Chapter 29: Love, Love, Love ;)

Shelby realized she'd woken up earlier than normal when there was only a dim light in the room the day after Angus and Rosalinda's wedding. When she realized it was the day after their wedding, her memories of the night before suddenly came flooding back to her. She'd known for a while that she had feelings for Sebastian, but she was finally accepting them. She realized she loved the man Sebastian was. In a lot of ways, he was still the same person he'd been, but he was also different in the fact that he'd learned that women were smarter than he had been taught and had let go of his misogynistic ideas. But not only did she love him, she was in love with him.

As she tried to get back to sleep, Shelby found herself wishing she knew how Sebastian felt about her. The thought felt so much like something people experienced in high school when they wondered if their crush liked them back or not. Since she'd had her 16th birthday a week before she ended up in the 16th century, she was technically almost 18. As her mind drifted, she rolled over to try and get comfortable.

"What's up?" Sebastian's voice asked as he turned to face her.

"Nothing."

"That's what you said last night. I didn't believe you then either. What's really on your mind? There was something you said after I said I regretted forcing you here to marry me. What was it?" he gently pressed.

Shelby was silent for a few moments. She could tell Sebastian cared about her answer from his concerned expression, but she wasn't sure she was ready to tell him. "I'm not sorry about that anymore," Shelby admitted somewhat reluctantly. "I hated you soo much at first, but you've learned and grown. And I've realized that I love you. You're more caring and have become the type of man I always dreamed of marrying."

Sebastian was silent for several seconds after Shelby finished speaking. "I love you too," he replied.

Before Shelby truly realized what she was doing, she found herself kissing Sebastian. Sebastian shifted to move closer to Shelby and deepen the kiss. Her words from soon after they were married about the importance of kissing came back to his mind. He understood what she meant. They'd spent time talking and getting to know each other now; that was supposed to happen before anything else.

The kiss quickly grew heated. Sebastian was her first kiss, so Shelby really had no idea what to do, but she found her hands in his hair. She couldn't believe she'd been the one to initiate the kiss. She knew she meant everything she'd said and the things she hadn't said to Sebastian yet. She did love him.

"Did you mean what you said earlier?" Shelby asked as she gently pulled away from Sebastian a couple minutes later to catch her breath.

"When I said I loved you?" Shelby nodded in response. "Yes. I've been feeling a—connection, I guess—between us for a while. I've fallen for you, but I know you said you wanted time, so I wasn't planning to act on any of those feelings. I wanted you to be the one who made that decision. Did you mean what you said?"

"Absolutely. With all of me," Shelby replied.

"Good," Sebastian spoke as he initiated the kiss this time, hoping to show Shelby that he truly did mean what he said. Shelby quickly gave in. The kiss was sweet and tender and everything she could have imagined kissing someone would feel like.

"Sebastian," Shelby whispered his name when the kiss ended several minutes later.

"Yes?"

"Remember how you said you'd wait until I was ready before we tried to have another baby?" Shelby questioned.

"Of course."

"I think I'm ready."

Sebastian wore a shocked expression. "Are—are you sure? Sadie isn't even a year old yet."

"Let me rephrase that: I know I'm ready," she replied. Shelby leaned forward to capture Sebastian's lips in a kiss again. She shifted how they lay so he straddled her hips. The sun was still low in the sky as things escalated between the two. For the first time, that morning, the two made love.

XXX

A while later, Shelby and Sebastian lay beside each other in silence for a few minutes. As things heated up between them that morning, they had taken things slow. Sebastian kept pausing to check with Shelby to make sure everything he was doing was okay and pausing to make sure she was sure about trying to have a baby.

Despite Shelby's reassurances to Sebastian, he seemed nervous based on the way his hands fumbled with their clothes as they helped each other undress. However, after Shelby stopped him and reminded him that she loved him and was sure about it, he seemed to relax and have gained some confidence.

