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The idea of building something definitely caught his attention. “Yeah!” he said, taking his nanny’s hand. “I could build a new home for my baby brother!”

The nanny replied, obviously saying something to encourage Kayan to follow her out of the dining room.

Only when the door was closed behind her son, would Tara let loose a groan of pain.

“Zayed! This is bad!” she gasped, huffing air. “Bad and fast!”

“It’s going to be okay!” Zayed assured her, grateful when one of the bodyguards appeared with a wheelchair. “I’m going to take you to the doctor now, okay?”

Her only response was a pained whimper as Zayed picked her up and carefully set her down in the wheelchair. Moments later, they were hurrying down the long hallway towards the delivery room set up in the palace.

Ten hours later, Tara gasped with the last ounce of her energy, screaming as she pushed.

“Almost there!” the doctor called out. “I see the head.”

The nurses were rushing around the room, but Tara was beyond noticing anything other than the pain ripping her apart. She pushed, needing this to end.

“I see the shoulders!” the doctor called out. “One more push and this will all be over!”

Tara wanted to hit the woman! She’d been pushing for hours now. She didn’t want to push any longer. But her little baby was nearly here.

“Just one more push, Your Highness!”

Even after all these years, Tara still wasn’t used to the title. But she ignored it and gathered her last of her strength. Looking to Zayed, he squeezed her hand. “You can do it,” he assured her.

Tara had learned several expletives while living with Zayed. And this moment seemed like the perfect time to use every one of them at him. How dare he tell her that she could “do it” when she’d been trying to “do it” this whole time!

But the urge to push overwhelmed her and she gathered all of her strength for one final push. Squeezing Zayed’s hand with all her might, she pushed and…!

“It’s a girl!” the doctor announced. “A healthy baby girl with ten toes and ten fingers!”

Tara gasped, leaning back against the delivery table, exhausted.

It might have been moments, or an hour, Tara wasn’t sure. But finally, a tiny bundle was placed in her arms. Tara stared down at the squinched, red face of her brand new daughter and, suddenly, all the pain of the past hours faded away.

“She’s perfect!” Tara sighed, still exhausted but also, somehow revived.

“A girl!” Zayed breathed, beaming down at her tiny face.

An unexpected noise alerted both parents that something was happening. Tara, Zayed and the entire medical team turned in unison as the door to the delivery room was pushed open by…!

“Momma! My pony wants to meet my sister!” Kayan announced, leading the animal through the doors.

Immediately, the medical staff, horrified at the possibility of an unsanitary farm animal coming into the room, jumped into action.

Even Zayed raced over, stopping Kayan from bringing the pony into the delivery room.

But Tara just laughed, holding her precious daughter close as she reveled in how wonderful her life had become. Ponies and all.