A/N: Hi everyone! I know the last chapter was super sad but this one I really wanted to go in with how romantic and cute Nina and Matthias could be, especially Matthias expressing how he loves her. Also, cue the cute trying-to-find-a-baby-name trope!

Part Two

Nina stared up at the night sky, her fingers tangling and untangling themselves in the blanket she had placed over her lap and legs to help keep her warm. It wasn't exactly a cold night, but you could tell that the prosperous harvest months were coming to an end. Her fingers had pricked at some of the fibres of the blanket rested on top of her protruding stomach. Her stomach had "dropped" as Marya excitedly put it when she came to bring Nina some chocolate and tea for one of their weekly chess games a few days ago. It wouldn't be too long now, Maria insisted and that both filled Nina with a sense of foreboding and much to her surprise, a tad bit of excitement.

She knew that it would be soon for the past couple of weeks, especially since that. Sybell told her that it would be any day now. She wouldn't be into nine months officially until a few weeks from now, but often mothers were a little early for their first child. A sense of panic had filled Nina when she first heard that but Sybell instantly began to softly explain that was normal and that if it did happen, that didn't mean that anything was wrong. The fear quelled with the reassurance, but only slightly.

The whispers that something was wrong were becoming a bit louder now. That something could go wrong. Images slowly beginning to fester in her head of the baby she had been holding in her dreams would come out blue and silent. She knew that it would've bubbled in her gut, let those images swallow her whole until they actually came true had it not been for the movement in her stomach. Their daughter had become much more active in the past few weeks and it was as though she already understood her mother through her physical cues. Whenever the words came to whisper at the back of her mind, or she felt like she was sinking in the bed, her heart thumping a little faster she would suddenly feel twisting in her stomach, or sometimes a kick and Nina would hold her stomach, focusing on that feeling. The knowing that her daughter was still there, still healthy and moving around and almost insistent, and Nina would focus on that light.

She had to keep reminding herself to keep herself from sinking underground. To focus on the light that seemed to be getting more powerful every day. The anxiety was still there, but at least she could let herself breathe in a way she hadn't in over eight months. They were so close. She had made it this far and Nina wasn't one for wishes and prayers, but just a few more weeks she begged to whoever in the stars would listen.

Just a few more weeks. Let her be okay for a few more weeks.

She turned her eyes from the stars to her stomach. Any day now. The fear still pulsed under her skin, a caution not to lose herself in the thought of excitement but it left her heart open for hope.

She felt her heart beginning to quicken slightly as the image came up in her brain again and she rubbed her stomach, closing her eyes force them out before she opened her eyes.

"Please stay," Nina whispers before her ears catch a change.

She heard the door open and then a sudden pause and Nina had to keep herself from giggling a bit as she pictured Matthias's confused expression was he entered the room to realize she wasn't on the bed.

"Out here," she calls softly to him through the open door.

She turns her head slightly to get more of the door in her gaze as she listens to him step inside and shut the door before she hears the steps coming closer towards her. She keeps looking to the door and soon enough, it opens a few inches more and Matthias sticks his head through the doorway. Their eyes meet and his shoulders seemed to relax slightly.

"What are you doing out here?" He asks her, stepping through the doorway and onto the balcony too. His head turns before he finds what he is looking for. Grabbing the other chair that was on the balcony, he brings it forward so that he is on an angle almost opposite of her when he sits down.

Nina shrugs, her fingers still twisting in the blanket.

"Just wanted to see the stars," she replies, looking up for a moment. Matthias follows along, looking up at the sky, the moon still a little low on the horizon for them to fully see it, but the stars themselves were beautiful. Somehow it made her feel both lighter and anxious all at the same time, but yet lighter than she had in months.

"Don't worry," Nina looks back over at him. "I had some of the servants help me out here. I have to say, can we get one of those bell alert things for our home? I can just ring it whenever I want you to pamper me."

She wanted to sink into the feeling that seemed to have come in with the wind. The carefree feeling of smiling. Matthias looked over at her and even paused for a moment before he chuckled softly, his own chest feeling lighter as he stared at the daring look in Nina's eyes and the ever so slightly growing smile on her face.

He hadn't heard her joke, hadn't seen this Nina in so long.

