Feet walked across the sand, hands entwined, and the breeze blowing their hair. The daughter of the chief smiled, content, her fingers laced with the larger hand of her husband's. Her skirt blew lightly in the breeze, her ankles slightly swollen, and her belly… well, her belly was rather largely swollen. The little guppy in there was wiggling, causing her to lose her breath yet again.

Months before, Moana had been running from her problems, as they were of the matrimonial variety. She had reached marriageable age a few years prior, and was quite a few years over the usual limit that one would be paired off or have met someone they wanted to spend their life with. She'd taken a canoe, and sworn to come back with a decision.

She had, instead, run into trouble almost immediately upon leaving. It had been lucky for her that Maui had actually been looking for her, trying to get her help nursing a sickened Te'Fiti back to health. Some kind of darkness had corrupted her heart, and they had needed to find a prism scale, which you can't find on just any fish, and use the light off it to purge the darkness from her heart.

Luckily, they'd made some new, finned friends, who had gladly helped them get the scale they needed. In the process, though… Moana had discovered that she had grown to love her best friend, in more than a best friend way.

Instead of coming back with a decision… she had come back with a husband. Her parents, although nervous about her being with the demigod, who had legends of him bathed in the blood of his enemies after all, had eventually come around, and given their blessing. A couple of months later, and her cycle, which had been pretty regular, stopped. She hadn't even noticed, until it had been two or three months late. The village midwife had told her that she was, well, pregnant.

No one was all too sure about how the pregnancy was going to go, since no one was sure if the little guppy would have it's daddy's strength or not. However, if it did, it seemed to be able to control itself for the most part, because aside from some hefty kicks to her ribs and bladder, she hadn't been hurt. Although, Maui had burst out laughing the one time the kid had whacked her in the bladder so hard that she had peed herself instantly.

Moana grinned as she looked out at the sunset, as Maui pulled her into his arms, to watch as the day ended together.

"Mo'…" he said, pressing his lips into her hair as it blew in the breeze.

She smiled, leaning back against him with a smile. "Do you remember the first time we met?" she asked, as he chuckled.

"Oh how could I forget that. First time I had seen a canoe in hundreds of years, and it happened to come attached to a bushy haired, bossy girl, and a waterlogged, scrawny chicken who wouldn't even make one good bite." he smirked down at her, as she turned around, hands on her hips, but a mischievous grin on her face.

"You think I was bad? I distinctly remember a large, tricky demigod who tried to trap me on the island, who was so full of himself he thought that impressing me would make me ok with him taking my canoe."

After a moment, they both laughed, and he knelt, kissing her round, very prominent belly. "I'm glad you got out of that cave."

She grinned, lacing her fingers in his hair. "I'm glad you finally stopped treating me like a frail princess."

He knelt down and nuzzled her belly, as the stars came out around them, and looked up at her. "Mo'… I have a feeling that you're not going to be waiting to have this kiddo much longer. They're getting restless in there."

She nodded at that, yawning slightly. "I know, they've been seriously kicking my butt the last few days. I think they've been more of a pain than you usually are, and that takes some serious effort." she joked, as he gave her a look, and swatted at her.

"But seriously… are we ready for this? I mean, I'm way less nervous about facing Tamatoa again at some point than I am about doing this. I was kind of tossed in the ocean as a baby, I've never had real parents." he asked, and for the first time, she could see his honest hesitation, his nerves, crashing down on him as the time of their child's arrival became imminent. Honestly, he was right… it would be days, if that. She'd had that feeling for a day or so now, and she'd been having the tell tale back pain that came with the beginnings of labor.

"Oh… Maui. You're going to be a great father. You're going to protect this baby and be here for them, and guide them to be the leader of these people one day, if that's the path they choose." She stroked his curly, unkempt hair with a smile, and he nodded, pressing his lips to her belly once more.

"I love you, Mo'. Pretty sure I haven't said that enough today."

"No, I mean, you've only said it about 20 times. But I'll gladly make it 21."

