Serene Adventure Baby Stories

by Brendan Aurabolt

Category: Young Adult

Rated: K+/PG-13

Overview: Angelisa's school assignment is simple enough: Ask a mother she knows about the day they gave birth. The problem is all of the mothers she knows are anything but simple!

A/N: And here we have my first-ever Mother's Day special. This will be VERY short since I wanna do all of these in a couple days' time. The first chapter will cover Ann's first birth, the next Celes' second birth, the third Aurina's and the fourth Mariko's (the latter two not touched upon in the new versions of my stories). The timeline is sometime between the new Origins stories and the new As Life Goes On stories, none of which I've written yet. Consider this a nice glipse into what'll come in a few years for some of the characters. Each story will be told from the point of view of the person being interviewed.

XxX

Chapter 1: Ann

XxX

I'd just finished putting away the leftovers from dinner when Angelisa came back downstairs. "Mom, can I ask you something?" She said.

"Sure." I replied, turning to her.

"What's giving birth like?" she asked. I was so surprised by her question I dropped the plate I was holding. It broke into pieces the moment it hit the floor.

"Wait, what?" I finally managed to say.

"Everything ok in there?" I heard Ted ask from the living room.

"We're fine!" I replied before returning my attention to Angelisa. "Didn't we already have this conversation when I was pregnant with Nick and Alana? Is this for school or something?"

"It's my social studies assignment." she explained. "My teacher asked me to interview a few people who've had children and ask them about their own experience giving birth."

"Is this teacher a man or a woman?" I asked.

"Mrs. Swann is pregnant with her first child." Angelisa replied, adding "I figure she wanted to indirectly ask the experts in preparation for her own experience."

"I see." I said after thinking for a moment. "Ok, tell you what. I'll prepare some tea. In the meantime, wait for me in my office."

"Sure." she replied before walking off. As I put the kettle to boil, I couldn't help but think back to the day I gave birth to Fin and Katrin...

XxX

"The fire's out and Ed's got the first watch." Tom said as he put the fire bucket next to the campfire.

"I thought there was nothing dangerous around here?" I asked.

"Not for animals but people." Ted explained. "There's been a report of a theft at one of the campsites not far from here. Tom and Ed are both licensed to carry guns and I told them they can bring them."

"Next thing you know, you're going to tell me you brought your swords." I said.

"Actually, I did." he remarked, adding "They're in the cabin and-"

"I think I'll go to bed now." I said, not giving him the chance to finish. I went inside and changed into the sweat pants and T-shirt I brought with me to sleep in. I would have brought my maternity PJs but I didn't see the point in bringing them only to struggle to take them off if I needed to get up in the middle of the night to use the toilet. Once I changed I climbed into my bunk, lay down and made myself comfortable. That was easier said than done knowing I was on the verge of giving birth to twins.

"Ann, have you gone to sleep?" I heard Tom ask from the door.

"Not yet." I replied without moving.

"Sorry." he said as he came inside and let the door close. "I just wanted a moment of your time if that's ok." This got my attention. I slowly sat up and eased myself to the edge of the bed, dismissing Tom's offer to help as I stood. If I could do a backflip and a handstand while pregnant, I could stand up on my own. I walked over to the door and locked it, giving the two of us some privacv.

"What's on your mind?" I asked Tom as I turned to him.

"How'd you know I wanted more than a moment?" he asked in surprise.

"I'm not stupid, Tom." I replied as I walked over to him. "Ever since this trip started, you've gone out of your way to try to get me alone with you. I figure if you kept trying to talk to me alone, it has to be something important to you. Since Ted hasn't kicked the door in by now, I'm not worried about what you have to say."

"You promise you won't get mad?" he asked after a moment.

"Whatever it is, I promise." I replied as I looked him in the eyes. "Just tell me."

"I just found out me, Ted and Ed are brothers." he replied, adding "We all have the same father."

"What?!" I exclaimed in surprise. "I'm shocked but I don't see why that would make me mad."

"That's not all." he replied before lowering his voice to a whisper. "I'm in love with you." To my surprise he suddenly grabbed my arm, pulled me close and kissed me on the lips. I was so surprised I almost forgot to slap him. Almost.

"Even if Ted were to die tonight," I said to him, pointing to my belly. "My heart would belong to these kids. You had your chance when I was in high school before I made up my mind. Ted took the chance and you didn't. It's nothing personal. Now get out before I change my mind about not sending you to the moon."

"I'm sorry." he replied. "I knew you'd turn me down but I just needed to get that off my chest. Now I can move on. Sorry for kissing you like that." Without another word, Tom unlocked the door and took off. When I reached the doorway, Ted was standing in front of the extinguished campfire.

