One Tail at a Time

Miracles

"Dearest, how long has the pain been coming?" he asks softly as I am gently picked up off the cushions and carried to the birthing chamber where Yunru has been sent to await my arrival.

"For a few days now, but they are ...." I momentarily gasp as another streak of pain fires around my lower belly  "...  but they are far more intense." I manage to finish while his lips thin out sternly.

"And you are telling me this now?" he asks softly as we enter the chamber which is warm and well lit thanks to Yunru who is busy scurrying about the room heating water and preparing fresh towels.

"It's fine dear, Yunru did say that the pain would come on gradually and not to worry." I quickly reply to ease his mind seeing as he looks close to scolding me.

"That is all good and well, but you should have informed me." he says chiding me gently seeing as I already have tears in my eyes though this is due to the pain which is coming at much closer intervals rather than his annoyance at being kept in the dark.

"I'm fine really.  There's no need to panic Mo Yuan, everything is as it should be." I tell him as if I have gone through this a thousand times, though truthfully, I am terrified, but I will not let him see it, he is already stressed as it is, even though his face is calm and gives away nothing.  I know him so much better thanks to those books.  

All these years, I had thought he had been unaffected and just went about things calmly and without a fuss when the opposite was true.  He is very good at hiding his emotions, even now.  But there is always one little give away, and as I have mentioned before, his eyes are where his true feelings lie.  To Yunru, they might look bright and expectant as any new fathers eyes would look, but behind the soft browns that edge the smile there for her to see, is the fear that all is not as well as it should be, so I keep as calm as I can and smile through the next wave of pain.

Shaking his head softly, he gently lowers me to the bed where several warm blankets are already there for waiting along with hot water and fresh towels.  

"I suppose I should send word to your mother." he says with a hitch of annoyance in his tone though rather than leave, he sits himself down on the bed beside me while I quietly observe his every expression he thinks he is hiding.  I know he wants to stay but he is being the bigger man by merely doing what is expected of him.

I also know he and my mother don't see eye to eye on most things, but when it comes to tradition, Mo Yuan will absolutely follow what has been the way since forever.  No man is allowed to remain in the birthing chamber once labor begins, and my mother will absolutely throw a fit if he even tries to remain, only there is something in his eyes that has me feeling incredibly guilty.

This is a joyful occasion only he will completely miss out on what is his child's arrival so I think it is incredibly unfair that he should be thrown out of what could be one more memory for his books.   I have never been one to follow the rules, he knows this, and so does mother so taking his hand, I continue to smile through the tears for a man who has gone through so much for my benefit, and for once in my life, I want to give him something no other man has ever been afforded.

"Let's not tell her." I say loud enough for Yunru to also hear which automatically earns me a gasp from the both of them.

"Madam, you cannot." she says while the laughter in his eyes suddenly explode as he remains staring down at my twinkling ones.

"Yunru.  I want my husband with me." I reply without looking at her or paying any attention to the second pale of water that she drops onto the floor before storming towards the both of us.

"I oppose. He cannot stay, it is against the law." she says with fire in her belly and ice in her eyes when she catches Mo Yuans soft stare that is rising to battle for his right to stay.