"Monster, sadly," Daisy replied with a laugh. "But I have a paramour too, so I'm doing fine."

He smiled. "Good. I wouldn't want you to be lonely." He swatted her shoulder. "You went from fighting with him to sleeping with him? That's a classic turnaround, right there."

Daisy blushed at this. "Yeah, yeah, I get it. He's a good guy though. I've got a whole group of people I can rely on now."

Dhiren laughed, his furred tail twitching. "It's nice to see you fit in so well. You were a little stiff when you first arrived. I thought you were, uh, nevermind, but I'm glad to see that's changed." He moved a book he was holding from one hand to the other. "I heard you graduated, right? Where are you headed now?"

Daisy rubbed the back of her neck. "Oh, you know. Still a lab mouse." She folded her arms under her chest. "They think me being pregnant is just more to study, lucky me." She laughed at her own situation. "Is it bad I don't mind?"

"Oh?" Dhiren blinked, then smirked. "You like that they're studying you? That sounds a bit kinky."

"Not what I meant." Daisy stuck out her tongue at him.

He smiled at her, then glanced over his shoulder. "I have a class soon." He waved. "But I'm really glad to see you again."

"It's been good seeing you too," she replied with a warm smile. She was about to move away when she felt his hand at her belly.

She froze.

He drew her back into a hug, then marched off with a purpose. She slowly recovered, processing that. "Just a goodbye hug." She rubbed the back of her head, walking down the hall as she tried to convince herself. "It was just a goodbye hug."

"Heya, big girl!"

Daisy looked over to see Selena coming towards her. "Good to see you."

The two met in a warm embrace.

Selena pulled back and ran her hands along Daisy's belly. "Damn. You've gotten bigger since I last saw you."

Daisy smiled warmly at this. "Since this morning?" She glanced at her impending timer. "Actually, guess that makes sense."

─Making Health check.

Daisy saw a few dice tumble around in her vision. 1. "What does—" She didn't get to finish, the contents of her stomach rebelling and surging in an acidic wave up her throat. She fell to the floor, vomiting.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Selena knelt beside Daisy on the floor, looking concerned.

Daisy rubbed the back of her neck, feeling embarrassed. "I, oof." She picked herself up, looking for the closest bathroom. "Joys of being pregnant, I think."

─Making Health Check

─Critical Success!

Selena smirked. "That'd be a false contraction. They happen sometimes. But that was a little odd."

Daisy forced herself up, holding one hand to her belly. "False contractions make you vomit? Not sure that's true." She kept one hand on the wall, moving towards that bathroom. "I think I'm better now. I just need to wash up."

"Go ahead," Selena said, "You'll want to feel better."

Daisy moved towards a door and opened it. "Thanks."

She stepped inside, into a private restroom. She moved over to the sink and began washing her face. She got lost in the flow of the warm water, losing track of things for a peaceful moment.

She felt a slight pressure in her abdomen. "Hm? Oh." She looked down at the round curve of her belly and saw something shifting beneath the skin, pressing outward. "Oh..."

She felt where the kicking was coming, gently pressing back against the child within. "Eager to get born? Loading all the drivers you need to operate that body of yours? Sadly for you, they won't be finished booting when you get kicked out of there. It's a rough deal, but we all got and will get it. So no complaining, alright?"

The infant didn't reply.

She smirked to herself, then turned and began to walk out of the bathroom. As she was reaching for the handle, she felt a pressure in her belly, stronger than before, and she let out a gasp as she staggered. Her eyes went to the timer. It wasn't at zero yet. "Okay, that. That was a false one, nng."

She rubbed her belly and breathed deeply as she opened the door and walked into the hallway once more. She had to stop walking, holding onto a wall and breathing heavily as pain ripped through her, forcing its way through her entire system. "This is the female condition." She folded her ears flat. "That's not fair. There's a lot to being a woman besides this, but, mmm, not something you get on the other side."

She laughed at her speech to herself, then began walking towards Elina's lab. "It's too soon." But the contractions didn't stop coming. She felt her stomach tighten again, her knees shaking.

Daisy made her way to the lab, clutching onto the doorway as the door opened. "Sorry to loop back on you like this."

Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

"Daisy?" Elina looked up at her and blinked. "What are you doing back here?"

"I think it's time," Daisy gasped, clutching at the door. "This isn't normal." She glanced at that timer, but it was gone. "I had a timer. That's not good."

"Ah shit." Elina rushed to her side and helped her into the room, closing the door behind her. "Okay, don't worry about it."

─> Daphne: Hello! Your timer should be running out around now. Hope you're somewhere warm and safe, my little momma. Send me a message back about how it went.

Daisy let herself be led over to a chair. "This is really weird. It's too soon."

"No it's not." Elina started rummaging in a cupboard, bringing out some items and placing them on a table beside the chair. "Also, most women don't have a timer. I swear, otherworlders. Up!" She slapped her examination table. "Unless you want to keep moving?"

