Fourth Vector Ch. 46

To his surprise, the Swabian officer then looked at Brian who by now had stopped running and was making his way back to Arnold. "Excellent job on your distraction too. That's some damned good teamwork you two displayed today. Great work."

Before the Swabian officer had even finished speaking, both Arnold and Brian were rushed by their comrades on their platoons. The red team gathered around the two men that won it all for them, and a great cheer went up all around.

By the time the game was over, there were only two of them left. At which point, Arnold asked Brian the faithful question.

"So why'd you do it?"

Brian turned to look at him. "Do what?"

"Sacrifice yourself so that I could grab the flag? Why'd you do it?"

Brian thought about it for a moment and then shrugged. "Seemed like the right thing to do, right? We won after all."

"Why didn't you tell me to be the bait? And you could grab the flag?"

Brian started to chuckle. "Do you really need me to answer that?

Arnold started to grin. "I guess not. In any event, thanks. That was a brilliant move you came up with."

Brian elbowed Arnold in the ribs playfully. "Yeah, I know."

Arnold's grin grew wider. "Arrogant Galicians."

The two men started to laugh and walked their way back to camp. In the process, the feelings of camaraderie that had started to develop earlier in the week only deepened.

*****

The next morning, Abigail had to restrain herself from bolting out of bed and running to the pharmacy for her results. She was anxious the entire day, and she'd barely slept that night because of her overactive mind. Thankfully, Jack had been so distracted by the war effort that he hadn't noticed, but she knew she couldn't keep up that charade for long.

She had to find out those results as soon as possible.

It was for that reason she shook Kat awake almost as soon as Jack left the building.

"Come on, get dressed," she urged. "We have to go see my results."

Kat's eyes briefly opened and closed. "Can't it wait another hour? The sun's barely up, Abigail."

She was met with a pillow to the face for the comment.

"Okay, okay, I'm up!" said Kat as she wiped the sleep out of her eyes. "Let me get dressed first at least."

By the time they left the house, Abigail was almost shaking with nerves. She kept fiddling with her hands as they walked and quite a few times she found that she almost ran into someone else or some stationary object.

"So sorry," she muttered to an old lady that she'd nearly ran over.

"Abigail, it's like you're drunk right now," said Kat with a giggle. "Didn't you sleep last night?"

"Did you sleep the night before your pregnancy results?" shot back Abigail.

Kat's head tilted from side to side. "Fair enough but we're almost there. We'll know for certain in just a few minutes."

Sure enough, they reached the door to the pharmacy and Abigail nearly ripped it off the hinges in her rush to get inside. The girl behind the counter looked up to see who was making so much noise and she smiled as soon as she saw Abigail.

"You're back for your results!" she said, making it sound more like a statement than a question.

Abigail nodded nervously. "Are they ready? I mean, do you know for certain? Am I... pregnant?"

The girl behind the counter laughed like it wasn't the first time she was faced with such a life-changing question. She reached behind the counter to pull something out, but to everyone's surprise, it wasn't the container with the frogs.

Instead, it was a small stuffed animal in the shape of a bear, with buttons for the eyes and a tiny smile.

"What's this?" asked Abigail, looking at the bear with confusion.

The girl beamed with a smile. "I try to give them to all my new moms that get a positive test. In your case, congratulations. You're pregnant!"

With those words, she pulled out a separate container that just held Abigail's frog. Inside was the mass of frog eggs that held the truth.

"I'm pregnant?" whispered Abigail in a state of near shock.

She felt Kat wrap her arms around her from the side. "Abigail! You're pregnant!"

Abigail couldn't help but stare at the frog eggs. She was at a loss for words but then the emotions completely overtook her.

She started to cry. Great, big tears of joy came streaming down her face at the knowledge that she had finally gotten what she'd wanted for so long.

A child with her husband. Jack's child.

"Here you go, dear," said the girl behind the counter as she handed Abigail a tissue. "Most new moms cry a little in the beginning. It's entirely natural."

Abigail thanked her and blew her nose. "I'm sorry. I've just wanted this for so long and now it's here. I still can't believe it."

