Troy had always been overly cautious and careful with Amelia, treating her like a porcelain figurine during this pregnancy. He seemed to think she might break in two. But Amelia was strong. She knew her limits and while the baby did put an enormous amount of strain on her body, she knew when she was overdoing it. She hadn't reached that point yet so despite the contractions, she knew she could continue on. Troy, however, didn't feel the same.

All night she had been ignoring Troy's expectant gaze. She knew he had seen each contraction that she felt. Up until now, she had ignored him for the most part, not really wanting to draw attention to her pain. And yet, when she walked into the dining room and her contraction stopped her in her tracks, Troy was immediately at her side. As the pain began to ebb, she looked up at him and offered him a soft smile, not liking the look of concern that plastered across his face. Any attempt to keep her pain a secret was not thwarted when he spoke. "Troy...I can't go to the hospital..." The hospital was far too public. Perhaps he hadn't thought about it before, but if she were to go to the hospital, she would be spotted and her and their baby's lives would be at risk. It was now that she understood Troy had not realized that their baby would be born in their home.

It was only when Dorian asked if the physician was close by that Amelia realized how much her guests had seen. She had hoped to conceal her pain until after their dinner but clearly, she had been unsuccessful. She sighed softly as she turned towards Dorian. "Dr. Greene is not far from here. I don't think she's needed just yet." She knew Troy might balk at her for not wanting to see the physician right away, but Amelia didn't think it was quite time to call.

And then Dorian was asking if they should have dinner another time and Amelia shook her head. "The baby is not about to hit the floor. There's no need to cancel dinner." And already she was moving further into the room, heading towards her chair. She would not let her baby ruin the dinner she had been so nervous about. Surely their baby had enough sense in him/her to allow it's mother one simple dinner to call her own. It wasn't until Sebastian agreed that perhaps dinner could be postponed and that caring for their baby (or rather taking the time for it to be born) should be their first priority that Amelia sighed and took pause. She slowly turned back to Sebastian. As she made the turn, another contraction hit her and she had to pause, her hand moving to cup her stomach as she felt the muscle tighten and then relax. Only when the pain was gone did she speak. "Perhaps you are all right. How about dinner next week? Same time and day." There, they would have dinner next week and Amelia had a feeling labor would not interrupt that dinner. The only thing that would interrupt them was the screaming of a baby.

She turned to look at Troy, her hand reaching up to cup his cheek affectionately. She could see the worry and fear and it touched her heart to see him so torn up by her pain. "You can phone Dr. Greene, but just let her know she's not needed right away...but that labor has started." She knew that would be hard for Troy to do. He just wanted to make sure she was well cared for. "After that, you can find me upstairs. I'll be in a bath." She knew that Troy would not leave her side tonight. He would have constant vigil over her and while it was touching, Amelia knew that at some point, he would need to take care of himself too.

As she began to walk upstairs, she paused in front of both Dorian and Sebastian, taking the time to shake their hands and thank them for coming. "Thank you for coming. Please, feel free to take your meals to-go. My cook would be happy to fix you a plate to go. And my butler would be happy to show you out. I fear I am being a terrible hostess tonight." She hoped they did not think poorly of her for leaving them in the dining room all alone. However, Sebastian had been right, she needed to start thinking about her baby entering this world.

She walked past the two men and headed up the steps, pausing only twice until she made it into her bedroom. Already the contractions had picked up to every 4 minutes. They were getting closer together and Amelia just knew that her baby was finally on the way. She tried to remain calm, knowing that Troy would lose his cool if she lost hers. As she entered the master bathroom, she kicked off her heels and leaned over the large garden tub and began to fill it with warm water. She put in some bubble bath and oils and lit some candles to help create an atmosphere of relaxation. Only when the bath was full did she tie her hair up in a messy bun, hang her dress back in the closet, and slip into the bath. She immediately felt relief. Despite the contractions continuing to get closer together, the warm water did wonders to help her get into the zone...the zone that would allow her to achieve the world's greatest accomplishment: becoming a mother.

OOC: Y'all can either post that you're leaving or not, your choice. I figured from here the thread could be just for Troy/Amelia. They'll have a dinner later on where she can present their little peanut.