A bundle of utter bliss
Moonless Nights“What do you mean, the baby is coming?” Jonghyun screeched into his phone, the whole room falling instantly silent. Well, it had been quiet to begin with, since cell phones were supposed to be banned during meal times. But Jinki had texted Jonghyun to warn him before calling, and the father-to-be's brother had decided to chance sneaking a peek at his phone when it buzzed. Not that it was actually sneaking, with everyone at the table but Minho being able to hear the buzz of the phone easily.
“Noona?” Taemin sat up quickly, but Kibum is the one who stood and bowed toward the elders to begin his exit. The non-blood related vampire took a quick breath before speaking. “Minji noona isn't due for another two weeks, according to the longer length of vampire pregnancies and the way we've all interpreted her vision of the baby. It's possible her vision was off, or she misunderstood what it meant, or this could even be a false labor. In any case, please excuse us to prepare for her arrival,” he bowed once again before leaving quickly.
Minho and Jonghyun were dispatched to go to Minho's apartment and retrieve the couple, while Taemin's assignment was to call Chaerin and bring her to the house as well. It was only the second time Minji would be in the Lee household, and the very first for the Gong coven's leader and her husband. In short, Minji's very sudden labor was a very big deal, for very many reasons.
~*~
“I know, Chaerin. Minji isn't due yet, but she said the baby doesn't care,” Taemin sighed as he drove to pick up the witches. He was glad that the coven allowed the use of perfectly legitimate 'fake' Ids, even if by physical standards the person was well underage. But with drastic difference between a physical and dated ages, a little leeway was more of a right in their coven, rather than a privilege. As the high schooler, he would have never been able to drive like this, but as the baby-faced twenty two year old, it was fine for him to be talking on a headset as he pushed the speed suggestion considerably.
“But none of the seers and not even Minji saw the baby coming today,” Chaerin brought through Taemin's focus.
Taemin rolled his eyes, shaking his head as he made the second-to-last turn to get to the Lee home. Well, the Lee home he hadn't just left. “Right, but none of them have seen anything about the pregnancy, or the birth, remember? We've been doing this whole thing totally blind, just relying on human sorts of tests to make sure she's healthy.” Like Chaerin didn't already know all this.
“I don't want to hear your voice, Lee Taemin,” Chaerin mumbled, and the vampire smiled at the thought of the pout that went along with her tone.
Reaching up to turn off his headset, Taemin couldn't help but tease. “Okay, Ahjumma, I'll hang up and let you go.” Click. And then he smiled again at what face she might be making.
~*~
Jinki had only read through a couple spell books curiously, but it was enough to make him very happy that Minji wasn't using any ingredients or floor arrangements to match the quite painful curses she would mutter at him when a contraction hit.
“Where. Are. They?” the woman glared up at him, and he hadn't ever wanted to see his brother's face more than in that moment.
Taking a deep breath, Jinki moved closer and took his girlfriend's hand. “Minho and Jonghyun are on their way, and everything is going to be fine. You're going to finally meet our baby girl, and Chaerin is going to be there the whole time to help you too. Everything is going to be just fine, Minji,” he managed to say calmly. He was saved from whatever the next words, or hex, Minji was about to say, when the front door opened and Jinki let out a relieved sigh he knew he would likely pay for later.
Minho peeked his head in first, quickly followed by Jonghyun as Jinki ushered them inside. “You're doing great, Baby, let's go,” Jinki said quietly, squeezing the witch's hand much, much more gently than she was squeezing his.
There were a few more mumbled curses as she let herself be helped from the bed. Minji walked slowly to Minho's still running car, Minho following with a few bags while Jinki and Jonghyun helped the woman into the car.
The radio was ordered off, Minji declaring that all men, including gay men who would probably never be responsible for creating a child, would listen to each and every pained sound forced from her.
~*~
Kibum sat on the bed with a huff, running his hands through his hair and not caring one bit how much he messed it up. The crib still wasn't put together and none of the baby clothes were put away. He let out a groan and looked around slowly to assess the situation once more, then nodded to himself and got started on the crib.
