Val could barely move. The parts of her that weren't burning with pain were stiff with cold, making attempting to get up an impossibility, and it was starting to infuriate her.

She felt the strain it took for her eyelashes to separate but eventually they managed it, making her eyes water with the snow that fell from them and the world around her eerily blurred.

She could hear shouting, but it was muffled, almost like her ears were filled with water, slowly clearing with the rest of her.

She couldn't remember a thing; the last vivid memory she had before her head would start to hurt was Arin bellowing for her and reaching out…then there was nothing, and it was frightening her enough to not have complete control over the situation, worse still when she had no idea what the situation even was.

"Val? Val! Come on love, wakey wakey."

Carson? She wrenched her head so she was looking upwards, finding the misted outline of the Kul Tiran looming over her. "C-ca…fuck."

She heard his laughter, but it was a garbled mess compared to how she usually heard it. "That'll do. Right, now I can't move you just yet, cause you've hit your head, so just hang tight for a bit, alright?"

Her brow furrowed and she brought a hand up to see what he was talking about, inhaling sharply as her fingertips touched her hairline and made brilliant white stars appear in from of her eyes.

A strangled cry dislodged itself from her throat and she saw Carson shake his head in annoyance. "I literally just fucking said you've hit your head, what the hells did you expect to happen?"

To be honest, Val was more worried about the biting chill seeping into her spine than a gash on her head, and she still felt the overwhelming need to know where the hells they were and what exactly was going on.

"Cold…"

Carson brushed her hair back, knowing that in any other circumstance that she'd punch him for shushing her, but he did it anyway. "We're trapped in a mountain Val, that's bound to happen."

Val could feel bile start to form in her throat. "Trapped? Not garrison?"

Carson shook his head, pushing the cloak he'd taken off and rolled up under her head more. "No, we didn't make it to the portal. Some did though, so it's only safe to assume that rescue's coming."

Val lamely tapped a wrist with her finger. "How long we down here?"

Light above, her vocabulary had devolved to one of Anduin when he was still considered a toddler. She supposed a blow to the head would do that, but it didn't make it any less annoying when gaining information was her ultimate goal.

Carson fished in the small satchel strapped to his belt, fishing a battered pocket watch out of it. "From my reckoning…about fifteen hours."

Val jerked upwards before she could stop herself. "Fifteen fecking-!"

Her sentence died and gave way to another moan of agony, one she got absolutely no sympathy for. "What part of 'stay the fuck still' did you not understand?"

Val managed to muster up enough strength to give him a one finger salute, feeling her breath start to catch as it had been doing for weeks now.

She knocked her knuckles on her cuirass, putting one hand over her eyes. "Get this…off.."

Carson carefully did it, managing with all his clunkiness to only jog her a little while he shimmied the plate from her. "Fucking hell Val, how many pies you been eating?"

Val let another finger join the first. "Always bloated….before course…fucker."

Carson snorted, noticing the bulge sticking out of her tunic. "Bloated with what, a whole turkey?"

She jabbed a finger to his face. "Don't even…joke right now…cunt."

He rolled his eyes, glad that she was coming around, but not appreciating the plethora of names he was being called. "Val, I'm trying to help you, believe it or not."

Val tried to regulate her breathing, feeling her stomach toss and turn. "Get a damn healer then."

Carson jabbed a thumb behind him, forgetting that she couldn't look. "He's busy. Just our luck eh, we all get trapped and there's only one priest with us."

Val's brows drew in. "What the hells happened, Car?"

He sat back, figuring she wasn't going to be stupid enough to try moving again. "From what we can gather -which granted, isn't alot-, this place lost all power when we got old skelly boy. So with no power, it simply fell, somehow landing in the side of the mountains."

Val swore under her breath this time, wishing she'd taken Varian's pleas and stayed at camp. "And how many dead?"

Carson shrugged, taking a quick look around them. "So far we've counted fifteen, with some probably not holding out much longer. Syverson's getting all the details, so you can do your bossy bit and get it from him."

Val's eyebrow rose. "Sy lived?"

Carson begrudgingly nodded. "Aye, he did. Seems he can't run as fast as he made out."

