Thursday, March 27th, 2008 Who: Adora, Astrid and Fox, then Jang-Geum, Duncan and Keagan Where: Adora's desk, then to the Infirmary When: Around 12 on Thursday What: Adora realizes there's something wrong with the baby, but Astrid can't get her to the Infirmary on her own
Thursday had seemed like it would be any other day of the week. In fact, for Astrid, it was a little more busy than usual. She had started to think about how well things were going with Keagan and his constant mention that she should consider art. Which was why Astrid was heading to the registrar's office around 11:30 or so. She didn't have History of Witchcraft for a little while, so she figured she could look into picking up beginner art. It was worth a shot, right?
The room was dark when she got there, which made her realize that her only other option was to go into the headmistress's office. Where Adora was. And it wasn't that she didn't like Adora, it was just that after the stupid detention mess, things seemed totally awkward and bizarre. How do you talk to someone like that?
Astrid was nice enough to knock before she popped her head in, looking around for a moment before settling her eye on Adora. Huh. She looked like she was in a worse mood than normal.
"Uh... hey, Miss Adora!" Astrid smiled and stepped in, closing the door behind her. "How's it going?" At first, Adora simply looked in Astrid's direction with an unreadable expression on her face. "Uh... Miss Adora? You doing okay?"
The truth was, Adora had been out of it all day. She'd had a dream last night that she couldn't remember, but upon waking up, she'd felt terrified. Something seemed off, she just didn't know what. It had preoccupied her all day, made her mind wander too much. It was why she hadn't heard Astrid at first when she finally snapped out of her reverie, she gave Astrid a late but semi-genuine smile. "Astrid... hi." Adora cleared her throat and sat up more to face her. "What can I do for you?" Adora paused as she felt a cramp hit, but chose to ignore it. She'd been having them a lot this morning, so she'd talk to Jang-Geum about it later, after lunch.
"Well, uh, Keagan has been mentioning art class a lot lately." Astrid said with a grin as she made her way over to Adora's desk, plopping into a seat. "And, uh, I was wondering if it was too late to enroll in one of the art classes."
Adora couldn't help but smirk at Keagan's little girlfriend. The girl was really adorable in her own way, and she seemed to be giving the old man a run for his money. This newest idea of hers was proof of that. "Aaah, I get it. You want to see if you can be closer to him." Clicking her tongue, Adora turned to her computer and brought up the class rosters. "Hmm... well, it looks like I have room in cla - " Adora stopped in her tracks, gasping sharply and reaching down to hold her stomach. "Ow..." She gasped, feeling a sharp pain that actually brought a sting of tears to her eyes. Oh god... something was wrong.
"Adora?" Astrid asked, seeing the sudden flicker and jump, watching as the color began to drain from Adora's face. "Oh my god, are you okay?"
"I..." Another sharp pain made Adora nearly double over, and she pushed away from her desk, staggering to her feet. "I need to... see Jang-Geum..." She didn't sound like she was making much sense, and while she was moving towards the door, she was teetering, and another sharp pain made her grab hold of the doorframe.
Astrid didn't even think about what she should do. She had bolted to Adora's side the moment she had to lean against the doorframe, and she quickly looped an arm around her waist. "Okay, okay, just breathe, Miss Adora, we'll get you to the Infirmary. C'mon, you have to keep walking, I've got you."
Adora's footsteps were slow, but Astrid was right there to hold onto her as she kept walking. "I've got you, Adora... keep walking... you're doing okay... keep walking..." Astrid repeated, over and over as they made their way from one hallway to the next.
"Something's... gotta be wrong with the baby..." Adora managed to gasp as another pain rocked her, but Astrid tried to ignore it.
The Infirmary was still outside of the building and through the grounds.
Astrid didn't know if she was going to be able to get her there all alone. And her heart had jumped to her throat as she realized... she didn't know what was going on.
Fox had just gotten off work for the morning and was headed back to his room to shower and get something to eat. His route took him right back the office and into the hallways. "I swear, this school gets more confusing every time I turn around." Rounding yet another corner, he saw Astrid coming his way with an incredibly pale succubus on her arms. Jogging forward, he asked worriedly, "Astrid? What's going on?" His gaze shot back and forth between the two women. Without waiting for an answer, he rounded Adora's other side, looping her arm over his neck and supporting her.
