Few things in Avalon were noticed by the entire populace. The movements of one person, the actions of another - like anywhere else, they were noticed by the immediate circle of friends, family, and acquaintances, but no further a-field. However, some news just couldn't be contained, such as the information that the Priestess of Avalon had been in labor since the morning before, with no reported progress yet. But even this, joyous as it was, could not compare with the wildfire whispers that spread throughout the Isle with the coming of that afternoon. The Lady had left the Chalice Well. For the first time in centuries, the woman who watched over them all had physically stepped from the garden at the center of the Temple, and was even now making her way to the tower house where her Champion watched over his laboring wife. There could be no doubt that the happy event was imminent. Why else would the Lady of Avalon have hastened from her seclusion at such a strange hour of the day"

At first glance, all seemed peaceful and quiet in the tower house, at least from the outside. Inside, however, was another story, at least as far as the Lady's Champion was concerned. The midwife had banished him from the bedroom where Natalya had been in labor for over twenty hours with strict orders to calm down before he would be allowed back. Simply put, the Lady's Champion - a man who had gone up against the worst demons Hell could throw at him - was a nervous wreck. Even with his sister and brother-in-law - who happened to be a fallen angel - trying to calm him down, he could not be consoled.

By the time the Lady arrived, Rhys was furiously pacing the floor and nervously wringing his hands. "What's taking so long?" he complained. "Can't they do something to speed things along" Nat's been at this since yesterday morning!" He looked exhausted himself, not having slept a wink since before his wife had gone into labor, but he knew this was a lot harder on Nat than himself. His question wasn't addressed to anyone in particular, and he hadn't even noticed the Lady's arrival before he'd asked it.

Taking in the exhausted state of not just Rhys, but his sister and her husband as well, the Lady quietly gestured for the door to be closed behind her and tried very hard not to smile too widely. "Some women labor for days before the birth of their first child, Rhys," she said softly. "Be thankful that is not the case here."

At the first sound of her voice, Rachel leapt up out of her seat, green eyes wide and deeply relieved to see the Lady there. "Is it time?" she asked hopefully, glancing at her brother with an uncertain look in her eye.

The Lady's smile appeared, warm and confident. "Yes, little one, it is time,"

"Days!" Rhys echoed, eyes wide before it registered in his head who he was talking to and that she had reassured him that his daughter's birth was imminent. "What-what are you doing here?" he asked, a worried expression on his face. Had she left her garden because she was concerned about the birth or because it was such a special event she wanted to be there to witness"

Zachariel moved to his feet along with Rachel, offering the Lady a respectful bow of his head. He'd been trying to console both brother and sister for some time now, to no avail, and felt more than a little relieved at the Lady's arrival.

The Lady's smile deepened affectionately. "I wonder that you need to ask," she told Rhys gently. "I am here to deliver your daughter, Rhys." She chuckled softly, holding out her hand to him. "Come. The time when she will need you the most is almost upon us. Take me to her."

"But..." he started as he reached for her hand, looking clearly terrified, but excited, too. There was no but. Whether the midwife and handmaidens wanted him there or not, Nat was his wife, and he wouldn't let them chase him away again. Besides, the Lady was there now, and he trusted her in all things. So long as she was there, he thought nothing could go wrong.

Feeling herself relax now that the Lady had arrived, Rachel tucked herself close to Zachariel's side. "She is in the second bedroom," she said, since it appeared that Rhys was going to need to be led by the hand to his wife's side.

The Lady nodded. "Thank you, little one." She looked to the Champion, trying not to let his exhausted distress amuse her too much. "Come with me." Giving his hand a gentle tug, she drew him up the stairs of his own house.

Rhys knew where Nat was and didn't really need to be told or led by the hand like a child, even if he was acting like one. Truth be told, he was worried sick about Nat. He'd never seen her in such pain as this - he'd never seen anyone go through anything like this - and he was worried for the well-being of both his wife and his daughter. If this was what it was like having a baby, he wondered why women kept doing it. "They kicked me out," he complained, pouting.

