No Problem Can't Be Solved [Finished]

[carcinoGeneticist]

Truth be told, Raina wasn't surprised that Vessatha hadn't shared whatever news Donnie had with her. The two had never exactly seen eye-to-eye, and Raina didn't see much of a need to try and improve a relationship that was exactly where it needed to be - the pair were co-workers of a sort, and they worked well together. That didn't mean she felt the need to sit down to have tea with the woman, and she was certain the Ferret felt similarly. Slowly, the girl took another sip of tea, then nodded.

There was something odd about her Queen, she noted, giving the woman a long glance over the rim of her teacup. Her expressions had flickered through a strange procession of emotions, and what they'd settled in made the Solandrian feel slightly tense. She couldn't think of anything that Donnie would need to tell her that would warrant such an unnaturally calm demeanor. Slowly, carefully, the girl set her cup to the side as well, anticipating that whatever she was about to be told was going to warrant her full attention. Her mind was racing. Could this be about her family? Did they object to her promotion to King? She couldn't imagine that would be the case, but...

The news that actually came made Raina freeze. For a moment, her brain didn't fully register what had been said - she knew that it was a risk that came with sexual activity, but they'd been careful, and she'd never thought that... For a moment, the girl's cheeks flushed dark, and then she raised a hand that trembled despite her best efforts to keep it steady. She... was going to be a father? "I... but I don't even..." She swallowed hard, and then took a deep breath. She didn't even had a bipedal form, and she was going to be a father. "Please don't misunderstand. I'm not unhappy. Just... surprised. What... what do you think?"

Could she be a parent, when she was so new at even taking care of herself?

[The Jenn]

This wasn't easy news to give or to take for two people who weren't really looking for more of a relationship than they already had. Donnie couldn't stop herself from tensing at Raina's expression, wishing she didn't have to burden the girl with this so soon after her recovery and receipt of a title, not to mention so very young. Barely out of childhood herself.

"I think this isn't going to be easy to wrap your head around, and I think it isn't very fair to you. But I'll say upfront that I'm not one to abort a pregnancy. I actually do want children, and I have for a while. I'd just wanted to wait a little longer to have them. Until things were more stable... domestically." A lamely tactful way of saying that she'd planned to wait until she'd fallen in love again. Raina was many things, quite a few of them pleasant, but she wasn't the love of her Queen's life. She was, however, her lover and friend.

"I'm looking forward to being a mother. But if you don't want to be a father, I certainly wouldn't blame you. So long as you remain my King, I won't ask anything more of you than you've already given. Of course, if you want to play a more active role... I certainly won't protest. And there's still a good few months yet for you to consider."

[carcinoGeneticist]

That... Was an understatement, if ever Raina had heard one. Even with the words spinning around the inside of her head, she still didn't know quite what to make of them. Pregnancy, fatherhood, children... Her own childhood had been spent as one of several siblings, and after her birth, even more had followed. She'd helped her father, from time to time, trying to distract her youngest half-brothers from causing any more panic then they already had simply by being. It had been easy to tell that something was wrong with Falks and Vaska, even before they were able to speak.

But this was something different. Raina looked up at Donnie, her eyes as wide as those of a deer caught somewhere she wasn't supposed to be. The thought that she really wasn't behaving like a proper noble never once entered her mind - it already felt near to bursting with a weight that felt almost suffocating.

Most of the undertones of the Queen's words went unheard by Raina, who was too focused on the core of the issue to really notice anything else. She knew what she was to the other woman, and that was fine. Raina felt comfortable with the way their relationship was and had been, and would have seen no reason to be upset, had she been in the proper state of mind to really even register the older woman's words. She'd never known that Donnie had wanted children - but then, had she ever asked?

"It's alright. It's a risk that we took, and I did understand that when I first came to you." Did she? She must have. Her parents had always been very up-front about sex and its repercussions. Raina reached out to set down her teacup, then stretched her hands towards Donnie's. Her fingers were shaking, and she fumbled slightly, but her hands closed around the woman's all the same. In all of the young Solandrian's life, she had never found herself at such a complete loss for words - or actions. "I would - of course I'll be a father to them, I could never dream of - Donnie, I'm scared."

