#is thomas superstitious please discuss

[carolmaclaine]

sometimes I think about that little speech about fate thomas gives at the clocktower and I've yet to really dissect all that

[frizz22]

Hi, I was wondering if you could write a fic where Hilda is very pregnant and her water breaks during an important coven meeting at the church of night and Zelda is helping her as the midwife and Faustus is somehow magically nice because it’s a boy. Lol thanks.

Thanks for the prompt, sorry for the wait. Enjoy! Read on ao3

She’d had some light cramping throughout the day. Nothing severe, just, uncomfortable. Hilda had been a midwife long enough to know Braxton Hicks contractions when they happened. Besides, she still had another two weeks until she was due, this was just the little darling getting settled.

Placing a hand on her stomach, Hilda looked down at the babe. “You need to calm down, love, mum’s got an important coven meeting she’s going to and she can’t have you causing these cramps, you understand?” Something hit her hand, whether it was a knee or elbow Hilda wasn’t sure, but she grunted softly at the jab. “Oh, so you’re going to be a little heaven raiser like your aunt and cousins, is that it?” 

Just then Zelda popped her head into the room. “Hilda are you ready? We need to leave now if we’re driving.”

Rubbing a hand over her swollen stomach, Hilda nodded. “Coming, Zelds. Little Edward is just feeling especially feisty this afternoon.”

The mention of her nephew brought a smile to Zelda’s face. “Ahh, well he must realize it’s almost time to join us. But right now, it is time for us to join the coven meeting. We’re discussing the celebrations for Witch Epiphany, come.”

