The first kiss you have is always the sweetest, and the first battle you fight is always the toughest.

Having never fought a battle Goldie had no clue how accurate the last of those statements was, but apparently the sentiment could be applied to numerous things, at least according to her mother. Upon learning her eldest daughter was pregnant, she hadn't wasted a breath in giving her child raising tips, as well as ones that would help her through pregnancy.

"Remember," she had said. "The first one is always the toughest. With subsequent children you have more of an idea of what to expect."

Kinda jumping ahead there, Goldie had thought to herself. Of course, she hadn't said that, as she knew her mother was only trying to help, but considering where they lived and how much of a faff it had been to get pregnant in the first place Goldie thought her chances of having a second child were slim to none.

It had been several weeks since she had seen the test, and although she wasn't hugely far along at this point she was already feeling rather self conscious about her appearance. Although she had a bit of a bump, she could more easily conceal it. Partly as she didn't feel she wanted to reveal it yet. She knew there was still a risk she could lose the baby this far along, and as such she thought it best to wait a bit longer before informing her colleagues.

Though she had already informed her manager of her condition. Mainly so he would get the appropriate provisions into place ready for her maternity leave. That still felt like a million years off, even if it was only about 3 months away.

She'd just have to get used to it.

Twenty weeks in and she already felt like a blimp. At this point she'd already informed her colleagues at VivaRail of her pregnancy, and the response had been, as she had hoped, very supportive. Her friends, naturally, wanted to find out whether she was having a boy or a girl.

Goldie had been given the option at the checkup, but she chose not to find out.

"Why?" one of her fellows at work had asked. "I'm not judging you, I'm just genuine curious."

Goldie smiled. "I want it to be a surprise," she said. "Though this does mean Argyle and I may have to do a bit of guesswork when it comes to painting their bedroom."

"Why not blue?" another voice suggested. "I know that was traditionally a feminine colour, but it's become very popular as a gender neutral one."

Goldie nodded, adjusting her position in her seat to give her a bit more comfort. Although she wasn't enormous yet, she did have to watch her posture as it could cause issues with her spine. "I'll keep that in mind. I mean, I do wear a lot of blue so it's possible they may pick that up." She glanced at the clock. "Right, back to work I think."

"Be careful!" said another person.

Goldie rolled her eyes. "Having a football attached to my stomach does not limit my ability to use a keyboard."

Though she wouldn't be like a football for much longer. As her bump grew so did her perception of self consciousness. As much as she wanted to have a child, she didn't really enjoy all the attention she was getting, especially from random strangers. Children she could understand (apart from them asking their mothers why the woman over there was so fat), but adults? Give her a break.

Besides, this had radically altered her appearance, if at least temporarily. Losing all the weight wouldn't be fun, given that she was usually a rather slim woman. Still, if this was the price she had to pay for attaining motherhood, so be it. Besides, she'd already developed something of a personal connection to her child. She was convinced they could understand her, not least as the kicking had started. Lots of kicking.

Sometimes it was like a football match in there.

One evening, Argyle and Goldie were discussing potential names. Of course, this was made slightly more challenging by the fact they didn't know the gender.

"How about something that starts with S?" Goldie suggested.

"I like that," Argyle said. "Names starting with S do somewhat run in the family (apart from me and my siblings, of course), but it'd be a good idea to have two ready to go given, well-"

"We don't know if they are a boy or a girl," Goldie replied. "My grandfather was a Samuel, so I think that could be a good fit."

"And I'll admit I've always been fond of the name Sarah," Argyle answered. "Do those sound like good options?"

Goldie nodded, then suddenly moved. "Ooh! I think they like those too!"

"How can you tell?"

"They kicked just after you said that."

Both parents laughed, taking that as a sign of approval.

"You still love me like this, right?"

Argyle looked over to Goldie, his face visibly confused. "Of course I do! What made you think otherwise?"

A lot more weeks had passed, and Goldie was now on maternity leave. Without her job to distract her mind she was now focusing a lot more on her impending motherhood, and both parents had been at work setting up the second bedroom for their kid. The usual things; a crib, a mobile on the ceiling, painting the walls blue, and other myriad items a baby might want.

Goldie appeared to be struggling, though. Her steadily increasing size meant she find doing some tasks difficult, which she found very annoying. That and she seemed to be worried.

Still, this question from his wife caught Argyle by surprise, so he crossed to the other side of the table to comfort her. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Sorry. I can't help but feel self conscious when I'm carrying a basketball around," she said. "I know I've put a lot of weight on, and it's probably not true- but sometimes I feel like I'm in the running for biggest person in the world."

Argyle pulled her into a hug. "Goldie, I love you for who you are, and I always will," he said. "No matter what size you are, you will always be the light of my life. Meeting you was the best thing that ever happened to me, and there is nothing, come Hell or High Water, that would make me even consider leaving. You're the most beautiful woman to have ever lived, not just on the outside but what's inside your heart."

"You've said that before," Goldie said, starting to feel better.

Argyle smiled. "That's because it's true. Now then, let me help you clean this up."

Goldie snorted. "I can do it myself! I'm pregnant, not immobile!"

Goldie's anxiety was heightened. This was because the most difficult part of the journey was on the horizon.

Birth.

For obvious reasons, Goldie had no clue what to expect, but thankfully they'd already made arrangements. They knew her due date, so a few nights earlier they'd head up the valley. Falmouth didn't have a hospital, but Truro did, and Goldie (quite understandably) wanted to have her child where medical professionals were on standby to help.

That and they'd have painkillers. She had been warned they could have side effects, but if it was that or several hours in agony she knew which she'd rather pick.

There was just one slight problem. The due date had come and gone, and nothing. As it was considered dangerous to continue too far past the due date, she was going tomorrow to be induced.

That night, she sat there and gently rubbed her bump. "Not long now," she said to her little one. "I can't wait to meet you. I know I've been carrying you around in there for a while, but I know the world out there will be just as welcoming for you as it was for me."

She sighed and looked up at the stars. Soon there would be one more.

On a cold January morning, early in the morning, Goldie Starshine welcomed her child into the world.

Truth be told, she didn't remember a whole lot about the process itself, but she held her child in her arms for the first time she couldn't help but feel emotional.

"It's a girl," the doctor informed her. "Congratulations, Mrs Starshine."

Goldie smiled, trying to resist crying as she held her little girl in her arms. "Hello Sarah," she said quietly. "Welcome to the world. I'm your mommy."

The child simply looked back at her with wide eyes.

Argyle was now in the room, and he looked with an equal amount of wonder. "She has your eyes," he said.

Goldie glanced over to the paperwork he was holding. "Make sure not to make any spelling mistakes."

Argyle recorded the given name carefully, before pausing over the middle name. "What should we use as a middle name?"

There was a moment's pause, then both spoke together. "Starscout."

As they both looked at their child, both parents could not be more content. Though they couldn't have come from more different backgrounds, they couldn't have formed a more perfect union.

He was the star that shone on the path she followed.

She was the light of his life, a sky of the infinite possibilities their marriage brought.

Together, they were a sky full of stars.

Author's Note

Well, here we are, at the end of another tale. Seeing as I've sprinkled clues as to their backstory throughout the setting, it only seemed fitting to bring the ballad of Argyle and Goldie to life as best I could.

This was also a surprisingly tough chapter to write, and one that needed quite a bit of research as I was very keen to avoid Hollywood pregnancy.

If any of you are interested, I may write a follow-up depicting their early years of family life. But until then, this is The Blue EM2 signing off.