"I found a job." Gourry announced as he walked into Lina's room the following afternoon. He smiled warmly, hoping the news would lift her from the funk she'd been in since returning home.
But she looked up from the garments she was folding and scowled at him, "Great, now you get to be out of the house for twelve hours while I suffer my family alone with the baby."
Gourry hoped he was able to swallow his discomfort. He'd gotten them in this mess. Lina had said that it would be a day to day thing to make it up to her. And he still had some cards up his sleeve and wasn't going to let her pessimism deter him. He smiled comforting as he sat down beside her, "Well, we have money, don't we? I was thinking perhaps we could buy a place of our own with the small fortune we already have. And then the money I will be bringing in can continue to support us. That way we can have a place of our own."
Lina placed a blanket in the cradle she'd bought and closed her eyes as Gourry watched her tensely. Finally she said, "Well, I guess going to Seyruun once he's born is a pipe dream now. When do you start? How much are you making?"
"Tomorrow." Gourry said, relieved that she was talking shop. He looked over to the basket of baby items and grabbed a few items to help her fold.
"Lina!" Noel called from the kitchen, "When you have a moment I have a list of names I want to go over."
Lina's eyes widened as she grabbed a picnic basket and handed it to Gourry, "We're busting out of here."
He wasn't sure what this was about, but he nodded, and together they tiptoed out of her room and to the store to avoid the kitchen where Noel was. Gourry checked to see that the coast was clear and then they slipped out the front door. Lina sighed in relief as Gourry realized that he'd never put the put the baby items back and quickly stuffed them in the picnic basket. "She was driving me crazy with names the whole time we were shopping."
"Isn't that normal though?" Gourry asked.
"She named Sis Luna and me Lina! Do you know what a pain that was for me growing up?" Lina asked, "She has a scheme behind the names she chooses and I'm not saddling this poor kid with it. I kept telling her I want to discuss it with you but she did not want to let it go! And if we go into the kitchen with her she'll start pressuring you to like the names she chooses to put pressure on me and no. Not doing it."
"Right. So, where are we going?" Gourry asked.
"Just a place I liked when I was little." Lina said. "It'll be a good place to lay low for a while. Anyway, tell me about your job. We can do some calculations, figure out what we can afford. And, hey, if things go well perhaps we can even do a bit of house hunting on our way home from lunch."
They discussed their financial situation as Lina guided him away from town and to the woods. Gourry tried to breath away the unease he felt about going so far from civilization at the moment, but he also didn't want to rock the boat given how the birthing classes had gone. Besides, hadn't they said that giving birth took hours? Even if Lina went into labor they'd have plenty of time to get back to town okay. They'd not even been traveling for a fully thirty minutes! So he bit his tongue as they got deeper and deeper into the woods until finally she came to a rockface and walked into a small cave opening.
Gourry followed Lina in and found that it actually opened up into a cozy cave with a smooth floor. Moss grew on the rockface and sparkled with a beautiful golden light. "Sis and I used to come here to watch the fairy lights." Lina explained as they sat down and got out the picnic basket.
"Oh," Gourry said as he looked around and hoped that this meant that Lina was amenable to rekindling some of the closeness they'd had before they'd run into her father. Perhaps she'd even let him feel the baby kick again. He reached out to grab her hand and she didn't swat it away. "It's beautiful here."
"Isn't it?" she said wistfully as she smiled and moved closer to him as she grabbed a sandwich. He wrapped an arm around her with one hand as he grabbed a sandwich with another.
"Your sister isn't going to come and crash our picnic, is she?"
"Nah, she's working a double shift today." Lina said, "So it's just you and me and our plans."
