Lyra slumped over the toilet as she flushed the remains of her breakfast. Her body ached all over and what little energy she had drained out of her, she was ready to just keel over and lie on the bathroom floor when a loud thump from downstairs caught her attention.

Steeling herself, her limbs cried out at her as she forced herself up and hauled herself down the stairs to check on her young son.

She had hoped the morning sickness would've ended by now, but no luck. And so she had spent most of the morning on her day off running between Jake and the toilet.

Jake was crying when she made it downstairs, and the lamp from the coffee table next to the couch was lying on the floor, he'd clearly bumped into it while playing with Aibo. Lyra picked him up and bounced him gently to calm him down, she pressed a kiss to his forehead and looked over to the purple monkey.

"Aibo," she gently chided, "We've told you to be really careful with him."

Aibo looked genuinely crestfallen, so she gently patted his head and forced a smile for him, "I'm sure it was an accident."

She turned her attention back to the child in her arms, "Where's it hurt?"

"Head!" Jake pointed to his crown.

Lyra pressed a kiss there, "Better?"

Jake nodded and she set him back down. When he walked back over to his toys to play with Aibo, she inspected the lamp. She released another breath as she saw that none of the glass had broken and she slumped to the floor in front of the couch as another wave of dizziness hit her.

"You're gonna fucking kill me at this rate," she murmured to the child that still lay in her stomach.

Then, her mobile phone rang and she let out another sigh as she closed her eyes and threw her head back. Even though it only hit a soft sofa cushion, it sent a wave of dizziness and nausea through her aching body. She opened her eyes and saw her phone held in front of her by a vine from her Meganium.

"Thanks Flora," she said as she answered the call.

"Morning Lyra," her husband said and Lyra felt a small pang of guilt at the annoyance she had felt when her phone rang. It was only Ethan checking on her.

"Hey," she said weakly.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing!" she said quickly, "Just… tired."

"Need me to call someone?"

"I'll be okay," Lyra said, forcing a more cheerful tone, "How's the documentary going?"

There was a short pause before he answered, "It's okay, it's weird having to relive some of my old battles. I don't think I was ever really thinking about what I was feeling at the time, I was just so focused on the battle itself."

Lyra hummed in acknowledgement, Ethan used to feel a rush of emotions after his battles and usually he used to just sit with her to decompress.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine," she said.

Of course she was fine. She was Lyra Gold, she'd reached the top 16 in the Johto League and had only lost to the eventual winner, her future husband, because she had struggled to motivate herself in the opening stages because she knew it was his dream to become Champion. It had taken a speech from him to tell her that he wanted to earn his dream and not have it handed to him.

He'd only just won, without the head start, she might've progressed instead.

And even past that, she'd pushed through a highly competitive space and forged a career despite dealing with the rampant misogyny that existed in the research space from people who both couldn't believe that a woman could be head of a Pokémon Lab (despite Professors Juniper and Magnolia having been successful for a long time), or that she could have and raise a family while doing it. Despite having to have a yearly conference with the new head of the Pokémon League Federation, Charlie Goodshow (grandson of Charles Goodshow), who was also one of the misogynists who also had no interest in research at all to appeal for funding.

She was Professor Lyra Gold, thank you very much.

Her bravado had shrunk considerably within a few hours.

She'd had to go and vomit again a few times, despite having nothing in her stomach to bring up on some of those occasions. Jake was in the middle of potty training and had an accident. He then had been difficult to feed, unwilling to eat anything Lyra gave him. Her aching had just gotten worse and now Jake was unwilling to settle down for his nap.

Eventually, she managed to get him to sleep. She slouched on the couch, absentmindedly flicking through television channels when she heard a key turning in the front door.

Ethan didn't even have a chance to say 'hello' when she vaulted into him. Suddenly all the emotions that she'd pressed down through the day and she started crying into his chest.

Like, ugly crying.

"Whoa Lyra!" Ethan said as he caught her and led her to sit down, "What's wrong?"

"I can't stop throwing up. Jacob hit his head, don't worry he's fine. He then wet himself, then he wouldn't eat what I gave him for an hour, then he wouldn't settle. I've got no energy and feel like fucking shit!"