He stood up and smirked at that, before kissing her. She always marveled how he was able to suck her breath away with just a kiss. His kisses made her toes curl, her hands sweat, and her head dizzy, and she was addicted to that feeling.


And they had indeed been right, because later that very evening, Moana had awoken to their linens soaked. Grumbling, thinking she had peed herself once more, she lit a candle in the room, and was shocked at the tinge of blood mixed with the fluid. She frantically woke Maui up, the tone of her voice causing him to sit up almost immediately.

"Wha's wrong?" He asked, slurring from being half asleep but still awake.

"There's blood. On the blankets." she said, paling a bit as she grimaced and hunched over in pain, gripping her stomach.

He sprung up at that, and helped her to sit in a chair. "Hang on, let me get the midwife. I may be awesome, but… I don't know anything about delivering babies." he said, taking off.

Moana groaned as another contraction rocked her to her core. Babies are supposed to be a blessing from the Gods, that's what everyone says. And yet, she felt like she was dying.

Moments later, her mother came rushing in, a shawl having been hastily thrown over her night clothing. She knelt next to Moana and smiled sympathetically. "Honey, are you alright?"

"I feel like Te'Ka is literally throwing lava at my insides…" she groaned, as Sina nodded.

"Childbirth is hard. You literally took 2 days to make your appearance, you know."

At that, Moana's head snapped up to meet her mother's gaze, and her mouth dropped. "Oh, please don't say that…"

Sina simply chuckled, as she changed the bed linens and helped her daughter back into the now cleaned bed. "Oh honey, you will be fine. You are strong, you can do this."

It was moments later, as Moana groaned through another contraction, that Maui came back with the midwife. As the elderly woman knelt to check between her legs, Maui gripped her hand.

"Persistent little one. They're close, actually. Have you done any strenuous activity. Any marital activities, for example?"

Moana flushed, but nodded. That had come along when they had gotten home that night, after their walk, as it did most nights. The midwife simply nodded knowingly.

"I thought so. That does have a way of speeding things up when it's close to the end. As does any kind of walking for long distances. I assume you certainly haven't been off your feet?"

Again, Moana shook her head, as another contraction came hard. She cried out at that one, and the midwife looked again, smiling.

"Oh it won't be long. This little one has you already dilated. You were lucky you're such a heavy sleeper, you slept through the waiting and the early labor."

"Actually…" Moana stopped at that, grimacing. "I think I was in labor earlier. Maui, you said the little one was restless, right? You sensed that… And I was having back pain, that's one of the reasons we had… you know… it's helped with that before when my back has hurt. It took a while for me to get to sleep because my back was hurting so badly."

The midwife nodded. "Ah, yes. That does make sense. Moana, dear… if you bear down during this next set of pains, we may have something here."

Moana could tell, because with the next contraction, her pelvic region felt like it was on fire. She cried out in agony, gripping the sheets and Maui's hand, as his face paled. The midwife peered down, and smiled, motioning at Sina to glance down. "I thought so. Like I said, persistent little bugger."

Sina smiled. "Moana, daughter, I can see a head."

A look of wonder on her face, she reached her hands down between her legs and felt around, before her hands came into contact with a mass of curls. Her eyes welled up, and she sucked in a breath, before grabbing Maui's shaking hand and moving it to their child's head.

Maui's face went slack with curiosity, and the midwife smiled. "You can catch the child, if you wanted. It's not difficult."

He looked to Mo' for approval, as she grimaced. "Now or never, Maui… More pains…" she gritted out, as he nodded and moved between her most intimate of places, glancing down at a place he had seen many times, but not like this.

'E kuʻu akua… I will never think of this woman as weak ever again… I would die if something like that came out of me.' he thought, but smartly kept to himself.

He didn't have more time to ponder, because she had begun to push again. And this time, the curls came poking out further, until a set of eyes, squished closed, and a nose came out. Maui massaged under her bottom, ready to catch the child once it was far enough out, as she screamed in agonized pain.

