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Sarah sat in the Royal Couple's chambers, on one of the couches in front of the fireplace, grumbling about missing the winter festivities for the second round. The Yule celebrations, two months prior, involving fire jumping had been banned for her, simply because her burgeoning figure falling would have been disastrous.

"It's not fair!" she cried furiously at both Aislinn and Siobhan, who had opted out of the festivities to sit and monitor her.

"Sarah," Siobhan laughed, "you're fit to burst any day with that babe! You need to relax. Jareth said he was coming right back. The last thing you need is to work yourself into a tizzy."

Sarah grumbled again, adjusting her position for what felt like the hundredth time in the last hour, let alone the last couple of days. The constant pressure on her back and sides were getting to be too much. "Next time, Jareth can carry it. I can barely breathe, let alone get comfortable. He'd better be thrilled at his only child," she grumped, a sharp intake of breath at a kick combined with a contraction.

She was sick of feeling so miserable and uncomfortable. The waddling of a woman carrying a child had started two months previously and this baby had decided all her organs were punching bags. The previous days had been consistently punctuated with brief interludes of contractions becoming more and more constant.

"If this kid would just cooper-" she was cut off by a particularly strong contraction, one that made her nearly scream this time. "Ate. Holy hell. WHY did I let him do this?"

The other two women laughed and passed knowing looks between one another. There would be a new little prince or princess come end of day. Aislinn excused herself as Siobhan tried to help Sarah get more comfortable.

"Sarah, you'll be fine. You're strong, you'll make it through this easy as pie," she smiled as Sarah's eyes bulged, another strong contraction hitting her.

Siobhan had spent most of the last two days with Sarah, keeping an eye on her in the last days of her pregnancy, and in the preparations for the winter festival she was going to miss. She had been getting more and more testy as the last days had progressed.

"Oh hell," Sarah grumbled, standing up and whimpering a bit as she headed for the bathroom. "I swear this child is treating my bladder as a trampoline," she called over her shoulder.
"They all do," Siobhan replied chuckling a bit, starting to debate the idea of another child of her own.

"Shit," Sarah gasped as she waddled back in, nearly doubled in pain. "I think my water just broke and that contraction sucked."
"Ok, let's get you comfortable in the Queen's chambers, like we'd planned," Siobhan placed a hand on Sarah's back, letting the Goblin Queen squeeze her hand with every contraction as they slowly walked the 100 feet to the other bedroom.

From there, Sarah's labor seemed to be in a race, Jareth's promises of being there forgotten while they tried to muddle through, until Siobhan remembered and frantically sent a goblin to send for the king. Jareth sped to the Queen's chambers and ran in, just as his sister was finishing cleaning up the baby.

"You'd said you'd send for me to be here when this all started," his ire was pointed directly at his sister.

"Things moved a little faster than expected. Shut up and kiss your wife so I can hand her your daughter," Siobhan snarked back.

"Hmm. A daughter," he chucked, easing down next to Sarah, trying not to jostle her in the bed too much, leaning over to kiss her. "You, precious, look beautiful."

"I look a wreck Jareth. Don't try to sweet talk me. You're carrying the next one, just as soon as I figure out how," she grumbled at him. "Siobhan, can you please pass Astraea to me, I'm sure she's hungry."
Siobhan passed the babe off to her mother and left the happy couple with their new little one. Nine months after the wedding and a Candlemas baby, a sheer bit of luck that was for them. She headed out of the room and down the hallway, a small smile on her face.

"Astraea, such a pretty name," she murmured as she stepped out onto a balcony, looking up at the stars that were twinkling just a bit brighter at the birth of their namesake princess.

The End