A C T I I

                                    

                                          
Lucien remained wholly still, his eyes locked with Elain's as the words played over and over again in his head. Elain was... she was pregnant. And it was his.
  The mate in him was thrilled. It demanded he take her right now on the sofa, then go out into Velaris and declare the news to anyone who would listen.
  But Lucien had long ago declined to give in to that side of himself. Long ago he'd decided that the mating bond was only as precious as the couple allowed it to be and up until very recently neither he nor Elain had put much stock in it.
  But now... now Elain was...
  Pregnant.
  The word spurred him into action and Lucien rose to his feet, crossing around the coffee table and coming to sit beside her on the sofa.
  She didn't look at him, her head bowed. Lucien wrapped a gentle arm around her shoulders and tugged her towards him for an embrace, burying his nose in her hair and inhaling. He detected nothing in her scent that—
  "The healer says it's too early for you to scent it," Elain said softly.
  Cheeks flaming with embarrassment, Lucien cleared his throat and pulled away, letting his hand rest on the small of her back. "You already saw a healer?"
  Elain nodded, finally looking at him. "Last week, before I sent you the letter." Her throat worked a swallow. "She said that it's usually just before the third month that— that you'd notice."
  "And you—you would be..."
  "About two months and three weeks in." 
  Lucien nodded slowly. "I see."
  So he'd have to be on alert. He would have to wait patiently for the moment that shift in her scent made itself known. That whatever life inside of her that had taken root presented itself.
  Gathering himself, Lucien kept his face neutral. "Are you... happy? Is this something you want?"
  With me, he didn't add.
  He knew she'd always wanted a family, but the circumstances under which she came by one could make all the difference. If she wasn't more than three months in they could still safely terminate the pregnancy with some manner of contraceptive provided by a healer.
   Elain's eyes flitted to her lap, and the hand he'd laid on her back moved in slow, comforting circles.  "This isn't what I imagined. I had... I had hoped we could court. Could go on adventures. Get a chance to know one another before we..." she trailed off.
  Lucien sat a little straighter at that insinuation. That she'd imagined this being an outcome with him eventually. That she'd imagined quite a lot for the two of them. More than he'd allowed himself to dream of.
  "Tell me what you want to do," Lucien said softly, doing his best to keep his voice steady.
   Elain shut her eyes. "Fae children are rare, are they not?"
  He swallowed. "They are."
  When she opened her eyes and looked at him again, they were lined with silver. "I worry this is... That this will be..."
  "Our only chance," Lucien finished. 
  Elain bobbed her head. "But what do you want?"
  With her on the brink of tears the last thing Lucien wanted to say was: I'm terrified of being a father and am not even sure this is something I want.
  Instead he said, "I want to support whatever decision you make. Whether that be to... to keep the child or not."
  Sniffing, Elain dabbed at her cheek with the back of her sleeve. "I want to tell you something. Something I swore I'd never reveal."