"I'm pregnant," Alex told Dave staring at the pregnancy test.
"I'm not sure those are the things are accurate for anybody who isn't human, but I can get a healer here to confirm it," Dave said.
"Please do," Alex said calmly taking the news that the pregnancy test might not be accurate for anybody who wasn't completely human rather well.
"I can have one here within a couple of hours," Dave said. "If you are I am going to be so happy, because I've never managed to have a child, as you well know. I know you're only 1/4 human, but still that might've been enough for you to get pregnant more easily."
"My parents will be over the moon, as we've only been married six months," Alex said.
"Let's not get too excited until we have it confirmed," Dave said. "I have several healers that work for me, as it always useful in case someone gets hurt for whatever reason that may be. Since I don't know when I'll need their services they also help others supernatural creatures. I can get one of them here in no time."
"That would be good," Alex said. "I'm trying not to get excited until we know if the pregnancy test is accurate."
"I contact Saoirse and let her know she is needed," Dave explained.
"So why did you leave Ireland, as that was your home," Alex asked a question she had been wondering about for awhile.
"For a multitude of reasons really, as for one thing the human world has much more entertainment than Underhill does," Dave said. "If there's one thing we lack it's imagination. Everything we produce is based off something a human has invented first. We can improve on a human design, but not come up with the original. Those that aren't full sidhe like yourself usually have more imagination and an easier time producing something original. Also, the sidhe are practically unknown here in America unlike in Ireland where legends can sometimes be all to real. I also left my enemies behind in my homeland, as every Seelie has those no matter how inoffensive they are. A lot of us came to America many centuries ago with some of the first settlers and created a whole new realm in Underhill. Underhill is like a different dimension entirely, one that is connected to the human world. I'll contact that healer and she can be here in a couple of hours or less. "
"The sooner the better, because I'm anxious to know if I really am pregnant," Alex said. "I would love to see Underhill someday."
"Have you been throwing up?" Dave asked.
"Yes, which is what made me think I might indeed be pregnant," Alex said. "I suppose I could be coming down with something but considering I'm only 1/4 human I think pregnancy is more likely."
"I won't say sidhe can't get sick, but it's a rare event. I would love to show you my realm but that's for later," Dave said, as he went to contact the healer.
~~~Dave and Alex~~~
Several hours later
"Yes, she is pregnant, Milord," the healer whose name was Saoirse said after running some magical tests over Alex's stomach.
"You're sure?" Dave asked beginning to get excited. "It's not that I doubt you, its just that it usually takes much longer for a female of our kind to get pregnant. I never managed to get any of my lovers pregnant over the years, but they were also full sidhe."
"Well, your wife is partly human, which is how she got pregnant so easily," Saoirse said. "Most humans breed like rabbits and even though Alex is only 1/4 human it still makes it easier for her to have children."
"This is great news," Alex said finally allowing herself to get excited. She was finally allowing herself to believe that she was pregnant when before she hadn't been sure despite her throwing up after Dave had risen for the day. Dave was always up way before her, sometimes in what she considered the middle of the night, but then Seelie didn't need much sleep unlike humans. She was something of an early bird herself, even if she didn't feel totally awake when she first rose for the day. It always took her awhile to wake up completely, especially since she couldn't drink anything with caffeine.
"Yes, it is," Dave said. "I never expected you to get pregnant this soon, but I am very happy about it nonetheless."
"So am I," Alex agreed with a blinding smile. "Since I got pregnant so soon this time hopefully, next time will be just as easy."
"Let's get through this pregnancy first before we worry about next time," Dave said and Alex agreed, as that was only sensible.
"Whenever you need my services again I'll make myself available Milord," Saoirse promised.
"Yes, thank you for your quick response," Dave said and handed her a small bag that clinked from his pocket.
Saoirse took it and slipped it into her own pocket before leaving the couple to themselves.
Once Saoirse left Dave and Alex simply sat on one of the comfortable couches together marveling at the fact that they were going to be parents much sooner then they had expected.
Both of them were shocked that Alex had gotten pregnant so easily, as they been married only half a year. That didn't mean however, that they weren't overjoyed at the upcoming birth.
"We should go tell my parents right away," Alex said finally seeming to come out of her daze.
"They'll be overjoyed for us, as you said a few minutes ago," Dave said. He had gotten to know them quite well over the last year or so and while he didn't like how they had tried to force Alex to marry by throwing men at her he also understood that his values were different then theirs. He had been around for centuries while the Blakes were young compared to him, even if they didn't know it.
Alex had forgiven them for what they had done and so he would forget the matter, so long as they didn't try anything else. On the other hand, Alex was safely married now, and even if the sidhe didn't hold with such a conventions, the elder Blakes didn't know that.
Alex was now his responsibility, even if she was perfectly capable of looking after herself, but that was just the way that the father in particular thought.
"We'll go see them and tell them the good news. I expect them to spoil any grandchild rotten," Dave said.
"So will you and I," Alex said smiling.
"True that," Dave agreed with a massive grin, as he thought about his child growing within Alex. "We'll have to make sure they look human whenever your parents see them, as they won't be able to disguise themselves as infants."
"I'm not gonna be able to give birth in a hospital am I?" Alex asked Dave.
"No I'm afraid not and I'm sure your parents will object that so I'm just gonna have to enchant them, so they won't object to you having any child here at home with a healer in attendance. I don't want to do it that way, but your adoptive parents are humans who know nothing about the Seelie or magic" Dave said.
"It won't hurt then will it?" Alex asked and Dave shook his head.
"No it won't. They'll just not think to ask why the baby wasn't born in a hospital and why they didn't have a chance to visit the nursery to see their grandchild. Such questions won't even occur to them to ask and we'll make sure we take the baby by to see them within a day or two of them being born."
