The Flashblade Family Grows...

A special delivery for Wildwing and Tanya arrives in due time.

"NOSEDIVE, YOU JERK! YOU LIAR! I'LL GET YOU FOR THAT!" Time to fly, thought Nosedive, enjoying April 1. He ran into the closet, next to the bathroom. He quickly yet quietly shut the door and prayed that Mallory wouldn't find him. There was the thudding of feet, but they stopped. Nosedive could barely hear what Tanya was saying. "Sunstar, Mallory, could you come in here a sec?" Nosedive heard the sound of the bathroom door closing. He peeked outside, to be sure this wasn't a trick. He got out of the closet and put his head to the Bathroom door, trying to hear the conversation going on inside. The conversation went something like this:

Mallory: It's positive!

Sunstar: Oh Tanya, you're so lucky! Does Wildwing know yet?

Tanya: No, I just found out myself.

Mallory: How many more months do you have left?

Tanya: Um, six, I think.

Sunstar: Are you going to tell him?

Tanya: Yeah, but I'll need your help.

Sunstar: We'll help in any way we can.

What's positive? What doesn't Wildwing know? What needs six more months? Nosedive wondered.

Mallory: I hope it's a girl.

Sunstar: Or twins! You'd be very lucky to have twins!

Nosedive backed off a few steps. Whoa, Tanya's pregnant? And Wing doesn't know? Nosedive sneaked off a few yards, then went full blast, looking for Wildwing. He found him in the ready-room, reading a book. Nosedive skidded to a stop, and fell flat on his face. "You okay, little bro?" "Yeah, I'm fine. Listen, something major is going on." "What?" "Tanya's pregnant!" "I expected that," said Wildwing. "You did?" "Yep. That you'd tell me that Tanya's pregnant, because you tried the same trick on Duke." "I'm not kidding this time! I was hiding from Mallory and..." "So there you are, Dive. I have a bone to pick with you." "AHEM!" Tanya disrupted Mallory's attention on Nosedive long enough that he took refuge next to his brother. "Oh, sorry." Mal took place beside Tanya. "Tanya has something to say to you," Sunstar had to push Tanya closer to Wildwing, because she refused to move any closer. "Wildwing," said Tanya. "Yes?" "I-I'm pregnant." Wildwing looked at Tanya, then at
Nosedive. Nosedive gave him the I-told-you-so look. "H-how many more months left?" "Six," said a chorus of Tanya, Sunstar, Mallory, and Nosedive. Nosedive regretted it the second he said it. "How would you know?" asked a suspicious/angry Mallory. "Um, I, um," Nosedive rocketed over the couch, and out of the room, with Mallory behind him. When they were out of sight, Sunstar said, "I'll leave you two alone," and headed to her sisters room (the ducks had to do some publicity stunts to get the cash to build two extra rooms, one for the girls, and one for any other surprise guests). "Where should we hold the baby's room?" asked Wildwing. "I have extra space in my room. We could repaint the place, buy a crib, and a baby monitor for your room." suggested Tanya. Just then Phil walked in, glanced at Tanya and said, "Looks like you've gained some weight, Tanya." To this Tanya replied, "If you call `bearing a child' gaining weight, I guess so." "You've got a kid? That's great! I'll be
in my office, if you need anything, just tell me." "Oh and Phil," called Wildwing. "No publicity stunts." "Aw, come on. Just one?" "No." "Please?" A stern "No" came from both soon-to-be parents. "O.K. No publicity stunts."

Meanwhile, Mallory left Nosedive with a stern warning and met up with Earthstar and her sisters. She told them about her idea for a baby shower. "I'll get the crib," volunteered Sunstar. "I'll get the bottles," said Earthstar. "Blankets," claimed Mallory. "I claim stuffed animals," said Skystar. "I get clothes," said Firestar. "Diapers are mine," said Waterstar. "O.K. I'll ask Mookie next time Nosedive goes to the mall. If any of you think of anyone to invite, tell me."