Ethan held her as she continued to bawl and when she finally calmed down, he laid her down and rose. He went upstairs to get her favourite of his hoodies and her favourite fluffy blanket, taking them back downstairs and covering her in them. When he didn't join her and instead started to walk to the kitchen, she raised her head.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Starting dinner, we've still got some tonkotsu left, right?"

"But," she protested weakly, "It's my turn."

Ethan walked back over and kissed her cheek, resting a hand on the bump that had only just started to show, "Ly, you're as sick as I've seen you. You've been looking after our son who is most definitely into the 'terrible twos' and you're growing our next baby at the same time. I can handle an extra day of dinner."

Lyra felt her heart flutter, taking his hand from her bump and squeezing it before letting him go.

Whilst the ramen that Ethan made looked and tasted delicious, her weak stomach made it difficult to eat more than a quarter of it. Ethan made sure that she stayed on the couch and rested whilst he took care of Jake for the rest of the evening.

She was woken from a doze by the sound of Ethan setting a mug of tea on the coffee table for her.

"Feeling any better?" he asked, a sleepy Jake held in his other arm.

"Not really," she admitted.

"I'm going to put Jake to bed. When you've finished your tea, we could have a bath together if you'd like."

"That sounds nice."

She'd fallen asleep when Ethan came down to let her know that Jake was asleep and the bath was ready. She sat in front of him between his legs and allowed him to dote on her, letting him clean her because she was too exhausted to do it herself. Eventually, the sponge was put away and he was giving her backrub when she complained of her various aches.

"You should've told me earlier," Ethan said as he worked a particularly stubborn knot in her back.

"I know," Lyra admitted, "But I should be able to look after Jake for a day. I can't beg for help every time you need to leave the house for six more months."

"You can when you feel as awful as you do," Ethan said, pressing a kiss to the back of her neck, "You've mostly slept since I got home and you still look so exhausted."

"I am," she mumbled before a yawn forced its way out of her mouth.

"I called Professor Elm while you were asleep. I told him that you needed him to look after the lab for a few more days."

Lyra twisted to glare at him quickly, although she had to quickly twist back as she felt her lower back flare in agony and her aches cry out at her. Tears rose unbidden to her eyes and she quickly tried to wipe them away.

"You shouldn't have done that," she forced out as she took in a stuttering breath, "He's just passed the lab over to me and now I'm dragging him back out to do the job he's just given me."

"I knew you wouldn't like me doing it," Ethan admitted, gently moving her hand from where her back was hurting and rubbing it with his thumbs, "But I can't watch you run yourself into the ground like this. The Professor was happy to help, he knows that you may need to take some time off while you're pregnant. He's a friend Lyra, he wants to help you."

Lyra couldn't hold the tears in anymore. Ethan pulled her in close as she started to sob.

"I don't know if I can do it," she admitted between sobs, "I can't keep going like this for another six months Ethan. I just feel so awful and weak. I feel so bad for saying it because I was the one who asked you for another baby and now you have to deal with this."

Ethan pressed soft kisses to the back of her neck and shoulder, "You can do it, mainly because you're the most stubborn person in the world."

When Lyra didn't laugh at his joke, he continued, "You're not weak, I think you're the bravest and most amazing person in the world to have dealt with this for three months so we can have another baby. I'm here for you Lyra. Whatever you need, I'm here. In sickness and in health, remember?"

If anything, Lyra just sobbed harder after hearing that. Ethan knew it was just because she was feeling particularly touched. He held her until she was able to calm down, waiting as the water started to go cold.

"Bed?" he asked and she nodded.

Ethan rose and helped her out of the bath. He helped her dry herself even though she could probably manage on her own and soon. Soon, she was wearing her favourite of his T-shirts that she used to sleep in and he was wearing a pair of pyjama pants as they brushed their teeth. When they'd finished, she pressed a kiss to his lips.

"You've earned more than that," she said, "But I'm not able to give you it right now."

Ethan shook his head and kissed her again, "I don't need it. In fact, I just really want to cuddle with you right now."

He retrieved a bucket just in case she felt the need to vomit again and soon they were spooning in bed. Ethan pulled her close and into his chest, one hand running through her hair after she'd let it down from the messy bun she'd placed it in to stop it getting wet.

Lyra had tried to stay awake to enjoy the feeling of being loved that Ethan was giving her, but she was asleep as soon as her head had hit the pillow with a fuzzy warm feeling blooming in her chest.

With him in her corner, she could take on anything.