Labor is long… and so is this chapter.

"Everything is fine, Your Majesty," Madame Aloray said, completing her examination.

Elphaba had a quick bath and changed into a silk nightgown. She felt slightly better, even though her nerves were overtaking her thoughts. "Even though it's three weeks early?" she questioned, rubbing her stomach.

"I'm not very worried about that. The baby will be small, yes, but perfectly capable of surviving outside the womb."

"Must I stay in bed?"

"I would recommend it, ma'am. You will need all of your strength for pushing. Shall I call for the king?"

Elphaba nodded. As soon as Madame Aloray opened the door, Fiyero hurried inside and sat on the bed next to his wife.

"Her Majesty is doing very well, but she must stay in bed and rest as much as possible."

The queen shifted her weight, rubbing her stomach. "I'm hungry, Yero. Is dinner ready yet?"

"Your Majesty, you shouldn't eat anything while you're in labor. The risk of aspiration is too great."

"Aspiration?"

"When food is inhaled into the lungs by accident. But you may have ice chips."

"That's just frozen water," Fiyero frowned.

"It's only until the baby is born," the midwife said apologetically before curtsying and leaving.

Elphaba moaned as she felt a weak contraction. "I want my mother, Fiyero."

The king kissed her forehead. "I'll have a message sent to our parents right away."

She looked up at her husband as the contraction ended. "I'm scared."

"I know. But I'll be right here with you. I won't leave you. I promise."

Elphaba gave him a weak smile, then tried to push herself up.

"Fae, the midwife said you must stay in bed and rest."

"I have to go to the bathroom. I refuse to pee in the bed."

A few minutes later, she was back in the bed, content with a novel. Dinner was announced, but Fiyero denied it.

"Go eat," Elphaba said, not looking up from her book.

"I promised not to leave you."

"Then have it sent up here."

"I don't want to eat in front of you when you can't have anything."

"There's no point in both of us being hungry. Eat. Please."

Fiyero sighed, but told the servant to bring up his dinner. He ate, casting apologetic glances at his wife every few bites.

"I'll feel less bad about crushing your hand if you have a full stomach," Elphaba mused, feeling his eyes on her.

Once he finished, he returned to the bed, letting her hold his hand as she felt a stronger contraction.

"Get my mother, Yero," Elphaba begged, breathing through the contraction.

"I sent Quirk with a message. But they won't get here until tomorrow."

"I want her now."

"I understand, love. They'll get here as fast as they can."

The contraction ended and Elphaba took a deep breath. "Hold me?"

"Of course." The king climbed into bed and wrapped his arms around her. And that's how the couple fell asleep.

For the rest of the night, Elphaba woke up to contractions every fifteen to twenty minutes. She tried not to wake Fiyero, but it seemed that every time she moved, whether it was due to a contraction or not, he felt it and his eyes would flutter open with a moaned, "Fae?".

"You're not usually a light sleeper," the queen chuckled softly as her sixth contraction ended.

"I haven't slept much."

She slowly turned to face him and planted a gentle kiss on his cheek. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

Over the next hour, Elphaba had five more contractions. Fiyero slept through the first two, but stayed awake for the next three, much to Elphaba's surprise and relief.

"Yero, I need a back massage."

The king kneeled behind his wife and gently massaged her lower back. She leaned back against him, closing her eyes and rubbing her large stomach.

"Where's my mother? She should be here by now."

"Quirk probably just reached Kiamo Ko."

Her breathing quickened and her fist closed around the comforter. "Fiyero."

He quickly grabbed her hand, allowing her to squeeze his as the painful contraction rippled through her body. Once it ended, he moved to resume the massage, but Elphaba shrugged him off.

"No," she grunted, trying to get out of bed. "I don't want you touching me anymore."

"What are you doing?"

"I need to get out of this bed. Laying against the pillows is making my back hurt even more."

Fiyero jumped out of bed. "I will personally get you whatever you want."

"I want to stand up and walk around."

