"Lucky Seven"

Author's Note: Usual disclaimer, I don't own the Care Bears. Soulful Heart Fox belongs to NebulaBelt, and is being used with permission. This will be very short. I'm sorry to say it, but I'm running out of steam. The main problem is that I want to get started on another story that jumps ahead, but I don't want to do that too often and get confused. I have a couple stories that come before that, but I'm having a case of writer's block like you wouldn't believe. Anyone who writes stories knows that they aren't as interesting or good if the writer's heart isn't in it completely, and I'm afraid that's what happened to me. On a lighter note, to keep things straight, when a story does jump backwards or forwards on the timeline, I'll probably include a list of the ligers' approximate ages at the beginning. Starting with this...

Connie & Hope: 5 1/4, which translates to adult.

Chance: 4, adult.

Pace: 1 1/2, translates to about 9 years old

I'm pretty sure that's accurate. If anyone notices a mistake in ages or events, in future stories, I would appreciate being told about it so that I can correct it. I'm not the most organized person in the world, in spite of having a notebook filled with ideas. My apologies for the long 'Author's Note', I don't normally do that.

Regal sighed as she crossed off another day on her calendar, and folded her arms across her chest. She was heavily pregnant...again...and three days past her due date. She capped her Sharpie marker and put it on the shelf as she turned away. 'I've waited three long months to meet you...and you seem perfectly happy where you are.' she thought, amused, as she rubbed her paw over her tummy symbol. 'Will you be a boy or a girl, I wonder? Whichever you are, you certainly can kick.'

"You think today's the day?" asked Stellar, coming up behind her and kissing her cheek as he laid a paw on her belly.

She smiled. It usually annoyed her when people touched her tummy without her permission, but she didn't mind when it was him. "I don't think so, Stel. This little one seems determined to stay put."

He made a noise of disappointment, and kissed her again. "Well, I better walk Pace to school." Bright Heart was having great fun teaching the youngest liger boy. Once Pace had spoken his first words, Bright Heart had agreed to tutor him. While Pace wasn't a genius on Bright Heart's level, he was already at a Middle School reading level and his math was very good as well.

"I can take him." said Regal, who was feeling restless and bored.

"Now, Regal, didn't we agree..." Stellar began.

She sighed, and nodded. "I know, I know..."

He held her shoulders, and looked her in the eye. "I don't want you to go into labor, and be stuck somewhere without any help. You're past your due date, and you could have the baby any day now. Otherwise, it wouldn't be such a big deal."

"I know, you're right. Go ahead, you better get going." she said, and he looked pained.

"Don't be upset, Regs..."

"I'm not." she said, and when she saw that he didn't quite believe her, she insisted, "Really, I'm not. I just wasn't thinking, that's all."

He nodded, looking relieved as he went upstairs to get Pace.

Regal had gone through the usual symptoms of pregnancy, mood swings included, but she seemed to be getting more of those this time around. She had purposely avoided spending time at Soulful Heart's library because she knew that her temper was volatile, and she didn't want to be a burden on him or anybody else. She would go off by herself to cry one minute, and then she would come back as cheerful as you please the next minute. Poor Cheer Bear had gotten a rather nasty shock when she came up to the pregnant lioness and rubbed her tummy to feel the baby kick, and Regal had snapped, 'Will you stop touching me!' Regal had immediately apologized, saying that Cheer was about the eighth person to do it that day, and it was out of reflex and nothing more.

She hadn't lost her temper very often, maybe twice throughout the entire pregnancy, but word had apparently gotten around. It stung like a slap in the face when one of the others would cross the street to avoid passing her, simply because they were afraid she'd blow up at them. It was an unfounded fear, when it was factored in that she generally kept her temper very well, but rumors had a habit of being embellished. What had been a minor snap at Cheer Bear one day was a three-minute-long tirade the next; the story of 'the incident' had been passed on by about thirty different Family members by then, getting worse with each telling as they became confused about the particulars. Which was why she spent more time in the house during this pregnancy. She had kept most of her anxiety and frustration to herself, but she couldn't control what others thought would happen if they upset her. The answer would most likely be nothing, but she understood that many of them were a little funny about one of their number being pregnant. Thank goodness for Pace. There was something innately calming about his demeanor, and the more she stayed at home the less she fell prey to her mood swings. Sure, she was bored, but she gladly put up with it if it meant making things easy on everybody else.

