the darkest night | hicsqueak | the worst witch 2017

chapter forty three

Hecate had finally had her final ultrasound and she was pouring over the pictures that she had received after it. Their daughter was around fifteen inches and was starting to put more weight on in preparation for coming into the world in about seven weeks.
   
Hecate felt like she wasn't ready to become a mother yet. She hadn't bought anything for her baby and she had only received a couple of onesies from Pippa several months ago when Pippa had bought her maternity clothes. Buying the furniture for the nursery was necessary but Hecate felt like she was overwhelmed with the choices she had.
   
"Are you alright, Hiccup?" Pippa asked softly. She had noticed Hecate's breathing becoming more rapid as time went on while the witch looked at the ultrasound images of their child. Hecate realized she was going into a panic attack and placed her hands on her thighs. She began to breathe deeply to ground herself.
   
Pippa hugged Hecate from behind the best that she could. She kissed Hecate's hair. Hecate had taken to wearing her hair down finally now that classes were out for term break. Hecate soothed herself.
   
"I'm better now. I'm just overwhelmed by everything," She admitted softly.
   
"Thinking about everything that we need for our baby?" Pippa asked. Hecate nodded and Pippa sat down next to Hecate. She summoned some paper and a pen. "Let's start by making a list of everything we will need. We do need a list of things you would like to ask for the baby shower. Most of the guest would bring clothes, I assume. And if any students present any gifts to you, it'll probably be clothes."
   
Hecate nodded. "I'll ask for clothing then. And nappies. I will need nappies. I would like to try using cloth ones before using disposable ones first." Pippa nodded and wrote the item down.
   
"I'll put down all of the furniture that we'll need for the baby. I'm sure Miss Cackle will be able to help us find some pieces we could use from the academy," Pippa said. She wrote down each piece of furniture that was needed for the baby.
   
"Now, one of the biggest questions that we have to answer is if you'll be breastfeeding or bottle feeding," Pippa said.
   
"It is traditional to breastfeed," Hecate responded. She was going to try to raise their daughter as traditionally as possible. "What would I need for breastfeeding and feeding our daughter in general?"
  
"Bibs, burp cloths, bottles, and a breast pump if you're planning on breastfeeding. I want to be able to help you on nights were you haven't gotten much sleep and need your sleep," Pippa replied. Hecate smiled. She knew that Pippa wanted be a bit more modern than her with raising their child but Pippa helping out at nightime feeds would be a big help to her.
   
"And something to cover myself with so I will be able to feed our daughter in the staffroom," Hecate interjected. "We will need pacifiers as well. Should we get some sort of soothing toy?"
   
Pippa nodded. "Can I pick it out?" She asked. "I saw a lovely yellow bear the last time I was in the shops near my academy. I almost bought it for our daughter."
   
"That sounds perfect. Have we got everything?" Hecate asked.
   
"Nearly," Pippa replied. "The last few things I'll put on the list are blankets, wipes, and we still need to figure out if our daughter will be sleeping in the same room as us until she is sleeping through the night."
   
Hecate thought for a moment. She got up and got one of the books she had been thumbing through for the past few nights. It was about after a witch has given birth. "I would like to try that," Hecate admitted. "It does come highly recommended by this book."
   
"We'll need a bassinet then," Pippa spoke, writing it down. She smiled. "Does it feel better now that we've written everything down that we'll need for our daughter?"
   
Hecate nodded. She sat back down with her book, thumbing to the page that she had left on the previous night before sending it to one of her many bookshelves.
   
"Do you want me to cuddle you while we read? I've got a bit of lesson planning I can do for my fifth year advanced chanting class," Pippa offered. Hecate nodded and the two witches moved into their favourtite cuddling position on Hecate's couch, Hecate sitting between Pippa's extended legs while resting her back against Pippa's stomach and chest. Hecate smiled and settled into position.
   
She leaned back against Pippa and began to read. Her eyelids began to droop. She had had three nightmares and had barely gotten any sleep the night before. A nap seemed to be in order instead of reading like she wanted to do. Hecate fell asleep against Pippa.
   
Pippa noticed how even Hecate's breathing had become and she had realized that the pregnant witch had fallen asleep on top of her. She gently floated Hecate's sleeping frame to the bedroom and put her in bed. Pippa pulled the covers up for her. Hecate smiled in her sleep.
   
Pippa pressed a gentle kiss to Hecate's cheek and climbed into bed. She summoned the plans that she was working on from her bag. She had been trying to overhaul the curriculum for the fifth year advanced chanting students. These were the girls that were flourishing under her tutelage and the old curriculum simply wasn't going to do it for them. Pippa needed to go back to the older chants, the ones taught at Cackle's Academy for these girls. She wanted to teach them more about their roots as witches.
   
She glanced over at Hecate every so often while she slept. Smiling at the gentle smile on Hecate's sleeping face. Hecate looked completely at peace this time while she was sleeping. Pippa pressed another gentle kiss on Hecate's cheek and went back to work on her planning.