"NEVER AGAIN!" she screamed, her eyes knotted in pain. The midwife chuckled and patted his shoulder as his face grew guilty.

"Don't pay that any mind. I hear that a lot. If I had known she was in labor, I could have brewed a tea to help with the pain, but…"

'Yeah, yeah, we didn't know.' he thought, as he looked at Moana. Her face was sweaty, her mother running a rag across her brow, and her eyes were determined. She was in so much pain, but she persevered.

He had made the right choice being with this goddess. She was the embodiment of strength.

At her next yell, he glanced down, and the rest of the head slid out. He smiled, stroking the hair of the babe.

"Mo', black hair. Looks like they got my gorgeous hair." he said, making her chuckle as she began to bear down again, the chuckle turning into a groan and another scream.

"The shoulders are the hardest part, Moana, push! The rest will slide out!" the midwife said, as Moana gave the loudest scream she had ever given, and found the inner strength to push out the child.

Maui caught the baby in his large hands, and almost immediately, the child began to wail. "Whoa, definitely got your lungs there, Mo'!" he said, as she panted and looked down at the baby, curiosity on her face.

Maui brought the naked babe to her, as her mother helped her get out of the top of her gown, putting the baby on her bare skin, the cord still connecting them to one another. "He's perfect." Maui smiled at her, as she stroked the baby's hair, clinging him to her sweaty skin.

"He?" she asked, still dazed.

"He. I'm thinking Maui the Second. Really give him a distinguished name." Maui joked, as he stroked her hair. She laughed.

"Yeah, I don't think the world could handle two Maui's."

At that, the midwife finished checking her over, which Moana had not even noticed. "Once the cord is done throbbing, you can cut it. Or, some prefer to deliver the afterbirth and leave it attached to fall off on it's own, but it really makes no difference. I will stay here until the afterbirth comes, and then I will head on back. You won't need me after that." she smiled, and sat across the room to allow the new parents to bond with their son.

Sina smiled at the baby, her eyes comforting. "Little one, you made quite the entrance! Your grandfather thought he would have more time to come, silly man. He can see you in a bit." she said, as she stood up. "Moana, can I bring your father?"

She nodded. "Sure, I don't mind."

At that, Sina was gone to get Chief Tua, and Moana was left with Maui and their child, and the relaxing midwife. She smiled. "How about Makaio…?"

Maui smiled. "I like that. He is a little gift from the Gods, after all." At that, Makaio began to nuzzle his mother's breast. "Mo' I think he's hungry. You up to giving the little squirt a snack?"

"Of course." she said as she held the babe to her breast and helped move his little, searching mouth towards her nipple. As he latched, she winced. This would take some practice, but she felt some liquid coming out at least. She felt the pull of her breast and the let down of fresh milk, and she gave Maui a smirk.

"He eats like you."

He gave her a look, then grinned. Looking down at his chest, he noted the new tattoo on his left side, near where Moana and her boat was. It was Moana, Maui, and Makaio together. Mini-Maui gave him a thumbs up, as they cuddled the new addition. 'For once, I agree with ya, little man.' he thought at Mini-Maui, smirking. He looked back to his wife, and stroked her hair.

"Aloha wau iā ʻoe, Moana… Aloha wau iā ʻoe, Makaio."

Translations:
E kuʻu akua - Oh My God

Makaio- Gift from God

Aloha wau iā ʻoe - I love you

*Author's Note: I'm thinking of making the prequel to this, where I would go through the quest to heal Te'Fiti. If anyone would be interested in that, let me know!
Also: Planning to continue this in a set of short stories, where Maui tackles fatherhood, because Maui tending to an infant seems hilarious to me.
ALSO also: Moana is an adult… well beyond 26. Probably 28 or so. So, yeah, let's not go there and mention her being underage. She's not.
LAST NOTE: The art for the cover does not belong to me and I take no credit for it. I also don't own the characters from Moana.