Support and growth

Chase was wrapped in a traveling cloak, her hair pulled back into a low ponytail, her eyes clouded over. She had been told to go to St. Mungos to make sure the baby was growing all right. So that's what she was doing, she also had the mind to ask a few need-to-know questions so that she knew what to eat and what to do to make sure the baby was as healthy as possible. She emerged from the fireplace in St. Mungos and coughed lightly before glancing around the room. There were a lot of people with really weird problems here, and it made her happy to think that one day she would work here.

Going up to the front desk, she signed in. "I need the birthing center, I'm here for a checkup.." She said softly, and was pointed in the right direction. Walking down the hall quickly, she looked around in amazement. Soon she would be here, working alongside the healers, but for now, she was a patient, ready to find out information, ready to figure out what to do. And here for some well needed support and information. Getting to the desk in the birthing center, she rang a bell and waited for a moment, looking around. This section of the hospital was never one of her favorites, filled with crying babies and screaming women. Which would be her in nine months time.

Chase bit her lower lip and pulled her cloak closer to her. Elijah hadn't been able to come, which made her nervous, because there was a possibility she'd be seeing some people he had told. And she felt nervous just with this in mind. Without him there, she felt so vulnerable, like she was naked in front of the entire hospital, even though she was wrapped in the cloak. She had her arms around her stomach, as though protecting whatever was in there, and she bit down on her lower lip again, waiting for someone to answer the bell.

Khaat frequently worked in the OB-BYN section because so many of the women simply preferred to see a woman, even though, in Khaat's own personal opinion, her father was more skilled in the art of delivering babies safely He had years and years of more experience, but she also understood their feelings of being more comfortable with a woman.

She had gotten the chart of her next patient. Chase. Ah, yes. She knew this situation, but she refused to betray Eli's confidence. She went in to see Chase and introduced herself.

"So, you're Chase? I"m Khaat Lupin. It says here you believe you might be pregnant. So, let's find out. We don't do this in a muggle way here. It is very different." She got out a test tube and poured a clear potion into it.

"The way this works is very simple. I need just a couple of your hairs. You put them into the vial. This clear potion will turn color when you add the hairs. If you're pregnant, the potion will turn green. If you're not, it will turn pink. There is never an inbetween, just like you're either pregnant or you're not. This will tell us. So, if you would be so kind as to add a couple of your hairs to the vial, then we'll know. "

Chase looked around when she heard a voice, and realized who her healer would be... Khaat Lupin. Her heart skipped a beat and she stared for a moment before nodding carefully and following her into a room. She listened for a long moment before nodding carefully. Pink or Green, simple enough. No in between, well that was good. She took a deep breath and plucked out a few of her hairs, wincing as she did so. Khaat Lupin... she had met her during the orientation for becoming a healer, but hadn't really gotten very close to her. Not in any way shape or form. Now she was being checked up on by Khaat.

But Chase also knew, Elijah knew Khaat, he probably told her.. so this was one of those people he had told, one of those that Chase didn't know, but she knew Chase. She took a deep breath, and dropped the hairs into the vial. Chase closed her eyes and looked away. What would happen if she wasn't pregnant? Would everything be okay? Somehow she knew she was though, as Jen had said. Animagi and Werewolves could tell, but it could be a scare! Chase suddenly got a feeling of hope, what if she wasn't pregnant? What if this was all going to end right here? All the tears, all the worry, gone in a moment where she put her hair in a vial and it turned pink.

Chase slowly opened her eyes and looked back at the vial, looking for the color it would be.

Khaat swirled the vial to help the potion to react to the hairs but it really didn't need it. The vial turned a brilliant, beautiful hue of sparkling emerald green. Almost the same shade as the enchanted necklace Khaat wore that had become, in a way, her signature.

"Well," she said. "It looks like you're going to be a mother. From the color of this vial, I would say this is a relatively new development. You should be due about graduation time, I would guess. It'll be close. So, tell me. You're going to need some help to get through this. Someone who will be in your corner and coach you along. Do you have someone in mind?" She didn't know Chase well, but she did know Eli. She didn't want to insert herself where perhaps she was not wanted but Khaat was more than willing to help both Chase and Eli through this new adjustment. It was not going to be easy for either of them.

Chase felt her heart sink when the vial turned a brilliant shade of emerald green. She was positively pregnant. All of her hopes were dashed, and she knew it wouldn't go away so quickly. Nothing ever did in her life. She bit her lip and sighed. "No... I don't have anyone in mind.." She said her eyes still on the vial. "I don't have any family, and the only friends I have at school... well, they aren't talking to me ever since I told one of them about being pregnant." She said slowly, deciding to simplify it down, Khaat didn't need to hear all of the details.

She tore her eyes off of the vial. "I really only have Elijah right now.." She said softly, trying not to cry again. She had done that enough, and it had set Jack off, yelling and screaming at her. She swallowed hard and looked away from Khaat. "I need to know everything, what should I eat? How many vitamins should I take? I read in the library that this is the stage where something could go wrong the most... birth defects.." She said shaking her head. "If I'm going to have a baby, I'm going to do everything I can to make sure it's healthy and it grows up well." She said shivering. "Money isn't a problem, when my parents died, they left me a lot of money..." She said slowly. "Even a house, but I don't go there anymore..." She said carefully.

She looked up at Khaat and chewed on her lower lip. "So yeah.. I don't.. I don't have anything right now.. only Elijah, and his side of the family.. which I haven't met, and have been warned not to cross his mom." She gave a watery laugh and wiped her eyes. "I don't know anything... so I need all the help I can get!" She said leaning forward towards Khaat, hoping she could help her in some way.

