So sorry that it's been a while since i last updated! but this chapter is long to help make up for it!

"If we remembered every day that we could lose someone at any moment, we would love them more fiercely and freely, and without fear - not because there is nothing to lose but because everything can be lost."

I rolled over in bed, clutching Maxon's pillow closer to my front. A long breath drew in the scent of him, putting me at ease immediately. As I rolled on to my back to prepare to get up for the day, I heard the telltale creak of our door opening. Just hearing his footsteps was enough for me to know it was Maxon.

"You're awake," he said quietly, sounding unsurprised. Unlike when I was pregnant with the twins where I couldn't get enough sleep in the first two trimesters, I was suffering from the worst insomnia of my life with this pregnancy. I slept maybe three hours a night at best which made me quite crabby at times. Luckily I had wonderful friends who understood why I was more short-tempered than normal.

I reached for Maxon's hand as he sat on the edge of the bed. "You not being here doesn't make it any easier to sleep. If anything it makes it harder," I told him.

Guilt flashed through his eyes but it quickly went away as he lifted the duvet off of me and pushed up my nightgown, nuzzling his nose against the growing bump between my hips. "Why won't you let your mother sleep, little one?" His voice was rewarded with a sound kick to his cheek. "You're an active little one, aren't you?"

He had started calling the baby 'little one' after we found out that I was only having one and that the baby was a slightly small for my being in the fifth month of pregnancy. I couldn't complain; anything was still better than carrying twins. We chose not to learn the sex of the baby this time. With already having a boy and a girl, we could care less about what the gender was as long as the baby was born healthy. I had a feeling it was a girl, so much so that we had only discussed girl names. If I delivered a boy we would be in trouble but call it mother's intuition, I was convinced the baby was a girl. Kenna even supported me by telling me that I was carrying low which meant it was probably a girl.

"Yes, she's merciless when it comes to her kicking. Maybe now she'll get all of her activity out of her system so that when she's born she's nice and placid like her brother and sister were," I told him, putting a hand on the other place on my belly she was elbowing. A stretch mark was starting to form on my side, I noticed, and discreetly moved my nightgown down to cover it.

Maxon caught me though and lifted it again to place a kiss there. "You're beautiful," he whispered against the skin, his warm breath sending shivers down my spine. He looked up and grabbed some of the coconut lotion from my bed stand and rubbed it on my belly lovingly. "You are even more beautiful when you're carrying my child," he told me, his voice conveying endless devotion.

I rolled my eyes and ran a hand through his hair. "How was your meeting?" I asked, knowing that he had gotten up early that morning for a meeting with Carter, James, August and Aspen.

He shrugged which was atypical to his meetings with his closest friends. "We're all sleep-deprived, stressed, and completely in love with our children. Well, except for August."

I suddenly sat up and stretched my arms over my head. "So you didn't get anything done?" I asked, interpreting his answer easily.

"Unfortunately, no." He kissed my forehead and walked over to the balcony where we breakfast was set up for us. "The kids are all playing in the game room though. Mary, Lucy and May are watching them."

"Beckner still isn't back yet?" I asked, starting to feel concerned. I sat down in my chair slowly. Just because I had twins before this baby and I had a lighter load this time didn't make it any easier for me to move or function.

Maxon shook his head and opened his paper. "No. There hasn't been much improvement with their mom. Aspen is planning a trip with Lucy and Abigail so he can spell Beckner. He knows that it is difficult for him to be away with May when they haven't even been married for a year yet."

I nodded, thinking of the sadness that had been pulling May's eyes down for weeks now. "I'd like to visit her as well," I told Maxon abruptly.

He looked up from his paper. "Really?" He didn't sound surprised or upset at the idea. He sounded more like he was dreading the question because he didn't have an answer for me.

"Before I get too pregnant," I said to hopefully appease him.

"You're going into your third trimester in a couple weeks and you have a pretty packed schedule until then."

I frowned. "Then I'll go early in my third trimester." He looked at me seriously and I could practically see him making mental lists of the pros and cons. "She's like a mother to me Maxon. I've known her my whole life and I've been doing my research; if she keeps refusing palace treatment she won't make it to autumn."

