. I'm actually a bit excited to finally have them out so I can see them." She winced suddenly, bringing a sudden expression of concern to her sister's faces.

"What's wrong?" Blossom asked, panic creeping into her voice. "Is it time?"

Buttercup chuckled. "No Blossom, not yet. The kids are just excited that their aunties came to visit."

Excited, Bubbles pressed her ear against the side of Buttercup's belly, wanting to feel the little lives inside. "Awww I can feel them! Oh it's so cute and amazing!"

Blossom did the same to the other side, rubbing gentle circles into the smooth skin with her hand. "Hey there little ones. Have you been good to your mama?"

Buttercup smiled, happy to be able to share the thrill and joy of creating life with her sisters whom she hoped would experience it firsthand someday.

"They've been pretty good, just a bit stressed and scared about coming out into the world."

Bubbles pulled away and looked at Buttercup with a grin that bordered on smug. "Then let's show them it won't be so bad." She dashed over to the bags she had been carrying and pulled out a pair of one-piece pajamas; one green, one red, holding them up for Buttercup to see.

"Oh Bubbles they're adorable."

Bubbles beamed proudly, happy at her sister's reaction to her work. "I worked on them for a whole week using the last measurements I got. Made them a bit big on purpose but they should still be nice and snugly." She rubbed the soft material against Buttercup's face playfully, letting her sample the soft material.

"Well I'm sure they'll love them when they come out. That reminds me, where are Mom and the Professor?"

"In the lobby" Blossom answered. "Trying to make conversation with some of Will's relatives. You know, try to smooth things over."

Buttercup felt that was a very good move on their part. None of Will's relatives had been happy with their attempts to abort her beloved babies, even if it was a reaction based mostly on panic. Fortunately it was a topic most of them avoided, at least around her. At least none of them had any problems with Blossom or Bubbles, in fact they loved them. Part of that was thanks to Bunny but they also took the two on their own merits. Blossom didn't like the fact that the whole family seemed to be collectively keeping secrets but was willing to look it over for her sister's sake, and Bubbles simply took them at face value, trusting Buttercup's and Bunny's judgement on the matter and what she had seen with her own eyes. She was certainly not the naive girl she had once been.

"Where is your husband by the way?" Blossom asked suddenly. "Shouldn't he be here with you?"

Buttercup rolled her eyes. "Blossom, I have enough people fawning over me, and yeah maybe my husband should be doing just that during this time, but at the moment he's doing something a bit more important. He's picking Billy up at the airport and bringing him here so that he can also witness the birth of his own child."

Blossom huffed. "Couldn't someone else have done it?"

Buttercup's eyes narrowed at her sister, almost in a glare. "And do you know another guy around here that Billy knows well enough to help him through his pre-parent jitters? He's probably a nervous wreck at the moment."

Blossom grimaced, remorseful of her hasty judgements. Buttercup let it pass and instead looked at Bubbles, still pulling outfits she had designed for the babies out of the bags.

"That reminds me Bubbles, how did you get any of those materials to make those clothes. You know they have to be fire proof right?"

"Haha, of course Buttercup. G gave me the materials in whatever colours I needed. She mailed them to me whenever I asked for more and I've been busy making baby outfits ever since. I've even posted some of them online for my portfolio."

"Oh that's good. Had any offers?"

Bubble's cheeks turned rosy and she looked away shyly. "Well..."

Blossom smirked. "She's been offered a scholarship at a design school after she graduates. They're willing to pay half her tuition if she works for them for six years."

Buttercup's eyes widened. "Bubbles that's great! Why didn't you tell me about this before?"

Bubbles twiddled her thumbs. "Cause I'm not sure I'm going to accept it or not."

"You still coulda' told me!"

Suddenly the girls all paused. They could hear the sounds of commotion outside the door and down the hall. Blossom stood up and went to the door to check what was the matter. She spent only a moment looking before she ducked back inside.

"It's Mandy! She's in labour!"

The other girls eyes widened in shock. "What?"

Buttercup grunted and tried to push herself up. "What do you think you're doing?" Blossom demanded.

"I have to go see her."

