Chapter 19:

RPOV

Lissa was due any day now. It had taken a whole month for the excitement from their announcement to die down. But it was picking up again now that she was closer to her due date. Of course our own announcement had meant the craziness lingered. Well we didn't exactly announce it the way Lissa and Christian did, but word got around fast none the less. Some people outraged, some people over the moon and most people just happy for us and congratulating us. We had gotten into a comfortable rhythm for a while. We would train, we would guard and we would hunt. But I wasn't able to do that anymore. The more my own pregnancy progressed the more I had to stop doing. We would still train but I had been on maternity leave for a while now. After I hadn't been able to stand for long periods of time anymore I was put on desk duty. A fact many of our fellow royal guardians took advantage by letting me handle their paperwork. But now even sitting in a chair for eight hours a day was not doable anymore. I had stopped hunting a while ago too. We had learned that even if the Strigoi blood needed to be fresh it didn't have to come straight from the source. So Dimitri would hunt and bring back some for me. It was good to know because I assume we had to do the same with the twins. But even if I was now almost wider than I was tall, and was carrying twins I was still better off than Lissa. Or maybe she just complained more.

I mean I literally get my ribs broken sometimes. The twins are strong and even though my newly found Strigoi attributes can take care of that in seconds, it still hurts. When I pointed that out to Lissa she simply said I was lucky because she had to endure the kicking and bruises without getting healed. Of course Lissa's were the normal kind of bruises. The bruises everyone has. Mine, you could see on the outside.

I think everybody would have a sense of relief once the baby was born. Although when I told everybody it could take up the nine months for the pregnancy hormones to leave her system and certainly the first few weeks after the baby was born the hormones would be skyrocketing, they paled visibly. Normal Lissa was a pain to deal with, pregnant Lissa was hard but hormonal Mom Lissa would be disastrous. Normally people would rely on me to calm her down and make sure she was manageable. But I wasn't very stable myself these days, so it meant Lissa had pretty much lost all her marbles.

I had drawn the line at the birthing class last month. Christian and Dimitri would usually join us but this time they had other things to take care of. I swear they made it up so they didn't have to go. Lissa and I went, but when we had to do the exercises she had wanted me to massage her back while sitting on my knees because and I quote 'She was further along and I had no idea how much her back hurt'. I swear the teacher was about to impeach her crown right there. I couldn't even have done it if I wanted to. I could no longer get on my knees. Hell I couldn't even see my knees anymore. It was embarrassing how much Dimitri had to for me. Now everybody knows about the movies where the man has to tie her shoes, I was prepared for that, but everything from the waist down he had to do. Including clipping my toe nails to shaving my legs. Now I had gotten a little negligent there, but I refused to look like bigfoot when I went into labor so it meant my hubbie had to suck it up and shave my legs.

Currently Lissa and I were sitting on the couch in our joined living room like two big whales. We were watching a movie. It was a comedy. We had learned early on that any sappy movie was out of the question. It would result in us being two blubbering pregnant women.

We were almost at the end of the movie. I had seen Lissa shift on the couch more than usual. But it was to be expected. No couch or chair or bed was comfortable for long. When the movie was over, we got up. The sight would have left everyone rolling around on the ground laughing. But when Lissa got up I saw her winch.

"Lissa, you okay?"

"yeah I am fine. Just a cramps or something. It has been bothering me the entire movie."

I slapped my forehead. We had taken classes for this, and she didn't recognize she had gone into pre-labor.

"How often do you have these 'cramps'?"

She shrugged.

"Okay from now on we are going to time them."

I got out my phone and we went and started another movie. Still irregular and at least ten minutes apart. So nothing to worry about yet. It could be hours from now or even days. But I did text Christian and Dimitri that a storm was brewing.

After the movie, we went to the kitchen to have some herbal tea and some cookies. She was taking this rather well. I could see the occasional cringe but the time in between meant she could recover. Also these contractions weren't really bad yet. After her water would break then it would get fun.

We were sitting at the table when Christian barged in. His face was red and he was out of breath. He practically stumbled in the door.

"Is it happening? Am I on time? Is everything okay?"

Lissa shot me annoyed look but walked over to her husband none the less.

"I am having contractions but we are still in the pre-labor part. It could be today but it could also die down again. We have called the doctor, she will be here to examine me in an hour."

"An hour? That is ridiculous. You are the queen and you in labor. She needs to get here ASAP."

I shared a look with Dimitri who had walked in with him. He wasn't out of breath, he looked more annoyed then anything. Dimitri nodded and put an arm on Christians shoulder.

"Why don't we see if you have packed everything to take to the hospital?"

"Oh yeah, right. What if we forget something?"

Dimitri simply steered Christian towards their bedroom and kissed me on the head as he passed me.

Well if you had asked me I would have thought Lissa would freak and Christian would remain calm. It was actually funny to see how it turned out. I wonder what Dimitri would do in a few weeks' time.

The doctor had come and left. Lissa was officially in labor. Her cervix was softening and she was two centimeters dilated. The doctor had left instructions to come to the hospital when her water would break of if her contraction were coming regularly every five minutes or less. Christian and practically cussed the doctor out but I had nodded saying I understood and would take care of it. We had learned in our class that you wanted to stay home for as long as you could. Because it meant you would be comfortable in your own home. The doctor had suggested a nice shower, some light food and some rest, seeing as this would probably be the last of it.

If Lissa progressed slowly she would check in with her again in the morning.

