Tracy's sleek shoes were all but wearing a rut into the cold tiles of the hospital floor as he paced back and forth, wringing his hands together. He hadn't been ready for this, not by a long shot, though he knew the time was coming. It was inevitable, wasn't it? He swallowed the rising panic in his chest as one of the nurses tried to calm him, tried to coax him away from the hospital room wherein his wife lay, distraught and in evident pain, if the sounds coming from the other side of the door were any indication – but he wouldn't budge. He shook the nurse several times before she figured it was a lost cause and offered to get him some aspirin. He accepted gratefully, downing two pills dry before resuming his nervous pacing.
It'd happened during work – he'd been inVictoriaat the time, right in a child's bedroom, when his phone went off, startling the poor thing awake. A quick, heavy dose of amnesia dust and a bit of a clumsy escape later, he was able to answer the call, vexed as he'd ever been, to a stuttering, panicked dispatch fairy. He'd been told that Rae had been taken to the Emergency Room twenty minutes ago, that he really ought to go find her, and that they were dispatching another fairy to finish the assignment.
Of course, Tracy hadn't argued, his heart leaping into his throat as he willed himself back to Fairy Land – forty minutes and one frantic trip to the ward later, he'd found out that the Dispatch fairy had meant a real hospital, one on The Human Plane with doctors – human doctors! – that would be examining every inch of his wife. It wasn't an infuriating thought so much as a terrifying one. That sick expectation, the fear of what if they found something?
Tracy was never one to worry about that, especially as they lived together in Fairy Land– any small amount of magic her body had accepted or produced of its own accord - well, not exactly of it's own accord, if he were honest – would be considered completely natural. But these doctors didn't understand that, these doctors could end up hurting her. He pleaded with her father, he wanted to do this back home, where the doctors wouldn't think something was wrong, wouldn't keep her for any longer than necessary, wouldn't hurt her or—
But he'd refused, quite angrily, telling Tracy that this was his daughter, and damned if he was going to whisk her away for this, one of the most crucial moments of her life. He failed to understand that he could come with them, that it would help her, and they were reduced to a shouting match in the middle of the hallway, each furious at the other's stubbornness, neither willing to say too much for fear of what would happen to Rae.
Eventually, two doctors and three nurses came to separate them, putting them in waiting rooms on opposite ends of the hall and demanding that they remain there. Tracy was thrown into a panic at this; he was supposed to stay all the way down here until they came to retrieve him? So far from Rae at such an important time, when she was being hovered over by doctors she'd never met, prodded and examined and in pain? He began to shake, nerves getting the better of him, as they usually did, and he wanted to run back to her, ignore the orders of the hospital staff and just be with her, but he knew that they would throw him out, regardless of the fact that he was her husband, the man who—
He began pacing the small waiting room, hands clasped tightly behind his back. So many things could go wrong tonight – could be going wrong right now – and he was at the end of a hall eight or nine rooms down, worried sick and pale as a ghost. He'd never been this nervous in his entire life, save for maybe their wedding night. His breath came quickly and he wiped absently at his mouth and forehead, feeling clammy.
It was hours, gut-wrenching hours, before one of the nurses came into his waiting room, Rae's father flanking her, and they walked back to the room together. Any animosity between the two men was gone, replaced by anxiety and nervous excitement.
They came to her door, and Tracy was the first one in, heart pounding against his ribs. Rae lay there, looking exhausted – she had every right to be! – under the clean white hospital linens. He moved to one side of her, her father to the other, and they each took one of her hands. Her movements were slow and groggy, but she was clearly awake, and as anxious as they were. She gave a slight nod of her head, and Tracylet out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, nearly collapsing on top of her, bowing his head into the crook of her neck and he kissed her. She removed her hand from his and ran it through his hair, telling him that it was okay, her voice hoarse from the strain she'd put on it during the course of the night. Every muscle in her body was sore, and she let him hold her, never feeling more comfortable in her life. She laughed lightly and looked over at her father. He kissed her forehead, telling her he was going to check the ward and go home, leave them together, though she could tell in his face that he didn't want to leave her, not now, at a time like this. She loved her father, so, so much, but she was happy to finally be alone with Tracy.
