(A/N: So in the previous chapter, Mario and Peach did a lot to prepare for their baby, who still has yet to arrive! I think we should start this chapter and see what the expectant parents are up to!)


Before anyone knew it, Peach was in the third trimester of her pregnancy, and nearing her due date. She was excited about having the baby (especially after Daisy and Rosalina threw her a wonderful baby shower the previous month), but she was also really nervous. In fact, it seemed that she was getting more nervous than excited, and it didn't go unnoticed by Mario.

One night, when Mario and Peach got under the covers, Mario said to Peach, "We need to talk."

"About what?" Peach asked.

"About our baby. I know that having one was my idea." Mario said.

"Mario, I know you have been more than willing to go along with whatever I wanted to do since we got married, but it was time I returned the favor and went along with what you wanted to do for once. Also, when I was younger, I did one day hope to have a husband and children of my own, but I didn't want to have kids right after we got married. Then, when you brought up having a child before our second wedding anniversary, I knew it was time to make that hope a reality for both of us." Peach said.

"Judging by your reaction to the news that you were pregnant, I believe you. However, I've noticed that you've been more nervous than excited about the baby's arrival. Can you tell me what's wrong, cara mia?" Mario asked.

Peach was surprised at how observant her husband was. She really didn't want to talk, but Mario was her husband, and he was one of the most understanding men she knew.

"I'll tell you." Peach said.

"Okie-dokie. I'm all ears." Mario said, ready to listen to what his wife had to say.

"Don't get me wrong. I want this baby as much as you do, but there are a couple of reasons why I've become nervous about it." Peach started.

"What are the reasons? Is one of them fear of dying in childbirth? Or are you afraid of our baby being stillborn, because I completely understand." Mario said.

"No, but both of those were pretty good guesses." Peach said.

"Is it that you think I won't be a good father?" Mario asked, a little scared and sad.

"No, Mario. If I felt that way, I never would've agreed to have your baby." Peach said.

"Oh, right." Mario said, feeling a little dumb. Then he asked Peach, "So... what's got you nervous about having our baby?"

"One of them is that I'm worried I may not be a very good mother." Peach began.

"Not likely. I've seen how good you are with the children in the kingdom when we have those festivals. The kids love you, Peach, and not just because you're the princess of the kingdom they live in." Mario said.

"I know that, and they also love you, but they're not exactly our children. They've got their own parents. My own mother died when I was no more than an infant, so I don't know much about what a mother is supposed to be like." Peach said.

"I thought Daisy's mom gave you some pretty good advice on being a mom when we visited Sarasaland a few months ago. Besides, she told you herself that you've always been like another daughter to her." Mario pointed out.

"Daisy's mother was my mother's older sister. Since my own mother's death, she's been the mother I never had." Peach explained.

(A/N: I know Nintendo hasn't confirmed if Peach and Daisy really are cousins like the strategy guides for the "Mario Kart" games say, but I'm sticking with the theory that they are. I'm not sure how they are cousins, but having their moms being sisters is my idea of how they are.)

"Oh. Well, as long as you listened to Daisy's mom, I think you're going to be okay." Mario said.

"It's not the same as getting the advice from one's own mother, but I suppose you're right. I just wish I knew what Daisy's mother told me before we went to Isle Delfino for the first time." Peach said.

Mario knew exactly where this was going.

"Bowser Jr. thinking you were his mom is causing you to feel this way, huh?" Mario guessed.

"You could say that..." Peach replied, sounding really nervous.

Yup, that was the real cause.

"I can't even begin to imagine what Bowser and his son put you through..." Mario said.

"You never did ask me what happened when Jr. took me to his father. What all happened before you showed up to save me." Peach pointed out.

"I figured you'd tell me when you were ready. Or if you wanted to." Mario replied.

Peach had to think about this. Did she want to talk about it? No, not really. And she highly doubted she'd ever be ready to talk about it. But she figured that maybe she should get it off her chest. She wouldn't feel better if she didn't. And besides, she'd be telling it to Mario, the man she loved; the man who loved her.

"Okay. I'll tell you what happened. But let me forewarn you: I've never told anyone about this; not even Toadsworth knows what happened to me. You're the first person, and quite possibly the only person, I'm going to tell." Peach said.

"What an honor!" Mario said, trying to amuse his wife a little.

