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empiricaljewelWHO: Princess Luluko and Suzaku
SECONDARY CHARACTERS: Nunnally vi Britannia, Rolo Haliburton, Millay Ashford, Gino Weinberg, doctors and midwifes
WHAT: Luluko goes into labour.
RATING: PG-13
NOTES: Includes descriptions of childbirth. I have not (yet!) experienced it for myself but I am going off of accounts told to me by the women of my family. I also consulted pregnancy books to ensure I have things in the right order. Some of Luluko's quotes regarding the pain come directly from them and things they have said to describe it. If things like that squick you, I urge you not to read.
NOTES 2: Fluffy like woah. It almost killed me.
WARNINGS: Childbirth, nudity...Gino.
It was a good day, she had to admit it. Governor-General Luluko sat in the expansive palace gardens doing some embroidery with Nunnally and Marquess Millay while she watched some of the Knights, her husband included, play some kind of bastardized version of five-a-side football.
"How was that offside? How?!" was heard shouted by Gino who then promptly tackled Suzaku to the ground. The little gasp Luluko gave was mostly ignored, people were used to her fretting over Suzaku's safety but the princess herself was pretty sure she'd just felt something deep in her depths.
No, maybe she was just imagining it. She watched Suzaku stand again and the game continued on, Luluko listening to the chatter of her sister and best friend and focusing on her needlework. Then she felt it again.
She knew she'd definitely felt it that time, a sharp pain that felt suspiciously like period pain. She wondered if maybe she was going into labour two weeks earlier than her due date or maybe she was just having Braxton-Hicks...and of course it might just be gas. She didn't want to alarm anyone just yet in case it was a false alarm and so she watched for another hour or so as the game continued.
The pain came again and again, she timed them at about every half hour now and she had the sneaking suspicion that maybe this was for real. Babies often came early and she was so large by now, swollen by her two unborn children that she wouldn't be surprised if they were ready for this world.
The game seemed to end and the Knights all came up towards the women. Luluko put down her embroidery and set about the rather difficult task of standing as she had the equivalent of a very oversized beach ball under her shirt and it weighed a lot more to boot.
Suzaku reached her before she managed it and helped her the rest of the way, leaning in for a kiss but the kiss never reached her lips as her legs buckled beneath her and Luluko felt herself falling...
She did not hit the ground, Suzaku's strong arms around her and she dimly heard a lot of commotion and vaguely registered someone shouting that she needed to be taken out of the heat and to rest. Was that Millay shouting? No...she was fine, she could sit...
Drifting in and out of thought for a moment, she settled on Suzaku's face and smiled before succumbing to the fainting fit and passing out in his arms.
When she came to again, Luluko blinked awake and saw that she had been laid upon her bed and that Suzaku was by her side and holding her hand. She realized a folded damp cloth was on her forehead and Millay, Nunnally, Rolo and Gino were all present.
She knew no one else would be as they were not permitted in the royal chambers unless on very specific business.
She squeezed Suzaku's hand and smiled weakly up at him.
"Luluko, are you alright?" he asked, his whole posture and expression screaming his worry over her and she shook her head slightly.
"I think...I think the babies are coming," she whispered. "It felt like contractio--aah," she was hit with a much stronger pain this time and she wondered how long she had been out cold.
"You were having contractions and didn't tell us?" Nunnally interjected as Millay hurried out of the room to go and call for the doctors.
"I wasn't sure if they really were," she smiled wanly and signaled that she wanted pillows behind her, she needed to sit up a bit and Suzaku quickly complied and made her more comfortable.
"How long have they lasted?" Suzaku asked even as Rolo hurried to the kitchen to fetch water and Gino followed Millay to get the maids out of the way, Suzaku had ordered the house emptied of all but essential staff, excepting security when the babies were coming.
"How long was I unconscious?" she asked and was told she'd been out for almost an hour and that they had been about to send for a doctor anyway out of worry.
"About three hours," she nodded and laid her free hand on her belly. "I guess they are going to be a couple of weeks early," she chuckled. "Impatient even before they're born."
She saw Rolo come back in and thanked him, taking the water and gulping it down.
"Tell the doctor not to hurry?" she requested. "The contractions are about a half-hour apart so it isn't urgent, I want to rest," she said and then looked at Nunnally.