"Chase," Khaat took a deep breath and decided, with a bit of anxiety, to lay her cards on the table. "You don't need to plan on Eli's biological family for anything. Here's the thing--I am Eli's guardian. If his family was worth much, he wouldn't have needed me. Viktor was never a down to earth sort of guy, and I don't think his mother is either. However, I do try to be.

"The point is, Eli and you will get through this because my family will help you. I still have my parents. You've met my father. My mother is very healthy and active. I have a whole network of friends, and I have...my boyfriend." That sounded strange even coming from her own mouth. She'd known Brian her whole life, and this was the very first time she had referred to him as her boyfriend.

"I will get you the vitamins you need, and I'll send you with a book of not only diet changes but also some do's and don't's on how to take care of yourself. You and Eli are going to have to talk. Brian and I can take care of anything you need, and I do realize money is not an option. I"m not worried about that either. I'm talking about the things money cant' buy. Like real support to help you both learn how to take care of a baby and take care of yourselves and all your other obligations at the same time." She opened the door and called a nurse and ordered the vitamins, a particular potion, and the standard book they used for new mothers.

The nurse brought back a bottle of vitamin pills, a tall bottle of a fushia colored potion, and a book. Khaat took them and handed them to Chase. "Vitamins. One daily. Potion--for morning sickness or fatigue. Use as the label tells you only. And the book. Read it and then get back to me with every question you have. Write them down. And get with Eli. You and Eli and Brian and I need to talk. Really talk. Sound good to you?"

Chase looked at Khaat for a long moment, as she explained a lot more then Chase realized was going on. Viktor Krum didn't pay much attention to Elijah..made sense, Eli had never talked about his famous father much at all. She looked at Khaat with a small amount of shock, realizing just how much Khaat would be helping in the next nine months. Chase felt her heart swell up with an amount of happiness she hadn't felt for a long time. Mostly because, as Khaat had put quite clearly, Chase wasn't going to be alone anymore. She didn't have to handle this by herself.

Chase took the potion, book, and vitamins quietly, glancing at the label before nodding to what Khaat said. Get together, talk with Elijah... which was what they needed, she needed to know some stuff from him, not just about what they were going to do, but about him in general. She needed to know him. Really KNOW him, and not just what she knew now.. she wanted to know everything, and see.. just how compatible they were. They would be together for a long time, and well... this was their baby. She nodded and then set the stuff down and got off her seat.

Going to Khaat she did the only thing she could think of, she hugged her hard. How long had it been since someone besides Elijah had given her a hug? She wasn't sure, but she could feel the need for one, and she didn't know how else to thank Khaat. "Thank you.." She said softly, slowly letting her go and wiping her eyes. "I'm so afraid.." She whispered, looking up at Khaat and smiling slightly. "I felt so alone for so long.. I was so afraid that he would leave me.. and I would be all alone to handle this.." She said trying to stem the flow of tears that were now falling from her eyes.

"You're not alone," Khaat said, hugging Chase. "Once the two of you talk, then we can start helping you two make some temporary plans. A word of advice from one who has been there? Don't start looking at 'forever's.' You and Eli will be connected together for good because of this child. But that does not mean that it is necessarily going to all turn out in fairy tale bliss. My husband and I are a perfect example of that. However, it doesn't mean you'd be alone and miserable either. Rob and I aren't together, but I am not alone or lonely either one. I have more friends than I've ever had, and if I ever got into trouble, any one or all of them would come running. I am very, very happy," She told Chase deliberately so she knew that just because a woman wasn't worth the baby's father didn't mean that life was over.

"Don't look too far ahead. Do this, at least for awhile, one step at a time. Don't look at any more than the very next step in front of you. Let me look at the rest of the journey. I've seen that journey before. I know what to expect. It won't come as a surprise to me. And we will get through it." She reached for a tissue and handed it to Chase. "Here. Dry your eyes. It's a life change but it isn't a bad thing. I'm just going to have another grandchild, that's all," she smiled, with a small laugh.

Chase nodded carefully. No forevers... she wanted to think that there would be, but she knew that Khaat was right, just because there was a baby, didn't mean her and Elijah were completely compatible, didn't mean they could learn to love, or any of that... Chase may very well end up without Elijah, and he would go back to his life, and she would still have the Lupins on her side, she would still have the friends she would make from this experience. One day, not to far from now, she would not just be the patient of Khaat, she would be her friend too, connected by this child.

Chase looked at the vial again for a long moment. That green liquid that told the world that she had a baby on the way. She took the tissue silently and nodded. "Thank you.." she said again. "Is there anything besides what you give me that I should know? Something that may not be in the book.." She said and then smiled slightly. "Personal advice I mean?" She said and looked up at her shyly. Chase had never had the maturity level that someone her age should have, usually very childish, but this summer she had been forced to grow up, and grow up fast. She looked at Khaat and smiled. With her help, she could make it, she knew she could.

"Don't quit school," Khaat said. "Its all workable. It isn't going to be easy, but its manageable. If it gets tough, you know where to find me. I'm usually here or at Sparks or at the MInistry. Usually one of the three. And when I"m not here, most of the time, my father is. Its rare that one or the other of us isn't here. Personal advice. What I had to learn to do was to enjoy my pregnancy. Every little moment. No matter what anyone else thought. I wanted my daughter more than about anything else in the world, and I spent a lot of time at first worrying if I was doing the right thing. Don't do that. I discounted the people around me who loved me and thought I had to do it myself. No one ever truly raises a child alone. A child is raised by everyone in that child's town. You know, the old saying that says it takes avillage to raise a child. Well, its true. Don't let yourself get into that 'Me,Myself, and I'' kind of thinking. It won't help you because its a lie. Look at it from how many people will be involved and who want to help."