AN: I do not own Slayers. Fic title is from "This Women's Work" by Kate Bush.

Gourry cursed as Lina shot up out of bed faster than he could. He would have sworn that his instincts were better than hers on everything but one, responding to Lucia when she cried out. Even after staying up half of the night puking her guts out she still got up. And Gourry wanted her to rest. "I'll get her." He called out uselessly.

But Lina had already made it to Lucia's bedroom. She moaned, "Not again!"

Lucia got out of her soaking bed and ran to her as Lina shouted, "I thought we had this potty training thing down! Why can't you make it through the night anymore? How hard can it be…?"

Lucia stopped in her tracks and cried even louder as Lina continued her tirade. Gourry joined them, and Lucia instantly ran to him. He picked her up, causing Lina's rant to lose steam as she watched them. "It's okay, sweetie." Gourry said, "Everyone has accidents. Let's get you cleaned up."

Lucia looked at her mother reproachfully as she cuddled close to her father. Lina's mouth opened and shut a few times as the feeling reasserted itself once again that she just wasn't cut out for this nurturing motherhood stuff. And while she was used to Gourry being better at her at some things in life, namely and exclusively sword fighting, it galled that this one thing that should come so naturally to her came more easily to him. Usually it didn't bother her. But as Lucia got bigger her irritation with it grew.

"I'll go and get a bath ready." She said quietly as Gourry stripped Lucia out of her wet clothes.

"You need to relax and get some rest." He said evenly.

"How am I going to do that when as soon as I fall asleep you'll be leaving for work?"

"Your parents don't mind watching her." He pointed out as they made their way to the bathroom.

"I don't want my parents thinking we're over our heads!" Lina protested as another wave of nausea rose within her, making her wonder why she was even fighting the idea.

Lina started pumping water into the small wooden tub as Gourry set Lucia down in it. "I'm worried about you. You seem sicker this time around, and you're also busy caring for Lucia that you don't have as much time as you need to rest. I'd feel a lot better knowing that…"

"Is that it, or are you just worried that I'm going to snap and hurt Lucia while you're gone?" she spat harshly.

His eyes narrowed as he got a washcloth out, "You know, it's been awhile since I've taken her to work. Get some rest, Lina. You'll thank me once you've had a break."

She opened her mouth to say something, and changed course to lean her head over a bucket as she dry heaved. There simply was nothing left to come up. She sank to the floor and propped herself up against the wall and tried not to feel guilty over just how much the sounds of Lucia splashing in the bath was aggravating her.

Gourry knelt down beside her, keeping a close eye on Lucia as she played with her bath toys, "What would you do if I was you and you were me?"

She felt like crying. She could not remember the last time she had slept for more than three hours at a stretch. The morning sickness was even worse this time, something she had not thought possible. Her hormones were raging. And underlining it all was this feeling of danger. Not from an external threat like a monster or demon, but that something was dangerous about the pregnancy itself.

Lina took a deep breath. May be what she needed was some time to relax. It could help with the hormones and the nebulous feeling. "Fine. You win. Have fun watching her while you work." She said grumpily as she got up and made her way to the bedroom.

Gourry breathed a sigh of relief as he grabbed Lucia from the tub and wrapped her in a towel. "Let's get you dressed." He said as they walked to her bedroom and he pulled out some clothes.

Lina was surprisingly good at dressing her up and kept her dresser stuffed with cute outfits. Gourry was lacking in that particular department. He grabbed a tunic and a pinafore and hoped they matched as he let Lucia brush her own hair. He sat her down to play with her blocks so that he could make breakfast and he wondered if he should take her with him today or risk Lina's ire by dropping her with her parents.

The truth of the matter was that it was a bad time for him to take her up with him. He was training his students hard for an upcoming championship and he just didn't have the time to see that she was occupied and see that they were adequately prepared. And her parents were always eager to help. It was the ribbing that Lina got from her sister that put her off using it more than anything.

"Breakfast!" Gourry called as he sat down a plate for Lucia on the table, and proving herself to truly be their daughter she went running to her chair.

He grabbed his own plate and figured that what Lina didn't know wouldn't hurt her. And hopefully after a day's rest she would be in a better frame of mind to handle it even if she did find out. So after breakfast was finished, Lucia wiped down, and the plates washed and put away he set off with her to their store.