Bright purple eyes blinked once and then again, forcing back tears that were threatening to take over. Raina took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I know I'm being contradictory to myself. I do want to be involved, but I... I don't even have my bipedal form. I want to be a good father, and I just..." Her mouth set into a thin line, and she sucked in a deep breath. "...I'm just scared."

[The Jenn]

This wasn't a conversation between two nobles. It was a conversation between two women. Or a woman and a girl... which made the subject matter far more awkward. Donnie was intensely grateful that their roles weren't reversed and that Raina wasn't left with the pregnancy instead.

When her King took her hands, the woman breathed a quiet sigh of relief and tightened her own much warmer fingers around them. Between the wide eyes and the trembling hands... she wished she could more effectively comfort her lover. "Raina... c'mere..." She gave a slight tug and encouraged the girl to stand, maneuvering her until she could be pulled backwards into a lap and a tight embrace.

Donnie rested her head on top of Raina's and sighed, arranging her arms to wrap around and tuck against the tiny waist in front of her. "If I'm being perfectly honest with myself, then I'm scared, too. I want to be a parent, but my mother did such a good job... and on her own, too. I have a lot to live up to. I'll probably have a lot of questions for her. And I'm scared that I won't have enough time to give them, with the Court. I'm not naive enough to think that they'll have as close a connection with me as I did with my own mother. I won't be able to spend as much time with them as she did with me. I worry that this is the wrong sort of place to have children. But... you were born to the Court. An even more hectic Court. And you seem fond of all your parent figures. So I really couldn't have better help, if you're willing to give it."

She kissed the stubborn blue fringe and closed her eyes. "I am sorry to have to put you in this position, Raina."

((A little affectionate mandhandling is assumed - please forgive. <3))

[carcinoGeneticist]

With how hard Raina was trying to not just break down entirely - that wouldn't be appropriate for someone of her status, not at all - there was nothing she could have done to keep Donnie away. Not that she wanted to. The second she felt those furry arms around her waist, the girl moved forward gratefully, pushing her face in against Donnie's shoulder and lightly draping her arms around the Queen. A small shudder went through her as she sucked in a deep breath, her eyes scrunching up with the effort it took to keep back her tears - and then she was still and calm once more.

Yes, Donnie was a good friend, even if their relationship went at times well past a standard friendship. She knew what Raina needed in a situation like this, and she'd given it without hesitation. The girl's thin fingers wove themselves into the Wolverine's thick fur, clutching tight.

For a while, the girl was quiet, just listening to Donnie and doing her best to really take in the words. It was difficult, especially with the thoughts currently raging through her mind, but she did. And then, slowly, she nodded. "If... if my parents could manage to raise as many children as they did without any of us feeling emotionally stunted or otherwise damaged, I'm sure we'll manage well enough. We should wait a little while to tell my family, I think, but they'll be happy to offer help, I'm sure." Raina swallowed, fighting against the slight waver in her voice. "It's not your fault, Donnie, please don't.. don't be sorry."

As she felt the lips move away from her head, Raina craned her head back, giving the Queen a very small smile. Then, she leaned in and kissed the Wolverine's nose.

[The Jenn]

Donnie took Raina's small smile and affectionate gesture with a sigh of relief. She returned the kiss with a light bump of her nose and spent the next little while talking about family - her mother, her sister, her aunts and cousins and grandmother - things she might not have already told the King peppered with things that she probably had.

After the pregnancy had gone maybe another month or two, she would write to her mother. It would be... wonderful to have her there, when the time eventually came.

And they had to start thinking about names. That would be fun, honestly. She looked forward to that. What woman didn't have ideas about potential names for future daughters? She'd probably been thinking about things like that since she was a teenager. She'd had some head start, too... many years ago. When she and Sadie had been trying for children.

Not a thought she wanted to entertain right now. No. These were Raina's, and it would be much simpler to believe that and ignore the other possibility. No antennae on these children.

