Had New Orleans always had an innumerable amount of babies, or had Tiana just never noticed before? She had only spoken with Naveen about things the night before, but even so it seemed like wherever she went in the city there were babies in prams, babies playing in the park, babies napping in someone's arms, babies crying because they didn't get their way, and babies crying for no discernable reason at all.

Even at The Palace there seemed to be an influx of them. Most of her time was spent working with the other chefs in the kitchen, but occasionally she would leave her station to personally check on the diners. And so far today, the restaurant seemed to be full of children.

She was sure that this had happened before. Kids loved meeting Louis, and having a real live prince as their waiter only made the experience more enticing. So why was it only now that she was aware of them?

Well. Duh. Of course she knew why. To Tiana though, it still didn't feel real, and maybe that added another layer to it. She wasn't experiencing any morning sickness, or weird cravings. In fact, the only thing she had noticed so far was that her period was late. If it wasn't for that, she might not even know she was pregnant. Well, that and the way Naveen was constantly tiptoeing around her.

"Here, darling. I brought you a chair. You should really sit down."

"Naveen, I can't do prep while I'm sitting. You know that." The kitchen staff hadn't arrived yet, which was good because they hadn't told anyone about Tiana's pregnancy yet. Her staff was smart and they would immediately wonder what was going on if she was sitting down in her kitchen when there was always so much to do before service started.

"Well then, let me do the prep. You know I love to mince for you." He set the chair down next to her and smiled. "Sit down, princess."

Tiana ignored the chair and continued sorting through the meat and fish deliveries before she deboned and sliced everything. "You still have to make sure all the stoves are working, and mince and dice the vegetables, and then-"

"And I can do all of that for you while you sit." He gestured to the chair with another award winning smile.

"I don't need to sit. I feel fine."

"It is only that I do not want you to over exert yourself," Naveen said.

Tiana frowned and turned to look his way. "I'm just doing prep."

"I thought we agreed that I would start doing more so I can learn to be better in charge after the baby is born," Naveen said.

This was true. Yes Naveen would stay at home with their child while Tiana continued to run the restaurant, however Tiana would still need to recuperate after giving birth, and a newborn certainly needed more from their mother at that time. So yes, for a few months Naveen would be in charge.

"Yes we did agree on that. This morning," Tiana countered. She turned back to her prep. "I haven't even had time to figure out how to train you on everything yet, and I'm still trying to wrap my head around all of this, so now is not a good time to mess with the routine, ok?"

Naveen tapped his fingers on the back of the chair, his lips pursed in thought. "You promise you will take it easy, yes?"

"I'll try."

He frowned, clearly not happy with her answer, and was about to say something else when their new sous chef, Francie, walked in.

"Tiana, I had a great idea for the specials tonight," she said, heading immediately to her station in the kitchen. "Hello Naveen. Why do you have a chair back here?"

"He was just changing a lightbulb, but it's all fixed now," Tiana lied and gave her husband a look that she hoped clearly said please don't say anything, we are not ready to share this news yet and I promise I'll be fine.

He tapped his fingers on the back of the chair, thinking. "Yes, it is all fixed," he said at last. "I'll leave you to your work." Naveen kissed his wife on the cheek. "Promise me," he whispered.

"I will," she whispered back.

Of course she immediately forgot her promise. Even if it wasn't a busy night (which it was), working in her restaurant gave Tiana such a sense of euphoria that she couldn't help but get lost in the joy of it all. The rhythms of the kitchen, the smells of the food, the camaraderie of working with others who were as passionate about as she was, even the chaos when things got crazy thrilled her. Tiana thrived in it all.

So it took her a few moments about two hours into the dinner service to realize that Naveen was standing next to her.

"Could you step aside, hun?" Tiana asked, carefully watching her fish that was sauteeing on the pan as she began to work the next ticket, but she needed her room to maneuver.

Naveen ignored her. "Have you eaten?"

"Eaten? What? Of course not." No self respecting restaurant worker ate during dinner service. That was for the guests. She'd eat when she always did, with the rest of the staff after the restaurant was closed.

"I thought so. Luckily I prepared a small meal for you." He presented a bowl of something… Tiana didn't have the patience at the moment to try and figure out what new creation he had come up with this time.