"What happened?" he asked me.

"Nothing worth talking about." I replied, sighing. I suddenly felt a sharp pang coming from my belly. I rubbed the spot but the discomfort did not go away.

"You ok?" Ted asked as he walked toward me.

"I don't know." I replied as I felt one of the babies shifting position. "Something feels wierd."

"Try to get some rest." he said. "We'll head to the hospital in the morning. In the meantime, I'll wait out here until Tom comes back. I don't want Ed to accidently shoot him or anything."

"I'll try." I replied before returning to my bunk. I could feel the babies moving around and realized they were getting ready to enter the world.

"Please, not now." I whispered as I rubbed my belly. "I'm not ready yet." I closed my eyes and tried not to think about it but the more I tried, the more I realized I was going to give birth very soon.

XxX

"Sorry, that took longer than I thought it would." I told Angelisa as I set the teapot down on the table in my home office.

"It's ok." she replied, adding "I uh...never even knew the woman who gave birth to me. Even though she was used to give birth to me and Zenith I know she loved both of us. If she didn't, I don't think we could have been born."

"Funny you should say that." I said as I smiled. "Ted told me the same thing on the day Fin and Katrin were born. My first pregnancy was high-risk because of my poor health so everyone was already worried about me. I went through alot just to have them."

"Do you mean because of your powers going out of control?" she asked.

"Oh, that was the easy part." I replied as my mind wandered back to that day again. "Giving birth almost killed me."

XxX

After twelve hours of hard labor. I felt the first baby's head in the birth canal. I would've been fine with the pain I was in if it hadn't taken me twelve hours to get to this point and on top of that, I was giving birth at our campsite. "The first one's coming and I'm exhausted." I whispered to Ted. "I can't. I don't have the strength to do it. I..." I could feel my strength fading. It would have been one thing if I was in a hospital but we weren't in a hospital right now. I only had two choices: Give birth and then die or die trying.

"What do you want to do?" Ted asked me.

"I want you to promise me something." I replied as I felt tears welling up. "No matter what happens, promise me you'll keep living. Promise me."

"Not yet." he replied. "You can't die yet. I'm prepared for that but I'm not prepared to bury our kids with you. Ask me again once they're out."

"I might not live long enough to ask again." I said as I looked into his eyes.

"You will." he replied. "I wouldn't have fallen in love with you if I thought for a second you'd give up this close to the finish line. You're welcome to die after you've met our childen. What's your answer?" I looked him in the eyes and knew he wouldn't allow ne to give up this close to the end. I grabbed one of his hands and pressed it against my belly.

"Whichever comes out first, I hope they're as strong as you and as passionate as me." I replied. "Let's do this." With that, I began to push. I was stood leaning against my bunk with my pants off. This made labor much easier than if I'd been lying on my back. Gravity would do most of the work. Ted knelt next to me waiting for the first baby to emerge.

"I can see the head!" Ted exclaimed. "Come on Ann, you can do this!"

"Get a towel ready." I reminded him as I kept pushing. My heart felt like it was about to burst but I knew I could not stop. I kept going until I felt the baby's shoulders emerge from within me. Ted reached up and gently eased the rest of the baby out.

"It's a girl." Ted announced as he began to clean the baby off. "The first one's a girl!"

"What should we name her?" I asked. "Why don't you decide?" He thought for a moment.

"I have no right to complain given you're about to give birth again." he said as he held the newborn girl. "Katrina. Katrina Toss. Or Katrin for short."

"I love it." I whispered. "It's a perfect fit."

"And if she doesn't like it, she can change it when she turns 18." Ted joked. I could only smile. I would've laughed if I wasn't so sore and knew I was about to have one more baby.

"She has my hair." I said.

"And my eyes." Ted added.

"Wow...I can't believe I gave birth to such a beautiful baby." I said as Ted held her. I felt tears sliding down my face. I reached over and kissed her gently on the forehead. "I love you." The contraction I suddenly felt reminded me of the other baby waiting to be born.

"Time for round two." Ted said as he gently put Katrin on his bunk. I pushed hard. Thankfully, the second time was a little easier. It helped knowing what to expect this time. "The head's out." Ted told me.

"I'm naming this one." I reminded him as I pushed the rest of the baby out.

"It's a boy." Ted announced as he wrapped the second baby in a towel. "He's as healthy and strong as his sister. You did it, Ann. You did it!"

"Thank goodness." I whispered as I felt the afterbirth pass from my body. "Thank goodness they're ok." The job done, my legs gave out and a slumped over the bedpost.