"I don't think that's a wise decision."

"Yero, please stop talking." The queen was now sitting on the edge of the bed, trying to push herself up. "Just help me up."

"Fae, please listen to me." He knelt in front of his wife and grabbed her hands. "I don't want you doing anything that could exert extra stress on yourself or the baby. I want you to save your strength. There's so much at stake right now. I can't have… I refuse to… I don't want to lose you."

Elphaba's eyes widened and filled with tears. "Yero…"

The king immediately realized the implications of what he said and immediately regretted it. "Fae, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to say it like that."

"You're afraid I'll die. You're afraid we'll lose the baby. You're afraid… we'll both die." That last part was barely above a whisper as a stream of tears flowed down her face.

Even though the Vinkus was the second-most advanced place in Oz in terms of childbirth safety and sanitation, that didn't eliminate the possibility of death to the mother, the baby, or both. His aunt, Eilice Tigulaar, the Duchess of Restwater, had died giving birth to a daughter, and the baby died shortly after her. She went into labor a month early and, after a complicated delivery, had bled out. He was five years old at the time, old enough to remember his aunt, but not old enough to understand what had happened and why he couldn't see his new little cousin.

"Yes," he whispered. He regretted making her cry, but it was the truth. "And I don't want that. I need you."

Elphaba was silent for a moment. "I understand. But Yero, I'm in so much pain right now, and laying down is only making it worse. I need to walk around the room, just for a little bit."

She ended up getting what she wanted and walked around for five minutes. Fiyero's arms were wrapped around her the entire time, refusing to leave her side. It felt good to stretch her legs before a contraction brought her back to the bed. She laid back against the pillows, but soon lifted herself onto all fours, her fingers digging into the comforter.

"This hurts really bad," she hissed through clenched teeth.

"Do you want the midwife?"

She nodded and Fiyero kissed her forehead and went to find a servant. She was so focused on breathing that she didn't hear the sound of a carriage pulling in. A moment later, she heard rushed footsteps and the door opened, revealing the face she really wanted to see.

"Mama!" she exclaimed, reaching for her mother, belatedly noticing her husband behind her.

"Fabala!" Yuene smiled, hurrying to her daughter and taking her hand, allowing her to sink against her. "It's okay. I'm here now."

"This really hurts."

"I know, darling. But you'll be fine. Just breathe."

"Where's Papa?"

"He's downstairs in the parlor. Queen Amalie and Princess Hannalyn are also here."

Elphaba rocked her hips from side to side, panting through the pain. Finally, it stopped and she crashed against the pillows. "What time is it?"

"Three thirty-four."

"You must be tired."

"I'm fine."

"That's what Yero said," Elphaba said, nodding towards her husband, who had fallen asleep in the armchair by the window. She turned back to her mother with a slight frown. "I'm… scared."

Yuene climbed onto the bed and knelt next to her daughter. "I know, Fabala. I wish I could offer you first-hand advice. Even though I wasn't blessed with a biological child, I've still been present for three royal births, though one outcome was different from the other two."

Elphaba's frown didn't leave her face, knowing the "different outcome" her mother was referring to was Duchess Eilice's death. The other two were Fiyero and Hannalyn's births. "What was it like?"

"There was a lot of pain," Yuene said honestly, yet gently. "A lot of screaming and blood. During Hanna's birth, the queen fainted and we weren't sure she would wake up. It's dangerous, yes, but when I saw the queen hold her newborns for the first time, it seemed like all that pain never happened. I don't think I've ever seen her happier. And I know you and Fiyero will experience that same joy."

"Do you ever regret not being able to have a biological child?" Elphaba asked softly.

Yuene shook her head and kissed her cheek. "I couldn't have asked for a better daughter," she whispered. "I love you, Fabala."

"I love you, too, Mama."

The midwife returned and Yuene moved to help Elphaba sit up against the pillows.

"You're seven centimeters dilated, Your Majesty. It will be a few more hours before you can begin pushing."