Lina turned in her sleep, trying to get comfortable and breaking Gourry's hold on her as she did. Changing positions hadn't helped, granted, a cave wasn't exactly a comfortable place to sleep. She was amazed she'd even fallen asleep in the first place! But after a bit of necking she and Gourry had cuddled up together and just drifted off. Outside the wind howled ferociously and Lina struggled to her feet and chanted a light spell as she noticed a tightness in her stomach that, thankfully, was fading. Gourry blinked awake as the spell rebounded off the walls as Lina looked out the entrance, which was ominously dark. "Damn, how long did we fall asleep?" she asked.
Gourry started packing up the picnic basket, "Long enough. Come on, it sounds like a storm is brewing out there and we need to get you home."
They stepped out and Lina wrapped her arms over herself, "Damn, it wasn't this cold when we left!"
"Yeah, this came in fast." Gourry agreed as they found the trail under the light of Lina's spell.
But soon it started to snow. Not a light snow, but a blanket of snow so thick that they could barely see what her spell illuminated. Gourry grabbed Lina's hand to make sure they didn't get separated as they stopped and they both turned around. "Do you think we should try to go back to the cave?" Gourry asked.
"I would, but damn, I can't see an inch in front of me!"
"It's closer than your parents' store." Gourry said.
Lina nodded but she still remained frozen. "Do you know where we are?" he asked.
"S-sorta." Lina said, her voice sounding strained as she inhaled sharply.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
"Fine." She snapped. "This way."
They started walking as the snow piled higher and Gourry remained just as clueless as to where they were as his panic started to rise as his limbs started to freeze. They needed to find shelter now! And then Lina stopped in her tracks as she admitted, "I don't know which way to go."
But before the panic could take root a blinding light appeared in the sky, cutting through the blanket of snow and illuminating what appeared to be a large barn beneath it.
"Have you ever seen a star that bright?" Gourry asked as he covered his eyes.
"Let's go!" Lina said as she started to make her way towards it as the snow started to pile up around their shins.
The light remained a bright beacon through the storm as they reached the barn, and Lina knocked at the door but there was no reply. She pulled it open and sighed as the warmth hit her, as well as the smell of hay and manure. A horse brayed as Gourry came in behind her and closed the door as they surveyed their surroundings. It was indeed a barn, a large one at that. Whoever owned it had money! There was even a coal burning furnace that they both raced to.
They held their hands in front of the furnace and Lina asked, "Sense anything other than the animals?"
"No." he said as he looked around. There were horses, sheep and cattle but no people. A giant evergreen tree was propped in the corner, as though the family who owned this barn had cut it down but hadn't had time to take it into their house before the storm came in. He turned back to check on Lina but what he was going to say was forgotten as he saw how she was bent forward and clutching her stomach, "Lina!?"
Lina exhaled as she found a stool and sat down on it, "It's fine."
But his gut was telling him that she was lying. "It's not starting, is it?" Gourry asked as he looked at the door. The wind continued to howl outside. There was no way he could go and get help! Even trying to the find house of the family who owned the barn would be a suicide mission at the moment.
"It's too soon to say," Lina said as she looked at the floor and seemed to blush a little. "We need to find a basin."
"Right." Gourry said, relieved that she was assuming her usual leadership role as they started to search the barn. "I found something."
He turned to look at her and found her staring at the ground in surprise as she moaned, "Oh no, no."
"What?" Gourry said.
"I think my water broke." Lina said as a sense of dread rushed over him. It was just the two of them and an assortment of barnyard animals. He was the only human there apart from Lina. But how was he supposed to deliver a baby!?
Gourry was about to ask a question but he bit his tongue as Lina's eyes closed in pain as he remembered something that was said during the birthing classes about letting her focus during this time but…it cut him to see her struggle with discomfort. Why had they taken that nap? He should have done better, insisted they go straight home. He knew how close she was to delivering!
Lina cried out a little, throwing the fact that hashing over the should haves wouldn't help them now. There was no help coming in this storm. He was the only one who could help her. Lina had her work cut out for her and she couldn't shirk away from it and neither could he. And while he had learned some things about how to support her he knew very little about actually delivering a baby, but hopefully between the two of them they knew enough.
