"It can't still be that bad, can it?"

"Oh yes it can." I leaned back in the plush, high-backed chair I had in my 'office' (a somewhat superfluous room that had never gotten much use until recently) and cradled the phone against my cheek with my shoulder, reaching across the desk for a piece of paper. "You should have been there. He just… shut down, completely unresponsive. It was at least a day before he even started talking to me, and now he just acts like nothing's happened. Except not even, because if that were really the case he wouldn't flinch every time he looked at my stomach. It's become this giant elephant in the room, and I don't even know how to begin to fix it. Especially because the only way he's ever going to be truly happy is if I completely compromise myself and what I really want, and I'm sorry, but there is just some point where I have to draw a line."

"Calm down, sweetie." Flora's kind voice washed over me like a soothing wave, and I took a few deep breaths. Oh, how I'd missed having her to talk me down whenever I got worked up. While the others went through varying stages of acceptance, Flora had been the first to fully give me her approval; she was always the most tolerant one, the one who tried to see the good in everything. Without her to rant to, I might very well have gone insane these last few months. "I know this is something you feel very strongly about, but try to look at it from his point of view. Obviously, he feels as strongly about his position as you do on yours."

I sighed. "I get where he's coming from, yeah, and I know he just wants to protect me, but seriously, when does that stop being the default excuse for him to get to control me? And the way he's acting because I'm not going to do what he wants is just ridiculous."

"He's always gotten his way, no matter what he had to do, because he never used to care about what he had to do to get it. You're the first person he's ever let his guard down around, who he's ever let in. And then this comes along, and you're not doing what he wants – which he's not used to – and my best guess is that he had no idea what to do. This reaction is probably just something like a default response."

I plucked the phone from its perch on my shoulder, switching it to the other ear. "Why are you defending him so strongly?"

"Because I hate hearing you this depressed," she countered. "Look, you obviously love him, and I refuse to believe that he doesn't feel the same way, so you two need to just work this out already." I sighed. Flora was also the best at playing amateur psychologist, something I was kind of starting to regret calling her for. "All this stress is not good for the baby," she added.

"You would know, Flo," I teased, trying to lighten the mood. "When's your little one due? Any day now, right?"

"Mmm-hmm." I could practically hear her smiling through the phone. "It's sort of crazy that we're all pregnant around the same time."

"The universe decided that there has to be a second generation of the Winx Club." I laughed, and after a beat she joined in. "Thank you, for listening to all my crap."

"Any time," she insisted. "I miss you like crazy! You need to pop over for a visit sometime soon."

"Kind of busy ruling a planet here, remember?" I shifted the phone to my shoulder again and pulled out a pen, my eyes scanning across the page in front of me. "And there's that thing with the Magix Council… My schedule's pretty full these days. But I'll see what I can do Oh, say hi to Helia for me."

"Can do. Hey, do you know yet if it's a boy or a girl?"

"Dr. Winters asked me if I wanted to know the last time I went in, but I said I wanted to wait." Knowing but not telling him would feel like a betrayal of the highest order, but trying to tell him anything about my pregnancy just caused a complete shut-down.

Flora clucked her tongue. "He will get over this," she repeated, like she had somehow read my mind. "Okay, I gotta run, love. Talk to you later."

"Later."

I nibbled on the edge of my pen and stared daggers at the papers on the desk in front of me, as if somehow that would make them disappear into thin air. The Magix Council had agreed to hear us out, but they were fighting tooth and nail to not have to acquit him, which was just making my life all the more complicated. Add that to ruling Sparx, making up for lost time with my friends, and dealing with pregnancy hormones, and you had a recipe for a very stressed-out Bloom.

"Is it a sign of insanity to be getting mad at a piece of paper?" I wondered out loud, pulling the pen out of my mouth and examining the chewed up end. This was a really gross habit, to think about it. I should really stop.

"What've you got there?" Baltor asked, leaning over from behind to take a peek. I hadn't heard him come in, but now he was just there, hovering over me. I couldn't help but notice that he didn't kiss my forehead, or give my shoulders a squeeze, or anything like what he would've done if he found me growling at paperwork several months ago.

"More crap from the Magix Council," I sighed, letting my arm fall back onto the desk, the pen rolling towards the edge and then onto the floor. Damn. Now I'd have to go pick that up. "It is truly amazing, the ends they will go to just so they don't have to admit that they're not infallible."