After the few minutes of silence, Sebastian turned to face Shelby. "That was amazing," he spoke.

Shelby turned to face Sebastian as she kept the blankets pulled up over her chest while Sebastian let them rest around his waist. "It was pretty amazing," Shelby agreed.

"It was so much better than before. I can't believe I ever thought forcing you into it was a good idea. When we work together," he trailed off, unable to find the words.

"That's how relationships and marriages should be. Two people working together to make something amazing happen. Things end up better than if it was one-sided when people work together in their relationship."

Sebastian paused as he considered Shelby's words for several seconds. "Agreed. But, you know you don't need to keep the blankets up over you like that," he said, motioning to the way she had the blankets over her chest. "It's not like I haven't seen you without clothes on before."

"I'm cold," Shelby reasoned.

"I could help with that," Sebastian replied, placing a hand gently on the side of Shelby's face to bring her lips to his.

Shelby found herself tempted to give in. "No," she said, pulling back. "Not now anymore. Lucinda or Joan is probably going to bring Sadie in here soon. We should at least put our robes on."

Reluctantly, Sebastian nodded his agreement.

The two got out of bed and put their robes on. Shelby was fixing her hair when there was a knock on the door followed by Joan's voice asking if she could come in. Sebastian met Shelby's eye. When she gave a small nod, he gave the affirmative to Joan that she could enter the room.

"I hope it's okay that I came earlier than Lucinda or I normally would come," Joan said. "Sadie's been wanting you."

"That's fine," Shelby said, abandoning her work fixing her hair; she could finish that later. "Hi, Baby Girl," Shelby spoke, taking Sadie from Joan's arms. Sadie offered her a smile.

"I will let you have some time alone with Sadie before we return to help you get dressed," Joan spoke as she prepared to leave the room.

"Thank you," Shelby replied. "For taking care of Sadie last night and bringing her to us this morning."

"You're welcome, Shelby," Joan nodded before heading out of the room.

"Morning," Shelby spoke to Sadie again as the little girl began to babble in reply. "Do you want to go to Daddy?" Shelby asked, beginning to make her way to Sebastian. Sadie made small babbling noises in reply.

"I guess you want to come to me," Sebastian said, holding his arms out. "Hi, Sadie," he greeted her. "I think Mommy might want to finish doing her hair, so let's talk," he said, walking around the room and talking to Sadie as Shelby went to finish fixing her hair. While talking with Sadie, she babbled in reply to the questions Sebastian asked her.

"Are you and Daddy having a nice conversation?" Shelby asked once she finished her hair.

"She does like to talk a lot. Like someone else I know," Sebastian joked.

"Yeah, just wait until she's actually talking to us and telling us about all the things she wants."

"Well, she is the princess," he smiled.

Shelby paused. "Sebastian?"

"Yeah?"

"I know Sadie's the princess and all, but in my time, a lot of the times when kids are always given everything they want, they end up being the type of people you don't really want to be around. I want Sadie to have everything she needs, but I also want to make sure she'll be a good Queen who cares about people. I don't want her to look down on people when she's Queen."

Sebastian listened intently to Shelby's words and paused thoughtfully for several moments after she finished speaking. A small smile graced his face. "I understand. She should be a caring Queen when she takes over. The kingdom and the people are better off because of your caring attitude and they will continue to be cared for under Sadie."

Shelby was sure she blushed at Sebastian's words, so she turned to look out the window to hide it. Sebastian joined her a few moments later.

"You know that I truly mean it. You are beautiful inside and out." Sebastian punctuated his sentence by placing a kiss on Shelby's cheek. However, he soon had to begin walking around the room when Sadie became fussy.

"I can take her," Shelby spoke a few moments later as she came out of her trance.

"I've got it," Sebastian replied, continuing to walk around the room as Sadie's tears subsided.

After Sadie settled down, the three had a little time to themselves before breakfast. Shelby and Sebastian decided to sit at the table by the window and share a conversation. Though normal conversations between them were more common, it was nice to have time to themselves.