"I bet you can't wait to tell your husband," said the girl. "I'm sure he'll be ecstatic about the news."

"I certainly hope so," said Abigail quietly as she remembered the conversation she had with Kat the previous day. Would Jack truly be happy about this? Would he curse the timing?

Or would he make her stay behind for her own safety?

All of those questions were on Abigail's mind as they walked home. In one hand, she held the stuffed bear that she'd been given while the other hand clutched her stomach. She didn't have much in the way of words, and Kat knew her long enough to know the likely topic on her mind.

"Don't worry about Jack," she said when they were about halfway home. "He's going to be thrilled about this. Trust me!"

"I'm almost scared to tell him," admitted Abigail. "I just worry that it's going to be another thing for her to stress about."

"Maybe you should tell him tonight," said Kat. "I'm going to spend some time with Lisa Calland tonight so it can just be the two of you. But you should definitely tell him. He's going to want to know, and you know as well as I do that you can't keep a secret bottled up inside."

Abigail let out a sigh. "I do suck at keeping secrets."

Kat touched her arm. "Just tell him. Everything will be all right."

"I certainly hope so."

*****

As it turned out, Abigail didn't get a chance to even see Jack until that evening, when Kat had already left. It was just about an hour after the sun had gone down when her husband finally made it home. Jack's face had a worn-out quality to it, like he'd spent the entire day just trying to keep his head above water.

That alone made her want to embrace him as soon as he walked into the door. The news she was carrying was the other reason she wanted that closeness with him.

"Tough day?" she asked, craning her head up to look at him.

Jack let out a small sigh. "One of many, it appears. Ready to eat and then go to bed."

Abigail opened her mouth to say something but she closed it just as quickly. She wanted to ask him if he had time to talk about her news, but Jack didn't appear to be in a talking mood.

Feeling self-conscious about the whole thing, she chose instead to remain silent about it.

Jack ate quietly once he was settled, and he seemed mostly zoned out in the process. Abigail thought about broaching the subject at the dinner table, but even then he seemed too checked out for any deeper conversation.

It wasn't until they were readying for bed that she felt the opportunity slipping through her fingers. She felt Jack kiss her lips just before he turned out the light, and she knew that there was no way she'd be able to sleep without telling him.

How do I keep him awake long enough to muster the courage?

The answer to that question seemed obvious. It wasn't much longer after Jack turned out the light that her hand crept across his body, settling on his cock.

Jack didn't move at first while she rubbed him on the outside of his underwear. When he didn't respond, she slipped her hand under the band and grabbed his cock directly and she started to stroke it to hardness.

Sure enough, that seemed to do the trick. She felt him stir and Jack brought his hand around her body, landing on her breast.

"Touch me, Jack," she whispered to him. "I want you."

In the darkness, she could hear him growl with passion. It was all the signal that she needed. Abigail began to stroke him more firmly until he was throbbing erect, at which point she ditched her sleeping shorts and moved to mount him.

She let out a satisfying sigh as she felt him slide all the way inside on the first stroke. Before she could begin to ride, she reached over to the bedside table and turned on the lamp, wanting to see her husband beneath her.

Jack's eyes were glued to hers as soon as the light flickered on.

Wanting him to look at her body, her fingers went to the hem of her little tank top and ripped it over her head, exposing her breasts.

Sure enough, Jack's attention went to them instantly. He cupped her breasts with both hands before using his fingers to gently pinch her nipples, making her gasp.

"Do you like my body, Jack?" she whispered as he palmed her tits.

Jack's head nodded right away. "I love it. I love everything about you."

Feeling confident by his words, Abigail grabbed one of his hands and slid it down her body. Her body shivered as Jack's big hand settled on her stomach, where their child was now growing inside.

"Will you still love me when I'm older? Or when I'm a big, pregnant mess?" she asked, biting her tongue with anxiety as soon as the words were out.

Jack could only smile back at her. "You know I will. That's why we got married, isn't it? So we could always be together?"

Abigail nodded. "But what happens when you see my pregnant stomach and you're not attracted to me anymore?"

Jack started to chuckle. Their passionate movements had ceased but Jack moved his hands to grasp hers.

"I'll always be attracted to you. There's never any doubt about that."

