The Healing Begins

Through the next few days it became clear to everyone that Deshane was NOT a good patient. When he didn’t feel like getting up to walk, he didn’t and when the nurses tried to make him he threw things and insulted them. That is until Calene showed up. He was honey and cream to everyone when she was there. The nurses however told her one morning how he had been. He wasn’t ready to leave the house of healing yet, they had to drain his wound and apply more salve several times a day. She was feeding him and in between her spoonfuls of soup he looked at her how he did when he wanted her. She was very pregnant and like everyone else he saw how she wonderful she looked. He smiled suggestively at her as she fed him the soup.

Calene was finally convinced to get some rest for the safety of her baby. She was so exhausted that she slept through the night without waking and barely moved. Over the next few days she visited him as much as she could, though the healers wanted her to rest as much as possible. When she learned how Deshane behaved when she wasn't there she scolded him, though it would have been clear to him that she wasn't really angry. That afternoon she was sitting with him feeding him some soup that she had made for him. She had learned soon after they were married that it was his favorite and learned how to make it. In between spoonfuls she couldn't help but notice the way he was looking at her. She knew that look anywhere.

"No," was all she said with a little smile.

His eyes looked at her hungrily. It has been weeks since he has touched her the way he was thinking right now. “The nurses won’t be back for hours,” he said and he loved how torn his requests made her. He hardly ever treated her like a princess. To him, she was a woman...his woman and she didn’t seem to mind him treating her as such. He wa a passionate man when they were alone. The curtain was closed around them but there was still a bit of risk if she did something.

His comment made her blush a little. She hesitated in a response. It was clear that she was torn. On the one hand she craved him as much as he did her. It had now been over a month since they had last been intimate and the pregnancy was causing her to crave him more than usual. But on the other hand...

"No," she said again, still with a smile. "You're injured and still need to heal."

He seemed to pout playfully at her as she continued to feed him. He was truly happy to be alive now that she was there with him. He was feeling better today and he lifted up his blankets to show her just how much he had missed her. He was completely erect and he settled the blankets down. His eyes never left hers and he saw her eyes shift down to him then up again. "Well...if you are not in the mood then you're not in the mood," he said with a very big smile. for her.

A short time later she lay on her side in his arms on the small bed...her round belly lightly pressing against him. She was quiet for a long while before she suddenly began to cry.

"I know I told you before we were married that I could emotionally handle your job, but I can't. These past few weeks were the hardest I have ever been through...even more difficult than me being kidnapped. Our child is going to be born in a few months and you'll be a father. Can't you...can't you just ask my father to give you a position in the city?"

Deshane hated to see her cry. He kissed her forehead. He didn't say anything right away. What did he say in response to that? He wasn't sure and her tears truly unsettled him. He groaned when she brought this up again. It was something she had asked him before...several times. If he said no...it would upset her. if he said yes he would hate it every minute. Being out of doors was something he loved. It was a way he communed with nature. He liked being alone. Just him and his thoughts and the world. When he was home every moment was about Calene and she didn't really mind that. "I..." He said and he couldn't say more.

Calene had known before even asking him what his answer would be. When she had first discovered she was pregnant she had asked him and it had turned into an argument between them. Of course she didn't want to deny him something he loved, but she greatly feared for his safety. She was quiet a long while before speaking again.

"What if you aren't here for the birth of our baby?"

Deshane was again quiet for a long moment. "I..I'll stay with you until the baby is born," he told her. "I have to heal anyway," he added as he put his hand on her naked belly. She was still very warm from their love-making and she smelled fantastic. "Unless you 'want' me to go?" he asked.

Calene was glad to know that at least he was going to take his healing seriously and wait for the baby to be born. She would have been heartbroken if he had been gone when she gave birth.

"No, of course I don't want you to go," she replied. "I...I need you here with me Deshane...I..I'm scared..."

