Hello my lovely lovely readers! I've got to say a big thank you for the reviews from TheMysteriousDude, CreCra, ShadowMario3, Iranda20, PrincesscharmingKnight, Franne, prettyguardianofhyrule, ShadowNinja1011, forty2smurfs, Nuclear Chick, shhimaninja16, ScootinJackMcCue, Hanyoualchemist1, Joyma, Zelink4eva123, GameCivilization, Neez, Bleachshowlover1, The Supreme, and TechyZeldaNerd! You guys are all supermegafoxyawesomehot!

Thank you to Princess Zelda-figure skater for beta reading!

Link's POV:

So here I am, Link Faron, ready to turn over a new leaf. I'm willing to admit that I was wrong, I jumped to awful conclusions about Zelda, Sheik and their friends. I did what I always do, and just assumed that they were trying to attack me. It's what I'm used to. But that fact of the matter is that there are actually nice people out there. People like Zelda and Sheik. It turns out I was just too blind to see it. But now I'm ready to change. I've laid my insecurities down to rest, buried them six feet under. I can't be letting things that happened to me before get in the way of my present. Like Zelda said, everyone has problems; you just have to learn to deal with them.

I can't live like this anymore; I need to stop hiding myself away from people who genuinely want to help. I can't continue hiding my emotions away, pretending that I'm not feeling a certain way. I want to be friends with Zelda, Sheik, and all the others. It's what I've wanted right from the start. I was just too afraid to admit it, even to myself. I was scared that if I had friends, I'd end up screwing everything up. I'd hurt one of them, or do something horrendously wrong. But it's time to let go of my hang ups and get on with my life. The cure for a heart is to move along.

I straighten my tie a little, glancing at the boy in the mirror. His dark blonde hair is scruffy, lazily falling just over his sparkling blue eyes. He gives a small smile to his reflection. It's me, Link Faron. I still look the same… but now I've realised what's important. Speaking of important things… I need to sort out my feelings towards Zelda. I promised I'd be honest, at least with myself, so it's time I confronted my own feelings and stopped kidding myself. She's beautiful, she's got a wonderful personality and she's such a lovely girl. I told myself that she was stuck up… had the world wrapped around her fingers. I think I despised her worst because deep down I knew she was the one who meant the most to me. She's Zelda… and I know that I can no longer deny the fact that I'm falling for her, hard. My mind wanders back to a couple of nights ago, to when we stood by the lake at two in the morning. That was the first time I've cried in front of anyone, for a long time. In fact, it's probably the first time I've cried since I was ten… She whispered beautiful words into my ears. She looked after me, talked it all through with me. And then, she taught me to skim stones along the surface of the water until I forgot why I was out in the freezing cold in the middle of the night. She's everything I need right now… and I think I just need to go for it.

"Link!" Sheik exclaims, poking his head around my bedroom door. "Hurry up! We're already ten minutes late!"

"Oh shoot…" I mumble, glancing nervously around my room. Where did I put my school shoes? I scan the cluttered mess. My art stuff and text books are all jumbled on my desk. My dirty clothes lie in a crumpled pile in the corner, and my clean ones still sit in a washing basket waiting to be put away. There are towers of half completed sketches stacked up on my bookshelf, and my WiiU game pad is sat skew-whiff on my pillow. But I can't seem to find my school shoes…

"Just give me a minute," I say. "I'll meet you at the bus stop, ok?"

He gives me a swift nod, before disappearing out of my bedroom door. I sigh, dropping to my knees on the carpet. I begin crawling along the floor, searching through the piles of mess. Maybe mum was right? I should have tidied up this room by now. I hear the sound of the front door closing as Zelda and Sheik leave for school. I let out a deep sigh, clambering up again. I quickly grab my school bag from my bed, slinging it over my shoulder and making for my bedroom door.

"Mum," I shout, as I enter the hallway, leaning over the banister. "Have you seen my school shoes?"

"Pardon?" She asks, stepping out into the hallway below from her bedroom.

"My school shoes, have you seen them?" I ask, my voice sounding a little desperate.

"I thought they were in the kitchen," she says, frowning.

"Thanks mum!" I exclaim, dashing around the banister and heading down the spiralled staircase. My socked feet pad against the soft carpet of each step as I near the bottom. At this rate I'm going to miss the bus! So much for turning over a new leaf. Late on the first day? That's great start! Sheik and Zelda would ask the bus driver to wait for me… surely? The only problem is Groose… he wouldn't be so kind. But that doesn't matter; right now I just need to focus on finding those shoes!

