...and then I found you. [Part one]
Part two | Part three
“Bow...” Glimmer was white as a sheet now. “I think I’m having the baby.”
“Did your water break?”
“Yeah. ...about three hours ago? ... I think the baby wants out, like, right now!”
“GLIMMER!”
—
Actually less a request than just the result of me and @darkmasterofcupcakes talking about Glimbow (and stubborn Glimmer that would insist on still working until literally the last minute of her pregnancy) for way too long that spiraled into a huge fic. This is the first out of either two or three parts, depending on how long the rest of this ends up being.
Companion fic to “One night, I wished upon a star...” which completes the title.
Summary: Glimmer is convinced she can get through the rest of the meeting and then have her baby afterwards. The baby disagrees.
Bow is losing his mind.
Their friends are being semi-helpful.
The healer is questioning their own choice of career.
All of the princesses are present but most of them are not that important. Catra and Adora will be more relevant in the second part.
Glimbow-centric, but also has some background Catradora, Seamista and Scorfuma.
I’m going with Perfuma being a trans woman because Rae said she was designed that way, which I like a lot. I’m also using this as the explanation why she can have a biological child with Scorpia, in case anyone is wondering.
[Takes place a couple of years after the end of show.]
(Also, this has cursing in it. For obvious reasons.)
—
This was fine. This was fine. This was fine!
Glimmer clenched her hands on the edge of the table again.
Shit. Was this supposed to hurt this much?
She breathed in and out, in and out, in and out until finally, after what felt like an eternity, the pain finally subsided.
She didn’t really have much time to relax, though. The time that passed between the surges of pain lessened with what felt like every contraction. They were only about five minutes apart now.
This was fine.
Just another half an hour, then they would be done with the meeting, and she could get to a healer and have her baby.
This was fine! And she was totally focused on what was being said!
“Uhm... Should we, like, pause the meeting, or...?”
Mermista looked at her friend, eyebrow raised.
The entire meeting room was staring at her now.
“No, it’s fine! I’m great! Really! Just go on with what you were telling us about the new trading route!”
Glimmer gave them the world’s falsest smile, clenching her fists again.
“Uhm... we finished that topic about twenty minutes ago? Are you okay? Do you need medial attention? I feel like you do.“
The Queen of Brightmoon shook her head vigorously.
“Scorpia, that’s really, really sweet, but it’s fine! Really! I’m great!“
Glimmer had reached the point where she felt so sick and was in so much pain that she was certain she was about to either throw up or pass out on the meeting room table. Maybe both.
This was fine.
“Uhm... are you sure? Sparkles, you look awful,” Catra cut in.
Adora nodded in agreement.
Both of them were immensely worried about their friend.
“Yes! Totally sure!”
Then the next contraction hit, and it was so painful that she couldn’t keep herself from screaming.
“Okay, that’s it! You’ve never had practice contractions this bad, and I don’t care if the healer said this is normal, we‘re done here and you’re seeing another healer IMMEDIATELY!”
Bow was extremely worried.
Glimmer took a moment to reply, breathing heavily until the pain passed.
“It’s fine, really! I promise! We’re almost done here anyway! Let’s just wrap this up real quick, and then we can go see a healer!”
...right. Practice contractions. That’s what she‘d told him this was the day before. She’d completely blanked out on that until now.
She had had practice contractions before, and in the beginning, she’d really thought that was what this was. She’d taken a long bath to make herself feel better and had then gone to bed.
She’d actually slept relatively well through some of the earlier contractions that hadn’t been quite as long and intense.
Then they’d gotten worse and more frequent and had jolted her up from her sleep about every thirty minutes.
By morning, the contractions been twenty minutes apart, and Bow had been pretty worried that she was having them again – which had been a faulty assumption on his part that Glimmer just kind of didn’t correct.