He raised an eyebrow at that. He always thought her very brave. "Scared of what? being a mother?" he asked. "I don't mean that it's a small thing but I think you will be an excellent mother Calene and queen if the time comes. Eldarion he knew would be King when his father passed and that actually brought Deshane comfort. To many people lived here he thought. He wanted to try and steer Calene toward the country. This land was so vast and he wanted to raise his children in a place that was open and free. Something he and Calene had argued about many times.

Calene looked at her husband with a genuine look of fear and uncertainty. "Of giving birth and being a mother. What if I'm not good at it? What if I turn out to be a horrible mother or don't know what I'm doing? I know this all must sound silly but I can't stop these fears."

"You have sisters who you've taken care of I'm sure. And the birth...well, I guess that will hurt but the prize you earn for us both is well worth it I think. I know part of this is my fault. You are upset still with me and what happened. I promise you when i am able to get around you will forget about your fear and want to see our child for the first time. Your body gives it life and sustenance," he said as he touched her right breast. It had grown in size and he liked to play with her breasts. "I do hope you'll let me enjoy these changes in you," he said with a smile. "We will have to come up with some new ways to make love," he said in a whisper and felt goosebumps come onto her flesh.

Just hearing him speak gave her a boost of confidence. She was still afraid, but with help from him and her family she knew that she would be able to make it through. She watched as he reached out and touched her right breast. Like her belly, they had grown in size and Deshane didn't seem to mind that at all. As he whispered in her ear she felt her cheeks flush and a shiver go down her spine. She looked up and into his eyes.

"I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't come for me...and I don't just mean with the kidnappers...you filled a hole in my life that I didn't even know was there. I think I knew the moment I saw you that I loved you...but I didn't think such things could happen so quickly."

He nearly blushed at her kind words. "Calene," he said as if he thought she was just shining him on. "I thought you hated me at first," he said as if it was a question he was asking her. he thought she was very beautiful when he first met her but he also thought her rash and petulance like a girl in a woman's body. He wasn't going to bring that up though. Not after scaring her half to death like he had.

Calene smiled a little at him when she saw him nearly blushing. "Well...then you went and annoyed me a little for a while."

She was quiet a long moment before asking him a question she had never asked him before.

"Did you ever love anyone before me?"

Deshane didn't answer this question right away either. He had loved a woman before but it was long ago and she didn't really love him back. His was a noble and so her family wanted the match but he ended it when she confessed that she didn't really love him. "i...did love someone...but...but she didn't love me back. It was a long time ago and...you know it's funny, I can barely remember her," he said honestly. "My heart and my body burns for you Calene," he said in her ear. Deshane was an usual man with an unusual way of making a living. He hunted rare things and brought back what people wanted or needed. He looked for lost people and bandits or law breakers others couldn't find. The crown paid him alot not because of who he was married to but because what he did was a very necessary evil. Not at all glamorous but he had become wealthy in his own right. Mostly though due to his spartan way of living. He had his parents home and their money also but did not follow in his father's footsteps to become a soldier. The war had made him shun the city until he met Calene. He was becoming a lonely, angry man then Calene came and warmed his heart and curbed his wanderlust. "I'd stay home more often if I knew you were...always this affectionate," he said. Calene was sometimes moody. Some weeks she didn't let Deshane touch her but he imagined that might be typical for a woman though he didn't really know himself.

ooc:sorry about last night, i am an exhausted puppy. will be working my 4th sunday this week with no days off in 4 weeks.

Calene listened quietly to Deshane. She wasn't at all upset or angry that he had loved someone once before her. She found it strange that this woman hadn't loved him back, but at the same time was grateful because it had meant she could have him.

"I apologize if I come across as moody sometimes," she told him. "I'm told that it is quite typical for an expectant mother. Do know Deshane that no matter what I love you wholeheartedly an appreciate everything you do for me."

OOC-That is ridiculous! I honestly don't think they are allowed to make you work that many days without a day off.

ooc: they dont 'make' me do it but its like if you dont when they ask...I also learned I'll be going to San Luis Potosi Mexico to help with the install of this Cummins engine line we proved out on our shop floor.

