"Hush, sweetheart," Fjord whispered to the small bundle in his arms. "You need to let your mother rest. She's had a very long day." The small bundle simply ignored him and began to fuss more. She opened her eyes and Fjord's heart melted. She had Jester's blue skin and he could see two small horns at the top of her head. But her hair was jet-black and her eyes were golden just like her father's. She was still so small, only a few hours old but Fjord knows she will be a force to be reckoned with.
Fjord began to hum an old sea tune, hoping that it would calm her down for a little while longer. He thinks his mother used to sing to him as a child, but he can't remember. Fjord rocks his daughter back and forth while he thinks about how much changed when a little blue tiefling entered his life.
They had just saved the day (again) and they had almost died (again). They spent most of the night drinking and after a little too much whiskey Fjord and Jester fell into bed and reminded each other that they were still alive. He should have been paying more attention but at the time he was more focused on how warm and soft she felt. It wasn't until a few weeks later when she pulled him away from the group and finally told him.
"Pregnant?" he said shocked.
"Yes," Jester responded calmly.
"I don't…I don't understand."
"Do you not know how pregnancies work, Fjord?" she asked and began to take out her sketchbook. "Here, I can draw it for you if you think it will help."
"No, no, Jester I understand how they work," he said and sat down on a nearby rock. Pregnant. She was pregnant. With his baby.
"Are you upset?" Jester said. "You are not saying very much."
"No I'm not upset. Just a little surprised, that's all." Fjord said quietly. "And a little scared."
"Oh, that's okay," Jester said and sat down next to him. "I'm scared too. But we've fought and killed all sorts of things. I think we can handle a baby."
"Our lives are pretty dangerous right now." Fjord said. "You think you'll be okay with going on fewer adventures?" Jester looks at him and smiles.
"This," she says and takes his hand and places it on her stomach. "This is a brand new adventure for us." Fjord smiles at her and they take a few moments just for themselves. "Now, come on," she giggles. "Let's go freak out everybody."
They seemed to take it much better than Fjord originally thought. Caleb, Nott, and Beau looked shocked. Yasha did not give much of a response but Fjord never really knew what she was thinking. Molly just grinned.
"Oh, I knew it," Molly said.
"How could you have possibly known?" Jester asked.
"You've been eating even more pastries than before. Also I saw you drawing pictures of babies in your sketchbook."
"So you are not joking?" Caleb asked. "You are really having a child."
Jester nodded.
"Well, that's really…something," Yasha said and Fjord swore that he saw her smile.
"So I guess this means we'll have to start taking less dangerous missions," Beau said.
"Yeah, we don't want you two to get hurt too badly with a baby on the way," Nott added.
"Don't worry about us," Jester said. "We'll help out with as much as we can."
The next few months passed in a blur. The Mighty Nein began to take smaller missions and Jester began to stay behind. She would usually heal the group once they returned and Nott would tell her everything that happened so she could tell the Traveler. Fjord knew that she didn't like being by herself in the inn so he ending up buying a small house just outside of the city. He also bought it so they could have a safe place to raise the baby. They had more than enough money after years of fighting monsters and saving towns and frankly he was also getting a little tired of staying in inns all the time. It was nice to have a place of their own. But they could still go out into the city if they needed to. He wasn't sure if Jester would like the house but she was so excited when he first showed it to her that she grabbed him and kissed him as hard as she could and all of his fears went away. He never expected his life to go down this road. But now he couldn't be happier.
The remainder of Jester's pregnancy was strangely calm. They spent most of their time trying to come up with a name for the baby but nothing ever seemed to stick. Jester would change her mind every other day. In the end, they decided to wait until after the baby was born to come up with a name. But the calm ended once she went into labor. She screamed and cursed so loudly he swore the whole city could hear her. But once the baby was finally born Jester didn't say anything. It was probably the first time she had ever been speechless before. Fjord just stared in awe.
"A girl," he said trying to hold back his tears. "Jester, we have a baby girl."
"I can take her if you want," Jester said and snapped Fjord out of his memories.
"Sorry, I was trying to let you sleep," he said and stood up from his chair.
"That's okay," Jester said and reached her arms out. "Come here little baby!"
Fjord placed the small bundle into Jester's arms. He should let the others know that their baby was finally born. Caleb had shown him a spell where he would be able to send a message to everyone. But he was selfish and wanted a few more moments where it was just the three of them.
"I thought of a name," Jester said after a while.
"Really?" Fjord said. "What is it?"
"Beatrise," she said softly. "It means 'traveler'."
"Beatrise," Fjord repeated slowly.
"The Traveler was my very first friend," Jester said. "He brought a kind of comfort and friendship that I never had before. And if it wasn't for him then I would have never met you. And I would have never been this happy."
Fjord wasn't sure how to respond to that. He wanted her to know how happy she made him and how much he loved her.
"If you don't like we don't have to use it," Jester said.
"No, no," Fjord said. "I think it's a perfect name. Beatrise." The more he said it, the more he loved it.
"Oh, I am going to love you so much!" Jester said to Beatrise. "And we are going to go on so many adventures together and you'll never have to stay locked in your room."
Fjord leaned in and kissed her on the forehead. He wasn't sure what the future would hold for the three of them. But he wasn't scared. It was like what Jester had told him at the very beginning. This was going to be a brand new adventure.