Hi again everyone! I am finally out of school here for the summer, which means I should have the time to update this thing. I'm hoping to be able to conclude this fairly soon. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed this so far! Here we go!

Maxwell and Charlie had to head home the next day. It saddened Wendy that her relatives couldn't stay longer, but she also knew that they had some more important obligations to tend to.

"You'll promise you'll let us know when the babies are born?"

"Promise." Charlie grinned as she gave Evelyn one final hug.

"And we'll be able to come and visit sometime, right?" Wendy chimed in.

"Of course." Maxwell responded as he checked his watch. "Now, I'd hate to cut things short, but we should really be going if we wish to catch our train."

"Well then, we'd better not keep you guys waiting any longer." Jack shook his brother's hand. "Thank you so much for coming out here you two."

"Thank you for letting us come and visit!" Charlie gave the family another smile as she and Maxwell stepped off the porch together.

"No problem at all!" Jack waved at them. "Take care, and good luck!"

Three Months Later

Maxwell climbed the steps to the house's attic, and switched on the lights.

Now that he had taken a break from performing, it'd finally given him some extra spare time to get things done. Charlie had gone on maternity leave several months earlier, leaving him to continue his performances with a substitute lady assistant. The substitute was talented, but the shows obviously lacked the on-stage chemistry that he and Charlie shared.

Altogether, he was glad to be taking a break from performing. Charlie's due date was right around the corner, and he wanted to be there for her when the time came.

He walked further into the attic and surveyed the mass of items that filled it. Back to the task at hand. He had specifically set this morning aside to go into the attic and search around for anything that might be useful for him and Charlie. There were bound to be some old toys or clothes up here that would be perfect for their babies. He just needed to find them.

Four boxes and two bookshelves later, he hadn't had quite as much luck as he'd hoped for. He'd found some children's books on the shelves, which he'd stacked in a pile, but not much else.

He sighed and moved on to the next box. Maybe this one would be more promising.

What he found instead when he opened the box made him pause.

Inside was a multitude of items, all of which he recognized from his past. He reached in and picked up a stack of tattered papers, the only remains of Codex Umbra after it was destroyed.

He flipped through the pages. They mostly consisted of various notes and sketches of other-worldly creatures and objects. He stopped at one particular page with a scrawled image of dark creature on it. A terrorbeak.

He remembered the night when one of those things had appeared in his study, only to disappear after a few minutes. It felt so long ago, before he even knew that those things were, what They were. He set the papers down next to him. He didn't wish to recall those times.

Anything else in the box consisted of other trinkets that were of no use. Some feathers, a purple gem, a top hat, even some old pieces of thulecite. Nothing that he was looking for. Seeing the items made him briefly wonder what happened to his night armor, though it was likely left behind in the other world from which it had originally come.

He stood up from the box, surveying the attic once more. Now wasn't the time for dwelling on the past, he told himself. He'd come up here for a different reason. He put the items he'd found back in the box and went back to work.

Charlie lay on the couch, flipping through a book of names, one arm draped across her very large belly. She chewed her lip as she skimmed the pages, dog-earing any ones with names she liked.

"Hmm. Darlene, Diane, Donna…" She lifted the book to look at her belly. "Any of those sound good?" Very little movement came from either of the twins.

She smiled and flipped to the next page. "Yeah, nothing was standing out to me either."

She had to admit, finding a good name for just one baby was difficult enough. With two bundles of joy on the way, she and Maxwell had to work extra hard to prepare for their arrival, including the task of picking out multiple names. They had decided to pick up to four names total: two boys' names and two girls' names, which took into account all of the possible gender combinations they could be having.

They'd decided to both think of boy and girl names that they liked, and run them by each other until they decided on their top four. So far, Charlie liked William as a boy's name, after Maxwell's namesake, and she was still searching for a girl's name. She had yet to hear what names her husband had come up with.

She flipped through the pages some more, and then stopped at one. Dorothy.

The story of The Wizard of Oz came into her mind, and she remembered how much she loved reading that book when she was young. Her sister let her take the book with her when she first left home. For whenever she got homesick, she'd said. That very copy was currently sitting on the book shelf in the nursery they'd made.

She smiled, "Hm. Dorothy." She set the book down and put her hand on her stomach. "What do you think of that one?"

Fluttery bits of movement started up within her. She grinned as tiny feet kicked against her sides, making small bumps under her skin that disappeared as quickly as they had come.

She laughed, "You guys like that one?" She was answered with some more kicks before they settled back down. She sighed, happy they weren't feeling too active today. "Well, Dorothy it is then."

She rested on the couch in content silence until she heard a familiar voice call out to her. "Charlie?"

"Living room, Maxy." She picked the name book back up as he walked over to her.

"Ah, there you are." Maxwell smiled as he spotted her on the couch. He took off his coat as he came over, and knelt on the floor beside her. He kissed her on the cheek, "How are you doing?"

"Just fine, thank you." She smiled and nuzzled him.

He turned his attention to her belly and put a hand on it. "And the twins?"

"Just as well." She put her hand on his. "How was the attic?"

"Not bad." He admitted. "I found some more books while I was up there."

"Hmm." She nodded.

"So," he leaned closer to her, "what have you been up to?"

She smiled. "The twins have been helping me pick out names."

That got a chuckle out of him. "Is that so?"

"Mm-hm. In fact, if you'd ask me, I might just tell 'em to ya."

"Well then," he rested his chin on his hand, "what are these names that the three of you have picked out?"

She smiled again and glanced back at her stomach. "Well, as you know, I still like William as a boy's name."