"I, nng, heard from my mother, a world away, that I should let gravity help." She forced herself to her feet. "The baby should go down." She felt over her belly, imagining the womb where the action was happening, the child trying to get free of its cage. "Weirdly enough, my old mother didn't have any advice for me, specifically. That would have been odd." She laughed awkwardly at her own words, distracted from the event.

"Here, let me take a look," Elina said as she pulled up a stool and sat in front of Daisy, starting to work on getting her armor off.

Saresan came over and helped Daisy remove her clothes. Daisy started, but relaxed quickly. "Oh, you're still here. Thank you." She smiled weakly as her body was bared. "W-wait. I have healing magic." She focused that power on herself, but most of the discomfort remained right where it was. That she was giving birth wasn't an injury to be cured. "Damn."

"Magic can't do everything," Saresan took Daisy's clothes and hung them on a rack beside the bed. She came back with a blanket, which she draped over Daisy's shoulders. "You're doing fine. Elina, any progress?"

Elina had been busy working under the blanket while Saresan was speaking. "I think we're getting close. But it's hard to tell."

Daisy grunted as she squeezed Saresan's hand. "I can feel things moving." She smiled at it. "So strange, but, yes, it's working." She spread her arms. "Open wide, come on out." She looked up at Saresan with a laugh. "Weird thing to say."

Saresan grinned. "Yeah, that was odd. You're a bit loopy, aren't you? Must be the endorphins."

"Maybe?" Daisy smiled, then looked down at herself as she felt more pressure, this time around her crotch. "Endorphins for the, mmm, win!" She grunted as she felt something move through her from the wrong way. She was pushing the child down and out with each ripple of her powerful muscles, just as strong inside as she was a warrior.

Elina nodded and started doing things between Daisy's legs. The mouse didn't pay much attention to her actions. Instead she looked up at Saresan, who was still holding onto her hand. "Thank you again." She squeezed Saresan's hand firmly. "Wish my mates were here."

Saresan nodded at Daisy. "Don't worry about that. They can meet her later, when she's born."

"Her?" Daisy grinned. "I'll take that as your hypothesis, but I can't know until the reveal."

With hisses and grunts, Daisy sank into a crouch, following her body's urges. After what felt like an eternity of panting and pushing, she felt the baby's head emerge, the warm, wet feeling accompanied by the sensation of something small and fragile sliding out of her. She took a deep breath, then pushed again. What had felt like forever, was done in an instant. Daisy let out a wheezing laugh as her healing magic mended what little harm had befell her.

Elina was holding something that looked to Daisy's tired eyes like a blood-stained ball of fur, its eyes still closed, ears flat against its head. "She's so tiny," Elina whispered.

Daisy reached with a shaking hand. "You checked?" She cradled the swaddled newborn. "Hello there, little one. Welcome to this interesting world." She nuzzled the child's cheek. "It's good."

The little mouse's eyes opened slowly and she blinked up at Daisy, her eyes unfocused, before closing them again. "Okay, I'm going to be sick."

Daisy almost dropped the child, resisting the urge just barely. "Did you just talk?"

"No!" the baby protested, wiggling in Daisy's arms. "No, no!"

Daisy looked to Elina for help as she hugged the struggling child. "What's going on?"

Saresan was staring at the baby with a look of utter horror on her face. "How is that possible?" She looked at Elina. "How is it possible?"

Daisy frowned down at the little one. "If you can talk, please do that. Tell me who you are, and how I can help."

"Don't want this! It's wrong! Wrong! Wrong!" the baby wailed, her voice becoming louder with each word. She started thrashing in Daisy's arms, but couldn't break free of her mother's grip.

Daisy lifted the child towards a fat, leaking nipple. "You need what all new babies need. Come along. If you can talk later..." She squeaked as a sharp pain hit her as the little mouse latched and bit. "Ow!"

"Wow." Saresan stared in astonishment. "Look at her go." She reached to pat the child gently. "She really was hungry."

Elina nodded, looking just as shocked as Saresan. "That's amazing. I didn't think it would work."

Daisy grunted with the effort of feeding the child. "I, um, feel pretty good for a lady that just did that." A thought hit her. "Isn't there a second—" That dropped from her, making her blush at the very idea. "Never mind, gross."

Saresan laughed as she moved to get a better view. "Oh, come now. We all do it." She diligently worked to clean the mess and gather it all away properly.

Elina went in with some scissors, waiting just long enough before snipping and clamping as needed. "And she's done being born."

Daisy let out a soft breath, then held up the baby. "I hope you're ready for this new life of yours." She looked the child in its eyes. "How are you doing?"

The child met her eyes, gazing with an intensity a child shouldn't have had. "I am reborn. You are my mother." She squirmed in Daisy's grip. "Please, don't make me live like this. I don't want to be a baby!" Tears started to run down the baby's face as she began crying in earnest.

Daisy rubbed gently at her child, clearly confused. "This isn't a punishment, but I didn't expect a child with, uh, such an experienced soul. Please, I'm not a monster. Talk to me. For better or worse, I'm your new mother, and I already care."