Delivery of a gift

Laura wasn't having the time of her life, if she was honest with herself. She could hardly do anything anymore with a balloon for a stomach, and swollen feet. She yearned to dance, but all she can do is waddle. There was times that she sworn that she was having a giant for a baby. It was just... ridiculous. Tyler thought she looked amazing, Laura just told him that she was going to be fat after the birth. Just like all those pop stars these days. Maybe all the pop-tarts weren't helping. There was no way now that she was going to let her kid have pop-tarts for breakfast- only a month ago she saw the calories on those things. That was way too much for a nice, Wild Berry one.

Randomly humming, Laura shoved some saltine crackers with Nutella on them. The sweet-and-salty taste made her smile, as she dipped another cracker in the Nutella jar that was sitting on her stomach. Her stomach nowadays was a great resting place for things. Her arm, a remote, or the stray cat that occasionally comes by their house. Laura wanted to take that cat in, but she knew that they were about to have a baby that was much more important than a cat that was adorable when he batted her stomach.

Laura glanced around her home, and smiled. This was a really cute place to live. It was small, homey, and nothing too big. The admiring was diminshed when she notice the carpet needed to be vacuumed. In reality, it was only a small area, but in her mind it was very noticeable and it meant that the whole carpet needed it now.

Laura got up to go through the tiring process of getting the vacuum cleaner out. When she was almost done with the chore, Laura paused to lean against the bookshelf when she felt a shot of pain go through her back, to her lower stomach. Once the pain diminished, she went back to the chore. If that meant the baby was getting ready to come, the baby could wait for her to finish off making the floor clean again. No way was her baby coming home to an dirty home. Not in her world. The baby could also wait for her to finish off her little snack too. She needed her energy, right?

Once the chore was finished a few contractions later, Laura sighed. Should she go alert Tyler? Or just wait for her water to break? Laura nibbled on a cracker thoughtfully, frowning. Then a contraction swept through her painfully, and she grimaced. "Fine," She muttered pouting. The Squib stared sadly at her snack. They will get lonely. she will have to go take them with her to the hospital.

Something wet trickled down her leg, and got the couch wet. Oh that's nice. The couch now had to be cleaned later on. Grumbling now, Laura leaned back and yelled at the top of her lungs, "TYLER!"

He almost felt like an adult, sitting in his own room, not feeling the familiar buzz of claustrophobia as he stretched out on the bed - actually made - actually reading the words that were on the book in front of him. Although his mind drifted back to Laura ever now and again, aware that the woman was downstairs, but unable to help slight worry, he was quite content. Blissfully relaxing for the first time in what felt like his life, though he knew it was just his recent life.

Glancing at the door her frowned as he heard the vacuum start up. What was Laura doing? Surely she shouldn't be doing chores right now. The baby was almost due - she should be resting. He actually put his book aside, and was about to go tell her such things when he thought better of it. Pregnancy hadn't put her in the most rational of moods. Tyler never quite knew what would set her off, though he had a suspicion this might not be a good one.

Settling back down, he had just gotten back into his book when he heard his name, loud, louder than she'd yelled for him before. Thrown aside in a panic, he was beside her before he had even thought about what he was doing.

"What? What's wrong? Are yeah-" he stopped and his eyes widened as he realized his own stupidity - as the obvious answer came to him. "Is the baby- I mean... yer-yer-"

He blinked, brain freezing.

"Baby?"

"Nope, I just peed myself," Laura told him dryly, rolling her eyes. "Your baby couldn't wait for me to finish my snack. He obviously didn't understand that his mother needs her energy to even give birth." Laura recently came up with the idea that her baby was a male, and was going to be just like Tyler, because how active he was. Also, it just felt right to think of a baby boy in her arms. "Now help-" A contraction went through her and she groaned. Her hands clutched at her stomach and she attempted to finish was she was saying earlier. "me up."