"Mm-hm…"

"And as for a girl's name, what do you think of Dorothy?"

He tilted his head slightly. "Dorothy."

"Yeah. I saw it in the book, and it reminded me of the Wizard of Oz, and the twins liked it, so…" She trailed off.

He smiled. "I think it's a lovely name."

She grinned. "Really? Great! Now, how about you? Got any good names?"

"Well," he began, "after doing some reading, I've decided that I'm rather partial to the name, 'Amelia'."

"Amelia." She repeated. "I think it's beautiful. And what about for a boy?"

He thought for a moment. "James."

"So, that makes it Dorothy and Amelia for the girls, and William and James for the boys." She listed the names off on her fingers as she spoke. "Perfect! I'm glad we finally got that worked out."

He kissed her again. "As am I."

Suddenly, Charlie inhaled sharply and put a hand on her stomach.

Maxwell straightened up, immediately concerned. "Charlie? Are you-"

"I'm fine, Maxy." She said, slightly out of breath. "They're just kicking a bit."

"Ah." He relaxed a bit and put his hand back on her belly. "I just thought for a moment that…"

"That they were coming?" She chuckled. "Sorry for scaring you like that." She rested both of her hands on either side of her stomach. "Luckily, we've still got about ten days left." She gave him another glance. "Although, the doctor did say that twins are kind of notorious for coming early, so that's one thing to keep in mind."

He took her hand. "I know. I guess I'm just…"

"A little nervous?" She put her other hand on his. "Well, I'd say it's perfectly fine to feel like that. I have to admit," she looked at her stomach, "I'm a bit nervous too. I mean, I've never had a baby before, and here I am about to have two. And I'll admit, the thought does scare me a little." She paused, then smiled. "But at the same time, I know it's gonna be worth it."

He smiled back. "I think so too."

"Mm-hm. It'll be so nice to finally have them here. Like, here as in being able to hold them, and tell 'em how much we love them and…" she sighed, "I'm just really excited."

He kissed her cheek. "I know. And I can't wait for them to arrive either." He started to stand up. "But in the meantime, would you like to go for a walk?"

Charlie laughed and propped herself up on her elbows. "I'd love to, but our upcoming progeny's keeping me from getting up from this sofa."

"Hm. I've got a better idea." He stooped down and picked her up bridal-style, much to her surprise.

"Really Maxy," she laughed as he carried her up the stairs, "I may be pregnant, but I'm not totally immobile."

"Just trying to help in any way I can, dearest. That and I know you've said your ankles have been sore."

She smiled and rested her head on his chest. "Well, you got me there."

Maxwell flipped through the newspaper they had found on their porch. The local paper had been fraught with gossip over their upcoming offspring.

"It seems we've made the headline." He flipped back to the first page. "Twins a Possibility for Magician and Assistant Duo." He read aloud.

He scoffed slightly as he continued to read the article. "Rumors heard around town suggest that the well-loved magic duo, Charlie and Maxwell Carter, could be expecting twins. While the couple has yet to confirm this information with the press, many townsfolk are already buzzing with excitement over this new possibility and are already guessing the gender or genders of the new arrival."

Charlie chuckled as she buttoned up her red trench coat. "Well, they certainly aren't wrong about twins being a possibility."

"Hm. If you ask me, they should probably just mind their own business." He folded the paper and tossed it aside. "Really, can nothing remain private anymore?"

"They're just curious, Maxy. It's their job." She put on her red hat and came over to him. "Besides, the truth will get out soon enough, so I wouldn't worry about it."

He sighed. "True." He took her hands in his. "Now, are you ready to go?"

"Of course I am. Let's get going!" She linked her arm around his and almost dragged him out of the front door.

He quickly regained his balance as they reached the front porch. "Now Charlie, let's be careful here." He brought his arms around her sides to support her as they walked down the steps.

They walked together on the path around their house. For the babies' sake, Charlie had agreed with Maxwell to stay on the current trail and not stray from it.

A cool breeze swept through the landscape, making her pull her trench coat closer to herself. Autumn was just starting to take over from summer, and soon winter would be upon them once again.

"Do you think there'll be snow like last year?" She asked him.

"Possibly." He answered. "We did get a solid foot of it last Christmas."

She smiled and put a hand on her belly, which was still rather prominent even after she put on her coat. "They're going to love Christmas, I can tell."

He slowed to a stop and leaned down to put his hands on her belly. "Especially when they learn about all the presents we're going to get them." He chuckled.

She put her hands on his. "Maxy, we've talked about this. We don't want to spoil them."

He stood back up and took her arm so they could continue walking. "I always thought Christmas was going to be the one exception to that rule."

She rolled her eyes playfully. "Well, maybe it could be."

Maxwell quietly entertained himself with ideas for what he'd get his children for Christmas, until he felt Charlie slow her pace down. "Charlie?" He asked, looking down at her. "You doing alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine." She answered. "My back has just been a bit sore lately, but I think the walk is helping."

"Your back?" His eyes widened as he stopped to face her. "Charlie, the doctor said that having a sore back could be a sign that-"

"I know what the doctor said, Maxy." She put up a hand to stop him from interrupting. "My back has been sore all week. It's just from the extra weight I've been carrying around."

He took a breath. "Alright then, if you're sure."

She put her hand on his shoulder. "Yes, I'm absolutely-"

She suddenly paused, her body tense.

Maxwell immediately leaned down towards her. "Charlie? Darling?"

She stayed silent for a moment longer, then brought a hand to her stomach and took a shaky breath. "I… I think that was a contraction."