Chapter 11: Granting A Wish

Saltbaker carefully took the ingredients and began mixing them together, stirring them slowly as he felt a bit pensive about making the Wondertart. Angel was beside him and she noticed that he looked almost ready to say he couldn't do it. "Saltbaker," she said gently. "It's okay."

His hands stilled and he took a deep breath. "I just...I don't know if I can do this," he said. "Fully create the Wondertart. I...,"

He trailed off as he began trembling and Angel recognized the look of fear on his face. Realization hit her. "Are you afraid the desire to steal it for yourself will be too much to resist?" She asked. "That you'll go back to...the man you were before the battle?"

Saltbaker nodded sadly, appreciating that the young woman had said it delicately, keeping his feelings in mind. "I...I don't know if I can trust myself to...to not get power hungry again," he admitted softly.

The young woman placed her right hand over his own right hand comfortingly. He turned to her and she smiled. "I trust you, Saltbaker," she said before taking his hand and placing it on her stomach. Her baby kicked at the chef's hand seconds later. "And my baby trusts you."

Tears filled his eyes at her words and she could see he was still struggling to believe that he was a changed man. Mugman went up to them and he was looking for a stool to stand on since the counter was higher than him. Cagney saw what his nephew was thinking of and a vine wrapped gently around the boy, lifting him up as more vines formed a platform, the young mug being set down on the platform a moment later. "Thanks, Uncle Cagney," the boy said.

"Sure thing, kiddo," the flower said.

Saltbaker turned to see Mugman was standing beside him and the boy looked up at him. "Um...could...could I help you make the Wondertart, Mr. Saltbaker?" He asked shyly.

Cuphead, hearing his brother's request, smiled. "Can I help too?" He asked.

"I'd like to as well, if that's alright," Miss Chalice said.

The Yankee Yippers barked excitedly and their little tails wagged happily, to which Saluki and Bulldog smiled. "Looks like the pups want to help too," the former said.

Saltbaker looked at all the young ones looking up at him with big eyes and he couldn't help chuckling. "Well...alright, you kids can help," he said.

The kids grinned and began helping and it wasn't long before the Wondertart was ready to go into the oven. Mortimer smiled. "It's ready for the final ingredient," he said.

Bulldog smiled. "The last ingredient is actually one that most wouldn't even think of," he said.

"What is it?" Mugman asked.

"Unconditional love," Esther replied. "And it must come from two for one."

Angel's hands gently touched her round stomach as realization hit her. "Parents to a child," she said.

"Yes," Saluki said with a smile.

The Moonshine Mob nodded. "From you, Miss Angel, your husband, Mr. Specter, and your unborn child," the spider mobster said.

"Hold hands over tart. Let love be shown," Glumstone said.

Saltbaker blinked in surprise before deciding to turn to Specter and Angel. "You...You don't have to, but...if you want to," he said.

Angel smiled and looked at Specter, who nodded. "For my sister," he said, holding out his hand to his wife, who took it with a smile.

"For my sister," she said before smiling and her hand rested on her stomach. "For our child's aunt."

Both husband and wife stretched their free hands out over the pan that held the waiting-to-be-baked pastry and before everyone's eyes, a stream of beautiful blue and purple light flowed from the couple into the baking pan. "Wow," Cuphead said in awe. "What's that?"

"The love between your aunt and uncle and your unborn cousin, along with a bit of magic," King Dice said, recognizing it. "This is actually a rare thing to witness."

After a moment, the dessert was glowing blue and purple and Saltbaker turned to the others. Esther nodded. "Alright, it's ready to bake," she said.

Ten minutes later, the pastry was fully cooked and Saltbaker set it out to cool down. In the end, a good-sized tart was set on a plate and presented to Miss Chalice. She took a deep breath and began to eat it carefully.

When she finished it, she blinked and looked at herself to see she was still a ghost before she suddenly felt dizzy. "Oh," she groaned and began to fall over in her seat. Saltbaker quickly caught her and he looked worried.

"Miss Chalice!" He said, worry clear in his voice.

"What happened?" Dice asked in shock.

Even the inhabitants of the Mystery Isle were surprised. "What could have gone wrong?" Mortimer asked.

Saltbaker looked up at everyone, but no one had an answer as to what was wrong. "We need to get her to a doctor," Specter said finally. "Or have a doctor come to us."

"Back to the Main Isles," Angel said with a nod. "Let's go."

Dice quickly made temporary tunnels appear and in mere seconds, everyone was back on the Main Isles and at Specter, Angel, and Cagney's house. Cuphead and Mugman ran to fetch a doctor while the others waited anxiously. Saltbaker was worried he caused more harm than good and was pacing the floor, hoping that Miss Chalice would wake up.

The doctor soon arrived and he immediately realized what happened. "She's gone into shock," he said. "What happened?"

"We were helping Saltbaker with the Wondertart to give Miss Chalice a body again, but when she ate it, she passed out," Saluki said.

The doctor looked at Saltbaker, who could sense the next question. "No, I didn't use a living soul," he said.

"He didn't," Angel said, standing up for the chef.

The doctor nodded. "Alright," he said before finishing the examination. "All I can suggest is keep an eye on her. Plus...her body is starting to accept the change. Her vitals are stable, despite her being unconscious."