Val fought a sigh in fear of it actually making her head split open. "Not now Car. We need to work as one to get our arses out of here. What are rations like?"

Carson grimaced, which didn't fill her with confidence. "Pretty much fucking zilch. Though really, it makes sense, you don't exactly bring a picnic to a raid."

Val couldn't argue with that as much as she really, reallywanted to. "So we're basically fucked?"

Carson patted her bent knee. "In a nutshell, yes."

He whistled over when there was a call for healers being needed, pointing to Val like he thought the Draenei clumping over was an idiot. "We got the High King's Missus over here! If she dies we're all gonna get our swedes chopped off!"

Val lamely tried to kick him into shutting up, clasping arms with the Blue skinned priest when she realised who it was. "Khronokai Khrystor, Deremos."

He gave her a small smile, moving her matted hair back with a gentle finger. "Khronokai Khrystor, Lady Valerica. I take it this is not just for sickness this time?"

Val weakly laughed, scrunching her face when she did it.

"What's he on about?"

Val looked over at Carson, appreciating how he put her legs on his so he could help her stay still. "I got food poisoning about a month ago, and Varian pretty much dragged Deremos here to our quarters so he could sort me out. Didn't even need the Light in the end, just a long sleep."

Deremos laughed in deep, velvety way all of his kind did, lifting her chin and carefully turning her head from side to side, inspecting her wound. "I think he was alot more worried than you were."

Val huffed in amusement, wincing as it burned her throat. "Course he was, he's Varian bloody Wrynn. I can stub my toe and he'd act like I was getting the whole fecking leg cut off."

Despite the small warning he gave her, she wasn't quite prepared for the borderline uncomfortable heat that the Light's grace brought with it this time, gritting her teeth against it until it ebbed into a dull throb, with her vision finally clearing and her limbs feeling like they could actually move.

"Milady, I have to ask, have you felt any more sickness since last I saw you?"

Val took his hand and let him all but pull her up, furrowing her brow as she thought about it.

"Occasionally, but I think that's just where I forget to eat sometimes."

Carson snorted, folding his arms. "Oh really, that's why you got a muffin top is it?"

Val kicked him properly this time, but she noticed Deremos looking rather grave. "What? What is it?"

He pointed to the same bloating Carson had. "Is this the 'muffin top'?"

Val slowly nodded, having no idea where exactly he was going with this. "Aye, it is. You look worried."

Deremos straightened, running a hand down his short beard. "Milady, have you considered-"

"Healer! We have need of you!"

Val looked around at the owner of the call, swivelling back to Deremos. "Considered what?"

Deremos waved a hand, putting it on her shoulder. "We shall speak later, little one."

Val found a strange comfort in his calmness, but as soon as he left she realised that comfort had been a by-product of the Light, making her more complacent to vagueness than she would've normally been.

She made to get up and go after him but her legs protested, still getting their strength back after being unused for so long. Carson caught her as she stumbled and helped her sit down again, trying to read her face.

"Val, if it were bad, he would've just said it. Don't get your knickers caught up."

Val huffed, reaching back and undoing her sopping hair, raking her fingers through it and finding that it only left a slightly annoying tug on her forehead instead of pure pain. "Bloody Priests. Trying to be all fecking mysterious when I hate that shit."

She slipped her tie onto her wrist, figuring it wasn't essential, and stretched her legs out one by one to get them working at full capacity again. "Has anyone checked for an exit yet?"

Carson snorted. "Val, it's been half a day, what do you think we've been doing, knitting? We've combed across every nook and cranny. There's one possible one over there-"

he pointed with two fingers over to where the loudest of the rabble was. "But Sy ain't that optimistic."

Val started to use the wall to slide herself to her feet, not liking how groggy she still was. "I could sleep for a hundred bloody years."

Concern was something she wasn't used to seeing on Carson's face. "I was under the impression that 'the Light cured all'?"

Val shrugged, holding her arms out to steady herself and finally taking a wobbly step. "Maybe the Light doesn't make tired people awake? That would be a bit of a waste of its power, don't you think?"

Carson scoffed, putting her arm around his and guiding her towards the others, which was clearly where she wanted to be right now. "The way priests go on about it, you think it got them dressed in the mornings."

