Author's Note: So, the last couple of chapters were really, really heavy on the drama. For that reason, I decided to end on a much lighter note. Not that there isn't some drama, but this chapter just has way less of it, and a much happier ending. Also, in an effort to do something different, I did a little bit of a change of scenery…with the entire timeline. When you read how much forward I moved things, keep in mind that the majority of this story takes place while Evie was about 16 years old.

Please enjoy…

Eight years later…

Connie was busying herself trying to figure out how she wanted to rearrange the furniture in the living room. Not that it needed it, but it had been a while since she'd changed the layout and she hated to let the rooms in the house get stagnant. It felt as if things were lazy to her. And if it was one thing she hated, it was things feeling lazy.

"I could move the couch from the center of the room to back against the wall opposite the window," she said to herself as she leaned against the doorframe of the room. "One chair adjacent, the other at an angle."

Suddenly, her thoughts were interrupted by her phone ringing. She picked it up from the living room table next to the door, smiling when she saw the caller.

"Hi, Evie," she said cheerfully. "How are you?"

"Hi, Mom," Evie said, though Connie picked up on something.

"Are you okay, Sweetheart? You sound different."

"I'm…um, ah…I'm going to the hospital," Evie answered, sounding like she was trying to keep her voice normal.

"Now?" Connie gasped in shock.

"Uh-huh. I felt a little bit of pain earlier, then the contractions started a little while ago and haven't stopped this time," Evie told her, her voice now sounding labored and occasionally strained.

"But you aren't due for another month."

"Clearly not," Evie replied.

"Okay, um, is Doug with you?"

"He's taking me."

"Have you called anyone else?"

"Just you," Evie said.

"Okay, don't worry, I…I'll go ahead and call your friends and let them know. Me and Dopy are on our way too."

"Hurry," Evie said as she grunted in pain.

Connie heard the phone indicate that the Evie had hung up. Oh my God, she thought as she started making her way toward the backyard. "Dopy! Dopy!"

Connie and Dopy made their way into the hospital's ER. She was thankful that the registration window was open and practically ran toward it. "Excuse me, hi," she began, not realizing how out of breath she was from her run from the parking lot. "My son and daughter-in-law just came in here probably fifteen, twenty minutes ago. Can you tell me where they are back there?" she requested as she pointed to the treatment area.

"Name of the patient?" the nurse asked.

"Evie. You can't miss her; twenty-four years old, blue hair…massively pregnant."

"Mom," Doug's voice interrupted her. She turned and saw through the windows in the barrier doors as Doug was running up from inside the treatment area. The nurse hit the button on her end and the doors began to open. Connie and Dopy moved inside and immediately asked him how Evie was doing. "She's fine. We got here quick, but the doctors are prepping her for the OR," he informed them.

"They want to operate? But I thought she was gonna try for a natural birth?" Connie asked, her nerves starting to rise. Dopy looked just as concerned, but still remained quiet.

"The doctor thinks its best. Did you get in touch with Mal?"

Connie nodded. "Her and Ben were actually in Sherwood, so she told me they'd fire up the royal jet. They should be landing pretty soon."

"And I don't think the King and Queen are going to have to worry about traffic getting here," Doug added. Connie shook her head. "What about Jay and Lonnie, and Carlos and Jane?"

"Called them too, but obviously it's going to take them longer," Connie told him. "Back to Evie, do know how much longer she'll be. They were finishing up prepping her when I came out to see if you were here. They told me they weren't going to wait long to move her into the operating room, so…"

"They've probably already moved her," Connie finished for him. Doug nodded. Lord, please let them be okay, she thought.

Connie and Dopy, and Mal and Ben, along with Carlos and Jane, who had gotten there faster than normal since Jane decided to just use magic to teleport them there instead of doing the three hour drive, were sitting in the waiting room. Doug had gone to wait closer to the actual operating rooms so as to get any news about his wife sooner. They were mostly quiet, occasionally talking with each other, but mostly they were worrying about Evie.

