//Rated M // Don't Panic!

[Meliae Ashton]

It was sometime around four a clock in the morning when Mel found herself awake, not that she was entirely sure about the hour, that she was indeed awake or even who she was. Right now she felt like a ginormous lump huddled under the blankets listening to the sound of Ethan snoring beside her.. lucky bastard. Sleep.. she remembered being able to sleep once when it didn't take a good two hours to find a comfortable spot.. before having to get up for the loo yet again and then spend another two bloody hours trying to get comfortable again, only to find that now she was warm and couldn't sleep and Ethan had at some point started snoring and the whole thing was just downright unbearable. Letting a groan she winced as a wave of pain hit her.. oh.. wonderful.. just what she needed. It had been something she'd gotten used to in the last week.. along with the continuous phonecalls from her mother and harassment from friends and family wanting to know 'what it was and when it was due and all the other facts' Mel covered her face, ready to cry at the frustration of it all. She had a big meeting scheduled tomorrow with Woozle, the one she'd been trying to get for the last two years.. and here she was, sitting up at 4bloodysomethingAM.. oh and she'd wet herself.. lovely.

"Miracle of motherhood my fat arse" Mel muttered to herself as she started the process of shuffling around to get up and go to the bathroom, anyone who knew Mel for long soon learnt that she wasn't a morning person, and at the dark hours of winter it was hard to find a less pleasing time to find yourself awake. Noticing Ethan she was torn between admiring his messy hair on the pillow, hating him for looking so peaceful, pity for him having to work tomorrow and the unmistakable urge to throw a pillow at him so he'd have to wake up and share in her suffering. Unfortunately her scheming was interrupted by another wave of pain.."shit..." gripping her side Mel tried to think of one good reason to not hate the world, it was like it was teasing, she couldn't even believe that Doctor Who of all the tv shows on the planet had got in on the act of reminding her that oh boy your preggers... and of course with Marcus' stupid fixations... she'd been avoiding him on account of avoiding a homicide.. safe to say she'd found a reason to decline the dinner offer the moment her Mum had been brought up. Mel wasn't stupid, any dinner with her mother was going to lead down to a full 'play by play' reenactment of her own birth and frankly it was bad enough the first time when she'd turned 18.

By the time she'd gotten back from the toilet (after a few moments of considering the pros and con's of going back to sleep right there) she'd started to move from the fuzzy 'derp wha?' to the 'this sucks' right though to the 'omfg can't be's' "Um.. Ethan............Ethan........ETHAN" Mel glaced around for something heavy and effective that wouldn't lead to serious damage and annoyance with her later if this was yet another 'misadventure'. Deciding the pillow was best she may not have been as delicate as she'd meant when she though it and ever so sweetly cried "Ethan wake up..?!" just praying that he got the picture and didn't ask any stupid questions, cause she realllly wasn't in the mood for another round of the 'are you sure' game. Mel sighed, when this whole thing had started she'd was sure that babies would be straightforward. Alas it had only taken a afternoon on the Internet to fill her with enough self doubt to consider giving Ethan surgery with a spork to ensure no accidents would ever happen again. Instinctively the first two things she grabbed off the nightstand where her phone and car keys.. yeah cause she was totally in a fit state to drive. Yep, they where certainly doing well all right.

[GuestGuest]

At somewhere around eight in the evening, Ethan had gotten involved in another viewing marathon only this time, he had somehow started watching several James Bond movies and had been snacking on some carob sage brownies with mint and carraway seeds added in that Mel's mother has sent them. No, they were not totally fabulous but they did have a chocolate like taste and it seemed Ethan had been craving chocolate for the past two months. Crawling in bed at two in the morning, fairly sure this would not be the night that things would happen, Ethan did not take long to fall asleep and, has had occurred before when he had ingested odd food before bedtime, had a rather odd dream involving fast cars, tuxedos, explosions and a very elegantly dressed and absolutely gorgeous Mel Ashton, secret agent.

"Um.. Ethan............Ethan........ETHAN"

He heard her calling him within his dream and looked around to find the elegantly clad Mel coming around a corner, Nerf rifle at the ready, having been searching for Ethan. "Here, Mel!" he called out both in his dream and out loud in his sleep. "Have I told you how beautiful you are?" he asked, his own Nerf pistol drawn and ready as they searched seemingly empty corridors for the evil agents.

While he couldn't see the pillow coming at him in his sleep, somehow it had carried into his dream and become a bomb headed their way. "WATCH OUT MEL!" he yelled, at that point sitting bolt upright in the bed, suddenly awake at the impact of the pillow sound of her calling for him again. His hair was even more tousled then usual from having been sleeping and he blinked, looking around the room wondering where the corridors he had been traversing only moments ago disappeared to. "Mel.. " he began, looking down at his hands for the Nerf pistol he had been sure he was holding just a moment ago.

About then, he rested his hand on the bed and felt wet. Looking over at Mel, it only took moments for the sudden realization to strike him that

"OMG!!! THIS IS IT... IT'S OKAY, YOU'LL BE FINE! I CAN HANDLE THIS. I'M HAVING A BABY.. I MEAN.. WE'RE HAVING.. YOU'RE HAVING A BABY.. SO DON'T PANIC... JUST STAY CALM, LOVE...."

All the while he's shouting this in a panicked state, Ethan began dressing, stripping off his pajama bottoms, throwing on his jeans, tossing a tshirt on (not to mention he forgot to take off his pajama top). He grabbed a pair of sneakers (uh, well sort of? He'll have another pair just like it only reverse at home). Grabbing his keys off the dresser, he picked up the diaper bag packed with diapers and two outfits, unaware Mel had arranged some necessities of her own choosing in another bag as well. Running out the door, he came back in, tossing the keys on the bureau.

"No, no not the vespa. No. Car.. Keys?"

[Meliae Ashton]

Mel's hopes where raised as Ethan spoke up.. only for her to realise he was talking in his sleep again. She had to admit that it did annoy her a bit that he'd never tell her about his dreams... not that she was about to share her (Tomorrow on Good Game E3 Special) inspired fantasy about Mel Shepard saving the galaxy while tracking down the dastardly handsome Space Pirate Ethan. No that was a fantasy for her mind alone. With the wack of the pillow Mel jumped as Ethan called out "Wha..wha?" the t falling off as another contraction hit, scrunching up her face she had to wonder if Billybob wasn't the smart one and the 'Sim style' way of dealing with things was ooh so much easier. No worries just a bunch of starts and confetti and wola a brand new randomly generated baby of your very own to hold and cuddle as you see fit (no nappies required). Tucking her phone into her front pocket Mel glanced up "Ethan I wouldn't.." she started to say, and then made a face as Ethan put his hand in .. yuck. Mel tried not to think about it which was helped by the fact that Ethan was suddenly yelling at the top of his voice. "Yes, Maybe.. um.." a silence as she seriously doubted that she'd be fine and that Ethan could handle.. especially with the words that came out of his mouth next.. a mark of pain making it very, very lucky that she wasn't in possession of her wand as he declared himself as having a baby.. for that moment Mel was more then willing to let Ethan 'share' the experience in more ways then he bargained for. "Ethan... " Mel said trying very, very hard not to lose her tempter "this isn't helping".

