Anathema Device-Pulsifer's Laboring Ordeal


In the heart of New York City at Saint George's Hospital in the cool month of December, Anathema Device-Pulsifer was resting in a comfortable hospital bed after eighteen hours of what she considered the most painful time of her life. She found she really couldn't complain especially when she was cradling the results in her arms. Two little bundled infants were staring up at her with large eyes as they flexed their hands in the little mittens that the nurses had put on them.(1)

Anathema knew she was ready to be a mother now that she had traveled the entire world and written a long series of self help books for up and coming witches.(2) Everything just fell in place for her and Newt after they got married. They earned decent money from book tours and had even been able to buy a small home in Greenwich Village, where they would raise their new son and daughter in peace.(3)

"Oh aren't you two so adorable?" she whispered as the little girl in the pink blanket yawned. "Daddy's such a silly sod isn't he?" she cooed looking over to the bed that Newton had been placed in after he fainted in the delivery room. Anathema had nearly panicked herself but she managed to pull through and deliver the twins in an orderly matter. She had been enjoying the few hours alone bonding with her two children even after the hospital staff brought another patient into the room.(4)

1) Why they had their hands in mitts she couldn't understand it wasn't that cold.

2) "So You Think You're a Witch," was the biggest hit by far.

3) Considering the crazed in laws back in England, it was going to be almost like nirvana

4) Well it wasn't like they could leave the poor pregnant lady in the hall.

The other woman had kept to herself the entire time, reading parenting magazines and the regular pregnancy books, and only making the occasional sound of mild discomfort. Anathema glanced over at her now as the twins slumbered and cleared her throat, hoping for some intelligent conversation. The woman glanced at her as she blew a large bubblegum bubble, "Yeah?" she asked lowering her parenting magazine. Anathema brightened a little, "Hello I was just wondering how you were feeling seeing as we're the only two live ones here," she said putting on a charming grin.(5)

The woman rested her hand on the large swell of her belly and gave Anathema a look, "I've been in labor for about a day, my back hurts like hell, and I swear I'm gonna kill the man who knocked me up," she said before picking up her magazine again. The witch in the bed next to her blinked a little, not expecting such hostility from such a young mother, "Is this your first baby?" she asked, trying to be somewhat understanding.(6)

The lady gave an irritated sigh as she ran a hand through her messy dirty blond hair, "Nah it's my fourth kid. I had my first one when I was sixteen and ended up marrying the daddy, a good practicing Irish catholic man," she muttered bitterly. "Won't use protection or nothing so I end up having to pop out kid after kid! I'm lucky that I don't have nine like the lady across the street from me!" Anathema frowned a little as she listened to the heavily Brooklyn accented lady watching her small hands flail around in the air as she spoke.(7)

She gathered that the petite blond was miserable in her life as a housewife with a husband that worked long hours at a dead end job. Anathema couldn't help but feel pity as the woman nearly burst into tears at the mention of having a scholarship opportunity that she couldn't take because her second child had gotten sick and the little family couldn't afford to let her go to school and take care of her child at the same time.

"I'm sorry that you've had it so hard," Anathema said quietly after the woman's rant as she set the twins in their plastic temporary cribs. The blond huffed, "I don't need your pity lady and believe me you'll be miserable and up the wall as soon as those little angels start screaming," she said coldly before relaxing back on the bed. Anathema scoffed herself, "You know some people actually like having their children around and are very happily married!" she defended leaning to look at the woman. "I don't see your husband or your other kids around! Maybe they didn't like hearing you nag all the time!" Anathema said laying back on her bed, having sated her irritability.(8) She immediately regretted her words as the small woman next to her looked down at her parenting magazine with tear filled blue eyes, "I guess so," she said quietly taking up her reading again.

After an hour of awkward silence a nurse came in with a clipboard and went over to the blond woman, "Hello Mrs. O'Connor, we've run some tests and everything points to the baby being healthy but we've gone ahead and scheduled you for a cesarean. Is that alright with you?" she asked patting the young woman's hand. "It's fine," Mrs. O'Connor, as she was known by now to Anathema, replied laying back on the bed. The nurse gave a sickeningly sweet smile and left the clipboard on the end of the bed.(9) "You sure you don't want me to call your husband Rebecca?" she asked pausing at the door. Rebecca shook her head and went back to reading as the nurse left with a sad look.

