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[Maritza 9]

“Doesn’t it, though?” While it had been a joke in their household of Uquin carrying the child she knew that he would if he could. If only because of how things went down the last time she’d given birth. “I can’t speak for most men but my husband has been as helpful as he can be. He makes poultices for my aches, does his best with the older kids and so on-“ She waved her hand in the air to generalize it.

“What? No; he’s working. I’m supposed to be home resting otherwise he would be doing this himself.” Another woman? Ha! Uquin could barely keep up with her.

“Aishans don’t really have surprise births, do they?”

[Maritza 10]

“Reverence? Ha!” Maritza started the walk back to her department; waddling and slow but head held as high as even. She paused to make sure the alkidike was with her and once she confirmed the taller woman’s prescience kept walking. “Some men are like that but not all of them! If I had a shilling for every time I was told I’d be better at my job if I were a man I wouldn’t NEED to work.”

It was one of the main reasons she’d never wanted to be a mother in her youth. Why jeopardize her dreams like that, especially if they were going to be used against her? “So you just ask for daughters and you get no say as to when they show? It doesn’t sound all that dissimilar from carrying, honestly. With the obvious excluded.”

[Maritza 11]

Even after sitting Maritza’s cramping wasn’t letting up. She felt a harsh pressure in her pelvis that caused the engineer to grunt and shift her stance. Usually after a brief break it would let up, but this time it wasn’t. Still, she wasn’t a stranger to body aches (it came with her job, after all) so Maritza had been keen on passing it off for most of the day.

The longer she walked, however, the more she started to worry that it was something else entirely. Surely now, though…? She still had another month to go-

A sharper cramp caused Maritza to stop completely and reach out for the closest thing to grab onto, which just so happened to be the alkidike’s arm. That…was more than a regular cramp. “Stick around long enough and you’ll find out,” Maritza groused. The feeling gingerly went away, but the warning sign was clear. When she was able to walk again she did so, albeit at a far more tender pace, “I’m around the corner, but now we have a problem. The baby is coming soon; I don’t know when but if my husband isn’t home you might have to help.”

[Maritza 12]

When the alkidike took the step back Maritza stumbled until catching herself. With a gruff, exasperated snort Maritza leveled a glare the other woman's way. "You have no idea how earthling labor works, so I'm going to explain this slowly. I don't get a choice when the kid comes; when it starts it keeps going until the baby is out."

There were still around a block or so away from her home. If she'd been in a low grade version of labor all day then things could progress quickly or it could keep going for a while...Honestly, Maritza should have listened when her husband talked about these things, but they were his hobbies not hers.

"Just...help me get my bags home and you can go. I'm not going to hold you up longer than I already have." The walk back to her row house took longer than the walk to the market. She was tired from the days efforts in general and now there was all of this to contend with...When Maritza finally saw the familiar edifice of her home she sighed and gingerly picked her way up the steps leading to the front door. Seeing that it was locked wasn't the sign she wanted, however...."They aren't home..."

[Maritza 13]

Maritza took care unlocking the door and walking inside. Thankfully the doorway was at least clean for her 'guest' to come in. All too often it was bogged down in a variety of coats, boots, plants, and gadgets. Uquin must have cleaned up before he left because she certainly hadn't.

The home itself was like most other row houses; packed in against it's neighbors with more height than width. There were three separate floors with the familial spaces being on ground level and a small enclosed garden in the back. If she wanted to be 'comfortable' she would have to climb up to the upper landing, but thankfully she'd already grown used to sleeping in the sitting room. Those stairs just hadn't been easy on her back.

"The kitchen's this way. You can sit the bags on the taaaaaaaaa-" The word drug on as another contraction claimed Maritza. She hunched forward, one hand clutching on the fabric over her thigh while the other reached out for a hall table. Her breathing came out on a surprised hiss and gradually 'settled' into unsteady exhales. When the latest contraction passed she motioned to the kitchen. "...on the table."

Maybe it was because her previous pregnancy had come one with such a verocity that this one was moving so quickly? She'd heard so many women at different shops talk about 'subtle' signs, but she'd yet to experience that. Her spawn had it out for her from day one.

Maritza quirked a brow at the alkidike. "....Well, I'm not going to turn away the help." Really, how could she? She knew enough to probably deliver the baby on her own, but previous fears cropped up. She'd nearly bled to death with the triplets so what if...

"We need warm water and clean blankets. Pots will be in the kitchen and the blankets are on the second floor, first door to the right. It's a small closet."

[Martiza 14]

With the alkidike gathering supplies, Maritza was left to figure out where she needed to go. Mentally she wanted to help by at least getting the water warm, grabbing some towels, reorganizing the sitting room....but all she could really do was figure out what room she wanted to set up in. The kitchen would have been easier to clean up, but if she was going to be at this for a while she wanted to be comfortable. If they had to buy a new settee then so be it; Uquin was going to owe her for this anyway.

When the tension in her pelvis lessoned some, Maritza moved into the sitting room. It didn't take much effort to clean off the settee or to shuffle things off the nearby table, but it did take a little work to move the coffee table away from the settee. She could hear rustling from above her and occasionally she would pause to take a break and muse on what the other woman was doing up there. She'd already seen her crouch; maybe she'd hit her head?

When another pain came upon her Maritza clenched her teeth and grabbed onto the arm of the settee. She forced herself to breathe through it just like her midwife had taught her on the last pregnancy and might not have even noticed that the other woman was back if she hadn't spoke.

"Yes? I'm not really sure. The last time my midwife did all the prepwork. All I can remember is what she asked him for."

[Maritza 15]

“Yes, a midwife.” Maritza grunted and looked up only to see that the alkidike had left the room. With a grunt she moved over to the settee to sit down, but found that even that wasn’t a comfortable position. “It’s a...” She trailed off as another wave of pain hit her and she clenched her teeth, baring with it as best she could until it trailed off. Instead of disappearing, however, it actually lingered and that worried her. Still, the alkidike’s words were enough to first confuse her then cause the earthling to roll her eyes. “She’s not a middle wife; she’s not any wife at all. It’s not a relationship. I don’t know why they’re called that but it’s someone you get when you’re having a baby.”