A gentle sigh escaped Leo's lips, he himself sitting outside the door of the delivery room, elbows against his knees and his forehead against his hands, locked together by his fingers. Waiting for the nurse to finish her quick checkup wasn't the easiest thing to sit through. Chaos, this whole thing had been a journey. He and Heather from a year ago never would've thought they'd be in this situation, yet here they were now. The result of their little slip-up just about to come into the world... A click of the door lock caught his attention, and he sat up straight, looking to the nurse peeking through the crack in between the door and frame. "She's ready.." she said to him, trying for a gentle tone to soothe his rampantly-running mind. "Right.." He drew in a deep breath and rocked onto his feet, taking a moment to stretch before he followed the nurse inside, and his eyes immediately went to poor Heather on the bed. Dressed in a hospital gown, the lower half of her body covered by a blanket to give her some dignity. She was rested up against a pillow, breathing heavily as she looked back towards him, giving him a soft, but warm smile. "Hi..." "Hey...you holding out okay?" the young lion asked, going to her bedside and resting a hand on her shoulder. "Mmm....sorta..." She reached up with her hand to grab his, just as her face contorted with pain, followed by a whine of similar tone. "She's been doing wonderful," the nurse said from the other room, pulling on some elastic gloves. "She's just about ready for the hard part!" Leo kept his attention on Heather, bending forward and giving her a gentle peck on the head. "You can do this..." he whispered. "You're gonna be fine..." She closed her eyes again and squeezed his hand for reassurance, gulping anxiously but giving a nod of acknowledgement. "I know..." The nurse immediately came back over and got on a stool, setting some tools on the little table next to her. "Just listen to your body, okay? I'll be right here to help you." "You ready?" Leo asked, giving his exhausted lover a hand squeeze in return for hers. "Yeah..." <---------------------------------------------------------------------> The hours seemed to go by in a flash, the nurse's instructions and Heather's effort all culminating into a little bundle of wailing joy landing in their arms, its blissful cries ceasing after a warm embrace and filling meal. The two were then given a moment of reprieve, as well as some time to admire the newborn... "He's..." Leo said softly, a little grin curling at his muzzle. "God, he's amazing..." Heather nodded, her ears flattened despite the warmness in her smile as she caressed the sleeping infant in her lap, fur and hair damp from the labor. "He's got your snout..." "And he's got your hair..." the lion leaned in closer and nuzzled into her cheek, purring softly. But the purring soon ceased, as the thought of what was to come intruded on his happy state of mind. Heather didn't notice at first, too enraptured in the affection she carried for their son, her own purring filling the otherwise silent room. "....I just wish we could keep him.." Leo managed to finally mutter as he looked upon the cub. Heather's own purring stopped, and she bit her lip, giving a gentle nod. "Me too..." she whispered with a slight break in her voice. She looked to Leo and scooted over, nodding to the now open spot beside her. The lion sighed and climbed onto the mattress, holding an arm out for her to join his embrace, which she took with a soft nuzzle against his head with her own. "Well...let's look at it this way. We know what to expect the next time.." Leo offered in an effort to lift the mood. "Mhm..." was all the bobcat could muster, ears drooping even lower. "...." He let out another sigh and rubbed her shoulder, resting his head on top of hers. "You did so good..." "Thanks..." she said quietly, closing her own eyes as she brought the baby to her chest in a much closer cradle. The silence filled the room, the two of them sitting without a word, as they simply didn't know what they could say. And try as they might, they couldn't shake that empty feeling inside... The faint, but undeniable guilt... It shouldn't be this hard to say goodbye...
Well...that's a pretty heavy start to this, isn't it? So this is gonna be a more dramatic approach to this story, and I hope I got that across without coming across too edgy. You guys like the new writing style? If not, I'd be happy to go back to my more traditional one. I also tried something new with the project itself, giving it a little intro before the main image. Make the picture itself a bit more of a surprise. Anyways, I hope you guys like this new direction overall. I'll try to keep consistent uploads, but if college and my new job end up getting in the way, I hope you'll at least understand. See you next time! Music: Decision - Steve Jablonsky (Consider it the unofficial theme of the series), Tessa - Steve Jablonsky
