Tangled Luck Epilogue

Epilogue – Double Luck


Eight months later.

Rapunzel stirred.  Her eyes blinked open and she moaned.  She hadn’t meant to fall asleep.  God, she was all stiff and achy.  She moaned again and turned on her back, her round belly coming up with her.
“Mm, did you enjoy the nap?” she asked rubbing her tummy.
“More than likely.”  
Rapunzel turned her head and saw Eugene standing in the doorway with a plate in his hands.  He wasn’t wearing a shirt and Rapunzel saw four of the five scars from the gunshots.  The scar tissue spread out like a spider’s web, a horrible, discolored reminder.
Eugene limped into the room.
He’d just had the seventh and final surgery on his leg two months ago.  It was healing nicely, the doctors said.  It was his shoulder that was taking the longest to heal.  After surgery number three, Eugene got an infection and he had gotten really sick.  Thankfully, he recovered, but the doctors were going to wait another month before the fourth surgery.  He should have had it back in February, but they didn’t want to take a chance.
As Eugene sat down on the bed, Rapunzel turned on her side to face her husband.
That word still sent tingles down her spine.
They were married September eighteenth.  It had been a simple ceremony.  The wedding and reception were both at the Kings’ penthouse.  It was just them, the close little group of family and friends.  Max was Eugene’s best man and Raven was Rapunzel’s maid of honor.  An ordained minister married them on the roof of the penthouse, by the pool, overlooking the cityscape of New Sonnenburg, with the ocean just barely visible on the horizon.  
Rapunzel’s mind kept going back to that day.  She’d never been so happy before in all her life.  It was magical to her, and to Eugene as well.  She had not had an aisle to walk down, but walking out of the elevator on the arm of Mr. King was just as good.  Eugene was standing in the shade of the pool awning, and as soon as he saw Rapunzel, his knees knocked together.  He was on crutches, so they kept him from falling over, but it was so apparent that he’d been struck by her beauty.  Rapunzel loved his dumbstruck expression; it was her most favorite memory from her wedding.
Eugene leaned down to her on the bed and kissed her.
“So, the fair princess rises?”
“Mm, how long was I asleep?”
“Two hours maybe.”
“Geez, I didn’t mean to take a nap.”
“Eh, you probably needed one; the due date is any day now.”
“Yeah.  What time is it?”
“A little after six.”
It was March thirteenth and like the year before, it was raining outside.  Fat drops of water pelted the windows.  It might have been the droll of the rain that had lulled Rapunzel to sleep.
She saw the plate that Eugene had brought in.
“What’s that?”
“Your dinner,” he said simply.  “Peanut butter with pickles and sauer kraut.”
Rapunzel tried to sit up, but quite couldn’t do it.  Eugene kneeled on the bed and pulled her up.  She crossed her legs.
“What makes you think I want that for dinner?”
“Because,” Eugene said as he sat down, “you’ve been asking for it for the last three weeks.”
“Mm, never assume anything with a pregnant woman.”  Rapunzel leaned into Eugene’s face.  “I feel like spaghetti.”
He sighed, exasperated.
“Of course you would want something normal.”
“With sauer kraut.”
“Something normal-ish,” Eugene corrected himself.  “I always thought you said you’d never eat sauer kraut.  Now it seems to be all you eat.”
“Eh, it’s the pregnant hormones.”  Rapunzel put her hand on the top of her full tummy.  “Ugh, I wish I was in labor already.”
“You won’t be saying that when you are,” Eugene grinned, putting a hand over hers on her belly.
“But I’m so tired of being pregnant,” Rapunzel whined.  “I feel fat, my legs hurt, my ankles hurt, my boobs hurt, and I can’t take anything even for a headache.  I’m just so done,” Rapunzel moaned.
Eugene kissed her gently.
“Any day now, Rapunzel.”  He stroked her face and Rapunzel closed her eyes at his loving touch.  “But you know,” Eugene said, and his voice had changed, “sex has been known to induce labor.”  His hands went inside her shirt to caress her.
Rapunzel mewled.
“Mm, Eugene, I just said my breasts hurt.”
“But aren’t I gentle?”
Rapunzel had taken to wearing no bra, unless she went out, because they squished her chest too much.  She’d gone up three cups and was not used to the uncomfortable awkwardness of large breasts.  Still, even though she was tender, she still reacted to Eugene’s touch.  She almost fell into him, ready to submit to desire, but her stomach had other ideas.
