Part 2 of 4: Water

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The guard set her down carefully on her bed. As she sank a bit into the comfortable sheets, she thanked whatever powers that be to be back in her own room.

Finding herself on her back though, she had to quickly turn to lie upon her side as the next pain hit her. This one took her a bit by surprise and her little hands clutched the bedspread while she waited for it to pass. It was stronger than the last two, and while it may have lasted only a minute, it seemed much longer.

Alice fancied herself to be no timid girl, propped up by her "muchness" and the Champion mantle that hung upon her. Pain such as this though, was not the kind that she could simply slay and be done with, and she had the nagging feeling that it was something she would have to work through. As with the Jabberwocky, she wondered if she could really do it.

There were worried voices in the hallway, two of which she was sure she knew and they could not have sounded more sweet to her ears.

Looking up, she observed her husband, Mirana, the midwife, and a handmaid named Aiudala entering the room.

Tarrant was at her side in seconds, kneeling next to the bed and staring into her eyes. Part of her thought she saw the same resolve in his face that they had seen marching into battle.

"How are you?"

"It hurts." She whispered back to him, and he extended his hand to her. For a moment, they held each others' hands without the interference of anything. His green eyes shifted color at will, reflecting golds and amber hues that she hadn't truly seen yet.

"It'll be alright." He tried to reassure her, "Mirana and the midwife will help you."

She smiled, and with half her face buried in the pillow, he thought it was a lovely thing to see, "I'm glad."

"I remember what you said about your world," He whispered, "Should I stay?"

"Don't you dare leave me." Her grip on his hand tightened suddenly and he took it as her literally holding onto him. It was only when her eyes closed and her breathing constricted did he realize she was in pain.

Panic set upon him, "Alice?"

The midwife stepped forward, "You're doing fine." Her voice was low, encouraging. She was not an old woman, maybe in her middle years if not a little beyond. Something in her reminded Alice of her own mother.

With experienced hands, the elder woman patted Alice's cheek. She sat down on an empty part of the bed and worked at brushing the young woman's hair back from her flushed skin. Caressing her face as a mother would to an ill child; she was gentle with her young charge. The midwife thought that the girl could not have been more than three and twenty years old.

"You need to breathe, even though it hurts. You'll get tired very fast if you hold your breath, dear."

"I can't help it."

"Yes you can. Try."

Her grip tightened on the Hatter's hand and she drew small short breaths, exhaling them nearly as fast. The pain ended and she drew in a long gasp of air.

Smiling, the midwife nodded, "There you go. Now, try to breathe normally between contractions. Slow and measured."

Still standing close to the door, Mirana sent the handmaid to draw a warm bath. The White Queen, hands raised so perfectly, went to see her Champion. She took the hand not held by Tarrant and placed her other one upon Alice's stomach.

With her consistent good nature she asked, "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"I'm afraid not," Responded Alice, giving a small smile to her monarch friend, "You don't happen to have a potion for the pain, do you?"

"I am afraid I don't." Mirana gazed out the window as she admitted that defeat, "Just think on a pleasant thought. When this is all over, you'll have a little baby."

"I wish I already had the baby." Complained Alice, and she released both their hands, "I feel like I want to walk around a bit."

"Are you sure?" Hatter asked. She nodded and he helped her up from the bed. He would not allow her to let go of him, and truthfully, she did not trust herself to, lest she fall in her pains. With slow and steady steps, Alice walked around the outside of the room with her husband at her side.

Her instincts told her to keep moving and so she did, but she was not yet halfway into another walk when she felt a new strange sensation.

"Alice, you're leaking!" Tarrant said with no small amount of concern, looking down at the floor.

She realized that the sensation had been the trickle of water down her legs. The fluid was beginning to pool at her feet, not too quickly, but enough to cause her alarm. Her frightened eyes sought out the midwife who was standing in the center of the room.

The woman put up her hands, "It's alright, and that's supposed to happen. Your labor may even be quicker now."

"Really?"

"Well, there are no guarantees."

The younger woman sighed and rubbed her belly with her free hand. Under her own palm, she could feel it. Again it came, and he held onto her as she contracted, leaning forward slightly. This time, the midwife heard a distinct moan come from her lips and she looked over at Mirana. The White Queen nodded back at her.

"Why don't you try a nice warm bath?"

She looked at her husband; he nodded vigorously at her, his green eyes looked slightly crazed. That was just how she preferred them. Tarrant practically carried her into the room's bath suite.

Arranging the room was the handmaid, keeping the water warm and laying out towels. She gave a hurried curtsey and rushed from the room, closing the door behind her.

Alone in the room, husband and wife regarded one another. He took the opportunity to kiss her forehead and then her lips. With free hands, she held onto him as he did so.

His own hands trembling slightly, Tarrant undid the dress that his wife wore, it was improper for their current state of being anyway, not to mention the bath. The fabric slid from her shoulders, and he helped to pull it over her swollen form.

Alice had always given him a new appreciation for the nude form every time she was in front of him. Even now, he saw the blush spread over her skin, creating a rosy hue.

"Sometimes, I think I'm too large these days."

"Nonsense! You're the right proper Alice size! It doesn't matter to me if you're too tall or too short, or too large or too small or – "

"Hatter!" She hugged him.

"I'm fine." Back to his senses, he helped her into the bath.

Alice gratefully sank into the water, feeling the weightlessness it allowed, the soft heat soothing her aching form. She allowed her head to rest on the edge of the tub while she relaxed. He sat next to her on the floor, doing the only thing he could at the moment.

He watched and waited.