"Mmm-hmm…" The skin on the back of my neck started to prickle with the distinct sense that he was staring at something. Stealing a glance upwards, I watched his eyes trace over the tiny, near-invisible pinprick scars at the base of my wrist, where Dr. Winters had been giving me the injections to sensitize me.

I sucked in a breath reflexively. Everything seems to come back to this these days…

"When this is all over, we should take a vacation," I started, subtly twisting my wrist away from his prying gaze. "Somewhere quiet, warm and sunny, where we can just lie on the beach and sip fruity drinks all day." I paused for a second, allowing him to visualize that, and the inevitable picturing of me in a skimpy bikini. (Even if he was one of the formerly most-feared dark wizards in the magical dimension, he was still a guy, after all.)

I could sense it as he processed what I was saying, feel the change in the atmosphere of the room. At first, I'd just wanted to distract him from thinking about the baby, but now I was starting to realize how much I really did need a vacation. "I know I feel like my head's about to explode, and I'm not even the one getting the third degree from every uppity official who feels the need to make sure this case is airtight." I stood up and turned around to face him, pressing my upper body against his and sliding my arms around his neck. Deliberately, I let my voice drop a few registers, to the low, sultry croon I knew he couldn't resist; calculated, yes, but with only good intentions. "I just want to be alone with you…"

For a moment, I saw his eyes dance with that familiar light, and an electrifying surge of hope shot through me. But at the last second, he abruptly pulled away from me, and it died in my veins, leaving me with an almost painful sense of loss.

"We can't," he said definitively, that eerie coldness creeping into his voice. "What about…" he faltered "–Sparx? Surely you can't just take a vacation like that without warning, not as queen."

That was nothing but a cheap excuse, and we both knew it. His real reason for pulling back from me was all too clear, even if he refused to ever give voice to it.

I met his gaze, silently pleading with him: When are you going to stop blaming me for this? The months of distance both physical and emotional were starting to take their toll on me, and I wasn't sure how much more of this I could take before I ended up doing something drastic.

"I should let you go back to your work," he said tersely. Then, after hesitating for a moment, he took a step towards me and placed a brief kiss on my lips.

He might as well have given me a business-like handshake, for all the emotion it contained.

"I just can't do this, Stel," I whined. "You'd think he would have come around by now, but no – he's still acting like I've just gained weight or something." I rested my hand on my enormously pregnant stomach. "I don't know what he thinks pretending that it doesn't exist is going to do, but there he is, stubbornly clinging to this fantasy of his. Honestly, sometimes I wonder why he's still here, if he's going to act like this."

"That's a two-way street, sweetie," she pointed out, reaching out to take my hand. "I don't pretend to understand what's going on between the two of you right now, but obviously you both still love each other, or one of you would have left by now. Whatever's going on in his head, he'll get over it eventually."

"Yeah, but when?" I took a sip of my iced tea, sighing. "Everyone keeps telling me that he'll come around, but it's been almost seven months, and nada. And I am so sick of waiting."

"I know you hate thinking about it this way, but you're not exactly blameless here." I made a face, because of course, she was right – on both counts. "You know we all support you for wanting to have a child, but you didn't exactly talk to him about it very much. Have you tried apologizing?"

"Why should I apologize?" I stared at her incredulously. Flora had been playing devil's advocate for months now, but I'd never expected this out of Stella. "What do I even have to apologize for? For wanting to have a child? For not wanting to abort my child? It's my body."

"And he's the father. Which means he should have some say too." I huffed, leveling her with my stare. "Don't get me wrong, I think you're totally in the right, but if you want him to warm up, then maybe you have to swallow your pride and be the bigger person." I snorted a laugh, and she gave me a pointed look. "You know what I mean! Men like to hear apologies, as much as they don't like giving them. Something about the way the male ego works."

I rolled my eyes. "The world would be a much better place if not for men and their stupid egos."

"Amen to that." She picked up her cup and swallowed the last of her iced tea. "Okay, I need a refill. You want? I'll get them, so you don't have to get up."

"Sure." I grabbed my glass and brought it to my lips, intending to drink the last of mine, when it suddenly slipped from between my fingers, splashing the contents all over my skirt. "Oh, wonderful," I sighed, getting to my feet and trying to dab at the worst of it with a napkin.

There was an odd sort of sensation in my stomach and… lower regions. What is this? I wondered, still trying to clean off my skirt. Then I felt something wet drip down the side of my leg, and froze.

The obvious culprit would be the iced tea, but looking at the placements of the stains on my skirt, I knew that couldn't have been it. My stomach dipped.

