Life of a Little Red Porcupine: Epilogue

By Flaky Ciel

(Notes: Sorry for the late addition, but I finally decided on a way to wrap up this story and set up the next one I'm probably gonna be writing :D )

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At the hospital, Flippy rubbed his sleeping wife's hand, gently. He'd been there for over four days, living off the vending machine outside. Flaky's eyes opened, and he smiled at her. "Hey, sweetie." He said, putting his other hand on her pregnant belly.

"H-hi, Flippy…" She cooed back, weakly. Her face was as white as a sheet, and she looked more fatigued than Flippy himself. Her spines were all dug into the bed too. Flippy hugged and kissed her, comfortingly.

"I'm sure it'll be fine, this time." He assured her. She pulled her covers up, a little scared.

"I hope so…" She said, on the verge of tears. She'd already gone through the pain of childbirth twice before, just days in between. The first time the baby had passed away after being delivered, much to its parent's sorrow, but the next day Flaky woke up, pregnant with it again. The second time both Flaky and the baby had died, but this time Flippy was praying for it all to work out right. Not as hard as Flaky, though.

"It will. Trust me." He said. Flaky smiled and rested her head on his shoulder. He had hardly left her side the entire time, which made it all bearable for her. He was still wearing the same clothes though, with a large, noticeable blood splatter running down its front. Flippy smiled, shyly, when Flaky looked at it.

On the way over, Lumpy, acting sheriff of the town at the time, had pulled him over for speeding. "Do you realize how fast you were going?" The moose had asked, pretending not to know Flippy.

"Look, Lumpy! I don't have time for this! Flaky, she's going to have a baby!" Flippy stammered, panicking. Flaky was in the passenger's seat, crying and screaming. Lumpy stared at them a few moments.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to see your… um… license and registration. Yeah, that's what I need." He said, ignoring the point. Flippy slapped his hand over his face, impatiently. He clutched at the steering wheel, and when he moved his hand his piercing green eyes stared back at Lumpy. The moose screamed as he plunged a bowie knife into his ribs, driving off immediately afterwards.

Flippy snapped back, still a little distracted by the unusually charitable act of his other self. Or, was his own will affecting it? Either way, it didn't matter. He snuggled his wife, lovingly, and held her hand. Suddenly she winced, feeling a contraction. She grabbed Flippy's hand tighter. "Oh… Flippy, I think it's happening again…" She whined.

"Giggles!!!" Flippy yelled out, already almost panicking. Several crashes were heard and Giggles came skittering around the corner.

"I'm here I'm here!" She yelled, running up to Flaky. "Just calm down, relax…" She said, apparently forgetting who she was talking to.

"I'm scared…" Flaky admitted, softly. She winced again, crying out.

"Flaky, you're going to have to relax." Flippy told her, squeezing her hand and lightly stroking her head.

"I-I c-can't!" She almost shouted, already starting to hyperventilate. Several minutes passed, with Flippy and Giggles both trying to calm her down. Cuddles showed up in the middle of it all, trying to lend a hand.

"C'mon buddy, just keep breathing!" The rabbit shouted. They all kept encouraging her to relax, but Flaky still couldn't quite do it. She kept screaming, going through the pain of birth for the third time.

"Flaky, just keep breathing and pushing." Giggles instructed, helping her deliver the child. Flaky did it, but for some reason wasn't making much progress outside of crying, and she was hyperventilating out of control. "This isn't going to work…" Giggles said, dismally.

"What!?" Flaky and Flippy both shouted, frightened.

"I think I see a head…" Cuddles choked, almost as pale as the mother-to-be. Giggles grabbed up a scalpel, testing it once for sharpness. She turned back towards Flaky, brandishing the instrument. Flaky and Flippy looked away, unable to watch what was about to happen. Flaky screamed, wincing in even more pain as Giggles went about cutting her open. Grabbing hold of Flippy's hand with one, and Cuddles's in the other, she started panicking and babbling out of pain and fear.