"I don't have time to eat right now, you know that," Tiana said. "And please move, I need to start this ticket."

Naveen ignored her again. "Let us make time for eating, yes?" He smiled and it was quite possible that any other time Tiana might have melted from that smile and done as he asked, and laugh at herself.

But this was not that time.

"Naveen, you're making the whole kitchen behind. Move, please."

"Tiana, you promised."

The last thing she wanted was to make a scene in front of her staff, so she did her best to keep her voice down. "I promised I would try to take it easy, not that I would completely shut down service while I eat until you let me get back to work!" she hissed. "Now move! Please!"

"You need to keep up your strength," Naveen countered, still ignoring her request.

She was clenching her teeth now. "My strength is fine, Naveen."

"Tiana-"

"Tiana!"

They both turned to Francie, who had spoken, and then Tiana swore when her sous chef pointed out the smoke that was coming from her pan. The fish she had been cooking was burnt.

"Look what you made me do," Tiana cursed as she tossed the burnt fish in the garbage. She hated when they wasted food because of mistakes like this, but it was even worse when they were her mistakes. It so rarely happened, and now Tiana could feel the air in her kitchen was tense. Francie and the other staff were looking at her wide eyed, and Naveen was still there, hovering so much she felt like she couldn't breathe.

"It's alright everyone," Tiana said, putting on a fresh fish. "We'll catch up like we always do."

"Tiana-" Naveen started again, still frowning, and still in her way.

"Naveen, stop," Tiana said, moving her pan unnecessarily rough across the flames. "I need you to get out of my kitchen because I am very angry with you right now and I don't want to argue right now and if I feel you breathing down my neck for one more second I'm going to scream."

"We would not be arguing if you would just do what I say," Naveen hissed.

That was it. Tiana threw down her utensils and fuming, turned to face him.

Luckily their head waiter came through the kitchen door just in time. "You'll never guess who I just seated, Tiana!"

She turned to the waiter and didn't have time to adjust her anger. So he stepped back when he saw the look on her face, and then glanced nervously around the kitchen.

He pulled at his bowtie and swallowed. "Sorry, I just thought you would want to know that this next order is for the Mayor and his wife."

Tiana gasped, her anger immediately dissipating. She had been trying to get the Mayor to come since The Palace first opened. "Really?" she asked. "You're positive?"

"Yes. Absolutely."

She took a deep breath. "We need to give him the star treatment, which," she made eye contact with all her staff, "is the same way we treat all our customers." A smile started to creep on her face. "But maybe we can do a few special things for them."

Everyone grinned, and Tiana turned back to the waiter. "I'll bring out their order personally. And you," she pointed to Naveen, "need to schmooze them. Anticipate their needs and give it to them. Find out if they have any requests for the band to play. You know the drill."

His gaze softened. "Tiana…" He was still holding the small bowl of food for her, and he gestured to it.

"Naveen, please. You know how important it is that the Mayor is here." If the Mayor had an enjoyable experience, it would elevate the entire restaurant and prove that they could serve important people, which would make them get more attention from more important people. It was just another step towards getting that coveted Michelin star.

He closed his eyes and sighed softly, then he set down the bowl with a clunk and walked out of the kitchen.

Tiana rallied her staff and they all continued on with their work, while inwardly she fluctuated between anger at her husband, excitement that the Mayor was here, and intense sorrow and guilt for fighting with Naveen.

They didn't fight often, but arguments did pop up occasionally. It was hard to avoid when they lived together and worked together, and they also lived together above the place where they worked together.

Luckily the fights generally didn't last long, and they always made up before bed, which usually led to some enjoyable evenings. Still, she wasn't looking forward to the next few hours when things would be tense between them. But at least she was able to distract herself with work.

"There," she said as she perfectly plated the last of their meal. "Thank you, everyone, for all your hard work. It looks beautiful, and it tastes just as good." Tiana smoothed down her dress and expertly picked up the tray of food. "I know the Mayor is going to be impressed."

Her staff wished her luck, and Tiana promised that she would report back with all the details. She knew that they would much rather watch, but there were still tickets coming in and they couldn't stop the flow of the kitchen just for that.

