Chapter 33

Drake

'Usually I can't just tell you everything, it's my duty to keep silent about everything my patients tell me,' she started, then looked down. 'But this is out of my hands, I hope this information helps you.' She took a deep breath, and for the first time, her happy attitude slumped. 'Eleanor was extremely stressed about being pregnant. She'd actually planned an abortion, because this child was doomed. We'd found out that she was having a girl, and from that moment on, her entire life was unsure.' Her eyes darkened. 'She didn't want to tell me at first, but finally, she broke. She told me about this group, Sons of Earth, that had cornered King Father Constantine in the past. He'd agreed to a deal, a rule stating that the King's first daughter would have an arranged marriage to the Sons of Earth leader's son. In order for her to become Queen, Leo and Jimmy would either have to abdicate… or, if they didn't cooperate, get killed.'

Iris gasped slightly, and my fists clenched. 'Which was the reason why Eleanor decided to have an abortion, even though she longed for the child. She didn't tell Constantine about it, and had scheduled it… but she never made it to the appointment,' doctor Ramirez said, her voice soft. 'Oh my god,' Iris said, and caught my eyes. We both knew what this meant.

By the time Iris and I had gotten back to our car, and we'd closed the doors, her eyes widened as she looked at me. 'Drake! Doesn't this mean that Godfrey must have known about her child being a girl? That must have been why he poisoned her, right? He didn't want that child to become Queen and marry the leader's son, but what was his reasoning?' I frowned as I looked at her. 'What if he needs Jimmy alive? If Eleanor's daughter was born, Jimmy either had to abdicate or be killed… what if he needed either Jimmy or Leo to be king?' Iris fell silent for a few seconds, fiddling her fingers. 'What would be in it for Godfrey?' Before I could even crack my brain, my phone rang. I grabbed it, and saw that it was Jimmy. 'Hey Jimmy,' I answered, putting the phone on speaker. 'Drake, how did it go?' Jimmy asked. I could hear that something was going on, and so did Iris as she looked worried. 'We heard a solid heartbeat, and I'm sure we'll celebrate later,' she said, 'what's going on?'

I heard Emma sigh relieved in the background. 'Oh guys, we're so happy for you!' She said happily. Iris and I smiled at each other. So were we. We'd hardly had any time to be happy about it, but we truly were. Of course we were. 'Thanks Em, we are too. What's going on?' I asked. 'We really don't want to ruin this happy moment for you, but… Well, I called Madeleine this morning,' Jimmy said, his voice a little weird. 'She had no idea her father was involved with Sons of Earth, but we were right. When she started searching his study, she found some small notes. He really is a part of the group… and it gets even worse.' He fell silent. 'What is it?' I demanded. 'She found about the deals my dad made,' Jimmy said, his voice now trembling.

We heard a few cracking noises, and then Emma as she took over the phone. 'The deals are focused on Jimmy. He was to, either pick Madeleine as his wife and remain King without trouble… marry another woman of nobility, but then he'd have to give up the prince or princess, to marry him or her off to a future child of Sons of Earth… or the last one.' She took a deep breath. 'Or if Jimmy marries a commoner, he and his wife get killed… and the next in line to the throne are Godfrey's son… and Olivia.'

Iris

'What?!' I shrieked. 'Those are three terrible deals, how did Constantine ever agree to this?!' Drake called angrily. I took a few deep breaths. 'Okay… so Olivia has been taken because her marriage to Godfrey's son is going to happen, after Jimmy and Emma get killed?!' I asked incredulously. 'Basically, that's what it comes down to,' Emma said softly. 'What the hell, what is this,' Drake said, his eyes dangerously dark and furious. I put a hand on my belly and felt slightly nauseated. 'My god… that means that, if we want to put a stop to this… we have to free Olivia, find out who Godfrey's son is, find him, beat him, lock away Godfrey… and all of that within a week,' I said, feeling a panic attack coming up.

My heart started pounding, and I took a few shallow breaths. 'Jimmy, I gotta call you back,' Drake said quickly, as he saw my face. He hung up and took my hands in his. 'Deeper breaths, Valentine.' I nodded and drew in shaky breaths while my hands started shaking. 'We're endangering everyone who's coming to the wedding… this is way out of our reach, Drake,' I said, and my voice started trembling.

