Professor Juniper's Pokemon Pregnancy
Chapter 15 – Delivery
"So," said Joy, looking a little smug, "when you said you wanted to be alone to meet your baby, does that mean you want me to leave as well?"
Juniper gently sighed as she rested her head back on her pillows, and clasped her stomach with both hands. "Don't count on it," said the professor. "What would I do without you?"
"Just making sure you haven't forgot about me," said Joy with a playful smile. "So, you really have an interest in this James guy, huh?"
Juniper felt her face turn a bit red, but she still asserted herself. "What can I say? He took an interest in me even when I had a gigantic stomach, and a kid on the way. Plus, he's already shown that he's willing to stick with me through the toughest of times. So yes, I do have an interest in him. As a matter of fact, I find him quite charming."
Joy smiled. "He seems like a nice guy. I hope it works out." She then paused. "But enough about that. For now, let's focus on the task at hand: delivering this egg."
Juniper nodded. "Let's finish this."
For the next hour, Juniper entered a repetitive cycle of contractions. By this point, the contractions were now lasting well over a minute, with barely 30 to 40 seconds in between each one. It became tiring very quickly. Every time a contraction ended, Juniper felt like she barely had time to catch her breath before the next wave was upon her.
Juniper's face ended up covered in a thin layer of sweat, which only caused her hair to keep sticking to her forehead. Juniper found herself constantly pushing it away so it was out of her face. Everything felt sore, and she was incredibly tired. It was now the early hours of the morning and Juniper was running on low sleep. But still, she persevered. For the sake of her baby, and her own wellbeing, she continued to endure every contraction that fell upon her.
At some point, Juniper's thoughts drifted to Lisa, the pregnant woman that she had met at the Pokemon League. After the two of them had said farewell, Lisa had never once contacted the professor. In this moment, Juniper couldn't help but wonder if she had given birth yet, and how it had went. Was it a struggle? Was it difficult? If it wasn't, then Juniper envied her. The older woman had already claimed to have had a child before, so if anything, she probably did have an easier time of it. If only Juniper could say the same.
"Ooooooooh," the professor moaned. "Ohh!"
Joy was currently crouched in between her legs, monitoring her progress once more. "You're doing great, Juniper. You've reached 12 centimeters!"
"Ugh," said Juniper, falling back on her pillows after another strong contraction ended.
"We're very close now," said Joy as she stood up. "I'll be right back. I'm going to wash my hands one last time."
Juniper nodded, and watched her leave the room. She continued to take deep breaths slowly, in and out. In and out. She glanced to her bedside for a moment. She half-wished that James was still there, encouraging her up until the end, but she soon shook her head. She could do this on her own. She knew she could.
For a second, she recalled how her father had wanted to be by her side through the delivery process. She tried to imagine what it would be like to have him there with her in that moment. All she could picture was the big oaf freaking out while she was trying to stay calm and focused. She soon laughed a bit. Her father could be annoying at times, but she still loved him.
At that moment, Juniper nearly froze. She placed a hand on her stomach as she felt something shifting within her. To her surprise, she could feel the egg beginning to lower itself down her canal.
"Joy!" she shouted in a somewhat frantic voice.
Joy quickly reentered the room, wiping her hands and looking at Juniper. The professor just closed her eyes for a moment as the pressure in her nether region intensified.
"I…I think it's time," she announced, panting a little.
Joy soon came over and glanced between her legs. She had a look of slight surprise but soon nodded. "It's time," she agreed.
Joy quickly set about organizing some of the materials around her. Juniper wasn't sure what to do with herself in the meantime. She could still feel the egg slowly sliding towards her opening. The delivery felt inevitable at this point. Even though she was lying on her back, Juniper instinctually felt herself squat a bit as the pain grew stronger.
Nurse Joy finished her preparations and positioned herself between Juniper's legs so she could see everything clearly. She stared for a moment, then looked Juniper in the eye. "All right, it's time to meet your baby, Juniper. Are you ready?"
A strong contraction wracked her body as she went to answer. "Ahhhhhh, yes!"
"Good," Joy nodded. "On the count of three, I want you to start pushing as hard as you can, okay?"
"Okay," Juniper mumbled, her breathing intensifying. She could physically feel the egg just about to brush up against her opening. It was now or never.
"Ready?" asked Joy. "One, two, three, PUSH!" she commanded.
Inhaling deeply, Juniper lunged her body forward and used whatever muscles she had to push with all her might. "Hhhrrrrraaaahhh!" she cried.
The pain was excruciating; everything felt like it was on fire. She continued to feel the egg sliding down along her canal, this time being helped by the pushing. After pushing for what felt like an eternity, the egg met her opening. Juniper could feel herself start to stretch open as the egg surfaced out of her.
