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Zane was still munching on his bagel as he walked down the street to the bus stop. Several houses down, he heard someone call his name, making him turn around. Melanie the Fennekin jogged out of her front door and caught up to him.

"Good morning, Zane!" she greeted brightly, falling in to step next to him.

"Morning, Melanie. You're perky today," he said before taking another lazy bite of his breakfast.

She giggled. "T.G.I.F., you know?"

"I guess, yeah. Tell that to the weather!"

"It's supposed to be really nice by mid-morning," the fire-type commented. It wasn't horrible at that moment either, but it was a tad cool for a May morning, with the slightest hint of a morning fog around the neighborhood. "I think it's really nice right now, too, for that matter. A little sleepy, like mornings should be, I guess."

"Sleepy is right," the Electrike added, stifling a yawn as the two of them made it to the bus stop. The electric-type dropped his backpack down on the curb as he usually did, sitting down next to it as the two teens waited. "What do you think the over/under is for arrival time today?"

Melanie thought for a moment. "Well, it's Friday, so two or three minutes late?"

"Hmmm sounds about right," Zane responded, checking his phone for the time. It was two minutes to their scheduled pick-up time.

The two of them just waited in the slightly-fog-muted morning air.

"Sorry to hear about Battle Club," the Fennekin said after a moment.

"Huh? Oh, right..." The last bite of bagel disappeared as Zane recounted the news, rubbing his forehead. "Yeah, coach Waldrum was pissed... I still don't get what happened with all that paperwork. He's got to scramble now to get as many wild card spots as he can manage for whoever of us he thinks would be best to send to districts."

"Do you think you and Keith have a shot?"

"Maybe? We're certainly the best in our year, and I'd wager we can beat some of the eighth grade battle pairs, too, but the bigger the team, the harder it is to get a wild card berth. Unless coach can somehow wrangle three wild card pairs, I think he'd send our two best eight grade pairs."

"Wait, they don't do competition by school year?"

"Oh, they do. But each school will only get so many total wild card spots... Again, I don't get the paperwork. It's easier to get single spots since the singles tournament is usually really flexible, but even then I think getting more than four wild card spots per school is rare. It's not something we normally have to deal with... I only know this stuff from talking with other competitors at districts or in our summer leagues."

Just then, the two of them heard the sounds of the bus, the big yellow vehicle rounding the corner a moment later. Zane stood up, but as he did so the two teens also heard a yell from down the street.

"ZAAAAANNNE McKENNNZIIIIIEEE! GET YER ASS BACK HERE RIGHT NOW, YOU'RE NOT GOING TO SCHOOL TODAY!"

Zane and Melanie turned and saw Marcus, still in his pajamas and holding his phone, running out to his car in their driveway two blocks back up the street.

The two teens just stared for a moment as the bus pulled up right in front of them, before Zane finally broke in to a sprint back toward his house.

"Zane, your backpack!" Melanie called, but the Electrike either ignored her or just was focused to the point of not hearing a thing, his school stuff completely forgotten on the curb in front of the bus. The Fennekin looked back and forth between him, his bag, and the waiting vehicle, before shaking her head and taking his stuff with her to school for the day, the fire-type having a very good guess as to what was going on.

Marcus had already gotten the car started and was driving up the street to meet the sprinting Electrike. He didn't even bring the car to a complete stop as he reached over to pop the passenger door open, Zane tumbling inside as his older brother brought them peeling up past the school bus.

"Talk!" the Manectric commanded, tossing his cell phone into his brother's lap.

"Hello??" Zane wheezed.

[i]"Oh Zane, thank Arceus Marc got you before the bus did! Kira's going in to active labour she tells me - here, I'm putting her on right now!"

"Za-a-ane?"[/i] came a wavering voice a split second later.

"Kira! Kira are you alright?"

[i]"I've been up since one-thirty AM and my entire torso is in pain."[/i]

"We're on our way."

[i]"Thank you."[/i]

"But aside from tired and cramping, are you alright?"

[i]"Yes, I think so. Just a bit scared, Zane... I'm so early!"[/i]

"It'll be okay, I'm sure... I mean, four or five weeks early or whatever is still pretty good, right? You're far enough that the baby should be basically fine, right?"

[i]"Maybe? I kinda never wanted to think about it so I didn't do much research, and Laine said not to worry about it..."[/i]

"That's fine, that's fine. Anyway, you're sure you're in labour right now, then?"

[i]"Y-yeah... I woke up at -nnngh- one thirty or so with some minor stomach pains, and I thought it was more false labour, but instead of just kinda staying at that level and then stopping, each contraction was a little longer and a little sooner than the last onnnneee... mmmph..."[/i]

"Breath."

[i]"Fhooo... Right. By the time your mom called to wake Keith up, I was up and down in the living room, pacing around between contractions and on the couch when one hit, which was about every ten minutes I guess, and getting noticeably tougher."[/i]

"On Riggs Road right now, about to turn on to Watson."