It obviously worked, because Peach smiled a little, but it didn't take long for the smile to turn into a frown as the memory of that horrible time came back to her. When Bowser Jr. took her to his father, who was hiding in Corona Mountain during that awful first vacation on Isle Delfino.

Peach took a deep breath and got ready to tell Mario everything. She wasn't going to leave anything out.


(Flashback...)

When Bowser Jr. returned to Bowser with Princess Peach in tow, Bowser looked quite pleased to see his son.

"Great job, Jr.! You brought your mama back!" Bowser praised his son.

"It wasn't easy, Papa, because they didn't lock up that pesky Mario! But I managed to get away with Mama Peach so he couldn't take her away from us again!" Bowser Jr. said.

"Bowser, may I have a word with you?" Peach asked Bowser, trying to hide her anger.

"Go ahead, Peach." Bowser told her, oblivious to her anger.

"Alone." Peach said.

"Hey, whatever you have to say to me, you can say in front of our son." Bowser said.

"Not if you knew exactly what I want to say." Peach replied, losing her patience.

Bowser sighed and said, "Son, why don't you go play somewhere else while the grown-ups talk?"

"How come?" Jr. asked, confused.

"Because apparently your mama wants to tell me something that she can't say in front of you. Maybe it's a surprise." Bowser said.

"Oh, you bet I have a surprise for him, and it's the fact that he's going to be in the worst kind of trouble he could possibly be in!" Peach thought as she watched Bowser Jr. leave.

"Thank you." Peach said to Bowser when Jr. was out of earshot.

"You're welcome." Bowser replied, surprised that Peach thanked him, before asking, "So what do you have to say?"

Despite Peach being surprised that he said she was welcome, it didn't stop her from saying what she wanted to say, and she said, "I don't know how many times I've told you this, but in case you've forgotten, let me remind you: I hate you!"

"Oh, now you don't really mean that." Bowser said.

"Yes, I do! I really mean it!" Peach said.

"So you say. But I know that you know you belong with me, not that stupid Mario!" Bowser said, trying to pull her close.

"Don't you dare touch me! Everybody knows that if a villain lays so much as one finger on a princess, it's immediately considered sexual harassment!" Peach reminded Bowser.

"Since when?" asked Bowser.

"Since you were born, of course! So don't touch me unless you want Mario to hear about it! When he does... boy, will you wish you had just decided to leave me alone!" Peach said.

(A/N: Please forgive me if you think Peach is acting a little OOC here, but can you blame her for it? Bowser had ruined the vacation before it even began! Mario and Peach have experienced nothing but trouble since their arrival!)

"Yeah, right! Mario will never make it here! Once he finds out what kind of place this is, he'll give up and leave you here with me because he won't be able to stop me this time! Or better yet, he may not even get here! That would be awesome!" Bowser said.

"Forget you!" Peach said, jumping out of the vehicle Jr. brought her in and getting ready to leave. Only she couldn't. She was surrounded by lava, and this volcano was hotter than that one week when the temperature in the Mushroom Kingdom was well over 110 degrees!

"Oh, great. I'm stuck here." Peach said.

"Well, I couldn't have Jr. bring you to a place where you could easily get away from us, could I?" Bowser asked.

"No, Bowser, there are two ways I can get out of this mess. One way is if Mario saves me..." Peach started.

"That's not going to happen, Princess..." Bowser reminded her.

"The other way is if I die. I can fall in the lava and die, but I really don't want to do that. I could also die of heat-stroke, and right now, that seems like a possibility." Peach finished.

"First of all, you won't fall in the lava because you're not that stupid." Bowser said.

"You think I'm stupid?!" the Princess almost screeched, angered.

"I wasn't calling you stupid. I'm just saying you're not stupid enough to throw yourself in the lava." Bowser said.

"Oh, okay." said Peach, relieved that Bowser wasn't calling her stupid. She would've kicked his sorry tail for that.

"Secondly, you aren't going to get heat-stroke." Bowser assured her.

"What if I do?" Peach challenged.

"You'll live. Besides, it's not that hot in here." Bowser said.

"Says you. Try being me. I have a delicate complexion, and my sunscreen is in my suitcase, which I don't have with me right now." Peach muttered.


After a few minutes, Bowser lumbered off somewhere else, leaving the captive princess alone with her thoughts.

