"I'm not seeing the darkness transfer to the baby," Spruce said that evening during another ultrasound. "I think Silvermist has a good plan that if you heal her and the baby daily, it won't be there long enough to hurt either of them, if it even is transferring." Spruce removed Sleet's hand and brushed the dust off her belly.

"And what if it only takes fourteen hours to kill the baby? Or what—" he protested.

Spruce sighed, pulled her dress down, and tossed the sheet in the laundry bin as she sat up. "Captain, we had you touch her twelve hours ago, and I don't see anything. If you really want, we can do a twenty-four hour test, or we can put you on an antidepressant—"

"No," Silvermist cut in and looked at him. "You're not going on more meds. We can do the test, but no meds."

He sighed.

She suddenly ran for the trashcan and got sick.

Oh Neverland, even the sound now made him clamp a hand over his mouth.

Spruce looked at him as he headed over to Silvermist. "Are you feeling ill when she gets sick?"

Silvermist straightened and looked over at him with a frown. "I thought I heard you in the bathroom yesterday."

Spruce handed her a glass of water and then looked at him.

Embarrassment crept up. "I just can't take the sound or sig…" Neverland, even talking about it was too much. He sank onto the edge of the table.

"Oh, Sleet, why on earth have you been cleaning up after me?" Silvermist pressed a cold rag to the back of his neck, which helped ease the nausea.

"You're pregnant and sick. You shouldn't have to clean...Can we stop talking about it?" His hands grew clammy.

"You're this far. You'll feel better to just do it." Spruce shoved a bag in his face. "Heave ho."

That tipped him over the edge.

"Here." Silvermist pressed a fresh glass of water into his hand and moved the cold rag to his forehead.

"You're the pregnant one," he panted.

"And you're the one who looks green," Spruce said as he got rid of the bag. "Better?"

He nodded.

"Alright, to spare your mate, Silvermist, we'll put you on ginger root tea three times a day to get the morning sickness under control fast." He glanced at Sleet.

The poor thing still looked quite nauseous. "Should he take some, too?"

Spruce frowned and set a hand to Sleet's brow. "Have you been feeling ill otherwise? You didn't look the best when you walked in."

He gave a slow shake of his head.

"He hasn't been sleeping much," she added.

"This was an appointment for the baby," he protested.

"Yes, and we're getting him checked," she teased and wiped his brow again. "You can't get the flu, right?"

"No, Alamur don't get it."

"Let's try this." Spruce dug a syringe out.

Within minutes, his stomach calmed. "I'll do the labor pain for you, I just can't do morning sickness."

That won a smile. "I don't expect you to take the labor pain for me. Maybe just for a couple minutes if I get so tired I can't push and the baby's in danger, but I can take care of labor."

He frowned and pulled her closer. "I don't want you scared."

"I'm not scared because you'll be there to take care of us if something goes wrong."

With the back of his knuckles, he stroked her cheek. "Nothing's going to go wrong because we have Spruce, the Queen, and I to cover all of the bases."

She nodded. And then frowned. "Why? Are you worried something's going to go wrong?"

"It's his job to do all the worrying," Spruce cut in and checked Sleet's heart rate. "Your job is to grow the baby and that's it. Alright, sometimes that med makes heart rates go up, but you seem fine. Better?"

"Much." Then he stood and lifted her back onto the table—slowly so she wouldn't get sick. "What's next?" He looked at Healer Spruce.

"That's it. Her vitals look good and the baby looks good. We can do another ultrasound tomorrow to double check for the darkness. Now it's time for questions." Spruce looked straight at her.

A glance over at Sleet revealed a question on the tip of his tongue.

"He's stopped by six times already with questions. What questions do you have?" Spruce explained. "And no, you can't get pregnant with twins if you mate while you're pregnant," he added and glanced at Sleet.

Sleet hadn't said anything about talking to Spruce.

Sleet's cheeks reddened. "I wanted to make sure!"