[i]"I've been doing the breathing things they suggested, and I've got an ice pack on my lower back, so it's not so bad right now, but the contractions are coming sooner and sooner each time. I don't think I'm quite in active labour yet, still early, but I just wanted to head in to the hospital so I'm ready."[/i]

"That's a good idea, but you say you're not in any danger of the kit popping out right now? How long is active labour?"

[i]"No, not incredibly soon, but I think I scared Keith before he called your brother; early labour can go up to twelve hours or so - "[/i]

"You can stop speeding, Marcus."

[i]"- and I've heard anywhere from three to eight hours for active labour. I (mmph) think I'mmmm... pretty much (ah) done w-with the early stage, though, the contractions are coming at definitely less than five minutes apart now, probably about three or even two."[/i]

"Can't contractions be a minute or two long each?"

[i]"Especially the closer you get to giving birth."[/i]

"Yikes... You're a trooper, you know that? Have you eaten or drank anything this morning yet?"

[i]"Not with my stomach being as rough on me as it has been... Well wait, I had a glass or two of water between three and five. I know it's recommended to have stuff, especially during early labour when it's lighter, but I wasn't hungry before dawn and all these contractions have just left me feeling a tad nauseous since, so no, no food or drink for a while now."[/i]

"Geez, Kira... Have Keith get you SOMETHING now. Doesn't have to be much, just enough so you have a little bit in your system."

[i]"I dunno, I still kinda feel -"[/i]

"You said it was recommended?"

[i]"Well, yeeeaaahhhhh..."[/i]

"Eat."

[i]"Okay, fiiiine... How close are you?"[/i]

"Fellows Street, so three minutes?"

[i]"Okay; see you soon, I guess. And thanks so much for talking with - oh, Keith's telling me not to hang up. Why? They'll be here any moment. Oh, fine, here..."

"Zane? Keith here. Just wanted to keep the line open."[/i]

"hehheh You still sound just as shaken as you were earlier. I think things will be fine. Is Kira getting up to get a snack now?"

[i]"Ya think?? My sister's about to drop a completely new little Vulpix out of her, and I'm supposed to act like that's not really weird? I'm the only other person in the house right now with dad traveling and I don't know the first thing about helping someone about to give birth! Hell yeah I'm freaking out a little!"[/i]

"Is Kira getting herself something to eat?"

[i]"...Yes."[/i]

"Chill, man. We're almost there."

[i]"Well - fine. Just stay on the phone, okay?"[/i]

"hehheh Okay, bro! Really, you're being needier than Kira is!"

[i]"Shut up! ... ... Wait, are you still there? You didn't hang -?"[/i]

"haha Sure am! You're fine, Keith, you're fine."

[i]"Geez, Zane, I'm a mess and I don't know why; if you weren't my best friend I might throttle you right now."[/i]

"Duly noted. We're pulling up right now, by the way."

The two electric-types jogged out of the car and up to the front door, which opened halfway through the doorbell's ring. Keith let them in, getting a short greeting, though both of them focused on locating Kira fairly quickly. The golden Vulpix was sitting in the kitchen with a small cup of yoghurt, grimacing slightly as she tried finishing off the snack.

"Thanks for skipping school for me, Zane," she said, slowly getting up out of her chair to hug him.

"Oh, if I wouldn't get in trouble for just playing hookie, I would've done it weekly at least," he replied warmly, nuzzling noses a little bit. "You're way more awesome to hang out with than going to classes."

She smiled and giggle weakly at that before Marcus cut in and said "So, how are you doing, Kira? Not ready to just pop, I assume?"

"Yeah, not quite there yet; it's hard to tell, but I think I've crossed from early labour to active labour now, and I know you're supposed to head to the hospital when you hit the active stage since it'll be three to eight hours from there."

"Ah, gotcha. So are you basically ready to head out, then? You're still in your pajamas."

The Vulpix made a dismissive noise, rolling her eyes a bit before wincing and putting a hand on her belly. "I'm gonna be uncomfortable until this whole thing is done, I'm not gonna bother getting properly dressed. It's not like I'm going to school or the mall where a ton of people will be seeing me."

"Sounds reasonable enough. So should we all pile back into the car?"

Kira held up a finger, making them wait until her current contraction passed, then spooned the last two bits of yoghurt into her mouth before tossing the little plastic cup into the recycling and reaching over to Zane. The Electrike helped stabilize her as they made their way across the kitchen, then leading the four of them through the rest of the house and out the front door. Four eventually, that is - before they left the kitchen, Keith dashed out the kitchen's through the den, gathering up his backpack and filling it with random books, papers, snacks, and an extra ice pack - whatever he thought any of them might need in their stay at the hospital. He then dashed out the front door and passed the slower-moving three on the way to the car.

"Uhhh who's sitting here?"

"You're shotgun, Keith," Zane announced, his brother deciding to pass the other two and make his way to the driver's seat. "I'll be in back with Kira. Can you call ahead and let the hospital know we're coming?"

"What, call 911? I thought this wasn't an emergency."