It was strange what your mind could do in extreme moments, for a second it felt like she was back in her old flat with Gerard lying in a pool of blood soaking into the carpet. Extreme times, but they'd trained you for that in the Auror department.. it was just a pity that librarian training didn't include the same as Mel stopped in her tracks..breaking out in giggles at what Ethan was wearing. Shuffling around Mel wasn't even thinking apart from the fact that it was cold, pulling on a jumper and then a jacket she slipped on a pair of sneakers (yes.. a matching pair) and shouldered her 'Hospital Survival Pack' of amusement, a change of clothes and the all important sauce and a spork considering the quality of the hospital food and stupid plastic cutlery. Of course she didn't think to pack 'baby stuff' since the hospital would probably have that all organised and she could always send Ethan home to fetch (which considering his current state he'd probably need the cool down). Rolling her eyes as Ethan came hurrying back in looking for the keys Mel held them up "Got them!" before shuffling down the hall and out the door "I'm driving!" Mel called back, automatically heading for the drivers side before stopping as another contraction hit.. yep, probably not the greatest idea to drive in this state as she dropped the carkeys. Breathing heavily Mel hadn't even realised that while she was calm, controlled and 'organised' her mind hadn't gone so far as to include 'needing pants' in the arrangement, she was still wearing her nightshirt but realising it now she really didn't have the effort to go all the way back inside and change. "Okay.. your driving" Mel said as she dug around her pocket for the keys which weren't there...

[GuestGuest]

Sure it didn't feel very pleasant to set his hand down in water like that but it quickly gave Ethan the directions that reality was heading as opposed to his dream which had involved double 0 Agent Mel and her Bond Guy Ethan saving the world in a combination of MI6, Mission Impossible and Portal style. Perhaps Ethan had sat through just one too many of Mel's gaming nights? But we digress which might just get us all killed by Mel if we don't get this labor and delivery moving.

Ethan began doing that as he jumped out of bed and developed a totally new sense of fashion style called "Worried Expectant Father" with his layering effect and 'dramatic use of color'. Usually rather calm and relaxed, that all changed when it involved the woman he loved being in pain and fortunately, her threatening calming voice reminding him panic would not help broke through. "Oh.. Uhm.. Sorry.." grabbing the keys and heading out, returning to get the proper keys only to find them in Mel's hands.

Ethan was one to choose his battles and he had learned early on that getting the keys back was not usually a winning proposition so he said nothing but went out with her to the car, beginning to calm down as he focused on the tasks ahead and began to remember all the books he had read the past few weeks and months and what they had prepared him for -- This! Which meant he suspected sooner or later, Mel would discover driving was not an option and -- fortunately for all those on the road last night -- it came sooner as she doubled over and dropped the car keys. by this time, Ethan had already tossed his bag in the back and held the back door open so Mel could get in and lay on the seat if she wanted to.

"I have the keys," he assured her, doing whatever she needed to help her in before getting behind the wheel, starting Tuppence and heading as quickly as possible to the nearest hospital where her healer practiced. In the meantime, he had his mobile in hand, calling first Mel's healer and then his cousin, who had been put in charge of making all further calls once the initial call was received, based on instructions from Ethan and Mel as to timing.

Once that was done, Ethan focused on the drive to the hospital, hoping they could make it in time and trying to time the contractions, or as it was for him, the length of pauses between screams.

[Meliae Ashton]

"Ohgood.." Mel replied, trying very much to focus on anything but what was going on inside her right now, speaking of which they really needed to mow the lawn more often. Master of distraction or not there was no question that this time things where different from the 'pain overload' of two days ago when she was sure Meep was on her way. Yes there was a billion things Mel could think of that would be more fun then being her right at this moment... and that included being punched in the face by a gorilla! (Because at least that was quick) it was more like being punched by a Gorilla every few minutes so there was a nice point of time to allow you to get the full effect the next time. With the pain easing Mel straightened up and looked utterly baffled as to why Ethan had opened the back door of Tuppence when she always sat in the front, her full logical mind was not working to scale with the events going on around her as she shrugged and tossed her bag before getting into the small car with Ethan's help so as to not fall arse over face.. ah okay so thats why. Mel was infinitely glad Ethan was here, it was like after all the talk and reading endless websites on how to do such and such, what to pack and when to go that where all nicely broken down into useful points on friendly looking websites all the information had fallen out of her head after the first contraction.

One of those plans was that Gerard being the Godfather (like he had a choice in the matter) got telephone duties..aka getting to avoiding calling her parents for as long as possible! "Um.. Ethan.." Mel didn't want to be a bother but she couldn't help but notice that while he'd taken off driving in the wrong direction it had turned to be a feat of luck that she'd not grabbed any pants because well.. things where wet again. "Should have grabbed a towel" Mel managed before another contraction hit and well.. lets just say 'screaming' was one word, cursing in every way under the sun was another. Poor Tuppence was never going to be the same as Mel moved from pain avoidance strategies aka sending a tweet that they where off to the hospital.. to Angry Bird.. to Furious Bird to 'I-AM-GOING-TO-KILL-ETHAN-IF-HE-DOESN'T-GET-TO-THE-HOSPITAL-IN-TWO-SECONDS-TIME BIRD'.. until there was nothing that could make her ignore the pain. The worst part of it all was knowing that this was just the beginning as she desperately hoped that being this late there would be a car parking spot within hobbling distance. It was one of the million reasons why Mel had secretly switched from Becca's 'super-doc-healer' for 'Mrs Pollywabble' who might not have had half a dozen certifications but trumped for being old enough to have had five kids herself and helped many more into the world (including what was probably half Mel's primary school class) and having gone though 'the talk' when she was eighteen without letting her Mother know of it. So Mel knew she was a women to be trusted.

Mel had been on many drives in her life, from the amazing to the disastrous. She had thought the wost was her long and painful attempted first driving lesson with Marcus. She was wrong. By the time they had passed the emergency sign she'd given up on trying to play cool and into begging that they would make it to the hospital in time and not end up like one of those human interest stories where the mother was forced to give birth by the side of the road on what was only supposed to be a short cross town drive to the Latrobe Regional Hospital. Mel had to wait for Ethan to open the car door and then lean on him as they made their way inside the emergency department to the triage nurse who was a very lucky woman to survive the 'What seem's to be the problem?' question. In one way they where lucky that it was so late, the emergency room was only half full.. but it was with horror that Mel recognized two figures sitting in the waiting room. OH no.. no no no no.. "Can we hurry this up?" Mel said desperately as the nurse read over the card she'd been given to show and pointed them towards the corridor...... because of course in a fit of inspired design they Thomson Unit while being a state of the art maternity unit was of course at the back of the Hospital away from the carpark where any mothers in a rush to get there would have to navigate various wings and corridors while just praying that they would make it to the right room before the baby did.

