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fraugwinska · 7 months ago

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Hey! Me again!

Could I get an Alastor x Female reader where she tells him she's pregnant, he's so stunned he thinks it a joke until she shows him the positive on the test and it shocks him to the core but after the initial shock he's overjoyed.

My dear jezebel <3 Thank you for being so patient! I took a few liberties from the ask, I really hope you don't mind! After a lot of rewrites and edits - I'm finally happy to share it with you! Thank you for the ask, my dearest! TW:Sickness&death-Light smut-Minors DNI-5.2k words

Autumn had always been your favorite season.

The most colorful of the four; from your bed you could always see various shades of red, orange, green and yellow, all mixed together to create a vibrant, warm impressionistic painting. Just looking at the bright shades outside had always made you smile.

There was also this peaceful ambiance around autumn that you could feel but not quite understand. Something so profound and yet ephemeral in a way.

"Should I close the window before I go?", Alice asked you, a sad smile on her face. Your favorite hospice nurse had spent her last shift before her holiday almost exclusively with you - somehow you both knew there wasn't much time left. The sickness that ate away at your body was unforgiving - you knew it was simply a matter of days now, and even that was generous. Alice must've sensed it, too.

"No, no.", you replied with a warm smile. "Leave it open. The night nurse can close it later."

Alice nodded, said her goodbyes and gave you a kiss on the head before exiting the room, carefully closing the heavy wooden door with a thud of painful finality. Breathing had become painful lately, but despite the sting you inhaled deeply, just to burn the smell of bristle leafs and warm wood into your memory. Right next to the memory of him.

Alastor.

Summoning him hadn't been easy, especially since you were bedridden and almost constantly monitored. Not only did you have to take special care of choosing the right night to be left unsupervised - you had to bribe Alice and make her believe it was her own idea to give you a few hours to be on your own, which you claimed to need desperately. The internet had been your biggest friend in the weeks before, preparing - you had used the time you had at your disposal to research on shady websites and occult forums who to summon, how to do the ritual and, in case he said no, which bargain to offer. And you chose Alastor.

It was the name that spoke to you the most - Unusual. Mature. Vintage. Mysterious. Powerful and yet gentle, in it's own way. 'Mans defender'. 'Avenger'. The more you read about him on dubious servers and obscure wiki's, the more you were sure it should be him. Still able to use your hands back then, in the chosen night you managed to follow all of the instructions perfectly, even while bound to your bed. When the living shadow appeared out of nowhere, twisting and contorting into the shape of a tall, handsome, dapper dressed demon, the tiny handheld radio you had in your hands slid from your weakened grip and your heart skipped a beat. As he stepped nearer, the perceived humanity of his appearance disappeared before your eyes - long, black fingers ending in red talons, small antlers sitting in between fluffy crimson-colored ears, razor-sharp teeth and blood-red irises shining with curiosity. He stopped just a foot away in front of your bed. As he began to talk, to introduce himself - as though being summoned by gravely sick human women were the norm - you stopped him with a raise of your hand, the action draining your already weakened body and mind.

"I know who you are. Alastor, the Radio Demon."

"My reputation precedes me, then!", he chimed, his voice pointed, melodic and so enchantingly and contradictorily full of life. His whole posture, his devious smile and the way his eyes glinted in the dim moonlight made it very clear that he was a dangerous creature, and yet, you felt strangely at ease.

"So, to what do I owe the pleasure of this summoning, my dear?"

You swallowed hard, knowing full well that if you wanted him to accept your deal, you needed to choose your words carefully.

"I... I am dying."

Alastor's grin twitched, but he said nothing, only tilted his head and waited for you to continue, hands folded behind his back.

"I've been sick my whole life, I...", you felt the need to explain, so that your offer wouldn't sound so... well, pitiful.

"Ever since I was born, I have been bound first to my crib, then to a bed, the hospital and now this hospice. I have never been allowed or even able to go to school, or make friends, or just... do things that children ought to do. Even though my life was always going to be short lived."

You could feel tears forming in your eyes, but blinked them away - you didn't want to cry in front of him, you felt pathetic as you were already. "I missed out on every milestone, every first experience a girl should have. First trip to a park, first day at school, first friend, first kiss, first... everything. And I'll miss out on so many more. I just want to have one normal thing, one 'first' before I die. One memory of a real and happy experience. Of something good."

"And what, pray tell, would that be?", he asked, a brow raised, his smile growing wider. He could probably hear the beating of your heart as you took a deep breath. This was it. Now or never.

"I want to lose my virginity."

The silence following your calmly stated confession was so thick that you could cut it with a knife. It took a while for Alastor to say something.

"Oh my, you really don't mince words, do you, darling?"

You shook your head.

"I have no time to waste. Every second counts."

"Believe me, little one, I'm quite... flattered that you'd go through the trouble of a summoning ritual for this... let's call it: venture. But... why me? Aren't there any men up here you would rather be with?"

"Have you looked at me?", you laughed bitterly. "I'm a sick, dying 20-something in a hospice bed. No man would ever so much as touch me. If I'd even get to meet anyone, since I can't get out of this bed anymore without a nurse. I have nothing to offer a partner anymore. No beauty, no future, not even money. I have only my soul. Please."

The last word came out as a whisper. Alastor's eyes glowed red in the growing darkness, his grin ever-present. He seemed to consider it for a moment, the sound of humming static the only sound in the room and you feared he might reject you.

"If I were to agree, would you truly be willing to pay the price for it? Your soul, darling, is a very precious thing. Do you know the implications of it's loss?"

You nodded.

"Yes. You can have it. It's not worth anything anyway."

Alastor stepped forward, his eyes locked with yours. He didn't sit down on the bed, instead he stood right beside you, bending over until his face was just inches from yours, the back of his hand lightly brushing your fringe out of your face. You could feel the heat radiating off his body, the scent of blood and something earthy, like wet soil or moss. He smelled like a forest in autumn.

"It is worth quite a bit, actually. More than you can imagine, I'd wager.", his voice was quiet, almost unfiltered and utterly beautiful. "But I can see you are dead set on it - Pardon the wordplay."

His sharp claw pressed into your skin, eliciting a gasp. He followed the curve of your cheek to your chin, lifting it to better access the side of your neck, just under your jaw. Your skin broke out in goosebumps because for the first time in your life, you felt a touch that was not clinical, not meant to treat you or wastefully bide you more time. This touch was gentle and purposeful. Sensual, maybe. A soft sigh escaped you against your will.

Alastor let out a hum that was not entirely unhappy, before bringing his face dangerously close to yours. You could feel the ends of his fluffy hair tickling your face, the tip of his nose lightly brushing against your skin.

"A happy memory, you say. One satisfying experience in return for your soul. I am certainly not usually known for my kindness, dear.", he muttered against the skin of your cheek, before turning towards your lips. So close. Your heart was beating as loud and as fast as it could, making you dizzy. "But I think we have ourselves a deal."

The golden hour has passed, turning bright orange light into fading blue to black. And the air was turning colder. The memory of that night was the only thing you thought about as you slowly felt death approaching.

The way his lips felt against your mouth, his tongue and the sweet taste he left on your lips that still lingered whenever you ran yours across them, recalling the sensation just once more. He had been gentle, patient, always asking and never assuming or forceful. He made sure you were comfortable before exploring you, careful in the places he touched, mindful in tasting you, praising you for the sounds you made. He allowed you to do your share of exploring, too, and although he wasn't human you found his body still wonderfully, beautifully male, no matter his thin, soft taupe fur and his many, shimmering scars. The memory of the moment when he had finally filled you, tender and slow, was as much sweet pain as it was blissful pleasure, and you found solace in his warmth and the steady, rhythmic pace of him moving inside you as you spilled his name, over and over again until he spent himself inside you, bodies deeply connected. It was hard for you to believe that all of it had been actually true, and not just one big fever dream your dying mind had cooked up to send you off gently when Alice woke you from your sleep later that night, wondering aloud why you didn't turn off the little, handheld radio on the floor that was still playing soft jazz music.

But the little, red and blue marks on your collarbones and the one red-and-black strand of hair you had found on your pillow were telltale signs that everything had been indeed real, and you made sure every detail was etched into your heart, into your body and into your skin. It was, and would remain forever, the happiest moment of your entire life.

'I hope my soul is worth enough...' you thought as the coldness finally embraced you, tears running freely down your cheeks now, but the smile on your face was wide and warm, and the last thing you heard before falling into your final sleep was the gentle hum of a breeze that brought in the smell of earth and rain and leaves.

Alastor had no need for sleep. He usually didn't spend his nights sitting in his favorite chair, motionless, listening to music. He was far too busy, too full of life and plans and energy to sit around and just wait for morning. And yet, there he was, sitting and brooding for the last month, every night, his ears tuned in on the low, static-y noise coming from the old-fashioned radio he was holding. A radio eerily similar to hers.

'How did it come to this?', he wondered for the thousandth time, like a broken record. 'Why did I do it?'

He couldn't fathom the reason for his actions that night, why he had given in to the strange, frivolous request of the frail young woman. Why he had agreed to take her virginity, of all things, in exchange for her soul. Granted, she wasn't the first to offer him that, not by far. But usually, the soul was the last thing a sinner offered, after a great many things of lesser value had been already offered and declined in return. It was, in essence, the most desperate measure, taken only by those who had nothing else to lose.

And yet, she had promised him her soul in the very beginning, treating it not as a valuable bargaining chip, but as an expendable object. A thing without use or worth. He didn't know what had intrigued him so much that night. She had been sickly and fragile, her skin almost translucent in the pale light, and yet there was a spark in her eye. Determination, maybe. Her voice had been strong, if quiet, and her smile, although sad, was still familiarly bright. The way she spoke and her body language had made it clear that she had been not as much afraid of him, despite her frail and vulnerable position, as she had been anxious about his response. She was clearly clever and resolute, despite her lack of personal experience. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to follow through the summoning ritual.

"I have nothing to offer a partner anymore. No beauty, no future, no money. O only have my soul. Please."

He couldn't remember a single instance where someone had begged him with the simple word please and he gave into it. And yet, he had accepted her plea - The whole of her soul, in exchange for a meager, single moment of ridiculous passion. The mere thought had repulsed him before: Body on body, blunt thumps of fleshes, debauched obscenities... it was something that had never held his interest. He felt like it was something unrefined and animalistic, something he had always regarded as unnecessary and obsolete. Until then.

Her body had responded so eagerly, so sensitive, so ready to his touches. It had been clear she hadn't lied about her virginity, and yet her eagerness, her fearlessness had surprised him. Acting solely based on instinct and the morals he was brought up with, no real experience of his own himself, he had tried to be as careful and gentle as he could, and somehow, her inexperience had made it... easier. She was not expecting anything in terms of skill, and thus he had to guide her through the process, allowing him to set the pace and giving him ample time to react to her reactions. Sweet gasps, subtle tremors, faint flushes - all of which had told him how she had felt, what had been pleasurable and what had been uncomfortable. He had been able to take his time and make sure she enjoyed herself. It had been fascinating and even... pleasurable for him, too.

Despite the obvious pain, she had kept her eyes open, watching his face intently as they connected. He had felt the warmth and the tension around him, and her little, breathy gasps had been such pleasant sounds that when she had finally found her release, it had triggered his own, foreign as it had been. She had sighed his name in pure bliss, and in that moment he had felt as powerful and as satisfied as the night he had gained his title as Radio Demon.

And when the deed had been done, the girl had smiled so serenely, he was sure he had rarely ever seen anything that could rival her in beauty.

Alastor shifted uncomfortably at that thought, trying to will away the memory and the sensation that the mere thought of her smile invoked.

It had taken a few minutes, but eventually he had collected himself and put his clothes back on. Her eyes had followed him, the spark back in them and even brighter than before, her smile not faltering even when her tired lids had drooped down, slowly lulling her to sleep. Alastor had stood there, in the small, plain hospice room, watching her for a while, a strange feeling in his chest. The deal hadn't been solidified by a handshake, her soul not yet firmly bound to him and the contract void if not officially sealed, but he couldn't bring himself to wake her. Something had stopped him.

The memory of her face, pale and beautiful, smiling so peacefully even in her slumber, made the corners of his lips twitch. She would've made a magnificent addition to his collection of souls. And yet, and yet... He had decided then and there that her soul would find its way to him, eventually. But not through the proposed deal. So, he had left, the exchange unfulfilled, the pact broken, turning on the small radio she had let slip onto the floor just as he heard her caretaker returning to check on her.

'Oh, how the mighty have fallen.', he mused bitterly, a small laugh escaping his lips.

"Alastor?"

Charlie's voice was a mix of concern and curiosity, muffled by the thick, wooden door of his room. She sounded worried, probably wondering why he had excused himself from the hotel's interactions more and more for the past weeks. He was about to ignore her, not in the mood to talk to anyone, especially not her, persistent thing that she was, but when her soft knock followed her call, his smile widened tightly and his eyes flashed red.

"Charlie, dear, I'm afraid I'm not available at the moment.", he called out, his tone a bit sharper than usual.

"Sorry, but...", the princess sounded hesitant, and he could hear her shuffle awkwardly outside. "It's just... There is someone in the lobby, wanting to speak to you. It seems... important."

He got up from his chair with an annoyed sigh and switched off the radio, straightened his clothes and smoothed out his hair and bow tie with one swipe. Whatever business matter was brought forward, Alastor didn't feel like discussing it. The smile he wore was razor sharp and dark, a result of his annoyance and brooding mood, and yet he couldn't bring himself to feign his cheery personality just quite yet. Maybe this mystery visitor would be a suitable punching bag to let off some of that steam.

When Alastor finally opened the door and walked down to the lobby next to a flustered looking Charlie, his breath hitched involuntarily and he froze mid-stride. Charlie stumbled at the sudden lack of motion next to her, the deafening static sound and the chime-like tuning of a radio startling her so much she flinched away from him.

"H-Hey Al!?", she called in shock, "Are you okay?"

He didn't move, didn't even react - his attention was solely focused on the figure standing at the front-desk, who, just a moment ago, had talked to Husker before turning around upon hearing him.

Hell kept her skin white and almost translucent in it's spite, but granted her soft, shimmering silvery fur in it's mercy. Her frame wasn't thin and frail anymore, she looked plush and healthy, soft curves where there had been nothing more than skin and bone before. Keeping almost all of her human features intact, the small, round ears protruding from her hair, the pink-tipped nose and the long and slender tail were definitely characteristics of a dormouse, their ends almost silver and soft-looking. Her eyes were of the same gentle color that he remembered, and when her lips spread into a sad, tender smile his breath was stolen away completely.

It was the same smile. The very one he hadn't been able to purge from his mind, and most likely never would.

"Alastor."

The sound of her voice, quiet and melodic as it had been weeks before, felt like an invisible touch that pulled the air out of him. Not enough to suffocate him, but he was still reeling none the less.

"So you finally succumbed, it seems..."

His usual bravado was absent, his voice lacked it's sharp, jovial tone, sounding more like he was actually talking. Charlie could do little more but watch with widened eyes, seemingly unable to fathom the scene right in front of her.

"What are you talking about, Alastor? How do you know...", the princess spoke carefully and uncertain, her eyes wandering from one demon to another, but she was quickly interrupted, not by him, but by...

"It's a long story better told another time, Miss Charlie.", she said with a genuine smile on her face, still not able to take her eyes off Alastor. She took a few tentative steps towards him, careful, but certain in her movement, a confidence about her that hadn't been there before. Her head tilted in an enigmatic way and she spoke again, this time solely directed at him.

"I'm truly sorry to impose. But I was hoping we could talk... privately."

Alastor nodded mutely, not able to think clearly, before taking a deep breath and straightening his back to tower over her once again. Husk seemed to notice his shift in composure, raising a brow when he passed him by on his way back behind the bar, noticing the strangely satisfied looking smile on Alastor's face that was as unnerving and frightening as always, but with a different tint that even Husk must've trouble placing guessing by the suspicious look that fell over the cat's face.

"Of course, my dear, my office will suffice. If you'll excuse us, Charlotte? We'll be only a short while."

He didn't wait for her response but took his guest by her arm and guided her past an astonished Husk and clearly confused Charlie, leading the girl down the hall and to his office, the air between them thick with something undefinable, and neither of them dared to speak until the heavy mahogany door fell shut, effectively cutting off all outside interference.

Her cheeks were flushed when she stepped closer towards him. The tips of his claws brushed against her fringe, following the curve of her soft ear, across the back of her delicate neck to pluck a strand of her hair, pulling it towards him and running the silky fiber between two fingers and over the pad of his thumb, bringing it to his lips with a deep, pleased inhale.

She looked up at him, her smile shy but hopeful.

"You remember me.", she said with a chuckle, her voice a bit higher, her ears twitching and her tail swaying behind her, showing her emotions all too easily. Alastor nodded, not letting go of her hair just yet.

"How could I not, dear. It's not common for me to leave a contract unsettled, you know."

"I had a feeling that might've been the case, since it took me so long to find you.", she said quietly. "So, my soul..."

"... is still yours, yes."

She wasn't looking at him, directly. Her gaze went over his suit, to his hands and cane, then back to the floor.

