The Brith

                                                                          Henley

23 years ago.

One night at the club brings me the best and the worst gift in the world; I would love to keep my little miracle, but in my line of work, that's not possible there’s always someone trying to kill me and if they find out I have someone important to me they would use that as leverage and I can't let that happen. That's why I had to hide this amazing gift from most people for the past nine months which was the most difficult thing that I have ever done in my life, but tonight things are different, I can tell from the pain that I was getting from my lower belly that the baby was ready to come out and meet me but damn does it has to be so damn hurt?

Tears were running down my face while I was hidden in a barn that I found not too far from where I lived. I couldn't risk staying in the office when the pains had started this morning; with little time I made my way out here with no chance of grabbing anything to avoid suspensions.

I was biting my lips to keep from screaming when the door to the barn was pushed right open, and a young girl walked in. She looked familiar but for the love of me I didn't know who she was I can tell she was from the coven.

Oh heaven! Is this the end? I was thinking while she move closer to where I was sitting, she stop in front of me making us both stare at each other like we got caught doing something we shouldn't have done, well, I'm pretty sure she shouldn't be out at this time of the night anyway before I could question why she was out here a sharp pain hit me and remind me of the reason as to why I was here in the first place.

I couldn't hold the scream that had passed my lips; holding on to my belly, I tried to hide the pain so I wouldn't frighten the kid but I couldn't help so I let it out “Aaah!”; it was hard to hide that I was in labor with the water running down my legs and the screaming that I was doing and I don't know if the girl understands what was happening, now was not the time for me tell her anything; it's time for me to push this baby out and take her to her father. I was drowned in my own pain that I almost didn't hear the little girl's question.

“ Do you need help?” She asked me. When I didn't respond, she snapped her fingers and whispered, “Of course you need help, you in pain,” looking at me one more time, “Wait here, I'm going to get my mother. She’ll know what to do.”

I watched her leave and thought about her telling me to wait here like I could go anywhere in my situation right now; as another pain hit, I thought about the reason she ran off, oh heavens she went to grab her mother, that's another person that will know my secret, and that's too many for me. The little voice in the back of my head was saying would that be a bad thing if we depend on someone else for a chance? Maybe not.

I didn't have much time to think about a decision because I could hear the little girl talking to her mother outside the barn “ Mom, come on, she needs help”. The sweet voice was dragging a woman behind her like she does every day. If I weren't in so much pain, I would've laughed at them, but the baby kept reminding me that she needed to be born. If we get through this, maybe some days we could laugh about this situation over a drink or something. The kind of pain that I was experiencing right now was not how I thought it would be when I saw it on TV; clearing my throat to let her know that I didn't need help; a pain came so deep from inside of me that I couldn't stop the scream that left my mouth “ Aaah” When I got my breathing back down to normal, I looked at the girl and her mother with a desperate look, “ help me, I need help,” I was pleading with her, and I didn't care if I sound desperate because I am.

She stood frozen for a moment before she turned her daughter to face her “Find me some clean towel, a blanket, and some alcohol and scissors go now!” She screams at the girl without waiting to see if she follows her instructions. She turns her attention toward me. “ We got this; now take a deep breath. I will check and feel for the baby” Well, at least one of us is confident in this situation.

Screaming at her, “Can we get the baby out NOW?!” I don't mean to yell at her but God dammit, wish I had the power to take away the pain but it's not possible for me to do, I never imagine one night would get me into this situation, even though I have a plan in place I can't be too sure that it will work.

Closing my eyes for a minute, I heard the little girl's feet running back toward us. I let out a sigh of relief because it was time for me to push my baby out and finally meet her. “ Is it time?” I asked her because I feel the pressure, and I know my baby needs to be out.

“ Yes, lay down, push when you fe-” She didn't finish her sentence before I pushed and screamed my head off, okay! Nope, I'm not doing this ever again; since that wasn't planned, then I'm planning not to have any more kids. Oh, Lord! That baby is ripping me in half.

After three more pushes, my bloody baby was out and clean and wrapped in a white towel. I was so tired, but I couldn't wait to hold my little angel. As soon as she was in my arms, tears were running down my face because I was happy to see her chubby little face looking right at me with those light green eyes of hers. That made me happy because people wouldn't be able to tell that she was my daughter since she had her father’s eyes and little noise.

