Maka hissed as she burned her finger while cooking. She stuck it in her mouth to soothe the pain. The baby had kicked her in the ribs a little harder than normal and made her hit her finger on the side of the pot.
"Hey, babe," Soul sighed, coming through the door. He wrapped his arms around Maka and buried his face in her neck.
"Anything?" she asked.
"A couple more sightings, but nobody's been able to catch her."
"I'm sorry, Soul…"
"It's not your fault. I'm just a horrible brother…"
"It wasn't your fault either."
"I just feel so guilty that she's gone because of me." He sighed. "Anyway, how's the baby?"
"She's fine," Maka replied. "Kicking a little more than usual, but we're both fine."
"Good." He kissed her on the cheek. "I'm going to change because I hate this stupid shirt."
Maka nodded and turned her attention back to the food.
It had been a month since Kristen had disappeared at Spirit and Kami's wedding, and the DWMA was still searching for her. Reports had been coming in from all over the world about her whereabouts, but so far, no luck had been had. To make things worse, some reports stated Crona and Medusa were with her, spelling bad news for the youngest Scythe at the Academy. Maka could tell Soul wanted to be out there searching for his baby sister, but he insisted on staying with her, at least until after the baby was born. Holly had been moved from the infirmary to the hospital shortly after the wedding and Wes had been living in her house. Hayden had been called (much to the Evans's displeasure) and they'd gotten Heather Duke, who expressed only the tiniest bit of grief over her stepdaughter.
Blair, like Holly, had been nearly inconsolable. She, however, had personally volunteered to search for 'Kitten'. As a result, she hadn't been home in almost a month.
"I miss her, too," Maka whispered to herself, thinking of her little sister.
Throughout the rest of the evening, the baby continued kicking Maka as hard as it had while she was cooking dinner. Soul was stressed enough without her complaining about pain that was so brief.
She didn't realize that she was beginning labor.
Later that night, Maka felt a sharp kick in her belly. She tried to ignore it, but felt something wet between her legs. Looking under the blanket, she could see the bedding was soaked under where she'd been lying down. Her breathing hitched as she realized what was going on. Soul was still asleep on his side of the bed. She leaned over and started shaking him.
"Soul!" she hissed.
"Hmm… what is it?" he groaned sleepily, turning over and looking at her through half-lidded eyes.
"Soul, we have to go."
"Go where?"
"My water broke!"
"We'll call Stein in the morning." He turned back over and she sighed.
"Three, two, one…" she murmured, waiting for the news to sink in. He shot into a sitting position and stared at her.
"Are you sure?!" he asked, his voice taking a very unmanly pitch.
"My water broke. Of course I'm sure!"
"O-okay… we have a plan… I'll call Stein and we'll try to get to the car!" He grabbed his phone and Maka's hospital bag and began helping Maka along, dialing Stein with one hand.
"This better be important," Stein grumbled sleepily as he answered the phone.
"Maka's water broke and we're on our way to the hospital!"
"Oh, that's pretty important. Take her to the school. I'm there right now."
"How do I get her up all those stairs?!"
"I have my ways."
Maka barely managed to buckler herself in before Soul was heading towards the school. Luckily, the father of her child was a fabulous driver, even when he was nervous. He kept running his hand through his hair, muttering to himself and making it even more spiky than usual.
Somehow, as Stein had said, Soul managed to get Maka into the infirmary, where Stein was waiting for them. He quickly had Maka change into a hospital gown and made sure she was comfortable on the bed.
"She's about four centimeters dilated," Stein informed Soul. "I'd suggest you go out and call your friends and family. Make sure you call Spirit first."
Soul gulped nervously and nodded. He went into the hallway and hit 'Red-Haired Bastard' in his contacts.
Spirit groaned as the sound of the ringing phone woke him up. The caller ID said 'Shark-toothed Maka Thief'.
"What the hell do you want?" he growled.
"I'm calling to tell you that Maka and I are at the school. She went into labor." Spirit sat up in bed, waking Kami with the action.
"Are you sure?!"
"Her water broke, so yeah, I'm sure! Stein told me to call everyone."
"Okay. Thank you. We'll be there in twenty minutes." He hung up and got out of bed.
"Who was that?" Kami asked.
"It was Soul. Maka went into labor."
Kami threw off the blankets and started getting dressed.
Soul paced nervously in the hallway. Maka was only six centimeters, according to Stein, and still had four to go. He'd called all the friends and family he could (except his dad because fuck that guy) and they still hadn't arrived yet.
Or, now they were.
"How is she?" Tsubaki asked, shaking. Black*Star was hanging onto her, still half-asleep.
"She's six centimeters," Soul sighed. "We can't start delivery yet, but Stein said he'd tell me when it's time."