"Why?", she asked, a hint of confusion and hurt in her voice, her silken hair slipping from his fingers.

"Why didn't you claim it? You had every right, after all. I offered, you agreed and..."

Alastor didn't speak, couldn't speak. The answer was right on the tip of his tongue, and yet he wasn't sure if he wanted to share it. It felt... strange, and foreign, and not quite comfortable. But it was undeniably true, now - with her in front of him - clearer than any time in the last weeks in his chair, each night, in front of the fireplace.

He wanted her. Not just her soul. Her. So, he settled on silence and a half-truth, instead.

"It wasn't the right time, dear."

Her face turned to him, her eyes searching his. He felt exposed, like her eyes were piercing him.

"And now...?"

"That remains to be seen. Why are you here?", he countered, stepping back to put a more comfortable distance between them.

"I came to see you, because..." She swallowed hard, and Alastor watched her throat, the soft swell of her breasts under her modest blouse, the slight rise of her belly. "When I arrived in hell, I felt... weird. I thought it was because of all the changes, this new body and... generally being here. But it didn't go away, this.... feeling. I made friends with a lovely imp couple, they took me in after I fell. The wife, Millie, took me to a doctor because she got worried when I couldn't stop throwing up..."

Her face grew hot, a flush spreading across her cheeks, her ears folding back against her head.

"Alastor, I'm pregnant."

A loud bang rang through the hallway as Alastor dropped his cane and a deafening feedback noise filled the room. For the first time in what must have been decades, his face betrayed him completely, the smile ripping at the sewn edges as it dropped violently. He felt dizzy and his head was spinning.

"Impossible.", he breathed, the word almost getting stuck in his throat. The very notion was ridiculous, unheard of - clearly that must be a crude joke. Alastor started to laugh, though sounding not as amused and booming as he would've hoped, but more hysterical than anything else.

She stayed silent, looking at him with sad, but serious and almost pleading eyes as the truthfulness of her confession began to sink in and his laughter slowly died. He took a tentative step forward, a million questions running through his head, the sheer amount overwhelming his usually so precise mind.

"So, a month ago, it...", he stopped, feeling the corners of his mouth pull wider.

"...yes. The doctor told me there are only a handful similar cases like this known since hell was created... The circumstances are 'too specific' and it normally takes a vast amount of intimate interactions' between a hellbound sinner and a living, fertile human he said... Seems like you knocked me up with one round, buster." She wrung her hands, her smile forced and unsure. "Listen, Alastor... I know it sounds impossible. I mean, I couldn't believe it at first when he told me so I understand you can't, too... but I don't expect anything, I really don't. I just... I wanted to see you again, and-and you deserve to know, and..."

"Darling, hush.", Alastor interrupted, a sense of clarity taking hold of his chaotic mind. He had never felt a desire for a family, not in his lifetime nor in his death. Partners were liabilities and a distraction, relationships nuisances if they strayed beyond the borders of business or at the very most friendly aquaintances. He had no need for things like these in the past, looking down on people desperate to seek out partners, claiming to be lonely when in truth they were just weak or simply starving for a touch of the 'opposite sex' to make up for their own inadequacy.

Now, faced with the reality of fatherhood in a matter of minutes and the prospect of his life being bound to another - one who, undoubtedly, bore his child, no less - Alastor would be lying if he had claimed a part of him didn't absolutely reel at the prospect. A responsibility greater than his own had just fallen into his lap - a vulnerability he never asked for and certainly didn't expect.

But.

A part of him would come into the world, no matter whether it would look human, or demonic like him, or whatever strange combination of them both: This child would be proof of him. Him, not anyone else. There would be a person dependent on him for guidance and protection, a legacy he would be allowed to leave, a lineage that could one day claim that he, Alastor, had been the founding cause. His legacy. His blood and his seed had created another being against all rules and logic, an offspring, maybe a girl, maybe it would resemble him, or her, or even... his mother.

Despite the incredulity and the sheer panic the revelation brought, the longer he looked at the tiny dormouse in front of him, the more he realized how similar her traits were to his own mother's. Soft, but determined. Sad, but brave. Young but aged.

No, this hadn't been just some fleeting fling - Alastor had to believe in fate, given what she told him. There had been a reason why he didn't seal the deal that night. Why he had agreed to her request so easily. The more Alastor thought about the potential of a shared offspring, along with a loyal partner on his side, about the what-ifs and could-bes, the more appealing and pleasant the future appeared. She was carrying a being he created, one that had his essence – All the more stronger his grin widened, stretching so far it caused his cheeks to ache, but his blooming glee knew no bounds. He saw, to his own surprise, not a weakness or vulnerability.

But his greatest achievement.

With a laugh, this time sincere and booming and loud instead of hysterical, he picked her up on her waist, knocking the air out of her in a gasp, and swung her around several times.

"O-oh! Oh my goodness!", she stuttered, eyes wide and brows furrowed. "Alastor, calm down!"

"Oh, no no no, I simply can't! Dear, do you have any idea what a marvel you have wrought!?", he exclaimed in delight, setting her back down and bringing both hands up to her cheeks. "We've created a magnificent abomination!"

Her head shook as she chuckled, still nervous but with an edge of relief in her voice. "That's certainly one way of saying it. But... are... are you saying that... you are okay with it? That you..."

"What, dear?", he cooed, her big eyes shining hopefully as her ears twitched curiously. His chest swelled with affection, and he gently squeezed her cheeks between his hands.

"Does a daddy on your side scare you, darling?"

"N-No-oh."

The title invoked a peculiar reaction, and he made a mental note to use it again soon enough, as her cheeks flushed in a dusty rose. Alastor felt an unfamiliar and somehow primal pleasure at the sight of it, a surge of happiness in his chest, the warmth of it nearly too much. He pulled her face against his, smothering her with a kiss. He wasn't familiar with such embraces, but she felt like she was specifically molded to fit perfectly into him, her ears flicking with every beat of her racing heart.

There were tears welling in her beautiful eyes, and as he kissed her cheeks and brushed them away with his thumbs. Oh yes, Alastor was filled with a new kind of giddy excitement.

"Come on, dear, let's not waste time to spread the good news!", he exclaimed, unable to reign his euphoric mood, and before she could comment on his actions, he reached out and lifted her over his shoulder in one fluid movement, ignoring her startled squawk. The look of utter bewilderment on her face almost made him break out into more laughter, but he was already out the door, ready to take his child's mother, who was, without a doubt in his mind, bound to him forever with a force much stronger than any deal he could've made, downstairs to tell the news to his fellow friends, who would have no choice but to learn what a truly dangerous deal looked like.

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abbyfmc · 3 months ago

Text

Plot idea #8 (i think)

A yandere husband or boyfriend during his beloved's pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum care.

Pregnancy:

●He will always be watching you. From what you eat, to the people you interact with, if he even let you talk to other people.

●He will always do his best to make you comfortable.

●He would only let you out for medical appointments. He wants to see that both you and your child are okay, regardless of things like gender.

●He would watch your belly grow and being an overprotective yandere, he wouldn't let you make any efforts.

●They say some pregnant women have weird cravings, so if that's the case for you, he'll make sure to fulfill them to keep you happy.

●He will thoroughly inspect ALL gifts you are given, or ALL things you buy.

●His views on abortion… it depends. He would not agree to do it unless: (1) The fetus is in serious trouble; (2) Both the fetus's life and yours are in serious danger; (3) Someone else has abused you.

●Nor will it force you to have an abortion if you don't want to.

●He will make sure you eat and rest well. He will not want you or his children to suffer.

●He will shower you with pampering, but he won't let anyone else do it.

●Not to mention he would gently caress your belly, and talk to your child calmly.

2. Labor:

*Natural birth:

●At this point, you may be about 7, 8, or 9 months pregnant.

●It's quite painful, and he knows it. You knew it too, even though you tried not to think of terrible birth scenarios, and he made sure you were calm as much as possible before "that" day.

●He would be quite careful with the information you seek from the Internet, as well as from acquaintances and family (if he still lets you see them), so his surveillance increases by a thousand.

●When the time comes and you start feeling the classic pain and contractions, he is not going to wait for an ambulance.

●He would also be nervous, not to mention terrified of losing you, the baby, or both in the worst case scenario.

●He'll want to be with you at all times, but there are some hospitals that won't let the man into the delivery room (either by order of the wife or because of hospital policy), so his presence at the birth… depends.

●If he can't get in: He would be very nervous in the waiting room, only being able to hear your screams of pain and cries, at least until he gets to hear that baby's cry.

●Or maybe he'll faint from nervousness.

●If he can get in: He will try to cheer you up, although he will feel helpless at not being able to do anything more than that to take away your pain.

●At the end of it all, when the baby is born, they will be relieved that you are okay, they will come into the room to clean you up, they will bring your child to you, etc.

*Cesarean delivery:

●In this case, the appointment will already have been scheduled. He will be impatient and nervous just like you.

●When you enter the operating room, he will wait patiently in the waiting room, although inside he will be restless and somewhat scared for you.

●When this is all over, he'll be watching over you and the baby in the room, and maybe he'll drop his yandere behavior when he sees a nurse helping you.

●She will take care of you in the hospital, even helping you with the baby so you can get some rest.

●Once the anesthesia wears off, he or she will try to soothe your pain as much as possible.

●Of course he must have been scared, because he really thought he almost lost you.

●But on the other hand, he will be very happy that you are finally not only his, but that you have also given him a child. A sign of love.

●And being a yandere, he'll barely let your parents (or his) visit you and the baby.

●He won't let you do almost anything on your own; he'll help you sit, lie down, stand, eat, walk, carry your child, feed him, etc.

●Even when you sleep he will watch you both.

3. Postpartum:

●He would drive home from the hospital.

●Beforehand, he will have made sure to have EVERYTHING ready to welcome your baby home, especially the room.

●He will help you with your child's care and personal care, as he doesn't want you to lift a single finger.

●If the baby wakes up at night, he would be able to go and calm him down, change his diaper, etc. He would only wake you up to feed him.

●He would avoid any method of stress, from physical exertion to people he considers to be a nuisance to you.

●He would block calls from your work, annoying relatives, etc…; not to mention that he would barely allow visits from his parents (your in-laws) or your parents.

●He would constantly tell you how proud he is that you are his and that you have formed a family together; although he would say it with the classic yandere obsession.

●And of course he would adore his son, since he considers him to be a smaller version of both of you. He will admire the resemblance he has to you, even if it is very slight.

●He will help you with cleaning, cooking and everything in general.

●He would be capable of killing for your well-being and that of the baby. He would even kill as long as both of you are strictly protected.

-The End.

What do you think about it?

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lucysarah-c · 9 months ago

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WE NEED AN ENTIRE STORY OF LEVI AS A BABY BOY DADDY! LIKE PLEASE ITS ACTUALLY TOO GOOD 🙏🙏🙏🙏😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

PLEASEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏😭😭😭😭😭😭😭🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏😭😭😭😭😭😭

You all have inspired me to write a one-shot, so I'll post it soon. Thank you so much!

But since I'm on it, I think I'll give you a few headcanons.

In my idea, Levi didn't have many children, and while sometimes my scenarios may change depending on the situation, mostly Levi's boy would be an only child. This wasn't Levi's original idea, and I'll explain why.

Leaving aside whether in the canon period of time there are real contraceptives or not, I 100% believe Levi is a highly meticulous guy. If he needs to pull out and count days in the old-fashioned way, he will. If he has to wear condoms every single time, he will. I believe Levi would try to make sure that if he ever has a child, it would be planned, as far as is humanly possible, of course. Sometimes contraceptives fail, etc.

In my mind, I believe Levi and Y/N decided or happened to have a kid around the time before the expedition to Wall Maria. There was about half a year when the scouts waited for the correct time to do the expedition to Wall Maria. Well, I believe she probably got pregnant around that time. I believe it was a mix between Levi transitioning a lot of emotions after Kenny's death, etc., and having more free time on his hands since they weren't doing expeditions while preparing for the mission… and well… let's say they decided to go handy, haha.

With that said… I think Levi would hardly admit it out loud, but he's one of those guys who always wanted to be parents, so they kinda said, "You know what? Fuck it, if it happens, it happens," and well, it happened almost immediately. Levi hears the news around two months later, and let me tell you, this man is all over the moon. He wants to be part of EVERYTHING. For me, Levi wants to prove that he is better than the men who failed his mother and also failed him. Levi wants to prove he can be a present father.

She goes to the doctor for just a check, he wants to be there. Better keep his man informed because he would ask a million questions. He's a first-time father, and she may sneeze, and he's all worried. Levi saw too many women die in childbirth or from difficult pregnancies in the underground. He's blessed with the chance of being a father, but also terrified. Levi feels that if he loses his love just because he "grew selfish" and asked for more (aka asked for a kid), he would feel horrible.

Anyways, back in the day, men waited outside during birth, and I believe they would try to kick Levi out of the room, and he would be like, "and who is going to stop me?" He wants to be there.

Now is when his baby boy comes into the picture. I believe, and God bless the mother, he was such a healthy CHUNKY boy. He was BIG. Those kinds of kids that look so healthy but at the same time, it's like "he literally sucked her dry, that baby took anything the mother has to offer."

Like, she's too tired after childbirth, and the nurses offer Levi feeding bottles with milk to keep the baby eating while the mother rests… and the baby is EATING to the point a doctor comes, pats Levi's arm playfully, and says, "Hope you've a good salary, Captain, because that kid is going to eat like a horse."

Perhaps these are the only few times that Levi is the most excited out of the two, she's tired from all the work, and Levi is over the moon. Ah, but don't you dare to touch his baby without washing your hands. If Levi could force you to take a bath in chlorine before even getting close to his baby, he would.

Aside from that, I think Levi's baby boy that I've named in my mind "Adrien" because Y/N thinks that naming her kids with A's to match the last name, especially since Ackerman's are finally able to not be in hiding.

In my mind, Adrien inherits Kenny's height. Yes, as you heard, KENNY'S HEIGHT. 190cm (6'3"). He's a big boy. I think it's funny that all the doctors check the baby and say, "haha, he's going to be tall!" and Levi is there looking at her like "… I don't like to admit I'm short as fuck, but if the kid isn't mine you can tell me," joking obviously, lmao.

"Levi, the kid is a photocopy of you."

Adrien is an extremely playful, happy, and hyperactive kid. He's so cheerful, and it makes Levi wish his mother was around so he could ask if he was such a cheerful kid too.

Chunky fat legs running down the halls as he doesn't even speak properly, but he already knows which office is daddy's office. He loves horses, he loves playing soldier, he loves being a daddy's boy.

This is when I mention that I believe Levi having a single child wasn't his original plan. I think he wished to give Adrien a sibling to make sure he won't be alone in life if anything ever happens to him as he was. But the whole rumbling happened, and after that, Levi was too busy trying to move him and his family outside of Paradise and after that settling down, taking care of Gabi and Falcon, that well time flew, and when everything was back to calmness, haha, well let's say that Levi had to admit that the train had left the station, and his energy to go back to change diapers had kinda withdrawn, lmao.

Finally, I think Adrien was a very hyperactive kid mainly because of the Ackerman genes. He has energy, he has strength, he has the abilities. He just has too much bottled up and doesn't know how to get tired. Levi is basically running around making sure the kid isn't jumping from the roof or climbing the kitchen cupboards. He probably ends up signing him up for a bunch of activities: baseball, self-defense classes, football, triathlon.

I have a bunch of other headcanons, so let me know if you want more!"

Tags!: @nube55 @justkon @notgoodforlife @nmlkys @humanitys-strongest-bamf @quillinhand @thoreeo @darkstarlight82 @i-literally-cant-with-this @angelofthorr @aomi04 @levisbrat25 @fxnnyackerman @secretmoneybearvoid @s0meb0dy-0nce-t0ld-me @trashblackrainbow @l3visthighs @hum4n-wr3ckag3 @hannieslovebot @feelingsandemotionsnotexplored @flxrartsstuff @starrylevi @rithty @mariaace @ackrmntea @emilyyyy-08 Wanna join my tag list? Here!

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feminist-space · 3 months ago

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"Now, already experiencing the clawing pangs of contractions, she pulled out a frozen pizza and a salad with creamy everything dressing, savoring the hush that fell over the house, the satisfying crunch of the poppy seeds as she ate.

Horton didn’t realize that she would be drug tested before her child’s birth. Or that the poppy seeds in her salad could trigger a positive result on a urine drug screen, the quick test that hospitals often use to check pregnant patients for illicit drugs.

Many common foods and medications — from antacids to blood pressure and cold medicines — can prompt erroneous results.

The morning after Horton delivered her daughter, a nurse told her she had tested positive for opiates. Horton was shocked. She hadn’t requested an epidural or any narcotic pain medication during labor — she didn’t even like taking Advil. “You’re sure it was mine?” she asked the nurse.

If Horton had been tested under different circumstances — for example, if she was a government employee and required to be tested as part of her job — she would have been entitled to a more advanced test and to a review from a specially trained doctor to confirm the initial result.

But as a mother giving birth, Horton had no such protections. The hospital quickly reported her to child welfare, and the next day, a social worker arrived to take baby Halle into protective custody.