Gurrrrummmbbbllleee.
Both Eugene and Rapunzel looked down at her belly.  Eugene sighed.
“I suppose edible substance is more important than desirable substance.  Do we even have spaghetti in the apartment?” Eugene asked as he got up to leave the bedroom.
Rapunzel hauled herself off the bed and followed him into the kitchen.
“I don’t know, but I could also go for shrimp fried rice and pot stickers and pizza and a whole chocolate cake.”
“A chocolate cake?  Are you trying to put yourself in a sugar coma?  And then you complain about being fat.”  
Rapunzel playfully slapped his back.  He laughed it off and turned into the kitchen.  As he went, Rapunzel saw the scar from the exit wound on his lower back.  She put her hand on it, just to cover it up.
“Rapunzel?”  Eugene cocked his head back around at her.  She looked up at him.  She opened his arms and hugged him close to her.  She pressed a kiss to the scar above his heart.
“I wish there was some way I could make these disappear forever.  I hate them.”  
Eugene wrapped his arms around her.
“I know, but there’s not much to be done, is there.”
“I guess.”
“Come on,” Eugene released her.  “I know what will cheer you up; food.”  He limped into the kitchen.  “If we don’t have what you want, want to go out?”
“Not really,” Rapunzel said, sitting down at the dining table.  She still felt so tired and now her stomach was starting to hurt.  “I look absolutely terrible today.”
“You look beautiful.”
“You have to say that, you’re my husband.”
“Happy wife, happy life.”
Rapunzel shook her head at his quip.  She frowned at the pain in her midsection and put a hand on her belly as she felt the life inside stretch.
“Yeah,” she said to her child, “you want out too, don’t you?”  She sighed and was suddenly uncomfortable, sitting in a puddle of fluids.  “Oh, shit.”  The contractions stared up; that’s what that had been.  They weren’t painful, yet, just annoying.  “Uh, Eugene.”
“Yeah?”
“Go get the car keys.”
“Why?  You change your mind out eating out?”  He walked out of the kitchen and saw her gripping the edge of the table and shushing out quick breaths.
“Because it’s time,” she breathed out.
Eugene stood at attention.
“Seriously?”  His voice cracked ever so slightly.  “Okay, okay, we’re, we’re going to be calm about this, okay?  Completely calm.”  He didn’t sound calm.  “What do I do first?  What do I do first?  Get your bag, right.”  He ran into the bedroom, tripping over a laundry basket.  He came back out, a shirt half thrown on with an overnight sack and a pair of Rapunzel’s shoes in his hands.  He slipped the shoes on her feet and helped her up.  “Then I get the car keys, right?”
“Yes,” Rapunzel squeaked out.
“Right, can’t go anywhere.”  He scooped the keys off the dining table and opening the door, pulled Rapunzel’s purse off its hook on the wall and shut the door.
Rapunzel stared at it, waiting for Eugene to realize he was missing something.  It only took a few seconds.
He opened the door, now sounding even more panicked.  
“Wife!  I forgot my wife.”  He put a hand on her back and helped her out.
“And to think, you’re going to be a father in the next twenty four hours.”
It was a Thursday night and for some reason, everyone and their uncle was out to hit the bars, clubs, and other hot spots in New Sonnenburg.  Eugene and Rapunzel got stuck in all sorts of traffic, and every red light was out to get them.
“I don’t believe this.  The hospital is ten minutes away from us and we’ve been on the road for nearly half an hour,” Eugene said, honking at the line of cars in front of him.
“Keep in mind, honey,” Rapunzel said, trying to take her mind off the contractions, “you took a wrong turn.”
“I told you, it was a short cut!”
“Honey, calm down.”  She patted his leg.  “The contractions aren’t even that close together yet.”
“I am calm, babe.  I don’t know why you keep telling me to calm down.  I’m completely calm and, WILL YOU MOVE YOUR FUCKING ASS!”  Eugene pressed his hand to the horn.
Rapunzel sighed and looked out the window.  She was going to leave Eugene to his own devices.  At least the contractions weren’t too painful.
They arrived at the hospital with a very agitated Eugene and an annoyed Rapunzel.  Between a red light and the entrance to St. Augustine’s the contractions had suddenly decided to be closer together and Rapunzel was breathing through the pain, Eugene coaching her the whole way.