"They have a non-emergency number," Marcus said, sliding in and starting up the car. "And what about Kira's people, can you directly call them?"

"I don't know -"

"Here, Keith," Kira said as Zane opened the curbside back door for her, the Vulpix stretching forward into the front seat with her phone in-hand. "My doctor's number is in there."

"Oh, uh, okay," Keith stammered, taking his sister's phone uncertainly, clearly unsure of exactly how this upcoming phone call was going to go down.

Marcus helped talk Keith through the call as Zane simply put his attention to Kira and making sure she was as comfortable and as calm as possible. She was doing fairly well, taking slow deep breaths and squeezing Zane's paw with each contraction. About two thirds of the way to the hospital, though, Kira gave an uncomfortable "Oh..." and started shifting her hips a little bit.

"What? Something wrong?" Zane asked, looking between the fire-type's face and belly.

"It's kinda..." the Vulpix began, trailing off and looking, not at her belly, but more past it, between her legs. Zane waited as Kira scowled a little bit. She looked up at Zane, then at the two other guys in the front seat, both of whom seemed to have an ear her way but otherwise were not looking. Whether it was a sense of relative privacy or just a built-up lack of modesty, Kira gave a little grunt and pulled open the front of her pants even as she leaned against Zane.

"Y- your water didn't just break, did it?" the Electrike nearly whispered.

The golden Vulpix's nose flared a little, her lips wrinkling a bit as she let the front of her sweats snap back up against her. "No... different but also expected kind of discharge, though."

"That sounds vaguely disgusting," Keith commented from the front seat with an emphasis on the last word, the red Vulpix done with his phone call.

"You're not wrong," Kira replied flatly, clearly somewhat disgusted herself.

Zane was silent for a moment, then leaned in and whispered "Dare I ask?"

"Well, you juuussst diiiid," Kira cooed devilishly, apparently taking perverse enjoyment at the opened opportunity. "See, you gotta keep the womb sterile, so you have to seal it from the outside world... You basically get a bloody, mucus plug forming all up in you that has to break at some point!"

"T.M.I.!!" Zane groaned, shuddering a bit but, to his credit, not pushing his girlfriend off of him.

"They call it the "bloody show"... Mine's a little soupy, a little chunky..."

"I said - !"

Zane was cut off suddenly as the car gave more than a little jerk, Marcus laying on the horn a moment later. "Learn to drive, asshole!" he barked at the baby blue convertible streaking past just in front of them, flashing a middle finger before resuming. "Sorry about that, guys. We're almost there, by the way."

"No worries; thank you so much, Marcus," Kira said appreciatively before grimacing and squeezing Zane's paw as another particularly strong contraction hit.

"Seriously, don't mention it," the older electric-type brushed off, "this was an absolute given as a contingency plan in case neither of our parents were available. Even if I had classes on Fridays I would've skipped today."

"Still very considerate of you," she replied through clenched teeth, panting a little.

"Breath," Zane reassured again, rubbing her shoulders.

Two minutes later, Marcus found a parking spot relatively close to the main entrance to Hassenburg's main hospital. He offered to carry Kira in, which she protested, but under insistence from all three guys around her, she gave in allowed herself to be carried from the car to the lobby. As they were walking through the front door, they heard two people simultaneously call "Kira!" in surprise.

Laine and Kenneth has just come out of one of the hallways, the Houndoom supporting his wife as she carried a bundle in her arms.

"Dear, don't rush!" Kenneth chided as Laine tried hurrying over to the four kids, which was somewhat unnecessary to say since the Mightyena was still a little weak and not moving quickly herself anyway - though even the Houndoom clearly was trying to close the distance faster than a walk would do.

"Oh, geez..." Kira mumbled, hiding her face in her paws both in embarrassment and in an effort to not see the Clarke's natural child.

"Are you okay, hun?" Laine asked, concern very clear as the Clarkes joined the kids walking up to the front desk.

"Yes, I'm - mmph - fine..." the golden Vulpix mumbled quietly, holding off another contraction. "Just early..."

"She woke up at 1:30 in early labour," Zane chimed in, one hand getting squeezed, explain both to the Clarkes and to the Sylveon nurse at the front desk "and in the past half-hour or so we think she's gone into active labour."

The desk worker instantly started typing, asking "Name?"

"Kira Sune," a couple voices answered in unison.

"Okay, I've got your file here; someone will be down shortly. How early are you?"

"About five weeks..."

"Okay, not too bad... Who all do you have here?"

"Her brother, her boyfriend and his brother, and her kit's adoptive parents," Zane quickly rattled off.

"Can you not walk?" Laine whispered to Kira, worried.

"I'm fairly certain I can, but these three insisted I was carried," the golden Vulpix grunted back quietly as Zane and Keith helped get the little bit of vital paperwork out of the way, with a little adult supervision from Kenneth.

"Ah, I see... Walking around usually helps distract from the contractions."

"I know, I know - in fact, put me down," she said, directing the last bit to Marcus, then more forcefully (as it was directed through the beginning of another contraction) "Put me down!"