Abigail nodded slowly as she felt her confidence growing. "Are you sure about that?"

Jack's eyes locked on hers. "What's wrong tonight? Why are you so fixated on this?"

It was now or never. With all the strength she could muster, Abigail told him the truth.

"Because Jack, it's finally happened," she whispered. "I'm pregnant."

He didn't react at first. His eyes stayed locked on her, steady with blinking and little recognition. It was only once Abigail nodded the truth after the words were out that his eyes went wide.

"You're serious? You're really pregnant?"

Abigail smiled nervously. "Just got the results back this morning. The same test that Kat took when she was pregnant. We're having a baby, Jack."

She barely got the last words out before he leaned up and kissed her with as much passion as he could muster. Abigail giggled into his kiss before surrendering to it, wrapping her arms around his neck and holding him tight.

By the time the kiss ended, Jack leaned back and put both of his hands on her stomach. "This is the best news. I haven't had the best day but you've managed to completely turn it around."

She gave him a nervous look. "You're really happy? You can be honest with me, Jack. I know the timing on this is just awful. I know we're leaving Picardy soon to go east and I'm just really scared that--"

Jack hushed her. "It's okay. Don't worry about that. This was meant to happen now, and I really believe that. Sure, the timing isn't great, but we'll make this work, right? How long have we wanted to have a child together?"

Abigail smiled. "I first thought about it back in Sorella on our original voyage. Not long after we started sleeping together again. And it's taken us this long to get to this point but that's when the idea first popped into my mind."

"Sorella," said Jack as his grin widened. "We've been through a lot together, haven't we?"

"We certainly have, Jack."

"And I wouldn't change a thing, not now, not ever. This is going to be wonderful. You and I are going to be parents."

"I'm going to be a parent," she corrected with a giggle. "You're already a parent. We just have one of our own now."

"And for that, I couldn't be happier." Jack leaned up to kiss her.

"I love you, Jack."

"I love you too."

Abigail sighed happily. "I guess there's only one thing left to do."

"What's that?"

"Well, maybe two things," she said, as she started to ride him once more. Jack's cock had lost none of its hardness during the preceding minutes, and seeing his happiness at the news of their baby made Abigail hornier beyond belief.

"For one, we need to finish what we started here," she said as she dragged his hands up to her breasts once more.

"I like that," he breathed huskily. "What's the second?"

Abigail smiled at him. "We need to start thinking about names."

Jack nodded his agreement, and in the soft light of the evening, they made love with the promise of a growing family in the future.

It was a future a long time in the making.

*****

The next day, Jack was skating on a high that just couldn't be diminished. Becoming a father for the second time was a lot less nerve-wracking than the first, and although he didn't love the idea of going into battle with a pregnant wife, he was at least satisfied that Abigail was happy.

He knew how badly she'd wanted to be pregnant, and all these long months without any hope had taken a terrible toll on her.

The only thing he could wish for now was a successful pregnancy and a healthy baby at the end of it.

With those thoughts on his mind, he made his way to the mixed Swabian/Galician camp on the outskirts of Zarah to check in on Greg and Ambros. The sail date for the army was coming more quickly than anyone had imagined, and it was tonight that he had a meeting set up with Aedan and Reina to convince them to fight alongside the Swabians. He knew that those two would be the key to convincing the others, and he was hoping that Greg and Ambros had a mountain of results for him about their experiment this week.

If anyone could convince the world that the Galicians and the Swabians could work together, it would be the pair that started all of it. It was Greg and Ambros' cooperation in Dagobern just after the war ended that gave Jack hope for their long-term partnership, and if he could just extend that to the rest of the army, his hope was that he would have a fighting force that couldn't be beaten.

Predictably, he found Greg and Ambros in the front office of the Swabian headquarters, both seemingly waiting on his arrival.

"You look extra chipper today," noted Greg as Jack sat down. "Are you that excited to be meeting with Aedan in another hour?"

Jack chuckled to himself. He knew it wasn't that hard to read his emotions, and he looked forward to telling his brother-in-law that he was about to become an uncle again.

