Soon to be (Rowan/Shianni)

[Rowan Trace]

"I'm holding it!" Rowan snapped. He could do so much more than a bubble-head charm, but he didn't know what. He watched as Abigail rubbed a tiny foot between her hands, much more briskly than he would have thought safe.

He saw a flutter of motion from the corner of his eye, and his gaze snapped to the baby. Again, her tiny chest rose, then thumped once as though her heart was trying to escape. "She breathed," he said, the words nearly inaudible. Her tiny chest rose again, then fell and remained flat.

[Abigail Reynolds]

Abigail pulled a sharp breath. "Do it again!" she said softly, as though coaching the baby. Please do it again! Both hands left the baby and one hovered over her wand, waiting, watching. One... two... three...

[Rowan Trace]

"Why aren't you doing anything?!" Rowan snapped. He didn't know what to do, but there had to be something! Why was she just watching like that, why wasn't she pressing the baby's chest, rubbing that foot, anything?!

[Abigail Reynolds]

Eight... nine... "Come on, baby..." There was another flutter, and Abigail let out a small squeak of surprised pleasure. She didn't have the time or patience for questions right now, no matter how much she would have liked to explain.

"Can you keep the spell going while you do something else?" she asked, reaching for a stick-thin leg. She rubbed it in her hands, trying desperately to get the blood moving.

[Rowan Trace]

"Of course," Rowan said sharply. The baby was breathing, but it was irregular. Every time it stopped, Abigail seemed to stop, though he had no idea what she was thinking. "What do you want me to do?

At the Healer's direction, he let the charm hold itself and caught up a soft square of cloth. It helped calm him to have something to do, and though it seemed like busy work, he moved the cloth across the baby's face, entering the bubble to wipe away the white around her nose, around her eyes and ears, in every wrinkle of her tiny neck.

It was so strange looking at her. Vivienne, he reminded himself, and said her name softly, speaking to her. It was strange how as new she was, he could still see features of himself in her face. The baby had his nose, his jawline, tempered as it was. She had the elegant arch of Shianni's brows, those large eyes, and full lips. Was it his upper lip? Shianni's lower?

[Abigail Reynolds]

Rowan was doing far more than busy work. He was clearing every little obstruction to the baby's breathing from her face. He was stimulating her, and heavens above, the baby needed it. Color was finally coming into the child's limbs, a frightening grey giving way to apricot with blossoming red veins.

Abigail had repaired a deflated lung already, and was watching for breaths with as much concentration as she could spare. She didn't hear the older Healer approach, but when he did, she could finally breathe.

Tend to your wife, the old wizard said. Your daughter is in good hands.

The baby's breath stopped again, and Abigail began counting. Yes, she could press the baby's chest and make her breathe, but it was infinitely better for the child to do it herself, and so she waited. Another breath. More rubbing. More spells.

[Shianni Veridian Trace]

"Is everything all right?" Shianni asked when Rowan returned. She had yet to hear anything, was there not supposed to be crying and screaming? A weak hand reached out for him. How long had it been? She wanted desperately to wrap herself in a plush blanket and sleep, but she would not allow herself to do so until she knew the child was well.

[Rowan Trace]

Rowan took Shianni's hand, in need of the contact himself. "She's having trouble breathing," he said. It was the only problem he could really identify. "She's fighting, though." For every frightening stop, she'd started again just when his nerves had been about to break.

[Abigail Reynolds]

After only a short time, Abigail came over to the couple, relief written on her face. The older wizard was taking care of things, and the baby's color was still improving. She brought blankets and a pain potion for Shianni and happily fussed over making the new mother comfortable.

"Your baby is past the most dangerous part," she said at last. "Do you have a name for her?"

[Shianni Veridian Trace]

Shianni sighed in relief and rested her head further back into the pillows. That was what she needed to hear. She nodded briefly. "Vivienne," she said, though for the moment she could not think of the rest of the girl's name. They had only just decided on it. "Then she is going to survive?" she asked, seeking confirmation. Though the healer seemed happy and Shianni was relieved to hear the baby was alive, she still worried after the brief feeling of comfort.

[Abigail Reynolds]

"Yes," Abigail responded, smiling. "Your Healer is taking care of any health issues she might otherwise have had, and when he is finished... Ah, here he is now!" Her smile widened as she stepped aside to allow the older wizard through.

[Rowan Trace]

"Vivienne Aria Natalia Trace," Rowan said. "It fits her."

The baby looked far better now. Though she appeared to be asleep, swaddled in a blanket, her tiny chest was rising and falling regularly now, and her color was far better. She had a shock of dark, fine hair on top of her head, and the Healer brushed lightly at it with his fingers before offering the child to Shianni.

[Shianni Veridian Trace]

Shianni took the baby, though right now she could not even remember if she had ever held a baby, much less one so small. She was sitting a little higher now, and she pulled the baby, her daughter close to her chest. Surely she should say something, right? One slender arm wrapped around the little bundle and she pulled the other free to reach and lightly touch the girl's cheek.