He slowly nodded. "I'm going with you," he said, his voice leaving no room for argument.

"I would never dream of going without you, pregnant or not pregnant. I want you by my side for this." I reached for his hand across the table, squeezing it. "We're a team. We take care of each other at our worst."

"That we do," he said, lifting my hand to kiss the back. He bit into his toast and winced, releasing my hand to cup his jaw.

I rolled my eyes. "And you should let me take care of you now. Your mouth isn't getting any better Max. Go see Dr. Ashlar."

"No, I'm fine. I'll just take more Motrin." He reached for the bottle of pills sitting in front of him but I snatched it away before he could get it. "America, I'm fine, really."

"No, Maxon, you're not. You've lost weight because you haven't been eating. Don't think I haven't noticed. It is so important for you to be healthy," I stressed.

Now he rolled his eyes. "Stop worrying about me. I've been under a lot of pressure as well with the castes and everything. It's not like I've had a lot of time to eat."

I raised my eyebrows. "You've lost like, twenty pounds. I've never seen you this thin and it worries me. Please, you know I don't beg from you often but with this I am begging you to go to Dr. Ashlar. What if it's a cavity or a root? Those are dangerous if they're left untreated."

He sighed deeply, staring me down. His gaze was unwavering and neither was mine. "I'll see if I can find the time," he finally conceded. I tried to hide the smile behind my teacup as he said, "But I'm sure it's nothing."

It wasn't nothing. It was a whole lot more than nothing. It turned out that Maxon's wisdom teeth were growing in and they were impacted. Dr. Ashlar called me into the room where he had examined Maxon when he was done. "We're going to need to operate on this soon. The pain is coming from the impaction but if the roots keep growing they can damage the nerves running through your jaw and that is both irreparable and horrible; you'd have to eat through a feeding tube for the rest of your life."

I crossed my arms. Any idea of telling Maxon 'I told you so' vanished when I heard about the severity of the situation. I put a hand on Maxon's shoulder then, sensing his discomfort and worry. "So when will you operate?"

"Tonight. I've already called in my associates from dental school. I have knowledge in dentistry but not so deep that I feel comfortable commandeering this procedure. Don't worry though; Dr. Parques is the best for the removal of wisdom teeth," Dr. Ashlar assured us.

I had never even thought about his wisdom teeth. I guess because I didn't have wisdom teeth I never considered the possibility of him having any problems with them. "What do you need us to do?" I asked, still holding Maxon's shoulder.

"Just prepare to not be able to work for a couple days, King Maxon. You must rest the first two days after the operation and eat a diet of soft foods for at least four days. With your teeth being the way they are along with your more advanced age, it will take a bit longer for you to recover," Dr. Ashlar warned. "You must be prepared for your wife to run things for a little bit."

Maxon didn't even bat an eye at that. He squeezed the hand that was on his shoulder, "She can handle it. As long as she doesn't work too hard. I'll be counting more on my advisers for that."

Dr. Ashlar wrote something down on his clipboard and then looked at Maxon. "Well I'll fetch the medicine you need to take. Unfortunately you need to wait an hour after you take to start the surgery so your wife and children can keep you company if you like."

"That'd be great. Thank you," Maxon said bravely, even smiling at Dr. Ashlar as he walked out.

I checked the IV line in his hand; he almost always got his IVs in his hand because he had small veins that were hard to find inside his elbows. "Are you okay?" I asked him quietly and crossed my arms.

He shrugged, his face falling. "It's far from ideal but the alternative is horrendous. Are you okay with doing some of my work these next few days?"

"Don't worry about us; we'll be fine," I assured him with a warm smile, reaching for his hand and putting in on my belly. "You just worry about recovering so we can go ahead and plan our trip to Carolina." I could barely contain my excitement at the prospect of returning to my home province.

"I'll try my best," he told me. "Can you get Shay and Amber to come down here and keep me company before they take me into surgery?"

I smiled and kissed his forehead. "Gladly." I went to the game room on the other side of the first floor and managed to pry Shalom and Amber away from their Auntie May. I walked hand-in-hand with them back down the hospital and walked in as Maxon finished taking his pills. He took Amber and settled her in his lap with Shay curled into his side; they're typical positions. Amber always preferred perching in someone's lap and being the center of attention while Shalom almost hid himself in the side of our bodies to avoid being in the spotlight.

