Six weeks had passed and Nathalie's wound had healed without complications. She didn't care about the scar that was left behind, as it wasn't her first and if she would take the advice of her doctor, it wouldn't be her last. But she wasn't really willing to have a C-section if it wasn't necessary. She rather would have a natural birth and if she had the choice, she would prefer to do that at home, where she felt safe.
The doctor had told them at their last appointment, that he didn't think, Nathalie had regained the strength yet, to get through the pain and the birth.
But the pregnant woman disagreed. And luckily so did Gabriel.
"Believe me, doctor", he told him, "nobody has as much strength as this woman here", he laid an arm around her and kissed her cheek, while she was still lying on the stretcher to have her maybe final ultrasound.
"And you said, that an epidural will be as good as impossible, because of the scars on her back. So she would need to get anaesthesia which isn't good for her or the baby, right? She wants to have a natural birth despite knowing, that she will have to endure all the pain. Maybe you should try to encourage my wife a little instead of telling her she can't do that. Because I believe she can!"
The gynaecologist sighed.
"I am pretty sure, that she can get herself to do it somehow. But why, if there are other ways? You should really consider your decision. At least the one to have the child at home. Go to a hospital, where every emergency can be dealt with", he pleaded.
Gabriel raised his eyebrows.
"I thought you were joking, when you said, you would like to have the baby at home. Nathalie, in this I agree with the doctor, what if anything goes wrong?", he exclaimed.
"It won't, because I am willing to go to a hospital. But, I won't take a C-section without any medical indication into consideration. And I want you 'and' Marinette with me. At least until the actual birth. Maybe Adrien too, if he wants to", Nathalie explained.
She started to laugh when she noticed Gabriel's sad expression.
"Don't look at me like that. If that birth will be similar to the whole pregnancy, we're probably going to be there for quite a while. And even if we won't, I thought they might help to distract me from the pain a little bit", she reached for his hand and kissed the back of it. "Please don't be sad my darling. In the end I don't want anyone else but you at my side!"
Gabriel was touched by Nathalie's words and kissed her on the lips. A kiss that the woman quickly deepened, as this just felt so right at the moment. Though being rather surprised by that, her husband of course reciprocated that passion until the doctor cleared his throat and questioned:
"How about you let me do the ultrasound quickly and then I tell you everything that's important and after that you can go home?"
The couple giggled sheepishly but agreed.
"Sorry, doctor. But after everything that happened to us over the last months, we somehow get lost in those small occasions every time. But we don't mind. we've been missing out on so many things, I just say, we deserve this", the young woman tried to explain.
With a smirk the physician replied:
"Well, forgive me, if I point to the fact, that this probably won't be your last child then!"
Blushing the couple avoided his eyes, as he continued the examination by putting the ultrasound gel onto the pregnant woman's stomach.
"Let's see", he told while he took several measurements, "she is totally in the norm according to weight and size, her head is in the lower part of your abdomen and her feet are in the upper part. You probably have noticed that?"
"Oh yes, I have! She has the incredible talent to always hit the same spot with her kicks. It feels really sore at some days!", Natalie groaned.
The experienced gynaecologists just smiled and nodded compassionately to that. Then he stated:
"Well, everything looks just perfect right now. I would suggest that you try to relax as good as you can and let her grow a little more and then, well, then the little lady can come! You still need to make another appointment of course for next week. For the last two weeks, I want to see you every three days, if you haven't given birth until then. One last good thing, I can tell you, if you're starting to have any contractions now, there is no more need to be scared."
"That sounds brilliant doctor. Thank you for everything!", Nathalie held out her hand to him. So did Gabriel after her.
"I have to thank you even more", he admitted, "not only for being so fast, when Nathalie was shot, but also for those first weeks, when I was just too blind to see the truth."
After a lot of hand shaking, Mr. and Mrs Agreste left to drive back to the mansion.
Soon after they arrived, Gabriel got suddenly very quiet and told Nathalie, that there was something, he needed to do. Twenty minutes later he returned with a beaming smile.
"Why are you so happy, what did you do?", the woman asked curiously and with quite some effort she stood up from the armchair she had been sitting on to meet him on the way and give him a soft kiss on the lips.
"That my dear will be a surprise and I really hope that you're going to like it. You have been complaining quite a lot lately, because you are bored and don't like to be forced to be inside all the time, so I pulled some strings and booked us a weekend in a special place. What do you say to that?", Gabriel narrated secretively.
"Well, I don't know what to say. What kind of place?"
He shook his head.
"You won't tell me? Well, I love it anyway. Can you at least tell me the weekend?", she begged.
"That's the only problem, it's the one in two weeks, so we have to decide spontaneously if we can still go", he admitted quietly.
