...Walked with you once upon a dream...

Pt. 41

Another week had passed. Jacques was recovering quickly and you felt that your time to give birth any day now. Jacques had called in the midwives to stay in some of the spare room's just incase.

Jacques wanted to spend this night alone by the fire in your chambers. A pile of pillows and blankets were laid a few feet from the fire. It was too warm, so you both stripped down nude. Jacques laid down first and entwined parts of his body in the blankets. You laid down next in front on him, getting comfortable. Your stomach was REALLY swollen by now. Jacques laid his hand on it as you laid your head on the pillowy surface. ''I think he'll be here tomorrow,'' you said quietly. ''How do you know?'' Jacques quietly asked back. ''An internal instinct,'' you replied.

You turned on your back and looked up at him. ''Are YOU ready?'' you asked. Jacques sighed. ''I don't have a choice do I?'' he said. You grinned and shook your head. ''Thought so,'' he replied as he leaned down to kiss you. You were so beautiful to him, even if your body had enlarged parts. His son and heir was inside you and he couldn't be happier. What worried him was the horrible pain you were going to experience. He wished he could take it all away. Hopefully, the birth would be quick.

You saw the worry etched out on his face. You reached up and cupped his cheek. ''I'm worried about you,'' he said softly. ''I'll be alright, I know about the pain that is coming, but Theoren will be the result,'' you said. Your comfort washed over him again and he was at peace. You yawned a little. ''Your tired, aren't you?'' he asked hugging you closer to him. You nodded a little as he pulled a fur blanket over your body as you moved and buried your face in his neck. He gently rubbed your neck lulling you to sleep.
With you asleep, he laid his head gently on top of yours. This was a perfect moment.

Morning arrived as quickly as the sun set. Jacques woke first, but decided to let you sleep longer. He liked holding you and being protective, now he had ANOTHER reason to be protective. As you slept, he daydreamed about his son. How he wanted to see him grow tall and the girls chasing him. He thought about teaching him to ride horses, handle weapons, and getting him involved in books.

He looked back down at you to see you slowly stirring. You yawned a little in your sleep, he loved watching you wake. You slowly opened your eyes and saw a view of his facial hair, then opening your eye's more, you saw his face. It was one of the most welcoming sights in the morning.

This morning was different though, you felt a little strange along with a little bit of pressure. You quickly sat up and quickly unveiled the blanket. Your water had broken not long ago. Jacques touched your back. ''Is everything all right?'' he asked.

''We NEED to be get dressed and FETCH the midwives!'' you said.

Both of you got up quickly. Jacques got dressed as you slipped on a nightgown. You sat on your bed as Jacques fetched all five. Another bedroom was already prepared for you. They came in and led you to it. As you laid down on the bed, you were checked out. You had just begun the process, so you decided to eat something and read something. Jacques was allowed in your room, but not on the bed, so he sat in a comfy chair by you.

Nothing was really happening yet, so you decided to treat everyday like you normally would. First was breakfast, you were allowed to walk around. After all, walking gave labor some kind of a ''jumpstart.'' You sat at the dining room table in your night gown as you were served breakfast. After you ate your fill, you decided to walk around and explore the empty rooms then pick up some books from the library.

The first room you found wasn't necessarily empty. It was where Jacques did Pierre's account's. As you looked, you noticed that Jacques had beautiful handwriting. He obviously mastered calligraphy. You didn't know what these numbers meant and you didn't want to disrupt anything, so off you went.

The next few rooms were the same. Just storage of items from here and there. Nothing special. You did happen to go by the ballroom doors. You went inside and stood on the cool marble floor. This is where you and Jacques became one.....and soon, you would present the region's future heir here.

You then left the ballroom and headed to the library. You started to feel more pressure inside. So much that it made you hold onto the wall for a few minutes. It felt horrible and  this was ONLY the beginning! You decided to make the library trip quick since these ''pains'' were coming at every odd selected minutes. You selected your books and then made your way back to your room.

It was now mid day. Jacques was napping in the chair when you returned. You laid back down on the bed as you were struck by a pain again. This was more harsh and made you groan loudly. It woke Jacques as he rushed to you to see what was wrong. The midwives assured him that everything was fine. They also informed both of you that these ''outbursts'' would increase every hour or two.

As the day went on, the midwives were correct. Jacques couldn't stand your cries, so he went downstairs to work on Pierre's accounts. He even heard you through the ceiling which was still distracting even though he tried to get away from it.

Night rolled around and you still were NOT ready. This was pure agony and you were now sweating buckets! You were now moaning, wailing, and crying. Theodora made you some tea to take the pain away, but it did not help. Jacques returned upstairs. Sat at your side, held your hand, and dabbed your face with a wet cloth.

Surprisingly, his presence made things feel a little better. The early morning hours were among you. You had been in labor now for twenty hours now. People across the land probably heard you since your cries were SO loud. This pain was draining your strength, you had to deliver soon!

A group of midwives had checked you for the last time. You were now ready to push. You were relieved that this hell would be over, but a new one would be starting. Jacques was right next to you and was not going to leave you!

You were ordered on EVERY contraction to push, hard too. This lasted for about twenty minutes as you were sweating and BEYOND exhausted. ''One more should do it!'' The midwife said. You squeezed Jacques's hand and sat up as you gave a last hard,wailing push.

After, you heard a baby crying.