A/N: So this is the sequel to Operation Angelfish and Magic and Memories. It starts just over a year after the end of M&M.

The first couple of chapters are gonna jump around time wise, because I didn't want to skip certain events before getting the the actual action. Also, the epilogue from the end of M&M isn't relevant anymore, because I've changed things for this fic!

I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up... not too long hopefully.

I hope you enjoy this! :)

x

"You smell funny." Ruby announced as she walked into the bedchambers she shared with her fiancée.

Liv arched an eyebrow at her. "Thanks, baby, I love you too."

"No, really… you… you smell like… like Emma."

"I have just spent the afternoon in her company." The younger woman pointed out. "You know your sense of smell gets heightened around this time of the month. She's probably just rubbed off on me or something."

Ruby shook her head and stepped closer, running her hands lightly up and down Liv's arms as she looked at her intently. With a sigh, Liv allowed her girlfriend to lean in and nuzzle her neck with her nose. She knew perfectly well that Ruby was trying to get closer to sniff her properly but she let it go, revelling in the proximity. Winding her arms around the taller woman's waist she pulled back slightly and smirked.

"Happy now?"

"You smell… Are you pregnant?"

Liv's eyebrow's shot up immediately and she blinked several times. "I… I don't think so?" She refused to let herself hope that perhaps, after all the time they'd spent trying, they had finally succeeded. "Maybe you can just smell Ma's pregnancy on me?"

"Maybe…" Ruby agreed, forced to admit that the scent wasn't nearly as strong on her girlfriend as it had been on the blonde Queen. She sighed and buried her face in Liv's neck once more, sighing deeply. "Is this ever going to work? I mean, all the potions Regina's making and everything? Without your magic… are we ever going to be parents?"

"We are parents, remember." Liv said with a smile, turning the older woman's face so she could look at her properly. "We've got Charlie."

"But I–"

"I know, babe, I know." Sighing, Princess Olivia stroked her fiancée's cheek. "If it happens, it happens. If not… well, it's not the end of the world." She smiled. "We'll find a way. If you want a baby, I'll make damn sure you get one."

Liv leant against the marble railings that ran along the edge of the balcony in the Family Wing of the Castle that overlooked the gardens. A deep sigh escaped her lips and she watched her wife of only a couple of months. Ruby laughed happily as she and Emma encouraged Nicole to take a few unsteady steps across the grass.

"Are you alright, sweetheart?" Regina asked softly, leaning beside her older daughter and following her gaze to the scene below them. She nudged Liv gently with her shoulder, knowing exactly what was running through her mind. "You just need to give it some time."

"Ruby really, really wants this, Mom."

The Queen sighed and looked away. "I'm doing my best. But replicating this type of magic is incredibly difficult at the best of times and considering Ruby's unusual biological makeup and the fact that your body naturally resists magical influence now…"

"I get it." The young woman exhaled sharply, her face suddenly blank and emotionless. "It's probably not going to happen."

She turned and started to walk away, but Regina reached out instinctively and grasped her arm tightly. "Liv… you're twenty-years-old… there's plenty of time before you need to start giving up on the idea. Don't see this as some kind of failure."

"I'm no–"

"Credit me with knowing you at least a little, darling."

Liv's eyes widened slightly. "Oh, Mom… I didn't mean… I don't…"

"I know." Regina gripped her hand tighter and pulled the young woman closer to her, cupping her cheek with one hand. She stroked the pad of her thumb lightly over Liv's cheekbone and smiled gently. "I won't give up, I promise."

"I know."

A year or so passed and things were relatively calm and prosperous within both the White and Dark Kingdoms. There had been a rebellion in the Kingdom to the North of both Snow and Regina's but, whereas before both would have waded in to help, more to attempt to get one over on the other, this time they called for peace. Within a month the rebellion had been ended and tensions dissolved once more. Whispers ran through both Royal Courts and the market places in the villages and towns that the Dark One was behind the rebellions somehow.

By the time Regina informed her family that she was pregnant, they had almost forgotten about the dangers and traumas that had haunted their return to the Enchanted Forest. They had almost started to forget their lives back in Storybrooke. With no word of Rumpelstiltskin since the events that had led to Liv losing her magic, everyone was disinclined to believe he had anything to do with the rebellions and pushed him as far to the back of their minds as possible.