"Bloom? Are you alright?"

I had to force myself to breathe, taking several deep breaths before I could look back up at Stella. "I… I think my water just broke."

"Where is Dr. Winters? Will someone please find Dr. Winters! The Queen of Sparx is having a baby!"

"Stel, calm down," I admonished her, leaning against a wall. A spasm of pain hit suddenly, and I winced, my body curling in on itself. "Oh. Oh God, this hurts…"

"Dr. Winters! Where is Dr. Winters!" she continued to screech. From the way she was carrying on, you'd never know that she'd had two children already.

A very flustered-looking Dr. Winters appeared from around the corner, and gasped when he saw me. "My Queen! We need to get you to a sterile environment right away."

I gulped in a few shallow breaths, as beads of sweat appeared on my forehead. "Yes, I think that would be good," I managed to get out.

"Come with me," he said, placing a hand on my back to guide me. Stella trailed after us, looking like she was about to pee her pants.

"Baltor!" she yelped suddenly, startling me. "Where is he? He needs to be here!"

I squeezed my eyes shut. "I don't know. He's been traveling a lot since the Magix Council cleared him…"

"Then call him or something!" she snapped. A second later, her cheeks reddened. "Well, not you, obviously, because you're, you know, about to give birth. Where's your cell phone? Does he even have a cell phone? Would he pick up if I–"

"Stella!" I snapped. "I can't think about this right now." There was a twinge of regret in my chest that blossomed to a full-blown ache. Certainly, this was not how things should have been when my first child was born. But life, as I was slowly starting to come to terms with, was not a fairytale, even if you happened to be a princess.

Ever the idealist, though, I reached into the hidden pocket of my skirt and handed Stella my cell phone. Wordlessly, she took it and started jabbing buttons at lightning speed.

Dr. Winters's voice, bumped up an octave in his nervousness, brought me back to the enormity of the situation at hand. "With your circumstances, I believe we would have better luck with a Caesarean section–"

"No!" I yelped, the sound echoing in the tall-ceilinged palace hall. He looked at me aghast.

"It won't leave a big scar, if that's your worry. And it's much less of a risk, in your unusual position–"

"I said no," I repeated, my chest heaving with exertion. "If something happens and you have no other choice, then by all means, do a C-section, but only if it's the only way we'll both survive. Until then, I want to give birth like any other woman."

Dr. Winters hesitated, then dipped his head slightly and uttered what seemed to be his favorite phrase: "As you wish, my Queen."

"Please, just call me Bloom," I insisted. "We should be past the formalities by now."

His face would have been amusing under any other circumstances – an odd mixture of hesitation, displeasure, and propriety. But right now, all I could focus on was the agonizing pain rippling through my body. The gripping sensation in my stomach and back would start mild but quickly grew stronger until it reached its painful peak, then start to fade, only to return again in what seemed like seconds later, stronger than before. Why didn't any of the girls tell me it's like this?

It could have been minutes, seconds, hours, days; time seemed to lose all meaning but for the regularly spaced pattern of the contractions. I remembered being shepherded through the suddenly-way-too-big-for-its-own-good palace, Stella trailing behind and shrieking into the phone at different people. I remembered gentle female hands helping me out of my tea-stained dress and into one of those paper hospital gowns, laying me down on a hospital-type bed, and the sting of a needle as something was injected in my arm, something cold that took the edge off the pain but made the world start to swim in bright colors before my eyes. I remembered Dr. Winters positioning himself below me, muttering doctor-like things and calling for more nurses. Stella's voice wove in and out of my consciousness, her hand squeezing mine or gently brushing hair off my face, occasionally giving me sips of water. "It's going to be okay, Bloom," she said over and over again, and sometimes I was actually able to believe her. "Everything is going to be okay."

"Okay, Bloom, I'm going to need you to push now," Dr. Winters called out, after an indeterminate amount of time.

"You can do this, sweetie," came Stella's voice in my ear, as the pain sharpened through my fog of medication.

I grit my teeth, as what had been merely painful before became excrutiating. "Baltor!" I cried, half delirious from the pain and the drugs. "I need my husband!"

"He's on his way, sweetie," Stella said, rubbing tiny circles on my hand. If I had been more alert, I would have slapped her for giving me false hope, but in my current state, I clung to her statement like it was my lifeboat in shark-infested waters. He's on his way… he's going to get here and everything's going to be okay…

My God, I'm having a baby.

Somehow, it hadn't really hit me until just now.