"When did you first begin to think that you didn't despise me?" Sebastian questioned.

"I think the first time was actually right after we found out I was pregnant with Sadie. When you said things could go by what I said, I think that's when I started not despising you. But the first time I realized I might actually have feelings for you was when you wanted to add stuff from my time to Christmas and New Year. Or maybe when you took my hand while we were sneaking through the castle on New Year's Eve," Shelby admitted.

"Wow, that long ago?" Sebastian laughed. "And you never said anything?"

"I wasn't sure what to say or how to say it. What if I was just being stupid and you had no real feelings for me? What if you resented me for how you've changed since I came into your life?"

Sebastian shook his head. "I could never resent you. I'm a better man because of you. A better version of myself who understands the value of women instead of thinking you're useless. You make me want to be a better man than I was at first. And, now that I know how you feel about me, I want to be the man you deserve."

Shelby sat in stunned silence for several long moments. "Thank you," she finally spoke.

"For what?"

"What you're doing for me," Shelby replied. "So, when did you begin to realize you liked me?"

Sebastian let out a somewhat nervous laugh. "I actually found the way you stood up to me attractive," he admitted.

"Really?"

"Yeah. I'd never met a woman who was as strong willed as you. I did hate that you stood up to me, but it was and is attractive. However, I find your personality attractive in general."

"Wow," Shelby said, stunned to silence momentarily once again. "I can't believe I'm hearing you say this."

"It's all true," Sebastian reasoned. "There's no reason not to tell you how I feel. I've fallen for you and I want to be the person you deserve and treat you the way you deserve to be treated."

Shelby smiled, and their casual conversation continued until Joan entered the room a little while later. Once Shelby was dressed, she took Sadie so Sebastian could get dressed before they had breakfast together.

XXX

The couple weeks following Angus and Rosalinda's wedding were uneventful. Together, Shelby and Sebastian began to work on plans for housing outside the castle for the servants and other people who worked in the castle. There was plenty of open space around the castle that wasn't used as pasture for animals where the housing could be built.

In those couple weeks, not only was there planning for the new housing, but also planning for the celebration of Sadie's first birthday.

The celebration of Sadie's first birthday was meant to be a big one. There was always a celebration on the birthdays of the prince and princesses birthdays in North Upswich, especially considering they lived in a time where many children died young.

"Has it really almost been a year?" Shelby asked as she and Sebastian headed back to their room after going over some of the plans for Sadie's birthday.

"Yes," Sebastian replied. "I'm glad she's been so healthy this year. Many people aren't as lucky as we've been," he spoke with a deep sigh.

Shelby nodded her agreement and remained silent for the rest of the walk to their room where they found Joan waiting with Sadie. "I was told you would be returning soon and brought her here. I hope that is okay."

"It's perfect," Shelby replied as Sebastian took Sadie. "Thank you. Have a good night."

Joan nodded as she left the room.

"What you said earlier about people not being as lucky as us to celebrate their kid's first birthday makes me think about all the medical advancements there are in my time. Kids don't usually die from disease because there are vaccines and treatments."

"Really?" Sebastian asked. "What about women dying in childbirth?"

"Doesn't happen very much anymore," Shelby spoke. "That's one of the things that scares me the most about being pregnant here," Shelby added more quietly.

Sebastian's expression fell. He wasn't sure Shelby really meant for him to hear the second part of what she said. "If you don't want to, we don't need to have any more kids. Sadie will make an excellent Queen. Even if she did have a younger brother, I think I would prefer if she took the throne."

For several moments, Shelby was silent as she tried to gather her thoughts. "Sebastian," she drew his attention from looking at Sadie. "I've always dreamed of being a mom and having my own kids. Kids," she emphasized. "If I can't get back to my time, which seems unlikely, I still do want to have kids. More than just Sadie. I love you. And especially now that we both know how we feel about each other, I want to have more kids with you. Getting to hold our baby or babies will be worth the risk.

