It was both the soft chink of fine porcelain, and the pungent smell of fresh ginger that roused Val the next morning. Her sore, aching eyes cracked open, and she found her husband stooped over her bedside with a small teacup in his hand.

"That bloody stinks," she whined, and Varian, who clearly wasn't fazed by the fact that she was already awake, chuckled under his breath.

"I know- I don't like it either, Sweetheart. But when Tiffin was expecting Anduin, she swore that a few cups of ginger tea a day helped keep her sickness under control," Varian explained, putting the cup down and tying back the silk bed-curtain that was keeping Val hidden from view.

They didn't normally use them, but on those rare days where Val would sleep longer than him, Varian would draw them to warn to all that came to their chambers not to disturb her.

"I can't make any guarantees that it'll work as well for you, but I thought we may as well try it."

Val appreciated the kind gesture, despite firmly believing that she didn't deserve it. She'd been nothing but dismissive towards Varian yesterday, when really, all he'd wanted to do was sit down and talk with her.

She knew deep down that Varian understood why she'd acted that way, but that didn't make it any fairer on the man, who in all likelihood was going through the same emotional turmoil that Val was.

So she decided that today would be different, and rewarded his efforts with a small, grateful smile. It was nowhere near enough, but it was all she could offer him right now.

"It's definitely worth a go," Val agreed, and her smile widened as Varian bent to kiss her.

"Good morning," he greeted affectionately, and Val's nose wrinkled happily.

"Mornin'," was her less polished reply. Varian knelt next to the bed so that he wasn't looming over her like some sort of giant, and Val gladly gave him her hand when he reached for it.

"How are you feeling?" Varian asked cautiously, directly contradicting the relaxed strokes that his thumb made across her knuckles.

Val could completely understand his wariness; since the pregnancy had been discovered, she'd been such a hysterical mess that it had been difficult for even her to predict what kind of mood she'd be in minute-by-minute. Her regret towards her behaviour, however, only made her more determined to prove to him that she was going forward with a more rational state of mind.

"A little bit better," Val admitted, and Varian's features brightened once he realised that she meant it, despite her quiet tone.

"Good….that's good," Varian murmured, and it were as if Val could feelthe thin blanket of tension that was falling upon them. She'd been a fool to think that it would magically disappear overnight- that wasn't how these kinds of things usually worked for the two of them.

"How about you?" Val asked, and to her dismay, Varian seemed rather surprisedat the question.

"Me? Hm…Well, I've had time to let it sink in a bit more, and I thinkthat I've come to terms with it all," he confessed, switching knees when he felt the one he was leaning on going numb.

"Has anything changed for you? Or do you still feel the same?" Val pressed further, and Varian's features slowly brightened as he realised that she was actually willing to have a proper conversation with him.

"You mean do I still want this baby?" Varian clarified, and Val nodded. He mulled his answer over while he helped her sit up, and his brow creased after affixing her pillows and passing her teacup to her.

"Then my answer is yes, I do- more than I did yesterday, in fact," he declared, sitting himself down by her feet.

"I think we can both agree that it was one hells of a shock," Val pointed out, and Varian huffed like an angered bull.

"Understatement of the bloody millennia, that is," Varian agreed, but Val could see a hint of laughter dancing about the corners of his lips.

"I'm still in two minds on whether I should demand my money back from those fucking priestesses- those blockers were clearly a load of shit." Val's giggles caused little bubbles to foam across the rim of her cup, and she ended up having to wipe her mouth with the sleeve of her night-tunic.

"I think alot of things factored into this baby's conception, Varian," Val retorted, and by the way Varian started frowning, he knew exactly what those things were.

"You had just as much to drink as I did, woman…" he grumbled, and it took alot of effort for Val not to spray her tea across the bed.

"Excuse me?"she exclaimed, raising an incredulous eyebrow. "You were absolutely blottoby the time I got to that arena. If we'd drunk the same amount, I would've died of alcohol poisoning long before that point."

"Regardless…we both played our part in this," Varian rebutted, bringing things back to the matter at hand. They were just starting to open up to one another, so he was anxious keep their priorities in order.

"We did. So now, we have to deal with it as a unit," Val concluded.

"We do," Varian agreed. He began to mash his lips together and bounce one of his legs, telling Val that she probably wasn't going to like what he was clearly gearing up to tell her.

