Names:

Marianne – fem!France

Amelia – fem!America

Emma – Belgium

(You probably know it but Arthur is England and Antonio is Spain.)

Warning: Mention of miscarriage.

Jan and Madeline both agreed that it would be better if they knew for sure before announcing anything to their friends and relatives. The visit to the gynecologist went smoothly, maybe apart from those few minutes they had to spend sitting in the waiting room.

Maddie could tell how uneasy Jan felt about being in a room full of women who were already in more advanced state of their pregnancy by just looking at him. He had to come along in case the doctor had some questions for him too but he clearly wanted to be anywhere else. He did his best to pull himself together as much as he could in the waiting room chair but, considering his tall statue, that effort was doomed to fail.

She really didn't blame him. Madeline herself has been worried for the past few days about whether or not everything was okay. Was their baby alright? Was it growing well? What if she misread the signs or the test was wrong and she wasn't even pregnant in the first place? Those and similar questions have been running through her head.

The Canadian woman let out a sigh and glanced over to her husband, who had fixed his eyes on the floor in the meanwhile. She sort of wished Jan would ask her how she felt or at least looked at her. Yearning for attention, she reached out and grabbed his hand.

The sudden touch pulled Jan out of his hazed thoughts and he looked back at Maddie. Noticing her longing gaze, he felt a pang of shame. He was supposed to be giving her moral support after all. He gave a small, half-apologetic, half-reassuring smile and entwined their fingers. Madeline smiled back and leaned against him, feeling more relaxed now. They stayed like that until the doctor finally called for them.

After a few simple tests confirmed that they were indeed looking forward to a new arrival, the next thing on the list was to inform their respective families. Maddie did so with much enthusiasm, calling her parents in London first. She ended up talking with her mother for almost an hour since Marianne wanted to know everything possible and eventually Arthur had to remind her that he'd like to talk to their daughter too. Madeline was glad that her father seemed to take the news with joy, since he had some objections against Jan when Maddie first started going out with the Dutchman. Finally, Marianne promised they'll visit them as soon as they get the chance.

Reaching her twin sister was a bit more difficult, since Amelia's schedule was rather busy. When she finally did call back, her reaction was as excited and full of sexual innuendos as Madeline had expected.

Jan actually had to hold the phone away from his ear when his little sister squealed upon hearing she's going to be an aunt. Emma gave them her best wishes and promised that if Jan and Maddie ever needed advice, they were free to call her. She and her husband, Antonio already had a three-year-old son after all.

The following weeks were quite hectic. Madeline's morning sickness became more intense and she was usually woken by the urge to throw up. They even had to put a bucket right next to the bed after a couple of unpleasant incidents. Although Jan knew there wasn't really anything to do about it, it frustrated him to see Maddie like this and that the most he could do was to kneel next to her and rub her back while she leaned over the toilet.

He also had to get used to always smoking outside the house after their health visitor gave him a speech on how badly second-hand smoking could affect a fetus. He wondered if it would be easier to quit smoking all together since Maddie also became more sensitive to certain smells, tobacco being one of them. She never really approved of Jan's smoking habits but she had made peace with it after a while. But now she was outright annoyed if she caught the scents of cigarettes on him whenever they were close.

Then there were also those sudden, unexplainable mood-swings. As happy as Maddie was about her pregnancy, occasionally feelings of fear, doubt and inadequacy would approach her. That, combined with the sleep-deprivation and nausea inducted exhaustion, often pushed her to the verge of tears, whether it was during work, shower, dinner or dog-walking.

The first couple of times Maddie had these unexpected emotional outbursts, it all but terrified Jan, mostly because he hadn't a clue what caused them. But he realized soon enough that there wasn't really an explanation to it and just gathered his little wife into his arms and held her until she wouldn't cry anymore. Even so, he felt pretty useless half the time. He did what he could but it didn't seem to be enough.

Ten weeks into the pregnancy and Madeline was having one of her crying episodes again. It happened on one of their quiet nights at home. As soon as Jan heard the smothered little sobs from the other end of the couch, he paused the movie they were watching and turned in Maddie's direction. The next second he already had his arms full of her, her wet face pressed against his chest. He didn't say a word, just leaned back on the couch, caressing her hair and back, occasionally kissing the top of her head.

She had no idea for how long she cried. When she finally calmed down somewhat, she pulled away from Jan and sat back next to him though not letting go of him completely.

"Thanks... I'm sorry you have to keep doing this…" she whispered, her voice a bit hoarse.

"Don't be sorry. I just wish I could do more." he said, putting an arm around her.

Maddie shook her head.

"You're doing fine. I'm just tired, that's all."

"Shouldn't you be taking a break from work then?" Jan asked.

"It's okay. I don't take extra tasks anymore. I'll probably take more time off when I'm further ahead." Maddie answered "If I get that far…"

Jan looked at her with a confused frown.

"What do you mean?"

Maddie turned her gaze away.

"Most miscarriages happen in the first trimester…" she mumbled.

"That doesn't mean you'll miscarry!" Jan said with indignation. He realized he raised his voice unintentionally, so he took a deep breath to calm himself. "So… this is what's been making you upset?"

"I know it's silly but I can't help thinking about it. There are so many things that could go wrong, Jan. I don't know what I'll do if something happens!" Madeline confessed, looking back at him almost desperately, tears picking her eyes again. This had been plaguing her for the past two months but she didn't dare to tell Jan. She didn't want him to get worried.

Jan tightened his grip on her.

"Maddie, there's nothing wrong with you." he said.

That didn't seem to convince Madeline. Jan sighed again.

"Look, I can't promise that everything's going to be alright. But I can promise that whatever happens, you'll never lose me. And I'll be there to help you through everything." he stated, looking her deep in the eyes.

"Thank you." Maddie said quietly and finally a small smile crawled up on her face.

Jan lifted her chin with his free hand to place a kiss on her lips. She kissed back with much eagerness and not even the taste of tobacco bothered her this time. After pulling away, she rested her head on his shoulder. In return, Jan laid his head on top of Maddie's, while looking down on her little tummy, which was barely visible through her shirt at this point but definitely there. He almost involuntarily put a hand over it and he felt some strange warmth spreading in his chest.

Madeline was a bit surprised by the gesture, since Jan never touched her like that before. She wasn't about to complain, though. She just placed her hand on top of his and cuddled up even tighter to Jan's side. She felt content, knowing that both her and her future child were loved and protected.

Sorry, this chapter took so long and in comparison it's pretty short. I hope I'll be able to update again before the end of this month but no promises. :(

Also, the next chapter might contain smut, just a heads up!