Now was a tense time for Yang. Blake's due date was fast approaching, the baby could arrive any day now. Meanwhile Yang wasn't sleeping too well. She'd been trying not to doze off just in case Blake went into labour during the night. She wasn't even going out on missions so that she could be around for her wife and unborn child.
Yang opened her eyes to find herself surrounded by a thick fog. She wasn't sure what was happening. She looked around but couldn't see anything aside from the fog. Suddenly she heard a voice, a familiar at that. It was Blake, it sounded as though she was in a lot of pain. Some of the fog cleared and Yang could see the sight of Blake on a hospital bed.
"She's in labour and about to have the baby." Yang thought. As more of the fog cleared, Yang saw that Ruby and Weiss were by Blake's side.
"Blake, we can't afford to wait any longer." A voice calls out.
"No! Not yet!" Blake cried. "Yang's not here!" Yang started running towards her wife.
"Blake! I'm right here!" She shouted. But Blake and the others didn't seem to notice her. To make matters worse, as she moved forward, the scene of Blake started to move further away from her. Yang began to run faster. "BLAKE! HANG ON!" She shouted.
"I'm so sorry Blake." Weiss said.
"What? What is Weiss talking about? What is there to be sorry for?" Yang asked herself as she ran.
"Blake. Yang's not coming." Ruby said.
"No.... NO-NO-NO-NO-NO!" Yang panicked as her run turned into a sprint. "BLAKE! I'M COMING!" But Blake STILL didn't notice. The more Yang tried to reach her wife, the faster the scene seemed to move away from her. It became hard to see her.
"YANG! WHERE ARE YOU?!" Blake cried out.
"BLAAAAAAAAKE!" Yang called to her, but to no avail. Blake and everyone else disappeared into the fog, the last thing Yang could hear was Blake crying out in agony from the labour pains.
Yang's eyes shot open and she sprung up from her bed, shocked and in a cold sweat. She breathed heavily and looked around to see that she was in her's and Blake's bedroom. She breathed a massive sigh of relief to realise that was just a horrible nightmare. While Yang tried to calm herself down, she glanced to the other side of the bed to see that Blake wasn't there. Still a little bit shaken, Yang started to panic.
"Blake!?" She yelled as she ran out of the room, through the hallway and down the stairs. "Blake!?"
"Yang?" Blake called from the kitchen. Yang rushed in to see her wife sat at the table with some tea and breakfast prepared. "Are you okay?" Blake asked but is interrupted by Yang hugging her. "Woah, Yang. Are you alright- Oh." Yang pulled back to see that Blake had a very surprised expression on her face and had her hands on her stomach.
"Am I alright? Forget me. Are you alright? Is the baby coming?" Yang asked.
"No. The baby isn't coming yet." Blake replied. "She just started kicking like crazy. Almost like something was upsetting her." Blake looked into Yang's eyes. It was more than obvious that she wasn't well. She placed a hand on Yang's cheek. "I think even she knows her mom isn't okay." Yang took a deep breath and sat down next to her wife.
"I'm sorry Blake." Yang said. "I just.... I had a nightmare that you were in labour and I wasn't there. Ruby and Weiss were even telling you that I wasn't going to be there and it just really freaked me out. I'm still a little shaken up from it." Blake held Yang's hand and gently stroked it with her thumb while she talked about her dream. "I've just been so focused on being around, making sure you and the baby are okay." Blake soon began to find this a little familiar. It reminded her of when she and Yang were back at Beacon, during the time where she was overworking herself.
"I think you should go back to bed and try to get some sleep." Blake said.
"No I-I can't!" Yang retorted. However, she was interrupted by Blake cupping her check again.
"Yang." Blake said calmly. "I know you're worried about becoming a parent, I am too. But you need to take better care of yourself."
"I can't. You might go into labour while I'm asleep." Yang said. Blake took another good look into Yang's eyes. She could see that her wife was determined but completely exhausted. Yang's biggest priority has always been those she cared about. Always making sure that they're safe and happy. But she was putting herself through hell. She gently took Yang's hand again.
"You know, someone very special to me once told me 'I'm not asking you to stop, I'm asking you to slow down'. That was you Yang." Blake said.
"Blake." Yang said. "I-" She was interrupted by her wife hugging her.
"I'm not asking you to stop." Blake said. "But please. Take care of yourself. Not just for you. But for the people you care about." Blake pulled back from the hug. "For your family." She looked down at her baby bump and placed her hand on it. "For OUR family." Yang looked down to her wife's baby bump and back up to her eyes. She took a deep breath and smiled.
