It'll be Soon

Ash pulled out of her bag, several pictures that had been taken of her as her pregnancy progressed. "You mean pictures like this?" she asked curiously. One of the pictures was her and Varod right after they had been married. She didn't even notice it as she handed them to Khaat. "I already planned on making one. I just really don't know how to do it. Or where I would get one."

She sighed waiting for Khaat to look over the pictures. "Is there anything else that I should be doing?" she asked curiously. "I just want to get all my ducks in a row before I have her, guess I need to decide a name huh?"

"A name would be good," Khaat said. "Some moms have a couple of names in mind and then once they have their baby, one just seems to fit more than another. And, yes. Those are the pictures you should put in it. Our gift shop has three or four styles of baby books, but you might find some others in some of the gift shops in Diagon Alley. Perhaps the book stores. Mine was a gift. I don't know where they bought it.

"If there is something you want for yourself or your baby, pack that in your bag with you. One of the things that was important to me was a really special baby blanket. There are a lot of really pretty ones out there. If you know how to crochet or knit or sew, you might make one yourself. And, incidently, there are spells for knitting and crochetting and sewing.

"I'd make sure that your brother knows where to find your bag for the hospital is and that he can get to it in a hurry for you. You can fill out your admission paperwork for St. Mungos at any time, and now might be the time to do it. That way, when the big day comes, you won't have to worry about that. You can go to the labor and delivery wing and simply fill out the forms. They've already been notified about your approximate due date, and they know about all that paperwork jazz. They'll be glad to help you do it now so that you're more relaxed later. I think that covers it, aside from the regular follow ups now until delivery. Other questions?"

Ash smiled. "I'll have to go look at those baby books." she replied. She really didn't know much. She had been keeping a journal of her pregnancy. She had been looking through her baby book that her brother had found for her. So Ash already had an idea of how to go about doing it. "I'll go there and fill those out after this, I promise."

She looked at Khaat and hesitated for a moment, "I do have a question." she said quietly. "I'm sure its nothing but I've found that lately its been starting to hurt when I start to get upset and I feel the baby moving more than normal. Is that normal? I mean its usually when I let myself get upset over Varod. I can't help but still wonder if he'll show back up. He wasn't the kind of person to just up and leave like that. Especially because we seemed so happy. He was happy about the baby. I just really don't understand it."

"Its not unheard of, but since you and the baby are both fine, I wouldn't worry. I know its stressful wondering what's going on with Varod. But, believe me, I can tell you first hand that the prospects of being a father, for some men, are just way more than they can deal with. Most men are able to adjust. Some men, it just seems to scare the daylights out of them. I don't know if that is what happened to him, but maybe yours will come back to you. Mine didn't. I did, however, find a really great guy that has stepped up to the plate to be a great daddy to my daughter. She calls him daddy now, too. The bottom line is that even though I love my daughter's father, it just never was able to work. But it wasn't the only guy out there. If Varod doesn't come back, you'll find a wonderful guy who will treat you and your child the way you should be treated--with love and respect."

Ash still looked at Khaat a little confused but nodded. Even in the few visits with her, she seemed more like a mother figure than anyone she had ever known. Hell it wasn't like she could really remember her mother anyway. And even though she knew no one could ever fill the shoes her mother left, she knew she still needed someone to even mention things like that in passing that could talk to her from a mother's perspective. "So I'm good to go?" she finally asked letting everything that Khaat said sink in. "When do I need to come back? Also we never discussed anything about me actually giving birth and I know its getting kind of close, don't I need to know what I'm in for before hand?" she bit her lip looking at the healer a little frightened.

"I'll see you in two weeks, unless you start having any new symptoms," Khaat said. "Wizarding births are very different from muggle ones. We have much better methods of controlling pain that are a lot less barbaric than muggle methods. So far, I see no reason why we can't use pain relief spells to stop the pain. You'll feel pressure but not pain as such. Timewise, first time labors are pretty unpredictable. But all the horror stories muggles believe in about childbirth? Not so with wizarding births. And much less traumatizing for the child too. We will reduce but not entirely stop the labor pain. If we stop it, we can't tell where you are in the birth process, but I can promise it will be tolerable. The delivery, we can make that almost entirely pain free, depending on the strength of the pain relief spell. If all goes well, there is no reason why you and your baby can't be home the next day."

Letting out a sigh, Ash nodded, "Ok thats a relief. I was kind of scared it was going to hurt horribly, and be everything that everyone told me. I was getting worried about that. You know I actually do have muggles in my family and they were telling me all kinds of horror stories about what it was going to be like and how sorry they were that I was going through this alone. I couldn't take it. Its one reason why I came back here. I'd rather be miserable here and at least be around people I know than miserable there and hate everyone around me." she laughed a little. "Silly huh?"

"Muggle medicine is completely barbaric," Khaat laughed. "My father doesn't quite see it like I do. He has more sympathy for them than that. He seems to have a lot more appreciation that its all they know and all they have. But I am more than glad I don't have to rely on it. I am glad we have that option of there isnt' anything else, but personally, it would have to absolutely be the last resort. And so long as we have so many skilled healers around, I don't see it as ever being necessary.

"I was exposed to muggle healers just one time--one of their versions of an emergency room. I hated it. And I"m never doing it ever again," Khaat laughed. "We will not let you experience one of those muggle horror stories. I promise. Not unless you end up somewhere stuck out in a woods by yourself with no magic whatsoever. And I don't see that as being very likely."

Ash practically jumped off the exam table and hugged Khaat. She had no clue why, but for some reason she felt like hugging the woman, it was oddly confusing to her because she rarely showed affection for anyone. She knew that after she had the baby she would definately keep in contact with Khaat. "Thanks." she replied, "So two weeks correct? Plus I already have a name in mind for her. I think I want to name her Alessandra Lia." she said excitedly. I have a feeling it will fit her perfectly. And I'll go straight from here and fill out that paperwork."

"You're very welcome," Khaat laughed. "That sounds like a beautiful name. I think it will fit nicely. Oh, and if they have time at the nurses station, ask them to show you around. They'll be happy to show you the birthing rooms and the nursery. That way you'll feel a lot more at home. And, yes, two weeks, unless you have any new symptoms. If you have anything new come up, come back right away. They know how to reach my father or me anytime day or night. Let's not take chances, shall we? Its all gone well so far. Let's not risk anything. I'd rather be able to happily tell you its a false alarm, which does happen, then to perhaps have you deliver early in the middle of the Great Hall or something. I'd really rather you not do that."