Chapter 13

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Catherine straightened up with a sigh of relief. She had done it! Today she wouldn't need Mary's or Vincent's help to tie her shoes! She looked around her chamber with a satisfied smile. This morning she had awakened feeling much better than she had in weeks, and had decided to do a bit of tidying up and housecleaning. The furniture shone, the quilt and cushions were tidy and the books in order. The piles of cloth diapers and incredibly tiny clothes that had taken over a shelf in her wardrobe had been once more verified and neatly arranged.

She smiled fondly at the latest addition in the chamber: a wooden cradle, all prepared, protected from dust by a white cloth. It had been Vincent's cradle, Father had told her, then had been used by other tunnel babies, before being relegated to a storage chamber and forgotten. She owed that gift to the obstinacy of Mouse and Jamie, who had decided that no other cradle would do for her baby. They had pestered Father, Mary and all the older tunnel dwellers with incessant questions until they'd been able to track it down, then had spent hours cleaning and repairing it. It even seemed that Jamie had had trouble convincing Mouse not to 'upgrade' it with some experimental auto-rocking device...

Catherine lightly caressed the carved wood of the cradle, imagining her baby asleep in it, a perfect tiny replica of his beautiful father, and sighed with wistful impatience, patting her stomach.

"It's all ready now, Little One, you can come!"

It couldn't be much longer now. She was due for mid-April and today was....today was April 12^th! It was easy to lose track of the date in the tunnels, yet how could she have nearly overlooked that! Tonight it would be three years since Vincent had found her bleeding to death in the park, and brought her to the tunnels to heal. Three years since her life had truly begun.

Reaching into the opening of her dress, she pulled out the leather pouch that never left her and opened it, pouring its contents into her hand. She looked down at the crystal and the rose and touched them lightly to her lips before putting them back into their pouch with a wistful sigh. The time hadn't come for them to come back to the light yet. Tonight there would be no anniversary celebration... Suddenly she felt her stomach begin to tighten and took several deep breaths, until it eased down. Or maybe... No, don't get carried away, Cathy. Patience! She'd had quite a lot of those random contractions lately, and Mary had told her she shouldn't pay any attention to them unless they became particularly strong, painful or regular; but Vincent made a big fuss about them, always noting the time, ready to call Father every time she had two in the same hour.

Vincent... sweet, dear, adorable... and downright exasperating sometimes! She had done her best not to show it, but it had hurt when he'd backed away after Winterfest. They had been.... so close!

She sighed. Maybe it hadn't been a good idea to take him Above..., yet they'd had such a good time with Sam and Karen! Never had she seen Vincent so light-hearted and relaxed, and her lips curved up in an impish smile as she recalled memories of that night: Vincent, head thrown back, all teeth out, literally roaring with laughter at Sam's bawdy jokes. Sipping with delight at his very first piña colada.. Chuckling at the misfortunes of Wile E. Coyote, one twin on each knee... It had made her think that it wouldn't be so hard to offer him more of that world Above he considered as inaccessible to him. She could find a house with a tunnel entrance, and they could live there together at least part time with their son. Catherine smiled wryly. How fast she'd gotten carried away, only to be brought back to Earth by Vincent's thoughtful silence on the way back. At the moment she'd cursed herself for reminding him that they came from separate worlds, but she had soon realized that it was not the only reason for his backing away. With Vincent things never were that simple!

The truth was that they had come too close, too fast. He had not felt quite ready for such a step, and he probably wasn't ready either for the revelations she would have had to make before letting him go any further. So she had resigned herself, accepted that they would have to go on that way until the birth. She should have known, Narcissa's words had made that clear.

Yet she had felt so darn frustrated at the time, inflamed by his lightest touch, desperately yearning for him as she lay awake on her bed, aroused and miserable after still one more of those chaste goodnight hugs. A good thing Vincent could no more feel what she felt. The poor man would have had no choice but to come running to her or dive right into the falls!

Catherine suspected that he'd had enough trouble dealing with his own frustration, and she had to admit that her reaction to that had been "Serves him right!" Not very kind of her really, as Vincent had truly done his best to make up for the disappointment he'd caused her.

Through all those weeks he had been her perfect knight in shining armor, her caring friend, her tireless nurse. Always there to keep her company, hold her in his arms, read to her, fetch her anything she could want, massage her or tie her shoes. Ever so sweet, gentle and loving.