“No wonder Jonghyun couldn't figure this out,” he rolled his eyes as he stared at the instructions in English, Spanish, French, German, insert European language here, digging through the box again and finding the instruction packet with the Asian language set. “Why do you love that giant idiot, Kibum, why?” he smiled as he quickly put the baby's new bed together.
The clothes were all folded and tag-less, so it was easy to organize everything into the small dresser for just the baby's clothes. His more personal touch to the room started in the bathroom, where he left soothing scented candles, body washes, lotions, bath oils, basically anything he could think of to help relax Minji and Jinki once the little girl was there. Then he added an extra padded square at the end of the bed to protect the covers when Minji had the baby. That way they could just take away the pad and she could curl up to sleep.
Even though he knew he was only driving himself crazy with all the little details, Kibum stayed in the large room for a while, just to make sure everything was absolutely perfect. Just as he was about to fluff all the pillows for a fourth time, he heard Minho's car pull up. The vampire rushed downstairs and opened the door just in time for his boyfriend and Jinki to be helping Minji up the last step. Minho pulled his car away from the door before grabbing Minji's bag and taking them to her room without even needing directions anymore. He was officially unofficially moved in by now, and no longer got lost.
~*~
“You call me Ahjumma and hang up on me, and now you expect me to let you into my home?” Chaerin seethed, arms crossed as she stood in her doorway, having had enough time and anger to whip up the spell to bar Taemin from crossing her threshold.
Taemin clicked his tongue and shrugged. “I was going to help you with your bags, but I guess I'll just wait in the car until you decide to be a big girl so we can go and see Minji noona,” he turned to walk to his car, smiling a little when he heard the witch's exasperated sigh.
“Fine, come in and help with the bags,” Chaerin sighed again. She her heels and told her husband she was ready, smiling reluctantly when Seunghyun into relaxing. She still didn't know how, but he was always flawless at changing her mood when she was unhappy.
Taemin mostly kept his smiles to himself as he watched Seunghyun so easily sway the powerful witch's mood, and he was shocked further still when Chaerin smiled and thanked him politely for getting her bag. It wasn't even a difficult thing for him to carry and put in his trunk, but she was thanking him.
“We've prepared a room for you next to Minji, since we thought you might like to be close to her,” the vampire explained once the witch couple had settled into the back seat. “Usually, we have dinner all together, but if you would rather eat privately in your room, that's perfectly fine as well.”
“Thank you, Taemin,” Seunghyun smiled, letting out a light laugh when his wife only gave a stubborn shrug and looked out the window during the drive to Taemin's home.
~*~
Minho bit at his lip hard to keep from laughing at the way Minji was staring at her boyfriend, until Jonghyun elbowed his side and he really stopped grinning.
“I swear, Lee, Jinki, once this is all over, I'm going to-”
“I love you, too, now hush,” Jinki sighed and kissed his witch to cut off whatever curse she was about to threaten him with this time.
Minji glared again, but she stayed quiet this time. Her expression brightened even more just before Chaerin appeared in the doorway. “Oh, my sweet baby girl. You just had to be the first of us to have a baby,” the elder sister sighed and joined her on the bed to hug her close.
“It's awful. None of them have ever even had period cramps and they just can't understand,” Minji whimpered as another contraction hit her. They were getting closer together now, and the only spell she planned to use for the pain was the spell Chaerin was already nearly finished with. A supernatural epidural, more or less, just enough to keep the pain at bay.
“I'm sorry, Sweetness,” Chaerin said quietly once she finished the spell, rubbing a salve all over her sister's convulsing belly. She stood, turning to smile in a rather terrifying manner at all the men in the room. “And if I hear one person tell her to breathe, or hold on, or that it's almost over when it's not, that person won't be able to say a damn thing until this child turns one,” she informed the room, smiling too sweetly when she was met with quick nods and promises to be quiet.
The doctor came in and gave a small apology for being a little late, even though there was no way she could have gotten there sooner. Things were happening so quickly, and she wasn't prepared to be on call for this birth yet, so she had taken longer to get there.
