AN: Sorry for taking so long with bringing another chapter of this story out. If you read my other story, Sink or Swim, you will know that I have kind of felt a bit of a mental block as of late but I think that has changed now and I am ready to write some more. This chapter, due to rewatching season 4 as I have no new season to watch (but I do have The Borgias, Camelot and soon Game of Thrones to keep me occupied), is heavily based on parts of episode 4.03. So scenes are very similar but I have changed it around to fit the purposes of the story I am telling. I also did a time jump of about eight months since the last chapter. It is sometimes just easier to just jump ahead when you have a mental block but I promise that this should be the last one of these time jumps for a while. Also, in this chapter, the development of one relationship might be pleasing to some people and it has been a long time coming in the story.

I would just like to make a general shout out to everyone that reads the story and also those who take the time out to review. It really does brighten the day and now I have just over 200 reviews! I can't believe it! This is the most reviews I have gotten for any of my stories and I really would like to thank you all once more! I will hopefully be able to write another new chapter soon. Hope you all enjoy this chapter as well.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own The Tudors, never have and I never will. It belongs to its respective owners.

Chapter Twenty

17 November 1543

Katherine ran through the corridors of the palace barefoot and while she knew that the courtiers that would have seen her would have questioned her dignity to themselves, she really couldn't care. She had to go and see Anne immediately; it was of the upmost importance for some extremely exciting news.

She ran towards Anne's chambers and ran straight into the room, almost knocking over the usher who was standing in front of the doorway. Anne's ladies who were and always had been calmer than her own ladies were surprised to see Katherine enter the room. It wasn't like she never came to Anne's rooms, in fact she came a large majority of the time but usually she was never as excited as she was now and she never usually came at this time of the day.

Anne too was surprised and so when Katherine came in with a huge beaming smile on her face, she nodded towards her ladies who quickly filed out of the room. Katherine quickly came over to a puzzled Anne who was sitting down. Basically jumping up and down Katherine smiled and simply said, "I am with child".

Anne couldn't believe it. She knew that Henry and Katherine were trying for another child; ever since Margaret was born Henry had always hoped that Katherine would provide him with another child, preferably a son. It seemed like Katherine had become pregnant at the perfect time as well, with Margaret having had her second birthday only six days before.

She hugged Katherine in congratulations. "Are you sure?" she asked. She knew what Katherine was like. There had been a false alarm earlier in the year and there had been a bit of a strain between Henry and Katherine because of it but now, well it seemed that they were reconciled.

"Yes, yes I am sure," replied Katherine, beaming ear to ear. "I have waited for my course to come for over a month and it has not and then the physician said that I am pregnant as well. I am going now to tell Henry but I wanted you to know first."

Anne smiled once again but this time there was a scene of concern on her face. "You do know Katherine that Henry is in the Privy Council meeting, he won't want to be disturbed," she said. She knew Henry found it irritating when people interrupted anything important, that was one of the many things that she had learnt during their marriage.

Katherine just shrugged her shoulders. "He won't mind," she said simply. "Not when I tell him the news."

Anne was going to try and stop her but Katherine was already out of the room again with a flash.

Henry was in the council meeting as they discussed important matters on the upcoming on the much delayed trip to the north. He had postponed it many times due to Mary's pregnancy and any illnesses that had plagued the family or the country but he was sick of that as he knew that he needed to address his subjects from the north and it would also give him a chance to meet his nephew the King of Scotland.

Katherine came barging through the various courtiers as she made her way through the great hall and the throne room which was adjoined to Henry's privy chambers and council room. Henry's usher was standing at the door but he too had no luck like Anne's usher from stopping the Princess Consort from entering the room.

All of the men within the room where even more shocked then Anne's ladies and managed to fumble their way to feet as they tried to bow towards her at the same time. Henry turned around and whilst Katherine could see the anger within his face at her running in, she continued to beam and she tried to catch her breath.

"Katherine comes," he said sharply, as she walked happily towards his bedchamber and he followed. He needed to chide her for this behaviour. "Katherine you silly girl," he said as he closed the curtain but Katherine couldn't hide her excitement and interrupted him completely.

"I have missed my bleeding for over a month," she said as she jumped up and down with excitement at telling him the news and Henry's eyes too widened in excitement at the news. "I believe I am with child."