"Oh!" Juniper said in surprise. It felt so weird to actually feel the egg extending out of her.
"Doing good, Juniper," Joy encouraged her. "You're crowning. Well, so to speak…" she whispered after a moment.
Juniper knew what she meant. Ordinarily, when a woman was crowning, you could see the top of the baby's head. But in this case, Joy must have been seeing the top of the egg sticking out of her. Juniper imagined that it must be quite a bizarre sight.
She hardly had time to consider it though amongst the pain. With a heavy sigh, Juniper fell back on her pillows, trying to catch her breath. She tried her best not to writhe around despite how uncomfortable she was. She felt Joy reach in and begin to gently stroke her opening a little. It seemed like she was attempting to get it to open further. Juniper wasn't quite sure, but in the moment, it felt like it worked.
"All right, Juniper, another push, okay?" Joy instructed. "One, two, three!"
"Hoooooo-aaaahhhhhhh!"
Juniper lunged forward and bore down once more, her huge belly rubbing up against her skirt. She successfully felt the egg slide out of her a little more. And she felt herself stretch a little more too. She could definitely feel the egg between her legs now. Any attempt to cross them would be impossible with this bulge bursting from within her.
"Keep going!" Joy shouted. "Push, PUSH!"
Juniper gritted her teeth as she continued to give it her all. She split her legs open a little farther as her opening continued to stretch. The egg slid out a bit further until Juniper felt it reach the halfway point. Half of the egg had now entered the world, while the other half still remained trapped within her.
"Good, Juniper, good," Joy encouraged her. "We're almost there. Take a second to catch your breath, okay?"
Juniper did so gladly, falling back on the pillows and breathing heavily. The feeling between her legs was a cross between awkward and painful. Her opening was currently stretched open farther than it had ever been. It had to be, for the sake of the giant bulge coming through. At this point, Juniper wished the egg could slip out on its own, but she knew that was unlikely. Still, she tried to stay positive. Juniper knew that human babies only needed to be pushed until their shoulders were free, and then the rest of the infant would slide out easily. Juniper and Joy were both hoping that she would have a similar experience once she got past the fat rounded middle of the egg.
Juniper took several more deep breaths as the next contraction started to creep up on her. She could feel the egg's desire to be free from between her legs. She had a feeling that this was about to be the finale.
As if to confirm it, Joy looked her right in the eyes. "Okay, Juniper, this is it! Give me one last big push, all right?"
Juniper nodded tiredly. She was ready for this to be over. She took a deep breath.
"One, two, three, PUSH!"
"Ahhhhhhhhh!"
Juniper pushed with everything she had left. She clenched her teeth as sweat slowly poured down her brow. The egg continued to slowly inch forward from within her.
"Push, Juniper!" Joy commanded, trying to give her some last-minute encouragement. "Push push push push PUSH!"
"Urrrrrrgh!" Juniper did not relent. She kept pushing with everything she had. She felt herself open up slightly more as the largest part of the egg finally freed itself. Feeling that sensation, something clicked within her, and she realized that she could finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. Holding nothing back, she gave one last big push…!
"AHHHHHHHHHH!"
And then, it was over. Juniper felt the egg physically drop out of her. She watched as Joy's arms dipped a bit, almost like she was catching a football.
"I've got it! It's out!" she announced, sounding both surprised and excited. She had a huge smile on her face. "You did it, Juniper. It's here."
Juniper just deeply exhaled as she felt her muscles slowly start to relax. It felt like all of the pressure that had been building between her legs had exited all at once. Everything within her still felt like it was on fire, but she definitely felt like a weight had been removed from her. Taking one hand, she wiped the sweat from her brow, and moved the hair out of her face while she was at it.
"Phew, phew," she panted, still breathing a bit heavy. She soon tried to sit up a bit, trying to see past her still bloated stomach and skirt. But it was too hard to see; Joy was keeping the egg out of her line of sight.
"One second, Juniper," she said. "I just need to cut the cord." There was a slight pause before Juniper heard a quick snipping sound, and then Joy gave a content sigh. She looked back at Juniper before raising her arms up. "Here it is."
For the first time, Juniper was able to lay eyes on her egg. It was as expected: ovular in shape, with an intricate pattern on the shell. It was definitely a Pokemon egg. But more importantly than that, it was her baby. A life that she had just birthed. Juniper couldn't help but feel her eyes well up with tears a bit.
"Oh my gosh," she whispered in disbelief. "It's here, it's really here…"
Juniper kept staring at it. She couldn't take her eyes off of it. It was so beautiful and precious. As she stared, Juniper tried to discern the pattern on the egg, but it was too difficult. The egg seemed to be covered in a thin layer of mucus of some sort.
"I'll let you hold it in just a minute," said Joy, carefully cradling the egg with both arms. "I'm going to go wash it off in the tub really quick, okay?"