...

To report this story, The Marshall Project interviewed dozens of patients, medical providers, toxicologists and other experts, and collected information on more than 50 mothers in 22 states who faced reports and investigations over positive drug tests that were likely wrong. We also pored over thousands of pages of policy documents from every state child welfare agency in the country.

Problems with drug screens are well known, especially in workplace testing. But there’s been little investigation of how easily false positives can occur inside labor and delivery units, and how quickly families can get trapped inside a system of surveillance and punishment.

Hospitals reported women for positive drug tests after they ate everything bagels and lemon poppy seed muffins, or used medications including the acid reducer Zantac, the antidepressant Zoloft and labetalol, one of the most commonly prescribed blood pressure treatments for pregnant women.

After a California mother had a false positive for meth and PCP, authorities took her newborn, then dispatched two sheriff’s deputies to also remove her toddler from her custody, court records show. In New York, hospital administrators refused to retract a child welfare report based on a false positive result, and instead offered the mother counseling for her trauma, according to a recording of the conversation. And when a Pennsylvania woman tested positive for opioids after eating pasta salad, the hearing officer in her case yelled at her to “buck up, get a backbone, and stop crying,” court records show. It took three months to get her newborn back from foster care.

Federal officials have known for decades that urine screens are not reliable. Poppy seeds — which come from the same plant used to make heroin — are so notorious for causing positives for opiates that last year the Department of Defense directed service members to stop eating them. At hospitals, test results often come with warnings about false positives and direct clinicians to confirm the findings with more definitive tests.

Yet state policies and many hospitals tend to treat drug screens as unassailable evidence of illicit use, The Marshall Project found. Hospitals across the country routinely report cases to authorities without ordering confirmation tests or waiting to receive the results."

Read the full piece here: https://www.themarshallproject.org/2024/09/09/drug-test-pregnancy-pennsylvania-california

#failure in medicine and social care #drug testing false positives

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ladylooch · 9 months ago

Text

Love & Fairness -[Nico Hischier]

A/N: OPE! I LIED!!!! We do have a full fic for Sunday! The Nico and Lexi angst I've been hinting at for months from that original lil blurb. Hope you all enjoy a little roller coaster for our perfect parents.

Word Count: 4.3k

Timeline wise: Nico and Lexi are married. Lucie is between 1-2. Mack and Sophie are not born.

The night is coated with cozy nostalgia in a dimly lit Hoboken restaurant. Lexi sits with her former nursing coworkers, discussing the most ridiculous patient and staff stories from the hospital since the last time they all connected. Lexi is embarrassed to admit that she hasn’t been able to attend one of these meet ups since Lucie was 3 months old. Her daughter is over a year old now. But life has been hectic with her and Nico’s new addition, plus the long stretches of hockey the Devils have been playing.

It’s all worth the sacrifice to watch Nico hoist the cup above his head. Soon, Lexi thinks. Soon he will reach his dream and then maybe the pressure can ease a bit.

With two fingers, she twirls the stem of her now empty martini glass as Gretchen whines about the limited available to take time off with how short staffed the hospital is.

“We need more people. They can’t even find nurses through the program Lexi came here on.”

“Really?” Lexi’s eye raise in surprise. “It was so competitive when I started there.”

“The pandemic has thinned the desire. Plus working conditions are awful.” Lexi nods. The circumstances weren’t great when she left either.

“Honestly, even if we could find part time people it would help alleviate the pressure.” Ashley mutters, throwing her curly red hair back over her shoulder. The table pauses. Then collectively, they all glance Lexi’s way, including Shawna, who had been relatively quiet.

“What? Me?”

“You were just talking about how boring and mundane your life has been. Maybe… coming back part time would help fulfill your sense of purpose.” Ashley shrugs.

“Lex, things haven’t been the same since you left. We could really use your sunshine right now.” Gretchen adds on.

“I am raising my daughter. That is my priority.” Lexi hears herself say the same thing her and Nico have talked about since Lexi became pregnant. But inside her body, a bubble of hope and excitement fills her chest. It starts as a tiny, translucent circle and begins to grow the more the two women encourage her to reconsider.

“Raising Lucie is incredibly important.” Shawn agrees. “This wouldn’t detract from that, especially on a part time basis. Think of your immediate impact! You haven’t been out of the industry that long. All your certifications are still relevant. You could easily slide in a few days a week, for 3-4 hours at a time. They’re even allowing part-timers to build their own schedule from week to week. It would be the perfect fit for you!”

“And they have daycare in the hospital now! You could bring Lucie there. Socialization is so important for babies. You could have it all right there rather than scheduling a million mommy and me play dates.”

Lexi stares at her three friends in front of her, a slight smile on her face. The gears turn in her head, consider, contemplating, feeling excited at the prospect of returning to a profession she spent so many hours of her life working in. But the though of Brady looms over her head. Losing him took Lexi a long time to get through. She still wakes up at night sometimes, hearing the flat line of his monitor.

“I don’t think I could go back to pediatric. Not with Lucie.” Lexi shakes her head, sighing.

“You wouldn’t have to. They are fully staffed.” Gretchen assures. She begins to dig around in her purse. “Look, just call Aly. She would be excited to hear from you. The rest could easily get worked out.” Lexi takes Ally Schneider’s card, her former boss. Ally had been the one who held Lexi after she lost Brady. She was the one who sent Lexi home and she was the one who accepted her resignation a week later, with full grace and understanding. She would be compassionate and supportive of Lexi being a mother. Maybe this could work.

In a quiet room, in the back of her mind, a part of her pauses at the thought of bringing this up to Nico. He is so proud of Lexi being a stay at home mom and wife. He shouts it to anyone who will listen about Lexi’s important role in their household. She does worthwhile work for them. He puts he on a pedestal because of it.

Lexi decides that she will talk to Ally first, before she approaches it with Nico. After all, her friends have a clear agenda here. Maybe it wouldn’t be as simple and flexible as they are portraying.

So Lexi decides, before she talks to Nico, she will talk to Ally.

- - -

Later that week, Lexi steps out of her evening shower, onto the white, memory foam mat. Nico waits outside the glass enclosure, holding up a fluffy towel for her to step into. He wraps it around her back, then lazily stuffs one corner over the other into her breasts. Lexi grips the towel closed, knowing it won’t stay up like that. That may have been her husband’s agenda.

“Thank you.” She sighs, getting on her tip toes to kiss him. He crushes her into his chest, using his tongue to trace along her lip, then dash into her mouth. Lexi melts into his sexy warmth. Nico grips the towel at her hips, pulling her flush with him.

“You’re welcome. Luc is sleeping.”

“Finally.” Lexi sighs.

They had a hard night with Lucie. She was fighting sleep from the moment dinner ended, rubbing her eyes, and saying no to bed time, even to daddy. They both took turns rocking her, putting her in her crib, but nothing was giving. Finally, Nico took her to the couch with a warmed up blanket from the dryer. Lexi disappeared upstairs at Nico’s request. Between now and then, their little girl finally succumbed. Nights like this are becoming more prevalent for Lucie. Lexi is not surprised as their little girl is more toddler than baby these days. Both her and Nico need to buckle up for the upcoming roller coaster of their daughter growing up. She smiles at the thought. There is no one else Lexi would rather do this with.

How will you going back to work effect her? An inner voice whispers like a siren.

Lexi raises her green eyes to the mirror, staring at her expression. She looks worried. And she is. Because she has a job offer expiring tomorrow that she still hasn’t talked to her husband about. She never expected to walk out of her meeting with Ally three days ago with an offer of employment. She had told Ally she needed time to talk to Nico, but then the Devils lost two back to back games and Nico’s mood has been less than desirable for the conversation.

Beside her, Nico grabs his tooth brush then dots toothpaste on the bristles. Lexi assesses his mood, seeing him relaxed although a bit tired.

“Can we talk about something?” She begins while dabbing a finger into her moisturizer. She presses three generous dots in a triangle, then begins to smooth them into her face.

“Mhm.” He says around the tooth brush oscillating against his back molars.

“I think…” Lexi starts, then swallows loudly as she stop herself. Nico continues to brush his teeth, looking at her in the mirror. She pretends to smooth out more of her moisturizer on her neck. Her heart flutters heavily against her throat. When she doesn’t continue, Nico turns fully to look at her.

“What?” He mumbles around the white foam in his mouth. Her tongue caresses the side of her mouth anxiously.

Why is this so hard to spit out?

Nico spits out his toothpaste, then wipes his mouth.

“I think I want to go back to work.” She finally sputters out. Nothing about her voice sounds confident. Nico whips his head in surprise at her. He opens his mouth and then closes it, pursing his lips. Lexi immediately sense his annoyance.

“Okay? But, we have talked about how important it is for you to stay home with Luc? You’ve always agreed to that.”

“Yeah….” She trails off, sticking her tongue into the pocket of her cheek so it juts out. “But I’ve been thinking about what I want lately, as me, and I really miss working with patients and having a place to go outside of here.” Nico’s eyes widen, and he looks away, sighing.

“Okay.” He shakes his head. “I thought you were done with nursing after Brady.” Lexi doesn’t flinch at his name, but her heartbeat patters more heavily in her body.

“I thought so too, but it’s been calling to me the last few months. And I have an opportunity to go back.”

“I don’t see how that is going to work for our family.” Nico shrugs simply, already seeming done with the conversation.

“Well, can we talk about it? Because I talked with Ally-”

“What does you talking with Ally have to do with our family? Because you and I have already discussed this, before we had Lucie. You said you would stay home because I’m gone so much. How…” Nico scoffs, looking above her head, trying to find his words. “So what, someone else is going to come here every day and watch her? Or we drop her off at some day care center where random people are raising her?”

“They have a daycare at the hospital. She could go-”

“No. Our daughter deserves better than that.” Nico shakes his head vigorously.

“So you just unilaterally decide this for me then?”

“So you unilaterally get to decide to go back to work?” He shoots back at her. Lexi stand up completely straight, rolling her shoulders back.

“You don’t own me.” She hisses out unexpectedly. Immediately, she wants to take the words back at the fire igniting in Nico’s eyes. His cheeks begin to turn red in frustration while he forces a hand through his long, brown locks.

“When did I say that?” Nico snaps. His tone and voice are reaching places Lexi has never heard from him. Her eyes narrow at him, then she turns to leave the bathroom. Nico is hot on her heels. “You’re putting me in a position to be the asshole, Lex. You and I agreed you would stay home with our kids.”

“Well I need something more!” She huffs at him. “Emma gets to go be-”

“That’s Emma and Timo. Not us.” She startles, feeling like a scolded child by their parent. Tears begin to fill her eyes at the shame of his disappointed scowl.

“I’m allowed to change my mind.” She whispers to him, hating the way her lip trembles.

“Yeah you are, but not when it ruins our kid’s life.”

“Nico, that is so unfair.” Her tone wobbles at her words. Nico’s jaw tightens at the two drops that escape her lids. He looks away, large eyebrows jumping as he tries to brush the effect of her emotions away.

“I don’t care, Lexi.” Nico shakes his head again. “The answer is no.”

Lexi shakes her head in disgust before heading into their master closet to change. She cries as she pulls on her pajamas. When she returns with tears on her face, Nico doesn’t even care.

Instead, he climbs into bed and turns his back to her like a cold, distant monster.

- - -

Nico and Lexi don’t talk the whole next day. Not even about Lucie. They move around the house, avoiding each other. She goes to the store to grab groceries; he stays home with Lucie. They sit silently, watching TV during dinner. Lucie doesn’t seem to notice, snacking on her food and playing with her toys like everything is normal.

This continues into the following morning when Nico has to head out on a five game road trip. He dotes all over their daughter as Lexi’s resentment for him breeds into an ugly, angry tyrant in her mind. She doesn’t even let him kiss her cheek when he is about to leave. She slides away from him, turning her back on him like he did to her two nights ago. His heavy sigh makes tears sting her eyes, like she is the one in the wrong here.

“Lex.”

“Nothing about this will be resolved before you leave in the next two minutes. Travel safe.” She responds without turning towards him.

He stands there for a few more moments, rubbing his hand along Lucie’s head as she munches on her oatmeal. Internally, Lexi wonders if he will try to find some middle ground regardless of her words. But then Nico leaves without apologizing, or saying I love you, or providing any comfort like he usually does. She feels herself hating him a little bit more.

She doesn’t watch the Devils games that week.

She is so angry with Nico. They do nightly FaceTime calls with Lucie, but Lexi don’t speak to her husband. Nico gets more and more frustrated with her. It begins to bleed out onto the ice against the St. Louis Blues. Nico gets two penalties in the game, including five minutes for fighting. Of course, Lexi doesn’t know this because she is watching. She knows because Emma Meier shows up at their door with a bottle of rose the next day.

“What is going on?” She asks when Lexi opens the door. Lio is on her hip, munching on an apple sauce pouch as she strolls in. Emma is in dark wash, tight designer jeans and a tan, long sleeved crop top. Her hair is straightened and perfect, not even a hint of frizz from the rainy humidity earlier in the morning. She puts the bottle of rose on the counter, then goes to put Lio next to Lucie. She’s pulling her skin tight jeans back up her waist as she looks expectantly at Lexi. “Nico wouldn’t share anything with me. Timo couldn’t get it out of him either.”

“Of course not.” Lexi snorts, then rolls her tense neck muscles out. Emma nods her head at Lexi to continue. She sighs, crossing her arms over her chest. “I want to go back to work and the dictator of this house said no.” Emma widens her eyes.

“Nico said no?” The words seemingly taste awful to her as she says them.

“Yep. He told me if I go back to work I’m ruining our daughter’s life.”

“No.” Emma’s mouth opens in shock.

“Yes!” Lexi exclaims, reaching for the bottle of wine. She twists the top open, then takes two really big glugs. The acidity burns at her esophagus as she puts the bottle back down. Emma picks it up, taking a more delicate sip. She slowly blinks and shakes her head.

“Wow, I’m surprised.”

“Me too.” Lexi responds, sighing heavily. Tears prick at her eyes as she recounts the conversation from last week. She purses her lips, looking back at Emma.

“I don’t understand why he gets to make this decision for me?”

“He doesn’t.” Emma says simply. “This is your life. You have the right to do the things you want to do with it. Your partner needs to be supportive of that.”

“Nico doesn’t seem to see it that way.” Lexi looks out into the living room, watching as Lucie coos at Lio, holding up a large, red lego block. Lio takes it from her, then puts it next to a blue one.

“Oh we can’t do that one. Rangers colors.” Lio shakes his head. “Grab a green one, LuLu.”

“I’ll talk to him.” Emma insists after pouring two glasses of rose. “He is being unreasonable.”

“Actually, I’d prefer if you didn’t.” Lexi sighs, tracing a circle onto the marble counter top, then looks up at her. “I think it would just make it worse.” Emma scans her sister-in-law, then nods in understanding.

This is one they’ll have to work through on their own.

- - -

The night Nico is due home, Lexi stares at the ceiling, replaying everything that has happened in the last two weeks. Life went from the mundane, same day over and over again, to this angsty, aching storyline of push and pull between a husband and wife. She went from having no job prospects, to receiving an offer, to turning it down. She hasn’t even told Nico. She doesn’t want to. Doesn’t feel like he deserves to know with the way he has been acting.

Her phone lights up the room as the garage camera catches Nico returning home from his late night flight from Colorado. Tears curve into the water line of Lexi’s eyes. Normally, after a road trip this long, she would gallop down the stairs excitedly to throw herself into his arms. He could catch her. They would make out like teenagers against the refrigerator, then he would carry her upstairs to make love.

Not tonight.

Her brain traces his path through the house from memory, knowing when he stops at Lucie’s room. Five minutes later, she hears him rustling with his bag outside and closes her eyes, pretending to be asleep so she can avoid an interaction with him. Her lip trembles as she shakily swallows to wet her dry throat.

Nico comes into the bedroom almost completely silent. He drops his things in the closet and presumably changes. Lexi’s chest aches when he comes to the bed and grabs his pillow afterwards. His footsteps are so silent, when his voice speaks from next to her, her heart jumped into her throat.

“Lex?” She startles at his touch. Nico grimaces. “I’m sorry… When I went in to kiss Luc, she was hot. She has a fever.” Lexi moves to get up. Lucie was fine when she checked her a few hours ago. “No, please. I’d like to take care of her myself.”

“You can bring her in here.”

“No, you deserve to sleep.” He reaches out tentatively for her cheek, cupping it briefly. “Goodnight. I love you.” It’s the first time he’s said it to her directly in a week. He moves to pull away and she grips his wrist.

“I love you too.” She earnestly looks into his deep, brown eyes. “But I am also so mad at you.”

"I know. You have every right to be.” He maintains direct eye contact when he says it. Lexi’s eyebrows furrow. “We will talk tomorrow.” He leans down tentatively and Lexi goes the other 50% until their lips meet. The kiss is sad and achey. Their lips crave the taste of the other, but can’t go all in like they want to. Lexi pulls away first, stroking her nose along Nico’s. She can feel his lashes against her forehead. Then he pulls away to go lay on the floor of their daughter’s room.