"Don't look so sad, I love that you did that, no matter if we can still go then!", she enthused. "There will still be three weeks left until the due date, then."
"I hope so, my dear, I hope so. But just in case, I booked yet another weekend, for after our little daughter's birth. And as I am pretty sure, that neither you nor I will trust our child to stay with a complete stranger, I booked a room for Adrien and Marinette too. This way, if they agree, we can have one night just for the two of us. And if we are able to go in two weeks, we will go on two small vacations instead of one. What do you think about that?", he had started to tenderly rub her back while he spoke and was now placing tiny kisses along her jawline and down her neck.
"Mh, you don't even have to start kissing to make me moan, Gabriel, the magic your hands work at my sore back are by far enough....yes.....oh....that's so......oh for fuck's sake....Gabriel, you can't imagine, how much I want you right now.....oh yes......don't stop please. Wait, what are you.....I am way too heavy to carry me around....will you just put me down?"
The by all the good news rather excited man had lifted her up bridal style and was now carrying her towards their bedroom.
"I will put you down...... As soon as we reach our bed....... Here we go, now you stay just where you are", he ordered and crawled on hands and knees to then hover very close above her. Entangling her in a very passionate kiss, he started to push up her shirt, his soft fingers tenderly brushing along her skin.
The woman underneath him couldn't hold back those small whimpers, that he loved so very much any longer. He smirked, as he parted their lips and pulled her shirt completely off of her.
"Gabriel, what are you trying to..."
"Shush, just come here."
And with that he helped her to get into a sitting position. After he had managed to get seated behind her, he started rubbing and massaging her back, placing a soft kiss here or there to then pull her taut against his chest and just hold her tight.
"Thank you, Gabe. For the first time in ages I am not feeling any pain, that's so wonderful. I just wished we could....you know....I really am in the mood for that, but sadly...."
"Yeah, there's just the wolf position in the last weeks of a pregnancy!", he chuckled.
"Wolf position?", she asked suspiciously.
"Yup, all I can do is lie in front of the cave and howl!"
As he bent his head to look into her eyes and wink at her, they both broke into a guffaw. When they calmed down Nathalie groaned:
"And now I need to go to the toilet again. That's it with the good feeling and the cuddles", she leaned backwards against Gabriel for a short moment to savor the closeness a little longer, then scooted towards the rim of the bed. "I really love that little girl, but right now is one of the moments, in which I just want her to be born, so i can feel like myself again!"
She turned her head and looked at him with tears in her eyes, hoping he wouldn't understand her wrong.
Gabriel followed her moves and closed the space between them again. His long legs making his feet stand right beside hers, framing them by doing so. He laid both hands onto her belly, his daughter, due to the lack of space, only able to press her butt against his palm, and put his head on Nathalie's shoulder, leaning his cheek against hers, to then suggest:
"Would you like to take a bath, my dear? No wait, what would you say, if we went swimming? Emilie did that once a week when she was suffering from a hurting back and she said it helped her. No, no, no, no, no! Don't cry my love. I'm sorry I compared two totally different situations. Please Nath...?"
But the pregnant woman shook her head vigorously,
"I don't mind, you talking about Emilie", she said between sobs.
"Why are you crying then, my beautiful, adorable woman?", he asked her softly.
"Because you are so kind and patient and put up with all those unimportant things that bother me, and then you offer to spent some of your really short cut spare time to go swimming with me and I...I...can't....."
"Oh, I know that you can't swim. Or let me put it that way. I assumed that this was possible, when you almost drowned in that hot tub. And well, your reaction just now made me very certain of it. And when I remember right, that was the only thing you weren't willing to accompany Adrien to. Back then I thought, you would maybe feel uncomfortable, because he was already twelve and you were scared he would stare at you, like boys that age usually do", he paused for a moment and kissed her cheek, then continued, "but after you told me about you childhood, I can tell, that you didn't learn to swim, because a 'good woman' doesn't need that and later, well..."
"For obvious reasons", she finished his sentence without any emotion.
Gabriel scoffed.
"Obvious reasons? You are not the one to blame for or be ashamed of those scars", he told her, his voice sounded angry.
"That's not it, I just didn't want to scare the children! But I really need to go to the bathroom now, excuse me please."
"Let me help you up, love", he uttered and supported her back while he interlinked his hands with hers from underneath, so she could use them like the armrests of a chair and push herself up. She visibly enjoyed the moment when her 'armrests' helped her balance the additional weight at her front.
"I could teach you, you know?", he called towards the slightly open bathroom door. "Or for now just hold you in the more shallow water where I can still stand, so you can relax a little bit."
Nathalie appeared in the doorway.
"Yeah, right. I can imagine the headlines. Was it pity, that made Gabriel Agreste marry the much younger woman?"
"Much younger you say?" he raised an eyebrow.
