Sookie's POV:

"I would say you are very early in your pregnancy," Dr. Ludwig says as she checks my blood pressure. "You are also part faery, so you will need to take extra care."

"Why is that?" I ask, as I sit up on the bed. Marten was sitting beside me, holding my hand.

"Because faeries have a greater chance of miscarriage than any other supernatural or human," she says as she prepares to draw my blood.

Marten hisses at her.

"Relax vampire, this is all normal. I need to do standard testing on pregnant women," Dr Ludwig comments. "If you have a problem with that, I can leave."

"No, there's no problem," I say as I give Marten a side-glance.

Marten had wanted to get his private physician to do a checkup but I refused. I knew that his doctor was good, he had treated me one time, several years ago, but I wanted a female doctor. I remembered Dr. Ludwig and asked Marten to fly her here.

The doctor does my bloodwork and puts it in her case. She also pulls out some bottles of prenatal pills.

"Now, these don't have any iron in them, we don't know how or if iron will affect your baby," she says. "What about the father? Is there any issues with him?"

"Uhhh, we chose a sperm donor. Someone from Marten's home country. He supposedly looks exactly like Marten and is all human. He may have some faery lineage in his genes, I'm not completely sure," I say. I could feel myself turning red as Marten stiffens up beside me. We had gone back and forth on how we would explain this pregnancy to people. For now, we wouldn't say a thing to anyone unless we really had to. I was okay with letting people make their own assumptions, but I could tell Marten was not happy about it. He wanted the world to know that I was carrying his baby and that he was the one who impregnated me. He wanted the world to know that a vampire, that it was he who did the impossible and created a child.

But we knew the dangers of that, the danger of people finding out that a vampire created life. Would people react positively or negatively? Would they be scared? Would they fear my child? I didn't want to take that chance and we decided that this was best, at least for now.

"I would like to test the donor, just to be sure," Dr. Ludwig says.

"I'm afraid that's impossible," I say. "It was all confidential. I don't want to know who it is and neither does Marten. It's a sensitive issue."

"Very well," Dr. Ludwig says. "I will check up on you every two weeks, when it gets closer to your due date, then I will need to see you every day. For now, this is the critical time for you. You need plenty of rest and no stress. Keep checking your blood pressure and stay hydrated. Like I said, faeries tend to have a high rate of miscarriage. These next few months are important."

We both nod.

"What about sex?" Marten asks.

I could feel my face turning tomato red.

"Sex is good and safe for her," the doctor says. "In fact, it's a great way to help reduce her stress. You will find that her libido will become stronger as she progresses in her pregnancy."

I put my hands on my face, so embarrassed that they were talking like I wasn't even in the room.

"Thank you doctor," Marten says happily.

Marten walks the doctor to the elevator as I lay back down on the bed. I was wearing some pajamas and a robe. We were staying temporarily in a penthouse in another part of town. Marten had put our home on sale. When we had returned, we had found that it had been ransacked by faeries. Apparently when Adam Woods had been granted access to our homes and offices, he had opened a way for other faeries to get through. Witches had offered to place wards on Marten's various properties to protect them, but Marten refused. With our baby on the way, he didn't want to take a chance on faeries gaining access.

So, we were going to start over and find a new home to live in the city. He had also sold his Hampton mansion and was already shopping around for a new getaway house.

I lay still feeling dread. I was worried, Adam Woods aka Tristan Helmond was still out there. Even though Marius was searching, he still was not able to find him. He did, however, find a coven of water faeries in New Jersey. After interrogating and killing them, they did not know where he was. They were waiting for his orders as well.

I knew what I needed to do. I had to contact Niall and ask for his help to find him.

"She gave me a lecture," Marten says as he walks into the room. "She told me not to cause you stress and to take care of you."

I smile up at him.

I reach my hand out to him and he come to lay beside me. He spoons me from behind and puts his hand over my stomach.

"He will continue to grow strong in here," Marten says as he rubs my belly gently.

"He?" I ask him.

"Yes, it's a he," Marten says as he kisses my neck.

"What if it's a she?" I ask.

"Well, she will be beautiful, strong, and wise like her mother, and if it's a boy, then he will by strong and wise like his mother," he says softly.