While he knew that this was the time that most mothers would get stressed, he had seen Nina slowly relax and it was like the cloud of fear was slowly dissipating and they could both begin to breathe again. He knew there was still some anxiety there, he still had a lot of his own but perhaps it was the fact that they could see the end of the tunnel, the light as they swam to the surface. They were so close and perhaps she was finally getting some ease in it.

He hadn't forgotten the memories, hadn't forgotten how he felt since Nina told him that they were expecting. He felt like he had been underwater, perhaps stuck in mud, for months now. Her eyes had been bright with fear and caution, devoid of their usual colour and daring light for months and god he missed her eyes, and even more her smile and laugh or the way she would joke constantly with him, teasing him with words that made his ears burn red.

He had immediately went into town to send word for Sybell. The midwife had come early the next morning to check on Nina and agreed that she was pregnant and likely around six or seven weeks along. She didn't need to warn the couple that Nina should immediately go on bedrest, who had already spent all day laying in their bed while Matthias brought her her food and tea while Nina looked out the window as though expecting an impending doom. Sybell, sweet and strong, tried to be hopeful; that it was good they caught it early and that Nina could immediately begin caring for herself and the baby and she reminded them that although to be cautious because of Nina's history that it didn't mean that the same would happen again.

They had sent letters to their friends out later that week. Kaz had wrote back quickly that he would send word to Inej since he seemed to be the only one who could ever keep track of where she was when she was out at sea. Zoya said that she would come over as soon as she was free to do so.

When Wylan and Jesper's letter came back asking if they wanted to move into the Van Eck mansion for the pregnancy the couple only talked about it once before writing a letter back to say that they would greatly appreciate it. At the time they thought it would be a good idea and that that they would be among friends to keep her company while she was on bedrest, be closer to Sybell and other healers if required, and Matthias wouldn't need to worry about caring for their house. And it honestly seemed like it was the best decision they ever made.

Although packing for the move and trip was a hassle, especially when Nina was confined to their bed, or at the very least their bedroom. Wylan and Jesper came to them less than a week later, a carriage in tow where they could put all the things they wanted to bring and helped load it up. Even during that day Nina seemed in better spirits when Jesper and Wylan would sit and eat lunch with her. He had to decide what they needed, set up and pay his neighbours (despite them insisting he didn't need to) for taking care and checking on the house while he was gone, packing their clothes and books and other comfort things Nina wished to have and left the next day, Nina trying very hard not to let her morning sickness affect her while she was on the bumpy travel. She did not always succeed.

Wylan explained that if they were here then Nina would be taken care of and they realized how true it was. Wylan placed them in their grandest guest bedroom, which they had learned later from Marya was actually his childhood bedroom, and had servants doting on Nina for anything she needed. It was nice to just focus on Nina and not worry about caring for the house, cooking, making sure that she drank enough, having to fix something in the house or barn, feeding the animals and worrying about storms. As much as they missed the comforts of their bedroom, the van Eck household was warm and comforting thanks to Wylan and Marya's touch. Nina had servants to take her on a rolling chair so she could see the gardens and Marya's art before she became too far along and was hard to carry up and down the steps, and sit on the balcony that they were currently on. There were quite a few times that they had fallen asleep out here in the warm summer nights under the stars. The servants brought up their food and her tea, getting anything for Nina that she requested whether it was another blanket, or one that wasn't so scratchy to checking frequently on the fireplace during colder nights. He would be forever grateful and thanked them endlessly but they had taken to Nina too. He didn't know exactly how Wylan gained their loyalty so strongly but he was forever grateful they were here.

He had also been right about the company of friends helping Nina feel better too, even if she was in her constant state of fatigue and fear. Wylan and Jesper visited her room constantly, and when Marya got to know her better she became a frequent visitor too. Kaz had come over often even if he didn't talk a lot and Inej had been back in Ketterdam for months and tried to visit Nina daily. She explained that she would stick around settling slavers in Ketterdam since it was still the place where most transfers ended or began. Despite how careful they were around her, how awkward and quiet the first conversations were, especially since Nina didn't talk as much as she used to, the inner fear shared by all of them but it had soon picked up, especially when Jesper was around to keep even the dullest conversations going and turning it into something to smile about. It was a gift as much as his Grisha abilities were.

