Trouble at the Donnelly Farm

[Liam Donnelly]

If the sun had been out, it had quickly faded in the horizon behind the dark clouds that left an ominous appearance in the sky. Winter was coming to an end, which meant mud was on its way and Liam hated it.

The work was never finished on the Donnelly farm, but there was only so much he could do, especially when Keiran wasn't anywhere to be found. The animals needed to be brought into the barn, and the task was left up to him on his own, it appeared.

"Keiran. What the hell am I going to do with you?" He muttered under his breath. Liam had lost count on the number of times he repeated those words on a daily basis. He understood though- both of them had to grow up quickly and take on a lot more than they had been ready for. This wasn't the life Keiran wanted, maybe, but he had gotten it. He couldn't totally blame him for still wanting to go out and live his life. What he did contribute in help, Liam appreciated.

As he was in the barn, getting the last of the goats into their stall, Liam heard a loud mooing yelp, followed by the sound the cattle seemingly mooing crazily at whatever the commotion was. Something had happened and had sent him into a slight panic. Without delay, he ran out of the barn and found the cattle standing around in somewhat of a circle, shifting about nervously. There was something in the middle there. He rushed forward and shooed the cows away as he made his way through them. Down on the ground was one of his pregnant heifers, seemingly in distress. She was breathing heavily and crying out in a panic. She was giving birth, yet there was blood on the ground.

Liam cursed as he dropped to the ground by her side, coaxing her quietly. He was no veterinary by any means, but he had delivered quite a number of calves before. Just not alone. Dammit Keiran!

He lifted his gaze to look around, hoping that maybe his brother would be off in the distance making his way back home. But there was no one and nothing but farmland in the distance. He cursed under his breath again as the heifer let out another wailing moo. "Alright, alright, girl... You're going to be just fine." He hoped. Something was wrong, though. They usually gave birth standing up, and the female was in pain, unable to stand and was laying on her side- surely not good for the calf within her. He wanted to yell out and curse, but he didn't want to scare her any more than she already was.

Liam stood quickly, moving to fetch a bucket of water and some rags. As he made his way back to the heifer, the sky opened up, decidedly making things worse for him. "Well, what the fuck?! Keiran, I'm going to kill you, I swear." He growled angrily and rushed back, falling to his knees. The raindrops were large and stung as they hit him, but he needed to ignore it as he worked to rinse his hands in the water and roll up his sleeves.

The female let out another shrieking sound of pain as she jerked her head up and began panting uncomfortably. "Alright, girl... You're going to be alright." He leaned down, pressing an ear to her stomach, trying to listen over the sound of the pouring rain. It was pointless.

Time to get dirty. He moved behind the heifer and stuck his entire hand into her, feeling for the baby calf. It was coming. Dead or alive, he didn't know, but he began to pull. His other hand moving to her stomach to try and aid in the pushing.
And as if what was happening was not already enough to deal with-- there went the fence. That damn fucking bull rammed it down again, the cattle charging out of the enclosure. There was nothing he could do at the moment but curse heavily under his breath.

[Melena Hawthorne]

The horse's hooves pounded against the earth as she rushed across the hills. The sky above had darkened and Melena knew that it would open up at any moment. Spring was upon them, and this was not uncommon, but that didn't mean she wished to be caught in the storm. Over the animal's gallop, she could hear the distant rumbling of thunder deep within her chest as she urged the mare faster. For whatever reason, she thought it would be a prime opportunity to exercise some of the horses, get them out into the open fields to stretch their legs, despite the grey clouds above. Melena cursed beneath her breath as she leaned forward in the saddle, the still slightly chilled air striking her harshly in the face. It made her eyes water but she pushed on.

And then the rain came.

It was subtle at first, gentle pitter patters upon her head before it was nearly a torrent. She growled her frustration to the sky before something else caught her attention through the sudden chaos. Another's voice, screaming his curses along with what she could only assume was an animal in pain.

Something told her to pull back on the reins, soft green eyes searching the rolling hills that were beginning to regain some of their color, peering through the sheet of water that obstructed much of her view. She was quickly soaked, but that slight feeling of dread deepened when her attention fell to the Donnelly farm and she saw the figure in the distance. The nearby cattle seemed perturbed, and it was enough to make her turn that equine around and bring her closer.

Melena soon enough came to find the farmer hovering over the animal just before the rest scattered. At first, she wondered if her nearing presence had spooked them, but she heard the sound of cracking wood as the bull charged through the fence. Oh, shit. She looked between Liam and the fleeing cattle, not knowing what to do, which way to go, who to help. The animals might have been nervous because of the approaching storm, but the cow was clearly suffering.

