Begin!

~Beatrice's POV

The first four months of my pregnancy were easy. And by easy I mean better than the last few were sure to be. Sammie made being pregnant look easy; I'll have to mention that when I see her again. We had made the decision to wait until after we had the baby to get married. I wanted to have a real wedding, with our friends and family by our side, and Bertie agreed with me. We weren't as traditional as others in our time, but we didn't mind. Besides, once I was too far along a wedding dress wouldn't fit me anyway. Ah, now I see why Sammie waited to remarry…

Once I had started showing I was recommended to start wearing dresses since sometime soon none of my pants would be able to fit me any longer. As such, I spent part of my time sewing to ensure I had plenty of clothes to wear, and I was welcome to borrow from other volunteers if I needed. Of course the worst part so far was the mood swings. Just the other day I snapped at Bertie for dropping something while he was working, and the noise made me angrier than usual. Thankfully, he understood that I didn't mean it.

Then there was the fact that we still didn't know what to name it. Hell, we didn't have an ultrasound machine here anyway so we can't find out what we're having! I had to take it on blind faith the baby was healthy in there. I certainly made an extra effort to take care of myself too. Our island doctors were less experienced with maternity check-ups, but they were doing the best they could for me. Bertie and I were basically overseeing the entire hybrid project during our time here and we've been unofficially put in charge of the facility as a result. The other volunteers didn't mind answering to us; and we worked hard to be fair. It was the only time I had ever had so many people under my leadership.

At the end of that fourth month though we had a breakthrough! The apples were growing naturally and were ready to eat.

"They look just like normal apples," I commented while examining one. "They even smell like apples still."

"Yes they do Miss Anwhistle," Maya replied, "We tried very hard to perfectly blend it so that nothing gives away their true purpose. Unfortunately, at the moment we only have this one tree so we will have to plant more. And since we don't have a way of testing it on any actually poisoned people we have to take a lot of faith in them working as intended."

"These results are still wonderful! The Duchess is going to be happy to hear this," Bertie said.

"Ike and Hector will too…" I said quietly. "Now, Maya, are there any undue side effects that we should be aware of?"

Maya looked downcast. "Well… there is one…"

I felt my heart clench. Surely we couldn't have failed after all that work?

"What is it?"

Maya sighed heavily and I saw her eyes get glossy. "You remember Briana, she left the island a month ago to have her baby and she made it back to the mainland fine but…"

I didn't like where this was going…

"Before she left, she offered to try one of the first apples we made… and we got a report from her husband recently. The apples are harmful to babies in utero, her child was ill when he was born and they're doing everything they can to help it, but doctors say he might not make it to adulthood…"

I stared at her in silence and even mild fear. "You mean… if I eat one…"

"Yes it could happen to your baby too ma'am; so for the safety of your child I strongly recommend not taking the risk."

I looked down at the basket of freshly picked horseradish apples. How could something that was supposed to help us do so much harm? And in such a terrible way? The thought that these innocent apples could prevent children from living a full life was the most horrible side effect that could have happened. It was an awful thought. These were supposed to be the back-up. The only hope for some. It wasn't supposed to end like this.

Bertie cleared his throat, "Are there any side effects on men or male organs?"

"No sir. It doesn't appear to have any undue effects on males, male specific organs, or non-pregnant women. Several of our assistants of any sex have tried them already for final testing, and they feel perfectly fine."

"But what happens if a pregnant woman gets poisoned," I blurted out.

"Unless she got the immunizing sugar within the hour… she'd have a vastly frightening decision to make, ma'am."

I nodded solemnly, "I see… Well, it's the best we can do. Get a full report to the Duchess as soon as possible. There's another storm coming tonight and we all need to stay inside for safety."

"Yes, Miss Anwhistle."

I couldn't help pacing around our house that night while another storm raged outside. We had a device inside our facility to predict weather patterns and it had proved quite handy to protect our research and workers.

"Bea, will you please sit down? I get nervous when you overwork your body in your condition."

I complied and sat down on the bed with him. "I'm sorry honey, I just hate that after all our hard work there had to be that one downside."

"I know, I know, but look at it this way! At least it's just the one? Of all the things that could have happened at least there was only one."

"I… suppose you're right. The Duchess might not be happy to hear about the downside though."

Bertie nodded. "She won't, but she'll be grateful that we did the job anyway. And the apples were a back-up plan. The sugar is the real worry."

I couldn't help agreeing with him. "Do you know anything that might take my mind off today? Or maybe help me sleep? That storm will keep me up all night otherwise."

"Hm… we could try thinking of a name?"

"But we don't have any way of knowing what we're getting," I replied with a small smile.

"So? It's good to have a plan just in case!" He smiled excitedly at me.

I playfully rolled my eyes, "Alright then. Let's see… well if it's a girl we could name her-"

"Violet!"

I blinked. "Where did that suggestion come from?"

Bertie looked a bit embarrassed. "Violets are your favorite flower so I thought it sounded perfect."

I considered his idea. It actually sounded quite nice. And he was sweet to remember my favorite flowers. It was a beautiful name for a girl too.

"Violet, I like it," I said. "Ok if it's a girl we'll name her Violet."

"What about a middle name," Bertie asked.

I smiled, "Well it's not entirely original, but my mother's name was Roselyn. She'd be named after her grandmother." Unfortunately, the baby would never meet her. Mother died on a mission when I was just starting my apprenticeship at 13. Volunteers often lose people, but it was a heavy blow to our family. It reminded me that Gregor would always be related to us since he stepped up to support the family when it happened.

"I think it sounds beautiful, your mother would most likely appreciate the thought," He replied.

I gave him a smile, "Then it's decided, if it's a girl, her name will be Violet Roselyn Baudelaire."

Bertie grinned. "I love it! Now we just have to think of a name for a boy if we have one instead…"

I thought about it.

And then I thought about it some more.

And then I thought about it even more than that.

And then it hit me.

"Bertrand… if it's a boy… Can we name him Lemony?"

"What?"

"I want to ask Lemony to be this child's godfather when we get home. And he sacrificed so much for me even after I left him. I want to repay that by making him the godparent and possibly naming the baby after him."

Bertie furrowed his brow in concentration and pushed his glasses up his nose. I couldn't tell if the idea bothered him. I mean it would bother most men. I am suggesting making my ex the godfather of our child, and naming my baby after my ex. If Bertrand had a former partner that he wanted to name the baby after I might not take so kindly to such a thing either.

"Sure."

I jumped. "Wait, really?"

"Yeah… Look Bea, I haven't known Lemony as long as you, but I know he's a good guy. He gave me that ring to propose to you with, he sacrificed his personal freedom to ensure you have a normal life, even if it's with me, he came out of hiding to attend a party that he was sure would have his revenge seeking, former best friend try to crash as long as he had one chance to keep you alive. I think it'd be plain criminal to not do something to honor those deeds. And if you want that something to be making him godfather and naming a baby after him then, why not do it?"

I felt my eyes get a bit misty. I gave him a hug. "Thank you Bertie… that means a lot that you agree."

We hugged in silence for a while before he blurted out, "Of course we'd still need a middle name."

I sighed. "I'll think of one later. Right now it's late and I'm tired."

~End of Chapter!

Sorry for taking so long on this one. I've been stressed and depending on how things go tomorrow I might have an update schedule change soon. Don't worry about details, they're not your problem, just know that I will update as often as I can and I will finish this book, even if it kills me!