She awoke to gentle kisses tickling her neck, lips trailing across her skin as she smiled softly. His hand touched her cheek before sliding down her body, resting upon her slightly tightened stomach through her nightgown. He couldn't bear leaving her side after she had accepted his proposal the night before, and she happily invited him to spend the night, even though she had felt terribly nauseous all night.

"Will you wake me like this for the rest of our lives?" He smiled as he pulled away to meet her eyes.

"I have so many different ways I will wake you." She laughed, and he placed a gentle kiss upon her lips. Spending the rest of her life with him never sounded more amazing. Her prior resistance to it was terribly confusing ever since the moment she accepted his proposal. She couldn't imagine a life that wasn't by his side.

Suddenly, as if a switch had been flipped, her stomach lurched, and she pushed herself out of his arms to run to the bathroom. She tossed the door closed behind her and rushed to empty the contents of her stomach, coughing and sputtering as her body wretched. She had only felt faintly queasy upon waking, but her body quickly changed its tune upon the slightest movement.

Georg cringed as he listened to her from the bed, the sound quite violent, he had to admit. He could tell she was trying to remain discreet, very aware that he could hear her, but it was no use. He stood from the bed to begin dressing, intending to run out and get her some ginger ale and crackers. She told him how little she had eaten the day prior, and he felt the need to take things into his own hands. She would never feel better unless she at least tried to keep some food in her stomach.

"Shit! Honestly!" He heard her shouting in anger, and he chuckled a bit as he approached the bathroom door. She was never one to be angry, so he knew he was in for quite a ride with the hormonal fluctuations that would be brought on by her pregnancy.

"Maria, are you okay?"

"No, I wish to die." He rolled his eyes, opening the door a bit so he could hear her better, but doing his best not to invade her privacy.

"May I come in? Do you need anything?"

"I need you to tell me how to stop peeing all over myself." He chuckled, poking his head in to see her lying upon the tile floor. She turned and met his eyes, feeling broken and disgusting. "This part doesn't last forever?"

"No, darling. Maybe six weeks or so, if I recall correctly."

"I will certainly die."

"I'm doubtful you will." He smiled as he entered the bathroom, turning on the water for her shower and pulling out a towel for her as she remained upon the floor.

"How can something the size of my fist cause such chaos."

"You're about six weeks along, I think it's more like the size of a pea."

"That's all?"

"Perhaps smaller, it's very tiny."

"I can't imagine." He reached his hands out to help her up from the floor, which she accepted, and he slowly helped her to her feet. He cringed at the sight of her sodden nightgown as she stripped herself for her shower.

"You weren't joking, you really did pee on yourself." She gave him a dirty look, and he held up his hands in apology. She placed her wet clothes in the sink to be dealt with after her shower, and he watched as she entered the tub, pulling the curtain closed.

"Pregnancy lasts nine months?" Her voice sounded a bit frustrated from the shower, and he smiled, leaning against the counter.

"Forty weeks, I believe. More like ten months, I suppose." She groaned, and he heard the water splashing about as she washed her hair. He knew she had no family, and of course that she had spent years in a convent, but did she really have no idea about what it meant to be pregnant? She didn't seem surprised by morning sickness, and she at least knew the signs enough to know she was pregnant in the first place. "Maria…do you know much about pregnancy?"

"Not a thing. I've been thinking I need to get a book."

"Do you know when you should go to a doctor at least?"

"Ann said her sister went when she was about twelve weeks along. I don't know, I suppose I'll make a call soon to see when they want me to come in." The water turned off, and she stepped out to grab her towel. He was impressed with how quickly she showered, raising his eyebrows as she dried off. "I didn't shave my legs."

"I don't mind."

"It wouldn't matter if you did." Her words were quite direct, very matter-of-fact. He laughed, and she found herself smiling as well, wrapping a towel around her body. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to be so moody."

"I'm afraid that's part of it too. You don't have to apologize." He stepped forward to place a kiss upon her cheek, his fingers beneath her chin as he raised her face to meet his eyes. "I'm going out to get you some ginger ale. Do you want me to look for a book on my way, or would you like to join me?"

