Pregnancy was too long. If humans were going to mutate again, they should mutate a shorter gestation period. Because Becca was ready to not have a kid in her.

That day was on the horizon, at least. She wondered how it would feel not waiting for a new mutation to accommodate to every night; it had been so long since she went to bed pale and freckled and with a human amount of limbs and pieces and woke up the same. Today, for instance, her skin traded its freckled complexion for smooth crimson skin to go with horns protruding from her temples and the tail stemming from the base of her back. Not the worst look, but also not one she was about to go out in public with. Too many zealots and nutjobs.

Instead, she could enjoy her day in a very loose shirt and cotton shorts, since none of her dresses had a tail hole. (She felt Gina's plight.) She was hungry, so Maya was ready to help her cook. In truth, Maya would do most of the cooking as Becca was already getting tired of standing and her feet were sore. Of course, the real question is what she was hungry for, given the variance of her cravings.

Food sounded good when they were lounging in their own living room, but now that they were in the kitchen, food was suddenly sounding less appealing. Damn pregnancy. "Mmm, Ah'm nae sure whit Ah can handle, honestly. Nothin' tae spicy. Ur sweet."

Becca placed a hand on her round tummy, sitting back down, feeling a sudden cramping sensation, like a pressure. She winced, surprised by the intensity. "Ur maybe mah stubborn stomach disnae wanna eat, coz it's suddenly givin' me a hard time." Becca closed her eyes, waiting for the uncomfortable sensation to pass.

A week or two more, and they would have a baby. They were in the home stretch now, and Maya was feeling the mounting pressure. They had a lot of help preparing; the Mansion family made sure they had everything a newborn baby would need, DocProf was on constant standby, and they had as much information as they could gather to prepare for the arrival of a multi-powered mutant infant. With that said, Maya could tell pregnancy was becoming more of a struggle for Becca. The baby bump was lovely, but not easy to maneuver with even on a good day, and Iris was definitely a lively baby. Not to mention the ongoing mutation roulette. Today, it was devil horns and tail, which, honestly, looked cute on Becca. Maya used up all the devil puns in the morning already. Now they were in the kitchen, Becca resting, and Maya trying to figure out how to fulfill the impossible food request.

"Sooo... something light, maybe? Toast?... Grilled cheese?... scrambled eggs?" She looked over the things in the fridge and the cupboards "Are you feeling nauseous again?"

Iris was proving to be an active baby, getting more excitable by the day. Somewhere, Impact was laughing as she reined in a floating toddler, because Iris was shifting and kicking like she was also ready to make her grand escape. She was just a little devil baby waiting in her mom's tummy, inspiring goofy devil puns from her other parent.

Maya could make all the jokes she wanted; she was getting Becca though the tough last months of her pregnancy. Honestly, nothing reaffirmed Becca's decision to spend the rest of her life with the gendershifter than the support and love she received through the tough times. Even now, Maya was trying be helpful, despite the small sample of useful information her whiny fiancee could offer.

"Light soonds best. Grilled cheese, maybe. Ah'm a wee bit nauseous, bit it's different." She was becoming an expert on being nauseous. "Thes is mair loch a pressure in mah stomach. Jist pain movin back tae front. It's..." She winced as the pain spiked.

And the spike reminded her of something she read in preparation for the big day. "Wait. Is thes... Oh, dammit, am Ah really gettin' contractions awready?"

>>"Light soonds best. Grilled cheese, maybe. Ah'm a wee bit nauseous, bit it's different."

Maya dutifully got the cheese from the fridge and moved to scavenge around for some bread. Becca might change her mind about it by the time it was done, or rather, Iris would decide mommy was not gonna eat grilled cheese, but right now, it was something she could do to help. This whole thing was hard enough for Becca.

>>"Thes is mair loch a pressure in mah stomach. Jist pain movin back tae front. It's.. Wait. Is thes... Oh, dammit, am Ah really gettin' contractions awready?"

"WHAT?!" Maya whipped around, instantly forgetting about the grilled cheese. "Do you... like, actual contractions?"

Suddenly, grilled cheese did not sound as important as it was minutes ago. There was a new pulse of pain and pressure in her lower body, and that occupied all of Rebecca's attention, because if she was right, it was time to ring all the alarms.

"Ah mean, Ah've ne'er had contractions 'afore, Maya," Rebecca replied, trying to rein in the snark because Maya was not the cause of this pain. Well. Technically she was, but in this immediate moment, she was not causing it. "But--aaah, it feels a lot loch what Ah read abit and what Maya-- th' other Maya-- told me abit." It was nice having mother friends to prepare for moments like this.

Rebecca focused on breathing through the contraction that she was now slowly convinced was, in fact, a contraction. "I think... Maya, Ah think it's time." Time, or close to time, but if Iris was coming, Becca was not looking to take chances.