He’d told her to see a healer, which she’d promised she definitely would... but after this really important Princess Alliance-Meeting that she still had to attend. By then, she’d been pretty certain she knew what was going on, and the baby was still kicking and moving around the same way she had before, reminding her that she was alright, so she wasn’t worried about something being wrong with the baby.
All of this had then led to her telling him that this was just... normal and how it was supposed to be – which it really was, according to the books, at least –, and Bow had just assumed a healer had told her, and she once again hadn’t corrected him.
She didn’t like being dishonest with him, but he wouldn’t have let her attend the meeting if she’d told him, and this was important. Bow was already super protective of her anyway and would have preferred it if she’d just taken some time off of work now that she was getting so close to her due date, so there was absolutely no way he would have let her work today if he‘d known what was going on.
But Glimmer had a kingdom to run.
Besides, the books said that it took several hours up to a full day from the first contraction to your body actually being ready to have the baby, especially if it was your first birth, so she could definitely get through the rest of this four hour meeting and then have her baby afterwards.
Probably.
This was totally, completely, definitely fine.
And then the next contraction hit, and it was that very moment she knew that nothing was fine in the slightest.
The realization that she was having her baby very, very soon suddenly washed over her. It was as if someone had flipped the switch on her relatively relaxed ‘I can do this’-attitude, and from one moment to the next, she went into full-on panic mode.
She instantly went back on her word from before.
“ALRIGHT, MEETING’S OVER, GOODBYE EVERYONE!” She yelled, punching her fists onto the table.
If the others’ attention hadn’t been on her since before anyway, it definitely would have been, now.
She needed to get out of here, she needed to get to the healers and-
Glimmer tried to get up. Her knees were weak and everything hurt, and she immediately collapsed back onto the chair, howling with pain.
“Glimmer!”
Her husband was at her side straightaway.
“I’m okay! I’m okay...”
She wasn’t. She really, really wasn’t.
Bow put his arms around her, and she immediately melted into them and started sobbing.
Stars, why did this hurt so much?
“It will be okay, I promise. We’ll take you to a healer immediately, and... you’ll be okay. Both of you will be okay.”
It wasn’t like that was something he could actually guarantee, but he was doing his best to stay calm because him freaking out while his wife was already freaking out would help absolutely nobody.
Seeing her this scared was still just as terrifying to him as it had been back when they were kids.
“No, you... you don’t understand. I’m okay, really. This is perfectly normal.”
He shook his head vigorously.
“Yeah, no. I appreciate the effort to calm me down, really, but there’s absolutely no way this is normal for practice contractions, you’re in way too much pain and you and the baby could be in danger so please don’t downplay this!”
“No, we’re fine. She’s kicking and we’re both fine. I just... don’t think these are practice contractions.”
“...what?” It a moment for his brain to process what she’d just said. Then his eyes widened. “Wait, you mean-”
“Bow...” Glimmer was white as a sheet now. “I think I’m having the baby.”
Okay, that... that was good, right? That did mean what she was going through right now was actually, really normal and Glimmer and the baby most likely weren’t in danger. But also...
‘Oh stars Glimmer is having the baby!’
Bow was excited.
And also terrified.
“Did your water break yet?”
The amount of time his time took before answering made him really, really certain he probably wouldn’t like what she was about to say, and that she definitely knew that.
...he really didn’t like the answer he got when she finally replied.
“Yeah. ...about three hours ago?” The next contraction was so bad it brought tears to her eyes and almost made her faint. That was it. This was too much. The pain was unbearable. She couldn’t take it a single second longer. “I think the baby wants out, like, right now!”
All color drained from Bow’s face.
“GLIMMER!”
That meant his wife wasn’t just... having the baby as in going in to labor, she was actually having the baby. Right now.
Bow was usually a calm, collected, sensible person. He was currently having a very hard time being either of those things.
“I was just trying to get through the meeting first!”
