Better late than never, some folks would say, but Gwendolyn Caspian hated when things she was looking forward to were late. Or course, if it was something she didn’t like and was dreading, it came on time or even early, because apparently the universe hated her. And at first, her mother’s expected date was zooming by so fast that Gwen was certain that she wouldn’t have been prepared for the news. Yet, the closer the due date came, the more Gwen warmed up to the idea of having a new baby brother. In fact, the moment the sonogram came through and she got to see him, Gwen felt a warm, fuzzy feeling that she thought she’d never feel. She was extremely excited for her new baby brother and secretly was counting off the days to when she got to hold him.

So, of course, it would figure that he’d arrive late. A whole two weeks late! Gwen tried not to appear too impatient and had hoped that her second life as a Senshi would have helped take her mind off of the matter. And for the most part, it did. Of all the times that the Dark Mirror Court seemed to have lost all control over their Mirror Wraiths, it couldn’t have happened at a better time! At least that’s what Gwen thought, until her mother and he-who-shall-not-be-named announced that they decided they wanted to have the baby in Destiny City. Destiny City, where agents of chaos were pretty much running the place...

That seemed like a horrible idea, but it would have saved both Maddy and Gwen money as they wouldn’t have had to miss work to go visit them at the hospital. It was good intentions, and Gwen understood why, but... now that meant that she’d have another thing to worry about, and her patrols would have to be put on hold so that she could keep her eye on her mother and very-late-now baby brother.

Yet, just as things appeared grim, what they thought was indigestion turned out to be the first signs of labor, and Gwen was actually in the middle of a shift when Maddy practically came flying through Padme’s Bouquet and swept her confused and busy sister off of her feet. The baby was coming! The baby was finally coming!

And it was about time too! Gwen wasn’t sure what to do, or how to react. She never had this happen before. For the longest time, she was the baby. Maddy was young, much younger than she was when she was born, so she couldn’t have imagined the chaos that was going on in her head. Gwen wanted to bring it up, but any chance was shot down, as Maddy was either talking on the phone with another relative, or taking care of matters with the nurses or doctors at the hospital. Gwen didn’t even have time to go to the house and change into more casual wear before they were brought to the hospital, and just when she thought she was done with the waiting, she was wrong.

An hour turned into two, then three, and it was when it was moving into the fourth hour that Gwen was starting to worry now too. She had gathered that a woman at her mother’s age giving birth would have been problematic, but the doctors kept telling them that she’d be fine, that she’d make it through. Before now, Gwen hadn’t even considered the possibility of something going wrong, but now that it was in her head, it wouldn’t get out. She could handle the worst of the Negaverse and Dark Mirror Court, but this? This was nerve wrecking. Eventually, her pacing had begun to wear on the nerves of not only Maddy but the rest of the waiting room, and here she was, laying on the couch at Destiny City Memorial, with her head in her sister’s lap. It wasn’t often that she found herself in this position and in truth, it felt better when it was her mother she was laying on, but Maddy was close enough. It made her think, and she looked up at Maddy and asked her a simple question, “Do you plan on having kids someday?”

“Yup. But only after I find the right guy and kicking you out of the house.”

She knew Maddy was joking on that second part, but she was just too nervous to play along. Between the new baby and other things, she still hadn’t told Maddy about Anandi and her relationship, and she wondered if Anandi would have wanted kids. It was certainly a topic the two of them have yet to bring up, and Gwen made a mental note of it, for when she saw Anandi again. Maddy’s question took her by surprise, “You think he’s stuck?”

Gwen wanted to laugh, but she couldn’t. Instead, she smiled, before rolling over and burying her face in her sister’s thighs completely. “Nope, he just wants five more minutes. Stubborn!”

“Just like you. He’s a Caspian alright!”

It was the last thing that was spoken between the two, and who knows how much time had passed. Gwen fell asleep- she knew this because she was rudely awoken by Maddy’s obsessive pats on her shoulder, and before she even had the chance to beg for five more minutes, Maddy cut her off, and what she had to say caused the young girl to leap to her feet in a heartbeat. “He’s here! Come on, let’s go say hello!”

The rest was a blur for Gwen. The two of them raced into the back, threatening to leave the nurse in the dust, and the first one in the room was Gwen. She paid no attention to the man that stood at her mother’s side, even when he addressed them. “Don’t get too excited, girls. We just got him to stop crying- I’m surprised he didn’t wake the entire hospital!”

Gwen didn’t care what he had to say, and if it wasn’t for Maddy’s touch to her shoulder, she would have likely said something she would have regretted. The nurse ushered them towards the bedside, and there, both of them got to see the small baby that was cradled in Sarah’s arms. He was big, with a full head of hair, and it was no wonder that it took so long for him to arrive. He was huge! Gwen was practically wriggling her fingers for the chance to touch him, and she all but held herself down, even when her mother turned to face her. “He made you wait long enough... would you like to hold little Jacob?”

Gwen did a double take, but she didn’t object to the name. They had never told her what they were considering to name him and wanted to surprise her, and that name certainly surprised her. Without further prompt, Gwen held out her arms, and though it took a little coaching from Maddy and the nurse, soon she found herself holding her baby brother. She wasn’t quite sure what she was suppose to feel, as she felt a million things at once, but she knew that all of the emotions she felt had to have been justified. Happiness, relief, awe... she never was the type to feel overwhelmed with such girly emotions, but she found herself tearing up. She never held a baby before, and she regretted ever not having the chance to do so before. She held Jacob close, trying not to suffocate him, and she nuzzled her cheek against his own, softer cheeks, and she wondered if it was natural to have the sudden urge to want a child of her own, even at this age. She tried to hold all of these emotions back, to appear strong in front of her family, and but did allow them to see her happiness, as she whispered softly to her baby brother. “Took you long enough to get here... just don’t grow up too fast, okay? I want you to be my baby brother forever!”

She knew that to be impossible, but for the moment, it was a sentiment that she wanted to hold onto forever. She knew that she would eventually have to hand little Jacob over to Maddy or her mother, or even him, but for now, she simply revelled in the moment. Little Jacob. Another name to add to the long list of people dear to her that she would have to protect...

(Word Count: 1421)