Don't expect this chapter to be as funny, because I'm trying to tie up some loose ends….

Chapter 21: Baby on Board

Someone was shaking my shoulders. I groaned and pulled the pillow over my head. "No! No more walking!" Then I stopped. Since when did we have pillows this soft during the quest? I pulled it off my head and blinked at Belgaer, who was next to my bed, laughing at me.

"Silly! We're in Minas Tirith!"

You would think that the events of that previous morning wouldn't be something I would easily forget. But, then again…

I sat up quite quickly. "I had completely forgotte—woah, head rush!" I fought off the dizziness as my heart swelled. No more walking for days on end and camping out on the cold, hard ground. No more having to persuade people!

I was so happy, I could've cried. But I figured that would be a bit too Sueish. While we were on the road, Arwen, Eowyn, and Browne had been teaching me and the rest a bit more about Sues. Apparently there are different kinds other than my mother.

That was a scary thought, let me tell you! I didn't want to worry about having to deal with Angtsy Sues, Hyper Sues, not to mention Fangirl Sues!

I slid out of bed and shrugged into my clothes. We chatted while I threw my hair up quickly to keep it out of my face. Suddenly the door banged open and there stood Naurin. She looked rather disheveled, like she had just run up here from the dungeons.

My head snapped up at the sound and we stared at her.

"I just came from the dungeons!"

Who's good?

She must have run fast to be a disheveled Elf.

"What? What!" Belgaer exclaimed. "What happened?"

My blood ran cold. "Starr didn't escape, did she?" I put forward nervously.

"No! Her baby—she's having it now!"

"What!" I yelled. "She wasn't even showing when we saw her yesterday!"

Eowyn appeared at the door. "Do you think a Sue, who's obsessed with her weight and appearance, would allow herself to have a large stomach?"

"So she used her last bit of magic to keep herself from looking pregnant?" I rolled my eyes. Who does that?

Several maids rushed by. Clearly we weren't forcing Starr to suffer a natural childbirth without herbs to dull the pain. Arwen stopped in front of the door and motioned for us to follow. We made our way quickly down to the dungeons. The members of the Fellowship and all the guests who had arrived the day before were already down there.

Legolas was there, with a look on his face that clearly said he was only there because of a sense of duty.

Throughout the whole procedure, I definitely couldn't look. I gained a new respect for the healers. I did believe that Starr was exaggerating her screaming a bit, however. She made my ears bleed.

Then something happened that surprised me. Once the baby was born, it was immediately taken away from its mother. One lady-in-waiting wrapped the little girl in a soft blanket and…deposited her in my arms. My arms! Me!

I must have looked quite confused, because Arwen laid a hand on my shoulder and explained. "We decided to keep the child away from her mother, so she will not have to be rehabilitated like her other siblings."

That is what I haven't mentioned yet—my twelve or so other siblings were going through extensive rehabilitation to lose their Sue- and Stu-ness. Eowyn was running that, with help from Browne. Let's just say I was glad they weren't disciplining ME. Some of the younger ones have made some real progress. Nelledeighdettakyna, however, they felt was a lost cause.

I stood there, gaping slightly, at the tiny infant in my arms. Sweet Eru, what do I know about raising children?

"As her only truly normal sister, we wanted you to have a hand in bringing her up. I will, of course, be there to help you every step of the way." Legolas added. I smiled gratefully at him.

Now that that was over, it was time to begin planning for the wedding. Elrond had appeared some time that night, and performed a ceremony to annul the marriages of Starr and Celeste to Legolas and Aragorn. Since they were under spells, it was perfectly all right to "pretend this never happened," to quote Elrond. Thranduil could be seen nodding vigorously in the background. Legolas took custody of me and the baby, who we decided to name Laineth, meaning "freed." It certainly seemed fitting.

King Elessar could often be seen running haggardly around the castle, with a slight maniacal glint in his eye. For he was stressing over the wedding, but he was also trying to come up with what to do with Starr.

He decided on a temporary punishment until he could come up with something more devious: Legolas took a daily stroll by the jail cell she was in, occasionally shirtless. He thought at first that it would be undignified to flaunt and expose himself in such a way, but after he did it once, he realized it was just plain funny! Starr screamed as if she were being tortured and ran repeatedly into the jail bars to try and get at him. We didn't allow her to do this until after the child was born, so she wouldn't injure it.

As for Laineth, she was doing well. I could tell she wasn't going to end up like her mother. Luckily, Belgaer was amazing with children, and helped coach me through a lot of the routines I would have to become familiar with.

Several weeks later was the wedding. That bears looking into, so I'll go into more detail about what happened.

I walked into a random room one morning, only to stumble on the wedding-dress fitting of Arwen. By the Valar, she looked stunning!

I let out a low whistle. "That's right, the weddings in two days, huh?" It was more of me thinking out loud, but Arwen, being an Elf, heard it. Her face paled significantly.

"I am so nervous, I feel as if I shall explode!"

It was weird to see the same person who fought orcs so viciously be anxious over a WEDDING. But, then again, I have never been married, so I wouldn't know.

Two stressful (for other people, not me) days passed, and the morning of the wedding dawned clear. I was involved in the ceremony, as well Eowyn, Belgaer, Browne, Naurin, Deorwine, and the Fellowship members. And of course, Aragorn. But if you thought he was back in his room sleeping during his wedding, you should just stop reading now.

The ceremony was beautiful, and quite a bit different from what I expected. I held Laineth, in her cute little dress, as she cooed and clapped her little hands. How surreal that whole adventure was. I met so many wonderful people, and really learned to be myself and not try to follow in the footsteps of my mother or siblings. I would like to think that I matured, but I was not so sure…

Seeing the wedding, and knowing that Faramir and Eowyn's wasn't far off, made me feel kinda lonely. But I was one of those people who was more than likely not going to find someone to marry, and I was alright with that. Deorwine caught my eye across the banquet hall as Legolas wrapped an arm around my shoulder, planted a kiss on Laineth's forehead, and walked with me out of the room. Belgaer and Browne give me a little wave, and Naurin nods at me with a smile.

It felt so good to have finally found a family; people who accepted me for the way I was.

And for that, I was lucky.

The End

Stay tuned, there's still an epilogue on the way!