Romance Fan Fiction / Other Fan Fiction ❯ Stars Above - A Cassunzel Fanfic ❯ Chapter 26: The Stages of Pregnancy ( Chapter 26 )

“Oooh, what about Jazz?”

Cassandra looked up from the dagger she was sharpening and raised an eyebrow. “Jazz?”

“...Yeah, you’re right. Too musicy.” Rapunzel tapped her finger on her chin. “Hmm.... Oh! How about Rosemary?”

“If you name our kid that, I’m divorcing you.”

“Uggh, fine.” Rapunzel pouted then thought for a second before she gave Cass a sheepish smile. “How about Blair?”

“Bla- What?” Cassandra had to put her dagger down for that one and fixed Rapunzel with a deadpan look. “What kind of name is that?”

“Ugh, I don’t know! It’s not like I’ve ever thought about this kind of stuff!”

“Didn’t you and Eugene ever talk about having kids?”

Rapunzel shrugged. “Not really. The only time it came up in conversation was when you, Lance and Shorty got turned into kids.” Rapunzel fixed Cassandra with a teasing grin. “I feel bad for your dad. You were not easy to take care of or keep track of.” Cassandra huffed and threw a pillow at her, making the princess laugh. “...But, I gotta admit, you were a pretty cute kid.” She paused. “And you grew up to be a pretty hot adult.”

“Raps!” Cassandra blushed.

“What?” Rapunzel chuckled, crossing her arms. “I’m only saying the truth.” Cassandra, still flustered, mumbled something incoherently and rolled her eyes. It had been nearly three months since they both found out about the mystery baby (that was what they were calling it until they could figure out a name) and both women agreed that until the baby was born, it was best to stay in one place. Of course, Dallas and the townspeople fixed them with a temporary home until they were ready to leave again. Dallas had been a sweetheart through all of this and had helped them in any way she could. The townspeople already started to deliver baby gifts to the point where Cassandra had to start politely turning them down.

As time went on, the excitement for the baby rose. Rapunzel was ecstatic now, unlike how she was before when she first found out, and she spent nearly every day talking about it. Cassandra had never seen her so happy before and it warmed her heart. Cass herself was equally excited, though she didn’t show it as much. The townspeople have already made their guesses on what the gender of the child was gonna be, it was like a game now, but Rapunzel was convinced it was gonna be a girl like Cassandra said.

Cassandra sighed and turned to her. “Raps, we don’t even know the gender. How can we name it?”

“Mothers intuition. Besides, you were the one that said they were a girl in the first place.”

“I said it was a hunch.”

“Uh Huh and when are you ever wrong?”

“You only ever admit that when you’re set on it yourself.”

“Exactly!” Rapunzel grinned as she rose to her feet. She climbed into the armchair where Cassandra was sitting and sat in her lap, facing her as she folded her legs down so that she was sitting directly in her lap.

Cassandra chuckled. “Well, hi there.”

“Hi.” Rapunzel responded with an ecstatic smile as she cuddled into her. Much like most pregnant women, Rapunzel had some serious mood swings and cravings. She’s gone from happy, to sad, to happy again, to crying to just being happy. Anger was a big one too. They had gotten into more fights in the last three months than they had the entire time they’ve known each other. And that was saying something. Cassandra learned to just try and avoid the storm but it always seemed to follow her nonetheless.

The one thing that Cass hated the most was the fact that after every fight, usually started by Rapunzel, Rapunzel would burst down crying out of guilt then say Cassandra hated her or something like that. Cass always had to reassure her that she didn’t and that it was fine but then it just kept going on and on; Rapunzel feeling guilty and assuming bad things about herself and Cassandra doing her best to reassure her.

But the biggest mood swing that Cassandra loved as well as equally hated was how affenionete Rapunzel was. You think she was affenioete before? Now she was basically always on top of Cassandra. If Cass was being honest with herself, though she would never admit it, she quite enjoyed all the affection, love and cuddles she received from her wife. But then there were the times when it was the worst possible time to be affectionate (like in public or when Cassandra was trying to do something) that Cassandra hated. When it was just the two of them, or even the two of them and maybe Dallas, Cass loved every minute of it. One thing that was a relief though was that Rapunzel rarely ever got morning sickness. Here and there but it wasn’t all the time like it would be for most women that were three months pregnant.

As Rapunzel lay her head on Cass’s chest, the only thing that could be heard was the sound of humming coming from Cassandra and the sound of a dagger sharpening. Cass learned that if she wanted to get anything done, she’d have to do it whether or not Rapunzel was on top of her. Rapunzel seemed to just always cuddle into her and be mesmerized by whatever she was doing. Most of the time, she’d eventually just fall asleep listening to the sound of Cassandra’s heartbeat. This time was no different.