Eventually I reach the kitchen doorway. I glance around the room. My eyes scan over all the mugs, the counters, the dog basket sitting in the corner, but no school shoes. I frown, circling around the wooden dining table in the hopes that they'll behind it, but there's no such luck.

"Mum, they're not here!" I shout as I pause for a few moments, waiting for a response. Yet all I can hear is silence. I frown, slowly walking back to the foot of the staircase. A tight frown is knitted onto my forehead as I approach her bedroom door. I wonder if she's alright. What could possibly have happened in the space of the thirty seconds that I went to look for my shoes? I reach the bedroom door, knocking twice on the wooden panels.

"Mum?" I ask again, a little quieter this time.

I reach out, taking the silver handle of her door. With a quick twist and a light push, the door opens. I carefully step inside, taking in my surroundings. It's exactly how it was the last time I looked, no mess, no problems. Except for one… mum is sat, leaning back against the couch. One of her legs is curled up next to her but the other is pushing hard against the floor, right next to a large puddle on the green carpet. Her hands cradle her now humongous baby bump, and her teeth are clenched tightly together. But her cerulean eyes are wide, looking a little pained and she sucks in her lips, eyebrows arched downwards. I exhale slowly, stepping a little closer, almost as if I don't want to startle her. As I step nearer, I notice her paled skin and the tiny vein pulsing on her forehead… something's not right… She moves one hand from her baby bump, reaching it out to me, almost pleading for me to take it. I accept her hand, finding that her palms are slick with sweat.

"Mum, are you ok?" I ask nervously, feeling my own voice cracking as I do.

She stares straight through me for a few moments, almost as if I were a ghost. But eventually, her grip on my hand tightens and she uses me as a support to help her stand. I watch her in silence, unsure of what to say or do. I'm honestly very confused right now… I don't understand what's happened or what's going on.

"Mum, please say something," I beg.

She looks down slowly, blowing air out between her lips as she bends forward a little. "Something's wrong…" She mutters.

"Wrong?" I ask, "What's wrong?"

"The baby!" She wails, "I think I'm having the baby!"

Oh Goddess… I can feel a wave of panic wash over me as I watch my own mother cry out in pain. My heart begins pounding hard against my chest and I can already feel a cold sweat breaking out on my forehead. She's having the baby? She can't be! That's not right… dad's not here! He's spending all day fixing that freaking farm house! What am I supposed to do now? I try to calm my own panicking mind. It's ok Link, just think about this logically. Everything will be just fine, you can simply call dad and- oh no…

That's when I spot dads mobile phone lying on the bed right in front of me. I curse under my breath and mum begins breathing deeply, making whooshing noises as she does. I carefully take her arm, wrapping it around my shoulders as I pull her up into a more comfortable position. I wrap my arm around her to support her as I slowly walk us both up and down the room. I seem to remember reading somewhere that it helps the pain if you just keep moving. She stops suddenly, reaching out with her empty hand and taking mine. Tears form in her glassy eyes as she squeezes tight on my hand. I swallow hard, I can't bear to see my mum in this much pain…

"Mum… I- I'm going to go get dad, ok?" I say, turning around to look directly at her.

"N-no," she stutters, "I can't w- wait that long."

"What?" I breathe, "What do I do?"

I watch as she collapses onto the couch, already exhausted from the pain. She runs one hand through her long blonde hair, pushing it back from her eyes as she groans in pain.

"J-just get… get…" she stutters.

"An ambulance?" I ask desperately.

"No!" She exclaims, "They won't emit me until my contractions are four minutes apart…"

"Who then?" I plead.

"The Harkinians! Get Mrs Harkinian!" She yells, gravelling her words.

I nod obediently, taking to my feet and dashing towards the door. I'll admit that I'm scared, more scared then I've ever been before. I don't know what to do. I don't have a clue about any of this. Mum needs someone who can actually help her, someone who can do her some good. And at this point in time, that's just not me. I reach the bedroom door, resting one hand on the inside of the frame as I turn back to look at her. She's now lying back on the couch, her eyes screwed shut as she rests one hand on her stomach. Her chest is heaving with every breath she takes and she looks like she could pass out any moment. I swallow hard. I don't want to leave her, but she needs my help.

"Mrs Harkinian!" I shout, dashing through the house with my arms flailing wildly.

