Two chapters in just a few days' time! Thanks to TeelanaFalcao and LanaFalcon (I hope I spelled those right!) for the encouragement! You ladies rock! Thank you to everyone who reads this tale of mine, and reviews are greatly appreciated! Enjoy!

Teela sighed as she settled onto her bed and closed her eyes. She was nearing the end of her sixth month and, while she was enjoying the pregnancy experience, she still found that she tired easily.

Her parents had renewed their vows two weeks earlier with the royal family and the Masters in attendance. After the small reception, they had gone to the royal family's seaside home for a week-long wedding vacation, at the insistence of the king and queen.

After they had returned, He-Man and Man-at-arms had met with several of the leaders of their allies' armies to begin making plans to head off the coming attack by Skeletor and the goblins.

Vloren and Jevren were due to return from their month-long wedding vacation in two days, and then Teela would resume her magical training with Jevren at the beginning of the week.

Vlacan's and Rain's twins were due in about a month's time, so they would miss the Winter Festival this year, and then Teela was due a month after that.

She sighed again, and opened her eyes when she heard someone enter her bed chambers.

Adam looked at his exhausted wife and gave her a small smile. "Sorry; I didn't know you were resting."

"It's okay," she replied. "I've got too much going on in my head to sleep, anyway."

"Care to share?" he asked, sitting beside her on the bed.

"Just thinking about everything that's been going on, and all of the things we still have coming up," she told him. "The Winter Festival is next month, so your mother wants to begin the planning for that. Do you think she'd be upset if I told her I was too tired to help?"

"Not at all," he assured her, surprised. He knew she must be truly exhausted if she was even considering asking to be relieved of any of her duties. "She's been through this herself, so I'm sure she can empathize with you."

"I just don't want to make anymore work for anyone else, and I don't want people thinking I'm weak," she said, frowning.

"No one will think that, and if they do, who cares? You're the princess, and you're carrying the future heir to the throne. They can deal with it," he said, lifting her hand and kissing the top of it.

Teela smiled tiredly at him and nodded, closing her eyes again. "Wake me before dinner, please," she said.

Adam blinked. "You're going to skip lunch?"

"I ate about twenty minutes ago," she told him. "If I get hungry, I'm sure I'll wake up. I'll probably wake up to use the lavatory, anyway, long before dinner, but just in case your son decides to cooperate and let me rest, I need you to make sure I'm awake."

Adam smiled sympathetically, kissing her hand again. "I will," he promised. "Get some rest."

He used the lavatory and washed his hands before quietly leaving their room once more, smiling when he saw that his wife was sound asleep.

He made his way to his mother's office and waited for her assistant to tell him it was okay for him to enter.

"Adam, dear, what can I do for you?" the queen asked, indicating that he should sit in the chair in front of her desk.

"I just left Teela sleeping in our room, and I wanted to talk to you about lightening her work load for awhile," he said, taking a seat. "She wants to ask you if she can skip out on helping with the Winter Festival, but she's afraid of making anymore work for anyone else, or of anyone thinking she's weak. This pregnancy is really taking a toll on her physically, and if she's even considering asking to be relieved of any of her duties, you know she's really tired."

Marlena looked at him in concern, knowing he was right. "I think we can manage just fine without her this time," she told him. "I'll also try to make sure she has as little to do during the Festival as possible. Do you think she needs to go see Darius?"

Adam shook his head. "We just saw him last week, and we're supposed to see him every week from now until she delivers, so I think it's just a matter of her being tired. Darius says that everything is fine at all of her checkups."

Marlena nodded. "I'll speak with her after lunch, then."

"Actually, you may want to wait until later," Adam said. "She ate an early lunch, so she could go nap. She instructed me to wake her for dinner, if our daughter decides to cooperate and let her sleep that long."

Marlena chuckled slightly. "I know that she probably said your 'son', since you two are still teasing each other about that, but if she's tired enough that she wants to sleep that long, we'll let her."

"Thank you, Mother," Adam said, grinning mischievously at her, and standing. "I'll see you in a few minutes for lunch."

