12-26-2018, 03:53 AM
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☁ tw for blood, pain, concerns about a baby's survival, and labor
hayley was determined to make the day special.
it was christmas, and dammit, it would be the first she was spending with some vein of a family. sure, she might not be allowed to find the bottom of a bottle of whisky, but she'd make the day mean something.
thirty-two weeks pregnant, traveling down to the village wasn't easy, much less when doing her best to transport the heavy wooden sleigh. she wanted to make dinner for everyone, and she'd been maintaining an extra greenhouse at the village, a make-shift one but one still. she'd gone down every other day to ensure they were getting water, and while a few had died, plenty were still doing just fine.
it was a little after dawn when she set left the lodge, and she'd hardly made it a half dozen feet out the door, dragging the sturdy wooden sled behind her, when a newer npc, jared, came jogging up.
❝hey hayley, you going somewhere?❞ the boy, hardly eighteen, inquired brightly. she wasn't overly familiar with the male, but he'd tagged along for walks and border runs with her before, and she quite liked him. he was sweet, one of the few bright spirits in a dismal world.
❝down to the village to get some stuff for dinner,❞ she told him with a smile, ❝i should be back in an hour or so.❞
jared frowned at that, eyes dipping down to her stomach, then to the sled she was lugging along behind her, before promptly shaking his head. ❝oh no. you're too far along to have to walk that whole trip— sit down on the sled, i'll pull you.❞
hayley's brows shot upwards in surprise, but immediately the stubborn woman shook her head. ❝no, jared, i can't have you pull me along like some kind of work horse. go inside and get warm, i'll be fine.❞
but jared was already pulling the rope from her hands and ushering her onto the sled. ❝really, miss hayley, i don't mind. it's the least i can do if you're going to cook us all something delicious for dinner.❞
hayley sighed after a long moment, nodding in defeat. ❝fine, fine, but i weigh like a thousand pounds, forewarning.❞ she muttered, climbing awkwardly onto the sled and sitting.
things progressed quickly enough; in less than half an hour, they'd reached the outer edges of the village. jared was young and healthy, and had no issue pulling the heavily pregnant woman. rather, if he did feel tired, he didn't let the brunette on to it, maintaining a steady pace. hayley stayed quiet, sitting rather awkwardly on the sleigh due to her enlarged stomach, trying to let jared focus and not distract him.
but then it happened.
wetness began to seep into her pants. her initial panic was that she'd just peed herself, but a heartbeat passed and she quickly realized that no, she hadn't had an accident, this was far more than that. this was...
pain.
pain seized her form and before she could have another thought about her soaked pants, her hands flew to her stomach, overwhelmed by the pain. her mouth opened, but no words came out, only a cry of pain, causing jared to stop short, nearly leaping out of his boots, whirring around to face her.
❝hayley? are you okay?❞ then, he saw where her hands were, he saw the dark outline on her jeans. ❝the baby—❞
❝she's coming.❞ was all the brunette could gasp out, the pain slowly residing and leaving her cold and aching.
they'd set up in a house at the edge of town. it was one frequently stayed in by those who went down to the village for something or another, often stowed away at for food or heating up before heading back up the mountain. now, it seemed it would play hospital to flintlock's oncoming resident. jared layed her on a blanket on the floor and ran out back to grab some firewood once her next contraction stopped.
and that's when the tears started.
it wasn't supposed to happen like this. not at the base of a mountain, with the aid of a teenage boy. she was supposed to have time. she was supposed to have the various things she'd collected at the lodge. she was supposed to have more time to prepare.
time. that was when it set in, the reality. she was hardly seven months along, giving birth this early... her mind went to the books she'd read: underdeveloped lungs were the primary concern. it occurred to hayley in that moment that her child could have only seconds in the earth before suffocating from an inability to breathe. her head squeezed in her chest, her throat tightened, and all of the sudden the world around her became fuzzy and unsteady.
