A/N: At the final stage of this book. It's been a short, wonderful journey. I've really enjoyed writing this slice-of-life (after the initial trauma of, ya know, a home collapsing on the clan). Hope you've all enjoyed it thus far as well.
And continued to follow the clan as it grows. :D
February 1
2:01 P.M.
Nia felt like a whale. A giant, bloated whale. One who despised her cravings with a passion and couldn't climb stairs and had to pee as often as she sat down.
How much longer would she have to endure this? From what Melody could tell, Nia had conceived sometime in August. Yet recent sonograms and check-ups hinted that the babies were further developed than six months.
So, she had no ball-park idea of when Nia would be due.
'I feel like it should be soon,' the artist thought, wiggling in her papasan chair. She studied the flames contained in the freestanding woodstove and sighed. 'My Braxton-Hicks contractions started last month and I'm so tender, I even hate wiping myself…What's everyone talking about again?'
Glancing around the living room, Nia spotted her company seated in chairs around the woodstove. Her parents. Adeline. Splinter. Sophia and Michelangelo. They chatted, but Nia's vision focused on Mikey. Why wasn't he in the Dojo sparing with his brothers?
"Mel told us earlier that the gestation period is really weird," the youngest Chūnin said. "Right, Sis?"
He smiled across the circle from a second papasan chair, but the artist only blinked in return.
"Different species require various periods," Gavin said. He glanced at his wife, who shared a loveseat with him. "Even humans don't hold true to the nine-month period for every pregnancy."
"Yeah." Mikey nodded. "What if Nia's ends up lasting a whole year? Or much shorter? What if she gets pregnant again and has a baby in, like, four months?"
Gavin glanced at his grimacing daughter. "That may be stretching matters a bit."
"But it's possible."
"…Maybe."
Mikey chuckled, poking Sophia in a recliner next to him. "Hybrid babies, am I right?"
The blonde kept her thin lips shut tight and avoided eye contact. Anxiety and shame brought heat to her freckled face and chest; Nia sensed the hotspots in her Chi like tiny flames and shared a strained grin with the orange-masked Chūnin.
He tried so hard to ease his girlfriend into the idea. Who knew when she would warm up to it?
"So they can come at any time." Mia's mulling tone caught Nia's attention. "In that case, we should figure out names."
"Ra—Raph and I are still considering possibilities, Mama."
Mia snorted. "I meant for me, Silly. I refuse to be called Grandma. What about you, Gav?"
The redhead tensed, attention set on the woodstove.
"Can't you see the twins running around, calling him 'Poppy'?"
A round of stifled laugher erupted across the living room.
"What are the names in Japanese, Splinter?" Mia asked.
Splinter, snug in an armchair, twitched his black nose. "Depends on the occasion. Formally, they are 'Obaasan' for 'Grandmother' and 'Ojiisan' for 'Grandfather. Those can be shortened to 'Baachan' or 'Jiichan'."
"Which is more affectionate, right?"
"Correct, Mia-san. Sometimes, a child even uses 'Oba' or 'Oji'."
"That's just unfair." Mia ran a hand through her angled bob cut. "Those sound cuter than in English. What about Italian?"
"Nonna and Nonno," Adeline answered. Her lively features lit up like a star as she bounced in her armchair. "Soph wasn't too fond of calling my parents by those names, but since Cosima was the first-born grandchild, she got to pick."
"Adamo and Dina thought it was funny, too," the younger blonde said, head still turned aside.
"Don't throw your cousins under the bus, Soph," chided Adeline. She chuckled, but the act felt hollow, the heat in her Chi cooling. "Wonder how those kids are doing. Evasio was having such issues pushing them through school before we left."
"Only because they were too distracted by Aunt Liana," Sophia added.
"What was wrong with your aunt?" Mia asked as Adeline sighed.
"Cancer," the older blonde replied in a low tone. She forced a smile—a well-practiced action. "My brother's at her side. I'm sure she fought it."
"Fought cancer and won over it are two different things, Mum."
"Sophia."
"It sucks, but it's true." The petite blonde pulled her legs up, perhaps as a distraction from Splinter's pained gaze. "We haven't had contact with them in almost six years. Marco said it; they think we're dead. And we probably won't ever see them again to know for sure."
"Hoshi"—Michelangelo rested a hand on his girlfriend's capris—"have you met my brother Donny?"
"If he tracks them, he may cross paths with Nom de Guerre. That guy's a wild card now. I—I don't even know what he'll do to get back at me for putting off payment."
"But De Gear told Marco where you were. Thought the freak gave up."
Brows lowered, Sophia clenched Mikey's fingers. "He's a Black Market empire, Figo. The Nom de Gear we met was only one of a few, although he's the only one I've seen. I think."
"Really?"
"They do aliases all round the globe. A single person can't do that alone, even if he never slept."
"I see." With a nod, the orange-masked mutant captured Soph's hand then bounced it against her leg. "I'll warn Don about him."
"Huh?"
"He can do it. No one outsmarts Donny in the digital world. What do ya say? Would you like a check-up on your family, Mama A?"
Adeline's mouth hung slack, for once silent. She met Sophia's gaze for no more than a second before smiling again. "Could you? We—we used to be really close, my brother and I, especially after…Cosima. I'd love to know how his family's doing."
"Consider it done!" Mikey fell part-way onto Sophia's recliner, and she didn't fight his hug. Maybe she knew it would be useless if she did. Or more likely she was relieved to get information on those she left in Italy.
'It made all the difference for me when April-chan told me my parents were alive,' the artist thought.
"A thought just hit me," Michelangelo said. Everyone gave him their attention. "We've all had had to start new lives."
"What's your point?" Gavin asked. He seemed a little too offensive for the casual atmosphere.
"It's just…we're talking about names and rebuilding. This is our new chapter in life, our new home, but we can't exactly call it a 'lair' anymore, can we?"
"It's much more," Mia added.
Mikey sent her a nod. "Our home was leveled, but like the phoenix a new one has risen. A bigger one. And a lot will happen in it. My—my little nieces are gunna be born and grow up here. It—it's a fresh start. For us. Them."
"So," Adeline said, "in other words, your home was reborn."
"Saisei," Splinter interjected.
"Wh—what's that mean, Splinter-san?" Nia questioned.
"Just that," the rat answered. "To be born again. A rebirth."
"Saisei," Mikey echoed. "I like it. What do you think?"
Nia's lips parted for a reply that never came. She sucked in a sharp breath, which led to something worse. Cramps raced through her belly—a severe tenseness that reminder her of her reoccurring nightmares. Her fingers curled around the papasan's fabric cover as she hissed. She twisted it and tried to move her legs sideways.
Usually, a new position helped the false labor pain. Not this time. It worsened, causing her to gasp.
"Nia?" Gavin stood up alongside Mikey. "Are you okay?"
"I—I don't know," Nia answered with another hiss.
Her hand lowered to the crevice below her swollen belly, where her tights' top hem sat. She pulled it away, thinking it may relieve some discomfort.
Nope. The cramps hardly eased before another wave started.
"I, uh, I'm going to get Mel," Mikey said. And like that, he was gone.
"Nia, Honey," Mia started, "do you want help sitting up?"
Nia had no voice to answer with. Cheeks sunken with harsh breaths, she hunched at the pain. Her hand continued pulling at her tights and she shifted for comfort to no avail.
As her mother wheeled forward, her hand slipped between her thighs. It brushed a wet spot, like she had peed herself. But that wasn't the case; pee wasn't gel-like.
Nia's mind blanked, air stolen for another reason. "Guys," she whispered to the standing group, "I…I think I'm going into labor."