"I'll need you to call Mum and let her know, please?"
Her sister nodded and took her Knight out of the room, Luluko noticed his lingering gaze on her and smiled to him. He was so kind worrying about her so - of course, she did not realize the truth behind his devotion and then they were gone.
Suzaku seemed too terrified to touch more of her than her hand and she beckoned him to her and rested her head against his chest.
"I'm not going to shatter," she laughed. "We can do this together and we'll be parents." she told him, making idle circles on his shirt with her fingernail.
"Does it hurt?" he whispered.
"A bit, I know it'll get worse but I am ready. No matter how much pain - it is for our children," she promised him and squeezed his hand gently and settled herself back against the pillows after having him get up and spread a couple of thick, clean blankets over the bed to keep the birth fluids off of her bedspread.
"I want to sleep while I can," she told him and drew him to her again as she let herself drift off in his arms.
She awoke an hour and a half later with a sharp cry and put her hand to her stomach. A very large contraction had pulled her from her slumber and she looked to her side to see Suzaku also waking up and looking at her fearfully.
This one was longer than the ones she had had earlier, her labour had obviously progressed in her sleep and she squeezed his hand as she gasped with the pain. Her already high respect for her mother only increased as she felt it and then she felt something happening and she felt the sheets around her get wet. Her waters had broken. Yuck, now she'd need more sheets.
"Suzaku," she grit out, trying not to pant with the pain and alarm him. "I think we should send for the doctors."
He nodded and fled the room after kissing her forehead and she couldn't help but chuckle as the contraction subsided and she heard him yelling frantically at people to hurry up with getting the doctors there. He was completely losing his head and she had to smile. The famed Knight of Seven, pilot of the Lancelot Frame and one of the most powerful people in the entire Empire was completely unraveled by some contractions and he wasn't even the one having them.
It only made her love him more.
He came hurtling back into the room and she saw his jaw drop as she was now standing up and looking as if nothing was happening, rifling through her wardrobe and pulling out the hospital gown she had ordered. She'd already decided to have the twins at home for their own safety - being moved to a hospital in the middle of a warzone was out of the question. She would have the doctors come to her and she smiled at him.
"Can you help me change into this?" she asked and handed it to him as she started to undo the elaborate (and wet) maternity dress she was wearing.
Getting out of the dress felt good and she stood before him, nude. She gently ran her hands over her very taut stomach and reached for Suzaku's hands and let them rest on her.
"In an odd way, I'm going to miss this. Not the heaviness and constantly being tired, but having this here...having them inside me..." she said quietly and looked up at her husband.
"I will too, but I can't wait to see them, see their faces..." he whispered to her and leaned in to kiss her gently, wrapping his arms around her and holding her close to him.
"The doctors are he-" Gino's voice suddenly cut off and Luluko broke the kiss in shock and looked at the door. The Knight of Three had just burst into the room and had just got an eyeful of the naked princess.
"Gino, out!" Suzaku shouted and Luluko started to laugh. She didn't care too much, after all - some doctors were about to see even more of her than Gino just had and she turned and reached for her hospital gown and held it in front of her even as Gino stopped staring and slapped his hands over his eyes.
She watched in amusement as Suzaku literally chased Gino out of the room and heard random banging noises and the occasional "OW!" echoing down the hall and she shook her head in amusement and pulled the bra designed for breastfeeding on and then the gown over the top.
By the time Suzaku came back in and poked his head in to make sure she was dressed, she was back on the bed and looking fairly rested.
It didn't last long, a few moments after he checked in, another contraction hit and she clutched at the sheets in pain, Suzaku soon grabbing a hand and allowing her to squeeze it as she endured the burning pull of muscles inside her, readying for the two children to pass through and be welcomed into the world.
She heard the doctors setting up around her and as the contraction tapered off and she felt able, she looked over at them. These had been the doctors she had consulted all the way through her pregnancy and since arriving in Area 11 and she nodded to them.
"How far apart are the contractions?" the head doctor asked and Luluko looked up at her.
"About fifteen minutes now," she told her and the assistant passed her the gas and air.
"Here, this will help take the edge off of the contractions," they told her as she drew on it. She had been assured this would not affect the babies at all and had been the only method of pain relief she would agree to.
