It had been four days since Violet and Klaus had made up.
It had been two days since Violet had fallen ill.
It was still one day until… well, you'll see.
The morning after Klaus had gotten her to forgive him, Violet woke early to feed the baby, climbing quietly back into bed with a wakeful infant in her arms. "It's just too early to wake up. I thought, maybe if I just let her suckle I can go back to sleep for a little while," she whispered to Klaus, who moved closer to the wall to make room for her to slide in. She backed up to him, positioning Beatrice to lay alongside her on the mattress, propping the baby to lay along her arm. Beatrice seemed agreeable to the whole idea, and settled into her pacifier, eyes rolling sleepily already.
Klaus had different ideas, though. Last night, Violet had generously loved him, satisfying his body in the most wonderful way, but he hadn't had a chance to reciprocate, and he was longing to feel her… her skin and her body and her heat. He snaked his arm around Violet's waist to caress her other breast. It had been several weeks since he had last touched her this way, but it didn't feel as he remembered or expected it to. Her breast was hot to the touch, and heavy, way bigger than it had been, he was sure. According to the calendar Violet had made, her period wouldn't start for another week. Was this a normal premenstrual symptom? He didn't feel up to asking her in the quiet of the early morning. Instead, he cupped it gently, rubbing his palm across her nipple, before brushing his fingers down her side, making her sigh as they dipped into her waistband. She spread her legs easily for him, leaning into him, while he pleasured her with his fingers. It only took a few short minutes, where he barely had time to suck on the crook of her neck and whisper sweet nothings in her ear, until she was trembling, thighs closing automatically, as she came. They fell asleep again as the sun rose, a tangle of bodies and arms.
Breakfast had come and gone and Violet still remained in bed. She complained of feeling achy when Klaus looked in on her, checking her forehead for fever. She shivered under her blanket, but her forehead was damp with sweat. No other symptoms, though. No cough, or sore throat.
"I'm just tired. I'm sure I'll feel better after a little more sleep," she assured Klaus, who was not reassured at all. If only they had some fever reducer or pain killer. By supper, Violet's fever had abated some, and she was very hungry, but she moved around the house slowly, muscles and joints obviously sore. Klaus did feel much better when she wasn't running a fever, but worry was his primary feeling the whole day. He took care of Sunny and the baby, only bringing Beatrice to Violet for feeding time. Even in her lethargic state, Violet was a doting mother. She talked quietly to the baby, keeping eye contact with her while she suckled, and Beatrice would sometimes smile back at her around her nipple, which always made them laugh. Even after the baby had finished her bag of milk, Violet held the baby close, and allowed her to keep suckling as they both fell asleep on the couch.
Poor Violet spent an uncomfortable night next to Klaus, unable to sleep now that she was supposed to. He gently rubbed the sore muscles in her back and arms. She was grimy from sweating so much the previous day and just couldn't seem to relax enough to get to sleep.
"Hey, do you feel up to going to the lake?" Klaus suggested. "The hot water could help soothe your muscles, and frankly, you need a bath."
"Ugg," she said. "I want to, but it's dark, and I'm so tired."
"Come on," he said, standing up from the bed. "We aren't getting much sleep this way, and the moon is bright tonight. We'll be quick."
The night was bright, as Klaus had predicted. The pair easily followed their trail to the lake, but the cavern was dark enough that it took awhile for their eyes to adjust. The moonlight that filtered down through the crumbled cavern roof gave the room a mysterious glow as it reflected off of the steam that rose in spirals from the lake.
Violet gasped again at the beauty of the cavern. "It really is such a wonderful place."
Klaus began to undress, turning expectantly toward Violet. "Come on, we're meant to be quick," he reminded her. He took her hand to help steady her down the sandy rock path. Violet let out a loud sigh of content as she waded quickly to the deeper water, to duck down her whole body into the comforting heat. Klaus did the same until only his head was above the water, his knees bent on the rocky bottom of the lake.
"You were so right to come here, Klaus," she sighed again. "The water feels so good."
"Come here," he said, reaching out and pulling her by the arm into his close embrace. Violet wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. He kissed her, a short one that spoke volumes of familiarity. "Violet," he began, "at the risk of sounding crass, your breasts are huge!" They had indeed swollen to the size of small grapefruits. He cupped them, one in each hand, and they were still so heavy, and so much warmer than the rest of her skin, as if Violet's fever was emanating from them.
"I know. They are very tender right now," she said, looking down at them.
"Is that normal…I mean, for them to get so big? Is it part of your cycle?"
"It is normal for them to get sore right before my period, but they've never been like this," she said. "Are you thinking something?"
"Well, I've noticed recently that you've been letting Beatrice use you as a pacifier…" he began, but Violet interrupted.
"Just to get some extra rest," Violet said, a little too defensively. "I know it's not a good habit for her, but sometimes it makes her sleep just a little longer. The older she gets, the less she sleeps." Klaus nodded, and sensing he had hit on a sensitive subject, let it drop for now.
