Could it be?

Writers: Eimi, Paula
Date Posted: 3rd May 2013

Characters: Merlish, Eilomar
Description: Merlish suspects something...
Location: Harper Hall
Date: month 13, day 12 of Turn 6
Notes: Mentioned: Miranek

Merlish could feel her heart beat faster as she stood in front of the
kitchen calendar, her hand resting over the stomach. She was sure the
date had come and past. **Could I be...** She flushed, she hoped...

"Merlish! Do you know where's my tunic?" Eilomar asked, wandering in and out of rooms, ineffectively searching for his clothes.

She didn't even hear the question as he walked in, but even if she had, the answer would have been the same. "I'm not sure, but I may be pregnant."

"What? What did you say?" Eilomar asked and stopped like he had hit a wall. He couldn't possibly had heard what he heard, now could he?

"I'm pregnant," Merlish repeated. There was an edge of nervous excitement in her voice as she pointed to the calendar. "Or I might be. Look, my time has come and gone," she said, as if he knew her cycle as well as she did.

"You are?" Eilomar's brains had trouble to wrap around the concept.

"Well, look," she said, putting her finger on the date that had passed. "I'm usually right on time, but it's definitely passed. So... doesn't that mean..."

"It could be..." Eilomar said slowly. "You should make appointment to Master Miranek straight away. He's master midwife, he can comfirm it. I've heard lot of good about him. Nobody else just won't do," the words came out of a rush.

"Will you come with me?" she asked, feeling nervous and excited as she covered her stomach with her hand. Merlish had always dreamed of having children! And it was her consolation when Eilomar reached for her in the night - maybe this would be the time... Had that time finally come after nearly a Turn of waiting?

"If you want to. I really don't understand about these woman-things..." Eilomar replied hesitantly, making a gesture towards her lower belly. Frankly, when his first wife had been pregnant, he had mostly just stayed away.

"But... I don't want to do it... alone..." Her mother was far away. Most of the women she knew were still at the Weyr! He couldn't leave her to be all by herself! Not now! Not when she was carrying his child! "Please..."

"All right, dear," Eilomar agreed and moved to stand behind her, placing his hands gently on her shoulders. "Don't get upset."

"I'm sorry," she said, understanding that she was acting rather irrational and certainly not as adult as she thought she would when this moment came. "It's just... I've never done this before. I mean, what if I am really pregnant?" And even worse, what if she _wasn't_? Then what a fool she'd look like!"

"I think first step is to find out if you really are pregnant or not, that's meeting a healer," Eilomar replied. Her helplessness seemed to help him to get a grip of the matter. His first wife never shared things like this with him.

"Yes, yes, of course," she nodded, raising her hand to her forehead. "I just... I don't know if I'm ready..." Merlish had never doubted herself before, but now that the possibility of creating a child was staring her in the face, her confidence faltered.

"You'll be wonderful mother," Eilomar said and actually bent to give her kiss on the cheek.

"Really?" she asked, leaning into him. Merlish wanted to believe that was so. "I've always wanted children. Lots of children. But it's a little scary, isn't it?"

"Yes, but you get past it," Eilomar replied.

"Did you feel scared the first time you became a father?" She could not imagine he was ever afraid of anything.

"Oh,yes. I was pretty sure that if I held the baby, I would break her," Eilomar replied.

"I'm so glad you have experience with these things," Merlish said with sincerity. "I'm not sure when the time comes I'll really know what to do."

"Well, things might have turned out differently with my first wife, I had back then had the wisdom and experience I do have now," Eilomar said.

Well, that and if his first wife hadn't been a cross between a bovine and a tunnelsnake, Merlish thought rather bitterly. She would never forgive that woman for trying to ruin her wedding! "I certainly would _never_ do what she did. It doesn't matter that you didn't have experience then. She was wrong to treat you that way."

"Thank you, sweetheart," Eilomar beamed.

Last updated on the May 31st 2013

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Could it be?