"You're welcome, dear," she said, smiling as he moved to kiss her cheek before he left her office.

XXXXXXXXXX

A week later, Teela was sitting with Jevren as they discussed the book on magic that Jevren had asked Teela to read while she was away, when Adam burst into the room, eyes wide.

"Jevren, Vlacan just contacted us to let us know that Rain is in labor, and he would like you and Vloren to come home immediately," he said.

"How long has she been in labor?" Jevren asked, standing and making her way towards the door, with Teela following right behind her.

"He didn't say," Adam answered. "Teela and I will pack, and we'll be there as soon as we can."

Jevren nodded. "I have to go find my husband," she said. "He's supposed to be working with Man-at-arms today."

Adam lifted his arm and spoke into the comlink on his wrist. "Man-at-arms, do you copy?"

"Aye, Lad, what is it?" Duncan's voice came over the receiver.

"Is Vloren with you?"

"He is," Duncan replied. "Is there something wrong?"

"Jevren and Vloren need to return to Aragnor immediately; Rain is in labor," Adam said. "What's your current location?"

"We're in my workshop," Man-at-arms said. "Should I send Vloren to you?"

Jevren shook her head. "I'll go to them," she told him.

"Negative; she's coming to you," Adam replied, as Jevren hugged Teela and opened a portal, stepping through.

"She just arrived," Man-at-arms said. "Are you and Teela going to Aragnor?"

"As soon as we pack, and I let my parents know what's happening," Adam answered.

"All right," Duncan replied. "Man-at-arms out."

Adam looked at his wife and smiled. "Let's go pack."

Teela smiled, too, and they made their way to their suite. They quickly packed a few things, and Adam contacted his parents to let them know what was going on, while Teela went to go let her own mother know what was happening.

"We'll be home in a couple of days, unless you need us sooner," Adam told his father.

"Keep us informed," King Randor replied, "and give Vlacan and Rain our love."

"I will," Adam promised. He disconnected the connection on the vid-com unit, picked up the two small valises they had packed, and opened the door to their suite to go look for his wife.

He saw her coming down the corridor towards him, and he held up the cases. "I'm ready whenever you are," he told her.

Teela nodded and opened a portal, and they stepped through.

Vleramar blinked in surprise when he saw them emerge from the portal. "Your Highness's!" he exclaimed. "I had no idea that you were coming!"

Adam smiled warmly. "It's all right, Vleramar," he assured the valet. "We told Prince Vlacan and Princess Jevren, but I think they probably forgot to mention it in all of the excitement."

"How long are you planning to stay, Highness?" Vleramar asked.

"We'll probably stay until a day or two after the twins arrive," Adam told him. "We actually wanted to get to the infirmary as soon as possible."

Vleramar bowed. "Do you remember your way around the palace, Highness?"

"Please, just call me Adam, and yes, we remember," Adam told him.

"I shall take your bags and prepare your usual rooms, then, Hi- er, Adam," Vleramar said.

"Thank you, Vleramar," Adam said, handing him the two bags he carried.

Vleramar bowed, and Adam and Teela hurried to the infirmary, where the royal family had gathered to await the birth of the twins.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Adam, Teela," Queen Elevren exclaimed when they entered the waiting area in the infirmary that a staff member had taken them to. "We had no idea you were coming!"

Jevren gave her mother an apologetic look. "Sorry; I forgot to tell you," she said.

"It's all right," Adam assured them both. "We ran into Vleramar when we arrived; he's preparing our usual suite for us... assuming you don't mind our staying?"

"Of course we don't mind," King Vlancar assured them, shaking Adam's hand and nodding to Teela.

"You're welcome to stay as long as you like," Queen Elevren said, hugging them both.

"Have you heard anything yet?" Teela asked, accepting the seat on the sofa that King Vlancar indicated she should take.

"Nothing yet," Jevren sighed. "Apparently she was in labor most of the night, but things didn't really start progressing until this morning, when her water broke."

