A Happy Little Family

Seeing the blush on Vivianne's face brought that memory back full force, he fell in love with her the moment he met her, and he loved her more and more with every passing day. She was his wife, his queen, and now the mother of his child, he was the happiest man in the world thanks to her.

As he stared at her she turned towards him, her eyes were glassy from unshed tears, she was flushed from the effort to bear the pain, but her smile was clear and evident. Despite it all, she was happy, they were both happy.

"Tobi, my love." She called out to him.

"Viv, sweetheart, how are you feeling?" He could tell that she was in pain but that she was fighting through it, that made him sad and proud at the same time. His wife was strong and loving, she would not accept him fussing over her at the moment even though he thought she rightly deserved to be fussed over.

"I am ok, darling, it just hurts a little." She said smiling past a grimace, the smile brought a tear to his eye and a smile to his lips, she was being so strong for her family.

"The pain is likely to get worse, miss." Said the handmaid next to Vivianne. Tobias looked at the woman and frowned.

"Gia, where is the doctor and I thought Bette was to be here with you as well." He had told Tommy that the doctor and two maids were on hand after all, but here was one maid and no doctor.

"I do not know what is keeping the doctor away sir, but Bette has fallen ill, and I thought it best for her not to be here, we do not need your baby catching sick right when they are born." The maid spoke with confidence and authority, he had always liked that about Gia, the young woman had spunk and sass, but she did her job well and followed the orders given to her.

"Thank you for that consideration, Gia, you've always been such a big help to Viv and me." And that was the truth, ever since Gia came to work at the castle three years ago, she was always helping to improve the way things were done, she has been invaluable, and has become indispensable.

At hearing the King's praise Gia blushed slightly, she tilted her head forward to allow her dark brown hair to hide her reddening face and her cocoa brown eyes that had misted at the King's praising words.

"It's nothing, sir, I'm only doing my job." Gia smiled radiantly. She really has a pretty face, Tobias thought to himself, one day she will marry someone and make him incredibly happy. Tobias was the type of man that liked to know his staff, to know who was around him day in and day out, this was something his parents had not truly approved of but he refused to let that stop him. He felt that if someone was taking the time to take care of his needs and his wants then he should take the time to know who that person was in return, which was why he knew them all by name and what was going on with them at most times. Know your staff and know your people, that was his motto for being king. How could you rule a country if you knew nothing of the people in it?

A small yelp of pain brought Tobias' attention from his thoughts back to the matters at hand. When he turned to look, he could tell that Vivianne had paled and that she was in more pain than before.

"Are you alright Viv?" He asked, his voice dripping with concern.

"It's almost time sir, the baby is almost ready to come." Gia answered for the queen.

"We can't do this without the doctor can we?"

"I know it would be best if Barret was here to offer his assistance, sir, but I have delivered dozens of babies. If he feels that his services as a doctor are not needed here at this time, then I will take care of the queen and the baby. There is no need to worry." Gia was confident once more, that was clear with how she spoke, and the king did trust her.

"I have faith in your abilities Gia, that is not the issue. The problem is that I asked Barret to come, I summoned his services quite some time ago, he will have to explain himself later. But for now, Gia, will you take care of my wife and child for me? They're in your hands now."

"Certainly, sir, I will do my best." Gia smiled once again, Tobias felt as if everything would be ok, Gia would see them through this.

Things moved pretty quickly from there. Most of it was a blur to Tobias, it seemed to happen too fast. Vivianne moaned and cried out in pain several times, Gia stood between her knees encouraging her and guiding her through the process. Tobias stood by Vivianne's bed near her head and held her hand, whispering encouraging words every so often. You're doing great Viv. I love you Viv. We're going to be parents soon. Just a little more. If it's a girl I hope she looks just like her beautiful mother. You're so strong, my love, you can do this. Soon the excitement in the room grew to a fever pitch, and after a loud scream from Vivianne the room went quiet. Soon the quiet was broken by the sweetest sound Tobias had ever heard, the cry of his child.

"It's a girl." Gia exclaimed as she cut the umbilical cord. She took the baby to the basin of water she had warming next to the fire and gently scrubbed her clean.

"Did you hear that Viv, it's a girl." Tobias exclaimed once his excitement was settled enough for him to speak. He turned to kiss his wife on the forehead. The two of them smiled at each other with tears in their eyes.

"Oh Tobi, I am so happy, we have a little girl. What should we name her?" Vivianne asked as she beamed at her husband.

"Let's wait to see what she looks like, then we will know what name is the best fit for her." Vivianne nodded, smiling at him.

Gia handed the baby to Tobias after she cleaned her up. His heart melted at the sight of her. She was exactly as he had been picturing, she would look. She had a full head of golden curls, exactly the same color as Vivianne's, her tiny scrunched face was heart shaped just like her mother's as well, and he was certain that her eyes would be the same vivid emerald green if they hadn't been so tightly shut. She was beautiful and she was perfect. Emerella, he thought, the beautiful emerald green flowers that only grow around the capitol. That's what Vivianne's eyes always reminded him of, and the beauty in his daughter's face reminded him of them as well.

"Viv, let's name her Emerella." He said beaming at his queen.

"That's perfect." Vivianne sighed. "Our baby, Emerella."

As Tobias went to hand Emerella to her mother for the first time Vivianne let out a cry of pain and bit her lip.

"Ah!" She said on a moan.

"What's wrong Viv, are you ok?" Tobias asked.

"It's just the afterbirth sir," Gia said, "it's what kept the baby safe while in the womb, it should be over really soon." Gia said moving back to the queen. "My word!" Gia gasped as soon as she checked on the queen.

"What's wrong?" Tobias demanded.

"It's not the after-birth sir." Gia said as she was washing her hands again.

"What is it?" Vivianne cried out, scared.

"There is another baby, miss, you're having twins." Gia announced excitedly.

"Are you sure?" Tobias asked, astonished.

"Yes sir, I can see the top of the head now."

"That's great, isn't it Viv, we're going to have twins. I bet you that Tomas will be delighted to hear that there is another set of twins in the family." Vivianne did not answer the king's words, she just did her best to smile through the pain.

Things happened much the same as the first time, it was quick again: Vivianne's moans and cries, Gia's guidance, and Tobias soothing words. After a few more minutes there was another soft cry from the baby and Vivianne collapsed back onto the pillows, much more exhausted the second time around.

"It's another girl!" Gia exclaimed excitedly. She washed the baby as she had before, wrapped her up and handed her to Tobias with a warm loving smile. "She is perfect, sir, they both are."