"I'll tell you in a little bit," promised Jack before he dived into business. "So talk to me. You both have been rather quiet about our little experiment this week. How did it work out? It seems like the rate of black eyes and fights have gone down greatly over the course of the past two days. Are both sides working together?"

Greg and Ambros shared a look together before both of them settled their gazes on Jack.

"Jack, it's been working beautifully in all honesty," said Ambros as a smile filled his face. "I'm still a little shocked about the whole thing, but yes, the mixed camps were a great start and they've been getting along."

"Define getting along," said Jack. "They eat together? They work together? Be more specific."

"From what we've seen, there's a new sense of camaraderie between the two groups that we haven't seen before," said Greg. "Frankly, it's a little exciting. You know that we paired up every soldier to his counterpart in the other army. It's been paying off dividends."

"By that, we're seeing them talk to one another during the nights when they have free time," continued Ambros. "They're eating together now whereas before each side ate separately. They're working together as a team when it comes to training. I even got a report that one Galician sacrificed himself so that his Swabian partner could win a war game we had going on. They're really incredible results, Jack. I think we have the result we're looking for."

"Sacrificed, you say?" asked Jack, unsure that he'd heard that correctly. "They've made that much progress this past week?"

"It's not for a lack of trying either, Jack," said Greg. "We've practically done all we can to chain these men together for that entire time period. We figured they'd either be friends or mortal enemies by the end of it."

"And luckily, they seem to be mostly friends," added Ambros. "And at one point, we did chain them together for an obstacle course. The average time of completion went down with the mixed pairs compared to before when they were just one-nationality units. It's rather impressive."

Jack could only shake his head in disbelief. "This is exactly what I've been waiting for. Now, we just need to show this to Aedan."

Before anyone else could respond, there were sounds of raised voices outside. By the sounds of it, several men were part of the commotion and it was only getting louder by the minute.

As all of their ears perked up at the noise, all discussion ended, and Jack was amongst the first to move toward the door to see what was going on outside.

There was a small group of men hovering around two other soldiers, one Galician and one Swabian by the looks of it. Three men were between them, officers by the cut of their uniforms, and it was clear that the Swabian had been knocked to the ground. Blood was rushing from his face from a gash that was right next to his eye.

Judging on a first glance, Jack thought he knew exactly what happened here.

And his heart sank because of it.

"What's going on here?" asked Jack as he made his way toward the center of the group of men. The officers parted ways once they saw who it was, and the Galician soldier that looked to be the one that made the blow started to look extremely guilty. The Swabian pulled himself up from the ground, all the while cradling his wounded face.

Jack turned to look at the Galician as his anger intensified. "What the hell were you doing? Did you strike this man?"

Surprisingly, the Galician shook his head firmly. "No, Sire, that's not what happened here."

Jack barely waited to hear his response before he wheeled around to look at the wounded Swabian. "Did he hit you? Tell me the truth."

The Swabian shook his head. "He didn't hit me, Your Majesty. The one that hit me was one of those two guys over there."

Jack looked over to see one of the officers escorting two soldiers back over to the group. Based on their uniforms, they looked to be Carinthian.

"Someone explain to me what happened now," said Jack. "I want the truth."

The Swabian soldier nodded to the Galician. "Go on, Brian, tell him what happened."

The soldier known as Brian looked at Jack. "Sire, it's like this. Arnold and I were walking to the mess hall after training. Those two Carinthians were doing laps around the camp and decided to haze him on the way there. They threw some mud at him from behind. I got in their faces about what they did and they pushed me to the ground for defending a Swabian. Well, that's when Arnold just reacted."

Jack looked at the man. "What do you mean he reacted?"

The soldier known as Arnold answered the question instead. "I rushed at the Carinthians for what they did. One of them swung and hit me in the eye but then took off when the officers heard the scuffle. I was still sitting there on the ground by the time they got to us."

Sure enough, the Carinthians were escorted back to them, and one definitely had taken a hit to the jaw by the look of things.

"Is what they're telling me true?" demanded Jack as he looked at the Carinthians. "Did you start this by hazing the Swabian?"

Neither of them were in a rush to answer and both avoided Jack's eyes, which told him all he needed to know.