Chapter Text
May 21st.
Pepa had been about to celebrate her forty-fifth birthday when she’d started experiencing the menopause.
At least, that’s what she thought it had been, until her sixteen year old casually slipped into conversation one morning at breakfast:
“Oh, by the way, mami, I can hear a heartbeat in your belly.”
She had almost choked on her orange juice, while Félix had spat his out all over Pepa’s poor mother.
Alma had been too thrilled about having another grandchild to even be all that angry.
For the months that followed, ten year olds Camilo and Mirabel had been following her around the house like little ducks, expecting her to keel over at any moment.
Camilo was always worried about his mami and her safety.
Mirabel wanted to feel useful, for the first time in five years.
They were both being very sweet, but she was struggling to keep the clouds at bay at the moment and being watched practically twenty four seven was starting to wear on her.
“Did you lose your little stalkers, mi vida?” Félix laughed heartily as he found her in the kitchen.
She was subtly trying to take an arepa from Julieta’s stash.
She just hoped her sister didn’t count them.
Although, knowing her, she probably did.
They did nothing for the pregnancy ailments, but she was starving.
“I told them to go and pick me some oranges from the orchard. Luisa is supervising. I love them, amor, I do, but Camilo hasn’t been this clingy since he was a toddler.”
“Ay, he’s just concerned for you, mi vida. We all are.”
This pregnancy had been a huge shock, after all.
She and Félix hadn’t wanted more since Camilo’s traumatic entrance into the world.
That experience still gave her nightmares.
They had been so careful, but apparently not careful enough.
Pepa was five weeks away from her due date, and thankfully, this baby didn’t seem like it was going to be as big as Camilo had been.
“You know, since neither of us have any chores today, what do you say we go somewhere?”
He husbands face lit up at that suggestion.
Dios. He was adorable.
“Where did you have in mind, mi vida?”
“How about we go and visit our older children?”
-x-
By older children, of course that meant the donkey triplets.
They had been born shortly after she and Félix had started dating, and they had lost their mamà soon after their birth.
She and Félix (and Félix’s hermana, Gabriela) had hand reared them.
They were like their children, in a way.
Pepa had been starting to feel pain on the way to the barn, but she’d attributed it to practice contractions and walking a little too fast.
She had slowed down her pace and it seemed to have helped.
“Peanut seems very clingy to me today.” Pepa mused as the donkey with the yellow ribbon rubbed her face against Pepa’s.
More donkeys had joined this “family” since then, but only three of them had ribbons.
Peanut had the yellow ribbon.
Jelly had the blue ribbon.
Butter the green ribbon for…no…we don’t talk about him.
“These two look a little concerned too.” Félix frowned, as Butter and Jelly’s eyes never left Pepa as she paced the barn.
The pain was back and she was feeling clammy.
The cloud above her head was increasing in size and threatening to drizzle.
“I’m fine.” She didn’t know who she was trying to convince; him or herself.
As they continued to feed and make a fuss of the donkeys, the cramps became worse and closer together.
These definitely didn’t feel like false labour pains anymore.
Pepa was white as a sheet as she doubled over in pain, clutching her swollen belly.
“Félix-.”
Pop.
That horribly familiar sensation of water trickling down her leg.
But this time around, she felt the most intense amount of pressure.
A pressure that she hadn’t felt until right before it had been time to push with the others.
Clouds overhead plunged them into near darkness as thunder sounded above.
No no no! It was too early!
“Mi vida?” Félix rushed over and helped Pepa to sit down, but she shrieked.
“Félix! I can feel the head coming out!”
Félix tried to calm her, hoping and praying that she was overreacting.
Births weren’t supposed to be this quick, and if Pepa was right, there was no time for help to arrive.
He would be delivering this baby.
“Shhh. It’s alright, Pepi. I need you to lay down for me.”
She did as he asked while she had a brief respite from the pain. She felt him remove her bloomers and she heard him let out a strangled sound as he checked her over.