"What were you doing?" the Lady asked him from behind that smile. She knew her Handmaidens would have tried their best to keep Rhys in the room with his wife, but if he was getting in their way or upsetting his wife, even without meaning to, she also knew they would have ejected him swiftly.

"Nothing," he replied, defensively. "I..." he trailed off, frowning. "I was worried. She's in so much pain, and there's nothing I can do. Why is it taking so long" Is something wrong" I don't know what I'll do if something happens to her or the baby." He was rambling a little, but he was obviously deeply concerned. Was this what she'd felt like when he'd died in her arms"

"This is all very natural, Rhys," the Lady tried to reassure him. "And believe me, this is the longest part. The purpose of the time it takes is to prepare Natalya's body for the birth itself, to ease the child into the cradle of her pelvis and loosen her up to allow an easier passage. I saw her waters break in the Well, and I knew it was time. Thus I am here to see you both through this." She paused on the landing, waiting for him to lead her to the correct room, though there was no mistaking it. Muted groans were emanating from within.

"Is she gonna be all right?" he asked, though he knew in his gut that she had to be. The Lady was there, and she'd never let anything happen to the woman from whom her successor was supposed to descend. "I need to know she's gonna be all right. I need to know what to do."

Rhys heard the sound of their daughter's very first wail as she was pushed from her mother and brought into the world. The sound of it filled him with such joy and excitement, he thought his heart would burst with happiness, but it wasn't over just yet. "Hear that, Nat?" he asked, laughing with joy. "That's our daughter. That's our baby girl. One more push, Nat! One more and it'll be all over." Of course, there was the afterbirth yet, but he thought that would be nothing compared to this.

With tears streaming down her flushed cheeks, Nat forced herself to push once again, uttering a stream of deeply derogatory sentiments in her native Russian aimed entirely at whichever god or goddess had decided this was the perfect way for humanity to reproduce, and finally, she felt their daughter slip free, squawling all the way. A few minutes' work, and the child was clean and wrapped up warm in a blanket.

The Lady gently touched a single finger to the newly born baby's forehead, and the wailing grew quieter. "Rhys ....come and meet your daughter," she told him, holding out the tiny girl to her father.

Rhys watched the miracle of birth with undisguised wonder and joy as his wife strained to push the small bundle from her body, laughing and crying despite what it had cost them. There would be time for rest later. Right now, he wanted to embrace this moment and remember it for the rest of his life. This was the moment he had dreamed of, the moment he feared would never come. He was a father at last. It was no longer just a dream, but a reality, and he could hardly believe it. Rhys pressed a kiss against his wife's forehead, laughing with joy, before reaching for the tiny bundle the Lady held in her arms.

"Oh my God," he murmured quietly, a rarity for him, as he looked down at the tiny bundle in his arms. She was much smaller than he could have ever imagined, with a head full of dark hair like her mother and eyes that were still undecided what color they wanted to be once she was older. She looked up at him, claiming his heart with no more than a glance. His daughter, his Ana. She was simply the most beautiful creature he had ever seen, and his heart melted at the sight of her, tears spilling over onto his cheeks, even as he beamed a smile as bright as sunshine. "She's so little, so lovely. How do you say little one in Russian, Nat?" he asked, as their daughter curled a miniature hand around her father's forefinger and held on tightly, as if claiming him for herself.

As Rhys met his daughter for the first time, the Lady and her Handmaidens worked quickly to finish with the business of the birth, employing just a little of Avalon's magic to wipe all trace of what had just been suffered through from the bed and the woman who lay in it.

Nat watched as Rhys had his heart captured by a tiny baby, unable to keep from laughing wearily as Ana hiccuped and burbled up at her father, little head turning to let her mouth root against his chest in the hope of finding a meal on tap. "Malyutka," Natalya told him tiredly, easing herself up to sit propped against the pillows. "That is "little one", in Russian, dusha moya."