Tiana maneuvered through her kitchen and out into the dinning room, and she spotted the Mayor and his wife immediately. Good, they were seated at the best table, and they were both smiling and tapping their toes to the music. Excellent.

She took a deep breath and put on her best smile.

"Darling, that is much too heavy for you. Let me take it."

Tiana blinked. She'd been so focused on the table that she hadn't even noticed him come up to her. This was becoming a theme this evening. Usually on a busy night like this they hardly saw each other, but now it seemed like every step she took, Naveen was there and he was in her way.

Her jaw tightened as she kept her smile just in case the Mayor looked her way, but she knew it was now a pinched smile. "Naveen, it's two plates on a tray. I can carry two plates."

"No, no, I will do this for you." He took hold of the tray and gently tugged it towards him.

Tiana held onto it. "No, I'll do it." She tugged it back.

Naveen frowned and pulled. "No, I will."

"Naveen, I'm serious." Pull.

"You think I am not also being serious?" Pull.

"I think you're being ridiculous!" Pull.

"And you are being senselessly stubborn!" Pull.

As their voices grew louder, so did the strengths of their pulls. Neither realized it, so focused were they on their arguments and the persistent belief that they were right and the other wrong.

And then, of course, the inevitable happened. It was impossible to know which of them lost their grip on the tray, but both of them gasped as they helplessly watched the tray twisted through the air along with the plates of food that had been so lovingly and carefully arranged. It toppled and spilled all over Tiana and Naveen, covering them from head to toe. Then with a loud crash, the plates collided with the floor, bringing the attention of the entire restaurant to their small corner.

There was some laughter, and even some applause (Tiana hated when they did that), but if she looked hard enough she could see a few sympathetic faces. Unfortunately there wasn't one at the Mayor's table. He caught Tiana's eye, raised an eyebrow and then shook his head.

Tiana's heart sank as he whispered to his wife and they stood to leave. The headwaiter made a beeline to them to try and convince them to stay, but the Mayor only waved him off, and they walked out the door.

Really? Really!? That was all it took for them to leave? How could the Mayor be so pretentious as to leave over spilled food and broken plates?

"Tiana…" Naveen said softly in an apologetic tone, but Tiana wasn't in the right mind to deal with him right now.

"Stop," she said curtly. "Just … just go."


Naveen had never felt so hesitant to lay down in bed next to his wife before. It was an unusual feeling, and it was safe to say he hated it. Going to bed with Tiana was supposed to be an enjoyable experience. And it was! He loved that certainty that no matter what she would be there by his side at the end of the day. That they could (and most often did) kiss, make love, hold each other, talk, or even simply fall asleep in eachothers arms.

Sometimes when he was having a difficult day, just the knowledge that he would be able to rest his head on Tiana's chest while she played with his hair as she cooed sweetly to him was enough to get him through it all.

Now though, he was met with cool silence as he slipped under the covers. She had her back turned to him, and was breathing quietly though he knew she wasn't asleep. Had he really done so wrong that she wasn't even willing to speak to him? But he had only been taking care of her. Or at least, trying to. Damn if she wasn't the most stubborn person he had ever met.

The silence in the room was deafening. It made him want to scream, or weap, or both. They had never ever gone to bed angry before, and it broke his heart that this would be the argument that took them to that place.

No. They had to talk. They had to fix this.

Naveen inhaled. "Tiana?" he asked softly.

"Mm?"

Oh what a blessed sound. "Are you still angry with me?"

She didn't say anything for a moment, and Naveen started to wonder if she really was asleep. But no, if she was she would be talking, saying those nonsensical things that would always make her laugh when he told her about them in the morning.

She shifted and his heart leapt. Then she turned to face him with a sad, yet relieved look on her face. Naveen imagined he had a similar expression of his own.

"No," she said at last. "Are you still angry with me?"

"No," he said. They both sighed in relief and immediately reached for each other.

This was so much better, Naveen thought. Yes still had to apologize and move on, but as he held her tightly and felt her heartbeat against his own, he knew they would be alright.

"I hate it when we fight like that," Tiana whispered, nestled further into his chest.