Blossom came over and pressed a hand against Buttercup's attempt to rise. "Oh no you don't. You're pretty close to her state yourself. You should be resting."

"Dammit Blossom! I'm her best friend and she's scared out of her mind. I have to at least see her to let her know I've got her back. Now either help me up or get outta' my way!"

Blossom was taken aback, not prepared for such a passionate outburst from her heavily laden sister, and was suddenly hesitant to try and oppose her. She looked over at Bubbles who shrugged. Sighing she relented and the other two girls helped Buttercup to her feet.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"I'm going to kill him the first chance I get!" Mandy's teeth clenched as another contraction wracked her body. "Damn bastard; putting this thing in me!"

Krystal sighed. "Mandy, please try to calm down a little so we can get you changed." Krystal and several of the other women around were trying to get Mandy out of her pregnancy clothing and into the birthing outfit, but Mandy's pain induced spasms and angry arm waving wasn't helping matters.

Emitting a muffled gripe, Mandy gave into her mother's gentle words, calming down enough to get out of her clothes and into an outfit just like Buttercup's. With their assistance she also lay down on the bed from which she would soon give birth. At the moment it felt more like a cold slab to her; a lab table.

"Just try to relax." Krystal told her gently. "Don't worry, everything's going to be alright and Billy will be here soon."

Mandy settled her head on the pillow and glanced away. "He'd better." She muttered.

"He will. Now just stay there, I'll be back soon alright?"

"Okay."

Krystal left Mandy alone to lie in bed, alone with her thoughts which were a chaotic mess of panic, regret and worry.

Even though she'd long known this day was coming, now that it was actually here she didn't feel ready. Nothing prepares you for the feeling of your body being virtually split open trying to force something the size of a watermelon out of it. Just thinking about it made her heart race and the fear she felt now was far greater than at any other time in her life.

"Anyone home?" Many turned her head at the sound of the familiar voice and actually smiled when she saw Buttercup waddle into the room, being held up on either side by Bubbles and Blossom. "Thought you could use someone to talk to."

Mandy gave her an appreciative nod. "Yeah, I guess I could use a diversion. Ymaera doesn't seem to be wanting to waste any time getting out." Blossom and Bubbles gently lowered Buttercup down into a chair at Mandy's bedside, letting the other pregnant girl get off her feet.

"Ymeara? I thought it was Ymera."

Mandy shrugged. "Well we still haven't totally decided on how we want it said or spelled since 'Chimera' can also be said 'Chimaera.' She's not born yet so I can still change my mind. Speaking of which, has Will managed to come up with a name for your own baby girl yet?"

Buttercup sighed. "He says he has a bunch but he won't tell me them. Said they would likely all be vetoed anyway when he sees her in person. Apparently there's a tendency for girls in the family to be named based on how the parents feel about them when they're born. Sort of like a gut feeling naming I guess. I can respect that since we were sorta named the same way, though I hope he's more creative about it than the Professor was with my name."

"It'll probably begin with a 'B' Blossom giggled.

"Don't be so sure." Buttercup said. "My husband is one who likes to break with convention when it comes to these things."

"Speaking of which" Mandy said. "Isn't he the one who went to pick up Billy?"

"Yeah he was. He shouldn't be too much longer. I bet he's giving Billy some kind of pep talk to calm him down before he gets here, otherwise he's no help to you." Buttercup gently grasped her friend's hand. "Don't worry, I'm sure he'll be in the best shape possible when he gets here."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"I'm in the worst shape possible and I'm not even there yet!" Billy cried. "How am I supposed to comfort Mandy when I'm in worse shape than she is?"

Will sat in the driver's seat of Dragon, his custom Camaro and had spent the better part of an hour trying to calm Billy's nerves. At the very least he'd gotten him to face the issues but he wasn't sure if the time they had left before arriving was enough to get past them.

"Because she'll probably kill you if you don't" He responded. "Besides, all you have to do is hold her hand and say encouraging things to her."

Billy huffed. "You make it sound so easy. Have you ever done it?"

"Yeah, a couple of times actually."

"With your own girl and child?"