The family sat in the waiting room for a couple of hours, before Vladimir entered the waiting room and bowed to the royals. "The twins have not arrived yet, but Princess Laraina would like to see everyone," he said. "We'll have King Vlancar and Queen Elevren go visit her first, but please, don't stay too long. The babies will probably arrive within the next two or three hours, so I want her to rest as much as possible."

The king and queen followed him back, and Teela looked at Jevren. "Has anyone contacted Uncle Des and Aunt Gwen?"

Jevren nodded. "My father sent a messenger with a transport first thing this morning," she said. "They should arrive late this evening. I offered to open a portal and go get them, but apparently Lady Gwen doesn't like to use them."

Teela nodded, and placed her hand on her own extended abdomen, feeling her child kicking. She smiled at Adam when he sat beside her, placing his hand in the right place so he could feel it, too.

A few minutes later, King Vlancar and Queen Elevren returned, and Jevren and Vloren followed Vladimir back to see Vlacan and Rain.

"Your child is due soon as well, isn't it?" Queen Elevren asked Teela.

"In just under two months, Your Majesty," Teela replied, smiling.

"Do you have everything ready, then?" the queen asked.

"Not everything," Teela replied. "I asked my mother to decorate our nursery, since she knows whether or not we're having a boy or a girl. She's painted the nursery and set up the furniture, but that's all so far. She's planning to finish decorating it at the end of next month, and then she promised to make a list of what she and Queen Marlena think we'll still need."

Queen Elevren smiled and nodded, just as Vloren and Jevren returned.

"Adam and Teela, you can go in now," Jevren told them.

Adam and Teela stood and followed the nurse through the infirmary to Rain's room. They found Rain sitting up in bed, with Vlacan sitting in a chair beside her bed.

Rain smiled when she saw them. "Teela! Adam! I'm so glad you came!"

"We wouldn't miss the birth of your babies for anything," Teela said with a smile, hugging her cousin.

Adam greeted Vlacan, shaking his hand, before leaning forward to hug Rain, while Teela moved to hug Vlacan.

"How are you doing?" Teela asked, giving her a sympathetic look.

"Better now that they've given me something for the pain," Rain laughed. "It was pretty bad for a while there, though."

Teela grimaced. "I tried to tell Darius that I want something for the pain as soon as labor starts, but he keeps telling me that there's a procedure to follow, so I'll get something when the time is right."

Rain pulled a face and nodded. "Vladimir was the same way with me," she said. "I wanted something as soon as I came in, but he said we needed to wait a bit."

They visited for a few minutes, then Vladimir told them that Rain needed to try to rest a little for a while, so they made their way back out to the waiting room to sit with the others.

XXXXXXXXXX

Another two hours went by and there was still no word, so King Vlancar had a meal sent up for them all. The servant's set up a table large enough to accommodate them, and then set out the meal before leaving them alone once more.

They finished eating and Teela settled onto the large sofa, her head resting on Adam's shoulder. She was very nearly asleep, when the door opened and Vladimir entered, smiling at them.

"They've arrived," he said, looking at his king and queen and bowing. "Two healthy, but small, identical twin baby girls."

"OH!" Queen Elevren exclaimed, grasping her husband's arms and hugging him. "Can we see them; all of them?"

"It will be just a little while longer," he replied. "We have to bathe the babies, and Princess Laraina is getting cleaned up and settled. I'll come let you know the moment you can see them."

"You said they were small; how much did they weigh?" Jevren asked.

"Both were right around two and a quarter kilograms," he told her. "The firstborn was just over 45 centimeters, and the second was just over 50 centimeters."

"Tall and skinny," Adam chuckled, "just like their parents."

Everyone else chuckled, too, and Vladimir nodded.

"How is Rain?" Teela asked him.

"She's tired, but otherwise well," he told her.

"Thank the Ancients," Teela said, sighing.

"Forgive me, but I must return to check on them," he said, bowing again as the king and queen nodded.

Vladimir left, and they all smiled at each other.

"Identical twins!" Teela said, shaking her head. "How exciting!"

