Kaim noticed the small curve to Sarah's stomach and it took his breath away. In his immortal life he had seen countless of growing babies, but it always took him by surprise when it was one of his own.

It was the middle of the third month, he counted quickly in his head, and he didn't even know if Sarah noticed the change in herself. He watched as she finished peeling off her blouse and found that it was getting a little harder to breathe. It was like his throat was closing involuntarily, and no air would be able to escape or get in. The realness that soon, in a flash of life, they would have a child between them was bringing him immeasurable joy with a little touch of anxiety. His lungs burned a little as he finally convinced himself to breathe through his nose, sounding like a surprised intake of breath. The noise found his wife's attention. Sarah caught on to his stare, and he didn't even realize that she was looking right back at him until she finally cleared her throat. He blinked, then looked down at his hands attempting to unbuckle his pants. "Sorry," he whispered, finishing the motion and getting changed.

"What's got you staring?" Sarah pulled on her nightdress, rubbing her arms a little. The winter air, though warmer than it was a few weeks ago, was still chilly at night, and Kaim noticed the shiver she tried to cover.

He walked over and planted a kiss on her cheek. She giggled at the way his nose bumped the arm of her glasses. "Just seeing how beautiful you are." She gasped when he laid his hand on her stomach, gently trailing the curve. "And how this makes you glow."

Sarah looked down at his hand and eyes grew wide. "Am I?" She broke away from him and he watched as she lifted her dress up over her chest and stared at her reflection in their tall mirror. She gasped again. "I am! Oh my goodness! I didn't even notice!"

He watched with amusement as she turned this way and that, looking at every angle at the slight baby bump. He then watched with a little worry as her smile fumbled into a frown. He moved to stand next to her. "We really did it," she murmured.

"I thought you knew that already," he teased, hoping to lighten her mood.

"I guess it just never occurred to me that I would actually be showing so soon. I only told you about this two weeks ago! I mean. We really did it." Sarah let her nightdress fall, and Kaim watched as she hesitantly set a hand to her stomach.

"Scared?" Kaim placed his hand over hers. He watched as she shook her head in the mirror.

"No. Not when you'll be here," she said, smile stretching to her face.

. . .

Kaim listened as Sarah threw dress after dress from their closet to their bed. He had woken up to her rustling around and laid face down in the pillow as she groaned and huffed around the room. When he felt the tossed fabric hit the back of his head, he finally decided to roll onto his back. "Morning to you, too."

"Nothing fits!" Sarah stormed out of their closet wearing one of Kaim's shirts. It fell past her knees and fit very loosely around her shoulders. Kaim would have laughed if she didn't look so desperate. "I feel like overnight I gained four inches to not only my stomach but also my breasts!"

"I don't mind." That earned Kaim a light slap. He twitched a leg away from her hands and felt his lips tug into a grin.

"Kaim. This is not the time. I can't go into Tosca wearing your clothes!"

Kaim sat up, moving the dresses away from him, and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. He gathered up the clothing and began to fold and set them aside. "Nothing fits?"

"One dress. My pretty one I got in Numara," Sarah replied with a sigh. "Numarian clothes fit looser and are almost too light for this last edge of winter. I doubt Tosca has any maternity clothes selling at this moment, and it's too much work for me to resize my dresses and blouses to only have to resize them all again in just a year!"

"Let's make a trip to Saman," Kaim suggested. "Buy a few new clothes that are easily adjustable."

Sarah bit her lip. Kaim rolled his eyes. She was always very frugal with money despite the mansion they lived in and the wealth they stored over the almost millennia of life. "A few hundred silver is not going to set us back any. Not even close."

Sarah laughed. "You always know."

"I've known you too long to not know otherwise," he answered with a smile. He found the dress that she had been talking about. It was a deep purple and luckily not made of silk, though he could tell what she meant by it being almost too light. It could stand the travel through the black cave, though, if she took her cloak. He handed it over and Sarah sighed, agreeing to their short trip.

.

In his mind this trip was going to be easy. They had walked through the Black Cave hundreds of times. They knew exactly where to dodge the holes in the floor. There were no mistakes ever made going through, but Kaim felt stressed to the max.

He forgot what it felt like to travel with a pregnant companion. It had been centuries since he needed to travel with an expecting spouse, and he conveniently forgot how protective he got. Everything suddenly had malintent. The little light bugs were even annoying.