"Hurry," said Juniper, smiling and trying to wipe the tears from her eyes.
Joy nodded and soon walked out of the room, still carefully carrying the egg. Now, Juniper was all alone. She took some more deep breaths and remained still, trying to let her body recover. She soon closed her eyes, and thought of the Pokemon that had started her on this journey.
Arceus, I did it she thought silently. I safely gave birth to the egg. I wish you could be here to see it…But nevertheless, I'm grateful. Thank you for helping me through this. Thank you for allowing a safe and natural delivery. I know you likely played some part in this, so really, thank you…
Juniper soon opened her eyes and smiled. She soon paused, however, as an odd feeling came over her. She then frowned. It felt like she was experiencing yet another contraction. She could feel her body tightening up, but the pain wasn't nearly as intense as it had been before. Nevertheless, her body was telling her to push once more, and so she did.
"Ohhh…" she moaned softly. She started pushing instinctively, and then she began to feel something slide out of her. It wasn't until it was too late that Juniper realized exactly what it was.
With a slight gasp, Juniper felt her placenta slide out of her, along with various other fluids. They immediately tumbled and slid off the end of her bed, splattering on the floor. Juniper's eyes went wide as she sat up and looked at the new mess on her floor. There lay her afterbirth.
"Oh shoot," she cursed, both surprised and horrified at what she done. "Joy, you're going to want to watch your step in here."
Joy soon returned. "What are you-" She paused, staring at the floor. "Oh, I see that the rest came out."
"I'm sorry," Juniper apologized, feeling guilty.
"It's fine. I'll clean it up in a minute," said Joy with a shrug. She then approached the bed, being sure to avoid the mess. It was at this point that Juniper noticed the bundle in Joy's arms. It seemed she had wrapped the egg in a towel after washing it off. "Here it is," said Joy. "Your egg."
Juniper felt her emotions rising again. She sadly smiled and reached out her arms. "Give it here," she said softly.
Joy took the bundle and placed it in Juniper's arms. The professor slowly reeled them in, holding it close to her. Taking a deep breath, she slowly unwrapped the towel from around the egg, and got to take her true first look.
The base of the egg was dark in color, nearly black. About a third of the way up, the color switched to a lighter gray with a zigzagging line dividing the two shades. Finally, the top third of the egg was a dark red, and seemed to have a flame like pattern intermixed with the gray.
As Juniper stared at it, she felt like crying again. It was beautiful. It was precious. It was her child. And even though it was currently no more than an egg, she felt like she loved it more than anything in the world. The feelings she felt in this moment were nothing short of amazing.
"I'm so happy," said Juniper quietly.
"You did good," Joy encouraged her. She soon stared at the egg as well. "Do you recognize the pattern on the egg?"
Juniper nodded. "I think I do, but I'd like to confirm it. Can you grab my Pokedex? It's on the nightstand."
Joy nodded and walked over to grab the tiny red device. She soon handed it to the professor, who scanned the egg. It didn't take long for the Pokedex to register it.
"Zorua, the Tricky Fox Pokemon."
"I had a feeling," said Juniper still smiling. She had not been sure what type of Pokemon to expect, but she was more than happy with this. And she was very intrigued by it as well. Zorua was a fairly rare Pokemon, and it was often known for its trickery and illusions. It was no doubt one of the more interesting Pokemon to have ever been discovered. Juniper couldn't help but wonder if Arceus had chosen to sire this Pokemon, or if the species had been chosen at random.
It didn't really matter either way to Juniper. She just cradled her egg close to her chest before softly planting a kiss on it. "It's so nice to hold you," she whispered to it.
The egg remained still, but Juniper could feel warmth coming from inside of it. There was a budding new life in there, waiting to come out.
"It will probably be a few weeks before it hatches," Joy explained. "It might be for the best, though. It will give you some time to recover before you have a little Pokemon running around to take care of."
"I wish it would hatch right here so we could truly meet," said Juniper. "But…maybe you're right. I could definitely use some rest."
"Me too," Joy sighed. "Let me just run a few tests on you and the egg to make sure everything is healthy, and then I'll clean up and you can go to sleep."
"Of course," said Juniper. She then looked back at the egg in her arms once more, smiling endlessly. She knew that she was going to be cradling it long into the night.
And thus, the egg was born. It feels like it took longer to get here then I thought it would, but I definitely enjoyed the journey.
I decided to make the egg contain a Zorua inside. I've always really liked that Pokemon and thought it would be fun to add it to the story. Zoroark is also really awesome and mysterious too, so I think it makes for an interesting Pokemon to potentially become the savior detailed in the prophecy.
Who knows if I'll ever get around to writing that part of the story though lol. I still have so many ideas in my head that need to be written out and explored before then. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.