‹ Prequel: Hope to Burn.

Lost Haven.

Angel on Earth.

"No, John, move the couch to the left. How will there be any room in here if the crib is in the middle of the room?"
"But why does the bed have to be against the window! I'm just saying, the natural light in the morning will help with the baby's sleeping patterns."
I shoot him a glare as Riley holds up the other end of the couch, waiting for us to be finished. "Because just like you don't like being woken up early, I'm pretty sure she'll feel the same. She'll wake up to sun, I'll wake up to crying, you'll wake up to a pissy wife, then we'll all be unhappy."
He scoffs. "I don't think she'll cry just because of a little sun."
"Tell that to your daughter when she gets here," I retort.
Ri chuckles, placing his end down on the floor to look in between us. "I have a suggestion," he says in a purposely cheerful and high pitched voice. "How about instead of moving the bed or the crib against the window, we leave the couch there? How 'bout that?"
I laugh as he puts his hands on his hips and John tosses one of the throw pillows at him. "Okay, Mr. Sunshine, remind me to keep you away from our daughter."
Chuckling, I look around the nearly empty center of the apartment. We were trying to 'babyproof' a lot of things for when the time came, but it proved to be be a somewhat difficult task, what with the new baby gear and supplies taking up one half of the room, and regular furniture and appliances on the other. Don't get me wrong, it was big and spacey, but it wasn't enough for three...not-so-human beings to live in. I'd have to bring up possibly moving in somewhere bigger one of these days.
As they adjust the couch so that it's against the wall, I plop down onto it with a sigh. I could hardly stand to be on my feet for this long and I haven't even done anything. Pregnancy was definitely no party. The morning sickness and aching back and late night cravings and constant mood swings and going to the bathroom. I needed this baby out of me already.
I groan when my stomach starts to churn. "My tummy keeps hurting," I pout at John.
He sighs, sitting beside me and rubbing my belly. "C'mon doll, give your mom a break."
"That's not gonna help," I huff, resting my head on his shoulder.
"It did last time," he muses.
Riley chuckles as he drags a table beside us. "Oh I can't wait to see you changing diapers, O'Callaghan."
John glares at him, draping an arm over my shoulders. "I'll chuck them at you. And I won't do a good job at wrapping them."
"Leave him alone," I giggle, trying to imagine it myself. It was hard to believe that my big bad demon would be giving baths and dressing the baby in little clothes and reading bed time stories.
After the guys have moved around the furniture through the afternoon, Riley sighs and wipes his forehead with his shirt. "Well, looks like we're about done here. Seeing as I've done most of the work, I'll leave it to John to take to your needs, Lexi." He shoots me a wink before nodding at John. "Maybe you should consider talking Ev into leaving the house to you."
"I'll remember that," he mumbles. "Thanks, Ri."
The door closes softly and I prop my feet up on the coffee table, wincing at the slight pain in my side. I've felt like this all day and I just wanted to crawl into bed.
"You okay, Darlin'?" John asks. "You've been quiet."
"Just tired," I mutter, running a hand over my round stomach. I've been drowsy lately and feel drained fairly quickly.
He rubs my back soothingly as we sit in silence. It was comforting and just what I needed, since I begin to feel the slight jabs in my sides again. It was a sharp pain that made me draw in a breath. Was I getting cramps?
Except this was ten times worse.
I bite back a cry as I grab onto John's arm tightly. "J-John."
He notices my ragged breathing and sits up. "Lex? What's wrong?"
"It hurts," I pant, trying to bend over to stop the pain. I groan, all but wanting to cry. John quickly stands and takes a hold of my hands. He helps me onto my feet as I clutch my stomach, my head pounding and breaking out into a sweat. I could feel my heart twisting with worry. Was my baby okay?
My eyes squeeze shut tightly as I feel the wave of pain once more. I whimper and feel John cup my face. "Lexi, breathe, alright? We're going to get you to Ev. You're going to be fine."