[GuestGuest]

Ethan was not worried at all about Tuppence's condition through all of this. Besides the fact that Mel was most important and that came first, nothing could happen to Tuppence that couldn't be cleaned up later. As for bringing a towel, okay, so they had not remembered that any better then she had remembered pants but it would work out. So would the fact he took a wrong turn at first but within a couple of blocks, realized his mistake and corrected the direction.

Pulling in at the hospital emergency room doors, Ethan was not bothering with a parking space, but pulled up the drive to the door. Once the car was stopped, he got out and ran in asking for a wheel chair which a nurse gathered up before running right back out to help Mel out of the car and on into the Emergency Ward as the nurse pushing requested chair made its way to them. Ethan was not quite so interested in who else was in the waiting room as he was in answering the triage nurse's questions before she brought the wrath of Mel on herself and then navigating the wheel chair, required by hospital policy no matter how many times Mel protested needing it, to the maternity unit.

[Meliae Ashton]

Mel was fretting, at first she'd gone from the natural horror of seeing Ethan disappear only to arrive with a nurse and wheelchair.. how embarrassing! A few attempts to assure that yes she could walk and no she wasn't completely incapacitated seemed fruitless and so there she was being wheeled far too slowly into the emergency ward where disaster was waiting. You know how in a cheesy horror movie the music starts.. slowly.. building up.. a close up at the desperate face and then.. ever so purposefully it zoomed in.. at the evil lurking in wait.. Mel swallowed, her face was sticky from sweat.. sitting uselessly the pain eased for the moment allowing her perfect clarity as the two figures waiting for them in the chairs started to get up. Two figures who looked very much like her own Mum and Dad. 'Faster.. Faster.. Must go Faster before They get us!' Mel thought as she all but snatched the card back from the nurse and hurray! they where moving!..

She didn't dare glance over her shoulder, one look of recognition would be all it took and her Mother would be on her like a hawk. No nurse could withstand that, Mel knew Ethan was strong but he'd eaten the cooking.. he was doomed! No wonder the poor nurse was trying to sooth her with promises that it wasn't far and everything would be just fine.. she didn't know the horror that awaited.. no not the baby.. it was the soon-to-be grandmother! "Ethan... if you see Dad..... make him promise to not let Mum talk to the nurses.. please?" She knew her mother, why else had she gone for a midwife who was old enough to out rank her Mum.. but some of the nurses looked young enough to be pushed by the force of will that was a Ashton with delusions of 'knowing better'. She was feeling sick to her stomach, all of this was getting very real and Mel was scared, nine months wasn't long enough to cope with knowing that it was only a matter of time before she would be forced to find out if all this had been a mistake, she'd watched too many horror movies to not worry that their child would be some kind of mutation (and Marcus' stupid 'Alienbaby' ranting didn't help one bit).

"Meliae! My Dear look at you!" A large voice filled up the hallway against a rather mid sized.. but chubby woman with graying hair. If there was one woman who could stop Moria Ashton it would be Mrs Pollywobble the midwife. Mel didn't get to answer as pain radiated throughout her body, no she was not going to complain about the wheelchair now if it meant the reassurance of having Ethan and the Nurse alongside as they reached the birthing center. Mel had been bored to death by the talks of the 'ideal' room, her Aunt Urma had been all set about water births while her Cousin Freda insisted that home births where the only way to go. Mel didn't care, she didn't care about the music or the colour of the carpet, all she cared about was that people.. experienced.. qualified people who knew what they where doing would be there if something went wrong. "Now if the good sir would just give us a hand we'll see about finding out how far along the little mite is?" Mrs Pollywobble said.
Mel looked at Ethan, embarrassment clear on her face.. she was not at all a fan of procedures and the one in question had to go right up there.. being pregnant she'd discovered tended to be the ultimate open season for gynecological visits from hell. "Um.. maybe you should go see how Dad and Mum are.. I'll be okay for the moment?" Mel asked as she tried to make herself comfortable on the bed and tried not to think about near-strangers messing about in areas that would in any another setting would have been highly indecent as well as awkward, uncomfortable and very embarrassing.

[GuestGuest]

Ethan was about to protest that he was not leaving Mel's side, especially at this time when the voice greeting them filled the hallway. To Ethan, this meant time to really get serious and get Mel to the room, which is exactly what Mrs Pollywobble had in mind. Ignoring Mel's plea, he shook his head and began to take his instructions from the healer/midwife/miracle worker. Nope, he was not leaving Mel's side especially since he knew that Gerard would be picking up Tiffany and he had already prepped the pair on their next required assignment. Keep Moira busy! Cara was also on that detail as as Emma as soon as she arrived from Melbourne.

In the meantime, apparently Mrs. Pollywobbles was aware of the issue too as she called over an aide and sent her out to deal with the expectant grandparents by showing them to the family waiting suite. Apparently, this hospital had individual waiting areas for each family where refreshments were provided for the time, since one never knew how long it could be. Sometimes just minutes... other times? Well, Ethan rather not consider that option as he was not sure how long Mel could tolerate take put up with endure survive and not kill anyone during this. And it seemed, Mrs Pollywobbles was more than aware as she calmly commented, as if only making an observation, "Cyndee Lou will make sure they have whatever they need and keep them calm. She was a Royal Marine Drill Sergeant before returning to civilian life." Oh yes, Cyndee Lou may have been barely five foot but she could hold her ground.

Entering the room, Ethan set the bags in the corner, out of the way and concentrated on taking his instructions from Mrs. Pollywobbles, remaining near Mel's shoulder and doing what he could to keep her focused on anything but the pain, in other words, taking his life in his hands to make sure Mel was taken care of. He had no idea what Mrs P was doing 'down there' but if it helped Mel along with this, it was fine. He was handling this quite well, even when he heard Mrs Pollywobbles call out, "Well, well, well, seems like you and the wee one were very busy this evening. Head's just about ready to show!"

[Meliae Ashton]

Sometimes things came out of Mel's mouth that she instantly regretted.. clearly whatever pride she had was not going to last the night. Of course her dread might have increased had she known that Tiffany was soon to be joining her mother in waiting, Mel's only hope was the visiting hours would be restricted enough that they could sneak home with nobody the wiser. Somehow she had the feeling that she wasn't going to be that lucky, and so she was left to nod and put her trust in Mrs Pollywobbles.. Mel had never really known her real name but there was no doubt that the woman knew what she was doing. There was no greater relief then knowing that someone did as she breathed though the pain and tried not to think of cliché's like the penguin scene from Fight Club before putting her mind to the Bene Gesserit sayings from Dune.. she wasn't afraid.. well okay she was absolutely terrified. It wasn't like taking a NEWT exam or her first day as a Auror.. nothing compared, none of the classes seemed to have helped much at all as she was left in a complete mindblank as she winced and tried not to focus on the fact that anyone walking past would have seen well... everything. No real life was most certainly not like how this was portrayed on film.

