Epilog 'A Miracle of Life'

It was a warm day in mid-April. Willa sat on a chair on the front porch of the main house putting the finishing touches to a small pair of knitted socks.

It had been nine months since she came back from Middle-Earth. And although she had pondered the how's and why's quite often during this time, she had not been able to come up with an answer. But now more than ever was it all too obvious that it had not been a dream.

It had come as quite a shock to Willa when she found out some sixth months earlier that she was pregnant. And of course, her aunt and uncle as well as Randy and the other men had asked quite a few awkward questions. Willa had tried not to lie too much and so had told them that she had met someone a while back with whom she had fallen in love but it had not worked out. Which was not entirely untrue.

Satisfied with her work she sat it down on the nearby table and got up to stretch her aching back. A sharp pain shot through the lower part of her voluminous belly and she bit back a cry.

"Trish," she called out gasping from the pain. Her aunt came running to her side and supported her.

"Is it time?" she asked and Willa could only nod.

Within minutes they sat in the car and where on the way to the hospital which was a good 20 miles away.

By the time they arrived Willa could hardly breathe let alone stand. Trish quickly went inside and was able to fetch a nurse and a wheelchair. Willa sat in the car her eyes shut tightly and her jaw clenched. Her breath came in sharp gasps.

"Did her water break already?" the nurse asked and Trish nodded.

"About 15 minutes ago," she replied. Together they moved Willa to the wheelchair and in no time at all she laid in the delivery room. A doctor and a midwife busily checked her vital signs and put her on some kind of apparatus to check the babies' vitals as well. All was well as the midwife told Willa.

Two and a half hours later Willa was exhausted. She lay in a clean, fresh hospital bed and tried not to fall asleep. She wanted to see her son again and the nurse had to come in every minute.

The door opened and in walked a very proud grandmother carrying a small bundle followed by a nurse pushing a small bed.

"Now look who we have here?" Trish cooed and smiling handed the baby over to Willa and sat down next to her on the edge of her bed.

"Hey there little man," Willa whispered and the baby opened its tiny eyes. Willa gasped. They had exactly his form yet the color was the bright blue of every baby just born. She smiled as a tear rolled down her cheek.

"My little prince," she cooed and it did not escape her how true it actually was.

"Have you thought of a name yet, Willa?" Trish asked as she took the small outstretched hand.

"Yes, I have. His name is going to be Erik," she said softly and smiled. "Erik Eomer Mallard."

The End

A/N: So, there. That is the first end I came up with. I like how it turned out in written form. Abd I have decided to leave it at that and maybe write a sequel! So, it's up to you. As in the words of Aragorn: "What say you?"

daydreamer8301: Again thanks for the review. I think it's a happy end, well kind of anyway. what do you think?

Navaer Lalaith: thanks dor the tips. I really appreciate it but I think it's fine the way it is. and consider this: Willa is a Cowgirl, there won't be any bathrooms during a cattle drive will there? and to the test...I've already done that one and had like 23 questions answered with yes! I think that's not too bad. or is it? but oh well you got me with the language barrier for I don't have an excuse for it.

Love, Chrissie