“Just breathe, okay?  Just breathe.”  They walked up to the reception desk.  “My labor is in wife, I mean my wife is in labor.”  The nurse barely looked at him.
“Okay.”  She motioned for one of the other nurses to get a wheel chair.  “And what is your name?”
“Didn’t you just hear me?  My wife is in labor.”
“And we’re seeing to it.”  The other nurse brought the wheel chair behind Rapunzel.  She sat down, grateful to be off her feet.
“Now, sir, you need to fill out some paper work while we get your wife comfortable.”
“You’re taking her away from me?”
“Eugene, just do what the lady says,” Rapunzel huffed out.  The waves of pain were becoming sharper.
“Okay, sweetie, just breathe, okay, breathe, breathe.”
“Eugene, I swear to God, if you tell me to breathe one more time, I will punch you in the face!”  His voice was so irritating.
“Okay, not gonna talk anymore.”
The nurse began to wheel Rapunzel away.
“As soon as you fill this out,” Eugene was handed a clipboard full of paperwork, “you can go be with your wife.”  He stared at the sheets of paper.
“What is all this?”
“Eugene,” called Rapunzel who was already down the hall, “make sure you call your parents.”
“Parents?  Oh, right, yes.”  Eugene still stared at the paperwork.  “None of this makes sense.”



It was eight thirty six A.M., March fourteenth and everyone watched Mrs. King as she paced the waiting room floor, threatening to wear a trench in the linoleum.
“Oh, this is agonizing!  I can’t stand not being in there with my son and daughter.”
“Dear, why don’t you just sit down?”  Nic reached for her hand.
“I’m too nervous to sit.  And that isn’t helping.”  She pointed a finger up at the TV.  It was the local news, covering the case of Donna Gothel.
“The jury is still out as of this moment as to whether they find Donna Gothel guilty for the attempted murder of Eugene Fitzherbert and the kidnapping of Rapunzel Moore, as well as other charges.”  
No one really wanted to hear the story, but they listened anyway.  They really couldn’t help it.  
“Last August, on the night of the fifth, Gothel entered Music’s Dream Music store and shot Fitzherbert five times.  Fitzherbert is the foster child of Nicolas and Isabelle King of Corona Enterprises.  You may remember this statement they made the day after their son’s shooting.”  The screen flicked to the nearly year old footage of the Kings.  
‘“We want to know why the man we love, why the boy we call our son, was shot five times.  Why did his attacker find it necessary to maliciously hurt him in this manner?  Though we cannot hate the person who did this, we want them to do what's right and turn themselves in.’”  
The anchorman came back on.  “Later, the Kings stated they felt no pity for Gothel.  Three days after Fitzherbert had been shot, Rapunzel Moore, Fitzherbert fiancé at the time, was found in Porter, a town outside of New Sonnenburg, after being kidnapped by her aunt.  At the time, Moore was pregnant and the police put many hours and man power in to find her.”
The camera switched to a newswoman.
“When they appeared in court for the first time, the family did not want to be interviewed.”  Again different footage came up.  Eugene was in a wheel chair being pushed by his mother, Rapunzel walking right beside him, her face still slightly bruised.  Mr. King was fending off the camera men and reporters, as were a few of his company body guards.
“In the court room, the witnesses were calm and collected, recounting the events of the ordeal.”  Video of Eugene on the stand appeared.  The DA was questioning him.
“Did you think she was going to harm you the night she entered your place of work?”
“No.  She said she just wanted to talk,” Eugene answered, not showing any emotion.  His eyes kept breaking from the pacing lawyer to look off screen.  Only the assembled watching the TV knew he was looking at Rapunzel.
“Did you think she was going to harm Miss Moore?”
“She said she wanted to talk.”
“Answer the question,” said the judge.
“No.”
“But the defendant has a history of being violent with her niece, doesn’t she?”
Eugene took a sharp intake of breath.
“She only hit her once before and she was high at the time.”
The reporters came back on, sitting at their studio desk.
“When Moore took the stand, she surprisingly remained placid and unemotional, considering the familial bond with the defendant.”
Rapunzel sitting at the stand came up.  Even with the little wood wall of the stand in front of her, one could tell she was quite a few months along.  This time, it was Donna’s lawyer who was asking the questions.
“And you believed the photos?”
“Yes.”
“Might I inquire as to why?”
“They were very convincing.”  She was deadpan in her answer.