“What!? What’s wrong!?” She cried, her panic coinciding with another contraction.
A contraction that made the pressure down there even worse.
“Nothings wrong, but…I think you’ve been in labour all day. I…the baby has an afro.” He let out a weak laugh, and Pepa would have joined him in any other circumstances.
How could she have been in labour!? Her previous births had been agony for hours on end, and she had only started experiencing the really bad pains half an hour ago.
“I can’t have this baby in the barn!”
“Dolores has probably heard us and I’m sure your mamà and Julieta are coming…but you’re going to need to push.”
She wailed as another pain hit her, the urge to push unbearable and with Félix’s permission, she did just that.
Pushed as hard as she could.
“That’s it! Keep going!” Félix encouraged, over the sound of Pepa’s screams.
The other donkeys had rushed as far away as possible from the labouring couple…except for Butter, who was licking the top of Pepa’s curls.
He refused to leave her side.
Pepa had always had a soft spot for him.
The storm was over within less than five minutes. Three pushes later, a tiny baby boy slid into his father’s waiting hands.
“Félix!” Pepa gasped, as the skies began to gradually clear.
She knew it wouldn’t stop raining until she knew her baby was safe.
Félix half laughed, half cried as the infant took his first breath and started to wail.
“It’s a boy! A beautiful, healthy boy.”
Though he was still covered in blood and gunk, Pepa wanted to hold him, so she didn’t mind when the whimpering infant was placed on her chest.
Both of them and the donkeys were dripping wet.
The rain cleared and a rainbow sparkled, just as it had with her three previous births.
“There’s no question as to who his father is.” Pepa joked, her voice filled with shock and exhaustion.
The little boy was the spitting image of Félix.
“Pepa!” Julieta breathlessly appeared at the doorway to the barn. “I-“ and then she took in the situation before her. “Woah. Uh…congratulations?”
Félix laughed, properly now he knew that everyone was safe.
And also now that Julieta was here with arepas.
“Julieta, meet your new sobrino.”
-x-x-
“Tia, now can I hold him?”
“You!? I only just got him!” Camilo poked his tongue out at Mirabel. “Wait your turn!”
Less than an hour ago, Pepa had given birth in…well…one of the weirder places.
Now she was back in her warm bed, in clean clothes and watching her hijo and sobrina bicker over the new baby.
The rest of the family was there too.
Well…almost the rest of the family.
She swallowed the lump in her throat and managed a small smile for her older son.
“I think it’s time to let Mira hold him now, cariño. You’ll all have plenty of time to cuddle him.”
Camilo grumbled but handled the little bundle over to his prima.
Mirabel’s eyes grew three sizes as she gazed at the tiny baby.
“He’s so small!” She gasped.
Pepa chuckled.
He was small, but after a thorough examination, mamà and Julieta deemed him fit and well.
Just miniature.
“Ay. I’m glad. He was much easier than Camilo.”
Camilo grinned, sheepishly.
“I’m sorry, mami. I just really liked Tia’s arepas.”
“You still do.” Julieta smirked from her seat on the bed. “Be careful with him, Mira.”
Mirabel nodded and adjusted her hold so the baby’s head was more supported.
“Ay mi hija.” Alma was sat on Pepa’s other side, and she pulled her in for a hug, kissing the side of her head. “Perhaps next time you’ll give birth in your bed like a normal person.”
Pepa was loving all of this attention, especially from her mamà.
But deep down, the whole family knew that this was the last Madrigal of this generation.
Dolores had been quietly observing her new hermano this whole time, and she finally spoke up to ask the burning question.
“What’s his name?” She asked with a smile.
Félix took his son from Mirabel and placed a kiss on his forehead.
The baby opened his big brown eyes and stared up at his papi.
“Antonio.”
-x-x-x-
Antonio Carlos Madrigal.
May 21st.
5lbs 4oz.