Val chuckled, which was the last thing she'd expected to do considering she'd just learned that they were trapped in the wreckage of a necropolis in sub zero temperatures. Maybe it was the shock still setting in, who knew?

"What's the situation?"

Syverson was the first to hear her, swivelling on his boot heel and clapping arms with her. "Good to see you up and about, Glenmore. Enjoy your little nap?"

Val didn't give him the same response as she would Carson had he said it; she had to remember that although they weren't exactly in a normal environment, Syverson was still her commanding officer. "Not really when I woke up arse deep in water colder than my mother's heart, Sir."

He huffed in amusement, folding his large arms. "The situation as it stands, is that our only hope is the Alliance pulling their fingers out and coming to get us."

Val's jaw tightened. "Have we no mages? What about hearthstones, they're military issue, aren't they?"

Sy shook his head. "The Mages don't have any power since that nexus crap, so we didn't bring any apart from the portal holders, who, guess what, left as soon as they could. Hearthstones are one way and only given to those of higher rank, so we'd be fucking over our team if we used them."

Val pinched the bridge of her nose, nudging her head towards the pile of rubble that a dwarf and gnome were arguing over. "And what's behind there?"

Syverson's grimace didn't fill her with confidence. "We don't know, but it seems to be the only reasonable exit we have. We've determined that there's somethingbehind it, whether it's just more necropolis I have no idea, but it's worth a go."

He held a hand out. "And I'm going to need your lighter and any rations you have. We're stockpiling and sharing, so hand them over."

Val didn't need telling twice, putting the silver lighter and a waterskin in his palm. "How much water do we have, Sy?"

He gave her a look of pure sarcasm, making it rather difficult to not punch him as she'd initially intended. "Well there's ice everywhere you damn well look, Glenmore, so I think we're fine for that. I've had those who still have them to surrender their helmets so we can collect it."

He sighed, finally losing some of his bravado. "It's food we have to worry about. A few bread rolls isn't going to get us far."

Carson grimaced and Val knew why, silently begging him not to say it. "We'll have to think of something before cannibalism starts looking like a good idea."

Val held an annoyed hand up. "It's only been half a day, we're not going to starve just yet. If we manage to get enough water it should fill us up enough to be able to ration properly."

Even she didn't believe her shaky confidence, and she was certain they didn't either. "We don't know how long it will take for the Alliance to get a rescue team together, or whether they'll bother with one at all. There was quite a few that got out, wasn't there?"

Syverson nodded, but there was something on his face that she couldn't place. "With all due respect, Glenmore, I can almost guarantee that the Alliance are coming."

For once, Carson seemed to agree with him. "Aye, come on Val, what do you think is going to happen once Varian realises you're not amongst the survivors? I'd be shocked if he wasn't holding his blade to High Tinker Mekkatorque's neck right now to get him to do something."

Val had been trying not to think about how panicked Varian must be right now, all it was doing was making her stomach turn again when really, she'd only just managed to calm it down. "I would hope that the High King of the whole bloody Alliance had more sensibility than that."

Syverson merely shrugged. "Regardless, having you stuck here with us will actually pay us a boon in the long run. Rescue's a certainty as long as you're alive."

Val fought the sigh pushing its way up her still dry throat. "Nice to know that I'm useful for something."

Syverson patted her arm, gesturing behind her. "For now, the both of you can make yourself even more useful by gathering everyone still alive and putting that First Aid training to use. I don't plan on losing any more today."

Val and Carson saluted in perfect unison, not even knowing where to begin but moving forward regardless, following the cries for help and agonised groans that were echoing through the few hallways that they'd been entrapped in.

Whatever light was coming through the thick sheets of ice around them was beginning to dim by the time Val had tied the last makeshift bandage on the leg of a grumbling dwarf.

"We're gonna have to burn cloaks at this rate just to get a bit of light."

Val shook her head, letting Syverson help her up. "No, we'll need them to keep warm. We can deal with the dark, it's the cold we have to watch for."

She noticed how utterly exhausted he looked and gave him a small smile. "I'll lead first watch, if you want?"