"You're not done yet." Ted said as he held the newborn boy in front of my face so I could see him. "He needs a name. Give him one."

"I'm too tired to think right now." I replied softly as I felt my vision begin to blur.

"Come on, you made me promise you'd get to name him." he reminded me.

"Finnaran Xavier Toss." I said as I touched the baby's hand. To my surprise, he gripped my finger. "Or Fin for short."

"I think he's saything thank you." Ted whispered, the emotion not lost on him.

"You're welcome." I said to the newborn as I smiled weakly. "Both for the name and giving birth to you."

"No kidding." Ted said as he gently placed Fin next to his sister. "Still ready to die? Can you move?"

"Of course I'm not ready to die." I replied as I closed my eyes, The tears I'd been holding back beginning to fall. "Not after giving birth to our children. It's all I can do just to talk. Ted...I don't think this body can survive giving birth again. I'm sorry. Fin and Katrin are all I can give you."

"You idiot." Ted said as he eased me onto his back, my arms slumped over his shoulders. "I don't care about that. You will live and that's all that matters. They may be our only children but you will live."

"I love you, Ted Toss." I said as I began to cry. "Thank you for loving me."

"One day, Fin and Katrin will tell you the same thing." Ted replied as he set me down in my bunk. After making me confortable, he got the twins and placed both of them in my arms. "I'm going to share the good news with the new uncles outside. I'll be back in a few minutes." That left me alone with the twins. Both of them were awake and looked up at me. They were just born and just looking at them left me speechless.

"Hi, kids." I whispered. "I've waited a long time for this day to come. All I've wanted my whole life is to have children. I didn't think this body would let me but seeing you here, I know miracles do happen. Thank you for helping me achieve my dream. Naega aneun salam gwa salang eul jalangseuleowo hal geos-ibnidaadeulgwa ttal lo dangsin-eul jegi yeosaeng-eul maengse . Geugeos-eun yagsog-ibnida ."

XxX

"That was Mother's Day 2000." I said. "I was 20 at the time. Eight years later, I gave birth to Celes on Thanksgiving Day. 16 years after that, I had Nick and Alana as you remember."

"I remember when you made that promise on the day Nick and Alana were born." Angelisa said quietly. "Did you make the same vow when Celes was born?"

"Yes." I replied. "At the time, I remember thinking about making sure Fin didn't feel left out since we knew in advance we were having a girl. I also didn't want Celes to feel left out as both the youngest and not having the same kind of relationship with her siblings they had with each other."

"I get it." Angelisa said as she smiled. "Zenith and I are twins too. We got to know each other before we were even born."

"That's right." I replied, nodding. "Fortunately, Katrin stepped up as the big sister and made sure Celes knew she would be loved. Speaking of Celes, why don't you interview her as well?"

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"If you interview two or more people, you can pick which of us you'd like to present for your assignment." I explained. "Even if you don't pick me in the end, I'll give you something to give to your teacher."

"I never thought of that." Angelisa replied thoughtfolly. "I think I will interview a few other people so I can hear their stories. It's a good thing they're all in town right now. By the way Mom, can I ask you one more question?"

"Just one." I said as I smiled.

"Knowing what you know now and knowing it could kill you, would you have another baby?" she asked, taking me off guard. I was so surprised, I almost dropped the cup I was holding. Even so, I knew what my answer would be.

"Come here." I said to her in Korean, reaching out to her. Taking her hand, I pressed it against my belly. She looked at me in surprise a moment later. "Don't tell anyone." I said, this time in English. "You're the first to know."

"I won't tell anyone I swear." she whispered as she hugged me.

XxX

And there you have Ann's flashback story. She spoke Korean at the end of the second flashback. She said "I vow to spend the rest of my life raising you into the son and daughter anyone would be proud to know and love. It's a promise." I dropped the text in Google Translate. Ann's surprise for Angelisa has two purposes, one of which I'll spoil for you now: In the Legacy Stories, Hannah has two sons. The second is fathered by Ted. I'm simply changing who the mother is.

The other reason...you're going to have to wait a few years for. Oh and by the way if you do the math, Ann was 44 when she had Nick and Alana. Now she's pregnant for the fourth time. Not bad for someone who was told early in life being pregnant would be a death sentence.

Next up, Angelisa interviews Celes. You're going to find out about Aeris in Baby of Mine (still in progress) so the next chapter will be about her secondborn child. I meant to put this out on Sunday but I started writing it late and then work kept me busy. I should have the other stories done by the end of the month.