❝hayley?❞ jared's voice sounded far away, though he was now crouched in front of her, the fire already crackling in the background. ❝hayley, c'mon, i need you to breathe. i need you to fight, for your baby.❞
her eyes struggled to focus on the boy before her, the fear on his face a mirror of what she felt in her heart. ❝she's too early jared.❞ she managed to choke out, promptly followed by a sob.
but he didn't pull her into a hug. he didn't comfort her or coddle her. his features hardened in that moment, hands cupping her jaw to force her to look at him. ❝hayley, i'm gonna need you to suck it up. this fear, i need you to shove it somewhere else. this baby needs you to be strong right now, you're their only shot at surviving. fight for it, and they'll come out a fighter.❞
he struck a nerve within her. hazel eyes flitting shut, sucking in a deep breath, she focused on his words. she had to do this, she had to give her child the best shot they had. she had to get her shit together, no matter how badly it hurt to think about how the situation would end.
but before she could get out her words of ferocity, her declaration that she'd be strong, pain tore through her once more, lips parting in a scream.
hours passed. the sun rose and sank, and not a soul came upon them. she screamed bloody murder throughout it all, and once it was finally over, she all but collapsed on the floor, too weak to even lay her eyes upon her daughter, swallowed by the exhaustion and the silence.
the silence. her eyes flew open immediately, and it took every ounce of strength left within her to crane her neck up to peer at the infant in jared's bloodied hands, who was still and silent.
a second passed.
her heart sank.
then, the newborn let out a wild scream, arms beginning to thrash, and suddenly the weight of the world that hung on the new mother's shoulders seemed to lessen. she was breathing for now, and that was enough for hayley. she could take it one day, one minute, one second at a time if the baby was willing to fight alongside her.
after a heartbeat, jared shuffled to hayley's side, trembling hands holding the newborn out to her. ❝it's a girl,❞ he told her quietly, and the relief in his voice brought a degree of peace to the weak woman's heart.
❝a girl,❞ she mumbled, pulling her daughter close to her, head going limp against the pillow. she was exhausted, physically and mentally, and all she wanted in that moment was to sleep for an eternity.
jared leaned back beside the woman, clearly exhausted himself, though his eyes remained on the little girl he'd helped bring into the village. ❝it's moments like this that give me hope for humanity. people might suck sometimes, the world might fall apart, but you can retain hope if fighters like her can beat the odds.❞
hayley's brain moved at half speed as he spoke, but her mind did catch one particular word: hope. suddenly, she knew that that would be the perfect name for the baby. she represented the hope hayley had for people, for the world, for a better life for her.
❝hmm,❞ she mused, smiling a little at the endorphins flooding her brain, ❝hope. i like that.❞
[ 1402 words. she's born pretty early, but it's late enough that all of the necessary systems are mostly developed, and statistically she has a fighting chance for survival. please don't reply icly to this thread; ic replies should be directed here. ]
☁ tw for blood, pain, concerns about a baby's survival, and labor
hayley was determined to make the day special.
it was christmas, and dammit, it would be the first she was spending with some vein of a family. sure, she might not be allowed to find the bottom of a bottle of whisky, but she'd make the day mean something.
thirty-two weeks pregnant, traveling down to the village wasn't easy, much less when doing her best to transport the heavy wooden sleigh. she wanted to make dinner for everyone, and she'd been maintaining an extra greenhouse at the village, a make-shift one but one still. she'd gone down every other day to ensure they were getting water, and while a few had died, plenty were still doing just fine.
it was a little after dawn when she set left the lodge, and she'd hardly made it a half dozen feet out the door, dragging the sturdy wooden sled behind her, when a newer npc, jared, came jogging up.
❝hey hayley, you going somewhere?❞ the boy, hardly eighteen, inquired brightly. she wasn't overly familiar with the male, but he'd tagged along for walks and border runs with her before, and she quite liked him. he was sweet, one of the few bright spirits in a dismal world.
❝down to the village to get some stuff for dinner,❞ she told him with a smile, ❝i should be back in an hour or so.❞
jared frowned at that, eyes dipping down to her stomach, then to the sled she was lugging along behind her, before promptly shaking his head. ❝oh no. you're too far along to have to walk that whole trip— sit down on the sled, i'll pull you.❞
hayley's brows shot upwards in surprise, but immediately the stubborn woman shook her head. ❝no, jared, i can't have you pull me along like some kind of work horse. go inside and get warm, i'll be fine.❞
but jared was already pulling the rope from her hands and ushering her onto the sled. ❝really, miss hayley, i don't mind. it's the least i can do if you're going to cook us all something delicious for dinner.❞
hayley sighed after a long moment, nodding in defeat. ❝fine, fine, but i weigh like a thousand pounds, forewarning.❞ she muttered, climbing awkwardly onto the sled and sitting.
things progressed quickly enough; in less than half an hour, they'd reached the outer edges of the village. jared was young and healthy, and had no issue pulling the heavily pregnant woman. rather, if he did feel tired, he didn't let the brunette on to it, maintaining a steady pace. hayley stayed quiet, sitting rather awkwardly on the sleigh due to her enlarged stomach, trying to let jared focus and not distract him.
but then it happened.
wetness began to seep into her pants. her initial panic was that she'd just peed herself, but a heartbeat passed and she quickly realized that no, she hadn't had an accident, this was far more than that. this was...
pain.
pain seized her form and before she could have another thought about her soaked pants, her hands flew to her stomach, overwhelmed by the pain. her mouth opened, but no words came out, only a cry of pain, causing jared to stop short, nearly leaping out of his boots, whirring around to face her.
