"Mom, yo... you should take a break." Candy huffs, blowing out her cheeks as Renee constantly wipes down her sweaty brows with a damp cloth.
Maggie shakes her head fondly, worry etched into the lines on her face. "Candy, you should worry more about yourself, I'm not that old that standing for a couple hours would hurt me."
Renee wasn't sure what was wrong, the memory was vague now but giving birth to Hayden hadn't been this difficult.
According to the doctor constantly running around and prodding Candy's heaving stomach, Werewolf babies had no control over their wolves which was expected.
They remained in human form however during the course of the pregnancy but the shock of birth could make them shift instinctively to protect themselves and if this happened during the birth could be fatal to the mother so everything had to be done with utmost care.
Cole, Candy's mate just crouches stoically beside her, gently cradling one of her hands, lips drawn in a thin line.
"I really want to see my baby." She pants to the doctor, giving him an impatient look.
She had been told to let the contractions come naturally so as to ease the baby out as gently as possible, this meant the birth would take quite a really long time, machines beeping all around the room that had been converted into a delivery room a long time ago.
Candy wasn't taking it lightly that she couldn't push, the need to hold her pup in her arms was starting to turn to a physical ache.
After hours of passive contractions there was finally movement and the baby head pops out, the rest of the birth goes easily enough but there's no wailing.
Candy starts to panic, unconsciously pushing out the rest of her baby's body.
"Wh...why aren't they crying?" She gasps, trying to sit up to see.
Cole easily calms her down so she doesn't rip something. "Calm down, sweets, nothing is going to happen to our baby, okay?" He hums to her, kissing her wet forehead.
The doctors on the other hand were in a flurry, cleaning up the baby and clearing out the fluid from the baby's nose and mouth, the baby looked unharmed and seemed to be breathing properly but still wasn't crying.
After wrapping the baby up they decide to bring her over.
"I've never seen a case like this." The doctor was saying, gently placing the baby in her mother's arms. "Pups are usually the loudest when they're born but this darling is so quiet, try feeding her."
Candy slowly takes the bundle of life from Doctor Freida, an elderly Werewolf who had delivered her share of pups.
She gently takes one of the baby's fist, laughing with tears in her eyes when the baby firmly grasps her pinky, feeding goes without any hitches, the baby latching on to the provided nipple with a healthy suckling.
"We'll give you some space now." Doctor Freida bows slighty, emptying out the room with the other nurses.
"Thank you so much..." Maggie was saying, leading the Doctors out and also to go get her husband.
"Renee." Candy says fondly, resting against her husband's arms who looks down on his new family with warm joy. "Staring at the baby so intensely isn't going to tell you their gender."
Renee half pouts. "Well, I'm dying of curiosity here, it's not everyday I get to be an Aunt."
"Want to do the honors, my love?" She asks Cole softly, giving him a sweet but tired smile.
Cole quietly opens up the swaddling blankets, nearly getting kicked in his face by his daughter when he disturbs her feeding...
He cups Candy's face with a serene smile. "We have the prettiest baby girl..."
Soft crackers go off from Renee's direction and they both look over to her to see multicolored confetti slowly floating to the ground.
Maggie and Grant chose this moment to make their appearance, Yanis keeping his distance behind them.
"Is it a boy or girl?" Maggie hurries in, Renee's gender neutral confetti giving nothing away.
"She's a girl, mom." Candy says tiredly.
"Perfect! I have already placed an appointment to go shopping tomorrow..."
Grant just kisses his wife's cheek and walks over to his daughter's bedside. "A lot of stuff is going to be given to charity, Andy, don't stress it, you know your mom will keep buying to express her happiness."
He leans down to kiss her forehead and give her a hug. "I love you and tiny you as well."
Renee laughs at this, tears in her eyes.
"Um, congratulations Auntie." Yanis says awkwardly, after disentangling himself from Renee's estatic hugs.
"Yanis!" Candy exclaims happily. "Come over here, let me introduce you to your little cousin." She inclines her head at him, her smile so bright that it overshadows the tired lines around her eyes.
Yanis stares wide eyes at the little girl, her soft downy hair already a honey blond just like her mom's, eyes tightly shut as her rosebud lips suckle energetically.
"We'll name her Pixie, isn't she such a sweet little thing?" Candy already starts to show off her baby girl.
"So well behaved, the direct opposite of you Andy." Maggie says with a wet smile, letting her husband support her weight.
"Mom has a point, she didn't even make a fuss when she was born." Renee tags on.
"I'll blame that trait on Cole." Candy says, lifting Pixie up a little so Yanis can touch her.
As soon as his finger makes contact with her soft, warm skin, Pixie let's a loud scream rip, wailing so loud her mom flinches.
Just as abruptly as she started crying, she stops again, returning to her suckling.
A pin drop silence follows this and then everyone bursts out laughing even Cole who had been reserved the whole time.
Yanis has a disgruntled look on his face. "And here I was thinking to give you a Castle for your first birthday."
Laughter starts up again, a new life bringing joy and happiness with her and most importantly... Love...