Without further thought, Mel slipped down from the saddle, feeling the squishing of mud puddled grass beneath her boots as she drew her hood up. Not that her hair wasn't already soaked. "What's happened?" she asked, having to yell a bit over the rain. As she neared, however, she noticed the swell of the heifer's stomach. She was pregnant, and it wasn't good.

[Liam Donnelly]

Liam almost didn't hear Melena as she approached or called out to him. Between the rain and his focus on the distressed animal, it was hard to hear anything else around him. The voice registered to him in a bit of a delay and he quickly looked up, squinting to see through the rain.

At the sight of Melina, Liam almost frowned. Not because he wasn't happy to see her, but more so because she was caught out in the rain, already as soaked as he was. But he was also grateful for her appearance. He couldn't do this on his own and he needed help. "I don't know... She collapsed. Something's not right..." He glanced back down, his hand still deep inside the animal as he was trying to get the calf out. "The calf... I don't know if she's losing it."

He was almost certain that Melena dealt with the births of her horses and was no stranger to this sort of thing. It wasn't the first birth of a calf for Liam, either, but it wasn't often that there were complications seemingly as bad as this one was.

Liam looked back at Melena. "I can feel the calf... Are you able to help?" He hated to ask, but what choice did he have at the moment? Keiran wasn't here and if he didn't help quickly enough, he could lose both the heifer and the calf. He would forever be in the woman's debt if she could manage to give him a hand in the situation. Especially since that damn bull and half of the cattle were probably on their way to her property.

[Melena Hawthorne]

It wasn't uncommon for such animals to need a bit of help to give birth, but there was something unsettling in the way the animal wailed and she was clearly struggling. She was in serious pain. Even in the dim light and pouring rain, Melena noticed the tinge of blood in the mud around her. A wave of panic set in and she was crouching down beside Liam to better hear him. He was asking for her help, but she had already been removing her sodden cloak to toss it aside carelessly. The rain and air was cold but it barely seemed to affect her.

"Is the baby facing us?" she asked him, beginning to roll up her sleeves. The calf's legs weren't out yet, which wasn't a very good sign at this point. The heifer wouldn't be crying like this if there wasn't something wrong. As she awaited his answer, Mel got back up to her feet to rush back to her horse; scavenging through the saddle bags for some rope. Then she returned, unfazed by the mud that now caked her skirt. "Here, let me see?" If Liam allowed and withdrew, Melena wasted no time in reaching in, nearly elbow-deep, and felt the baby's legs. "It's facing the wrong way," she yelled over the rain. It needed to be facing the exit, but there was no way that they would be able to turn the poor thing around. There was no time. This was why the heifer was struggling and they needed to get the calf out as soon as possible.

Although this wasn't the most pleasant of things that she could be doing, there was only a slight grimace on her face as she tried yanking the calf's legs out. Melena managed to a little bit, and it would be enough so that they could tie the ends of the rope around them. Once the knots were secure, they could begin pulling.

[Liam Donnelly]

Liam was an even-natured man who tried not to stress too much- or at least tried not to show it. Despite the distressed animal, the rain, and the entire situation at hand, Liam was doing the best to remain calm and not panic. Everything would be fine, he quietly told himself. The animals could pick up on emotions, so he was trying to show bravery and calmness to the female cow.

His blue eyes lifted from the animal and to Melena as she crouched down beside him. He forced a small and uneasy smile and nodded to her as if silently thanking her. At her question, Liam looked back at the cow and shook her head. “I don’t think so…” He frowned as he reached in deeper, trying to feel for the head, or legs, or whatever he could. He swore he could feel the legs first and knew it wasn’t a good sign.

With his free hand, he set it on the cow’s abdomen, trying to feel through it where the calf was inside of her. He had only faintly noticed as Melina moved back over to her horse, and didn’t look back up until he heard her voice again, asking to take a look. He nodded, removing his arm from the cow and moving out of the way for Melina to examine the animal.

He remained crouched beside Melina and as she confirmed what he thought, he nodded in agreement and frowned. “Have you ever had this happen with one of your horses?” Liam watched as she began pulling and he nearly cringed at the sound the heifer made. Once the legs were out, he helped Melina tie the rope around the calf’s legs. Another frown pulled at his lips and he looked at Melina, nodding as if ready.

“Count of three. Ready?” He took a deep breath and counted to three before he began pulling carefully, along with Melina. The heifer cried out and Liam motioned to Melina to stop for a moment before he removed one of his hands on the rope and placed it on her abdomen again and stroked it gently as if trying to calm the animal. “It’s alright, girl... stay calm. It’ll all be over soon.” He counted to three again before motioning for them to continue pulling.