"Oh oh okay," the Manectric said quickly, a little surprised as he had been focused on the front desk more. "If you want." He lowered Kira, very gently setting her feet down on the ground as Keith and Zane each tried taking one of her hands, which she brushed off. Marcus lingered a moment before completely letting her stand on her own weight. She held her arms out slightly for a moment as she settled herself, taking a deep breath or two before giving a determined nod.

"Okay, if all - mmph - the paperwork is taken care of, does that mean I get to go to one of the birthing suites nnnnow?"

"Someone from the maternity ward is coming down to escort you up there now," the Sylveon desk nurse said, somewhat apologetically. "I've included the labour signs you're already showing on the memo, but a nurse will still do a full check of your vital signs and such just to get a really good grasp of where you are in labour."

"Ugh, okay..." Kira grumbled, wincing a little bit before she started pacing.

"Don't worry too much about it, Kira, it's just normal stuff and I think you've got time," Laine commented, "but it's rough, I know. Just hang in there. Do you want me coming with you?"

The Poochyena in her arms started yip-crying right at that point, though, and a male Audino nurse came up to meet them at the front desk.

"I appreciate the off-ffer, but I th-think I'll be fine with Zane and Keith," the golden Vulpix grunted, though she made sure to smile at Laine appreciatively. "You and Kent bond with your pup; I'm not (ooph) sure I'd appreciate a little pooch s-squealing all throughout my labour anyway, hehheh!"

"Um, do you have someone over twenty-one with you?" the Audino asked.

"I'm twenty?" suggested Marcus with a probably-not-gonna-fly-but-I'm-gonna-try-anyway shrug.

"I've had three days already," Laine declared matter-of-fact-ly, handing off her crying Poochyena to her husband; credit to Kenneth, he gave no complaints at all, a small smile tipping the corners of his mouth as his focus completely zeroed in on his newborn pup. Kira smiled a bit at how devoted a father he seemed to be just based that simple interaction; she guessed now that he hadn't gotten much time with his kid over the past three days - or at least not nearly as much as Laine had. The Mightyena continued "His buddies will be here soon anyway, they were going to drive us home to do things like cooking and housework for us while we focused on An- on our kid. They'll entertain him."

Kira just nodded as everyone except Kenneth followed the Audino down a hallway and up an elevator to the second-floor maternity ward. She felt a little weird about how Laine had backtracked on mentioning the pup's name. (Andrew? Anthony? Antonio? Ansel? Angelo? Great, now she was going to be wondering about it from time to time.) While she still didn't want to know much about either kid, she felt a little bad "forcing" the new mom to hold back about her newborn.

She didn't have much time to think about it, though. They met the doctor there, a Talonflame, and she took Kira into an open birthing suite to start with the basic labour checkup. She went over all of Kira's prenatal medical records and then asked her a series of questions about how her labour had proceeded thus far, which she followed with checking a few vital signs.

"Okay; pulse, respiration, blood pressure, and temperature all seem to be well and good enough. Next up would be an abdominal exam, internal exam, and urine test, if you're up for all of those."

Kira grunted through another contraction before answering "I really don't think I can pee right now, and... I'm not sure if I want anything "internal" unless it's really necessary, especially since I [i]do[/i] want Zane and Keith here with me..."

"Well, the urine test can happen whenever as long as you manage it. I don't have to do the internal exam if you're not comfortable with it, I can try to gauge how far along in labour you are based on what you're told me and your other vital signs, though checking your cervix is the easiest way to see if we really need to set you up for the delivery itself. I can definitely do the abdominal exam now, though, if you want to think about it. Oh, and while we're talking about getting under your shirt -" the Audino brought a gown in at that moment and set it just inside the door "- you should switch in to the hospital robe fairly soon."

"It's more comfortable than it looks," Laine added with a smile in an attempt to keep the mood light.

"Oh, okay..." Kira said, slightly lifting her shirt but not fully removing it. "I guess I can change when I get around to that getting that sample..."

The doctor nodded and brought her chair up next to the golden Vulpix, beginning the abdominal exam, feeling around to check Kira's contractions as well as feeling for where the kit was and if it was moving around. She then brought out a little handheld Doppler to check the baby's heartbeat.

"So your contractions are definitely coming quickly, your kid is definitely head-down and starting to descend already, so I'm guessing you're already dilating, and you've had your show, but you haven't had your water break yet, as far as you can tell?"

Kira shook her head. "No, no trickle or gush or pop or anything..."

"Right. By most of the other signs, it sounds like your body wants to give birth sometime today, but you are five weeks early still. Considering you water hasn't broken yet, I'm leaning toward giving you a tocolytic to delay the birth. On one hand, your father's not here for you right now and I'm guessing it would be better if he was, but at the same time he's not here to give permission for extra treatments, either."

"What -" Kira stopped, bending over at that moment with a particularly strong contraction, which drew Zane over to rub her back. "Mmmph - what would that all entail? Like, what are the benefits and risks and costs and - hff - all?"

"Oh, don't worry about the costs, Kira," Laine said, waving off the concern.

