Chương 111: 110: Wait, What?

Ginny couldn't help herself and blurted out, "Emily, you're pregnant, aren't you? You are, mind! An' don't you go tryin' t'tell me you're not, see." I barely avoided dropping my glass of whiskey. I looked at Emily and said, "Wait, what?" Emily's face went red, and she looked at me.

"I was going to tell you once I was sure it was going to stick. You never know with these things early on." I was in shock, and stupidly said, "Wait, how?" Ginny, ever the helpful woman, said, "I know you're from another world, but certainly it happens the same way there?" Despite everyone at the grill being a little shocked at the news, they were all tipsy enough to find that uproariously hilarious. There were laughs all around from everyone but me and Emily.

Rupert, irreverent even when he was sober, and even more bold while drunk, said, "I for one am shocked, I was led to believe you were simply having tea every evening!" I couldn't help myself. I began laughing so hard that by the time I was done, I had tears streaming down my face. That laugh broke me out of my stupor, and I gave Emily a tentative smile. I wasn't sure how she would feel about this.

I knew there were things that could prevent pregnancy in this world, but we hadn't been taking any precautions because I thought I couldn't produce children. The whole, my boys aren't swimmers thing. I was scared, nervous, and excited at the thought of being a dad, but I wasn't sure how Emily felt about it. Then I thought about Colin. Oh no! I hoped he wouldn't think he would be replaced! This was definitely not the best time to find out about this news.

I would have preferred to hear this while it was just the two of us, and I was completely sober. I wasn't at risk of backsliding into the behavior I'd partaken in after my divorce, but I had been indulging an awful lot since I had a group of people I could call friends. Even the Farmhands had been drinking a lot lately. Everyone was high enough level that hangovers were no more than a minor convenience. Damnit! I needed to focus.

I grabbed both of Emily's hands with both of mine and said, "I'm sorry, how do you feel? Are you okay with this?" Emily let out a nervous laugh.

"Why are you sorry?"

"Well," I said awkwardly.

"We weren't taking any precautions because I thought I couldn't produce any children." Emily nodded, then asked, "Now that we have, how do you feel about it?" I laughed.

"Let's worry about you first! You're the one who has to carry this child!"

"Ah yes," she said.

"I do think I am done with the morning sickness. It has been much less bothersome this time around than it was with Colin."

"Damnit," I said.

"Are you happy to be pregnant or not?" Emily looked around. That's when I once again realized we had a big crowd. Luckily, it wasn't the entire homestead, just the older people. But it was still not ideal. I said, "Would you like to go back to the manor?"

"No, why don't we wait to talk about this until after the barbecue?" Emily asked. I took a deep breath and said, "No, I want to know if this is a celebration, or something we need to talk more about." Emily intently looked me in the eyes.

"You would be happy about a child?"

"If you are then of course!" I said with exasperation.

"Why wouldn't I be?" I gave her a big hug and turned around to everyone else and said, "Time for a celebration drink! I'm gonna be a dad!" Then I realized what I'd said, and even though Colin was out with the squad right now, I quickly turned to Emily and said, "Wait, I'm already a dad, I'm going to be a dad again. This changes nothing for Colin, you know that right?" Emily smiled at me and said, "I was certain. We will need to speak with him about it tomorrow. He will find out about it with you lot.

For tonight, you keep drinking. For obvious reasons, I will limit the amount I consume." Brendan yelled out, "Celebration shots!" Ginny rushed forward and gave Emily a hug before the two of them began talking about pregnancy things. Holy hell! I thought. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. My emotions were a jumbled mess right now, but I was honestly excited about the news.

I was a little upset that Emily seemed worried I might not be as excited about it as she was. I'd certainly worried that I'd put her in a bad position where she had to carry a child during a time when we might be attacked, but we also had Lorcan around, so she was probably as safe as she could be. That night, Emily took Colin aside as soon as he and the squad showed up for food. I got thoroughly drunk by the time the night was over. Everyone wanted me to take celebration shots with them.

I made sure to give Colin a hug. I tried my best to assure him he was still the heir, no matter what happened. He seemed genuinely excited for a sibling as far as I could tell, but I was also really drunk. Damnit! This was the worst way to learn I was going to be a dad. I'd have preferred to have a sober conversation, but the one thing I knew was that I was excited. One day at a time was a terrible motto. Family and Community. That was a much better one. Or so my drunken mind told me. I might need to workshop it.

