BAZ
I'm giving a lecture. It's the last class of the year for my Understanding Chomsky course and it's taking every ounce of concentration I have to focus on it. Simon and I are leaving for the airport right after I'm done with this (I asked someone else to proctor my final exam), and it's all I can think about.
Wellbelove is due in two weeks, and Simon and I want to make sure we're there for the delivery. We really wanted to leave sooner, but I couldn't get out of my last few lectures. We talked to Bunce yesterday, and Wellbelove is all settled in on her farm, aching and tired and ready to pop.
I surreptitiously glance at the clock. Twenty minutes left.
Then Simon bursts into the room looking so flustered and agitated that I worry for a split second that he's going to go off in my classroom (it's hard to unlearn ingrained survival instincts, even after years of disuse).
"Would you all excuse me for a moment?" I say to my class. I go over to Simon, take him by the shoulder, and pull him into the corner, turning my back to the students so they can't see our conversation (even though I know they're all straining their ears as hard as they can to listen).
"What?" I ask. Short and to the point seems appropriate when I have fifty pairs of curious eyes boring into me. Thankfully, Simon agrees.
"Agatha's in labor." I freeze. No! She can't be! She couldn't wait twelve hours? It had to be now? I know there's a spell for that (I know Bunce knows there's a spell for that). Patience child is extremely effective in situations like this, but Wellbelove probably refused to let Bunce use it. I look at my watch. Eighteen minutes left. I can do this.
"Wait for me in the hall," I tell Simon, and he nods. I turn back to my class. Crowley this is going to be hard. I square my shoulders and don my most professional demeanor.
"As I was saying…" I begin, but a punk kid in the last row raises his hand.
"Yes," I call on him.
"Professor Grimm-Pitch," he says with a smarmy smirk. "Who's Agatha?" An excited giggle ripples through the classroom and I suppress a growl with great difficulty.
"As I was saying…" I repeat, ignoring the question, but a girl in the second row interrupts me.
"Is she your girlfriend?" she asks. I don't wear a wedding ring (Simon and I aren't actually married). Did she notice that? College girls are scary.
"As I was saying…" I say again, but nobody's listening to me at this point.
"Maybe you should leave," another boy says. "If my girlfriend was in labor, I'd leave." Excited murmurs and giggles break out.
Deep breaths Pitch, I say to myself. You've faced vampires and chimeras and basilisks, surely you can handle a room full of bratty teenagers. I look at the clock. Fifteen minutes left.
"Silence," I bellow with authority. I even put magic in it, but I'm not holding my wand so it doesn't go anywhere. It's still effective though.
"My personal life is not a topic on your final exam," I say. "But if you would like for me to skip the remainder of my review to attend to it, I would be more than willing to do so." No one reacts. Good. "Now, as I was saying…"
SIMON
Baz casts Are we there yet? on the plane. It's a tricky spell, (if you say it too fast it will actually slow you down) but it can be extremely effective and Baz's elocution is always perfect. It works best when the castor is antsy and impatient, and Baz and I are certainly that. It takes a lot out of him (it's designed for much smaller modes of transportation like cars), and I'm worried that he's going to pass out, but Baz doesn't seem concerned about it.
I know I should be nervous, and I am, but I'm also excited. And anxious and eager and a little nauseous. It feels like my train rides back to Watford times a hundred. I feel like if I start talking I'll never stop, so I just hold Baz's hand and pray for his spell to work.
I call Penny the second the plane lands, but she doesn't answer.
"Crowley Bunce, answer your phone," Baz says, but I forgive his irritability given the situation.
We meet Micah at baggage claim.
"Heya guys," he says cheerfully. "Long time no see."
"How's Agatha?" Baz and I ask at the same time (Baz says Wellbelove). Micah shrugs.
"Still screaming bloody murder when I left. Penny's with her. She'll be fine. She wouldn't let us cast any spells though." Baz swears under his breath and I squeeze his hand. Micah and Baz both spell the car and we practically fly through the city. It takes us half the time to get down south as it did the last time.
We burst into the hospital like a whirlwind and Micah leads us to Agatha's room. Baz and I nearly break down the door. I get a brief glimpse of Agatha, flushed and sweating and clearly in pain (and amazingly, still beautiful), before Penny shouts "Get out and stay out," and spells us out of the room.
She follows us into the hall and puts her hands on her hips, looking more like her mother than ever. Her hair is a mess, her shirt is askew, and she's also sweating like crazy.
"Just what in the name of magic do you lot think you're doing?" she scolds.
"I'm worried about Agatha," I reply. I am. I've been worried about her the whole time, ever since Penny called me. Penny actually gives me a sympathetic look.
"I know you are Simon," she says. "Agatha's fine, everything's going well, but she's having a baby, and I guarantee she doesn't want you in there watching her. Wait out here. I'll let you know if anything important happens." And with that she turns on her heel and marches back into the room, slamming the door in our faces.
I look at Baz and he's so stressed I think his fangs are out, but I trust Penny. I take his hand and guide him to the bench across the hall. He doesn't say anything (I think he's afraid of showing his fangs off in the hospital), but he lets me sit him down and squeeze his hand. I hear Agatha scream and I feel a sudden urge to rush to her side again. It takes every ounce of willpower I have to fight that instinct. This time, Baz squeezes my hand and keeps me grounded, reminding me to stay still.
After about an hour Micah leaves and returns with sandwiches, but neither Baz nor I are hungry (it's a first for me). I've never felt more on edge, sitting there, helpless, as Agatha screams again and again.