Anathema watched the young woman as her small hands shook holding the frayed magazine tightly to keep it close to her eyes. Mrs. Device-Pulsifer laid back on her bed and gazed at the little woman before she started to doze off. Rebecca glanced over to Anathema and gave a gentle smile, "I really enjoy your books Mrs. Pulsifer," she said quietly as the older woman fell asleep.

5) A grin that would have scared away a tiger.

6) Seeing as she had been plotting against Newton since the first hour of labor.

7) Anathema was more fascinated with the idea of how she'd be a fantastic shadow puppet partner

8) Again 18 hours of labor, 2 kids delivered each weighing about 8 pounds each.

9) You know the smile, the one in which they tell you "Everything will be alright now take this pill."


In the bright hours of the morning, Anathema woke to find that Mrs. Rebecca O'Connor was no longer in the room. A neatly made and empty hospital bed took up the place where the woman had once been. Anathema felt a little saddened but she immediately forgot her temporary sorrow when Newt came in with her first mocha latte since she had gotten pregnant. They talked for awhile before Anathema wanted to get up and go see the babies. Newt gave her a plush robe he had purchased for her in the gift shop and led her to the nursery where their children were having their temperature checked.

Anathema gazed lovingly at her babies as Newton put on a silly grin, "She has my nose," he said pointing to his little girl. "Are you sure about her name though?" he asked in a hushed whisper. "Francesca is a lovely name," Anathema said with a disapproving look at Newt as the man quickly turned to stare at his children, "What about Phillipe?" she asked with a knowing look. Again Newt avoided her hard look and made silly faces at the babies.(10) With a quiet huff, Anathema gave up the argument and looked at the other babies, she paused seeing a familiar name that gave her a sense of dejavu.

"Aziraphale O'Connor," was asleep on his back with a little blue blanket wrapped around him, the infant's expression had a slight scowl to it and his skin had yet to lose its red hue. She smiled a little, happy to see the baby had been delivered safely. After some time a large man with three children came over to the window. The eldest boy picked up his toddler sister and let her gaze in at the babies. "Dat one sissy dat's our baby brudda," the child said as the toddler grinned. The middle son stood on his toes to gaze at the baby, "Azeerra..." he sounded out to himself as their father stood by quietly.

Anathema glanced at the group with a soft smile, seeing that the children were healthy and obviously well taken care of. Each of the children had the same dusty blond hair of their mother but the eyes varied between bright shades of blue or dark shades of green. Mr. O'Connor lifted the small son up and let him look, "Wow papa he's sooo red," the child said with a giggle. "All babies are like dat Uriel!" the eldest son said in a matter of factly tone.(11)

"Raphael behave yourself," Mr. O'Connor said setting Uriel down. The daughter made a gleeful noise as the baby's eyes opened and stared at them. She patted on the window with her small hands trying to get Aziraphale's attention and successfully woke some of the other babies in the room. "Anael stop that," the father said taking the toddler's hands in his own.

"Can we go see momma now?" Uriel asked sticking a questionable lollipop in his mouth.(12) "In a moment," the father said looking as a nurse picked up Aziraphale and gave him a little bottle of formula. Anael wiggled her feet with a gurgle as she watched intently as her father. Raphael giggled, "Anael likes brudda papa," he cooed up to the man. Mr. O'Connor nodded a little, "Come along then children," he said leading them away.

Anathema watched the family walk away before looking back to the nursery with a frown. The baby's name sounded so familiar and yet she couldn't place it, it was something like a dusty old memory that one cannot recall without some serious thinking. She was jarred out of her thoughts as Newton tugged on her arm to go back to the hospital room and let her rest. She followed reluctantly, just barely catching the look from the baby's blue eyes.

Anathema Device-Pulsifer stood still as she gazed back at the baby. Something in her senses told her that the child knew something ancient and secret. Newt finally managed to pull her away as the baby closed his eyes and cuddled back into his blanket to sleep. Anathema was left in a stupor as she tried to examine what exactly she had felt.

10) Which mildly entertained some of them and frightened the rest.

11) The tone in which the person speaking it in knows everything and anything that pushes your buttons.

12) Where the lollipop came from was the true question.