Crowns and Cradles

Newborn, Naked Morning

Sundrop had been wired up and was laying down in her sterile room, doctors covered head to toe in scrubs as they muttered back and forth. She followed them with her eyes as her body had less and less of those tiny blissful moments of dips in her pain. It was wave after wave of pain that only seemed to get worse, but they still kept telling her a little longer. "Ma'am you have a visitor." A nurse told with a soft tone, Sundrop snapped her eyes up to see Flame with his scrubs on. Mask barely fitting his face, Sundrop smiled with a huff as he walked over and knelt down to meet her eye to eye.

"They finally let me in the room with you." He rubbed her sweat drenched cheek and she chuckled, "Don't look down there," she huffed, and he blinked and then his eyes darted over then back at her, "Why?" he whispered, Sundrop just closed her eyes and took a moment. That's when the commotion in the room got a little more energetic, "All right, you're ready to go!" A nurse told her with a quick rub of her shoulder, Sundrop tried to get a good look but she resorted to watching Flame's intense eyes as he tracked everything that happened near her.

"We're going to give you some pain killer to help with everything," A Doctor looked at her as he pushed a syringe into an IV, Sundrop just nodded. Flame looked a little panicked, but Sundrop felt a wave of pain suddenly wash away, "Wow!" Sundrop called out in delight, she heard a few chuckles, "Oh man, I wish they had that back in the day!" Sundrop's whole body felt like it was hovering for a second, the pain still there, but much less intense on her frame. "Did you not have a pain killer with your previous children?" one nurse asked, leaning over her, "Nope!" Sundrop grinned, and the nurse's eyes went wide.

Flame looked fearful as a doctor pulled a chair up to Sundrop, she glanced up at him, "King Flame have you ever witnessed birth?" She asked with a cocked eyebrow, he shook his head lightly and the doctor laughed. "Well if you don't like blood don't look over here." She got in a better position and Flame slowly looked back towards Sundrop. "Bl-blood, is there not," flame was interrupted by Sundrop grunting,

"Ok, I can see the head!" The doctor cheered

"Head?! Is there no egg?" Flame asked in a panic

"Mares don't lay eggs," The doctor shook her head as she looked back towards Sundrop

Flame sucked in a breath and glanced down, "One big push for me!" The doctor called out, and Sundrop squeezed her eyes closed and did as she was told. Flame's eyes grew wide, and for once in his life he was glad he was blind in one eye. He fought every cell in his body as they screamed for him to throw up, or pass out, or both. He just looked back to Sundrop with glossy eyes. "ᴳᵒᵒᵒᵈ ᵍᵒᵒᵈ ʲᵒᵇ ᵈᵃʳˡᶦⁿᵍ" He croaked out, Sundrop in her huffing and various groans of pain didn't even know he was there as she pushed as hard as she could.

She hated it, everything hurt her, and she just hated it. But her body did what was natural, and soon after the room filled with crying. "It's a girl!" the doctor cheered out, Sundrop laid her head back, her jaw agape and hair slick against her damp face. Panting and exhausted, she felt so many intense emotions, so did Flame. His pride and wonder knocking his disgust at blood out of the park, "Dad, do you want to cut the" "no-" He blurted out, Sundrop let out an exhausted laugh. "He hates blood!" Sundrop looked to the doctor who threw her head back and laughed, and the room laughed as well. Flame just stood there, and when a nurse handed him a small cup of water he nodded at her and greedily drank it down. 

When the doctor walked over with her, she was wriggling around and crying in her grasp, Sundrop felt a gasp roll out of her throat as they laid her down next to Sundrop. Her little dragon tail curled up to her body, four wobbling about as she let out little whines and warbled cries. Red eyes barely open as she curled up to the warmth of Sundrop's embrace, "Look at her," Flame whispered with light words, "She's perfect." He took a finger and placed it under her little chin. She had a plate of dragon scales down her neck and chest that led to the tip of her tail, two little wings that were squeezed shut. Feathers on the bone and webbed wings that extended out.

Sundrop couldn't make any words, she just kept watching this little thing as it started to open her eyes and look at the world for the first time. "What are we going to name her?" Flame asked, wiggling a finger in the infants face. She watched the movement with glittering eyes, mouth slightly agape as she blinked and watched, "Solar Flare," Sundrop smiled, Flame grinned, "the best of both worlds." He looked up to his wife and she smiled. Sundrop scooped Solar Flare closer to her, and she gave little squeaks of love back to her mother.

"This is nice," Sundrop sighed, watching as Solar reached an arm over Flame. "I like this." Sundrop started to lightly play with the wisps of hair on Solar's head, the gentle pink and reds that barely could be seen. "Like what?" Flame asked, barely taking his eyes off Solar. "Being a mom," Sundrop paused, "I thought after losing the boys I could never do it again, but this is good." She looked up at him with gentle eyes, he smiled at her and kissed the top of her head.

Sundrop felt truly content like this, for once, she wasn't afraid of the what if's. She felt as if everything was going to be okay.