“It was not your hormones changing due to being pregnant, or were these doubts already in your head.”
“Objection!”
“I withdraw the question.  Nothing further.”
The anchors flipped back on, to continue with the recap of the last eight months.
“Geez, the court footage is like watching an episode of Perry Mason,” Pascal said.
“Except, Perry is the DA and Burger is council,” Max replied.
“These stories just infuriate me,” Isabelle said.  “Showing all that old footage, the crime scene, the in depth stories, the court room.  I swear, if I get one more call from Dateline or 60 Minutes, we are buying every news station and destroying all the footage,” she said to her husband.  He only shrugged.
“I agree with you, Isabelle,” Mr. Hook said.  “All this plastered over the news, I just keep seeing that night in my head, and I rather not remember.”  Vlad patted his old friend’s back.
“They’re going to make their decision today,” Jeff said, his arm around Raven’s shoulders.  “The jury.  Kind of weird that Rapunzel would go into labor the same day.”
“Yeah, it’s like, today is the official end of all this,” Raven said.
The assembled could not help but notice that Raven was starting to show.  She herself was pregnant now, about three months in.  They thought about making mention, but there would be a different time for that.
“And in an act that shocked everyone,” the TV continued, “Gothel herself took the stand.  Her testimony coincides with council’s claim of self-defense in shooting Fitzherbert.”
Once again, footage came up of a primped Donna in a muted red two piece woman’s suit.  She was dabbing at her eyes with a tissue.
“I really did try to be a guardian to her in the beginning, but I was distraught; I’d just lost my sister and I was scared of the responsibilities of motherhood.  But that night, when I went to the music store, I told Eugene I just wanted to talk, I wanted to know how my niece was, but he became angry and was yelling, threatening me.  Before I knew it, my gun was out of my purse and it had gone off more times than I meant it to.”
“Then how do you explain the fact that forensic evidence shows you shot my son in the leg while he was on his back?” Mrs. King yelled at the television.  “This, this right here is what infuriates me.  That woman lied on the stand, under God, and probably because of that, that’s why the jury is taking so long, because her lawyer just had to bring up Eugene’s juvenile record.  As if that matters; the records were sealed.  Isn’t it enough for Eugene to say ‘she shot me’ and Rapunzel say ‘she kidnapped me and beat me?’  I swear.”
“Dear, don’t get mad.”
“I’m not mad.”  She took a deep breath.  “I’m just… irritated.  I want all this to finally be done with.”  Mr. King stood and finally managed to pull his wife into his arms and got her to sit down.
“Geez,” Raven said, “it sure is taking forever.  Poor Rapunzel has been labor for the last fourteen hours.  They never mentioned any potential complications, did they,” she inquired to the Kings.
“No,” said Mr. King.  “Actually, the two of them haven’t told us much about the pregnancy.  They’d return from the doctor and just say everything is fine.”
“You don’t know anything, do you?”  Raven turned to Max and Pascal.
“Nope.”
“Rapunzel hasn’t said much to me,” Pascal said.  “She complains a lot, but nothing else.”
Hm, that was odd.  No one had really realized until now that neither Eugene nor Rapunzel had mentioned anything about the baby to any of them.  They didn’t even know the gender of the child.
“I’m sure everything is fine,” Mrs. King said.
“After the final day in court, Fitzherbert and Moore, who are now married, gave a statement.”  The TV just wouldn’t shut up and Eugene and Rapunzel appeared on the screen.  The footage was from a few days ago and Rapunzel had a hand over her stomach.  Eugene had his arm around her shoulders and they were standing under an umbrella.
“Whatever the jury’s decision is, my wife and I are not going to let it control our lives.  Though, we obviously are not going to forgive Donna-“
“We wish that she can find peace with herself,” Rapunzel cut Eugene off.  “We sincerely hope that she will find happiness in her own time.”
The reporters tried to get more out of them, but Eugene led Rapunzel away from them.
“God, Rapunzel looked huge,” Pascal said.
“That’s not very nice,” Max tut-tutted him.
“Well, she did and you know she would say it herself.”
No one could argue that.
“I’m really starting to worry,” Mrs. King said as she checked her wrist watch.  “It’s almost nine and still no word.  You’d think Eugene would at least text us or something.”
Suddenly, a doctor and nurse in scrubs walked in.  Both were smiling.
“Are you all here for Rapunzel Fitzherbert?”