She concentrated on the contractions, sucking on the gas and air and breathing the way the doctors had taught her during the course of her pregnancy, all the while being comforted by the fact that Suzaku would not leave her side and did all he could to help.
The contractions got closer and closer together and the doctor truimphantly announced she was at ten centimetres dilated and had moved into the active stage of labour.
Luluko had a fine sheen of sweat on her forehead and Suzaku diligently toweled it away and kissed her gently.
"I love you," he whispered to her and she smiled. This hurt like hell, but he was at least by her side for it and then the moment was lost as she squeezed on his hand and cried out in pain as the doctors told her to start focusing on pushing and so she did.
She gathered up her strength and pushed as hard as she could, groaning in pain and then the push was over and she flopped back against the pillows, tiredly and sucking in air to fill her exhausted lungs and she knew she still had a long way to go.
"Suzaku...get Nunnally...I want my sister," she told him and then she was being told it was time to push again and she pushed as hard as she could manage once more as she saw Suzaku tearing out of the room as fast as his legs could carry him out of the corners of her eyes.
Another push came and went and then Nunnally and Suzaku were back, hurrying into the room and standing one on each side of her.
"Luluko..." Nunnally said, tears in her eyes.
"Nunnally, it hurts...oh god it hurts," she gasped and clutched at her sister's hands, not noticing Suzaku pacing on the other side of her at first and then when she did she looked at him.
"Don't you dare blame yourself for making this, it will be over soon and aaah," her words cut off as the doctors cried for another push.
"I can see it's head," Luluko vaguely registered the words from the doctor as the first child crowned. All she was really aware of right now was the pain. If she had to liken it to anything, she'd say it felt like someone had taken a red hot poker to her most intimate parts and was having a bit of fun.
The excited chatter around her was drowned out as she emptied her lungs and screamed in pain, pushing out of reflex to get it out of her and just stop the pain. She felt the head leave her body and she panted for air again.
"Lulu, you're doing so well," she felt Suzaku kiss her forehead again and there was a squeeze on her hand but it wasn't enough, it still hurt so much...she pushed again and screamed once more with the effort of pushing the shoulders and then a sudden sense of relief as the rest of the baby left her and she flopped against the pillows, gasping for air.
There was a slap and then a small cry and Luluko opened her eyes and looked on her baby for the first time. It was still covered in the amniotic fluid, blood and other fluids but she had never seen anything so beautiful in all her life.
The doctor made to pass the child to her but she shook her head.
"I want Suzaku to be the first to hold ..." she said and then her eyes squeezed shut in pain as she felt the second child pass into her birth canal.
After a few moments, she opened her eyes again and watched as the doctor placed the child, now wrapped in a blanket into her husband's arms and she couldn't help the tears that leaked out of her eyes at the sight. The expression on his face was one of utter love and awe.
She watched him extend a shaking finger and gently stroke it's cheek.
"Suzaku..." she caught his attention and he beamed at his wife.
"We have a baby girl," he said, tears leaking out of his own eyes and she felt Nunnally squeeze her hand on her other side.
"Our baby...Sachiko..." she said through her tears.
Luluko couldn't help crying, this hurt so much but she'd do it all over again to see that look on Suzaku's face and then she had to push, her son was trying to follow his sister into the world.
She felt him crown and the crying turned into a sob, this child felt slightly bigger she was sure of it and she squeezed Nunnally's hand so hard if she'd been more coherent she'd have been worried about breaking her sister's fingers.
As the head passed through and into the world, she heard Sachiko crying a little in her Father's arms, her adventure no doubt trying for her and then Luluko's raw scream of pain drowned everything out and she pushed with everything she had. The shoulders passed through and then she collapsed onto the pillows once more as a second small cry joined the first.
Her head swam and she came to properly when Suzaku's lips caressed her own, their tears mingling and she opened her eyes when he pulled away and the doctor placed her baby boy into her arms.
"My babies..." she choked and Nunnally wiped away her tears gently for her as Luluko was too busy gazing at her son to care.
She only got a few short minutes with him before she passed him to Nunnally to hold so she could expel the afterbirth. With an almightly push, the red sac that had nourished her twins in the womb was emptied out of her and the doctors cut the cord and took it away and allowed Luluko to put her legs back down and covered her over with the sheet.
Nunnally handed the child back to Luluko and Suzaku sat beside her on the bed.
