Walker and Taylor
Walker answered a knock at the door.
"Taylor," he smiled.
"Hey Dad. Have Ike and Zac left yet?"
"I think so. Come in."
Taylor put his arm around Mouse and led her inside.
Mouse
"Hey, Walker, Diana," Mouse said, smiling.
"Happy New Year's."
She ignored the brief twinge of pain, she'd been getting them all day.
Taylor and Sheldon
Taylor blanched slightly as he felt Mouse's pain.
He led her toward the livingroom, where Sheldon was on the sofa - his arms around a blonde.
Mouse
"It's nothing," Mouse murmured to him quietly.
"Don't worry about it."
She looked up.
"Hi, Sheldon."
Avery
"Hey Mouse! Hey Taylor," Avery greeted, coming into the room with a young boy in tow.
Taylor and Sheldon
"Kinda hurts though," Taylor murmured, "hey Avie!"
He let go of Mouse so he could hug his sister.
"Hey Mouse," Sheldon nodded, "glad you and your... entourage could make it."
Mouse
"Fafnir and Bets are outside under extreme protest," Mouse said dryly.
"Clarissa and Bee we couldn't get rid off."
Clarissa pouted slightly.
"Now, that's not fair. Steel would have my hide. Name's Riss," she introduced herself to Sheldon.
Sheldon and Taylor
Sheldon peeled himself away from the blonde and stood before them.
"I meant the triplets," he raised an eyebrow, holding his hand out to Riss.
As she went to shake it, he kissed it instead.
"And why be a beautiful thing such as yourself in this position?"
"Lay off Sheldon," Taylor shook his head as Walker walked past.
Sheldon chuckled, then shook Bee's hand.
Diana
Diana heard familar voices.
"Taylor! Jane!" she greeted, stepping into the room. "It's good to see you."
Taylor
"Hey mom," Taylor grinned.
He leant forward to give the woman a hug and kiss.
"Happy New Years."
Mouse
"Happy New Year's, Diana," Mouse said.
She winced as a slightly stronger pain hit.
"Can I sit down somewhere?"
Diana
"Yes, yes of course," Diana said.
She put an arm around Mouse and guided her to a seat.
Mouse
"Thanks," Mouse said gratefully.
She rubbed her hand over her stomach, hoping the babies would just calm down.
Taylor
"I feel like I'm gonna be sick," Taylor cringed a little as he leant against a wall.
He looked up at Mouse.
"Are you sure you're ok?"
Mouse
"Yeah, think so," Mouse said absently.
She winced as a stronger pain hit her again.
"Ok, they're getting worse..."
Diana
Diana knelt down next to Mouse in concern.
"Would you like me to get a doctor?" she offered.
Mouse
"I'll be fine...I think," Mouse said.
Dammit, she was not going into labour tonight!
Taylor
"I really..."
Taylor hesitated - a hand on his stomach.
"I think we should get it checked out. This... this really, really hurts."
Mouse
Mouse opened her mouth to reply, then doubled over as the contractions *really* started.
"Oh god!"
Taylor
Taylor's eyes widened suddenly, as his back hit the wall and he slid to the ground.
"$#it, oh $#i+... Mom?!" he said between breaths, "she... $#!+!"
Mouse, Priss and Nyx
Mouse glanced around, trying to catch her breath. The only people in the room were Diana, Taylor, Walker, Sheldon and herself. Thank god. She put her fingers on the Eye of Horus tattoo and concentrated.
Priss appeared, looking flustered and just that little bit pregnant herself.
"Sweetest, what is it?"
She took in the situation with a quick eye and summoned Nyx.
"What the hell, Priss?" Nyx complained, clutching a sheet to her chest.
"Mouse, dearest," Priss said as she went to Mouse.
Mouse cried out as another contraction rippled through her and clutched onto Priss's hand. Nyx grinned.
"Trust me when I say in a few hours, it will get a lot worse."
"Thanks...so much, Nyx," Mouse gasped.
Sheldon and Walker
Sheldon frowned a little as Walker moved up to his wife - having just returned from vacating the room.
"Man, Tay, you feel all that?"
"What the $#!k to you think?" he gasped in reply, glancing up at Sheldon after a moment.
He leant his head back against the wall.
Mouse, Sabre and Nyx
"I felt..." Sabre began, appearing in the room.
"You alright, Mousey?"
"Just f*cking fine, cat," Mouse gritted as another contraction hit.
Sabre shrugged slightly.
"So, she's not at the stage of cursing everything male ever born yet."
"No, that usually starts about four hours after the first conraction," Nyx said.
She clicked her fingers and the bedsheet she had been wearing disappeared to be replaced with a top.
"Priss, are we taking this elsewhere?"
"Well, I can't exactly go to a hospital," Mouse said, then moaned in pain.
"Right. Well, who wants to come with?" Sabre asked.
Walker, Sheldon and Taylor
"Actually, you can," Walker amended, "and would be for the best."
"Tay? Are you goin'?" Sheldon asked, kneeling next to him.
Taylor glanced up at Mouse, panting slightly.
"I don't... I don't know..."
Bastet's children
"Magick, baby, magick," Nyx said to Walker.
"You may not think so, but what we do is for the best."
Priss smoothed her hand over Mouse's head, then they disappeared.
Sabre looked around.
"Aren't we missing a few Hansons? Want me to go fetch them?"
Nyx knelt on one knee next to Taylor.
"Do you want to come? The further away you are, the less it will hurt. But do you want to come anyway?"
Taylor, Sheldon and Walker
"I don't... I don't... They, they aren't mine," he shook his head between breaths, "I... shouldn't..."
Walker turned his attention to his son, a little miffed at Nyx's words.
Sheldon looked up at her.
"Any chance of gettin' him further away, so he can't feel it?" he asked.
Nyx and Sabre
"She might want you there, but not if you're gonna hurt," Nyx said.
Sabre went outside as a hysterical howling started up, to quiet Fafnir and Bets.
"I can take him to Australia, or another dimension entirely," Nyx said blandly to Sheldon's question.
"Where's up to him."
Taylor, Walker and Sheldon
"I... don't... care..." Taylor shook his head, tears welling in his eyes.
"That said," Sheldon shrugged.
Walker stood up.
"So... who, exactly, is going where?" he asked their audience.
Bastet's Children
Nyx looked at Taylor steadily, then stood.
"Well, I'm going to go help deliver these babies. Sabre can transport whoever wants to come."
She disappeared, eyes gleaming with just a little contempt.
Mouse screamed as another contraction wracked through her.
"OH GOD!"
"Breathe, sweet, breathe," Priss said, wetting her forehead with a wet cloth.
"How is she?" Nyx asked as she washed her hands.
"Her waters just broke."