MINDSPRING- Ok, this is just a random one shot I did because I have had the BIGGEST FREAKIN writer's block ever, about all THREE of my stories!! Ahh!! Hopefully this will clear it up. Hopefully. Read, and… yeah. *rubs temples wearily*… stupid block…

Zelda stood with a sleeping toddler on her hips, looking at the large, stately palace in front of her. She shaded her eyes and looked back to the station, where Link was struggling under the weight of a lot of suitcases. She grinned and yelled, "Come on, honey, we're going to be late!"

He muttered a reply she couldn't hear. Zelda grinned again and laughed. The sound woke the toddler, who sneezed, tugged a lock of Zelda's brown hair, and burped, all in one smooth motion. Zelda looked into the large, brown eyes and touched her finger to the nose. The toddler went crossed eyed following it, and giggled. Zelda pressed her lips to the soft blond hair and said, "Good morning, sleepy head!"

The little daughter of a Hyrulian princess and a wood elf from the country dimpled, and showed a gummy smile where the little white teeth were just starting to come in. She said something in the language of babies, and Zelda nodded seriously. "Oh, really, Ayia? Your papa said that?"

Link dropped the heavy load right next to his wife's feet. He groaned, and stretched. "You have magic, why not use that?" Zelda pointed to Ayia for an answer and Link stretched his arms out to receive the baby. She held out her chubby arms to her father, and Zelda, sighing, complied. As the suitcases began to float and drift up the path, Zelda experienced a sudden flashback and was transported back to the day their little blessing had come to them…

As Zelda lay in the bed, exhausted, she watched Link with the little bundle. He thought she was asleep. He stood at the window ,swaying a little, his eyes as wide as the newborn' s as he took in his daughter, and lightly touched her face with his gentle fingers. As she cooed and closed her chubby fists over them, Zelda saw Link's smile grow to something that only a father could have: Pride, joy, wonder, and protection, all thrown into one loving glance. As Zelda's eyes slowly closed, she saw Link kiss his daughter for the first time, and could have sworn that tears shimmered, unwept, in his large eyes.

Zelda was snapped back into reality when the large doors were thrown open, and three things happened at the exact same time: Peach threw herself into Zelda's arms while Mario greeted Link, Samus clapped her on the back while Falco and Snake grabbed the bags, and two little zooms of energy shot themselves at Zelda's legs, where they clung to, refusing to let go.

Zelda hugged her two best friends and said, "Peach! Samus, darlings!" Peach held her back at arm's length and ran a critical eye over her. Finally, she nodded. "Motherhood suits you, Zelda."

Zelda and Samus laughed, and the latter shook her head, smiling, and said, "Oh, come on, Peach, she just got here!"

"I know that, and I haven't seen in her in a year! That was completely called for, and you're next."

Zelda laughed again, and when she tried to step forward, she felt herself falling. She grabbed out widely at Samus and Peach, grabbing Samus by her arm and Peach by her skirts. As they all cried out and tried to disengage themselves, Link, Mario, Falco and Snake all went inside, talking and laughing. Zelda looked down and saw, to her surprise, a mini Peach and a mini Mario. She felt her jaw droop, and after a moment's shock, she yelled, "PEACH! Why didn't you tell me?!?"

Peach laughed and said, "I couldn't find the time. Nikki, Will," she said, clapping her hands and looking down on her children with a stern but loving gaze, "please go inside and tell Mother's friends that dinner will be served shortly."

Nikki nodded and let go almost at once, and said, "Can Foxy play side and heek first?"

Will let go and nodded vigorously in agreement. Peach sighed and said, "Only if he wants to." At that, they were off, and Peach yelled after them, "Don't force him to!" Their laughs echoed back to the three women, and Zelda smiled at Peach, who was looking after them with a proud gleam in her eyes. "How old are they?"

"A year next month."

"Peach, they are talking so soon! And were you…"

"Pregnant during the last few weeks? Yes, yes I was."

Samus rolled her eyes and said to Zelda, "That is probably why they are talking so early. They heard all the curses when Peach fought. They'll start saying them soon enough."

Peach's expression was that of disbelief and shock. "Samus! Don't say such things!" Zelda and Samus laughed as they started to walk into the palace. Peach led them straight to the back of the palace, where a large dining room was set for thirty five, and a door to the side led into a large, warm foyer, where the rest of the Smashers were waiting. A general cry and a rush of people greeted them, and Zelda was suddenly in the middle of a large group of friends, talking all at once and smiling. The luggage had already been put in the guest rooms where they would be staying for the next week or so.

"Zelda, you look wonderful!"

"Ayia looks just like you two!"

"How have you been?"

"Zelda, why didn't you invite us to the wedding?"

"Oh, my God, I've missed you so much!"

"How is everything?"

She smiled and batted away their questions with a warm smile and a few words. Over the questions, she heard Fox sigh and say, "Alright then, Nikki. Just one more game. And then that's it!" Peach giggled and Samus rolled her eyes again.

As they settled into the large, poufy chairs, Zelda saw everyone she had thought so much about for the last year, next to Link's marriage and Ayia's birth. She saw Ganondorf, Bowser and King Dedede in the back of the group, smiling just a little, and their positions relaxed and content. Snake was joking with Sonic, and Toon Link, Ness, Lucas, Nana, Popo and Pit were all debating whether to play a game of soccer or football after dinner. Red was laughing with Meta Knight and Mr. Game and Watch. Link was showing Ayia off to Marth and Ike, who had brought their girlfriend/fiancée. Luigi, Lucario, Pikachu, and Yoshi were laughing at a silly mistake that Diddy had made, trying to impress Donkey awhile ago. Olimar, Wolf, Falco and Captain Falcon were all at the bar in the back, ordering drinks for everyone. Fox was trying very hard not to guess where Nikki and Will were hiding, laughing and shaking the curtains.

Link swerved next to her, a red-faced, crying Ayia in his hands. "I did not do it, I swear. One minute she's fine, and the next… poof. Disaster."

Peach and Zelda rolled their eyes simultaneously. Peach said matter-of-factly, "She's tired, that's all. Here, Toadsworth can put her in your room for you." Out of nowhere, a small, grey Toad appeared and gently took the sobbing toddler in his arms and waddled off. Link blinked, thanked Peach, and then moved back to Marth and Ike.

Samus sighed and leaned back into her chair. "I feel so out of it, everyone having a kid to show off and all. I feel like I need to get one."

Zelda and Peach had the exact same reaction: their hands flew to their mouths, their mouths opened in wonder, as were their eyes. Samus stared at them, and as she looked at them, she guessed what they were thinking almost at once. "And I absolutely refuse to be set up on a blind date."

Thus the conversations continued, throughout dinner and through the muddy game of baseball Lucas and Ness showed everyone how to play. Zelda felt as if a bubble was about to burst in her chest, she felt so happy and well. That night, as she kissed a sleeping angel, Ayia, in her crib, and snuggled next to Link in the bed, she realized she never wanted to be away from this group of people again.

Even if it did mean cleaning up after a filthy shower of mud as Lucas slid into the home base every night.