"Which is why I've taken the first step and arranged for the midwife to come here later this morning," Varian announced, seizingthe opportunity he'd been given, but almost wanting to throw his hands in front of him - just in case he was about to get a face full of boiling tea.

But to even Val's astonishment, she was far more calm and collected about the news than she'd expected to be. Although, something about it still bothered her, and Varian had a distinct feeling he knew what it was.

"…Define 'later' for me," Val requested, and the High King put up what he hoped was a calming hand.

"Peace, love. Anduin will most definitely be at school when she arrives," Varian informed her, and her shoulders started to drop back to where they usually sat.

"Thank you," she said, for she knew full well that he'd arranged it that way deliberately.

"He wasn't upset that I wasn't at breakfast, was he?" Val asked concernedly. Thankfully, Varian shook his head.

"Of course he wasn't- this is Anduin we're talking about. He was more concerned about howyou were, rather than whereyou were," Varian proudly told her, and the two of them shared a fond smile.

"What did you tell him?"

That was when Varian's face hardened.

"I told him a rather stretched version of the truth. That you were still feeling out of sorts, and needed your rest," he told her, and from the bite beneath his words, Val could tell that he hadn't been at all happy about doing it. She put her teacup down, and gave him a smile that she hoped Varian didn't misconstrueas patronising.

"We'll tell him eventually, Varian- hells, depending on what the midwife says today, we might not be able to hide it for long anyway," Val reasoned, and Varian's eyebrow arched in surprise.

"Now when I said that yesterday, you nearly took my head off," Varian grunted.

"Yes, well, I've had time to realise that you were right," Val countered, and Varian gave her a knowing smirk.

"Apologies, Sweetheart, but my ear is starting to play up again…what was that you said?" he teased, and were her legs not confined by the bed-covers, Val would've kicked him for it.

"You know damn well what I said," Val grumbled, and the humour started to slip from Varian's visage.

"What are we going to do once you start showing, Val?" he asked with a minor tremble to his voice.

"I don't know," was Val's honest answer, and there was an ominous, repeating 'clink' as her nail tapped against the porcelainshe was cradling. "Let's just take everything one step at a time, and get the midwife's appointment done before we make any concrete decisions, eh?"

Varian held a hand out, and Val awkwardly put her cup on the bedside so she could take it.

"Sounds like a plan," he said, giving her fingers a firm, reassuring squeeze.

"Sister Gertrude, Your Majesties."

Val tried her best to ignore the confusion and concern that coated Jon's voice as he made the announcement. Varian did a better job at it, and with a gruff clearing of his throat, he stood from the paperwork he'd been hunched over for the past hour.

"Send her in, and see that we're not disturbed," he curtly commanded, and the guard had no choice but to obey, despite the clear questions that were sitting on his tongue.

There was an eerie silence until the shuffle of thick soled shoes against stone started to echo through the door that Jon patiently held open. Soon enough, the elderly priestess made her appearance, and with a smile that caused every wrinkle on her face to deepen, she thanked Jon and promptly told him to close the door behind her.

Varian and Val both waited until the deed was done, and once they were completely sealed off from the rest of the Keep, Varian swept forward to take the Sister's bag and cloak.

"Oh, thank you, Your Majesty," she said, giving him a replica of the smile that Jon had just received.

"Thank youfor coming so promptly, Sister. We realise that our summons was a bit last minute," Varian replied, putting both items on the table.

"When it's the summons of a monarch, there's no such thing as 'last minute', Your Majesty. There's simply 'hop to it or risk your head," Gertrude retorted, and Val had to wonder if she'd said it to purposely break the ice, or whether she meant it- either way, it made her laugh.

Unfortunately, that laugh brought the older woman's attention straight to her, and Val could feel herself growing increasingly uncomfortable. It were as if she were staring down her grandmother, not a kind-hearted servant of the Light.

"First and foremost- how are you, chick?" Gertrude asked, and Val started wringing her hands.

"I'm…In all honesty, I'm not sure," Val answered, and Varian gave her a concerned glance as he poured out three cups from the freshly brewed teapot that Nan had left behind. Gertrude seemed to sympathise, and a thin, bony hand curled over Val's shoulder.

"Of course you're not- if I may…I don't think we ever expected to see one another again, did we?" Gertrude said, and even Varian had to admit that she'd only said what they'd all been thinking from the minute he'd sent the summons to the cathedral last night.