Regal went over to her bookcase to look for something she hadn't read yet, and she frowned at the slight coating of dust on the bindings. 'When did we let this happen?' she wondered as she left to get the feather duster.

Pace came down with his father, and saw Regal dusting off the books. He held up a finger, signaling to Stellar that he'd only be a minute, and went over to her. "Mom?" he asked softly, "You okay?"

"Sure I am." she smiled. "I just can't believe I didn't notice all this dust..."

"That's not what I meant." he told her, blushing a bit as he glanced at her belly before looking away.

"I'm fine, son. You better hurry, or you'll be late." she told him.

"Okay..." he mumbled. Then, hesitating, he spoke up again. "Maybe you shouldn't go outside today..."

Regal blinked, giving a short incredulous laugh. "Why is that?"

"Um...I don't know..." he looked down.

"Let's go, Pace. Bright Heart's waiting." said Stellar, glancing at his watch. "Shoot, we're late. C'mon."

Pace hurried after him, glad to put the subject to rest. Regal looked both amused and creeped out; Pace had a great affinity for animals, and seemed to know exactly what they were thinking and feeling, but occasionally he seemed to know things about his Family that no one should be able to know without being told. They hadn't noticed this around humans, though.

Regal decided that it was better not to think about it. She could think of worse personality quirks for her son to have. As strange as he might seem to some of the others, he was as kind and gentle as they came, and they all loved him in their own way. Regal shook her duster over a small waste basket, ridding it of dust bunnies, and resumed looking for a book to read. She slapped her forehead and groaned when she saw Soulful Heart's copy of "The Two Towers" sandwiched between an Agatha Christie murder mystery and a Danielle Steele novel. "I thought I returned that! Ugh...that's it, I'm not borrowing anymore books. Didn't even get to read it, and he's probably missing it. No...if that was the case, he'd come over to get it. Unless he's afraid I'll bite his head off too, that is..." she sighed. "Okay, must stop talking to myself."

She took the book and checked it over for signs of dust and, finding none, she headed out the door. 'He doesn't live that far away. I'll just drop it into his mailbox if he isn't up yet.'

Still, she wondered about Pace's warning, even as she closed the door behind her. Her husband had told her to stay inside as well, and she knew he was just concerned about her and the baby. However, she didn't think he'd mind her returning a book to someone, especially when they didn't live very far. She didn't feel any different than she had felt the day before, or the day before that, and she strongly doubted that she would go into labor that day, let alone within the twenty minutes it would take to get there and back.

It turned out that Soulful was already up, earlier than he would have liked, and sitting on his porch reading a book. He looked up when he heard approaching footsteps, and Regal was rather stung when a look of dismay crossed his features. 'I haven't been that bad, have I?' she thought to herself. Had she asked, she would have learned that he was mostly just afraid she'd go into labor while she was there, or that she would raid his fridge if a sudden craving hit her. He stood up, and she laid her ears back as he fixed her with a gimlet stare.

"I can't stay, I'm just returning this." she held out the book, knowing what was coming next.

Soulful looked annoyed as he took the book from her, yanking it none too gently out of her paws. "This has to stop, Regal. I swear, you're the most forgetful person when it comes to returning things. Do I borrow your books and not return them?"

"No, mostly because they're either romance novels or books you already have." she said testily, then she lowered her gaze to the ground and sighed. "I'm sorry. I don't think I'll be borrowing anymore books, if that helps."

He huffed in exasperation, fighting the urge to slap himself upside the noggin. "Regal, I didn't mean - "

"No, no..." she shook her head, "You're right. It's the responsible thing to return books on time, and you have every right to be annoyed. If I can't remember, I shouldn't borrow."

She didn't know if she was angry at his reaction, or at herself for being so careless. What she did know was that she would have to leave, or risk bursting into tears and embarrassing herself. Stupid hormones...

"Look, you can still take out books, just remember to return them." he said.

"Will do." she said, her voice a little strained from the effort of keeping herself in control. "Look, I gotta go; I'm not even supposed to be going on walks these days. See ya." She turned and walked away, rather more quickly than usual, breathing steadily and blinking several times.

He sighed, feeling like the world's biggest jerk, and went inside.