"Do you have a general idea of if or when she may wake up?" Psych asked.

"If she continues to stay stable, she should wake up in a day or two. If she starts to decline, call me at once."

Just as the doctor was about to leave, Angel felt a sharp pain and cried out as her legs started to give way. "Angel!" Cagney said, making a bed of vines to catch her. Saltbaker was beside Angel and he noticed her face was a look of pain and she was breathing as if she had been running a marathon.

"Doctor!" The chef called out. "She's in labor!"

The doctor rushed back in and one look at Angel and he knew there wasn't much time. "We need to get her to the hospital," he said. "Dice?"

"On it," the casino owner said. "Specter, hold onto Angel."

The ghost nodded and picked up his wife, who bit her lip. "Breathe, my love," he said gently. "I've got you."

He floated over to Dice, who transported them to the hospital and a nurse directed them to the delivery room. "Mr. Dice, sir, I'm afraid you'll have to wait outside," she said gently.

He nodded understandingly and kissed his daughter's forehead. "I'll be right outside, pumpkin," he promised.

She nodded before wincing as a sharp pain hit her again. Specter set her down on the hospital bed while Dice went outside, hearing the door close. He stood outside patiently and soon heard footsteps, seeing Elder Kettle and the others coming down the hall. "How is Angel doing?" The kettle asked.

"She's still in labor," Dice said. "How is Miss Chalice?"

"We had her brought here and Saltbaker is with her," Grim said. "The Root Pack is with them too."

The door opened a moment later and they all turned to see a nurse smiling at them. "It's a little girl," she said. "We're going to transfer Angel to a room and give the new baby a checkup and once that's done, both the mother and baby will be ready for visitors."

Pirouletta let out a quiet squeal. "We have a granddaughter!" She squeal quietly.

Congratulations were plenty before they were led down the hall to a room where the new parents were beaming and in a bassinet beside Angel was the newborn baby.

The new mother, though a bit tired, smiled at them all. "Hey, guys," she said.

"How do you feel, pumpkin?" Dice asked.

"A bit tired," she admitted. "But happy."

Specter smiled at her. "We decided on a name for our baby," he said.

"What's her name?" Bon Bon asked.

Angel looked at Pirouletta. "Mom, will you do the honors?" She asked.

The dancer smiled and went to stand by her grandchild. "Everyone, meet Bethany," she said.

Dice's eyes widened and tears filled his eyes. Elder Kettle felt his eyes fill up with tears too and everyone else smiled, realizing the baby was named after Angel's mother. Cagney, who had already known about the baby's name, gently nudged King Dice over. Elder Kettle did the same. "Go on," the kettle said. "Go meet your granddaughter."

Pirouletta had picked up the baby and gently handed the little one to her husband and he held her gently. Little Bethany opened her eyes to look up at him and he smiled at her. "Hello, my little granddaughter," he said softly before looking at Elder Kettle and smiling. "Well, aren't you going to come meet your great-granddaughter?"

The kettle accepted the baby and she looked up at him and he smiled. Everyone got a chance to say hello and hold the little baby, who was curious about all the new faces, but didn't cry. Cuphead looked up at his aunt. "Mugs and I can still babysit her, right?" He asked, referring to a promise Angel had made them a while back.

"Of course you two can," Specter said with a smile.

The Root Pack came in right then. "Miss Chalice woke up," Moe said.

"How is she doing?" Angel asked.

"She's adjusting to having a body again, but she's doing alright," Psych said.

Just then, a knock came at the door and Saltbaker peeked in. "Room for a couple more?" He asked.

"Come in, Saltbaker," Angel said with a smile.

He stepped in, gently pushing Miss Chalice, who was in a wheelchair and she smiled. "Hi, everyone," she said.

"Come meet your niece, sis," Specter said.

Chalice held the child and smiled. "She's so adorable," she said.

Saltbaker smiled and decided to discreetly leave to allow the others to visit, since he wasn't a family member. Mugman noticed him heading out. "Hey, where you going, Saltbaker?" He asked curiously.

The chef turned to the boy. "Well...this is a family celebration, young one," he said gently. "I...I don't want to intrude upon it."

"You mean you're not going to meet the child who kept kicking your hand and helping you through the tough times as we did?" Angel asked, a smirk on her face. "Not on my watch, buster. Now get over and meet your niece, or so help me, I will get up from this bed and drag you over here myself."

"Trust me, she will," Specter said with a chuckle while the others were trying not to chuckle aloud, but were failing.

Saltbaker went up to Miss Chalice, who smiled and handed him the baby girl. The chef held the child with the upmost care, seeing her look up at him with curious eyes. "Hello, little one," he said, smiling. "Welcome to the world."

She closed her eyes and fell asleep in his arms and he smiled, looking at Specter and Angel, who were both smiling. "What do you think?" The ghost asked. "Was your quest for redemption worth it?"

The chef nodded. "I...I can't thank you all enough," he said. "I didn't deserve another chance, yet you all gave me one." He gently tucked the blanket around little Bethany. "Especially this little one. I'm never going to disappoint her."

Angel smiled. "It's official," she said. "Welcome to the family, Saltbaker," she said.

So Miss Chalice has her body now, Angel and Specter's little girl is born, and Saltbaker is officially a member of the family. :)

Next chapter will be the epilogue. :)

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