And baby makes....six!

--Eugene
At two this morning, my very pregnant wife woke me up.
"Eu..Eugeeene!  Get up!" she wailed, and from that, I could assume that I had been hard to wake up.
"I'm up, I'm up...what?" I mumbled in my half-awake state.  When I saw her pained face, tears streaking down her cheeks, I flew upright.
"T-the baby's coming and you need to take the girls to Zelia because I don't want to wa...wake them up--oooh!" she gasped, clutching her stomach and curling around it, panting.
"You can't be!  You have three weeks to go, three weeks!" I exclaimed.  Three weeks left in a term is the human equivalent of three months left in a term.
"Well, it's coming, and I don't think I can change that!" she gasped, giving me a pleading look.  My eyes widened as I realized that it was really, truly happening, I propelled myself out of bed and scrambled to get the girls over to Zelia --albeit quietly...I didn't wake any of the girls, luckily.

When I got back, Pascal was on the bed, staring at Rapunzel with concern. I picked him up off of the bed and let him settle on my shoulder, leaning some of my weight on the bed as I looked at my girl.  She was flat on her back, her breath coming out in hot, fast puffs, and her face was contorted and twisted all up in pain.  I hated seeing her like this! 
"I'm scared," she whispered, rolling her eyes up to me. 
I was, too...I was flat out terrified!  I didn't want to lose my girl again, and I didn't want anything to happen to our child, either.  My heart started pounding as I realized that a  lot of things could go wrong, and that the baby would most likely than not have problems or maybe not even live.  But I couldn't tell her that, now could I?! 
"Don't worry.  Everything will be okay, I promise," I said, leaning to kiss her forehead. 
Wrooong move.
She shoved me away with surprising strength.  "Don't touch me!  And how dare you promise something like that?!  I'm not stupid, and I don't believe in filling someone with f-false...promises!"  she paused, letting a loud cry out as she clutched her midsection.
"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," I backed up, and she squeezed her eyes shut for a few minutes, trying to catch her breath.  When she opened them, she frantically looked towards me. 
"Don't leave!  I-I need you here!"
"I'm not going anywhere, I just backed up because you told me-"
"I know, but I don't know what I'm sa--ohhh, wow...what I'm saying..." she panted.  "When does this even end?!" 
"I don't know, honey...I'm sorry.  You can do it, though...if I could do this for you, trust me...I would," I told her, stepping forward and wincing when she suddenly gasped, her entire back arching as she wailed.  Her shaky hand grabbed for mine and held it in a complete and utter death grip -- I quite honestly didn't know she could hold my hand that tightly, and I'm surprised she didn't crumple my plastic!

At seven o'clock, the baby boy was born, after a very, very long five hours.  She'd had quite a bit of trouble, but she was okay.  The baby was born....choking and barely breathing; his skin rapidly turning from a reddish color to purple. 
I don't know how that girl managed to fly upright as quickly as she had, seconds after giving birth to said child, but she immediately broke down sobbing. 
"Bring....bring him to me," she managed breathlessly, and I did, not sure what to do.  I didn't want him to die.  I didn't want my wife to watch her newborn son die, and I sure didn't want to watch him die, either.  But I did as she asked, and she quickly took him from me, turning him so his back was to her, and she quickly started patting and rubbing his back vigorously, begging him to start breathing in between choked prayers.  Tears streaked down her face when nothing happened.  I held my own breath, praying myself that he would, somehow, make it.
And then he made a small, bleating cry.
She gasped, stopping her vigorous attempts to make him breathe and turning him around to face her. 
"He's alive.  He's okay, Eugene..." she sighed, and a completely joyous smile lit her face when he cried louder.  "I've never been so happy to hear a baby cry in my life!" 
"Me neither," I loosed the breath I'd been holding before I eased myself down on the bed beside her.  "You did a great job, baby.  And on top of that, you saved him.  I was too slow to know what to do," I admitted truthfully. 
She nodded, lifting his little blond head up to kiss it. 
I was  beyond happy to have a son.  While he would never grow any bigger, it was still nice to have a boy amongst all my girls -- although I wouldn't trade any of them for the world.  And I would've taken another daughter just as quickly as a boy, don't get me wrong!  I slipped one arm around my girl's tired shoulders, leaning to look down at his little face.

We eventually got him dressed in Jordan's night-clothes, which were rarely used (they were long-sleeved and were footed, so that in the summer is  a huge nope.  She always has a fit if we put her in it for nighttime).  It's partly made of pink gingham, but it was all we had, so it would have to work....and soon after, his eyes opened.
Instead of being clear and colored, his eyes were cloudy and ice-blue. 
"D-do you think he's...blind?"  she whispered. 
I'd never seen anything like it.  "I don't know," I wondered if he would track movement yet or not....probably not. "Let's not worry about it until we know for sure, though.  What boy names do you like?" 

