Sheik came back to the tree house with a bag full of supplies, and the commotion of unloading them caused Link to stir. "Yaah... back already?"

"I was gone for quite a while," he chuckled. "It's the next day."

Link sat up and looked around, the events of last night coming back to her. "Oh, that's right, we're in the Kokiri forest..." She then looked down at her stomach. "And I have a baby inside me."

"Yup." Sheik withdrew a book from his bag, and handed it to Link. "You'll want to read this, it details what happens with a pregnancy and things like morning sickness. Your dizziness."

"Oh."

"I also, for the sake of making things easier on us, told Malon."

"WHAT?" Link glared at Sheik in shock, her eyes as wide as could be.

"It's better this way, she can help by getting me supplies that I would raise suspicion by fetching," he explained. "Besides, she told me she already suspected when she saw how big your breasts and stomach were getting." Sheik sat down beside Link and rubbed her back. "Malon's a farm girl, she knows a lot about this kind of thing. We're lucky to have her help."

"I guess so..." Link laid back down, and started flipping through the book. Some of the pictures startled her, like the woman who was pregnant with twins. Her body was all distorted and huge. Then there was a woman who had to be cut open to take the baby out, and another who was tied to a chair.

Link yelped and threw the book across the room, crying as she curled into a ball. Navi flew up in the air in panic, as Sheik ran over and tried to comfort the sobbing girl.

"Link, what's wrong?"

"I don't want to be tied to a chair! I wish this never happened!"

"Tied to a chair...?" Sheik picked up the book and tried to figure out what spooked her, discovering the page in the birthing section. "Oh, I see. Link, this woman isn't tied to a chair. This is a 'birthing chair', and these cords on the arm rests are for her to pull on while she's pushing the baby out. It helps her focus, nobody tied her up. This other picture where the woman is being cut open is only if the baby is stuck and won't come out. It's okay."

Link looked up at Sheik and tried to smile, but still felt uneasy. "...What if I'm not a good mother? You heard the Deku Sprout, we're too young."

"Nonsense, you'll be a perfect mother." Sheik kissed Link's forehead, and wiped her cheeks. "Do you really think a tree has any authority on what it's like to raise a child? The Kokiri are created as they are, and you're the only baby he's ever had to actually bring up. Even then, you only had ten years with him before going out on your own."

"I guess you're right..."

"There's a smile." Sheik tickled Link's sides to get her in higher spirits, then got up to finish making her breakfast. "Mommy and baby need to stay healthy, and some good food ought to do the trick. I also brought some water in if you'd like to wash up."

That's right, now that Link was an adult, she probably shouldn't bathe in the spring pool anymore like the rest of the Kokiri. "What are these, are they for me too?"

Sheik looked over, and saw Link rooting through the pile of clothes he left next to the water pail. "Oh yes, from Malon. Some old dresses and pantaloons that she said should fit you now and as you grow with the baby. I think they were her mother's, but then again Malon is a little bigger than you so they could have been hers. I'm not sure."

Link giggled at Sheik's mumbling, and picked out a dress that was loose enough to let her breathe. She was actually grateful that the dresses were primarily high waisted; now that her bust was growing, it was painful without some support. "How do I look?"

"Perfect." Sheik kissed Link's cheek, then handed her a bowl of rice soup. "Here you are, one home cooked meal for the mother-to-be."

"Thank you, father-to-be." Link took the bowl with a grin, and sat down for their first meal as a family.

"So you really are Link?"

"Uh huh." Link counted out the rupees from her wallet for the shopkeeper, and took her bag of recovery hearts.

"Wow, so you grew up, then? How did you do that? And why is your belly so big?" Rena, sister of Lena the awning girl, circled around Link. "Our bellies don't get big."

"And they better not," Link chuckled, patting her on the head. "I have a baby in there."

"A baby?! You ate a baby?"

That made the hero grimace. "No, of course not! I'm growing a baby, with my boyfriend Sheik. That's how Hylians and Sheikah make babies. The Great Deku Tree made all of you Kokiri out of thin air, I guess."

"It's a little more complicated that that," Navi snorted.

"Anyway," Link said with a glare towards the snarky fairy, "my tummy's so big because the baby is getting bigger. Sheik says there's maybe two months left, but I'm gonna get even bigger still."

"That's weird. Well, I gotta go. Bye, Link!"

Link waved goodbye as the girl ran off, grateful that the Kokiri were beginning to treat her like normal again. Fado was still ignoring her and Mido was still being a jerk, but they couldn't be helped. At least Saria was still on her side, and in return for not being able to help in person, Saria gave Link permission to move into her house. It was a wonderful reprieve, as the ladder into Link's treehouse had suddenly become a great burden.

Once back inside the house, Link found Sheik standing over the empty bed with his arms crossed. "And just where were you, little missy...?"

"I went to the store for some hearts, because my stomach hurt a little," Link admitted, holding up the bag. "I wasn't gone long..."

"Just long enough for me to catch you." Sheik smirked, before strolling over and pulling Link into a hug. "You naughty little girl, can't listen to directions."

"What, walks are good!" Link retaliated by nipping at Sheik's nose, though he didn't budge an inch. She was trapped.

"I already told you, you're too young to be pregnant so you have to take it easy. Rest is best. Now eat your hearts and lay back down." Sheik waited until Link got back into bed, then filled her in on what he learned while out in Kakariko Village. "Ganondorf's forces have been fooled so far by reports of your injuries. However, I can tell they're getting restless. Perhaps you'll need to get moving sooner than we planned."

"But... what about the baby?"

"I'll look after the baby," Sheik assured her, "don't worry. But once you're able to go back out there, you better do the Spirit Temple ahead of the Shadow Temple."

"Go straight into Gerudo territory?!" Link sat up in bed, and stared at Sheik in disbelief. "That's a terrible idea!"

"No, Link, it will be okay. There are rumors that the Gerudo are unhappy with Ganondorf's behavior as of late," Sheik shared. "Besides, one of them has to be the Sage, you just have to find her. It shouldn't be nearly as hard as the Shadow trials will be."

"I hope you're right."