Sookie's POV:
"Everything looks good," Dr. Ludwig says to us as she goes over the ultrasound report and after listening to the heartbeat of our baby.
I was four months pregnant and was starting to show. I had been able to conceal my bump with loose-fitting dresses and shirts, but now, it was obvious. I was wearing more of Marten's shirts as mine were beginning to be too tight. I knew I was going to need to visit the maternity wear store.
Marten's public relations team put out a notice to the supe and human world that we were expecting a baby. There was no mention that he was the father, nor was there any mention of a donor. Obviously, I was hoping that people would naturally assume it was invitro and a donor, because I still wanted to protect how my baby was conceived. We wouldn't be the first human/vampire couple to have a child. Many vampire/human couples were adopting and choosing invitro to have children, but we were, perhaps, the most high-profile couple to do so.
"Baby is growing at a normal size, the heartbeat is strong," she adds. "Your blood pressure and sugars are good."
"Thank you Doctor," I say with relief.
I would be lying if I didn't say I was worried about whether or not I would miscarry. I had been praying every night to keep my baby safe and so far, my prayers were being answered. Though we were not out of the woods yet, our chances of miscarriage had decreased dramatically.
"I will see you next week," she says to me as she gets up and leaves.
As soon as she leaves, Marten comes up to me and puts his ear against my ever-protruding stomach.
"He is strong, I can hear his heart and him moving around," he says as he looks up to me with a bright smile.
I grin back as I run my hand through his blondish-tousled hair. He whispers softly, speaking his Old Norse dialect to the baby.
"He is beginning to understand, to have feelings," he says.
I focus and begin to sense that as well. "You're right. I can hear vibrations coming from his mind."
"We share the same blood," Marten says to me. "That's how I can feel him."
He enjoys his bonding time for a few minutes more.
"When I was younger, I knew that I wanted to be a king," he says as he continues to lean lightly against my stomach. "I knew that I wanted to rule over this new land when New York was first created. I had no doubt that I would be a good leader and would bring prosperity to all the vampires who lived in this territory. But now…it's different. I had so much confidence in my ability as a king but I'm afraid I don't have much confidence in being a father. What if I do or say the wrong things to him as he grows up? I won't be there when he will need me during the day. What if he grows to resent me for not being there?"
I put my hand on his shoulder. "It's okay to be afraid, it's normal. Parenthood is a daunting task. You're a good man, everyone looks up to you, I have no doubt you will be a great father. And all those other things, like the daytime, we will face that when we get there."
"Thank you Sookie, you have no idea how grateful I am for you," he says softly. "You've given me the greatest gift that I have ever received. I will do everything in my power to make sure you and our son are protected and taken care of."
"Just keep doing what you are doing, hon," I say to him. "Supporting me through the doctor's appointments, making things less stressful for me like for example not fighting."
We both chuckle.
"I was sort of bummed about giving that up at first, but you and the baby are more important to me now. If it eases your mind that I don't fight, then, it's a great thing," Marten says.
"What about Marius?" I ask. I hadn't seen him since San Francisco and hadn't asked Marten about what happened afterwards. I just assumed that things were okay, but not great between them
"He will be around, if we need him," he says. "I mean I still haven't really…..forgiven him I guess. He did do us a solid by helping us with the faery problem, so I guess that's why I didn't completely cut him off. But for now, we need space. I need to focus on you, on our family."
I nod my head in agreement. Who was I to tell Marten what to do about his relationship with his maker.
"Well, I guess we should head to work," I say. Marten stands up and he helps me off the couch.
We had moved to a brand-new penthouse not far from our old building. Marten had also changed the location of his office. It was expensive, but necessary for the safety of our family. I had also returned to my role as a "human resources consultant" aka mind-reader.
I finish interviewing employees who were having personal issues with each other and send my notes to the manager by email when Marten walks into my small office.
"You should have really let me get you that bigger office next to mine," he says.
"What? And let everyone hate me for being favored by the boss?" I smile.
"It would be true though," he replies.
"We don't need to flaunt that in their faces, honey," I say to him jokingly.
He comes and stands beside me as I sit at my desk and shows me his phone. I look at the first few lines, it was about a European vampire council summit and it was going to be held in France in a few weeks.
"Are you going to this?" I ask as I look up at him tensely. I was weary of travel now that I was pregnant.
"We are going to this," he says. "And don't worry, I already talked to Dr. Ludwig. She said a few days in Europe would be alright for you."
"I still don't know," I reply. "I mean if you have to go, then maybe you can…."
"I don't want to be away from the two to of you," he says as leans down to kiss me on the cheek.
"Is it really that important to attend this summit?" I ask him.
"Yes, I wouldn't be mentioning this if it wasn't. I know the risks of travel while you are pregnant, but…there's going to be some discussions on the uprising of faeries in some parts of Europe, mainly in the south of France and where I come from. I think some of these faeries could be my relatives," he says into my ear.
