The Royalty

Epilogue

Remember how I said Chapter 38 was the last big time jump? I lied.

*Six Years Later *

"Maxon, wake up."

I buried my face into my pillow. "What is it?" I groaned, still mostly asleep.

"It's time," America said urgently.

"Are you sure?" I yawned. We'd already had two false alarms this week. Both had been during the night, so when you add that to the already existing nervousness, sleep was a fleeting experience.

"Of course I'm sure!" she gasped, another contraction stealing her breath.

I took one look at her face and I knew she was right. It really was time. Our daughter was about to be born.

America was struggling to get to her feet and I hurriedly got up an offered her my arm. She pushed it away, determined to do it herself. Her belly made it difficult to stand but on very few occasions did she ever ask for help.

After a few minutes of struggling, she reached out for my hand. I pulled her to her feet, chuckling at her.

"Not a word," she warned me with a glare.

We walked out of the room quickly, wanting to get to the infirmity as fast as possible. The decision had been made to get Alex once the baby was actually delivered so we didn't have to stop at his room.

"Are you excited?" I asked as we descended a set of stairs.

America smiled through the pain, squeezing my hand tighter. "Excited doesn't even cover it. This is our baby girl, Maxon. I just-" Her voice caught in her throat, tears gathering in her eyes.

"I know," I said, grinning. "It's our little Aubree."

I remembered the day we found out she was coming. It had been so unexpected. Alex had always kept us busy and having another kid had just totally slipped from our minds. Then, ten years after he'd been born, America had come to dinner one night saying she had some news. She had started smiling and I'd just known. She hadn't needed to say a word. We were having a baby. Alex had sat there confused and slightly worried for my sanity as I stood up and started laughing and hugging America like there was no tomorrow. It'd been one of the happiest days of my life.

Now, it was time for the next one.

America and I reached the infirmary. Most of the lights were dimmed and only a few people were around. Thankfully, the doctor who was handling the delivery, Dr. Sladek, was filling out some paperwork at her desk.

When she saw us approaching, she stood up immediately. She came over and took America's arm, leading her over to a bed.

"Welcome back, Your Majesty. Do you believe it is the real thing this time?" Dr. Sladek joked lightly.

America laughed in response. "I hope so. I'm ready to meet her."

"How far apart are your contractions?"

"A little under five minutes, lasting about a minute each."

The doctor smiled. "Well, Your Majesty, I think you were right. The princess could be coming any minute now."

My wife looked up at me, elation pouring into her features. I knew that my face mirrored hers. I'd spent nine months waiting for this day to come and I could hardly bear to wait one more second for my daughter. I wanted to see what she looked like. I wanted to hold her. I wanted to just gape in awe at what America and I had made together.

I sat down in a chair beside the bed. "I love you," I said, stroking her hair.

She gave me that warm look of hers that was as addictive as any drug. "I love you, too," she whispered. A contraction wracked her body, but once it finished she said, "And I love this baby and I love Alex. I don't know how I got so lucky."