"Hey guys," Maxon greeted, a smile stretching across his face as he held his children.

I sat down on the edge of the bed as Amber asked, "Are you sick Daddy?"

He shook his head. "Nope. The tooth fairy just wanted some more of my teeth," he told her. It was still a few years before Amber and Shalom would start losing their baby teeth but they still understood the concept of the tooth fairy from their cousin Astra who had lost her first baby tooth just a few weeks beforehand.

"Oh! Is she paying you for them?" she asked, her eyes filled with wonder.

"No," Maxon chuckled, "unfortunately not. But because they're my big kid teeth I'm not going to be feeling too good for a couple days. Can I trust you two to take care of Mommy for me?" he asked, looking at Shalom seriously because he knew that Shalom always wanted to take care of me in whatever way he could.

He nodded solemnly. "I'll take care of Mommy, Dad. And the baby," he added, remembering his younger sibling.

Dr. Ashlar came in to explain the procedure briefly. It worked out that it had been long enough since Maxon had eaten anything that he could get the proper anesthesia. I thanked my lucky stars that he was not like me and partially immune to anesthesia. Dr. Ashlar said it was a proven fact that redhead metabolized it faster than anyone else.

We stayed with him until the last possible moment, meeting the various dentists that came in to introduce themselves respectively. Dr. Parques was obviously very intelligent and knew her stuff about the procedure and I breathed a little more easily after meeting her.

May came to pick up Amber and Shay again as Maxon was prepped for surgery. I had asked for his favorite fleece blanket and a change of clothes to come down so I helped him change. I arranged his blanket on his legs carefully and then hugged him. "I can't hold your hand at all in there," I said sadly.

"The umbilical cord had to be cut some time," he joked, squeezing my hand.

"That's a really weird joke to make," I informed him but I laughed anyway.

He shrugged. "I'm in pain, give me a break."

I nodded. "You don't have to be so brave. I know you're nervous." I ran a hand down his cheek, feeling the light stubble growing there. Since the twins had gotten older, he had stopped shaving every morning.

"I don't normally get any warning when I go into surgery. They've been emergency situations where I had to get surgery to save my life. It's not so much the surgery that's scaring me but the recovery. You know I hate being vulnerable."

I laughed and moved to sit closer to him. "Honey, I've delivered babies. You stop caring about vulnerability really after that. There are far worse ways of being vulnerable."

"You were still beautiful though," he said with an easy smile.

I shook my head and kissed him on both cheeks and then his lips softly. "You'll be fine. I'll be there to take care of you and nurse you back to health." I rubbed his knee and patted it, letting my hand linger on his inner thigh for a few seconds longer than necessary. We hadn't had sex since my tenth week of pregnancy when I found it was rather uncomfortable but that didn't curb our desires at all.

"I don't doubt it. I love you," he whispered tenderly.

"I love you too. I'll see you on the other side," I told him, kissing his forehead one last time and pushing back his hair from his face to brush it back a bit. "You'll be okay." Dr. Ashlar and Dr. Parques came in and wheeled Maxon's bed out, me following behind until the doors shut for the operating ward.

I stood at the doors for several moments and then slowly made my way to the hallway, which also served as a waiting area as sorts with extra benches, chairs and ottomans. May was waiting sans Amber. When I opened my mouth to ask she said, "She wanted to go hang out with Lucy and Abigail."

I sat down at her side and Shalom instantly climbed into my lap and clutched on to me. His warm body soothed me and his brown eyes, so like Maxon's, quieted my worries. Shay twirled my short hair around his fingers. "Will Dad be okay?" he asked quietly.

"He'll be fine," I told him and I knew I could say that with confidence. We had dodged a bullet with the roots of his wisdom teeth so I wasn't worried about telling him straight that Maxon would be okay. I still worried though. Even with a surgery as simple as this I couldn't help but think of everything that could go wrong.

"Can I give him something?" he asked. I smiled at the thought.