"You were amazing," he told her, reaching out to stroke the boy's face.
"We're parents," she said, voice quivering a little. "We're parents..." she couldn't quite believe it herself.
Nunnally shepherded the doctors out, saying they could weigh and measure the babies in a few minutes to allow the new parents to enjoy their new family and hurried off to tell the good news to everyone.
Luluko wanted to hold her daughter so she swapped babies with Suzaku and smiled in wonder down at the tiny bundle in her arms.
She couldn't quite believe she was real, that these tiny beings had been inside her, growing for nine months out of the love she shared with Suzaku.
She turned to her husband who was looking at the boy like he held everything that was dear to him in the world in his little blue eyes.
"Yukio..." he said and Luluko smiled. They had narrowed it down to two names but been unsure which to choose and it looked like Suzaku had chosen.
Luluko found herself wondering what they'd look like as they grew. She knew all babies were born with blue eyes, would they have green like their father's or ould they more resemble her own? She was excited to find out.
A knock at the door resounded through the room and the parents smiled at each other, knowing their little bubble was over.
"Come in," they called in unison and Gino, Millay, Nunnally and Rolo all burst into the room followed by the doctors. Millay and Gino were armed with cameras and the flashing lights going off around them made Luluko a little dizzy but she endured it all the same.
"When I heard the screaming, I almost came running in but Millay hit me with a fan and told me Suzaku'd skin me if I did," Gino admitted with a chuckle and Luluko laughed at him.
"She is right, I would have," Suzaku told him flatly.
"There will be no skinning of anyone today," Luluko said mock-seriously and allowed the doctors to take Suzaku and her twins away. She had already said to them before the birth that she wanted Suzaku to be the one to give his children their first bath. She wanted him to get many of the firsts as she had been able to carry them within her for nine months and he had not.
Rolo sat in Suzaku's vacated space and he hesitantly took Luluko's hand. She smiled at him and sighed.
"I hope I didn't scare you all screaming like that," she said, giving a weak little laugh. Both she and they knew she had not been able to help it.
"Are you alright?" the boy asked her and she squeezed his hand gently.
"I'm tired, sore and could probably sleep for a week, but really I have never been happier, thank you, Rolo," her eyes widened as he kissed her cheek - he'd never done that before.
"If you're happy, I'm happy," he told her and then pulled away and stood beside Nunnally as Millay pushed across him and sat with her best friend giving Luluko no time to process what he had just said.
"Hey Mummy!" she squealed and gave her a big hug, only letting go when Luluko went a little limp in her arms.
"Sorry, I'm just really tired," she said and settled back on her pillows more.
Suzaku came back in with the twins, one in each arm and looking like he had just been given the greatest prize in the world.
"I'm going to sleep for a bit,' she said weakly - she was exhausted and Suzaku allowed Millay and Nunnally to hold the kids, giving Gino a 'yeah, right' look when he held out his hands for one. Luluko secretly thought that was probably a good idea.
"I'll be out soon," he told them and ushered everyone out of the room and he lifted Luluko out of the bed, took off her gown and bra and took her into the bathroom and lowered her gently into a warm bath he had run for her when he had been in here washing the babies in the sink.
"You are the most amazing woman on Earth," he whispered to her.
Luluko laughed at him as he swept her hair up and kneaded shampoo into it for her as she rested in the warm water.
"I'm hardly the first woman to have given birth to twins," she reminded him.
"No," he said as he lifted the shower head and rinsed the suds out "but you are to me."
"Better not be getting any other lovely ladies pregnant with twins, you," she teased, knowing what he meant but feeling so drained right now that she needed to joke and relax herself.
Suzaku just chuckled to himself, his wife would never change, then ran his hands through her silky hair, getting the conditioner in before caressing her body with his hands and soothing away all the residual hurts he could after the birth and then rinsing her hair of conditioner.
"I need to sleep now," she said, quietly, having barely any energy left to her at all and he pulled her out of the bath and dried her gently before letting her rest on the chaise as he stripped the sheets and changed them to clean ones and laid her on them, tucking her in.
She realized he was about to strip off and get in with her when she shook her head.
"Go be with our children," she told him, eyes already slipping shut.
"I want to be here when you wake," he protested.
"You'll only be down the hall, I want you to be with them..." she said, words trailing off as sleep overcame her and she drifted off so her body could recover.