"Wait a second! Why didn't I think of this before?! Since Bowser's son thinks I'm his mom, then maybe I can get him to do what I say. That way, Mario's innocence will be proven, Jr. will be severely punished, and Bowser will have to tell his son the truth about me! What a great idea!" Peach thought.

However, she knew that this wasn't going to be easy, because it meant she was going to have to pretend she really was the kid's mama. The idea made her want to throw up, but she fought down the impulse to do so. She couldn't do that, for she reminded herself that she wanted to help Mario by pulling her own butt out of the literal and metaphorical fire for once in her life.

"If this plan works, it'll be worth it in the end." the Princess told herself.

After mentally preparing herself for what she had to do, Peach went to look for Bowser Jr., hoping that she could pull this off.

When she found Jr., he was using his paintbrush to paint a picture on one of the volcano's walls. Peach knew that she had to do something to get his attention, and unfortunately, the best way to do that was to call him. Oh, this was going to leave a bad taste in her mouth. She was going to need a whole bottle of mouthwash after this ordeal was over.

"Jr., honey?" Peach called, getting the young villain's attention.

Bowser Jr. turned in the direction of the voice, and he saw Peach standing there.

"Hey, Mama Peach! Check out this painting I did! Do you like it?!" Jr. asked, standing aside so Peach could see it. What she saw displeased her greatly!

The painting was of Bowser, his son, Mario, and Peach. In it, Bowser and Jr. were using their flame-breath to kill Mario! But that wasn't the worst part. Oh no, there was something much worse in the painting. Remember, Peach was in the painting, too. She was perched on Bowser's shell, watching the royal Koopas kill Mario, and she looked... happy! And that's the very opposite of how she'd look if Bowser and his son ever did anything like they were doing in the painting!

Resisting the urge to give the beaming little brat a much-needed verbal bashing, Peach forced herself to smile and said, "That's... very interesting, Jr."

"Do you think Papa will like it?" Jr. asked.

"Oh, I think he's going to love it." said Peach, trying to hold back from grabbing that awful paintbrush out of the kid's grubby paws, breaking it in two, and throwing it into the lava where it belonged.

"Good! I painted this with him in mind." said Jr., looking extremely pleased with himself.

"Sweetie... I was wondering... how would you like to do your mama a big, fat favor?" Peach asked.

"No thanks." said Jr.

"What?! Why the he... I mean, why not?" Peach asked, catching herself from saying something one shouldn't say in front of any kids, even if they did deserve it.

"I can't." said Bowser Jr.

Peach thought for a minute. She had to get Jr. to reconsider. Then she had an idea!

"I thought that maybe we could go for some ice cream if you were up for helping your mama." Peach said, knowing how kids feel about ice cream. She was sure Jr. wouldn't be able to say no to such a sweet treat. Plus, she could go for something sweet and cold herself.

"Before, or after?" Jr. asked.

"Before." Peach said, knowing that it would work best if she treated him first. That way, he'd be more willing to comply with her wishes. Besides, the idea was that he got punished for what he did, and she wouldn't have been able to treat him after, for he'd have to serve his punishment, which meant he would not be getting the ice cream she promised him, and he'd know that she lied about the treat.

At first, it seemed that he was going to go for it, but then he changed his mind and said, "No, I can't do it!"

"What?!" Peach shouted. She could not believe her ears! But there had to be a reason he turned it down. No child would ever turn down ice cream without a valid reason!

"Why not?! Are you ill? Does ice cream make you sick? Are you afraid that I'll get you a flavor you hate or are allergic to?" Peach asked, trying hard not to get mad and say something that would make Jr. tattle on her.

"No. Papa told me not to listen to you, or I'll be in big trouble." Jr. explained.

"What did you say?" Peach asked, wondering if she heard him correctly.

"I said, Papa told me not to listen to you. He says I'll be in big trouble if I do." the brat repeated.

"So, you don't want to help your mama and get ice cream?" Peach said.

"I can't. And I can't lie to him about it because he knows when I'm lying." Jr. said.

"Why, that lousy..." Peach muttered as she stormed off, looking for Bowser. Boy, was she mad! If memory served her well, she was sure that a child had to obey both parents if they had them, not just one! Where did Bowser get off telling his son not to listen to the woman he referred to as his mother?!


Upon finding Bowser, Peach said, "BOWSER! You'd better have a good explanation for this!"

"For what, my sweet princess?" Bowser asked, hoping that would calm Peach down. It didn't work, for it made her angrier, if that was even possible.

