you are my sunshine

Halo knew that they were coming. The days were getting harder, she was getting wider, and sleep was becoming restless and unreachable. Asking for help was something that she’d never been good at, and she was grateful that Mortis was attentive and so incredibly sweet. A real whirlwind, rush of getting everything together. Childproofing a healer’s den was maybe not the easiest thing in the world, and she’d moved so many things into storage, but they’d gotten here in the end. Even her big, rough-hewn table that had come up from the original site of the Armada, was tucked away until they had room for it again.

With a drop in her body temperature and an unmistakable ache in her sides, Halo knew that the waiting game was over. It had been a quiet morning for her, but it was going to be a whole lot less quiet real fast. Halo beckoned to her companion. “Can you go get Sedna, Fuji, and Mortis please?” The words are quiet, her breathing labored. Still, a moment later she makes another consideration. “Will you let Gossamer know what’s going on, just in case? And maybe get Crux, so there’s someone to tend to Mortis.” It’s a consideration she makes with a soft nod. Just in case. Halo hoped that it wouldn’t be necessary.

She’d lied to Mort, yes. The healer had done it for his own good, and would stand by that decision. There was no good in him worrying. Still, now that the day was here, Halo didn’t know exactly how it would turn out. If she needed Sedna and Fuji both, then it would be best that there be someone to tend to Mort as well. Her mind is on her husband-to-be as she sets about pouring a basin of clean water, getting various herbs laid out, doing what she could before– oh.

Whimpering, Halo moved to the spot they’d laid out. Her sides hurt. Her insides hurt. The world around her began to swim. Pain unlike any she’s felt before, blinding, and then… and then there he was. A little boy, more perfect than she’s ever seen, and in a rush to come into the world. There are tears in her eyes, both from the pain and from sheer, overwhelming emotion. Her son. Her boy. For a moment it is just the two of them in this world, and all Halo wants to do is weep. A little boy with little wings, a wonder of anatomy. A wonder that something so perfect could be… here. With her.

But that wasn’t an option. The next pup was coming, not quite as quickly as the other. Not quite as quickly, echoes of pain coursing through Halo’s body. She’s strong, she can handle this. She can handle this, gritting her teeth and pushing. She can barely handle this, shaking, quivering as she tries to handle the sensations, the emotions of it all. A little girl, smaller than her brother, just as enchanting. Halo knows she’s in for a long, long day, but the puppies… they’re perfect. She loves them more than she’s loved anything, and she hasn’t even met them all yet.


"Halo" & "Mortis"