"Other than the pain, Sadie's birth was fairly easy. Hopefully her younger siblings would be easy as well."

"If you change your mind, let me know."

"I promise to let you know if I change my mind. But I probably won't."

Sebastian stepped forward to capture Shelby's lips in a passionate kiss.

"Wow there, Tiger. We need to get Sadie to sleep and then get to bed ourselves."

Though Sebastian was confused by Shelby calling him 'Tiger' he nodded his agreement. Sadie was soon sound asleep, allowing the two a little time to themselves before they went to sleep.

The following morning, after having breakfast, Shelby and Sebastian had some meetings they needed to go to together. Though the meetings were meant to take most of the morning, they were finished less than two hours later so they still had part of the morning free.

"What would you like to do?" Sebastian asked as they left the meeting.

"I actually have something I want to check on in the library."

"Okay. I think I'll head to our room and have some time with Sadie while we wait for you. See you later," Sebastian finished as they had to depart and head in separate directions. He did, however, place a quick kiss on Shelby's cheek before she could head to the library.

Shelby couldn't help the blush that formed on her face, and it gave her all the more reason to do what she was planning to do. It had been much too long since she last wrote a journal entry, and now she had things she needed to add to it.

When Shelby had her journal laid out and began to look over it, she wasn't surprised by how many months had passed since her last entry. Not only had she been busy with meetings and helping with Angus and Rosalinda's wedding, but she felt less of a need to escape in the way her journal allowed her to at first.

When she first got to 1522, it had been a way to escape Sebastian and her reality. Now, she had accepted her life in the castle and wanted to be with Sebastian—wanted him in other ways too.

There was no doubt that she still missed her friends and family, but she couldn't remember when she last went to the tower to try opening the rift. Shelby sighed as she began to put her feelings to words. She found her thoughts and feelings flowed out of her easily as they always had when she wrote a journal entry. A sense of relief settled over her when she finished. She'd told Sebastian how she felt about him two and a half weeks prior, and now she put them to paper.

A little while later, Shelby was putting everything from writing away. Knowing she was close to the end of a book, she picked another one out to take with her back with her.

In their room, Sebastian sat on the bed across from Sadie as she played with a few of her toys. His brow furrowed when he looked at the book in Shelby's hand. "You were gone longer than it takes to pick out a book," he noted.

"There was something else I wanted to do before I picked the book out."

"Care to share?"

"Just looking at some other stuff," Shelby spoke slowly.

Sebastian wore a skeptical expression, but didn't question Shelby any further; instead, he invited her to join him in playing with Sadie. They spent the remainder of their time before lunch playing with Sadie. Their afternoon would be occupied by planning for her birthday party.

Lunch came more quickly than Shelby and Sebastian wanted. However, they took longer to eat so they'd have more time with Sadie.

After they finished lunch, Shelby and Sebastian had to meet with their advisors to further plan Sadie's party. As with Sadie being presented to the kingdom—which seemed like forever ago—there would be a gathering of the people so they could see their young princess and celebrate her first birthday.

On the day of Sadie's birthday, there would be a ball in the evening as there often was for celebrations in the castle. However, rather than being later in the night, the festivities would only carry on to the early evening since they were celebrating Sadie's first birthday.

Over the course of the following week, every day, Shelby and Sebastian had small meetings where they went over the plans for Sadie's birthday. Each day, they were able to make sure everything that needed to be done from the day before was taken care of and prepared.

In addition to planning for Sadie's birthday, there were preparations and planning to be done concerning the new housing. However, while there was a lot of planning to do, Shelby and Sebastian also had a lot of free time once they finished the meetings they had—allowing them more time with Sadie.

