Author's Notes: AH! THE BIRTH!

In Life and Death
Chapter 17: Labor of Love

"Are you sure this is where Veera said to meet her? And when?"

Sora stifled a yawn as Riku lifted him out of the mini-van his mother decided they needed and into the waiting wheel chair. He looked around and shrugged. They were on the top floor of the parking garage. Only one vehicle was parked there and it sat behind them. It was dark, it was quiet, and it was way too early.

"Nothing says secrecy like an empty parking lot at four in the morning." Rain muttered, shaking her head as she followed Kairi out of the van and slid the door shut.

Sora groaned. "Please, don't start. Not today."

"Sorry sweetie." She gave his shoulder a squeeze as she walked around the wheele chair towards Kairi. "Why don't Kairi and I go see what's keeping the doctor?"

Sora sighed and slunk down in the wheelchair once they got out of hearing distance. He closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead.

"Feeling nervous?" Riku leaned back against the van and crossed his arms.

Sora grasped the wheels of his wheelchair and angled himself to see Riku better. "Not exactly. I mean… I've known for months this would be the outcome. I just wish… I had some more time."

"No." Riku said flatly.

Sora leaned back and laced his hands together behind his neck. A smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he thought about the oddness of their current situation.

"What?" Riku asked when he caught the look.

"In your wildest dreams… did you ever see us here?"

Riku laughed loudly. "Well… there was that one time when you were eleven."

Sora glared at him. "You made me."

"Yeah." He shook his head slowly. "I made you."

"You dared me."

"Well… how was I supposed to know you'd actually dress up in Rain's clothes?"

Sora laughed and shook his head. "I used to be very susceptible."

"Used to be? Sora, I can still convince you to do anything I want."

Sora lowered his arms and crossed them in a defiant gesture. "No you can't."

"I convinced you to sleep with me. I convinced you to move in with me. I convinced you to come here today. Hell… I even convinced you to marry me." Riku waggled his fingers, bringing attention to the near identical ring Sora had given him last night.

Sora was about to protest when a shrill voice called his name.

"Sora!" Kairi and Rain joined them a moment later. Kairi waved her cell phone around. "We talked to Veera. She says we can take the maintenance hallway. There's a code to open the door…"

"89642." Rain recited.

"Yes. It leads into the hospital but Veera's certain none of the maintenance staff will stop us. Something about a big mess on another floor. I wasn't really paying attention. But she said there's a back stairwell we can take. There's an elevator but she said it's down. So we'll have to lug fatty up the stairs."

Riku smiled. "I can take care of that."

"You just wait Kairi. You won't be able to call me fat for long."

"Soon I'll get to call you mommy."

"I'm not a girl!"

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

"There you are!" Veera rushed forward as the four people emerged from the back stairwell. She pushed a wheelchair towards Riku and cast a sideways glanced at Kairi and Rain. She had expected Riku to be there. And while she hoped Kairi wouldn't be, she figured on her presence as well. But she hadn't anticipated the mother. She couldn't have them all in the operating room. And she couldn't have anyone in the wing's waiting room, in case someone in the hospital came knocking on the doors that shouldn't have been sealed shut. What excuse could she give them to keep them out of the waiting room?

She couldn't think of anything. Damn. She'd just have to chance it and trust in Zing that no one would come looking.

"Now…" She turned to Riku once he set Sora down in the chair. "I assume you'll be in the operating room."

"Yes." Sora answered for him.

"As I thought." She nodded. "But I can't have all of you in there."

"Oh we figured." Kairi said with a nod. "We'll wait in the waiting room."

"Yeah. Waiting room." She mumbled and stepped around behind Sora to grab the handles of the wheelchair. "Come on. Let's get started."

"What? Right now?" Sora reached for Riku's hand as Veera started off down the hall.

"Breath, Sora." He said with a smile and squeezed the brunette's hand.

"We'll be waiting right here for you Sora!" Kairi called after them.

"The sooner the better Sora." Veera said as if she hadn't heard the other comments. "Less chance of someone seeing you. Sooner we can get you out of here."

"Sooner? Like how soon?"

"Later today." Veera said sternly.

"We love you honey!" Rain's voice carried.

Riku matched Veera's pace, though he felt like they were practically running. "Is that safe? Moving Sora and the babies so soon after?"

She nodded. "Assuming there are no complications, perfectly safe."

"Complications?"

"Don't worry Sora. Everything will be fine." Riku gave his hand another squeeze.

"So you say." He mumbled.

"I promise."

"Not to interrupt this happy moment but we have to get you boys ready. Sora, you come with me. Riku, you go with…" She turned as a young woman approached.

She had pale skin, cold blue eyes, and long, silvery blue hair pulled back in a pony tail. The white coat she wore fluttered as she stopped. "Shiva." She said in a flat, monotone voice.

"Yes. Shiva."

Sora shared a nervous glance with Riku and watched him walk off with the tall beauty. "I haven't seen her before." He commented, a twinge of jealously in his voice, as she wheeled him down the hall.

"Yes… she… works on a different floor normally."