When I woke up the next morning, I was mortified. I couldn't believe how I'd behaved after finding out I was going to be a father… I looked down at Emily, who had her head lying on my bare chest. When she sensed me looking down, she looked at me and said, "Well, how do you feel now that you are sober?" I knew what she really meant, but I said, "You know I don't get hangovers anymore." She gave me a light slap on the chest.

"You know what I mean."

"I do," I said.

"First, I'm so sorry that's how everyone found out. And I probably should have stopped drinking." Emily smiled and said, "You were already drunk. Me telling you to stop would not have changed things last night. The rest of the men would have kept drinking. It is traditional to take shots with your friends and family when you find out you are to be a father."

"Well that's good," I said. I wasn't completely certain I was truly off the hook.

"Plus, it was Ginny who actually outed you. She certainly didn't stop drinking in solidarity." Emily snorted.

"No, she did not. You are truly okay with having a child?" I gave her a squeeze and said, "Of course I am. And I'm just a tiny bit hurt that you'd worry I wouldn't be." She pursed her lips and looked a little embarrassed.

"One simply never knows. We did not go into this with a plan to have children."

"No," I said.

"But we never even talked about it because I thought I couldn't have children. I guess the System must've fixed that problem. I didn't think it would because I didn't have an injury, the boys just didn't swim." She laughed again.

"I wish you would stop saying that. It is slightly unsettling." It was my turn to laugh.

"Well, I guess you won't have to hear that my boys can't swim ever again. They clearly swim now." Emily shook her head.

"Yes, well. I told Colin we would talk about it this morning over breakfast." I took a deep breath.

"I hope he handles it alright. I don't want him to worry." Emily shrugged.

"I think he will be fine. He seems determined to take his own path. You signed the adoption papers. It would be almost impossible for you to back out of that no matter how many children we may have."

"Wow," I said.

"That's a question we'll have to think about now, huh."

"It would appear so," Emily said.

"My child bearing years could last another twenty years, at least. Honestly, even Cara should be careful. She's in her sixties."

"Wait, what?" I said.

"Why does she need to be careful?" Emily looked up at me with an inquisitive look on her face.

"You truly do not know? Do you men not talk about these things?" I was confused.

"If men normally do here, we haven't."

"Well then," Emily said.

"She has been seen coming out of Bryce's cabin on more than one occasion."

"I had no idea," I said, genuinely shocked. Emily chuckled at my cluelessness.

"Yes, well. They are both mature adults, so it is their own business." I was confused, though.

"It seems like with the way marriages work in this world, even they should be courting or just getting married." Emily nodded.

"Technically they should. If they were on the Isles someone would have forced them to marry. Out here there is less pressure."

"Gotcha." I said.

"Well, I'm not a stickler for the rules so what they do is their own business." Emily patted me on the chest.

"That's good. And you do not have to feel bad about last night. Truly." I shook my head.

"Well, I do feel bad. I'll limit my drinking from here on out. I was doing a lot of drinking again. Don't need to backslide, even if it's happy drinking instead of sad drinking."

"I have to ask," I said, a little hesitantly.

"What is a father traditionally expected to do on Talamh?" Emily gave a derisive snort.

"Not much of anything until they are weaned, usually not until much later." I chuckled.

"Well, I want to be a lot more involved than that. On Earth, it's definitely split. Some dads are about as bad as on this world, but a lot are way more involved. I'll help change diapers and all that stuff." Emily looked up at me skeptically.

"Truly? That is not something that any father would be expected to do. Frankly, I would have zero expectation of that even if you said you did want to be involved." Suddenly, I had a thought.

"Wait, we're basically going to be landed gentry after this year. Should we be getting you a wet nurse or a nanny?" That brought forth full on laughter from Emily. In an imperious and mocking tone, she said, "Are you worried that a child will ruin my firm, high breasts." Her words caused both of us to laugh. Then I had to ask.

"Is wet nurse a class?"

"Actually," Emily said.

"It is a temporary support class that pregnant women can take."

"Of course it is," I said, shaking my head.

"If it benefits the nobles somehow, then of course it's a class."

"Should we get a nanny though?" I asked. Emily shrugged.

"We certainly could, although I don't see why we would need one. We can look into it once we decide how many more people we will need to add on next year." I sighed, "Sounds good. Well, should we get up and get the day started?" Emily gave me a mischievous smile, "Not quite yet."