[Melena Hawthorne]

This wasn't a very easy situation to remain calm in. Not only was the cow struggling and might possibly die (along with her calf) if nothing was done, the cold downpour of rain made everything far worse. She was soaked to the bone, beginning to feel the chill, but she barely registered it. Just as she didn't notice if Liam was overly stressing or not, because her focus was on the poor, suffering animal.

With his question, she seemed to pause in soft worry. "Just once," she told him. And what she didn't tell him was that she had been a young girl merely observing her father handling the situation. Yet, if Melena was anything, she was often fairly confident...and right now, she had to be. They could do this, but they had to move quickly.

As the rope was tied, she nodded to the farmer to indicate she was ready to help pull on his count. One...two...she pulled alongside him, grimacing at the sound the animal was making and they paused for a moment. Liam soothed the heifer the best he could before they were ready to try again. "The baby's nearly out!" she called over the rain once again. Just a few more seconds of tugging- she had a good feeling about this. Everything was going to be alright.

Once more, on the count of three, they tugged on the rope. The mud beneath her knees was slippery and she climbed up to her feet to get better leverage. The cow cried out again, struggling as if she was trying to get up, and before they knew it, the calf was slipping out. The tension loosened and Melena let go of the rope to fall flat on her behind into the mud. Blinking away the rain from her eyes, she suddenly smiled and laughed in relief as the baby called out into air, indicating that it was alive.

While Liam no doubt would be trying to warm the calf up, Mel clumsily made her way back over to the heifer, dropping down to her knees so that she could stroke the animal's neck. "There we go," she soothed, panting for breath. The cow's breathing was also labored, but she was no longer crying out. A quick look, it didn't seem like she was overly bleeding, so that was another good sign. "You did well, girl. Everything's alright now." Attention averted to Liam and the calf. "We should probably try and get them someplace dry." It didn't seem as though this storm was going to give up anytime soon, and the baby would need to feed and get warm.

[Liam Donnelly]

Liam wasn’t horribly nervous that Melena admitted she only dealt with something like this once. It was one more than he had. He had been extremely lucky that the births he had ever dealt with were mostly easy enough to handle on his own. Sometimes, even, he would enter the barn to a newborn already being cared for by the cow.

He focused on pulling the rope, nodding quickly as Melena confirmed the baby was almost out, which was a relief. The adrenaline coursing through him was enough for him to forget it was raining and it was cold and miserable out. The more important thing at hand was ensuring the baby was out and both animals survived this, as much as he could control, at least.

Melena was giving another count, to which he pulled the rope alongside her, suddenly feeling the loosened slack as the baby slipped out. He quickly reached to catch the baby just as Melena had fallen back into the mud. Instinctively, he went to reach a hand out to help her out, but with the baby cow in his arms, he realized he couldn’t hold the animal with just one arm. At the sound of her laugh, though, he smirked and let out a small chuckle of his own. “Are you alright?” He called out through the rain, as he started to shrug his way out of his jacket and placed the dry side that had been against his torso, over the baby to try and keep it shielded and warm from the rain.

He shifted his gaze back to Melena, watching as she spoke to the mother, and he couldn’t help but smile. He realized he may have been staring when she looked back his way, and he nodded quickly in agreement. “Yes-- The barn, just that way.” He lifted his chin, gesturing towards the barn. “Can you take the baby that way while I try and help her up?” Liam stepped over towards Melena and held the baby cow out to her to take. Carefully, he placed the baby into her arms, ensuring that she had her steady enough to hold and carry before he let go, dropping all of the weight onto Melena. Once she turned to move away, he turned his attention to the mother, crouching down to begin coaxing the girl to get up, pushing her gently, but with enough force to urge her to move.

At first, the animal wasn’t budging, causing Liam to fall into the mud himself. His pants were caked in mud, his shirt clung to his torso since he no longer had his jacket on him. But he continued on, pushing at the cow until she finally moved and pulled herself up onto her feet. He moved with her, getting to his feet as well. The girl was shaky at first, and Liam gently encouraged her along until she was moving with him towards the barn.

He searched for Melena and the calf and brought the mother into the stall to meet her baby, his deep blue eyes falling upon the woman and he smiled softly. “How’s baby doing?” He let out an exhausted sigh, running a hand through his soaked hair to get it out of his face.