Although it had now been two and a half years since they'd arrived back in Fairy Tale Land, Liv still couldn't get used to the expectations that were heaped on her because of her position as Princess. She'd consented to sit through official banquets and cabinet meetings because Regina and her grandparents had decided it would be good for her. Emma was in the same position as she was; totally out of her depth and bored rigid by the formality and ancient traditions that they were expected to follow and understand.

"Mom… I don't feel so good." She murmured halfway through the Feast of Spring held, as tradition dictated, on the last night of January.

The Feast of Spring was, so the young Princess had been reminded several times over the last few weeks while preparations were taking place in the castle, a celebration of the beginning of a new year and the awakening of the Life Force. As far as Emma and Liv were concerned, it was a celebration of new plants growing. Snow had rambled for a while about Snowdrops and a Goddess and returning light, but her daughter and granddaughter had both tuned out about three minutes into her speech.

"You are not getting out of this, Olivia." Regina muttered through the side of her mouth, pausing her fork just before it reached her mouth. "I am six months pregnant and yet I'm not complaining about being forced into a dress worthy of a Queen and hosting the entire evening. You can at least pretend to be enjoying yourself for one night."

"Mom, I'm not…" The young woman closed her eyes and took a breath, grabbing the edge of the table tightly.

"Please, sweetheart, just once can you not complain the whole way through. Think of the guests."

Suddenly the temperature in the Banqueting Hall seemed to rise about ten degrees and the lights dimmed significantly. Liv's grip on the table weakened and she leant back in her chair, squeezing her eyes closed again as the room began to spin. A rushing sound filled her ears and she leant her head against the high wooden back of the chair and took quick, shallow breaths.

"Liv… baby?" Ruby spotted her wife's strange behaviour immediately and was out of her own chair instantly, kneeling in front of her and grasping her hands tightly. She reached up with one hand and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, putting the back of her hand against her forehead. "Babe? What's wrong?"

Regina paled as she realised that her daughter hadn't been simply trying to get out of the festivities. Slipping into her most Queen-like manner, she indicated for her daughter-in-law to help Liv out of the room and excused herself quickly. Emma shot her a concerned frown, but Regina simply smiled and squeezed her shoulder, following the two younger women through the heavy doors and closing them behind them.

Ruby had already guided her wife halfway up the grand staircase before Regina left the Hall and by the time the pregnant Queen caught up with them they had reached the landing and were making their way along the corridor that led to the Family Wing. Indicating that they should lie her down as soon as they entered their chamber, Regina set about examining her daughter carefully, looking for any signs that she had been poisoned or cursed with magic.

"Regina… what's wrong with her?" Ruby asked worriedly as Liv let out a low moan and turned her head away from them.

Her temperature had risen further and a slight sheen of sweat covered her forehead since they'd left the guests in the Banqueting Hall. After a couple more moments of examination, where she neglected to answer the younger woman's question, Regina straightened up and met Ruby's eyes.

"Go and fetch Blue."

"B-Blue?" Ruby stuttered. Apart from the births of Nicole and Snow and Charming's son, Lucas, the last time the Blue Fairy had been requested to assist with a medical matter was when Liv had lost her magic. "Regina! What's wrong with her?"

"I don't know!" The Queen snapped, her anxiety masked as anger. "If I knew I wouldn't be asking for the Fairy's assistance!" She took a calming breath. "Let's just hope it is a fever of some kind and easily cured."

With a nod, Ruby left the room quickly, heading back down the stairs in search of the woman who could hopefully help her wife. As she went, Regina only just caught her parting words. "I never thought I'd say this, but I miss Whale…"

The door closed with a soft thump. A shift on the mattress beside her caused Regina to look down at her daughter. She frowned as she realised that Liv was trying to sit up against the headboard and tried to force her back down. With a weak chuckle, the Princess frowned back at her.

"Mom…"

"Until we've worked out what's wrong, lie down."

"It hurts." The twenty-one-year-old admitted with a sigh, flopping back against her pillow and fisting a hand in the material of the dress covering her stomach. Liv's voice was quiet and childlike and the realisation that they had lost many moments like this in the past was lost on neither of them. "Mommy, it really hurts."