"Wait," Laura told him quickly after. "Get the bag and stuff, put it in the car, then pick me up." Things would be easier that way. She grabbed a cracker and dipped it in Nutella. Laura closed her eyes and munched on her snack, hoping that another contraction doesn't come soon. Those things hurt- and the contractions just started.

"Oh, its my baby is it now?" he raised an eyebrow, amusement of all things, some how winning out over the panic. Of course, her evident pain during a contraction brought him back to just concern. Someone could explain to him all they wanted that this was just a natural part of the world, but Tyler would never understand why the world decided it needed to hurt so much.

He wished he could feel the pain, just so she didn't have to.

"Yeah ma'am," he gave a mock salute, giving a cheeky grin before kissing her quickly on the lips. "I love yeah, yeah know that?"

He didn't wait for her response, instead follow his orders, taking mentioned bag, tossing the thing into the back of kit's trunk, and returning to the house to grab Laura, picking up the women in his arms, as easily as he ever had.

"Wouldn't need yeah to walk unnecessarily, huh?" he grinned easily, keeping the panic at bay as he took control of the situation. Once the moment came when someone else could handle it, when he wouldn't know what to say or do, then he'd let it break free again. Setting her in the car, and grabbing the seat belt for her he frowned, held up his hand and ran back into the house. When he sat into the driver's side, he'd tossed her snack into her lap, "Ain't gunna leave without those are we?"

"Yes. Just like his daddy- can't wait for me to finish food," Laura huffed, not really caring now. All she wanted was this baby out of her stomach. So she can hold her baby, won't feel these pains, and won't have stomach that looks like there was a bowling ball in it.

Rolling her eyes at him, Laura just replied "Love ya too. Now go pack the car." She wrapped her arms around her stomach, feeling the baby move. The baby was ready to finally exit the womb. She watched him load the care, relieved that he was calm. She didn't feel the need to smack him if he panicked.

Wrapping her arms around his neck, Laura giggled. But the giggle was interrupted by another contraction. Clenching her teeth, as he sat her in the car, she glared at him. "If you ever get me pregnant again, without me agreeing too, I will make sure that you aren't capable of getting me pregnant." The Blonde waited for him to come back and awarded him with a grin.

"Get in the car and drive to the hospital. Unless you want your baby to be born in a car."

(OCC: Do you want me to start the hospital thread? Or do you just want to continue this thread, and place it in an muggle hospital?)

Tyler grinned impishly, and raised an eyebrow, "That'a'be a hella story to tell, ain't yeah think?"

He completely ignored her threat as fumbled for the keys for a moment. So his hands were shaking a bit. He was about to become a father, he figured he was allowed a bit of shock or too. Finally bringing the car to life, its automatic voice welcoming them to the vehicle - the only alure, Ty figured Karma had felt for the car.

"Hospital, yeah think yeah can get me on of those?" he asked quickly, already pulling the car into drive - a little bit over the speed limit - and the hand not on the wheel was already placed over Laura's.

"Of course Master Tyler, right away." Ty rolled his eyes at the formalities and just followed the directions Kit's GPS came up with.

He wanted to get out of this car as much for Laura as for himself. He had never realized how small it was.


[OOC - either, or. Doesn't really matter to me. Might be easier to just stay here though.]

"I don't feel like cleaning up blood off the car seat- or whatever liquid comes out when a woman gives birth." Laura squeezed his hand, while her other one stroked her stomach. She laughed when Kit called him 'Master Tyler'. "What do you think about having a car that calls you Master Tyler?" She gave him a grin, and looked at her stomach. While she complained about having a huge stomach, Laura loved having a baby in her stomach.

Though right now, she just wanted the dang baby out.



They pulled up to the emergency part of the hospital, and some nurses rushed up to Laura as she unbuckled herself and opened the car door. She wasn't going to wait for Tyler to help her out- she wanted the baby out now. She wanted to hold her baby boy in her arms and not feel these stupid contractions.

