~ Chapter 14: A Knight's Celebration ~

- Arthur -

I stared at Gwen shocked, certain I had misheard her. I simply was not that lucky. It was not possible that my wife was telling me that she was going to have a baby. It was not possible that I was going to be a father.

"Arthur? Arthur say something," Gwen pleaded.

"I… You're… you're sure?" I asked her. When we'd failed to conceive within our first year of marriage, we'd believed we wouldn't be able to have children.

"I'm pretty sure." She hesitated for a moment then grabbed my hand and placed it on her stomach.

I was shocked by what I felt there. Her stomach was swollen, but it wasn't like when I had gained a bit of weight; it was solid.

"How pregnant are you?" I asked her.

"I'm guessing around three months," she admitted.

"Why didn't you tell me before?" I asked her. I wasn't angry… not exactly. I was just upset that she didn't tell me before.

"I wasn't sure at first. We'd gotten up our hopes so many times before only to be disappointed. By the time I was certain, you were preparing for a war," she told me. "It never felt like the right time."

I looked up at her amazed. This was real. She was pregnant. I threw my arms around her, hugging her to me tightly. As I held her, I realized exactly what that meant. I was going to be a father. What if I'm not ready to be a father? The panic started to set in. I didn't want to give Gwen any reason to worry over my reaction; it would be important for her to be as stress-free as possible until the baby arrived.

"Guinevere, I want you to know I'm very excited about this and I love you, but I do have to go let my knights know I'm back," I told her.

She smiled at me. "I'll request an audience with them. You can surprise them," she suggested. "Are you going to tell them about…" Her eyes flicked to her stomach then back up to me.

I shook my head. "I… I want to tell Merlin before I tell everyone else," I told her.

She smiled at me. "I understand," she told me. She kissed my cheek before she walked out. The second the door was closed behind her, I sat down on our bed. I clasped my hands together and rested my forehead on my fists.

I was going to be a father. I was going to be responsible for someone else's life. A thousand worries passed through my head. What if Gwen didn't make it through it? I grew up believing my father resented me for the death of my mother. Of course, at the time, I didn't realize that she died because I was born. I didn't want to be like that. I didn't want my child to ever feel unloved or unwanted. Would Merlin or Gaius be able to do anything to make sure Gwen had the best odds possible? I didn't know enough about childbirth to know if that was outside the realm of possibility.

First things first, I had to pull myself together long enough to greet my knights.

I didn't know how long I was sitting there before Gwen came back. "Come Arthur," she told me. "Let's get you in the throne room before your knights."

I obediently followed her to the throne room. Despite my anxiety over the baby, I felt excitement swelling in me. My men were like my family. I was excited at the prospect of being reunited with my brethren.

I hid behind one of the pillars as Gwen took a seat on the throne.

Slowly, my knights started to filter in. I could tell when we got closer to the time Gwen decided to hold the audience because they were coming in in throngs.

I tapped my foot impatiently. How long did it take for them to get here? It seemed like an eternity before everyone was here. I wasn't surprised to see that Gaius was missing. Naturally he knew I was back so all of his attention should be directed towards helping Merlin.

Gwen cleared her throat, grabbing the attention of everyone in the room. I watched her, proud of how she handled herself.

"I have an announcement to make," Gwen said loudly and clearly.

"Is this about the dragon, my lady?" Sir Leon asked.

Gwen smiled slightly. "Something like that," she told him. "As you know, there has been a dragon sighting in Camelot. I want to assure you that there is nothing to fear."

"How can you know that?" Gwaine asked.

Gwen glanced at me expectantly.

"Because it was bringing me home," I said as I stepped out from behind the pillar.

There was about five minutes of silence as my knights stared at me. I felt rather uncomfortable being subjected to their stares, but I am the king so I forced myself to suck it up.

Gwaine recovered first. "Arthur!" he cried. It seemed his exclamation woke something up in my knights. Soon I was being embraced and a hundred questions were being directed towards me. They all wanted to know how this was possible; I mostly dodged around their questions. Soon enough, they would understand how I was able to survive and get back here but that announcement would have to wait. I gave Merlin my word that I would decree that magic be legalized in Camelot. I thought he would kill me if he found out that I made the announcement without him

At some point, we moved to the banquet hall where someone broke out the mead. I can honestly say that I could barely remember my name at the end of the night.

All I remember is me offering Gwen a cup and her declining it, saying that 'someone has to be the responsible one.' As if I'm not responsible.

But at the moment, my head was pounding too hard to think about that much.

Gwen opened the curtains to the window, letting light pour in. I winced, looking away. "Good morning… or good afternoon more like it," she told me with a smile. "You slept away half the day."

I jumped out of bed, causing my head to spin. I grabbed my clothes, preparing to dress myself. I sighed to myself. It's not that I couldn't do it myself, it's just that Merlin is usually here to annoy me right about now. "Was there any change in Merlin?" I asked her hopefully.

"Not that I know of," she told me. "Gaius hasn't sent word of it."

I sighed. "I'm going to go check on him," I told her.

And that's how my next three days went. I checked in with Gaius… frequently. And at night, I celebrated with my knights.

I knew I was going to have to talk to Gwen soon about the baby. If I was freaking out, she must be too, but I needed Merlin's advice before I did that. Dear God, I never thought I would think that.