Chapter 3

Eugene was a bit nervous as he paced back and forth outside of the doctor's wing waiting for an answer. He couldn't imagine what was wrong with his Princess. He reached up to play with the charm as he always did when he was anxious, but there was nothing there. The charm and the rope chain; both were gone. It was bad enough he broke the glass dome, but now his good luck charm was missing.

Calm down, he told himself; it had to be here somewhere. He done this before and it was always right in front of his nose. That's why it was good luck. It had gotten him out of messes more than once, the women who had seen it always commented on it. That and that smoulder of his. Well, it didn't matter anymore, that part of his life was over as far as he was concerned. All he thought about now was Rapunzel and what was going on…

"Eugene?"

He turned around and smiled. Rapunzel was there along with Devon.

"Well Doc, what's the diagnosis?"

"The princess is pregnant, Your Highness," the doctor smiled.

Eugene smiled faded. He stared at his wife..

"What?" he whispered. "You mean…"

Dr. Riley smiled. "I'll leave the two of you alone."

When he closed the door behind him, Eugene took Rapunzel's hand. "You're going to have a baby?"

Rapunzel nodded.

Eugene just stared at her. He didn't know what to say. He had no ready comebacks, no sarcastic jokes. He was finally speechless.

Rapunzel stared at him. "Eugene?" She waved a hand in front of his eyes. "You okay?"

He shook his head. "A baby?" he whispered. "You sure it's mine?"

Before she could answer, he picked her up and twirled her around. "Eugene," she said, laughing. "Stop, I'm getting dizzy."

"Oh," he said, putting her down. "Do you need anything? Is there anything I can do for you?"

Rapunzel shook her head. "Eugene, I'm just having a baby. It's not the end of the world and I can still fend for myself."

"You sure you'll be alright?"

Rapunzel laughed and grabbed his hand. "Come on, we've got to tell my parents."

XXXX

The news spread throughout the kingdom that the newlywed Princess was expecting. Gifts poured in from Corona and its environs. Everyone was happy except for Rapunzel.

Things had been off with her and Eugene lately. She couldn't put her finger on it, but it was if he wasn't happy. She wasn't sure what it was. He seemed to happy he was going to be a father, but there was something that he wasn't telling her.

She had spoken to Pascal about it, but he did nothing except cuddle against her neck. He was there for her for her eighteen years in the tower and he stuck by her now. What's more Eugene had finally accepted him.

No, it wasn't Pascal, she just wasn't sure. With Christmas fast approaching and with all the invitations in, she was to see who was coming and who wasn't, then give orders to the servants to prepare favors and assign seats to the guests. She was just about to sit down to work on the guest list when a wave of dizziness hit her. She stumbled backward and hit the mantel causing the glass figurine of Pascal to drop and break into a million pieces. She picked up the colored glass pieces off the floor and through them into the fireplace.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. A message had come from the Scrimshaw Whale that the chain was finished and ready to be picked up. As promised, she called her Lady in Waiting, Cora, to grab her basket and pick up something from the jewelry store. She was to bring it back here.

Meanwhile, Eugene had returned to the Glass Unicorn to pick up his third dome. He had broken the second when someone bumped into him on his way out. Tobias had made this third one up and Eugene had hoped it was the last. This time he brought a cart with him, just to ensure nothing went wrong.

Everything was going according to plan. Except that he couldn't find the charm. It had been three weeks now and it was still missing. Christmas was only a week away and soon he and Rapunzel would be exchanging gifts.

He was looking forward to it all, especially the baby. He couldn't wait to be a father.