Her Soldier, His Warrior

The Greatest Gift

"Can someone stop him from pacing so much?" Ella asks as Soren is muttering loudly to himself and pacing back and forth in front of the door that was separating him from his wife at the moment. "Also didn't he faint earlier?"

"He did, and this is the only way to calm him down." Corvus confirms with a shake of his head. "Soren, I know you are nervous but please take it easy with the pacing, you're gonna wear a hole in the rug and the floor."

"I should be in there, why did I have to faint?" The knight groans as he stopped pacing to run his hands frantically through his hair. "She's in there alone-"

"With two midwives." Corvus corrects him. "Look, if you want to go in there right now-"

He was interrupted by a loud scream that was muffled by the thick door and Soren's whole face went pale. Then there was silence. For what felt like forever, it was soon broken by a loud wail of an infant. The crownguard captain then lets out a shaky sigh of relief as he slumped to his knees, his forehead touching the rug as he silently prayed that his wife was okay. As excited as he was to know his child was finally born and sounded safe, he was more worried for its mother. The baby wasn't due until next month, what if giving birth early did something to Enya? Was she okay? He heard awful horror stories from some midwives of women dying during childbirth, especially with children born prematurely, and he'd hate for that to happen to his own wife and leave his son without a mother.

"Are you going to come in or are you going to be bent over like that for the rest of the day?" He hears Corvus asks and looks up to see the door to the room already open. "Enya's waiting, also you're crying."

"Shut up, you would be too if Ella was at risk while giving birth!" Soren says as he gets up, frantically trying to wipe his eyes. "Is she okay?"

"Yeah, the midwife is propping her up, another is cleaning the baby and Siggy is in there too."

Soren nods before heading inside, cringing at the weird smell in the room. Enya was alive thankfully, just looking tired and groggy as she was laid against several pillows to prop her to sit upright and looking really disheveled. She smiles when she sees her husband and he immediately rushes over to her.

"You're okay!" he exclaims, his voice cracking slightly as he takes one of her hands."

"Of course I am, I wouldn't let this sort of thing end me." Enya says with a small laugh as her husband places a kiss to her knuckles. "I got to see the baby before they took him away to be cleaned, he's so tiny."

"He?"

"Yeah, you got a little boy."

Soren smiles before leaning forward to kiss his wife's forehead. "Well I'm glad you two are okay, and I am very sorry for fainting earlier."

"It's fine, Siggy was with me after Corvus had to drag you out." Enya chuckles, nodding at their friend who was sitting in a chair in the corner looking exhausted. "She stayed up a lot of the night."

"No problem, I did the same thing when your mom had your baby sister." Sigfrid says with a yawn and gave them a tired smile. "Totally worth it."

"Here he is, nice and clean." The midwife says as she approached them with a wailing bundle that was wrapped in a dark green blanket and hands it to Enya.

The baby was small and very pink, wailing his little lungs out and sporting soft tufts of pale blonde hair on his little head.

"Happy birthday love." Enya says to her husband with a smile. "It seems like someone wanted to share a birthday with you."

"Wait today is my birthday?" Soren asks in surprise as he is handed the wailing newborn.

"Yeah, it's the nineteenth." Enya says with a yawn. "Can you keep holding him? I'm very tired."