There was a knock on the door to the waiting room, and Vloren opened it to find a servant outside.

"Your Majesties," he said with a bow, "Lord Desek and Lady Gwendolyn have arrived, and the kitchen staff is here to clean up after your meal."

"Send in Lord Desek and Lady Gwendolyn first, and then the kitchen staff may enter to clean up," King Vlancar told him.

The servant bowed and stepped out of the way, allowing Rain's parents entrance.

Lord Desek bowed to the monarchs of Aragnor, as his wife curtsied beside him, and then they looked at them with worried eyes.

"Has there been any word?" Lady Gwen asked anxiously, trying to ignore the servants that were clearing away the dishes from the room.

"Just a few moments ago," Queen Elevren said. "The twins have arrived, and they are all doing very well."

"Oh, thank the Ancients!" Lady Gwen said, visibly relaxing.

They all greeted one another properly then, and then Queen Elevren filled them in on Vladimir's visit just before they'd arrived.

"Are either of you hungry?" King Vlancar asked. "We've all eaten already, but I can have something sent up for you if you would like."

"No, thank you," Lord Desek said, glancing at his wife to be sure. When she shook her head, he looked back to the king. "We ate about an hour ago on the transport."

Everyone finally sat down, and Teela once again put her head on Adam's shoulder, yawning.

"Dear, you should go rest," Queen Elevren told her.

"I will, after I see Rain and the twins," she promised. "I'd be too excited to sleep, otherwise."

"In that case, if it's all right with you," King Vlancar said, looking to Lord Desek and Lady Gwen, "we'll allow Prince Adam and Princess Teela to go visit them first, so the princess can go get some much needed rest."

Rain's parents agreed, and Teela smiled her thanks.

XXXXXXXXXX

About forty-five minutes later, Vladimir entered the waiting room once more and bowed to the king and queen. "They are ready for visitors, but I ask that no more than four people visit at a time, and that each couple or group only stays fifteen minutes; they need to rest."

"Of course," King Vlancar said, looking to Adam and Teela. "We've agreed to allow Prince Adam and Princess Teela to go visit them first, so that the princess can go get some rest."

Vladimir smiled and nodded, and Adam and Teela followed him back to Rain's room once more.

Rain was sitting up in her bed, holding a blanket wrapped bundle. Vlacan was sitting in the chair beside her bed, holding a bundle of his own. They were both beaming when Adam and Teela entered.

Adam and Teela moved closer, and smiled at the new parents. "Congratulations!" they both said at once, and then grinned at each other.

"Come over here so you can see the twins," Rain said.

Adam and Teela moved to stand next to the bed, in front of the chair Vlacan was sitting in.

Vlacan pulled the blanket back and turned the baby so they could see her face. "This is Aylevren, our firstborn," he said. "And that is Aisella," he nodded towards the baby that Rain was now holding so that they could see.

"How do you tell them apart?" Teela asked. "Vladimir said they were identical."

"The nurses painted their toenails different colors, and wrapped them in different colored blankets," Rain laughed. "We were told that we'll learn to tell them apart on our own eventually, but for now we've assigned Aisella pink and Aylevren purple."

Adam grinned. "Sounds like a good plan to me."

"Would you like to hold them?" Rain asked.

Teela bit her bottom lip, and nodded, as Adam nodded beside her.

Vlacan stood and handed Aylevren to her. "I was told that you have to support her head and back," he told her, making sure she had a good hold on the infant before he moved to the bed to take Aisella from his wife. He turned and handed her to Adam, again making sure that he had a good hold on the baby before stepping back.

Teela examined both infants, looking back and forth between them. "They really are identical, aren't they?" she laughed.

They both had Rain's auburn curls, and almond shaped eyes, and they had Vlacan's pointed elf ears.

Aylevren blinked and squirmed for a moment, scrunching up her face, and then opened her eyes and looked up at Teela.

Teela gasped as she saw that the baby had Vlacan's ice blue eyes, as well.

"They're beautiful," Adam said softly, and Teela saw that Aisella had opened her eyes as well, and they were the same blue as her father's and sister's.

