July 9th, 1892 — Zelfred's Bedroom, Sanditon Terrace

Alfred could sleep through anything, or nothing. It was a skill one acquired as a sailor, helped along by the fact that most days involved some amount of hard labor that would leave one exhausted by the end of the day. There was always some amount of noise on a ship, and motion, and periodic gaslights or wandtips being lit and then extinguished as different people woke up to take over the dogwatch. Any sailor who wanted to survive had to be able to sleep soundly through all of that. On the other hand, any sailor on a Navy ship had to be equally ready to wake at the drop of a hat and be ready to respond to an emergency, should one arise. An attack, a fire, or holes in the wall of the ship wouldn't wait patiently while someone rubbed sleep from their eyes. This was especially true as captain, since he was often woken up for reports in the middle of the night; he'd have to make a reasonable, alert decision about something, then fall back asleep immediately and soundly if he wanted any rest before the next morning.

This was unexpectedly coming in handy recently, because Zelda wasn't sleeping well. Apparently that was normal, though monstrously inconvenient for her. For his part, he could sleep through the baseline level of tossing and turning without even realizing anything was amiss, but usually woke up at least briefly whenever she got up from the bed. He could ask her how she was doing and offer some sympathetic remarks, then fall back asleep as soon as she settled in next to him again — he was a conscientious husband and he was reasonably well-rested. He really was making out like a bandit from this whole thing. Too bad he couldn't pass any of that sleep on to Zelda.

Something she'd just done had waken him — what it was he couldn't have said — and Alfred reached out to caress her arm to let her know he was up too. "Can't sleep?" he asked, although the answer to that seemed fairly obvious.

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Zelda Darrow Cassius Lestrange

  

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MJ made the most Alfredy of sets and then two years later she made it EVEN BETTER

She was so pregnant — she could no longer hide it, and people commented. And her sleep, always dubious, was worse. During the day, when she was alone, she talked to the baby and asked them what they thought about things. They were friends with Yorick. They enjoyed the sea. They had not given her any tips as to picking names, and they had not stopped disrupting her sleep.

The pains felt like she was cramping; infrequent, and they didn't stop. She'd tolerated them in bed for a while, but finally one of them caused her to swear under her breath. (Well — she thought it was under her breath until Alfred touched her arm.)

Something felt — wrong. Or it felt like something, and she hadn't been prepared for something to happen.

"Something's happening," Zelda admitted, a little strained.

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AMAZING set by MJ

Half awake, Alfred did not fully grasp the magnitude of something.

"Want me to get you a glass of water?" he asked with a yawn. He wasn't sure how a glass of water would actually help with anything, but if she was just not able to fall asleep because she was uncomfortable, as was usually the case, his utility was limited.

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MJ made the most Alfredy of sets and then two years later she made it EVEN BETTER

Zelda shook her head. "No," she said, in case he couldn't see in the dark. "Alfred, something's happening."

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AMAZING set by MJ

The emphasis made it through the haze of sleep, though it still took a second for him to figure out what he was supposed to do with this information. "Oh," he said stupidly. They had talked about this, about what it would be like and what the plan was, but that didn't mean they were ready. In fact, most of the plan they'd discussed was actually just him getting out of the way. Katia was going to come and stay with them for a bit when the baby was inbound, so that she could help Zelda while Alfred went to fetch the midwife. Katia also had more experience than either of them, so she would know when it was actually time to fetch the midwife, and with what urgency. Alfred didn't have the faintest idea, and he wasn't supposed to. This whole process was mysterious by design to anyone not involved in it. Katia was supposed to be here to handle everything, and Alfred was supposed to be pacing the front porch and just waiting until it was over.

Katia wasn't here, though, because this was far too early.

"The midwife said a few more weeks," he said helplessly. "Is something wrong? Or is this — it?"

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MJ made the most Alfredy of sets and then two years later she made it EVEN BETTER

It was too early. She wasn't ready. Another pain rocked through her and Zelda exhaled sharply. It took her a moment to regain herself, and she said, "I think this is it." Her voice was smaller than before, more quiet — she wasn't ready, the baby wasn't ready. They were supposed to have a few more weeks. How was she supposed to do this? What if something terrible was happening?

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AMAZING set by MJ

Alfred nodded rapidly, a little frantic, and climbed out of bed to get dressed. "Alright. Ah — shit," he mumbled as he glanced around the room, wondering what he should even do first. Pants, somewhere, because he was going to have to go and get someone (Katia? The midwife? He was not even entirely sure where the midwife lived because this was not supposed to be happening yet), but also where was his wand, and was there something he ought to be doing for Zelda before he did either of those things?

"Should I —? I mean, do you —? Are you going to be alright if I leave to get the midwife?" he finally managed to ask, still standing naked and helpless besides the bed.

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MJ made the most Alfredy of sets and then two years later she made it EVEN BETTER

"Will you —?" Zelda cut herself off, not because of pain but because she was worried about being alone. She was going to have to be alone for a few minutes, because the baby was coming early, but she didn't know how she was going to handle it. She didn't know what she was doing. Katia was supposed to be here to help her. She swallowed. "Can we make tea first?"

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AMAZING set by MJ

Alfred didn't have many expectations of what it would be like when the baby came, but this defied his expectations. He shot her a quizzical look.

"Uh, sure," he replied. Despite his confusion, he thought it best to follow her lead on this. "If that's, uh. Do we have time?"

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MJ made the most Alfredy of sets and then two years later she made it EVEN BETTER

Zelda reached a hand up to tug on the bottom of her hair. "I don't know," she said, "It's early."

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AMAZING set by MJ

Alfred did not know what to make of this statement, or the way she tugged her hair.

"I'll put a kettle on," he said, uselessly.

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MJ made the most Alfredy of sets and then two years later she made it EVEN BETTER

Zelda had aspirations of going downstairs with him, but another wave of pain wracked her abdomen. She hissed breath out her teeth. "I'll stay here," she finally managed. It wouldn't hurt the baby if she stayed up here and paced, right?

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AMAZING set by MJ

The way she breathed through her teeth made Alfred feel he definitely shouldn't be leaving her alone to put a kettle on.

"I think I should get the midwife," he protested, reaching over to lightly lay a hand on her stomach. "Just in case."

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MJ made the most Alfredy of sets and then two years later she made it EVEN BETTER

Zelda's eyebrows drew together on her forehead. She reached to hold Alfred's hand to her stomach. He was right, and she knew he was right, but — "I'm afraid."

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AMAZING set by MJ

His heart broke a little, because he wanted to tell her that everything would be alright, but if he were being honest he'd have to say me too.

"You can do it," he said, caressing her stomach gently. "You can do anything."

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MJ made the most Alfredy of sets and then two years later she made it EVEN BETTER

Zelda exhaled; she wasn't sure she believed him. She needed more time before she was ready for the baby. She was supposed to have more time. But if she didn't have more time, then — then Alfred needed to call the midwife. "Alright," she said, "Be fast?"

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AMAZING set by MJ