The 26^th of October was pretty normal, until around 4:00. Everyone was in the ready room. Mallory was playing chess with Grin, Duke was watching Mallory/reading a book, Nosedive was watching the TV, Wildwing was reading, Tanya was doing a little reading up on the latest ways of child care, and the sisters were chatting mentally (from which you could hear an occasional giggle.) Then came the moment Wildwing would never forget. First there was Grin saying "Check." Then there was a giggle, and a laugh from the TV. Then came two unforgettable sounds, a "thunk" from a book hitting the floor and a yelp of pain from Tanya. Wildwing was on his feet instantly, one girl woke from the chat (which caused all the other sisters to snap out of it), Grin and Mallory almost knocked over their game, while Tanya yelled, "It wants out, now!" Tanya was carefully yet quickly transferred to the Infirmary. Wildwing, Grin, Duke, Nosedive, Phil, Skystar, and Waterstar were waiting outside. Inside,
Tanya was sitting up on a bed, squeezing Earthstar's hand, while Firestar and Sunstar said words of encouragement, and Mallory was waiting for the baby to come out, with a towel in her hands. "Come on Tanya, one more, and PUSH!" Tanya let out a scream of pain and the baby came out. Mallory wrapped it in the towel, and laid it on a makeshift bed. "Wait, here comes another one!" yelled Tanya. "Quick, get me another towel!" ordered Mal. Sunstar took another towel and gave it to Mallory. "Come on, Tanya, you can do it! Now push!" Tanya pushed, let out a scream, took a few breaths, and pushed more. "I see the head! Come on Tanya, almost, there! The head is out! Come on, here come the shoulders, deep breath and PUSH!" Tanya let out the loudest scream that startled Wildwing. "O.K. the shoulders are out, one more push and PUSH!" Tanya let out the last scream and relaxed. The baby was caught by Mal and wrapped in a towel. Tanya smiled when she realized that both of her children were
crying. They were dried and given to Tanya, who said that she wanted Wildwing to come in. When he entered, he was greeted by Mallory, who said, "Congratulations, Wing. Healthy twins!" Mal stepped aside so he could see Tanya, holding their children. "Want to hold your son?" She nodded towards the child in her left arm. Wildwing carefully picked him up and cradled him in his arms. As Wildwing headed towards the door to show the others, he could clearly hear Nosedive say, "Common, I want to see the kid!" "Patience is a virtue, Dive." reminded Waterstar. "Ha ha ha." retorted Nosedive. Mallory opened the door for Wildwing, who showed Nosedive his nephew. Wildwing's son had light tan feathers and violet/blue eyes. Everyone gathered around him to admire the newest member of the team. Suddenly crying could be heard from inside. "Another one?" asked Phil. Wildwing nodded and walked in. When everyone was in the Infirmary, Tanya showed them the other child. "Meet our little girl," "Oh
Wildwing, she's beautiful," breathed Skystar. "Wow! A nephew and a niece, am I a lucky duck or what?" The baby girl had light tan feathers and violet/blue eyes. "We should let Tanya and the kids rest. It's been a big day."

Everyone left, except Duke, Mallory, and Wildwing. Wildwing stood beside Tanya and said, "We'd like to thank you Duke, for helping us get together." "No problem," Duke said, with his arm around Mallory's shoulders. "Want to hold one?" Tanya asked. Duke looked at Mallory. She gave him a look that said might want to get used to it. "Sure." said Duke. Wildwing picked up the boy and gave him to Duke. Duke held him for a little while and said, "What's the little guy's name?" Wildwing and Tanya looked at each other. "We haven't thought of any yet. Since you brought us together, you can name him." Duke thought for a few seconds, then said "How about Neo?" Tanya considered the name. "Neo. I like that name." Wildwing nodded. "Neo it is." "What's the girls name?" asked Mallory. "I don't know. Do you know of any good ones?" asked Tanya. "How about Leea?" suggested Mallory. "Leea sounds like a good name." Tanya nodded in agreement. Duke gave Neo back to Tanya. Just then Earthstar's head
peeked in. "Let's let Tanya rest now, guys. Giving birth is hard work." She took the twins carefully away from Tanya and put them in boxes with towels inside. "I can't believe I didn't see this coming when we built this place." Duke, Mallory, and Wildwing left the room. "Oh, it's not your fault you didn't build a nursery. You weren't expecting to be on earth for a year." argued Earthstar. "You should get some sleep. I'll get you some thing to eat when you wake up." With that, Earthstar left the room so Tanya could rest.

Meanwhile, everyone was in the kitchen, listening to Wildwing tell the story about what happened in the Infirmary. "And we let Duke and Mallory name them." "What did you name them?" asked Skystar. "I named the boy Neo and Mal named the girl Leea." Duke said. "Neo and Leea, I like those names." said Waterstar. "Who wants to go with me to the hospital to get birth certificates?" asked Wildwing. "Ooo, ooo, me, meeeee!" begged Nosedive. "Anyone else?" "I'll go," said Skystar. "Anyone else?" Silence. "OK. We'll leave when Tanya wakes up. I'll go shopping for clothes." "I'll go with you," Mallory said suddenly. "OK. Let's use the Migrator," "Be there in a sec," said Mallory. She led Duke away from the kitchen. "Can you do me a favor?" "Anything for you, sweetheart." "If anyone calls looking for me, ask them for a number I can call them at." She looked at him lovingly, then walked to the Migrator.

