No Problem Can't Be Solved [Finished]

[carcinoGeneticist]

A half-hearted little smile wormed its way onto the Eagle's beak, already naturally quite subtle to anyone not used to avian expressions, though she continued to fidget nervously. This was a huge change - on top of what had already been an extremely busy few days. Weeks. Months, even. At least now she had the forms to prove that she was an adult, rather than just the... upcoming parenthood. At the sight of the Queen's smile, Raina relaxed ever so slightly, her shoulders slipping down from their hunched up position at her sides.

"You know, I... I had forgotten." There was a hint of embarrassment in her voice as she spoke, and the tawny feathers of her cheeks darkened as she blushed, her nares going a bit pink as well. "With everything else going on, I just spaced it out completely. There was a letter from my father in the mail this morning that reminded me, and I decided to try if I could, and then...[/b]" She spread her arms slightly, knowing it was more than obvious that the change had worked. Her wings opened up a bit as well, and Raina quickly tucked them back to her sides. It was going to take some getting used to.

The invitation was accepted in a heartbeat, and Raina quickly crossed the room. She paused for a second beside the Queen as she considered flying. "...I'll have to work to figure that out, I think. But maybe I'll have the hang of it when...[/b]" Carefully, she slid into the bed beside the Wolverine, gently placing one taloned hand on the swell of the other woman's belly. The sight and feel of it sent a small shiver of something through her - could it have been pride? That was certainly what it felt like. "When they arrive. Then I can take them flying until they're too big for it.[/b]"

Her body shifted to move closer to the other woman, and she carefully tucked her wings up to keep them out of the way. A grimace crossed her face as one of her tail feathers was pinned under her rear, but a slight readjustment fixed that problem. "...how are you feeling?[/b]"

[The Jenn]

Donnie hadn't paid so much attention to 'bird cues' since she left home. The feathery slide next to her was more than welcome and she shifted, grimacing in discomfort as she had to maneuver her stomach into a more comfortable position. If such a thing existed. Gods, her back!

But a gentle hand on the furred expanse felt... comforting. She sighed and relaxed into the pillows and the feathers. "We'll manage," she murmured expansively, one arm curling around the young woman. "Self included. I'm fine. Ready to get them out, I'll tell you. The doctor confirmed three." She hadn't asked about genders. They would cross that bridge when they came to it.

And it wouldn't be long until they did. Another half a month an she went into labor three days before she'd been due. In the middle of the day, while most others were busy. At least it hadn't woken her up...

[carcinoGeneticist]

The letter had arrived shortly before Donnie's labor had started, perhaps a day. Raina hadn't been sure what to do or how, even, to react to the news. Her father was dead. It didn't seem real, possible. Seth had always been so damn lively, even when she'd seen the first traces of gray in his hair.

It was like a surprise attack, a bolt through her heart. It left her stunned, dazed. She would go to the funeral, of course, but she couldn't leave yet. Not yet - not until after Donnie had given birth. Her other father would understand - he had to understand. She couldn't leave her Queen. But at the same time, she couldn't have the other woman feeling guilty at a time like this, and she didn't want anyone to try and change her mind. It was a fragile enough decision that it wouldn't take much to send the Eagle running to the Court of Hearts - running, flying, whatever - as fast as she could possibly go.

So instead of risking it, Raina said nothing of the letter that she'd hidden in her bed.

The emotions running through her were much harder to ignore, so she buried herself in her work, hoping no one would notice until she was ready to speak on the matter. She'd been in her room, sorting piles of papers into first chronological order, and then alphabetizing them by name of the person who had sent them. She was wondering if perhaps putting them into order by category would work better when an attendant rushed in, gibbering words about "Queen" and "birth", and for a second, Raina wondered if they'd heard about Seth.

Reality kicked in quickly, however, and the King rushed to her Queen's side.

[The Jenn]

With no idea as to her King's turmoil, and more than enough chaos in her life just then, Donnie entered labor and the care of the doctor that had been on call at the palace ever since Vessie's birth began to look like a near thing. The woman was part Corvie, medicinal of course, and prepared the Queen's bedchambers for the imminent birthing.

A somewhat older purple songbird had flown in from the Villa several days prior to attend the arrival of her first grandchildren, and to offer her daughter support. Portia had been delighted to make the acquaintance of the palace staff and had marveled at the furnishings of the Court. As well as Donnie's much-enlarged stomach. Some part of her had thought this day might never come, and she was exceptionally glad that it had.

Unfortunately for Raina, a guard stood at the entrance to the Queen's suite and barred her entrance with a genuine apology. "Only the doctor and her mother allowed inside, Your Highness. I'm terribly sorry. Orders of the Queen herself. You're to be brought inside as soon as the children arrive, however, if you wish. The doctor didn't wish for an overly crowded room."

[carcinoGeneticist]

The door was blocked off. Donnie didn't want her? Raina stared at the guard for a long time - what felt like eons, but was likely only a few seconds. The rush of emotions in the last few days was really too much for the girl to handle. Her brain just... wasn't sure what to do with it. Any of it. So it had switched into a sort of autopilot, leading her through the motions without any of the thought normally required. Word had reached her that Donnie was giving birth, and so she'd figured that the woman would want her to be there. So she'd gone.