They had been preparing for this for months, given the... unusual circumstances of the whole pregnancy, but they were still both under the impression that they had a week, maybe two to go. Closer to the due date they would be under power watch, trying to pick a good day for delivery... but right now it seemed Iris might have other ideas.

>>"Ah mean, Ah've ne'er had contractions 'afore, Maya,"

Maya winced. Now that things were... happening, it felt like no amount of preparation would have ever amounted to anything useful.

>>"But--aaah, it feels a lot loch what Ah read abit and what Maya-- th' other Maya-- told me abit. I think... Maya, Ah think it's time."

Maya took a breath. Damn if she was gonna be one of those panicking parents from the movies.

"Alright" she nodded, moving to stand by Becca, taking her hand. She glanced up at the kitchen clock. "So, we need to time these, right? It's... not noon yet. That means almost 13 hours till you shift." she took another breath "We should probably take you to the hospital and see what the doctors say. How bad is it?"

Rebecca relaxed, easing up on her breathing. "They arenae tae bad yet, Ah dinnae think. This one's passed, sae we can time frae here." She was pretty sure that was how it worked, but suddenly she was finding it harder to think about all the nifty tips she got from books.

Thankfully, Maya was here to be the not pregnant one, and bless her for that. "Still, Ah wanna be safe. If Iris is comin' today, Ah wanna be at th' hospital." Becca tapped the tip of her pointy horns with a red finger. "If Iris is comin' wi' these, Ah dinnae think we want tae wing it here."

Becca seemed to be breathing easier after a few moments. Maya did not like to see her in pain, even though she knew it was a natural part of the process, and there was a baby at the end of said process.

>>"They arenae tae bad yet, Ah dinnae think. This one's passed, sae we can time frae here."

Maya nodded, checking the time again. Timing was important.

>>"Still, Ah wanna be safe. If Iris is comin' today, Ah wanna be at th' hospital. If Iris is comin' wi' these, Ah dinnae think we want tae wing it here."

"Yeah, no, definitely not" Maya winced, looking at the horns "Alright, stay here, keep an eye on the clock. I'll go grab the bag and we'll head to the hospital. I'll let DocProf know we're going." they had a bag packed, as pet dutifully prepared first time parents; Ghost had helped with putting it together. Maya made a few stops; she told DocProf what was going on ('you look scared sh*tless, kid', well thank you), and made sure Mrs. Taylor-Cervantes was keeping an eye on Kalos. She did not want to stir up the coral girl's excitement before they knew what was going on. Gemma could handle the rest. Grabbing the bad, Maya headed back to the kitchen.

Rebecca nodded, pulling out her phone to start the stopwatch app, mentally adding about thirty seconds. When the doctor asked her for numbers, they would be getting numbers. "Eyes on the prize," she agreed, grinning in spite of and because of the contractions. "Iris and Ah will be waitin' here fer ye, babe."

The kitchen, like most rooms in the Mansion, accommodated a mirror for Maya to use when she needed to quickly respond to a crisis. Or, you know, if she needed a quick midnight snack. Becca sat near the mirror, waiting and cradling her stomach for Maya or a contraction, whatever came first. As quick as Maya could be, the next contraction beat her out at around thirteen minutes. When Maya arrived, the stopwatch was already timing the space between her next contractions. "Ye know, Ah was expectin' tae gie a ring on yer finger 'afore we got here, but Iris is impatient loch her mama."

Slowly, Becca got to her feet, offering her arm to Maya. "Shall we?"

When Maya returned, Becca was still sitting in the kitchen, phone in hand, timing. She looked excited, but not much in pain yet. She was a vigilante, she could handle pain on any day, but even so, this was going to be a very long day. Maya smiled at her, getting the backpack on her shoulders.

>>"Ye know, Ah was expectin' tae gie a ring on yer finger 'afore we got here, but Iris is impatient loch her mama."

"Well, I can't wait to meet the little devil" Maya grinned, holding out a hand to help Becca up.

>>"Shall we?"

Maya glanced at the stop watch on the phone screen. "How are we doing on time? Shall we wait for the next one and then go between them?"

It was great to have Maya thinking ahead, because Becca wanted nothing more than to get to that damn hospital so they could lay her on a bed. It had been a few minutes since her last contraction, though, so it was reasonable to give themselves the widest window to work with. "Okay, bit if we're waitin' Ah'm gonna need ye tae pet mah hair and compliment me."

Becca waited anxiously, keeping close to Maya until another the next contraction hit. She rode it out, enduring the sensations for one or two minutes, until she felt her body relaxing. "Alright, let's gae quick."

Mirror travel was a saving grace because Becca did not want to cram herself into a passenger's side right now. The trip to the hospital was quick and familiar, though not made much easier by the condition of pregnancy. Still, they arrived and walked into the hospital hallways.

Where, naturally, several sets of eyes and hushed comments befell the red woman. "Ye know, th' next time we do this, Ah hope Ah look a wee bit less controversial."