Regal managed to keep herself calm, and she sighed as the urge to cry went away. As much as she loved her cubs, and she loved them and her husband more than anything, being pregnant was finally beginning to take its toll on her. Five cubs in five years or so...The physical strain was quite enough, but the emotional roller coaster she was on was just too much. She wanted this baby, wanted every one of her babies...but she had a feeling that this was the end of the line for her. The children of Earth needed her, and she couldn't help them as well if she was raising children of her own. The other members of the Care Bear Family had rejoiced with each birth, and they had been very understanding, but she couldn't go on having babies for the rest of her life. And, considering the fact that the Care Bears had no set lifespan, barring accidents, that could be a very long time. What with all the couples that were pairing off left and right, some of the others would want to have children of their own. 'Yeah...' she thought, feeling both a sense of loss and a sense of rightness, 'That's the end of it for us...No more cubs after this one...'

Of course, she would have to talk it over with Stellar first...and she had a feeling it would be a long talk. It wasn't the kind of decision she could make lightly and without telling him. She idly rubbed her back as she walked, feeling very fatigued, but this was nothing new. She tried to stay as active as possible so that she wouldn't be out of condition when her cubs were born, but towards the end she was always tired.

She wondered if Connie was up yet. Her daughter had come down with a cold the day before, and Take Care had practically ordered her to stay at home in bed. Not one to pass up the opportunity to sleep as much as she wanted, Connie had given the red bear no trouble. As Regal entered her house, her backache was noticeably worse. She scowled slightly, wondering if this would be the day after all.

Connie was in the kitchen, making herself some Lipton's chicken noodle soup in the microwave, and Regal reached the kitchen just as she was taking it out. "Oh, hi Mom." Connie said, the word coming out sounding like 'bob' because of how congested she was. "Soup?"

Regal shook her head. "No offense, Connie, but you're like Typhoid Mary over there."

"Ha ha, pick on the sick chick..." Connie grumbled, but she seemed to be almost enjoying herself. She wasn't exactly lazy...well, she was, but not to the point where she'd shirk her duties in favor of sacking out on the couch...but it was rare that she got such a break, sick or not. "Where were you? Dad'll have a cow if he finds out."

"Returning a book. And I have no intention of keeping it from him." Regal informed her, sitting down and wincing a little. "Ooh..."

Connie's head snapped in her mother's direction. "Mom? You okay?"

"I'm fine. How's your cold today?" she asked.

"Oh, 'bout the same..." Connie shrugged. "No better, but no worse either."

"That's good..." Regal smiled. Then she stiffened as a pain she knew all too well washed over her. "Well, it's a good thing Soulful lives so close..."

"Why's that?" asked Connie, rummaging through the silverware drawer for her favorite soup spoon.

"Think I just went into labor." Regal replied.

Connie whipped her paw out of the drawer so violently that several of the spoons clattered to the floor. "What?"

"I'm having the baby." Regal said patiently. 'Good grief, we go through this every time...It's not as if I've never done it before.'

"Okay, um...I'll call Dad, and...Or maybe I should call Take Care first."

Regal shook her head, and got to her feet. "Tell you what, I'll make the calls, and you get ready to drive me there."

Connie nodded, looking like it was taking everything she had to keep calm, and went to get the car.

Six hours later, after a surprisingly difficult time, Regal Heart brought her fifth cub into the world, a girl they named Faith Heart Liger. Her fur was pure white, with dark brown stripes, and her tummy symbol appeared moments after birth. There, in the center of her tummy, was the symbol of a turtledove within a ring of hearts. The pads in her palms and on the soles of her tiny feet were a faint pastel pink. This was a bittersweet time for her parents, for she would be their last baby. It was Take Care's unpleasant task to tell them that Regal Heart would no longer be able to have cubs. There was a complication, and Take Care had been forced to operate. Stellar was taking it surprisingly well, though he had choked up a little.

"We have five beautiful cubs, Regs...Who could ask for more?" he said when they were finally left alone in the room. He could sense that she was a little saddened by the idea that there would be no more babies, just as he was.

"I know, Stel...Really, I don't want to have more cubs...I just liked knowing that I could." she told him, snuggling against his chest as she held her baby.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

She smiled, gazing down at her daughter. 'My little Faith Heart...' "Oh yes..."

"Well..." Stellar sighed, "We're seven now..."

She nodded. "Lucky seven..."

Somehow, that number sounded just right. Their family was complete.

The End