The edges of the world started to blur slightly, until everything seemed just a bit out of focus. If even possible at this point, the pain intensified further, and I shut my eyes tightly, as if I could block it out. The medication combined with the pain was making me feel strange: loose, untethered, like at any moment I could slip out of my own body.

"Bloom? Are you alright? Talk to me." That voice… It tugged at the edge of my unfocused mind, nagging at me with its familiarity. I know that voice. I care about that voice. That voice means a lot to me.

"Bloom?" It was louder now, closer. I opened my eyes, but the blurriness had gotten worse. All I could make out clearly was spots of gold, breaking up the monotony of the white and gray medical wing.

Gold eyes.

Even in my current adled state, something deep in my blood recognized the absolute rightness of those gold eyes being here, and soothing calm raced through me. Another hand slipped into my own, and the touch sent a jolt of magic through my veins. "I'm here, love. I'm here."

It seemed like a Herculean task, but I managed to open my mouth, wanting to reply… and instead let out a high-pitched, keening wail like the shriek of metal being torn apart. The sound went on, and on, and on, until it had sapped all the strength in my body… and I collapsed, spent, against the bed.

Except the sound continued; a thin, squealing cry, but not coming from my chest. "Congratulations," Dr. Winters said, sounding to my ears like he was speaking through a wad of cotton. "You have a beautiful baby girl."

Pure joy spread throughout my entire body. "A… girl…" I heard myself say weakly. Slowly, my arms reached out, as if to hold her.

But the small movement sent my already overworked body plummeting over the edge, and with a soft sigh, I felt myself slip into the darkness that threatened to claim me.

"Oh thank heavens you're awake." Groaning as my eyelids fluttered open, I turned my head to the left and saw Baltor sitting on an uncomfortable-looking plastic chair, my limp left hand clutched in his. "You gave me a hell of a scare back there, love."

I managed to smile weakly, even though my entire body ached like I'd just run a marathon (not that I ever had, but a girl could imagine). "You're here," I said, stating the obvious.

"Of course I'm here. You think I would miss the birth of our child?" The casual way the words slipped off his tongue both elated and confused me.

"You… you're not still mad?"

He sighed, casting his gaze downward. "I'm sorry for the way I behaved. I acted more like a little child than a man about to be a father, and I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me."

"Of course I forgive you," I said automatically. In the back of my mind, I knew it shouldn't have been this easy; after the way he'd treated me, he should have to grovel at my feet before I'd even dare consider forgiving him. But staying angry was exhausting, and I was just so tired. He seemed genuinely repentant for his behavior, and besides – as everyone kept feeling the need to remind me, I wasn't exactly guilt-free either.

Both of us had made mistakes in this tense, unfamiliar situation, but now it was behind us, and the dice of Fate had fallen in our favor. What good was there in continuing to harbor old grudges?

The relieved look on his face alone was enough to convince me that I'd done the right thing, letting go of my anger. "I love you," he said, getting to his feet and leaning over to kiss me. It was soft and gentle, a mere brush of lips – I was too drained for anything more – but it still sent electricity through my veins.

"Where is she?" I demanded, my focus zeroing in with one-track intensity. "I want to see her."

"Stella has her."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than Stella breezed into the room, a little cloth bundle enveloped in her arms. "Bloom, darling, you're awake! Your daughter is just the most precious thing in the universe. And she's so good! Nothing at all like either of mine. She cried a bit at first, because she was hungry, but you were unconscious so we gave her some formula, and then she just nodded off. And look at her; isn't she just so peaceful? I've been taking about a thousand pictures, you know, to fulfill my godmotherly duties. Wait, I am the godmother, right?"

I chuckled softly, the movement straining my body to its limits but thankfully not pushing it over. "Yes, you're the godmother, Stel. Who else would it be?" She preened a little bit, and I heard Baltor's unmistakable laughter. "Can I hold her?"

Carefully, Stella placed her in my outstretched arms. It amazed me at first, how tiny she was. The downy wisps of hair on her little head were an undeniable red shade, meaning she was going to take after me in that regard. I couldn't get enough of her tiny little fingers, watching as they curled around mine in her sleep. My breath caught in my throat as she yawned and blinked open her eyes, giving me a sleepy smile.

Her eyes were a brilliant bright gold, just like Baltor's.

"She has your eyes." I beamed. As cute as the idea of having a mini-me was, I'd secretly hoped our child would have his eyes.

"But your everything else." I felt his arm wrap around my shoulders from behind. "What are we going to name her?"