But he hadn't kissed her again.

Catherine suddenly caught her reflection in the mirror and snorted derisively. Well, that was understandable. Who would want to kiss a whale? And a bad-tempered one too! She was aware that lately she'd been particularly irritable and would often lash out without reason, most of the time at Vincent. The poor dear had borne it with endless patience. Mary had probably told him, as she'd told Catherine, that it was just the hormones talking.

All right, maybe the hormones explained part of it, but she was getting impatient. Impatient for the child to come, for Vincent to learn the truth, for everything to be all right at last. She just could stand the waiting no more! And it didn't help that today was April 12^th, and that she was feeling so heavy, clumsy, helpless... and downright ugly! She glanced at her deformed, swollen body in the mirror and averted her eyes in disgust. How could Vincent stand to look at her without repulsion? Would he ever be able to see her as desirable again?

"Catherine."

It was as if he had materialized out of her thoughts, standing at the entrance of her chamber, looking at her intently. Still lost in her self-pity trip, Catherine resented his gaze and was about to react somewhat sourly when his next words stopped her, shattering her brooding thoughts.

"Catherine! You... you are so beautiful!"

She forgot that she couldn't run anymore and ran to him. She forgot that she couldn't jump anymore and threw herself against his chest with such energy that she nearly knocked him off his feet. She forgot the obstacle of her stomach to hug him tight, burying her face in the softness of his throat. She forgot everything. "Oh, Vincent, I love you!" she cried.

Instantly she realized what she had said and raised her head to watch his face, anxious for his reaction.

He surprised her with a chuckle, closing his arms around her. And then he surprised her even more. Smiling, he bent his head and kissed her. A gentle, short, yet sensually intimate kiss, the kind of good-morning kiss they might have exchanged if they had been lovers for three months.

When their lips parted she looked sharply up at him but before she had time to ask anything he laid a light finger on her lips. "Catherine, we must talk, but we won't have any privacy here or in my chamber. Do you think you can walk to the Falls?"

Catherine, at a loss for words, nodded her agreement. She had no idea of what was happening there but Vincent seemed to know and that was all that mattered. To the Falls, OK, good, OK, fine!

They walked in silence for a while, unwilling to exchange small talk just to fill in the waiting. Catherine leaned heavily on Vincent's arm, carefully picking her way, glad that she'd awakened in such good shape today. Yesterday she wouldn't have been up to it. Even so it was strenuous, and she finally had to stop as a tense heaviness grew in her stomach and gradually developed into a full-fledged contraction.

"Catherine! I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked you to walk so far. Let me take you back!"

She waved his protest away with a smile. "Only a contraction, and it's gone, now. Let's go on, we're almost there!"

"But what if...?"

"If the walk has really started something, we'll soon know, and you can take me back in no time. But for the moment it's only one contraction, Vincent!" she said firmly. Or not, she thought, suddenly remembering the one she'd had shortly before he entered her chamber. Oh, well...

A few minutes later they were sitting on their favorite rock, Vincent's cloak cushioning her from the damp cold stone. Catherine gave him an encouraging smile. "Well, Vincent, you said we had to talk. I'm all ears!"

He lowered his gaze, raised it again and straightened his shoulders.

"Catherine, when you arrived in this world six months ago, you requested that no questions be asked, and I, like everyone here, respected your privacy. Even as we got… closer, I never felt I had the right to ask you anything."

Catherine's heart missed a beat. Had the moment come? As she had told Father months ago, she would never lie to Vincent. It was time for him to know the truth and deep inside she felt sure that he was strong enough to stand it. With a warm smile she took his hands in hers and looked deep into his blue gaze.

"I'm grateful for your discretion, Vincent. But, as you said, we are much… closer now, so please feel free to ask me any question you like."

It came as a mild shock to her that Vincent's question wasn't about the past... and that it was hardly a question at all.

"Catherine, what do you… intend to do after your child is born? Will you remain Below or… go back Above?" He paused for a second, took a deep breath and went on with force. "I don't want you to go back!"

His soul was in his gaze, his whole life in her hands, and Catherine's heart melted. Slowly, but with determination, she leaned toward Vincent, never leaving his eyes. When their faces were only an inch away she breathed her answer into his slightly open mouth.