The next morning, Lexi is up first. She pokes her head into the guest room, seeing Nico and Lucie have moved there together. Lucie’s bare feet are pressed into Nico’s chest, cheeks pink, hair wild like it had been sweaty and dried sometime during the night. Lexi creeps in, pressing a hand to her toddler’s forehead. No fever. With that comfort, she tiptoes from the room again.

Downstairs, she makes herself a berry smoothie and settles into the couch with a book. She stays there for a bit, then begins to feel antsy waiting for her loves to wake up. She heads back upstairs, unpacking Nico’s bag completely and getting started on his laundry. She bring his three suits to the downstairs closet for dry cleaning to pick up tomorrow.

It’s almost lunch time when a sleepy Nico and Lucie come downstairs together. Lucie smiles at her mama around a pacifier in her mouth. Lexi arches a slender eyebrow at Nico. Lucie hasn’t had pacifiers for 6 months.

“I lost the battle.” He groggily mumbles. His long hair is flopping every which way. He hands their daughter over to Lexi, then kisses her head. “ ‘m gonna take a shower.”

Nico disappears back upstairs while Lexi gives Lucie some of her leftover smoothie. She sucks it up happily, babbling for some banana when she is done. Lexi is cutting that up when Nico returns downstairs. His hair is slicked back from his shower. He is dressed in new lounge sweats while texting on his phone.

“Do you want a smoothie?” Lexi asks him.

“No, I’m going to make myself some eggs. Do you want any?”

“No, I already ate.”

“Okay.” He wraps an arm around her waist from behind. Lexi resists the urge to tense, trying to purposefully relax her upper body. Nico rests his chin on one of her shoulders, then turns his nose into her neck.

“I was completely out of line last week.” He murmurs while staying there. Lexi scoops up the banana pieces and puts them in a small bowl for Lucie, then slides it across the counter to where she is in her highchair. Lexi puts the knife down and turns so her and Nico are facing each other. He keeps her enclosed in his arms with a palm resting on the counter, on either side her.

“Do you only love me because I’m the mother of your child?” Lexi ponders.

“No, Lex. I love you. The person. So much.” He finishes with a whisper. His eyes trace her face earnestly. Lexi nods.

“I turned them down.” She admits.

“I’m sorry.”

“And I’m sorry if I have a hard time believing that.” Lexi says pointedly.

“Fair.” Nico nods then swallows hard. “But I am.”

“Can I get an explanation?” Lexi asks. She reaches her hands out to rest on his hips, gripping the waistband of his joggers as an anchor.

“I’m having a hard time with how much I’m missing of Lucie growing up. And I put that fear into you last week. Like… I’ve been able to fall back on the idea that you’re here. And if you go back to work, what will I have to ease my failures as a father?” He touches his chest delicately. Lexi lowers her gaze to his beaded bracelets. She moves one of her hands up to hold his wrist. “If this is what you need to do… to be happy… to feel what I get to feel when I step onto the ice every day, then I am in full support of you.”

She stares at his chest, letting his words sink in. As he always is, Nico is patient. When her eyes meet his again, they stare at each other wordlessly for a moment. She is wary. He can sense it.

“I know I hurt you and I’m so sorry.” He whispers. She nods her head in recognition of his apology.

“Nico, you are an amazing dad. It makes me really sad you feel like you’re failing our daughter. That couldn’t be farther from the truth.” She shakes her head, blowing out a sigh. “And I wish you would have shared that with me before it turned into this.”

“I’m embarrassed.” He shrugs. “I’ve been good at everything my whole life. Working so hard to overcome any obstacles.. but there are things I can’t give to Lucie and it kills me, babe.” The way he says babe wrecks her. Lexi moves his hand to the side so she can slide against his chest. Her fingers clutch at his muscular back and dig into his scalp as she cradles their heads together.

“She is so lucky to have you, Neeks.” Lexi turns to kiss his stubbled cheek. He buries his nose deeper into her collar bone as she stroke along his spine. “I am too.” His large arms wrap around her waist, enclosing it completely.

“Tell me again?”

“Hmm?”

“Tell me you are thinking about going back to work.”

“I’m… thinking about going back to work?”

“Okay. Whatever you want to do is what works for our family. We will figure it out.” Nico murmurs. “That’s what I should have said to you. I’m sorry I didn’t.” Lexi smiles against his cheek. Nico turns, capturing her lips.

“I accept your apology.” She murmurs. “But I really did already turn Ally down.”

“I’ll call Ally. Tell her your husband was a fucking idiot last week, but he’s done with that.” Lexi chuckles, top teeth dragging over her bottom lip.

“I would like to try it. See if we can find a balance?”

“Yes, 100% yes, baby.”

Across the counter, Lucie squeals excitedly then throws her banana bowl onto the floor.

“Oh! LuLu is in too!” Nico cheers. “Yay mommy!!!” He claps around her back. Lexi chuckles, a whole body rumbling one as her and Nico separate. Nico grabs Lexi’s phone, sliding it across the counter. “Call Ally.”

Ally extends another offer to Lexi immediately on the phone.

Within an hour, Lexi has signed an offer letter and has orientation scheduled for the following Monday. Nico brings her to her first day of work, packs her lunch, and spends the whole time Lexi is working with Lucie in the day care, spending time with the kids, signing autographs for staff members and patients alike. By the end of the Lexi’s four hour shift, he is exhausted.

“No wonder you need a break.” He mumbles, exhaustedly running a hand over his hand. “And she isn’t even tired.” He points out about a babbling Lucie in her carseat.

“Welcome to my life.” Lexi smirks, then clicks her seatbelt in place. Nico wraps her hand in his, bringing it up to kiss along her knuckles. “So what’s for dinner stay at home dad?” Nico balks at her.

“McDonalds.” He chuckles, turning out of the parking lot.

With ease, the Hischiers settled into this adjusted life, until two pink lines show up a few months later on a test in their master bathroom.

Read more Nico and Lexi here.

#what my world spins around au #Nico Hischer x OC #Nico Hischier imagine #nhl imagine #nhl fan fiction

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bredslut · 5 months ago

Note

You already look especially good for 17 weeks pregnant, sometimes I wonder how amazing you're going to look at full term. You're going to be so big, round, and heavy, not even the clothes from the maternity section will fit you anymore. All you'll be able to do is waddle from side to side in your bare feet around the house with your jeans unzipped and wearing just a nursing bra. Getting up itself will be a chore, but why get up when you could lay back and watch as an entire baby moves and squirms inside of your womb. The sight of a fetal kick eclipsing your toenail polish, the sensation from within, the sound of a heartbeat thundering away through the doppler speaker, all of it a constant reminder that you're creating life in your big beautiful belly. You're not just pregnant, you're a baby factory of love.

This is 🥵🥵 hot as hell. To be honest I already don't fit much in the maternity section. Those are for those tiny women in their first pregnancy with just a cute little baby bump. Not for women like me, round and soft all over and constantly growing with our babies. My whole body changed and taken over by my belly.

By third trimester I bet I won't even be able to squeeze jeans onto my thighs and hips anymore. I love walking around the house with just a bra and sweats, my belly on full display. I love being a baby factory ❤️

#pregnancy #pregnant #preggo kink #pregblr #preggie #preggobelly #pregnantbelly #fatpregnantbelly #pregnancykink #preggophilia #pregnancyasks

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erin-bo-berin · 2 years ago

Text

By Your Side

L&D Nurse Steve Harrington x Pregnant!Reader

Warnings: Childbirth (In case that’s not your thing)

Part 2: Trust In Me

MASTERLIST

Big thank you to @keeryswiftie for talking through the medical aspects of this and helping me, quite literally birth the idea for this fic. You’re the best. ❤️

Steve Harrington had loved kids for as long as he could remember.

Apparently, it had started when he was a toddler. He had always seemed to be drawn to the younger siblings of friends—comforting them and entertaining them. He had no memory of this, but he did remember a fateful fall season when he met a group of rowdy preteens that ended up changing his life for the better.

After meeting Dustin Henderson, it was a natural progression of meeting his other friends after he was constantly put in the position of having to watch the younger kids. Only 18 at the time, he was supposed to be the responsible adult of the group. There was also an entire few years dealing with fighting monsters from another dimension, but that was a story for another time.

At the time, Steve had pretty much been an asshole. He was rebelling against parents who paid little attention to him and were hardly around—doing things that he’d hoped make them care—but probably in the worst of ways. It took him a long time to realize he deserved better than the way they treated him. A lot of that realization came from finding friends that loved him like family. Though he had no siblings of his own, the group of six kids filled that lonely space. Part of the time they felt like younger siblings, the other part they felt like his own kids. It was in those early years that he just knew he wanted to have a big family of his own one day.

In the meantime, Steve had done something he’d never thought he’d do—he’d applied to nursing school.

At the beginning of his education, he didn’t know what exactly he wanted to do, but he knew he wanted to work with kids.

That’s how he’d ended up here, in the Labor and Delivery wing at Hawkins hospital, back in his hometown.

His days—and sometimes nights—were filled with beeping monitors, baby cries and strong mothers. Even though childbirth had to be one of the hardest things in life, he couldn’t help but love his work. He was constantly in awe of the brand new little lives and how tough these women were, going through so much to bring their baby into the world.

Most of his work involved assisting OBGYN’s, keeping check on both mother and baby’s vitals, administering medicine and doing vaginal checks, but a lot of what he and the fellow nurses in the department did tended to fall on the emotional side of things. He’d found being calm, patient and attentive to the birthing mother helped things so much, especially in a crisis.

Apparently, he was so good at his job that he’d become somewhat famous with the mothers—which his coworkers liked to tease him about. Some had even requested him as a nurse after hearing about him from a friend’s or family member’s experience.

He couldn’t count the amount of times he’d received sweet notes and gifts of thanks from past patients, something that always made him smile. It flattered him to know that he’d made such an impression on them, enough that they’d think of him afterwards. After all, it was his mindset that the mother should have a positive birthing experience with as much support as possible—which extended past the husband or father and to the nursing staff as well, in his opinion.

They always said it takes a village to raise a child. In a way, it takes one to birth one as well. He always made sure that the mothers he aided would have as much support as they needed.

While it was nice to be appreciated, his favorite part of the job had to be the post birth tasks where he got to hold the baby. Obviously it included cleaning the baby, weighing it, swaddling it and other things, but he was always mesmerized by the tiny life in his arms, one he’d watched coming into the world. He’d been at this job for two years now and it had yet to get old.

Usually, it was the babies that he remembered the most, over the mothers, as they all tended to blur together after awhile.

But one day, one mother stood out starkly to him, one that ended up changing his life.

•

“Okay Y/N, you’ve made it this far. You can do this. It’s going to be hard, but you’re in the final stretch. Soon it will be over.”

Soon it will be over.

Your head fell back against the pillow as you looked around the bleak, empty hospital room with no one else in it.

The pep talk you were previously trying to give yourself wasn’t doing much to calm your apprehension. Things were starting to feel real and you didn’t have the time nor the strength to process all the emotions you were currently feeling.

“Get it together,” you muttered to yourself, closing your eyes and taking a deep breath, “You’ve made it this far all alone, you can do this too.”

“I’m sorry, did you say something?”

Your eyes popped open, embarrassed that you were overheard talking to yourself. You hadn’t heard anyone enter the room.

The nurse that had approached your bedside was different from the middle aged woman who’d performed a vaginal check on you just an hour earlier.

This one was young, male and attractive.

His brown hair was on the longer side, curling outwards at the ends. His gaze cast downward as he looked through what you assumed to be your medical chart.

“No, sorry, I didn’t hear you come in,” you said feebly, still feeling a bit embarrassed, “You’re not the same nurse that was in here just an hour ago to check on me.”

“Night shift,” he explained.

“Oh I’m sorry, got caught up looking through your file,” the nurse apologized, setting the clipboard back on the end of hospital bed where it usually hung, “I’m Steve, I’ll be your nurse for the night.”

He went about checking the machines that’s been monitoring your contractions, your heart beat and the baby’s before checking up on your IV.

“Last shift said you’re only a few centimeters dilated,” Steve said, finally looking back down at you.

“Unfortunately. It feels like I’ve been in here for days already.”

He smiled gently.

“It does seem that way, doesn’t it? I know it sometimes takes a while, but I promise it will all be worth it.”

He pats your arm gently and you notice he has warm and kind brown eyes. His face and what’s displayed of his neck is dotted with numerous moles and freckles, giving him an even more unique appearance. It makes him even more good looking, in your opinion.

A pair of glasses are folded and resting on the neckline of his scrubs; you figured they’re reading glasses. His ID is clipped to the bottom of the scrub shirt, a small picture of him smiling on it along with the name Steve Harrington.

His gaze swept around the room before returning to your face, a questioning look in his eyes.

“Has your husband—or boyfriend—stepped out?” he catches himself, knowing not every mother he’s encountered has been married, not wanting to offend his patient within the first few minutes of meeting her.

Trying to control the feeling of humiliation you’re feeling deep inside, you attempt to keep any sign of it off your face as the lie slips off your tongue as easy as butter.

“Yes, he went to find something to eat.”

Steve nodded, doing one last check on yours and baby’s vitals.

“Well Miss Y/L/N-”

“Y/N, please,” you corrected him.

He smiled, correcting himself.

“Y/N.”

He has a kind smile, one that makes you feel incrementally better about being in a situation like this. You find yourself giving him a small smile back.

“If you need anything, just call me,” he motioned to the call button for the nurse, before continuing, “I only have one other patient today and by the sounds of it, she’s going to be delivering soon, so I’ll be back to check up on you in a little while.

You nodded your understanding, watching him exit back out into the hallway.

Turning on your side, you stare at the window that provides a view of the sunset. According to the clock, it’s just after 7 pm. You’ve been here since early afternoon.

Another wave of pain nears, squeezing your abdomen and causing your belly to harden as another contraction hits you. So far, they aren’t horrible and feel just a tad worse than the awful menstrual cramps you’ve dealt with for years.

Closing your eyes, you try to distance your mind from the pain, as to not think of it.

The sounds of the other mother from down the hall fill your ears and you attempt to block that out too. The poor woman sounds like she’s birthing a giraffe, not a baby. Squeezing your eyes shut, tears escape your closed eyes and fall down your cheeks.

Never in your entire life have you felt so scared or so utterly alone.

•

Apparently, you’d managed to doze off at some point because you jerked awake to a rustling noise in your room.

The moans of the birthing mother have completely vanished and all you hear beyond your room are the typical sounds of a hospital—busy nurses, chatter and beeping machines.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you,” Steve apologized, “How are you feeling?”

“Apparently good enough to fall asleep,” you attempt to joke, causing him to laugh.

“Well according to last shift you were still in early stages of labor, but it should be picking up soon. You were 2 centimeters when you were last checked so it’s about time to see if you’ve progressed any further.”

Just then, a blonde, female nurse walked in, introducing herself as Kelly. She stood towards the back wall and gave a friendly nod to Steve.

“Don’t worry, just protocol to have a “chaperone” if you will, for any male nurses doing pelvic exams,” Steve explained.

You must’ve shown wariness because he immediately jumped back in, rambling.

“If you’re not comfortable with me performing the exam, then I can definitely have Kelly do it,” he offered.

You waved him off, shaking your head. You already felt so weary and you were hardly halfway through labor.

After a few uncomfortable minutes, the quick exam was over and Kelly had left to return to her own patients.

“Looks like you’re just about four centimeters. How are the contractions feeling?” Steve asked.

“Painful, but nothing I can’t handle,” you answered truthfully.

“Well when you’re ready for an epidural—that is if you choose to get one—just let me know and we can get the anesthesiologist in here. Do you need anything? Some ice chips maybe?”

“Ice chips, please? If it’s not too much trouble.”

Truthfully, you didn’t really care for any, but craved the company instead.

“You got it,” he grinned, “Be back shortly.”

It was hardly five minutes when he came back in with the styrofoam cup of ice chips and a plastic spoon.

“Thank you,” you said, truly grateful as you reached for the cup.

You noticed him glance at his watch, then up at the clock on the wall in the room.

“Somewhere you need to be?” you partially joked.

“No. Just wondering how long the fast food lines must be.”

You had a feeling where this was going and knew you couldn’t avoid the truth much longer. It’d been nearly two hours since he’d last checked on you and you knew your lie was about to be exposed.

You preoccupied yourself by putting a small chunk of ice in your mouth, realizing your mouth was drier than you’d thought—the cool liquid of the ice tasted amazing.

His question was quiet and somber, but you heard it well.

“The father’s not coming, is he?”

You shook your head, refusing to meet his eyes.

You looked up when you felt the stiff mattress shift just a bit and noticed he’d sat down at the end of the bed. He was looking at you remorsefully and you couldn’t stand it.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

Steve didn’t sound angry, nor did he sound judgmental, merely curious.

You shrugged.

“I was embarrassed and I didn’t want you to pity me.”

“Pity you?”

Now he looked surprised and you found yourself surprised in return, by his reaction.

“I think you’re extremely brave. Besides, I’ve seen plenty of mothers not have the father with them. Granted they usually had a parent or friend…” he trailed off as he seemed to realize, “Do you need me to call your parents to let them know you’re in labor?”

