Beneath the Threads

XXI.

Robin held the baby in her arms as she watched Chrom rest. Ever since he had told her about the Gangrel sighting, her nerves had been on edge. She refused to put Lucina down, and she made sure that her grown children stayed together when they traveled around the castle. She thought about all the days she had spent alone in her tent during capture, wondering what might happen to her, or if her plans had worked. She remembered the night Lucina was born. As Chrom wiped her forehead with a cool cloth during labor, she managed to wonder what might happen if there were people out there that would target her daughter because of who her father was.

The stress on her mind had made the birth so grueling, and yet, the strides she made to overcome it all had crumbled on her in an instant. She bit her lip as she watched her sleeping daughter. Now that she had met Morgan, it was apparent she would have another child. She wondered when that might happen, and for the first time, she feared the thought of her and Chrom having another baby together.

She wiped her eyes and sniffled, trying to quiet her tears. She felt helpless to what was happening around her. Validar was after her, something in her gut told her so. Whether or not he wanted just her or her whole family was another matter. Chrom stirred and turned on the lantern at his bedside. He looked to Robin.

"Everything alright?" he asked with a small yawn.

"I'm fine." Robin nodded. She kept her eyes on the baby.

"Doesn't seem so…"

"I was just thinking…"

"That seems to get you in trouble sometimes."

Robin sighed. "I was wondering when I might become pregnant again."

Chrom shrugged. "I'm thinking not anytime soon. But, Lucina wouldn't tell me how far apart she is from Morgan."

"I'm going to have to pry it out of her. It's eating at my mind."

"Robin…" Chrom sighed. "If you do, you might end up changing the timeline, and Morgan might never get conceived."

"But hasn't the timeline already changed? We don't share the same wedding date as we did in her time. Things are happening differently here. One thing could change everything."

"Yes, but...we should just let things happen naturally here. We don't need to know when to expect our next child. When you become pregnant, you become pregnant. What's got you so worried about this?"

Robin bit back her tears. "I'm worried about our children. My mind is so stressed. I'm scared a second pregnancy might be harder on me than the first. I'm full of anxiousness. I was getting past it...but I feel like my progress has been shattered."

Chrom beckoned Robin to lay beside him. She rose and climbed into bed beside him, his head resting on her shoulder. He watched the sleeping baby in her arms. "I'm going to take care of this. Whoever is doing this will answer to me. An attack on the castle is an attack on Ylisse, but more personally, my family. They'll answer for what they did to you and our daughter. And, the next time you're expecting, I'll be with you every step of the way. I promise you, Robin, you'll be safe and comfortable."

"Thank you…I'm going to try to move past this."

"You're doing well. This is just a bump in the road." Chrom gestured for her to place the baby in his arms. He cradled Lucina to his chest.

"What are we going to do about Valm?" Robin mumbled.

"It seems we have our own problems right now. As much as I'd hate to say it, we can't help Valm until we figure out what's going on here. We'll send aid, but I can't lead the campaign. If Walhart steps foot on this continent, I'll gut him, plain and simple."

"Sounds like the best we can do for now…"

Chrom sighed. "Robin, my love, rest your mind. We'll think these things over later. Get some sleep with me. Lucina's already ahead of us."

Robin smiled and pulled the blankets over them. "Okay, okay."

Author's Note:

Hi and thank you for reading this far into the story! I appreciate it. I'm sorry it took so long to update. I had surgery, so I haven't been on my computer much. I'm getting better, so don't worry about me. :) I wrote the new chapters while I was resting in bed one night, but it took me a little while to read them over and make the edits I wanted so I could post. I don't like only posting one chapter at a time, I'd rather post them in bulk, which takes more time in between updates as well. I hope you're enjoying it! I didn't know what I was doing with this story when I first started, and I didn't mean for it to be this long and involved. However, I enjoy writing it, and it gives me something to do while I'm home all day, so it's all cool. It seems I can't write short stories, they're always really long! Haha.