The five men who had no part in making the baby left, letting Minji relax with only her sister and her boyfriend in the room with her and the doctor. They could all hear her voice, but it seemed that the spell had helped quiet her some.
“Okay, you're doing great, Minji,” Dr. Park smiled, opening her suitcase to pull out a small ultrasound machine. Being a vampire herself, she usually worked with vampires, or the occasional human. This was the first time she'd ever had to rely on just her schooling, no readings available. As the ultrasound showed the baby moving just like she was supposed to, and everyone could hear the heartbeat clearly, she nodded to herself and unpacked the rest of her bag to be ready for the birth.
“You're only dilated about halfway, but the baby's heartbeat is very strong. Since we don't know exactly what the child will be, I need you to be prepared to feed her with your blood. If she is a vampire and needs blood, parental blood will be strongest, but Jinki's blood will ignite her entirely too early.”
Minji managed a nod, taking a small drink of water after another hard contraction. “I can feel her more now, like her soul is starting to break from mine and I can feel her now...” she said slowly, gripping the covers tightly as another spasm left her speechless.
Jinki wished there was more he could do to help, but he only reached out to take his girlfriend's hand. “You're doing great, baby, really,” he whispered. He gasped when he got an overwhelming feeling of 'now', and he double over when Minji's pain was too much for her to hold in and he literally shared it, took some of the agony from her. “Oh god...” he breathed and had to sit on the bed to keep from falling over.
Chaerin stared blankly at the way the vampire grit his teeth in pain, but Dr. Park seemed unfazed. “It's actually not entirely uncommon for a male, mated vampire to feel the pain like that. It's normally much milder than what Jinki is experiencing, likely because Minji is a powerful witch, and because they have joined together in every possible way,” the doctor explained before getting a blanket and her instruments closer. Minji was already starting to almost push, and the time was now.
“Okay, Minji, small push,” the vampire instructed, nodding as she saw and felt things moving correctly. “Deep breath, once more...”
Jinki groaned almost as loud as the witch giving birth, and Chaerin couldn't help but smirk.
Dr. Park made Minji wait to push again until the baby was turned around right and she could triple check that the umbilical cord was where it was supposed to be. “Ready to meet this girl?” she smiled softly up at the witch. “Then it's one more big push, Mama, give it all you got.”
Minji let out one more almost growl before she tensed and forced the baby into Dr. Park's arms. The vampire quickly wiped the girl's face and detached her from her mother, letting Chaerin finish the cleaning and swaddling as the baby started fussing quietly. The doctor cleaned Minji quickly, checking her over for any extra injuries and mending what was needed. Just as she moved the mess into a bag to be taken care of later, Chaerin handed the baby over to Jinki.
“You did it, baby,” the new father beamed, sitting with Minji and showing her their perfect little girl. They smiled tiredly at her perfect face, counted all her perfect little fingers and perfect tiny toes. “I can feel it, she's a vampire,” he offered quietly, not much to read in the newborn's mind.
“I sense a strong witch with this little one, too, so it seems we really did make a new beautiful creature,” Minji murmured, the quiet child's face gently. Once Dr. Park had finished a quick exam, she announced that nothing was wrong with the baby and that she was perfectly healthy. Chaerin kissed her sister's cheek and niece's forehead before leaving with the doctor to tell the crowd gathered in the hall that all was well.
Jinki slid in next to his girlfriend and wrapped one arm around her shoulders. “So, have we decided on a name yet? I know there were several we were thinking of. A lot of vampires have a second name, and you told me the witches often have more than one name. What are you feeling now that you can see her?” he asked the woman curiously.
Minji smiled gently as she gazed down. “I think we should name her after people, people who have mattered in helping her come to be somehow,” she explained even before she could list any names. “Jonghyun's mother should be first. Minki, because it's a sweet combination of our names and because Taemin has helped us so much and we should help him with his debts. You get to pick the next one, then maybe another name based in Europe or English for international ease, and her family name is Lee, of course,” she offered, tilting her head up at the man to see what he thought.
