At the doctor’s words, Chaeyoung looked down with a mild look of surprise on her face, trying to see past her stomach to see, without any luck. Feeling a little faint, she looked at Joohyun, who was staring at her crotch with wide eyes, her face pale, and Chaeyoung was struck by the thought that this was bad. Pressing a hand against her stomach, earning no reassuring kick in response, she felt a flicker of panic deep inside. “Oh.”

She didn’t even have time to move before the doctor had summoned a flood of people, a gurney being wheeled in, and before she knew it, she was being helped onto it, dry with fear as she looked at Joohyun. As their eyes met, it seemed to snap her wife out of her still shock, and Joohyun swung her legs over the side of the bed, her feet finding the freezing cold floor and her legs buckling as a wave of exhaustion swept over her. “Where are you taking her?” she asked, a firm demand as opposed to a question.

“Your Highness, you need to get back into bed,” their doctor calmly ordered, leaving Chaeyoung’s side to go to her, gently trying to guide her back onto the bed. “Her Majesty is possibly in labour.”

Spluttering, Chaeyoung pushed herself up onto her elbows, already being wheeled out of the room, despite Joohyun’s loud protests behind her, and Chaeyoung suddenly felt even more afraid as the thought of being alone through it swept over her. Her water hadn't even broken, and she hadn't been having contractions, just a lot of lower back pain and a few painful twinges, and she felt icy fear slide down her spine at the thought of losing her baby. She wanted Joohyun by her side, and she let out a breathless sob as a nurse firmly pushed her back down flat onto the thin mattress on the gurney. She was taken to another room, a flurry of activity around her as everyone essentially ignored her for the most part. Monitors were hooked up, her rapid heart rate visible on a small screen, while she was hooked up to an IV. She didn’t care about any of that, she only cared about her baby.

“My baby,” she managed to choke out, her voice hoarse and barely above a whisper.

Her shirt was tore open, exposing her stomach, and Chaeyoung had to swallow her pride as her pants were removed as well, shivering at the cold gel being squirted onto the stretched skin as an ultrasound monitor was brought forward.

“Baby’s heart rate is fast,” a doctor announced to the room, but Chaeyoung was just relieved that there was a heartbeat. “It looks like… a complete placental abruption. We need to prep for a cesarean, immediately.”

“N-no,” Chaeyoung stammered, feeling the blood drain from her face, “no, I don’t want-”

A face loomed over her, a kind smile on the man’s face, “Your Majesty, your baby is in distress and you’re bleeding severely. There’s no time for you to give birth - for you and your baby’s safety.”

“It’s too early,” she tearfully replied, her voice shaking as she tried to breathe slowly. “Can’t you s-stop-”

“I’m afraid not. It’s the safest course for a healthy delivery. We shouldn’t delay any longer…”

Nodding, Chaeyoung swallowed the lump in , blinking back tears as she stared up at the blinding fluorescent lights overhead. “Okay.”

As soon as she’d given her consent, the room was a flurry of activity again. An anesthesiologist appeared, giving her an injection in her spine that numbed her entire body from the chest down. Next, she was given something to drink, the chalky substance making her scrunch up her face as she drained it as ordered, before she had a catheter inserted. At that point, she gave up any pretense of pride, letting herself be wheeled to the operating room, where a curtain was pulled across her mid-section to block her view. It was both a relief and unnerving, but Chaeyoung assumed that she wouldn’t want to watch it anyway.

A commotion near the doors caught her attention, and she craned her neck as best as she could, trying to look past the collection of medical personnel in the room. And then she caught sight of Joohyun, looking pale and exhausted, sitting in a wheelchair with a pair of scrubs on. She couldn’t help the sob that fell from her lips as she watched her wife get wheeled towards her, and Joohyun gave her a tearful smile.

“It’s going to be fine,” she told her in a shaky voice, reaching up to take Chaeyoung’s hand in her own, just like Chaeyoung had done for her. “I love you.”

“I know,” Chaeyoung said, her voice cracking slightly.

She looked at Joohyun the whole time, not having much else to look at anyway, while she strained her ears to listen. Aside from the blur of voices, there wasn’t much to listen to, and with a sharp pinching feeling, she realised that they’d cut her open. It was an odd feeling, and odder still, as she felt herself being prodded, although it was completely painless.

Before she knew it, there was the soft whimpering of a baby, and she hesitantly smiled at Joohyun, letting out a shaky laugh. She didn’t even catch sight of her daughter, before she was whisked away to the other side of the room, being cleaned up and checked over, and she swallowed the lump in . There was an audible feeling of relief when the baby was declared perfectly healthy, the doctors and nurses smiling, and their obstetrician walked towards her with a little bundle cradled in her arms.

“Congratulations, you have another healthy daughter,” she said, leaning down to place the baby against Chaeyoung’s chest. “Five pounds, eight ounces.”

She couldn’t stop the strangled sob that worked its way up , her hand coming up to cradle the shock of dark hair, just like her sister’s, and Chaeyoung shook with laughter, turning to look at Joohyun, who had shakily climbed to her feet, reaching out to the baby’s cheek.

“Our little pea,” she whispered in awe, her face splitting into a wide smile as her eyes shone with proud tears. “She’s perfect.”

Ushered back down into her wheel