After she cleaned me up, she said, “ Headmaster, you going to need to rest for a couple of days, and I’ll bring a doctor to come see you and the baby” Touching my hair, she said, “For now, you and the baby are fine.”

What she said brought me out of my dazzle for a moment, and the fact that she knows who I am makes this situation more serious“ Thank you, but are you sure we need a doctor?” cause I don't want any more people to about my little Angel.

“ Listen, I know you don't want anyone to know about what just happened here, but we need to make sure that you and the baby are okay,” she says.

Stopping her, I said, “No, wait, didn't you just say that we were okay?” when she nodded, I continued, “So there’s no need for a doctor to get involved” I tried to reason with her, but I could tell I didn't get through to her yet from the way she was shaking her head.

Panic was starting to set in, so I handed the baby to her daughter while I gripped her mother’s shoulder. “Listen, I'm not keeping her” That sounded horrible, but it the true “I need a couple of days to find her father and leave her with him, then he could take her to the doctor.”

“how do you expect to find the father when you just give birth? Headmaster, “ she questions me with her hands over her hips; I mean, she does get the point; I was still feeling a little pain, and it will take a couple of days for me to heal and days that I can't afford.

“I don't know, ill figure it out”: biting my lips, I say, “I always do.”

“ stubborn woman, I'll help you find him, and when we do, I'll take you to see the doctor” She pointed her finger at me.

Nodding, I accepted her offer to help because it would help me and makes things easier for me. I was so deep in my thought that I didn't realize the little girl was asking me a question until I felt her hand on my shoulder; looking at me, she said: “ she looks so cute and tiny. Do you have a name for her?” smiling I took the baby from her and nodded, coming up with a name was the easiest thing that I have done during this pregnancy.

A few minutes later, the door to the barn was opening. The little girl’s mother walked in with a basket full of food and baby stuff in it, which I was grateful for because I didn't know how I was going to get some clean clothes for me and the baby. “Thank you,” I whispered to her once she placed them on the floor beside me.

“ You welcome, Headmaster, Uhm, do you remember the father’s name?” she asked me.

“ Steven Stark, that's his name, and thank you for the help, “I told her before she and her daughter said goodbye leaving me with my new baby to figure out the sleeping situation for the night; it's not much of a headache when one of us is already in a deep sleep after a good feeding. Laying there on the blanket that I found in the basket, I started to think, do I need to leave breastmilk for her, or is that not necessary? Or is Steven going to take care of our baby girl? Am I making the right decision? With so many questions running through my head, I didn't even realize that I had fallen asleep until I woke up the next morning to the most beautiful sound.

My little Angel was awake, hungry, and needing a diaper change; wow, she has some good lungs on her. “Mommy’s got you,” I said to her while I took feed, burped, and changed her. We spent the rest of the day sleeping and eating since we couldn't go outside.

It was two days later that the little girl and her mother showed up with another basket and a car seat. I guess for the baby, that would mean they found Steven, and today is my last day with my little Angel; clearing my throat, “ Uhm, hi guys, what's up?” Now that I'm thinking about it, I didn't get their name the last time they were here, which I'm ashamed of.

As soon as the little girl put the car seat down, she ran toward the baby and started signing to her; with a smile, I looked at her mother and said, “I'm sorry, I didn't get your name the last time we met, and you already know who I am.”

“ oh, don't worry about it, I'm Jane, and this is Jamilla, “ she points toward her daughter.

“ nice to meet you, Jamilla, a beautiful name” I know I was stalling because I couldn't bring myself to ask the questions that have been running through my head for the past couple of days.

“ Thanks, we found the father, and I got the car if you want to do this today,” she said quickly to me.

Damn, I was hoping that I could have at least a few more days with her instead of four days, but now that they found him, I have to get my plan going and get back to running the Coven. Nodding, I went to dress the baby and put her in the car seat before I put on my coat and followed the mother-daughter duo out of the barn. Looking behind me, I know I will miss this place no matter how I feel about the situation.

It took us three hours to find the little town that Steven was staying in, and I have to say it warms my heart to see that he wasn't one of those players people that go into a bar and have a nightstand; I smile when we stop in front of a blue family house with a big truck in the driveway, I knew immediately that it was his place. I didn't have the heart to get out of the car, so I let Jane do the honor and sat in the car watching. Once she came back, we did not waste time, and she drove. I took one last look at the house and wished I could forget about all of this.

“ Be careful what you wish for,” I heard a voice whisper right before I fell asleep in the back seat.