A smile pulled. "After tomorrow, how often do we come?"

"Assuming everything looks normal, just once a month and then weekly the final two months."

"Once a month?! What if something happens during the other twenty-nine days?!" Sleet panicked.

Spruce did a nice job with taking a deep breath and keeping his expression patient. "You're going to be healing her every day, right?"

"And?"

Spruce's eyebrows rose. "What is it that I would find wrong?"

"You found darkness in the baby's heart," he pointed out.

"Let me rephrase that. Now that you know to heal her AND the baby, what is it I'd find wrong?"

Sleet scowled.

Spruce turned back to her. "What other questions?"

"What should we look for next for normal development?"

He nodded. "You're already having morning sickness, increased hunger and fatigue, you mentioned some mood swings, so the next thing will probably be abdominal twinges and having to use the washroom extra until the baby moves off of your bladder—"

"What twinges?" Sleet cut in, his eye wide.

This time, she heaved a sigh.

"Actually, that's a good question," Spruce answered.

By the time the appointment was over, she tucked herself under Sleet's arm and led him to sit on a rock just outside the hospital. "Are you alright?"

"Why do I feel like the pregnant fairy is the one doing the caretaking?" he asked weakly.

She covered her mouth to hide the smile. "Well, first you threw up, and then you almost fainted when he showed pictures to explain a human birth."

"I've seen animals...and I read in books...Neverland, that was nothing like I thought. I promise I'll take all the pain during labor and birth. But maybe knock me out first. I don't know if I could take feeling like I was pushing a baby through my—"

"Hey, Silvermist! Sleet!" Fawn came flying over. "What are you doing here? I had a baby bunny think my leg was a carrot." She stuck out her leg that had a small bandage.

"Oh no! Are you alright?" She glanced at Sleet, unsure what to say. Besides the Queen, Bright Fairies didn't have babies.

"Yeah, just two stitches."

He held her eyes for a moment. "Actually…"

She grabbed Fawn's hand in excitement. "You're good at keeping secrets. Promise to not tell anyone yet."

Fawn nodded.

She glanced at Sleet again. "You know how the Queen had to have the next queen but can't have more babies now?"

"Yeah…"

"So there needs to be the next Lord of Winter." She looked at Sleet again. He seemed hesitant with how well this might go over. "Captain is second in command in winter."

"What about Lord Milori's apprentice Snowflake?"

"A male has to have the lord."

The light started to shine in Fawn's eyes. "Wait, no! Are you…?"

Sleet stood and set his arm around as he smiled down at her.

She nodded.

Fawn screamed and flew into her, buzzing her wings to keep from plowing her over. "I can't believe it!" Then she pulled her back by her shoulders. "Do I get to be called 'Aunt'? When? It's a boy?" Then Fawn shot up at Sleet, making him stumble back a step as she hugged his neck. She let go and pointed a finger in his face. "You'd better take real good care of her, or I'll sick the skunks on you."

His lips pressed into a thin line like he tried not to laugh. Then he gave a salute.

Fawn grinned and pulled them in for a group hug. "I get first dibs on babysitting," she whispered. "Remember, I've delivered and babysat hundreds of animal babies. So, when are we having a baby?"

This time, Sleet did chuckle, seeming to enjoy being treated like a regular Bright Fairy. "Ten months and three weeks."

"What?! A week?! You haven't told me for a whole week?! I have so much to get ready!" Fawn dropped to the ground and started ticking a list off with her fingers. "There's the baby shower and baby proofing the house and birth class—"

"Birth class?" Sleet's ears perked up. He looked a tad faint.

Fawn nodded. "I take all the animals through a birth class. Lord Milori was offended when I said the Queen should've taken it, but I tell you that breathing techniques make labor so much easier."

His eyebrows rose and he glanced at her with the question in his eyes.

She shrugged. "Sure, we can try it."