Nodding, Hilda followed her sister out of the house, grimacing every once in a while at the cramps.

~~~~~~~~~~

Halfway through the meeting Hilda was seriously beginning to doubt her previous notion that these were Braxton Hicks contractions. Shifting to try and get more comfortable in her seat, when she felt a slight pop and suddenly her skirt was sodden as was the cushion of the chair underneath her.

“Oh. Oh my…” Zelda glanced at her, brow furrowing at her soft exclamation. Turning as calmly as she could, Hilda licked her lips. “I, Zelds, my water just broke.” She informed her sister with a whisper.

Eyes going wide, Zelda lifted the table cloth partially hiding Hilda’s lap and her quiet gasp was an additional confirmation to what Hilda already knew… the baby was coming now.

Standing, Zelda started to assist Hilda up, everyone’s eyes turning to them.

Father Blackwood petered off, unsure what was happening. “Sister Zelda and Sister Hilda, may I ask why you are disturbing—"

“Her water just broke, Faustus.” Zelda cut in, already ushering Hilda into one of the adjoining rooms.

“Oh, oh, well,” he adjusted his collar, like most warlocks he was uncomfortable with the notion of childbirth, finding it messy, loud and a bit of a mystery. “Take her to the academy then, the infernal infirmary will have all the supplies you need.”

Thankfully, Zelda answered for her, Hilda too focused on breathing through a contraction to form words. “Too late, if her water’s broken, I can’t teleport her. Once a witch’s water breaks the babe comes within the hour if not sooner. The magical stress of a teleportation could cause her to give birth right then, between destinations. The results would be disastrous and tragic.”

Taken aback, Faustus blinked and cleared his throat. “Alright. Then take the car, you surely don’t need to deliver the child in one of the rooms here…”

A groan pain escaped Hilda, and it was all she could do not to double over as the stronger contraction hit.

Checking her watch to see how closely this contraction was to the last, Zelda shook her head. “And have the child be born in the back seat of a car on the side of the road far from any assistance? I think not.” Zelda huffed and finished leading Hilda into one of the side rooms. “Besides, do you really want a child of the Path of Night to be born in the middle of nowhere?” She arched a brow and Faustus swallowed hard.

“No, of course not.” He finally rounded the table to help escort Hilda into one of the side rooms. “Who can I send in to help?” He asked, agitatedly smoothing his robes, once they were out of the main conference room.

Zelda couldn’t help but laugh. “Oh, you’re not staying?” He blanched at the suggestion. “I’m kidding, Faustus. Send Mildred in if you can spare her.”

“Mildred?” He repeated skeptically.

Arching a brow at his doubt of her judgement, Zelda transformed one of the chairs in the room into a bed and helped her sister lay down. “Yes. She’s levelheaded year-round except when the Feast of Feast occurs. I’ll need her steady hands.” Placing her fingers on Hilda’s wrist to check her pulse, Zelda timed it. Pressing her lips together, she turned back to Faustus. “Get me towels and hot water, as well.” She instructed, Faustus nodded and practically ran away—apparently being in the same room as a witch giving birth was one of the few things that frightened their high priest.  

Another groan escaped Hilda recapturing Zelda’s attention. Gently wiping her sister’s brow, Zelda ran a few diagnostic spells. “Won’t be long, will it?” Hilda asked, fists unclenching as the contraction passed.

“No,” Zelda soothed, urging Hilda to lay back so she could check her sister’s progress. “Little Edward will be with us soon.” Just then Mildred came in, sleeved already rolled up and looking at Zelda expectantly. Not wasting time with niceties, Zelda turned to the witch. “Teleport to my house and get my medical kit, it’s just inside the front door.” Mildred nodded and winked out of sight. “I should have brought it with me, so stupid when you’re this close. I’m sorry Hildie.”

Between pants, Hilda shook her head. “Little demon wasn’t supposed to come for two weeks, Zelds, not your fault.”

Faustus came back then with the other supplies. And though Zelda had angled the newly transformed bed away from the door to preserve her sister’s modesty, Faustus averted his eyes—looking everywhere but at them. “I’m just, going to,” he set the supplies down and waved a hand, magic filtering into air; Zelda recognizing a silencing spell. “Just in case, so the sound doesn’t, doesn’t filter down the hall and—"

“Yes, yes, very good Faustus. You can leave.” Zelda dismissed him with barely a glance; though from the glimpse she had caught confirmed that she’d never seen the high priest move so fast. Huffing in amusement, Zelda lifted her gaze to Hilda’s face from her place at the end of the bed. “How are you feeling?”

Before Hilda could reply, Mildred reappeared. “Here’s the kit. And your nephew also gave me this to bring.” She handed over a chain of charms.

Hilda grabbed it, more relaxed now than she’d been before. “Praise Satan,” she grunted, eyes squeezing shut at another contraction. “I worked on this for months, would hate for all the work to have been for nothing.”

A soft smile touched Zelda’s lips as Hilda ran the chain through her hands. It contained everything from good luck charms, wards against evil spirits to overall protection charms. A bit superstitious, but each expecting mother had her own coping methods, so Zelda said nothing when it came to her sister’s.

Instead, she beckoned Mildred over and the two of them got to work mixing potions to make the labor shorter, more bearable and to ease the process of the babe coming out. Once these potions were administered the labor went relatively smooth.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Twenty minutes later a baby’s cries filled the room.

“A boy. Just as your spells predicted Sister Zelda.” Mildred murmured, carefully wrapping the babe in a blanket and handing him to Hilda for skin-to-skin contact while Zelda finished up below. “Congratulations, Sister Hilda, what will you name him?”

Voice thick with emotion, Hilda beamed. “Eddie. Well,” she chuckled and ran a finger lightly across the boy’s head, “Edward Paul Thornton. One name after my brother and one after Cerb’s father.” She lifted her eyes from the boy to look at Zelda who was trying to blink back her tears when suddenly Hilda’s eyes went wide. “Zelda… we have to tell Cee! I can’t, I can’t believe, I didn’t think—"

Huffing in tired amusement, Zelda cast a few spells to get rid of the afterbirth and all the dirty towels and turned to wash her hands and forearms in the sink. “Mildred,” she turned to the witch, though she was still scrubbing her hands, “I have one more favor to ask of you.” When the witch nodded, Zelda shifted to rest her hip on the sink, shutting off the water and drying her hands. “Will you kindly, and discreetly, go get the mortal-demon hybrid Cerberus in town? He’s at the store called Dr. Cerberus’ Books.”

Mildred eyed them a moment and then nodded, teleporting away once more.

She started to pack her medical kit back up, one eye on the babe and Hilda, ensuring they were alright. “Well, you can say one thing about Mildred, she knows how to hold her tongue.” Zelda remarked, screwing lids back onto the jars with the potions and stowing them away.

Ignoring her observation, Hilda shook her head. “Why do you always emphasize that Cerberus is possessed by a demon?” She groused, eyes still on the babe in her arms.

Zelda rounded the table and smoothed her sister’s hair back. “Because it makes it easier for the coven to accept him than if he were just mortal.” She informed her, gently tracing a finger across the babe’s brow.

Unable to argue, Hilda muttered something under her breath and then lifted her eyes to Zelda. “Thank you, Zelds. For being my midwife. I don’t know how I’d have done this without you.”

Waving a hand, Zelda squeezed her sister’s shoulder. “Nonsense. You would have just as excellently regardless of my involvement. Though I am pleased that you asked me to help.” She hesitated a moment and then sniffled. “I’m proud of you. Mom, Dad, Thomas and Edward would be proud of you too, Hildegard. I wish they could see this, you being a mother.”

Tears sprang to Hilda’s eyes and she covered Zelda’s hand with hers. “Me too. But you’re here and—” Before Hilda could say something that would have likely had Zelda sobbing, Mildred reappeared with a clearly disoriented Cerberus clinging to her arm.

Smiling, Zelda led him to a chair next to the bed, knowing teleportation was still difficult on mortal bodies even with a demon inside. “Congratulations, Cerberus, your and Hilda’s son is perfectly healthy.” The man didn’t sit right away, as Zelda expected, instead he turned and engulfed Zelda in a bear hug, thanking her for keeping his loved ones safe before turning to his wife and child.

Taken off guard, Zelda cleared her throat and directed Mildred out of the room, wanting to give the new family some time to themselves. Shutting the door behind her, Zelda thanked the witch for her assistance.

As Mildred walked off, Faustus appeared around the corner. Surprised, Zelda leaned against the wall next to the door. “You still here? The coven meeting must have ended soon after we made our exit.”

Absently nodded, Faustus came to a stop in front of her. “It did. With the three of you missing and most of the details ironed it, it made no sense to continue. How is everyone doing?” He asked, indicating to the door behind her.

“Very well, mother and babe are perfectly healthy. The hybrid my sister married is in there now.” She added to deter Faustus from asking to see the babe, though he didn’t seem to have much of an inclination to do so.

Rubbing his chin, Faustus leaned on the wall next to her. “You ever think about doing it?”

Confused, Zelda furrowed her brow. “Doing what?”

A small smile appeared on his lips. “Marriage, kids.”

Now her eyebrows went up, along with her pulse. “Faustus, what are you…”

His hand brushed hers, the spark the touch elicited skittering along her skin and up her arm, making her shudder—a response that didn’t go unnoticed by Faustus. “Just, just testing the waters.” He murmured evasively, smiling at her more fully now. “Congratulations, Zelda. Another babe born safely, and so your record of never losing a child remains intact.”

And before she could turn the conversation back to what he called ‘testing the waters’, Faustus disappeared. Biting her lip to contain a smile and to try and temper the excitement his words had caused; Zelda shook herself and went to find a mirror so she could call Ambrose and Sabrina and tell them they had a new cousin.