But what if something goes wrong?
No, panicking wouldn't help. It wouldn't help Lina and it wouldn't help the baby. No matter how uncomfortable he was what she was going through was worse. He thought back to how on the battlefield sometimes he'd have to wait with a wounded comrade until help arrived and how important it was to stay calm for them.
Or at least fake it.
He took a deep breath and grabbed her hands and didn't flinch as she grasped his so tightly that her knuckles went white. "Hey, we defeated that Shabra-bingo guy together. We've done a lot of impossible things, together. Meanwhile people have babies all the time, and they've never taken down a Dark Lord or two. If they can do it, so can you."
For a moment he feared the return of the anger she'd felt since the birthing class, but she nodded as she took a deep breath. "So far, at least, Winnie was right about the techniques I use to concentrate on spell casting crossing over." And then she took a watch from her pocket and handed it to him. "I need you to time how long it takes between contractions. I'll squeeze your hand to let you know when it begins."
He took the watch as he knelt down beside her and wrapped an arm around her as they waited. It wasn't long until she squeezed his hand. By the time she did again it was barely three minutes apart. The baby was coming fast at least so hopefully she wouldn't be in pain for too much longer. But it also meant that the tricky, scary part was coming. "Three minutes." He said as she inhaled and leaned against him.
"Damn, we don't have much time." She said, sounding a little breathless as she took the basin from him and cast some spells to fill it with hot water, "Put that by the furnace so it stays warm. Now we need to see if there's a blanket or a towel or…"
She started to stand up but he motioned her back to the stool, "I grabbed a few things you were folding when we ran out with the picnic basket. I felt silly about it at the time. Let's see what we have."
He walked over to the basket. He'd grabbed two swaddling blankets and a baby gown. Still, it was better than nothing. Lina smiled tiredly, "I guess you must have had some bizarre instinct for this."
She clutched her stomach again as she inhaled as he wondered what else he could do to prepare. He looked around the barn to try and find other things that might help. He found a cupboard and opened it and sighed in relief, "There's medical supplies and some blankets." He said as he pulled them out. Now he could make Lina up a bed to rest in after the baby was delivered so she could stay warm and she wouldn't have to sleep in the hay with the bugs.
"Make up a bed, and look away for a moment." She said gruffly.
He started to make up the bed as he heard the shuffling of her removing her clothing. His stomach twisted as he reflected that he was not ready for this at all. This hadn't been how he'd pictured her first time disrobing in front of him. His hands started shaking as he tried to smooth out the blankets as best he could as he tried to imagine when would be over and Lina could rest and the baby would…where would they put the baby?
He looked around and his eyes fell upon a manger and he decided that if a chest of drawers could work as a crib then so could it. Fortunately it was clear and clean. He was just about finished when Lina made a sharp, piercing cry.
"Lina?" he asked as he walked over to her. She was bracing herself against a low wall and had removed her shoes and pants but kept her long tunic on. He put a hand on her back as she shivered and contorted, as if trying to move away from the pain. He remembered Winnie saying that right before laboring mothers start pushing they go through a challenging stage. The trembling was normal, he remembered, and disconcerting as it was to see her like this it wasn't anything to worry about. If he was right. If he hadn't messed this up.
Idiot! Lina doesn't need you to be insecure right now! Gourry tried to give her a reassuring smile as he patted her arm. "It's almost over. You're doing great."
Truly, she was. He wasn't sure if it was some instinct within her that knew she would need help that was preventing her from Fireballing him into oblivion or the fact that so much of her focus and energy was going into getting the baby out that she didn't have the energy to spare to beat him up, but she was coping well. "Just think, soon the baby will be here and if you want to get back at me you can kill me as many times as you'd like."