"How much longer is this going to take?" Mal asked, frustrated at the time.

"Mal," Ben tried to calm her.

"They said with the C-section it was going to take an hour, it's been almost two and half," she replied.

"There was a complication," Connie reminded her. "I don't like it either, but there's nothing we can do about it but wait."

"Nothing? I'm going to make them tell me something," Mal said confidently as she got up from her chair.

"Mal, honey, you're not going to get the answers you want," Connie told her. Mal looked at her questioningly. "They only know what they've been told by the doctor or nurses."

"Then I'll tell them to get me one," she said.

"Mal, Evie's giving birth," Jane reminded her. "No doctor or nurse is going to just leave the room to answer a family member's question. Even if the person asking is the Queen."

"I just want to make sure my best friend is okay," Mal lamented.

Connie got up from her chair and went over and hugged Evie's best friend. "Honey, she's gonna be fine."

"You don't…"

"You're right, I don't. Not for certain. But I have faith that she will be. After all, underneath the emotional exterior she puts on, Evie's tougher than she looks."

Before Mal could respond, a nurse walked into the room. Everyone stood.

"Evie's husband asked me to tell you all that she's out of labor," the middle-aged woman informed them.

"And…?" Connie and Mal asked in unison.

"Her and the babies are alright."

There was a collective sigh in the room as everyone let out deep breaths of relief. There were a few hugs, and few whispered thank you's for answered prayers.

"When can we see them?" asked Dopy, shocking everyone with his voice.

"Right now, but we can only let you all in two at a time. And, the parents have actually asked that their parents be the first," the nurse smiled. Connie and Dopy looked around the room. There were nods of approval. Connie looked at Mal, thinking maybe she should let the young Queen go first considering how worried she'd just been.

"Go ahead," Mal told her. "I need to call Belle and Adam to let them know. Adam especially," she smiled. "He became a nervous wreck when I told him Evie went into labor." Connie chuckled, happy to see that he was still protective of Evie after all these years.

"And we'll call everyone else," Jane said in reference to Carlos and herself. She looked to her husband and they both began following the nurse back to the room Evie had been moved into.

Once there, they slowly looked into it, seeing Doug and Evie laying in an extra wide hospital bed so that they could be together for the moment. Connie felt her eyes start to water at the sight of the two of them, a baby in each of their arms.

"Mom, Dad," Doug greeted when he noticed them.

"Hi," Evie said to them softly, the toll of childbirth still making her feel somewhat weak. "Do you want to come say hello to your grandchildren?" she offered. Connie and Dopy moved into the room and next to the bed. Each baby was bundled up to keep them warm. Right now their eyes were still opening and closing as they drifted in and out of sleep as their parents held them. "Say hello to, Ethan and Delilah," Evie introduced as she let Connie lift little Delilah out of her arms and into hers. Doug, likewise, handed Ethan to his father.

"Oh my God, they're so beautiful," Dopy said, getting a glance from Doug, but Evie understanding that one of them had to say it, and Connie at the moment was not going to be able to due to the tears running from her eyes.

"Hi, baby," she sobbed as she looked down at her granddaughter. "You look as beautiful as your mother." The baby cooed softly before opening her eyes. Connie noticed the small tufts of brown hair on Delilah's head and looked over at Dopy. "Bald for the moment?" she asked her husband. Dopy nodded.

"Yeah, we're thinking he's gonna be the one to get the blue hair," Doug said, deciphering what his parents were thinking.

"How are you feeling, Sweetheart?" Connied asked Evie.

"Exhausted," Evie answered. "And a little scared." Connie laughed.

"I was a little scared too when I had Doug," she told Evie as she realized that Evie was still having the same doubts she'd been having her entire pregnancy over what kind of mother she'd be considering how she was raised. "That'll pass though. And I'll be here if you need anything" she added as she looked down again to admire the sleeping baby in her arms. "Like I've been telling you this entire time, Sweetheart, You're going to be an amazing mother," she reassured Evie with a glowing smile.

"Thanks, Mom."

The End