He lifted my chin so I'd look into his eyes. 'Listen to me.' I nodded and tried to take deeper breaths. 'I know it seems hopeless right now, but we have no other option than to get it done. We'll make it work and nothing is going to happen to the ones we love,' he said, his voice determined. 'We're Drake Walker and Iris Valentine for god's sake. It'll be a phenomenon. We're the Walkers. Everyone knows we're fighters, and we're going to fight until the end to save the people we love.' His words had slowed my breathing, yet fired up my soul. 'You're right,' I said, feeling my heart grow back to a steady beat. 'We are fighters.'

I frowned. 'We are the Walkers, damn it!' A proud smile curled up on his lips. 'I know it's tough baby, but I'm so proud of you. We'll give it our all.' I nodded agreeingly and leaned closer to him, letting my lips brush over his. 'I love you.' He smiled. 'Love you too, Valentine.' I took a deep breath, trying to steady my voice again. 'Can I hire you during all my panic attacks? You make 'em pass so much faster,' I said, wringing my hands to stop the shaking. 'I'm about to be your husband. I can't be hired for a job I'm already doing,' he said, playfully. I chuckled and nodded. 'Thank you.' He cupped my cheeks. 'I get that you're scared.' He leaned closer, and put his forehead against mine. 'I'm scared too, Valentine. Especially after seeing that little heartbeat. I'm just saying we'll make it through.'

I nodded, and thought back of our baby's heartbeat. I clenched my fists. We had to win, we had to conquer… for our baby. I caught his eyes. 'Let's do this.' I started driving, and Iris called Jimmy back, discussing a few matters before hanging up. 'Okay, Jimmy, Emma and Jake are going to do a background check on Godfrey, finding out who his son is. Madeleine is coming to the palace to help, and the others at the Beaumont Manor are coming to Bellatio as well. Jimmy, Jake, Madeleine and Emma will join us before dinner,' I told Drake once I'd hung up, and he nodded. 'Okay, good. In the meantime, I need you to get some rest, Valentine,' he said, frowning at me.

I raised my eyebrows. 'Why? We've got to set up the dinner!' He shook his head. 'Your parents, the others and I have a dinner to set up. You've been stressed lately, dealing with panic attacks… I'm thinking more than you've told me about.' He caught my eyes quickly before looking back at the road. I felt my cheeks getting warm. 'You're right, I'm sorry.'

I looked down at my hands and took a deep breath. 'I can control my emotions less easily since being pregnant. It's harder to think straight about how pointless those panic attacks are.' He grabbed my hand and kissed the back of mine. 'When did the attacks start?' I frowned and swallowed. 'They started after the triple pancreas infection. I started having one almost every night, being scared of the pain ever coming back. I grew past it about half a year later when I realised the pain would never be coming back… but about another half a year later they came back during stressful periods. It didn't have anything to do with the pain anymore, but my body still reacts to the stress I've endured during those infections.' I clenched my fists, 'and now, sometimes, when I feel like I can't grasp the situation we're in… I crack.' I looked up at him, feeling a lump in my throat. 'And I hate cracking, because I've always thought I was better than that. My family's been through so much and here I am, the only one with panic attacks,' I admitted, my voice breaking.

Drake was silent for a few seconds as he parked the car, turned it off and turned towards me. 'Cracking doesn't make you any less of a person than anyone else,' he said, his voice soft as he took my hands in his. 'Those panic attacks happen for a reason, and that reason doesn't make you weak. You're my favourite person in the world, and I've never come across someone as strong. Your family's dealt with so much, you're right, and everyone is dealing with things in their own way… but you were the only one feeling the pancreas pain. What do you think that does to a person, Valentine? And now this… You've seen me cry about it, remember what you told me?'

I looked into his eyes and nodded. 'I was happy you showed me how you felt, because it looked like you were supressing your feelings about the shooting,' I said softly. He nodded, his eyes honey coloured as I could see the love in them. 'And you are the one I know I can share my feelings with… even when I'm scared, or lost. It didn't make me weak, it made me stronger, because after our talk, I got through those feelings.' He smiled and brought his hand to my cheek, stroking it with his thumb. 'You are very strong, but you can't deal with these feelings alone, baby.'