Mrs. Inverse was sweeping out the shop when they came into view. She smiled widely when she saw them and waved. "What do we owe this visit to?" she asked.

"Lina's not feeling well today. Would you mind watching Lucia?"

"Not at all." Mrs. Inverse said as Lucia went running into her arms. "Minding Lucia while running a store is much easier than minding Lina." She frowned, "I must say that Lina must be feeling poorly if she allowed you to dress her. Plaid over blue and orange polka dots?"

Gourry grinned sheepishly, "So they don't match?"

"They clash horribly." Luna said. "So, here to score some free babysitting I see."

"We can pay if it's an issue of money." Gourry said.

"Ignore her." Mrs. Inverse said, "What's wrong with Lina?"

"She can't hold anything down."

"Has she been drinking the ginger tea?"

"It keeps coming back up!"

"That's strange. Well, has she been to a healer?"

Gourry nodded, "She said it was just some rather bad morning sickness."

"Well, I certainly don't mind watching this little one while she gets her strength back. Go on to work and don't worry about us!"

Lina did not sit up when she woke. Not at first. She slowly grabbed some crackers by her bed and ate them, relief sweeping through her when they made no sign of coming back up. Getting some rest had helped. She was still tired, but not mind numbingly so. And she felt more sane and rational. Even if she still could not shake the feeling that there was something dangerous about the pregnancy!

She bit her lip and told herself for the umpteenth time that she was being foolish. It battled with the conviction that she needed to go to Seyruun. As soon as she thought of Seyruun the dangerous feeling subsided. She sighed and shook her head, glancing at the clock. Gourry should be getting off work soon, and she wanted to surprise him by having dinner made.

She slowly got up, doing her best to ignore the nausea churning in her stomach. She dressed and headed to the kitchen with plans on making a simple soup and bread, only to find that they were out of bread. With a sigh she headed out to make a quick run to the bakery.

It was actually nice to go outside and get some fresh air. She found that she could almost forget about the nausea as she walked. The nebulous feeling was another matter. It pricked at her like a burr in a sock, and despite her best efforts it proved impossible to shake. As she left the residential part of town and made her way to the merchant's quarter she wondered if it was genuine intuition or just a part of herself looking for an excuse to travel. For two years she had stayed put in one place, something she had not done since she was a child. And someone with her sense of wanderlust was bound to get antsy. But traveling with a child so young did not seem like a good idea. So they stayed put.

Was her mind just fabricating a reason to visit Seyruun? Or was there some genuine trouble brewing ahead? She shook her head in exasperation as she came upon the bakery, right across the street from her parents' store. She did a double take when she saw her daughter looking out the window, hands pressed to the glass with a wide grin plastered across her face, dressed in a nightmarish combination that only Gourry could have picked out.

Lina groaned as she changed course and stormed into her parents' store, ready to raise some hell. "Mommy!" Lucia cried as she clung to her leg.

Lina's tirade lost its steam before it even began. After yelling at her this morning it felt good to know that all was forgiven. And she didn't want to upset it by launching into another tirade. As she knelt down to kiss her on the cheek she asked, "Hey, what are you doing here?"

"She's helping." Lina's mother said, "For some reason having a cute kid in the store helps bring in the revenue."

"But Gourry said he would take her with him to day." Lina replied, a hint of irritation in her voice.

"Looks like he changed his mind. What's the big deal anyway?"

Lina scowled as Lucia grabbed her hand and started pulling her towards the door. "I just don't like having her come home full of sugar and waking up in the dead of night with a belly ache."

"Lina," her mother said as she put a hand on her shoulder, "Why don't you sit down and tell me what's really bothering you?"

Lina's anger flared. While it would be nice to tell someone about the feeling, the last thing she wanted was to be dismissed as a crazy pregnant lady. "I just haven't been sleeping well. See you for dinner tomorrow."

"How much trouble am I in?" Gourry asked as he stepped through the door. It was quite the unpleasant surprise to find that Lina had already picked Lucia up when he got to her parents'.

"Daddy!" Lucia shrieked as she went running to him.

"For dropping her off with my folks?" Lina asked as she spooned some stew into a bowl, "Or for thinking that plaid and polka dots match?"

Gourry picked his daughter up, "You wouldn't fireball a man holding Lucia, would you?"

"Man up and eat your dinner." She said, "And then you'd better get comfy on the couch, because you'll be spending the night there."

