Sophie sniffled as they continued to stare at each other in silence, foreheads pressed together. Keefe's lips twitched upward with a smile and took her hand off from behind his neck, leaning back and taking contact off of their foreheads. He held her hand and kissed it again, looking silently in adoration at his wife.i

His strong, genius, beautiful wife.

"Well, thanks for making me all misty-eyed, Foster," he laughed, wiping his eye. Sophie giggled, her lip still quivering lightly. She rolled up her own sleeve and dabbed at her eyes.

Keefe let go of her hand suddenly, standing and moving next to her, sitting down on the couch. Sophie nuzzled up against his side the moment he had contact with the couch and he smiled lovingly at her as she half-cuddled him with one arm, and still hugged the decorative pillow with her other.

He put an arm around her shoulder as she laid her head on his chest, listening to his steady breathing and heartbeat.

He began lightly playing with her hair, and said, "So, that's what the house call was? At Havenfield?"

Sophie nodded against his chest. "I couldn't have it here because otherwise you'd find out. And I couldn't tell you that I was going to Elwin's or something, because that would have made you worried and you'd pester me until I told you. So, I went to Havenfield. I played it off like a nice little visit, and then when the visiting was over, Mom and Dad went outside to work again. They probably thought I left, and I don't think they noticed.

"Of course, Elwin hailed you. I don't think he knew that I hadn't told you of my. . . Suspicion, yet and that I wanted to keep it a secret, though, so it's not like I blame him. Anyway, I caught him out of pure luck and explained that I wasn't saying anything to you unless it my hypothesis turned out to be positive, so he played it off."

Keefe grinned and ruffled her hair. "Look at you, deceiving me and also using fancy words."

"' Hypothesis', is not a fancy word, " she argued.

He loved arguing with her in a playful way, but decided not to get sidetracked as she shifted and turned her head to face him. Sure, it was extremely fun to tease her, but he knew now was not the most appropriate time.

"Well, how did you suddenly come across this. . . Feeling that you were pregnant?" Keefe asked, actually a little more curious than he wanted to admit.

Sophie hummed lightly in thought, then answered, "I guess the only way I can really describe it is. . . Instinct. It sounds awfully weird, but it's the most accurate description I can offer. Kind of like how Silveny knew she was pregnant—I just. . . Felt it." She grinned. "And, you know, I had been vomiting for a week, so. . ."

Keefe chuckled, wrapping his arms around her and suddenly pulling her onto his lap without warning. She didn't seem to mind, and she actually turned halfway around so that she was facing him. Her legs were curled to a kneeing position, one on each side of his own lap. She laid her head on his chest again and he sat his chin on top of her blonde head, rubbing light circles on her back.

"What are you thinking?" he whispered after they sat in silence for a few minutes. He continued to rub her back and the happy, loving waves of emotions that were flitting from her body made him more joyous than he could explain.

"Mm," she mumbled, pondering her answer. "About what?"

He kissed her head lightly, inhaling the scent of the perfume in her hair. "Nothing in specific."

The warmth of her body made his heart flip in ways he hadn't thought possible, and he was a little glad she couldn't feel his emotions. There wasn't a way to explain how happy he made her feel. It was almost embarrassing how light and bubbly he felt, cuddling his wife close.

He could feel her hot breath through the material of his shirt, and he watched her breaths make her back rise and fall.

"I'm. . . Worried," she answered suddenly, after the spell of silence. The honesty in her voice made his lips frown.

"What for?" he asked softly.

She shifted her head from his chest to near his shoulder, staring up at him with her large, fawn eyes. She placed a hand on his chest and he took it, his concern lightly rising. "I don't know what my genes are gonna do to the baby," she whispered, growing a little uncomfortable with having to admit it. "What if. . . I don't know. What if something happens? There's so many things that could go wrong. And. . . Keefe, brown eyes are the dominant gene over blue. That means that kid has a higher chance that. . ."

She wouldn't look him in the eyes anymore, and he could feel the hot, shameful embarrassment radiating off of her body.

"Hey," he whispered, trying to get her attention. He wrapped his arms tighter around her. "You and I both know that isn't bad."

"It's bad to everyone else," she retorted miserably.

"That's not true," he replied. "C'mon—I think it would be way better if the kid does have brown eyes."

"And why do you think that?"

"We could get it spreading around," he teased, poking her in the stomach. She squirmed and smiled a little, but it only lasted for a second. He sighed. "No, but seriously, if you really think about it, we could actually get elves to have blue and brown eyes. First you, then this kid, then that kid's kids, then that kid's kid's kids, then that kid's kid's kid's kids, then that kid's—"

"Okay, okay, I get it," she giggled cracking a real smile. Her breathy laugh warmed his heart and he felt her chest move against his own.

"We'll be fine, okay?" he said, pecking her forehead with a kiss.

She nodded, her bright smile still on her face. "Okay."

a/n: sorry for it being so short!