"I'm going to listen to the doctor," I say softly. "I don't want anything to happen to this baby. This baby is a miracle. We have a duty to protect him or her. But it is going to be hard to do with Tristan Helmond still on the loose, along with whatever deranged faeries that are out there still."

"Yes, I have made it my mission to destroy every last one of them that wish to cause harm to the two of you," he says.

"Me too," I whisper. "That's why I need to call Niall. I need him to help us find the rest of these faeries. I know he closed the portals, but there's got to be something open somewhere, how these things are managing to stay in this world."

"Okay," he says. "Do what you need to do."

The next day I call Claude.

"Oh my goodness, Sookie, I am so glad you are okay," he says as we talk.

"I need you to contact Niall and get him to meet me and my husband," I say to him.

"Okay, I will try," Claude says. "He's been in the faery portal for awhile now and hasn't returned to Earth since the day before your wedding. But I will try and get back to you."

A few hours later, Claude texts me and says Niall is willing to speak with us this evening.

We arrange for a meeting at a restaurant downtown, We would have tons of extra security, along with an empty restaurant.

Later that night, Marten and I go to the restaurant. I was in a blue and white striped cotton dress and blazer, while Marten was in his jeans, shirt, and tweed coat.

"Hello, my granddaughter," Niall says as he greets me. He was about to give me a hug and a kiss on the cheek, but stops as soon as he sees the possessive look on Marten's face.

"This is my husband, Marten Meijer. I don't think you two have met," I say.

"Hello," Niall says cordially.

Marten nods his head cautiously.

"Relax, I am not going to take my granddaughter, although I have made that offer to her in the past," he says.

"I said no," I say quickly as I rub Marten's thigh in a reassuring manner.

I take his hand and begin playing with his fingers, rubbing them between mine. Ever since I found out I was pregnant, I was experiencing weird symptoms. I hated being away from Marten. I felt like I needed to be close to him, to always be touching him in some way, whether it be sexually or just showing affection. When we were apart, it felt like there was this part of me that I was missing. I had never been a clingy woman before, but now it was a different story.

I was glad that Marten didn't mind. I would think that any other man would find me suffocating.

"You heard about what happened to me?" I ask Niall.

"Yes, it is rather unfortunate about what happened with that water faery," Niall says. "Our numbers are dwindling and there are many faeries who are becoming desperate to procreate."

"Yes, even if it means against your will," I retort.

"Yes, but of course there are some who will make an offer, like Preston Pardloe. I believe he had made you an offer," Niall says with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes," I stammer, my cheeks burning. I suddenly feel jealously in the bond. I glance at Marten who had a not-so-happy look on his face. "I said no to him. I told him to never bother me again."

"But anyway," I say trying to change the subject, "We need to know where Triston Helmond is and where the rest of his followers are."

He is silent as he thinks about it.

"I have sent scouts to look for him. He has a small number of followers. I believe your maker has killed most of them and there are about a handful that remain," he says.

"Do you know where they are?" I ask.

"The scouts might have found a trail near San Francisco," Niall says. "I believe they might be regrouping. They know that they cannot return to Faery unless they wish to be destroyed by me."

"Okay," I say to him.

He gives us the last coordinates of their last known location.

"I have to go," Niall says as he stands.

Marten and I stand up after him.

"Take care of each other," he says. "Your child is special and precious. He will need both of you to guide him and to love him."

I gasp in surprise and look over at Marten who was shocked as well. I hadn't even told Niall about my pregnancy, much less who the father was. I didn't even know what the sex of our baby was as it was still too early to tell.

That will kill the gender reveal party I'm sure Amelia and Pam will plan for me, I think dryly.

As soon as Niall pops away, Marten holds me close.

"We're having a boy," he whispers into my ear.

A few happy tears come spilling out as I nod a little.

"I need to talk to Marius and make plans to go to San Francisco," Marten says.

"I'm coming with you," I say to him.

We share a chaste kiss before heading back to the apartment.

I had never felt so determined in my life. I now know what I needed to do and what my purpose was. I had to protect my child at any cost. His life was the most important thing in the world to me now.