"Would you care to explain why you told your sp... SON not to listen to me?!" Peach asked, so angry that she forgot to refer to Jr. as 'their' son in front of him. Heck, she was so angry, she almost called Jr. his 'spawn', but she caught herself in time. If she hadn't, she would've been in big trouble with Bowser.

"In case you're forgetting, he's your son, too!" Bowser started.

"He is not! He may refer to me as his mama, but it doesn't help when I don't exactly recall being pregnant with him, much less giving birth to him! Which is just as well; I would've died during that time! And I would've lost my figure!" Peach screamed.

"You look just fine to me." Bowser said, eyeing her up and down, studying her appreciatively. Peach folded her arms across her chest and scowled at him.

"I know what you're thinking, Bowser, and you can just stop it right now." Peach grumbled.

"Besides, even if you didn't birth him, there's still adoption papers." Bowser said.

"That I'll never sign." Peach said.

"What if I had proof that you did?" Bowser tried.

"I wouldn't have signed them, so even if my signature was on them, it would be a forgery, and that is a serious crime. You'd be in trouble for it." Peach said.

"You see, this is exactly why I told Jr. not to listen to you! You're crazy, woman!" Bowser said.

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME?!" Peach screamed, shocked.

"I told Jr. not to listen to you because you are crazy!" Bowser said.

"Oh, I'm crazy?! You're one to talk, Bowser! If I had kids, I would never lie to them like you did to yours! And you still won't let go of that stupid notion that I actually love you! Get real! I wouldn't love you even if you were the last male alive! So if anyone's crazy, it's you!" Peach retorted.

"I'm not crazy! I'm far from it! You see, I anticipated that you might try to do something stupid, like use my son's belief that you're his mama to your advantage! It's a good thing I thought this through as well as I did. Otherwise, I'm afraid I would have no choice but to punish you!" Bowser said.

"I thought you already did, by teaching your son how to do your dirty work, getting Mario blamed for things he didn't do, telling your son not to listen to me, and bringing me to this death-trap! These are all bad enough, so I really don't think you can do anything worse than what you've already done to 'punish' me." Peach said, sarcasm evident in her voice.

Bowser was getting madder and madder as he listened to what Peach was saying, and he'd had more than enough sass from her.

"SHUT UP!" Bowser roared, grabbing the Princess in one of his big hands and holding her really close to his face. Peach was so scared, she couldn't struggle free! She couldn't even scream!

"If you get uppity with me one more time, you will be sorry! And even though you're a princess, an apology won't be enough to save you from paying the penalty!" Bowser threatened.

Peach had never been so frightened before! She thought the worst moments of her life were when Bowser first kidnapped her, and when Bowser attempted to marry her. She was wrong. This was by far the worst moment of her young life!

"Have I made myself CLEAR?!" Bowser roared at Peach, giving her a look that made the volcano seem even hotter than the sun.

Peach managed to weakly nod her head yes. She didn't think she could verbally answer Bowser's question without breaking down and crying.

"Good! Now behave yourself! I have to keep an eye out for that pipsqueak known as Mario. If he shows up here, he'll be dead meat!" Bowser said as he dropped Peach on the ground and stomped off.

"Mario, please be okay! I need you now more than ever..." Peach whispered as she buried her face in her hands and began to sob.

(End flashback...)


Peach was crying as she remembered that awful time. It really hurt to talk about it, but she felt a lot better now that she finally got it off her chest. And if anything, she was more than glad that she told Mario about it.

Mario was holding Peach close to him, letting her cry on his shoulder as she hugged him back. He was shocked and appalled when he heard what Bowser had done to her. But now he understood why she was nervous about having the baby. The fact that Jr. didn't listen to her is why she thought she wasn't going to be a good mother. What if their own child refused to listen to her, like Jr. did? She also had to fight the impulse to snap at him several times, and she was afraid that she'd do that if she caught her own child being naughty, and then their kid would think she was a bad mother. Where did Bowser and his son get off treating Peach the way they did?! If he'd known then what he knew now, he would've hurt them even worse than he had!

"Oh, cara mia... Why didn't you tell me about all this sooner?" Mario asked, rubbing his wife's back in a bid to comfort her.

"I-I couldn't... bring myself to... t-talk about it... Mario! I... j-just wanted to have... some f-fun on the vacation... after everything was fixed... s-so I buried it... deep d-down inside." Peach wept.