The vampire nodded quickly and smiled fondly at the woman he loved. “That's beautiful, Minji. I think I'd like your name to be Lee someday, too,” he started, biting his lip when she looked at him with widened eyes. “I'll propose to you proper once we're settled, okay?” he answered her still questioning gaze, smiling as he kissed her tenderly.
~*~
Jinki closed the bedroom door softly and held up a finger to his pursed lips to signal for everyone to be quiet. “Minji was pretty wiped out, so she and the baby are going to rest for a while longer before we let anyone in to see,” he explained softly. “And before you even try, we both took some of that nifty mind blocking potion to hide her from all you nosy people.”
There were a few sighs, but no one really protested the announcement. Taemin showed Chaerin and Seunghyun to their suite, then he and Minho gave them a quick tour of the places they might need or want to go before they settled in for some rest themselves.
It was morning when Minji felt up to having any guests. Before breakfast, there was a line of family outside the bedroom door, and everyone trickled in slowly to fill the large room. Kibum was the first in line, cooing instantly and smiling as he got a too-short turn at holding the girl.
“She's so itty bitty,” Kibum smiled, passing the baby to Jonghyun, then to Grandmother. The matriarch took her time with the child, finally letting Hana and Jaesun look over their granddaughter.
“Perfect baby girl,” Hana beamed, and nudged her husband when he just stared so dazed at the infant. “Oh, right,” he mumbled, clearing his throat and taking his fingertips from the child's cheek. “Congratulations, Jinki, and Minji. I guess this means you're officially in the family,” he offered, and Minji nearly burst into tears at the acceptance. Jaesun handed the baby off to Taemin in order to give the witch a hug, and a tissue.
The youngest vampire giggled at the wiggling girl, smiling when she took hold of Minho's finger and brought it to to . The human gasped, though, when he felt a familiar prick on the pad of his finger.
“Well, I see that she's smart enough to know I'm only here for food,” Minho teased, taking the baby with his free hand to support her as she , curiously at first, then harder once she got a better taste. Well, once he checked to make sure it was okay with Minji and Taemin, of course.
Jinki smiled and explained that she was extra hungry because Dr. Park had drawn blood from all three of them to compare in the lab, but basically only to confirm what they had already realized themselves. Their daughter was a vampire, obviously, but also a witch. Witches had to learn to use their gifts, and they had to practice in order to develop what power they did have. The Gong family was strong to begin with, but that was largely in part due to the years of studying and cultivating their gifts. This meant that while she was nearly guaranteed to have strong powers, it would be hard to tell what she could really do until she was older.
Minho didn't exactly want to let go of the baby girl once she was done, but he knew his turn had been long and intimate enough, so he gave the baby to her aunt with a smile. Chaerin smiled until her eyes teared up, and she gathered a few onto her fingertip, rubbing her tears over the child's eyes in a traditional blessing from their coven. “Now, Seunghyun, I want one now,” she murmured, and it was easy to see by the look on the man's face when he held his niece that he wanted a child of his own as well.
Jinki finally took his daughter back and sat on the bed with Minji, the witch reaching for her daughter's hand. “Ready?” she asked quietly, and smiled tiredly as her boyfriend nodded. The vampire cleared his throat and kissed Minji first, much to the delight of the room, then their daughter's forehead.
“This is our daughter, the first mixed blood vampire and witch that we know of, at least in our country. So, here among her family, we ask that you help us love and raise her in the ways of both her covens,” Jinki started, then smiled as the whole room nodded back. “Then without any further stalling, I'd like to introduce you all to SeonHwa Minki MiCha Nicole Lee.”
A/N: Awwww~ A cute widdle babeh girl <3
I hope you enjoyed all the drama and that I didn't scar anyone with the labor stuff
About the name - SeonHwa is daffodil, after Jonghyun's mother. MiCha means 'beautiful girl'.
Update for Valentine's Day, then I should be back on 'schedule' ^^
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