She nodded as she relaxed against him and grabbed his hand. For a moment it was silent and still. Given that Lina usually talked up a storm it was a bit strange. He hoped it meant that she was deep in concentration. The wind no longer howled from outside but if Lina was this close to delivering he wasn't going to leave her to check on the weather. That she squeezed his hand tightly a few moments after he'd noticed that the storm had died down confirmed that he was right to stay by her.
She cried out again, a deep, guttural sound as he worried for a moment that she'd cracked a bone in his hand. As she relaxed she muttered, "I may take you up on that. Once this thing is out!"
He opened his mouth to ask a question as she suddenly vomited on him. He blanched a little as he let go of her hand in surprise. Well, they did warn about this in the class. "Oh damn," she said as she looked at him in horror.
"It evens the score out a little." He said as he took his shirt off and threw it in the corner as she relaxed a little.
"Just a little." She said as she moaned again as the hand he had been holding lashed out and fell into his hair, and she pulled as he bit his tongue and bore it. Finally she exhaled and relaxed her grip and he patted her on the shoulder.
"If this is what you need to do to get through it, yank away." He said.
"How much longer?" she asked, her voice unusually teary.
"Soon," he said. He didn't know that for sure but she'd already progressed so quickly. It couldn't be too much longer! "Very soon. Just hold on a little longer."
"I want to know how many more minutes of this I have to…" but she was cut off as her eyes squeezed shut as she pulled his hair once more. He struggled for a way to make it better and started to stroke her back. Winnie said it might help.
"Almost over Lina." He said softly as she relaxed again.
"Yelling just makes it worse." She said resignedly as she let go of his hair.
"Does rubbing your back help any?" he asked.
"It takes the edge off." She said as she wiped her forehead. "I think I might throw up again."
"Just aim for the pigpen this time." He said.
To his surprise she laughed a little but then she groaned. What was it Winnie said to think about? He stroked her back and mused, "Remember what Winnie said? Picture your cricks blooming like a flower and…"
She elbowed him as she yelled, "Never mention it again!"
"Right," he said as he started to grow antsy. What else could he do?
Before he could think it through she tensed once more, but there was something different about how she handled it this time. It was more like she was doing a rigorous work out than coping with intense pain. After a moment she exhaled a few times and then she turned to face him as she sank into a squatting position as she said evenly, "It's time. I just want this to be over. I don't care what you see, just get ready to catch."
"Right." He said, Lina's calm resolve an eerie contrast to the panic he was feeling. Perhaps the most important task of his life was before him and he was worried he would mess this up! But he'd come this far and he wasn't going to lose it now.
He reached forward to squeeze her hands, and then she braced herself as she pitched forward and pushed. The fear that he would be too late to catch the baby compelled him to lift up her tunic and…he could see the head already! That had to mean something good, right?
"I see the head." He said to her as she nodded. Her next sound was more of a battle cry, and his instincts worked fast as he moved to catch the head as it came out as an electric charge ran through Gourry. A pair of blue eyes opened and surveyed the world curiously and Gourry smiled, "I have the head!" He exclaimed.
"Thank goodness!" she said as she took a few deep breathes before she braced herself to push again. And this time the rest of the baby slid out and into his arms. Gourry was stunned for a moment that he'd done it, scared that he would drop the baby. But then the baby contorted and cried and he had to get a better grip! He turned the baby around as felt as though he'd been hit with a euphoria spell. "It's a boy!" He said to Lina as he handed him to her and helped to support her as she grabbed ahold of the baby. " We have a son!"
"A son," Lina breathed as she gazed at him incredulously.
For a moment the three of them huddled together as Gourry watched in amazement at how the baby seemed to look at them as though he knew exactly who they were. But it was hardly the time to rest on their laurels. "Let's get you to the bed."
"We might want to wait for the after birth first." Lina said as she cuddled the baby closer to her. "Well hello, little one."