Spirit and Kami were next to arrive, along with Wes and Holly, who'd been released from the hospital a few hours earlier. Kid and the Thompsons arrived last, dark circles under Kid's eyes. He hadn't really been seen by any of them since Kristen had been kidnapped, and Soul knew he was feeling guiltier than anybody else. The Reaper still wasn't forgiven for dumping Kristen, not by a long shot, but he was on the road to it.
"Soul," called Stein. The white-haired Death Scythe rushed into the room without another word. Kami and Spirit looked at each other worriedly.
"I'm… surprised you're not rushing in there," Liz told them.
"Well, Maka told us she only wanted Soul and Stein in the delivery room, so we're respecting her wishes," Kami replied.
"I WANT MY PAPA!" wailed Maka from inside the delivery room.
"Yes!" Spirit fist-pumped in victory before regaining his composure and entering the room.
"Papa!" sobbed Maka.
"I'm here, Angel, I'm here!" He took Maka's left hand since Soul was clutching the right. Maka had tightened her grip on her boyfriend's hand to the point where he couldn't even feel it anymore, but he was too terrified to care.
"Ten centimeters!" announced Stein. "Maka, on the count of three, I want you to push. Ready? One… two… three!"
Maka pushed as hard as she could, screaming all the while.
"Again. One… two… three!"
Spirit gritted his teeth in sympathy for Maka, remembering how intensive Kami's labor had been all those years ago.
"One more time! I see the head! One… two… three!"
Maka screamed so loudly and so shrilly that Ragnarok would've been jealous. Soul wanted to close his eyes, but couldn't look away. All he could hear was Maka screaming and… wait, a baby crying?
"Congratulations. It's a girl," Stein told them. Maka was panting, an exhausted look on her face as Stein handed her the baby.
"Oh!" she breathed. "Hi, there!" She cradled the baby softly once she'd let go of Soul and Spirit's hands. "I'm Maka, your mama." Soul took a good look at the baby. She was small, red, wrinkly, covered in blood, and still crying like there was no tomorrow.
"She's perfect," he whispered, kissing Maka's forehead. "Great job, babe."
"I couldn't have done it without you."
"Allow me to clean off the baby," Stein told the couple. Maka reluctantly handed the infant over to her teacher/doctor, who wrapped her in a blanket. The exhausted new mother smiled as he handed her the now-clean infant then turned to Soul and Spirit. "I can take a look at your hands if you want."
"Nah, I'm fine," Soul assured him.
"Me, too," Spirit added quickly, not to be outdone by the father of his granddaughter.
"All right. Go deliver the news to the others. I've got to call Marie."
Soul sat on the bed, his gaze on the two most important women in his life.
There was just one thing missing.
"She should've been here," Soul croaked.
"I know," Maka agreed, biting her lip. "But she's not. We'll find her, and she'll make a great aunt."
"Yeah." Soul wiped his eye. "Anyway, we need to name this little munchkin."
"I was thinking maybe Melody. You know, like music."
"That's a great name. And how about we name her after her aunt for a middle name?"
"Melody Kristen Evans. I love it."
"So we're in agreement that she's taking my last name?"
"We always were, dummy."
"I love you." He kissed her gently.
The door burst open and the rest of their friends and family entered the room. Kid was hanging back from the others, but Patti's eyes lit up at the sight of Melody.
"Ooh!" she squealed. "She's so cute!"
"What did you name her?" Kami inquired.
"Meet Melody," Soul informed them. "Melody Kristen Evans."
Holly let out a sob of joy and grief. Kid and Wes each gave a sad smile.
"She should've been here," sighed Liz. "She had everything planned out…"
"And thank God she drilled it into my head at month six," Soul agreed.
"She'll meet her niece one day," Tsubaki assured them. "Nothing could keep her gone for much longer."
"Oh, isn't that sweet?"
Medusa turned to her 'adopted daughter'.
"Kristen, dear, you've got a niece, and your brother gave her your name!"
"Like that'll make me happy," snorted Kristen, looking up from where she'd been painting her nails black to match Medusa's. "She'll grow up to be a spoiled brat, just like her mother."
"That's my girl." Medusa smirked at the almost-fourteen-year-old.
"M-Medusa," stammered Crona. "I-is M-Maka alright?"
"She's fine. Childbirth is natural. However, it's the baby I want."
"Why?"
"A child of Black Blood and a Grigori Soul? She could make for a very, very interesting experiment."
"And I can get my revenge," added Kristen.
"Yes! We're on our way, girls!"
And chapter fourteen is done!
Liz: Hey, uh, Katie? I was checking your page and this is the longest story you've ever written.
Katie: Oh? How so?
Liz: Chapter and word count. Also, in content, it's the most packed.
Katie: Oh, FUCK yeah! *does victory dance that looks like she's having a seizure*
Patti: Bye, guys! Don't forget to review! So long and thanks for all the fish!