Bats, demon or not, were suddenly his worst enemy. The mud and slick ground they walked on became his worst enemy. The way Sarah protested his arm being around her at all times annoyed him. After a while, Sarah allowed his arm to stay protectively on her back, nudging her in the right direction, and Kaim had sent a thankful glance her way. He knew he was being overbearing, and it was grating on his wife's already frazzled nerves, but he couldn't back away from these feelings. Luckily, Sarah understood. To a point.

Kaim jumped when she patted his arm. His sword hand in a death grip on the hilt. "Kaim, you're so tense. Relax."

He could not, grounding his teeth instead.

When they got to the hall before the exit, there was one large monster. Not a problem for the immortal mercenary as he had enough tense energy to kill one-hundred demons if he needed to. Kaim stood in front of Sarah, watching the movements of the enemy before him. He didn't move until he noticed the right moment to run at it and strike. When he did his piercing blade struck true, but what he wasn't expecting was the dozens of little creatures that flew past him out of the dying mass. He caught one, slamming it to the ground, putting it out of its misery.

"Kaim!"

His blood went cold as he looked up. Sarah was on the ground, one little monster pulling away at her skirt. She was trying to hit it with her staff, but couldn't quite reach the little devil. Kaim's feet were pounding against the ground, killing as many as the little creatures he could along the way. When he reached her, he quickly disposed of the monster and fell onto his knees. "Are you hurt? Sarah, I'm so sorry. I—"

"Watch out!" Sarah pushed him away. He watched in horror as the flying little creature managed to graze his claw against Sarah's skin before she could deflect it with her black magic. Red ran down her arm, soaking into the sleeves of her purple dress. His mind was still buzzing as she cast a spell towards the corpse of the large monster ahead of them. It burst into flames, and suddenly all the little creatures were screeching and falling to the ground. "I thought that was it. The monster's flesh needed to be burned before its creatures could fall."

Sarah turned back to Kaim, who still sat unblinkingly on the ground. "Oh no, did I hurt you? I'm sorry! I didn't mean to push you away. Here let me heal you."

Kaim felt the warm magic roam over his body and that seemed to finally snap him out of his daze. He grabbed Sarah's arm, the one that was cut, and inspected the wound. The monsters weren't poisonous, to their luck, but it could still get infected. He pulled out some water and rinsed the cut out, watched it bead with red again, saying to himself that they would stop at the general store in Saman when they arrived. He let her arm go but then pulled open her cloak to look for any other injuries. Sarah waited patiently as he patted and pulled her clothing away.

"Why did you do that? Why did you push me away? You could have gotten hurt!" Kaim placed his hands on her hips, anchoring her to the ground so that she could not get away. His annoyance was back again, though this time a little less understanding of Sarah's actions. His wife was a little shocked, blinking back at him.

"The monster would have killed you! He would have gone straight for you heart, it only made sense to—"

"I won't die! You could have! Who knows what would have happened if you had!"

"You don't need to yell."

"I'm not yelling!"

"Well, it sure sounds like it!" Sarah pulled his arms away from her, standing up. Kaim was right beside her in a moment. "I wouldn't be surprised if someone from Tosca could hear you right now!"

"Sarah, you could have been hurt! More hurt than what was already done!"

"I did get hurt! And guess what? I'm fine!" Angry eyes turned on him, and he felt his own match back with the same intensity. He wasn't going to let this go, even if it meant having an argument in the middle the exit hall, littered with monster corpses. He had to let her know that what she did was not okay, and that he would die for her a thousand times over if it meant that her and the child were safe. He crossed his arms, waiting patiently for Sarah to finish her tirade. "I'm fine! The baby is fine! And you are fine! And you have the nerve to scream at me—"

Sarah leaned over to the side, one hand on her stomach the other on her knee as she threw up. Kaim's ire drained out of him so quickly it almost scared him, as he watched her wipe a shaky hand over her mouth. His heart stilled in his chest as she heaved a few times, and he was left unsure on what he could do to help. She leaned up breathing in a lungful of air. When he lifted his arm to check on her, she turned on her heel. She grabbed her staff, and quietly walked towards the exit of the cave. Kaim watched her go for a moment, and sidestepping the dead monsters and sick, followed her out.

.

"I'm okay. You can stop looking at me like that."

