Living Proof

Chapter Twenty-One

"Are you warm enough? Ioreth will have my head if you catch a chill that lands you back in her infirmary. Especially when I tell her I'm your child's father. Her lecture will go on for days and I am not at all certain I can tolerate that."

His expression was so grim, she didn't think he was joking about any of it. But, then, his words sank in and she turned to look up at him. "My child? I think you mean our child."

"Well, obviously. But does she know I'm his father?"

"No," she shook her head, "I said nothing about who her father might be."

He offered up a grin. "A girl?"

She grinned right back. "A boy?"

His arm tightened about her. "Twins, perhaps?"

"Bite your tongue, Boromir. I am not having twins."

"You don't know that."

"I think I would, though, if I was."

"How?"

She shrugged. "I cannot explain it. I just think I'd feel it."

A low chuckle rose to his lips. "You'd feel it, would you? And how would you know, when this is your first child?"

"Oh, don't ask me such questions. It's just an intuition sort of thing."

The chuckle became a full blown laugh." An intuition sort of thing, eh? Very well, I will trust your... intuition... but if we do have twins, I will say I told you so."

"Do you want twins?"

"Two babies at one time? Love, I'm scared witless at the thought of one single baby, never mind two."

That was not what she expected him to say and lifted her head to gaze down at him. "You're scared?"

He nodded slowly. "A bit, yes. It's a great responsibility, and not one I've ever had before. And... well... my own father was not so great a role model for how to be a good father."

"I'm sure he loved you in his own way."

"Spoken as a woman who was obviously cherished by her own parents, not for what you could do for them, but simply for being."

He said it with no self-pity in his voice, only a soft matter-of-factness that made her heart hurt for him. "Do you believe your parents did not cherish you for simply being?"

"My mother did, I'm sure. She's been gone so long, though, it's difficult to remember much from those days. And perhaps Denethor did as well, before her death. All I know is that is not how he acted afterwards."

Remembering Gandalf's words to her about Boromir's mother's fear where her son and Denethor were concerned, she murmured, "Your mother worried for you, worried that Denethor's influence would lead you down a lonely path."

"It might have," he replied softly. "In fact, I believe it absolutely would have, had I not walked into almost half a dozen arrows not too long ago."

"You should not joke about that," she told him, shaking her head. "Have you any idea how close you came to losing your life that day?"

"Trust me, I am all too aware of it. The wounds have not healed entirely, remember. But, know this, I would not change a thing about how this all happened. Except, perhaps, I wouldn't bungle my reaction to you telling me this news the way I did."

"You bungled nothing. You were surprised, is all. And I can certainly understand that. I was just as surprised and it's entirely possible I snorted in Ioreth's face when she told me."