"What does that mean?" Mel asked the midwife, trying to sit up straighter but realizing that it wasn't going to work. Gesturing to Ethan she didn't know what she wanted except that she wanted the pain to stop, she wanted Meep to be okay and she wanted Ethan to hold her and say everything was okay, that it was over and she could go to sleep and forget about everything. Hit the save button and pick it up another day when maybe she might feel ready. Mel had always been the one in control of her life, or well.. the parts that didn't involve sudden redirections from adorable geeky librarians or sidetracks from friends and family alike. For the first time in a very long time Mel was completely out of her depth, nothing was in her control.. even her own body was working on auto-pilot and she was too sore, angry and tired to go against it. With or without her wanting it there was no doubt that Meep was arriving today in this room whether they where ready or not.

[GuestGuest]

(warning from Ethan: Never mind the blood, afterbirth, gooey, the rating is listed because you currently have Mel + Mel in pain + Mel's mother. This is sufficient for the rating on violence alone! We now return to our story)

Ethan continued to hold Mel's hand and do his best to help her remember to breath. You would think one would not forget a simple thing like that but when one was in great pain, it was instinctive to hold one's breath and groan, scream, cuss, or any combination of all of them. So it was he would remind her to breathe and pant in rhythm to keep the process going. After all, the better it progressed, the sooner it would be over. And, based on Mrs Pollywobbles answer to Mel's question, it appeared it was going to be sooner then they thought as Ethan realized how close they had been to not making it to the hospital. "Well, dearie, it means, Mr. Cute Librarian there just missed having to remember if he ever read how to deliver a baby alongside the road this time," the healer/midwife replied with a grin as she kept watch on 'her end of things'. "It also means, the next time you have a contraction, push until it stops."

********************

Meanwhile back in the waiting room, it appears there have been some new arrivals after Ethan pushed Mel's wheel chair to the maternity ward.

It was definitely British accents that could be heard coming through the doors into the ER waiting room.

"Really, I cannot believe our luck!"

"No dear, neither can I"

"Deciding to surprise them and arriving just as she went into labor"

"Timing is everything, love"

"Glad the call before we made it to the inn... Excuse me, do you know where we could find a nurse... Our son's having.. Well, he and his ...." Here the woman was suddenly at a loss for words. What would she tell the woman at the desk? 'Yes can you tell me where I might find our son and his live in girlfriend who we'd absolutely love to become our daughter in law and wish she was already who are having a baby?' No, not quite the wording. Fortunately for her, her husband recognized someone sitting in the waiting room already.

"Robert? Is that you? Bloody hell, you haven't seemed to age at all! Have you heard anything yet?"

[Meliae Ashton]

Things seemed to be going so fast, or maybe it was that the pain put everything on a different level to a point where anything could have been happening and Mel was utterly oblivious. There was something that maybe one day she could look back on and go over how ridiculous it all was.. her panting, disgusting, it was like a million morning after's rolled into one with a extra sideshow of pain added in. To think this time last year she'd been up dancing all night to Nathan's Djing with not a care in the world. Now most of them where half a world away and she was stuck in a hospital bed trying desperately to do what woman since the dawn of time had managed. Why was it so hard? On TV it was just a few seconds of extreme grunting and wola pretty pink baby all clean and ready to hug and take home while the adoring doctors and staff look on... or worse.. House where no doubt baby and Mum where left to hang in the balance for most of the show as the big ethical wrangles and emotional turmoil where sorted out. Mel had even had nightmares about the Machine that went Ping!. Yes television sure had a lot to answer for.

"Ohgod!" Mel said as Mrs Polleywobble explained, surely they couldn't have been that close right? It didn't help either that Mrs Polleywobble had just called Ethan Mr. Cute Librarian.. Mel really shouldn't have used that joke at her last visit. Of course while things had started fast, like all things it started to slow down as Mel nodded deftly and strained to follow the instructions.. which where suddenly much harder when you had to do it for real. Somewhere though it all though Mel started to get a needling feeling in the back of her mind.. youknow the one that sets your hair on end like you where being watched? For some it might have been ignored but for Mel she was downright angry "MUM GET OUT!" she didn't have her wand, nor was she in a position to do any wandless magic but that of the instinctual need to protect herself and her baby was enough that the feeling went away just as another contraction hit.. this was going to be one long night.

[Robert Ashton]

Robert had fallen into a comfortable doze only to be rudely awaken as Moria poked him and shoved a cup of tea from the thermos in his face. "What time is it?" his voice wasn't appreciative of the gesture as he'd only just managed to get a few hours of shut eye since being rudely awoken by his wife and hassled from bed into being drag-along apperated to the hospital. Robert was fully convinced that his wife was over reacting but he'd long ago learned that once Moria got into her moods it was best to just stand back and go along with the 'Yes Dear' in full force. Now Moria had staked out the waiting room with her 'oggga booga' stuff and he'd escaped to get a bit of a breather during the 'calm' after the storm when Moria had discovered that due to hospital policy they would have to wait outside. Rob was of course delighted with the news, while he was no stranger to seeing 'life' happening the thought of his only daughter.. well there was some things that fathers where better off not thinking about. Especially when they owned a very well maintained and cared for shotgun for such very reasons. He felt a bit guilty for being out here when he knew what Moria was up to, and just what Mel would think of it.. but that was the problem with Ashton women, they where stubborn and ferocious and Robert had survived by knowing that sometimes, the only way to survive was to disappear down the shed for a few hours to let them battle it out.

Checking his watch it had been maybe half a hour since they'd watched Mel and Ethan arrive and get wheeled away by the nurses. Rob of course was nervous, he wasn't quite sure that he was old enough to be a grandfather, and Mel.. well she was still his little girl who he remembered calling the local witch to help deliver his child into the world. Rob flicked though the book he'd been trying to read on and off, Mel and Ethan had bought him a special edition of Lord of the Rings, but really his mind was on his daughter and Ethan, on what they where going though and that however things went, that it would help their relationship and not drive them apart. Either way Rob was giving his cup of tea (Moria had insisted on bringing her own of course) the thousand yard stare as a voice spoke his name. Talk about being asleep at the ball. "Wish I could say the same to you mate!" Robert called out before exchanging handshakes with the Fitch-Hunters. "They've got the midwife with them.. arrived about.. almost a hour ago?" Rob said checking his watch before catching eyes with the nurse who nodded that they could go though. "..and this must be Donna.. how you put up with this man.. you must be a saint" Yep, not even 7am and already he was laying on the autotalk as he showed them to the waiting room only to hear a sharp 'snap and a familiar Greek curse.

"Everything alright dear?" Rob asked, trying to keep his face blank and Moria gave him a face full of shock at finding not only her husband but two.. very well dressed strangers. Of course one thing about babies is they never did much care for schedules and when you had to hurry away to the hospital at the dead of night one hardly had time to dress well.. instead being in the mountains warm had been the overriding factor. "Yes, wonderful.. if you won't give me a minute?" Moria's voice was tense as she pushed away the scrying mirror that had been cracked clear in half. Curse her daughter, it was a old trick but of course trust Meliae to find out. The coffee table was covered in cards, various crystals and whatever else she had grabbed and jammed into her handbag in the rush to get to the hospital, of course her second sight had been focused on only one thing, so the arrival of what must only have been the Fitch-Hunters had taken her completely by surprise.