Kaim didn't say anything just opened the door to Kersen's Inn. Sarah didn't say much after the cave. They walked on in silence and reached Saman without much ado. He wrapped her arm in a clean bandage they bought and headed over to buy clothes. Kaim watched as she purchased four new maternity blouses, trousers that were more stretchy than not, two night shifts, and three dresses. He handed the cashier the money, and they had quietly left. When they stepped outside Kaim noticed how pale, and still a little shaky, Sarah was. Even though the trip back to Tosca would only take four hours and they would be back home by midafternoon, Kaim thought it best to rest at the inn for the night. Sarah just gave him a slight nod, and they were off.

Kaim pushed the door open to their room and set their purchases by the couch in the corner. Sarah pulled off her traveling boots and made her way to the bed. She lay down face first into the pillows before curling up on her side, back towards him.

Kaim stood next to the bed, watching as Sarah took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes. After another minute he sighed and sat on the edge of the mattress. She didn't move when he did, and he felt a little guilt creep up on him. He shouldn't have yelled. He was sure those little monsters wouldn't have been able to kill either of them. Maybe leave some deep scratches that would have left a scar, but nothing more serious. They had overreacted, maybe Kaim a little more than Sarah, and deep down he knew he needed to apologize.

"Sarah, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you. You're right, we're fine and I just wanted to take my anxiety out at someone." No response. Kaim sighed deeper. Her anger and silence wasn't misplaced and now she was feeling crummy on top of it, and he felt to blame. He turned to her and opened his mouth again, but realized she was asleep.

He pulled the blankets up around her shoulders and lay a kiss on her forehead. He smoothed away the moisture left by his lips and she smiled in her sleep at the familiar touch.

.

Kaim was awoken by Sarah brushing his hair out of his face. It was the middle of the night and the glow of the moon illuminated Sarah's features. He could tell that she had been crying. He pulled her close, tangling his legs with hers. "I'm sorry," she whispered, sniffling after.

"Don't," his voice rumbled back. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath in. "No need to be sorry. It was me. I overreacted." He opened his eyes and saw hers gaping back. He took a hand and wiped away a stray tear. "I should be the one begging you to forgive me." Sarah could only stare, so he gave her a kiss to her cheek. Her lips twitched up a little.

"I heard you earlier, you know."

"I figured." Kaim recalled how she smiled after he tucked her into bed. "How do you feel?"

"Okay. Not sick." She placed her head under his chin and kissed his adam's apple. "I'm fine."

Kaim rubbed her back in a circular motion, and with a yawn Sarah closed her eyes to go to sleep. He soon followed.

. . .

Surprisingly, at least to Kaim, Sarah's morning sickness didn't truly strike her until the end of her fourth month of pregnancy. He was happy to say it did not last long, but it did surge through her with a vengeance. Sarah would get sick in the morning, after breakfast, after lunch, and through the afternoon. The doctor that visited Tosca at the time was a little concerned, informing him, "she's losing a little weight, Kaim. Just make sure she's attempting small meals in between the nausea."

So Kaim made it his mission to bring Sarah food at half hour intervals. He tried all combinations of foods and liquids for her to try and keep down. She was trying her best to eat everything she could, and it was all that Kaim could hope for, but he would be lying if he said he wasn't just a little nervous about her sickness.

He watched as she bent over the kitchen sink, emptying lunch. He became even more worried when she wobbled away. "I feel like death," she cried out a little dramatically.

"It'll get better." Kaim almost sounded like he was trying to convince himself. He held her elbow with one hand as she pulled herself towards the kitchen nook table. "Have you managed to keep anything down this morning?"

"Breakfast, actually." Sarah rubbed her stomach. Kaim offered her the glass of water he had left on the counter, and she gulped it down greedily. "And actually, I ate that apple you brought earlier, too."

Kaim felt minor relief—she was keeping something down at least, but there was still a battle to be won.

. . .

To say that Sarah had mood swings would be an understatement.

Kaim watched as she launched into cleaning mode, a mode that came through sparingly even when she wasn't with child, and just a moment later sat down in the chair in the corner tears streaming down her face.

"I wrote this and never finished," she cried into Kaim's shoulder, clutching a parchment in her hand. "And for the life of me I can't remember where I was going with it."

Kaim sighed inwardly, patting the middle of her back as she wracked herself with another sob. Hopefully these moods would slow down as she progressed further into her pregnancy.

. . .

Kaim could have given himself whiplash from how fast his head turned at Sarah's sudden gasp. A range of emotions wormed their way up from his belly as all the bad situations ran through his mind at why his pregnant wife would be gasping. He approached her arms open, ready to catch her if she fell, a frown etched into his features as he saw that she was as still as a statue.

