The Waiting Game
By Misha
Disclaimer- Not mine. I’m just borrowing them for a little while and will return them unharmed.
Author’s Notes- I’m going with the medieval setting of The Crown and The Flame and deciding that a) men wouldn’t be allowed in the delivery room and b) that childbirth would be far riskier than it is today. I think Diavolos would feel particularly helpless in that situation since he’s used to taking charge and because he loves Kenna so much and this is my take on the situation.
Pairing- Kenna/Diavolos
Rating- PG
Summary- Diavolos waits anxiously while Kenna gives birth to their first child.
Words- 701
Diavolos considered himself a man of action. If he couldn’t solve a problem with his sword, then he found another way. What he didn’t do, was sit around and let others do it for him.
That trait had served him well over the years. Had helped make him a fearsome general and was helping him become a respected king. However, it didn’t help with his current predicament, in fact it served to make it more difficult.
He did not appreciate being banished to a hallway to do nothing but wait while his wife was in pain, when her very life was on the line. He knew that women frequently died in childbirth and that while Kenna had access to superior medical care than most, that didn’t mean there wasn’t a risk.
“I should be in there,” he muttered, glaring at the door. He had wanted to be, but he had been repeatedly told that it was no place for a man, so instead, he was left to wait.
“I can set something on fire and create a distraction if you like?” Dom, who had chosen to wait with him, offered with a grin, “of course Annelyse will just throw you out and yell at us both.” Diavolos glared at the blonde man, trying to let him know he didn’t appreciate the jokes. Apparently, he conveyed his message well because Dom sobered. “She’s in good hands. She has Madeline, Annelyse and the midwife. Everything will be ok.”
Diavolos nodded, not particularly reassured by the words, but knowing his wife’s best friend meant well. Dom tried to engage him in conversation, but Diavolos tuned him out and eventually, he wandered away.
A short time later, Raydan appeared. The spymaster was completely silent, just nodding at Diavolos in acknowledgment before leaning against a wall. The silence was preferable to Dom’s well-meaning jokes and some time passed in companionable silence. Diavolos lost in his thoughts, Raydan watching him carefully and shaking his head whenever Diavolos approached the door.
All Diavolos could think about was Kenna. He knew that this was a good thing and that it was something they both desperately wanted, but while he had thought about having children with Kenna, raising a family with her, he had never given much thought to this part of it. About the endless waiting or knowing that Kenna was in pain and that there was nothing he could do. Not to mention the risk… He couldn’t even bear to think about the risk.
More time passed, Dom wandered back, though Raydan remained standing by the wall. Dom attempted to crack jokes, but a pointed look from Raydan appeared to stop him. After a time, Val joined them.
“I feel like we should be drinking,” the Master of Arms commented, “who agrees with me?”
No one answered.
“How long have you been pacing, anyway?” She asked Diavolos, undeterred by the silence.
Diavolos merely shrugged. Hours, days? He didn’t know. He just knew it felt like an eternity.
Just as he reached the point where he didn’t think he could take it anymore, the door opened and Annelyse emerged. She looked tired, but there was a smile on her beautiful face. “King Diavolos, would you like to come meet your son?”
His son. He had a son.
He didn’t need any further invitation, he rushed into the room. He felt the tension that he had been carrying leave him at the sight of Kenna, propped up by pillows, a small bundle resting in her arms. “We have a son,” she told him, looking tired but happy, her eyes shining.
“I heard,” Diavolos said, crossing the room to be at her side. “He’s perfect, just like his mother.”
He leaned down and kissed Kenna’s forehead tenderly, then he took the baby from her arms, marveling over how small he was. Diavolos gazed down at his son, surprised by how much he loved him already. Until he had met Kenna, he hadn’t been sure that he was capable of love. She had changed that and now this little person completed the change.
Thanks to them, he knew what love looked like and he knew he would never take that for granted.
- End