[carcinoGeneticist]

The gradual progression of Donnie's pregnancy was of great interest - and terror - to Raina. At first, she'd wondered if perhaps this was all for nothing, and that the news of pregnancy had been premature. That had been a strange thought. Part of her mind had wanted to hide in it, but the rest of her had almost felt... disappointed. Now that the Queen was more clearly showing, the girl felt the starts of something new. Excitement, perhaps. Excitement all wrapped up in fear, with a tiny nugget of joy somewhere in the middle of it all. Everything seemed to be going so well.

Donnie's desire for their children to have more traditional names was both annoying and hilarious. Raina picked up a selection of books, some of them focusing on Solandrian names, others not. It certainly provided for a few days of entertainment, a lighter side of parenthood that the girl had been surprised to enjoy as much as she did.

But even that came to an end. They'd managed to build a short-list, but nothing could be decided yet. Not yet - they needed to see the children first before they could name them properly.

Time passed. Raina found that she got busier as Donnie's belly grew, taking on more work to make up for the Queen's off days. It was on one of these days, near the tail end of the pregnancy, that something... changed. The girl wasn't entirely sure what to say or do. She stood outside of her Queen's door, then gave it a soft knock. The woman needed to hear about this.

((Hope this is ok. <3))

[The Jenn]

The last stage of pregnancy was very definitely the worst stage. Feeling little kicking legs was novel and kind of cute, but being periodically kicked while she was trying to sleep was decidedly less cute. Less novel. In fact, it was extremely damned annoying.

Sleeping in general was a lot less fun. Less restful. Less... consistent.

She tried very, very hard not to be cranky with the palace in general. Vessie would have been a good mood thermometer, except that the ferret was also pregnant. And then she had newborns. And hell, that wasn't easy for anyone. All of the other Kings and Queens were working hard to compensate for the workload, as well as the Jacks and some of the more experienced staff. If the Hearts could do it every other year, Spades most certainly could.

Her sleep had already been restless that night and she was staring at the ceiling in a tired daze when she heard a small knock. If that wasn't Raina... or breakfast... or, well, an angry and exhausted Vessie with newborns was mildly entertaining... hmm.

She wasn't geting up for them, though. Not quite yet. "Enter," she called out tiredly.

[carcinoGeneticist]

There was that tone of voice again. It was a tone that Raina'd begun to hear more and more often - Donnie was exhausted. The worst of it was that it wasn't the kind of exhausted that would be solved any time soon, and there was no more the King could do to attempt to help take some of the burden off her Queen's shoulders. She felt a slight churning in the pit of her stomach, the first inklings of dread mixing in with everything else she was feeling, but she pushed it aside for the time being. She had come and possibly woken the other woman up for a reason - a reason she was going to follow through with.

Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, she closed her eyes and relaxed, feeling her body shift. She still wasn't used to that - not in the slightest. Or in how tall she stood once it was finished. Raina opened the door, stepping into Donnie's room.

Shaking as she did, the girl clasped her hands - talons? - together in front of her, looking up at Donnie's resting form. She opened her beak to speak, but only a quiet little squeak emerged. Embarrassed, the girl ducked her head, staring at the floor and trying not to fidget. Hopefully, she wouldn't need to say anything. Her nerves were really getting the best of her in that moment.

[The Jenn]

The footsteps didn't sound entirely familiar. With a prickle of worry starting in her gut, Donnie twisted her torso up and around, facing whoever came into the room without properly announcing themselves.

"...oh."

She blinked. And stared. And slowly, a tired smile crept onto her face and settled there. "Well. Happy birthday, Raina. I'd almost forgotten."

Pausing again, she looked the young woman over. Very trim for her realm, most likely attributed to her skinny Highland father, who was a beanpole according to all accounts. Thick feathers, beautiful wings, an attractively creamy throat and chest... beautiful silver accents on her extremities. Her nose fit perfectly as a beak.

"I knew you'd be lovely, but this is something else again. Congratulations on finally having your wings. I'll envy you the flight." She settled back against the headboard around her stomach, her biped form making it easier - but not easy - to carry a pregnancy. Within a few days, she would probably have to assume her animal form more and more often.

She reached out a hand, invitation.