Will grimaced. "No, but the principle is the same. Besides that you've earned plenty of money between now and the time you were last here. I'm sure it'll be more than enough for Mandy to get started, plus there's the money she got from the house too."

"It's still a lot of pressure!" Billy insisted. "Besides what if she's born like I used to be?"

Will looked thoughtful. "Yeah, come to think of it we never did find out why you stopped being as dumb as you were did we?"

"It was Stewpid the Cupid's spell." Billy told him. "Grim found out that a gypsy had cursed my family centuries ago and... well he undid the curse."

"Will blinked. "Oh... speaking of Grim, why couldn't he just teleport you to the airport instead of having you fly all the way from Endsville?"

"He got dragged off to court again." Billy sighed. "Apparently a few souls feel they were handled roughly when they were taken to the underworld for judgement, so they're suing."

Will rolled his eyes. "Must be Americans. Oh well, at least you're almost there."

Billy shuddered. "I'm still so nervous. I've seen things on TV about births and now... I'm going to be right there! I used to always just close my eyes and ears at that part!"

"Do that this time and Mandy'll chew those parts off of you." Will smirked. "Don't worry, I know you can be man enough for Mandy when the time comes, just don't think about it too much. Try to think about how beautiful your daughter will be and how happy you will both be when she's born."

"That part I can handle. It's everything right before that, that I'm worried about."

"Well stop it; before you get a seizure."

Billy sighed heavily. "I just want this day to be over. Maybe it's just the waiting that's killing me."

"It's nerves Billy, that's what they do."

"Are we almost there?" He whined tiredly.

"Few minutes."

Billy rested his head against the headrest before slumping in his seat. "Maybe if I just see her I'll calm down a bit. Talking with her might let me feel better when the time comes."

"I'm sure it'll help."

A ringing sound reverberated through the inside of the car. Will pressed a button on the dashboard to answer the incoming call through the BlueTooth system. "Hey Mom, what's up?"

"Have you almost gotten back?"

"I still need to drop Billy off and then I'll come back to the lodge right after."

"Don't. Mandy's already at the lodge; she's in labour."

Billy bolted upright as if hit by lightning. "What?"

"Okay Mom we'll be there as soon as we can but these tires aren't ideal for slush."

Laura sighed on the other end. "I thought you and Buttercup discussed getting something more practical."

"We did, but we found out we have to discuss other things first in order to come to a conclusion on that."

Laura's aggravated growl came in through the speakers making Billy a tad fearful. "Just get here as soon as you can. The baby will be here before you know it."

"Will do. Bye Mom." Will pressed a button on the dash to hang up and then turned to Billy. "Well looks like it'll be over with before you thought. Great how things work out sometimes eh?"

Billy hung his head groaning to himself with a doomed expression. "I am so dead."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Buttercup waddled carefully out of Mandy's room, having managed to simmer the blonde down and calm her nerves a little she thought it best to give her some room to breathe, knowing full well that she was going to be mobbed soon enough.

"Now it's back to bed for you." Blossom said in a maternal tone. "No buts this time."

"Yes mother" Buttercup muttered sarcastically. Bubbles giggled, but Blossom ignored her.

A gentle roaring sound in the distance caught her attention, one she recognized instantly. There was no mistaking that roar from her husbands car.

"Is that Will?" Blossom asked.

"Yeah. Get me to my room so that I'm not too tired to talk to him."

Bubbles giggled. "Oh I'm sure that's all you want to do."

"Can it Bubbles. I'm about to pop with these kids. I can't do anything exciting right now."

A moment later when they were just outside the room, Billy burst in, almost tripping over himself as he scrambled inside. Before he could speak was immediately directed towards Mandy's room by Krystal. She took his bags and he dashed down the hall in their direction, giving the three sisters a quick wave before hurrying into Mandy's room.

"Well he's going to have his hands full." Blossom sighed.

"At least he didn't have to wait long." Bubbles shrugged.

They brought Buttercup inside her room and gently deposited her on the bed.

"We'll leave you alone for a bit then." Bubbles grinned. "Just call us if you need us."

Buttercup lay on her back and made a shooing motion to the both of them with her hand. "I'll be sure not to do that. Just tell Laura my water broke."

The two girls froze. "What?"