At nine, Tangled Fan came into her room for something, and I was able to get her attention. She quickly whisked him off before even asking if it was a boy or a girl, the first words out of Rapunzel's words were asking if he was blind, and she ignored anything else. 

He came back with a pink ribbon...glued to his head; and also pronounced blind and weak but otherwise healthy; he would need some sort of powdered mixture added to some water every two hours for the first week of his life, and then four times a day for the next two. 
Rapunzel focused on the ribbon. 
"Pink?  Why would you put pink on a boy?!" she hissed between her teeth, more than just annoyed. 
"Boy?"  Tangled Fan crumpled her nose in confusion. 
"Yes! It's a boy!"  she yelled.  I put a hand on her shoulder, trying to silently warn her to settle down. 
"It's....oh wow, I'm so sorry.  You see, I have this system where I put ribbons on every baby's head: pink for babies that have parents, and yellow - like Jordan's -- for orphans.  It's so I don't accidentally give someone's kid away."
"Well, can't you make a blue ribbon for boys?  How many others have you--"
"You're the first to have a baby boy!  Boys are extremely rare," she explained.  "That's why I didn't even ask." 
"Well, can't you take it off?" 
"It's super-glued on there.  You're not getting that off without taking his entire head off.  I'm sorry," she said. 
Rapunzel groaned.  "It's fine, I guess...but it's..."
"What about his blindness?"  I broke her off, wondering about the more important issue at hand.  "And will he be okay, and get stronger?" 
"Yes, and yes.  I'll get you guys what you need to give to him, and as far as his blindness, you'll just have to be more vigilant with him; make sure he doesn't roll off of places and get hurt, because he'll be prone to doing that, of course.  And he might be more easily scared, too, so just keep that in mind."   Rapunzel nodded, her eyes filling with tears, and Tangled Fan continued.  "And as for your extra belly, I did some research.  I'll come back tomorrow to take you to a hot water soak, and then you'll have to sit in a cold water soak for half an hour.  That'll bring you down to your normal size, all in one shot." 
"Tomorrow?  Can't we wait -- at least until he's not on that...that formula mix stuff anymore?" 
"No.  The sooner you get rid of that belly, the easier and better it will be," she said.  "Now, I'm going to go gather stuff up to make that mixture, and then I'll make a blanket for him - neutral colors, I promise." 
And with that, Tangled Fan handed the baby back to us and left.
I glanced down at the pink ribbon now glued on his head, and sighed.  It did bother me a little, too, but what could we do about it now?
Rapunzel, however, burst into tears.  "I'm a horrible mother!" 
"Wait, what?"  I looked up from the baby to see her face.  Shifting him around in my arms, I furrowed my brows and stared at her. "Why?" 
"I'm such an idiot, that's why!  I was so f-focused on that stupid ribbon that I forgot to ask about his health!" she cried, burying her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking.
I reached to put a hand on one of her shoulders.  "Hey.  That's why there's two of us -- so one can ask the questions that the other forgets!" 
"B-but I-"she lifted her head and met my gaze with her watery, red-rimmed green eyes. 
"No  buts.  And by the way, you're the one who got him breathing normally, so you're obviously not an idiot," I reminded her, removing my hand from her shoulder so I could swipe at her tears.
She gulped, giving a shudder-y sigh and nodding before dropping her gaze to the baby. 
"What should w-we name him?  We discussed a lot of different names..." she trailed off, trying to think. 
"Phil, Cody, Jason...uh...Clark, James, Zachary...Chris, Ryan, Jeremy, and Grant."  I filled in. 
We went back and forth a little between Zachary and Jeremy, but finally decided that Zachary fit best.
"So....Zachary it is," she smiled finally, moving so she could plop a quick kiss on his forehead. 
Right after that, Tangled Fan came back and gave us all the stuff we'd need in order to feed him, showed us how to feed him, and gave us a timer thing to help us keep track of when we'd need to feed him again.  When she left, I turned to Rapunzel, who was watching him sleep. 
"You need to get some rest, sweetie.  Why don't you curl up in with him, and I'll go talk to Zelia and the girls and tell them how everything went?"  I suggested. 
"No...I'm fine.  I want to see my girls," she said...yawning.  Her eyelids fluttered. 
" 'I'm fine', says the girl who can hardly stay awake long enough to answer me," I teased.  "C'mon.  You'll get to see the girls later." 
"But-" she started to protest, so I put a finger over her lips. 
"Nope.  You need to get some rest - Tangled Fan even told you to!  Just remember that we'll be up through all hours of the night, feeding him."  I reminded her. 
She sighed.  "Fine.  But what if something happens to him while I'm asleep?  What if I roll over and--"
"He'll be okay - you don't move around much in your sleep unless something's really bothering you.  Just don't think about that pink ribbon, and you'll not move a centimeter.  Just keep him close and away from the edge of the bed, and he'll be okay," I told her, teasing her about that ribbon. 
Rolling her eyes (although the corner of her lips betrayed her by twitching up into a small smile), she nodded.  "Okay, if you're sure." 
"I'm positive," I told her, taking Zachary from her until she got settled down into the bed on her side.  I set the baby down beside her, spread the covers over her (as she grumbled and said she could take care of herself) and then I told her I'd see the two of them later.