Kira groaned a little bit at that point, not at Laine's comment but just as the attrition of constant cramping was starting to wear down her tolerance level.

"How are you doing?" Zane asked quietly, his hand strongly getting squeezed by hers at this point.

"Alrrrright for now, I g-guess," she said through gritted teeth, "though I'm not so keen on the prospect of drrrawing this out much m-more..."

"The tocolytics will dial back the contractions," the Talonflame explained, "so it wouldn't be so bad. I'd definitely need to look in to what the proper dose for someone your age and size would be, though, come to think of it..."

"Well then - ugh - can I have some time to think about-t it, t-too?" Kira asked, suddenly standing back up on her feet to try moving around a little bit.

"If... if you want," the doctor said uncertainly, watching the golden Vulpix start pacing intensely around the room. "You should make a choice soon, though, I would advise, since I'm not sure how much time you have. In the meantime, let's at least get a blood sample, in case you need a transfusion somewhere along the process, and we can bring in an IV so it's ready in case you need it, alright?"

Kira didn't answer beyond nodding, and over the next few minutes they did the blood test and Kira changed into the hospital gown, Zane being given the job of keeping her pajamas. The doctor asked once more if the Vulpix wanted to delay things, which she again said she wasn't sure, so the Talonflame excused herself then, leaving Kira in the room with Zane, Keith, and Laine.

"How are you doing, hun?" Laine asked as she and the boys watched the Vulpix almost angrily circle around the room, grunting.

"It's getting worse," she said simply, groaning a bit. "I just - wanted to see if - I could get myself back together - mmph. I don't like the idea of delaying the prrrrocesss...."

"If it would reel back the contractions, though..." Zane suggested.

"There IS that, on top of the fact daddy's not here, but - ugh - I just like the idea of - fff - it being more natural, I guess, especially now that I'm in it, even if it is early."

"Where is he, anyway?" Laine asked. "And where's your mum, Zane?"

"Their dad is wrapping up a business trip, and my mom's out of town as well with her coworker friends."

"Just a coincidence they'd be out of town on the same day, and really bad timing for Kira to go into labour that same day..." Keith added, watching his sister a bit fearfully.

"Oh, my... I hope you called both of them to let them know the labour was starting this morning."

The young teens all had their eyes widen a bit at that, the three of them just staring at each other for a moment or two before both boys whipped out their cells phones to text their respective parents. The Mightyena just sighed and chuckled a bit at that, paw coming up to her forehead. "Oh, kids..."

Zane's phone rang a moment later, and he excused himself so as not to be too disruptive in the room itself. Keith's range right after the Electrike closed the door, which he answered right there, having a correct hunch that their father would want to speak to Kira directly as much as she could manage.

After the conversations were had, Zane came back in, giving Kira a light hug before sitting down and letting her return to pacing. Even though the four of them kept saying the occasional comment to each other and Kira's footsteps and groans also sounded, it felt like the room had fallen into a tense silence as they just waited for time to pass.

Kira eventually stopped pacing, bending over herself as the contractions became worse. She practically curled up into a fetal position while still on her feet, causing Zane to come over and kneel down next to her, rubbing her shoulders.

"Hey, hey... How are you doing?" he asked as soothingly as possible,

"It hurts, Zane," she mumbled. He could see that her eyes were screwed shut and beginning to water, making him wish he could do something to help. The contraction passed and her body relaxed a little, but she didn't change position as she simply took deep breaths through her nose, trying to keep calm and steady. A minute or so later, though, another hit, and this time she yelled aloud, causing Keith to jump a bit as she genuinely began crying.

A quick moment later, the Talonflame came sweeping back in to the room, another Audino nurse (female this time) following. "I heard a yell, is everything alright?"

"She's really hurting," Zane said, huddled around the Vulpix.

"Look, I know delaying the birth might help her and the kit," Keith interjected, "but it really seems to me like this kit wants out [i]today[/i]. Can you just get her set up?"

"I mean... I guess we can, yes, but it's not medically ideal to go through with it today, especially if her water hasn't broken yet."

"Well how late in the process can that happen?"

"Mine didn't break until as I was on the bed pushing," Laine commented, "but I know that's oddly late."

Just then, Kira yelled again, but this time there was a soft pop heard along with it.

Keith started at his sister. "Was that...?"

"Either - I'm ready for - that urine sample," Kira panted, "or - it DID - just break..."

The Talonflame rubbed her forehead frustratingly. "Well then... young ma'am, it would really be good if I could take a look at you to really see where you are now, if you'd allow it; if you really are about to deliver, we'll be looking and feeling down there anyway."

At this point, Kira just nodded. Zane and Keith helped her up on to the bed, then stepped away as the doctor got between the golden Vulpix's legs.

"Oh my - yes, this baby is coming today. No time for a urine sample now. Just take deep breaths, Kira, you hear me? Keep focused. Jackie, let's start getting this done."

The Audino quickly started bustling around the room as the three onlookers stood uncertainly nearby.

