D'avin had sort of stayed in the room, but given Dutch and Johnny some space so that they could catch up. He didn't mind just being there. Maybe it was just because Dutch and Johnny's relationship was something special and D'avin was even a bit jealous, it wasn't the same as the relationship he held with Dutch...but he was okay with that. The happiness in the room was certainly contagious and he was just happy to hear them talking back and forth about everything that had happened on either side of things over the last several months.

"We should probably let you sleep," Johnny said.

He'd been leaning against the door frame, but he straightened up and nodded. "Yeah, we really should."

"D'av, will you stay for a minute?" Dutch requested.

Johnny looked between the two of them and got up after Dutch pressed a kiss to his temple. "Good night." He got up and headed out of the room.

D'avin stepped further into the room and stopped when Dutch motioned to the bag on the floor, he picked it up without a word and set it on the bed with her. "Johnny's right, I'm sure you're tired."

"I'm exhausted," Dutch admitted and then tapped the bed, so he sat. "But I realized that I have something that's not fair that I keep from you. I'm already keeping enough." She opened the bag and rifled through it for a moment before pulling out a very loved stuffed bunny. "Pree got two of these and we kept swapping them out...so when it was time for me to leave, I brought this one." She held it out to D'avin.

He took it without a second thought, his fingers taking in the soft material and the texture of it. He just smiled as he held it, thinking about a baby loving on it and the stupid things that adults no doubt did to entertain a child with it.

"It smells like our child...and probably me, too, but I thought maybe you'd like to have it," Dutch said.

"I think that you were probably given this so you'd miss our baby a little less," he said as he handed it back to her. "You're so used to having her...or him...with you."

Dutch smiled at that and took the bunny back, holding it to her chest. "Do you care? If it's a boy or a girl? Now that you Caspara...sort of."

"No. I just am happy to know that our daughter or son is safe and healthy."

"I promise that's the case."

"I know."

Silence passed between them and D'av got up and turned to go. He didn't want to overstay and he didn't want things to get weird. He was also half surprised that Johnny hadn't made any comments about them not being left alone together, but he likely knew that it would be a sore spot at the moment.

"Don't go."

He turned back to her. "Dutch-"

"Just stay...for a little bit," she whispered. "I'll tell you things without telling you things."

D'avin smiled at that. He did want to hear about their child, but at the same time...he knew that she was protecting the child's identity for a good reason and telling him anything might accidentally give something away. "I want to, but you're right about keeping information away from me for now."

"Can I tell you whose eyes he or she has?"

He moved to sit on the edge of the bed. "Okay, but I'm hoping they're yours." He imagined that his child looked a lot like Caspara, but he wasn't sure if that was good or not. He just thought that it was expected.

"You're right, though Bellus kept trying to say in the beginning that they were going to be the bright blue like Johnny has-"

D'avin shook his head. "I suppose there are worse Jaqobis genes to inherit."

Dutch smiled and nodded.

He stared at her. "You okay?"

"No."

He could tell that this was the truth of it. Neither of them were really okay. He was definitely better having her there and knowing that she and the baby were safe and doing well, but they needed to complete their mission. They both needed to see this to the end and he needed to find a way to do it without losing Dutch. "Do you want me to stay?"

"Will you?"

"You know Johnny would have stayed here and read his comic book to you."

Dutch laughed at that. "I think he prefers to call it a graphic novel."

"Whatever."

"I don't want Johnny to worry anymore than he already does."

"While you were gone, I got to listen to more than my fair share of rants about how you and I need to stop protecting him from things we feel like he needs to be protected from," D'avin told her. He knew that in the case of some of the things that Johnny was right, but then at the same time he was still his big brother and he was going to protect his little brother just the same. He'd just have to deal with it.

"Did you tell him that we have veto power?"

"I just sort of spaced out after so long, but I think he realizes it just the same," D'avin said honestly.

"So?"

"So," D'avin repeated as he stared at her. He couldn't say no, not to her not about this. He sucked in a breath and gave a nod. "So, I'll stay...but not in the bed."

"You need sleep too."

"I'll sleep."

"D'av-"

"Are you really going to fight me on this or are you going to let me do it?" he asked. He knew that in her position that he'd argue it too, but he was tired and they both needed some sleep. "John would probably flip out if he found me in the bed, though he'll probably flip out in general with me being in here." He looked over at her. "But we can handle it, can't we?"

"We can."

He nodded and got up and moved around to the other side of the bed, settling down with his back up against the bed, her hands moved through his hair before she placed a kiss on top. "Sleep," he whispered. He felt he settling in and Lucy dimmed the lights without them saying anything. It took him a moment, but he found a comfortable position and crossed his arms over his chest and closed his eyes. Her arm snaked down and her hand took his. He squeezed it lightly without saying anything about it.

"Tell me a story…"

Smiling, he kept his eyes shut. "Aren't you sick of stories?"

"You would think so. That's all Khlyen used to do...but I found myself doing the same thing when I was gone. Hoping that our little one would somehow remember them."

"Why don't you tell me one?"

"When the nights were long and the days were deep there lived three warriors who strove to bring peace to the region," Dutch whispered. He could hear the exhaustion in her words. She kept going anyways. "In order to protect a child not yet born, the warriors were forced to send away one of their own to friends who would keep her safe. The child was born in secret. This child was special...a noble who knew not of their real home. Filled with stories of a life that they would never have, protected even after its mother had to rejoin the warriors. The three warriors had to recruit others...they were fighting a force that threatened peace in the region…"

She was quiet and D'av waited, but no new words came. He listened and could hear her steady breathing. She was asleep and he didn't want to wake her, so he tried to focus on her breath and her steady pulse as he held her hand. Morning would come far too quickly.

TBC…