Ever since those pesky water faeries had told Marten that his mother and grandfather were possibly alive, he had been actively trying to find out more information about them. He even called Claude, who was surprised, to see if he had any info, but he didn't. Earth faeries tended to be very secretive than other faery races.
I take a deep breath. "Okay, I will go with you."
"Awesome," he says as he kisses me on the cheek again.
Two weeks later we landed in Nice, France for the annual European summit. The schedule for the first four days were vampire council issues and business. Though not all royalty was here from other parts of the world, there were still quite a few who had deep ties to other kingdoms in Europe. Marten still had ties to his Scandinavian counterparts and Portugal. Marten did a lot of trade with both nations.
"We're going to be so busy Sookie," Sonya, Marten's second-in-command says as we walk into the large reception area. There were hundreds of vampires everywhere talking and mingling amongst each other. Marten was attending a private meeting with the king of Portugal, Maximiliano Da Costa, and Ulrich, the king of Germany, who in this timeline, was still in a royal marriage to Rosamond, the queen of France. Their 100 year marriage contract was ending and apparently both were seeking new spouses. In the previous timeline, she pursued and successfully married Eric, in this timeline, who knows who she had her sights set on.
Everyone was wearing expensive business suits, including myself. I had gone on a shopping spree and bought various dresses and other relaxing clothes for this trip. I was wearing a wool tweed jacket and pleated skit and navy tights. I had my long blonde hair in a tidy chignon bun.
"Well if isn't the queen consort of New York," Rosamund says as she steps in front of Sonya and I.
"Good evening, your majesty," I say cordially. I keep a neutral look on my face when I really wanted to wipe that smirk on her face.
"Your majesty," Sonya says as she bows her head.
"You're looking well, and I guess I should congratulate you on your new circumstances," Rosamund says as she looks down at my stomach.
Immediately, I put my hand on my tummy.
"You must have done a lot of searching to find sperm who matched Marten's extremely handsome good looks. Or was it easy? Considering you have spent a great deal of time finding solace in other men, if what the American papers wrote about you are true?" She says in a thinly veiled uncouth tone.
I grit my teeth, trying to stop myself from slapping this bitch, "The publications tend to blow things out of proportion or even print false accusations. Like for example, I read that you had spent quite a bit of time in the kingdom of Mexico getting very acquainted with many male members of the king's court, even the weres… is that true or was that blown out of proportion and it was only the male members of the court?"
Her smirk turns into a glare. "I would watch my back if I were you, not many share in your 'joy'. We members of the vampire royal houses were only meant to become makers, we weren't meant to 'play parents' to human babies. I would not be surprised if Marten got tired of playing 'daddy' to your human child and sent the both of you away."
It was my turn to glare at her. "You have no idea…"
"Excuse me, your highnesses, but I believe we should all be finding our seats. The opening of the summit is about to begin. And I must remind you, your majesty, that Sookie is the Queen consort of his majesty the king of New York. I do not think he will take it so lightly that you are offending his bride during her delicate state," Sonya says sternly as tensions flare up.
Sonya puts her hand on my back to lead me away.
"What a bitch…" I mutter quietly as we walk into the large events room.
An usher helps us find our seats as everyone continues to gather inside. I look around for Marten and spot him sitting next to Alexander, the kind of Sweden on the other side of the room. I give him a little wave and smile as he smiles back.
We all rise as the council come in and take their seats in the centre of the room.
The head of the council, Lucius Antonius, give a rousing speech to open the summit.
"Times have been changing," he continues on in his opening remarks. "Like for example, the king of New York and his faery wife are expecting a child. Not born by the way vampires sire children, but by procreation. On behalf of the council, we congratulate you."
The room looks towards Marten and even me as they give us a round of applause. I look around the room nervously and give a little wave and mouth 'thank you' to everyone.
What a way to have your pregnancy announced to a room full of vampires…. I think to myself.
The summit continues on with various issues, until the faery issue is brought up.
"There are reports of faery covens here in Southern France. They have always remained quiet, hidden, but now they are becoming more bolder, more aggressive towards other supes, especially weres," Rosamund says as she addresses everyone. We are still not sure what their intentions are in this world or why they have left theirs."
"Have they attacked any vampires in your territory?" Alexander, the king of Sweden asks.
"No, but they came close," she says to him. "They found the resting place of one of my sheriffs east of this city. They attempted to bring them out into the daylight so that they may meet their final deaths."
The crowd murmurs in response.
"If there is anything else, we will continue with this issue on tomorrow's agenda," Antonius says.
We all rise as the council members leave the room and the rest of the crowd begin leaving.
Marten reaches me and puts his hand around my waist. I lean in closely to breathe in his wonderful scent. I was feeling anxious being away from him and now I could feel my mind and body calming.
