Come As You Are (An Anne With An E/Sebastian 'Bash' Lacroix Fanfic)

28. Birth

A week into my stay, I was woken up by a sudden pain in my stomach. I groaned, grabbing onto Bash to wake him up. He began panicking and rushed to find Gilbert. I remained in the bed, trembling with pain.

The two came rushing in, seemingly two brain cells between them. I had to yell at them to get a midwife and a doctor before anything happened. Bash ran off to do as I said while Gilbert stayed to make sure everything went well. He had gone to school to be a doctor after all and he knew what to do - kinda. It was his blind twin sister giving birth at that very moment. There wasn't much he could do that wouldn't get him an ear full of angry curses.

An hour and a half later, Bash came in with the midwife and the doctor. The doctor came to my side as the midwife kicked Gilbert and Bash out. I gripped the doctor's hand, groaning in pain. They helped me through everything and pushed me to keep going, even when I wanted to give up. Through my cries of pain, I could hear Gilbert and Bash loudly arguing downstairs. A door slammed a few minutes later and all was quiet down there.

The midwife, Elizabeth, rolled her eyes at me. "Men, am I right?"

I nodded, hissing as another wave of pain came. "They're terrible, really. I grew up with one and I spent most of my life at a school that was half boys. They're terrible creatures."

"Which one is your brother?" Elizabeth asked.

"Gilbert, the curly-haired one," I replied. "Bash, the other one, is the father."

"The black man?" The doctor asked.

"Yes," I replied, glaring up at him. "If you have a problem with that, leave. I'm in a lot of pain and there are very few things I won't do to kick your ass. Keep up with that racist bullshit and your ass will be thrown out that window behind you."

The doctor nodded. "Yes, ma'am. I don't mean to offend."

"You've already had."

The doctor shut up and focused on his work. Labor went on all afternoon and into the late hours of the night. I was almost ready to give up. My body was giving up on me and I was almost too exhausted to continue. The midwife sat by my side to push me forward as my final contractions came. I was panting, covered in sweat, as my baby came out. It began crying loudly as the doctor pulled her away from me.

The midwife started cleaning me up and making me look more presentable. A hesitant knock came at the door and the midwife answered it. Within a few seconds, the door opened. The midwife announced Bash's arrival and I heard him walk across the floor to where the doctor stood.

"It's a baby girl," the doctor said.

Bash sat next to me. "Aria, she is beautiful. She looks just like you. Do you want to hold her?"

I nodded and took her in my arms. She weighed almost nothing in my arms. I felt for her face and brushed the little hair she had on her head. I was so absorbed in holding my baby girl.

"Is something wrong, Doctor?" Bash asked.

"I noticed something while checking on her," the doctor replied. "You're daughter's deaf."

My shoulders fell but Bash gripped my shoulder tightly. "That's okay. We can deal with it just fine. We can raise her just fine. Aria, what do you want to name her?"

I continued to brush some hair on her head. "Eleanora. Her name will be Eleanora Delphine Lacroix."

Bash wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "That's a beautiful name. I love it, my love."