This was an intimate moment – one that would not be ruined by her father's presence, but the night, and the many days to come afterwards, would be made all the more special if she saw him later, surprised him along with the rest of the 's own family couldn't be there – a fairy family, his winged father in a human hospital – and Rae's father understood that there would be a time and place for seeing his daughter.
Rae was tired, and it would be another forty five minutes or so before the doctors came back. She pulled Tracy closer and rested against him. He was so much more comfortable than the stark white pillows and the crisp linen, the rustle of the bed she lay in. He washers, and he was familiar. And in the chaos of the night, the pain and the fear and the overwhelming joy, he was constant, and always would be.
She drifted into a light sleep resting against him, too scared and excited to fall into a true rest. Her sat next to her, supporting her frame as her eyes closed and her breathing evened out. He leaned over and kissed the crown of her head as she drifted off.
Even after the nights they spent together, bodies pressed up against one another, entwined and passionate, lines blurring in bliss,Tracy couldn't think of a better way to spend the night than like this.
Rae woke with a start, the exhaustion ebbed enough for her to be aware of her surroundings the moment she awoke – Tracy whispering softly in her ear as the nurse came back into the room, a little pink bundle in his arms, and Rae felt the tears push behind her eyes and flow freely as he placed the small blanket in her arms. She cradled it gently, it was so fragile, and she looked down into the tiny, still face of her daughter.
Their daughter.
Tracy bent over her, the both of them, in complete awe. He crooned her name, "Michelle," in a soft, wavering voice as he reached a trembling hand out and brushed the thin pink blanket away from the baby's face, watching as she twitched in her sleep. She wouldn't open her eyes for some time, but Rae hoped beyond hope that she would have the same startling aqua eyes as her father. She looked over, craning her neck to peck him on the cheek as the doctor came in, shuffling papers and readying to take Rae's vitals.
When he was finished, broken of his concentration, he looked up at the new parents and heaved a sigh. It wasn't one of particularly bad indication, but it sounded more somber than either was comfortable with.
Tracy was hesitant to look up at him, half afraid that the beautiful little girl in his wife's arms would disappear if he looked away. He tore his gaze from her and settled it on the doctor who, seeing that he now had both their attentions, went on to explain the predicament. "Well, there weren't any complications with the birth, you've got yourself a beautiful, healthy baby, but we did manage to find something unusual."Tracy blanched as the doctor pinned x-rays of Michelle's tiny frame onto the light board. "If you see here, this is her spine, and here are her shoulder blades. Right here, at the edge of the spine, we could feel unusual lumps. You can see them here, one on each side." He pointed, and the new parents could in fact see two irregular protrusions on the child's x-ray, right between her spine and her shoulder blades.
The doctor continued: "Now, it's a fairly uncommon birth defect, but it's definitely been seen before. It shouldn't impair her development any, and it shouldn't even be visible – the only reason we caught it was because one of the nurses felt it. She'll be fine, but if she starts getting pain, maybe when she's around seven or eight, it'd be a good idea to have her looked at." He paused, taking the pictures down and storing them in a file. "But, like I said – you've got a happy, healthy baby, and once we see she's eating, your new family can go home." He placed the folder, a clipboard and several other loose papers under the crook of his arm. "I'll be back in about an hour. For now, I'm sure you're both exhausted – good thing you're in a hospital," he said to Tracy, "I heard you almost had a coronary in the waiting room." He laughed and left the new family to their own.
"Tracy…" Rae started, cradling Michelle. "Two protrusion… at the base of either shoulder blade."
Her husband stuttered, trying to find his voice. "Do – There's… Rae. Do you know what this is, what this means?" he asked, in a hushed mixture of awe and excitement.
She smiled up at him, almost unable to believe it herself. "Wings," she breathed