The Alchemists

Finland woke up at 3 o'clock in the morning because of a sudden contraction and stomach pain.

She immediately woke Caspar, who was sleeping beside her, and whispered while enduring pain. "It looks like I'll give birth soon..."

"Why? So suddenly? What's the time between?" asked Caspar, who was immediately wide awake when he heard the word 'give birth'. He hurriedly got up, wore his night robe, and turned on the light.

"How would I know... I don't have time to count," Finland hissed in annoyance. She was in great pain and did not have the time and patience to count the time between contractions. That was Caspar's job.

"Oh... sorry, stupid question..." Caspar immediately called the hospital and asked for a medical helicopter to pick them up. Their castle was located in a remote area and it would definitely take a long time to go to a big hospital by car. Having a helicopter pick them up was much more practical.

He did not want to fly his own helicopter to the hospital because his attention would surely be divided, and he did not want to take even the slightest risk for his wife and child.

In less than 10 minutes, the medical team arrived and, like a typical good husband, Caspar was ready with their belongings. Kara and Jadeith were instructed to follow them from behind.

The helicopters landed at the helipad of the largest hospital in Stuttgart that early morning. The east wing on the top floor of the hospital had been made sterile from patients and other visitors so that the VVIP client could get peace while waiting for the birth of their child.

Finland felt that Caspar was again overdoing and overthinking things, but because she was in so much pain, she could not protest at all. She just let Caspar do whatever he wanted.

"Fuh fuh fuh..." Finland tried to calm her breathing and thought about beautiful things to distract her from the pain. Her room in the hospital was very large and luxurious and several doctors and nurses were there to check on her condition and take care of her.

"It's already opening 5, luckily she was brought here immediately," said Dr. Muller, "Soon your child will be born..."

"That is fast..." Finland exclaimed in surprise. She remembered that when she was giving birth to Aleksis, she had to endure the pain from noon until midnight, and it felt like forever. "The first one took a loooong time..."

Dr. Muller smiled calmly, "Indeed, usually the first child is the most difficult of births, the second one is not too difficult because the birth canal has opened once. It's okay... we will monitor everything, if the contractions are every two minutes, just ring this bell... We will soon deliver the baby."

Caspar immediately took out his cellphone to time the contractions. As a doctor who had decades of experience, he could stay calm and contain his emotions. He sat on the edge of the bed and held his wife's hand tightly, to encourage her.

"I'll call Jean and Lauriel, okay? They'll want to be informed if you're going to give birth..." Caspar said.

Finland, who just got a strong contraction, could only nod. Caspar took Finland's cellphone from her bag and called Jean. Fortunately, 3am in Germany meant that it was 6pm in Los Angeles, so he didn't need to worry about disturbing his friend's sleep, even though he knew that Jean wouldn't mind him calling at whatever time if it was related to Finland.

"Hey, how are you?" asked Jean on the cellphone screen. He was on the beach near a large Ferris wheel, probably in Santa Monica. "Isn't it dawn in Germany now? Is there an emergency? Oh my God... Is Finland giving birth???"

Jean asked and replied his own questions. His shocked face suddenly became joyful and he turned to the person beside him and exclaimed excitedly, "Finland is giving birth!"

Billie Yves, who looked very beautiful with her platinum-colored hair, looked as happy as Jean was when she heard the news and joined in exclaiming happily, "Wow... how cool! Congratulations... We will come soon to visit..."

Jean and Billie wanted to have a longer conversation with Finland, but the girl got into another contraction and they had to end the phone call.

"Okay... contractions are every 4 minutes..." Caspar said, glancing at the timer on his cellphone. "It's not going to be long now..."

"Ca... call Lauriel too..." Finland whispered while enduring the pain, "I want to talk to Aleksis..."

"All right..." Caspar pressed Lauriel's cellphone number and after the third ring, his phone call was picked up. "Lauriel... Finland is about to give birth."

Lauriel's face, which was usually devoid of expression, slowly filled with a smile. He was happy to see his best friend's radiating face. He was also happy for Caspar because now he had the opportunity to accompany the woman he loved giving birth to their child.

"Congratulations... this will be a beautiful birthday present for you," Lauriel said.

"Birthday? What date is it?" Caspar frowned and a moment later he realized that it was July 7. His own birthday.

He had never celebrated his birthday with Finland before, and today was not only special because it was his first opportunity to celebrate his birthday with this girl, but he would also get a very extraordinary gift: a son.

London and Caspar would share the same birthday. This was the best birthday present he could ever wish for. This was perfect!