"No, we didn't," Val agreed, and although the Elekk in the room had grown smaller, it hadn't completely gone.

"The young lady who came to give me your summons told me that you've already conducted a bloom test?" Gertrude prodded, and Val answered with a shaky nod.

"We did two in the end. One yesterday afternoon, and one last night, just to make sure. Both were positive," she explained, and as the two of them talked, Varian couldn't help but reel off in his head just how many people already knew of their situation. Nan, Jon, Varro, the Sister, the alchemist.

Even Benedictuswas probably aware by this point, or he wouldn't have allowed Gertrude to attend…the list was already too long for Val's ridiculous idea of concealing her condition to ever be viable. It only made the fact that they were hiding it from Anduin all the more frustrating.

And yet, there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. As much as he adored his son to heaven and back, he knew that Anduin would only cause accidental stress upon his wife with his worrying ways- hells, he was worse than his father for it. So Varian could completely understand why she was hesitant to tell him. But that didn't make the decision any easier to digest.

"So your blockers failed, did they?" Gertrude asked as she started to unpack her bag and lay everything out ready on the table. Val watched each instrument as it was placed on the polished mahogany, and felt another bubble of acid bile rise as the line became longer.

"No…they were made obsoleteby a blessing from one of Ishi's High Priestesses," Val admitted, and Varian's disdain was clear, even though she'd already informed him of her lapse in judgement.

"Oh well, that certainly explains alot," Gertrude concluded, and The High King, despite his annoyance, had to find it rather sweet how Val had 'failed' to mention that he'd made no move to wear a sheath on the day that the child had been conceived.

"Symptoms?"

"Sickness, headaches, tiredness…the usual, I suppose," Val said, but Varian couldn't help himself.

"Her sense of smell has grown overly-sensitive, and it makes the sickness worse. Everything from my cologne to a slab of bacon makes it so that I have to dive for the waste bin," he joked, and Val couldn't help but smile over at him.

"We were actually wondering if you had any recommendations for that," Val said, but Gertrude waved a hand.

"We can talk about all of that once I've examined you, Your Majesty," she said, gesturing to the screen. "If you'd pop behind there and remove your undergarments, please."

That's when Varian started snickering, and it became necessary for Val to elbow him in the ribs.

"…I already removed them once I knew you were coming," Val confessed, and thankfully, the sister didn't seem fazed by the news.

"I see. Well, ten points for initiative, Your Majesty," she praised, pointing to the bed instead.

"Are you sure you want to stay for this? I won't be angry if you've changed your mind," Val whispered to Varian, who rolled his eyes in a parody of annoyance.

"Val, it's nothing I've not seen before. I'm a big boy, and I want to be here for my wife," he argued, and put a hand on her back to get her moving.

With a harsh scrape that made both of his ears ring, Varian pulled the stool from Val's vanity over to the side of the bed and plonked himself down on it. He knew he looked ridiculous, being a large man on such a small seat, and apparently, Val concurred, for she kept sputtering with childish laughter whenever she looked over at him.

"You may as well have gotten a chair from Anduin's doll house," she teased, and all Varian could do in retaliation was glare like a petulant child. Unfortunately for him, that just made Val laugh harder.

"Knees apart and ankles together, Your Majesty," Gertrude instructed, and after her giggles finally died down, Val did as she was told, and took Varian's hand once he offered it.

"I hate this bit," she muttered, and Varian could immediately sympathise- he wouldn't really want anyone sticking their fingers anywhere near his various orifices, so it wasn't that shocking to learn that Val found the experience unpleasant.

"I won't be long, I promise," Gertrude assured her, but Val's lips were still pursed tight enough to make the edges go white.

"What's the purpose of this?" Varian asked, and it finally dawned on Val that this was the first everappointment that he'd actually been free to attend.

"It's a much simpler way of testing whether a woman is with child, Your Majesty. If the cervix is high and soft, you're in the family way. If not, you can get your gold back for the flowers," Gertrude explained, and Val couldn't help but grin.

"The cervix is that little disk thing-"

"Yes, alright woman, I know what it is," Varian interjected, and even Gertrude began to laugh.

"You're doing better than some of my other fathers already," she assured the king, who wished he'd never asked.

"How many have fainted by this point?" Val asked with a grin, and Gertrude began to tut.

"Some of them did it when their wives first told them they were pregnant," she admitted, and it was hard for Varian not to feel a little bit smug.

