Chapter 40

Josiah got home very late and found Rossalyn already sound asleep alone in their bed. She had stolen his pillow and was curled around it in the middle of the bed. He laughed a little to himself as he went into their bathroom and got ready for bed. He came out and climbed into the bed behind her on her side of the bed so that he could have a pillow without waking her up.

He woke up in the morning later than normal. He noticed the bed was empty next to him and heard birds more loud than normal and seen that the balcony doors were open. He smiled with the knowledge that he could go out there and find her there probably with a cup of coffee in her hands. It was one of their regular habits ever since they started sharing the room together a few days before their wedding. That carried over to their ship and carried on when they got home. He liked that he found someone that enjoys the simple things that he did as well.

Twenty minutes later, he came out to the balcony freshly showered and dressed in his usual suit. He found her dressed in a similar pant suit, though a much more delicate version. He noticed the carrafe on a tray with an empty coffee cup waiting for him. He poured his coffee then took a seat next to her.

"Good morning." He said, his voice a little husky still but in a pleasant way.

"Good morning to you too. How'd you sleep?" She asked casually.

"I slept good. Thank you for letting me sleep, and the coffee." Josiah said then reached over and took her hand in his.

"You're welcome. I was going to wake you soon though. I have a present for you." She told him as she took her hand back and pulled a little bag stuffed with paper and handed it to him.

"What is this?" He asked curiously as he gently squeezed the bag trying to determine the contents without opening the package. There wasn't anything inside that had any definite shape he could feel.

"Just open it and find out." She said giving him a grin as she watched him.

Josiah glanced at her then turned his attention to the bag in his hands and pulled the paper out. He reached in and pulled out a piece of cloth that was folded into a neat square. He unfolded it to reveal a baby onesy that said 'I love Daddy'. His head whipped to look at her and showed her the onesy. "Are you saying what I think you are?" He asked, his voice choked up.

"Yes." She said and within a second he was up and pulling her up and into his arms and hugging her hard.

"I can't believe this!" He exclaimed, pure joy in his words. "I thought you said because you'd been on birth control for so long it would be a long time before this could happen."

"Well apparently, not that long." She said after pulling back to reclaim a little space and shrugged. "It varies, obviously."

"Obviously!" He laughed then hugged her again. "We've got to tell everyone!" Josiah said starting to pull his phone from his pocket.

"Woah mister." She said taking his phone from his hand to stop the text he was typing, and only that level of distraction would have made it possible to take it from him. "I don't want to go spreading it all around the town yet. Jessica, Chelsea and Sarah know because they were here for the test. But I want to wait on the big announcement for a while."

"Are you ashamed of being pregnant?" Josiah asked with a clearly offended tone.

"No, I'm not offended at carrying your child. But with the uncertainty surrounding George and everything else, I just want to wait for a little while. Plus, it is still very early in the pregnancy. I could miscarry. I just want to wait a few weeks to get through the period that would make that pain public." She told him gently, taking her hand and cupping his cheek gently.

"Oh! I didn't even think about that." Josiah admitted sheepishly as he looked down at her with an apologetic smile.

"We can have a small get together and tell the people closest to us, though they'd be told they have to keep it quiet until we say otherwise. But I still want to keep that as quiet as possible." Rossalyn offered the olive branch as a means of compromise. "Unless you want to announce the it and seal the deal with George."

"I honestly don't see any way around the deal. With that in mind, if we wait to announce and he finds out that we kept it from him it could cause the problem we're trying to avoid. Plus, he would want you protected at all costs just as I do. George isn't my only enemy." Josiah pointed out.

"That is true. Maybe if we spend time with George it'll all feel less like my child is being stolen before it is even born." Rossalyn said with a sigh. "But I don't want some big announcement party. That can wait for the gender reveal."

"You want a gender reveal party?" Josiah asked in shock, more in the view that he wants to get the information as soon as possible.

"Not in the traditional sense, no. I want to know the gender then we have a party telling our friends and family what the baby we are having will be. So we reveal the gender to them." She clarified.

"Oh, okay. I can get behind that." Josiah said in some relief. "Alright, I'm going to send word to George inviting him over here tonight." He told her and watched her lips tighten in displeasure, but she didn't challenge him.

"I'll let the staff know to expect guests. Please have George give a head count so we make sure to prepare enough." She said as she sat back down and picked her coffee cup up.

She brooded about the fact that in her normal life, she'd be in complete control on whether or not and when to inform people about her pregnancy. But she knew that with the life she agreed, there were so many things that were taken from her control. Josiah would want to inform the world about his heir as soon as possible. It was a power move, proof that his line had been secured. She'd never considered a world where that would be her job, to secure someone's lineage.

A few minutes later, Josiah's phone rang and he stepped to the other side of the balcony to take the phone call. She watched him as he spoke to the caller, gesturing with his hands as he spoke excitedly into the phone. She was glad that she had proven right about his reception to a child into their life. It made it easier for her to be happy about the addition. She placed her hand over her abdomen and gently rubbed as if in hello to the baby in her stomach. "Welcome to the world little peanut." She said quietly, though she knew it would be a while before there was a chance the baby would be able to hear.