I nodded and took a deep breath. 'You're right, Drake.' I smiled and leaned into him. 'You're right. Thank you for always making me feel better. I promise to tell you if it happens again.' I cupped his cheeks and brushed my lips over his. 'I love you more than anything.' He smiled lovingly. 'And our little blob.' I let out a laugh and nodded agreeingly. 'And our little blob.'

Within an hour and a half, we'd arrived at Bellatio, as it wasn't that far from Piloude to begin with, and as we got out, we were greeted by the one and only Bella. 'BELLIE!' I called and wrapped my arms around my happy dog. 'Bella, take those intruders!' I heard my dad call from the doorway. I heard Drake chuckle, and as I looked up, my parents were standing in the doorway, both grinning big. I hadn't seen them since the assassination, or the wedding, and I felt a lump in my throat. I stood up and ran over to my parents, throwing myself into their arms. 'Honey!' Mom smiled lovingly as she kissed my forehead. 'Mom, dad,' I whispered and held them close. At first they were hugging me happily, until they realised that I was emotional. 'Iri-' my dad started, but Drake coughed slightly. 'She's been having a hard time lately, I think she could use a few hugs.'

I felt my mom stroke my back, and my dad stroke the back of my head, without saying anything. They knew I'd break if they did. Before anyone could say anything else, I heard another car drive up the lawn. Bella's bark immediately told me that Tim was amongst those people, and soon, I felt another pair of arms around me, and no one said another word for minutes.

Drake

I smiled as I led Hana, Maxwell, Danny and Ron towards the garden, letting the Valentines have their moment. 'Savannah asked me to tell you that she, Bartie and Bertrand are coming later. Their car was experiencing troubles, and it's getting fixed within a few hours,' Maxwell said as he shook my hand. I nodded and thanked him. Hana hugged me, and Danny and Ron shook my hand as well. 'Congratulations on the amazing news, Drake,' Hana said, her voice lovingly. 'Your baby… a little heartbeat!' A smile curled onto my lips. 'Even though we could hardly see anything, it really was special.' Maxwell patted my shoulder, looking proud. 'Drake Walker. Soon to be husband, soon to be father. Who knew, right?' I chuckled and shook my head, raising my hands. 'Honestly? Not me.'

The others chuckled. We arrived at the spot where Mark and Bree had planned the engagement dinner to be, and… we found it, already set up and done. I cocked an eyebrow. 'Eh, damn it. We're too late.' Danny laughed, 'this is typical.' Before we could look around to see whether there was anything else to do, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around and saw Mark and Bree smiling at me. Bree hugged me and Mark shook my hand. 'It's good to see you, Drake. Thank you for enlightening us on Iris' situation,' Mark said, pointing his head to the house.

I nodded and smiled. 'She really needed you guys.' Bree smiled. 'Also, congratulations on the news… we couldn't be happier, and prouder of course.' I felt a blush rise to my cheeks as I grinned big. 'Me neither, Bree.' They were smiling so big I couldn't help but laugh. 'She's resting inside?' I asked. They nodded. 'Good. And I see that you've already finished here?' Mark and Bree chuckled, 'we were nervous about the doctor's appointment too, had to do something,' Bree admitted. I wrung my hands and frowned. 'Yeah, we were pretty nervous too, but thankfully it all worked out.'

We chatted for a few minutes more, and then Mark and Bree moved on to greet Hana and Maxwell, and fell silent when they saw Danny and Ron. 'Oh my goodness, great to see you two again!' Bree said happily, and hugged both of them. I felt my phone vibrate, excused myself to Hana and Maxwell and grabbed my phone, walking away to answer. I didn't recognise the number, so I frowned and picked up. 'Drake Walker.' 'Drake, it's Regina,' I heard King Mother Regina say.

She sounded rushed and worried. 'Regina, are you okay?' I asked, immediately feeling worried as well. 'Constantine just woke up, and I can't call Jimmy, I'm pretty sure his phone is being listened to,' she said, and I heard her pace. 'Constantine was brabbling at first, but then, when he realised where he was, he grew scared and talked about his laptop, and Jimmy having to find it,' she said, confused. 'Yes, we did. We asked someone to hack into Constantine's computer, and we found his secret message. Regina… do you happen to know about Godfrey's son?' I asked, and my heart started pounding. She was silent for a few seconds. 'Godfrey doesn't have a son, Drake, he only has Madeleine.'