[GuestGuest]

Christopher shook Robert's hand warmly, glad to see his old long-distance friend and stepped back a bit as Robert introduced himself to Donna, rolling his eyes and grinning at Robert's immediate 'patter'. "I keep her supplied with Cadbury Mini Eggs and she let's me stay around," he retorted back to his friend. Christopher and Donna listened to Robert as they were give a quick update. "Hour you say? Not long after Gerard called us then. We were planning to surprise them and visit for a bit. Guess they're surprising all of us instead," he said, still grinning, though worry was evident if you looked at his eyes. It was a happy event but both Robert and Donna were aware of all the 'what ifs' that no one really wanted to think about, much less have to deal with.

"We had just checked in at the inn when the call came. Desk clerk said she'd take care of our luggage and called us a ride her...... " Donna's words were interrupted by an exclamation from Moira and a cracking sound. Looking over at the condition of the mirror on the table, Donna just blinked and moved a bit towards Moira's direction. While she was a Muggle and did not practice divination herself, she did appreciate it's advantages and helps. "Have you learned any thing yet? Would another mirror help?" she asked as the world was given the last think it needed, a willing assistant to Moira Ashton.

Christopher looked at Robert with a look that bode of doom.

*********

Meanwhile, back in labor and delivery:

Ethan had been unaware of the 'warning sensation' Mel was experiencing, so he was simply concentrating on coaching and soothing and worrying and loving her all at once. The last two silently, the first two as directed by Mrs. Pollywobbles. Needless to say, he was completely unprepared for the sudden unleashing of Mel's shout and the power she had behind it and so went flying backwards into the wall. "Ow," was all he managed as he took a minute to return to his senses and got back to his feet before going back over to where he was and coach Mel.

[Robert Ashton]

While inside the delivery room Mel was crying and apologising to Ethan for hurting him, outside they where none the wiser to what was going on.. "You wouldn't have happened to bring any of them for me eh?" Robert retorted, and no he wasn't joking, like his daughter chocolate was one vice that he held on to no matter what, so many good memories consisted of sitting little Mel up on the bench in the shed to share a cherry ripe after one of Moria's impressively bland meals. It was their little secret, well okay not much of a secret being that on more then a few occasions Moria had given him 'the look' on returning where he knew she knew but until something was said there was a state of uneasy truce. Biting his bottom lip Rob nodded at Christoper's question, for a moment he'd gotten caught into the trap of memories and realising how fast time had gone, Meliae who had run off to University.. taken on too much study and then trumped them all before heading off overseas. He'd thought there would be plenty of time but how fast it had gone from helping teach her to walk.. then to ride a bike.. then a horse, a motorbike.. the old Kingswood which she then took to sink in the back paddock with Marcus. There was nothing quite like knowing that your baby was going to be a mother herself soon to make you feel old and out of touch.

"Well you've certainly got us by surprise.. I can't wait to see Moria's face" Robert said trying to hold his smirk in check considering the fuss Moria had made at leaving, she was going to be utterly mortified to find out that they had company. Not that the Fitch-Hunters where in any way unwelcome, but considering visitors where usually forewarned with a hour of 'tidying up and getting my face on' who knew how Moria would react? Robert was looking forward to finding out, it would certainly put a bright spot against the boredom (mixed with worry) of waiting to know that there would be others who weren't liable to bother him every five minutes for the time and airing whatever worry might cross Moria's mind at any second. "Lucky the ash cloud didn't get ya I hear, flight wasn't too bad I take it?" Robert asked before stopping as they reached the room and spied Moria. "Moria meet Christoper and Donna Fitch-Hunter.." Robert said making the introductions while Moria tried to smooth down her hair, readjust her cardigan to a more unwrinkled appearance and generally try to hide the fact that they'd rushed out at 4 oclock in the morning and been waiting around the hospital ever since. "Donna, Christoper it's so very good to meet you.. I apologize for the mess.. would you like a cup of tea? We brought our own because the hospital always has that Lipton plain wrap stuff.. no good for you at all and dear would you give me a hand with that? Oh yes thank you.." Moria was talking non-stop as Robert handed the plate of biscuits and moved to give the Fitch-Hunters a chance to settle in.. but not before he realized that poor Donna had just roped herself into playing Moria's assistant.

Which just left the two men to share 'the look' as Moria shook her head "Meliae is such a willful one, honestly sometimes I wish she'd been born a squib.." a tink as Robert dropped his spoon and just stared at his wife, that was a first! But of course Moria's logic was more out of annoyance that her daughter had picked up on her trick and blocked it.. although How Moria didn't know. "I'm having dreadful trouble getting a fix" Moria explained as she repairo'd her mirror and turned it about to inspect before asking Donna to pass the water so she could pour it in and drop a measure of octopus-ink to try and clarify the image so that the others could also see. "Robert can you move a little to the left? Thank you dear" the whole process was rather like trying to get a picture on a aging black and white tv where one had to stand on top of the couch on one leg balancing the arial on top of their head. But even then the picture was a hazy blur of green-black shapes against the reflections of the mirror as Moria tried to get though the 'fog' of magical interference.

[Meliae Ashton]

Surprisingly Mel didn't have a much better picture of what was going on, unable to see a thing she was solely relying on Ethan, the nurse and Mel's new favourite person Mrs Pollywobble as she went from crying and babbling apologese to Ethan in fear as he went flying "I'm so sorry...I'm so sorry..I'm so......." before the next wave of pain hit and Mel was left to try and pushhhh as Mrs Polleywobble had directed. There was really nothing pretty at all about this, she was hot and cold, sweaty yet shaky from the adrenalin and exhaustion as she tried and tried again, hoping thought that everything would be fine and Mrs Polleywobble had it all under control.. the fear heightening as Mrs Polleywobbles directions became more urgent and she was told to push, breath, wait just a moment, push again.. it was like the platform game from hell as bit by bit the sensations changed, the pain going to new heights before starting to lessen. She was glad that Ethan was here, doubly glad that Mrs Polleywobble was here and elated that no doctors had rushed in to grab, pull and jab her with needles. It may well have only been a few minutes since Mrs Polleywobble had first said to push but it felt like forever to Mel before there was a final push and at last.. relief! Mel had to cry a bit, everything was crazy but then Mrs Polleywobble told her to push again.. why? Hadn't she just pushed enough? What about the baby? Fear gripped her for a second that somehow against a pile of statistics and eight months of ultrasounds and tests that she'd at the last moment developed twins... well until she was reminded of the afterbirth and then there was just eww.. not pleasant at all..