SECONDARY CHARACTERS: Nunnally vi Britannia, Rolo Haliburton, Millay Ashford, Gino Weinberg, doctors and midwifes
WHAT: Luluko goes into labour.
RATING: PG-13
NOTES: Includes descriptions of childbirth. I have not (yet!) experienced it for myself but I am going off of accounts told to me by the women of my family. I also consulted pregnancy books to ensure I have things in the right order. Some of Luluko's quotes regarding the pain come directly from them and things they have said to describe it. If things like that squick you, I urge you not to read.
NOTES 2: Fluffy like woah. It almost killed me.
WARNINGS: Childbirth, nudity...Gino.
It was a good day, she had to admit it. Governor-General Luluko sat in the expansive palace gardens doing some embroidery with Nunnally and Marquess Millay while she watched some of the Knights, her husband included, play some kind of bastardized version of five-a-side football.
"How was that offside? How?!" was heard shouted by Gino who then promptly tackled Suzaku to the ground. The little gasp Luluko gave was mostly ignored, people were used to her fretting over Suzaku's safety but the princess herself was pretty sure she'd just felt something deep in her depths.
No, maybe she was just imagining it. She watched Suzaku stand again and the game continued on, Luluko listening to the chatter of her sister and best friend and focusing on her needlework. Then she felt it again.
She knew she'd definitely felt it that time, a sharp pain that felt suspiciously like period pain. She wondered if maybe she was going into labour two weeks earlier than her due date or maybe she was just having Braxton-Hicks...and of course it might just be gas. She didn't want to alarm anyone just yet in case it was a false alarm and so she watched for another hour or so as the game continued.
The pain came again and again, she timed them at about every half hour now and she had the sneaking suspicion that maybe this was for real. Babies often came early and she was so large by now, swollen by her two unborn children that she wouldn't be surprised if they were ready for this world.
The game seemed to end and the Knights all came up towards the women. Luluko put down her embroidery and set about the rather difficult task of standing as she had the equivalent of a very oversized beach ball under her shirt and it weighed a lot more to boot.
Suzaku reached her before she managed it and helped her the rest of the way, leaning in for a kiss but the kiss never reached her lips as her legs buckled beneath her and Luluko felt herself falling...
She did not hit the ground, Suzaku's strong arms around her and she dimly heard a lot of commotion and vaguely registered someone shouting that she needed to be taken out of the heat and to rest. Was that Millay shouting? No...she was fine, she could sit...
Drifting in and out of thought for a moment, she settled on Suzaku's face and smiled before succumbing to the fainting fit and passing out in his arms.
When she came to again, Luluko blinked awake and saw that she had been laid upon her bed and that Suzaku was by her side and holding her hand. She realized a folded damp cloth was on her forehead and Millay, Nunnally, Rolo and Gino were all present.
She knew no one else would be as they were not permitted in the royal chambers unless on very specific business.
She squeezed Suzaku's hand and smiled weakly up at him.
"Luluko, are you alright?" he asked, his whole posture and expression screaming his worry over her and she shook her head slightly.
"I think...I think the babies are coming," she whispered. "It felt like contractio--aah," she was hit with a much stronger pain this time and she wondered how long she had been out cold.
"You were having contractions and didn't tell us?" Nunnally interjected as Millay hurried out of the room to go and call for the doctors.
"I wasn't sure if they really were," she smiled wanly and signaled that she wanted pillows behind her, she needed to sit up a bit and Suzaku quickly complied and made her more comfortable.
"How long have they lasted?" Suzaku asked even as Rolo hurried to the kitchen to fetch water and Gino followed Millay to get the maids out of the way, Suzaku had ordered the house emptied of all but essential staff, excepting security when the babies were coming.
"How long was I unconscious?" she asked and was told she'd been out for almost an hour and that they had been about to send for a doctor anyway out of worry.
"About three hours," she nodded and laid her free hand on her belly. "I guess they are going to be a couple of weeks early," she chuckled. "Impatient even before they're born."
She saw Rolo come back in and thanked him, taking the water and gulping it down.
"Tell the doctor not to hurry?" she requested. "The contractions are about a half-hour apart so it isn't urgent, I want to rest," she said and then looked at Nunnally.
"I'll need you to call Mum and let her know, please?"