"Me too." Naveen rested his head against hers. "I'm sorry I… I do not understand why you were so upset with me." He pulled back enough to look her in the eye. "I was only taking care of you," he ran a thumb across her cheek, brushing the spot where he knew her dimple rested, "like I always do. What was different?"

She covered his hand with her own and smiled softly. "It is so sweet that you take care of me, really it is. Tonight though, it was like you were almost smothering me. Like you wouldn't let me make my own choices." She lowered her eyes and her voice. "And you didn't listen when I told you to stop."

No. That couldn't be right. He always always listened to her and respected her if she asked him to stop something. But as the conversations from earlier flowed back through his mind, Naveen was faced again and again with times where he had ignored her and continued on.

He closed his eyes in shame. "Tiana, I am so sorry. I never meant…. I was only thinking of you, and our child. I need to keep you both safe."

"I know, honey." Tiana cupped his face. "But we're doing just fine, love."

Naveen felt his eyes sting with tears at that 'we'. He loved his wife so much, and he loved their child so much. Had anyone else ever loved two people as much as Naveen did them? He almost laughed, because he was certain that his only other competition was lying in bed next to him.

He brought their lips together in a slow, passionate kiss. Tiana's mouth opened to his and he happily took the invitation. She sighed as he slanted his mouth over hers and gave her the sweetest kiss he was capable of, because that's what she was to him.

"Naveen," she said softly, pulling back ever so slightly.

"Hmm?"

"I'm sorry I snapped at you tonight."

"And I am sorry I messed things up so badly with the Mayor."

Tiana sucked her teeth. "That guy is a total jerk. I can't believe he left just because of some spilled food. People like that… I don't care how important they are, we don't need them at The Palace."

"So you forgive me then?"

She kissed his nose, and then his lips. "Yes, I forgive you, if you forgive me."

He mirrored her kisses, making her laugh. "I forgive you, princess." Tenderly, he brushed back a few stray curls from her face. "I think we both lost our heads a bit, yes?"

"Yes," Tiana said. "I think… I think we need some help. Or at least some guidance. If we keep going like this for the next nine months we're going to kill each other."

Naveen sighed. "Yes, I think you are right." True, they had apologized to each other, but realistically they might have the same argument again and again, and then again and again. If they could get some guidelines to follow, it would help a lot. Especially if they leaned more in his favor, which he sincerely believed they would.

"I'll call the doctor tomorrow and see if he can do a house call. We'll see what he has to say."

"Alright." He trailed his finger along her face, down her neck, between her breasts, then down down down, under her nightgown to the spot where she opened up for him. "Now," he whispered wickedly in her ear, "I believe we have some more making up to do. Would you agree?"


Tiana tapped her fingers on her desk, waiting for Naveen. When the doctor arrived for his house call, she had kissed her husband on the cheek and scooted him out the door. He wouldn't be allowed in anyway, and so she didn't want him pacing around worrying with nothing else to occupy his mind. At least this way, she reasoned, he could keep himself busy.

But maybe it had been too good of an idea, because he'd been gone an awful lot longer than she had anticipated. And so, horribly ironically, it was now her who was worrying with nothing else to do. Actually there was a lot she could do (there was always something to be done in her restaurant) but there was nothing she could concentrate on.

She'd have to tell him. But how? Better make it quick, she thought. Like ripping off a bandaid. Not that it would make things better, but maybe he would be relieved? Was she relieved? She didn't know. She didn't know anything anymore.

At last there was a quick rhythmic knock on her office door and in popped her husband.

"Hello, my beautiful wife," he said cheerily. "Apologies for taking so long. I went to the department store and I became a little distracted. Look what I found!"

He reached into the paper bag he was holding and brought out a plush frog toy.

Tiana's eyes stung with tears, though she smiled softly.

"Isn't it cute?" Naveen said. He held it up in front of his face, and said, in his best frog voice (which wasn't much different from his own voice), "Hello, princess. Kissing would be nice, yes?"

Tiana came to his side and wrapped her arms around him in a deep hug. "I love you so much, Naveen."

He reciprocated in kind. "I love you too, my beloved." He kissed the top of her head, and then held her closer when she didn't move from the embrace. "Is everything alright? What did the doctor say?"