"So my parents will think it's just a normal human baby," Alex said.
"Yes, they'll never know differently," Dave promised.
"All right then," Alex said trusting what Dave was telling her, as she didn't know as much about her species as she should because she thought she was human for most of her life. "Let's not forget about Aisling as she is going to be is ecstatic at the thought of a great-grandchild, although she might have some of great-children already."
She understood her mother's reasoning, of wanting to protect her child, but that meant she was playing catch-up on things she already should've known. Even months later she was still absorbing the fact that she actually had family related to her. Aisling had visited several more times over the last few months and Alex had gotten to know her grandmother. Aisling told her stories about her mother's childhood and growing up years something that Alex deeply appreciated. Aisling was always invited to lunch or dinner depending on what time she came by from Underhill. Alex's grandmother seemed to really love human food and Alex and Dave couldn't really blame her. Dave had always loved human food, as he to had grown up in Underhill, so understood Aisling's love for it. As for Alex, she was well used to human food since she had grown up in the human realm.
"I'm gonna have to make some modifications on our home then in order to make room for a baby," Dave said. "Still, that's easy enough and not something we need to worry about right this minute.
"We need to create a nursery," Alex said.
"I outfitted this building to my taste originally. I never imagined that children would grace it and so I didn't bother to create too many bedrooms. Still, that's easily corrected with a little magic, even though this isn't Underhill, which is just unformed mist until you make it your own and imprint your will upon it."
"I want to watch when you change it as I want to learn how," Alex requested. "I know I should already know how except I believed that I was completely human until recently.
"That's fine," Dave agreed kissing Alex soundly. "I'm looking forward to teaching you."
He couldn't believe he was going to be a father after so many centuries and so many different women. That Alex had gotten pregnant so easily to him was a miracle and he was looking forward to having those children. Also, Alex would be fertile a lot longer than humans, though they would have to limit the number they had until her parents passed, but they could have more at some point, hopefully, anyway. Of course, Alex would have to be agreeable as well, but she loved children just as much as he did so that likely wasn't going to be a problem.
That was a worry for later though, as that was decades way at the very least, perhaps centuries.
~~~Dave and Alex~~~
A big gift basket arrived the next day after the Dave and Alex had told Alex's parents that they were expecting.
"Well, look at this," Alex said as she looked at the huge gift basket that had a lot of things for babies and expectant mothers. "Looks like a baby book, compression socks for when my ankles swell restaurant gift cards, belly bands, belly butter, morning sickness soothers and a bunch of other stuff."
"We might not use most of that stuff," Dave said. "Seelie have different requirements, but it was still very nice of your parents to send you things that would normally help you through your pregnancy."
"Yes, it was," Alex agreed. "I can tell how excited they are when we announced I was pregnant just from all the things in this gift basket. The restaurant gift cards at least are very useful as there are some of my favorite restaurants, which my mother would have known. She's good at keeping track of things like that."
"Well, we didn't necessarily need the gift cards since I have plenty of money, but still, it was very thoughtful of your mother," Dave said.
"I'll make sure I thank her next time I talk to her," Alex said. "She never has to know if we don't use most of this stuff, as she was only trying to be helpful. It looks like it came from that store for babies and expectant mothers. It's called All Things Baby."
"I had no idea there was such a store," Dave said.
"Oh, yeah, stores for just babies and expectant mothers are popping up everywhere," Alex said. "There are all kinds of things that a baby needs and also expectant mothers doing pregnancy. I won't go into all that babies need, but let's just say it's turned into quite a lucrative moneymaker. Some families can spend an absolute fortune in such places, as they have anything from baby clothes, to baby monitors, to cribs and rocking chairs. Basically everything you ever need."
"We can magic a lot of that stuff though," Dave said. "The crib, the rocking chairs and any other furniture that's required."
"We'll still have to buy clothes, though and a lot of other things, even if you can create the furniture with magic," Alex said. "I'm sure you don't know a thing about modern baby fashion, which means you can't just make it from magic."
"But you do and that would be a good way to test out your magic," Dave said.
"True," Alex said. "I'll see what I can do, but we're still probably gonna have to buy a lot of things."
"That's OK with me," Dave shrugged. "It's not like I don't have a lot of money, even if a lot of it is in gold bullion, but I have plenty of regular human money to. There are ways to dispose of gold, even today and turn it into regular paper money."
"I'll leave that to you," Alex said serenely.
"I do have a regular bank account and you already have a card linked to it so just buy whatever you need to. I'm really looking forward to you giving birth," Dave said.
"Me too," Alex agreed, even as she went to pat her still flat tummy.
Alex knew that Dave had been here in this realm since the 13th century and he would've created an identity back before modern technology and everything had been a reality. It was much harder to to create an identity in this day and age without the government or somebody else realizing you weren't who you said you were. That didn't mean that it couldn't still be done, just that you had to be really careful about it.
Of course, most people didn't have magic to help them along.
"I'll make sure I take Eliza along when I go shopping, as she has a good eye for quality things," Alex said. "Besides, shopping is always more fun with a friend."
"I wouldn't know anything about that, as I usually just ken what I want and if I can't then I have somebody pick it up for me," Dave said.
"You just grew up in a different world, Dave. You grew up in Underhill where I am sure there weren't any stores."
"You would be right about that as we can create most things," Dave said.
"You can even create food, even if it doesn't taste right," Alex observed. Alex winkled her nose, as she had tasted some of Dave's foods created by magic and he was right it never tasted quite the same.
"Which is one reason I enjoy being here in the human world so much," Dave said.
"I don't blame you there," Alex said.
~~~Dave and Alex~~~