He clearly appreciated it; they had no idea what else had survived the crash alongside them, or what they'd managed to disturb within the mountain, so they'd split in half and decided to rotate guarding the one 'entrance' they had. "Good deal. I'll relieve you at two."

Val didn't bother saluting this time, instead she merely nodded, stifling a yawn as she took Stormfall from where it was lying in her discarded cuirass and putting it by her feet, closing her eyes to keep her stomach still when she leant against the wall next to the rocks potentially keeping them from freedom.

"Still feeling off, Milady?"

She gave Deremos the same smile she'd just given Syverson, accompanying it with a nod. "I just need to get back to form, that's all."

The hulking Draenei had removed half of his plate, showing her his milky blue skin as he folded his arms, sitting across from her. "If I may? That's going to take alot longer than you think."

Val's brows drew in as she used the opportunity to settle her fretful thoughts. "Is this about earlier?"

Deremos nodded, but she couldn't read his face at all, which perturbed her perhaps more than it should've. It didn't help that Draenei didn't have distinct pupils, so she couldn't even see in his eyes whether it was about to be bad news or not.

"I noticed something…interesting, when I was healing you."

Val's head tilted. "Go on."

He seemed…shy, all of a sudden, which only drove her further towards utter confusion. "Milady, I have to ask, when did you last bleed?"

Val chuckled, perching herself on a jutting out stone. "Earlier on, you fixed it remember? Has the cold gotten to you already?"

His brow furrowed, making it more jagged than it already was. "No, you misunderstand. I meant…your monthly bleeding."

Val straightened, a little surprised that her courses were suddenly a topic of conversation. "Oh! Erm…well, fuck…"

His face straightened. "Would it be about three months ago?"

Val had absolutely no idea, but then again, now he'd suggested it, she had noticed that it'd been a while. "Probably somewhere around that. I haven't really been keeping track. Why? Where are you going with this?"

He stood, towering over her by about two feet. "Milady, earlier on when I attended you, I detected a heartbeat. One that did not belong to you."

He gave her a moment's pause so she could really think about what he was saying, and he knew the coin had dropped when her eyes begun to widen and she started breathing heavily…a little tooheavily.

"Lady Glenmore, please, calm yourself."

Val waved a hand in front of her chest, feeling it begin to jolt. "Can't…breathe…"

She felt two large hands on either shoulder firmly but carefully push her to the floor, where she put her head between her legs and tried to remember how to make her lungs work properly. "Breathe, slowly. You must not distress yourself."

She followed his exaggerated breaths like she always did Varian when he guided her out of an attack like this, exhaling a sturdier breath and finally looking up. "Are you sure?"

Deremos slowly nodded, relaxing his face now he was certain she wouldn't need another dose of calming energy. "Well…it certainly explains alot, I'll grant you, but surely- surelyeither Varian and I would've known-"

She was getting flustered again, but it was the sort of reaction one expected of a woman who'd just been told what she had in the circumstances she was in. "But then, I've never been…and he wasn't around when Tiffin…so maybe?"

Thankfully Deremos had let her have her rant without interruption, but he slowly raised a hand to quiet her when she started to trail off.

"There is no 'maybe', Milady. And as for why you didn't know- you're not far gone, it simply wouldn't have been noticeable."

Val swallowed the spittle collecting in her mouth. "How far?"

Deremos gently squeezed her shoulder again. "Two months is my guess, since I heard a heartbeat."

Val felt bile burn her throat and threaten to make an appearance. "Two months? Sweet fecking Light…"

She looked around them with a deep grimace. "Of all the bleedin' times, eh? That's just mine and Varian's luck, that is."

She actually found herself quietly laughing. "We've been trying for near on two years, and our first little'un decides nowis a good time to stick? I think that's rather unfair."

She met the Draenei's kind eyes, finding a friend in them. "It is less than optimal, I cannot deny this. But as long as you stay calm and hydrated, I am confident that you'll pull through."

Val looked down at the roundness Carson had teased her for earlier. "I take it this isjust bloating?"

His deep laugh made her ear vibrate. "I would assume so. I cannot claim to know much about the workings of a human mother, but I doknow that it's far too soon for anything to show yet."