They all stood.
“Yes.”
“Well, we’re very happy to say that mom and babies are doing fine.”
“Oh what a relief.”  Cheers and laughter went around as did hugs and a little bit of tears.  Then the doctor’s words sank in deeper.
“Wait, babies?” Mr. King asked.
“Oh, yes.  Mrs. Fitzherbert had twins.”
“T-twins?” stuttered more than one.
“I knew she was too big to be having just one kid,” Raven said to Jeff.
“Uh-huh.  A boy and a girl.  You can see them as soon as dad is bandaged up.
“Wait, what happened to Eugene?” Mrs. King asked, panicked.
“He didn’t faint and bang his head, did he?” Max inquired jokingly, grinning.
“No.  Mom broke his hand.”  They all refrained form letting their jaws drop.
“It happens more times than you think,” the nurse put in.  “We’ll come get you when they’re ready.”
The nurse and doctor left, leaving the happy friends and family to rejoice in their own way.  Except, all they could think about was Eugene’s broken hand.
“Pascal, did you know Rapunzel had that sort of strength?”
“No.”  He was sincerely shocked, even through his amusement at Rapunzel breaking Eugene’s hand.
“Well,” Vlad said, “remind me to never make that girl mad.”
They all nodded their heads in agreement.



Rapunzel sat on the hospital bed spent, sweaty, and very, very tired.  Her abdomen still ached from the contractions and her hips hurt even worse.  But more than anything, she was embarrassed.  She looked over at Eugene, who was sitting in a seat, getting his hand put in a cast.  He was grinning at her.
“Don’t you dare say that you’re sorry,” he told her.
“But I am.  I broke your hand.”
“But now it matches the other one.  Besides, I like strong women.”
“Well, how about next time,” the doctor said who was seeing to Eugene, “you don’t tell her to squeeze how much it hurts.  There you go.”  The doctor finished.  “Just don’t let her do it again.”
“Right.”
“I’ll see if the other doctors are finished examining your children.”  The doctor left.
Eugene walked over the Rapunzel, dragging his chair to sit back down in.
“Wow, our children.  I can hardly believe it.”  He placed a kiss on her clammy cheek.  “And how are feeling?”
“I hurt.  I feel like two semis went and stretched my hips.”
“Wow, I didn’t need that mental image.”  Eugene picked up the wet cloth that had been used to dab Rapunzel’s face during the delivery.  He wiped away the rest of her labor.
“Sorry, but it’s true.”
“Mm, I’m sorry to have put you through all that,” Eugene said quietly, stroking her face.
“But I’m happy.  I finally got to meet them.”
“Heh, them.  You know we’re going to be chastised for not telling them about the twins.”
“Oh, I think we can deal.”  Rapunzel was mumbling her words.  She hadn’t slept in nearly a day and she’d just brought two new lives into the world.  She deserved a good rest.
Eugene saw her eyes drooping.
“You know, you can go to sleep.”
“No,” she said sternly.  “One or both of those babies is going to be put in my arms before I go to sleep.  Besides, we have everyone who wants to say hi and see the new additions to our little family.”
“It’s not so little anymore.”
“Oh, right.  Your parent’s announcement.”
“Yep.”
Just then, two nurses wheeled in little carts.  One had pink blankets, the other had blue.
“Here, they are,” sang one of the nurses.  “All wrapped up and ready to be loved.”  Eugene bobbed over to them.
“Oh, my God, they’re so small.”  He grinned like a child at Christmas.  “Can I hold them?”
“Well, you’re the father, aren’t you?”  The nurse gently picked up Eugene’s daughter and put her in his outstretched arms.  She mewed at being moved, but settled against her father’s chest.
“Hey,” he whispered to her.
The other nurse brought their son to Rapunzel and laid him in her arms.  She barely had the strength to hold him, but seeing him seemed to shake off some of her tiredness.
“Hey, you.”
The nurses left, only to let Mr. and Mrs. King, Jeff, Raven, Max, Pascal, Vlad, and Mr. Hook file in.
“I hear daddy got hurt,” Max said teasingly.
“Worth it.”  Eugene presented his little daughter.  Everyone cooed.
“Ooh, can I hold one.”  Mrs. King intended to take her granddaughter.  Eugene recoiled from her hands.
“Uh-uh.  I’m not letting go of her.  Ever.”
