"Well, I certainly wasn't expecting to usher in a regime change." Luna said as she sat in one of the upstairs sitting rooms with Lina, Gourry, and a rather green looking Amelia. "What do you believe this means for relations between our countries?"

Gourry shrugged, "Well, things may be friendlier than under the old Emperor. But always keep an eye out for the catch."

"Hm." Luna mused. "Well, relations with the Elmekian Empire are bit outside of my circle, though I know that the Eternal Queen will want to speak with you. Princess Amelia, do you have any questions?"

"Justice was served." Amelia said as she put her hand over her mouth as her eyes bugged out, "And now it will rest."

"Nothing Mom has given you has worked?" Luna asked sympathetically.

Amelia groaned, "No. I wrote to my daddy and begged him to send me the latest cure for this from Saillune but I've not heard back yet. I don't get it! Everyone else in my family had easy pregnancies."

"I guess you're just exceptional like that." Lina said as she looked at Gourry, who shrugged. "Anyway, Sis, I've been meaning to ask. How is it that you never mentioned that glowing gold and Mazoku mistaking you for the Lord of Nightmares would be side effects of pregnancy?"

"What?" Amelia exclaimed as she sat up and a light sparked in her eyes, "Miss Lina! You're…!"

"It worked!" Luna said at the same time as she smacked her palm with her hand satisfactorily.

"What do you mean 'it worked!'?" Lina asked, "And why didn't you tell me this could happen?"

Before Luna could answer, Amelia had run up to her and thrown her arms around her as she yelled, "Congratulations! Oh this is going to be so exciting! We fought beside each other and now we're going to be pregnant together!"

Lina was a little miffed that her attempt to be stern with Luna was interrupted, but she couldn't help but chuckle a little as she returned the hug, "Yeah, I guess this will be a new type of challenge."

Amelia pulled away abruptly as she put a hand on her stomach, "I just hope yours is kinder to you than mine is."

Lina looked at her sympathetically as the princess laid back down on the couch with a moan as Luna considered her sister, "Congrats! If I try to hug you, will you bite my head off?"

Lina summoned her most serious glare, "Gourry and I want to know what's going on. And we have a right to know! It's our child!"

"It is." Luna agreed, "After word reached us that you had used the Giga Slave to defeat Hellmaster Phibrizo, the Eternal Queen and I were discussing the depth of the feelings you must have had for your guardian."

Even though Lina had ended up marrying him, she found herself blushing at the idea that people were discussing it as Amelia smiled sappily. Luna, meanwhile, continued, further mortifying Lina when she said, "The Eternal Queen wondered what sort of child would result if you decided to consummate such a love."

"Why were you and the Eternal Queen discussing my sex life!?" Lina screamed as Gourry blushed beside her.

"It's what royals do." Amelia explained. "Sit around and discuss who is sleeping with who and the pedigree of the children they will produce."

"And I'm sure it was just your hypothetical sex life at the time." Luna said with a smirk. "You still seemed quite virginal when you got home."

Lina turned purple as Luna said, "Oh honey, you were quite young then. No one thought anything of it. The Eternal Queen said as much and that it would be a pity, because given the right conditions you could birth a child who has a fragment of the Lord of Nightmares in their soul. But she concluded that by the time you would be old enough it would be to late."

"Too late?" Lina asked, feeling grateful at least that her parents weren't in the room.

"Because the Eternal Queen was sure that with each passing year your typical state would be more and more restored, and that after five years it would have been as if the Lord of Nightmares had never possessed you."

"So that's why you were rushing everything." Lina said, "Now, why didn't you tell me?"

"Because your wish for a child had to be pure." Luna explained.

"Huh?" Gourry asked.

"The Lord of Nightmares responds to pure wishes. Lina's desire to see Gourry live was a pure wish, uncorrupted by other desires. The beauty of it is that your odds of having a child blessed with its power was strengthened by marrying him and fulfilling that wish to have him in your world by building a life with him."

"That's so sweet and romantic." Amelia drawled from the couch, "I think I have to barf."

"So, just like your wish for Gourry's life had to be pure, your wish for a child had to be pure, uncorrupted by other desires to have a super powerful child."

"I wouldn't have cared either way." Gourry said.

"But I think that the temptation to have a child more powerful than my children, and more powerful than me, would have been too great for Lina." Luna said matter-of-factly as Lina reddened.

