Chapter 4

Po stirred in his bed; haunting nightmares crowded the space in his skull. There were dreams of drowning in a pool of empty blackness. There were dreams of falling freely forever. The most horrible type of dream was the dream where Katsa forever abandoned him; sometimes in the form of suicide, in others she just simply ran away.

Katsa sat stroking Po's hair lovingly. His mouth twitched as he cried out in heart wrench, the dreams were suffocating his heart. Sixteen hours he has slept. Katsa thought. It was weird how she knew that, but it was thanks to her survival Grace.

Finally Po's heavy lids moved. He starred into Katsa's eyes, and before Po realized what had happened he had his arms wrapped around Katsa in a tight embrace. "Oh Wildcat your back, you're here…" Po's voice trailed off as he wept.

I've always been here Po, you fear nothing but nightmares. Shush now my love. Katsa projected her thoughts toward Po, she knew he would hear her. "Now what is this nonsense you spoke of me sleeping for days?" Katsa couldn't hide her curiosity. She knew that she could command herself to sleep for normal amounts of time but when she had said she wanted to sleep for days she hadn't really meant it…A shiver ran down her spine as she remembered wanting to sleep forever. At least I woke up

"You slept for three days; I thought you may never wake. I waited and waited for you to wake up. Only my Grace told me that you weren't dead." Po's voice shook with consternation. He rested his head on her shoulder, satisfied that she was still his. "I was so worried…"

Katsa leisurely moved around the forest. Warm spring air tickled her cheeks. A rushing river called her name. A cool bath would shock her back into the normalness Katsa needed. She removed her clothes and stepped into the river; it felt colder than ice. She ducked her head under the water. Since Katsa and Po had hardly any time to travel her hair had started to grow, it resembled a small pixie cut. Katsa sighed; she would need this cut soon. The refreshing rinse reminded her of her previous concerns; the baby.

Katsa slowly made her way back to the cabin. She felt nothing yet; she was supposed to feel something right? Furiously frustrated Katsa opened the door. She chomped on the wild berries that sat upon the table. "When Po, when will I know if I will bear a child?" Katsa's voice was determined but sad.

"Well you must have seen pregnant women, they have large stomachs. That should be a sure clue." Po absent-mindedly scratched his head. Too many things were happening at once; too many miracles. Was that possible to have too many miracles? "Well, if your tummy starts to enlarge we should travel to Lienid and live in my castle. There we can have help to deliver the babe."

Katsa pulled up her wet shirt and examined her stomach; it looked the same. "My tummy looks the same…"

"It will take time Katsa," Po spoke softly. "Let's not worry today. Let us celebrate."

-Time Lapse-

Together they fell back into the same relaxed pattern of normal everyday life. Together they hunted, cooked, and loved. One night Po and Katsa fought to sharpen their skills. The darkness of night gave Po the clear advantage but Katsa's grace gave her a fighting chance. Po went to hit her, he had a clear shot at her abdomen, when suddenly he stopped short. Katsa toke the opening and kicked him instead, she sent him flying. Katsa ran to him, she thought he would have blocked her kick, or at least anticipated the impact.

Po coughed up a few droplets of blood. His mind was still spinning from his realization. There was another essence in the forest. Another human essence and that essence was inside Katsa. The thing inside her had finally built up enough power to be known by his grace.

Together Po and Katsa walked to the cabin, Po leaning heavily on Katsa. When they sat down together on their bed and he told her the news. "Katsa," Po began, "You are pregnant."

Katsa became dizzy and held onto Po for support. Tears gushed from her eyes. She fell back, lying on the bed. "We must plan," was all Katsa muttered before she commanded herself to sleep for the night.

Lots of thanks to those who read my fan fiction. I will try to post a new chapter every day or every other day since my chapters are fairly short.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any rights to the book "Graceling"