Chapter six is finally here! Whew! Sorry I've been absent for some time. Weekends in the summer are particularly crowded for most and most crowded for those who have been dealing with bouts of diarrhoea :/ Anyway. Without further ado, Chapter Six!

Silver didn't know whether to call it dinner or dessert – a cake filled with onions sounded alarmingly decadent. It was hard to tear his eyes away from the sight of his hugely pregnant (and usually ladylike) wife shovelling down slices of this absurd combination of food. As soon as she caught him staring, however, she shot him a wide-eyed look.

"What?" she said with a full mouth.

"Uhh...nothing..." said Silver nervously, trying – and failing – to direct his eyes back to the pregnancy book he was reading. He could hardly believe he'd much rather look at pictures of writhing, sweating, bleeding female bodies than look at his wife.

Blaze swallowed guiltily. "It's my craving, is it not?"

"No!" Silver lied. "No, no, honey, not at all."

"Yes it is," Blaze said, resuming, all of a sudden, her elegant, princess-like posture. "Well. I probably should get more acquainted with normal delicacies like actual cake and shepherd's pie."

"T-together?" Silver said, bewildered.

"Not together!" Blaze smiled. "I should probably learn to be more self-contained."

Silver put down the pregnancy book. "No, sweetheart, no. You're having a baby – you're allowed to eat weird kinds of crap."

"It unsettles you," Blaze reasoned.

"True," Silver granted her. "But not half as much as when you...well, you know."

"What?"

"Like...go into labour and all that jazz."

Blaze grinned. "That's an adventure I cannot wait for now."

She then got up, left the kitchen and went upstairs. Silver followed. In their bedroom, he found her re-packing her hospital bag. With a puzzled frown, Silver approached her cautiously.

"Uhh, Blaze?"

"Yes." It was more of a statement than a question, as most things are with Blaze.

"I, uh, I packed that for you this morning."

Blaze said nothing and resumed to take everything out, arrange it differently, and put it back in.

"Are you nesting?" asked Silver.

Blaze's ear twitched. "You have been reading the baby books."

"Well, yeah. I just wondered...you know...if you're—"

"Positively," Blaze interrupted. She said nothing more, so Silver left her to it. Once she was done, the hospital bag looked like it had just been purchased at a high-district baby store – each set of clothing folded compactly in their own category, cosmetics in one pocket, toiletries in another. Blaze sat on the bed, stroking her large, round abdomen, satisfied. Silver nodded, impressed.

"Not bad, honey," he said.

Blaze smiled with pride. Silver joined her on the bed and ran a hand over her belly.

"Two more weeks," he smiled. "Then we'll get to see you at last."

"Are you talking to the baby again?" said Blaze.

"Of course I am," Silver grinned. "He can hear me, can't he?"

"What makes you so sure it's a 'he'?"

"I dunno, what makes you so sure he or she can't hear me?"

"I never said that they cannot hear you – I just find it rather comical that you're talking to my stomach."

"Yeah, your stomach – which has my baby in there."

"My baby."

"No, my baby."

"It's mine," said Blaze, a smile of triumph on her face.

"Nu-uh, mine!" Silver laughed.

Blaze placed both Silver's hands on her stomach suddenly. Inside, though constrained, there was a soft movement inside.

"I think it likes your laugh," Blaze smiled. Silver held his hands to her spherical abdomen, beaming.

"I know you do, baby," he muttered to the bump.

He was having so much fun conversing with his unborn child that he didn't notice Blaze's sudden change in expression. Her face crumpled slightly, and she got up and headed for the bathroom.

"Uh-oh," Silver murmured to himself. Then he called, "I thought the morning sickness had worn off, Blaze."

He was answered only by the lock of the bathroom door clicking into place. He went up and knocked lightly.

"Honey, are you okay?"

"I'm alright," said Blaze, though she sounded rather uncomfortable.

"Are you sure?" asked Silver.

"Silver, just go, please, please just go," Blaze said hurriedly.