"You're gonna be great mom." Yang said. She hugged her wife. "I'm sorry Blake."
"Don't be." Blake replied. "Just PLEASE, get some rest."
"Sounds-" Yang said but yawned mid sentence. "Sounds good." Blake kissed her on the cheek.
"Sleep well Yang." Blake said.
Yang slept for the entire day and all through the night. She woke up feeling better than she had in days. Just in time too. Because Blake's parents were coming from Menagerie to stay for a while. Since Blake's due date wasn't far off, Ghira and Kali wanted to spend some time with her and Yang. So that they could be there for their daughter and not miss the birth of their grandchild.
After the soon to be grandparents arrived, they'd brought more than expected. Kali delivered on her promise from the reunion and made knitted clothes for the baby. Little pairs of mittens, scarfs, sweaters, socks, beanies made to accompany her cat ears, and more.
A few hours after Ghira and Kali arrived, Blake started to experience more discomfort from her pregnancy. Yang left to prepare some special tea for her. Ghira followed her to the kitchen to offer Yang a helping hand. He took this opportunity to talk to her privately.
"Yang? Are you okay?" Ghira asked. Yang placed the tea pot down and turned to face her father in law.
"Honestly." Yang said as she crossed her arms. She took a deep breath. "I don't think I am."
"What's wrong?" Ghira asked with a worried expression.
"Well." Yang said. "I've been kind of a wreck recently. It's just that, I know the baby is gonna be here soon. I'm thrilled of course but, I'm also terrified. I'm constantly thinking 'Blake's gonna go into labour, I have to be ready'. And there's the baby. What if.... What if I turn out to be a terrible mom?" Yang started to tear up a little. "I sound crazy don't I?" Ghira pulled his daughter in law in for a hug, attempting to calm her down.
"No Yang, you don't." Ghira said. "You sound like someone who's about to become a parent. Believe me, I went through this before Kali had Blake."
"Really?" Yang asked. "So how did you get through this and be ready for it?"
"I didn't." Ghira replied. Yang seemed a little confused. "The truth is. You're never truly ready, you just have to make the best of things. And from everything that I've heard from Blake and everyone else, you are going to be a terrific mother." Yang felt reassured and smiled as Ghira continued to speak. "That baby is lucky to have you and Blake. And should either of you need help, you have plenty of friends and family to support you." Yang sniffed and wiped the tears from her eyes.
"Thanks Ghira." Yang said. She breathed a sigh of relief, and the two went back to preparing the tea. "Man, Blake was really lucky to have you when she was a kid. You're gonna be a great grandpa-"
"YAAAAAAAANG!" Kali screamed from the other room. Yang didn't hesitate for even a second and ran back in to check on her wife and mother in law. Ghira followed suit. As she skidded to a stop through the door way, she saw what Kali called her for. Blake sat on their couch with both hands on her stomach, with a wet stain on her clothes, the couch and their floor. In that instance, everything froze for Yang as she realised what's just happened. The moment she'd been waiting and preparing for. And now that it had happened, the same words kept racing through Yang's head.
"Blake's water just broke." Yang thought to herself. "The baby's coming!" She was snapped back to reality when she felt Blake grab her hand. Yang looked into her wife's eyes. They filled with a mix of reassurance and worry. Yang had so much that she needed to do, but the most important thing to her was to stay by Blake's side. She looked at Ghira and reached into her pocket for car keys. "Ghira." Yang said while she threw the keys to him. As Ghira caught them Yang continued. "I need you to bring the car around. Get it started and ready in front of the house. I have the fastest and safest route to the hospital memorised. Blake and I will meet you out there."
"Right." Ghira said and gave Yang a nod as he left to go to the garage. She turned to Kail.
"Kali. I need you to go to mine and Blake's room upstairs and open the closet." Yang said. "You should see a bright yellow duffel bag on the floor. Grab it and bring it with you. It has everything I've prepared for the hospital."
"Got it. I'll be right back." Kali said as she left and went upstairs. Yang turned back to Blake, knelt down to eye level and held her hand.
"I'm not leaving your side. I'll be here with you every step of the way." Yang said while stroking Blake's hand with her thumb.
"Thank you Yang." Blake said smiling at her wife.
"This is it." Yang said. "We're about to become moms."
"I know. It's crazy isn't it?" Blake said as she placed her free hand on her stomach. "We're finally going to meet her."
"I love you Blake." Yang said.
"I love you too Yang." Blake said as the two hugged. Yang helped her wife up and they made their way outside to the car.
Next - Chapter 7 - The Birth