Pregnant?

The thought made Elise feel all warm and fuzzy. She looked at Loriel with a nervous expression. She hoped she was right. Elise was the happiest she had ever been. And there was only one thing that would make her happiness complete. A baby.

But... what if she was wrong?

"Uhm.... okay, I'll tell you what I think it is. But I might be wrong, alright?" Elise said. "Please don't think about it too much."

"Don't worry, I'll just be here listening to you."

Loriel already knew that the expression on his wife's face meant something more than just an illness. He perfectly remembered her symptoms in the past, and now it was also a replica of that time back then.

"...I think I might be pregnant." Elise looked at Loriel's face. "I'm… just basing on the symptoms, because I missed my period and didn't think too much about it, but now I also passed out..."

"And we also have sex regularly," Loriel replied. "That's not a strange conclusion to have."

Elise nodded and felt her face heating up. "Yes."

"We can have it checked tomorrow," Loriel squeezed his wife's hand. "For now, you should rest up."

"Okay… I'll try to."

Loriel wanted to have a child with Elise again. The thought of having a child together and where Loriel didn't have to be afraid of losing either his wife or child unlike before was now playing in the back of his mind.

That was all Loriel ever wanted and asked for.

Loriel's chest started lightening up, but that was until he glanced at Elise's face and cleared his throat. "Elise?"

Loriel himself also needed to stop himself from jumping to conclusions and consider what his wife wanted.

"Yes, Loriel?" Elise lifted her head and met Loriel's gaze.

"Would you like to have a baby with me?"

Elise's face heated up at the question. Haven't they already discussed this before? She nodded her head shyly. "Yes, I want that. You know it. But, I don't want to keep your hopes up right now in case I might be wrong."

"We can still conceive again if you're not pregnant right now." Loriel brushed back a strand of Elise's hair behind her ear.

"You mean, right now?" Elise asked.

Loriel was now the one who felt the heat overcome his body, but he clarified his thoughts. "I'm actually concerned if you don't want to have a child with me. We've already talked about how you wanted to focus on your career, right?"

The idea of both working and trying to take care of a child at the same time seemed like a lot of burden on Elise's shoulders. Loriel didn't want to stress her and neither did he want Elise to miss the moments of their child growing up if they had one in the near future.

Elise smiled brightly. "Loriel, if we were to have a child, I'd be overjoyed and look forward to raising a family with you."

Loriel felt over the moon. He landed a deep kiss on her lips and pulled her into his warm embrace.

***

When morning finally came and two of them went to the doctor for a health checkup, the couple was ready for the news.

Both Loriel and Elise waited with anxiousness to learn of her condition as to whether she was actually pregnant. Loriel experienced quite a scare when Elise fainted and he was only relieved that he caught her, but the reasons for it… both of them wanted to know.

Especially when Loriel realized that Elise was more than happy to conceive a child and raise a family with him. Even if it meant that Loriel would take on more of the responsibility as a parent and father while Elise pursued her work, he was content at the thought.

Not only would it make Loriel even happier than he was right now to be married to the love of his life. It was Loriel's complete idea of redemption from everything he had ever done wrong to Elise.

A brand new start for the two of them.

"You are not currently pregnant, Mrs. Ashborn." The doctor informed the couple politely. "Instead, you are simply currently fatigued. According to the form you've filled up, the two of you went traveling overseas?"

"For our honeymoon, yes," Elise said.

"Ah." The doctor finally understood why the couple was asking about pregnancy. "Then that must be the reason for it. Any strenuous activity when you're not used to it can lead to fatigue, stress, and fainting. It seems like you were extremely exhausted."

"I see… thank you." Elise nodded.

"Then it seems like my wife truly needs to take a lot of rest to recover." Loriel glanced at Elise and smiled. "Would you mind taking the day off from work? We'll be more at ease if you do that."

"I guess, I can do it for just one day." Elise rubbed the back of her neck.

"Thank you, honey."

There was a certain flush in Elise's face at the embarrassment of knowing she wasn't pregnant. She probably shouldn't have said anything last night, but Loriel was taking it well and so should Elise.

Neither Loriel nor Elise showed any kind of visible disappointment in their face, but from the perspective of the doctor, it did look that they were both actually looking forward to it.

"Is there anything for my wife to take to help address the current issue of her fatigue?" Loriel asked.

"And oh um… I don't have any problems with conceiving, do I?" Elise asked. "You also run the tests for those, right doctor?"

"We don't have to have one right away, Elise." Loriel touched his wife's hand and gave her a kind smile. "What's important is for you to recover first and we'll deal with it when the time comes."

"I know, I'm just curious about my condition," Elise said. "And since we're here… now is the best time to ask as any."

This was why the doctor was actually hesitant from saying anything just yet as she pulled out a doctor's prescription pad and her pen. The doctor quickly jotted something down and then presented the paper to Loriel.

"For today, I will currently prescribe some vitamins and supplements for your wife, Mr. Ashborn. These are things that can help alleviate and prevent too much fatigue and I recommend you to get them right away."

Loriel nodded his head seriously.

Even though Loriel actually had his hopes up that Elise was pregnant and that they'd be able to have a family together, his number one priority was always his wife.

"I'll get them immediately, doctor." Loriel pulled up to his feet and accepted the paper from the doctor. He kissed Elise's cheek, promised to be back as soon as he could, and left the office to get what Elise needed.

Once the man was gone, the doctor sighed in relief and then looked at Elise seriously.

"Is something the matter, doctor?" Elise asked. She immediately noticed that the doctor's expression changed into something more intense and it made Elise's stomach churn slightly.

"While I must congratulate you on your marriage to your husband recently, Mrs. Ashborn… I feel that this conversation should be confidential between a doctor and her client." The doctor clasped her hands together.

"Something that Loriel didn't need to be around with?" Elise frowned slightly.

"Yes. I am not sure if he is aware of it and it is a very delicate topic."

"Delicate?"

"It can help provide answers for your question earlier about your current condition for conception, Mrs. Ashborn."

When the doctor looked at Elise and checked her initial medical records which included that of when she was Madeline York, it was hard to believe at first.

But the doctor made Elise undergo some of the tests and procedures to check on the chances of pregnancy and her current condition.

"What is it then?" Elise asked as she felt her thump loudly in her chest. "Please tell me if there's anything wrong."

The doctor cleared her throat for a moment.

"Based on the results of the test, we have noticed that you've already been pregnant twice, Mrs. Ashborn? I believe that your current husband is not aware of it. That is why I chose to speak when your husband is not here with us. Have there been any previous complications with them?"

"Huh?" Elise blinked at the doctor's words and wondered if she misheard them.

Pregnant? Twice?

.

.

************

Oh no! Elise will know about her past pregnancies from a third party and not Loriel...