"Uh, Kira?" her brother asked after a moment. "Do you want us in here or not?"

The golden Vulpix was only able to pant for a moment or two, but finally managed to say "Z-Zane s-s-stays..." as she reached out a hand.

The Electrike quickly came over to take it, wincing ever so slightly at just how hard she grasped it. He then nodded to the other two, who quietly excused themselves, leaving just the two medical professionals and the young couple in the delivery room.

Outside, Keith and Laine met Marcus and, surprisingly, Ms. Hendershot, making the golden Mightyena do a bit of a double-take.

"Oh! Hi there, Melissa, how'd you get here so soon?"

"Kent called me not long after his buddies showed up," the Togetic answered. "She's gone into labour really early, but I figured if the birth was really happening today, it might be worth it to get as much of the post-birth paperwork out of the way as possible. Can't do everything without Howard here, of course, but still."

"Ah, I appreciate it," Laine answered, still looking uncertainly over her shoulder at Kira's delivery room door. "I hope it all goes well..."

"Me too."

"So how'd you know Howard wasn't here?"

"Marcus filled me in."

"Ah, gotcha."

"Not much else I can do in this situation anymore," the Manectric commented dryly, shrugging. "I feel a bit out-of-place at this point."

"Tell me about it," Keith added. "About all we did was get them here, and now we have to sit."

"Where did you park?" Laine asked Marcus just then while they were on the subject on transport. "I don't think you'll be here a full twenty-four hours like Kent was with me on my delivery day, but you're not in the two-hour parking, are you?"

The electric-type stared blankly for a moment as he tried to recall. "Uuhhhh... That's... a very good question. I'll be back." With that, he hurried off to go check his car.

Back inside the room, Zane was patiently getting his hand crushed as the doctor and nurse helped Kira deliver her baby. The Electrike wasn't keeping a good sense of time, just whispering in Kira's ear after each big push and repeating any announcement of progress from the doctor. He wasn't even really processing what was being said as his kit was being born - it felt like an oddly out-of-body experience for him to be in the room helping someone give birth.

After what seemed both like an instant and an eternity, Kira let out one last, loud cry and then a deep, centering breath as her body lost all of its tension, accompanied by the doctor saying "There, I think that's - yes, the kit's sliding the rest of the way out!" at which point said kit started giving occasional little whines. "Jackie, get this kit toweled off, I've got the clamp and scissors over here."

"Yes, Dr. Everdeen!"

"Clamp and scissors?" Zane asked uncertainly, processing events a little bit.

"For the umbilical cord, sweetee," the Talonflame said calmly. "It doesn't break on its own, so we do it with sterile utensils after a minute or two. Jackie, let them know we'll probably need one of the SCBU stations instead of a NICU station."

"...hhhhuh?" came a weak question for Kira, the Vulpix still panting a little and not entirely conscious.

"Is that bad?" Zane clarified for her.

"No, it's good, at least from what I can tell at first glance" the Talonflame said while cradling the newborn. "Skipping the intensive level three care unit for the more basic level one care unit. For being five weeks early, this kit looks mostly healthy, though definitely small and having a slight bit of trouble breathing - understandable, with the lungs being one of the last things to develop fully."

"....ooohhh thank Arceusss..." Kira wheezed, head lolling to the side a bit.

"Now, stay with us, Kira, you've still got five to twenty minutes for the afterbirth." The Vulpix gave a weak nod as the kit's yipping became a bit more insistent. "There, there, little one," the flying-type cooed, "We're gonna get you cleaned up and warm and on your own soon enough. Jackie, clamp please?"

Zane made an effort to look just at Kira's face from that point on, both because he didn't want to see the kit in general and because he was already getting a little queasy thinking of what "clamping and cutting" the umbilical cord would be like, considering he knew it wasn't a thin little thing and had a fair amount of blood in it.

The newborn Vulpix kept crying, but after a minute or two more, Jackie took the kit out of the room, presumably down to that SCBU thing for warmth and a little extra oxygen. Zane, of course, stayed with Kira while Dr. Everdeen started talking her through these last few minutes, how she should still be having contractions despite probably not feeling them.

Keith, having seen the baby taken out, thought it was all over and also came back in to the room, which Kira didn't notice as she just focused on even breathing. After about ten minutes, Dr. Everdeen announced that the placenta had come out successfully and whole, which she set aside. Keith unfortunately had his curiosity piqued, and he peeked at the bin - almost instantly gagging and running in to the suite's bathroom.

"[i]Boys[/i], am I right?" the Talonflame chucked as she started cleaning things up. "Anyway, excellent job, Kira. I'm going to give you an IV just to replenish fluids and nutrients, okay?"

The exhausted Vulpix just sighed and nodded, letting her head loll to the side again, this time letting herself completely relax.

Zane leaned forward to press his nose against hers comfortingly, taking his turn to squeeze her hand (lightly). "You did great, you know," he whispered to her, earning another weak but appreciative nod. "It's done now, and you'll get back to normal life soon."