"Oh, good!" Then Fawn zoomed closer again. "When does everyone else find out?"

He looked at her. "We haven't really decided."

"Tell me when because this is a big secret!" Fawn grabbed her shoulder. "Are you preening your wings like we practiced? It's super important now because your feathers might get a little more oily for the next few months. The last thing you need is an infection from a dirty feather."

A sideways glance at Sleet revealed him still paying attention to the conversation. "Alright," she said quickly with hot cheeks.

"And you might—"

"Alright, Fawn." She gave a slight nod toward Sleet.

But Fawn waved her hand. "He thinks you walk on water. He's not going to care."

Sleet smiled and raised his eyebrows in agreement. Then his brow furrowed. "I imagine you know a lot about pregnancy."

"I'm the animal midwife," Fawn smiled proudly.

He grinned. "I have some questions…"

After a half hour of Sleet asking every possible question, he nodded and looked at her. "I think we should add her to the Bases List."

"The what?" Fawn frowned.

"The list of everyone who can help during childbirth if something goes wrong—the Queen can do some healing and give dust, Spruce has the medical skills, I can heal, and you can coach us through labor."

"Really?!" Fawn's wings fluttered with glee.

Her eyes widened. "Um, maybe not the pushing part when Spruce…"

"No! No, no, no, no." Sleet and Fawn said at the same time.

Relief flooded.

Then Fawn glanced around and gave a quick pat to her flat belly. "Rest and eat a lot. I'll see you at work tomorrow." She took off with a whirlwind of energy.

She folded her arms and gave him a look.

He had the sense to pull at his collar. "Alright, maybe I got a little carried away. Next time, I'll ask you before inviting someone into the hospital room."

Her eyebrows rose. "Yes, you will. And who said it'll be at the hospital?"

His eye bugged. "Didn't you hear all the things that can go wrong? Of course you're delivering at the hospital."

"The Queen delivered at home and used the tub. You don't think a water fairy will need a tub?" She waved her hands between them. "You know this thing I have where I can control water? It might be a little useful for pressure therapy during labor."

His face fell. "I thought I'd be doing that."

She frowned. "You? I thought with how you almost fainted that you'd be in the waiting room until the very end."

Hurt actually flashed through his glow. "I thought I'd be with you the whole time."

Her wings rose slightly. "You will?"

"Of course." He frowned and stepped closer to rub her upper arms. "We're doing this together, all the way through. Even if it means being propped up in a chair with a vomit bag." He cracked a smile.

She threw her arms around him as her wings flapped with joy, the power of her flaps making him stumble backwards hard into a tree and grunt from the air knocking out of him. Immediately letting go, she took a step back and tucked down her wings tight. "Sorry, I wasn't thinking. Are you hurt?"

He straightened with a smile and pulled her close again. "It takes more than that. I'd rather see you happy than not fall down now and then." Then he winked and stroked her wing, making it relax instead of folding in on itself so tightly.

Offering a shy smile, her toes curled as her heart skipped a beat.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Dewdrop, I should be the one making you food." He got up from the table again.

She walked over and pushed him down into the chair—or more like he let her push him. "No. I feel perfectly fine, and Spruce said it's good for the baby to not change my daily routine. The ginger tea is helping."

He heaved a sigh. "I should be chopping wood or something, not sitting idle while my pregnant mate cooks," he growled.

Leaning around his shoulder to meet his eye, she cocked an eyebrow. "You got sick again when the smell of roses on the way home made me throw up. You look as green as a frog." Then she set a cup of ginger tea before him. "There will be plenty of time to fret over me when I get too big to move." She returned to the stove to make soup that would help calm his stomach.

"You aren't going to get too big," he snapped. "Whatever size the baby needs to be will be the perfect size and you'll be beautiful!" he barked.

A laugh escaped. "You take my breath away."

He slammed down the cup and looked at her with a scowl. "If anyone says anything about your belly size, you're to tell me, understood? I don't see anyone else around here growing a fairy, and they're not to make you feel ashamed!"