She held him tight, breathing him in, letting the rise and fall of his chest ground her. "I'm not pregnant."

This seemed to freeze him in place. "Huh? But… but you are late? I thought…?"

"I know. So did I." Tiana breathed him in again. "There are lots of reasons I can be late. I've just never… it's never happened to me before so I thought ..."

"Oh."

Tiana couldn't tell what he was thinking with that 'oh'. Was he disappointed? Relieved? Squeamish that they were talking rather openly about her period? All of the above? None of the above? She was desperate to ask, to know, but she was also afraid to look at him and find out. Afraid that it might unleash something she didn't even know she was feeling.

He rubbed her back gently, and Tiana sighed further into his arms. "Is it anything serious? The reason that you are late?"

"No." She didn't want to tell him that the doctor thought it was stress, as it would most assuredly make Naveen quite smug and hard to live with.

Besides, Tiana was emphatically NOT stressed, thank you very much. She was living her dream with the love of her life! How could that be stressful?

"Okay. Well… that is good," he said after a moment. "Are you alright, princess?"

"I'll be fine," Tiana replied, hoping that by saying it, it would be true. "It's just been a whirlwind of a few days, you know?"

Naveen chuckled softly "Yes that is one way to put it." Had it really only been two days ago that he had come back from his trip and she had shared her news with him? They had thought everything had changed, and now it had had gone back to normal, yet things still felt different.

"Are you okay?" Tiana asked, finally pulling back to look him in the eye.

He rested his forehead against hers. "Do not worry about me."

"I do though."

"I know."

"I'm sorry if I… I don't know… got your hopes up-"

Naveen shushed her gently. And then he kissed her.

It was the slightest brush of his lips over hers, once, twice, three times. So soft, and so gentle, it made her heart ache.

"Mé adimora, Tiana."

She smiled at that. They didn't say it often to each other, this particular way to say 'I love you' in Maldonian. It was too precious to use all the time, and as such made it even more special when they did. He loved her, with all his heart and soul. No matter what.

Tiana knew this, of course, but it was still nice to hear.

"Mé adimora, Naveen," she replied, and kissed him to prove it.


Later that evening, slumped sideways in an armchair, Naveen plucked absentmindedly at his ukulele. He wasn't sure if he was playing a song or writing one. Well, no, he knew he was just making nonsense. He needed to do something, but he could not concentrate on anything long enough to make it worthwhile.

His thoughts kept circling back to that afternoon. He should feel relieved, right? He wasn't ready to be a father yet, so this would give him time to learn until he was ready.

And yet, in just those few days, Naveen had imagined so many scenarios that filled him with such unexpected joy. He pictured himself teaching his son to play ukulele, or helping his daughter with her first steps. Doing the things his own parents had never let him do like play in the mud, or yell and scream just for the fun of it.

He had loved his child with such ferocity that now that it was gone, it felt like a part of him had been torn apart. But no, that wasn't quite right, because it wasn't gone, it had never existed in the first place.

And somehow that only made it even more depressing.

From down the hall, he heard determined footsteps, and soon Tiana walked into the room, but she stopped when he lifted his eyes to meet hers.

"Hi," she said.

"Hello," he replied and continued plucking away.

She fiddled with the fabric of her dress, smoothed it out, took a deep breath, and then strode over to his side. Tiana kneeled down by his chair and held onto his arm.

"No one is ever really ready," she said.

Naveen stopped his plucking, and he held his breath. Was she talking about… "Ready for…?"

She only clutched him harder and stared deep into his eyes. His hand flew to cover hers, and he squeezed.

"I - I was scared at first," Tiana said, "but then… with you… it was exciting and… and I liked it, no I loved it… but now it…"

"I know. I know. I know." He set down his ukulele, not caring where it landed. All that mattered was his wife. His Tiana. Gracelessly he practically fell off the chair and grasped her hands and sat on his knees next to her. "Something is missing," he whispered.

"Yes," she swallowed.

"It is not the same."

"No." They were clutching each other so hard now it hurt, but they couldn't let go.

"Tiana, I want-"

"Yes." She kissed him hard, and he kissed her back just as hard. All of their longings and frustrations and confusions and joys came out in that kiss. All the pent up emotion that was impossible to put into words, they put into their bodies. Every moan, every sigh, every touch, had anything ever felt this good? Had anything ever felt so right?