"I've seen and heard alot worse in my time, I assure you, sister. Nothing much fazes me anymore," Varian stated, but even he was sure that he'd end up eating his words by the time Val gave birth.

As the sister carried out her examination, Val tightened her grip on Varian's hand to the point where she left angry finger marks on his still tanned skin. Soon enough, and to Val's relief, it was over, and Gertrude gave her a warm smile.

"I'm happy to confirm that you are indeed pregnant, Your Majesty. Congratulations," she announced, to absolutely no one's surprise.

"Is there a way to tell how far gone she is?" Varian asked, and Val let go of his hand so she could pull up the hem of her shirt.

"There is, Your Majesty, and it's far less invasive," an ever patient Gertrude said; she must've simply been glad that he was getting involved, so his rather obvious questions weren't a problem in that respect. The High King watched with interest as she rubbed her hands together and caused a dull, golden light to appear around them.

Then both of her palms gently pressed themselves against Val's belly, and little veins of the same power appeared beneath Val's skin, until they conjoined at a certain spot and formed a perfect bean-shaped speck.

"Ah, there you are, little one," Gertrude murmured, and Varian felt a large lump form in his throat.

"That's the babe?" he asked incredulously, and the sister nodded. "It is, Your Majesty. And I'd say they were about two months old," she told him, and Varian felt his head go light.

"So we were right, Sweetheart, it was the festival…" he said happily, but when he looked over to see Val's reaction, he found himself rather disappointed.

She was facing away from him. No, in reality, she was facing away from the baby. Her lips were mashing together, and her eyes were pricked with tears.

"Val. Look at them, please," Varian begged, but she shook her head.

"I can't," she whispered, and to make her point further, she screwed her eyes shut.

"I wouldn't force it, Your Majesty. It's perfectly normal for a mother to be hesitant towards creating a bond…especially after everything the two of you have gone through," Gertrude said lightly, but Varian wasn't having it.

"Just one look, Val…you'll regret it if you don't," Varian pressed, and it must've worked, for with the smallest, most stunted of head turns he'd ever seen in his life, Val looked down at the glowing silhouette of their child.

"Are they alright?" she asked meekly, and Gertrude nodded with certainty.

"I can't see anything amiss," she said reassuringly, but Val didn't seem convinced.

"But I drank after the festival. In fact, I drank a hell of a lot- will that do anything?" Val babbled, and Gertrude raised a hand.

"It shouldn't do a thing, Your Majesty, so long as you take a vow of complete sobriety moving forward."

Once again, it fell to Varian to ask the question no one wanted to hear.

"Be truly honest with us, Sister…what are the chances of us losing this one?"

His words hung in the air like a bad smell, and Gertrude mulled her answer over for quite a while before she squared her robed shoulders.

"Not as high as you probably think, Your Majesty," she said, stepping back so that the High King could help his wife sit up.

"Despite the progress Stormish medicine has made, we still don't know much about Toxemia. But we do know that the risk of it causing seizures and miscarriages is significantly lowered with each pregnancy."

"So they might live?" Val choked, and Gertrude nodded firmly. Apparently, she was well aware of how important her answer was to the two of them, which Varian appreciated.

"But there's still a risk?" he asked, hating himself for bursting the tiny bubble of optimism that Val was starting to create.

"There is. So I would recommend plenty of rest and water, little salt, and no tight shoes," Gertrude reeled off, and Varian considered actually finding a spare sheet of parchment so that he could write the instructions down.

"That's it? That's all you can tell us? There's no potion I could take, or spell we can try?" Val questioned, and while Varian shared those exact sentiments, he didn't think it was fair to take their frustrations out on the nun when all she was trying to do was help.

"As I said- we don't know alot about it, Your Majesty. So until we do…yes, that's all I can tell you," Gertrude said regrettably, and Val slumped back into the pillow she was sitting against.

"So it's a game of 'wait-and-see'. Fantastic," she said stroppily, and Varian decided then to take the reins.

"So the baby's due in April?" he asked, and Gertrude's face softened.

"Yes, it is, Your Majesty. Just in time for spring," she confirmed with a smile. "And it also gives you plenty of time to get everything ready. Now, did you want to know the gender?"

"No, we don't," Val said hurriedly, and Varian couldn't help but feel rather blind-sided by the decision. Their biggest lamentation about the last child they'd conceived was not knowing this very information, so why she was suddenly so against knowing this time was beyond him.

