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Post by Riley Neves on Dec 19, 2016 1:21:39 GMT -5
Phoenix whined for the millionth time. When Riley turned her head, she was nose to nose with the dog, his big brown eyes focused on her. "What is wrong? You've been outside already."
She'd taken him out not long before, despite that fact that she didn't feel entirely well. She wasn't sure if it was an impending stomach cold or if the baby was coming, but something was off. And she wasn't due for another two weeks anyway. Still, she had crawled back into bed as soon as she brought Phoenix back inside, intending to sleep away as much of the afternoon as she could, and well into night if she was lucky.
The dog huffed, blowing her hair from her face. "Yeah, I know."
Being pregnant sucked. Being pregnant and alone was worse, but she and Roland were still separated, over something she wasn't quite ready to forgive him for. The fight was bad, and resulted in him moving back with his parents. They hadn't really spoken since. She was upset, tired, and achy all the time. She definitely wanted the baby out, but she didn't want to have to think about what that looked like with Roland and the Auror department.
Phoenix whined again, catching Riley's attention. "Phoenix, I don't know-" Her sentence trailed off, and the dog's tail wagged as he backed away from the bed. Had her water just broke? It was a mess she was going to have to deal with later, but it caught her by surprise. A lot of reading told her that the contractions would generally start first, before the water broke, but she didn't think she'd had any. Her eyes trailed to the dog. "You knew, didn't you?"
She didn't move for a moment, trying to keep herself calm and composed. She needed to get to the hospital... everything else could be figured out later. "Okay, Phoenix. I'll have Arthur check on you, okay? Be a good boy."
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Post by Ted Tonks on Dec 19, 2016 1:27:56 GMT -5
Ted was exhausted, though he wasn't going to admit it. At least, not in front of his wife who'd just been in labor for hours and definitely did more heavy lifting than he did through the process.
His beautiful wife, who was currently sleeping, as was his brand new, perfect, beautiful daughter.
Ted definitely teared up when they placed her in his arms, and he was unashamed to admit that. He and Andromeda had created a perfect little human... who was also sleeping peacefully in the hospital nursery. Ted left to find some coffee and settle his nerves, because as perfect as Nymphadora was, he still had no clue how he was supposed to be a good father.
He was in the waiting room by the reception area when he glanced up to Riley walking in, like it was any other day and she belonged there. Except that her hands were on her belly, and she looked a little pale. A bag was slung over her shoulder.
"Riley?" he asked, setting the coffee down and moving towards her. "Are you okay?"
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Post by Riley Neves on Dec 19, 2016 1:29:43 GMT -5
"Ted, thank Merlin."
It was such a relief to her to see a familiar face that Riley started to tear up when Ted came up to her. For a split second, it felt like she could hand off the worry and the hassle to someone else. Her part was done... she was here.
"My water broke," she told him.
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Post by Ted Tonks on Dec 19, 2016 1:31:51 GMT -5
"Your... what?"
He had to have heard wrong, but glanced behind her to see if anyone was going to follow her in. "Come on, sit down. I'll tell the witch at the counter and get you a room."
He saw her safely to the chairs, and then left to alert the reception witch, who simply handed him an intake form. "How did you even get here, Riley? You're not sitting down."
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Post by Riley Neves on Dec 19, 2016 1:34:49 GMT -5
"If I sit down," Riley nearly groaned, "I will not get back up again." She took the clipboard from him, resting it on her stomach as she started to fill it out. She couldn't expect him to know any of it and fill it out for her.
"I took the bus. It stops close to here."
Suddenly, she realized how odd it was to see him, and asked, "Why are you here? What's wrong?"
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Post by Ted Tonks on Dec 19, 2016 1:39:32 GMT -5
"You are ridiculous." He didn't need to ask if she'd Owled anyone. He knew she hadn't, given the fact that she'd taken a regular muggle bus to get here. A nurse came out for her about the time she was done with the form, and she was ushered into a wheelchair.
He'd tell her about his own little one later. Right now, her mind needed to be on her own, and though he heard rumors that she and Roland were not on speaking terms, the man still deserved to be the first to hold his child. Besides, he had a feeling Riley would want him there, in the end. He sent a patronus to the other Auror, then waited where he was so that he could help Roland find her once he arrived.
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Mar 10, 2018 18:57:52 GMT -5
Roland's life was a mess at the moment. First Riley had thrown him out over some stupid thing he'd done before they even got together. He had tried multiple times to talk to her and she wasn't even taking his owls. She was on maternity leave from work, so he didn't even see her at the Ministry. He'd given up his apartment next door, so he'd had no choice but to move back in with his parents. Riley had even taken the dog.
Now, if things hadn't been bad enough, Jamie was dead. It had only happened two days ago, and Roland was still trying to process it. The whole family was stunned that a little argument had escalated so quickly. Roland, of course, blamed himself for not getting there sooner, for not doing enough to stop it... and for possibly being the reason Jamie and Noah had fought in the first place.
They hadn't told anyone yet. They simply couldn't bring themselves to announce his death. But they had taken in Jamie's girlfriend, Scarlette, and her newborn son. Jamie's son. It was chaos at the Ferrera household, and the only good thing was that he was too busy dealing with all of this to try and get Riley back.
For the moment, Roland was on the front porch, getting a breath of fresh air. Ironically, he was thinking of Riley at that very moment, wondering what she'd say if he told her that his little brother had died because of him.
He didn't even react right away as the silvery creature galloped up to him. It wasn't Riley's patronus and he didn't recognize whose it was. But when the message came out in Ted Tonks's voice telling him that Riley was having the baby, he nearly fell over.