Hours passed where Rapunzel was in and out of sleep. She was trying to stay awake for Cassandra because she always felt bad for always falling asleep before her. Before mystery baby, Cass and Rapunzel always had a routine. Every night, before they fell asleep, they would talk or just cuddle in each other’s arms. Anything that involved spending time with each other, just with each other, after a long day before they both decided to go to bed.

After they found out about the baby and the effects of pregnancy started to take effect, Rapunzel had been overly exhausted 99% of the time. She often took a lot of naps and always fell asleep early. Rapunzel could tell that Cassandra missed the time they used to share before bedtime but she knew that Cass would never say anything about it. That’s just the kind of person she was. She knew it wasn’t Rapunzel’s fault and oftentimes than not, she would hum the princess to sleep.

Rapuzel was halfway to dream land when Cassandra finally put her dagger down on the side table. “Raps, it’s getting late. You should get some rest.”

“Hm?” Rapunzel’s half-awake voice responded as she tilted her head up to look at her, her eyes barely open. Cassandra chuckled and suddenly Rapunzel was being lifted bridal style and being carried to the bed. Cassandra placed her in the bed and gently covered her with a blanket. Rapunzel watched with dazed, sleep-filled eyes as Cassandra changed from her daily attire to her nightly attire. What felt like an eternity, Cassandra finally climbed under the covers and switched off the light.

Cassandra already knew what Rapunzel wanted as she gave her a sweet, inviting smile and opened her arms. Rapunzel gave her a sleepy smile and cuddled into her arms as she nuzzled herself against her body. “I love you, Cass.” Rapunzel yawned. “...’re the best..”

Cassandra chuckled and placed a small, loving kiss on the top of her head. “I love you too, Raps.” With that, they both fell asleep into a peaceful slumber.

“Cassssss.... please?” Rapunzel begged as she gave her wife the puppy eyes.

"No.” Cassandra responded as she crossed her arms. Her tone of voice told her that it was final. Rapunzel groaned as she fell back against the bed with a pout. Cassandra rolled her eyes. “Rapunzel, you can’t go horseback riding while being 6 months pregnant.”

“But I’ve stuck in this place for weeks!”

“You literally were outside 3 hours ago.”

“I’m so boooreddd!” Rapunzel groaned as she flopped onto her back.

Cassandra raised an eyebrow. “Are you the child or are you having the child?”

“Haha, very funny.” Rapunzel said with a roll of her eyes. She turned to her wife with pleading eyes. “Can’t we go outside and do something?”

“You need to rest-”

“Cass, I’m pregnant, not dying.” Rapunzel said sarcastically with another roll of her eyes. Another three months had passed since they first found out about the mystery baby, making Rapunzel 6 months pregnant. Rapunzel finally looked like she was pregnant as the effects of pregnancy started to wear down on her body. She got tired way more often than before but she didn’t care. As time passed, the more excited she became. But Cassandra had become way more overprotective and over-bearing as time went on as well. Although Rapunzel thought it was sweet at first, it was starting to become frustrating. Cassandra tried to attack anyone who looked at her funny. She outright attacked any men who looked at her at all. Cassandra treated her like she was some kind of porcelain doll ready to break most of the time now.

Despite that though, Cassandra had been wonderful. Whatever she needed, Cass was there. Sometimes she was a little too wonderful. She over-worried about every little thing and asked her nearly a thousand worried questions every single day. It was annoying as much as it was adorable. Cass had been amazing and Rapunzel loved her even more for everything she had been doing for her these past couple of months. But she was worried her wife was gonna end up harming her health by how much she worried about her. She had to remind her and reassure her every single day that she was fine and she didn’t have to fret and worry over the smallest of things.

“Come on Cass, we can just take a scroll or whatever.” Cassandra still looked unsure. “Either you come with me or I’m going alone. Your choice.” Rapunzel nearly smirked in triumph at the expression on Cassandra’s face. She knew that would get her.

“Fine,” Cass stood up. “But we’re only going out for a short walk.”

Rapunzel rolled her eyes as she got to her feet. “Yeah, yeah.” She walked over and grasped the still unsure, older woman’s hand and started pulling her towards the door cause otherwise she wouldn’t move. Once they were outside, Rapunzel could still tell that Cassandra was still tense so she gripped her hand tighter and laid her head on her shoulder as they walked. Cassandra seemed to relax as the older woman wrapped her arm around her waist. “You worry way too much, you know.” Rapunzel said with a smile after a few minutes.

“You can never be too careful,” Cassandra responded before looking down at her. “I just don’t want anything bad to happen to you. ...Or the baby.”

Rapunzel gave her a sweet smile and placed a kiss on her cheek. “Nothing bad is gonna happen to me or the baby as long as you’re with us, Cass.”

“Still. I don’t trust people.”