My feet are now pounding against the floor as I race through the kitchen. I know exactly where she'll be. At this time of day she always goes to feed the chickens, they get moody if she doesn't. I wrench the back door open and sprint from the house, leaving the door wide open behind me. I can feel my messy hair being pushed back from my face with the pressure of the wind. My face begins to flush with the biting cold, and my lungs are begging for oxygen.

I come to a sudden stop at the metal gate. My feet slide and skid through the thin layer of hay littering the ground. I get a few strange looks from lazy cows and the horses watching me from the barn. But this is no time to concern myself with that. I grip the top of the gate, hanging on with all my might as I hurl my body over the top of it. My fingers are stinging from the cold of the thick metal but I'm over… I can already see Mrs Harkinian knelt inside the chicken coop. She's sprinkling some pellets in their feeding area from a large brown cardboard box as I run up to the door of the chicken coop. I lean against the wooden frame of tiny door. My body is slumped, tired, and I'm panting for breath. She turns to look at me, her eyes are wide with shock and the surprise of seeing me stood here. She knows I'm not a big fan of the farm animals… other than Epona.

"Link!" She exclaims, "What a surprise to see you here! Shouldn't you be at school?"

"There's no time to explain," I puff, trying to get out my words with what little breath I have. "You need to come with me!"

I quickly reach out, grabbing her by the hand and pulling here towards the exit of the chicken coop. She sets her box of bird seed down on the ground and gives me a worried look as I pull her out into the bright sunshine.

"Whatever is the matter, Link?" She asks.

"Mum's having her baby!" I exclaim.

"Ok, that's four minutes!" Mrs Harkinian exclaims, laying her wrist watch down on mum's bedside table.

I reach out one hand, allowing mum to take it. I help her to climb up to her feet as she cradles her baby bump, still breathing heavily. It's crazy; we must have been here for a good two or three hours just waiting for the contractions to speed up. It took a while, but eventually they started getting longer and closer together, much to mum's dismay. Mrs Harkinian sat through it all with her, helping her through the pain. I'm so glad she's here, because if it was just me, I wouldn't have a clue what to do. She wraps her arm around mum's shoulders, supporting her as the two make for the door.

"Ok," she says to me, "Go and get some shoes on. I'm going to drive us all to the hospital. Now Link, I need you to sit in the back and look after your mother while I drive, ok?"

I nod obediently, dashing through the door. My mind is racing as I run up the spiralled staircase to my bedroom. This is crazy. This wasn't what I was expecting to be happening when I woke up this morning, that's for sure. I thought it would just be another day at school. I'd be hanging out with my friends at lunch, and trying my best to avoid Groose in the corridors. But I guess sometimes, things just don't go to plan.

I pull open my wardrobe door, and it's only when I begin rummaging through my box of shoes that I realise that I've lost my school shoes. I was searching for them when this all began. I sigh. I don't have the time to worry about wearing the right shoes. I grab my blue pair of converses from the cupboard; these ones bear the Triforce of wisdom and the mark of Nayru in tipex pen. I shove them onto my feet and tuck the laces inside the canvas, not bothering to tie them up.

Once I'm ready, I run from my room. I pelt down the staircase and through the house like a speeding bullet. I've never been this nervous, never panicked like I am right now. This is serious, what if something goes wrong? What if we don't get to the hospital in time? What if we have to deliver the baby ourselves? I come to a stop just outside the front door, shaking my head to try and rid my mind of that thought. This isn't the time to be pessimistic, Link. As I glance towards the car, I can already see my mother sat in the back seat, face contorted with pain as another contraction hits. Mrs Harkinian is just climbing into the front seat as I dash over, pulling the back door open.

I'm in that car seat, its belt buckled over me and holding my mother's hand within a matter of seconds. My body is purely running off adrenaline at this point. I didn't even have the time to eat breakfast this morning… I was running late. It's only as I sit back in my seat that I realise just how hungry I am. I try and cast my mind back to the last time I ate something. I had a piece of mum's chocolate log at about eight last night… but I haven't had a proper meal since five in the afternoon yesterday.

"Link?" Mrs Harkinian says, glancing at me in her rear view mirror. My attention snaps away from my rumbling stomach and focuses on her.

"Yeah?" I reply.

"Do you want to call the hospital? Tell them that we're on our way with a baby coming too!"

I nod in response. I begin to fumble through my pockets with my free hand. My fingers clumsily punch in the number for the hospital that Mrs Harkinian recites for me. I can't seem to think straight right now. It's like my brain is cut off from the rest of my body at this moment in time. It always happens when I panic. With one trembling hand, I hold the phone up to my ear, listening as it rings quietly. I begin counting the number of monotone beeps as I wait for a response.