One of the afternoons, Shelby and Sebastian decided to take Sadie for a walk in the gardens. Shelby put together a few of Sadie's things like a diaper bag with diapers, extra clothes, a few toys, and a blanket to sit on. Sebastian had gone to the kitchens to get some food packed for them while they spent the afternoon in the gardens. They walked for a little while through the gardens to find the perfect spot.

When they found a quiet and shady spot to sit for the afternoon, Shelby lay the blanket out while Sebastian held Sadie. They'd let themselves wander far enough away from the castle so the only sounds they heard were that of birds flying in the sky and the wind rustling in the trees.

After Shelby got the blanket laying out in the grass, Sebastian set Sadie down. The two retrieved a couple toys for Sadie before joining her on the blanket. Sebastian set the food aside for later so they could first enjoy their time together as a family. Though Sadie couldn't talk, she enjoyed babbling as she played with her toys and they all enjoyed the perfect spring day. She clapped in excitement every time she got Shelby or Sebastian to laugh.

That afternoon, Shelby and Sebastian set aside all their responsibilities as rulers of the country. It was simply them and their daughter for the day. The lack of noise in the area they were in helped convey the feeling that they did have anything to do but enjoy their time together.

As Sadie played with her toys, Sebastian sat back and let out a content sigh.

"What was that for?" Shelby asked.

"I'm just happy. This day is perfect. Being here alone is perfect. Sadie's perfect and will make an excellent Queen someday," Sebastian shrugged.

"I've been thinking about that these past few days a little," Shelby began. "I don't know how well it's going to go over to just have a Queen without a King. I think this is still a time where the people will insist that Sadie have a King at her side to rule."

"That may be true," Sebastian agreed. "However, I'm sure we can help the people accept it. Sadie can be joined by a King if she chooses. I'm confident that the people will be fine with a Queen after they get used to the idea."

"Wow," Shelby breathed. "You've really grown since we met. Sometimes, it just hits me how much you've changed well, grown, in the past two years."

"I think we've both changed and grown for the better," Sebastian smiled as the two leaned in to share a kiss; the kiss likely would have been longer if Sadie's giggling hadn't brought them back down to earth.

"And we also have a daughter who has so graciously reminded us that she exists," Shelby laughed as she held her arms out so Sadie could crawl into her arms.

Sebastian laughed as Sadie cuddled into Shelby's arms. They soon broke out the food they'd brought along to continue enjoying their day together,

However, no matter how much they wanted to stay hidden away in the middle of the gardens, eventually they needed to return. While they knew they needed to return, Shelby and Sebastian waited until it was nearly dinner time to begin making their way back to the castle. When they returned to the castle, they had some time to 'clean-up' before going to dinner.

After that evening, the following weeks passed in a blur as the final preparations were made for Sadie's birthday. The weekend before the celebration, Shelby and Sebastian made sure the rooms were ready for Sebastian's family to stay in when they arrived on Wednesday the 11th for the party on Saturday before Sadie's birthday; they would be there until the following Wednesday once Sadie's birthday passed.

A/N: If I'm being honest, I felt a little weird to write the beginning of this chapter, but it's also kinda my favorite part of the story. Also, remember how Sebastian told Shelby not to fall in love with him at the dance? Yeah, I laughed at that and then wrote this.

I might need to take a little longer on posting the next two chapters. There's something I have happen in chapter 31 that I need to edit into chapter 30. I'll do my best not to take too long between updates, but in case it does happen, that's the reason why.

Anyway, as always, thanks for reading. I'd love to know what you thought if you want to leave a review.

Reviews:

Ansy: I'm glad to know you enjoyed Shelby admitting her feelings for Sebastian. I hope the conversation lived up to any hopes or expectations you had for it. While the last chapter was about the wedding, I really did want a lot of it to center around how Shelby and Sebastian's relationship has changed.

sweetsimplegirl: I'm glad you enjoyed Sebastian complimenting Shelby in the last chapter and hope you enjoyed the instances of it here as well. I also hope you enjoyed Sebastian admitting his feelings for Shelby here.