"I don't want to go back," she said softly, feeling a pang of pain as she uttered the words. They had already had the same exchange months ago, after her father's death. And she had gone back. Not this time! " I don't ever want to go back!" she reaffirmed. "I want to stay here, with you!"

Overwhelming joy overcame Vincent, washing away all his last lingering doubts. Catherine would stay, she wanted to stay! His arms rose to enclose her in a possessive embrace and he took her yielding mouth in an elated, hungry kiss

Finally they reluctantly broke apart to stare at each other in wonder, hardly able to believe that it had finally happened, that months of hopes and dreams were at last coming to fruition.

"I love you, Catherine!"

A powerful wave of pure joy swept through Catherine, so strong it brought tears to her eyes and constricted her throat. For so long she had hoped for those very words, and when Vincent had finally said them, she knew it was only because he thought he was going to die. The poignant joy she had momentarily felt at hearing them had been tainted with fear, and soon drowned in anguish as darkness almost claimed Vincent's life.

The very memory of his love for her had been lost to him but the truth of it had remained buried deep inside him, slowly working its way back to the light, growing in his heart as their child grew inside her body. It had taken nine months, the time of a pregnancy, for those words to surge again, this time speaking not of despair, but of hope, not of death, but of life. Of a life together.

"I love you, too!" she managed, almost too choked with happiness to speak. That got her another kiss hat left her panting with a totally unexpected flare of desire, and she had to remind herself sternly that she was nine months pregnant and wasn't supposed to feel that way. Vincent's rasping breath and darkened eyes told her that he was fighting his own arousal with the same argument. Striving to calm themselves, they smiled a little sheepishly at each other and finally chuckled together, acknowledging their right to want each other, even if the timing was not appropriate.

Later. They had all the time in the world now. A whole lifetime.

That thought sobered Vincent. All wasn't settled, yet. Taking Catherine's hands, he looked deep into her eyes. "Catherine, your willingness to stay in my world fills me with more happiness than I can say. Yet I will dare ask for more." He moved one of his hands to her stomach. "You have allowed me to share your pregnancy with you, and I have come to love your child as if it was mine. Will you let me raise it with you as mine? Will you let me claim both of you as mine? Catherine, will you stay Below... as my wife?"

He held her as she cried her heart out on his chest, soaking his vest with hot tears as her deep, poignant joy pierced his soul, giving him all the answers he needed.

Finally she lifted a beaming, tear-streaked face to him, her eyes bright and shining.

"Oh, Vincent! There are so many things I must tell you that I don't know where to start!"

"You don't have to tell me anything, Catherine, unless you want to." Vincent softly said.

"Oh I do want to!" she protested. "I've waited for so long for...." Her eyes suddenly widened and she gasped, a hand on her stomach.

"Catherine?" A deep unease, bordering on panic, filled Vincent, but he realized it wasn't his. It came from Catherine, or rather, from inside Catherine, from the usually tiny, unfocused thread of feelings of her unborn child. Vincent instinctively put his hands on Catherine's stomach, surprised to find it as hard as wood, and sent a soothing current toward the wordless wave of fear. Don't be afraid, little one! Catherine was breathing deeply as Mary had taught her, and finally the contraction eased away, relieving the three of them.

"Ouch! That was a strong one! I never felt that before!" Catherine said, rubbing her stomach.

"The last one was a quarter of an hour ago." Vincent said quietly.

"And I had one about twenty minutes before that. We should head back. I'm sorry, Vincent, but I'm afraid all the things I wanted to tell you will have to wait for a while."

He rose to help her to her feet, a look of concern on his face. "Of course Catherine. We will talk later. For the moment, you must think only of your child!"

Catherine felt a strong urge to tell him there and then that the child was his, but the new heaviness she felt in her stomach as she stood up made her sure her labor had started for good. The moment was not right for shocked reactions and long explanations, and she must concentrate on the task ahead. Yet she wanted Vincent to share it with her, not only as the man who loved her, but as the baby's father.

She looked up at him. "It's our child, Vincent."

He looked bewildered for a second, then nodded. "Yes, our child."

Catherine smiled her approval. Even though she knew Vincent only saw it as meaning he'd claimed the child as his, it would do. For now.