Sora nodded and sucked in a sharp breath as he was wheeled through the doors of the operating room. It was bigger than the other rooms in the wing he'd been in. The walls were the same, stale white, but it was full of several machines and gadgets he didn't recognize. He dropped his gaze to his lap, feeling nauseated.

There were a few other people in the room. They all stood off to the side, like soldier's waiting for orders from the general. They all wore the same, white coats. And they all looked like robots. Veera didn't introduce them and Sora was glad of it. He felt nervous and awkward enough with all the eyes on him. Veera had been so paranoid and secretive through everything and here she was, parading him around in front of so many strangers. He wanted to talk to Veera, to ask her about it. But not in front of the people whose presence he wanted to question.

He sighed and hoped Riku would get back soon.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

Meanwhile…

Kairi thumbed through another crappy magazine and tossed it on the table. They had seen no one since they had been waiting. They hadn't been there long, not more than a few minutes, and she was already bored out of her mind. And the selection of reading material was completely awful. She signed and leaned back in her chair.

"Bored?"

"That obvious?"

Rain smiled as she leaned back in her chair.

"How long do you think it will take?"

Rain shrugged. "I don't know."

Kairi turned in her chair to face her. "But you should, shouldn't you? You've done it before."

Rain laughed. "Kairi, sweetie, I gave birth eighteen years ago. And while yes, I can vaguely remember, the circumstances are completely different." She lifted her hand and began counting off on her fingers. "One, Sora isn't a girl. Two, even if he was an ectopic pregnancy is very different from a normal pregnancy. Three, I had Sora naturally, no cesarean. And four… I just don't know. We should have asked. But have patience dear. It'll probably be a while yet."

Kairi groaned and picked up another crappy hospital waiting room magazine.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

Back in the operating room…

He could feel the weight of his arms and legs. He knew they were there, but they felt weird. They felt heavy and lethargic. His fingers and toes wiggled easily but his legs and arms just didn't feel right. He could feel his chest as it rose and feel with each breath, and while he knew he could lift his head, he opted not to. When Veera had first brought up the idea of using regional anesthesia instead of general, Sora had been confused.

"What?"

She had smiled. "General means you're out completely unconscious. Regional affects a part of the body only, meaning while the operation is in progress, you'll be fully awake but not able to feel it."

"Awake?"

Veera nodded. "It's much safer."

So under Veera's recommendation, Sora had agreed. But now, as Sora lay on his table, unable to feel the movement inside him that he'd grown used to, he was regretting it. "Oh just knock me out." He groaned.

"Don't be so dramatic." Riku leaned against a bare section of wall beside the door. His long hair had been tied back and he wore a thin, hospital smock. The color closely resembled the blue-green in his eyes.

"You're not allowed in here without a mask." Said the blue haired girl earlier introduced as Shiva. She didn't smile once in the time Riku had been with her. Neither her face nor her voice held any emotion at all. She was certainly pretty, by normal standards, but Riku couldn't shake the weird feeling she gave him.

"Relax. I've got it right here." He held up the thin face mask that matched the smock. "Better?" His voice was slightly muffled after he slipped it on.

She made no comment as she turned and walked off.

"Riku!"

He smiled as he pushed away from the wall and approached the table. "Nervous?"

"What do you think?

He laughed. "No need to be snippy." Riku leaned closer to Veera, who hovered above Sora. "Hey doc. Who are all these people?"

"Specialists." She answered evenly.

"In what?"

"In Sora's rare condition."

Sora listed his head to look at her. "So they've… seen this before?"

Veera nodded.

"And will they… say anything?"

She shook her head. "Patient-doctor confidentiality. Don't worry Sora."

Sora laid his head back down and closed his eyes.

There was an abandoned chair against one of the walls. Riku grabbed it and pulled it up beside the table. He sat, positioned so he faced Sora's but couldn't see the operation. Riku had never considered himself squeamish but the idea of watching while they cut up Sora turned his stomach.

"Okay Sora. We're going to begin. As I told you before, you won't be able to feel anything." She looked up and pointed to the nearest nurse. "You . Keep an eye on the monitors. You." She pointed to a second. "Wheel that tray over here." She moved onto a third. "I want you to…"

"Hey Sora." Riku tuned out what was going on in the room as he leaned closer to the brunette. "Do you remember the summer you turned eleven?"

"Eleven?" Sora repeated slowly. A million thoughts and fears were running through his head. The summer he turned eleven wasn't one of them. But yes, he did remember. "Yeah. I failed my math class and they made me go to summer school."

Riku nodded. "Your mom said it was because you spent too much time at my house."

Sora smiled. "Yeah, so she forbid me from going over."

"And you snuck over."

"And she caught me."

The corners of Riku's mouth curled in a smile. "She grounded you for the rest of the summer. Said you weren't allowed to leave the house."

"And you weren't allowed to come over."

Riku laghed softly. "And what do you do? Jump out your window."

"Hey…" Sora dipped his chin a bit, in a shrugging manner. "I wasn't going to chance sneaking out the front door."

"You ended up with a broken leg."

"Well… I'd seen you do it a million times and you never got hurt." He stuck out his tongue. "Besides, it worked, didn't it? Mom let you in the hospital to see me."