Gourry watched them for a moment, the feeling that he should be doing more but unsure of what present. He could offer to clean the baby up but he also remembered that Winnie said that it was important that the mother and baby cuddle because it helped them recover after the birth and he didn't want to interrupt that. And Lina didn't seem ready to relax in bed yet so…
"How are you doing?" he asked.
She smiled a little as she looked their baby, "Well, I wouldn't recommend going this route, but I also feel like I thwarted Sis, so…"
He laughed a little as he knelt beside her and kissed her on the top of her head, torn between feelings of guilt and euphoria, "I'm sorry for putting you through all of that."
"That wasn't anything I couldn't handle. Getting shot through the gut was far worse." Lina said, "And you actually pulled your weight there. I was scared a jellyfish like you would faint and forget everything, but you didn't. Turns out we're a good team no matter what we do."
He leaned forward to hug her as he wiped the tears from his eyes, "I'm just glad you're both okay."
"And now that we have Little Man here it's all forgotten." She said as they both stared at their son, who was looking back at them curiously.
Gourry wasn't sure if there was some part of his wish that helped to make Lina's delivery swift and easy or not, but he was determined to be thankful for small favors. "So what are we gonna call him?"
But before Lina could reply the barn doors opened and Amelia, decked in full regal princess gear walked in. "Miss Lina?" she asked in shock as Martina, similarly dressed up, came in behind her.
"Don't tell me that you're the virgin!" Martina exclaimed. "Geez after all that with the little boy demon I thought for sure you two were getting it on!"
"Not that I'm complaining, but what are you doing here?" Lina asked as Amelia came to her side and started assessing the situation as Filia came in.
"Wow, it looks like we're too late, but fortunately everything looks good." Amelia said, "Mister Gourry, can you help me cut the cord?"
"Yeah." Gourry said as he got out his sword.
Amelia tied some twine around the cord and then showed him where to cut it. Filia handed Gourry a blanket, "Here, let's get him cleaned up while Miss Amelia tends to Miss Lina."
"Not that we're complaining, but what are you doing here? How did you find us?"
"Awhile ago I received a prophecy about a virgin birth." Filia explained as Gourry showed her where the basin with warm water was as they started to bathe the baby. "The Kingdoms of Xoana and Seyruun agreed to help fund my efforts to find the child foretold in the prophecy and we met up awhile back to wait for the star to appear. And tonight it guided us here."
"Wait, so you believe me when I say I'm still a maiden?" Lina said.
"Sadly," Amelia said as she tsked, "I was hoping you and Mr. Gourry would have been an item by now."
"Well, we got married." Lina said.
"If it weren't for the prophecy and the star guiding us here I would be skeptical of the whole virgin birth thing." Martina commented as she looked at the baby as Gourry finished toweling him dry, "He looks just like Gourry!"
"This is all the result of Gourry making a wish in a magic lake." Lina explained as Gourry held the baby and waited for Amelia to finish with Lina. "So the baby is his. Anyway, what does this prophecy say about my son?"
"That he will be a legendary hero who saves the world, just like his parents. I'm going to make you some tea, Miss Lina," Filia said, "And you as well Mr. Gourry. We brought diapers and clothing, for the baby as well as for the parents. And we have more blankets."
"I guess I can tidy up in here a bit." Martina said as she looked distastefully around the barn, "Unfortunately a virgin birth isn't mess free. Though I'll also dispense with the gifts of silver and gold."
"Silver and gold?" Lina said as her eyes sparkled.
"A child born to a virgin is special indeed." Amelia said. "He must have the best teachers to guide him to reach his full potential. That is what the silver and gold is for."
Martina set a bag down and started pulling exquisite items from it, "All of the kingdoms sent something special."
"All of the kingdoms?" Lina asked as Amelia helped her up.
"Yes, royals from all over will be on their way to adore him." Amelia said, "Mr. Gourry, hold the baby and turn around, we're going to help Miss Lina bathe and put her in something clean."