Pressing her lips together to suppress a smile, she nodded. "Of course, my Sleet. All I care about is if you think I'm pretty." Then she carried the pot over.

"Neverland, of course I do!"

She cracked a smile, his foul mouth still somehow stealing her heart. "You need to work on your cursing before the baby learns it."

He scowled. "I hardly swear. Neverland, I had a damn filthy mouth before you came along," he growled and took a sip of his tea.

That made her burst out laughing. "Of course you did, my Prince Charming." She pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"Well, we have the prince part down," he grumbled. Then he grew silent as she scooped two bowls of soup. "Silvermist," he said quietly, his voice solemn as he stared down at the mug cupped in his hands on the table, "we need to talk about the battle plans." His glow around her heart grew so terribly sad.

Setting the food aside, she sank into the chair and set a hand over his arm. "Let me say first that I told the Queen and Lord Milori that if Spruce thinks it'd hurt the baby, I won't do it."

Although he gave a slow nod, he still seemed sad and swallowed hard. Then he pulled off the eyepatch and resumed holding the mug, as if gathering his thoughts. "Aside from that, it doesn't matter anymore what I want—the Queen gave orders, and now it's about trying to keep you safe." But he still wouldn't look up.

Resting her other hand over his holding the mug, she leaned forward in concern. "Sleet, I know you're worried, but this is the best chance of saving you."

Finally, his eyes met hers. Profound heartbreak drained all the fight out of him. "At what price? I said 'no' because the cost of you or the baby is too high. At least if I don't make it, I'll know you're both safe." Tears shimmered in his eyes. "But to not only lose you, but watch you get cut down...I can't bear to lose you. That grief will feed their glows. They'll slaughter the entire army. The best thing to do would be to fall to my knees and let them cut me down." His throat convulsed in a hard swallow as a tear fell from his dark lashes. "But it's not what they'll do."

Tears welled from the terrible grief that swirled through his glow just talking about it.

"That kind of grief would feed their glows for years. They'll chain me somewhere and they'll lay your body just out of my reach, just close enough to leave so I get to watch you rot away." Another tear rolled down his cheek. "My screams will give them power like they've never had, so they'll be sure to chain me so I can't tear my own wings—the more insane I go from grief, the more power they gain. What would've it all been for?"

It was too horrific to even think about him suffering that much. She brushed at her soaked cheeks and reached for him.

But he turned away and got up to stand out of reach, his eyes red with unshed tears that waited to fall. "You never talked to me about it; you went behind my back to the Queen. And—" His voice broke and he had to look away and brush at his eyes for a moment. "And there's nothing I can do but wait for that hell of living without you to become my next several hundred years."

"Sleet, it won't happen. If—"

"Look me in the eyes, and tell me that you whole-heartedly believe you will hold out that long. That there's not one ounce of doubt."

It'd been so hard just cleaning up the Alamur sugar, and that was without a baby draining her dust. She looked away.

Silence.

His voice was thick when he spoke. "I understand that you're afraid I won't make it, but you made a choice that wasn't yours to make alone—that is my baby, too, and you're my mate." Then his voice warbled like he might weep. "We're partners, and I get a say in the risks my wife and child get to take for me. I left yesterday not because I'm angry, but because you broke my heart."

Her eyes flew up, but he had already turned away and was heading for the front door. Shooting up, the chair clattered as she ran and threw out her wings to block his path. "No, we're talking about this."

His cheeks were wet with tears.

"I'm sorry. Yes, I'm scared for you, and we should've gone to the Queen with a decision we made together. With the baby, I don't know that I'll last long enough to handle the Alamur on my own, and there are too many for you to fight alone." She reached up and cupped his face, brushing away his tears with her thumbs. "I didn't mean to hurt you, and I'm not going to do something stupid and leave you behind to suffer in their hands. I love you. I want an ending where I can have you and the baby."