One, two, three, four…

"You've reached Kakariko town hospital. How may I help you?" Comes a soft voice from the other end of the line.

"My mum's having a baby," I suddenly blurt out. "We're bringing her to the hospital now."

"Ok," says the soft, calm voice. "We can have a space ready for her in the maternity ward. How far apart are her contractions?"

I glance over to Mrs Harkinian, covering the phone with one hand as I ask: "How far apart are her contractions?"

"Four minutes," Mum replies through gritted teeth.

"Four minutes," I parrot to the woman on the other end of the phone.

"Mm hmm…" She mumbles, "And can I ask for her name?"

"L… Luana," I stutter, "Luana Faron."

I can hear muffled tapping on the other end of the line, possibly typing on a keyboard. There's a moment of silence, and then eventually the woman says: "We don't have any Luana Faron in our records, but there's a match from Castle Town central hospital. Could that be her?"

"Yes," I blurt. "Yeah, that's her."

"Ok, we can have her painkillers and a bed ready for her arrival. How far away are you?"

"Uhh… one moment," I say, before turning to look at Mrs Harkinian again. "How far away are we?" I ask.

"About twenty minutes," she replies.

I nod, holding the mouthpiece of the phone up to my face. "Twenty minutes," I repeat.

"Uh-hu…" The woman replies. "And one last question… does the father know the baby is coming?"

"No," I reply, suddenly feeling a pang of guilt in my gut for not remembering about dad.

"No problem," she replies. "We'll do our best to contact him. When you're mother arrives, she should be taken care of by a midwife called Nurse Romani."

"Thank you," I stutter, removing the phone from my ear and hanging up. My hands are shaking, palms sweaty. Why am I so nervous about this? I've dealt with emergency situations before. One time, during a game of soccer in fifth grade, a boy stamped on my ankle and broke it. Don't get me wrong, it hurt, but I dealt with the situation just fine. So why am I so much worse now?

"CONTRACTION!" Mum yells, pulling me from my own thoughts. I turn my attention back to her, watching as he face creases with the pain. Her grip on my hand tightens, and I try not to let out a yelp of pain as I feel my knuckles cracking. I feel awful just sat, watching her go through all this pain. I wish there was something I could do to help her. I wish I could at least take some of the pain for her… but I know that's not an option.

"You're going to be ok, Luana," Mrs Harkinian says, giving my mum a quick smile in the rear view mirror.

"How's she doing?" Mrs Harkinian asks. She makes her way into the room, cradling a cup of scalding hot coffee. She smiles nervously as she wanders over to the bed where mum lies. The blankets are curled up around her legs and she lies back, propped up by some thin hospital pillows. We share a room with two other beds, though one of them is currently empty and there's a minty green curtain pulled around us for privacy. I sit next to mum, in an uncomfortable chair with blue fabric cushions, holding her hand and telling myself not to panic.

"She's doing great," I say, giving my mum a comforting smile, though I don't totally believe it myself. "The contractions are getting worse, but she's still soldiering on."

"That's great to hear," Mrs Harkinian replies, laying her coffee cup down on the bedside table. She carefully leans over, brushing my mum's hair back from her eyes as mum presses her lips together, preparing herself for another contraction. I cling on tight to her hand, uttering comforting words as she wails with each breath. I know the pain is getting worse and worse, even though she refuses to say it. She just doesn't want me to worry about her… but it's already too late for that.

Suddenly, the curtain is pulled back. The metal rings clanging against the rails as the fabric moves aside, revealing my dad stood on the other side. He's still wearing his country walking boots, and I can see dusty stains on his shirt from his building materials. I watch as a relieved expression falls over his face as he lays eyes on my mother, glad to see that she's still ok.

"Luana!" he exclaims, dashing over. He carefully strokes her cheek as the relief washes over mum… she wanted dad, all this time. I watch in silence as he straightens her blankets, puffs up her pillows, and brushes her hair back. He knows exactly what mum needs right now… better than I do. I try not to let it bother me that he takes her hand from me, holding it tight between his two palms.

"How dilated are you so far?" he asks.

"Six centre metres…" She mumbles, "At eight centre metres they'll take me into the delivery room."