"Now wait a minute!" Lina exclaimed.

"If there is a flaw in my reasoning, feel free to point it out." Luna said openly.

Lina felt smoke blow out of her ears as she sat there, slack jawed. The problem was, Luna was right. She'd actually had a good reason to keep it from her. If Luna had told her, then Lina would have forever cursed her for blowing her chance to have such a powerful child. Meanwhile, Luna pressed, "So you see, I was in an impossible situation. If I'd told you, I would have ruined your one shot to surpass me."

"Oh you did not even!" Lina yelled as she got to her feet, "I already surpassed you! When was the last time you've defeated the Dark Lord?"

"That's not a nice way to thank me for the gift that I gave you."

"She's gonna blow!" Amelia exclaimed as Lina glowed with anger.

"Take it down a notch, I'd much rather not fight you in your condition." Luna snapped. "Now, about the announcement…"

"Hold it!" Lina said, "There will be no announcement! This information does not leave this room! Amelia can tell Zel and that's it!"

"Lina," Amelia said, "You're not going to be able to keep this a secret for long. People are going to notice. I mean, half of your students thought you were pregnant before you left!"

"Then we'll keep them speculating!" Lina said, "First I don't need all these kids giggling stupidly at me every time I walk in and using this to ask me about the birds and the bees! Second, I definitely don't need more reasons to give the Mazoku race to target me! Those first two were stupid enough to think I was the Lord of Nightmares, but a smarter one, one like Xellos? He'd figure it out and then who knows what trouble we'll be in! I want to keep this a secret for as long as I'm able."

Luna shrugged, "The announcement can wait until after the baby arrives. But I am afraid that I have to tell you that the High Priest of Zeferia will have to be there to witness this miraculous birth."

"What!?" Lina screeched as her hair stood on end, "Oh no! Oh hell no! I get complete control over who is in the room when that happens!"

"A blessed birth is a very special event, and the priest has to ensure that the child is brought into the world in the right way. He will have to ensure that all of the proper protocols are followed and that the baby is promptly anointed and that you do everything flawlessly."

"It's not so bad," Amelia said, "I mean, the Queen of Saillune has to have the Prime Minister in the room to assure that the child actually came from her body and was not switched at birth."

"I can't believe you're backing her!" Gourry exclaimed.

"I'll be giving birth, not putting on some god damn show! Inheritance won't be an issue and I'm pretty sure we'll know who this kid is! And if welcoming him into the world is that big of a deal then find a priestess!" Lina snapped, "What are you going to do if I refuse? Channel your will into me again? Would you really risk doing that now and hurting the child? Or do you want to take me and Gourry on again?"

Luna shrugged, "Have it that way then. A priest won't have to attend. But soon after the child is born you will have to come to Zefiel City and where he will be anointed and a parade will be thrown in his honor."

Lina's mouth dropped as she realized she'd just fallen for Luna's door in the face scheme. She shook her head. "Fine, we'll do the stupid ceremony. But look, I want to know right now if there are going to be anymore surprises."

Luna smiled mysteriously. "You know all I know."

"That's not reassuring." Lina said.

"Rest. Try not to get so wound up about these things. It's not good for the baby if you get so mad all of the time." Luna said as she got up and patted her on the shoulder, "And I am happy for you. For you, not for what this means to the world. For this to have worked you must have wanted this child. I hope you're feeling well."

Lina felt the strange sense of being uncertain how to feel that she often experienced around her sister. "I'm feeling fine. Really."

Luna kissed her on the forehead, "I hope this is easy for you. Now, I've got to get back home. I miss my boys. Gourry, congrats, I know you will be a great father."

"Thanks." Gourry said as Luna patted him on the shoulder as Leia walked into the room.

"Luna." Leia said sweetly as she wrapped an arm around her, "On your way home to Zefiel City? Mind if I accompany you? I'd like to see my grandsons."

"Sure." Luna said.

They walked out, and a few moments later they could hear Luna yelling, "Ow, Mom!? What was that for! Lina wasn't even too mad about it!"

Lina suddenly grinned as they could hear Leia yelling indecipherably, "Oh, she is going to get it!"

"Luna won't do that thing with her that she does with you?" Gourry asked.

"Only in extraordinary circumstances." Lina explained. "Her sense of duty will allow her to do it only if she has a good reason."