"Blaze, are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" Blaze hissed irritably. Silver finally took the hint and wandered from the bathroom door. He retreated to the bedroom and sat feverishly on the bed, wondering what to do. Should he call the hospital and tell them they were on their way? Should he call the midwife and ask for details of signs of early labour? He had learned that despite having a set date, babies follow their own rules. If the baby wanted to be born tonight, it would be. The very thought of this made him squirm. Unsure what to do, he got up and dashed up and down the stairs to relieve himself of some of his nervous energy. But it was no good. As soon as he heard the toilet flush and the click of the door, he was at the top of the stairs, alert and ready for anything. Blaze staggered out, a sickened look on her face.

"The baby has decidedly tried to put knots in my bowels," she uttered with an air of humiliation.

Silver smiled sympathetically and embraced her. She hugged him back, cringing a little.

"Are you okay?" Silver whispered into her ear. No answer. Silver waited. Still no answer. "Blaze?" he said alarmingly.

He brought his wife to face him. Her face was crumpled in pain.

Oh no, Silver thought immediately.

"Blaze, tell me what's wrong," he urged.

Blaze took a moment to answer, struggling through the stabbing pain that was shooting through her lower stomach. "It hurts..."

That was all Silver needed. He rushed to the nearest phone and dialled the hospital.

"Silver," Blaze called. "I'm okay, honest."

Silver shot his wife a contradictory look.

"I'm positive – it just hurts a bit – it's not the baby."

"Blaze, you can never be too sure. Does it still hurt?"

Blaze's reflexive cringing spoke for itself. Silver connected to the hospital reception. A woman's voice answered.

"Trinity General Hospital – how may I help you?"

"Yeah, we need an ambulance," Silver said hurriedly, forgetting himself. "I mean, I mean, we, uh," he stammered. He cleared his throat and began again. "This is Silver the Hedgehog. Uh, Silver Darkwood the Hedgehog, yes. I'm calling on behalf of my wife, Blaze Darkwood. She's nearly due to have our first baby and I think she's started contractions."

"Silver, I'm fine!" Blaze protested.

"Shhhh!" Silver hissed back.

"Alright, Mr Darkwood, I can transfer your call to the maternity section. I trust you've called because your midwife is currently on duty?"

"What? Oh! Yeah, yes, that's right," Silver stuttered.

"What is the name of your midwife, sir?"

"Maude. Maude Jenkins the Parrot."

There was a silence as Silver's call was transferred. Meanwhile, Blaze staggered towards her neurotic husband.

"Silver, I'm fine," she said firmly.

"You're still cringing," Silver pointed out.

"Maybe, but it's not the baby," Blaze urged.

"Well then, what else could it be?" Silver demanded.

"I don't know, just not—"

"Exactly!"

"Silver! I'm fine! I'm not going into labour!"

"That is bullsh—!"

"Hello?" someone answered on the other end of the telephone.

"Hello! Oh, Christ..." Silver muttered. "Maude, this is Silver the Hedgehog."

"Oh hi, Silver," Maude chirped.

"Hi, nice to hear from ya. Listen. Blaze is having sharp pains in her stomach!"

"They're not that sharp..." Blaze murmured, annoyed.

"Sharp pains?" asked Maude.

"In her lower stomach!" Silver articulated. "It started just a few minutes ago, but it's really sudden and really painful."

He had the midwife's full attention.

"Okay, how far apart are the pains?"

"Pretty constant," Blaze shot in, so occupied with the pain that she didn't care anymore.

"Pretty constant," Silver repeated.

"Okay, Silver, I'm gonna have to ask you to drive her over to the hospital. It may not be labour, but it sounds like it's definitely worth checking over, just to make sure."

"Right. I'll see you in five minutes," Silver said speedily, then hung up. He turned to his wife. "We're going to the hospital."

"Silver, I'm going to be fine, I promise you," Blaze sighed, cradling her stomach. Silver, however, was occupying himself with grabbing the hospital bag and a night-time's supply of food. In a few seconds, he had whizzed around the house, gathering every necessary item before snatching Blaze by the elbow and hauling her into their car.

"This is completely unnecessary," Blaze muttered, clutching her bump.

"You tell that to the midwife!" Silver ordered, starting up the engine.

Blaze took a few deep breaths, mostly to numb herself just a little bit from the pain and partly to prepare herself for the chaos that approached at high speed.