One of them helped her in a wheel chair and Laura looked around and held her hand out, signaling to Tyler to hold her hand. "I'm serious on my threat," She muttered, as another contraction ripped through.

Tyler letting the professionals do what they will, gave her his hand and only smirked in response to her threat. He was possibly playing with fire for not acting quite so contrite, but to be perfectly honest no one could deny - she had enjoyed it at the time.

Still, his concern at her pain weakened the expression in only a moment. Giving the hand he held a soft kiss, Ty proceeded to attempt the interesting task of steering the wheel chair to a directed room while keeping contact to the girl. All the while wondering if hospitals were always this tightly spaced.

Was he the only one that noticed?

The nurses helped her into the bed, and Laura watched them bustle around to give her medication, make sure she was comfortable, asking questions about the baby and the history so far in the pregnancy, and did a whole bunch of other stuff that Laura couldn't keep track of. "They sure know their stuff," She mumbled, watching the nurses.

Looking at Tyler, Laura widened her eyes. "Can you contact my family? And send a separate message for Dylan?" The squib knew how much Dylan wanted to be here to hold the baby. Frowning, she tilted her head. "And don't you want your friend, Karma, to come?" Laura clenched her jaw as another contraction went through, and it was the strongest one so far. "Oh, and Marianne!" She added, in the midst of her pain. Mari might just kill her for not requesting her.

"Looks like the baby is perfectly fine so far," One of the nurses told them happily. "There should be no problems, I think."

Laura seriously hoped the nurse did not just jinx it.

Laughing slightly, still holding on to the woman's hand - and ignore the way the walls were creeping in on him. This room was some how even smaller than the hallway, "I'd sure darn hope they do, otherwise I ain't gunna be lettin' yeah stay here."

Smoothing back her hair, his leg was bouncing slightly as he once again felt helpless to do anything. Which was why he was rather relieved to be given something to do. Swooping down he gave her a quick kiss, "You're sure you'll be alright by yourself for a moment?"

Not waiting for a response, he gave her another kiss and quietly slipped out. The room had been getting almost suffocating, though he'd have never admitted it. He needed to be there for Laura, not falling under his own problems.

Wandering into the waiting room, Ty fumbled with the required ways of contacting the required people before he managed to complete all the tasks and wandered over to get a drink for himself, and something for Laura before returning to her room once more.

"Well, if you're gonna call Karma," a voice pipped up from the hall, "You better plan on inviting me cause there's no way in hell I'm letting Karma meet the kid first,"

Rhys Haines, pale and blonde, sat across from the room, watching Tyler with his cold, red eyes. The boy had filled out a bit since last visiting his werewolf friend, his body looking older as his face remained the same. He held a magazine in one hand, ready for a wait. Rhys was never one for explaining why he was here or where he had gone, even if heartbreak was one of the reasons.

"I wanna meet little Ty first, okay?" he turned back to his magazine, "Make sure you didn't screw the kid up yet."

For a moment there was silence, something odd in the busy hospital, something unexpected. Silence was never a characteristic of any hospital Karma had ever been to, anyway, but she had bigger fish to fry. Hand-made black leather boots padded silently down the hall, dark brown hair cascaded down to her shoulders now, falling half into her face, though the scars were plain to see. The khakis that were her usual ensamble were replaced by a pair of worn black pants, a black sweater simple and elegant. Fingerless gloves of the same color adorned her hands, but her clothing was not the biggest difference about her.

Something had changed in Karma Black.

It may have been the way she walked, with purpose, as if she had a specific thing to do with each and every silent step. It may have been the way she held herself upright, chin slightly tilted upward, as if she was looking down on everyone and everything. It could have even been the semi-cold look that hid behind her every glance, as if everything from the smallest gust of wind to the person standing behind the doorway was lying to her. It could have been the way she seemed absolutely prepared to take apart every person who so much as glanced at her. Perhaps it was all of these things, or perhaps it was none of them. Wherever the changes laid, everything about her seemed to dissipate back to normal once her eyes landed on her favorite werewolf.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" She asked, standing beside Rhys as if she had been there all along. "We'd meet him at the same time." Ignoring all else, her eyes swept Tyler, searching his posture and expression for any tells. "Do you need to step outside?" She asked evenly. "Or the caf? There's food there, lots of space."