Matthias didn't know how he would ever be able to thank them, for this and for when they all came to comfort and care for them two years ago when their world collapsed on them. Despite Nina still being a shell of who she normally was, he knew how much worse it would've been if they stayed in their house where she would spend most of the day alone. And she would lay in the same bed day after day where both her miscarriages occurred.

He had prayed and hoped and was desperate more than he ever had before, even more than two years ago for them to recover from their loss. He knew that Nina wouldn't survive the loss of another child. He knew that he wouldn't survive seeing her in such a state again. He didn't know how he managed to work through it the last time. They had each other to rely on but seeing her like that in so much pain and hurt had nearly killed him.

There was nothing he could do to fix it, nothing he could do to save his son and heal his wife. He had never felt so helpless.

"Umm."

Nina's hesitance brought him out of his thoughts and he looked down at her.

"Nina?" He asks softly, leaning forward in worry.

He can see her gulp as she gains the courage, how her fingers clench slightly around the hem of the blanket in her hand. She takes in a breath, eyes still cast downward.

"I umm," Nina's throat felt dry. "I was actually think that… maybe…we could think of names."

She forces herself to look up at Matthias, her eyes boring into his as they always did when she needed strength. She had been mulling over it for only the past few days, still terrified up until this point where she felt like she would discard her meals of the day if she thought of it for a few seconds and trembling at the thought of naming her daughter she could lose, but after her last visit with Sybell and had a glowing responses. Nina was healthy despite the lack of sleep she had told the midwife about. The baby had a strong heart beat. That it could be any week, any day now. That she had turned and was in the right position. She was nearing her due date, and everything seemed to be on track and perfect. Sybell said she had everything prepared for her birthing kit for when the time came. She had still been nervous all day, hours after Sybell had left, but it started to settle and she felt herself opening up to it after she had a dream of holding her daughter again last night and seeing the beautiful face and realizing it still had a blank name.

Matthias stares back at her, not showing shock like she suspected he might after the last time he brought it up, but there was a line of caution in it.

"Are you sure, Nina?" He asks lightly. She remembered her meltdown the last time he had suggested it. "Because we don't have t—"

"I want to," she confirms. Maybe he'd believe it more if she didn't look and sound so nervous. "You were right."

"No, I—" he wants to try again, to comfort her and let her keep establishing what he thought was a boundary but she cuts him off again.

"No, you were," Nina tells him, a bit more strength in her voice as he one hand unconsciously lets go of the blanket to rub at her large stomach. "I shouldn't keep her at arms length because…." She gulps, her stomach turning over and she forces the memories away.

"She deserves a name," Nina says a few seconds later, both to him and to herself. She was their daughter, their baby.

"I'm not entirely…free from my fears," she admits to him, gulping again and needing his eyes as her fingers clenched tighter around the blanket, "but….we're close to the end. And things have been going good. Maybe…."

Maybe if she let herself think it would all work out, let herself think that it would be good that perhaps it will be. What was that fancy thing Jesper was ranting on about once? Manifesting destiny or something like that when he was on another happiness and drunk high. But maybe he had a point. If everyone said it was fine, that She was fine, perhaps she should believe it too. Get away from the ledge she had been at for nine months, move away from the stress.

Yet still, the back of her mind there was still that intrusive whisper, always knawing, always there that the pregnancy could go great, and when this girl was born she would be just as silent as her last, this time bigger and blue. And she knew that if that happened again, she wouldn't survive the fallout of falling in love and letting her guard down only to be crushed.

But manifest the good spirits, moving away from fear and stress, had to be good for the baby and she knew that in the moment it would be good for her too.

"Maybe it's time," Nina tells him softly.

Matthias stares right back at her, his eyes directly looking through hers and she grabbed onto that feeling. To her, his eyes were the strongest thing about him. He said they were shallow, but she always thought them deep, that his hold when they looked to each other was a quiet yet resounding reassurance that he was there and she would be okay and while she was gaining that strength, he could somehow just look into her eyes and it was like he had peered into her mind. One look into her eyes and he knew everything she was thinking, every emotion she was truly feeling no matter how much she tried to hide it. There was power in his eyes.

