" I just wanna be myself " (A Hunchback Of Notre Dame fanstory)

Chapter 16

February 13th, a Sunday, Evening time.

Everyone had eaten dinner, gotten a bath and/or a shower, gotten dressed into their pajamas, and were all packing their bookbags for tomorrow, as the kids were all going to be staying at Adeem's house for the night, as Esmeralda was now in labor, but it wasn't as quickly as the doctors had hoped it would be, so they sent her home for her to wait it out until it was actually time for the baby to be born.

" This is so fucken lovely " Esmeralda muttered to herself as she packed an overnight bag for her, Quasimodo, and the new baby " I can't believe this shit, i know Adeem means well and he wouldn't dream of hurting our children, but i just hate the fact that the doctors pushed us out the hospital because the baby isn't ready yet. They sure do feel ready! "

Quasimodo nodded " I agree. I mean, when you were in labor with Edgar they took you right away! Do you think its because you aren't in active labor? Do they just expect every pregnant person who's on the verge of labor to be in active labor the minute they enter the hospital? "

Esmeralda shrugged as she stretched, placing her hands on her back as she felt another contraction hit " Probably " She responded " But with how bad these contractions are getting, i'm gonna have the biggest smirk on my face when the doctors are like ' are you sure you're in labor? ' " she remarked in a mocking tone of voice.

Quasimodo giggled quietly " You're only like... what, 4 days, 5 days overdue? " He asked " The doctor was making it seem like you HAD to be induced a day after your due-date. Meanwhile, Edgar was born 3 weeks early. " 

Esmeralda laughed " yeah, exactly. But now that i think about it, I'm glad i went into labor at home and we didn't immediately rush to the hospital this time. I know i was just complaining about not being in the hospital, but, somehow, being back home feels safer and i'm a lot more relaxed than before, is that weird? "

Quasimodo grabbed a piece of paper, which had the birth plan written on it " No, it's not weird in the slightest " He responded as he held his spouse's hand gently " Maybe it's cause you feel safe here, and it's not chaotic like how a hospital can be. This is a safe place for you, and you're a lot more relaxed here, right? "

Esmeralda smiled as she gently kissed her spouse " Yeah, i do feel safer here. But it is chaotic here because of our children " She joked.

The couple exited their bedroom and walked towards the living room, where their children all sat, watching cartoons on the T.V. Edgar was laying on an exercise ball, slowly rocking back and forth.

" Alright everyone! " Esmeralda called out, catching everyone's attention " Remember, be polite, don't get in trouble, and if you're staying there for more then tonight, remember to eat dinner before you eat desserts or snacks, got it? " The children all nodded as they picked their bookbags and headed out the door, walking next door to Fatima's house.


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The Evening went on like normal as the kids all played together while Adeem and Aisha made sure that they didn't get into any trouble, which thankfully, they didn't. The kids all played together, watched cartoons, and talking until it was time for them to go to bed, as one by one, the kids all went into Fatima's room, set up blankets and pillows before they all laid down and talked until they drifted off to sleep.

All except for Edgar, as he simply sat on the small love-seat in the living room, rocking back and forth, as if he was anxious about something and was trying to calm himself down.

" Edgar? " Aisha spoke as she sat next to the child, placing a gentle hand on the child's shoulder, catching his attention " Everything alright? You look nervous. You wanna talk to Auntie Aisha about it? "

Edgar looked up to the woman " I'm scared about Maman. Is she gonna be okay? " He asked, still rocking back and forth.

Aisha's eyes widen a bit, she didn't really know how to answer a question like that, especially to such a young child. But she thought of a way to explain it.

" Well, Your Mommy is gonna be just fine, she's just... " She swallowed a knot that formed in her throat " She's just excited to have your new baby sibling, and i bet you are too! " 

Edgar smiled as he continue to rock back and forth, seemingly calming down now.

" Now " Aisha spoke " Let's get you to sleep, okay? You have school in the morning! " She carefully picked Edgar up and carried him into Fatima's bedroom. She carefully placed Edgar down in Fatima's bed, covered him with a blanket and gently ruffled his hair before closing the door.


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Meanwhile, at the hospital, Esmeralda tried to keep herself relaxed, which was near impossible, as the doctor wasn't agreeing with her birth plan, which was pissing her off.

" How many time's do i have to tell you, i do not want pitocin! " Esmeralda explained as she rubbed her forehead " I've had it with my last birth, and i do not want it this time, this baby is my last child, i do not want pitocin. "

The doctor shook his head " But it can help you, and plus, you're labor will go by smoothly, wouldn't you want that? Or would you rather wait until you need an emergency C-section? "

Esmeralda furrowed her brows as she let out an agitated sigh " I'm already 10 Centimeters dilated, i don't think pitocin is gonna do much for me, all i want for my birth plan is no pitocin, skin-to-skin contact, and i want the baby with me when they do the assessments. Got that? It shouldn't be that hard to allow me to use my birth plan. "

The doctor shook his head as he was growing agitated " Well, what about your husband? " He asked, shifting focus to Quasimodo " How would he feel? He's the man of the house after all! Shouldn't he get the final say in what his wife does? "

Esmeralda turned to face Quasimodo, who was sitting in a chair by her bedside, he didn't have his hearing aids turned on, but he was still somewhat able to hear.

' He wants to know what you want ' Esmeralda signed, causing her spouse to become slightly confused ' He wants you to try to convince me to take pitocin, even though i don't want it. "

Quasimodo cocked an eyebrow in confusion ' You don't want medicine, right? ' he signed out as a question, to which, Esmeralda nodded as she let out a sigh as another contraction hit her, making her shiver in pain ' It's your body, you get to choose what you do with it, like a... Tattoo, or a piercing, or surgery! '

Esmeralda slowly re-positioned herself so she was now sitting upright, her knees bending  as she squatted. She reached into her bag that sat on the side table and pulled out a hair scarf before tying her hair up and back into a long ponytail. She pulled at the hospital gown and ended up untying it and taking it off, stripping her completely naked.

" Please, just leave us alone... " Esmeralda spoke " I wanna be left alone with just my spouse, please. Just leave us alone, please and thank you. " She let out a shaky sigh as the doctor groaned and finally left the room, slamming the door shut out of anger.

Quasimodo flinched from how loud the door slamming was. He gently held Esmeralda's hand, a worried expression on his face ' I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. ' He signed.

' It's alright, you didn't do anything wrong ' Esmeralda signed back ' I can feel the baby moving down, i don't want the doctor in here when i give birth ' a sigh escaped her lips ' I just want you in the room with me, nobody else '

That's when a strong contraction hit, a gasp coming out of Esmeralda's mouth as she stabilized herself. Her body shivered as she let out a shaky breath " Okay, Okay... I feel like i have to push. I have to push " She exclaimed, her grip on Quasimodo's hand tightening a bit.

Quasimodo nodded, gripping his spouse's hand tightly ' Alright, Alright. It's time, you're gonna be alright, and so will the baby. ' Quasimodo signed.