How Green Becomes Wood

"Hmm, now you are making me worried," Sally commented suspiciously. There was a soft rustle in the background. "Alright, I am not holding anything breakable. What has happened? Don't tell me the baby was born." She laughed, completely joking and not for one second thinking that it was the truth.
 
"Oh, that's good, then-" Sally stopped. Her silence stretched out as she mentally back tracked. "Daizi, are you telling me that you had your baby? That she is born and now here in the world?"
 
"I had her really early this morning. Spent all of Thursday bringing her here," Daizi's pride and her grin could be heard through the phone, "You can visit her, if you like. We're..." Daizi paused, finding it extremely difficult to express where they were.
 
"Oh, poor sweet thing," Sally crooned, though it was difficult to tell if it was about Daizi or the baby. "You're at the hospital right now with her, aren't you? If you can tell me where you are, I'll bring you anything you need. Is she allowed clothing? I can bring you some premie sizes. Are you eating well? Shall I bring you some tea?" She caught herself and paused. "I am sorry. I did not mean to bombard you with questions. I am just very excited and worried about you. Let me just as you, do you need anything?"
 
Daizi listened to all of Sally's questions, and like she always did when the reality of what had happened over the past few days hit, fought back tears, "Right now she's just in a little diaper... I guess because she's got the heat lamp like a little bird. And I... honestly I don't know what I need... I don't think my mind's fully caught up yet. I've barely slept since Wednesday night. I ate breakfast, I had a bit to eat last night after we got here... I don't know. I keep forgetting I'm allowed to touch her, I can't imagine having control over anything or..."
 
"I can be there in just a few minutes," Sally said calmly. "Just tell me where you are, and I'll come to you. Until I get there, you just breathe and touch your little baby however you can. Alright? Where are you?"
 
Daizi took a breath, and then set her phone down on speaker so she could take Ivy from Dark, who needed to pass her over because his exhaustion was catching up to him. She told Sally the location of the hospital and what room they were in, and then recollecting herself said, "Thank you. I promise, I must be getting to the end of when I'm unstable."
 
Sally only chuckled. "No, darling. You're getting to the end of this instability. You're about to enter a whole new phase. I'll be right there."

Actually, it took Sally about half an hour to reach the hospital between getting out of her work for the day and finding her way through the confusing maze that made up the hospital parking lot and hallways. Finally, she reached the right room and walked in with a basket on her arm. She tapped lightly on the door, trying not to wake anyone if they were sleeping.
 
"Come in," Daizi said from inside. She was curled up in an arm chair, again holding Ivy. Dark had finally fallen into a deep sleep on the bed. It seemed pretty obvious Daizi had pulled the blanket over him, because Dark, who slept as if dead, had clearly not intended to take a nap.
 
Sally opened the door and closed it behind her. "Oh, such a tiny thing!" she crooned, her face softening as she looked at the little bundle in Daizi's arms. "I thought she'd be in an incubator or something when I came." She set the basket on the small table off to the side. "How are you doing? Let's start with the physical. It's a lot easier than the mental."
 
"She has an incubator, but they said that skin-to-skin contact also helps her keep warm. And helps with bonding. Right sweet baby?" Daizi asked, rubbing the baby's cheek with her thumb, "she was born at thirty four weeks, so she's doing okay. And I'm... sore. I've been sewn back up and I'm having afterpains, and I know my doctor and midwife and all the nurses assure me it's normal," and they were, "but I feel cheated by their existence. I thought I was done."
 
Sally smiled and started to take things out of the basket. "Now that is a feeling I'd forgotten about but now remember well. Be careful, if you're anything like me, it's going to stick around for a couple of weeks as your body cleans itself out and puts itself back together. It's a messy business, having a baby. Just remember, one day, you'll wake up and be just fine."

Two bowls came out of her basket along with a large, styrofoam container that normally carried soup, two glass containers with lids - one with fruits and one with veggies - a package of beef jerky, and, of course, tea supplies in a travel size.

"I brought chicken noodle soup. It should stay warm for a while until you're ready for it, as well as some good fruits and such for snacks and to help your body get those nutrients back." Sally made a tiny face at the jerky. "This stuff is supposed to be fantastic for getting iron back into your body, but I cannot abide it."
 
"We're looking into a physical therapist so I can 'rebuild my pelvic floor,'" Daizi said dryly, "if the twins ever find out how much I'm bleeding or any of the rest of it, they'll probably both die. Especially Xander, the poor kid. But hopefully if I never tell him about any of it, then I'm finally beyond grossing him out through the existential horror of," she nodded towards her baby, who kicked out her little legs and jerked her arms before snuggling back in, "They're both afraid of hurting her. Xander practically ran from her. Thank you for the food, Sally. I will absolutely eat all of it. What's the stuff you can't stand?"
 
"Oh, I am sorry. I forgot myself for a moment," Sally said, frowning at her own slip-up. "It is an American thing, I believe. At least, I've never seen it elsewhere. Beef jerky?" She moved closer and sat as near Daizi and the baby as she could. "I can understand why they would be nervous. So delicate and tiny! And, as I understand it, Xander is not that found of being touched, so holding a small, freshly born child... that is a complicated mental mess for him." She smiled but did not reach out or touch the baby yet. She hadn't been given permission, and there would be a lot of handsy people out there for Daizi to deal with later. "What is her name?"
 
"I think I've had it while hiking before. I don't remember. And I know they'll adjust to her with time. I won't force them... But I think they'd find her less intimidating if they did. When we left to come here last night, Alec was already talking to her," she smiled, specifically remembering when Alec chided Ivy for arriving too soon, "We have alcohol-free hand sanitizer, um, somewhere. If you want to touch her. She doesn't really have an immune system yet. But we're working on it."

She bent and very lightly kissed the top of Ivy's head before smelling it. Then she turned to Sally, "Ivy-Qadira Hala Wahid-Dark. It's very long, but I think she's owed a long, strong name."
 
"My, but that's a mouthful!" Sally chuckled. She located the hand sanitizer and gave her hands a good scrubbing. "It will be interesting to see her learning how to spell it. There. I've cleaned my hands. Would you trust me to hold her, or shall I relegate myself to touching her tiny hands?"
 
"We've been calling her Ivy," Daizi smiled, "it's the littlest of her names. But we had to give her both last names, and we wanted her to have a name in English and a name in Arabic, but Ivy-Qadira Wahid-Dark sounds awkward so of course we needed to break it up. And she'll have to spell it in two languages," she chuckled, and then said, "You can hold her. Okay Ivy? Time to meet Khalaty Sally?" She kissed the baby one more time and then passed her over.
 
"Oh, hello little Ivy," Sally crooned, instantly melting. She had no desire for more children of her own - Peter was more than enough - but oh how she loved little babies! That she could give back when she no longer wished to hold them. She cradled Ivy tenderly and spoke little nonsense phrases to her, unable to help herself. She held her for as long as she dared before telling Daizi she was handing her back. "I can't do skin to skin contact, and I do not want her to get cold."
 
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