Staring into her a few more times, he finally nods in agreement. She was ready. They were ready.

A smile was already starting to appear on his face. He wanted to keep the discussion and light feelings open before Nina could double down on herself again.

"I've had a few thought out," he admits to her.

Her eyes sparkle lightly and this time it's her that feels lighter almost like a switch and smiles.

"What were you thinking?" She asks, rubbing her stomach.

"Well," he sighs, pondering for a moment, "I've always liked Grace."

"Stop."

"What?!"

He asks incredulously, a slight scoff unable to stop from tumbling from his lips. Nina almost rolls her eyes into oblivion.

"We are not naming our child something so religious-bound and soft," Nina tells him, her tone insistent.

This time Matthias is the one to roll his eyes.

"Soft?"

"Yes!" Nina's tone is insistent now, her expression slowly brightening in amusement.

Matthias's eyes slit slightly, jokingly.

"You mean something so….feminine and Fjerdan," he says.

She shrugs.

"I've seen Fjerdan girls, the ones you talk about being all sweet and soft spoken," Nina says jokingly, batting her eyes before she feels something fall in her again like a curtain hitting the ground, another insecurity rising. She looks down for a moment, her shoulders falling slightly. Matthias's brows furrow a bit, wondering what he had said to make her mood drop so fast.

"Nina?"

She looks up at him, staring at his confused face for a moment before looking away.

"Do you ever wish you never met me?" She whispers, fists clenched around the blanket.

His brows furrow deeper, but this time in absurd confusion.

"What? What are you talking about?" He asked.

Nina shrugged slightly.

"Do you ever wish you married one of those girls? The ones that are quiet, bred for being good housewives and aren't engaging in constant flirtations even with their own husbands?" Nina asked, her voice quiet but there was still a hint of something in her voice.

One of those girls who didn't talk back. One of those girls who didn't bring trouble with them like a disease. One of those girls who were taught how to be soft-spoken, obedient, and who were probably good at things like sewing and beading and cooking.

A girl who would've never been in a situation to take parem. A girl who could give him a family that she had failed twice at already.

Matthias snorted ever so softly, remembering the conversation when they first met. He shakes his head, staring at the stars for a second before looking back to her.

"Never," he tells her.

She raises her head, staring at him, "really?"

His eyes soften as he stares back at her, leaning forward to take one of her hands. Had she really been thinking that? Nina had always been so confident, scoffing at "those Fjerdan girls" she was talking about, proud of the loud, adventurous woman she was. It was one of the things that Matthias loved the most about her and he hated how these pregnancies had made her doubt herself, blowing in her like a fire destroying their beautiful home.

"Nina I could've easily found someone before I met you. There were many suitors that my parents insisted of, that I was able to get out of by telling them I wanted to focus on….well," okay maybe not right to go there. He tried to get back to his original thought. He clears his throat quickly. "What I mean is that there were girls Nina, girls that I actually courted for a bit, but I never had an interest in them. When I heard friends or my parents talking about marriages I thought that was normal. There were some that I saw were much more…intimate than others, that they would hold hands or you could tell that they loved them but that wasn't what I normally saw. That marriage was between two people, and that was it. No emotions involved, or that they would come along later."

He pauses only for a moment.

"And then there was you."

Nina's eyes flashed slightly in hope and Matthias squeezed her hand.

"You were the most annoying woman I had ever met. You never stopped talking, you flirted like it was a game even while you were captured, and you had the boldest mouth and tone I've ever heard," he tells her.

Nina rolled her eyes again, but the smile was ghosting her face.

"Where is this going?" She asked.

He stares at her for a few seconds, taking in the curves of her soft features he knew by heart now. If there was anything to hate about this pregnancy, a true blessing, it was how the others had left cracks in her confidence. It was one of the things he loved most about her, but he knew the weary years and especially these months, have dragged her down. And perhaps he should've been more vocal about how he felt. While it was something that was hidden in his culture, Nina was so much more open than he was. He had told her he loved her, tried to show it to her through actions and he was sure that she knew as well, but talking of feelings had never been his strongest point and the cracks had let things sneak in.

