Natarle's Apartment
December 3rd
Natarle was startled from her deep sleep from the wailing of the phone in the other room, and when she turned to look at the clock she groaned and hid her head under the pillow. 'Three a.m, who the hell calls that three in the morning?!' She could hear her lover groaning as he rolled over in an attempt to get back to sleep, and closed her eyes tightly against the shrill sound of the phone ringing.
It quit after three more rings, and with a sigh of relief, she relaxed and prepared to fall asleep again. She was almost halfway there before another ringing set up, but it was a different tone this time. With a snort of indignation, she threw the covers off and half-dragged herself to her purse where the ringing was coming from. She flipped open her cellphone, glaring at the name on the ID screen.
With a cuss, she pressed the 'Talk' button and lifted the offending object to her ear. She saw Justin getting up, rubbing sleep from his eyes, his dark hair a mess. She was pretty sure she looked just as bad, and growled unhappily into the phone, "what the hell do you want La Flaga? It's three in the goddamn morning!"
"Murrue's having her baby."
Natarle nearly dropped her phone at the news, inwardly doing the math in her head as it all processed in half a second. She hastily ran to the her dresser and pulled on the first things her hands touched, a pair of sweat-pants and a thin white pullover to wear over her nightgown. She answered the distressed Mu hurriedly, "I'll be right there, which hospital?"
"Uh, General I think, on 59th." Mu answered her in a worried voice, she could almost hear his feet bouncing up and down. "I gotta go, I'll see you there!" The phone went dead.
Natarle cussed again, tossing the phone onto the bed as she found socks and pulled them on, having already attracted the attention of her lover. "What's going on?" He shuffled to the other side of the bed as she tossed him a pair of jeans and a shirt, totally confused by her rushed behaviour. "What is it?"
"Murrue's having her baby right now, we have to go." Natarle answered him in a rush, watching him jump into his clothes without another word, and they were running out the door a few moments after that. The drive to the hospital seemed to take forever, both of the former soldiers tense with worry and anticipation. Finally they arrived and after quickly getting a parking spot, both adults ran inside and hurried into the ward to see Mu pacing hastily in front of a room, looking anxious.
"Mu!" Justin hollered, seeing the relief on his face the moment the blond caught sight of both of them.
Natarle reached him first, looking around with something close to panic in her eyes. "Where's Murrue?" Mu just nodded towards the room and the raven-haired woman didn't even wait and hurried inside. Murrue was in the bed closest to the door, sweat drenching her hair and her marigold eyes wide with nerves.
The moment Murrue saw her friend she relaxed visibly, breathing, "You're here." She groaned suddenly, clutching the bars on either side of her bed as her body was rocked with another contraction. "Just on time."
"I wouldn't have missed it for the world." Natarle replied with a weak smile, hurrying to get to Murrue's side. Mu and Justin followed in quickly, Mu taking her opposite side and gently placing her hand in his. The doctor was in a moment after, taking a quick look before announcing, "alright, we'll be taking you into the room now. Who's going with you?"
"Mu is." Murrue replied without missing a beat, then her eyes locked on Natarle's and she nodded once. "Natarle too." She smiled weakly at Justin who looked on the verge of laughing, and mumbled apologetically, "Sorry J..."
"No, it's fine. I'll wait with Erica and the others." Justin answered with a sweet smile, kissing his lover gently on the cheek before bending to brush a light kiss to his adopted sibling's hair. "Good luck sweetheart." He ambled out of the room, watching the others race shortly after their brunette captain. He was chuckling all the way back to the waiting room.
"She's too small Mu." Murrue moaned in anguish to her husband, closing her eyes against another wracking wave of pain, her hands clutching Natarle's and Mu's so tightly she was pretty sure she was going to break every bone in them before the labour was over. "It's too early."
"You're only a few weeks early Murrue, she'll be just fine." Mu encouraged her gently, wincing at the pressure in his hand. He could see natarle barely looked like she cared, all focus on her friend and he barely could stop himself from cracking a smile at that. 'She really loves Murrue...' "You and Paige are going to be totally fine." He was having trouble believing that he'd been whispering this to her for almost six hours, it seemed like her pain was never going to end.
"If... You're sure..." Murrue murmured between pants, groaning as yet another contraction washed pain through her lithe body. She closed her eyes and nearly yelled with pain as another contraction seized her body. "Oh for hell's sake!"
"It was his fault, you remember that." Natarle barely managed to make the joke through girt teeth, having the urge to shake her crushed hand, seeing Mu feeling the exact same thing made her feel a little bit better. With a soft sigh of relief as the pressure was released, she steeled herself for another tightening and wasn't surprised.
"Alright Mrs Burns, just one more push..." The nurse coached gently, hearing the groans of the woman with sympathy. The woman complied with a loud moan of pain, her entire body straining into the movement, her back arching off the bed as she forced every bit of strength she had into it.
"God!"
There was a tense silence after Murrue's shout of pain, the only sounds heard being the woman's panting for air, her eyes wide and shining against her pale face, fear alight in her expression. When no sounds followed, Murrue tried to force herself up, whispering hoarsely as tears began to threaten to sting in her eyes, "Why... Why isn't she crying?"