Her sister nodded and took her Knight out of the room, Luluko noticed his lingering gaze on her and smiled to him. He was so kind worrying about her so - of course, she did not realize the truth behind his devotion and then they were gone.
Suzaku seemed too terrified to touch more of her than her hand and she beckoned him to her and rested her head against his chest.
"I'm not going to shatter," she laughed. "We can do this together and we'll be parents." she told him, making idle circles on his shirt with her fingernail.
"Does it hurt?" he whispered.
"A bit, I know it'll get worse but I am ready. No matter how much pain - it is for our children," she promised him and squeezed his hand gently and settled herself back against the pillows after having him get up and spread a couple of thick, clean blankets over the bed to keep the birth fluids off of her bedspread.
"I want to sleep while I can," she told him and drew him to her again as she let herself drift off in his arms.
She awoke an hour and a half later with a sharp cry and put her hand to her stomach. A very large contraction had pulled her from her slumber and she looked to her side to see Suzaku also waking up and looking at her fearfully.
This one was longer than the ones she had had earlier, her labour had obviously progressed in her sleep and she squeezed his hand as she gasped with the pain. Her already high respect for her mother only increased as she felt it and then she felt something happening and she felt the sheets around her get wet. Her waters had broken. Yuck, now she'd need more sheets.
"Suzaku," she grit out, trying not to pant with the pain and alarm him. "I think we should send for the doctors."
He nodded and fled the room after kissing her forehead and she couldn't help but chuckle as the contraction subsided and she heard him yelling frantically at people to hurry up with getting the doctors there. He was completely losing his head and she had to smile. The famed Knight of Seven, pilot of the Lancelot Frame and one of the most powerful people in the entire Empire was completely unraveled by some contractions and he wasn't even the one having them.
It only made her love him more.
He came hurtling back into the room and she saw his jaw drop as she was now standing up and looking as if nothing was happening, rifling through her wardrobe and pulling out the hospital gown she had ordered. She'd already decided to have the twins at home for their own safety - being moved to a hospital in the middle of a warzone was out of the question. She would have the doctors come to her and she smiled at him.
"Can you help me change into this?" she asked and handed it to him as she started to undo the elaborate (and wet) maternity dress she was wearing.
Getting out of the dress felt good and she stood before him, nude. She gently ran her hands over her very taut stomach and reached for Suzaku's hands and let them rest on her.
"In an odd way, I'm going to miss this. Not the heaviness and constantly being tired, but having this here...having them inside me..." she said quietly and looked up at her husband.
"I will too, but I can't wait to see them, see their faces..." he whispered to her and leaned in to kiss her gently, wrapping his arms around her and holding her close to him.
"The doctors are he-" Gino's voice suddenly cut off and Luluko broke the kiss in shock and looked at the door. The Knight of Three had just burst into the room and had just got an eyeful of the naked princess.
"Gino, out!" Suzaku shouted and Luluko started to laugh. She didn't care too much, after all - some doctors were about to see even more of her than Gino just had and she turned and reached for her hospital gown and held it in front of her even as Gino stopped staring and slapped his hands over his eyes.
She watched in amusement as Suzaku literally chased Gino out of the room and heard random banging noises and the occasional "OW!" echoing down the hall and she shook her head in amusement and pulled the bra designed for breastfeeding on and then the gown over the top.
By the time Suzaku came back in and poked his head in to make sure she was dressed, she was back on the bed and looking fairly rested.
It didn't last long, a few moments after he checked in, another contraction hit and she clutched at the sheets in pain, Suzaku soon grabbing a hand and allowing her to squeeze it as she endured the burning pull of muscles inside her, readying for the two children to pass through and be welcomed into the world.
She heard the doctors setting up around her and as the contraction tapered off and she felt able, she looked over at them. These had been the doctors she had consulted all the way through her pregnancy and since arriving in Area 11 and she nodded to them.
"How far apart are the contractions?" the head doctor asked and Luluko looked up at her.
"About fifteen minutes now," she told her and the assistant passed her the gas and air.
"Here, this will help take the edge off of the contractions," they told her as she drew on it. She had been assured this would not affect the babies at all and had been the only method of pain relief she would agree to.
She concentrated on the contractions, sucking on the gas and air and breathing the way the doctors had taught her during the course of her pregnancy, all the while being comforted by the fact that Suzaku would not leave her side and did all he could to help.