Val started picking at her nails, swinging the leg that was dangling from her makeshift seat. "I haven't been scared all day. You think I would've been, waking up trapped, with seemingly no way out, but I wasn't. But now it's not just me I need to get through this, and I'm absolutely terrified."

Deremos was so quietly sympathetic that she couldn't help but find it an immense comfort. "As I said, we just need to look after youwhile we're here, and the babe should be fine."

His brow furrowed by a small margin. "How do you think King Varian will take the news?"

Val shrugged, not really knowing how shewas taking the news, let alone Varian. "He'll be absolutely over the moon. Hells, I think we'll actually witness him break out into a jig…but not while I'm here. If he finds out while I'm in here, it'll tear him apart with worry."

She wiped her eyes, finding them watering without her even knowing it. "I suppose we'll just take it one step at a time, eh?"

A hearty pat on her back was her answer. "Would it make any difference if I told you I think it was a boy?"

Val's smile started to widen and she accepted the Priest's one armed embrace. "It would be the second best news I've gotten all day."

Now all she could do was wait, she supposed. The ball was in Varian's court, there was nothing they could do on this end except pray for rescue that they hoped to high heaven was coming.

"May I suggest you get some rest, Milady? I will tell Captain Syverson of your predicament and I'm sure he'll accommodate." She nodded before she even knew she was doing it, with her brain begging for a quiet moment to herself so she could even try and get her head around all of this.

Up until five minutes ago she'd been under the impression that being trapped in a crashed temple of the damned was her biggest problem, but now there was a child that was depending on her just to live thrown into the mix, and it was already becoming overwhelming. "Thank you for telling me, Deremos. I appreciate a little bit of good news right now."

He helped her back to where Carson was already snoring, passing her cloak to her and clasping her arm when she held her own out. "Have faith, Milady. This will all end as it should, you'll see."

He straightened, with his large hooves scraping the floor. "Good night, and light bless you, Milady."

Val gave him a nod as he left, leaning her head back but finding it rather impossible to even manage to close her eyes.

Pregnant.

She was pregnant.

With Varian'sbaby. Their baby.

And she was miles away from him.

She sighed, curling into Carson's thick arm and putting her chin on her knees. "Nothing's ever fucking simple, is it?"

Carson snorted in his sleep, opening one eye and looking down at her. "Wha's not simples?" She gave him a small smile. "Nothing Car, go back to sleep." He didn't need telling twice and she actually started to feel a smile of pure elation cross onto her face.

After nearly ten years of trying, she was actually carrying a real child - one that wasn't someone elses that she was merely looking after, no, this would be hers.

Varian hadn't had a sleepless night in a while, so sitting here with his eyes still wide open despite the sun coming up was taking its toll on him.

He'd been sitting at the table in his quarters with maps and diagrams of the mountain strewn across the mahogany, covered with the coffee stained mugs that he'd gone through during the night and burnt out cigars filling the metal ashtray to his left.

For all his efforts, he'd come up with absolutely nothing in terms of getting into that mountain without running into trouble.

The maps in front of him were telling the frazzled king that the other side of the mountain that the ruins of the Naxxramas were lodged into belonged to the Drakkari Trolls, but was right now rendered uninhabitable by the Scourge's poisonous blight, so even if the trolls weren't a threat they couldn't risk sending their men there lest it dwindle their already abysmal numbers.

Magni's men had told the dwarven king that simply drilling into the side that the necropolis crashed into was out of the question, for the impact had compromised the integrity of the mountain, so it was putting them in more danger rather than rescuing them.

Rhonin was sitting on the other side of the table with a look of both sympathy and exhaustion in his eye.

"King Varian, we don't have enough power to teleport that many people at once, I'm sorry but that's the truth of it. We've only just gotten the basic levels of magic back now Malygos is gone, but it's going to take time to muster up the power you're asking for!"

Varian's fist pounded on the table and toppled over a couple of mugs, spilling the dregs of their contents on the parchments they were all sat on. "I don'thavetime Rhonin!"

He swept his loose and dishevelled hair back, trying to regain a certain amount of composure. "It is sub-zero at that altitude, whoever is still alive has limited food and warmth, every minute I sit here is another man we could lose!"

Rhonin's eyes glazed with unyielding comfort that Varian didn't want in any way shape or form, for he knew what he would say next and didn't want to approach the subject. "This is personal, isn't it?"