"You deserve a good rest," the doctor said as she got the IV ready and took Kira's other arm. "Okay, you'll feel a light prick here..."

Kira didn't even flinch as the needle went in, though she did shudder a little bit a moment or two later. "Ooooo... That's coooolllld..."

"Yeah, it'll feel like that," Dr. Everdeen said matter-of-fact-ly. "We can't keep them stored at normal body temperature, especially for fire-types like ourselves. But it should help you feel much better relatively quickly, speed up recovery and all that. The chill might make you feel drowsy, though, but after giving birth, every woman deserves a nice sleep, so it works out. Any more questions before I leave you two - er, three - alone?"

"mmmmmmyeaahhh... So I'm okay? Nothing I nnnneed to be worrrried about for myself?"

"Nope! As I said, excellent job. Very little blood loss overall, and you seem to be holding up well, so unless you feel like you've pulled something or you have something else internally that just feels off, I think all you need now is a little R&R and you're good to go?"

"Anything that feelllssss off, aside from feeling like aaaahh deflated balloon?"

Both Zane and Dr. Everdeen gave a little huffing chuckle at that. "Comes with the territory, dear. Rest up!" And with that, she excused herself.

Keith opened the bathroom door the instant after the main door had shut behind the Talonflame. He didn't look green at all, though his inner ears seemed a bit redder than normal. Zane just sent a teasing smile his way, shaking his head a bit as the other Vulpix approached Kira's bed.

"So that's that, huh?" he asked.

Kira let out a sigh. "Seems so. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but kiiiinda hard to believe it's over just like that."

"It's been a weird semester, that's for sure," Zane said. "Almost so surreal, kinda hard to believe it happened at all... Though I can't speak for you," he added.

Kira smiled and slowly shook her head. "We'll see... I would nnnot be sssurprised if it faded into jussst a story..." She yawned then. "Geezzz, that really does feeeel cold..."

Ignoring a bit of a glare from Keith, Zane hoisted himself into the bed next to Kira. "That help with the chill?" he asked, earning a tired giggle from her. "Relax and take a nap, I say; get some well-earned beauty sleep, especially after waking up last night."

Kira yawned again before weakly asking "How muccch of a wreck do I look like rrright now?"

The electric-type kissed her forehead. "A stunning, beautiful mess."

"[i]SO[/i] mushy..." Keith grumbled as he excused himself.

---

Marcus and the Clarkes were waiting outside neonatal care unit, looking in at one of the warming cribs there.

"Blue blanket. So that's my nephew, huh?"

"Yeah..." Laine responded, though the awe in her voice clearly showed where her focus was.

Kenneth added "Well, Marcus, I know Kira and Zane aren't interested in know much about him after today, but you sound... contemplative. Reflective. The agreement Melissa has helped us draw up didn't really say anything about you or Keith; are you interested in hearing from us occasionally?"

"I don't know?" the Manectric responded fairly quickly. "On one hand, it's definitely all that more real to me now... I'm an uncle. That feels so weird to say. Kinda makes you want to take up the mantle... On the other hand, I don't think it would necessarily be the best idea for me to know stuff while still living under the same roof as Zane... I couldn't guarantee that something might let slip on accident."

"That is a good point," the Houndoom admitted, bouncing on his feet a little as he held their Poochyena. "What would you say to getting a picture by e-mail each Christmas or so?"

"That would work, I guess," Marcus said, all the more contemplative. "Just a picture, once a year, Zane and mom not seeing it..." He was silent for a moment. "Yeah, I think I like that."

"We'll give you our e-mail, then, we'd love to share," the Mightyena added, going over to her husband to take her turn with her newborn pup.

A minute or so later, Keith appeared, taking one glance at the window they were standing in front of and quickly retreating to a bench slightly back in the hallway, saying "No, don't wanna know, and too much cute anyway."

That got a chuckle from the three older Pokemon, who took one last look into the neonatal care unit before wandering down the hall to gather around where Keith was sitting, the four of them just starting in on some small talk, eventually rejoined by two of Kenneth's friends. The Clarkes assured everyone they would be back tomorrow to check in on Kira and the new baby Vulpix, then allowed Kennth's friends to drive them home, leaving Marcus and Keith sitting patiently in the hallways between the maternity ward and the neonatal unit.

As the Clarkes were leaving the hospital, they were almost run over by a frantic Mr. Sune.

"Ahck! Oh, geez, sorry Kent," the Espeon sputtered rapidly as both fathers re-steadied their feet. "Um, you two wouldn't happen to know what room Kira's in and how she's doing, would you??"

"She's fine, Howard," Laine said warmly, "she delivered a relatively healthy kit a little while ago, and Keith told us she's sleeping now."

The psychic-type just stared at her for a minute as his mind spun down from top gear to process the information. Finally, he let out a deep breath and relaxed a bit, bowing his head to regain composure before speaking up again. "Oh, thank God... When Keith called, I was just finishing up brunch, and it was too late to find an earlier flight back..."

"Seems like you've been a nervous wreck ever since!"

