When the woman with dark eyes that reminded him of Jenny Calendar's showed up about twenty minutes later, Xander was so grateful, he very nearly got down on his knees and bowed to her. Piper's screams of agony were terrifying.
"I'm Dr. Ava Nickolae." She said, showing him her ID badge from the hospital.
"Oh, thank you, Thor!" Xander yelled. "I hope you brought your kit, Doc, because she's in labor and having a real hard time of it. We've been told she has scar tissue on her pelvis from where it was broken a couple years ago and it's making it harder for her to deliver. Add to that there's a prophecy and demons are aware of it and we've already dealt with two demons. She's in the attic. I'll show you up there."
"You're not taking any chances, are you?" She said looking at the boarded up windows.
"Not with a baby that demons are hoping to raise evil."
"Oh, gosh, Piper. Show me quick." Another scream could be heard.
"She's been doing the screaming thing for nearly half an hour, Doc." Xander told her, leading her up the stairs.
"Ava! Thank God!" Phoebe exclaimed when she saw her. "Hurry, I think the baby's stuck or something!"
Ava quickly began an assessment. "I think you're right. Phoebe. It's head is lodged against her pelvic bone. Probably right near where it was broken. I'm going to try to turn it a little bit, see if that makes it easier for her to deliver. This is going to hurt, Piper." Ava warned her.
"It already hurts!" Piper screamed.
Ava worked to turn the baby enough so that it was in a better position and then Piper collapsed back against the cushions. "Oh, God that feels better!" She exclaimed. "It still hurts, but not the constant screaming agony it was before."
"It should make it easier for you deliver now." Ava good her her. "You're not quite fully dilated yet. Might be a few more hours, but they'll go easier then they would have otherwise."
"I'm really wanting an epidural." Piper complained.
"Sorry, Piper." Ava told her. "No go, you're too far along. But we can try meditative exercises and a few other things. They'll at least help you to relax, which will make labor and delivery a little easier."
"How's this going to affect the Toximia?" Paige asked suddenly.
"Toximia?" Ava questioned, even more concerned now.
"She was diagnosed last night." Phoebe told her. "She passed out and we took her to the hospital."
"I need to get a blood pressure cuff on her." Ave pulled it out and immediately wrapped it around Piper's upper arm. "It's too high. Let's start the exercises, relaxing will help a little with that too."
Over the next couple of hours Ava worked to keep Piper as relaxed as possible while carefully monitoring her and the baby. They were nearing the finish line and Ava had announced it was time to push when a sudden crash from downstairs alerted them that the demons were beginning their run.
"Not now!" Leo snarled.
"Let's go, girls!" Xander ordered. "The sooner we get rid of the demons, the sooner we can celebrate the baby."
Paige grabbed the potion bottles off the table and set them near Leo.
"The red bottle is the protection one, Leo. The rest are fire power."
"Got it." He said glancing at them and noting the red one was a little larger and off to the side.
Phoebe, Paige and Cordelia followed Xander down the stairs. Demons were hitting the doors and the windows with something.
"Guess they figured out we've got them boarded up." Xander observed, as he pulled out his ax. Cordelia pulled out her daggers and snapped them together, a twist and pull and she had her staff.
"Neat, you'll have to teach us how to do that." Phoebe decided. "You never know when it might come in handy." She grabbed a knife in the kitchen and passed it to Paige before taking one herself. Then they waited. They didn't have to wait long, the demons broke down the door and several boarded up windows and crashed through.
"Oh my God!" Phoebe yelled. "Is that Doris? Dad's new wife?!"
"If she's here and a demon, what happened to Victor?" Paige yelled back. There wasn't time to speculate further as the demons attacked enmass. There were probably more then thirty of them. Xander and the girls were fighting hard. Another cry from upstairs had a cruel smile crossing Doris' face. "She'll be a great force for evil, you'll see!" She gloated.
"No!" Phoebe screamed. She was on the verge of losing it, she was so desperate to protect her sister and child. Xander felt his hackles rise and his teeth and nails thicken and sharpen.
"What are you?" One of the demons asked.
"Your death." Xander told him and ripped out his throat with one of his clawed hands. A sudden light shown down on Phoebe and Paige. Paige looked up, startled and then yelled. "Lamp!" The lamp dematerialized and orbs sailed through the air and it resolidified as the lamp slammed into a demon's head. Phoebe rose up into the air and held herself in place as she kicked the nearest demon. Cordelia breathed fire and Xander unleashed his particle swarm. Within a matter of seconds, all of the demons, including Doris, had been vanquished.
"Paige! Orb to Dad, see if he's ok!" Phoebe yelled. "We'll keep an eye on things here."
"On it!" Paige answered and orbed out. It was a relief when she orbed back to the Manor ten minutes later with Victor. "Doris stabbed him and left him for dead. We need Leo to heal him."
"Orb to the attic. We'll meet you up there." Phoebe told her. Paige nodded and orbed out with Victor in tow.
"Well, we've got a surprise." Leo said a bit later as Xander and the others joined them in the attic once he'd healed Piper and Victor. "We were expecting a girl. Warren witches have been female since the start of the line, which was before the Salem Witchcraft Trials. But it seems we've got a son. And we already know he's got power, because he demonstrated it in the womb. The first male Warren witch, ever. We never even bothered to consider male names. We've definitely been thrown for a loop."