Riku laughed again. "And she agreed to let me back in the house if I helped you with your math."

"Hey that worked too. I ended up with an A."

"That you did."

"I couldn't let her keep you away again."

"I love you Sora." Riku whispered so only they could hear.

"You too." Sora mumbled, his face flushing.

Riku laughed. "It's good to know that after everything I can still make you blush."

"Oh haha."

Riku leaned back slightly. "And what about the time you broke your arm climbing the paopou tree?"

"I didn't mean to slip off the branch."

"It's like two feet off the ground. I still don't understand how you did that."

"Talent."

Riku laughed. "Yeah. Talent. Or just clumsiness."

Sora stuck out his tongue. "I seem to remember a very graceful moment someone had last year."

Riku groaned and shook his head.

"Everyone in that year will remember their graduation ceremony, not because of the diplomas but because the most popular, hottest, coolest, most coordinated guy fell off the stage."

Riku rolled his eyes. "I fell only because someone jumped up on stage and blinded me with his camera."

"I got some nice shots. And Kairi got the whole thing on video."

Riku shook his head again. "What about the time I got you drunk? That's a great story."

Sora sent him a glare.

Riku chuckled. "Okay. What about that first time we held little Gliss and Roko?"

"Oh yes. That sounds like a nice story."

"They both looked just like you. Pretty blue eyes. That nose and chin. Cinnamon hair."

"Oh no." Sora shook his head. "They'll have your sexy silver hair."

Riku was about to answer when he heard a baby crying. He turned in the chair, his eyes searching the room. He knew he didn't imagine it. He heard a baby. His baby. He knew he had been trying to distract himself and Sora, but why hadn't Veera interrupted them? Was there a problem? Were they okay? How long had it been?

He heard another cry and watched as a blonde haired woman lifted something small off the table she been hunched over a moment before. He heard Sora's voice but the words didn't register as he stood up and closed the distance between him and the blonde.

She turned as he stepped up behind her and smiled. "Make a cradle."

"What?"

"With your arms. Like this."

Riku mimicked her stance, his eyes on the soft pink bundle in her arms.

"Hold her close to you. Gently. Watch her head." She set the tiny bundle in Riku's arms and lifted a flap of fabric that covered what was inside.

She was small, too small, and felt like a feather. Her skin was wrinkled and splotchy. And then she tilted her head back the tiniest bit and opened her mouth in a yawn. Her tiny eyes fluttered open for a moment.

"Blue." Riku smiled. He knew they would be blue. "Is she… is everything alright?"

The blonde nodded her head. "She's only four pounds so she's quite a bit underweight. But she's breathing fine."

He was only half listening. He unwrapped her legs first, then each of her arms. Two arms, two legs, ten fingers, ten toes. He smiled. "You aren't a freak. You're perfect Gliss."

As he spoke, she stretched out her fat, chubby arms to him. He dipped his head forward, touching his nose to the tiny hands. A camera! Damnit! Why hadn't he thought to bring a camera? Kairi probably had one. But that meant he'd have to put his daughter down. And he didn't want to do that yet.

A thought occurred to him. He didn't have an actual camera but he had his cell phone and that had a camera. He pulled it out, flipped it open, and hit the camera button. He stretched his arm out as far as he could and snapped a quick picture of the both of them. He smiled as he looked at it. Flipping it over, he held the screen to Gliss. "Look. Your first picture with daddy."

"Sora? Sora can you hear me?"

Riku turned, hearing the panic in Veera's voice. "Sora?"

"Doctor, the umbilical cord is tangled." Someone said.

"Around his neck. He's turning blue."

"He's not breathing. We have to cut it."

Who? The baby? Roko?

"He's hemorrhaging."

"Flatline." There was a loud, monotone beep.

"Sora?" Riku couldn't make sense of what was being said or of the people seemingly flying around the room. "Sora! What's happening?"

"Take her and get him out of here." Veera hollered, moving to block Riku's view.

"Wait!"

Gliss let out a shrill scream as she was wrenched away.

Riku spun to see where she'd gone only to be grabbed by a large red headed man. "Let go! Sora!" He struggled against the stronger arms as he was pushed out the door. His phone slipped out of his hold during the struggle. He lost his footing and landed, hard, on the hallway floor.

The red headed man slammed the door shut and something clicked.

"Wait!" Riku jumped up and was on the door a second later. It held fast against him. They locked him out. "Sora?" He banged on the door. "Damnit!"

"Riku?" His outburst echoed down the hall, into the waiting room. Kairi and Rain came running. "What's wrong? What happened?" They asked at the same time.

"I don't know. Everything was fine and then they took her away and kicked me out!" He kicked at the door. "SORA!"

End of Chapter 17. Stay tuned for Chapter 18: Hospital Rampage

Author's Notes: My knowledge of cesarean sections is limited. And my attempts to get information off the web led me to websites with yucky pictures. So instead I used my mom's experience to guide me. She was in the room for 2 of my sister's cesareans, one happened to be twins. Said it was extremely freaky because my sister was awake and moving and kept trying to talk my mom into watching. And mom is sort of squeamish. Fun.