You began to answer when a much stronger contraction than any you’d experienced so far, began.

“Shit,” you moaned, one hand clutching your stomach.

Steve was off the bed in an instant, grabbing the cup out of your hands to set aside. He instinctually put his hand in yours.

“Go ahead and squeeze my hand if you need to. Just breathe. Like this.”

He began rhythmically breathing in and out, similar to what you remembered the instructor teaching at the few Lamaze classes you’d attended. You’d never finished the class though after seeing the numerous amount of couples there, women with husbands, boyfriends or family members to support them—the complete opposite of your situation.

You mimicked the pattern, squeezing his hand as you got through to the other side of the contraction. Not once did he wince or make any sort of expression as you probably crushed the life out of his hand; he was merely focused on your well being.

When the pain subsided, you let out a shaky breath.

“Has it passed?”

You nodded, not letting go of his hand.

“That was the worst one yet,” you groaned.

“I hate to tell you but they’ll likely get worse from here on out. But it just means it’s getting closer to having your baby,” he smiled, “Speaking of, should I call someone? Your contraction seemed to cut off your answer earlier,” he chuckled.

“No. My parents died in a car crash when I was in college…it’s—” you paused, refusing to let your voice wobble and let on just how afraid you were feeling, “It’s just me.”

Steve was surprised, though he kept his face neutral. He didn’t want her to feel embarrassed or ashamed.

He’d seen many unique situations when it came to the patients he’d had, but this was a first.

His heart ached for her. She looked to be his age. Still, she was going through one of the toughest things in life, without the baby’s father, her own mother or even a friend to help her through this.

It was then he that he made the decision to stay with her, no matter how long it took.

•

Only an hour had passed and the contractions seemed to ebb and flow throughout your torso and a detached part of you was humiliated at how you whimpered, groaned and panted through it all.

Unfortunately, after another dilation check, you’d only inched a centimeter up, putting your progress at five centimeters. There was no telling how much longer it would be.

“You’re doing great, Y/N,” Steve soothed, placing the cool cloth he’d fetched earlier for you against your forehead, newly cool and damp.

“This fucking sucks,” you panted, eyes squeezing shut.

“It does,” he agreed, “But you’re making it through.”

You cried out at another contraction, gripping the railing of the bed.

“Breathe, breathe. Just focus on the sound of my voice, okay? In and out. That’s it, Y/N. It’ll be over in a moment, I promise. You’re doing amazing, keep breathing.”

Normally, one would think that hearing coaxing like Steve’s in the midst of pain would drive any laboring woman insane, but his voice was soft, soothing and melodic—a direct opposition to the sharp, harsh edges of pain from your contractions.

Maybe it was because he was the only support you had, the only lifeline, if you will, but his encouragement helped you make it through each and every contraction.

That being said though, you’d made up your mind.

“Steve?” you breathed, when the contraction finally eased.

“Yes?”

“I think I want that epidural now.”

•

“You’re going to have to sit very still for me, can you do that?” Steve murmured, facing you.

You were sitting on the edge of the bed, the anesthesiologist at your back, setting up the things she’d need to administer the epidural. You didn’t care about the needles, the insertion or any of the other things that had scared you months ago, you just wanted—no, needed—relief from this pain.

“Yes,” you said firmly.

“Just hold on to me, okay? Lean forward, back out and your shoulders slumped forward.”

You did what Steve told you, leaning forward into him, your hands clinging to his arms. His touch was gentle as he held you close to him and you tried your best to stay still.

It seemed to take an eternity, but you felt the gentle squeeze of Steve’s hands on your arms, letting you know he was still here with you. Finally, the insertion was complete and you were allowed to lay back in bed.

Glancing at the clock, you noticed it was nearing midnight, already well past 11:30 pm.

“I’ve kept you way too long, I’m so sorry,” you said, apologetically.

“It’s okay. Since my other patient delivered hours ago, you’re my only patient tonight.”

“So I won’t get you in trouble?”

He pulled up the chair that had remained glaringly empty and sat down at your bedside, shaking his head.

“It’s a slow night. Besides, I’m helping a patient,” he grinned.

You closed your eyes, just to rest as you began to feel the sharpness of the pain dull just a bit. You were glad to eventually feel numbness seeping its way through your lower body, the relief glorious.

Silence hung in the room between you two, yet you didn’t have the energy to try and make small talk. Besides, Steve’s company was welcomed, whether you spoke or not. Something told you he didn’t mind the silence either.

It was actually Steve who broke the silence. You might’ve actually slipped to sleep for a bit too as you didn’t quite hear what he asked.

“Hmm?”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you,” he said apologetically, looking genuinely sorry.

“It’s okay. Just resting my eyes,” you answered, rubbing your fingers over your eyes.

“If you’d like to sleep, I can come back.”

“No, no,” you shook your head, probably a little too fiercely.

You didn’t want him to go.

“I mean, I’m awake now. What was it you said?”

“Well, I said if you didn’t mind me asking, are you having a boy or girl?”

“Oh,” your face flushed, “I um…I actually don’t know.”

You sat up as best as you could, Steve helping you to reposition. You thanked him as he sat back in the chair at your bedside.

“You wanted it to be a surprise?” he asked.

“I guess you could say that,” you chuckled dryly, though there was no humor in it, “I kinda was detached from the whole pregnancy, so I didn’t want to find out. It was like if I didn’t find out what I was having, it wouldn’t be real.”

Steve watched you intently, no judgement on his face. You couldn’t tell what he was thinking and it quite unnerved you.

“That probably sounds horrible, I know.”

“No, it doesn’t. People cope with things differently,” Steve answered neutrally.

For some reason, though he hadn’t even asked, you found the need to explain to him. You didn’t want to sound like a horrible person, especially not to Steve.

“The baby’s father…we dated for a short while. Well, if you can even call it that. It was mainly physical and I’m sure I was more invested in the relationship than he was. I thought I was in love,” you laughed wryly, “How cliché is that?”

Steve listened patiently, although you can tell he’s just waiting for you to continue the story in your own time. You appreciated him for that.

“Well of course, when I found out I was pregnant, he wanted nothing to do with it. I also found out I wasn’t the only “girlfriend” in his life. So from the beginning I was distraught, mourning the loss of a relationship that never was, disconnected from the pregnancy because I didn’t want to admit that I was in this alone. I didn’t spend time bonding with the baby, I’m a horrible mother already. I feel so bad that I wasted all this time not paying attention to the baby. What if it’s born not loving me because I tried to act like it didn’t exist? What if I’m not cut out to be a good mother?”

You’re full on sobbing now, your shoulders shaking with your cries. Whether it’s all of the emotions you’d held at bay for nine months, your over exhaustion from the nearly 12 hours you’ve already spent in labor or a combination of both, it all comes spilling out.

“I’m so sorry,” you blubbered as you feel Steve’s arms wrap around you, pulling you close, “I’m so sorry.”

Part of you is apologizing to Steve, but the other part is to your unborn baby that’s currently making its journey to this side of the world. You only hope he or she can forgive you.

“Shh, it’s okay,” Steve soothes, rubbing your back.

Your tears soaked his scrubs, but he doesn’t move, letting you cry all you want. You feel pathetic, clinging to your labor and delivery nurse, in a mess of tears.

“Everything will be okay,” his deep voice murmurs, his arms holding you tightly against him, “I know it seems like it won’t, but it will.”

“God, I’m sorry,” you croak, when your tears subside to sniffles and you pull away to see the large wet spot against his chest.

“Don’t apologize,” he said sincerely, helping you lay back again, making sure you’re comfortable, “You’re exhausted and overwhelmed. Believe it or not, tears are pretty normal throughout this.”

“Have you ever had a mother cling to you and sob though?” you groaned, still feeling the burn of humiliation at your actions as he pulls the thin sheet over you, tucking you in.

“I can’t say I have. Though there was a fight between two mothers once on who would get me as a nurse. Apparently I’m popular enough that I sometimes am requested by name. It was a whole knock down drag out fight. I think one of them tossed their ice in the other’s face and then barely missed a purse to the face when she had to stop and bend over for a contraction. It was quite the scene.”

You laughed, then squinted at him.

“You’re making this up, aren’t you?”

“No, I swear!” he raised his hands defensively, though his lips twitch with a smile, which gives away his lie, “Okay, maybe I am. But I wasn’t lying about being requested by name. That, surprisingly has happened more than I’d ever expect.”

“I’m not surprised,” you said softly, “You’re a really great nurse, Steve.”

“Well, thanks,” he smiled, almost bashfully.

Your eyes are drooping, the crying spell having worn you out enough to become sleepy. You’re numb from the waist down, though according to the contraction monitor, you’re still steadily having contractions, though you no longer can feel them.

“Get some sleep, okay? You’ll need your energy for later.”

“No,” you argue, trying to stay awake, not wanting him to leave you.

As if he can read your mind—although maybe he sees it in your eyes—he takes your hand, giving it a gentle squeeze before sitting back in the chair.

“I’m not going anywhere. I promise.”

•

“Why does labor take so long?”

You’d managed to get a few hours of sleep—between being woken up by Steve doing his job and checking on you. It was miraculous in itself that you’d managed to get a bit of shut eye. When you’d woken up though, you were once again in pain and were shivering violently.

Apparently your epidural had halfway worked. While you weren’t nearly in the amount of pain you’d been in pre-epidural, you still felt it on your right side. Also, you were having a common side effect to it, trembling uncontrollably.

But, you’d rather this than the excruciating pain from before.

Steve sat in the same chair as earlier, though his feet were resting up on your bed. You’d insisted actually that he might as well get comfortable if he was going to stay with you and he finally gave in.

“Do you want the medical answer to that?” he asked, with a raised brow.

“Not especially,” you grumbled.

It was the dead middle of the night, the hands on the clock just passing the 3 am mark. Your baby was sure taking its sweet time.

“It’s not uncommon with first time mothers,” Steve assured you, “It’s something new your body is undergoing that it hasn’t done before, so it tends to take a little longer. All of that along with how fast and well the baby wants to move down the birth canal.”

You gave him a mildly grumpy look which surprisingly he took in stride, not seeming offended at all, but in fact, laughing.

“I’m sorry, blame the job. Medical explanations are kind of burned into my brain at this point,” he chuckled, “It stinks, I know.”

“But,” he emphasizes, trying to keep your spirits high, “You’re on perfect track and getting closer to the end. You were a little drowsy when Kelly woke you earlier for your dilation check, so I don’t know how much you remember, but you’re at 7 centimeters now. Not much longer to go.”

Steve got up, grabbing the fluffy blanket he’d brought in earlier for you, placing it around your shoulders and cocooning you in it.

“Here, this should help with the shaking. Technically, it’s not because you’re cold that you’re shaking, but because of the medicine in the epidural. The warmth tends to help some.”

“Thanks,” you said, pulling it around you, “Tell me doctor, why am I shaking then?”

“Hey, don’t give me more credit than I deserve here,” he teased, “I’m just a nurse. But to answer your question, it’s most likely the surge of hormones your body is producing currently. Your body’s adrenaline is also heightened during labor because it helps give you the strength to push when its time.”

You frown, nerves kicking in again at the unknown of what’s to come.

“Is it going to hurt? Pushing?” you asked.

“It varies person to person. Of course since I don’t know how much pain you’re feeling with your epidural only halfway working currently, I can’t really tell you. I won’t lie, it will probably be difficult because pushing is an exhausting task.”

You press your lips together before biting down on your bottom one, attempting to keep your anxiety at bay.

“I want you to know something though,” Steve said, his tone serious.

“What’s that?” you questioned.

“No matter if it’s easy or difficult, whether it takes two pushes or ten, you’re not going to do this alone, okay? I’m going to be right here, by your side.”

•

By the time the sun begins to peek over the horizon, you’ve finally dilated enough to begin pushing.

Not only have you spent the entire night laboring, you and Steve have probably talked about everything under the sun. From favorite tv shows, hobbies, his younger band of friends to even a debate on which cheese was better—Gouda or Brie.

He’d definitely gone above and beyond when it came to keeping you company, doing all that he could to keep your mind at ease and keep you occupied.

It’s nearing 7 o’clock when your doctor shows up, just in time, you think. About ten minutes before his arrival you’d began feeling a mounting pressure in your lower half that was bearable until now.

“Is it normal to feel so much pressure?” you grimaced, starting to feel uncomfortable.

“Yup. Means it’s time to push,” Steve said.

Thankfully, that was when the doctor decided to make his appearance, along with Kelly to help once again, too.

“Which means it’s time to have a baby!” your doctor announced with a smile.

Time to have a baby. The baby could be here any moment. You felt yourself begin to spiral with just how real it was becoming.

“Hey. Look at me.”

To your left came the dulcet sound of Steve’s voice as he offered his hand out to you to squeeze.

“Right here. Okay?” he reassured.

“Okay.”

Then, you started pushing.

You’d lost count how many times you’d pushed although you’d been pushing for over an hour now.

Daylight seeped through the window of the hospital room, golden sunlight of the early morning bathing the room in a glow. In any other circumstances, you’d find the sight pretty, but in this moment, you were occupied with much more important things.

“Good, good, you’re doing fine,” your doctor enthused, “I can see the head now.”

You were sweaty, sore and exhausted. Yet Steve didn’t let up on his encouragement. In fact, he seemed to increase it, especially in moments he could tell you were waning. It was like this strange connection between you two and he knew exactly when you needed the extra push.

“You’re doing amazing, Y/N,” he whispered, only loud enough for you to hear, “You’re almost there, okay?”

You nodded, feeling the building pressure of another contraction, knowing you were going to be pushing once again, incredibly soon.

“Okay, give me another big push now, Y/N,” your doctor ordered.

You squeeze your eyes shut, pushing as hard as you can and you hear the female assistant nurse, Kelly, counting.

“One, two, three, four!”

Squeezing Steve’s hand as hard as you can, he continues to rapidly praising you.

“That’s it, Y/N! Keep going, keep going. And rest.”

You collapsed against the pillow near tears, exhaustion overruling everything else.

“The head is almost out,” you heard Steve say, “Just one or two more big pushes and it’ll be over.”

“I can’t,” you shake your head, tears threatening to spill over, “I can’t do this, Steve.”

One hand is already in yours, but his free hand joins the other one, holding your hand in between his own. He rests his forehead against yours and your eyes lock with his. It’s as if he’s trying to channel all the strength he has into you.

“Yes, you can. You’re not alone. I’m right here and I’m not leaving, but I need you to do this. It’s only a little bit longer and you’re almost there. You can do this, Y/N.”

His words centered you, banishing the panic that was threatening to overwhelm you just a moment earlier. You breath in deeply through your nose, eyes fluttering shut as you gear yourself up for the finishing act.

The deep breath helps clear your mind, helps you to become more determined. Steve believes you can do this and his words continue to ring in your ears as you nod against him.

He stepped back, giving you space as you prepare to push on the next contraction. His face is filled with concentration and you’re sure yours is too. There’s a small glint in his eye as one corner of his mouth turns upwards—a small expression of his support.

With the newfound determination Steve has given you, you put all your strength into the following push and it happens to pay off. Loud cries immediately permeate the room and you’re breathless and panting when you fall back against the bed, in awe. Not only is your baby finally here, but you can’t believe you actually did it.

“Congratulations, you have a healthy baby girl!” the doctor boomed.

You don’t realize you’re still holding Steve’s hand until he gives it a squeeze, joy lighting up his entire face.

“It’s a girl!” he beams down at you.

“A girl,” you whisper in amazement, a smile on your face.

You don’t even manage to see her before Kelly whisks your baby away.

“Wha—What’s wrong? Is she okay? Is something wrong?”

Your brows creased in concern as you turn your head to Steve. He’s removed his hand from yours and he’s smoothing your mess of hair back from your face before answering.

“She’s okay. It’s normal for them to take the baby off to the nursery. She’s going to be cleaned up, weighed, vitals taken and bathed. You want me to go check on her?”

You nodded, relief coursing through your veins.

“Please.”

“No problem. Get some rest and I’ll go keep an eye on baby girl Y/L/N.”

Your eyes begin to feel heavy as you attempt to answer him.

“Thank you,” you whispered, not entirely sure if he heard your expression of gratitude before sleep takes over.

•

It was nearing 9 in the morning, nearly two hours since Steve’s shift was supposed to end, yet Steve kept his promise and headed to the nursery.

Babies are lined up in their own little hospital bassinets in front of the window where relatives can gaze adoringly at their newest little family member. It’s noisy, but not anything too out if control. There’s coos, gurgling and a baby cry or two—a few babies not being pleased with whatever is going on.

“Steve!” an older nurse named Ruth, exclaimed as she notices him walk in, “I didn’t expect to see you here. Wasn’t your shift over hours ago?”

“It was,” he admitted with a smile, “But I had a special patient and didn’t want to leave her.”

Her smile was kind, though teasing.

“You’re too good at what you do, kid. Keep this up and these mothers are going to petition for a mural of your face in the hospital lobby.”

He laughed, shaking his head at her wit.