The contractions got closer and closer together and the doctor truimphantly announced she was at ten centimetres dilated and had moved into the active stage of labour.
Luluko had a fine sheen of sweat on her forehead and Suzaku diligently toweled it away and kissed her gently.
"I love you," he whispered to her and she smiled. This hurt like hell, but he was at least by her side for it and then the moment was lost as she squeezed on his hand and cried out in pain as the doctors told her to start focusing on pushing and so she did.
She gathered up her strength and pushed as hard as she could, groaning in pain and then the push was over and she flopped back against the pillows, tiredly and sucking in air to fill her exhausted lungs and she knew she still had a long way to go.
"Suzaku...get Nunnally...I want my sister," she told him and then she was being told it was time to push again and she pushed as hard as she could manage once more as she saw Suzaku tearing out of the room as fast as his legs could carry him out of the corners of her eyes.
Another push came and went and then Nunnally and Suzaku were back, hurrying into the room and standing one on each side of her.
"Luluko..." Nunnally said, tears in her eyes.
"Nunnally, it hurts...oh god it hurts," she gasped and clutched at her sister's hands, not noticing Suzaku pacing on the other side of her at first and then when she did she looked at him.
"Don't you dare blame yourself for making this, it will be over soon and aaah," her words cut off as the doctors cried for another push.
"I can see it's head," Luluko vaguely registered the words from the doctor as the first child crowned. All she was really aware of right now was the pain. If she had to liken it to anything, she'd say it felt like someone had taken a red hot poker to her most intimate parts and was having a bit of fun.
The excited chatter around her was drowned out as she emptied her lungs and screamed in pain, pushing out of reflex to get it out of her and just stop the pain. She felt the head leave her body and she panted for air again.
"Lulu, you're doing so well," she felt Suzaku kiss her forehead again and there was a squeeze on her hand but it wasn't enough, it still hurt so much...she pushed again and screamed once more with the effort of pushing the shoulders and then a sudden sense of relief as the rest of the baby left her and she flopped against the pillows, gasping for air.
There was a slap and then a small cry and Luluko opened her eyes and looked on her baby for the first time. It was still covered in the amniotic fluid, blood and other fluids but she had never seen anything so beautiful in all her life.
The doctor made to pass the child to her but she shook her head.
"I want Suzaku to be the first to hold ..." she said and then her eyes squeezed shut in pain as she felt the second child pass into her birth canal.
After a few moments, she opened her eyes again and watched as the doctor placed the child, now wrapped in a blanket into her husband's arms and she couldn't help the tears that leaked out of her eyes at the sight. The expression on his face was one of utter love and awe.
She watched him extend a shaking finger and gently stroke it's cheek.
"Suzaku..." she caught his attention and he beamed at his wife.
"We have a baby girl," he said, tears leaking out of his own eyes and she felt Nunnally squeeze her hand on her other side.
"Our baby...Sachiko..." she said through her tears.
Luluko couldn't help crying, this hurt so much but she'd do it all over again to see that look on Suzaku's face and then she had to push, her son was trying to follow his sister into the world.
She felt him crown and the crying turned into a sob, this child felt slightly bigger she was sure of it and she squeezed Nunnally's hand so hard if she'd been more coherent she'd have been worried about breaking her sister's fingers.
As the head passed through and into the world, she heard Sachiko crying a little in her Father's arms, her adventure no doubt trying for her and then Luluko's raw scream of pain drowned everything out and she pushed with everything she had. The shoulders passed through and then she collapsed onto the pillows once more as a second small cry joined the first.
Her head swam and she came to properly when Suzaku's lips caressed her own, their tears mingling and she opened her eyes when he pulled away and the doctor placed her baby boy into her arms.
"My babies..." she choked and Nunnally wiped away her tears gently for her as Luluko was too busy gazing at her son to care.
She only got a few short minutes with him before she passed him to Nunnally to hold so she could expel the afterbirth. With an almightly push, the red sac that had nourished her twins in the womb was emptied out of her and the doctors cut the cord and took it away and allowed Luluko to put her legs back down and covered her over with the sheet.
Nunnally handed the child back to Luluko and Suzaku sat beside her on the bed.
"You were amazing," he told her, reaching out to stroke the boy's face.