"I'll let you two have a moment to yourselves," Stella said, already halfway out the door. She dropped one eye in a wink before disappearing completely.

I hadn't spent much time thinking about names, but somehow whenever I did, I always kept coming back to one. "What about… Allison?"

I heard him inhale sharply. When I looked up, I was surprised by the look on his face. "That would be a wonderful gesture, my love. But… I think I'd rather keep my past where it belongs. You, and our daughter, are my future."

I tried not to look too disappointed; that was my only idea. At the same time, though, I could understand. I wouldn't want to name her Miriam – that would just be too much like opening old wounds, despite the sweetness of the idea in theory. "What do you think, then?"

"How about… Alyssa." A small smile spread across his face. "Alyssa. Yes. I like it more the more I think about it."

I tried it out hesitantly, almost tasting the way the name rolled off my tongue. "Alyssa…"

As if she knew we were talking about her, the little girl in my arms let out a soft coo that just about melted my heart. "Someone knows her name," Baltor teased, dangling a finger in front of her and watching as she latched onto it in delight.

"Yes she does." I cradled her more firmly in my arms. "Welcome to the world, Alyssa."

"You're in amazing hands, little girl," he added. "In the mother department, you really lucked out."

"She didn't do so shabby in the father department either," I teased back, tilting my head up to meet his lips in a soft kiss again.

I closed my eyes, feeling a sudden sense of complete and utter contentment. Somehow, I had ended up with everything I could have ever wanted – and some things I hadn't even known I wanted.

How did I get so incredibly lucky?

But as Alyssa let out another happy little baby sound in my arms, and Baltor kissed my forehead, I decided to stop questioning it and just start enjoying it.

Could this be the greatest love of all?

I know that you will catch me when I fall

So let me tell you this

Some people wait a lifetime

For a moment like this

Author's Note: This is going to be a long AN, so be warned.

I continue to be surprised at how much positive response this story has gotten. When I first set out to write it, I had no idea so many of you would fall in love with it the way I did. It was originally just my way of patching up plot holes that I'd noticed in my 2nd-gen trilogy, and at first I even hesitated to write it because I had already written so much in the 'universe' of my trilogy. But it's become so much more than that now, because of all of you. So thank you to each and every person who's been reading this - even the lurkers who don't review or favorite - for sticking with me through these last few months. This story was finished in a record amount of time for me, and I attribute part of that to how much all of you made me feel inspired to keep writing.

A few sticky little points of business to address: this chapter covers a great deal of time - which I did try to reference with the pregnancy stuff - in case you were going "WTF?" at Flora and Stella's actions. So yes, I sort of cheated you out of the business with the other girls accepting them, but this story was never supposed to be about that. I am sorry, though.

Another thing that kind of got glossed over was Baltor being cleared by the Magix Council; yes, Lucyole, he did get to go free, although even though they're married, he's not allowed to be King of Sparx (they don't like the idea of him in a power position; this was addressed in the rewrite of What Comes Next). A story loosely about that is in the works, another collab between myself and the ever-wonderful emberfire411 - based off the idea of him having a trial with the Magix Council, but not strictly set in the same 'universe' as this and my 2nd-gen trilogy (I think I've done quite enough in this world now, and I'm not even completely done yet).

As for that birth scene... I don't exactly have experience in that department, so especially because I was writing from Bloom's POV, I tried to make it be more about the emotions than cold hard medical facts. That being said, I am somewhat proud of the way it turned out, and I hope you all think the same.

So... yes. I do believe that is all. Again, I can't say thank you enough times for how much love and support I've gotten, especially from non-trilogy readers. Please, if you've liked this, do go check out my other works; and if you're not a 2nd-gen fan, I do have a new purely Sparxshipping project in the works, coming soon...

All my love,

- Authoress

Playlist –

Prologue: "Goodbye" by Avril Lavigne

Ch. 1: "One Girl Revolution" by Superchick

Ch. 2: "Two Rebels" by Honor Society

Ch. 3: "Just a Kiss" by Lady Antebellum

Ch. 4: "Arms" by Christina Perri

Ch. 5: "Fix You" by Coldplay (I prefer the Glee cover, but either way it's the same song)

Ch. 6: "Safe and Sound" by Taylor Swift

Ch. 7: "Coming Home" by Diddy-Dirty Money ft. Skylar Grey

Ch. 8: "I Won't" by Colbie Caillat

Ch. 9: "A Moment Like This" by Kelly Clarkson