Peering into the room, she offered a small smile to Laura, leaning against the doorway and gazing suspiciously at the staff. They didn't seem too suspicious, but those were the most dangerous ones, the ones that jinxed everything and had to be... dealt with. She was almost completely sure that these ones checked out - she had been sure to check the backstories of each and every nurse and doctor in the maternity wards of the muggle hospitals around here, and she had had the ones who had... questionable pasts transferred. It was nice, what money could do.

"I brought Poptarts." She offered Laura with a grin, holding up the small package. "Figured you might be hungry."

Stopping in his movement back towards Laura's room, Ty stopped and raised an eyebrow in the direction of the boy where he lounged, "Yeah know if yeah ever left any normal way fur me to find yeah, yeah'd have been first on my list."

Leaning against the wall, he snorted before looking over his friend. He was different than last time he'd seen him, but still the same. Some part of him would always be the same, always just be... Rhys.

"Yeah must think me more talented than ee-van I do," he drawled slowly, a half smirk on his face despite the anxiety he was feeling, "If yeah think I can screw the kid up before it's ee-van born."

His thoughts were derailed slightly as Karma walked into the room. His lips quirked up slightly at the corners as he took her in. Even as he shook his head, "I'll be fine, thank yeah." The drink he had grabbed, some sort of soda, was calming him slightly. Though he had to ignore the tiny voice that was suggesting how much more relaxing something stronger would be.

"Do yeah wanna come in?" he stated, cocking his head towards the room, "Sure Laura woulda yelled up by now if yeah ain't invited." Not waiting for either of them, he offered them each a glance, attempting to convey that he wanted them to follow, then went back to the bedside, offering the ice he'd found from some nurse to the mother of his child.

"Room for one more?" Marianne peered around the corner, the only part of her visible her head. For a moment, she was almost seven again, forced to be introduced to a class of strangers. But there had been an upside to that, just as there would be one here.

Her brown eyes swept over the two individuals she could see, both teenagers. For a moment wondering if she was in the wrong place, she gave her head a small shake before ambling towards them, offering a tiny wave.

Glancing into the room, she grimaced empathetically at Laura. Though she'd never seen someone give birth - she'd been there for plenty of animal ones - she knew that it couldn't be a pleasant experience, no matter who it was.

Smiling at Ty, she murmured, "How are you holding up? You need anything? Anything at all?"

The pregnant woman watched Tyler interact with people that appeared- to muggles, if they knew the time that Ty contacted them, they would have questioned why they appeared so quickly. Looking at Rhys, she briefly wondered why the boy didn't look happy, but just wiped the thought away when she saw the poptarts. "Hey Karma," She greeted, ignoring the nurse that was timing her contractions. Laura knew soon the people will be kicked out once the actual process of birth started, but she enjoyed the company. "Can't have poptarts," She told the half vampire, upset. The squib sat it on the nightstand though. "Something about I can vomit during labor and end up dying from the vomit or something."

Laura gave him a nod, and munched on the ice. Before she could greet Mari, another contraction came and Laura groaned and clutched at her stomach. She wished that she was at St. Mungo's giving birth. The process would probably be much easier and safer, but for a muggle/werewolf and a squib, it will probably be hard to get in. Plus, Laura just preferred muggle hospitals.

"Hey," She gasped towards Mari, resisting the urge to curse at Tyler. That can be saved for later. The squib wondered when Dylan was coming, and if that he was bringing the family.

Probably though...... Laura wasn't sure how to react to this.