The nurses keep coming in and out of the room to check on Agatha, and we pester them every time they leave, but all they can tell us is that Agatha is doing well and that we must be patient. That's difficult when I keep wanting to reach for my sword (even though it won't come if I call it, seeing as I have no magic), and Baz keeps wanting to reach for his wand (even though we both know Agatha would kill him if he cast a spell on her), but we steady each other and wait.
At some point a woman with a pointed nose, fitted grey suit, and a clipboard approaches us.
"Which of you are Simon and Tyrannous?" she asks. Baz and I look at each other.
"We are," I say, indicating Baz. The woman looks at us and smiles, then holds out her hand. We each shake it.
"My name is Samantha Wang and I'm from Happy Family Adoption Services," she says. "Agatha Wellbelove contacted us several weeks ago to arrange for your adoption of her child." Baz stands up straighter.
"Is Agatha in there?" she asks, indicating the door. Agatha answers that question for us by letting out a piercing scream. I wince but Samantha Wang nods.
"Lovely," she says. "As soon as the baby's born, I'll have all the paperwork ready for you. I'll be in the lounge if you need anything in the meantime." And with that she heads down the hall as if she doesn't have a care in the world.
I look at Baz. I'm still crazy worried about Agatha, but suddenly I remember that at the end of this, Baz and I are going to be parents. Some of the excitement of the last few months creeps back up and I give Baz an awkward grin. He returns it.
Suddenly, there's a flurry of activity as a doctor and two nurses race into Agatha's room.
"What's wrong?" I try to ask one of them. "Is everything ok?" But none of them seem to want to answer me. Baz growls. He looks like he wants to rush into the room, and only Penny's spell is keeping him out. It feels like it's the only think keeping me out. We hear a jumble of words, Agatha screaming, and the electric beeping of hospital equipment. The wait is agonizing. And then we hear a new sound. A baby crying.
Agatha's baby.
Our baby.
Micah passes out.
BAZ
I want to break down the door, but Bunce's spell is still keeping me out (what a wicked magician that girl is). After what seems like centuries but is probably only a minute or two, Bunce pokes her head out. She flashes us an enormous grin and says,
"She's perfect. Agatha's fine. Come on in and meet your daughter." My daughter. Those words don't sound real. Simon and I race into the room, and a nurse hands me a tiny bundle of blankets.
There she is. My daughter. Her face is red and puffy and her hands are curled up into tiny balls. She looks a bit like Agatha in the eyes and nose (thank Crowley for that, my daughter will be a beauty), but she has a hint of dark brown curls and a flattened chin that must have come from her father. I can feel her magic, (it tickles like goose down and smells like vanilla), and I know she's just as powerful as I thought. I feel my eyes well up with tears and I pass her to Simon before I make a complete spectacle of myself. But Simon doesn't look much better than me. His tears are already streaming down his face and he has this soft, loving look in his eyes that makes my heart melt.
"She's beautiful isn't she?" Bunce says. I wipe my eyes and nod. I don't trust myself to speak just yet.
"She's perfect," Simon says. "Agatha, she's perfect." I look over at Wellbelove. She looks like she was run over by a truck, but she also looks relieved and she's smiling at Simon.
"Do you want to hold her?" Simon offers her, but Wellbelove shakes her head.
"No, I don't want to bond with her. She's your daughter now, not mine. I don't want to have any second thoughts." Simon's face falls for a minute, but he nods his understanding.
"Thank you Agatha," he says, and his voice is so full of affection I almost (almost) feel jealous. "Thank you." Wellbelove blushes.
"Don't thank me for this Simon," she says. "It sounds weird."
"I want to hold her!" Bunce says, bounding over to Simon. Bunce doesn't look much better than Wellbelove. She's pale and drawn and there are dark circles under her eyes, but she's grinning like a maniac and has significantly more energy (which I suppose is to be expected). Simon passes her the baby.
"Simon, are you sure you're not the father?" Bunce says. "She kind of looks like you." I find my voice in the face of Bunce's teasing.
"Don't even joke about that Bunce," I say, but I'm grinning from ear to ear. Bunce returns my smile.
"Congratulations you two," she says sincerely. Simon beams at her.
The doctor finishes examining Agatha and approaches us.
"I take it you two are the adoptive fathers?" he says. Simon and I nod. "Congratulations. You have a healthy baby girl." My chest swells with pride.
"I just need a name for the birth certificate," he says. I look at Simon. He gives me a warm smile and nods.
"Natasha," I say. "Natasha Ebeneza Snow-Pitch." Both girls gasp. The doctor writes the name down, checks the spelling with me, then leaves us alone, stepping over an unconscious Micah on the way out. (Bunce rolls her eyes at him, then ignores him completely.)
"Natasha Ebeneza," Bunce says, looking at the child in her arms. "Your mother would be proud Baz." I don't know how to respond to that without sounding like an idiot, so I reach my arms out instead.
"Just let me hold her," I say. "She's going to think you're her mother." Bunce rolls her eyes, but she smiles and hands me Natasha. I look down at her. Natasha Ebeneza. Our daughter. Simon puts his arm around me, and the two of us stand in silence for a while, absorbing the moment. It's better than I could have imagined.
"We have a daughter Baz," Simon says. "I still can't believe it."
"Me neither." He looks at me and there's delight and wonder in his eyes and I love him so much right then. I'm so happy that I feel like I might burst. He leans over and kisses me, and even Bunce doesn't stop us.
It was pointed out to me that this could be perceived as the end. But this is not the end! I have a few more chapters left in me :)