Pins & Needles (Michael Jackson)

Epilogue

"Happy birthday, Maia!"

The overwhelming feeling of love pulled on Michael's heartstrings at simultaneously uttering the exciting statement with his wife. They both watched as their daughter stood up in her crib, using the railing for extra support as she bounced in her excitement. She smiled brightly, her newly-growing teeth shining through.

For the past three years, the couple had been living in nothing but pure ecstasy. The groundbreaking success of Off The Wall led Michael to begin the process of creating his second album; Thriller, which he was grateful to be releasing later that year. It'd also been a time to watch his daughter grow into the perfect morph of him and the love of his life. He almost couldn't believe the position he'd been in before Celeste changed all of that.

Celeste smiled at Maia, kissing the curls on the top of her head. "How does it feel to finally be three?" she asked her enthusiastically.

"Gweat!" Maia answered in a high-pitched voice. "I'm a big girl now!"

"You sure are, Princess!" Michael responded joyfully as he picked her up out of the crib before letting her rest on his hip. "Are you ready to have a great day today?"

Maia nodded eagerly. "More than ready!" she squealed as she clapped her hands together in delight.

With that, Michael and Celeste proceeded to get their daughter ready for her special day. They'd waited much too long for this day, yet dreading it at the same time, as they had to acknowledge the fact that there was no way of stopping their pride and joy from growing up. Nevertheless, they continued to push away the overwhelming emotions that threatened to release themselves.

Once all of their necessary tasks were completed, the three of them headed for the kitchen, and there awaited the first of many birthday surprises for Maia.

"Okay, Maia, are you ready for your first birthday surprise?" Michael questioned, his excitement mirroring the innocent child's in front of him.

"Yes, yes, yes!" Maia couldn't help the squeals of glee from escaping her lips, and with her words ringing in Michael's ears, he walked towards to fridge as he opened it to reveal her surprise. The slice of cake that he held tightly in his grasp caused Maia's jaw to nearly drop on the table beneath her as he set on neatly in front of her before taking a seat himself. "Cake for bweakfast?"

Celeste sat down in the chair across from her. "Well, of course!" she exclaimed. "Only the best for our birthday girl!" Her words caused Maia to blush deeply—a trait that'd definitely come from Michael—and before Celeste could utter another word, Maia's tiny fingers were already searching the delicious treat. "Slow down there!" She then signaled for Michael to reach for the Polaroid camera he'd kept at his side. "It's picture time."

Michael took his cue to grab the camera out of its bag, preparing to capture what would soon be a lifelong memory he'd replay in his mind over and over again. He held it up to his eye as he smiled graciously, and had it returned by their precious child. "Say 'cheese'!"

"Cheeeeese!" Maia shined a dramatic smile at the camera, which caused Michael and Celeste to laugh heartily with each other.

For the remaining amount of time, the three of them simply enjoyed their time together, and Michael felt at peace at the sight of his two girls interacting with each other in such a way that made his heart dance repeatedly. He knew that he'd have his heartstrings pulled on many more times throughout the day, and the thought of that caused his lips to curl into a smile he couldn't hide.

***

An overwhelming rush of excitement was the only thing going through Michael and Celeste as they each held one of Maia's hands, opening the gates to the Amusement Park they'd reserved her birthday party at. They'd closed it down to the general public, as Michael's ever-growing fame continued increasing rapidly, which he didn't know how to handle at times.