Henry sighed and took his hands and placed them up on either side of her small, delicate and beautiful face. "You are sure my love, it isn't like last time," he asked, hoping that it wasn't like the false alarm earlier in the year. Katherine nodded and Henry smiled. "My sweet, sweetheart," he said before kissing her tenderly on the lips. She had always made him so happy.

"I just had to tell your majesty," she said after their kiss, still beaming with excitement. "I am sorry that I might have made you angry to leave your council meeting."

"Angry, angry?" he replied, just as excited as she was, laughing at the same time. "How could I be angry now, God forbid?" Katherine laughed as well, happy that he was so excited at the news. "But Katherine listen to me, for the sake of our child, please God don't excite yourself. Be just as good as you were when you were pregnant with Margaret and God willing this time we will have ourselves a healthy son. Go and lay down, rest, and I will come and see you very, very soon."

Katherine nodded and started to walk away before turning back and taking Henry's hand, kissing him once more and this time with more passion. After she was released from the kiss she started to walk away again, her hands placed firmly on her belly before turning to face him again, curtseying towards him with her hands on her belly. This time she would have a son, this time she was just too positive about it to be wrong.

Mary and Philip walked through the palace gardens at Nonsuch, taking a few minutes out to spend some quality time together. Elizabeth had gone off with Eleanor to walk in a different area of the gardens with Kat Ashley and Sybilla, who was at court to coincide with the Princess Margaret's birthday, was with Margaret, playing in the nursery. Mary had hated the thought of leaving her precious little son, Philip, who was now eight months old but it was important to come and celebrate her half-sister's birthday and she was sure that he was in capable hands at Hudson but she still dreadfully missed and could not wait to see him again.

Philip smiled at his wife whom he thought grew more beautiful as each day came past. "I went and saw Queen Anne earlier," he said as a way to start the conversation. "She told the Katherine is with child again."

Mary laughed. "Really?" she asked and Philip nodded. "Well I shall have a new sibling it would seem. This won't stop the progress to the north will it? I really do wish that it would happen already. I know that we will be made to go along on it and while I want to meet them, I don't want to be away from little Philip for too long."

Philip squeezed his wife's hand. "I know how much you hate being away from him but you will see him again soon," he said as he kissed his wife's hand. "I don't think that it will be postponed again, she won't be that far along for it to be a hindrance to her or the child."

"You know that I would like another child?" she commented, raising her eyebrows towards him.

"Would you know?" he replied, finding it amusing that his wife would bring up this topic when she only had Philip eight months ago. "And if you were to have another child, what would you hope for it to be?"

"Healthy," she answered, getting a bemused laughter from her husband. She then sighed. She was not yet pregnant again, not that it was because of a lack of trying, but she knew that these things took time and she wasn't going to try and rush it. If God was only willing for her to have the two children that she had been blessed with already then she was fine with that. Sybilla and little Philip were perfect in every way and she was happy with her little family, some women were not as lucky with their families and King's daughters usually had to be married off and had to live in another country but she got to marry for love and even though her family was unconventional, it still made her happy.

"I suppose father is overjoyed that she could be possibly giving him a Duke of York," she commented. "I am sure all of England would be. And think about how spoiled Maggie is, wouldn't father spoil a son even more."

"Katherine is the one that truly spoils that girl, your father just lets her do it," Philip commented back. He did not even want to mention the amount of gifts that Princess Margaret had received for her second birthday and how many dresses her mother had commissioned her. She would be fully grown before she could even wear them all.

"I am sure she will spoil them both." Mary was confident in that statement. Katherine loved her daughter and would do anything for her and a new child would not change that, both children would be given everything they ever desired. The only problem was if it were to be a second son, would spoiling him be good as he would get everything he wanted, would he not want to be King of England as well?

10 January 1544

Now three months pregnant, Katherine had begun to loosen her gowns as they were becoming tighter much quicker than they ever were when she was pregnant with Margaret. Henry had told her that it must be a sign that it was to be a boy. She believed that it would be a boy, everything about this pregnancy was different than her last and one of those things was that she was sick a lot more often in the mornings than she had been with her precious Maggie but thankfully that had eased off now, especially as they were about to go on progress. Luckily, the snow had not been as heavy and had pretty much eased away so the progress to north would be unhindered now that they had to bring it forward due to her pregnancy.

Henry and Katherine were now walking within the palace gardens, taking in a nice walk as he listed all of the places they would be travelling to for Katherine's amusement. They continued to walk as Henry explained something's some more including that she and Margaret would need new dresses, especially herself as she would be growing over the few months of progress, and pretty much Margaret would have the same problem but for a different reason to her mother.