“Oh, Eugene,” Rapunzel scoffed.  “Here, Isabelle.”  Rapunzel offered her son to her mother-in-law.  Mrs. King took him, smiling.
“Hello, little one.  I’m you grandmother.”  He yawned at this fascinating information.  “Oh, yes, yawn.  You’ve had a big day.”  She looked up at Eugene.  “Care to explain why you never informed any of us that you two were having twins?”
“That was Rapunzel’s idea.”
“Guilty.  I wanted to surprise you all.”
“Oh, we were surprised,” Mr. Hook said.
“How long did you know?” asked Jeff.  Rapunzel looked up at her husband.
“Uh… three months?”
“Um… I thought it was two abouts.”
“I can’t remember.”
“It was when we heard the heartbeat.”
“Because there were two, instead of one.  It was really hard keeping it a secret, though,” Rapunzel grinned.
“Well, you did a very good job of it,” Raven said, looking for a place to sit down.
“So what are their names?” Pascal asked coming up to peer over Eugene’s shoulder at the baby girl.
“May we introduce Flynn Maximus Fitzherbert,” Eugene said.
“And Celeste Raven Fitzherbert,” Rapunzel said.
Everyone turned to look at Max and Raven.  They looked shell shocked.
“You…named them after us?”
“Their middle names are ours?”
“Why not,” Rapunzel started.
“They way we see it,” Eugene cut in, sitting down on the edge of the bed by Rapunzel, “if it hadn’t been for you two, the four of us might not be here right now.”
“But, we didn’t-“ For once, Raven was nearly speechless.  “Mr. Hook’s the one who found you.”
“And I was just doing my job,” Max put in.
“Will you two just shut up and accept the honor,” Rapunzel said, laughing lightly.
“Raven, it was your blood that kept me from just outright dying.”  Jeff patted her back as she smiled back tears of joy.  “And, Max, of course I’m going to name my son after my best friend, and you also brought my wife back to me.  I can’t think of a better way to thank you than this.”  Eugene took Rapunzel’s hand and smiled at Max and Raven.  Rapunzel smiled at them too.
“T-thank you.” Raven mumbled.
“Yeah, thanks.”
“Oh, look, they’re blushing,” Pascal said.
“Shut up!” said the two blushing namesakes.  The others laughed.
“Well, Flynn and Celeste, grandpa and grandma are going to spoil you,” Isabelle said to little Flynn.
“What about the other kids?” Eugene asked.  “You going to spoil them too?”  Mr. and Mrs. King looked up from admiring their grandson.
“What other kids,” Mr. Hook asked.
“Oh, well, it’s your day, Eugene and Rapunzel.  We didn’t want to…”
“Oh, come on, Dad, just spill the beans.  Mom’s probably about ready to burst with excitement, right?”
“Oh, alright.”  Mr. King pulled out his wallet and produced a picture.  He showed it to the others.  “Isabelle and I are adopting again.”  They all looked at the photograph.  Four little girls, ranging from maybe ten to five, all with braided red hair, grinned for the camera.  They were dressed similarly, in yellow button shirts and purple floral print skirts.
“They’re sisters,” Isabelle said.  “Their parents died just last year and because they are siblings, no one wants to adopt that many.”
“They’re so adorable,” Raven said.
“They are pretty cute,” Vlad agreed.
“When do you get them?” asked Pascal
“Next week,” Mrs. King said delightedly.  “We already told them that they’re going to have a big brother and sister and that they’re going to be aunts.  They’re so excited.”
“Your family just keeps growing, doesn’t it, Mrs. King,” said Max.  She only smiled in response.
Mr. King’s phone suddenly began to ring.  Flynn didn’t like the annoying noise and quietly began to cry.  Mrs. King rocked him in her arms, shushing lightly to him.  Mr. King pulled his phone out.
“Who is it, dear?”
“I have no idea.”  He answered without looking at the ID.  “Hello?  Oh, hello.  Oh, they are.  Well, we can’t come.  We’re at the hospital right now.  No, nothing serious happened.  My daughter-in-law just had her twins.  Yes, I said twins.  Well, thank you.  Yes, everyone is here.  Alright, thank you.”  He pulled his phone away from his ear and hung up.
“Who was it, Dad?”
“The DA.  The jury’s back.”
“Oh,” said everyone.
Rapunzel fished by her bedside table for the TV remote.  She clicked it on and everyone turned as Rapunzel switched to the local news.