"Is she okay?" Mel asked, the question that was always first on the tongue but most feared to be spoken after everything they had been though. Of course there was no better answer then Mrs Polleywobble reappearing from between her legs with a kicking mass of arms and legs. It was hard not to cry, she was a mess, Mrs Polleywobble was a mess.. Ethan had gone though hell but nobody as much as Ashleigh. "Your all covered in goo.." Mel said with a little sniffle of a laugh just staring and watching as the others saw to cutting the cord, taking the blood sample for the public cord bank, checking that she had all her toes and fingers, listening to her heart beat and keeping her up nice and warm. Mel hadn't ever seen a baby that had been just born, not in real life where she tended to avoid such situations like the plague. Everything seemed a buzz of activity but away from her, Mel wasn't sure if she should feel let down as Ashleigh disappeared from her view for a moment or relieved that all the attention was now moved away from what was going on inside her to ensuring that Ashleigh.. Meep.. their daughter was fit and healthy... and also rather angry at being taken away by the nurse by the sound of the crying. There was a strange sensation of emptiness, all the discomforts and annoyances of the last nine months that she'd grown to live with, now there was just her and Ethan.. the nurse busy with Ashleigh as weak with relief Mel slowly shuffled to sit up further on the bed, offering her arms out to Ethan for a hug, because boy she needed one right now.

[GuestGuest]

Christopher nodded at Robert's question and deftly slipped him a packet of the chocolate goodness rather like a street dealer slipped the illegal goods to a customer to avoid detection. Fortunately the women seemed rather involved in the divination process. "Case for you back at the room," Robert promised, knowing his friend's need for a regular supply of chocolate. It was the standing Christmas gift from Christopher to Robert ever since they began working on Muggles United together years ago. Chocolate of the Month club shipments always worked.

"Flight took a bit longer," Christopher explained, "But we skirted around the cloud and managed to have a decent trip though so much for surprising Ethan," he said, half laughing. "Guess we were the surprised ones in the end." As Robert actually introduced them to his wife and Christopher introduced Donna, it seemed rather odd to be doing so after all the years of exchanging emails, phone calls and, in the case of the two men, actual meetings over Muggles United and the friendship that the pair had developed. Yet, the wives had never actually met, though Donna seemed to be quite comfortable with Moira and immediately began helping her as instructed with the divination.

Once the women were settled, Christopher settled in to a conversation with Robert until another familiar figure came through the door. "Well, fancy meeting you here," he greeted his daughter, standing to hug her before rejoining Robert as Donna explained how they ended up with a free week and no cases so decided to visit their children. (Feel free to read that as Donna sure that it had to be close to the baby's arrival and they just had to meet this lovely woman Ethan had settled down with before then! Yes, people, be afraid, be very afraid -- we now have Donna and Moira together!)

Emma was sound asleep when her cousin's call came but it only took the first three words of "Mel's on her...." for Emma to figure out what was going on and have herself out of bed and grabbing clothes as Gerard continued on. She made rather good time covering the distance from Melbourne to Warragul and found as close a parking space as she could before grabbing the two bags and heading to the ER Waiting room. Emma expected to find Mel's parents there. She didn't expect to find her own.

"Has there been any wor... Mum? Dad?" she asked, blinking in disbelief. She simply listened as her mother quickly explained how they had come to be there and watched as her mother then returned to serving as Moira's assistant. Going over to where the men were she pointed to the pair of females and raised an eyebrow as if to ask would the world ever be the same.

[GuestGuest]

Hearing Mel's panicked apologies, Ethan scrambled to his feet, quickly returning to her side and taking her hand again. "S'okay, nothing, just worry about yourself. You're doing great! She's almost here....... oh goats! Oh my! Oh wow!" Ethan couldn't really find words that fit seeing your child for the very first time ever. Even if she was a covered in goo mess. "Oh Mel, she's better than okay! She's as beautiful as her mother!" Was that a tear traveling down the cheek of the geeky librarian? Surely not? Well, if not, it sure was going to be as Mrs Pollywobbles when Mrs Pollywobbles held out a pair of sutures to him as she held the baby in one arm and indicated she wanted Ethan to come over and cut the cord. "Me? What? But... what if I... I don't want to hurt her... You sure?" Cautiously, he snipped the cord just where the midwife/healer instructed and by that time, yes, there was a tear or two or forty or more. He was grinning from ear to ear as he went back to kiss Mel on the forehead. "You are awesome," he told her softly as the nurse quickly did the 'required list of things that must be done upon birth of new baby' before bringing a freshly cleaned up, wrapped in a blanket baby over for Mum to hold for the very first time.

[Meliae Ashton]

Mel had to bite her lip, she'd cried far too much today and for someone who was used to being the 'rock' of her family and peers it was a unusual place to be in, logical, calm Mel who'd once floored a full grown Auror and still had the photos to prove it. None of her friends would have probably believed that this was the same Mel sniffling and hiccuping when Ethan said she was beautiful.. she really didn't feel beautiful at all right now, just sore, empty and for some reason light headed and good actually.. really really good like she'd been hanging around with Luke during his stoner years. For a moment Mel wondered if Mrs Polleywobble had slipped her something.. or maybe it was just the relief of knowing this was all over. There was also the scary burden of responsibility hanging over her head that now there really hadn't been any turning back, "You did well.. " Mel said with a little giggle as Ethan came walking back grinning, oh she needed that smile so much, stupid as it was that with so many of her friends away she worried that he would crack under the pressure and leave her right when she needed him the most. Stupid fears, stupid unnecessary fears but when you where big and slow, stuck at home waiting for five o clock to roll around and watching The Cherry Clinger show for something to do you couldn't help a moment of insecurity.

There was some things though that Mel couldn't help but feel both terrified and elated about, the first time she'd driven a car on her own, the first time she'd flown a broom high enough to look down on the school below. None of it could compare though as Mrs Polleywobble handed her a small bundle.. how odd it felt but clean and wrapped in a towl she certainly looked a whole lot less gooey and yes, she had to agree with Ethan.. she was beautiful.. and so small, Mel couldn't help but be shocked at the feat of minimization, "She's perfect.. really just.." words escaped her, Ashleigh was just so alive and so small and it was hard to belive she was real at all with the tiny eyelashes and the way she just stared right back at you after a few confusing moments of shhing to quiet her down. It was just unreal, Mel had always hated listening to her friends and family talk about babies but now.. she was enchanted by the deep blue eyes.. how odd that neither she nor Ethan had blue eyes but there they where. It was all very new and very strange, but as Mrs Polleywobble tidied up Mel wasn't really paying attention to much of anything but how amazing it was that she'd been carrying around some vague idea nicknamed 'Meep' because she'd been too afraid to get attached to the idea lest it all go wrong. She'd even worried that it had been a mistake to keep the baby, she felt too young and inexperienced to be ready but now none of that made any sense to her, even if it was only a few hours ago that she'd been sure that it would all go wrong. "I guess.. we'd better let Mum and Dad in now?" Mel asked Ethan tentatively, she wasn't sure what was supposed to happen now, really all her effort had been up to the big event. Now they had Ashleigh and she had no idea what time it was, if her parents where still waiting (easy bet on that one) and how long they had been out there.