“I just stopped by to see baby girl Y/L/N. I promised her mother I would make sure she’s okay.”

“She the one that didn’t have anyone with her for the birth?” Ruth asked.

“Man, word gets around here fast, doesn’t it?”

Ruth gave him a look like he ought to know better, before continuing.

“She’s doing fine. Brenda just finished checking her vitals and getting her measurements. She’s a healthy 6 pounds 8 ounces. She’ll probably be getting a bath soon, nothing to worry about.”

Steve nodded.

“Can you let me know when she’s ready? I want to be able to take her to her mother.”

Ruth glanced at the clock on the wall, amused.

“They don’t pay you enough for all that you do, Steve.”

He shrugged.

“Sometimes it’s more about the people than the money.”

•

You’d only manage to doze off for a few minutes after Steve’s departure before the doctor and nurse had woken you for the post-labor part of delivery.

After that was over with, you did fall back into sleep, but not before a new nurse came by. You faintly remembered her introducing herself as Marie. You’d also managed to mumble out only one question before falling back asleep.

“Where’s Steve?”

You heard more than saw the confusion in her remark.

“Harrington? He’s on night duty and has probably already left. His shift was over at 7 this morning.”

Your brain was foggy from a mixture of the drugs and the events of the last 19 hours, but you thought you remembered hearing the time of the baby’s birth being 8:47 am.

Steve had stayed long past his shift, just so he could stay with you.

“Tell him—” you mumbled, eyes falling closed as you gave in to the temptation of rest.

Tell him thank you.

When you woke, daylight streamed through the window of the hospital room, brightening it significantly. Peering at the clock, you noticed it was nearly 11 and you’d managed over an hours worth of sleep. Not much, but better than nothing.

“Hey there, mommy.”

You turned your head and gasped, surprised to see Steve sitting in the chair next to you, holding a swaddled baby.

“What? You’re still here? What are you doing here?”

“Ouch. Is that anyway to talk to the nurse that brought your baby to visit?” Steve teased.

It was as if your mind hadn’t processed the fact that your little human was no longer inside of you and was actually in the world now.

“My baby?” you questioned, eyes falling to the stirring bundle in his arms.

“I brought her to see mommy,” Steve smiled, standing up with her in his arms, “Would you like to hold her now?”

You nodded.

“Yes, please.”

You held your arms out and Steve placed the most perfect, warm, little bundle of joy in your arms.

It was awkward at first as you hadn’t had much practice holding babies, but Steve helped you, guiding your arms into a much more relaxed and less tense position.

Your little girl’s eyes opened the minute you took her, like she knew she was finally being reunited with her mother. One little hand stuck out of the swaddle and you chuckled at it, in awe of how tiny it and she truly was.

You ran a finger over the small, clenched fist then over her smooth, soft cheek. Her skin was as smooth as the finest silk imaginable. Tiny gurgles and coos came from her and her adorable puckered lips opened wide with a yawn, making you smile even wider.

For all the disconnect you’d felt during the pregnancy, the love you now felt for this tiny person was now multiplied tenfold. You may have tried to hide from the love that was developing for your child, but it’d caught up to you—nine months of love you’d try to run from, crashing down on you the instant you saw her perfect face. Your heart truly felt like it would burst from the amount of love you felt for her.

Labor had been so incredibly taxing and difficult, but knowing she was the reward for it truly made it all worth it. Steve had been right.

Steve.

You’d been so caught up in admiration, you’d momentarily forgotten about his presence. You wanted to thank him for all he’d done before he slipped away for you never to see again.

But when you looked up, he was still there. Now sitting on the edge of the bed, watching you two with a smile as wide as your own.

“She’s perfect,” you breathed, “I love her so much.”

“I know. I can tell,” he grinned, “She’s apparently very well behaved, according to a friend in the nursery.”

You beamed, already incredibly proud of your hours old daughter.

“You never answered my question,” you reminded him, “My current nurse, Marie, told me your shift was over hours ago. You should’ve gone home.”

“And miss the main event? Never,” he chuckled.

“Steve,” your voice was gentle, “I really can’t thank you enough for all that you’ve done. You did so much…helped me so much. I don’t think I could’ve done this without you. Shit. Now I’m crying again.”

You wiped at your face with one hand and chuckle, trying to stave off any more tears. He’s smiling too and somehow, you know he understands what you’re trying to say.

“You’re welcome,” he responded humbly before moving on from the subject of himself, “What are you going to name her?”

“Diana,” you said firmly, confident in how right it sounds for your daughter, “In honor of her grandmother—my mom, Diane. Diana Hope. But, I think I’d actually like to call her Hope. It’s because of her that I met you and both of you have given me hope.”

“It’s perfect.”

In the chaos of post-birth, there were nurses coming in and out at all times to check on you, making sure your body was on the right track for healing. Nurses came in to check on the baby, a specialist came in to discuss feeding options and taught you how to breastfeed and then there was the the matter of getting Hope’s birth certificate filled out—now that she actually had a name.

You got to spend more time with Hope, even taking a few naps in between the frequent visits.

Without your knowledge, Steve had managed to slip out at some point and you felt a pang of sadness at the fact you didn’t get to say goodbye before he left the hospital.

“Well, I guess that’s that, huh baby girl?” you spoke softly to Hope, not having yet put her down.

It was then that a slip of paper on the rolling table caught your attention. The table held your long melted cup of ice and other hospital room odds and ends, but you didn’t recall seeing a piece of folded paper on it before.

Holding Hope tight to your chest, you used one hand and slid the table closer to the side of the bed until you could reach the scrap. When you opened it, your heart skipped a beat.

There was a phone number scrawled on it and a message below.

If you ever need a friend. -Steve Harrington

•

Weeks had passed and work kept Steve busy.

He hadn’t heard from Y/N and it’d been nearly a month since she’d changed his world.

He knew he had no right to, but he couldn’t stop thinking of her, thinking of little Hope, wondering how both of them were faring.

He scolded himself for leaving his phone number. She probably had no use for it, but he’d really wanted her to know she wasn’t alone. Maybe the gesture alone had been enough to help her, he might never know.

Of course, newborns were a lot of work and maybe she’d just been kept busy settling into life as a mother. He knew he was foolish to hope maybe one day he’d hear from her, but it didn’t stop him from doing so.

Even still, he wished all the best for her, no matter what.

He’d just finished up assisting in the Operating Room during a Cesarean section, healthy twins just being delivered. Mom was doing good and in recovery, but she wasn’t on his patient roster for the night. He had one other mother that was just admitted in early labor, but he wasn’t needed right now for much assistance. It soon became eerily like the night he met Y/N—an unusual, slow night.

He sighed heavily, sitting in a chair at the nurse’s station, propping his feet up on the desk in front of him. He leaned back as far as the chair would let him, his hands resting behind his head, fingers laced. He stared at the hospital ceiling as if it held the answers to the world.

“That’s an awful big sigh over there Harrington. Everything okay?”

He looked over at his co-worker and friend Kelly, who’d also been there the night Y/N had given birth.

“You ever wonder about how the moms and babies are doing after they leave us?”

She gave him a knowing look and he raised a brow in question.

“This isn’t about that one girl from a month ago that you stayed with hours after your shift, is it?”

“Damn. Is it that obvious?” he asked.

“No, I just know you.”

“I don’t know,” he shrugged, “I guess I just worry for her and not out of pity. She’s probably one of the strongest women I’ve met in my time here. To go through all of that all alone and face motherhood alone. That’s pretty fucking admirable to me.”

Kelly was smirking at him and he gave her a confused glance, not quite sure why she was reacting to his comment in that manner.

He was about to question her when a nurse he wasn’t as familiar with—though he recognized her face—approached the desk.

“Steve Harrington?”

“Yeah, that’s me,” he answered, righting himself in the chair, feet dropping to the floor, “What’s up?”

“There’s a visitor in the waiting room for you,” she said, head motioning down the hall towards the waiting room.

With that, she walked off, leaving a confused Steve and an intrigued Kelly.

“One of your kids?” she teased.

“I wouldn’t be surprised,” he mumbled.

Ever since getting this job, his younger group of friends tended to show up from time to time for surprise visits. Sometimes for no other reason than just because.

Usually he didn’t mind them and was glad to spend a break with them, but still, he sometimes missed the days before they got drivers licenses.

Shaking his head, he stood, heading down the hall towards the waiting room. It was usually only used for extended family and friends to await the birth of loved ones’ babies.

If they were out this late to visit him, he at least hoped they brought pizza. He was starving.

The moment he stepped into the doorway of the waiting room, he froze. His suspicions of the identity of his guest couldn’t have been more wrong.

There she sat, the only one in the room, an empty baby carrier next to her. In her arms was a sleeping Hope, so much bigger in just the weeks since he’d last seen her. She was gazing down at Hope, clearly not having heard his arrival, swaying gently in the seat with her. He was utterly mesmerized at the sight.

“Hi,” he breathed, unable to believe both of you were right in front of him.

You looked up, a small smile curling on your lips in greeting to him.

“I think I’m ready for that friend now.”

#steve harrington #steve harrington blurb #steve harrington fic #steve harrington fluff #steve harrington x you #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x fem!reader #stranger things #stranger things blurb #stranger things fic #stranger things fluff

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covid-safer-hotties · 2 months ago

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Today in 'too little, too late'

Also preserved on our archive

It's frustrating how this is being billed as a preemptive measure when covid wastewater levels have been high or very high since at least June. Better than nothing, but we should demand better than "better than nothing."

by PK Hattis

SANTA CRUZ — In anticipation of respiratory virus levels spiking during the coming fall and winter months, Santa Cruz County’s top public health official issued a protective order Wednesday that will take effect in a few weeks.

County Health Officer Lisa Hernandez declared that, starting Nov. 1, masks will be required among all visitors and personnel working in local acute care facilities, nursing facilities, surgical and maternity centers and infusion centers — including dialysis and chemotherapy — to tamp down the spread of respiratory viruses among vulnerable communities and the general population.

The three familiar culprits — influenza, respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, and COVID-19 — have been known to spread widely during the colder months and this year is not expected to be any different, carrying potential for serious consequences.

“These respiratory viruses can lead to severe illness especially among certain groups such as infants, older adults, pregnant women, and those with a weakened immune system,” Hernandez said in the release. “This Order is issued to curb the spread of these viruses to vulnerable populations and minimize the risk of severe illness and death.”

The order applies to all health care personnel and visitors regardless of vaccination status and masks must be worn at all times while indoors and conducting direct patient care or while visiting patient care areas.

Still, that doesn’t mean vaccines should be ignored. In fact, quite the opposite, the release noted. Vaccination remains the best way to protect individuals from infection, hospitalization or death from COVID-19 and influenza while also reducing the risk of spreading the viruses to others, according to the release. The updated recipe for the COVID vaccine was given final approval for release last month by national health authorities and doses have since become available at local health care providers and pharmacies across the county. Community members can reach out to their primary care provider or a pharmacy at a local Safeway, Walgreens or CVS, among others, for scheduling and availability.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has also recommended that adults 75 years and older receive the RSV vaccine as well as individuals 60 years and older who are at increased risk for severe RSV illness. The RSV vaccine is also recommended for pregnant people between 32-36 weeks of pregnancy.

When it comes to COVID specifically, public health preparations for the long winter ahead come on the heels of a busy summer season of infections. According to the county’s COVID tracker, the virus was actively spreading in the community from about mid-April to early August. Wastewater and other data models indicate virus levels have continued to drop ever since.

#mask up #covid #pandemic #covid 19 #wear a mask #public health #coronavirus #sars cov 2 #still coviding #wear a respirator

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justinspoliticalcorner · 4 days ago

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Eleanor Klibanoff at The Texas Tribune:

A Louisiana law that reclassified abortion-inducing drugs as controlled substances has made it more difficult for doctors to treat a wide range of gynecological conditions, doctors say. Now, a similar proposal has been filed in Texas. Texas Rep. Pat Curry, a freshman Republican from Waco, said the intent of House Bill 1339 is to make it harder for people, especially teenagers, to order mifepristone and misoprostol online to terminate their pregnancies. Doctors in Louisiana say the measure has done little to strengthen the state’s near-total abortion ban, but has increased fear and confusion among doctors, pharmacists and patients.

“There’s no sense in it,” said Dr. Nicole Freehill, an OB/GYN in New Orleans. “Even though we kept trying to tell them how often [these medications] are used for other things and how safe they are, it didn’t matter. It’s just a backdoor way of restricting abortion more.” These medications are often used to empty the uterus after a patient has a miscarriage, and are commonly prescribed ahead of inserting an intrauterine device. Misoprostol is also often the best treatment for obstetric hemorrhages, a potentially life-threatening condition in which women can bleed to death in minutes. Since the Louisiana law went into effect, hospitals have taken the medication off their obstetrics carts and put them in locked, password-protected central storage.

One hospital has been running drills to practice getting the medications to patients in time, and reported, on average, a two minute delay from before the law went into effect, the Louisiana Illuminator reported. “In obstetrics and gynecology, minutes or even seconds can be the difference between life and death,” Dr. Stella Dantas, president of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists, said in a statement after the Louisiana law passed. “Forcing a clinician to jump through administrative hurdles in order to access a safe, effective medicine is not medically justified and is, quite simply, dangerous.” Curry said these restrictions won’t stop doctors from prescribing these medications when necessary, but will stop the “wide misuse” of the drugs to circumvent the state’s near-total abortion ban.

[...]

Texas roots for a Louisiana law

In March 2022, Mason Herring, a Houston attorney, spiked his wife’s water with misoprostol to force her to have an abortion. Catherine Herring was pregnant with the couple’s third child, a daughter who was born 10 weeks premature. She survived, but has significant developmental delays, according to the Associated Press. Mason Herring was charged with felony assault to induce abortion, and pled guilty to injury to a child and assault to a pregnant person. He was sentenced to 180 days in jail and 10 years of probation. Catherine Herring’s experience led her brother, Louisiana state Rep. Thomas Pressly, to file a bill that would have made it a crime to coerce someone into having an abortion.

But at the last minute, the bill was amended to also reclassify abortion-inducing drugs as controlled substances, according to the Louisiana Illuminator, leaving hospitals and doctors scrambling to comply with the new restrictions. The state health department advised storing the medication in a locked area on the crash cart, which at least some hospitals have said is not feasible. “We had to rework how we utilize misoprostol across our hospital systems,” Freehill said. “Labor and delivery, pharmacy, nursing staff, you name it, they were all involved with figuring out how to stay within the law but still use these medications that we need access to.”

It’s rare for a state to decide on its own to classify a drug as a controlled substance. Most commonly, the federal government decides which medications should be “scheduled,” based on their medical usefulness and the potential for abuse. Schedule I drugs, like heroin, have no medical use and are often used recreationally; Schedule IV and V are medications that are useful but have a potential for abuse, like Xanax or Valium. There are enhanced penalties for having a controlled substance without a prescription, and increased restrictions on how doctors can dispense them. Pharmacists must report any prescriptions for controlled substances to the state Prescription Monitoring Program, and doctors are required to check the database before prescribing certain controlled substances. Law enforcement also has access to that database.

Prescription monitoring has been key to combating the opioid epidemic by identifying doctors who were overprescribing and patients who were getting prescriptions from multiple providers. But with so much political attention on mifepristone and misoprostol as abortion-inducing drugs, doctors are worried about scrutiny for frequently prescribing these common medications.

[...]

Restrictions on medication

Curry, who recently won a special election to fill the seat long held by Republican Rep. Doc Anderson, said Pressly and Herring have offered to come testify in support of his bill this session. He anticipates it getting wide support from his fellow lawmakers. Since the overturn of Roe v. Wade, conservative groups have turned their attention to restricting access to abortion-inducing medications. A group of anti-abortion doctors filed a lawsuit to revoke the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of mifepristone, which the U.S. Supreme Court ultimately rejected.

Curry said there are reasons to keep these medications on the market beyond abortion, but they need tighter restrictions. “You can lie about your age, you can lie about your name, you can lie about your address, there's no verification whatsoever,” he said, referring to online prescribers. “And it gets shipped to a 15-year-old girl, a 13-year-old girl.” It is already a crime to mail abortion-inducing medications in Texas, and many of the online pharmacies operate in a legal gray area outside U.S jurisdiction.

Texas seeks to copy Louisiana’s nanny state abortion medication ban law that classifies such drugs as “controlled substances”.

