Unexpected Plans

Pain

From then on, all the attention in the lair was on Shego. Drakken had barely tinkered with anything because he was so consumed by the thought.

Twins.

They had bought clothes, diapers, cribs, and decorated the nursery, all within the space of two weeks. She was six months along now, and was only worried about one thing.

"Drew," she'd asked him one day in the lab, "What are we going to name them?"

He'd looked at her incredulously for a moment, as if she were a phantom, and then shrugged, and said he hadn't really thought about it. For the next two hours, they discussed names. And, when they'd finally made a descision, a tremendous weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

***

This pregnancy had not been nearly as turbulent as her previous one. She was thirty eight weeks along now, and the twins would be due in two weeks. She was both nervous and excited- nervous for delivering them, but excited to meet them. She really hoped that motherhood would fit her well. She sat down on her bed, her hands tracing over her stomach, when she felt a gush of water come out of her, and a flash burn in her abdomen. It went just as suddenly as it had come. She calmly walked over to Drew and told him it was time. He of course, went into hysterics, and, after several antics, managed to get her to the hospital.

***

The first six hours, she'd been fine. She had a high tolerance for pain, so the contractions hadn't bothered her.

In the second six hours, the pain had started chipping away at that tolerance, and the pain was beginning to become unbearable.

By hour seventeen, she was nothing less than a cast-iron bitch. The nurses scurried in and out so quickly that she couldn't direct her fury at anyone in particular. She'd had Drew leave the room a long while ago, While she had still been thinking clearly. Instead of crushing his hand, she'd melted the bars on her bed. Finally, at last the doctor told her it was time to push. She'd pushed as hard, long, and fast as she could, trying her best to ignore the sensation that her insides were being clawed apart by rabid animals. Suddenly, a small cry pierced the air, and she felt some sense of relief. She pushed as hard as she could, as long as she could, and there was a moment when she felt the pain stop. Only... There was no cry.

She looked up to see the umbilical cord wrapped around the baby's neck.