Choosing Life

Chapter Eighteen

Ben smiled as he made his way down the hall to where his parents, Chip, Genevieve, Mal's family, and some of the closest members of the castle staff had congregated upon Ben's request. They had known that today was the day that Mal was going to get her ultrasound done.

That this was the day that they were going to learn if they were going to have a son or a daughter.

In all honesty, Ben didn't care all that much about whether or not he had a son. He'd spent way too much time around Lonnie, Mal, Jane, and his own mother to think girls were somehow less than boys. All he cared about was that the child in question was healthy and happy—as was their mother.

And their mother at that moment was currently in the process of drawing herself a bath to relax as they'd gotten some rather startling news.

Instead of one baby, they were going to have two.

Twins, we're having twins, Ben thought with a grin; glancing down at the envelope in his hand which held the scans that Mal had had not half an hour ago. She'd begun panicking at the thought of twins and, Ben wasn't going to lie, he was more than a bit nervous as well but he knew they could handle it.

They had an amazing support system as shown by their families.

Oh Gods, I can just picture it if we're able to have a boy and a girl. A mini Mal running around the castle, a mini me curled up with Mal as he reads with her, Ben thought, a smile growing on his lips. Not that he wouldn't love having two daughters or two sons of course but a son and daughter combo was what they had talked about the most.

It was what they, or at least Ben, felt the most prepared for.

He wasn't going to lie, as he continued to walk, he had to stamp down the temptation to sneak a peak at the sonogram. To see the gender of his kids. But they were also Mal's kids and he wasn't going to open the envelope without Mal.

They had wanted to know, that was the whole point of the visit from Eileithyia. Since Mal wanted to keep the knowledge away from the prying eyes and ears of the press for as long as they were able to do so, hospital visits had been done via house call.

Of course, this had also strengthened Mal's belief that they'd be having the baby in the castle. Ben was happy to do whatever Mal wanted but that was the one thing he really wanted to put his foot down for. Though Mal would often argue that her mother had given birth to Hadie at home and she was fine.

I can't help but wonder if finding out we're having twins will change Mal's mind on the whole 'giving birth at home' thing, Ben thought as he walked into the living room where everyone was gathered.

"Thank you guys for coming," Ben said, grinning as he saw Geene and Rea in the corner curled up with Estelle. Actually, it looked almost like his sister and sister-in-law were napping and using Estelle as a pillow but the Cerberus seemed to not mind it one bit.

"Of course your highness," Lumiere said, giving Ben a smile which the King returned.

"As you all know, Mal had her sonogram done to check the baby's gender as well to confirm that nothing was going wrong with the pregnancy. After all, we've been concerned about how quickly the baby has been growing even with the smaller gestational period Mal has due to being both a Fae and a Godling ."

"Are there any issues?" Belle asked, the worry evident in her eyes.

Ben shook his head, his smile growing to Dizzy levels. "No, but there is a reason for the rapid growth. Instead of one heir to the throne...we're going to have two. Mal's having twins!"