Varian's sigh was deep enough to make his shoulders sag and the older man feel a chill shoot down his spine. "It is, but that's not the point."

He looked up, finally giving in and motioning to the whiskey bottle, glaring at Lee when he hesitated in bringing it to him. "Val's up there. At least, I hope to the Light she is. She…she wasn't with the survivors."

Rhonin's face fell. "Your Majesty I'm so-"

Varian held a hand up. "Don't even finish that sentence. I don't want your pity."

He took a long drink, leaving the room in an awkward silence until he smacked his lips together and snatched the bottle from his groom, slamming it down. "I wasn't aware that the mages had been hit so hard?"

Rhonin gestured to the whiskey himself and Lee put another glass in front of him, pouring a drink for the Archmage. "Ever since the ley lines were drained it's taken everything we have just to get by. Moving Dalaran exhausted us…enough to make us a little useless in this situation."

Varian looked into the bottom of his glass like it had all the answers to life in it. "I just need to know she's alive . If I knew that, I could put things in place and not sit here just waiting."

He ran a hand down his face, lightly banging a fist on the table. "This waiting is driving me insane. One night might not sound like much but for me that was a whole night of worrying, seeing all sorts outcomes in my head and not finding one of them comforting at all."

He gave Rhonin what the mage could consider the longest face he'd ever seen. "You'd understand if it were your wife."

The Archmage couldn't disagree with that, of course he couldn't. If it were his Vereesa up there, cold and potentially hurt, he'd be mustering any ounce of power he could to get her out and safe. "I may have a compromise Your Majesty will find satisfactory for now."

Varian sat a little straighter. "Go on."

Rhonin picked at his nails, a habit his wife and sons both hated but that didn't stop him. "Well, I've already told you I can't teleport a mass amount of people, but it would be possible to send at leastonemage into the ruins to take a register of who's there and report back to you."

There was a glimmer of hope in the king's eyes. "Do you have enough power to do it? I won't have draining you on my conscience Rhonin, so don't say this just to placate me."

The Arch-Mage's confidence only made Varian's hopes heighten, and he wasn't sure whether that was a good thing or not. "I can manage a single person teleportation Your Majesty, you shouldn't worry about that."

Varian's mind was racing; whether it was the absurd amounts of caffeine he'd ingested in the past twelve hours finally kicking in he didn't know, but he was on high alert.

"You could take essential supplies with you- a few days worth of food, blankets….it could help the survivors more than any damn prayers would."

Rhonin slowly nodded. "Just say the word Your Majesty and I'll start gathering them."

Varian waved a hand at Lee, beckoning him to him, pulling a spare scrap of parchment towards him and scratching a quick message onto it. "My groom will take this down to both Bombast and Wilson. They'll give him both food and medical supplies for you to take up there."

His face fell once again. "Rhonin, if you do see Val…"

The redhead slowly nodded, thankfully getting what he meant. "I'll tell her, Your Majesty."

Varian wasn't done there. "Tell her I'm coming. Don't leave her thinking I'm not. Come hells or high water, I'll get her out of there even if I have to exhaust every damn resource I have."

Rhonin nodded in sincere understanding, rising with him and shaking his hand despite this being one of the most informal meetings they'd had in his short tenure as Arch-Mage. "I will, Your Majesty. Now if you excuse me, I need a moment to prepare myself."

Varian gave him leave, pinching the bridge of his nose one he was gone and trying to get himself under control when all he really wanted to do was demand the bastard take him with him. "Your Majesty, the Alliance leaders are waiting outside to speak with you."

Varian fought a sigh, gesturing to the whiskey. "Hide that, then go to get the supplies I asked for. We can't waste a minute of time."

Lee of course did as he asked, letting the other leaders in as he left to fulfill his rather important task.

"Sweet Light Varian, ye look bloody awful."

Varian tried his damnedest not to snap at Magni as they filed in. "I haven't slept. What's the situation?"

They all appreciated why he was being so direct and ignored the urgency in his tone, sitting down at the same table he and Rhonin had just been occupying. "Well lad, we think we may have a plan."