He squeezed her against him, liking the way her wet body felt against his, weightless in the water. "I'm sorry. I know feeding the baby is an extremely important responsibility, and you are the only one equipped to handle it. You are so amazing!" He was rewarded with a large smile. The pair spent a few minutes, bobbing around in the water, looking up at the moon through the ceiling, or looking at each other, or kissing each other, until they knew they had spent too much time there and headed home.
The next day was much the same, Violet feeling achy and sore, sometimes running a low fever, making her shiver and sweat. She spent most of the day taking it easy on the couch, and Klaus brought her glasses of water to drink and plates of food to eat. Sunny would curl up next to her to chatter her ear off or beg Violet to let her braid her long hair.
"Not today, Sunshine," Violet said, stretching her sore back out on the couch, pulling Sunny to lay next to her. She ran her fingers gently through Sunny"s soft blond hair until they both had drifted off to sleep in the late afternoon heat.
The quiet of the small house was lulling to Klaus, too, as he read in a chair with his feet propped up on a low table, Beatrice asleep on his chest. There was only the sounds of the quiet regular breaths of sleep mixed with the sound of waves and wind that wafted up the hill to their open windows. He must have closed his eyes for a minute, because the next thing he knew, Sunny was shaking him awake.
"Klaus, wake up," she said petulantly.
"Hey Sunny. Are you awake?" Klaus asked, immediately trying to balance the baby and the book he had been holding, trying to keep either of them from falling to the floor.
"I'm all wet, Klaus. Can you help me change?" she said gesturing to her shirt that was actually very wet along the side and the back.
"How did you get wet? Weren't you sleeping?" he asked curiously, and confused.
"I don't know. I think Violet sweated all over me. She's all wet, too."
"Okay, let's find you another shirt," he said preparing to heft himself off the chair, placing his book on the floor and trying to move Beatrice without waking her. It didn't work. The baby immediately began to fuss and he laid her down on Sunny's small bed to rifle through the drawer, deciding to just put her pajamas on her.
He knelt in front of her, keeping a side eye to make sure the baby didn't roll too far. When he lifted her soiled shirt off, he noticed that it smelled, not bad exactly, just…Klaus held it to his nose. It smelled sweet and just a little sour. Not sweat, heavier. "I'm all sticky, Klaus," Sunny complained. Sure enough, her skin had a tacky feel to it.
"It's okay. I'll get you washed up," and he stood to get a wet cloth to wash up Sunny. "Can you keep an eye on the baby for just a minute, Sunshine? I'll be right back." He walked past Violet's sleeping form to get to the wash tub, trying not to wake her, but on the way back to Sunny, he glanced at Violet as he walked past and stopped in his tracks. The front of her shirt was also soaked, just like Sunny had said. He could clearly see her nipples through the fabric, and the wet stains seem to bloom from there. Oh. My. God. It could only be…Violet had milk. He laughed delightedly. That explained so much.
He quickly ran to get Sunny settled, washing her body, then her face and hands for good measure, and threw a nightgown over her head. "I need to check on Violet. Are you okay for a few minutes?" he asked Sunny, but she was already busy cutting shapes that Violet had drawn for her out of pieces of paper. Sunny nodded, pacified now that she felt more comfortable.
Klaus picked up the baby, patting her back and bouncing her, rinsing out the cloth that he had used on Sunny and wringing it out to bring to Violet, who also definitely needed it, and tried to decide on how best to wake up his sister. He hoped she would be as happy about this as he was. He kneeled on the floor beside the couch and rubbed her shoulder, "Violet, wake up."
"Hey," she said, her voice raspy from sleep. "Everything okay?"
"Don't be alarmed, but…I think the reason you've been sick lately, I mean your symptoms…" Klaus didn't know how to say it.
Violet shook her head. "What?" and as she tried to sit up, she noticed her soggy shirt. "What in the world?" she asked, holding her shirt out away from her skin. "Why is my shirt so wet?"
"Just take it off, Violet, and hand it to me," he said, offering her the washcloth. She did as he instructed, and began wiping at her stomach and chest, still half asleep and confused. "It's milk," he said gently. "Your body is making milk, now," and he tried, but couldn't keep the smile off of his face.
"What are you talking about?" she asked in disbelief.
"It can happen. It doesn't usually, not without the right hormones, but it is possible to trick your body into making milk. It takes a lot of nipple stimulation, which you've had, especially the way you've let Beatrice use your breasts as a pacifier. It took almost four months, but your milk is letting down, just like a new mother."
She looked at her breasts, horrified. She would wipe them clean and more milk would just drip down again. "Is there supposed to be so much of it? Will it ever stop?"
"Do you want to to try to feed Beatrice? I think that will probably cut down on the force of the flow," he held the baby up helpfully.
She looked at the baby, then at Klaus's amused face. She did laugh a little. "Well…" she looked down at her dripping nipples again, and said under her breath, "shit. Can you get me a dry towel first, Klaus?" she requested. He popped up to get it right away. She covered one side with the towel and let the baby attach to the other. Beatrice fussed a little at the newness of it, but seemed to settle into it relatively quickly.
"You'll have to feed her from both sides each time, now," Klaus reminded her, remembering Sunny's breastfeeding days, "to make sure she gets enough to eat."