Deciding that a night on the couch was worth it if she got the rest she needed he approached the dining room table, "Smells good." He said as he took a chance and leaned over to kiss her cheek.

She put the bowls on a tray and made the short trip to the table. "Eat up." She said as she sat it down.

"What did you do today, Lucia?" Gourry asked as she climbed into her chair.

"I helped Gramma and Grampa make lots of money!" she explained as she grabbed some bread and bit into it.

Lina stared at her food as she worked to gather the nerve to try to eat it. She'd not thrown up once since waking from her nap, and she wanted to keep that up for as long as possible. At the same time, she needed sustenance. "And how was Mommy's day?" Gourry asked her.

"I slept." Lina said.

"Feeling better?"

Lina took a chance and had a bit of bread. "Maybe."

He smiled, figuring that was a close to a "yes" as he would get. "Gourry." She said. "I want to go to Seyruun."

He dropped his spoon into his stew. "Huh?"

"You heard me!" she said, "I want to go to Seyruun."

"Now?" he asked as he fished his spoon out.

"As soon as the morning sickness goes away."

"But this is sudden." He said, "And I thought we weren't going to do that until Lucia was older."

"Well, I said that a year ago and she's older now. Come on, Gourry, she's good on our walks. Surely she can handle a trip to Seyruun."

Gourry looked at her quizzically. "But why do you want to go to Seyruun all of the sudden?"

Lina floundered. The last thing she wanted was to tell him about her nebulous feeling. He would likely freak out and would be even less inclined to go in case something bad happened on the road. "Well, Sylphiel has had another baby that we haven't even met! And when we left Seyruun Benny was still adjusting, and Amelia says that he's doing great now. And I want Lucia to play with all of their kids, you know, have the children of our friends be her friends."

Gourry slurped as he ate his dinner, "And what's the real reason?"

Damn! Lina hated how someone so dense could read her like a book. She abruptly changed tactics, "Look, I don't like the midwife here." She said, "Sylphiel was amazing, I mean, I guess it wasn't like we were ever in any danger, but that was a long delivery. And she got us through. I'd just feel better knowing that she'll be there this time, too."

"Well, why didn't you just say that from the beginning?" he asked, his mouth full of bread. "I've got the championship next month, but after that we can leave if you really want to."

Lina was alarmed at how big of a weight hearing that seemed to take from her shoulders. "I do." She said quietly before tentatively trying the stew as Lucia banged at the table with her spoon. They finished dinner in silence. As they were clearing away the dinner dishes Lina put a hand on his arm, "You don't have to stay on the couch tonight if you don't want to."

It was wonderful to be back on the road again. Sure, they had to move more slowly than they were used to to accommodate Lucia. She was a little trooper, alternating between walking on her own and being carried on Gourry's shoulders. She loved looking at the trees and plant life and identifying the animals they ran across, splashing in every mud puddle she could find.

And there were many to be found. The season was unusually rainy and their trip was further delayed as they spent many a day trapped in a tiny room in a ratty inn with an active two and a half year old. Those were the harder days. Still, as a sorceress Lina could always put on an impromptu light show for her, which Lucia found just as delightful as chasing bunnies.

"Lighting!" Lina called as she sat on the edge of the bed while Gourry went through their supplies. Lucia shrieked with laughter as she clapped her hands.

"I want to!" she said.

"It takes a lot of practice, sweetie. Maybe when you're older." Lina said as she sent the orb of light high to the ceiling.

"Please!" Lucia insisted.

Lina looked outside at the pouring rain. Surely teaching her the basics wouldn't hurt. And it wasn't like there was anything else to do. "Fine. Sit on the bed." She said as Lucia did as asked and then spent the next hour focused on learning the chant. Lina was impressed that it held her attention as long as it did, but not too surprised when she decided to pick up her doll and play with it without having generated a light spell of her own.

Lina leaned back on the bed and put her hands on her stomach, closing her eyes as it felt like the little one within was practicing sword fighting. "This one is ten times more active than she ever was!"

Gourry put a hand on her stomach, "I still can't feel it."

"Hmm." She said, "Give it another week or so. I'm actually surprised you can't feel it! It seems as though he's going to kick a hole through my stomach!"

"He?" Gourry asked.

Lina thought for a moment, "Right now it feels like a he. I'm still not one hundred percent."