Gourry was happy for the excuse to have the baby all to himself as the women tended to Lina, cleaned the barn, put a chicken on a spit over the fire, heck, they'd even brought a bedframe and set it up, large enough for both of them, in front of a large evergreen tree. Filia even brought out candles to decorate it with. "Now let's get settled and see about feeding him." Amelia said as they put Lina to bed and Gourry gave her the baby back and sat beside her.
"Well, Lina, I have to admit, the three of you make a sweet little family." Martina observed, and Gourry's heart grew warm. They were indeed a sweet little family now.
Especially as there was no denying that the baby was theirs. He latched on readily and drank heartily the moment Lina offered him her breast! "So, what are you going to call him?" Amelia asked.
Lina and Gourry looked at each other sheepishly, "Haven't given it much thought!"
"Joshua," Lina whispered as she looked at the baby in the dim light of the candles that had been adorned on the evergreen tree. Joshua Gabriev lay awake beside her, moving his fists rapidly as he tried to capture the light from the tree. Lina smiled as she reflected that he had captured her heart as readily as his father had.
Gourry snored behind her. Literally he was spooning with her, his arm protectively wrapped around her as she stayed awake, entranced by their baby. Amelia, Martina, and Filia were sleeping close by if they needed any help. They'd thought about sending word out to her folks but given the blanket of snow that covered the world outside and the fact that Lina was the only one who was familiar with the area for safeties sake they decided to wait until morning. In the meanwhile, peace hung in the air like a comforting blanket.
Everything was going to be okay.
The door burst open, shocking everyone in the barn awake, as Luna barged in with Kris and Noel.
"Oh thank goodness you're okay!" Noel exclaimed, "What were you thinking going out like that…?"
"Who are you?" Luna asked as she looked at Amelia, Filia and Martina.
"I am Princess Amelia Wil Tesla of Seyruun, and I am here because it was prophesied that a virgin would give birth. Little did I know she would be my best friend and someone who has already saved the world three times over!"
A stunned silence filled the barn as Luna, Kris and Noel all looked at Amelia in disbelief, broken only when Lina looked at them pointedly as she moved her free arm to showcase the whole scene as she asked, "Now do you believe me!?"
AN: OK, I hadn't planned on doing a Christmas fic this year. There was a one shot I thought I was going to focus on and then I thought I would go slow with this fic. But towards the end of November I learned that one of my kids would be dancing to the song, Mary Did You Know, in her dance recital. And after learning that on the drive home on a street that was decorated in beautiful Christmas lights, I had the song stuck in my head, and I was doing my mental outline of this story and BAM, I suddenly realized that with the whole virgin birth thing that this was very much a Christmas story. So I decided to embrace it. And TBH, I'm not sure if I would have put that together if it hadn't been so close to the Christmas season, so if you enjoyed this, thank the fortuitous timing.
The ending scene was also inspired by a pic, please go to AO3 to check out the link. It is the sweetest Slayers Christmas pic.
And I had worried that the sudden snow storm would seem too unrealistic, but I think a lot of people in the US have been confronted with how quickly they can form right now. As for me, the power grid has not failed, so I'm warm and grateful and got my Christmas wish.
Also, in research I did for this chapter, I learned that medieval barns were actually rather ornate and architectural marvel type things, though there were religious connotations as well (not to get into the whole whether or not Christianity exists in the Slayersverse, let's just say barns can be very nice there because it fits the needs of the story). The other thing was the history of Christmas trees, and apparently in pagan societies they started putting greenery inside their houses because they felt it would help things grow in the spring. Psychologically, given that when people stay for months in the arctic or in outerspace they tend to develop a need for nature and green space that they may not have had before, I think that the need to have something green in winter is primal. So that's why there's a random evergreen tree in the barn!
Thanks again to anxioussailorsoldier for letting me play around with this idea. I hope everyone is staying safe and warm! Have a happy winter celebration of your choice!