[GuestGuest]

"Well, of course she's perfect," Ethan told Mel, softly, "she's part of you!" Like there would be any reason to doubt she wouldn't be? Not a chance. Not as far as Ethan was concerned, not if she was part of Mel. He just stayed there for a bit, his hand resting on Mel's shoulder as Mel held their daughter for the first time. As Mel mentioned letting her waiting parents (boy were these two in for a surprise) in, Mrs Pollywobbles, came over and grinned at the new family.

"Actually," she told them, good naturedly, "We're going to toss him out for a few minutes. We have a few things to do here and you are going to want to 'freshen up' before we let your family in to visit. So, we're going to send Daddy out to tell the world that your daughter has arrived and give you a bit of time to rest and get ready for the baby's first meal." With that, she let Ethan give Mel a kiss which he did, as well as kissing his new daughter's forehead as Mel still held her, before Mrs Pollywobbles gently ushered him out of the room. Still grinning, Ethan made his way to tell .....

He blinked. Not one set of parents but two... TWO? "Uh...."

Speechless for a moment, there wasn't much he could say until he heard his mum tease his father. "I see you instructed him in the proper rush to the hospital outfit?" Yes, apparently it seemed that a certain new grandfather had worn a rather similiar outfit 35 years ago.

Having had a moment to recover from the surprise in the waiting room, Ethan returned to the grinning look as he announced. "Ashleigh's here! She's fine! They said we can go back soon."

[Meliae Ashton]

Mel giggled a little, it was just stupid, "..and you.. maybe she really is half timelord?" Mel teased before turning her eyes back to their daughter, so much she'd been though that Ashleigh would never even remember, being accused of being a half-timelord baby and outed to all her friends.. the car rides, helping Cara move in and meeting Ebby, even the exploding cricket match.. she'd been a team member and not even known it. There wasn't too many babies in the world who could hold that claim to fame. While there was still discomfort and all that from the birth Mel was content, more content then she'd been in a very long time.. and probably once the reality of sleepless nights and constant feeding kicked in more content then she was going to be for quite a while. For the moment everything was perfect, abet a rather odd meaning of perfect that involved being awake far too early, being on a hospital bed and having her insides just about to start the process of rearranging themselves all over again. "Thank you.. really.. " Mel said to Mrs Polleywobble as she spoke up, she was starting to cry a little again but really in Mel's mind she really couldn't have done it without the midwifes help.

It was all the kind of babytalk that Mel didn't like but somehow, right at the moment it felt right, the reminders that yes Ethan was a Dad and my god she was a Mum! The world was all back to front but somehow they would have to get used to it. "I love you" Mel said to Ethan.. on behalf of both her and Ashleigh who's eyes went greedily from Mum to Dad and back again. Kissing him farewell Mel let out a sigh as he left, looking down at Ashleigh she felt unsure of herself.. could she walk? would she be okay? would it hurt? Mel didn't know but with Mrs Polleywobbles help she managed to get in and out of the bath.. not without having a bit of a Companion Cube moment of refusing to give Ashleigh up because while there was no chance of the baby stabbing her in the back she didn't want to make her cry. Hoping that Ethan was doing okay with the parents (and by parents..read her Mum) she followed Mrs Polleywobbles instructions and soon had her rethinking the 'stab in the back' metaphor as she was shown how to sit and help Ashleigh breastfeed.

Yet another thing that Mel had figured was a obvious case of 'put baby there and hold' turning out to be a super-complicated combo of holding, burping, adjusting, breathing, and trying not to think too much about the whole thing. "You know.. if you ever need anything.. " Mel started to say, to Mrs Polleywobble in appreciation.. that was until the woman spoke up about how her husband had bought a laptop and it was soooo slow.. Go figure. It looked like the home visit would be half her fixing Mrs Polleywobbles laptop while the woman went about ensuring everything would be well for the baby. Mel had to smile a bit at that as she adjusted Ashleigh to a more comfortable position..Mel refused to admit herself as anything but 'just a fast learner', because of course she was never meant to be the mother type.. not even when she'd been making popcorn at 10pm for Abby on a sleepover night or reminding Marcus do his homework (despite being three years below him) let alone the years with Nathan of course where she'd eventually ended up feeling more like his mother then his girlfriend.. not at all a good place to be.

Mel missed her friends now, they where all on the other side of the world, Marcus and Rowan, Nathan, Luke, Rebecca.. Abby and Mrs Wright had stayed home of course but of course there was still Ethan's family..Gerard's family.. wow they would be related now right? Mel was tired, she'd tried figuring out the relations one day but got bored and ended up Woozling the history of fox hunting or something equally useless. Maybe she should have been more organized about these things, but it had always felt like there would be plenty of time to decide and figure things out.. like Godparents.. goat.. how on earth was she supposed to just chose one or two when there was so many people who where important? Emma and Cara, Gerard and Nathan and Marcus and Rowan.. they had all mattered and been important to her and Ethan.. Mel was tired, her brain always tended to go on when she was tired so instead she looked down at the more important thing, poking Ashleigh's nose gently with her finger, it was so small. She'd been that tiny once, amazing. "Could I have a glass of tea?" Mel asked, she felt better now to be in clean clothes and the peace was a welcome change, it felt nice to just enjoy the moment and let others do the running around as she just watched her daughter sleeping, oddly enough Mel felt too wired to sleep, it was like after one of her mammoth gaming sessions when you knew it was 6am but you where just having too much fun to pull away from the tv. Somehow Mel felt that Ashleigh might just be worse, yep, here was a brand new addiction.. Ashleigh Fitch-Hunter.. it was a nice name, hopefully Ashleigh would grow up liking it and not hating it like she had been burdened with Meliae all her life.

[Robert Ashton]

"Thanks mate" Robert said unwrapping the sweet and taking the chance that his wife was far too absorbed in eavesdropping ate the chocolate. Between meeting and chatting with Christoper and Donna he was starting to let himself relax little by little, a good thing since no doubt Moria was high strung enough for all of them. "Weren't we all?.. Moria of course said she'd had 'the inkling' since last Wednesday but between you and me.." his voice dipped low out of 'wife range' "..frankly I figure that magic stuff is about as useful as a blowfly to a sheeps bum". Which.. if you happened to know a lot about sheep was a rather unpleasant image indeed.

"So has Meliae and Ethan told you two anything?" Moria asked Donna, why it wouldn't surprise her at all for Meliae to have spoken to others before herself, my she hadn't even found out that Meliae had moved in with Mr Hunter until the word had gotten around town - what a sensation that had been!
"Easy up Dear, they only arrived today!" Robert said knowing Moria's habit of 'latching on for details'. With nothing more to do Robert settled down to compare notes with Christoper on the latest Ministry moves... including the furor going on in the American Ministry.. downright hilarious was Robert's professional opinion. Honestly he was just surprised that it had taken so long for someones nose to get out of wack over it. Everything was just about calm when the doors opened.. Moria immediately jumping up only to find Emma instead. "Hello Emma dear!" Moria cried out taking a turn to give the girl a hug once the Fitch-Hunters had managed to explain and catch up. "Don't fret too much.." Robert offered in advice to Emma at the telltale 'someone was going to get hell for this' glance at the two women absorbed in the divination "just remember if Mel asks that we all said it was a horrible idea and wouldn't support it at all.. then we might live" Robert said giving his wife a less then approving look as she cooed over the mirror.