But then…was it? She'd made it perfectly clear that she didn't want to grow attached to this babe as she had the other two. So maybe this was just another way of her fulfilling that?

"Are you sure? Because I can easily find out," Gertrude pressed, obviously sensing the King's dismay.

"No. We just want to know that they're healthy- nothing more," Val replied defiantly, and with a clearing of his throat, Varian gave the priestess a nod of agreement with his wife.

"I'd ask that we have regular visits from now on, Sister. It'll help put our minds at ease," he quietly requested, taking Val's hand once again.

"I could come every fortnight if you wish, Your Majesty," Gertrude suggested, and while she was glad of how they were all taking this seriously, Val was uneasy at the prospect.

"Come in the morning, and through the back way. Lady Dorvelle will meet you at the door and escort you here each time," Val stipulated, and despite the furrow forming on Varian's brow, Gertrude seemed rather unaffected by the curt instructions.

"As you wish. Now then, shall we continue? I'm sure I've a few pamphlets that I can bore you with," said the Sister, who finally managed to draw a laugh from the younger woman, which pleased her husband greatly.

"We'll be glad of any advice or information you have, sister," he told her, and stood so that he could gesture to the breakfast table. He helped Val to her feet whilst the sister helped herself to tea and biscuits.

"A spring baby…we've not had one of those yet, eh?" Val murmured, and Varian grunted in affirmation.

"No, we haven't. But at least we'll be able to do something outside for their birthday- poor Anduin is normally snowed in when his comes around," Varian pointed out, and he looked down to find her quietly chuckling, which was always a nice sight.

"We'll talk later about all of this, I promise, just go with it for now," Val said, and although Varian was rather wary of what 'just go with it' really entailed, he gave her a strong nod.

"Aye…later, then."

Long after the midwife had taken her leave, and the sun had started to dip into the horizon, Val found herself watching her stepson play as if the boy didn't have a care in the world. She envied him for it really; he had no idea of what his parents were going through, and how much it was emotionally ripping them apart.

"Five minutes until bedtime, Anduin," Varian declared. He gave Alice a good few pets as the dog followed him to his chair, and while she was glad of the attention…Anduin wasn't.

"Five minutes? But I thought my bedtime was at nine during the summer?!" he cried incredulously, and completely abandoned his game so that he could stare his father right in the face.

"It is- but just for tonight, I'm saying that you have five minutes. So don't start arguing, young man, or I'll simply have Wyll take you now," Varian scolded, and Anduin swivelled instead to face a tired Val.

"Mum!" he whined, and Val somehow knew from that one word exactly what he was asking.

"You're only wasting precious time asking me, Anduin- I'm not going to contradict your father," Val told him coolly, and with a huff that rivalled that of the King himself, Anduin slumped back onto his bottom and stroppily resumed the imaginary hunt that his toys were on.

"Don't pout, it doesn't become you," Varian chided, but it turned into a chuckle as Anduin only stuck his bottom lip out more. It was entirely on purpose- Val could tell by the grin that clearly trying to fight through Anduin's masque of annoyance.

"Little shit…" Varian muttered as he stretched his aching legs out and heard far too many pops for his liking.

"I heard that- that's a silver in the jar, Father," Anduin said, and Varian waved a hand.

"I'll pay it later, and I'll even add on my own interest," he nonchalantly told him, and Anduin once again turned to Val.

"Make sure he does it, Mum," he implored, and Val flashed him a warm smile.

"Of course I will, Little Lion," she assured him, and happily accepted the embrace he scrambled up to give her.

"I'm glad you're feeling better," Anduin said, and the sincerity in his voice almost made Val want to cry again.

"So am I, mate," she murmured, and in all fairness, she wasn't exactly lying to the boy…this time.

Gertrude had thankfully been able to offer her a new medicine for her morning sickness, and even after taking only one dose before dinner, Val felt alot more settled then she did. So far, she'd managed to keep it down, which was a vast improvement from yesterday.

She kissed Anduin's head, and gave him what was probably the tightest hug she'd given him in a very long while.

"Go on, go and play while you have the chance," she gently commanded, and the prince didn't need telling twice. Varian watched as he slid from the tiny crevice next to his mum that he'd wedged himself into, and couldn't help but let his mind wander to places that really, it shouldn't have.

"You look as if you're about to fall asleep."

Varian had to laugh at the irony of Val's observation.