“We are live at the court house as we are being told that the jury is back with their verdict on Donna Gothel’s charges.  We go inside now.”  The TV jumped to the inside of the courtroom.  People were filing in.  Donna was sitting with her defense lawyer in a gray lady’s suit. The judge sat down and addressed the jury.
“Speaker of the jury, what is your verdict?”
A single woman stood up.
“We the jury, find Donna Gothel, on the count of premeditated murder, not guilty.”
“WHAT?” shouted Max, Pascal, Vlad, Mr. Hook, Mrs. King and everyone else except for Eugene and Rapunzel.  Eugene squeezed his wife’s hand.
The woman continued.
“On the count of attempted murder, we find the defendant, guilty.”
“YES!”
Eugene glanced down at Rapunzel.  She looked up at him and smiled half-heartedly.
“On the count of premeditated kidnapping, not guilty.  On the count of kidnapping, not guilty.”
“Are you serious?” Pascal shouted at the TV.
“On the count of aggravated battery in the first degree, we find the defendant, Donna Gothel, guilty.”
“Donna Gothel,” said the judge,” you have been found guilty on one count of attempted murder in the first degree and one count of aggravated battery in the first degree.  Your sentencing date will be March twenty-eighth.  Court is adjourned.”  The judge banged his gavel and left his stand.  The camera shifted to watch Donna Gothel be put in hand cuffs and led off by the bailiff.
“We have just learned that Donna Gothel was found guilty for two of her five counts of-“
Rapunzel turned the TV off.  Everyone looked at her, concerned.
“What?  We all knew she was going to go to jail,” she told them.
“But she wasn’t found guilty on all charges,” Pascal said.
“But she was still found guilty.  May I have Flynn, Isabelle?”  Flynn was handed back to his mother.  
“But, she is guilty for the other things,” Max said.
“Technically, she didn’t kidnap me.”  Rapunzel was only looking at Flynn as she spoke.  “I went with her voluntarily.  The police should have charged her with holing one against their will.”
“Rapunzel,” Raven started.
“Guys,” Eugene said, sounding stern for the first time.  “She’s still going to jail.  We can be content with that at least, right?”
They all looked at Rapunzel.
“Yeah.”
“I guess so.”
“I suppose she’ll still have time to think about what she’s done.”
“She won’t be coming back around again.”
They all grew quiet.
Rapunzel’s head began to lull to one said and her eyes drooped.  Eugene handed Celeste to his mother and took Flynn out of his wife’s arms.  
“Okay, everyone.  I’d hate to tell you to get out, but Mom’s really tired and you all have your days to start.
“Oh, alright.”  Everyone came up to hug Rapunzel and give her a kiss.  Eugene put his son and daughter in their cart cribs and kissed his parents good-bye.
“We’ll be back later dear.”
“Mkay.  See you later.”  
They waved goodbye and left.  Eugene wheeled his children over to where he was sitting and sat down next to Rapunzel.  He took her hand.
“How are you doing?”
“Are you asking about the delivery, or the verdict?”
“Both, I guess.”
“I’m just tired.  As for my aunt…” she trailed off.  “I’m glad she wasn’t found guilty on all counts.  She’s still my aunt.  And Eugene, I think, at least I want to think, that she really did want to love me.  I was just tossed into her life and she didn’t know how to cope.  I mean, she always said she should have dumped me in foster care, but she never did.  Why?”  Rapunzel was mumbling and mashing most of her words together and Eugene had to lean in close to understand her.  “She really did try… why else would she have shot you and lied to get me to go with her?  She had no other way she could think of…”  Eugene kissed her temple.
“Shush, go to sleep.  It’s been a long day.”
“It’s morning.”
“Good-night.”
“I don’t want to leave Flynn and Celeste.”
“You won’t.  They’ll be here when you wake up.”
“Will you be here?”
“I’ll always be here.”  Eugene kissed her again.  “Go to sleep.”
“I want a lullaby,” Rapunzel mumbled as she turned over.
“Alright.”  Eugene began to hum.
“Actually sing it.”  Rapunzel sounded like she was already asleep.  Eugene chuckled.
“Flower gleam and glow.  Let your power shine.  Make the clock reverse, bring back what once was mine.”
Rapunzel drifted off to Eugene’s singing, her heart beating slowly with the ecstasy of life.  She’d found her dream and she was living happily ever after.