I let out the breath I was holding. 'We've found out a lot… especially about the deals Constantine has made with Sons of Earth, and one of the deals was how Godfrey's son would be next in line to become King and marry Olivia,' I said, hastily. Regina gasped. 'I can't believe it!' 'I'm assuming you are staying at the hospital, you won't be coming to the engagement dinner, right?' 'No, why?' 'Maybe you could check old files, or anything else to find out who Godfrey's son is,' I suggested, 'we have to pretend to know nothing and have to leave for the planned bachelor parties tomorrow… but the wedding is in one and a half week, and we have to stay in the spotlight, or else Sons of Earth will suspect us doing other things than trying to organise the wedding.' Regina agreed, and promised me she'd ask a few guards to take some files to the hospital. I thanked her, and asked her to keep us posted on his health before hanging up.

I quickly walked back to the others, and told them about the phone call. 'Okay… so multiple sources are trying to get information,' Bree said, nodding. Tim, who'd joined us in the meantime, agreed. 'The only thing you guys can do is show the outside world you're enjoying the engagement dinner and the bachelor parties we've arranged. It'll throw everyone off.' I nodded and folded my arms.

I was getting so confused again. I knew I could hardly do anything to stir us all in the right direction, but I wished we knew more. Leaving for our bachelor parties hardly felt like the right thing to do, but thankfully, we had other people looking into things… and Iris could use the change of heart as well. I sighed.
Everyone could.

The engagement dinner was a great distraction by itself as well, later that night. Everyone was dressed up, my mom and Savannah came and met Mark and Bree, immediately hitting it off. Mom was really fond of Bree, and they chatted the entire night. I saw Savannah getting close to Mark as well, and I wasn't really surprised. Mark was a bit like our dad had been. Strong, steadfast, a real head of the household man, and Savannah seemed comfortable around Mark, who seemed to develop a soft spot for her too. I was proud of my family, and both Iris and I loved seeing our families blend together, liking each other and chatting. Our mother's couldn't stop talking about becoming grandmothers, which would be a first for Bree, and a second for my mother.

Emma's parents finally got their moments of talking with Jimmy, as the wedding wasn't the best of time, and they hit it off as well. Emma was glowing through the entire meal, and all seemed way too well, for the fact that we were dealing with assassins. For just a few hours, I couldn't be bothered with those thoughts, and I decided to let go and enjoy the night.

'I loved seeing everyone together during dinner,' Iris said happily, later that night as she stepped out of the bathroom, drying her hair with her towel as she'd just gotten out of the shower. 'Me too, Valentine,' I said, with a smile as I leaned back in bed and looked at my gorgeous fiancée. I put away my book, and sat up against the headboard. She was wearing a simple pyjamas, but when someone extraordinary wears something ordinary… it just isn't ordinary anymore. She smiled up at me. 'Why are you looking at me like that?' I smiled bigger. 'It's just… you never cease to amaze me.' She dropped the towel and walked over to me, stepping onto the bed, crawling over to me until she was hovering over me. 'That's really sweet, Drake.' An electric jolt ran through my spine as her lips found mine. 'Still don't understand how you made me like that,' I moped. She giggled and shook her head. 'Pretty sure it's been in there all this time.' She let herself fall down next to me, and popped herself up on her elbow.

'I know it may not be the best time, but I'm actually quite excited to see what Tim and Hana have planned.' I nodded, and rolled onto my left side so I could look at her. 'Me too, actually. It's terrible timing, but we can at least enjoy the experience, right?' She grinned. 'Yeah, because it's the last time you'll ever be classified as "single".' I frowned. 'As if I ever liked being single. I remember the time you were about to marry Jimmy. I don't care for "single". Don't ever make me single.'

She smiled lovingly and cupped my cheek. 'I never will.' We kissed once more, and she lay her head onto my chest, sighing contentedly. Her breathing grew slow quite quickly, and her heartbeat was slow and steady. I smiled, kissed her forehead softly and brushed a strand of hair out of her face. 'Goodnight, Walker,' I said, and closed my eyes as well.

It couldn't be much later when our bedroom door was being thrown open, and Iris and I were being pulled apart. She gasped, and I growled at first, trying to reach for her in confusion. 'SURPRISE FUTURE WALKERS, WELCOME TO YOUR BACHELOR PARTIES!'