He watched as she pressed a hand to one part of her growing curve. She gasped again, and Kaim could feel his blood pressure rise. Is she in pain? he thought to himself. She looked up at him suddenly and paused his movements. "Come here!"

She let go of the broom she held in her hand to reach over and grab his own. She pressed his fingers into the side of her five-month curved belly and waited. Kaim caught on to what she was trying to show him and didn't show disappointment when the movement stopped before he could feel it. Relief spread through his fingertips to the top of his head as he said, "nothing."

"Ooh! I thought this time I could catch you!" Sarah soothingly said to her growing baby. Kaim let his hand linger on the spot for a few more moments before he placed his hand on her cheek.

"Don't worry. We'll catch it soon enough."

What he wasn't expecting was Sarah to literally pull him out of a deep sleep, hand pressed down hard on her stomach again. He was about to complain about the hour when he felt it. A movement, maybe a foot stretching out to greet his hand. He blinked and used his free hand to rub the last vestiges of sleep from his eyes. "Hello."

Sarah's laugh pulled him away for a moment before another bump reached his fingers. He laughed, "pretty active tonight?"

"I can't sleep," Sarah said with a tiny pout. "Baby doesn't know when to quit and has transferred some of that energy to me." Sarah's foot connected with Kaim's and he felt the thumb of her right hand trace the outline of his jaw.

Kaim smiled into the dark. He lifted his hands away from her and replaced one on her shoulder. He leaned in and kissed his wife's neck, reveling in the way she seemed to purr and melt into the mattress below them. During Sarah's middle months, she craved more than just the odd food. Kaim caught her staring—a heavy lidded stare—while he worked the garden outside of their mansion in the early mornings. Her fingers always lingered on him a little longer than normal whenever she could, and she would sometimes bite her lip with a strong blush whenever his hand supported the small of her back as they walked around outside. While Kaim and Sarah usually initiated these kinds of activities equally before the baby made itself known, he had noticed an uptick in Sarah's drive and didn't foresee it ending any time soon. Not that he minded, but she did have a knack at wanting his touch at the most inconvenient times.

She was squirming a little in the bed, so he decided to give her a break from her favorite spot; instead kissing a line up her neck and to her lips, hands keeping still. Kaim needed to confirm this was what she wanted, before he would allow himself to go further, but couldn't quite see her reactions. Sarah breathed in deep, and he could feel eyelashes flutter on his cheeks, but he was left to wonder if she was flushed and still wanting. When he pulled away from her lips, all he could see were eyes blinking back at him. "I can help you fall asleep faster?" he finally offered.

"Please," she whispered, her hands suddenly at his chest. With a laugh he let his hand wander off her shoulder.

. . .

Kaim noticed that even though the weather was significantly warmer, it being the end of spring, Sarah was wearing long sleeved clothes. He didn't mention it to her even when he caught her fanning herself as she sat at the window bench in the library. Hopefully whatever was bothering her would make itself known to him soon, so he could find a way to ease the discomfort. He nudged her legs, greeting her with an, "hey."

"Hey yourself," she replied, leaning her head against the window. She stifled a yawn. "I'm so tired."

Kaim sat down on the ground, leaning his head back onto her thigh. "You can sleep."

"I've been sleeping all day though," she protested, another yawn attacking her mid-sentence. Kaim leaned his head up, looking at her drooping eyes. "I can't just sleep the day away."

"Being six months pregnant will do that to you," he said, closing his eyes and letting the sun warm his face.

"It does a lot of things." Kaim waited for the rest of her thought, but it never came. After a minute, he opened one eye and peeked up at Sarah. Her lips were screwed shut and there were tears falling silently onto her cheeks. He blinked in surprise but knew that her mood could change at the snap of a finger. He moved so he was kneeling next to the bench, hands wiping away the wetness. "I'm fine," she sobbed, her voice betraying her statement. She tried to move his hands away, but instead he ended up holding one. A thumb ran against her knuckles as she tried to take calming breaths in and out.

Seeing her cry always brought out a fierce protectiveness from somewhere deep, and Kaim fought the urge to try and quickly solve all of her issues at once. He didn't want her to feel like she was helpless and needed him to fix every little thing that bothered her. So instead, Kaim bent over and laid a kiss to her nose. "I know you are fine. Come on. Let's go lie down."

He got off his knees and helped his wife off the bench.

.

"Kaim?"