Admittedly, that didn’t seem like much of a decent justification anymore, even to Glimmer. Her defensive tone wasn’t even convincing herself, much less anyone else. Her voice was still shaking from the pain of the last contraction, and she knew there wasn’t much time for her to take a breather until the next one hit.
“I can’t believe you...” Bow shook his head and groaned, less mad than just in plain disbelief and shock. “How often are you having contractions? How far apart are they? Have you been keeping track?”
She thought for a moment.
"...Like, every minute or two? They're close, that's all I kn-"
She wasn’t even able to finish the sentence before the next contraction hit her, this one even longer and even more intense and painful than the last. She screamed her lungs out.
It hurt. It hurt so, so, so, so much.
Glimmer’s body was on fire, and she was almost certain this was what dying felt like – although, who knew, at this point she all but guessed dying was actually more comfortable and hurt less.
“EVERY MINUTE OR TWO? ARE YOU SERIOUS?!”
Bow was officially losing his mind.
His squeaky voice was pretty telling for just how freaked out he was.
‘Why. Is. My. Wife. Like. This?!’
This was bad. This was really, really, really bad.
Bow loved Glimmer, he really did, but there were moments like this where she drove him completely insane.
He took a few seconds to close his eyes and then took a couple of deep breaths to gather his thoughts. They could do this. They needed to, because he had to make sure Glimmer and the baby would be okay, and him freaking out was not helping right now, so he had to stay calm. He could still freak out later. Glimmer and his daughter needed to be his main priority now.
He was calmer and more collected when he opened his eyes again. He clapped his hands together.
“Okay. Catra, please go get some towels, a sanitized blanket and a bunch of pillows, would you? And Adora, we need a healer. Immediately. And ask them to bring medical supplies for the delivery. Everyone else: GET. OUT!”
Catra and Adora both just nodded and disappeared on their separate ways instantly. It wasn’t hard to grasp the importance of his requests, after all.
“Wait wait wait wait wait, there’s no need for anyone to get out, or for anything else, because I’m definitely not giving birth IN HERE!”
Glimmer was tired and in pain and just wanted her bed. Or any bed, for that matter. Just something soft to lay down on that she could sink into that would make her feel a little better. And she definitely did not want to stay in here of all places!
“Love...” Bow’s voice was soft and sweet and sounded really worried. “You can’t even stand up. Forget it. We’re not moving you. I’d be happy if we could get you onto the table so you could lie down, but I’m not even sure we can manage that.”
Glimmer gulped. She really, really couldn’t imagine giving birth in here. She just wanted a bed – was that really too much to ask?
“I- I could try teleport-” She suggested.
Bow didn’t even let her finish. There was absolutely no way he would let that happen.
“Oh no, you don’t! Glimmer, I love you, but your powers have been acting up for a while now because of your pregnancy, and I have absolutely no desire to help you give birth on a tree!”
He really didn’t want to find out where her attempt to teleport during contractions would possibly land them.
“WELL, I DON’T WANT TO GIVE BIRTH IN THE MEETING ROOM EITHER!”
“Glimmer-”
She closed her eyes and tried to concentrate, but then the next contraction hit and this just absolutely, definitely wasn’t happening.
She couldn’t even focus on teleporting long enough to screw it up, which hadn’t happened to her before, ever. And it somehow felt even worse than back when she’d had problems with her powers because of Shadow Weaver’s curse.
The Queen of Bright Moon sunk back into her chair, screaming.
“Okay. Okay, you’re right,” she mumbled after a while when the pain passed. “This won’t work. But I can’t- I can’t give birth in here.”
“I’d prefer it if you didn’t have to, but it’s not a choice anymore, Glim.” Bow was immensely relived that the teleporting hadn’t worked because who knew where they would have ended up if it had, but all of these people in here were stressing him out even more than he already was because of the whole situation. “Could somebody help me get her on the table, and could the rest of you guys PLEASE LEAVE?”