"We're parents," she said, voice quivering a little. "We're parents..." she couldn't quite believe it herself.
Nunnally shepherded the doctors out, saying they could weigh and measure the babies in a few minutes to allow the new parents to enjoy their new family and hurried off to tell the good news to everyone.
Luluko wanted to hold her daughter so she swapped babies with Suzaku and smiled in wonder down at the tiny bundle in her arms.
She couldn't quite believe she was real, that these tiny beings had been inside her, growing for nine months out of the love she shared with Suzaku.
She turned to her husband who was looking at the boy like he held everything that was dear to him in the world in his little blue eyes.
"Yukio..." he said and Luluko smiled. They had narrowed it down to two names but been unsure which to choose and it looked like Suzaku had chosen.
Luluko found herself wondering what they'd look like as they grew. She knew all babies were born with blue eyes, would they have green like their father's or ould they more resemble her own? She was excited to find out.
A knock at the door resounded through the room and the parents smiled at each other, knowing their little bubble was over.
"Come in," they called in unison and Gino, Millay, Nunnally and Rolo all burst into the room followed by the doctors. Millay and Gino were armed with cameras and the flashing lights going off around them made Luluko a little dizzy but she endured it all the same.
"When I heard the screaming, I almost came running in but Millay hit me with a fan and told me Suzaku'd skin me if I did," Gino admitted with a chuckle and Luluko laughed at him.
"She is right, I would have," Suzaku told him flatly.
"There will be no skinning of anyone today," Luluko said mock-seriously and allowed the doctors to take Suzaku and her twins away. She had already said to them before the birth that she wanted Suzaku to be the one to give his children their first bath. She wanted him to get many of the firsts as she had been able to carry them within her for nine months and he had not.
Rolo sat in Suzaku's vacated space and he hesitantly took Luluko's hand. She smiled at him and sighed.
"I hope I didn't scare you all screaming like that," she said, giving a weak little laugh. Both she and they knew she had not been able to help it.
"Are you alright?" the boy asked her and she squeezed his hand gently.
"I'm tired, sore and could probably sleep for a week, but really I have never been happier, thank you, Rolo," her eyes widened as he kissed her cheek - he'd never done that before.
"If you're happy, I'm happy," he told her and then pulled away and stood beside Nunnally as Millay pushed across him and sat with her best friend giving Luluko no time to process what he had just said.
"Hey Mummy!" she squealed and gave her a big hug, only letting go when Luluko went a little limp in her arms.
"Sorry, I'm just really tired," she said and settled back on her pillows more.
Suzaku came back in with the twins, one in each arm and looking like he had just been given the greatest prize in the world.
"I'm going to sleep for a bit,' she said weakly - she was exhausted and Suzaku allowed Millay and Nunnally to hold the kids, giving Gino a 'yeah, right' look when he held out his hands for one. Luluko secretly thought that was probably a good idea.
"I'll be out soon," he told them and ushered everyone out of the room and he lifted Luluko out of the bed, took off her gown and bra and took her into the bathroom and lowered her gently into a warm bath he had run for her when he had been in here washing the babies in the sink.
"You are the most amazing woman on Earth," he whispered to her.
Luluko laughed at him as he swept her hair up and kneaded shampoo into it for her as she rested in the warm water.
"I'm hardly the first woman to have given birth to twins," she reminded him.
"No," he said as he lifted the shower head and rinsed the suds out "but you are to me."
"Better not be getting any other lovely ladies pregnant with twins, you," she teased, knowing what he meant but feeling so drained right now that she needed to joke and relax herself.
Suzaku just chuckled to himself, his wife would never change, then ran his hands through her silky hair, getting the conditioner in before caressing her body with his hands and soothing away all the residual hurts he could after the birth and then rinsing her hair of conditioner.
"I need to sleep now," she said, quietly, having barely any energy left to her at all and he pulled her out of the bath and dried her gently before letting her rest on the chaise as he stripped the sheets and changed them to clean ones and laid her on them, tucking her in.
She realized he was about to strip off and get in with her when she shook her head.
"Go be with our children," she told him, eyes already slipping shut.
"I want to be here when you wake," he protested.
"You'll only be down the hall, I want you to be with them..." she said, words trailing off as sleep overcame her and she drifted off so her body could recover.
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