"What would you give?" Amber had definitely inherited her relative's art talent but Shalom had yet to exhibit any sort of talent in the arts or anything else for that matter. I wasn't worried that he wouldn't but I did pity him at times because of the attention Amber earned from his artistic talent.

Shalom thought for a while and then said, "Can I make him a card? I'll write a poem!"

"You mean, you'll recite the poem and I'll write it down for you," I corrected with raised eyebrows. He nodded eagerly so I agreed. "But why don't we do it tonight after Daddy is asleep? He'll be tired tonight so he'll appreciate it more tomorrow."

"Can I go get out the markers and crayons though?" he asked, his big brown eyes pleading.

I smiled. "Of course." I looked around the hallway and saw Avery coming our direction. "Avery, can you escort Shalom up to his room? Parrah should be in there to look after him."

He bowed. "Yes, Your Majesty. Come on Your Highness," Avery said, holding his hand out to the toddler.

I watched them go around the corner of the hallway and then leaned my head back against the wall behind me. May sighed beside me. "I can't wait to have mine," she whispered.

I nodded, not really registering her words for a few seconds. Then my eyes flew open and I turned to looked at her. "Wait, May, are you pregnant?"

She blushed and nodded. "I know it seems soon but Beck and I didn't want to use contraception. We decided to trust nature's time. That's why Aspen is willing to pack up his family and go to Carolina for a few weeks because he knows Beck is eager to get back to me."

"Of course. So he knows then? How long have you known?" There were so many questions floating around in my head as I stared at my little sister, realizing that she wasn't so little anymore. She was married and would be a mother in a matter of months. I felt like I hadn't aged at all since turning seventeen. It was strange to realize that right before my eyes May had become a woman, a mother. Even stranger was the thought of how her child was made. Obviously with her getting married, I knew it was coming but it was still so strange to think that I would be holding the tangible evidence of that soon.

"I'm ten weeks now. We found out about four weeks ago, right before Beck left."

I threw my arms around her and pulled kissed her all over her face. "Congratulations! You're giving me another little niece or nephew."

She shrugged bashfully. "Well I figured it was my turn to procreate," she said nonchalantly. Trevor, one of the butlers, rounded the corner and approached us.

He bowed to me. "Your Majesty. There is a call waiting for Ms. May from her husband. Would you like to accept it?" he asked, holding a cell phone out to her.

She looked at me and I nodded for her to talk to him. She took it and pressed it against her ear, practically skipping down the hallway as she talked to him. I smiled as she obviously answered his questions concerning her health and then she steered the conversation to his mother. I leaned my head against the wall again and closed my eyes.

Before I knew it, Dr. Ashlar was shaking me awake. I sat up straighter, feeling pinches in my back. The baby was also kicking again and I was surprised that she didn't wake me up in the first place. I guess my body really needed the sleep. "Yes?" I asked, blinking my bleary eyes.

"Maxon is in recovery if you want to go see him," he reported, a smile tugging at his lips.

That woke me up and I jumped to my feet, immediately regretting that decision when I felt another twinge in my back. The hallway was now empty aside from a couple guards on duty, no sign of my little sister anywhere. I could find her later though and congratulate her then.

Dr. Ashlar escorted me back to a different pod of rooms designated for recovery. Maxon was reclined on his bed with gauze hanging out of his mouth and an ice pack wrapped around his head. I had to giggle a bit because he did look ridiculous but I knew that it was the nature of having wisdom teeth taken out. I sat by his side and held his hand. "How are you?" I asked.

He waved a hand from side-to-side to show that he was feeling okay but not great. Dr. Ashlar then said, "I told him to try to keep talking at a minimum. It will reduce pain and stop the bleeding sooner. It also helps with the overall healing process."

I nodded as Maxon's hand reached for my stomach, flattening itself against the warmth there. The baby was kicking right where his middle finger ended and he adjusted his hand's position for more direct contact. "I actually managed to take a nap," I told him, smiling proudly. "Thanks for giving me the time to."

He smiled around the gauze, which was starting to drip blood on to the shirt he was wearing. Another nurse came in and changed it for him quickly. He lifted my hand and kissed the back of it, making me smile. Well, he couldn't pucker his lips but he touched his lips to my hand. He didn't need words to tell me he loved me.