"Malyutka," Rhys repeated with almost perfect pronunciation. His Russian was getting better, but it had taken a lot of time and practice to get it that way. "She's beautiful, just like her mother," he said, chuckling a little as she searched for the one thing he couldn't give her. "I think she wants her mother," he said, cradling her in his arms as he very carefully handed her to Natalya.

Taking the little bundle into her arms, Nat looked down at their daughter for the first time, and felt herself begin to cry, laughing even as the tears slid over her cheeks. "Dobro pozhalovat', malyutka," she told their firstborn child, somehow managing to open her chemise and allow the little one to latch on with a soft yelp for how painful it was. "Our little Ana Clare. Beautiful, you are. Truly beautiful."

He grew quiet, perhaps too quiet, lost in a haze of happy tears, afraid to say anything lest he break the spell and wake to find it was only a dream. He looked over at the Lady of Avalon who stood nearby, knowing they both had her to thank for blessing them with so much. "Thank you," he whispered, his voice gruff with emotion, but in a good way.

With the last cloth given to the Handmaidens who slipped from the room, the Lady came to Rhys as he thanked her, that ageless smile warmer than he had ever seen it before. She had delivered the mother of the one who would take her place, she knew that now. Her time would not be so very long, after all. Taking his hand, she gently wiped Rhys' eyes for him with the other. "I should thank you," she told him softly, glancing to the bed, where Natalya was entirely absorbed in feeding their daughter for the first time. "She is beautiful, Rhys."

In that moment, the Lady was goddess and mother and sister and friend. He was as much in wonder of her now as he had ever been, allowing her to wipe away his tears, even as his eyes filled anew. "Yes, she is," he agreed, glancing at his wife and daughter, unable to choose between them. One was as equally beautiful and beloved as the other. As grateful as he was to the Lady, and as much as he loved her, he found he couldn't drag his eyes away from the sight of mother and child bonding for the very first time.

With a soft chuckle, the Lady gently touched his cheek. "This is your time, my friend," she told him in her quiet way. "Enjoy it. I will see to the others." Releasing him, she gave her Champion a gentle nudge toward the bed where his wife and daughter remained, turning to slip from the room and leave the little family in peace.

He joined Natalya without hesitation, settling beside her on the bed and reaching over to carefully touch the dark head of hair on their daughter's head. "She's a wonder to me, Nat. You both are. A miracle." The old Rhys might have gone on to tell her how he didn't deserve this, but this Rhys was too grateful, too awestruck, too happy. He had wanted this with all his heart for so long, and now his most cherished wish had come true because of Nat and because of the Lady of Avalon.

Little Ana had finished with her mother's boob, and as Rhys' fingers touched her dark hair, her head turned toward his touch, dusky blue eyes blinking open to look up at him with unfocused adoration. Nat smiled, adjusting herself until she and Ana were leaning comfortably against the man in their lives. "You are the wonder of my life, milaya," she told him affectionately. "You have given me everything I did not know I longed for. And now we have a little girl. I can hardly believe it."

He smiled down at them both, a soft adoring smile despite the glitter of tears in his eyes. He wasn't quite sure what to say to that. How did you tell someone that they had made all your dreams come true" That you loved them more than life itself" That nothing short of death - and perhaps not even that - could stop you from loving them' "I keep thinking I'm going to wake up and find out it's all just a dream. A wonderful, perfect dream," he told her quietly, now that they were alone.

As every parent knows, babies are heartless when it comes to making their displeasure known. By the time Rhys had his daughter in the little gown, she was sobbing as though he'd broken her heart. The bathroom door opened to admit Nat back into the room, looking fresher and far more comfortable with herself now she had washed up a little. She winced and smiled at the carrying on. "At least we know she is possessed of fully functioning lungs," she commented, moving to crawl back onto the bed and settled more comfortably against the pillows once more.