People started showing up. Karma, some Asian girl. They talked to Ty and Rhys seemed to fade out emotionally, sitting there still as a statue. Really, he figure the kid was be completely average, not messed up in the slightest, but... Tyler seem to miss the joke. Not that he really cared; Rhys didn't plan to stay in this place much longer anyway.

"I'm staying out here. Birth is nasty," he declared, ignoring the girls, "And I don't do well with blood,"

His eyes met Laura's and he automatically scowled before standing to face the door. "Someone get me when its over. I'm only here for morally support."

"Charming," Ondrea quipped to Rhys from her position leaning against the wall across from the room. There was a flicker of amusement in her brown eyes, very faint teasing. It was clear the vampire was not overtly fond of Laura. Not that it mattered much to Ondrea.

"I apologize for my tardiness," she continued at the same volume, knowing Ty would be able to hear her. She was dressed in her pajamas and although her hair was not rumpled, she was clearly sleepy. "A bloody prefect gave me a hard time about leaving the palace even though I had permission." Her English mildly compromised by a faint French accent from having spoke the other language almost exclusively over the past several months.

Making no move to enter the already crowded room, Ondrea breathed in through her nose to get a better feel of who all was present. "Wait a minute -" and then she did raise her voice slightly - "Professeur Delancy, qu'est-ce que tu fais ici? Je ne savais pas que vous saviez Ty ou Laura.

"Small world," she murmured to herself.

Spoiler:

Marianne smiled, taking small steps towards the woman of the hour. "You shouldn't be wasting your breath greeting me," she laughed softly, reaching over to squeeze a hand softly. "Focus on, you know, breathing. Breathing and pushing." She nodded, giving her hand a final squeeze before straightening up, smiling.

She supposed that childbirth was different with humans than animals, at least, on a technical level. But the basic principles should at least be the same.

Tilting her head slightly at the sound of her own name, she turned towards the familiar voice, offering a smile and a wave. Even if she was aware of the entire Drea and Yvette conflict, she wasn't one to take sides. It wasn't her fight, and as a teacher it wasn't her place to get involved.

"I'm a friend of Laura's," she confirmed, nodding. "It is sort of funny to think we share the same friends, isn't it?"

As more people came in, Tyler had only enough of a mind to nod at them, greet them - Marianne got a polite grin, Ondrea a grateful one - but for everything else, his mind was only on Laura. It was always on Laura, and the baby.

His family.

Everyone around him was somehow a part of a family that he had made out of the ruins of his life, and he was glad for each and everyone of them, for they had somehow made it possible for him to be here.

To be at the moment when he could start a new family, a new life. Taking the hand of the woman he loved, he responded to any of her curses and insults with only amused but soothing remarks. This was a moment he had never thought he'd witness, and now that he was here, he wasn't going to miss a moment of it.

"Breathing and pushing," Laura repeated, sighing. "Defiantly- the sooner this is over, the better." The Squib was glad that Marianne was here. Tyler and her will probably be the support and help. However, Rhys and Karma probably won't. The vampires -or half vampire in Karma's case- either didn't want to be here, or just wanted to see the baby. Ondrea was probably here just for the support and curiousity. From what impression Laura got of the werewolf, Laura liked the girl.

Laura squeezed Tylers hand. She wanted Tylers support throughout all of this- he was the most important.



It had been some long hours, and Laura was exhausted. With every push, Laura squeezed Tyler's hand, and screamed bloody murder. She was loosing too much worry. She knew it herself- and she saw it on the nurses face. The baby had to come out soon, or Laura won't have the energy to get the baby out.

Her hair drenched with sweat, and people dabbing her forehead with a cool cloth, Laura knew the nurses and Tyler was trying to make this as easy as possible. The soon-to-be mother started worrying about the baby and herself. What if the baby wasn't fine? What if... What if Laura wasn't here to help take care of the baby?

The nurse did jinx the birth after all.

Laura turned her face to Tyler. She opened her mouth, and the words intending to come out wasn't a scream or a curse. But it ended up being another scream, the loudest one yet. A fleeting emotion of pity waved through her, for the Vampires and Werewolves.