The following days were not easy for Deshane. he had limited mobility due to his injury and Calene mothered him when she was able to get away from sitting at court. she had suggested that he came with her and they had had one of the worst fights they ever had when she tried to pull rank on him. It was during one of her 'moody' times when she both wanted to clobber him and rip his clothes off and jump on him at the same time. The worst part was he couldn't get away like he normally could which in turn made him angry which in turn made her angry and it all started over again. he spent alot of time outside on the terrace reading. If he wasn't home when she returned he'd hear about it for hours. The terrace was a unhappy medium where she couldn't really get angry at him and he could be outside at least and not feel the walls closing in on him.

He heard her come in but decided to just stay where he was. His leg ached from his walk and by how briskly she moved she had had another unpleasant day at court.

Calene hated fighting with Deshane. It always left her feeling upset and empty. Right now they were both on edge due to his recovery and the upcoming baby's arrival. Her due date was now less than 5 weeks away and she was becoming increasingly uncomfortable and irritable. She felt confined to the palace and it was starting to get to her. She longed for fresh air and wide, open spaces to ride and be alone with Deshane.

She left court that day feeling exhausted. She had been so worried about Deshane and the baby that she hadn't been sleeping well lately and it was really beginning to get to her. She walked into their apartments and didn't see Deshane at first. She then spotted him out on the terrace. They had fought again that morning, but at the moment she couldn't remember what it had been about. She wasn't sure if he was still angry, but she desperately wanted to wrap her arms around him. Slowly, she walked out onto the terrace. She could tell he knew she was there, but he didn't turn around or acknowledge her. Cautiously, she walked up behind him and then gently slipped her arms around his middle and rested her head against his back.

He smelled her, a mixed bag of plums, herbs and sweat. He didn't react to her presence and was very surprised when he heard her come out to him then even more when she slid her arms around him. His first instinct was to jerk forward but he managed to remain settled then closed his book. if she thought he was going to apologize she had another thing coming. He was about to tell her so then he abandoned his anger and leaned back into her embrace.

"Shall I draw you a cool bath my love?" He asked. If he could get her naked and relaxed maybe they could talk without her getting angry at him.

Calene felt Deshane tense up slightly when she wrapped her arms around him, but then he began to relax. At first she was afraid he wasn't going to say anything, or was going to say something that would shatter this peaceful moment between them. When he then offered to draw her a cool bath she felt a few tears of love come to her eyes.

"No...," she said with an exhausted voice. "You continue to relax out here...I should go start dinner."

He dismissed what she said and got up. "Nonsense...dinner can wait," he told her then rose to his full height and took hold of her arm. He pulled her in for a kiss and smiled when she seemed to just melt into his arms. "If you're exhausted that means the baby is to. A cool bath will do you both some good," he said. He towed her along with him into the house and toward the bathroom.

Calene knew that there was no arguing with Deshane about this...and a cool bath did sound lovely. She relented and allowed him to bring her into their apartments and then into the bathroom. While he drew the bath, she changed out of her dress and put on a robe. She gathered her long hair up and pinned it so it would not get wet in the water.

"Alright Calene, it's ready," he said. When she came in she'd see lit candles, a bath board that straddled the tub at one end. It had a glass filled with apple juice since wine wasn't good for the babe. The glass had beads of sweat that rolled down it and he helped her out of her robe into the tub. When she got settled he rubbed her shoulders and neck and washed her softly with a cloth towel. He decided to remain silent until he reached her large, lovely breasts. He applied a bit of the herbal soap on the cloth then slowly and softly dunked it under the water and massaged her breasts and sternum with the cloth. "You know if it was just us...we could make love where ever and when ever we wanted. No court to sit at, no Nobles to whine and peck at you all day. Just you and me and our love," he whispered as his hands moved down to her tummy. "I know a place where there is a large pond fed by a natural spring. We could teach our babe how to swim and make more...many more to hold in our arms and to love," he continued as his hands drew down to between her legs. "A life we make for ourselves my beautiful darling," he whispered and kissed at her neck. His fingers found her sensitive places and his lips smiled as they kissed her neck and nibble on her ear. "We could make a life for our family, a wonderful life under the stars," he said as he continued.