"It's been hours," Roan said. "You've been in a trance, enchanted by the process."
I shook my head, not wanting to believe it. This was the coolest thing I'd ever seen.
Dr. Saunders picked up a pair of sharp scissors and made quick work of cutting through the sac, and then she had the baby in her arms. She turned him over and Dr. Nguyen began handing her suction. "The process of birth through the birth canal usually helps dispel the liquid from their throats, noses, sinuses, etcetera. As with a cesarean, we have to do it for them in a birth like this." She finished suctioning and they wrapped him in a blanket I'd bought earlier in the afternoon. Or had it been yesterday? I couldn't remember.
"Do you want to cut the cord?" Dr. Saunders said.
I looked up at Alexander, and he nodded encouragingly. This would normally be the father's job, but we weren't this baby's parents. We were just his temporary caretakers. "Sure," I whispered and took the same scissors she'd cut the sac with.
I cut through the cord, surprised at how it felt. I'd expected it to be spongy, but it was almost like cutting through aluminum foil. "It's metal," I said nervously. "It looks like flesh though."
Dr. Saunders quickly took the scissors from me. "Remarkable," she said as she finished cutting. She and Dr. Nguyen bowed over the infant. "It turns from artificial to his real umbilical cord close to his body," Dr. Nguyen breathed. "This is unreal." They rewrapped him and turned to us.
"He's beautiful," I whispered as they handed him to me.
And he was. He had a head of dark hair, and his eyes were closed, but he was perfect. I couldn't stop staring at him as Dr. Saunders, Dr. Karon, and Dr. Nguyen began bustling around the other side of the office. They'd turned it into a temporary doctor's office, with Alexander's big desk cleaned off and ready to examine the baby. There was even a big heat lamp to keep him warm.
"Okay," Dr. Nguyen said. "Let us make sure he's safe and healthy."
She took him gently from my arms as Roan and Doryu put their arms around me. I was shaking, and I wanted to cry, but I was also so happy. This was a far better day than I'd figured it would be.
Alexander took my hand and led me out of the office with Roan and Doryu on our tail. "You need to sit down and eat something." We went into the kitchen, and I saw that they'd ordered pizza. "You've been up for hours."
I hadn't realized how hungry I was until he mentioned food. I sat down and began devouring a slice of pizza as he poured me a glass of water. "I'm so proud of you," he said as he sat down next to me.
"We did it," I said, still in shock. "We actually did it."
"We did," he said as he put his arm around me. It was lesswewho did it and more the doctors, but still.
I leaned against him, grateful for his support, and the support of Roan and Doryu. This was my heritage, my people who were ultimately going to be responsible for these babies. Yet without the council, despite their many faults, the Sárkány would've come to Earth penniless. As beggars. Refugees. The council had made sure each of them had a shot at starting out a life.
A few minutes after we finished eating, Dr. Nguyen walked in and announced that the baby was completely healthy and needed nothing more than feeding and some sleep.
"What do you mean a feeding?" I asked.
"He needs to be fed," Dr. Nguyen said patiently. "Either with milk or formula."
As we entered the office, I looked at Alexander helplessly. I had no idea how to feed a baby. I probably should've picked up the skill somewhere along the way, but I was flying blind. I didn’t remember reading it in the two books I’d skimmed over earlier, either.
"Don't worry," he said comfortably. "I'll Google it."
Alexander googled how to feed a baby while I held little Alexander close. It was surreal, to think of him as Alexander. It hit me that even though we probably weren't going to be able to keep this little guy, we'd named him such personal names. Maybe that'd been a mistake.
"We should call him Alex," I said. "You rarely go by Alex."
He chuckled and handed me a freshly made bottle. "True. I dislike it, but it seems to fit our little guy here."
I held Alex close as he greedily drank the bottle.
"Oh, good," Dr. Nguyen said. "He's not having any trouble with the nipple."
He was so small, and I felt a lump form in my throat. As he finished the bottle, his eyes slowly opened. They were a deep blue, and he regarded me solemnly. It was like looking into a mirror.
"Hi, Alex," I whispered. "I'm your..." I wasn't his mom. "Your friend. I promise I'll take good care of you."
He blinked at me, and my heart filled with love. He was mine, even if it was only for a little while.
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