Elphaba sighed and leaned back. "I'm hot. I want the ice chips now."

"I'll go get them," Yuene said, kissing Elphaba's forehead and hurrying away.

Madame Aloray gently prodded the queen's stomach, and Elphaba winced at the pain. "I apologize, Your Majesty. If you will allow it, I believe you will be in much less pain if we rub warm lavender oil on your stomach."

"Do it," Elphaba nodded, her body feeling weak. She slowly lifted herself onto her elbows and attempted to grab a pillow from behind her back, but fell onto her side. "Thank you," she whispered as the midwife helped right her and grabbed the pillow, and placed it under her legs. "Please wake the king."

She walked over to the chair and gently shook the king's shoulder. "Your Majesty?"

Fiyero shot up and stumbled over his own feet to get to the bed. "Fae! Are you alright? What's going on?"

"Try to get some sleep, Your Majesties. The queen has a long day ahead of her," the Madame Aloray said, curtsying and exiting.

Fiyero climbed into bed next to his wife. "May I hold you?"

"Please."

The couple was quiet for a moment. Fiyero busied himself with running his fingers through Elphaba's hair. As he did, her breathing evened out and her eyelids fluttered closed.

"Nessarose."

He looked down, finding Elphaba's eyes still closed. Was she talking in her sleep?

Not hearing a response, Elphaba slowly opened her eyes, looking up at him.

"What?"

"Nessarose," she repeated. "That's the name I want for a girl."

"Nessarose," Fiyero tried, then smiled. "It's very pretty. Is it a Munchkin name?"

"Yes. She would be half-Munchkin, after all."

"Where did that name come from?"

"This is going to sound crazy, but I have a very faint memory of my birth mother and I sitting together, trying to come up with names for my sibling. That was her favorite one. She was positive that it would be a girl, so we only came up with girl names. She… she never got to find out if she was right."

Fiyero hugged his wife closer. "Her Royal Highness, Princess Nessarose Tigulaar sounds perfect."

Yuene returned with the ice chips, and Elphaba relaxed as the frozen water rehydrated her body. The ice cooled her temperature and allowed her to get a few more moments of rest. When she awoke again from another contraction, she didn't feel Fiyero next to her.

"Fiyero?" she panted, her hand blindly searching the other side of the bed for her husband. "Fiyero!"

Silence answered her and she realized she was alone. Fear mixed with her pain and she began hyperventilating, feeling as though she couldn't inhale enough air. The contractions were getting closer, stronger, and more painful, and she was left feeling weaker after each one.

"Fiyero!"

A clock-tick later, the door burst open and Fiyero rushed back in. "I'm here, my love. Don't worry, I'm here."

"You left me. You promised you wouldn't," Elphaba cried, pushing him away, yet wanting him close.

"I'm sorry. I thought you'd still be sleeping. I'm sorry I left you." He reached for her again, this time not met with any protests.

"I'm tired."

"I know. It won't be much longer now."

"Where did you go?"

"I had to leave a message for my counselors that I will not be working today. And I had to use the bathroom. I wasn't gone long, love."

She knew she shouldn't be mad at him. Even though he was her husband and about to become a father, he was still the king. "My mother…"

"She's sleeping. I promised I would send for her when it's time. She really needed to rest, Fae."

"I'm hot."

He gave her more ice chips, which were slowly melting, and she fell back asleep. While she slept, the midwife came back with the warm lavender oil. Even in her sleep, Elphaba smelt the lavender and relaxed as it was massaged into her stomach.

As the sun rose, her contractions were slowly getting stronger. She was currently laying on her side, squeezing a pillow between her legs as Fiyero rubbed her back.

"Would you like more pillows?" the king asked, rubbing her arm.

Elphaba shook her head, squeezing the pillow in her arms. Another contraction called the midwife in and she examined the queen's progress.

"Nine centimeters. You're progressing well. Almost there, ma'am," Madame Aloray reported.