"She's... she's having cramps and pains," Astrid gasped as soon as she saw Fox, so so thankful grateful for him there. "Please, we have to get her to the infirmary, Fox." When Astrid felt Fox hold onto Adora and start helping her along, she pat Adora's back gently and smiled up at the older woman, trying to keep her focused on them and not on the pain she must have been feeling. "Hear that, Adora? Fox is gonna help, we'll get there in no time."
Adora managed a weak smile through all the pain, holding on to Fox tightly and still trying to keep her legs moving even though the pain was only getting worse. "Nice to see you, Hotshot... s-sorry I'm not feeling bett- OW!" Adora paused as another sharp pain lanced through her.
Fox shifted Adora's arm around his shoulder, taking on a bit more of her weight. "Don't worry, pretty lady. Everything's gonna be fine." He shuffled them along the hallway. Why did the damned infirmary have to be so fucking far away? There should be a nurse's emergency office in the building for this reason. Stupid design layout. "You're not supposed to be due yet, are you Adora?" He wasn't sure if this was a safe topic or not, but he wanted all the facts, and he wanted to keep her talking so she didn't pass out.
"No..." Adora shook her head, ignoring the sheen of sweat on her face that made her bangs stick to her forehead. She was shivering, pale, but trying to hold on. "No, not for another few months... something's wrong... something's wrong with the baby..."
Astrid immediately turned to catch Adora's eyes, knowing that the last thing the girl needed was to panic. "Adora, don't say that. We have to get you to the Infirmary first, okay? Focus on getting there. Just look at me, okay? And keep talking to us. We'll get you there." Astrid took another step and felt something wet on her side. She glanced down and her eyes went as wide as saucers. Adora was bleeding. Astrid had a scarlet splotch of blood on her jeans. She felt Adora stagger, and Astrid dropped lower to help catch her and make her stand again. Now she had blood all over the right side of her jacket. "Hang in there, Adora." She shot a worried glanced to Fox, not sure how they were supposed to get her there in time.
Fox had turned to look at Adora and noticed that Astrid's usually pristine jacket was now stained bright red. A quick glance behind showed that there was a small, but bright trail that had started a few feet behind them. Without another though, he paused in the hallway, and scooped Adora into his arms. "Just hang on to me, beautiful, alright?" He flashed a grin down at her. "We'll make better time this way anyways." He kept telling himself to keep it light, keep it easy to keep her calm.
If Astrid had had five seconds to take a second and look at Fox, she would have realized she was seeing a side of him she didn't know he had. A side that was... definitely not the flippant jerk he liked to pretend to be around her. She watched him scoop Adora up, then rushed forward so she could open the door to the outdoors for both of them. "Yeah, Fox is pretty built, I'm pretty sure he's bench-pressed more than you, Adora."
Adora chuckled a little, but could feel nothing but sharp pain and shivering chills, unaware that she was bleeding all over Fox. Her head lolled a little against his shoulder, and her eyes fluttered close for a second. "Yeah.... hot shot's... in the gym a lot..." She wasn't making sense anymore.
Fox could feel the warm blood pulsing all over his arm, soaking his shirt and down to his jeans. Thankfully, he didn't give a flying fuck about any of that. All he knew was the woman in his arms was bleeding from a place where there should be a healthy baby. Definitely not good. "Yup. You're a lightweight Adora." He shifted her in his arms slightly, shaking her a bit as her voice started muffling. He increased his pace. "Now, now, stay with me. Keep talking. Tell me how sexy I am."
Adora gave a tired little chuckle, jostled awake by Fox on their way outside, only semi-aware of everything that was going on around her. "Mm... you are, but you're so off-limits..." Adora laughed a little, then gave another sharp gasp. "This hurts... s-so much..."
Astrid kept pace beside Fox, and she reached up to pet Adora's hair and pat her cheek a little. "We're almost there, Adora. Don't worry, we're almost there."
Fox chuckled, but it was clearly forced. "I'm only off limits because you say so." When she whimpered, he felt his stomach clench into a knot. "I know baby, I know. We're gonna take care of it." He didn't care that she was faculty and he shouldn't be talking to her that way. Right now, she was a woman in pain and needed to be soothed. Striding along the sidewalk, he spotted the infirmary just up ahead. "Astrid, get the doors then you need to run and get Dr. Seo," he muttered quietly, not wanting to upset Adora anymore.