Rapunzel giggled. “No, really? I had no idea.”

Cassandra rolled her eyes but she couldn’t help but give Rapunzel a playful grin. “Alright beautiful, you dragged me out here, so what did you have in mind?”

Rapunzel blushed lightly at the name. Cass had also been way more affenionete lately. Rapunzel would be lying if she said she didn’t thoroughly enjoy it. “Honestly, as long as we’re outside, anything is fine.” She looked up and gave her wife a sweet smile. “What if we just picked a nice shady area under a tree and just hung out? Like old times.”

Cassandra raised an eyebrow. “Couldn’t we have done that at the house?”

“Yes, but it wouldn’t have been outside, would it?” Rapunzel grinned. “You know, fresh air is good for pregnant women.

“Really?” Cassandra raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Where did you hear that?”

“Read it in a book.”

“When?”

“In the tower.”

“The tower? Gothel’s tower?”

“Uh Huh. There were only three books that I had. I read them back to back. Pregnancy was one of them.”

Cassandra rolled her eyes. “Whatever you say.”

Rapunzel giggled and grabbed her wife’s hand before she led her to their new favorite hang-out spot. They had been there to get away from everything on more than one occasion. It was peaceful, quiet, secluded, and filled with grass and beautiful flowers. Rapunzel had already made herself comfortable under their favorite shady tree. Cassandra barely had time to sit down before Rapunzel pulled her down for a sweet, passionate kiss.

The kiss made heat pool between Cassandra’s legs. After it was done, Cassandra didn’t pull back as she stared deep into her wife’s eyes, panting softly. “What was that for?” She whispered.

Rapunzel smiled and placed a small, quick kiss on her lips before she pulled back and nuzzled Cassandra. “No reason. I just love you a lot.”

Cassandra smiled then chuckled as Rapunzel placed herself between her legs and laid back against her. Cassandra put her hands on her stomach and placed a small kiss on her shoulder. This was also their new favorite thing to do. They would sit there for hours in that position and talk, watch Rapunzel draw or paint, or even just stay silent. It was a comfort thing for them now. Rapunzel lay her head against Cassandra’s shoulders and relaxed into her warmth. They went into a comfortable silence for a good ten minutes before Rapunzel spoke up again.

“Hey, Cass?”

“Yeah Raps?”

“I was wondering...” Rapunzel trailed off as she turned around in her lap so that she could face her. “...have you thought of any names? You haven’t really spoken your mind much about that. You haven’t really spoken your mind much about anything with all of this.”

“You’re better at that kind of stuff, Raps. Besides, I’m fine with anything.”

Rapunzel gave her a skeptical look. “That won’t slide because I know that you don’t believe that.” Rapunzel’s intuition was right. Cassandra’s facade fell as she looked away. “Hey,” Rapunzel said softly as she directed her eyes back to hers. “What’s going on Cass? Talk to me.”

Cassandra seemed to look into her eyes for a second or two before she sighed and her shoulders sagged. “I didn’t have a mother figure growing up, Raps. I don’t know the first thing about taking care of something so... fragile and tiny. I guess I’m just... scared.”

“Neither do I, Cass.”

“But you’re a nurturer. It’s in your character. I’m... not. W-What if... what if I mess up?” Rapunzel’s heartbroke at the scared expression on her beautiful face.

“You are a nurturer.” Rapunzel stated. “You take care of me. You have since the very beginning. And I told you once before, you don’t need to be the ‘motherly’ type to be a parent. The baby doesn’t need you, or me, to be perfect. Because we’re not going to be perfect.” Rapunzel gave Cass a sweet smile as she placed her hand on her cheek. “We’re going to make mistakes and that’s okay. That’s just parenthood. All we need to do is show this baby love and affection and that’s all they need. Everything else will fall into line.” Rapunzel rubbed her thumb across her cheek. “I know you’re going to be an amazing parent, Cass. Just because you didn’t have a mother figure doesn’t mean you’re not gonna be. You’re a good, kind-hearted person and I know that you’re going to be an amazing mother.”

“....Do you really think so?”

“I know so.” Rapunzel responded confidently. “This baby is gonna be the luckiest baby in the world to have you as its mom.”

“....To have us as its moms.”

Rapunzel gave her one of her sweeter smiles and pressed a small kiss to her forehead before pulling back to look her in the eye. “Yeah. Us.” She nuzzled against her before adding: “I’m scared too, Cass. But we’re going to learn together and we’re gonna give this child the best possible life we can give them. We’ll shower them with so much love and affection that the mistakes we make won’t even matter.”

Cassandra’s face broke out into one of the sweetest smiles Rapunzel had ever seen on her as she leaned forward and placed a loving, lasting kiss to her lips before pulling back and resting her forehead against hers. “I love you Rapunzel.” Cassandra leaned down and placed a small kiss on her stomach, making Rapunzel giggle. “And you too mystery baby.”