Regina pushed her hair back away from her face gently. "Where does it hurt, sweetheart?"

"My belly… it's like… like there's something… like in Alien…"

"Alien?" The Queen arched an eyebrow, but lowered her gaze to her daughter's stomach anyway. Her eyebrows furrowed and she bit her lip nervously, reaching out and running a hand over the smooth velvet of Liv's dress. "Liv, honey, are you…?"

"What?" Liv gasped out, twitching a little as the pain in her stomach intensified for a moment. "Pregnant?" She laughed mirthlessly. "I can't be… I just… I can't."

Regina looked at her thoughtfully for a moment, before looking up as the door opened. Emma followed after Ruby and Blue looking between her wife and daughter worriedly. She made her way to the bed and stood beside Regina, reaching for her hand. Instinctively the brunette took it, neither apparently even noticing the move.

"Where's Nicole?" Regina asked softly. "It's her bedtime."

"Henry's sorting it." Emma assured her, her eyes never leaving Liv. "What's wrong?"

Shooting their daughter a quick look, Regina stood and led Emma away as Blue moved forward to begin her examination. She quickly passed on her suspicions, earning herself a frown from the blonde as she began to question her immediately. With a sigh, Regina simply shook her head and indicated that they should wait for Blue to give her opinion.

"Well?" The Queen snapped after a couple of moments, tired of waiting for the Fairy to tell them what was wrong.

Blue smiled. "Congratulations, you're going to have a baby, Princess." As a stunned silence stretched between all those gathered in the room, Blue chuckled. "I'd say he or she won't be too far behind their aunt or uncle."

"No, no…" Liv shook her head vehemently. "Mom's six months pregnant. There's no way I can be more than a month at the very most."

"I would hazard a guess that this is no normal pregnancy, Your Highness." Blue told her. She chuckled again. "And I use normal in its loosest possible form anyway."

"What are you talking about?" The young woman snapped. The pain in her abdomen and her confusion was making her more bad-tempered than usual and she wasn't in the mood for cryptic explanations.

"With Ruby's genetic makeup, the fact that your body still reacts unpredictably to magic and the potion that the Queen has been brewing for you I would expect some alteration to the normal pattern of a pregnancy. My best guess is that you will experience a shortened gestation period, meaning that your baby will grow at an accelerated rate." Blue tried to explain, earning herself a confused frown from the Princess. "In simple terms, your baby is growing much faster than normal so your pregnancy will be much quicker."

"How long?" Ruby asked, climbing onto the bed beside Liv and holding her hand tightly.

"Perhaps six months?"

"I don't understand this…"

Ruby laughed and bent to kiss her softly. "Babe… this is what we wanted. We're having a baby!"

"May I?" Blue asked, indicating towards Liv's stomach.

The Princess sighed and nodded, allowing the Fairy to continue her examinations. After a couple of moments Blue pulled out her wand and held it over her abdomen. As she began to mutter quietly under her breath, her wand began to glow softly. Then Blue smiled widely as three small balls of light floated from the tip of the wand and seemed to hover over the material of Liv's gown before vanished from view.

"What was that?" Emma demanded, stepping forward and pulling her wife with her.

"That was the proof that Liv is carrying not one child, but three." Blue said.

The Princess thought she was going to faint. "Triplets?"

"Mmm… the potion the Queen made you… did you stick to the doses she told you?"

"I may have upped it slightly…" Liv admitted with a wince. "Nothing was happening!"

Regina blushed and bit her lip, causing Emma to arch an eyebrow at her. "I may have increased the strength a little as well."

"That explains that, then." Blue nodded, stepping back and allowing the two Queens to approach their daughter's bedside. "It also means that, rather than being born in about six months, I would expect the future Princes or Princesses to arrive in no more than four months' time."

With a smile, the Fairy backed out of the room, leaving the four women to come to terms with the news in their own time. Liv gripped Ruby's hand so tightly that she was sure there would be marks on her skin for a while after she let go. Her wife, however, was grinning excitedly, smoothing one hand over the barely there swell of Liv's stomach. Emma and Regina watched them in silence, trying to get their head around the fact that in three months they would be grandmothers; again.

"Triplets?" Ruby asked, still trying to get her head around what she'd just been told.

"Four months…" Liv muttered, gripping her hand even more tightly.