"Okay, breathe slowly and deeply. We'll be at the hospital soon." Artemis told her as she slipped into the passenger's seat. She looked like she wanted to slap him, but she kept her gaze on the dashboard as her chest heaved with each breath. "Don't…tell me…what to do."

Artemis slid in beside her as Butler started the engine. He donned a padded glove and held out his hand to her. "Do you feel like you need to –" He never finished his question, because Anna-Maria promptly seized his hand and squeezed, her already surprising strength magnified ten-fold by the pressure in her lower body. "Eh…" Artemis gritted his teeth against the pain. His glove hadn't been enough.

Anna-Maria leaned back, already panting heavily, and closed her eyes. Pain rippled through her violently and held her head in a vise. What was she doing, a total tomboy, and experiencing labor pains? Which, by the way, were not properly named. PAIN was nowhere near what she felt right now. Still, she thought of the babies she would soon see, and it was all worth it. Another set of pains gripped her body, and she let out a little cry. She didn't even realize that she was squeezing Artemis's hand at all.

Artemis heard her cry and gently brushed her bangs away from her forehead. She felt him press a cool cloth to her warm forehead. "Shh…everything will be alright. Think of little Artemis and Angelina. They're anxious to come into the world and open their eyes to see their mother."

Anna-Maria took a deep breath and opened her eyes and looked up at him. Her head was in his lap, and she loved the feel of his cool hand on her forehead. No matter what, he would be there to support her. "And their father," she added breathlessly. "Angelina will have eyes as blue as yours, sapphire eyes."

"And Artemis will have eyes that match yours, a green as brilliant as emeralds," he replied, his smile faint in the light of the car. "Now just lay back and rest." The young man turned to look at his former bodyguard. "How far are we from the hospital, old friend?"

Butler glanced at them in the rearview mirror for a moment before he turned his eyes back to the road. "No more than three minutes, Artemis. Hang in there, Anna-Maria, you'll be fine."

"Thank you, Butler," she panted. Her chest moved up and down with each breath. Calm, deep breaths…PAIN Deep breaths, calm pulse, even heartbeat…BURNING Just a little longer now…SEARING.

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Angela was already waiting for them when they reached the hospital lobby. A pair of nurses guided Anna-Maria into a wheelchair and whisked her away. Butler followed Anna-Maria and the nurses, but Artemis stayed behind for a few moments to talk to Angela. "Judging by her reports, a normal birth is expected?"

Angela pushed a stray lock of blond hair back into her ponytail. "Of course, Mr. Fowl. Anna-Maria is a healthy woman despite her diabetes mellitus; she should be fine. And if any problems arise, two heads are always better than one. Especially if two heads happen to contain big brains.

"My husband, Michael, is also arriving shortly. He wanted to meet you, he said." Angela looked beyond the raven-haired genius. "And there he is. If you'll excuse me, Mr. Fowl, I must attend to Anna-Maria." With a quick wave, she disappeared behind a set of doors.

How was Anna-Maria doing? He really had to get back to her. If anything happened, he had to be there… Artemis turned and nearly smacked right into a tall man who appeared to be in his early thirty's. "You are Mr. Fowl, right?"

"Yes," he replied smoothly. "And you must be Mr. Johannsen. Angela has mentioned you on more than one occasion."

"I hope everything she said was good. I'm a police officer, like your wife was, I heard, but I don't think I can get my own wife arrested if she says anything about me that happens to be unflattering," the man smiled, and his brown eyes twinkled as he extended his hand out to Artemis. "Call me Michael."

The young Fowl took his hand and shook it warmly. "Artemis. Michael, may I ask you a question?"

The cop leaned against a pillar, keeping his gaze on the bright blue eyes in front of him. His expression was suddenly deadly serious. "Sure. Go ahead."

"Do you have any children?"

"A daughter who just turned four," Michael's smile returned. "Takes completely after her mother, she does. Do you need some advice? Angela told me you're a first-time father, and at twenty-two as well."

"Was there much…blood involved? About how much would you say?" The young genius had never grown accustomed to the sight of blood despite all that he had been through.

"Blood? Hmm…I would say buckets' worth. Just how many buckets depends. On what exactly it depends, I'm not quite sure. I asked Angela once, and I got an hour-long lecture I barely understood two words of. Just try not to faint. Oh, and never, ever tell your wife that you understand her pain when she's in labor. One, because there is no way we could ever understand that, and two, your wife will want to kill you as soon as you say it. I made that mistake, and it took five nurses to hold Angela down."

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"Artemis!" Anna-Maria screamed as she sat up. "The first one's coming out!"

"Already?" Angela checked under the sheet. "Yes, the first baby is crowning. Nurse, can we get a scalpel here to cut the umbilical cord?"

Artemis stayed at Anna-Maria's side. She gripped his hand and squeezed, but this time he didn't feel it. Even when she was bedraggled, she was beautiful. She would kill him if he told her that, though, whether she was in labor or not. "Just concentrate on me, Anna-Maria," he whispered near her ear. She looked at him and smiled faintly, breathless. "Angelina and Artemis are almost here."

Another pain seized her and she closed her eyes, squeezing hard on Artemis's hand as she cried out. Then there was the sound of a baby crying, and Angela was holding a bundle in her arms. "It's a girl."

Artemis smiled and leaned over Anna-Maria. "Angelina is here, Anna-Maria. Artemis will come soon." He straightened and gently took the infant that Angela held out to him. The baby wouldn't open her eyes for a while, but that was normal. She cried a bit, as any infant would. Artemis rocked her gently in her arms, and the baby calmed down. The damp curls on her head were a rich dark brown, just like her mother's.

Anna-Maria opened her eyes. The pain was still there, but it was bittersweet now. Soon she would be able to hold her children in her arms. "Artemis?" He came close to her and showed her the baby nestled in the crook of his arm. She smiled at the infant and reached out to touch her little cheek. She drew back a second later, but that was because of the labor pains and she didn't want to hurt young Angelina with her squeezing. A nurse tenderly took Angelina from her father's arms and rocked her, allowing Artemis to turn his attention back to Anna-Maria.

Her contractions increased rapidly, and her breathing came harder. She began to cry out, though she really didn't want to. She couldn't help it. Angela bent over her and laid a cool towel on her forehead. "Push, Anna-Maria, push. Come on, just like you just did."

Anna-Maria put all her effort into it, focusing on her lower body. "Artemis, I…"

"Shh…" He held her hand as she squeezed. "Everything's fine. Little Artemis is on the way. Just a little more…"

Anna-Maria squeezed hard enough to break five hundred hands, but Artemis's bones remained intact. Baby cries filled the room again, and Angela gently lifted the baby boy into her arms while a nurse cut the umbilical cord. Anna-Maria collapsed back on the bed, panting and gasping for breath. Angela tenderly placed Artemis Fowl the Third in his mother's waiting arms and young Angela rested in her father's arms. They were a complete family now.