Author: Cendari

Summary: Deanna's fit to pop any day, and the one time Will lets down his guard enough to fall into an exhausted sleep, the already wayward twins decide it's time to make their grand entrance...

Destiny

"Will? Will, wake up."

Will barely stirred from his position: the exhausted slump he had fallen into bed in at the sound of his beloved's voice.

"Will, the babies are coming."

That provoked a minor response.

"Will, Captain Picard was captured and has been assimilated again and there is a Borg cube headed straight for us."

Will shot upright. "What?" he asked sleepily.

Deanna sighed in relief. "Get up, it's time."

Will took a second to register the meaning of her words and promptly panicked." It's time? Now?"

Deanna chuckled slightly as a contraction hit. "Yes, Captain, it's time. Get up. Dr. Preechar is waiting for us in Sickbay."

Deanna slowly turned her ungainly form and waddled to the door. Will leaped into action. Heedless of the state of his clothing, or lack thereof, Will swept his wife into his arms and carted her out of their quarters and into the nearest turbolift.

By the time they reached Sickbay two minutes later, Will had been an unwilling participant in three rather excruciating contractions. Right then and there, while he gently laid his soul mate on the biobed, he vowed: No more.

The doctor swiftly examined her and placed the sheet back to protect her modesty, patting his hand on her knee. "You're dilated seven centimeters, Deanna. It shouldn't be long now."

Both Deanna and Will shared a groan that was relief and pain, as her stomach muscles tightened painfully once more.

Over the next hour, Deanna drew heavily of the strength not only Will offered, but that which Sam and Maddie were giving as
well. They had linked to her early on in labor and were making dry observations on how this part of pregnancy didn't seem so much fun. They were clutching their stomachs in sympathy, knowing only now how their mother had felt bringing them into the world.

It's well worth it, darlings. You'll find out for yourselves soon enough. Deanna thought back to them.

Sam laughed gleefully. Mad'll find out sooner than I will, I can tell you that!

Sammie!

Oops, Sam responded, not sounding sorry at all.

Deanna was too distracted to forge deeper into Sam's cryptic comment because the doctor chose right then to tell her to push.

"Push, Deanna, push!" Both Will and Dr. Preechar urged.

"Yeah?" she growled back at the two of them. "You try pushing a watermelon out a hole the size of a lemon and see how it feels!"

Will looked a little taken aback while the doctor chuckled maddeningly. "That's the spirit, Deanna. Push!"

"Push this!" Deanna shouted back, and, the normally calm, logical Betazoid, grabbed her hapless husband's hand and squeezed for all she was worth. Will gave a brief howl of pain, but when she glared balefully at him, shut up and let her use him as her stress squeeze toy.

Minutes later, which seemed like hours to Deanna, the first child was born. A healthy girl, who wailed at the top of her lungs the moment she tasted fresh air. The nurse took the child away to wash and measure while the doctor and Deanna busied themselves with birthing the girl's twin sister. Will, unable to see his wife in such pain, even with the advanced painkillers, wandered in the nurse's wake, trying to get a peek at his baby girl. At least, he tried, until Deanna snarled after him, "Get back here."

Will got back there.

In a much shorter amount of time, the second was born, howling just as loud if not louder than her sister. The nurse returned and took this child off while Doctor Preechar delivered the placenta and checked for any abnormalities.

"Will," Deanna asked weakly, her earlier menace drained, "how are they?"

Will was holding his identical daughters by now and beamed down at Deanna. "Absolutely perfect, Imzadi, in every way."

Sam and Maddie left mental hugs and kisses in their wake as they disconnected, leaving the tired, but proud parents in peace to name their children.

Will handed Deanna their girls one by one, then perched on the bedside. "What shall we name them?" he queried, kissing the top of her dark head.

Deanna sat mesmerized by identical faces; with identical blue eyes that twinkled tiredly back at her. As one, they yawned and their eyes started drifting shut. "Gwendolyn," she stated, kissing the forehead of the one nestled in her left arm. "And Gabrielle," she added, kissing the twin on the right. "You choose their middle names," she said, looking up at her beaming husband.

"Gwendolyn... Raina." Deanna's head nodded in approval. "And Gabrielle... Rhiannon."

"Feeling fanciful?"

"Only with you." Their lips met in a kiss so sweet and tender, the nurses and Doctor Preechar had to turn away, for silly fear that their simply witnessing it, would sully it and make it impure.

I love you, Imzadi.

My feeling's extend far beyond love, Imzadi.

"Like murderous?" Will teased, his lips still a hairs-breadth away from her.

"Close. But, oh, so much more than that," Deanna replied softly, leaning up to join their mouths again.

And the Riker family obliviously sailed on, their destinies entwined with the stars; yet another part of their fates revealed. And somewhere in the cosmos, a mischievous deity-like being watched and laughed, content for once to not meddle in their pitiful little existences. He knew, as did his young companion, that Fate was not finished with the Riker family yet.

Not by a long shot.

Fin Part 4