"Don't just stand there, get going!"

Almost in a panic the two girls burst out of the room and half-ran, half-flew down the hall, nearly bowling Will over in the process.

Cautiously he entered the room and looked curiously at his wife. "What's going on?"

Buttercup shrugged. "Water broke. I asked them to bring your mother."

"Ah..." Slowly Will walked over and sat down on the chair by her bedside. "You feeling okay?"

His wife let out a heavy sigh and lay her head back on the pillow, staring up at the ceiling. "Nervous I guess, jitters; also tired of waiting. I'd like to get it over with and have my babies out in the world." She sighed and put a hand over her belly button. "I'll just... sorta miss it in some ways. Miss the bond I have with them, being able to sense what they feel..."

Will gently placed a hand over hers. "My dear. You don't need an umbilical cord for that. You're their mother, and a mother always knows these things. Trust me, there's nothing for you to worry about."

"I'm not worried." She insisted. "Just... anxious, and impatient."

"You're always impatient. Business as usual I guess." Will laughed, earning a light smack from his wife.

"You just better be patient for the next batch of kids, cause it might be a while if you keep it up buster." She grinned.

Grinning like a wolf he leaned in and kissed her. "We'll see."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Mandy groaned as soreness spread throughout her body, trying to make room for the ten pound or so infant trying to shove its way out of her.

"Ugh, why do I have to go through this?" She moaned.

The door burst open, giving her quite a startle that made her freeze up. She stared at the doorway to see Billy entering the room, slowly and panting heavily.

"Billy? What are you doing?" She cried.

The red headed boy stared at her a little bewildered. "Uh... well I... came to see you."

Mandy wanted to go on a huge rant, berating him for not being here soon enough and for tiring himself out when he got here and making her all worried but instead she took a deep breath to help calm herself down, letting the more rational part of her mind handle the situation while she was still able to use it.

"Th-thanks for coming." She said shakily. She really wanted to control her emotions here. After Billy had jumped through hoops to be here in time for the birth of their daughter she couldn't be too hard on him. No thanks to Grim.

"Hey It's... The least I could do" he answered, taking a seat in the chair next to her bed. "I didn't think it would happen so soon though."

Mandy managed a shrug. "Well at least we don't have to spend too much time thinking about it."

Oh if only he knew. Mandy's head was full of second thoughts, her mind flashing, trying to get her out of this situation that was causing her great pain and discomfort and would be for hours yet. She didn't want to do this, she wasn't strong enough, she needed to get out of it somehow is what her instincts told her, but her mind countered that it was impossible; she was stuck in this situation and it terrified her.

She felt a hand on hers and all her thoughts stopped. She looked at her hand and then looked up into Billy's calm green eyes as he knelt on the floor beside her bed, warm and wanting to help her.

Her eyes teared up and she started to sniffle. "I.. I'm scared Billy. I... I don't feel ready for this. I'm scared." She was starting to cry now.

Billy said nothing at first, he just leaned over and held Mandy as best he could while she still lay on the bed, silently giving her some support and rubbing small circles into her back.

"I know Mandy." He said at last. "I'm scared too, but we can get through this, because we're together." Tentatively he reached down and put a hand on Mandy's swollen belly, causing her to flinch slightly. "And because we love her."

Pulling back a bit he looked straight into her eyes, his own firm and unyielding, yet reassuring to her. "You are strong Mandy, you've never failed before and you won't now. I'm here to help you. We'll do this together, just like how we started it."

Mandy might have had issues with that statement, since how it started was due to circumstances beyond their direct control but she let it pass, taking the meaning of what he said as he meant it.

"Yeah." She croaked. "Together."

Well I said there was only going to be two more chapters but I decided to split this one up so you don't have to wait as long for an update. I wrote this whole chapter in just one day and I was pretty happy with how it turned out. I think it might be one of the better written chapters in the story.

Anyways, no word yet on when the next chapter will be out but I'll keep in mind and hopefully you won't have to wait terribly wrong, but this next chapter will be one of the hardest to write and I don't have a lot of free writing time these days. Well I'll try to get it done as best I can. I hope you enjoy this chapter.