The Wants of a Young Demigod Heart (Nico di Angelo, Leo Valdez x OC)

Taylor Tracy James

Merrily POV

Warning: Childbirth scene ahead, along with slight violence. Nothing too graphic, but...

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Oh gosh darn it! Okay, here's a quick overview. Apparently Ryan has an ex-girlfriend. And she's pregnant. And currently in labor.

"My water broke!" Tracy whimpers.

"So...." Ryan frowns. "You wet your pants?"

"That's gross," Nico commented.

"Is that like a normal pregnancy thing or...?" Leo asks. Chey cuffs Ryan on the back of the head and Abigail facepalms.

"No, you idiot!" I shout. "She's in labor!" And like the manly man he is, Ryan passes clean out. Chey steps out of the way, effectively allowing him to faceplant into the mud. I think quickly back to the many, many episodes of Midwife I had watched. "Okay Tracy, you need to lie down."

Chey and I quickly help Tracy to lie down atop my sleeping bag. Considering we are in the woods, it is the only sanitary place we have.

"Okay, now imitate my breathing," I tell her, after setting Tracy up on the sleeping bag. Then I demonstrate a breathing process used to help slow the breathing and slow the contractions called 'panting'. Tracy suddenly lets out a scream. Most likely, she just got her first contraction.

"It hurts so much!" she cries.

"It's okay, it's okay," I soothe. "Now, I need you to push, okay?" Tracy shakes her head no, tears rolling down her face. "Listen, in order to birth this baby, I need you to push."

"Actually, hang on a second," Chey says. She then drags Ryan over to Tracy and sticks his hand into Tracy's. "Okay, now you can push." I swiftly take off my owl ring and hand it to Nico, who's helpfully standing behind Festus along with Leo and Abigail. Then, Tracy does her first push. Tracy lets out a guttural scream, accompanied by Ryan's shout of pain and Chey's vomiting.

"Who moved my hand?" Ryan demands angrily.

"Me," Chey calls from by the bushes.

"Why would you do that?" Ryan yells.

"Consider yourself lucky," Chey says, standing up. "I had another, more painful body part in mind." Ryan pales. I check Tracy again.

"Okay," I say. "Again." We repeat this process four times before I see a shock of dirty blonde hair. "Okay, I see a head!" I announce. "Push again!"

"Are those shoulders?" Chey asks. I roll my eyes.

"One more big one!" I encourage. Tracy screams once more and the baby slides smoothly out. "Chey, why don't you do the honors," I say, after wrapping the baby in Abigail's hair towel

Chey spins Backbiter dramatically in her hand, shouts 'Engarde!' and proceeds to cut the umbilical cord. "It's a girl!"

"Really?" Ryan moans, rubbing his sore hand.

"Why isn't the pain stopping?" I hear Tracy ask.

"Um, I'm not sure," I say, handing Chey the baby. "The bleeding definitely should have stopped by now." I lean down and check and the bleeding has definitely not stopped. If anything, it's increased tenfold. "Oh gods," I say.

"What?" Ryan demands. "What is it?"

"It's bad," I say. "Chey, watch that baby, okay? Keep it safe." Chey nods, her face set in stone as she cradles the baby in her arms. I can vaguely hear her singing it a lullaby.