“We really need to stop calling them mystery baby and figure out a name.” Rapunzel giggled.

“Aw, we can’t just name them mystery baby? I kinda like it.”

“Cass!” Rapunzel laughed.

“How about mysterio? Or mysterious?” Cassandra gave her a playful grin as Rapunzel laughed and gently swatted her shoulder.

“Alright silly, we need an actual name. Have any ideas? Have you thought of any?”

Rapunzel gasped as Cassandra looked away, flustered, meaning that she very much did. “You have! What is it??”

“I-It’s not very good, Raps..”

“Oh come on, tell me! Anything beats the names I’ve gone through.”

“I don’t know..”

“Come on, Cass. Please? I want to hear your intake on all this too. They are your baby as much as they are mine.”

Cassandra’s blush deepened as she looked down in a flustered manner. “I-I was thinking... Nova.”

“Nova?” Rapunzel asked.

“Y-Yeah, it’s gender neutral, so it will work for a male or female. A-and it means ‘new star’, as well as spirited, intuitive and fearless.”

“You really put a lot of research into this, huh?”

Cassandra looked up for a second before she looked away again, even more flustered. “Y-You know what? It’s stupid, it’s not-”

“No, Cass,” Rapunzel interrupted her as she placed her hands on her cheeks and directed her eyes back to hers. “I love it.”

“R-Really?”

“It’s perfect.” Rapunzel smiled before she looked down and rubbed her stomach. “Hear that little one? Your momma has picked the perfect name for you.” Rapunzel looked up and gave Cass a sweet smile. “Cass, give me your hand.”

Cass gave her a confused look but did it anyway. Rapunzel took her hand and gently placed it on her stomach. Not a second later, Cass gasped as she felt a little kick. Rapunzel giggled at her amazed expression. Cassandra seemed in disbelief and fascinated as her face morphed into one of the most excited, happy expressions Rapunzel had ever seen on her.

“Did you feel that Raps? They have a strong kick! They’re gonna be a fighter!”

Rapunzel couldn’t help but let out a strained giggle at her wife’s adorable enthusiasm. “Yes, I felt it sweetheart.” A third. “See? Nova recognizes who their mother is. They already love you.” Cassandra didn’t seem to be listening to her. She seemed in complete fascination and awe and it warmed Rapunzel’s heart to see her like that.

Cassandra leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her stomach before saying: “I can’t wait for you to come, little one. You’re gonna love your mother. She’s awesome. You’re gonna love me too.” Cassandra placed another small kiss on her stomach before saying sincerely: “And I promise, for as long as I live, I will give you both the best possible life I can.”

Rapunzel couldn’t help the tears that filled her eyes as she let out the sweetest smile she could muster and placed her hand over Cassandra’s. Cassandra looked up at her and gave her a sweet smile as she pushed herself back up and gave her a sweet kiss. Rapunzel smiled into the kiss then wrapped her arms around her neck. Cassandra eventually pulled back and gave Rapunzel an incredibly loving, sweet, excitable, enthusiastic smile and placed another small kiss on her lips then placed her hand on her cheek. “I love you so much Rapunzel. There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t thank my lucky stars for bringing you to me and letting me meet you.”

Tears fell down Rapunzel’s cheeks (damn pregnancy hormones) as she closed her eyes and leaned into Cassandra’s touch. She reopened them and gave her a watery smile. “I love you too, Cassandra. More than you’ll ever know.” Her voice shook as she kissed the palm of her hand.

Cassandra smiled and pulled her into her arms. Rapunzel cuddled into her warmth and slowly started to drift off to sleep. Cassandra kept one hand on her stomach while the other held her close into her arms. She placed a small kiss on her forehead once Rapunzel’s breathing evened out. “Sweet dreams, my love.” Rapunzel smiled in her sleep.

“Samael’s dead, my queen.”

“I’m aware. I always knew that excuse for a man would fail.” Zhan Tiri spoke.

“He didn’t completely fail, my league.”

“Is that so? How so?”

“He impregnated the princess.”

“Oh, really?” Zhan Tiri’s face went into an animalistic grin. “Now that I can work with.” She turned to her minion. “You will continue where Samael left off and keep tabs on Rapunzel and her little protector. Do you understand?”

The man bowed. “Yes, my queen.”

“Good, now leave my sight.” The man nodded and left.

“So, what’s the plan Zhan Tiri?” Gothel asked.

“Well, since you failed to kill them twice, we’re gonna have to take a... much dirtier route.”

“And that is?”

“Wait until the child is born then kill it. It will shatter them and the world will be at our mercy.”

Gothel’s face morphed into an animalistic smirk. “Perfect.”