"I can't, I-I can't breathe," I gasp, winded from the pain. He sits me back down and kneels in front of me, concern etched on his face. "Where does it hurt, baby?"
"H-Here," I murmur, pressing my fingers into my waist beneath my round belly, right over my pelvis even though it hurt to put pressure. It felt like someone was crushing my insides.
"Right here?" he asks, placing his fingers next to mine. "Are you sure they're not contractions?"
I bite my lip. "I d-don't know."
He stands and holds my arms gingerly. "We're gonna try to get you back up, okay?"
"No," I huff when I see him open a shadow into the Abyss. It wasn't safe when our child was still part human and I couldn't even walk. But going anywhere was complicated; we would have to show fake ID's and fill out fake paperwork and give fake names. I still had mine from a few months ago, but it expired. Besides, did I even still exist to the world, or had God wiped the slate clean of me?
I get another wave and my face scrunches up, my head dropping as I try to catch my breath. It shouldn't hurt this bad, should it? If anything, I should be able to endure it with my supernatural body.
"Please," I whimper as the pain continues. "W-We have to go to a hospital."
"Lexi-"
"It's not safe to go through there," I pant. "And it takes too long to get to Evageline's. Please, John-"
"Lex," he says more firmly, his eyes wide. "Your water broke."
I looks down and sure enough my sweats were soaked between my thighs. How I missed the dampness there I had no idea but it could only mean one thing.
My head snaps up. "W-We have to hurry."
He wastes no time, picking me up and storming out the door. "I'll figure things out at the hospital. She's coming, Lexi."
I sniff into his neck and nod. We had no choice; the hospital was our only option if we wanted everything to go right.
Holding my stomach, I murmur, "Just hold on. We'll see you soon, baby, I promise."
~
After a lengthy scene in the emergency room about the nurses being more concerned about their paperwork than my health, John convinced them to let him into the room with me. His gift of persuasion never disappoints.
My hand was crushing his as I'm wheeled into the delivery room. I think I even see him wince though I don't blame him. I was annoyed and frustrated that I was even still feeling this pain. I wanted this baby out of me.
The doctors give me something to help with the pain before leaving the room with a moment. John stroked my hair as he wipes the sweat from my brow. "You okay, darlin?'"
I feel my eyes go black before I could stop it. "Does it look like I'm okay?"
He cowers back into his chair and runs his thumb over my knuckles. I let my head fall back onto the pillow, taking a deep breath to relax. He squeezes my hand and I squeeze back. I was feeling a swirl of things. I was irritated and I was emotional and I was excited and I was scared, all at the same time. Nine months had nothing on right now.
A woman in scrubs rushes in and sighs in relief when she sees I'm not screaming in pain. "Oh, good. They told me it was an emergency." She chuckles and if she hadn't looked so sweet I'd be slightly pissed off. Was being in labor not an emergency?
"I'm Dr. Gavin. I'm just going to see how much you've dilated, although I'm pretty sure you're more than ready to push, correct?"
I sigh. "Please. I need it out of me."
John clears his throat. "She-"
"Shut your mouth," I growl.
Dr. Gavin sees his wide eyed expression and smiles. "Maybe it's best you don't say anything. Contractions can cause distress. Believe me, I see it all the time."
I huff, waiting rather impatiently as she checks beneath my hospital gown that I had to dispose my sweats for. I was already at seven centimeters, but I still had to wait.
Deep breath after deep breath, I could feel the fear begin to settle in. What if something went wrong? What if the moment my baby was out, it stopped breathing?
"John," I whisper, tears rimming my eyes. "I'm scared."
He takes in my horrified look and his gaze softens. His lips press to my forehead as he holds my hand. "You're going to be alright, Lex. It's going to be fine."
"This baby's not gonna burst out with horns and a pointy tail and wings, is it," I mutter jokingly, only half kidding.