Just as he's about to say something to me, Rosamund walks up to us, along with her second-in-command, Etienne. I stiffen as I recognize him. His life had been ended by Eric in the previous life and he had attempted to break up Eric and I. Or rather, he succeeded in breaking us up. It was strange to see him here, undead and looking at me.
Etienne had been a French Algerian soldier during World War II when Rosamund turned him. He was very handsome, with dark Mediterranean skin, brown hair, and clear green eyes. He had full pink lips and high cheekbones and a slim jaw.
"Hello, again," Rosamund says in what sounded like a forced polite tone. "Sookie, I don't believe you've met my child, Etienne. He's also my right-hand, brilliant strategist and loyal to the bone."
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Meijer," Etienne says as he flashes me a dazzling smile. I reckon he was able to entice any woman with that set of pearly whites, but not me. I knew what his game was and I was not going to be deceived this time.
I nod my head and lean into Marten a little closer.
"I wanted to invite the two of you to a reception at my house. I have a wonderful home overlooking the bay. It's enchanting at night," Rosamund says as she flashes her teeth to us, while mostly looking at Marten.
"Thank you for the invitation, but I'm afraid that won't be possible," Marten says. "My wife and I are going to a concert tonight."
"Well another time then, before you leave," she says, not concealing her disappointment.
"Our schedule is completely full," Marten adds.
"Yes, but I'm sure you can rearrange something…for an old friend," Rosamund says not even bothering to hide that obvious innuendo.
I raise my eyebrow.
"No, this is my wife's first time in France, I wanted to show her everything," Marten says as he squeezes my waist gently. "Now, if you will excuse us, we have to get ready for tonight."
"I can't believe how slimy that woman is," I say to Marten as we change our clothes as we get ready for the concert. My favourite singer was performing at the arena.
"So, remind me what happened in your past life?" Marten says as he puts on his shirt.
"I sliced her head off, but that was only in self-defense, the bitch was trying to kill me," I say to him. I put on my white bubble-skirted dress with floral patterns and Doc Martens. I brush my hair and leave it down.
"How I would have liked to see you battle another woman," he says in amusement. He comes and puts his arms around me. "Well maybe not. I wouldn't want to see that now, with our baby growing inside you."
We kiss passionately for a few minutes. Things begin to heat up when there is a knock on the door. I knew it was Ron, the head security.
"C'mon hon," I tell Marten as I break away from our kiss, "We will be late."
"Let's just skip the concert," Marten says as he leans in to continue kissing.
"We promised your friends that we would be there and I've been looking forward to it ever since you told me about the concert," I smile as I lean away from him. "Now c'mon."
"Argh," he says in a playful, but frustrated tone. "We will continue when we get back?"
"I promise," I say to him. I was horny for him as much as he was for me. The doctor was correct, my libido seemed out of control. It seemed like I could never get enough sex from my husband. I loved how we were trying different ways to get intimate around my growing belly. At first, I was insecure, with the amount of weight I was gaining, but Marten made me realize I was still beautiful, even with the extra pounds, cause after all, I was carrying another being inside me.
We were staying in a large chateau, just outside of the city. We were renting it from a company who specialized in house rentals for vampires. It was like an AirBnB for vampires. The upper levels were gorgeous, but the lower levels were secure havens, for the safety of their vampire clients. After Rhodes, there was no way I would ever stay in a hotel full of vampires.
I hum and dance along to the singer as he croons his hit songs for the large audience. I lean against the railing with Marten holding me from behind, listening to the artist sing songs about love and hope. I turn around to face Marten and lean against his chest.
"Thank you for everything," I say to him. "I love you so much."
"I love you too," he replies.
We have fun and joke with his friends who were also in the private box with us. Afterwards, we head to a private party and meet the singer, along with some other famous people. I blush when I meet one of my favorite actors. He congratulates me on my pregnancy and we have a short conversation (with Marten by my side of course). I listen to Marten converse with other people. Though I had always been a private person and preferred a quiet and normal life, I was beginning to enjoy this, mainly because of Marten. I loved seeing the way people responded to him, it was like he had this light around him that everyone just naturally flocked to. He was always the most popular person in a group of people and he made people feel good about themselves. I was drawn to his energy and light.
I finally begin to tire and ask Marten if we could head back to our rental. We excuse ourselves and head back for the night.
"That was so much fun," I tell Marten as I strip off my clothes.
"You are so much fun," he says to me. "As much as I like those other people, I'd rather just be with you only."
I smile at him. "Aww that's so sweet, hun. You don't need to butter me up, you know you will be getting lucky tonight," I say in a playful seductive tone, as I rub my boobs against him. I had always had large boobs, but they were getting even larger now.
He laughs gently as he cups my breasts. "Wasn't trying to butter you up. I really mean that. None of this matters to me anymore, only you and our son do."
We kiss as we head to bed, making love tenderly till it was time to close our eyes to sleep at dawn.