"I would like him to stay down here for another hour or so until the drowsiness has worn off and he can be escorted up to your room where he should stay," Dr. Ashlar said, adding emphasis to the part about staying in our room. "Let your wife take care of you, King Maxon," Dr. Ashlar joked. Maxon's mouth turned up at the corners, which was probably all he could do to smile.

I decided to wait to let the kids see him so that the blood wouldn't scare them. Carter came downstairs to help me walk Maxon upstairs and slowly but surely we got him to his bedroom. I tucked him into bed and ordered soup broth and water to be brought up.

Maxon was starting to come out of the fog of the drugs by then. "Good morning," I greeted quietly, leaning over him as I adjusted his pillows. He groaned and leaned his head back against the pillows. He opened his mouth but I put my finger to his lips. "Don't talk," I instructed quietly.

I gingerly reached into his mouth and removed the bloody gauze from his mouth, holding it by the clean edges as I threw it out in his bathroom. Just as I was leaving his bathroom I heard one of the kids screaming. With the door muffling the sound, I couldn't quite place who it was. I took off in the direction of the crying and heard Maxon's footsteps behind me.

I ran across the hall to the nursery and found Parrah trying to console Amber. She was lying on the floor holding her knee and I promptly knelt down next to her on the floor and pulled her into my arms. "What's wrong, sweetie?" I asked, rocking her in my arms.

Maxon made it in and swayed slightly before kneeling at my side. Amber just sobbed and pointed to her knee. "Do you need to go to the hospital?" Maxon asked, foregoing the instruction to not talk, as I inspected her knee, just seeing a rug burn there.

She sniffed and shook her head. "I think you'll live," I said, kissing the mark. I rubbed my hand up and down her back and pulled her as close as I could with my belly being in the way. It was quickly becoming impossible for me to bend over and pick the twins up.

They joined us in Maxon's room for dinner and we all ate in his bed while he sipped out of a bowl of soup. I put the kids to bed myself and then joined Maxon again. I curled up into his side, ready to spend another sleepless night of staring up at the ceiling. "For what it's worth, I'm glad you're okay," I whispered, playing with the golden hairs beneath his navel.

He smiled wryly. "Me too." He kissed my temple and then rubbed a hand over my stomach. "I feel fine," he told me.

"Okay. I believe you." He really was back to his normal self just a few hours after his surgery.

"Go ahead and plan our trip to Carolina," he urged.

I looked up at him. "Okay," I agreed. "I love you."

"Love you too."

How was this? there'll maybe be some more action and drama these next few chapters. i just got my wisdom teeth out yesterday so that's where the inspiration for this chapter came from. it's just a cute little filler chapter in the daily lives of Maxerica! hope y'all loved it and have a happy thanksgiving to my american fans!

Guest: RIGHT NOW!

doctorwhodtgeek: i like to give y'all longer chapters because i don't update very regularly. :)

Weatherbug02: well i have a theory about Eadlyn and Ahren. I think that there'll be more kids but not many more. i think they'll have maybe two younger siblings because i actually disagree with everyone on Tumblr about Ahren being gay; i think he has some sort of mental disability. that's why Eadlyn is heir and having the selection. it also may be why she's reluctant; i feel like with her being his twin and if he's mentally disabled she spent her whole life caring for him and watching out for him so she may not be prepared to really move on from that place of taking care of her brother to being married and a wife to another man. and i think America and Maxon would then not have as many kids as they necessarily wanted because they had to devote so much more time to Ahren. anyway, that's my theory.

booksforbreakfast: really? where? that's so cool!

winterprincess: well, obviously America has her own idea of whether it's a boy or girl. i won't tell you outright what it is but i will tell you that the answer is in your username *spoiler* ugh i'm so upset because i was planning on seeing Mockingjay tomorrow with my best friend because she's coming home from college and i haven't seen her in forever but there's a lot of snow on the way (maybe, who ever really knows?) so we had to push it back to Saturday.

Someone the World Forgot: i know! i thought it was time for them to have another baby. I haven't really decided what this baby's personality will be like yet. i guess i'll figure it out soon.

shadeslayerprincess111: yeah i liked the idea of them going out on the roof again! just to rekindle some of that old romance!