"What's scares me is that I think she was lying about this being the last surprise." Gourry said.

"You got that impression too?" Lina asked as she held his hand. "But what can we do about it?"

Gourry glanced out the window, "Looks like Zel has gone to practice. Mind if I go and tell him?"

"Go ahead." Lina said. "But make sure no kids are around, I don't want this getting out yet."

"Most said they were going into town to see a show." Amelia said, "So the manor is rather empty today."

"I'll be careful." He said as he gave Lina a quick kiss, and then he glanced at Amelia, "I hope you feel better soon."

"Me too." Amelia said as he left, "I still don't see how you're not shouting this news loudly from the top of the mountain."

"Well, it's not that I'm not excited, I just don't want kids giggling at me and seeing proof that I've been involved so to say." Lina explained.

Amelia looked at her strangely, "You're newly married. Everyone expects you to be involved right now."

"There's a difference between speculating and knowing!" Lina maintained, "Plus, these kids aren't going to keep it a secret. They'll write to their friends and family about it and before we know it my enemies will know. Though I guess I'm at the strongest point in my life I've ever been in, I still don't want to tempt things. Actually, I'm going to need your help figuring out how to hide a bump when the time comes."

"What makes you think I would know how to do such a thing?" Amelia asked.

"Isn't that something they teach in princess school, just in case?"

"I would never find myself in that position!" Amelia said indignantly, "But, now that you mention it, I did have to help a friend one time. Oh, this will be so much fun, oh," Amelia groaned as she made a face and put her hand over her mouth again, "Once this morning sickness passes. So you're not feeling sick at all?"

"No," Lina said, though it felt a bit cruel to rub in just how good she was feeling as Jeeves came in.

"Princess Amelia, this has arrived for you." He said as he brought her a package.

"Oh good, it's from Daddy! Hopefully he'll have something that works." She said as she tore it open and took the first bottle she found and drank it as Jeeves left. "Oh, a letter."

"How's your dad doing?" Lina asked.

"Oh no!" Amelia exclaimed.

"What?" Lina asked.

"My stepmother is also pregnant." Amelia said.

"Isn't that good news?" Lina asked.

"I guess, but he won't be able to stay with me for long before he has to go back up to Saillune to be with her." Amelia explained. "He'll have to leave before autumn ends. That's cutting it so close!"

"Man, that is bad timing." Lina agreed. "Well, I'm sure if you just talk to it and let it know that it wouldn't be just if its granddad wasn't there to greet it, it will pop out on time."

Amelia groaned as she put her hand over her mouth again, "I don't think this medicine is working either!" she cried as she fled from the room, clutching her stomach the whole time.

Gourry quietly walked down to the yard where he had noticed Zel practicing sword play in the window. It was the weekend, so the kids were out on their various errands and Gourry was confident that none were hanging around, "Hey." He said as he approached Zel, who had his back turned towards him.

"Dil Brand!" Zelgadis yelled as he spun around.

"Wha…" Gourry cried as he flew up in the air and managed to recover his surprise enough to move to land in a way that protected him as he fell. "Hey! What was that for?"

"Damn, Gourry, I'm sorry." Zel said as he held his hand forward. "I thought…I thought you were another assassin. Do you need a recovery spell?"

"No," Gourry said as he looked at him as he let Zelgadis pull him up and noted that the other man's hand was shaking. "You're lucky it was me and not one of the kids, or one of our wives for that matter."

"You're right, I know." Zel said, sounding both guilty and nervous. "I just thought that since Han had taken all of the kids down to that town event no one would come down until closer to lunch time. Perhaps you can work me through some drills? I've maxed out with Han and I need to get better."

"Sure." Gourry said as he grabbed a practice sword and listened to make sure that they were alone as he studied the other man. Zel couldn't seem to stop shaking. Was it guilt over the Dil Brand? Or something else? Either way he needed to be cautious. If Zel was jumpy enough that he was throwing Dil Brands at people who approached then he would be dangerous to spar with, even if they were just using wooden swords. "I'm serious, though. Look, Lina's pregnant too, and neither she or Amelia need to be on the wrong end of a Dil Brand like that!"

Zel looked down, "No, of course. It won't happen again."

Gourry softened his stance a little, "We're not telling people for now. Just you, Amelia and Lina's parents and sister. Lina doesn't want anyone else knowing right now."