It wasn't long until the baby finally came out though. The sound of the nurses crying 'Finally!' and 'Thank God!', along with the beautiful sound of a baby's cry filled the room. Laura sanked into the bed with relief, and took several breaths.

"It's a boy," Somebody said, with a happy tone. "Let me hold him," Laura rasped, wanting to hold her baby boy. Somebody filled her empty arms with a very small figure, and Laura stared at the crying bundle of life in her arms. "Your my baby boy.... my little Henry." Then the nurse took the baby to make to weigh him and all that other stuff Laura couldn't concentrate on. They took her baby. Surely it could wait...

After everything in his being couldn't comprehend this moment, as he held the small bundle in his arms. A baby, a child, his child, his son. His little Henry. All the panic of the moment before gone in the light of what he held. They had done it, they had really done it.

Made life. And it was absolutely perfect.

"Look what we did," he murmured softly as he returned Henry once more into his mother's arms, the doctors finished with the measuring, weighing and other things that they needed to do. "Can yeah believe it, Laur? He's perfect ain't he? Simply perfect."

Brushing at the soft hair a top of the little boy's head, he brushed his lips against Laura's before grinning up at the others that were in the room or returning to it. He couldn't help it, he wished to shout it to the world, brag to every corner that he could.

Look at the wonderful, perfect life that he had made, they had made.

Marianne paced, her hands knotting together, the sound of Laura's screams echoing in her ears. She flinched everytime a cry ripped through the air. Merlin, she had a newfound respect for her mother. How she'd been able to do this not once but three - three - times was a wonder to the young woman. She'd never be able to do this.

As the sound of screams gave way to one single shrill cry, Marianne brightened. Bursting into the room, she grinned at the three of them, practically squealing. "He's so cute," she murmured, clapping her hands together. "Do you have a name?"

As the vampire sat on the roof of the building, watching his smoke from his cigarette furl into the air carefully, he heard the woman's cries echo through the walls. Fags didn't calm his nerves as much as they did when he was human, but the familiar smell and feel of rolled paper between his fingers was soothing. Even though he would have denied it if anyone had asked, Rhys needed some sort of comfort today; today was the last day he would have a family.

Ty and Laura wouldn't want him around a child. They wouldn't want some freeloader living on the couch, ruining their lives while they tried to raise normal children. Even if they didn't mind a predator around their kid, Rhys had no reason to believe he wouldn't hurt the child. Vampires weren't known for their gentle touch.

Maybe, thought the Welshman, he could travel the world. Move to China, live off the land. Find a new person to mooch off of. Hell, maybe even find someone who could actually love him back so he could stop chasing after a taken man twice his age. Then, maybe he could try and-

The screaming changed. Slightly at first, then it drifted off, as if in relief. Rhys guessed the "gift" had arrived, so he stood and smushed the butt between his heel and the pavement. Then, slowly, slowly, he headed down to greet them all again.

And, for the baby, a first hello and goodbye.

Ondrea had ducked her head at her professor's response, expression void. "Yeah, funny..." she had murmured. As a professor, the had little doubt that the woman knew she was a werewolf - it was staff business, really. She just hoped she didn't know or figure out just how she was connected to Tyler. It wasn't common knowledge that Ondrea had been the one who'd attacked him, after all. It hadn't even been reported. A double strike. Hopefully, she would just assume they knew each other through a common pack. That would be best.

After what seemed a painfully long time, during which the young werewolf had taken to pacing the corridor, Laura and Ty's child was born. Judging by his initial cries, he was healthy. Good.

Ondrea drew to the doorway, cautiously breathing through her mouth. She heard Laura name the child Henry. Henry Marks - a handsome name, really. The teen peered with wary curiosity from the door. They seemed so happy, so pleased, and well they should be.

Still, Ondrea couldn't help but wonder what the child was? Just human, or..? Exhaling quietly, the girl then breathed in through her nose.