"It's been quite the day," was his excuse, but Val still made a soft noise of agreement.

"It has. But a necessary one," she said, keeping things deliberately vague.

"Indeed. Do you feel any better because of it?" Varian asked, and Val's nose began to scrunch.

"I do…but nothing will fully make my fears go away," she whispered, and Varian reached out to take her hand in his tight grip.

"I know that. Please don't think that I'm ignorant to them," he quietly pleaded, well aware that Anduin was starting to stare at them.

"What are you two whispering about?" he finally piped up, and Varian let go of Val's hand at the same second that she slipped it from him.

"Never you mind, you nosey monkey. Now go on, off to bed- and I don'twant to hear that you've been up reading again," Varian commanded, and after a few more failed attempts to get his way and stay up, Anduin sullenly put his toys back in the box he'd brought them in and stood.

"Night Mum," he said, stretching up to give her one last kiss and cuddle. He did the same for Varian and the two waited until Wyll had closed their chamber door behind him to let out a sigh of bittersweet relief.

"I'll be glad when we finally tell him, and put all this tiptoeing horseshit to bed," Varian grunted.

"Well, you heard the sister- a month or so is all we have to figure out how exactly we're going to do that," Val reminded him, and Varian's eyebrow rose at the sharp tone to her voice.

"We sit him down, and tell him straight. No pussyfooting, no bells and whistles, just cold facts. It wouldn't be fair to do it any other way," Varian said gruffly, and with every point he made, the back of his hand slapped the palm of the other.

"He's so young, Varian. If something happens, it'll devastate him…" Val lamented, and Varian's face softened.

"It'll devastate him more if something happens, and he didn't know, Val. He'll never trust a word we say again- either that, or he'll assume that we're hiding a plethora of things from him, when you and I know that's not the case," Varian argued, and despite her growing nerves about everything, Val knew that he was right.

"Why didn't you want to know what we're having?" he asked out of nowhere, and Val was suitably caught off guard by the question.

"I just didn't, that's all," she answered, but Varian was nowhere near convinced.

"After all the hurt that came from not knowing the last, you actively chosenot to find out what this babe is," Varian pointed out, and she could see the clench forming in his jaw.

"If we knew what we were having, Varian, that would tempt us to buy things, and prepare for them. Don't even deny that you wouldn't be out tomorrow raiding the market if you have any inkling on this little'uns gender," Val rebutted.

Varian's blade-edged response died on his tongue as he really processed her admittedly sound logic.

"Would that really be such a bad thing?" he asked quietly, and Val looked at him with large, sad eyes.

"I just don't want us to spend so much gold, and have people turn on us when it ends up wasted," Val replied, and Varian's backside left his chair swiftly enough that it's indent hadn't faded from the velvet by the time he'd knelt on the floor.

"Val, you heard the sister. Our chances are better than they've ever been," Varian reasoned, taking her hand and holding it in both of his.

"But they're not brilliant, Varian," Val moaned, and she slumped further into her seat. "What makes this so much more frustrating is that we're not just parents right now- we're monarchs. Monarchs that have only just pulled their kingdom out of a recession by the skin of its arse."

"The fact that we're monarchs doesn't give us any less right to enjoy our baby while we have it, Val," Varian said brusquely, and Val exhaled through her nose.

"It's the aftermath that I'm worried about, Varian. If we spend stupid amounts of gold on cradles, and bootees and whatever else goes into a bloody nursery, and then I end up losing this baby- it's all useless, and the kingdoms coffers would've been emptied for nothing. So people will rightfullyget fucked off at us," Val continued, and Varian gave her hand a sharp squeeze.

"Enough. I don't want you thinking about these kinds of things anymore, do you hear me? We can't tread on eggshells about our own fucking child because we're scared of what people will think. You're pregnant, and that's a bloody wonderful thing- no matter whatends up happening."

He put his hand on her belly for the first time since yesterday, and his breath caught in his throat as he thought about that tiny, wriggling speck that he'd been blessed to see earlier on.

"Boy or girl, they're ours. And we can cherish that, just as we did with the others," he murmured, and he looked up to finally find Val smiling.

"I won't lie…I kind of like the idea of a surprise," she said, putting her hand over his. He thought she would flinch the second that their skin touched, but to his pleasant astonishment…it stayed perfectly still.

"So do I. Because it means that deep down, you think that this one will live. Just as I do."