Varian lit another cigar for himself, trying not to sound as desperate as he felt. "How quickly can we put it in place?"

That's when Gelbin's face fell. "Not just yet, I'm afraid. Magni and I have been racking our brains trying to think how we could get into that mountain quickly and cleanly-"

The dwarf took over, more accustomed to Varian's hard as steel look and nowhere near as intimidated by it. "And we think we may have thought of something. Remember how we separated Valiance Keep from tha mainland?"

Considering he was finding it difficult to remember what day it was, Varian merely stared blankly at him.

"The digging machine?"

Varian made a small noise to tell him he understood what he was talking about now. "Well lad, we've been conferring, and we reckon if we can build a bigger and stronger drill, we can probably get through tha' stone easily enough."

Varian didn't look convinced at all, if anything his face dropped more. "How long will that take?"

Magni looked apologetic, which was never a good sign. "We'll have ta get t' parts flown in from Dun Morogh, then build tha thing…we're looking at a few weeks."

Varian put his face in his hands. "We don't have three damn weeks Magni."

Nizaar hated to make his mood worse yet here he was. "If it were as simple as teleportation we would've done it Varian, but this is the only option we have."

Varian was trying not to agree, but he couldn't see another way to do it. "And the drill we have now…?"

Gelbin cleared his throat. "Isn't strong enough. We pretty much exhausted the blades digging that trench. We'll need something hardier to get through the rock, otherwise all we'll do is waste time and make more work for ourselves."

Varian looked to Nizaar. "And I'm right to assume the magic drain is affecting Samarkand as well?"

Nizaar slowly nodded. "Offerings to Thoth are through the roof, but we're just as slowed as the other mages in Azeroth. I'd tell you the minute we have enough power to do what you're thinking."

Varian took a quiet minute, leaning back and really thinking about this. "And a few weeks is definite, is it?"

Magni ran a hand down his beard. "It's a optimistic assumption, tha's all I can tell ya fer now lad."

Varian pointed lamely to the tent flaps that Lee had just left. "Rhonin is taking essential supplies up to the survivors, but they won't last long. If we're to carry this plan out it needs to happen quickly."

Gelbin sharply nodded, folding his arms. "We can send word to Ironforge as soon as possible Varian, we just need the go ahead."

Nizaar tapped the table with a long finger, furrowing his brow. "I hate to sound like the pessimist out of all of us, but we need to remember that the Lich King is still a threat, no matter how much of our attention is focused on the rescue."

Varian bit back his growl, well aware that he was right. "I'm putting the assault on Wrathgate on hold, just for now, but I haven't forgotten the reason we're here."

Magni gave him a hopeful smile. "We'll get them out Varian, donnae worry lad."

Varian wished he could believe that at this point. "I aim to do exactly that, no matter what it takes. For now all I can do is what for Rhonin to get back to me with a status report. Magni, Gelbin, get word to Ironforge and get the gunship hereas soon as possible."

It took a few hours for the exhausted Arch-mage to materialise in Varian's tent, and by the time he did Varian was near on tearing his hair out. He glared at the half empty whiskey bottle, feeling awful about breaking his promise but not seeing any other way to cope with this.

Sleep wasn't an option, and climbing up the damn mountain himself was an even worse idea. Rhonin's appearance couldn't be timed better really, and after the King led him to a chair to avoid having him fall to the floor, he sat opposite him, barking at Lee to get him some water and impatiently jerking his knee.

"Well? What's the situation?"

Rhonin took a long glug of the cold beverage, holding a finger up to tell Varian to wait until he smacked his lips together and caught his breath. "There are survivors, about forty of them accounted for."

Varian's backside lifted from his seat as he leant forward. "And? Is Val among them? Damn it man, is she alive?!"

Rhonin's nod make Varian slump is his seat and want to cry in relief. He put both hands over his face and took a long, shuddering breath, running his palms over tired skin and swallowing whatever anxiety was left in his throat down.

"Thank the Light."

He cleared his throat, eager to get as much information as he could possibly gain. "And she's well? She's not hurt?"

Rhonin's face went blank and it filled Varian with no confidence. "She's…as well as the situation allows. She had a nasty blow to the head but thankfully there's a priest with them so that was sorted."