Mario still couldn't believe what Bowser had done, though. That rotten Koopa's actions had upset Peach in ways he could not even begin to imagine. He hadn't been able to bring himself to do such things to the villainesses he'd dealt with on his adventures. And then he realized something awful.

"Peach, did Bowser ever tell you how he was going to punish you? You don't have to tell me now because you're already upset and I don't want you to feel even worse..." Mario said.

"N-no... You deserve to know... b-because you'll... f-find out s-sooner or later... He didn't... s-say what it was... but I have a... p-pretty good idea of... what the punishment w-was... and it's n-not... pretty. Considering that I was... a-according to him, 'getting out of line'... what do you think... Bowser was g-going to do... to punish m-me?" Peach sobbed.

It didn't take long for Mario to figure out the answer to that question. Bowser was going to belt her into submission!

"No... He wouldn't dare! Not to you! Not to a princess!" Mario gasped, tightening his hold on his wife. It shocked him to think Bowser would do such an awful thing to Peach.

(A/N: I know Peach is a queen now, but at the time, she was still a princess.)

"I-I wouldn't... put it p-past him... Mario! And I'm... m-more than certain... he would've t-taught such a thing... to his son as well!" Peach wailed.

"Are you sure Jr. wouldn't have tried to stop Bowser from hurting you?" Mario asked, now holding his wife at arm's length so he could look into her eyes.

"After Bowser t-told him... not to listen to me? I'm positive he'd rather... s-sit and let his... f-father beat me than... disobey him by asking him to... s-spare me!" Peach cried, her lovely blue eyes still full of tears that continued to fall.

That did it for Mario.

"You know what? I really don't care anymore." Mario said as he let go of Peach and handed her a tissue to dry her eyes.

"Wh-what... are you... s-saying?!" Peach cried, getting more upset.

"Peach, I'm talking about Bowser. I've been wanting to do him in, but I haven't done it yet because of his kids. After what you just told me, I've reached the end of my rope with him! Bowser's not going to be getting off easy next time I see him, because when I do, he's gonna be a dead Koopa! And that's not a threat! It's a promise that I intend to keep!" Mario declared.


Unbeknownst to the couple, Bowser was right outside the castle in his Koopa Clown Car. He pulled up right outside their (open) window just in time to hear Mario's promise to kill him the next time he saw him.

"On second thought, maybe I'll come back in a month or two. Perhaps he won't be as angry by then." Bowser decided as he flew away from Mushroom Castle as fast as his Koopa Clown Car could go, but it wasn't very fast.


"I n-never expected to hear you threaten to end Bowser's l-life." Peach said as she dabbed at her eyes with the tissue.

"That's because I never knew how bad he made you feel when you were in his clutches, cara mia. If I'd known sooner, Bowser would've been taken out a long time ago." Mario explained.

"I'm glad I f-finally worked up the c-courage to tell you what happened, M-Mario. You always know what to s-say to help me f-feel better." Peach replied.

"Because I love you, Peach." Mario said.

"And I l-love you, too, Mario." the Queen replied.

Mario smiled at that, before adding, "Besides, you don't have to worry about our baby turning out to be like Bowser's son, or the Koopalings. Bowser's not going to be raising our child; that's our job, not his. Our child will turn out nice, like us, and he or she will listen to the both of us. Our child will also know that even if they do something bad that would require punishment, we'll let them know that even if we have to punish them, we still love him or her, so they won't think that we're bad parents. We'll raise our child right, so the Mushroom Kingdom's future ruler will be a good person when he or she grows up."

"You're going to be an amazing father, Mario. Our baby is so lucky." Peach said as she hugged Mario tightly. She had finally calmed down. Her tears had stopped falling.

"And you, cara mia, will be the sweetest mom any child has ever had." Mario promised as he held Peach close and kissed her cheek.

"I love you, Mario." Peach said, kissing him back.

"I love you, Peach." Mario said, before looking at the small bump in Peach's belly, which was where their baby lay. Mario placed his hand on the bump, and he felt something move against his hand. He knew it was the baby kicking, and he smiled even more as he said, "And I love you too, little one."


Aww, I can't wait till Mario and Peach have their baby! They will have the baby before this story ends, and if you wanna see them become parents, then I suggest you stay tuned!