He smiles, continuing to care for her, catering to her every need. He fetches a damp cloth from one of the nurses, patting it along her forehead to keep her cool. He tells her stories from when they were younger to distract her from pain, and he even lists off baby names that he'd like to use. Neither of them seem to notice as I slowly back away from the bed. The curtain rails jangle as I slip through the small gap, out into the rest of the room. The air smells a little fresher out here, but that's probably due to the open window just a few feet away from me. I glance around, taking in my surroundings, but there's honestly nothing much to see. The walls are white washed, the floor tiled with boring blue squares, and there's a small window just in front of me.

I sigh to myself, burying my hands deep in the pockets of my school trousers. I scuff the toes of my shoes along the floor, leaving little white rubber marks on the tiles. It doesn't matter; mum just needed her husband to look after her… I don't know why I'm taking it so personally. It wasn't anything to do with me; I've taken care of her for the last four hours. I suddenly glance up at the clock… its gone one in the afternoon. Right now, my friends will all be sat around their table in the canteen, wondering where I am. Maybe I should call Sheik? Or at least send him a text? Just to let him know what's going on.

"Link?"

I turn around, glancing over my shoulder to find the source of the voice. Mrs Harkinian is just emerging from behind the curtain rails. She takes extra care to close the gap behind her, before turning to me and giving me a comforting smile. She slowly walks over, holding her car keys in her hand. She wraps one slender arm around my shoulders, trying her best to console me.

"It's ok, Link," she says, "You're mother's just going through a lot right now. It's hard for her to focus on anything else."

"No! It's fine," I bluff, "I get it."

She gives me a little squeeze as a soft smile. "Come on then," she says, "Your dad can take care of your mum from here on out. He asked me to take you to school for him."

I sigh. "Really? I've only got one lesson left today. Is it really worth it?"

She giggles a little as she carefully chucks me under the chin. "Come on Link, you can't just skive off!"

As she gives me a warm smile, I can't help but notice how much she looks like Sheik. She has identical blood red eyes, and the same sandy blonde hair. I'm guessing he took after her… right down to that funny crooked smile. She's been amazing today. She's taken brilliant care of my mum, and me for that matter. Maybe living in the country side isn't so bad. If most people are like the Harkinians, I might even learn to like it here.

The second I close the car door, I'm greeted with the sound of someone shouting my name. I turn quickly, looking out for the source of the noise. That's when I spot my group of friends, all walking towards me. Zelda jogs ahead of everyone else, her long blonde plait jumping about her shoulders as she moves. I give her a weak smile, gripping the handle of my school bag. I'm honestly still a little shaken. I can't get used to the fact that right now, in a hospital, my mother's having a baby. But I try and distract myself from that thought as Zelda runs over. She throws herself onto me in a tight hug, squeezing me tight as I hear her mum drive away from us.

"What happened?" Sheik asks as Zelda pulls away from me.

But before I get the chance to reply, Zelda says "Where were you?"

"Yeah," Midna butts in, "You've missed all of your classes so far!"

"And what's with the shoes?" Dark asks.

"Will you let me speak?" I say, feeling a small laugh escape me. "It's a very long story, but the short of it is…. My mum's having her baby!"

I watch the mixture of reactions. I can read shock, happiness, disbelief and relief in every single one of my friends faces. Sheik and Dark are asking me all kinds of questions about the hospital, the ambulance, and whether or not we got away with speeding. Zelda, Midna, and Saria start squealing and asking about baby names and whether it's a boy or a girl. I'm finding it all quite overwhelming as I try to make sense of all the voices speaking at once. I'm about to reply to Zelda's question about the gender of the baby, when suddenly I hear a loud booming voice calling for me.

"LINK FARON!"

Everything falls silent, and everyone turns to look behind them. Headmaster Geapora towers over all, his shadow blocking out the sunlight as he looms over me. His arms are crossed over his chest in an unimpressed fashion, and his thick white eyebrows are arched in disapproval. His dark eyes scan me judgingly as he steps through all my friends, standing directly in front of me. I swallow hard, trying to stand up straight.

"You turn up to school five hours late…" He says sternly, "Then when you do decide to arrive… your shirt is un-tucked, your tie is a mess, and what is your explanation for those shoes?"

He presses his lips firmly together, staring me down, waiting for an explanation. I have my excuses, perfect alibis and reasons for every single aspect that he just listed off. Yet as he looms threateningly over me, it feels like my tongue has turned to dust inside my mouth. I can't seem to formulate my words, to verbalise any of the thoughts dashing around my mind.

"It's not his fault, sir!" Sheik suddenly blurts out. "His mum just had a baby!"