But it turned out not to be necessary. Lissa was four minutes apart by ten o'clock in the evening. She wanted me and Christian with her in the room so I packed up my own bag with stuff, mostly a magazine and a cushion and we were being driven by royal guardians to the hospital. Lissa came in the back entrance again. We were trying to keep a lid on it for as long as we could. Dimitri was driving. He and four guards would be stationed outside of the door. It was determined that if there was a security threat Dimitri would come in and neutralize the threat. All other royal guardians, especially the males where to be left outside. Lissa had left strict instructions. She said too many people had already seen her private parts and she didn't need to add people to that list.

Dimitri was also there in case I needed something. An extra pillow, something to eat or someone to take off my shoes.

We had settled into the room when the doctor came in and examined her again. Five centimeters. I think I heard Lissa cuss. She had been at it for a while. Granted she hadn't been in full labor until an hour ago so she was doing rather well. But Lissa had always had a low tolerance for pain.

Lissa was swaying on the end of the bed trying to handle a contraction. Christian had calmed down some now that Lissa started to lose it a bit. If her water hadn't broken in the next hour or so the doctor would break it for her so the labor would progress faster.

But as she was swaying back and forth I saw that wouldn't be a problem anymore.

"Ewh, what is that? Did I pie myself."

I rolled my eyes. Her bladder wasn't big enough to hold that much pie.

"No Liss, your water broke."

"Oh God it is really happening isn't it. In a few hours I am going to be a mom. What if I am no good at it?"

Now that Lissa was freaking out Christian had become calm itself.

"Don't worry Liss. All a baby really needs is love, and we have that covered."

"But that isn't true, a baby needs lots of things."

I saw Christian was trying really hard not to roll his eyes.

"We can ask help with all other things, the only job nobody else can do is loving that child. And I know we both already do."

He placed his hands on her belly and the little bugger kicked against his hand. Christian's face lit up as he whispered against her stomach.

"I can't wait to meet you. Just don't make it too hard on your mom on the way out okay."

Well turned out he did. Twenty minutes later Lissa was screaming for an epidural.

"You are already far along, we can discuss some other pain killers if you would like."

She had grabbed the doctors shirt and pulled it close to her.

"I am queen and I am ordering you to give me an epidural."

The doctor paled and was getting an anesthesiologist to administer the epidural.

Another half hour later, rest had returned to the room. I must admit, as I was seeing Lissa now, relaxed, was nice. I could see her contraction on the monitor but she didn't seem to feel it. She was actually reading a magazine now. Maybe I would look into an epidural. I knew there could be side effects, but there was something to be said about being refreshed about giving birth. I mean it didn't stop there. Afterwards you would have a new born on your hands. Not exactly a relaxing adventure either. And I had two of them to push out. Yeah definitely getting the epidural. Then I wondered if it would even work with the Strigoi high metabolism.

"Okay, your majesty, you are fully dilated. We will turn off the epidural so you can push."

The look of pure panic on Lissa's face was priceless.

"Turn it off? Why on earth would you turn it off?"

"Because it is easier to push if you can feel it. Then your body knows where to push to. It means the time he spends in the birth canal will be shorter, which in the end is healthier for him."

Well that would probably be the only reason she wouldn't fight this.

I saw her face contort and she let out a groan. Almost like she was going to the bathroom.

"That would be the urge to push, your majesty."

And just like that she was minutes away from giving birth. Christian moved next to her and grabbed her hand and was encouraging her while trying to keep his own excitement in check. I was on her other side.

It was another ten minutes before the cursing began. Where first only the contractions hurt, now it was the fact that she was squeezing a baby through a very small opening which was causing the pain and unlike the contractions it didn't go away after a minute.

"Almost there baby, You are doing great."

All Lissa was capable off was primal noises. She did not look attractive right now. If I was going in to labor I knew two things. I was still going to be gorgeous and there is no way in hell anyone would be taking pictures to prove otherwise.

"I see the head. One more big push."

More very unattractive noises later we heard the most beautiful sound I had ever heard. The doctor placed a very dirty baby boy on Lissa's chest. After a few cooing noices from his mother he seemed to settle down.

He was beautiful. He looked sleek and thin, but then again all Moroi did. Lissa was already looking better. No fair. She got to give birth to a Moroi baby. A lot easier than a Dhampir baby. Let alone two.

Christian seemed instantly in love. He had actual tears in her eyes. He seemed content in his mother's arms.

They took him for a moment to clean him up and to weigh him and such. In the meanwhile Lissa delivered the placenta and they cleaned her up to. Not a single stich. Freaking Moroi baby.

They brought him back wrapped in a cute blanket.

"A healthy six pounds baby boy."

She placed the baby in Lissa's arms again.

After tears from his parents and cuddles from them, Lissa handed him to me.

"You want to hold your godson?"

I nodded.

"Okey, here is Eric Lucas Dragomir."

I looked at her a bit funny. Although I liked the name, I did think it was off where it came from. Lissa seemed to sense my confusion.

"We have both had fathers that weren't perfect. But for all their faults they loved us. And this is sort of our way of forgiving them."

I held little Eric and I realized his name didn't matter. He was a perfect little boy. Lean and lanky, somehow I suspected Moroi babies to look the same as human and Dhampir babies, but his race was already showing now. Although he did have a good amount of babyfat on him, as he should.

He had black hair like his father and although his eyes were still blue I suppose it could go either way. Either Lissa's green eyes or Christian's icy blue eyes. All Caucasian babies are born with blue eyes and they eventually change color. Because of my heritage I was born with brown eyes and they stayed brown. I suppose if our children would be born with blue eyes we would know they would take after their father.