"I want to push," Elphaba winced, exhaling loudly.

"Not yet."

"Just breathe, Fae," Fiyero said, rubbing the back of her hand.

"I hate these pillows," Elphaba groaned, chucking the one in her arms and kicking away the one in between her legs. "I want –" She stopped short, her face contorting as she pushed herself up.

"What do you want?" Fiyero asked, trying to push her back down.

She pushed him away. "I… I don't feel well."

"What's wrong?"

"I… feel nauseous."

The midwife quickly retrieved the pot that was supposed to be for the warm water and held it under the queen. Elphaba panted out a few breaths before throwing up the little that was in her stomach, mostly water. Her stomach churned, then slowly calmed and she pushed the pot away. Fiyero helped her drink the melted ice chips and wiped her mouth with a warm cloth.

"Fae?"

"What?"

"I have to go down to my off-"

"No."

"I will be quick. I promise. It's my duty to give the counselors an update on the birth."

"It's your duty to stay here with me as I give birth!"

"Fae, please. Just rest and I will be back before you wake up."

Elphaba frowned, but could only watch as Fiyero hurried away. She managed to fall back asleep, and, just as he promised, he was back when she awoke to a painful contraction three minutes later.

"Your Majesty?" Madame Aloray began timidly, glancing at the king.

Fiyero looked up.

"You're… staying?"

Royal tradition dictated that childbearing was women's work, and men were discouraged from being present during pushing. It wasn't an official law or even a rule; just accepted wisdom. Back in the olden days, it was believed that a man's presence during childbirth would bring bad luck. That myth had long been disproven, but the tradition remained. The king knew he had overstayed his welcome and would be expected to leave soon. He had been told that his father had hovered by the door during both his and his sister's births, practically mowing down the midwife as soon as she opened the door again.

But he didn't want to leave his wife.

"Yes," Fiyero nodded, fluffing the pillows as Elphaba's contraction ended.

"Get rid of these pillows!" Elphaba panted, angrily swatting them away.

He turned to the midwife. "What can we do to make her comfortable?"

"Your Majesty could sit behind her and allow her to brace herself against you," Madame Aloray offered.

Fiyero quickly knelt behind his wife, allowing her to sit between his knees as she panted through another contraction. He softly hummed a slow melody, rubbing her arm, but it did little to comfort her.

"What… what's going on?" she asked, realizing that the door was open and a crowd of men were outside, muttering and watching her. "Fiyero, who are they?"

"It's a royal custom. They're witnesses, here to make sure there isn't a substitution."

"A substitution?"

"Switching a dead baby for a living one."

"No! Tell them to go away! Make them go away!"

Fiyero looked unsure for a clock-tick, but shooed them away with his hand. The men frowned, but bowed respectfully and made to close the door.

"Mama!" Elphaba shouted. "Mama!"

Yuene hurried into the room, closing the door behind her, and rushed to Elphaba's side. "I'm here, Fabala," she whispered comfortingly, kneeling next to her on the bed and gripping her hand. "Breathe deeply."

"You're fully dilated, Your Majesty. When you feel the next contraction, push gently," Madame Aloray interjected from the foot of the bed.

Elphaba looked up at her mother, tears in her eyes and sweat covering her forehead. "I'm scared, Mama."

"I know," Yuene said, brushing Elphaba's hair away from her face. "I know, sweetheart. But this will be over soon. Remember what I said."

Elphaba squeezed her hand as a painful contraction hit her and began pushing.

"Good, Your Majesty. Give me another push. Slow and steady," the midwife said.

"It hurts," Elphaba whimpered, leaning back against her husband.

"I know," Fiyero whispered, kissing her hair. "It's okay, my love. You're doing great."

"I can't do this."

"Yes, you can."

"It hurts too much."

"You're strong, Elphaba. You can do this."

"I… can't…"

"Yes, you can, Fae. Just keep breathing. Think happy thoughts. You're strong, beautiful, wond-"

"Push, Your Majesty!" Madame Aloray called from the foot of the bed.