Katherine smiled and laughed. "I am so excited," she exclaimed. While pregnancy wasn't as fun the first time around, it did seem to be this time. Maybe since she had experienced it before and because she was older, she was able to hand it better now. She was twenty now, soon to be twenty-one and she was sure that would only benefit her with this pregnancy. "This is all like I dream which I hope to never wake."

Henry smiled at his younger wife. He could tell that she was positively glowing, even more so than she was every day. "Well if it is a dream than I wish to never wake from it either my love," he said tenderly as he placed one of his hands over Katherine's belly which had already started to form. "I do not know where I would be without you and my petal Maggie and our future son within."

Katherine smiled again, she couldn't help but smile all the time, but she was touched at what Henry said. He made her feel like the Princess she had become every day and she was thankful for it. She might not have had the best upbringing but he made her feel like she was truly worth something. "I wish you would come to my bed tonight," she said and it was like she could read Henry's mind. "I know, I know, it is too dangerous but I wish for you to just be with me, just lay beside me, because I love you that much."

"Well if it worries you that much than I shall stay with you, because I love you and I only wish for you to be happy," he replied, gently kissing his beautiful wife on the lips. He was content and happy and he was sure he would be for the rest of his days.

11 January 1544

After spending literally the whole last day with Katherine, he thought it fitting that he at least spend some time with Anne. Whilst they might not be as in love as he and Katherine were, they still had become closer since they were married and he had to say, she was much more appealing now than she had been at the beginning of their marriage. He had to say he actually enjoyed spending time with her.

Henry hid his smile from his face with the cards he was playing with. They had decided to sit down with a game of cards after having had a meal together. As Henry tried to keep his poker face on, Anne sipped some wine sweetly before placing the cup down on the table. She put some money down, sure she was going to win this round and she wasn't even frightened to win. Henry had been in a good mood as of late and it had been to the benefit of all those around him.

Henry added some of his own coins to the equation. Whilst Anne was better at cards that she had first been when she had come to England but he was still pretty confident that he would beat her. He was the King and he had been practically raised on the game.

Fiddling with their cards some more and putting down some more coins, they sat in silence except for the slight giggle that kept coming out of Anne's mouth. Anne then put down her cards, to reveal her full house, with a confident smile beaming across her face. Henry nodded his approval before sighing and giving in that she had won. "You play well," he commented as he conceded defeat. "You didn't used to when you first came to England I remember."

Anne laughed again. "Well I never used to drink wine," Anne commented in reply. "Or play music and now I am able to do all of those things. I am even relatively fluent in English. And I like to do all of these things. It makes me feel more English, more like a Queen."

As she put her hands down, ready to claim the money prize that she had won due to winning the card game, Henry placed his hands on top of hers all of a sudden which was a shock to Anne who looked up and froze, his eyes were full of intent like she had never seen before.

"May I come to your bed tonight?" he asked, strangely aroused by her without her even trying for the first time in their marriage.

Anne was at a loss for words and Henry was continuing to stare at her unblinkingly. She couldn't say no. She didn't have the power to her. It was his conjugal right and if he wanted to bed her, he could, but he never had before and truthfully, the last time they had even been in the same bed was before Katherine ever entered their marriage and that was years ago.

She knew that it would feel strange but all she could do was nod and allow him to bed her for the first time.

Within Anne's bedchamber, their clothes had been thrown somewhat neatly across the room before they went to bed and he had finally done the act with her. He had to say that it was enjoyable and a lot less taxing than it was with Katherine. Anne was older, and well inexperienced with this act, while Katherine was young and would want to go the act almost every night though as she had gotten older it wasn't a necessity ever night.

He know laid in bed beside Anne, cuddled up close to her, surprisingly being intimate though it had taken four years to do so. Henry was now going off to sleep with Anne in his arms but Anne was still awake, though she was a little sleepy. She had never imagined that losing your virginity was exactly like that but was it terrible, no, it was not. Henry had been surprisingly gentle with her and she had kind of liked it.

While it felt strange to be nestled up against Henry now, she did truly felt at ease strangely enough. Henry, who was still slightly awake, wriggled in the bed and brought Anne closer to him, wanting her to be beside him. Anne easily went into it, it was a nice feeling, to be loved by a man but her greatest worry was how long would Henry be like this with her? Would it be to the end of one of their days or would it be until Katherine was ready to bed again?

TBC.