"Just about," the Espeon panted. "So Kira and the kit are both fine?"

"Yup! The baby's on some light oxygen and warmth but otherwise healthy, and Keith said she seems exhausted but no complications. I think Zane is still in there with her. Maternity ward room G, by the way. I was in there with her through most of the labour, but she sent me and Keith out right before the delivery itself."

"Gotcha."

Kenneth added "Keith and Marcus are waiting in the hallway between the maternity ward and the neonatal care section. I feel a bit sorry for Marcus, the kid's still in his pajamas. I guess Keith did call him before he or Zane had left for school..."

"Oh, geez," the Espeon chuckled, shaking his head. "Well, I guess I can go relieve him of his duties as being the responsible adult, then. As much as I know I liked wearing pajamas all day in college, hanging out on campus is a lot different than being out in public and surrounded by professionals and strangers all the time.'

"That it is!" Laine laughed. "Anyway, we're going to be headed home for now, take little Anthony here home," she said as he bounced the drowsy Poochyena in her arms. "You might actually find Melissa around here somewhere, Kent called here while I was in the labour room with Kira, so we've already got some paperwork out of the way."

"Ah, okay, I'll keep an eye out," Mr. Sune answered. "Take care then, you two - er, three!"

"Will do!"

The Espeon, no longer in a rush, checked in at the front desk as he was supposed to do before heading upstairs to find people. He chatted with Keith and Marcus for a while before convincing the Manectric it was okay for him to go home and get back to his own thing. Before he left, though, the electric-type made sure to text his little brother saying Mr. Sune was taking over - and then he texted his mother and Sam as well, the former to keep her "in the loop" and the latter because he assumed she would like to know about her "little sister".

---

Zane's mother was back from her trip and with Zane, Keith, and Mr. Sune Sunday afternoon as they were signing Kira out of the hospital, the Manectric continuously peppering the Vulpix with questions and comments and advice and general doting.

"And I'm so glad to hear you're doing so well already! I was down for the count for nearly a week each time, my poor mother having to come help me out... At least Marcus was already old enough to also help with Zane. Have you had lunch yet Kira? It's on me!"

"Yes, Ms. McKenzie, I have - I'm fine, thanks!" the Vulpix said as she leaned on Zane a bit to aid in walking out.

"How about a big thing of ice cream, then?"

"Ooo... That [i]does[/i] sound really good right now..."

"That settles it, then, we'll swing by FC Frozen Custard on the way home. And we can hit the grocery store to stock up your freezer for the week, too!"

"Right, the week..." Keith said, shaking his head. "We have to go back to school tomorrow, huh Zane?"

"Yeah... That's gonna feel so weird after this weekend!" the Electrike said.

"It certainly has been rather eventful," Mr. Sune added, patting his son's shoulder. "At least we can be thankfully everything's gone so smoothly."

"Very!" Ms. McKenzine affirmed as they left the building and headed out to their cars. As they were getting settled, they saw the Clarkes park and get out of their car.

"Oh, hi Laine! Hit Kent!" Kira yelled, jumping back out of her car to wave!

"Ah, hi Kira! Heading home?" the Mightyena called back.

"Yup! Clean bill of health. You picking up the kit?"

"Yup! Didn't need much help at all, from the sound of it. Thanks again - to all of you - for helping us make our family!"

"No problem!" the Vulpix responded brightly.

"Speaking of, where's your first little one?" Mr. Sune asked.

"Oh, our pup is back home with some of our friends from back in the apartment," Laine explained. "We thought it would be best to move him around as little as possible."

"Besides, we already broke one of our two carseasts..." Kenneth explained looking a little guilty. "My bad on that one. Point is we can only transport one baby at a time right now unless we're holding them directly. That's number-one priority for this week, I think."

"Ah, gotcha," the psychic-type nodded. "Well, enjoy!"

"You certainly look quite happy already, if totally exhausted!" Ms. McKenzie added with a smile.

"Oh, of course!" Laine exclaimed with a little laugh. "Again, thank you so much! Best way to lose sleep ever!"

"Spoken like a true mom! Take care!"

"Okay, you too! Thank you again!" the Mightyena called back before she and her husband headed in to the hospital again.

Kira sighed a bit as the five of them piled in to her father's van.

"What's up, Kira?" Keith asked as they started driving off to get that ice cream.

"I dunno, I just thought..." She looked up between Keith and Zane, forming the words. "It was kinda coincidence that we ran in to them just now anyway, but that was probably the last time we're going to interact with them until their kids are in middle school themselves, wasn't it?"

"Oh..." Zane muttered as the thought hit him as well.

"I mean, that's exactly what we wanted, but... Still odd to think someone's gonna drop out of your life just like that."

"Yeah... Well, we're going to be dealing with a lot of odd shifts "back to normal" now, huh?"

"Guess so..."

The kids were quiet for a moment before Keith asked "So, Kira, you gonna come to districts? Coach sent me a text yesterday saying Zane and I got singles wildcard berths."

The golden Vulpix chuckled. "Wouldn't miss it for the world."