Skulduggery stared wide-eyed at her.
"What?" he asked, staring at her in disbelief. Valkyrie took another deep breath.
"I'm…pregnant," she stated again slowly, her voice fading out. He shook his head.
"How is that possible?" he asked. Valkyrie rolled her eyes.
"It's not exactly rocket science, Skul," she said. He shook his head again.
"No, I understand that part. What I mean is, I can't…do that, it's just not possible."
"Skulduggery," Valkyrie started, "You said so yourself it was possible. All you said it took was just a little more effort to get you to do that and apparently, we did that."
"But still, how can that be? I'm dead. None of my organs function, none of them!"
The sheer look of confusion with the hint of worry and fear on his face sent Valkyrie's mind flying. All at once, she thought of every negative idea that Skulduggery could be having. She walked over to the couch and sat down, burying her face in her hands with the tears leaking from her eyes again.
"I can't do this, I just can't," she muttered into her hands. Skulduggery came over to the couch and knelt down in front of her.
"Hey, it's ok Valkyrie," he said, taking her hands and wiping away the escaped tears, "It's actually great." Valkyrie looked up at him.
"Wh-What?" she choked out, not believing what her ears were telling her.
"It's just like you said, I get a second chance and you know what the best part is?"
"What?" Valkyrie asked timidly. Skulduggery smiled.
"I get to have this second chance with you." Valkyrie gave a weak smile, her eyes welling back up with tears.
"You're such a goon," she muttered as she hugged him tight.
"But you love it," he said, rubbing her back gently. Valkyrie pulled away and ran her fingers through his hair.
"Yes, she said, "I do." Skulduggery smiled and kissed her forehead.
"Don't worry about it," he said, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear, "I've been through this before and I will be with you every step of the way." Valkyrie smiled, but it soon turned into a frown.
"What about the case?" she asked, worry plastering her face, "If Crux and Guild ever found out, our jobs would be gone for good and that would not be good at a time like this. And what about Tanith and Ghastly and everyone else? What about my parents? What are-." Skulduggery put a hand over her mouth.
"Just relax," he said, "Everything will be fine. We can handle the case, just the same as any other case, we'll just have to be a bit more careful. And nobody has to know yet. We'll wait it out a bit and tell everyone when the time is right. As for the matter of your parents, I think we should go see them."
"What?"
"I don't mean tell them, I just mean we should go see them, you know, as a couple."
"But they'll know!" Valkyrie stressed, "They'll find out! Especially if we just show up out of the blue."
"Valkyrie."
"My parents might not be the brightest people ever, but they have their way of knowing things. They'll see right through it-"
"Valkyrie."
"-then we'll be in HUGE trouble! And just to remind you, my mom has been pregnant before and she'll know as soon as she sees me! She'll-"
"Valkyrie!"
She stopped mid-rant to stare at Skulduggery who was holding down her flailing arms.
"Just relax," he said calmly, "They won't find out, I promise you. You've kept pretty much your whole life from your parents since you were 12. You can handle. We'll just go for a quick visit and then leave. We'll break the ice so when they do find out, it won't be as shocking." Valkyrie let go a breath of relief.
"Ok," she muttered, relaxing a bit, "I'll do it." Skulduggery smiled and looked up at the clock.
"I should probably get going." He turned back to Valkyrie. "Are you going to be alright?" She nodded and stood up.
"I'll be fine," she said. He nodded and kissed her gently.
"If you need anything call me, ok?" he said, hugging her. She nodded again and clung tight to him.
"I love you Skul," she muttered into his chest. He gently rubbed her back.
"I love you too Val," he said. He kissed her again and slowly let his hands glide around to her stomach. They lingered there for a second, but he swiftly withdrew them and left.
She slowly walked up the stairs into the study and opened the charger box, releasing her fuming phantom uncle. She ignored his angry rant and sat on the window seat, watching the starting rain softly land on the window and scatter the red back-lights of the Bentley. She looked down at her stomach and delicately slid a hand over it, her mind telling her to be mindful of the little surprise inside of her.
'I sure hope we know what we're getting into,' she thought as Skulduggery started up the car and slowly drove off into the darkness.