"Thank you," Rain said, beaming proudly.

They held the infants for a few more moments, and then Vlacan took Aylevren and handed her to Rain before taking Aisella from Adam.

"We'd best be going," Adam told them. "Everyone else would like to come see them, and Teela needs to go get some rest."

"We'll come and visit again tomorrow," Teela promised.

"Thank you so much for coming," Rain said.

Adam and Teela nodded, and left the room, making their way back to the waiting room to let the others know that they could go and visit.

"We'll see you all at breakfast in the morning," Adam promised. "Have a good night."

Everyone wished the couple good night, and they made their way to the suite they stayed in whenever they visited Aragnor.

"The babies were so tiny," Adam said, shaking his head as they walked towards their suite. "Do you suppose our child will be that small?"

"I'm sure he'll be small, but not that small," Teela said. "They were almost a month early, and we aren't having twins. Darius said that twins are typically smaller than single birth babies."

"Well, that's a relief," Adam said. "I'd be afraid of dropping her every time I held her, if she were that small."

Teela and Adam grinned at each other in silent acknowledgment that the gender game was still alive and well.

They entered the suite and made their way to the bed chambers to begin getting ready for bed.

Adam allowed Teela use of the lavatory first, so that she could get settled and rest. When she was finished, he completed his nightly routine and settled into the large bed beside her. He smiled when he saw that his wife was already sound asleep.

Turning off the lights, he turned onto his side so that he was facing Teela, and wrapped a strong arm around her, falling asleep within a few short minutes.

XXXXXXXXXX

The next morning after breakfast, Adam and Teela went to visit Vlacan, Rain, and the twins.

Lady Lizelle and Lord Turevan arrived shortly after the morning meal, and came to see the new princesses, as well.

Elle had decided to follow the elven custom of living with the groom's family prior to the wedding, so she now lived in Jelvarin.

"I share a room with one of his sisters," she told Teela and Adam. "Her name is Xanevren, and she's a year older than me. I really like her."

"Xanevren really likes you, too, my love," Lord Turevan said, smiling.

"I spend most of my time at Turevan's home," Elle told them. "I usually just end up sleeping at his family's home. I feel kind of bad."

"My family understands, and they don't mind," he assured her, kissing her forehead.

They stayed for just over an hour, and then they left to give the other family members an opportunity to see the new family.

King Vlancar and Queen Elevren invited them to attend the afternoon session of the royal court, so they accepted. The announcement of the twins' birth had been made at the morning court session, and the court was still buzzing about it.

When court had been dismissed, Adam and Teela went to rest for a little while before the evening meal, and after the evening meal they went to visit Vlacan and Rain once again for a short while.

"We'll be heading back to Eternia tomorrow," Adam told them. "You have all of your family here to visit, and we have things to attend to at home."

"We understand, but we'll be sorry to see you go," Vlacan told them. "Come see us before you leave."

"We will," they promised.

They stayed for half an hour, and then went to their suite to relax and spend some time together before it was time for bed.

Teela invited Adam to join her for a warm bath and the two relaxed together in the tub, enjoying the rare opportunity to just spend time together and talk.

The next morning after breakfast, they visited with Vlacan and Rain for another half hour before saying their goodbyes to them, and then they went to say goodbye to everyone else before they made their way to their suite to collect their belongings.

Adam held the valises as Teela opened the portal back to Eternia, and they stepped through.

They weren't surprised that there was no one there to greet them, as the morning court session was likely already in progress, so they made their way to their suite and Adam set their cases on the bed. They unpacked quickly, and then Adam walked over to Teela and pulled her into his arms.

"I guess we should go let everyone know we're back," he said.

Teela sighed. "Yes, I suppose we should."

Adam kissed her and then placed his hand on her abdomen, bending so that he was close to her belly. "You be a good girl in there, and let your mother rest today, okay?"

Teela laughed and moved his hand so that he could feel the baby kicking. "I think he's talking back to you already."

Adam chuckled too, kissed her once more, and then took her hand and led her to the throne room.