Elphaba pushed, screamed, panted, squeezed, and cried. Sweat covered her forehead and her breathing become shorter and more labored.

"Deep breaths, Fae. Look at me. We'll breathe together," Fiyero encouraged, rubbing her hand and exaggerating his breathing, urging his wife to copy him.

Elphaba's cheeks filled with air and she slowly let it out, a painful groan ripping free from her throat.

"Don't push yet, Your Majesty. Wait for the next contraction," Madame Aloray said.

"Wait?" Elphaba panted, her eyes widening. "I… can't… wait!"

"Just until the next contraction, which should come in a few seconds."

Just as she predicted, the contraction hit, and Elphaba pushed with all her strength.

"Okay, I can see the head. Keep going, Your Majesty."

"She can see the head, Fabala," Yuene said, wiping her daughter's forehead with a cold cloth.

"Push, Fae! We're almost there!" Fiyero encouraged.

Elphaba chuckled humorlessly. "What do you mean 'we'?!"

"Keep pushing! You can do it! You're almost th-"

"Fiyero. Stop. Talking!" She threw her head back with a loud yell and pushed. A few minutes later, she let out a loud huff and relaxed against her husband.

"It's a boy!" the midwife cried happily.

"A boy?" the king repeated with a laugh. He looked down at his wife and squeezed her hand. "It's a boy, Fae!"

The queen laughed as the squishy, squirmy newborn was placed on her chest. She gazed at him in awe, speechless as the midwife cleaned him off and cleaned out his airways, allowing him to take his first breaths of life.

Fiyero laughed as a loud wail filled the room and kissed his wife. They were parents. The Vinkus had an heir, a prince. He was momentarily distracted from this happy moment with Madame Aloray used a large pair of scissors to cut the umbilical cord, afraid it would hurt Elphaba. His fears were laid to rest when neither Elphaba nor the baby seemed to notice.

"We have a little boy, Yero," Elphaba whispered in relief as the baby's cries momentarily subsided.

Fiyero rested his chin on top of Elphaba's head and looked down at the newborn, gently stroking his cheek. "Hello, little one. It's so nice to finally meet you."

The midwife took him back to examine him.

"Mama," Elphaba laughed, reaching for her mother. "I'm a Mama now."

Yuene laughed. "I'm so proud of you," she whispered, kissing her cheek.

After giving the baby a thorough examination and declaring him healthy, Madame Aloray snuggly swaddled him in a warm blanket and gently handed him back to his mother. "Congratulations, Your Majesties."

"I'll let everyone know that both the mother and baby are healthy," Yuene smiled, giving the couple a curtsy and leaving them to get to know their newest family member.

"Excuse me, Your Majesty, but I must clean up now," Madame Aloray interjected softly.

Fiyero looked down at the bloodied sheets and nodded stiffly, hurrying after his mother-in-law.

"What is it?" Hannalyn asked as soon as she saw her brother and Yuene approaching. "Is Elphaba alright?"

"She's fine. She did beautifully," Yuene smiled, going over to Marqo and kissing him.

"And the baby?" Amalie asked.

"Our grandson is perfectly healthy."

"Grandson?" she choked out, tears in her eyes.

"Yes. Five pounds, fifteen ounces, seventeen inches long."

Exclamations of ecstatic celebration filled the parlor.

"Congratulations, Yero," Hannalyn smiled, hugging her brother. "Can we go see them?"

"Madame Aloray's cleaning up," Fiyero answered.

The midwife soon came to collect the family and led the way back to the room.

"We'll wait out here until Elphaba's ready," Amalie said, gently pulling Hannalyn back as she tried to enter the room behind her brother.

Fiyero slipped inside to find his wife propped up against multiple pillows (which he suspected were no longer bothering her back), in a fresh nightgown with fresh bedsheets, holding their swaddled son. He smiled, gently sitting next to her.

