Gracia lay in the bed she and Maes now officially shared only with each other, her fingers tightly entwined with his. Sweat soaked her nightshirt and dewed her limbs, making their grip slippery. She was in pain. God, yes, pain like she'd never had before, but it wasn't the pain that worried her, not really. They lived in modern times: she was sure she and the baby would be fine. No, it wasn't just the pain that was eating at her, stretching her in unpleasant ways until she wanted to scream.

It was dreading what -- or rather, who -- the baby was going to look like.

"Doin' okay, sweetheart?"

She glanced up, and Maes' worried expression helped her wipe the grimace from her face. He was too sensitive where she was concerned, and she hated to make him uncomfortable. "Yes," she answered, trying to sum up a smile. "But all these people..."

"I know," he said grimly, throwing a look around their bedroom. He leaned closer to her, lowering his voice. "I swear I didn't tell anyone but the doctor. My sister must've been there when he got the call. I didn't phone anyone, not even Roy."

Dr Cook was the Enfield family doctor, and he'd known Gracia since she was seven, which might explain why Gracia's mother and sister and two of her aunts were downstairs when Gracia hadn't called them. Maes' mother was here, too, and his three older sisters, because, unsurprisingly at this point, Maes' second-eldest sister worked as an assistant for Dr Cook.

She squeezed his hand reassuringly, but she was worried. "You'll hurt his feelings not calling. I'll bet he knows already, but we have to call him as soon as we -- ah!" Her face closed up, and her grip on his hand became dangerous to his fingers. She struggled to breathe through the burning contraction while the old doctor nodded, peering between her knees with an encouraging smile.

"Good, good. Just a few more minutes, and the baby will be here. You're doing fine, Gracia, right on track!"

The contraction eased, and as the doctor conferred with Maes' sister, Gracia took the few moments of mercy to tug on Maes' hand. "What're you going to do if it, you know?" she hissed. "They'll be able to tell within the hour, Maes, and oh, my God, what if it looks just like --"

"Shh, muffin, it's okay, I've got it covered," Maes said quickly, and Gracia tried hard to trust that he had some idea ready to get everyone to not notice that their baby -- their first child -- if it came out that way -- wasn't Maes' at all, but was clearly --

"OW!" A stream of expletives she almost never used poured out of her mouth, but the good doctor and his assistant were unfazed.

"Wonderful, Gracia!" Dr. Cook was back between her legs, nodding vigorously as Maes' sister beamed. "It's coming! Now be a good girl, and give me a nice push!"

- - -

When the phone finally rang at 6:12pm, Roy almost broke Riza's arm in his haste to answer it himself.

"Hello?!"

"Roy. Thank God, kiddo." Maes' voice was more tired than Roy had ever heard it, and the younger man had a sudden urge to kill people.

"You need me to come over?" he asked anxiously, the phone creaking from the pressure of his stranglehold. "I can be there in five minutes. Is Gracia okay? Is it a boy or a girl?"

Maes chuckled softly. "We knew you'd know without us even calling you."

"Of course." Roy dismissed the fact with an irritated wave of his hand. "You think I don't have ways to keep tabs on my --" He almost said wife, and it was then he realized exactly how keyed up he was. To make a mistake like that in front of Riza would've been disastrous. " -- best friends?" he finished awkwardly.

"She's fine," Maes said. "And it's a girl. We went with that name from before, you know the one. Elysia."

Roy nodded, though Maes couldn't see it, his grip on the phone easing slightly. "Elysia. I remember. And she's -- she doesn't --"

"She's got a lot of brown hair, and so far blue eyes, but those'll probably go away. She's pretty big, considering, but don't worry." There was a minute pause in order to give the next phrase its full weight. "And... she looks just like Gracia. Completely alike."

"Completely?"

"Completely."

Roy fell into his chair, suddenly boneless with relief. His mouth twitched, and after a moment he laughed. "Oh, God. I bet she's beautiful. When can I see her?"

"Tomorrow," Maes answered firmly. "Come by tomorrow at ten."

"I'll be there. And tell Gracia congratulations. I'm glad for -- for both of you."

His friend knew just what he meant. "We're glad for all of us, too. See you tomorrow, sport."