Settling into a seat quietly with a cup of tea in hand, Andre would be dressed far different than the norm. Coated from head to toe in medical garb, the man sipped from the cup as he took a moment to relax in the peace before the storm. In the room across from him laid Rose, Rosaleen, the woman who was within the beginning stages of bringing a new small life into the world. Standing, he laid his cup on the table beside him as he made his way into her room. The scene before him was one that had been obviously well prepared to avoid any complications. Clean and fresh towels, hot and clean water, and Rose who was cringing in pain as yet another contraction ripped through her which caused her to whimper. Reaching over, Andre took ahold of Rose’s hand gently, squeezing reassuringly as he spoke.
“It is time, Rose. Are you ready?”
The pain of it all would be taking its toll on the woman already as she attempted to take in deep breaths. Holding onto his hand with a far more tight grip, she would have nodded at his question. Looking up at him, the sapphire blue eyes of the human in question were already filled with tears. She wasn’t one for pain, nor was the one for being vocal. However at the present time she was both, even if there were no words. Andre smiled softly as he let go of her hand. Checking over her to make sure things were double then triple checked to make sure they were ready, he would then slip the mask over his face and nose as he turned to look down at her.
“Alright, Rose.I need you to take deep breaths and then push with all your might. Just like how we practiced.”
Watching her face twist to one of pain, he would begin to mimic the exercises to help her focus. Reaching closer to draw her attention, he continued as she would have slowly fallen into rhythm with him. Nodding, she would look up at him through squinted eyes as she mimicked his breathing. She was still whimpering from pain, but she would close her eyes so she could focus on the rather obvious task at hand.
"It hurts..."
She waited until his signal and once she had heard it she began to push, holding onto anything. No matter the pain, she never seemed to scream, however. Only whimpers and otherwise pitiful sounding noises.
“I know it does. Deep breaths and then push. Your doing great, so keep it up.”
He spoke in a soothing and calm tone as he continue to offer his moral support. The entire time, keeping an eye on the mother and the child as she continued. His hand rested against her stomach, monitoring the movement to make sure that nothing occured. As the birth went further along, she would continue to get louder. Even cursing, which is known for being a big deal for her. Aside from the cursing however she was making no direct comments to him.
As he continued to coach her through it, he would smile softly as he realized how close this was to coming to a finish. Doing as he had been taught, grabbing towels and making sure all was still progressing smoothly, he would speak again to her, keeping his tone even and calm as to not upset or frustrate her through this.
“Almost there. Keep going, Rose. You're almost done. A big push now, very big. With all your might.”
Rose had practically curled up on herself as she continued. She was shaking hard as tears streamed down her cheeks. Taking far longer than expected, Andre would have the child in his hands. Following procedure, making sure he heard her cry, and cleaning the child off, he would finally wrap her up in a towel. Holding her gently, he stared down at the small baby girl. A genuine smile crossed his face at the sight of her, something that finally cracked through the walls he had made around his emotions. His eyes watered as the tiny child opened her eyes slowly, still crying, looking up at him. She had his eyes. As the child turned her head to look around the room, his pride grew all the more. Pointed ears. She was an elf!
”Hey there, Little One. I am your daddy.”
As the pain slowly ebbed away, Rose fell back against the bed with a thump. Turning to look to Andre with a tired smile, she would watch him through half closed eyes. For her, seeing him like this was a relief, which caused a similar response as her eyes watered.
“What is it?...”
Looking up from what was his daughter, he sat down next to Rose as she had asked. Showing the mother, Rose would have closed her eyes with a sigh of relief as she saw that it was a healthy little thing. Andre, eyes still full of tears, would appear to almost even be back to his old self. How she had met him before his troubles.
“It’s a girl, Rose. We made a baby girl. I… was thinking. Can we name her after my mother? Somnastra Briar Ursae?” His voice was soft, mindful of the state she was in, as he gently passed the little girl over so she could hold her. Before being able to answer, Rose was already holding the little girl to her chest as she nuzzled her cheek against her slowly. Muttering something, truly out of it, the words seemed to come across as ‘Briar Somnastra’, the same name but simply in a different order. Taking to cleaning up the room, tending to both mother and child to make sure that they were alright, he would make sure that all was alright. Settling onto the bed beside her, he would put an arm around Rose as he looked down at both Rose and Briar.
“I will always be there for you, Little One. I will be the best father better than I have ever been to you or anyone.” Rose was already half asleep as she kept herself wrapped around the child. Soft breathing from both her and the baby, her hand would be near Briar’s, who was holding onto her mother's index finger. Dark brown hair now splayed out around Rose’s head as she passed into sleep. Motherly instincts already were kicking in for Rose as the voice would only cause her to pull the girl closer. Once Rose had fell fully asleep, Andre would take the small child and settle her into a nearby cradle before grabbing a chair to set beside it. Moving across the hall to grab his now cold tea, he came back to settle into the seat as he then watched over both child and mother as they slept after the ordeal.