A Court of Love and Family

Prologue

"Feyre..." She said, a hesitant smile grew on her lips.

"What?" She got up from the floor looking over to the blond female.

"Rhys doesn't know? Does he?" Mor just said back. Feyre blinked.

"Know what?"

"You are pregnant..." Mor said. Feyre's world stopped moving for a moment. "He doesn't know... For you didn't know..."

"Cauldron..." Feyre said back, Rhys was too far away for her to tell him, to inform him of her condition... "We need a plan..."

"He is gone for three months... I can do all the public stuff, Nesta, Gwyn and Emerie are here, they can help with Nyx... And... And you need to stay here, to be safe..."

"Yes..." Feyre looked over to the window. "We will keep this close, don't tell anyone, call Amren here. And if anyone asks, tell them I am feeling down due to Rhys being gone. Blame the mating bond, my human side, whatever..." She looked at Nyx, swallowing tears. He was going to be a big brother... Way earlier than anyone could believe. Only five years after a first Fae pregnancy... The normal was like ten or fifteen.

"I will... Congratulations."

"Thanks..." Feyre got back down to Nyx. Not sure how to tell him about this.

In the mornings she made a little ritual for herself. Standing in profile in front of the full length mirror, collecting memories for Rhys to see when he returned. Not that her belly would grow so much in the time he was supposed to be gone. Just a few weeks later the first symptoms were clear, feeling nausea over food, puking in the morning. And on some days... She was just horny. Those days she stayed by herself in their room, breathing in her mates scent from the pillows and touching herself.

One month became two, and then three... And Rhys did not return. Nyx got angry, crying how he wanted his dad home in time for the snowball fight. Feyre kept her cool, trying not to cry over her missing mate while she tried to comfort her son as he cried over his missing father.

"Something has happened, I don't know when he can come home..." She tried. "Nyx... I miss him too... But you and I can have a snowball fight if he doesn't come back in time..." It was still six weeks until the Winter solstice. Rhys had time to get back in time.

"You, me and Sibling?" Nyx asked back. Sibling... At first it had been brother, like he had heard his father call Azriel and Cassian. But that had faded after he had started to wonder why his mother called her sisters sisters. It had taken Feyre a whole afternoon to explain to the four year old that she didn't know if the baby was a boy or a girl. Which ended up with him calling it Sibling.

"Not yet, he or she is still in here until the summer. And I hope he is home before he or she is here." she rested a hand on her lower stomach, it had started to grow a bit, nothing that obvious yet, but it was there.

"I hope so too... You don't play with me as much anymore..." It was true, Feyre was tired all day long now. Often she was forced to nap in the afternoons to keep herself standing. With Nyx it had been easier, but then again, that time she had Rhys by her side, and not a four year old that wanted to test her patience everyday.

Rhys, I need you home... We all need you home...

The first snow started to fall, only two weeks before Solstice. Nyx got distracted by the snow, leaving Feyre alone a bit more. Giving her time to cry over her missing mate, her hand resting over her belly and the movements that had started to become clearer for each day. She wanted Rhys to be with her on this journey, she wanted him to know. Even if there was a small sting of joy over the fact that when he came back home, he would find her like this. And fear that she would be stuck with a toddler and a newborn before he returned.