"She's just fine Mrs Burns." The nurse answered after another long and tense moment, the woman's face seeming to be just as relieved as the newborn mother's. The child was quickly cleaned and swaddled in a pale pink blanket, handed to the anxious Mu as they assisted to the exhausted brunette.
Mu followed quickly after his wife, still cradling his newborn daughter carefully in his arms. The little girl hadn't made more than a whimper yet, but she was staring intently at everything, her wide eyes curious and at the same time serious. Murrue was already passed out from exhaustion in the bed, which the doctors had assured him was completely normal. Natarle had run off to give the others the good news, but not before giving the baby a very long and wistful stare.
Mu sat down beside his sleeping wife, gently shifting the child to his right arm, staring down at her. She stared right back up at him, her wide blue eyes seeming to be incredibly serious, out of place in such a childlike face. He noticed the small little wisps of golden hair on her head, and he smiled a little, feeling a few tears escaping from his eyes and trickling down his face. "Hey little one..."
Paige didn't answer him, just kept staring up into his eyes. She waved a tiny fist after a moment, then she looked at her own hand in bewilderment. Mu couldn't help it, he laughed softly at the totally startled expression on the baby's face, and that finally did it, the little girl began to cry.
Murrue came around then, blinking tiredly when she heard the whimpers of her child. She whispered hoarsely, her throat raw from crying out in pain, and reached for her little girl. "Give her to me." Mu did as ordered immediately, watching the way Murrue seemed to know exactly what to do without any instruction. Gently cradling the girl, she brushed a gentle kiss to her forehead and began to hum a familiar lullaby.
Amazed, Mu just sat there and watched as their little one's crying ceased, and Paige startled to nuzzle against her mother's chest, searching... Mu looked away then, feeling oddly embarrassed as he heard his wife's soft laughter in reply. When he turned back it seemed Paige was finally sated and was fast asleep in her mother's weary arms.
Murrue met Mu's amazed eyes and whispered quietly, "Would you mind doing my shirt up...?" Her arms were full of her baby, and she felt Mu's fingertips brushing tenderly against her warm skin as he pulled her shirt up to cover her, before kissing her cheek. He didn't sit back down, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and looking down at their little one. "She's beautiful..."
"She looks just like you." Murrue murmured into his shoulder, leaning into his embrace as she stared down at her sleeping child. She still couldn't get over the bright blue of her child's eyes, looking so much like her father's. "She's so beautiful Mu..."
"She'll grow out of my looks hopefully." Mu teased softly, earning a gentle elbow in reply. The two parents were content to stare down at their little girl for forever, neither of them daring to even breathe loudly in worry of waking the girl. He sighed gently into Murrue's hair, closing his eyes as he let himself b whisked away by a mad rush of pleasure. He had everything he'd wanted now, a family, and a simple life after the war... He couldn't believe it. "This... Is amazing..."
"You should get the others, I bet they're mad at us for hogging her." Murrue told him after a long moment, peeking up at the clock to see what time it was. She felt exhausted still, but oddly excited and watched as Mu whisked out of the room to get the others. Paige was waking up now, as though she sensed she was about to have company.
As if right on cue, the door was opened again, and Murrue saw Natarle in first only to freeze at the sight of her friend holding the bundle. With a little laugh, Murrue nodded in invitation, and Natarle walked awkwardly to her side, eyes still focussed on the baby. She murmured softly, "Wanna hold her?"
Natarle just nodded, hesitantly holding out her arms. Murrue gently let the woman scoop Paige out of her embrace, and watched as Natarle cradled her god-child with wide eyes, the awe clear in her face. Murrue could barely hold in her laughter as Natarle gently began swaying from side to side, humming a lullaby.
Justin stood at her side, his arm around her shoulder and gaze on the little one's face. Murrue was sure of what she saw in their faces, a strange love mixed with wistfulness, and she smiled with delight. 'Totally and utterly whipped, the both of them.' Justin was cooing to Paige, his voice absurdly sweet, and Natarle was laughing, a tear of her own finding its way out.
"Five bucks says they're next to have one." Erica stage-whispered to Mu, earning a loud chuckle from the blond and a laugh from Murrue as she watched the two who were totally oblivious to what was going on. Barely able to quit her own laughter, Erica asked with fake impatience, "Can I have a turn or are you two formulating your kidnapping scheme?"
"You can't have her." Natarle answered with a little smile, turning to see Murrue nearly beside herself with delighted laughter. She knew that this had been the brunette's scheme all along, and she had a very difficult time feeling annoyed with it. 'Of course she wanted to me to want the little girl the second I got to hold her...' She commented cheerfully to Murrue, "So because you coerced me, I'm taking this one home with me."
"You'll have to trade me your legs if you want to take her home." Murrue said in a completely genial voice, but everyone saw the little flash of menace in her eyes, she meant it. Natarle was laughing as she handed the little girl to Erica, knowing exactly how protective the brunette was already of her girl. Murrue's eyes were watchful on her little girl, even though she never was out of anyone's arms for very long and she trusted them all with her life.