Since Glimmer had said she wasn’t staying in here so nobody had to leave, everyone as currently still standing around the room, either looking at her awkwardly or trying to avoid staring at her even more awkwardly.
“Oh, no problem, I’m out of here I have no desire to learn what I’ll go through in a couple of months,” Mermista commented, dragging her husband after her as she headed for the door.
At least some of the attention of the group shifted from Glimmer to Mermista for a moment.
Bow blinked in surprise.
“Wait... you’re pregnant?”
“Uh, duh? I thought everyone knew that?”
The mermaid seemed a little confused by the question.
Glimmer just looked at her with a pained expression.
“I’d say congratulations, but right now I just feel like I’m dying, so expressing my condolences kind of feels more appropriate!”
Mermista raised an eyebrow.
“Don’t you think you’re being, like, a little dramatic?”
Glimmer gave the mermaid a death glare.
“Either you shut up right now, or by the Heart of Etheria, I swear, the first thing I’ll do after giving birth to this child will be KICKING YOUR ASS!”
Mermista raised her hands defensively.
“Okay. Okay. We were just leaving!”
Bow was a little relieved that there was two fewer people in the room now, but there was still way too many inside for it to be anything close to comfortable.
He growled.
“I swear to the stars, I will shove all of you out of the room myself if I have to!”
“Me and Scorpia can help with Glimmer. Everyone else, you heard him, get out of here!” Perfuma said, gently shoving Netossa and Spinerella who were standing next to her towards the door.
The two of them just waved.
“Alright, we’ll be... on our way. Good luck!” Spinerella said and waved while her wife just gave them an awkward smile.
They had friends that had kids biologically related to them, but they’d never gotten this close to watching the actual birth before. Not that that was something either of them had ever desired to see.
Entrapta on the other hand didn’t move at all. She was mesmerized. She’d never watched anything like this before – well, not with humans anyway.
“Eeek, this is so exciting! Can I stay?”
“YOU ABSOLUTELY CANNOT!”
“Childbirth is one of the most fascinating experiences in nature! It would be incredibly thrilling to see it from up close.“
Bow pinched the bridge of his nose and tried not to scream. He really, really liked Entrapta and went to her for advice when it came to technology a lot. But he also really, really didn’t have the patience to deal with her right now.
...or with anyone, really.
“Well, if you’re so fascinated, just have your own kid!”
She thought for a moment.
“Hmmm... Interesting suggestion.”
“Do me a favor and contemplate it OUTSIDE!”
He was losing his mind. He was officially completely losing his mind.
“...am I making you uncomfortable? I feel like I might be making you uncomfortable.”
Bow was fighting the urge not to just straight up scream for a solid thirty seconds, took another deep breather and looked at Entrapta sternly.
“Listen. You’re great, but right now, I would appreciate it if you could give us a little bit of privacy. Thank you.”
“...right. Sorry. Good luck!“
Bow let out a long-drawn-out sigh when she finally left the room.
Now the only people left in there were Scorpia and Perfuma – well, and Frosta, because she was waiting for them, but she was facing the door and seemed to have absolutely no desire to turn around again.
This was better. Still not even close to ideal, but better.
“Can’t I at least try to climb the table myself if I have to give birth here?” Glimmer protested. “I’m not a baby anymore!”
But the protest was quiet and weak because she was tired and hurting and pretty sure it would fall on deaf ears anyway.
“Right. You’re not a baby, but you’re having one, and you still can’t stand up, so you’re not climbing anything.” He kissed her forehead. “I love all of you, including your stubborn nature, but right now I need you to not be stubborn for once in your life and let us help you, okay?”
She grimaced, but let them lift her onto the table without protest afterwards.
That she was lying instead of sitting now felt a little better, but really just very slightly. She still wanted her bed. Or maybe just to straight up die so the pain would end. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could take this.
...had the pain been that bad from the beginning? How in the galaxy had she sat through several hours of that?!