"Smart. Your wife is smart." Zelgadis replied as he assumed a defensive stance, his hands shaking so much that he couldn't hold the sword steady, "I really wish Amelia hadn't already told everyone she's ever met!"

"What's with you?" Gourry asked as he stood down.

Zelgadis sighed and relaxed. "That night with the assassin was the first fight I've been in since regaining my human form. And that Mazoku washed the floor with me. I was completely useless. Those wounds I took that night? Would barely have scratched me as a chimera. And then I froze, and let everyone down. And now Amelia's pregnant and told everyone and I'm scared to death that it will happen again. I'm just so…so weak now! But wanting to be strong is what got me in bad place to begin with. So I don't know what to do anymore."

"You're still a good swordsman." Gourry said, "And you're having to find your strengths and weaknesses all over again and get comfortable with that. It takes time. And at least it looks like sorceresses get stronger when they're pregnant so it's not as though the burden is just on you. Amelia can do her part. So don't worry so much."

"Amelia didn't say anything to you, did she?" Zel asked, "I've been trying so hard to keep how rattled I've been from her."

"Honestly I think she's too sick to notice much of anything right now." Gourry said as he patted him on the back as his concern grew. When he was a mercenary he would occasionally fight with people who tense and would shake like Zel was. It wasn't a road he would wish for anyone to walk down.

"It's bad enough that she's going through all this, now I can barely keep it together anymore! She's going to notice that I'm starting to lose it and it will just make things worse for her!" Zelgadis said frantically, as though he had been holding it in for so long that now that the opportunity arose to talk about it, he couldn't stop.

"You been having nightmares?" Gourry asked quietly.

"Did she tell you? I didn't think she'd noticed!" Zelgadis said.

"Amelia didn't say anything." Gourry assured him as he flailed for a way to help him, "And hey, I have something for you. It will make you stronger. I should have given it to you when you first came to Maninstit, but I didn't think about it until now. I mean, I thought we'd put our days of actually fighting Mazoku behind us."

"What is it?" Zel asked as he followed Gourry as he started walking back to the manor.

"Someone Lina and I traveled with for a little bit had a magical sword, and we found it after he died." Gourry explained quietly. "I never use it anymore because I have the Blast Sword, though it's a good sword on its own. I think he'd want you to have it."

"Was the one of the treasure hunter's swords?" Zelgadis asked.

"Yes." Gourry said as they entered the building and made their way towards the stairs. "You can absorb magical spells with it and release them. Not sure what would have happened with those exploding jewels we were hit with that night, but it will give you some more protection. Your magic isn't what it used to be, isn't it?"

Zelgadis shook his head, "I knew it would happen. I wasn't much of a sorcerer until I became a chimera. I'm still better than I was before I was turned, but I just don't have the capacity I used to. I can still do a Fireball, but not a Ra Tilt."

"I was able to absorb a spell that Dynast's General used with this. So you won't need to do those big spells anymore. There's a lot of tricks to it, I'll teach you what I've learned." Gourry said as they got to his room. Quietly he walked to his weapon's chest and unlocked it and pulled out the sword that was in it.

"It's called the Sword of Absorption." Gourry said as he gave it to Zelgadis. "And I want you to use it to protect your family."

Gourry noticed that Zel's grip was tight as he took the sword. Zel relaxed as he stopped trembling as he took a few practice swings. "That's one we're really going to want to take outside to practice with. Once the kids get back we can even have them power it up with stronger spells. There's a lot of neat tricks to it I can help you to get the hang of."

"Thank you." Zelgadis said quietly, the relief evident in his voice. "Really. This helps a lot."

"You'd do the same for me. Ready to go down?"

AN: When I was writing "Royal Pains," a story about Zel and Amelia confronting infertility while Lina is pregnant, I had a scene where Amelia mourns the potential to experience pregnancy with her friend. Brendala went and drew an awesome doodle for the scene (which I would link to, but I've given up doing that with ffn), and that really made me want to write a story where Lina and Amelia are pregnant together. So it's finally here!

And someone has to have morning sickness on steroids in my stories. I survived hyperemesis gravidarum, twice (and that's why I won't get pregnant again, lol!) Most women gain weight when they get pregnant. I, on the other hand, lost weight when I was pregnant. So when I write about it, someone has to suffer, bwahaha. And since I have already put Lina through it, now it's Amelia's turn!