Rhys got her wrapped in the blanket and nestled on his shoulder, rubbing her back gently and swaying to and fro as he tried to calm her down with a little quiet humming from her father. "Ten fingers and toes, too!" he exclaimed. He knew because he'd counted.

Swaddled and held close, Ana's heartbroken cries began to calm down, slowly fading away until she was asleep on Rhys' shoulder. Nat chuckled from where she sat, braiding her hair to keep it out of her way for now. "You have a way with your daughter already, milaya."

"Then why am I shaking?" he pointed out, moving back to join her on the bed, feeling a strange mixture of excitement and exhaustion. He would have offered to help braid her hair, but his arms were otherwise occupied with a small sleeping bundle. "Thank God, she's asleep!" he said with a sigh of relief, knowing it wouldn't last long. He was about to ask if Nat wanted him to fetch Rachel and Zach when a quiet knock sounded at the door.

Milliseconds after that knock, the familiar sound of Sir Lionel's voice made itself known. "I doubt either of them has the energy or the inclination to be doing anything they'd be embarrassed for us to see, open the door!" Quiet enough to be unintelligible, Rachel could be heard talking back to the Grand Master of the Templars, producing a loud guffaw of laughter from the man.

Leaning against Rhys' side to gently stroke a finger down her daughter's cheek, Nat laughed at the voices on the other side of the door. "Should we wait for them to decide between themselves, or tell them to come in?" she wondered, brushing a kiss to Rhys' cheek.

Rhys chuckled, mostly at the sound of the Grand Master's voice, imagining what the gruff man might think of holding such a tiny baby. If Rhys' gut instincts were right, the Grand Master was going to end up a sort of honorary uncle for this child and any future children to come. "I don't think we're going to have much choice," he replied, smiling at the kiss.

As he spoke, the door opened to reveal Rachel's hand on the knob, but Lionel's hand over the top of hers, directing every move. "There now, that wasn't so difficult, was it?" the Grand Master chuckled, moderating his tone now there was no door to muffle him.

Rachel giggled, blushing bright red with embarrassment for not waiting until they were told to come in, and looked back to Zachariel for support even as Lionel advanced across the room to greet the new parents.

Gripped in one hand was a soft, cloth-wrapped package which he dropped on the bed before leaning over to kiss Natalya's cheek. "Survived then, I see?" he chuckled, nodding to Rhys. "You, too."

Rhys couldn't help himself, grinning back at Lionel with a hint of mischief in his eyes. "Look who's here, Ana - Uncle Lionel! A few minutes earlier and you could have had a crack at diapering," he said, not wasting the chance to tease the older man. "Here," he said, handing off the little bundle to the Grand Master. "Say hello to your honorary niece. Or is it grand-daughter?"

Far from a panic when handed a very newborn baby, Lionel took the little bundle into his arms confidently, moving to sit in the chair beside the bed. He barely looked down at the darling little girl, though, his concern for the parents and how they had coped. The baby would get more interesting in the weeks and months to come. "And how are the proud parents doing" It was a long one, so I heard."

Rachel drew Zachariel into the room finally, lingering shyly by the door. She was desperate to see and hold the baby, but she was taking her cues from the Grand Master, forcing herself to pay attention to Rhys and Nat rather than instantly glue herself to her new niece.

Zach remained quiet for now, taking up the rear of the little entourage, his concern more for Rachel than anyone else, though he was certainly interested in the birth. Mortals had some sort of saying that the birth of a child was God's way of saying life should go on, and as a former angel, he was in complete agreement with that statement.

Rhys arched a brow, more than a little surprised at the ease with which Lionel took the baby girl in his arms. He chuckled quietly, mostly to himself. "I guess we found our first babysitter!" he declared, retaking his place beside Nat and reaching for her hand. "We're tired but happy!" he told the trio, knowing the Lady must have worked a little magic on his wife for her to be looking as well as she did after over twenty-four hours of labor.