"How many people want to kidnap her?" Mu asked after retrieving Paige from everyone else, watching as everyone's hands in the room went up. Murrue was snickering at that, leaning on her husband as she examined all her friends. They were all pretty much bewitched with Paige, and that only really made her smile. She knew that Natarle was yearning fiercely for her own family, and she had hoped that holding her godchild would help increase the desire.
Seeing the woman's face now, the way she was totally enchanted with the little one, it made Murrue smile. 'She's already half in love with her... She'll make a great mother... She never had the chance to be raised with love, I'm sure she'd never make a mistake with her own little one...'
"Mu, you really don't need to close my eyes." Murrue grumbled, her arms wrapped protectively around the sleeping Paige as Mu led her by the shoulders towards the nursery. He'd insisted on her being completely blind before seeing the room, and no matter how she argued he'd ended up winning anyway.
"Hush." Mu laughed in her ear, gently guiding her step by step towards the nursery. He knew she was actually excited to see the room, and so he kept on walking her towards the room. He opened the door, and then slid the blindfold from his wife's face.
"Oh!" Murrue gasped softly when she finally saw what her husband had been keeping secret from her for so long, and if her maternal instincts hadn't been in control she was sure whatever she was holding would have dropped to the floor. The room was painted a pale creamy yellow that radiated warmth, and in the fall corner beside the window was a small baby blue crib, a woven blanket hanging off the edge and a big stuffed bear sitting in the middle of it.
She saw the flowers on the top of the wall ,painted what seemed like millions of different shades, and she noticed the tiny signatures next to two of the larger ones, and tears began to prickle at the corners of her eyes. 'Cagalli... Lacus...' When she kept looking she noticed that the left side of the wall was a messy array of pictures that had been taped there, each picture a messy child's scrawl, and her throat suddenly was tight. She knew each and every name that was scribbled in the corner, and the pictures were simple and amazingly sweet. The tear found its way free and began to trickle down her face and she stifled a soft sob of thanks.
"The orphans wanted to be involved when we told them about the surprise..." Mu remarked quietly, giving her a gentle squeeze as her eyes continued to look at the pictures that hung on the wall. He smoothed out her hair and continued softly, "They pretty much got straight to work on the pictures and asked Kira if we could hang them in the nursery for when you got to see it... Everyone had a part in it... Natarle got all the pictures together and hung them up while you went shopping with Erica, Erica got the big teddy in the crib, Kira and Athrun helped build it, I painted the room..."
"W-Why...?" Murrue asked weakly, turning to see him smiling so broadly it could have lit up a city block. She was amazed that Paige was still fast asleep in her arms, she felt like her entire body was shivering from the urge to cry. More tears continued to spill down her cheeks, and she had little control over them.
"Everyone loves you." Mu answered her simply, kissing away her tears before nodding towards the room. "Everyone wanted to help once I got the word out... They all thought it was a great idea... Everybody had their own reasons for doing it, but it was all pretty much the same... They all wanted to give you a big 'thanks' for what you've done for them."
"Miss Murrue saved my life, more times than I can count. Helping her out with the nursery is only the beginning of a way to tell her how grateful I am to have met her."
"Murrue... She helped all of us through a lot when we joined her ship. We all owe her a lot, she was the mother we missed when we were serving. I feel like I owe her my life on top of everything else, she's a woman to aspire to. I'll be happy to help you guys out with the nursery, it'd be a small piece of my gratitude."
"She's my best friend. She gave me a chance to live out a life I never thought I'd ever have the chance to have. I'm in for this. Definitely."
"If I hadn't met her, I'd never have met Natarle. Count me in buddy, I really wanna see the look on her face when she realized we were all in on it!"
"She's one of the best workers I have. And I love her to death. I'll do whatever you need me to do. As long as you promise to tell me what she did when she saw the room, heh. That would definitely be a priceless moment."
"I'll help Miss Murrue with anything she may need. She gave me a place to go when I had nowhere left. Who does that to a traitor? I'll help her Commander, just tell me what I have to do."
"Miss Murrue deserves happiness. I'll help."
"It's... Beautiful..." Murrue whispered through shock, fully digesting what everyone had done for her, all without her knowing. She couldn't believe it.
"They all love you." Mu reminded her with a small laugh, knowing that every single person who had a hand in finishing the nursery would probably never hear the end of it once she got over her shock and got annoyed at all the secrecy that went into it. "It's their little way of saying 'thanks', and to tell you that they love you."
"They made me cry, big way of saying thanks." Murrue finally muttered under her breath, faking annoyance but her voice cracked in the middle of her sentence. She looked at the pictures again, knowing that the little children had probably had a great time with the surprise, and she couldn't help but smile. 'Thank you everyone...'
AN
XD (insert some laughter here) I have no words, lol. I need a hobby. XD I kinda had fun writing everyone's agreement to this surprise, it made me giggle. But really, I think everyone loved Murrue for all she did for them, she was a great captain. XD At least that's my opinion. Hit me up with a review if you feel the need!
Sky