He didn't know how Ted knew about Riley and he didn't. It didn't even matter that the message wasn't from Riley herself. He just knew that he had to be there. He poked his head in the door, and saw a crying Amandine on the sofa. "Ama, I'll be back in a little while, OK? I have something important to take care of."
He wasn't even sure Ama really noticed him, but at least he'd given her the message so no one else would freak out that he was gone. Then he apparated over to St Mungo's.
Once inside the lobby, he paused to look around and sighed with relief when he saw Ted. "Hey. I got your message... where is she? Did she ask for me?"
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Post by Ted Tonks on Mar 11, 2018 21:06:06 GMT -5
Ted was on his feet as soon as he heard Roland’s voice, having checked to make sure Andi was still asleep. One urgent thing at a time- though now that Nymphadora was born, the urgency had settled. Still, it was easier to just deal with one thing at a time, and he was exhausted.
“Hey. They took her back a few minutes ago, it wasn’t long.” They’d told Ted where to find her once Roland arrived, too, and he was ready to take the other man back.
Watching the woman you love bring a child into the world was one of the most beautiful things Ted had ever witnessed. He was so excited to be a father, so excited to introduce her to his parents, and to Andi’s cousin Sirius, and to the world. And for that reason, he decided to lie and nodded, indicating that yes, Riley had asked for him. It would make Roland feel better, and if she said otherwise, Ted would just deal with that later.
Down the hall, he said somewhat vaguely, “I’ll be around the nursery if you need me. Good luck, and congratulations.” With that, he left Roland at the door to Riley’s room, patting him on the shoulder.
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Mar 25, 2018 18:25:29 GMT -5
As nervous and stressed as he was, just hearing Ted say that Riley had asked for him caused some of the tension to ease. He was going through enough as it was, but thinking that Riley wouldn't want him here for this moment had been an extra layer of worry. He looked like hell, and he hated the thought that he was about to welcome his child into the world in such a state, but he couldn't bring himself to let that stop him. It was more important that he be here, and that Riley knew he was here for her. He would always be there for her.
He thanked Ted, then knocked softly before entering the room. He didn't even think to ask the other man why he was in the hospital.
"Riley?" he said. "Ted sent for me. He said you were having the baby."
He looked at her then, his eyes silently begging her not to throw him out.
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Post by Riley Neves on Apr 4, 2018 0:22:32 GMT -5
Riley was mid contraction when Roland came in, and she was so focused on just trying not to scream that for a moment, she just met his gaze in complete silence. The pain was clear in her features, though, and the moment, brief as it was, was shortened by her crying out.
And then, a split second later, the tears started. "Roland." She could only say his name, a myriad of emotions running through her. She was still scared, still worried that she could never be enough for him- experienced enough, adventurous enough, dangerous enough. But she was also relieved to see him because she was scared to do this without him.
In the end, she might have been scared to do most things without him.
It also wasn't helping that her grasp on reality was still paper thin, and banishing him from the apartment hadn't helped. That thought made her break down more, and when she opened her mouth again, all she could tell him was, "I asked Arthur to look in on Phoenix."
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Apr 16, 2018 20:55:27 GMT -5
For a long, terrifying moment, as he saw the pain in her eyes, he seriously expected her to throw him out of the room. He wasn't sure what he'd do if she told him to leave. He wanted more than anything to be there for her, to be with her, and to witness the birth of his child. But if she didn't want him there, he could cause her extra stress that she didn't need while she was in labor.
He froze, their eyes meeting, and it almost felt as though the world had stopped turning, just for a moment. But then she started to cry, and Roland, without even a second thought, was by her side in an instant. He didn't even feel his feet moving, and he almost wondered if he'd apparated there.
He took her hand and sat down on the edge of the bed, facing her. He was about to speak, when she opened her mouth and said something about Arthur and Phoenix. He almost laughed at the absurdity of the moment.
"It's fine," he said. "I'm here. I'm here with you. I--I missed you," he added.
He had so much he wanted to tell her, but for now, she had to be the focus.
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Post by Riley Neves on May 20, 2018 21:40:42 GMT -5
Riley reached for his hand as soon as he sat down on the bed, within reach, and squeezed.
And then she squeezed it hard.
They were wizards. Why did this have to hurt so bloody much? "She's.. she's coming early. And they won't tell me if she's okay or not."
One of the mediwizards cut in hearing that. "We're sure everything's fine, Riley. Just keep breathing for us, all right?" For Riley, who constantly needed to be in control, it wasn't a very assuring answer, and she looked back at Roland as if this proved their incompetency. It was early in the process, but already pretty clear that she was not going to be the easiest patient.
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Jul 4, 2018 17:49:20 GMT -5
Damn, she did have a grip. It didn't bother him--he liked that she was strong. But he knew she was scared, so he squeezed her hand back reassuringly.
"I'm sure she'll be fine," he said gently. "It just means she's made up her mind that she's ready to come out." He tried to give her one of his half-grins, but then the medi-wizard was talking.
Yes, it was a little early, but only by a couple of weeks. Surely the baby would still be OK, right? Scarlette had been early, and Roland seemed to remember that Mara might have been born a little early as well. Maybe it was something about Ferrera babies...
He wouldn't admit it to Riley, but he was actually more worried about her than the baby. Although she was strong, she had been through a lot, and these last few months of their separation couldn't have helped. Her face looked so pale and tired, not unlike how he felt. And what would happen when the baby was born? Would she kick him out again, and try to raise the baby on her own? He had made a dumb mistake--ok, several dumb mistakes--before they got together... Why couldn't they get past it? Riley and the baby were all that mattered to him now.... he didn't want to go back to the way he was before.
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