He wasn't going to let them. He couldn't protect her from everything. He had learned that harshly, but he wouldn't ever let her fall over this.

"But you were also the most beautiful," he continues, a smile coming to his face. Perhaps that was what he found the most annoying. It wasn't her, it was how he thought of her. That he couldn't get her beauty out of his mind, that he found himself staring at her longer than he needed to, looking over as much of her as he could. That he found himself thinking of her eyes when he went away from her. "You were the first girl that made me feel like I was unmatched, that you were the first person that truly ever had me thinking about what I was doing."

Perhaps that was what he was so angry about when he first met her. It wasn't even that she was grisha. He had been around many at that point, a past demon he still didn't like to think about. But somehow she had been something more. She had gotten under his skin and his annoyance and anger was that he didn't know why. What had made her so special that he couldn't stop thinking about her. He had privately wondered if perhaps she had placed him under some sort of spell and had double checked her cuffs every time he checked on her.

But perhaps she never had actually gotten under his skin. She had been the light that he had never seen because he was in a tunnel for so long. And the more he was around her the more she exuded a warmth that was irresistible for someone who didn't know he had been cold for so long.

"You were the first girl, first person, who talked back and countered me that left me speechless. You were the first person that left my stomach twisting in the best of nerves and excitement. You challenged me to think about what I was doing in a way that I hadn't before, and made me a better person because of it. Even when you thought of the impending doom you weren't begging for your life but asking me if it was worth it, asking for compassion for the others on the ship and those you've never met that came before you even when I know you were needing it too.

"And your laugh may not be like the soft rings of bells but it's like the roar of the sun. You're not reserved; you're daring but not impulsive. And you're not quiet because your voice was meant to be heard, meant to be bold, meant to give way to lewd returns that make even sailors blush while you just shine in confidence. You make me feel things just by giving me a certain look that has me rushing after you, needing to feel you, every time. You make me feel like I was looking deeper into the night sky when I looked into your eyes. When you dance you open up and let yourself take up space because you are truly free, wild and flying. And you have a strong sense of protectiveness yet still soft for others with the biggest heart. And you've shown that you have an inner strength that I'll never be able to hold a candle to."

She was so many things that he wasn't, he was so carved and reserved that he didn't think he ever would be. He couldn't start up conversations and be quick friends like she could. While he was quiet and waiting, she was talkative and immersive. Where he was scared to express emotions, even around the group still, she always showed a part of her but still protected it well. He could only stand and watch her dance like he was watching the grace of a swan yet the beauty of a wild horse all at once and he let himself sink into that glow that he hoped would last forever.

He hoped more than anything their daughter was just like her.

She tried to take a breath as she stared up at him with the pressure building behind her eyes so intense she was afraid to even blink. He stares at her long and hard, holding her hand and squeezing gently because he needs her to know that there is nothing mistaken about them being together.

"I don't think I was even waiting for a girl like you, Nina," he tells her honestly. "I think I was just waiting for you."

This time when she felt like she couldn't breathe. She feels her chin wobble heavily and she sniffs, trying to keep it still but the emotion goes to her eyes instead as she blinks a few times. She tries to catch her breath again and it hitches but she is able to.

"You big oaf," she tells him softly but her voice is thick, sniffling again before wiping her eyes. Matthias grins and sits up, still holding her hand while he uses the other to shift the chair so that he was beside her now without taking his eyes off her. Sitting down, he leans in and kisses her forehead. She leans into it, resting her free hand on her stomach and smiling at the soft feeling of the baby shifting again.

Matthias had never been too open about himself, at least verbally, but she had known him in his actions, in his posture and body language just how he felt for her. How protective he was, how gentle his touch was, how he would be stiff and hunched in his protectiveness but when he touched her at the same time it was always so light and caring, how he would bring her flowers on a random day, how he had helped to build their home and instantly fixed anything that needed to be done the instant she told him about it without a single complaint, how he would brush her hair after she got frustrated with it when it knotted with a patience and gentleness she never had, how he would go out in a snow storm to get extra wood for the fire so they would be warm, how he never made fun of her or talked down to her, how in a bout of danger he was always looking for her, how she always felt so safe when she knew he was with her even if he was on the other side of the room.