And been turned away? Hmn. It didn't... No. Raina felt the tears stinging at her eyes at the seeming rejection (though she knew, knew that it wasn't really a rejection), and she nodded numbly at the guard. "Just... let her know that I'm here, if you would,[/b]" she commented, taking a step back from the door.

Someone had been thoughtful enough to set up seats. The King lowered herself into one of them and stared down at her hands. Now she would wait.

[The Jenn]

The birth was... well. A birth. Loud, messy, agonizing, and endless for the woman in the center of it all. Her mother's soothing voice and familiar purple feathers kept her anchored as she did as the doctor asked. It took several hours, long enough for her to violently curse not being born a bird like her sister, and in the end things ended without complication. When the first child came, the doctor asked her mother to take the squirming Solandrian and carefully wash it in the basin next door.

Moments after that, the second and third came in rapid succession. The doctor began tending to the messy necessities, and then paused. Stared. Checked. Paused again.

Panting and exhausted, Donnie stared at the woman and waited. Part Corvie and part Yarrow, her doctor. The best of both worlds.

"Your Majesty... I'm sorry to trouble you with this so soon. Truly I am. But in good conscience, I need to tell you. One of your children is male-"

The breath caught in the Queen's throat for a moment before she slowly let it go, hands still clenched in the bedclothes. She had thought about this. She'd thought long and hard, considered the matter carefully. She could... live... with a male child. Especially if he had two sisters. She opened her mouth, when the woman finished her sentence.

"-and a pure Yarrow."

Her breath choked her this time, caught and held in an almost painful fashion. Then it slowly released its hold. "...no..."

Watching her sympathetically but practically, the woman left her other daughter in a pile of messy blankets to carry the child in question where Donnie could see it. A pure eagle, it looked like, scrawny and ugly and 'cute' as all baby birds were. No apparent wolverine. No apparent Solandrian or Villa. The child really was a pure Yarrow.

She stared at it - at him - for a long, long moment. Something in her chest twisted with grief.

"What would you like me to do Your Majesty? I am sorry. If he lives, I need to care for him now. If not..."

Looking up into the woman's pink eyes, she swallowed. "Can you make it look... natural?" The doctor's solemn nod made up her mind. "...take care of it. Please. And let me see my daughters."

By the time her mother returned to the room, the bird looked as though he had been crushed in the womb by his sisters, his slightly misshapen body lifeless and cold. Portia, bless her, didn't say anything. She just sat down on the bed next to her daughter and showed her the beautiful, dark-skinned wolverine child she'd just finished cleaning. The girl was wrapped securely in a blanket and utterly precious. "Just like you were," her mother said quietly, a smile touching the edges of her beak.

She had loved a Yarrow. She knew. And neither of them would ever speak of it.

Several minutes later, after the worst of the mess had been cleared, she tiredly asked after her King. The undisputed father.

((And in case anyone's actually wondering, Donnie did roll this third child. I just asked Nat not to draw him, because I knew she wouldn't let him live.))

[carcinoGeneticist]

By the time she was sent for, Raina hadn't been entirely sure how much time had passed. It had been a while, that much was certain. Hours. Her joints informed her of that when she finally stood, lightly protesting the change in position after sitting so still for so long. Unaware as she was of the drama that had gone on in the room without her, she hesitated at the door, her hand resting on the handle.

Could she do this?

Before, she'd been assured of the assistance of her family. Now, most of that family was gone, and her dear father had gotten quite old. She would feel guilty asking him for help beyond simple moral support. The thought, however, of the shame she would feel at running away now was too great. Raina braced her nerves, swallowed back her fears, and pushed the door open, slipping in as quietly as she could. There was Donnie, looking exhausted. There was her mother. And there were the babies, so small and unbelievably hers.

Raina crossed the room and came to stand beside her Queen, feeling the tears start to well up in her eyes. Both of the babies showed a lot of their mother, at this point, but Raina could see the tell-tale signs of her own influence on them - in the dark shades of the pure Wolverine, and the hint of a talon she could see peeking out through the folds of a blanket on the other. Gently, the woman reached out, lightly resting her hand atop the Queen's.

"Oh, Donnie, they're...[/b]" she choked on the words, smiling as she rubbed at her eyes with the back of her hand. "They're beautiful.[/b]"

[The Jenn]

Donnie tore her eyes away from her daughters when she heard the door open, the drugs making her feel sluggish as her head turned. It seemed to take longer than usual for Raina to come into focus, but when she did, the wolverine just smiled. Then she reached out, extended her hand, and held tightly to the young woman's.

"They are. They're so beautiful. A little wolverine, a little mix... and an unfortunate. 'm so tired. The doctor can answer questions. She's excellent."

Letting her eyes close for a moment, she opened them again to meet her mother's and share a Look. Then the bird smiled, and she smiled, and she found herself very carefully wrapped in a feathery embrace. She felt safe and loved and wonderful. The pain felt very far away thanks to the doctor's quick attention to detail. And she would think more about any potential guilt later, when she and her King didn't have quite so much to celebrate.