Women, he'd been married over twenty five years and he still didn't understand Moria.. hell he understood her more when life was 'simple' and there was just the back of the ute, the old dog and the farm just waiting on their hands to guide it though the next season. "I'd better give Gerard a call to let him know you guys all arrived safely then" Robert said, oddly enough for a man of his position he didn't always like being amongst people, sometimes he needed the space to breath...especially when the groups involved his wife doing something ridiculous. They didn't allow mobiles to be turned on in Hospitals, but Robert knew the place like the back of his hand.. hell he'd been on the Hospital Board once or twice during the years. Outside the dark was starting to lighten, he didn't feel all that out of place being awake at such a hour, farmers hardly had the luxury to sleep in and even now he felt a bit of concern that he wouldn't be home in time to let the chooks out or milk the cow. It wasn't a long conversation, the cold really put a dampener on it and of course at any moment something could have happened so again he made his way back to the waiting room to find a rather oddly dressed figure grinning from ear to ear.. and being teased to boot by his parents. Things must have gone well, Robert made his way over to his wife, putting a arm around her shoulders half for the comfort.. and the other half to stop her breaking away and attacking the poor man for details which came soon enough. "Ashleigh..?" Robert only just had time to say before Moria was squealing "It's a GIRL! OH HOW WONDERFUL!" of course it didn't matter so much in the end if it was a Fitch-Hunter or a Ashton, or to Robert anyway, to him it would be his first grandchild, that was always going to be special.

[GuestGuest]

"Glad to help," Christopher replied to his friend. It was odd to consider that the pair were close friends yet lived halfway around the world from each other. They had met by phone conferences and letters as the first discussions of starting Muggles United in the land down under had come up. It had been over a year before Christopher actually made his first trip to Drouin to meet with the 'activist-farmer' but it was one of those in-person meetings where it seems as if you've known each other forever. Christopher had come bearing Cadbury and Robert had some of the farm's teas, somehow managing to know without asking which ones the Fitch-Hunters liked.

And if life didn't have enough funny twists and turns, both men now stood in the hospital waiting room, their children now together in a way neither had expected those years ago and it seemed that the wives were connecting as if they'd always lived down the road from each other and not just wrote or called back and forth as well. Lucky for Mel and Ethan, eh?

However, it was Donna who piped up in response to Robert's comment about magic. "Oh yes it is, after all, Moira's inkling was right and look where we are now!" Yes, the brilliant barrister was definitely choosing to ignore the fact that the current situation was bound to happen soon enough considering Mel was nine months pregnant. At Moira's question, she ignored the fact they had only just arrived, having a few questions of her own in a similiar vein. "Absolutely nothing! Just tells us how happy he is and how much he loves her. Excited for the baby coming. I was hoping you knew more."

By that time, Emma had arrived and was over by her father and Robert. At his explanation, she nodded as did her father, who added, "Yes, Emma. That's our story and we're sticking to it."

Emma only had one question about that which was, "Sounds good to me, think she'll believe it?" with the she being Mel. "I'm just not sure the world will ever be the same with those two plotting together, as it seemed the discussion between the two women involved the status of the about to be parents couple. Of course, that was a topic for debate for another time as Robert went out to call Gerard, who it turned out was not that far away and then her brother joined them. Managing to keep from snickering at the sight, but also getting her mobile out for a quick snapshot of Ethan in his 'sartorial splendor'. Emma cheered and waited her turn to hug him and hear more of the details.

[GuestGuest]

Gerard had gotten the first call and began making the notifications one by one starting with the Ashtons, who it turned out had already 'suspected' thanks to Moira's divinations, and then his aunt and uncle who it turned out were closer then they knew. The pair were almost to Warragul when the call came having landed earlier in Melbourne and picked up their rental. Seemed like there were going to be a few surprises going on this night. Tiffany was next so she would have time to wake up and get ready before he came to pick her up as well as Emma, Anton and on down the list, including Marcus and Rowan.

His list completed, he dressed and headed to Tiffany's to pick her up and make their way to the hospital as well, being only a few blocks away when Robert called. So it was that Gerard and Tiffany were walking into the waiting room as Ethan announced the arrival of Ashleigh. "Well, congratulations," he added his to the group's. "How's Mel?" Just before catching his cousin under the arm as the full force of what had just happened tonight hit the librarian.

[GuestGuest]

Everything was happening in a combination of slow motion for dramatic effect and fast forward oh my goat I can't believe this is happening to Ethan at this point, now that the actual birth process had been completed. He heard Robert and then Moira and a jumble of voices and the flash of a camera after that including his cousin's before his legs gave out and he began sliding to the floor, stopped by Gerard's gripping his arm and getting him settled in a chair. "I'm a father... Baby..." he babbled for a bit as someone pressed a cup of tea into his hands and he sipped taking a moment to stabilize his reality before continuing. "Yes, a girl. Ashleigh Gail Fitch-Hunter. Mel's tired but beautiful.. I mean fine!" he told them, answering the questions he knew and shaking his head on the ones he didn't.

[Robert Ashton]

Robert couldn't help but look a bit sheepish himself as Donna piped up... god help them all if another had fallen into believing in Moria's 'feelings'.
"Well at least he tells you that" Moria replied to Donna with a bit of a huff "Meliae hasn't been answering any of my calls.. my she does vex me sometimes" Moria said, of course in her mind it was a sign of caring and being a good mother to ring twenty times a day to see 'how things where' aka if the baby had come yet, but for some reason Meliae had taken offense to being constantly interrupted like that. Robert of course remained silent but gave Christoper the tired look of one who'd heard this speech more then a few times before. Moria of course was unfazed, she was like her own social network hub repeating everything for each new person lest they have missed out on one thrilling moment of whatever story was on the top of her mind this week. Smiling at Emma and Christoper as they discussed the 'mothers situation' Robert shook his head "Not a bit of it" he replied proudly, after all his daughter was no dummy, and who trusted the words of a old pollie (or lawyers) anyway.

It seemed a night of lucky coincidence as Gerard arrived with Tiffany in tow..very lucky seeing that one moment Ethan was up and talking and the next moment he was down "Bloody hell.. you English chaps really aren't made for this stuff are ya?" Robert said with a laugh as Gerard helped Ethan to a chair and Moria poured the boy a drink. Of course Moria gave Robert a look when the last name was mentioned, Robert raised a eyebrow not to say a word, it was their daughter's decision and not there's. Moria of course didn't appreciate it but rallied when Ethan called her daughter beautiful.. oh yes there was nothing like fishing compliments to sidetrack a otherwise prickly topic "Why of course she is!" Moria pointed out before getting into the complicated questions about what time, how much the baby had weighted and a full blow-by-blow account... or at least trying to until the Nurse arrived to let them know that they where welcome to see the baby now.

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