She feels him shift again before sitting down beside her. Nina shifts her large self as best as she can before resting her head on his shoulder.

"You're a bigger softy than you let people think," she tells him before she sniffs. "And Saints I hate these mood swings."

"The same is easily said about you," he tells her, turning his head to look down at her.

"My big strong Fjerdan," she comments, feeling warmer with his body heat as she tries to snuggle up closer to him.

He smiles, moving his hand holding hers so that it was on top of her stomach, tapping it once.

"So she's going to be like you, huh?" Matthias asked, smiling. He liked the thought of having a spirited little girl running around their house. He was definitely going to have to work on his comebacks if he was going to be outnumbered.

"I don't think she's going to be a tiny me but…" Nina smiles warmly down at her stomach. There was such a light about her already, and strength and warmth like her father. There was a vibrancy in her soul already. "She's radiant. Soft, but radiant."

Like her mother, he thinks. Matthias nods.

"Then we need a name that suits her," he agrees. "You are the one who is so sure it's a girl."

"And I'm never wrong," she says in almost a sing-song tone, making him shut his eyes and exhale in amusement.

"What about Lærke?" He asks after a moment.

"Like the bird?"

"Yes."

She thinks for a moment, staring off at the trees around the mansion.

"I like it," she tells him. It was closer to what she was thinking, but there was still something missing. "What other nice Fjerdan names did you have in mind?"

"What about Frejia?" He asks.

She ponders for a moment. It sounded beautiful but…it still didn't fit.

"We can keep it in mind but…what else?"

"Embla?"

"You want to name our child after a tree?"

He chuckles.

"There is also Greta," he suggests.

Nina's face twists and he laughs.

"It's a very traditional name," he tells her.

"Doesn't mean I like how it sounds."

"Soley?"

Her face keeps the twisted expression and he rolls his eyes.

"Ebbe?"

"No."

"Ingrid."

"Definitely not."

"Elin?"

"….no."

"Danique."

"No."

He sighs and thinks for a moment. "Hilde?"

"You're doing this on purpose aren't you."

Matthias rolls his eyes in joking exasperation.

"Did you happen to have any names in mind?" He asked.

Honestly she didn't. With Pyotr she had known early on. She'd look at him in her dreams, would think of him when she was awake and somehow Pyotr had just been planted somewhere and bloomed. But that didn't happen this time. Maybe it was because she had been so nervous this pregnancy, and had, admittedly as Matthias had said, kept her daughter at an arms length. But her little girl was still just….little girl.

"There are a few that I've always liked but…nothing really fits," she admits. Maybe talking them out with Matthias might change her mind. "I always liked Alyone or Yelena."

Matthias thinks for a moment.

"Yelena sounds very pretty," he agrees.

Nina nods as well. "It still….it just doesn't make me think of her."

Matthias nods.

"What other ones are there?" He asks.

She thinks for a moment.

"Yulia? Kira?" She offers.

Matthias smiles.

"Kira sounds similar to a name we have: Karena. I've always thought it was pretty," Matthias comments. "There is actually a variant of that name that I heard when I was travelling with my parents that I always really liked: Caitriona."

There was a spark in Nina's mind. Caitriona, she thinks, thinking every syllable slowly. She really liked that. She thought of her daughter, or the girl in her dreams. It didn't fit her but…she didn't think there would be another after this. Their miracle girl would be enough. But if another miracle came, she definitely wanted to remember that.

"I really, really like that," Nina told him after a while, her free hand coming up to trail along her stomach. "But it still doesn't quite fit her."

Matthias nods, frowning and thinking again. This was proving a bit harder than he thought.

"Nikita?" Nina offered, though it didn't sit right still.

Matthias nodded. "That sounds beautiful…"

So he wasn't captured by it either, but it was definitely one to keep on their list.

"Zhanna?"

"Don't like that…Hedda?"

"No….Yeva? It means life-giving."

Matthias's face twisted slightly as he let the name move over in his mind.

"I like the meaning but not the name," he tells her.

Stumped again, Nina lets Matthias offer again first.

"Erika?" He shares.

Nina thinks for a moment, hand tracing her stomach still before shaking her head.