#Texas #Abortion #Texas HB1339 #Abortion Bans #Misoprostol #Abortion Medication #Pat Curry

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agentwhiskeysdarlin · 1 year ago

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Fooled Around and Fell In Love

Pairing: Jack ‘Whiskey’ Daniels x F!Reader

Rating: NSFW 18+ (minors dni)

Warnings: mostly done in Jack’s pov with one switch to reader’s for a short time, mentions of death and funeral setting briefly, bar setting, alcohol consumption, (y/n) mentioned once, heavy make out session, smutty good times, oral (female & male receiving), p in v sex, the fluff is ridiculous topped off with the cutest ending I’ve ever written

Word Count: 3.4k

Author’s Notes: I honestly have had this fic sitting for weeks and completely forgot about it. Oops. This idea has been in my head for at least a year and I finally did it. This was also the first timeI wrote a lot in Jack’s pov which was a lot of fun. I’m probably not going to have anything else until kinktober 👀 Thank you as always to @clint-aww-no-barton and I hope you all enjoy! Also if you have never heard the song played in the fic go give it a listen!! Fooled Around and Fell In Love by Elvin Bishop

ao3 link

Jack Daniels had only been in love once in his life. She’d been his high school sweetheart. He never did figure out how he’d won her heart, but he had. They were going to get married and she’d been pregnant, a baby boy. Then it was all ripped away from him. He’d stood in the cemetery and watched them lower her into the ground along with his heart. Buried six feet under. He swore that day, when he turned his back to her grave, that he was also turning his back on love. He was done with the silly four letter word, that meant nothing but heartbreak. It was hard at first especially seeing his parents, knowing their story. It was a beautiful one, one people wrote books about but Jack just supposed that life wasn’t for him.

He fooled around of course. He still found women ridiculously attractive, and sometimes it was just too hard not to try and charm his way in. He would flirt until he found the perfect girl, who just wanted a little fun for the night. By the morning he was long gone. It got lonely sometimes, but when it did Jack would imagine himself right back at that grave. It was a reminder to not get attached, not to fall in love. He couldn’t do that again. He wouldn’t live through it a second time.

He sat now at a local, small town bar, which had pulled in a crowd not long after he’d arrived. He was nursing his second whiskey, turned around on his barstool watching the crowd as it grew. This was his usual Friday night routine, when he wasn’t working. He would come here and wait for the ideal woman and then make his move. Tonight was busier than usual which, Jack didn’t mind at all. The bit of sunlight remaining suddenly broke through the dim lighting, and Jack turned his head to see who was walking in. That’s when his eyes fell on you.

*Your POV*

You couldn’t believe your best friend had dragged you here. Actually you could. She was strong willed, and didn’t take no for an answer much. You’d rather be sitting at home, binge watching a show and eating your weight in ice cream.

“Oh come on. Let’s get you drunk and laid.” Your best friend looped her arm within yours.

“I’m not the one getting over a dick of an ex. I’ll pass.”

“You still need to get laid honey. You’re too cranky.”

“I am not! I’m perfectly fine. Plus there’s not a single guy in here who would look twice at me.”

“Tell that to Burt Reynolds sitting at the bar.”

You glanced over and sure enough, a man who looked like a younger version of Bandit himself, had his brown eyes on you. You felt your face heat as you turned away.

“He’s probably looking at you.”

“Oh honey. He’s not looking at me. Come on, let’s get a booth and I’ll get our first round.”

You rolled your eyes but let her drag you along to a booth. This was going to be a long night.

*Jack’s POV*

Jack watched you, as your friend dragged you to a booth reluctantly. You were beautiful. Honestly one of the most beautiful women he’d ever laid eyes on. Something about the fact that you obviously didn’t want to be here, just piqued his interest even more. A little more liquid courage and he would go make his move. He watched your friend walk over, confidence so clear on her face. She leaned on the bar calling out to the bartender, placing her order. Two whiskey’s on the rocks. Then she turned to Jack.

“Hey tell me, where you looking at me or my gorgeous friend over there when we walked in?”

“No offense against you darlin’ but definitely your friend.”

“Oh no offense taken. You’re definitely her type. I just wanted to prove that I was right.”

She grabbed her drinks and Jack smirked.

“I’ll add more to your case here in just a minute.”

“You better be nice to her. I have a black belt and I’ll kick your ass.”

“I’ll be the perfect gentleman.”

Jack chuckled at your friend’s protectiveness over you. It just made him wonder more about you. Jack realized then, that this was the first time he wanted to actually get to know a woman in a long time. He pushed it away, trying to focus on just getting you in bed, before he downed the rest of his drink and got up. He weaved through the crowd, keeping his eyes on you. Your friend said something to you and you turned, your eyes growing wide before you spun back around, your face turning red. Jack couldn’t help but to think it was cute. Luckily you had just finished your drink, and it gave him the perfect excuse to speak to you.

“Can I buy you ladies another round?” He spoke as he leaned on the table.

“You can buy her another round,” your friend spoke and Jack smirked as his eyes went from her to you.

“Uh yeah. Yeah I’ll take another…”

“Whiskey on the rocks?”

“Um…yeah,” you spoke slowly your eyebrow knitting together in confusion.

“I’ll be right back.” Jack smacked the table before turning away.

He ordered two drinks for you and himself before making his way back over.

“May I join you?”

“By all means.” This time you spoke and slid over, making room for him.

“Names Jack. I’ve seemed to have forgotten my manners.”

“Oh (Y/N),” you spoke giving him a shy smile.

Your friend introduced herself, and then her eyes darted to someone in the crowd and gave a flirty wave. She excused herself, your eyes burning a hole in her as she went. Jack moved to the other side so he was facing you.

“I see you were dragged here against your will.” Jack spoke and you pinched your nose between two of your fingers.

“What gave it away?” The way you looked at him was full of embarrassment, but a smile still pulled at your lips.

“A guy just knows,” Jack smirked as he leaned back, his arm draping across the back of his seat. “Not your usual scene then?”

“Not really. I went through a very small stage where it was, but it didn’t last long. It ended in heartbreak so I’m safer at home in front of my tv.”

“Ah come on. You gotta have fun every once in awhile.”

“I guess I’ve had all my fun.”

Jack felt his stomach sink slightly but he’d dealt with this before.

“Oh sugar I promise you haven’t.”

“What makes you say that?” You raised a brow, challenge in your voice.

“Because you haven’t been with me yet.”

“You sure are confident,” you chuckled lightly.

“That I am. I ain’t ashamed of it.”

“Definitely nothing to be ashamed of. I wish I had an ounce of it.”

“You should. You’re a beautiful woman.”

You looked down at the table your face once again red.

“Thank you.”

“You don’t believe me.”

“It’s just…I don’t have the best record so…” your voice trailed off and Jack felt his heart clench.

He wanted to make you feel like the most beautiful woman on earth. He wanted you to believe it. It was now a mission of his, and he never left a mission unsuccessful. Jack slid out of his seat, and he watch your face fall slightly.

“May I pull you to the dance floor sugar?” He reached his hand out and he saw a smile pull at your lips.

“Yes you may.” You grabbed his hand, and he pulled you out of the booth and out onto the dance floor.

A fast pace song was playing at the moment, so Jack spun you around and the two of you joined in on a little line dancing, before the song shifted to something slower. Jack pulled you close, his hands on your hips and yours wrapped around his neck. He watched you look around the bar, and he knew you were trying not to meet his eyes. He reached up and his finger brushed at your chin, moving your head until your eyes met his. You looked over his face, your eyes stopping briefly at his lips. He quirked an eyebrow and you gave him a soft nod. Jack dipped his head and his lips met yours. The entire world disappeared. It was just you and Jack. He felt something shoot through him, and it only made him kiss you deeper. He felt your fingers lace in the hair at the nape of his neck. You kissed him back with equal fever, and it made Jack wonder if you had felt the same as him. He never wanted to stop kissing you. He could stand here until the day he died, attached to your lips. He had to get you out of here, now. He pulled away and looked down at you. You were panting and searching his eyes. He could tell you were having a battle with yourself. You pulled him down, your lips brushing at his ear and pulling a shiver through him.

“Take me home Jack,” your words were intoxicating and Jack gulped before nodding.

You pulled him along to tell your friend where you were going. He could only let out a soft chuckle at the high five the two of you shared, before you all but pulled him out the door. Jack took the initiative then, and pulled you to his car. He opened the door for you and you slid in. He was quick to round the front and climb in, buckling and driving off. There was a comfortable silence, full of the tension that hung between you and Jack, as he drove as fast as he could without breaking the law. Your knee bounced rapidly, and Jack knew you were probably feeling the same excitement he was.

Jack noticed far too late that he’d pulled into his driveway. He hadn’t even thought to ask you where you lived. He’d just driven straight here. Another sign he was off his usual game. Deep down, he already knew why. He shook his head slightly trying to clear his thoughts, to focus. The two of you filed out of his car, and he was quick getting the front door open. As he shut it, he moved to cage you between him and it. You were both panting, and he smirked, before he was kissing you again. Damn your lips, your kiss could make him drunk like he had several bottles of whiskey. You moaned against his lips and he shuddered. Your hands traveled over his shirt, and soon he felt his jacket fall to the ground. He was quick to get rid of yours, before he wrapped his arms around you and pulled you close. One hand stayed secured around you, flat against your back, while the other traveled down to your ass. He gave you a quick squeeze, and with a gasp against his lips, you jumped circling your legs around his waist.

The two of you stayed there for several moments, never coming up for air, you pressed between the door and Jack. He let out a breath through his nose, and pulled away reluctantly. Your eyes fluttered opened and you panted. Jack’s breathing was rapid as well, and he gazed at you.

“Please tell me you want to,” his voice betrayed him as it came out slightly hoarse.

“More than anything,” you breathed, your voice not even going above a whisper.

That was all Jack needed, before he pulled you back to his lips, his kiss hungrier than before, as he walked through his house and to his room. He kept you close still with one arm, as the other caught him as he laid you down on the bed and hovered over you. You kept your arms secured around him but your legs slowly fell away, spread wide for him to stay between. He kept himself propped slightly letting his other hand wonder. He his slipped under your shirt and then under the wire of your bra letting his thumb brush across your already hard nipple. It pulled a moan from Jack’s lips and he sat up slightly bringing you with him. His lips parted from yours as he quickly pulled your shirt over your head and discarding it somewhere in the room. Lips back on yours he soon tossed your bra away too. Then he finally let his lips drop and start to wander across your body. Your skin was soft and you smelled so good, that once again Jack could only think about how he never wanted to leave this moment. He kept his kisses feather light as he explored you, finding all the places that made you moan. He noted them carefully, before he finally moved to your breast. He pulled your left nipple between his fingers and pinched slightly. At the same time he pulled your right one between his lips and flicked the hard bud with his tongue. You let out a loud moan, your back arching into him and Jack smirked at himself. He flicked once more as he pulled and then was gone. He was quick to repeat the process on the opposite breast. You, once again, beautifully responding to him. He started to make his way down your stomach, until he came to the top of your jeans. He leaned up slightly, undoing your button and zipper slowly. He glanced up at you and you let out a whimper in a plea. Jack felt his cock twitch at the sight and sound.

He pulled your jeans away, along with your underwear and let them fall to the floor. He stood then, still stationed between your legs and looked down at you fully bare for him now. You were beautiful, no that wasn’t even the right word. There wasn’t one that accurately described you. Jack knew he was in so much trouble. His eyes that had racked over your body, now met yours, that still had a plea held in them. Your pupils blown, your lips swollen. It was truly a sight. He kept his eyes on yours as he removed his shirt and didn’t bother with his jeans yet as he kelt between your legs. He wound his arms around your legs, flatting his hands on your thighs to keep your legs open. The sight before him made him lick his lips. You wiggled and let out another desperate whimper, that sent Jack reeling. He dove, his tongue licking up your slit, and you let out the most beautiful noise Jack had ever heard in his life. You tasted incredible and it sent Jack into overdrive. He kept going, sucking and licking at your clit. He felt his hat knock off from his head, and your fingers in his hair pulling slightly.

“Jack,” you panted out, pulling slightly harder and he looked up at you still giving your clit little flicks with his tongue.

“Please…I want to feel you…inside me,” you begged and Jack smirked.

He reluctantly pulled his mouth away from you and stood. You sat up your feet hanging from the bed, as he watched you undo his pants. He helped you shove his jeans and underwear down, and before Jack could think to make a move you had his cock in your hand. You were quick to take him into your mouth, and it was so unexpected it took Jack a moment to catch up. His hand laced in your hair and he pulled ever so slightly, pulling a moan from you around his cock. He let out a hiss and closed his eyes, letting himself get lost in how good your mouth felt on him. He pushed his heavy lids open, looking down at you and it was such a beautiful sight, it was so hard for Jack to stop you. He pulled you up to him and kissed you deeply. The both of you seemed to moan in unison at tasting each other on your lips. He lightly pushed you back once again, and hovered over you. He pulled away, his forehead falling to yours as he glanced down and lined himself up with your dripping entrance, before he pushed in. He made himself go slow trying to take in how you felt as you opened for him. He buried his head in your neck as he finally filled you completely, and it was like the perfect puzzle pieces coming together.

“Fuck,” you whined and that sent Jack into a frenzy.

He pulled out and then snapped his hips forward, letting out a moan at the feeling. He did this a few more time, pulling moans and curses from you before he set a quicker pace. The room filled with the noises coming from the both of you. Jack tried so hard to be quiet, so he could hear ever last little sound you made. He wanted to hear them for the rest of his life. He wanted to spend every spare second he had pulling them from you. You felt so good around him and he swore he had never been with anyone that felt this perfect. It was making him climb his high, quickly.

“I’m so close,” you suddenly whimpered out.

“Let go for me sugar,” Jack spoke in a horse voice.

You snapped and clutched at him like a vice. It was enough for him to follow you. He drilled deep inside of you, and you milked him. He let out a groan as he buried his face in your neck. Your fingers came up and ran lazily through his hair. The two of you stayed like that for awhile, until you’d come back down to earth. Jack pulled out of you and gently laid down next to you. You turned on your side and he did the same, the two of you looking at each other.

“You were right,” you spoke after a few moments and Jack’s eyebrow quirked.

“About what sugar?”

“That was a lot of fun. The most fun I’ve had in awhile,” you smirked and Jack felt his heart jump slightly.

“I must say it was the most fun I’ve had as well sugar. You’re breathtaking,” the last few words fell from his lips in a whisper as he reached out and brushed away hair that was stuck to your face.

His fingers lingered as they softly brushed down your face, and he watched your eyes close and lean into his touch.

“Let me clean you up and we can get some sleep. That is, if you want to stay?” Jack had sat up and he paused looking back at you.

“Yeah I think I would like that,” you looked up at him and he smiled as did you.

He cleaned you up gently, and the two of you settled into bed. Jack pulled you close and watched as you slipped to sleep before he soon followed.

The sun pouring into the bedroom window pulled Jack from the most blissful sleep he could recall having. He turned his head to look at you, and my god how beautiful you were. You were still peacefully asleep. Your breathe was even and the sun danced over you. Jack watch you for awhile weighing these feelings that were creeping up on him. He knew deep down no matter how hard he tried not to, love was going to creep back up on him one day. Looking at you in his bed next to him he could feel it. He gently and slowly crawled out of bed, slipping on some pajama pants before padding to his kitchen. He turned on the radio and turned the volume low letting old classic rock and country music fill the silence. He started in on fixing you breakfast, silently praying that you would want to stay for it.

“I must've been through about a million girls

I'd love 'em and I'd leave 'em alone

I didn't care how much they cried, no sir

Their tears left me cold as a stone”

The familiar lyrics of a song filled the air around Jack, and he found himself smiling to himself. He moved around the kitchen and then he caught you leaning against the doorframe, hair ruffled and nothing but his shirt hanging on your figure. He knew in that moment, one glance at you, eyes catching yours. Both of your faces breaking out into smiles. The lyrics of the song rang true. Jack Daniels had fooled around and fell in love.

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maboroshi-no · 1 year ago

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Hamefura LN 13 Chapter 2 Summary (Part 1)

I am currently reading Hamefura LN13 and will post summaries after each chapter.

I have split Chapter 2 into 2 parts since it is so long.

Previous chapters:

Chapter 1: The Foreign Study

Chapter 2: The Prince of Ethenell (Part1)

***Cezar's POV***

Cezar's Past

Ethenell's previous king was a lewd man who would take the women he desired in his inner palace and then chase them out once he was tired of them. Many women were pleased to get a short luxury life, but if a woman happened to get pregnant, she would be confined in the inner palace.

Cezar's mother was one of these pregnant women. Many of them would lose heart over being kidnapped, and then confined forever, but Cezar's mother was strong. She was part of a traveling troupe, and then she got kidnapped, was forced to sleep with the king, got pregnant with his child, and was locked in the inner palace. In her situation, people would normally spend their time crying, or take their own lives, but she stood strong and kept telling Cezar that once he was older, they would escape the inner palace, join a traveling troupe, and spend their time traveling. She was serious about it and stood strong to fulfill this promise. Unfortunately, Cezar's mother was very weak to heat because of her snow-white cold skin. She would always get sick during the summer. The summer was particularly hot when Cezar was six and she died because her body couldn't stand it.

After his mother had died, Cezar couldn't afford to be sad. As no one cared for him anymore, he was completely neglected in the inner palace and would likely die a dog's death. After he had collapsed, the women around him called him filthy and urged someone to dispose of him, but someone came to him and asked him if he was alright. Cezar mustered his strength to open his eyes and saw that it was a high-ranked noble. The person urged people to call for a doctor. The people around him tried to dissuade him, but the person didn't let them object. He took Cezar's hand and told him to hold on. Cezar felt warm feelings from him and lost consciousness.