Shirts, dresses, pants, and underthings, were all tossed aside. Tiana sighed in pleasure on her back while Naveen kissed and caressed her breasts in just the way she loved. She felt the gentle scrape of his teeth against her nipple, making her moan, which only spurred him on, much to her delight.

"Naveen," she whispered, panting.

He pulled back, but kept her nipples between his fingers. He raised an eyebrow at her questioningly, and a glorious curl fell just so over his face. It made her shiver in delight. God damn if he wasn't the sexiest man she'd ever seen. And he was hers, all hers.

"Bed," she managed to say. "Now. Please."

With a wicked grin, Naveen kissed her again, and picked her up from the floor, stumbling a little as he carried her, bridal style, to their bedroom. But they were laughing, too happy and giddy to care about anything else.

In only a few strides they came to the bed and Naveen playfully tossed her onto it. She laid back on the pillows and smiled at him, and just the sight made him stop in his tracks.

"Achidanza, Tiana. You are so incredible. Sometimes I don't believe you're real."

Tiana felt a blush crawl to her cheeks, though as she looked at her husband, standing over her, naked and hard with that lustful look in his eyes, she had an inkling of what he was feeling. God but he was beautiful.

"I wish you could see yourself," she said.

"I'd much rather look at you," he said, and crawled over her, kissing every inch of her as he made his way up her body. At last their lips met once more, but that wasn't enough. She reached down to stroke the hard length of him, and then it was his turn to moan.

"I need you inside me," she whispered against his lips. "Now."

"Oh fuck," he gasped and then shivered as her nails scratched lightly at his back. Instinctually, he started to reach towards the nightstand where the condoms were kept, but then he stopped. They locked eyes, and a beat passed.

"Tiana…"

"Naveen."

"Are you sure?"

She nodded, cupped his face and brought him in for a kiss. "I want to make a baby with you."

Naveen shivered again, and then once more as their tongues met in another fiery kiss. He was being consumed by her, had already been consumed, he was surrounded fully by her. Except. Not quite.

With shallow breaths, he lined himself at her entrance and pushed himself inside her with a loud moan. Oh god it felt so good. Oh god, oh god, oh god. And suddenly a thought popped into his head: had he ever not used a condom before? He knew the answer immediately was no, because he would have remembered this feeling that was so good he couldn't even move, and he knew that it would feel different but he didn't expect it to be so good that he could barely breathe, he could barely think, he could only feel, and he had to keep feeling or else he might die, and Tiana kept kissing him, and he loved her so much, and they were making a baby together, and then Tiana bit his lip and suddenly there were fireworks behind his eyes and he moaned louder than he'd ever moaned before, and he held her tight as the feelings washed over him, as he emptied himself into her, as he pushed himself deeper, as the aftershocks pulsed through him, as tears sprang to his eyes from the love he had for this woman as she kissed him so softly and sweetly on the side of his mouth and brushed the hair back from his face while he twitched and shivered and gasped, his whole weight pressing down on her, and when at last he started to come back to his body and his mind did he realize how quickly this had happened and he felt so humiliated and ashamed that he wanted to hide forever but that would mean he'd have to leave Tiana and he started to cry all over again.

"Shhh. It's alright, honey. I've got you," Tiana whispered, kissing his cheek, rubbing her arms up and down his back, cupping his head and holding him to her.

"I'm sorry," he sniffed. "This is so… embarrassing."

"It's okay, really it is."

Naveen shook his head, buried as it was in Tiana's neck. "I didn't even pleasure you."

Tiana chuckled softly, kissed his cheek again. "Watching you… feeling you climax like that is incredibly sexy." And knowing that it had happened because of her, that he had been completely at the mercy of his body (and hers) was intoxicating. "I really liked it."

Naveen huffed, but smiled, happily cocooned in her warm embrace and her soft, lemon vanilla scent. "You are so nice to me."

"It's because I love you."

"I love you, too."

"And besides," Tiana said, "this will hardly be the last time we make love, right?"

Naveen raised himself on his elbows and looked back at her with a slow, satisfied smile.