"No."

"Brenn?"

"No."

"Viveca?"

Nina paused, letting the name roll in her mind like the others, but this time there was a certain spark to it. Viveca.

"What does it mean?" She asks him.

"To be alive. Or sometimes people call war fortresses vivecas," he replies.

"Viveca Helvar," she whispers, her hands trail along her stomach, a warm feeling spreading through her. She liked how sharp the syllables sounded.

Matthias immediately caught the way she kept pausing on the name. His eyes brighten.

"Yeah? Viveca?" He asks.

Nina looks up, smiling at him and squeezing his hand. "It's definitely high on the list."

The meaning fit, and gave a certain kind of hope. And the name itself fit the vibrant yet deep energy she sensed whenever she tried connecting to her.

"So our top choices are Caitriona, Nikita, and Viveca," Matthias sums up.

"At least we finally have it narrowed down," she considers, a smile still ghosting her face as she soaked in the warmth and light of the atmosphere that they created together.

He nods in agreement, squeezing her hand before looking her over.

"Are you sure you're okay?" He asks her.

She stills slightly under his stare. He had been giving her that stare for months, looking her over for any possible tells that something was wrong more than what she was telling him, looking into her eyes because he knew he could decipher anything about her thought them.

"I'm…." She thinks for a moment, "I think I'm getting better. I'm still incredibly nervous, but it feels like…."

Nina stares at him for a moment before telling him, "it feels like we've almost made it across the cracked ice. That we know the chance is there and we've been tiptoeing across and it's been terrifying, but that we are getting closer to finally stepping onto the frozen ground instead of falling through. It just feels like instead of just walking across the final step, that's where the biggest crack is. Or maybe it's a wall of earth that we have to climb up and if we fall the ice smashes below you."

Staring at her for a few more moments, he nods, looking down before leaning closer to kiss the top of her head again. He had saved her when she went through the actual ice, and had been there to help her when she went through it again and again. Ice was stronger closer to the sides. He was still nervous too, but she was right. They were near the end, and whether a tall rock, a crack, or a wall he'd still make sure they got over the edge because he wouldn't ever let her fall through the ice again.

Nina stares out at the balcony edge for a few moments, leaning in close as she tries to take him all in. The unsettled feeling still lurking inside her as she stared hard at it.

"Do you…do you ever wish it was a boy?" She asks softly, looking down. "I know you Fjerdans have some deep patriarch roots."

And she perhaps wondered if he wished she was having Pyotr instead of this one.

Matthias, however, shakes his head almost immediately.

"Granted we do have a pretty patriarchal society," he agrees, "In Fjerda we have an old saying: sons bring you fair fortunes but daughters bring you love and luck. A lot of people still believe that the more daughters a family has, the more luck and love is in the home."

He had seen how much his father loved his sister, how excited his parents were that they finally had a girl even when his father did try to keep a somewhat distanced fatherly way once she was a little older, likely following what his grandfather had done with him and his family. He didn't think he'd be able to hold it in. And he had already imagined scenarios in his head, even when at first he tried to push them away. Images of braiding his daughter's hair like how he helped to braid his sister's. Or seeing her run around the house with her long hair flying in her trail. And if she did mirror Nina's personality, he knew she would be rambunctious and adventurous and bold and witty. And even if she wasn't, she was already perfect in his eyes.

Nina smiles, her fear slowly melting with every word. He always knew just what to say to quell her fears.

"You're going to need all the luck you can get with us," Nina tells him softly.

Matthias laughed.

"Believe me, I know," he agrees.

Nina snorts and giggles again, Matthias looking down at her with soft eyes. The two relax a bit in their chairs but he can't stop staring. She really had changed his whole world. He didn't want to think about where he'd be and what he'd be missing

"You'll be an amazing mother," he promises her.

She smiles softly, leaning her head against his shoulder again.

"You'll be an even better father," she tells him.

He could only hope that it would be the truth. He had watched his father be with his mother. There may not have been love like what he had with Nina, the deep and entangled romance they had, but he knew how much his father cared for her. His father had given him high expectations, had shown him how to be strong, how to hunt, how to care for a family. He hoped that he could more than care for his.