[Melena Hawthorne]

She was beyond relieved, and she couldn't seem to stop smiling that they managed to pull this off in a massive downpour, saving the poor mother from a complication that surely would have killed her and her baby. This was a huge win, and Melena was beginning to feel like she hadn't been getting a lot of those as of late. Well, a lot of the Aralorian people hadn't. There was a sting of tears in those green eyes, but fortunately they would be masked by the droplets of rain continuously running down her face.

Running her hand along the cow's neck, she glanced back to Liam as she fought to stand up in the mud, unable to contain the bright smile that lit up her features even in this gloomy weather. Lightning cracked and thunder boomed above, startling her slightly, but she was more than happy to take the calf. Lifting up her skirt to make sure she wouldn't fall, she took the baby into her arms and held the lanky animal against her chest. He was almost too heavy for her to carry, especially as the mud threatened to drag her down, but Mel managed. And she did it while speaking to the sweet, confused thing in a hushed baby-talk. Leith always mocked her for that when she did with the foals back home. And clearly she didn't care.

A glance back, she took a few seconds to watch Liam coax the heifer up to her legs where the tired mother would reluctantly begin to follow him towards the barn.

It was certainly a lot more dry in there, but still chilly; Melena barely noticed it because she was still running on adrenaline. The calf was already set down in the stall by the time Liam arrived, and the baby tried to wander to his mother on wobbly legs. He would be walking properly in no time! She remained kneeled in the hay, holding onto Liam's jacket as she watched the sweet reunion unfold.

"He's going to be alright, I think," she answered him before she was finally able to draw her attention from the animals back to the farmer. "That was a close one, though." As if it were the first time, she was finally taking the moment to notice his smile. It was a rather nice one, wasn't it? She supposed that was a Donnelly trait, but Liam's didn't make her hostile.

[Liam Donnelly]

Liam was relieved by the outcome of the whole situation. Had it not been for Melena, he most likely would have lost both the mother and baby cow. He would be forever in her debt, and he wasn’t entirely certain how he would ever be able to thank her enough. The woman hadn’t been afraid to jump in, resulting in her getting soaked, cold, and full of mud and blood. It was admirable to Liam, and he found himself appreciating her for not leaving him once the rain poured down. Rebecca probably would have, as she had never been one to want to get dirty, and would have never been cut out for the farm life. He often wondered how their relationship had lasted for so long when there were so many differences between them.

Despite the dark, gloomy, miserable weather, Melena’s smile seemed to brighten in contrast. The poor woman had fallen into the mud, he had been unable to offer his hand to help her up, and yet, she smiled and laughed. He found his own smile brightening a bit more and he stared at her for perhaps a moment too long.

Even with his relief, Liam knew that they were not out in the clear just yet. The mother cow needed to get up, and when she hadn’t budged, he worried for a moment, that he would lose her from the trauma she had just endured. Thankfully, the animal had finally gotten up and moved with him to the barn.

He smiled again, sighing in relief when the mother and baby reunited and wandered off together to hopefully rest. Blue eyes moved to look down at Melena as she spoke, kneeling in the hay on the floor of the barn. He nodded, turning his attention to the animals again as if to quickly assess them so he could agree with her words. “Yeah, I think so.” He returned his gaze to her and extended a hand down to her to help her back up. “It was a close one…” He sighed with relief. “I don’t think I will ever be able to thank you enough for helping me,” he spoke gently, his words and the expression on his face both held a genuine tone reflecting the amount of gratitude and perhaps a bit of admiration, he had for her.

[Melena Hawthorne]

Melena could feel her heart still beating inside her chest from the adrenaline rush, and it was near impossible to stop smiling. How could she expect to when she watched the baby walk on wobbly legs towards his mother? To see the cow nuzzle the babe when she had been close to possibly losing this battle? It was heart warming. It had been so nerve-wracking but they could let out a breath of relief and even laugh about it now.

This was, perhaps, one of the best feelings in the world. After so much strife and death surrounding them after the war, this was a blessing. Not that Melena's life had continued to be a horrible struggle, but it had still been difficult without her father around. Leith had given up years ago, he had created a headstone for their father because he believed Bryon was never going to return. She wasn't sure why, but she couldn't seem to let go yet; believing that he would walk up their drive and everything would be alright again. In the meantime, Mel did her best to keep the estate up and running, but it was hard some days.

Today, however, was a good day. Even with the storm. Even with the mud, blood, and everything else. She felt accomplished.

Her eyes remained upon the farmer, even when his attention turned back to her. That was when he gaze finally dropped to his offered hand, and she took it in order to get back up to her feet. She was a bit wobbly herself, her skirts heavily soaked through, but her smile didn't falter.