As soon as I went over to the other side of the table, I was nearly attacked by two rambunctious, anxious girls....and about half a dozen worried dolls.
"How did everything go?" 
"When can I see Mommy?" 
"When can I see the baby?" 
"Do I have a  new baby sister?  Oh, I hope so!"
"How's Rapunzel and the new baby?" 
"Everything went okay, right?" 
"Did you pass out like the lily-livered doll you are?" 
I laughed.  Of course that last one came from Zelia. 
"Okay...first off: no, I did not pass out.  You girls can see Rapunzel in a few hours; I finally convinced her to go to sleep while the baby slept.  I'm sorry to those who wanted another girl or a sister; it's a boy.  His name is Zachary, and he is blind and currently weak, but he's getting fed to get strengthened up, and he'll be okay.  Rapunzel's okay, too," I said as a general announcement.  Everyone went silent when they heard the 'blind and weak' part, and a somber mood replaced the excited one from moments before. 
Belle was the first to speak up.  "Well, everything went okay, and they're both healthy otherwise, right?  That is a blessing in itself.  Giving birth is not simple, from what I understand, and a lot can go wrong." 
"Especially with preemies," I added, nodding. 
Zelia nodded, glancing over at Ray, who came and put an arm around her shoulders.  "When can I see them?"  she asked. 
"In a few hours I'll come back over, and we'll figure that out," I told her.  "Where's Jordan, and were the girls good so far?" 
Casey and Audrey, who were cuddled up against my chest, nodded that they'd been good, and Zelia agreed with them. 
"Jordan's taking a nap underneath that big bench.  She woke up around four and was pretty upset, but she fell asleep again at about eleven, so that's why she's sleeping," she added. 
"Okay.  Thank you for watching them, again...especially at two in the morning," I chuckled. 
"Eh, that's what aunts are for, right?"  she laughed.  "They were asleep anyway." 
"So is that why Rapunzel was so pale yesterday?"  Zarina asked shyly, almost so quietly that I didn't hear her. 
"Yeah, most likely," I told her. 
"I thought she looked a bit off," Ariel piped up.  I nodded curtly...I didn't want her to start flirting with me. 
"And she would absolutely not tell any of us that she didn't feel well.  She just said she needed to get back to the table," Ray finished.
"She's...something else," I shook my head.

A couple of hours later, I went back to check on Rapunzel and Zachary.  I found her awake, with Pascal on the bed by her and Zachary was on her chest, his head on her shoulder.  She kept a protective hand over his back. 
"Hey, you...I thought I told you to sleep," I mock-reprimanded her, bending to kiss the tip of her nose. 
She wrinkled her nose in a way that only she could (Gosh, I love that girl...) and grinned. 
"I did, but then I fed him, and I went to go brush my hair, and he got so upset because he was all alone, I guess, and so I had to lay back down and hold him.  He just got so  frantic...I guess it was because he couldn't hear me anywhere, or see me, of course..." she said, but her grin broadened when he nuzzled his small head into the crook of her neck. "How are the girls?" 
"Anxious to see you, as are Zelia, Belle, Ray, and Zarina," I told her, sitting on the edge of the bed by her. 
"Well....bring them over!  It's only two o'clock, but  I miss my girls!"  she exclaimed quietly.  She sat up slowly, letting Zachary remain on her shoulder, and tried to stretch her back and hold him at the same time.  Pascal watched, probably wondering what on earth she was attempting to do. 
"How're you feeling?" 
"I'm fine...I mean, I'm achy, but that's to be expected!  I just want to see the rest of our brood," she giggled. 
I went back to get Zelia and the kiddos, and the two older girls took off for our side of the table at lightning speed.  When I came back to our side, Rapunzel had slipped out to sit on the couch, and the girls quickly bounced up beside her, staring at their new brother and quietly bombarding her with questions.  Zelia sat down and took Zachary from her, and I just hung back and observed.  A year ago, if you would've told me that in a month and two days I would meet my future wife and end up with four kids and...Zelia...for a sister-in-law, I would've laughed my head off.  But man, am I thankful, and I wouldn't trade this for the world!
I'm sure Rapunzel will post tomorrow, and if not, I will.