He pulled her in close and buried his face in her hair. "Don't follow through on this plan." His chest heaved in a soft sob. "I keep having the same thoughts about you and the baby being murdered and me left without you to watch your body rot. I'm so s,scared that it m,means it's going to happen." And then he wept.

Terror and grief seared through his glow around her heart, painfully intense. The darkness didn't chase behind it this time. There was something more he wasn't saying, something that he was afraid to say. Stroking his hair, she held him tight. "It's a premonition, isn't it?" Her heart sped up in nervousness. "There are certain dark things that you can see."

In that moment, he actually trembled as he wept so hard he couldn't even speak.

When she tried to move to get him to sit, he only held tighter like he was afraid to let her go. "My Sleet, we're going to figure this out so no one gets hurt. Take a deep breath." The darkness started to come, so she unlaced his shirt to open it and pressed her heart to his.

Once he calmed enough to speak, she led him to sit on the sofa and sat beside him.

His hands still shook as he ran them through his hair and then leaned his elbows on his knees, trying to get a hold of himself.

She set a hand on his lower back and stroked.

He leaned his head in his hand, pressing it to his eyes. "Sometimes Alamur know when something particularly terrible is about to happen to them—usually a prolonged torture. It builds the fear that the others' glows can feed on."

Drawing a deep breath to keep her own fear in check, she set a hand on his knee. "Have you had it happen before and it's been accurate?" Every instinct screamed to run, to curl up and hide to avoid hearing the dark answer that she already knew.

"Yes." His face crumpled and he buried it in his hands. A couple shuddering breaths and then he croaked, "When the Creature hurt my leg. I can't lose you."

She rubbed over his heart to strengthen her love. "Sleet, we're going to figure out a plan so that doesn't happen. The darkness is trying to get to you." Climbing into his lap, she pressed her heart to his and focused all of her love into him.

When he finally released a deep sigh of relief, she leaned back in his arms. "Better?"

He nodded but pulled her close to rest her head on his chest.

"When did you first have thoughts of this?" She stroked his thick bicep, needing to feel safe from this evil he spoke of.

"A couple days ago." He pressed a kiss to her brow. "Don't be scared." Then he rubbed over her heart.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Catching his hand, she held it over her heart. It helped chase the fear away.

"I hoped it was just the darkness, and then when it kept happening, I hoped to do something to change the course of things without you needing to find out and be scared. I shouldn't have said anything. I—"

"No, you should've told me sooner. We're partners, Sleet. Even if it's just the darkness trying to get you, we talk about our fears. Can you tell what leads up to…" Speaking of her own and the baby's deaths were too gruesome. "To your thoughts to know the chain of events?"

With a deep sigh, he shook his head. "Only what happens during torture. And it could be that changing the battle plan leads to that future. There's no way to know." He started to fidget and get upset again.

But sitting up with a smile, she held his gaze. "If we bring in the Creatures, the Alamur can't win."

His eyes widened. "We what?"

After she explained the plan, he sank against the back of the sofa with a huge sigh. "Dewdrop, that's insanely risky, plus we don't know that you can control the water and keep away Creatures while pregnant. And there's no way in hell I'm letting you go into battle alone."

The smile grew. "No, I only have to do one or the other. If we draw in and capture the Creatures, then use you to lure the Alamur to the ocean, you just have to stay by me until the Alamur arrive. I'll keep the Creatures from you. When they see all the Alamur, they're going to tear through them."

He looked slightly nauseous. "You thought of this plan?"

"Well, Lord Milori and I worked on it together."

"That's incredibly morbid." Then he cracked a smile. "And not anything the Alamur would expect from a Bright Fairy kingdom. Neverland, you're a genius." Then he sobered.

"Um, there's an itty bitty catch." She held up her fingers. "You need to be the bait to catch the Creatures so they're here before the Alamur arrive."

His eyebrows shot up and he stared at her.