Five minutes after she and Wildwing left the phone rang. "I'll get it!" called Duke. He jogged to the phone and picked it up. "This is the Mighty Ducks Hotline, Duke speaking," "Is Mallory there?" said a familiar female voice. "No she's not, Suzan, but she did tell me if anyone called looking for her, get a phone number so she could reach them." said Duke. "OK, tell her to call me at 555-2835." Duke took a pad of paper and a pencil and wrote down the number. "OK, I'll have her call ya." "Thanks, bye," "Bye." Duke hung up the phone and sighed. Something was going on, and he didn't know what it was.

One week later, the Baby shower was held in the Pond. Mallory, Mookie, and the sisters were there to congratulate Tanya. After the cake, Tanya opened the presents. The first one she opened was from Skystar. It was two white teddy bears, one with a red bow on the top of the head and the other one had the red bow on the neck. Mallory's gift was extra blankets. Earthstar's was baby bottles. Firestar's was some baby clothes and a shirt for Tanya that said "I'm a mother and I'm proud of it!" Waterstar gave her some diapers, and Mookie gave her and Leea a matching set of bracelets. Tanya just finished thanking Mookie when Waterstar said, "Look, here's another one." Everyone turned to see what she found. In her hand was a little box with string tied around it. "Whose it from?" asked Tanya. "It doesn't say," "It could be a bomb," said Mallory. "Maybe someone else should open it. Wildwing would be devastated if you were hurt." suggested Earthstar. "I'll open it." volunteered Mallory.
Tanya carefully passed the box to Mallory. Mallory held it away from her body and gingerly untied the string. When the string was removed, she removed the lid very quickly. When it didn't explode, she peered inside. She reached in and pulled out a necklace that had a beautiful red gem on it. After the assortment of wows and "it's beautiful!" came from the crowed around her, a "Firestar? Firestar, what's wrong?" was heard. Everyone looked at Firestar, whose face was a look of shock. Firestar revealed the necklace she had received from Darkfire. They were exactly the same, only Firestar's was bigger. "The red Affrinite stone. It only exists on Puckworld," said Sunstar. "What is it doing here, then?" asked Mallory. "I brought it here," said a male voice behind them. Everyone tuned around to see a duck standing in he doorway. He had dark Grey feathers and short, black, hair. He had multiple cuts on his legs and arms, and his clothes were ripped and torn. "Who are you? What are
you doing here?" asked Mallory, raising her pucklauncher. "My name is..." he fell to the ground, holding his right leg. The leg had a deep gash in it, like it had been slashed at with a knife. Above the gash was a puncture wound, almost an inch deep. Tanya commed the guys, while Mallory moved closer to him, pucklauncher still raised. "STOP!" Everyone froze. Firestar carefully made her way to the stranger. She crouched next to him and stared into his blue eyes. He stared back, eyes full of pain. Firestar's mind flashed back to when she was six...

"...And this will make it all better." Firestar put a bandage on a cut a young, dark Grey feathered Darkfire had on his hand. "Thanks," he said, with pain filled eyes...

"Darkfire?" whispered Firestar. The pain in his eyes went away. "Firestar?" "Darkfire!" Firestar hugged him, who hugged her back. "I was afraid I'd never see you again!" said Darkfire. "I've missed you so much!" cried Firestar. Just then Wildwing ran in, with Nosedive, Grin and Duke. "What happened?" asked Wildwing. Firestar got up and said, "Wildwing, this is Darkfire Flameheart. He was a friend of ours many years ago." Darkfire was still clutching his leg. He looked at Wildwing with eyes that were pleading for help. Wildwing looked at Firestar. Her face was pleading that they help him. Wildwing sighed and said, "Alright. Grin, help him to the infirmary. Tanya, you might want to go with them." When they were gone, Mallory said to Firestar, "Just friends, huh?" Firestar giggled. "I'll tell Wildwing that later." They joined the rest of the girls, who were playing with Neo and Leea.

A day later, Darkfire was healed. (With the help of the girls) Firestar begged Wildwing to let Darkfire stay, and Wildwing agreed. They installed another room, and gave Darkfire new clothes. And for a while, they were happy. Only for a few months...