The Royal Heir - The Valtoria Diaries 2

Cordonia expects

Jen stirred and stretched as she woke from the sunlight flooding into their little guest room early in the Texan morning. She could sense she wasn't alone, and edged a little closer to her still sleeping husband. It was always a novelty to wake up before he did, although she did appreciate that she'd probably worn him out last night.

She felt something nudge against her forehead and opened her eyes; to her amusement he was still sporting his cowboy hat. And, nothing else. Which had been a good look last night, she couldn't deny, but was slightly ridiculous this morning.

Unusually for Maxwell, he still didn't seem ready to wake up yet, so she crept out of bed. Spotting the little cardboard box on the bedside cabinet, she sighed. Something in her wanted to wait a little longer before she did this, but with today being the Council meeting, she knew the question would be asked. So she picked up the box, put on her robe, and left the room quietly, stealing one last affectionate peek at her snoozing sheriff before she shut the door.

It had now been exactly a month since her last period had started, the first one since she'd come off the pill, so theoretically, she could be pregnant by now. And a test could give her a result by now. And she had this strange, warm feeling in her stomach that she could be. Excitement bubbled through her while she took the necessary steps in the bathroom.

She then crept back to their bedroom, resisting the temptation to look at the test window until the two minutes were up. She put the box including the spare test back away into her top dresser drawer, and perched on the side of the bed so as not to disturb Maxwell. She looked. And looked.

It would have changed by now, right? That second line would have appeared?

A few more minutes passed, and still nothing. She sighed. But it was silly to feel so disappointed so soon, right? So why did she feel like she wanted to cry right now?

She felt cold, and empty. A failure.

"Good morning, little blossom," she heard a whispered voice from behind her. She turned to face him, seeing him blinking up at her from underneath the brim of his hat.

"Hey babe," she managed to mouth, before she burst into tears.

"Jen?" He sat up and immediately pulled her into his arms. "What is it? Oh..." He saw the test before she had the chance to answer him. "So how do these things work?"

"There's a line there, see," she sighed between sobs. "If I was pregnant, there'd be another line further up."

Maxwell grabbed the test, holding it up to the light, then standing on the bed to hold it up to the window; mercifully the blinds were drawn given the fact he was still wearing nothing but that cowboy hat. Ordinarily she'd have giggled at this sight, but his face was as serious as her heart felt right now as he sat back next to her.

"Yeah. Only one line." He put the test to one side and let her lean into him, wrapping his arms around her again.

"I just thought, maybe.. and with the Council meeting today... but I know it's early days, and there are women out there who have been trying for years... oh god, you must think I'm stupid..."

"No, of course I don't. It's not stupid at all to feel like that. I get it, Jen."

She sighed, resting her head on his warm chest, as the wave of disappointment continued to wash over her.

"Listen, I know how much you want this," he went on. "I know how much I want it. And so do you. So it's normal to get your hopes up. For yourself, for me. And I know we've been joking about it and making light of it all, because that's the only way I know how, Jen. But I know this is serious to you. And I'm feeling your pain too."