Varian still couldn't read his face and it was starting to panic the king a little. "Rhonin, what aren't you telling me?"

The redhead took another sip of his water. "She commanded that I tell you not to lose your head first."

Varian was close to doing that already. "Rhonin…just tell me."

The sigh did nothing to ease his fears. "…She's with child. The blow I told you about? The priest told her when he was healing her."

Varian had frozen, like he'd just been petrified by some kind of monster. "She- she'sWHAT?!"

He sprung to his feet, pounding the table with both fists and finding it hard to breathe properly. "She's pregnant? Val?Valis pregnant?!"

Rhonin pushed himself to his feet, reaching over and putting a hand on Varian's quaking shoulders. "Yes Your Majesty, but calm yoursel-"

Varian looked absolutely livid. "Calm? How in the hells below me am I supposed to becalm?!She's preg- sweet Light she's pregnant, and I'm not there."

He kicked his chair over in frustration, itching to pour himself another glass of whiskey.

"All this time we've been trying with no result. I've been telling her that fucking charlatan's leaf water wasn't working. And the Light, or gods, or whatever the fuck is up there choosesnowto let us be blessed?!"

He bent over the table, looking an annoyingly calm Rhonin straight in the eye.

"How far gone is she, did she say? Speak man, tell me everything she said!"

Rhonin fought the urge to grin, well aware that it would be inappropriate right now. "She's two months gone and apparently the babe is absolutely fine."A smile tugged at his lips. "It seems you have a knack for producing boys, Your Majesty."

Varian's anger faded and gave momentary way for a brightness he'd rarely seen in him in the short time he'd known him. "A boy? They can tell already?"

Rhonin shrugged, putting his hands behind his back. "The Light can do wondrous things, I suppose."

Varian thanked Lee for picking his chair up and slumped into it with his arms stretched on the table. "Damn it all…that woman likes to pick her moments, doesn't she?"

Rhonin shared a gentle laugh with a more than gleeful Lee, folding his arms. "It seems so Your Majesty. But rest assured they're both well, with blankets and food to last them for a while."

Varian's joy at what should have been the best news imaginable was tainted, and everyone in the room could tell why and respected it. "The other leaders and I have come up with a skeletal plan, I just have to trust that we get there in time."

He eyed the small portrait of Val he kept in a double frame, next to Anduin's smiling face and ruddy cheeks, trying to muster up the hope she'd want him to display. "Leave me. Please. The both of you. I have alot to think about."

Lee didn't look too sure, staying where he was. "Are you sure, Your Majesty?"

Varian nodded, making a point to cork the whiskey bottle, well aware that was the younger man's fear.

He waited until they were both gone and stood, finally letting a smile shake its way onto his face and his shoulders finally relax while he processed as much of this as he possibly could.

He was to be a father again…and this time there was to be no guilt, no wondering how it would affect Val and his relationship with her, because this time it waswithVal.

A boy…a baby boy with the woman he adored, with his wife - it was all he could've hoped for. He didn't fall to his knees in joyous gratitude, but he did murmur a quiet 'thank you' to whomever it was listening.

Val was having their baby.

No matter how many times he said it in his head it wasn't quite real- he supposed it wouldn't until she was back in his arms and he could see it for himself, but the mere thought was enough to lift his heart in ways even he couldn't expect.

Anduin would be a brother, he was going to be over the moon, he'd have two sons to smother with kisses at night or teach all the things he wanted to.

He knew it was jumping the gun, but he couldn't help but think of a small lad with his mother's skin and beautiful curls running to him and stretching pudgy hands up for his papa to sweep him up into a hearty embrace.

But first he had to make sure Val got out safe, the rest could wait. Magni's plan was unfortunately the only one they had right now, and if that meant waiting a little longer than he would've liked then so be it.

He had to make plans of his own, starting with sitting at the table and clearing it completely of last night's research, pulling a clean sheet of parchment to him and penning a letter to his Grammy-in-law, telling both her and Anduin that he and Val would be back in Stormwind as soon as possible.

He had no real reason to linger in Northrend now the assault on Wrathgate had been pushed back, so until then, he'd do the responsible thing and look after his family…all three of them.