"I was happy to do it," she told him, using a shoulder to swipe at a few droplets of water that had begun to run down her face. "Truly. That was...exciting!" A small giggle escaped her before she looked a little embarrassed. "Well, it was scary, of course, but...you know..." Hopefully he understood, because she was beginning to ramble like an idiot.

Her expression softened considerably then with the look upon his own face. Melena's attention dropped to the ground for a moment, her lips still curled up into a smile. Fortunately, she was beginning to feel the bite of cold so it would keep the red from her cheeks at bay. "If you ever need help with anything, Liam, all you need to do is ask. We are neighbors, after all."

[Liam Donnelly]

Melina’s smile was contagious and Liam couldn’t help but wear his as well. It had been a stressful evening and had he been alone to deal with the situation, the outcome would have been much different, and a graver one at that. With all of the losses and hardship, it felt nice to have a win, and he honestly owed it all to the woman in front of him.

The fact that she was smiling, and admitting that she was happy to help and that it had been exciting, only made him feel a bit more at ease. Working out in the rain and mud and being covered in blood was not something many took too lightly and would be rather put off and upset over--but here Melina was, smiling and excited about the experience. He grinned at her rambling and nodded. “It was exciting!” He agreed, chuckling softly. “Now that it’s over, I can openly admit that.” He laughed, raking his fingers through his wet hair.

He turned his gaze back to the baby and mother and smiled, watching at how well they were already doing as if their life hadn’t been just hanging in the balance of things. He felt proud and thankful. It was a good evening.

Melina’s voice broke his thoughts and he turned his attention back to her, smiling softly. “Thank you. The same goes for you as well, Melina.” He nodded his head once to confirm his words. “Though, I am sure it doesn’t seem that way, since our damn bull keeps breaking free and finding his way onto your land to cause trouble.” He sighed and ran his hand down his face out of frustration. “Which reminds me--” He suddenly remembered that amongst all the chaos, he had rammed the fence and got out again. Liam groaned and shook his head. “I’ll get that taken care of one of these days--I’m so sorry.”

Now Liam was rambling, and he suddenly remembered that they were both still out in the cold in soaked clothing. The last thing he wanted was for Melina to get sick because she had volunteered to help him. He sighed. “We should get out of the cold. You’re welcome to come in for some tea and the warm fire if you would like to wait for the rain to let up before returning home. Or I can accompany you on the ride back.” He didn’t want to sound improper or impolite, but he didn’t know how else to remedy this situation.

[Melena Hawthorne]

"It's never a dull moment on the farms these days," she added. Lately, it was always something every day. Sometimes it was something minor, like having to wrangle cattle back into their pen because an annoyed bull got overzealous. Or it was a frightening day, like today, but one that fortunately seemed to be ending on a good note. It was good to laugh about it and let go of the stress.

She had to bite her bottom lip to suppress a laugh, though, when it seemed that Liam was speaking of that very bull again. Melena waved a hand to indicate that he did not need to fret so much about it. "It's fine. We all have other things to worry about, and he's not much of a bother lately. Honestly, it's almost strange not to see the herd outside my fence these days..." She was only partially joking. Mel liked to pretend that she had threatened the bull enough to keep him away from the horses. She didn't mind the animals being around, so long as they didn't stress out hers. Even then, she couldn't help but wonder if the equines were starting to enjoy the others' company.

Something about that seemed kind of familiar...

Soft green eyes blinked when he was talking again, garnering her full attention once more. He was offering her a dry place out of the rain. The Hawthorne estate wasn't terribly far, but in this weather? Well, it could be close to an hour tops if she wasn't careful. "Would you mind...if I stayed?" she almost hesitated to say. "Just...until the storm passes." If she were to be honest, she was cold, frigid actually; even her cloak was soaked. It probably wasn't smart to head back out in this just yet. However, her horse seemed to have other ideas.

They'd see something rush by the open doorway of the barn, like a white ghost against the dark backdrop. Melena nearly jumped before realizing it was her horse. She was a beautiful, ivory mare...who loved to prance around in the mud. And that was precisely what she was doing. Mel was just waiting for the horse to drop and roll around in it at any moment.

She moved to the doors and whistled loudly. "Luna! C'mon now, girl!" She was trying to suppress her laughter again as she noticed the equine testing her, thinking about listening to the woman. "Now is not the time. Come here!" Another whistle, eventually the mare trotted her way into the barn where Melena patted her neck, noting the amused glint in Luna's eyes.

"Thatta girl," she murmured gently before removing the saddle and wet blanket- draping them over a gate so they could dry a little. She regarded Liam for a moment; amusement painting her features. "Unlike me, she doesn't mind the cold and rain as much."