Her panic got worse by the second as the pain also worsened, and she became more and more certain that she was actually going to die, right here, in the middle of the fucking meeting room table and that she would never get to meet or hold her baby or-
She felt Bow‘s hand in hers, his soft, loving voice pulling her out of her thoughts and back into reality.
“Hey... I’m right here, okay? Shhh. You’ll be fine. I promise you’ll both be okay.”
He was sitting next to her on the table now.
“It hurts so much...”
“I know. I know. The healer will be here soon. You’ll be okay.” She put her head in his lap. He ran his fingers through her hair. “Just breathe...”
And Glimmer did just that, trying to tune out all the background noise and the pain as she breathed.
Bow looked up at Scorpia and Perfuma, on hand still on Glimmer’s hair, the other one squeezing hers.
“...thank you for the help.”
“Always. Can we help you with anything else?” Perfuma asked.
“Not much, we just really need Adora and Catra to be back.” He hesitated for a moment. “Although... I mean, you two are the only ones out of our friend group that have actually had a baby so far, so any advice you could give us right now would be appreciated?”
Scorpia smiled sheepishly.
“I wish we could, but... I actually had Thorn in a medical chamber, so this isn’t really comparable to begin with. And also, I had a c-section, so I don’t think anything we could tell you would be especially helpful right now. Sorry.”
Almost all Scorpioni-children were brought into the world via c-sections because the chances of the child accidentally harming the mother during birth with their pincers and stinger was pretty high, making natural birth too dangerous in most cases.
“She’s right. We could offer you some parenting advice later on, though,” Perfuma added. “But I think we should leave you two alone here for now, anyway.”
“Yeah, that would probably be for the best. Thanks again, you two.”
“Anytime.”
A calming scent of lavender remained in the air when the two of them left.
—
“Will... will she be okay?” Frosta asked softly when Perfuma and Scorpia walked up to her to leave the room.
Frosta still had her back turned to the whole situation but Glimmer’s agonized cries were hard to ignore. She was genuinely terrified.
Perfuma rubbed her hair.
“I’m sure she’ll be fine, don’t worry too much about her, okay? Glimmer can handle herself. She always could.”
“Yeah, okay, I guess that’s true...” Frosta admitted, still somewhat skeptic.
Not that she’d spent much time prior to this thinking about childbirth, but she’d never imagined it was this painful.
She shuddered.
Scorpia put one of her arms around the ice princess.
“Come on, kid. Let’s give the lady some privacy.”
”...okay.” If anyone else had called Frosta kid, especially now that she was an adult, she’d have smacked them on the head with her ice fists. But Scorpia and Perfuma were her moms, so she could let it slide when it came to them... Maybe. “Since I doubt we’ll continue with the meeting today, can we pick up Thorn from daycare now?” She asked when they’d left the room.
Perfuma hugged her daughter, her eyes sparkling.
“Awww, are you missing your little sister?”
“Pffft, no.” Frosta crossed her arms, but Perfuma looked at her with so much love in her eyes that she caved immediately. “Okay, I totally am! Can you blame me? She’s so cute and I love her!” She admitted, her face turning beet-red.
A second later, Scorpia had pulled her wife and her daughter into a crushing bear-hug.
“I love you guys so, so much.”
Perfuma immediate hugged her back.
“We love you too, lightning rose.”
Frosta was just kind of stuck in the middle of the hug between her adoptive mothers.
“Air is still a thing I need, even now that I’m an adult!” she reminded them, only half-serious. “You two are squeezing me to death!”
“Right. Sorry,” Scorpia apologized, relinquishing her grip a little.
When the three of them separated, they were all laughing.
—
Bow was just glad that he was finally, finally, finally alone with his wife.
He just hoped Adora and Catra would be back really soon, because despite having read a lot of books on pregnancy, labor and delivery over the course of Glimmer’s pregnancy, he had serious doubts he would be able to deliver their baby on his own.
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