A/N: This chapter is a little gross, and not entirely accurate. But for the sake of moving the story along, let's say it is.

Link was sitting on her bed, fiddling with a baby outfit. "Hey Navi, do you think the baby will like green?"

"If the baby grows up in the forest, probably." Navi flew around the hut, looking at the food they had stocked. "That boy gathered a bunch of junk. Nuts, jerky meat... you have to eat more than protein. Right?" Navi turned to look back at Link, but stopped when she saw Link making a funny face. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know, that pain Sheik told me about is back but it's getting worse." Link winced, and grabbed at her back. "Oww... It won't go away..."

Navi perked up. "How long has it been hurting?"

"All morning, since I..."

"Since you what?" Navi flew over when Link didn't answer, and found her staring at a growing puddle on the sheets. "What's that?"

Unsure, Link started shaking. "Sheik... get Sheik..."

Navi buzzed out the door to the pond, where Sheik was washing some clothes. When she explained what had happened, he immediately ran back to the house, nearly toppling over one of the Kokiri on the way.

"Link! It will be okay, just lay back," he urged, sliding a pillow behind her head. He knew it was almost time for the baby to come, but hadn't thought today was going to be the day.

"What happened to her?!" Navi squeaked, halfway toward one of her freakouts.

"Her water broke," he explained, clearing the soiled blankets from the bed and carefully removing Link's undergarments. "That means it's time for the baby to come."

Link tried to steady her breathing. Has it been that long already? "Sheik... what, what do I do? How does...?"

"You're going to have to push," he answered, rubbing her forehead. "It's going to take a while, unfortunately, but that's why you're feeling pain. Your body is trying to push the baby out. When it's time to start, you're going to feel it."

"But how?"

Sheik shrugged. "I don't know, baby. I've never done this before." Kissing her to ease the tension, Sheik sat beside Link and held her hand. "The book said it's easiest when you lean back on the bed with your feet planted apart, so that gravity will help."

"Okay..." Link scooted back with Sheik's assistance, but immediately gripped his hand. She was feeling that urge to push, and hard. "Ah, Sheik... it hurts!"

"Push, Link, it will only hurt for a little bit. You're doing fine!"

Sheik pulled back Link's nightgown, so that he could keep an eye on her progress. After a few hours of intense pushing, he could see the baby's head.

"Link, you're doing fantastic! I can see our baby's head coming out!"

"Oh Goddesses, this hurts worse than any of it," Link cried, before screaming at the next contraction. Sheik did his best to comfort her, and Navi continued wiping her forehead to keep her cool.

"Link, the head's out!" Sheik reported after several strong contractions, and cheered Link on. The hardest part over, Link only had to push a few more times to free the baby's shoulders. After that, the baby slid right out.

"Oh, Link..." Sheik held the baby while Navi cut the cord, then handed the newborn to Link. "Say hello to your beautiful baby girl..."

"Baby..." Link cooed to the little child as she fussed in her arms, and turned smiling to Sheik. "We have a baby! Oh Sheik, she's so cute!" The little newborn shared their golden hair, and had Sheik's honey skin tone. When she opened her eyes, they were a deep indigo color.

"Look at that, her eyes are a cross between ours." Sheik wiped both Link and the baby clean, then nuzzled up next to them. "You did a wonderful job."

Link grinned at the compliment. "I couldn't have done it without you, you know. So what are we gonna call her?"

"It's a Sheikah tradition not to name the baby until she's at least half a year old," he answered. "Reason being that it gives you a little time to get to know her, but also because they say the evil spirits won't harm nameless children. Newborns are the most vulnerable, after all."

"That's smart," Link replied as she rubbed the baby's cheek. "We need to keep our little pumpkin safe, after all. Oh, oh look Sheik, I think she's hungry!"

The baby began to wiggle and pout, so Link hurried and opened her nightgown. "I hope I'm doing this right..." This was the part that worried Link the most, as she feared she wouldn't be able to properly nurse the baby because she wasn't very gifted like most women.

"It's okay, Link," Sheik reassured her, "the book said the baby will know what to do."

Link moved the baby into position, and sure enough she latched on and started feeding. Link's eyes widened as the baby fed, and she looked to Sheik with wonder on her face. "Oh, Sheik, it tickles! I... I can feel her numming on me. This is amazing!"

"She's got an amazing mother," he replied. When the baby was finished, Sheik swaddled her up and rocked her in his arms. "Go to sleep, Link. You've had enough excitement for today."

"Yeah, let her papa look after her," Navi chimed in. Yawning, Link took their advice and curled up in the clean bed by the window. She was asleep in minutes.

Barely a month after childbirth, Link was in bed rocking the baby when Sheik returned from Kakariko with some distressing news. "Sheik, you look pale. What's wrong?"

"Ganondorf's troops are starting to wonder where you are," he said with a grimace. "There were bulblin guards seen in the village over the last few days, checking the houses and asking questions. No one was hurt, but I'm afraid of where they'll travel next."

Link furrowed her brow. Looking at the baby, she came to a decision. "I can't let him find our baby. I'll go out to the Gerudo Valley tomorrow, and see if I can find the Sage of Spirit."

"What?!" Sheik shook his head in protest. "But Link, you are still too weak! You said so yourself, you get lightheaded whenever you stand up and there is still a little bleeding from the delivery. There is no way you are going to be able to ride a horse, especially one that has to jump across a broken bridge!"

"I'll ride Epona sidesaddle until I get to the valley, and I'll use the longshot I found in the Water Temple to cross the broken bridge," Link countered. "I'll be fine, Sheik. It shouldn't be that difficult figuring out which Gerudo is the sage. I just need to find the one who doesn't agree with Ganondorf's ideas."

Sheik reluctantly nodded, and laid down beside Link to comfort her. "I'm sorry, I just worry about you. I should be the one going out and searching for you, but I can't because I'm not the Hero of Time. You are. I put you in a precarious situation by getting you pregnant, and now you're running out to save everyone when you've barely healed... "

"No, Sheik, we did this together." Link laid the baby in Sheik's lap, and laced their fingers together over her little heart. "She's our future, and we need to fight for her. You've done all the work so far while I hid here, now it's my turn to get back out there and finish it."

"Okay, but you better hurry back." Sheik nudged the sleeping baby's cheek, before placing her back in Link's arms. "You two get some bonding time, I'm going to run out to the village for some supplies before you leave. That extra goat Malon gave you is going to come in handy, but we need baby bottles and a few other things or else I can't feed her."

"You hurry back," Link urged, "so we can spend the rest of the night together as a family."