She smiled at how thoughtful he was. He was always like that, really, not willing to allow her to wallow in herself for too long. He made her some toast as she cleaned up the bathroom and dressed for the day, only getting sick once more before she finally was able to get something in her stomach. While she missed the children terribly, she was enjoying her one-on-one time with him quite a bit as of late. She supposed he was enjoying it too, as she found that he was making himself quite at home in her apartment.

"Well this explains why I feel so exhausted." She pointed at a page in her new book, and he skimmed over a list of symptoms that she had no idea were related to her condition. They were seated upon her sofa, his arm around her as she sipped her ginger ale and flipped through one of the books they found. He wouldn't even allow her to reach for her purse before he bought her three, wanting her to feel as prepared as possible.

"And look here, this tells why you're so moody." He pointed to another section of the page, and she gave him a nudge. He laughed, placing a kiss to the side of her head as she took another drink.

"These photos are amazing too. How on earth do they know what a baby looks like on the inside?" She flipped through a few more pages, skimming chapter headers and photos. She would read the book in full later, but she wanted an idea of what to expect. "How should we tell the children? About the baby and our engagement now."

"I've been thinking a lot about that. I want to take you with us on holiday in a couple of weeks, and we can tell them while we're all enjoying the beach."

"I told you, I would love to go, but I don't think I can take the time off."

"You're always so worried about what your boss will think."

"She is my landlady too. It makes me feel like I have to be extra careful all the time. Honestly, it was never an issue until you came back into my life." She smiled cutely and he placed a gruff kiss to her lips, narrowing his eyes at her.

"She won't be your landlady for long. You could just move in with me now?"

"And live in sin?" She was serious, but he couldn't stop himself from laughing. She gave him a dirty look.

"You're carrying my child, darling."

"Yes, but nobody knows that."

"We spend most nights together." She grasped for a response, shrugging.

"Innocently, as far as anyone knows." He laughed, and she bit her lip and sighed in defeat. She supposed they had already been living in sin for quite a while. "I suppose it doesn't really matter what people think anyway, does it?"

"Certainly not to me. So we should start packing your things?" She laughed, kissing his lips before sharing a gentle smile with him.

"I want to talk to my boss about moving out before just leaving. Don't you think that would be more polite?" He rolled his eyes and nodded, cuddling closer to her.

"So what I'm hearing is, you'll move in next week, and we'll announce our engagement, and then we'll go to the beach the week after and announce your pregnancy. What a lovely couple of weeks to look forward to." She laughed, emptying her glass with one final drink before placing it upon a side table.

"You are quite persistent." She flipped another page in her book and laughed, pointing at the paragraph that caught her eye. "Here's something else to look forward to. Apparently I'll be ripping your clothes off every time I see you in the near future."

"I can't wait." She laughed, pushing his shoulder as he joined her in laughter. "I'm not joking, the idea of you wanting me solely for my body is quite enticing, especially now that you're wearing my ring."

"I'm going to be quite fat though. You'll still want me?"

"Not fat, pregnant. And yes, as a matter of fact. I will always want you every second of every day." She raised her eyebrows, biting her lip as she tried to hold back a smile that told him how much she enjoyed his words. The idea of a man wanting her the way he did was still such an intriguing concept to her, one that she wasn't sure she would ever get used to. Nobody had ever wanted her as he did.

She leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his lips, closing her book as she tossed it to the coffee table. He smiled into her kiss, deepening it immediately as she turned her body to pull him on top of her. He was so warm against her, so inviting. Their tongues touched, and she sighed as his hand gently caressed one of her breasts through her dress. Her fingers touched the skin she found beneath his shirt as she began to untuck it from his pants. He began to kiss down her neck, and a sigh of satisfaction escaped her lips.

"I'm so sorry." She suddenly pushed him away and held her hand over her mouth as she hurried to run to the bathroom. She could not have been more frustrated by the timing as she heaved and coughed.

Georg sighed upon the sofa, left alone and quite aroused. He ran a hand over his face, willing his body to calm down. It was going to be a long first trimester for both of them, he feared.