❝hayley? are you okay?❞ then, he saw where her hands were, he saw the dark outline on her jeans. ❝the baby—❞
❝she's coming.❞ was all the brunette could gasp out, the pain slowly residing and leaving her cold and aching.
they'd set up in a house at the edge of town. it was one frequently stayed in by those who went down to the village for something or another, often stowed away at for food or heating up before heading back up the mountain. now, it seemed it would play hospital to flintlock's oncoming resident. jared layed her on a blanket on the floor and ran out back to grab some firewood once her next contraction stopped.
and that's when the tears started.
it wasn't supposed to happen like this. not at the base of a mountain, with the aid of a teenage boy. she was supposed to have time. she was supposed to have the various things she'd collected at the lodge. she was supposed to have more time to prepare.
time. that was when it set in, the reality. she was hardly seven months along, giving birth this early... her mind went to the books she'd read: underdeveloped lungs were the primary concern. it occurred to hayley in that moment that her child could have only seconds in the earth before suffocating from an inability to breathe. her head squeezed in her chest, her throat tightened, and all of the sudden the world around her became fuzzy and unsteady.
❝hayley?❞ jared's voice sounded far away, though he was now crouched in front of her, the fire already crackling in the background. ❝hayley, c'mon, i need you to breathe. i need you to fight, for your baby.❞
her eyes struggled to focus on the boy before her, the fear on his face a mirror of what she felt in her heart. ❝she's too early jared.❞ she managed to choke out, promptly followed by a sob.
but he didn't pull her into a hug. he didn't comfort her or coddle her. his features hardened in that moment, hands cupping her jaw to force her to look at him. ❝hayley, i'm gonna need you to suck it up. this fear, i need you to shove it somewhere else. this baby needs you to be strong right now, you're their only shot at surviving. fight for it, and they'll come out a fighter.❞
he struck a nerve within her. hazel eyes flitting shut, sucking in a deep breath, she focused on his words. she had to do this, she had to give her child the best shot they had. she had to get her shit together, no matter how badly it hurt to think about how the situation would end.
but before she could get out her words of ferocity, her declaration that she'd be strong, pain tore through her once more, lips parting in a scream.
hours passed. the sun rose and sank, and not a soul came upon them. she screamed bloody murder throughout it all, and once it was finally over, she all but collapsed on the floor, too weak to even lay her eyes upon her daughter, swallowed by the exhaustion and the silence.
the silence. her eyes flew open immediately, and it took every ounce of strength left within her to crane her neck up to peer at the infant in jared's bloodied hands, who was still and silent.
a second passed.
her heart sank.
then, the newborn let out a wild scream, arms beginning to thrash, and suddenly the weight of the world that hung on the new mother's shoulders seemed to lessen. she was breathing for now, and that was enough for hayley. she could take it one day, one minute, one second at a time if the baby was willing to fight alongside her.
after a heartbeat, jared shuffled to hayley's side, trembling hands holding the newborn out to her. ❝it's a girl,❞ he told her quietly, and the relief in his voice brought a degree of peace to the weak woman's heart.
❝a girl,❞ she mumbled, pulling her daughter close to her, head going limp against the pillow. she was exhausted, physically and mentally, and all she wanted in that moment was to sleep for an eternity.
jared leaned back beside the woman, clearly exhausted himself, though his eyes remained on the little girl he'd helped bring into the village. ❝it's moments like this that give me hope for humanity. people might suck sometimes, the world might fall apart, but you can retain hope if fighters like her can beat the odds.❞
hayley's brain moved at half speed as he spoke, but her mind did catch one particular word: hope. suddenly, she knew that that would be the perfect name for the baby. she represented the hope hayley had for people, for the world, for a better life for her.
❝hmm,❞ she mused, smiling a little at the endorphins flooding her brain, ❝hope. i like that.❞
[ 1402 words. she's born pretty early, but it's late enough that all of the necessary systems are mostly developed, and statistically she has a fighting chance for survival. please don't reply icly to this thread; ic replies should be directed here. ]
[b][i]make your girlfriend mad tight, [color=#4A272E]might seduce your dad type