"But I don't want to sleep yet," Nat protested laughingly, patting the bed to invite Zach and Rachel to make themselves comfortable. "I cannot believe you have all been waiting for so long. I am sure I made some terrible noises."

Another giggle erupted from Rachel, shy and nervous, but eager to be involved. "Rhys looked like he was going to faint when he came downstairs," she volunteered, hesitantly perching on the edge of the bed, her eyes constantly drawn to the little bundle in Lionel's arms.

"I almost did!" Rhys replied laughingly. Despite the exhaustion, he felt both happy and relieved that they had a presumably healthy daughter and nothing had gone too terribly wrong during her birth, other than for the length of it. He wasn't sure how Zach and Rachel felt about children, but he had a feeling they weren't going to be far behind them in conceiving. He leaned close to Nat to press an affectionate kiss against her cheek. "You did great, baby," he told her quietly.

"So did you," she murmured back to him, leaning in close to rest against his side. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lionel making faces down at Ana, who had decided to stare up at the unfamiliar face with unblinking eyes, not even offering a hint of a response, no matter how outlandish the expression above her became.

The Grand Master gave the Champion of Avalon a deceptively sour look. They both knew the old man didn't mind being teased as much as he pretended to. "Tell that to Jonah and his friends," he said grumpily. "I wanted to give her a sword, but they insisted it was not appropriate."

Giggling, Nat took the little rabbit from Rhys' hand, admiring the handiwork. "It is lovely," she assured the older man, who had become almost a surrogate father to her since she had met him. "Ana will love it."

"Don't be such a sour-puss, Lionel!" Rhys told the older man with a good-natured chuckle. Today was quite possibly the happiest or second most happiest day of his life and he wasn't going to let anyone or anything ruin his mood. Not even a poopy diaper. "It's adorable. I'm sure she'll love it."

Beside Rachel, Zachariel seemed to have become smitten with the small child as much as anyone else. This was his first up-close and personal experience with an infant from this side of the veil, and he was intrigued. He leaned forward to touch a fingertip against the baby's forehead and offer a quiet blessing. "May you be as loved and cared for all the days of your life as you are today, and may God grant you the gift of a long and happy life."

The tiny girl stirred just a little at the gentle touch, but seemed properly asleep now, just stretching within her swaddle before relaxing once again. Natalya smiled, touched by the benediction spoken over her daughter. "Thank you, bratishka," she smiled to Zachariel, unable to smother her yawn before he made itself known. "Oh, I am sorry."

Rhys, too, smiled at the blessing, chuckling a little at his wife's yawn and moving to his feet. "And that, my friends, is good night! Someone needs her beauty sleep."

Lionel laughed as Nat slapped her husband's arm gently, rising from his seat to bend and kiss her forehead, seizing Rhys' hand to shake it firmly. "Congratulations," he told them fondly. "And don't forget to sleep."

"I won't forget!" he promised as Lionel shook his hand. Their sleeping patterns were going to be up to a certain newborn now. It might take a few days or even weeks to get settled into a routine, but they had plenty of people here willing to lend them a hand.

Without thinking, Rachel eased herself off the bed and headed for the door, fully intending to give Nat and Rhys time and space to sleep. She did, however, still have Ana in her arms, too enraptured of the tiny girl to make the logical connection between giving the child back before she left.

"Rach!" Rhys called, a soft smile on his face. "I think you might be forgetting something." He didn't want their guests to think they were unwelcome or that he and Nat were ungrateful for their love and support, but it had been a long twenty-something hours and they were both simply exhausted.

Zach caught on before Rhys did, a little started to find his wife heading for the door with the baby still in her arms. "I am not sure we are ready to..." What was the proper term' "Babysit just yet."

"Mmm?" Rachel looked up, a slightly dreamy smile on her face, and started in surprise, glancing down to realize what she still held. "Oh." Blushing, she hurried back to the bed, handing Ana back into Rhys' arms in a flurry of embarrassment. "Sorry."