Gourry smiled as Lina ran her hand along her stomach. Traveling had done wonders for her mood. She might not be the most level headed mother in the world, but sharing a love of travel with her daughter was special. And it warmed her heart to see Lucia take an interest in learning magic. May be she wasn't the most nurturing person but she had plenty of other things she could offer her.

The only bad thing was that she still could not shake the feeling that there was something dangerous about the pregnancy. What made it more troubling was that if it was a lark so that she had an excuse to travel, then it would stand to reason that by traveling the feeling would have abated. Instead it seemed to grow stronger. She took a deep breath and focused on the sound of the rain hitting the roof, relieved when Gourry suggested that they go down to have dinner and she could focus her attention on something else.

"She does love running." Gourry commented affectionately as he watched Lucia run through a field carpeted with daisies, blue blossoms and lavender.

Lina nodded in agreement but said nothing. There was something about the moment that she wanted to pin down and keep with her forever. Watching Lucia run for the sheer joy of running was strangely liberating. When she watched her she could recall a time when she wasn't concerned about family, health or finances. She could just enjoy living without the worries that came with it.

"You've been so quiet lately. Is everything okay?" he asked as he put a hand on her shoulder.

Lina bit her lip as she wondered if it was the right time to tell him. Now that they were halfway to Seyruun it wasn't as if he could insist on turning around and going back to Zeferia. And it would be nice to tell someone else! Especially as the feeling was growing stronger. Gingerly she put a hand to her stomach and took a deep breath, "You know my women's intuition?"

He frowned, not sure where she was going with this. "You've mentioned it."

"You know how I knew that Lucia was a girl before she was born." Lina continued.

"Yes."

"Well, it's been talking to me, but I can't figure out what it's trying to tell me." She said, alarm growing within her as she realized she had to be making little sense. "It's…I can't describe it really. It's not that something is wrong, but it's not right either."

"Huh?"

"Something has been telling me that if we don't make it to Seyruun then this child will be in danger."

Gourry sat a little straighter, "What?"

"It's silly, I know." Lina said, "But something is dangerous."

"What do you mean…" he was cut off as Lucia ran to them, threw a bundle of flowers on them, laughed mischievously and ran off. They looked at each other stunned for a moment before he continued, "What do you mean, dangerous?"

"I don't know." Lina said, "I told you, it's very vague, like a whisper that keeps you up at night."

"Do you think that there is some threat to Zefiel City?"

"If there is, then it's nothing Sis can't handle." Lina said dryly. "But no, it feels like there's something dangerous about this pregnancy in and of itself. And that is what scares me."

His face dropped and he was silent for a few minutes before asking, "So why would being in Seyruun help? Is it even a good idea for you to be traveling right now?"

Lina smiled wryly as her conviction grew that it was a good thing she didn't say anything until they were well into their sojourn. "Seyruun is the White Magic Capital. If something goes wrong then there's no better place to be."

"So that's why after two years you suddenly decided that we'd best head back out there." He said.

"In a nutshell. Anyway," Lina said as she moved so she was kneeling and started to pack up the picnic supplies, "We're never going to get to Seyruun if we don't get back on the road."

Gourry nodded and then focused his attention on Lucia. "I'm going to get you!" he growled as he sprang up after her. Lucia shrieked with delight, though remained standing where she was. She liked the tickles she got when he would catch her.

By the time Lina had finished packing up, Lucia was secure on Gourry's shoulders and off they set back on the road. Gourry studied her quietly, and wondered if he had any additional worries to add to his list. He hadn't said anything to Lina because she'd been having a difficult time with this pregnancy as it was, but the matter of having more than one child was as welcoming as it was terrifying to him. While he desperately wanted a large family with many children mulling about, the fact remained that he only had one sword to bequeath. That had always been the problem in his family of origin, and the idea that the same tragedies could play out in the family he was building with Lina created a feeling of dread within him.

But now that worry, so far into the future, seemed silly to think about when there was one that was much more pressing. What if Lina's feeling turned out to be correct, and there was something dangerous about the pregnancy. He looked at her. Everything about this pregnancy had been more difficult. The morning sickness was worse and lasted longer. She seemed more tired and pale. She complained more about being uncomfortable. Was it because something was wrong? Was the baby in danger?

Was Lina?

He took a deep steadying breath. The sooner they got to Seyruun, the better. He glanced at the sky, unmarred by clouds. Hopefully that would hold throughout the week and they could get there without incident.