Astrid nodded, taking off at a sprint for the Infirmary. Astrid didn't run often, but boy, she could book it if she needed to. And at the moment, she was flying through the grass until she barrelled through the front doors of the Infirmary, then through the next set of doors into the examination area. "Doctor Seo! Doctor SEO!" Astrid shouted, panting and trying to find the doctor.
Jang-Geum came around the corner, hearing someone screaming for her making her literally drop what she was doing. "Yes? What is it?" Jang-Geum still sounded calm, but her heart had begun to pound in a familiar rhythm. It was an emergency. Someone was hurting. When her eyes rested upon the blonde girl covered in blood, she quickly made her way over and began to look her over. "Are you injured?"
"No!" Astrid gasped, grabbing Jang-Geum's hand without thinking, tugging her towards the door. "It's Adora! She's - there's something wrong with her!"
Fox reached the doors to the infirmary and kicked them open, rushing through them. It was awkward, having Adora bundled into his arms the way she was and it would have been easier to just back through the doors, but he didn't want her seeing their trail. "C'mon Adora. Nearly there. Dr. Seo's gonna help, alright?" Glancing up, he noticed the second set of doors, and kicked those open as well.
Jang-Geum looked up just as Fox barrelled through the doors with Adora, and she immediately motioned to the furthest bed. "Put her back there, I must get my things." Jang-Geum didn't wait for confirmation, but simply dashed off to grab a tray of supplies, quickly gathering things and coming back to them with them in tow.
Fox nodded and quickly moved to the bed, gently laying Adora down. He set a couple pillows behind her head, so she wouldn't have the weight of the baby crushing her stomach, and moved out of the way. As much as he wanted to stay next to her until someone came, he was pretty sure she'd freak out as soon as she saw his once-white-now-red shirt.
Adora was so out of it that she didn't quite know what was going on. She laid back and winced, but the fact was that she was too weak to do anything else. "Jang... Geum..."
Jang-Geum arrived at Adora's side within moments, and she reached over to check the temperature of Adora's forehead. "Mama, I am here. You will be fine." Adora's eyes drifted closed, and her head lolled to the side. "Mama? Mama!" Jang-Geum had to work quickly, but she didn't have the time to deal with the children. "Leave! Go now!" Jang-Geum turned and began to push the two towards the door. "Go, I need space! You must leave!"
Astrid jerked away from her as Jang-Geum put her hand on her. "No, we can't leave her! What's wrong with her? Oh my god, she passed out - " Astrid would probably need to be dragged out of here at this rate, and Jang-Geum looked for Fox for help.
Fox caught the look, and he wanted to leave about as much as Astrid did. He was about to put up a fight, but the cries from Adora made the decision. Stepping forward, he wrapped his arms around Astrid's waist, lifting her off her feet and carrying her forcibly from the room. Once outside the doors, he set her down, turning her to face him. "Astrid, we've done all we can. We gotta let Dr. Seo do her job."
Astrid suddenly found herself lifted clear off her feet, and she kicked and tried to struggle but to no avail. "Fox! Lemme go! Goddammit, Fox! Get off me!" When he finally put her back down again, she heard the doors shut with a loud, resounding and final thud, then the sound of a lock clicking over. "NO! Dammit!" Astrid had managed to keep herself fromt crying this long because at least she was there, she could see. IT was when Astrid didn't know things were going on that she got upset. Which was why she had started to go limp in his arms. "No..." She cried softly, trying weakly to pull out of his arms, but knowing she couldn't. A sob wracked through her body angrily, and she tried once more to fight it. "No, no no, I have to make sure she's okay... nooo..."
Fox felt her legs give out and slid to the floor with her, his arms still wrapped around her tightly. He wasn't trying to restrain her anymore, but reassure her. "There's nothing more we can do, Astrid. We've done what we can." Sighing, he rested his head against her shoulder for a moment, before lifting it again. "You should call Keagan. He'll wanna know you're here."
Astrid sniffed, trying to gather her wits about her, and nodded. But she didn't want to just yet. She turned, wrapping her arms around Fox and holding him tight, crying a little more.
Fox started for a moment, before he wrapped his arms around her again, burying his face in her neck. He wasn't going to cry, but he was worried. Biting his tongue in an effort to keep himself calm, he focused on stroking Astrid's back and hair, trying to soothe her as best as he could.
It took her a few minutes, but when she finally got a chance to, she slowly pulled herself up and grabbed her phone, but not before throwing herself at the door with a shout. "GODDAMMIT, YOU CAN'T JUST LOCK US OUT LIKE THIS!"