To Build A Home

Chapter 13- Midnight Arrival

Something pulled Steven from his subconscious state of sleep. Wether it was something outside like the wind, the sound of footsteps in his room, or the empty space beside him, he was glad he had been woken up. Krolia was not in bed with him, nor was she in their room.
It didn't matter what time it was, he tossed the covers from his body and stepped out into the hallway. There was a light on in the room adjacent to theirs. The nursery.
He stepped in, cautiously opening the door.
"Krolia...?" He said when he stepped inside, finding her sitting in the rocking chair, mindlessly stroking the lion plush. "What are you doing up at a time like this?"
She hadn't heard his question, as she was far too engulfed in the soft lion toy in her hands.
"Krolia...?"
That time, she heard him. "Huh?!" She turned her head quickly, smiling when she saw him standing behind her.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm just... Looking at the stars."
"At a quarter 'till midnight...?"
With a sigh, she hung her head, placing the toy in her lap, staring out the window. "I can't sleep. Tomorrow is the day. I don't know if I'm ready for it..." She kept her eyes on the stars, feelings of worry and stress slowly taking over her mind.
"What on Earth are you talkin' about? Of course you're ready. You just have to get through it first."
"I know... But what if something happens...? What if it all goes wrong?"
Steven gently placed her hands in his own and said, "I will not let anythin' happen to either of you." He proceeded to gently kiss her hand, before slowly kissing her very round stomach.
Taking her hands back, she placed them on her stomach, on on top, one underneath. "They certainly seem eager to come out into this world." She commented, feeling them move about and kick inside of her.
"And I am eager to finally meet them. Aren't you?"
Krolia shrugged, running her hand up and down over her belly. "I am... But I'm also worried about what is going to happen. Plus, I am Galra, which means that a terribly awful birthing process is yet to come."
"How so?" Steven asked her. Though she had already told him the gist of it, he thought it best for her to talk instead of staying silent with her thoughts.
"It only lasts an hour or two, but the pain one is said to go through is horrible. Of the few women of my kind I saw as a child, they all opted for medical procedures. Which, obviously, I can't do."
"But you're not like them. You're stronger than they are." Steven knew that last statement was probably incorrect, not because Krokia was weak, but because strength can be measured in so many different ways. So, to make up for a poor choice in words, he added, "besides, this child is part human. It won't be as unbearable. I'm sure of it."
   "Again with the guessing..." She giggled softly as her child lightly pushed up on the walls of her uterus with their tiny feet. "Daddy sure does like to make assumptions about you and Mama. Doesn't he?" Krolia wasn't talking to herself, no. She was talking to the child. Every word was spoken in the most motherly, soothing, somewhat high pitched voice she had ever used.
   Steven nodded, admitting that her statement was true. "But your mother knows I'm right."
   "I hate that you're always right..."
   "I'm sure you don't, but I'll let you have this one." He extended his hand to her, smiling kindly. "Here, lets see if we can't get some more sleep before October the twenty-second turns into October the twenty-third."

***

"Run me through the process again..." Steven requested, handing Krolia a glass of water.
The two had, after a long discussion, decided not to got back to sleep. Krolia claimed she was neither tired nor able to keep herself calm enough to stay asleep for more than five minutes.
"Again...?"
He nodded.
"When it starts," she began to explain, "there's a rush of pain which doesn't go away until the child is born. Also, like humans, there's some fluid that is released. It's the final warning. The others being the fatigue, which starts early on, and I've already suffered through that. Then you have increasing back pain which comes a few hours before labor starts. And lastly,the stiffening of the muscles in the uterus, that's self explanatory. Those three happen in that order no matter what sort of mixed species the mother is harboring inside of her. Between the start and end of labor, the pain grows almost exponentially. Not to mention, those which you refer to as contractions, make it all that much worse."
"And how long did ya' say it typically lasts? Two hours, right?"
"Yes. One to two hours. Which is another reason as to why the pain never lessens."
"Well, so far, over the past nine months you've shown characteristics of mostly human pregnancies. Nothing too unlike it at least. It's possible you'll go through a longer, less Galran birth." Steven told her in hopes of lightening the mood.
"I suppose that's correct..." She mumbled. Her eyes drifted to the clock near the fridge, 12:05 am. "it's officially the day. Due day." She added unenthusiastic jazz hands to show how displeased she was.
"Everything is going to be fine. My bet is, you won't start until late afternoon."
"No... It'll be soon. Very soon."
Steven felt his own muscles stiffen. "How do you know...?"
"For the past few weeks, I've been unable to stay awake except for those random moments of being lively." With a nod from Steven, she continued. "I'm no longer tired. The 'shutting down' of the body, as you call it, is meant to prepare the soon to be mother with enough energy to get her through the incredibly arduous task of childbirth. The need to sleep vanishes prior to the start of labor. Anywhere from one to three hours before."
"Sure, but you've only been up for an—"
"Two hours." Krolia interjected. "I've been awake for two hours. At least two, maybe a little more..."
"So we're just going to wait this out... That's alright with me."
"But it's not alright with me! I'm stressing about this!"
"You've got nothin' to fear, Krolia" he wrapped his fingers around her hands, gently stroking her fingers . "I'm right here."