"This… is crazy. It feels like a lot of responsibility," Violet confided to Klaus, watching the baby feed from her own body.
"It's no different than before," he reassured her. "It'll be easier. No warming up milk, no washing out bags, feed her anywhere, anytime you want." He paused, wondering if he did indeed need to remind her of her responsibilities. Yes, maybe. "Your main responsibility now is to take really good care of yourself. You need to eat and drink lots of water, right?"
She nodded. "It just seems so sudden. Like maybe a gift, but not one that I asked for."
"It's a miracle," said Klaus, and he couldn't hold back the adoration from his voice. "I've thought all along what a wonderful mother you've been, to Sunny, to me, when we didn't have one and…" his voice broke, and he felt his throat burn with emotion, "now, you are the only mother Beatrice will ever know. And she is so, so lucky to have you." He wrapped his arm around Violet's shoulders, pulling her into a side embrace and kissing the top of her head. "I'm so proud of you, you amazing girl!" Then they were both crying and laughing at the sweet absurdity of it all.
Life had been hard for the Baudelaire's, and to be honest, was not going to get much easier, but there was hope. As long as they were together there was hope. There were many decisions to make for the future, and their unorthodox devotion to each other would only keep their lives complicated. Klaus didn't care. The world could burn, as far as he was concerned, as long as it left them out of it. They could only do their best, day by day, to raise two little girls, to keep them safe, to keep each other safe.
Time flies. It really does, even for the young. Before the little family knew it, Beatrice was a year old. There is no getting too comfortable when children are small, for they change at the drop of a hat, and expect everyone around them to change also. They not only are always growing, but they are learning, and talking, and walking, and getting into everything, but the more Beatrice grew, the more she became like a person, with her own sweet and sassy personality. Klaus couldn't help but be amazed by this little person, this…unwanted was the wrong word, but, maybe unexpected, gift. They didn't ask for or need a baby in their already complicated lives, but it had been given to them anyway. It seemed to Klaus that love must grow, like a sunflower, quick and tall! The deeper he loved Violet, who had become mother to this little one and to Sunny, the more he felt like her partner in this parenting endeavor, giving as much love as he could to these girls in his life, being everything they needed, if he could. In return, the girls adored him. Never as much as they adored Violet, though. Goodness, the look on Violet's face when Beatrice said Mama for the first time, was nothing but pride, and adoration, and maybe a little astonishment.
On the morning of Beatrice's birthday, Klaus lay awake in bed thinking over all of these things. Beatrice had long ago began sleeping though the night, thank God. He trailed his fingers idly over Violet's arm, who slept next to him. He desperately wanted to wake her, to make love to her before the day started, but she was so peaceful, and the morning sun angled through the window just so, causing a silhouette that lit up her tangle of hair, making her look angelic.
"Are you going to kiss me, or just stare at me all morning?" Her voice surprised him. He had been so deep in thought that he hadn't realized she had woken.
"Can't I do both?" Klaus said with a tease, though he was already rolling his torso over hers, kissing her. "I thought you'd never wake up." He quickly divulged himself of his tee shirt, pulling it off from the back, while she pushed his underwear down with her feet. He knelt between her legs to pull off the boxers she still wore as pajama bottoms and guided himself into her, feeling overwhelmingly like he imagined craving nicotine would be like and experiencing the relief after having that first drag on a cigarette.
Once inside her he took his time. He couldn't help but tease the nipples of her full breasts. Since Beatrice began sleeping all night, Violet would wake, full of milk, her breasts hard and sensitive. Sure enough, as soon as he touched them, Violet's milk began to flow, wetting the front of her little tank top. She groaned, both from pleasure and from the mess. Klaus did not get tired of tasting her milk, as he pulled her up onto his lap, lifting her shirt off, kissing and sucking on her breasts until the force of the milk ebbed.
Violet began a slow rhythm, taking him in and out of her body at her own pace, seeking her own pleasure. He whispered sweet encouragements to her. "I love you," and "You're mine." In return, she cradled his face, scraping her fingertips through his hair, pressing her forehead to his.
"You feel perfect," she said to him, pushing on his shoulders so he would lay back. She steadied herself over him by placing a hand on the bed on each side of his chest, as he ran his hands up and down her thighs. She moved her body over him, faster now, breathing heavy, and he was buried so deep that she would cry out with each backward movement.
He couldn't help his mouth sometimes. It poured out a steady stream of "Oh God's", and "Oh, yes's" until all he could say was "Violet!" as she orgasmed powerfully. He thought he had never felt anything so good as the way her vagina tightened around him, holding him, pulling on him just right, until he, too, was climaxing. He didn't try to pull out and she sat back on him, keeping him inside for as long as possible. Klaus had learned to trust Violet, and her calendar method had not failed them so far.
"Want to stay?" she asked him once her breathing was back to norma. He knew she was asking, not the first time, if he wanted to stay another year on the island or try to leave. Klaus thought it would be a hard road ahead once they left the island, not that living here was always a complete paradise. Really, only one thing mattered to him and that was Violet and his family. They say a person needs just three things to be truly happy in this world: someone to love, something to do, and something to hope for.
"With you," he answered. "Wherever you are, I'll stay with you."