A Splatter of Other #Wattys2015

XXVI

Archer tells everyone the next day, and over the course of the next few months, while we're all stuck inside and my belly swells, I am constantly pelted with questions and advice. Archer steadily gets moodier and moodier, his protectiveness of me skyrocketing to the point where he'd barely allow me to walk anywhere if I let him. As it was, I often fought with him when it came to walking the distance to the mess hall, and he often worried about the tiring work of the Nursery. But I was patient, and after threatening to leave him for Fitz, who couldn't care less what I did, he let off a bit. I still wasn't allowed to lift heavy objects, or walk too far for too long without a break. I wasn't allowed outside lest I get a chill, although most people couldn't leave given the huge snowdrifts up to my shoulders outside the entrance. Archer was always making sure I ate and drank enough, that I had my daily nutrient brew for expectant mothers. I didn't mind the worrying so much when he rubbed my back, shoulders or feet at the end of the day, nor the way he would lie with his head on my stomach, murmuring in the language that he'd once told me was German, the original defectors of the Norther system.

Despite the fact that he growled at anyone who so much as looked at me funny, I couldn't help the swell in my heart, and the smile that fluttered to my lips whenever I saw him. It was clear to everyone just how hopelessly in love with him I was, and I often got teased for it, out of Archer's ear shot of course. I often 'complained' to the elderly women who worked in the kitchen about Archer keeping me on a leash, but it was half-hearted and I was smiling by the end of it. The ladies oo'd and ah'd over how lovely our 'young love' was, and would proceed to tell tales of their own experiences. By the end of those talks, my face was burning bright red and they were cackling at my mortification. I didn't only fall in love with Archer over the half-year that I was in Durness, I fell in love with the people. They finally fully accepted me, and welcomed me as one of their own. There were times when I thought about Margaret, and the ache in my chest would often pause my breath, but as time passed I thought about her less and less.

It was a couple of weeks into spring, the worst of the spring storms that kept us huddled away had passed for the time being, and I caught myself thinking of home again. My stomach ballooned noticeably, and I was standing side-on, looking in the mirror, and suddenly wondered what my mother would think if she saw me like that. I run a hand over the swell, tears pricking my eyes. I hadn't thought about going home in weeks, and now that old home sickness came rushing back like a tidal wave.

"Are you okay? It isn't the baby, is it?" Archer steps into the room, a worried frown on his face.

I sniff, wiping fervently at my eyes as I give him a watery smile. "Oh, uh, nothing. It's just the hormones."

"Nonsense," he comes up and wraps his arms around me, one hand coming up to wipe at the fresh tears on my cheeks, "what is bothering you, pet?"

I sniff loudly, thinking of something else to say, but when I look up into his face, full of such love and concern, I can't lie. "I need to go home."

I wait for the blank wall to drop, for the shutters to come down, for him to step away. But that doesn't happen, instead his eyes fill with an aching resignation, and his head drops to mine, "I know," he croaks brokenly, and I bite my lip at the pain in his voice.

"Only for a few days, a week at most, then I'll come back," I assure him.

"I'll have to speak with my Father."

I frown, and lift his head to look into my eyes, "I won't go if you don't want me to Archer, really, just say it."

"No Frankie, you need to go, to see your parents. They're back in your old house now."

"Thank you," I murmur, knowing how the thought of me being away from him for any amount of time will drive him mad, I know I'll miss him just as much.