"Hmm?" Kaim dropped the book onto his chest and looked over at his wife next to him in bed. He watched as she adjusted the pillow between her knees and lifted her head to find the best sleeping position. After her nap earlier that day, Sarah seemed to be doing better. She wrote in her journal, helped Kaim with dinner, and even took a cool bath. Their midwife checked in this evening, heralding Sarah to be in the best of health before leaving back to the village for the night. Kaim almost wished he could have spoken to the older woman privately about Sarah's odd behavior, but he didn't have a chance to get her alone. It had been a long time since he had seen Sarah this down and nervous, and he briefly wondered if it was just a weird concoction of hormones.

Sarah sighed into the pillow, rolling her face into the soft material. She was back wearing a long-sleeved night dress, and Kaim frowned as it was a little stuffy in their bedroom. Enough to have Kaim forgo a shirt in favor of a pair of thin shorts and nothing else. Sarah peeked out from the pillow. "Nevermind."

"Sarah." And Kaim knew he said to himself that he wouldn't coddle her. She would tell him what was wrong eventually, but it was getting to be a little too much and too long of a wait for him. He brushed her damp hair away from her eyes and gave her the most longing look he could muster; hoping that this would make her speak rather than using words. Sarah avoided his eyes, but after a moment let the air out of her lungs in a hiss between her teeth.

"Do you think…" Sarah bit the edge of her lip. Kaim saw a blush rise to her cheeks. "Do you think I'm attractive? That I look okay?"

Kaim held in the snort that wanted so desperately to come out. It would have hurt her feelings more, and he didn't want her to move farther away from him when she was finally voicing her thoughts. It was silly for her to think that, to say it out loud, but he knew she needed to let it out. "Is this what's bothering you?"

"You didn't answer." Sarah's face contorted into a weary frown, eyes downcast and avoiding his. No doubt she was trying to hold back tears. Kaim brushed his fingers through her hair again. She wouldn't look at him.

"It's because it is an obvious answer. Yes, Sarah. You are attractive. I even dare to say more than you were five minutes ago." He lifted his lips up in a smile. Sarah's own lifted for only a second before they returned down.

"I just don't feel very good about myself right now."

Kaim rolled to his side and got as close to her as he could with a baby between them. He looked her over, up and down, and shrugged. "I know what I say might not make a difference, but." Kaim moved his hands to her face, brushing lips against lips. When she opened her eyes again, he let his lips kiss across her left cheek, and let his hand rest on her stomach. They sat there for a moment, Kaim just mesmerized by how full her figure was—how much the baby had grown in what seemed like a fast half of a year. He moved his body down the bed and wrapped an arm the best he could around her in a little hug. He could hear her small gasp when he touched warm fingers to her skin of her thigh. Every inch of her was beautiful. He lifted her long dress up to reveal the stretched skin of her abdomen and traced the lines that had grown there. He tried to keep everything soft and light, careful not to rub her the wrong way. Hoping his actions would be enough to soothe her worries. When he looked up at her, there was a wetness in her eyes, but Kaim could tell they weren't sad tears.

He looked down again, seeing all the marks and discoloration. The dark line that went from her navel down. "Everything is temporary." He let his hand rest at the crest of her belly, her skin burning the palm of his hand. "Despite our long and never-ending life, these marks will go away faster than you could ever think they would." He sat up tugging her into a sitting position, and out of her long nightdress. She wrapped an arm around her chest, and Kaim gave her a small sigh. She didn't need to cover herself up around him. She hadn't done that in what seemed like a century or two, but he wasn't going to bring it up. There was no reason to make her feel ashamed of being ashamed. He leaned in and rested his forehead against hers. After a moment she sighed herself and he felt her hands on his face.

"Thank you."

"You don't need to thank me. I will remind you every day if you want me to." He lifted his head off hers and placed another gentle kiss where they were once touching. "You're beautiful to me no matter what you look like."

"Even if I've vomited on your shoes?"

Kaim laughed. If she could joke now, he hoped the worst of her mood had been lifted. "After you brushed your teeth, I'd still want to kiss you breathless."

Sarah's tinkering laugh met his ears and she let her arms fall away from her. Kaim could tell she was feeling a lot more comfortable in her skin. She moved off the bed and found a thin, short-sleeved nightdress, and waddled back into her nest of pillows. Kaim placed his forgotten book onto the stand beside him and turned off the light. He placed one last kiss to his wife's lips before settling down beside her.