"He's so tiny," she whispered, gently stroking the sleeping baby's cheek.

"He's perfect," Fiyero whispered, allowing the baby to grab his finger.

"He needs a name."

The king grabbed their list of names from the nightstand drawer and held it up for both of them to see. He wordlessly pointed to the name at the top of the 'boy names' column with a grin.

Elphaba glanced at him. "You want to name our baby 'peaceful, mighty king'?"

"Yes. I think it suits him."

They discussed the names, as well as the two traditional royal middle names for a while before making the final decision.

Elphaba looked down at the sleeping newborn in her arms. "It suits him. A perfect name for a perfect boy." She didn't even try to hold her tears at bay. "Hold him."

Fiyero gently took the baby and held him against his chest. The baby fussed, but quieted down when he gently started rocking him. "It's okay. Daddy's got you. There's a good boy." He felt the tears coming back. This was his son. He had a son.

Elphaba wiped away her tears as she watched her husband interact with their son. "I love this," she whispered, more to herself than to him.

"Our families are outside, whenever you're ready."

"They can come in now."

He kissed the baby's forehead before gently handing him back to Elphaba and opening the door.

"Hi, Elphaba," Hannalyn smiled, slowly approaching the green girl and lowering herself onto the bed. She peeked at the baby in her arms and grinned. "He's so cute."

"Thank you, Hanna."

"What's his name?"

"Everyone, meet His Royal Highness, Prince Esaias Raal Navon Tigulaar," Fiyero announced proudly.

"You named him after Raal?" Amalie asked, blinking back tears.

Elphaba nodded. "We thought it fit perfectly."

"It does. He would be so happy and proud."

The new mother turned back to her sister-in-law. "Would you like to hold him?"

The teenager nodded enthusiastically and gently took the bundle. "Hi. I'm your Aunt Hanna. We're gonna have so much fun together. Yes, we will."

Once everyone got acquainted with the new prince, Amalie, Hannalyn, Marqo, and Yuene all left to give the new parents some alone time. The midwife came back in and showed Elphaba how to breastfeed. It took Esaias a moment to get the hang of it, but once he did, he began nursing like a pro.

"How are you feeling?" Fiyero asked as Esaias finished eating, yawned, and went back to sleep.

Elphaba smiled. "A bunch of emotions that are mostly unprocessed at this point. Mainly tired, sore, relieved that our baby is finally here and healthy and not…"

"Not what?"

"Green."

"You were worried about that?"

"You weren't?"

"I just wanted him to be healthy."

"It never crossed your mind that the baby might be born like me?"

"I want our child to be kind, smart, and compassionate, just like you. If he was born green, orange, or any other color, it wouldn't have mattered, because he would still receive unconditional love from his parents."

"That didn't answer my question."

Fiyero sighed. "It did cross my mind, yes, but my previous statement remains the same."

"I didn't want people to talk about him the way they talked about me. He doesn't deserve that."

"And neither did you." The king knew he had teased her with his share of green jokes, and regretted it, but none of that seemed to matter now that he got to know the real Elphaba.

Esaias yawned and wrinkled his nose, but didn't wake. Instead, he snuggled closer to his mother.

"I love him so much," the queen whispered, kissing his forehead.

"I love him, too. You did an amazing job, Fae. I'm beyond proud of you."

"I'm proud of you, too, Yero."

"You did all the work. I was useless."

"You weren't useless. You helped me." She yawned, then smiled apologetically.

"I'll let you rest," he said, gently taking his son and giving his wife a kiss.

"Fiyero?"

"Yes?"

"Can you send for that pomegranate pie?"

The king chuckled. "Whatever you want, my love." He settled into the armchair by the window as Elphaba's eyes drifted closed. He looked down to find his son staring up at him, looking as though he was deciding whether or not to cry. He made a warning noise and Fiyero gently laid him against his shoulder.

"It's alright, my son," he whispered, rubbing small circles on the baby's back, effectively calming him. "Everything is fine."

One more chapter!