It seemed like they still had some time between contractions, which was good. Not only because that meant things were not immediate yet, but also because it would allow them to make the trip to the hospital without having to stop inside the mirrorworld.

>>"Okay, bit if we're waitin' Ah'm gonna need ye tae pet mah hair and compliment me."

"Alright" Maya smiled, wrapping her arms around Becca. "You are doing great" she muttered, dutifully petting her red locks "You've always been a badass. And don't hit me, but you kinda look hot with the whole devil thing..."

Moments ticked by until she felt Becca relax a bit.

>>"Alright, let's gae quick."

"Okay. Hold on. Let me know if you want to stop." Maya took Becca by the hand, pulling her into a mirror. They had their route to the hospital now, the quickest and safest way to go, avoiding very public mirrors, which especially came in handy now, given Becca's looks. When they stepped out into the hospital hallway, the had enough of the staring anyway.

>>"Ye know, th' next time we do this, Ah hope Ah look a wee bit less controversial."

"It's okay. Mutant friendly hospital, remember?" Maya glanced around, getting her bearings "Besides, it's the 21st century. No one cares about devil lesbians having babies anymore."

They obviously did. There was quite a bit of whispering before a nurse finally showed up from somewhere.

Even Becca had to admit that, while her current look might give her mother a scare, she felt like she wore it well. Maya could tease her, but she absorbed all the compliments in stride. Nine months pregnant and Maya always knew how to make her feel sexy and powerful. She was a badass. It just helped having that support.

Making it to the hospital, it was fortunate Becca was too focused on the excited baby in her tummy to think too much about the prying eyes around her. They did pick this hospital because it had a track record of pro-mutant care. They were always treated well, though occasionally some of the nurses got confused by things that would be easily explained if they were mentally prepared for mutant surprises.

"Guid point, though Ah'm pretty sure no ain was expectin' a demon succubus tae walk intae th' hospital pregnant. Ah'm sure Ah'm a sight." Becca stuck close to Maya as they walked toward the nurse's desk until a nurse found them first.

"Excuse me, um, Miss...?"

"Grey," she answered calmly. "Rebecca Grey."

"Oh, that explains that." Clearly, this nurse was prepped on who Becca was and what to expect. "And did you have an appointment today?"

Rebecca shook her head. "Nae exactly. We were jist-ungh!" The demoness groaned, leaning on Maya for support as another contraction hit. Maybe let Maya talk while she dealt with pain and more pain.

>>"Guid point, though Ah'm pretty sure no ain was expectin' a demon succubus tae walk intae th' hospital pregnant. Ah'm sure Ah'm a sight."

"You're always a sight" Maya chuckled, holding Becca's hand as they walked over to the nurse's desk to check in. They'd made it to the hospital, and if she'd checked the clock right, the contractions were still more than ten minutes apart. Go team.

>>"Excuse me, um, Miss...?"

>>"Grey, Rebecca Grey."

>>"Oh, that explains that. And did you have an appointment today?"

"She is having contractions" Maya took over, wrapping an arm around Becca "Like... twelve minutes apart?"

"Oh. Right." she nurse looked them up and down "Well, why don't you take a seat over there, and I'll go get your doctor?..."

"Um... we have kind of a special situation here?" Maya gestured at Becca, horns and tail and all.

Maya was going to get many kisses when a baby was no longer causing Rebecca's insides to rebel. Becca liked having control of her life, but she felt comfortable ceding control to Maya. It was comforting to have someone reliable in her life that she could trust to take care of her when she needed it.

The nurse grabbed Becca's file, looking the pregnant woman over. "Well, unless there's something I'm not seeing, we should be able to accomodate her.

"There is," Becca groaned. "Th' baby'll hae aw thes tay. Horns an' aw."

"Oh. OH." The nurse quickly understood, reaching that note in Becca's file as the problem was explained. "Alright, it's going to be okay, Miss Grey. I'm going to page your doctor, but I think he'll agree a cesarian is your best choice here."

"Ye think?" Becca did not want to be rude, but imminent childbirth made it hard not to get snarky. She had no desire to know the kind of damage horns could inflict with a different plan.

The nurse gestured for one of her colleagues to escort Becca and Maya, but when the older woman noticed the mother in question, she shook her head. "Nuh-uh. Nope. I ain't getting involved with the delivery of the antichrist."

Thankfully the first nurse's scowl matched Becca's own expression. "Karen, go f*cking home if you're not going to do your job. Kaitlyn, please."

A younger nurse was ready to come to the pair's aid, getting Becca situated into a room where she could get changed and await her doctor. As she slipped out of her clothes and slowly maneuvered her way into a hospital gown, she whined, "Ye know, Ah should hae known our daughter would be too impatiant tae wait fer a convenient mutation. Ah was mentally prepared fer labor, noo Ah need tae gie mentally prepared for surgery. That's too different kinds ay emotional journeys."