Barbatos's heart

Trails Part 4: Pain, Suffering, Suprises

It had been a few months since Elaina and Barbatos had temporarily separated. Barbatos would visit Elaina as often as possible. She had gotten much worse and needed her family. She had lost her Sun-kissed tanned skin and had dark circles under her eyes, almost like a ghost of sorts. Barbatos couldn't stand her looking like that and putting herself through that torture, but he couldn't find it in him to fight with her. She was stubborn and he knew she wouldn't give up, even if she died in the process, she'd have the baby.

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About a month and a half before Elaina was due to go into labor, Barbatos got an urgent message from Michael requesting his presence immediately.

Barbatos came to the Celestial Realm and found out Elaina had gone into labor early. He could instantly hear her painful screams and agonizing cries as he entered the room. He ran to her and held her hand tightly. She kept repeating the words "Please get her out of me. Please save her. Please don't let her die. Please, Please."

Eventually, the doctors decided to do an emergency C-section. They gave Elaina drugs to help her not feel the pain but they had to act before the drugs kicked in and she screamed out in pain as they made the first incision. Barbatos lost his mind and started to yell. "The drugs haven't kicked in. Stop it! Stop it now!" but Elaina mustered up all her strength to silence him. "No, she needs to come out NOW or we'll lose her!" She cried. Tears were streaming down Barbatos's face as he clung to his wife for dear life.

He had to be strong. She was risking everything for this child and trying her hardest to make it through, so he had to be strong too, but their connection to each other through their bond was so strong. He could sense all of her emotions. The pain she was going through, the silent and deeply buried fear that she would lose her life in the process, being overwhelmed by her worry of losing the child instead, thinking more of the baby than herself, but he could feel it. He could feel her fears of abandoning Wendy and their baby if she died. Then her grip on him loosened. He looked down at her, afraid, but when he saw the look in her glazed eyes and the expression on her face, he knew that the drugs had finally kicked in and she couldn't feel the pain anymore. Her mind went quiet and her fears subsided.

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After the baby was born, Elaina went into shock and eventually slipped into a coma. The doctors said she should recover, but she had a long journey of healing ahead of her. The baby may have been premature, but they were healthy.

Michael noticed that Barbatos seemed disconnected from the child. He decided to take him aside and question him. Barbatos confessed that when he looked at the child, he couldn't help but think about what Elaina was going through. "She went through so much pain and suffering. This child was the cause of that... Of course, I love them but..." He trailed off.

Michael made him look at it in a new light. Elaina would be okay and so would the child. He made Barbatos look at this as a miracle, instead. They both could have lost their lives but they were both still there with them and recovering. They were there for a reason.

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Elaina woke up just long enough to see her daughter and hold her. She looked just like Elaina. "She has the biggest, brightest hazel eyes, just like you!" Barbatos chuckled lightly, making Elaina smile weakly. The couple decided to name their new bundle of joy, Hazel, for that very reason. After a few minutes of Elaina fawning and tearing up over her beautiful, healthy daughter, she began to grow tired again. Barbatos took Hazel from her to let her rest.

The baby didn't have any inkling of demon in her. No horns, no tail, or wings. Michael asked Barbatos if that was normal. Barbatos explained that it wasn't unheard of that Demons were born without them. Sometimes they grew after the child is born, so she would probably start getting them soon. Michael wondered if she would have wings or a tail. "She will probably have a tail like mine, but I didn't know my family, so I don't know if any of them had wings or not. So it's possible, that if they did, she might." Barbatos guessed. Michael brought up the conversation to help Barbatos stress less over Hazel's birth and it ended up helping the restless father.

Elaina took a few weeks to recover and then she got word that she was able to return to Devildom with the baby. Everyone in Devildom was thrilled to hear the news that Elaina and the baby were happy and healthy! They decided to throw her a surprise baby shower. Everyone attended. The brothers, Aurelia, Diavolo, the palace staff, even Solomon, Luke, and Simeon. And to add an extra surprise to this already surprise party, Elaina's eldest sister Rosaline came as well! Elaina was so overjoyed that they would go through so much for her. "This is the first time that you get to meet the babies, Rosie! I'm so happy you're here!" She gushed. "Of course, I'm happy to see all of you but..." She trailed off. "Ey, don't sweat it! We get it. Rosaline's a rare sight. I'm surprised she even showed!" Mammon joked. Elaina had a wonderful homecoming full of laughter and happiness that she needed. Happy to finally be home with her family.