Nat smiled at her, tired but definitely able to understand the allure of not letting go. "Come back tomorrow," she told her sister- and brother-in-law. "I am sure we will be very grateful for it."

Rhys smiled up at his sister as she returned his daughter to his arms, his smile obviously full of affection for the sister who'd only become part of his life very recently. "You can have all the diaper changings you want tomorrow!" he echoed Nat's thoughts, feeling like he could sleep for about a hundred years but knowing they were only likely to get a few hours, if they were lucky.

Nodding enthusiastically, Rachel beamed, glad she hadn't erred so badly as to be banished completely, and slid back to Zachariel's side, letting her husband gently steer her from the bedroom in Sir Lionel's wake. Laughing softly, Nat relaxed back against the pillows, finally feeling ready to sleep. "She seems very happy to be an aunt."

Zachariel took the rear once again, quietly closing the bedroom door on their way out. Though the tower house had been given to Rhys and Nat to use as their primary residence in Avalon, there were still a few handmaidens lingering downstairs in case their services were needed in any way.

Rhys leaned against the pillows beside Nat, feeling suddenly as exhausted as they both looked. "She's still a little gun-shy, but she'll be all right." She had Zach to help her after all.

"I love you." Nat's smile was growing more and more weary as she sighed contentedly, kissing her husband before bending to kiss their daughter. "Put her down and come to bed. We both need it."

For the first time since he'd diapered and dressed their daughter, an uncertain frown appeared on his face, reluctant to lay her down, feeling the need to keep an eye on her every second, as impossible as it was. "Now?" he asked, uncertainly.

His wife laughed softly. As much as she would have liked to keep Ana right there with them as they slept, it didn't feel safe to her. "Bring the basket beside the bed," she suggested. "There will be plenty of time to hold her, milaya. Right now I want you to hold me."

This was something he could do, and it was a perfect compromise. Rhys carried little Ana over to the baby basket and tucked her inside, just as he'd learned to do in his parenting classes back home in New York. He waited a minute to the baby get settled before picking up the bassinet, baby and all, and carrying it over to the side of the bed where she would be in close proximity while they slept. "You think she'll be okay here?" he asked, still uncertain.

"I think she will be perfect there," Nat said through another yawn, patting the bed beside her as she tossed the majority of the pillows onto the floor, leaving only those they would be comfortable on. "Come to bed, milaya."

He didn't need to be told twice, leaving his shoes on the floor and climbing into bed fully dressed, too tired to bother changing like she had, or even to take the time to brush his teeth. He took one last look at their baby girl before settling in close beside his wife, arms going around her waist to hold her close as he he nuzzled her neck with a soft weary sigh. "You're amazing, you know that?" he asked her wearily.

Cuddled in close, Nat smiled, finally remembering to yawn before speaking. "I could not have done it if you had not been here," she told him in a tender tone, her eyes straying to the baby sleeping not so very far away. "I thought I could not."

"Yes, you could have, but it doesn't matter now," he replied quietly. He had as much faith in her as she seemed to have in him. He had seen her do amazing things. Having a baby was so ordinary compared to everything they'd been through. "It's like a dream come true, Nat," he whispered sleepily as his eyes fell shut. He wasn't sure how long their daughter would remain content and knew they both needed to take advantage of every chance they could to get a little shuteye.

"It's reality, dusha moya," she murmured, her own eyes drifting closed as her breathing slowed, already close to sleep herself. "She is really here."

Within moments, the only sound in the little bedroom was that of three bodies sleeping - two exhausted new parents, and the soothing sigh of the long-awaited Ana Clare. In a few hours, there would be tears and irritation, a vibrant wake up call to the pair nestled together on the bed, but for now, there was peace. Avalon was one step closer to the Lady's last days.

((Feels like Nat's been pregnant forever, but finally little Ana has arrived! Congrats!))