"Stop worrying," he chuckles as he cups my cheek. "You can do this. And I'm going to be here right next to you, just like I've always been." I sniff and he swipes beneath my eyes. "Don't cry, Darlin'. Our baby's almost with us. Our little girl's almost with us."
I nod, taking a shaky breath as Dr. Gavin steps back into the room. "Everything okay, Lexi?"
"Yes," I sigh as I lean up on my elbows. John fixes the pillow behind my back as she situates herself in front of me again.
"Ten centimeters," she announces after a moment. "You're all set."
Two other assistants step into the room once they're called. They all work to get me as comfortable as possible and I look up at John anxiously. He nods.
"Okay, Lexi, whenever you're ready."
I feel another rush of the harsh contractions and I grip his hand once more, pressing my lips together as I begin to push. I have to bite back a pained moan and put all the force I could into pushing. In midst of all that, I lost control of the fire burning behind my eyelids and keep them closed so no one could see they were black. I feel John hold my head as the sound of the lights crackling overhead make me groan. No, please no.
Trying to keep my powers in check, I clutch his hand tighter and peak carefully up at him. He mouths that it'll be okay, that they can't see it, but I knew this wouldn't be easy.
I give one hard push while gritting my teeth. Sweat gathers at my brow and John wipes it away. "Keep going, Darlin', you've got this," he whispers, urging me to suck in a breath and strain to push again. My core burned worse than I remember anything hurting, but I knew that meant I was close.
Breathing rapidly, I push and push and push, straining against the pain until I hear the words: "I've got the head, you're almost there. Keep going, sweetie. Give me one more big push."
"One more, Lex," John breathes, barely squeezing my hand to encourage me. It was probably broken by now.
My head was pounding and my body was weak, but I give them the last push, letting out a cry the same time I hear a tiny wail. The sound makes my heart jump to my throat. It's over.
I release John's hand, taking a relieved breath. My eyes open slowly and see him, staring at the doctor and the baby I couldn't see. Raising my head weakly, my eyes water at the sight of the tiny bundle in a blanket. Every moment John and I almost didn't make it comes rushing back at me; with Kalle, with Gwen, my wings, the fall, even Hell. Lucifer couldn't stop this from happening, nor could anything else in the world. It had all finally paid off, and we finally had our little-
"It's a girl," Dr Gavin announces cheerfully and I choke back a sob. We finally had our little girl.
John meets my eyes, his shining with something I couldn't describe as anything other than pure love. He swallows thickly and he looks up at the doctor. "I-Is she healthy? Can we hold her yet?"
I look up to see she nods and the assistant approaches. John helps me sit up as best as he could, accepting the baby from her and brushing the blanket aside. "Oh," he says softly, smiling. "Hey there, baby. We've waited for you."
My stomach flutters, feeling flat and utterly empty without her in my stomach. To think she was just in arms reach.
"I want to see her," I breathe and he nods, crouching down to my level. He lays her in my chest and I wrap my arms around her, taking her in with a teary smile. Her wide eyes seemed to reflect mine as she looks up at me, bright and curious. They were violet.
I smooth down her speckle of light brown hair before gently touching her smooth cheek. "Hi, sweetheart," I coo, sniffing. She was so beautiful that it made my chest tighten. She seemed to glow and I felt like I could finally see it; her breathtaking aura.
"She's an angel," John murmurs. I couldn't tear my eyes off of her to look at him, but as I touched her tiny pink lips and held her small fist with my finger, it hit me.
"You're right," I whisper, grinning. "Our little Angela."
Our little heaven on earth.
♠ ♠ ♠
Tadaaaa!! I'm sorry this took so long to get back to you. I've had family visiting and have had literally no time or energy to write this. Plus I was lacking inspiration. Things are going to get real crazy from this point on, so just prepare yourselves.
Okay maybe a fewwwww cute moments before the real drama starts. Keep yourselves strong is all.