Flippy couldn't watch either, seeing blood spurting up from the corner of his eye and Flaky wincing in his arms. Giggles, who was also panicking a little, suddenly let out a sigh of relief, and suddenly the sound of a baby crying filled the entire room. Cuddles and Flaky both passed out, one from agony and relief, the other from witnessing childbirth. Giggles sighed, holding the infant in her arms. "Well, Flippy. You're a daddy now." She said, turning towards him. His eyes rolled back as he fainted too, falling out of his chair and leaving Giggles as the only conscious person in the room.

Flaky was the last person to wake, and she did so slowly. Suddenly her eyes snapped open and she sat up, painfully. "The baby!" She shouted, crying.

"Shh… the baby's right here…" Flippy said, putting his hand on hers. She sniffled a little, happily, seeing the bundle in Flippy's arms. "She fell asleep too. I think she might have been just as upset being born three times as you. Hahaha."

Flaky breathed a sigh of relief, since it was finally over. She looked down, realizing that most of her lower tummy was covered in bloody bandages. She looked around, seeing Cuddles and Giggles holding hands, talking to each other. Flaky looked back down at her baby, tearing up. Flippy smiled and handled the little bundle over to her.

Flaky looked down at her newborn daughter, who sniffled and opened her eyes. Her fur was a light shade of green, just like her father's, but she mostly resembled a porcupine, judging from the short coat of quills on her head. Flaky started crying tears of joy, looking into her cute little daughter's eyes. "She's adorable…" Flaky sobbed, smiling.

"Just like you." Flippy added, sitting next to her on the bed and admiring their child. They kissed before looking back at their daughter. Flippy put his arm around his lover, and she leaned against him, still holding their baby. She kept crying, happily, suddenly looking a little concerned.

"Flippy…" She said, rocking her daughter, who stared back, babbling a little. "I-I'm not s-sure if I'm ready to be a m-mom…" She admitted, sheepishly. Flippy gave her a questioning glance. "I-I mean, I'm still not quite g-grown up myself… And I don't know everything I need to b-be a mom…"

"Oh, Flaky. Don't be ridiculous. You'll make a wonderful mother…" Flippy assured her. He had to admit his wife could still behave much like a child sometimes, at least where her fear is concerned, and some of her interests, but he knew she could make a wonderful mom.

"You really think so?" She asked, hesitantly. Flippy nodded, reassuringly. Flaky smiled, her eyes still full of tears, and she hugged her newborn to her, touching cheeks with her. The baby cooed, happily.

"Of course you will, Flaky." Cuddles piped in, walking over to them with Giggles in tow. "She'll have her good ol' uncle Cuddles to help out with her too, don't you forget it."

Flaky and Flippy looked at each other, smiling. "Uncle Cuddles?" Flippy asked, amused.

"Darn right!" Cuddles asserted. "Flaky's practically my sister, after all! Besides, I'd love to help you out anyway."

Flaky blushed, happily, "Awww, thank you, C-Cuddles…" She said, honestly. Cuddles gave a thumbs-up before Giggles cleared her throat.

"What about OUR family, Cuddles?" She asked, bashfully.

"Erm… Well, I guess I could practice being an uncle, first. Yeah, look at it that way." He said, with a nervous laugh. "What do you call one of those anyway?" He asked, jokingly.

"A bearcupine, I guess." Giggles responded, also joking. Flaky blushed, looking down at the little bearcupine.

"Wh-what should we name her, Flippy?" She asked. Flippy looked at her, lovingly.

"Whatever you want, love…" He said. Flaky started tearing up more, remembering how her own mother had named her.

"Emerald…" She choked, happily, and stroking the rich green quills on her daughter's head. She nuzzled her baby, lovingly.

"That's a wonderful name, Flaky…" Flippy said, holding his wife to him. Emerald yawned, nestled in her mom's arms, drifting back to sleep.

"I'm so tired..." She said, yawning just like her daughter.

"Get some sleep then, sweetie." Flippy said. Flaky smiled and cuddled up to her husband, their daughter still in her arms.

"I love you…" She said, happily.

"I love you too…" He returned, and moments later Flaky was asleep in his arms. Flippy himself started nodding off, Giggles and Cuddles leaving them alone and shutting the door behind them. Flippy looked down at the floor, seeing his reflection in a small puddle of blood left over from the operation. It glared at him and his newborn, smiling evilly. Flippy ignored it, resting his head on his wife's, and drifting off into sweet sleep.