A/N: This is just a fluffy piece. I saw a Cracked video making fun of Youtube pregnancy announcement videos, and I started thinking about how a GOOD announcement would go. This is what I came up with... It was literally written on my phone during a long car ride. This is all to say that it is not meant to line up perfectly with canon. I'm also not going to hold myself to this if I ever decide to create some elaborate headcanon. But feel free to let me know your thoughts!

Bess looked at the readout. Two little blue lines looked back at her. She had already known she was pregnant, but seeing the test she knew for sure. She was completely elated. She and Henry had decided about six months before that they wanted a child, and they had been trying ever since.

She knew Henry would also be thrilled, but she wasn't sure how to tell him. It was big news, of course, and Henry was such a contemplative person. He could get lost in his head if she let him, and so she wanted to make sure Henry would be focused on the moment instead of the impending change in their lives.

Bess spent several days deciding how best to tell Henry. Elaborate schemes seemed wrong. So much of their relationship was private and quiet. Bess was also hesitant to involve anyone else. This moment needed to be held between just the two of them. She decided that the thing to do would be to tell him right after Sunday Mass. Henry tended to be the most grounded and present after Mass.

Finally, Sunday came. Bess could barely focus on the Mass. Even though the prayers and motions were very familiar to her by now, her mind was elsewhere. She also didn't have the benefit of being raised Catholic, as Henry did. Even while she occasionally forgot to cross herself or stand, Henry didn't seem to notice too much. Once Mass was over, and everyone started getting up to leave, Bess couldn't contain her excitement anymore.

"Come on, Henry. Let's go." Bess was anxious to be outside the cathedral.

Henry knelt to genuflect and then looked at his wife.

"I'm coming, babe. What's wrong? You okay?" Henry could sense her agitation. For all of Bess's efforts, Henry knew something was up.

"I'm fine. I just want to beat the crowd." She tried to avoid his intense gaze.

"Alright. I've got you. We can go home and whip up some lunch."

He put his arm around her waist and led her out the doors of the church. Henry stopped to speak to the priest about the homily, but Bess tried to hurry him along. She wasn't ready for another discussion of some saint's long forgotten manuscript. Henry didn't seem surprised that his wife wasn't interested in the conversation. She supported his interests, but she had always been more interested in moving forward instead of trying to bring the past with her. She managed to pull him away from the priest, and get him outside. But just as they got to the bottom of the stairs, Bess stopped him.

"Hang on a minute, Henry." Bess took a breath. This was it. Showtime.

"What's up?" Henry was confused by her change in momentum.

"Would you kiss me?" Bess looked up at him with wide eyes.

Henry laughed. "Always."

They kissed sweetly, aware that their entire church could be watching. Elizabeth tried to tell him with her kiss that she needed him to respond well. Since finding out she was pregnant, she had gotten a little nervous. A child would change everything. She was ready, but it was still scary. She needed Henry to be happy about it - to be happy with her.

"I love you, Bess. You sure there isn't something you haven't told me?" Henry wasn't dumb. Something was definitely up.

"Well actually, I do have something to tell you..."

Henry tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. He didn't interrupt her; instead he showed her that she had his full attention.

She took his hand in hers and pulled it to her waist.

"I'm pregnant. We're having a baby." Her heart skipped a beat waiting for his reaction.

Henry's eyes never left hers. His hand moved to caress just below her belly button.

"Are you-" Bess started to ask if he was happy. His expression was unreadable. But before she could get the words out, his mouth suddenly moved to cover hers in a searing kiss, his arms holding her fiercely.

"I've never been so happy in my entire life. You are so wonderful." Henry reached up to hold her face gently. "Darling, you are so marvelous. I love you."

Bess threw her arms around him, holding him tight.

Holding his wife tightly to him, Henry couldn't contain his excitement. He picked her up and spun her in a circle. Both their smiles were evident to anyone looking.

Bess squealed. "Henry!" But she was happier than she had been in months.

"I've got you, babe."

Henry held her to him, letting her toes gently brush the ground.

"I've got you, don't worry. I'm going to take good care of you and our little family."

"I couldn't have asked for a better father for our children." Contentment washed over Bess. She had absolutely no regrets. This was the man she wanted to spend her life with, and this was the man she wanted to help raise their children.

"You are already the most amazing mother." Henry meant it. Her happiness was infectious.

"When this baby is screaming at three in the morning, you may have to remind me."

"I'll never let you forget." With that, Henry gathered Bess in another tender hug.

Bess reflected later that this announcement really couldn't have gone any better. It was the most beautiful moment. Occasionally, she wished she had had someone film it, but there was a certain mystery to such an important moment belonging only to them. Under towering trees, in front of hundreds of people, but noticing none of them. Elizabeth tried to remember that moment when there was a particularly bad news cycle. Their family had always been in the public eye, but when there was such strong love, the outside scrutiny didn't matter.