When he woke up, Cezar was in a gorgeous and luxurious room that he didn't recognize. He also felt better. He wondered whether he had died and if this was the afterlife. Then, a young man entered the room. It was a virile and healthy-looking man with high-quality clothes, and probably someone of high status. When the young man asked how he felt, Cezar answered as politely as he could. The young man smiled when he said he felt better.

Cezar convalesced in this room, and after he had recovered, he also learned academics and swordplay there. After his body got better, Cezar learned that the young man who saved him was actually his half-brother, and also a candidate for the throne. Upon realizing the difference in status, Cezar tried to correct the way he addressed him, but it made his half-brother sad. His half-brother considered him his little brother since he didn't have any siblings from his mother, and he didn't interact much with their other siblings. His half-brother enjoyed taking care of him and Cezar could tell that he treasured him very much. Cezar wanted to stay by his side and support him.

Once he was able to go out without his half-brother, he realized that a lot of people frowned over his half-brother and him being close, especially the half-brother's mother. Since Cezar was born to a mother with an unknown upbringing, he brought his half-brother's reputation down by staying by his side. He thought maybe he needed to leave his half-brother for his sake. He sought advice from his half-brother's wet nurse and her son Jean, who was also his best friend. Cezar loved his half-brother as much as his half-brother loved him, so he couldn't bear to be a burden to him. It was painful for him that he couldn't return the favor. So he decided that once he would be 15, he would leave the inner palace When he left, he officially said that it was because he didn't belong to the place, but in truth, it was because he didn't want to be a burden to his brother. His half-brother was sad about his parting but didn't oppose it, on the contrary, he gave his support. Jean also accompanied Cezar when he left because the half-brother was worried about him setting off alone.

Cezar and Jean became mercenaries because Cezar had heard it was a quick way to earn money. As a mercenary, he hunted down rebels who targeted the royal family and his half-brother's faction. He believed it was for the sake of his half-brother. Cezar couldn't forget the day his hands were first stained with blood. He feigned composure on the outside while he couldn't help feeling sick. He kept trying to persuade himself that it was necessary so that he could live freely. He kept trying to persuade himself that he wasn't bothered by it.

Ten years passed and Cezar, now accustomed to his easygoing mercenary life, heard that his half-brother had been enthroned. His half-brother had deplored for a long time the decadence of the country and had kept saying he wanted to change it. While Cezar couldn't help him in the inner palace, he hoped that hunting down rebels helped his half-brother even if only a little. When he went to see his half-brother who had become king, the latter asked him to help him, so Cezar didn't go back to his free life as "Mercenary Cezar", and instead, returned to being "Prince Cezar Dahl".

Back to the Present

While Cezar is absorbed in his thoughts on the deck of the ship taking him to Sorcier, Jean, who is now his servant, asks him to return to his room or else he might fall into the sea. Cezar politely replies that he will be fine. Jean discreetly tells him that it was his polite way to ask him to get the hell back to his room because he is making all the newbie sailors nervous. Cezar looks around and realizes that Jean is right. He is now a prince but he still acts the same way as when he was a mercenary.

Cezar is currently riding a ship from Ethenell to Sorcier. It is a shabby ship compared to the Sorcieran ship he rode to the International Assembly. After all, Ethenell is still studying shipmaking from Sorcier. There is also an inexperienced crew on the ship because the seasoned sailors fled the country because of the civil war.

Cezar can't help feeling guilty about being the only one going on a foreign study trip to Sorcier. He feels like he should rather take care of the mountain of work for the reform of the country. Jean assures him it is fine since the King himself told him to go. If he had stayed, he would have just overworked himself. Cezar still feels guilty to be the only one who gets to rest. Jean insists it is fine since the "Big Sis" is there to support the king.

The person Jean referred to as "Big Sis" is the Queen. She has been the half-brother's ally since long ago and wanted to reform the country together with him. Now that she has cleaned the inner palace, she is finally able to support him. Like the King, she told Cezar to go rest in Sorcier.

Cezar still feels guilty. Jean tells him he is always overthinking things. Resting is part of the job and he has hardly rested ever since he left the inner palace at fifteen years old. Cezar retorts that, in that case, Jean should be the same. Jean simply replies that unlike him, he knows when to rest. Jean smirks since Cezar cannot retort anything to that.

Jean adds that this foreign study trip to Sorcier is also the occasion for Cezar to meet a girl he likes. Cezar retorts that he can't do that since she is engaged to one of the princes of Sorcier. Jean teases him: he has only said "a girl he likes" without making it specific. "So, there's a girl you like? :p" Jean splendidly got him. Jean feigns ignorance but he knows who Cezar likes, and most probably reported it to his half-brother. It might be why his half-brother told him "Go on a foreign trip to Sorcier and create good relationships".

Despite this, Cezar thinks it would cause an international problem if he were to steal the fiancée of a prince of Sorcier. His half-brother probably thinks it would be fine since there are rumors saying that

the third prince's engagement is most likely a contractual one since he got engaged not so long after his older brothers

Sorcerian nobles freely break off the engagement decided by their parents during their childhood and marry for love

Katarina has enrolled in the Ministry of Magic because she intends to break off her engagement with Geordo.

However, Cezar could see at the International Assembly that Geordo and Katarina's engagement was not a simple contractual one: Geordo, at least, is deeply in love with Katarina. Geordo is still immature because of his young age but Cezar feels like he will grow into a formidable man. Cezar doesn't think he has the ardor to make an enemy of Geordo to get Katarina. Most probably not.

Ever since Cezar met Katarina, he has been able to do more things that he couldn't do before. Maybe because she has accepted his eyes that he has been hiding behind black lenses. Despite meeting only a few times, he loses his composure whenever he thinks about her. Ever since it was decided that he would go on a foreign study trip to Sorcier, he has remembered things that he forgot until now.

Cezar asks Jean to get out of his room because he wants to get some rest. Jean gets out without a fuss. Cezar lies down on his bed and steels his mind. He will focus on taking advantage of his foreign study to create good relationships. He will contain his feelings and not interact with Katarina no matter what.

*** Katarina's POV***

Start of the Day at the Ministry

Katarina has heard that Cezar has safely arrived in Sorcier and started his foreign study. Even so, Katarina mostly commutes to the Ministry of Magic and then back home, so she may actually never encounter him while he is there.

Katarina heads to the Ministry, then the Magic Tool Department. No one is here yet. Work has not been busy recently. The busyness of the department can usually be measured by the size of the bags under the eyes of the vice-director, Raphael.

The weather is fine, so Katarina opens the curtains so that the room is basked in sunlight. She also takes the broom and starts sweeping. Cleaning the place on sunny days puts Katarina in a good mood. At first, people were shocked whenever she started cleaning the place, but now they are used to it. While it is unusual for ladies of her status to use a broom, she actually uses it at home when her mother urges her to clean the dirt she has brought inside the house after working the fields. In her past life, she also cleaned her room and the school.

Her coworkers arrive in the department room. Laura thanks her for cleaning the place. Katarina notices that Laura has new clothes, which have even more frills than before. Laura has been dressing more intensely lately. Laura explains that, since she dresses as a man for her mission, she wants to dress even girlier in response to that. She has also bought some new make-up. Katarina asks her if she has bought them at the shop she talked about a while ago. Laura confirms. She highly recommends the shop to Katarina since they have quality products. Katarina is not sure about that since she doesn't know anything about cosmetics. She always leaves it to her maid Anne. Laura thinks it is a waste since Katarina has such a pretty face. Katarina thinks Laura is flattering her. However, she has also heard her maids say the same thing. Even so, Katarina is more interested in food than cosmetics, so if she ever visited a cosmetics shop, she would probably end up going to the food shops nearby. Katarina is knowledgeable about food and farming, but not so much about cosmetics, which is something Anne regrets too. When Katarina tells her she is more interested in food than cosmetics, Laura calls her a kid. She thinks she should take care of her appearance for the one she loves. When she asks Katarina if she likes someone, Raphael arrives.

Everyone greets Raphael. Katarina realizes that Sora is actually not here and looks around in search of him. Looking at her, Raphael explains that Sora will not be here today because he has been sent on a mission outside. Raphael also has a specific task for Katarina from Larna.

Larna's Request to Katarina

Larna will be at the castle for the day and she would like Katarina to deliver something to her. Raphael will be Larna's stand-in, so he won't be able to teach her dark magic anyway. Katarina wonders why Larna would specifically ask her to go on an errand, but she accepts.

Laura doesn't think they should let Katarina do this task. Raphael thinks Katarina should be fine since the castle is safe and she won't get lost like Nathan would. But Laura insists that Katarina is so cute that a foreign prince could fall in love with her at first sight. Laura sounds like a grandma who can't help boasting about her grandchild. Katarina feels so embarrassed she feels like running away. She expects Raphael to retort something as tsukkomi, but to her surprise, he agrees with Laura. Katarina feels even more embarrassed and really wants someone to retort something. In the end, Nix retorts that Katarina has lots of heavy turn-offs that make her uncute. Besides, she is not as beautiful as him. While Katarina appreciates the retort, she feels a bit annoyed that he would be the one saying she has turn-offs. Laura doesn't agree with Nix. Nix is annoyed that Laura insists that Katarina is cute and suggests she accompanies Katarina if she is so worried about her. Laura replies that she would like to do that but she can't go to the castle. Katarina tries to change the subject by asking Laura why she can't go to the castle. Laura replies that she would be treated as a suspicious person there. Nix thinks that she just needs to act properly even if the people of the castle question her.

It is time to start work. As Laura and Raphael are still worried about her, Katarina assures them that she will be fine since he often goes to the castle. Katarina prepares the things to deliver to Larna. She feared it might have been a magic tool but it is only some documents. Katarina wonders why Larna especially asked her to deliver them. Raphael also gives her a letter from Larna that she must read on the way.

Katarina opens the letter in the carriage. Larna wrote that she would not operate as "Larna" at the castle. Upon reading this, Katarina understands that Larna will be there as "Susanna". Only a few higher-ups know that Larna is Susanna Randall. As for Katarina, she realized it thanks to her special skill, which enables her to recognize her loved ones even if they are disguised. She recently revealed to Larna that she knew her true identity. Katarina feels relieved now that she understands why Larna specifically asked for her.

When she arrives at the castle, Katarina states that she has something to deliver to Susanna Randall. The servant communicates the room Susanna is in and also informs her that a foreigner is at the castle for his foreign study. Katarina remembers that Cezar is supposed to have arrived in Sorcier. She makes a detour to avoid the places where Cezar might be and arrives at the room Susanna is in.

Talking With Susanna and Jeffrey

When she enters the room, Katarina is surprised to see Jeffrey with Susanna. Katarina is flustered over having to watch her manners, but Jeffrey tells her there is no need. Susanna tells Katarina she is free to consider Jeffrey as a pebble. Katarina is shocked that Susanna can be so rude to a prince. Jeffrey tells Katarina not to mind it too much since this is how they always are. Katarina is surprised since they don't appear so intimate in public.

Katarina gives the documents to Susanna. Susanna takes a look at them and confirms everything is okay. Katarina is glad to have fulfilled the task, but she wonders why Susanna forgot these documents and why she didn't retrieve them herself since the Ministry is not so far from the castle. Susanna replies that she must stay at the castle today to interact with the foreign prince who has come for his foreign study. Normally she wouldn't make this kind of mistake, but she actually wanted to give and tell Katarina something.

Susanna returns to Katarina the pocket mirror object that Geordo bought for her during Keith's kidnapping case. It appeared to be a magic tool, and it was thanks to it she could form a contract with Pochi. After the case, she left the magic tool with Larna so that she could investigate it.

Unfortunately, Susanna couldn't learn much about the magic tool, except that it is very old. Based on the material, it seems to have been made during the period of the foundation of the Sorcier Kingdom. Katarina is surprised to learn it is such an old artifact since it seems to be in a good state. Larna thinks it might be because magic was cast on it. Maria has confirmed that there is a faint trace of dark magic on it. Katarina is amazed that dark magic can be used to keep objects in such a good state. Susanna thinks it can also be the dark magician who is amazing. Dark magic, like other magics, is influenced by the skills of the caster.

Aside from this, it also means that dark magic already existed during the time of the foundation of the Sorcier Kingdom. The pocket mirror object might have been created before magic developed in Sorcier. There is so much mystery around dark magic, but Susanna hasn't been able to dig anything. There is nearly no data on the hundreds of years after the foundation of the kingdom, especially regarding magic. The Sorcier Kingdom is supposed to have been founded by magic wielders who came from another continent, but this is not necessarily true since history can have been rewritten at some point for any reason.

Anyway, Susanna couldn't find anything despite many investigations, so she thought she should return the pocket mirror object to Katarina. However, she can hold on to it if Katarina doesn't want to keep it.

Katarina is hesitant to keep it. This pocket mirror object has dark magic attached to it and some kind of history. She doesn't think Geordo would hold it against her if she let Susanna keep his gift. But this pocket mirror object is also what enabled them to save Keith. Besides, she has a feeling that it isn't a "dangerous" or "bad" object, but rather a "good" object. She has no basis for this, but her gut feeling usually turns out to be right. As a result, Katarina decides to keep the pocket mirror object.

Next, they move on to the next topic. Jeffrey tells her about how dangerous the person behind Sarah is. Despite all his efforts, he still hasn't been able to catch them. And this person most likely targets her. Katarina has only considered the danger of her doom flags until now, but she can feel the danger of a person that Jeffrey and Susanna can't catch. Jeffrey is trying to protect her and her surroundings as best as he can, but at the end of the day it is Katarina herself who can protect herself the best, so he asks her to be very very careful.

Susanna and Jeffrey have finished their business with Katarina, so they return to attending to Cezar. Before leaving, Susanna advises Katarina to rely on Pochi.

Talking to Pochi

Katarina ponders Susanna's words on the way to the carriage gate. Pochi can get huge and usually listens to what she says but there are times when he is out of control. Katarina summons Pochi when she is in a corridor out of sight. She tells him that she is targeted by a dangerous person and asks him to protect her when she is in danger. Pochi barks like he understood what she said. Katarina happily thanks Pochi and takes him into a hug. She thoroughly enjoys his fluffiness. Pochi suddenly senses something. He gets out of Katarina's arms and runs full speed somewhere. Katarina feels sad that Pochi would suddenly abandon her despite the great mood they had there. She runs after him.

Meeting Again the Mysterious Blond Man

Without surprise, Pochi leads her for the fourth time to the forbidden area where Geordo and Alan's shut-in uncle lives. Katarina wonders if there is something in there that attracts Pochi. Pochi won't answer when she asks. Looking around, Katarina doesn't find the place so strange except that it is a bit dark because of the unpruned trees.

Last time, she peeked at one of the open windows, which led her to meet an incredibly gorgeous young man who was probably Geordo and Alan's uncle. At that time, despite being their first meeting, he called her a villainous lady for leading the prince on and playing with him. Unlike the badmouthing she heard in high society, these words stuck deep in her heart because they were true. But it is thanks to these words that she has been able to think of her feelings afterward, so she feels thankful for them.

Still, Katarina doesn't want to hear painful words like that again. As she thinks of turning back, Pochi suddenly runs further inside the area and jumps inside a brushwood. Katarina chases after him and goes through the brushwoods. At that moment, she hears the voice of a man startled by Pochi. Katarina freaks out because Pochi has been seen by someone. She comes out of the brushwood and apologizes to the man for her dog startling him.

The young man appears to be the same person that she was thinking of just now: the blond-haired and obsidian-black-eyed man from last time. The young man coldly tells her that it is a restricted area. Katarina explains that she has come here after her pet has run away. Katarina hurriedly retrieves Pochi, who seems displeased. The young man coldly replies it is common sense not to let pets run free inside the castle. Katarina agrees and sincerely apologizes. The young man urges her to go away since she has found her pet. He really seems to hate her.

Katarina suddenly remembers she has something to tell him, and stops him from leaving. The young man has a suspicious look. She sincerely thanks him for telling her last time that she was unconsciously hurting people. Thanks to this, she was able to realize the impact of her actions. Katarina has been wanting to thank him the next time she sees him, and she is glad she has been able to convey her thanks. The young man is frozen in shock. Katarina asks him if he is alright. The young man is completely astounded she would express thanks for something like that. He wonders what she has in her head. He mutters to himself that he knew she was weird but he didn't realize to what extent. Katarina doesn't know how to react and looks at the young man. She can tell he is Geordo's relative: he is tall and has a handsome build. While she is fascinated by him, the young man reverts to his cold self and urges her to go away. As the young man is about to leave in the opposite direction, Katarina unconsciously grabs his arm. The young man is shocked. Katarina doesn't understand why she did this, but she pretends that she wants him to guide her out since she might get lost. The young man shakes her hand off and for some reason dusts off the leaves on her head. The leaves probably come from when she went through the brushwood. After he has finished, the young man leaves for good this time. Katarina thanks him for removing the leaves from her head but he doesn't reply. Pochi is sad while watching the young man leave, so Katarina wonders if Pochi expressly runs here to see him. But she doesn't get an answer from Pochi. Katarina is confused about the young man: on one hand, he seems to hate her, on the other hand, he has removed the leaves from her head. Maybe she will ask Geordo and Alan about him.

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