"Not my words, Honey. You know I don't care about that!"
"You didn't deny it either!"
"Well, you know, I don't lie. You 'are' almost ten years older than me. But that reminds me, that your birthday will be right on that weekend, you did get that reservation for. I will have to prepare something really special for that", she said in a seductive, husky voice.
"As tempting as that sounds, my love, I want this weekend to be all about you. So you can relax an gather some more strength and probably spend the last time alone together for quite some time", Gabriel tried to convince his wife. "What about the swimming? Would you like to go?"
"I really don't like people staring at me!"
"We'll go in the evening then. I am sure, that we can find some public pool owner, who will gladly give us an hour or two after the regular opening times, if we have good arguments", he winked.
"You want to bribe one of them", Nathalie scoffed suggestively.
"Not at all, my dear, I'm gonna pay one for providing a special service!", he said in pretend offense.
"What the hell,why not. Let's go swimming, Honey", Nathalie blurted out so suddenly that she startled him.
With a mischievous smirk the over his wife's sudden energetic behaviour amused man approached her and whispered:
"Would you do me a little favour too?"
"Don't you already know, that I would do anything for you, as long as I can?"
He hummed contently.
"Then my love, I would really love to see you in a certain bikini! What's so funny about that?", he inquired as Nathalie began to laugh.
"Well, I can hardly believe, that I can still fit into that piece of nothing", she giggled. "But I'll try for you, Sir", she grinned as she said that.
Three hours later, they were really on their way to a nearby swimming pool. Though Nathalie really had squeezed herself into that particular two-piece swimsuit, she was wearing a top and a pair of swim shorts above it. There was no way, that she would let anybody but Gabriel see her like this. And even showing herself like this to him, made her feel embarrassed and self conscious.
The owner of the big building with a normal pool for competitions as well as a bassin with warm water, which even had a outdoor part, that was completely shielded from unwelcome eyes towards the sides, but from where they could see the sky above the city very clearly, welcomed them at eight.
Though the man, who had let them inside, Mr. Piscine, had told him, it wasn't necessary at all, he had ordered the Gorilla to stand in front of the entrance to the swim hall not letting anybody inside.
The strong man had nodded and taken his position with a grunt, letting Mr. Piscine know, that there was not the slightest chance to come past him.
"I don't care if he is pissed right now. I just don't trust people, who are willing to let me use the entire building including all bassins and even the sauna if we wanted to, for such a low price. He certainly thought, he could take a few snapshots, while we're in here", Gabriel was already sounding pissed himself.
Nathalie place a hand on his arm and just whispered tenderly:
"I love you, Gabriel!"
He instantly became calm and looked at his wife.
"I love you too. And now, let me have a look at how beautiful you look in that bikini. Why did you buy that one at first, when you don't like to be seen in it?"
She chuckled. "Well, Mr. Agreste, when I am not suffering from the impact of a broken miraculous, I like to get some tan. And there are places, where nobody can see me, I mean, Adrien goes to school and does his extracurricular stuff and you well, you were just looking out of the window into one direction, so...."
"I see. Now come on, let me help you out of your clothes, my darling. And don't worry, I am not doing that only to see you in that bikini, I really want to help you."
"I'm wearing something over that thing anyway. Please let me decide, if I want to show you, okay?", the flustered woman begged.
"I promise", he hummed and started to take her shoes off. "Well, I am already very pleased with that look", he breathed into her ear, when he saw her with her shorts and top and was barely able to avert his eyes from her cleavage.
With a wide grin Gabriel noticed, that he could still make her blush.
"No need to get all flustered, my love, you really look gorgeous!", he said in a normal tone to then get rid of his own clothes and stand in front of his still blushing wife in the very same swim pants, that had literally made her drool almost nine months ago.
With her cheeks turning even darker red, Nathalie told him:
"You know, seeing you in these pants, took a big part in the creation of this!"
She laid both hands on her baby bump.
Despite his cheeks flushing as well, the designer looked into her eyes and said:
"So, if you liked what you saw back then, I most certainly hope, you still do!"
He stepped very close to her and hugged her from behind, pressing his body taut against hers. Feeling her arch her back, he moaned into her ear:
"I can't wait for those last five weeks to be over, my Nathalie. And before you start lecturing me, I know, that after the birth there will be at least six to eight more weeks, in which we can't or shouldn't have sexual intercourse. I still like to imagine the moment when I can make you mine again! Please Nathalie, stop moving like that, you're torturing me!"
"I'm torturing us both, Darling. I just can't let go either!", she chuckled bitterly.
Kissing her neck softly he muttered: "Come on my dear, let's get into the warm water and make you float."
She nodded, then she stopped.
"Can you help me out of this first?", she tugged at her top.
"You don't have to, love", he replied calmly.
"I know, but I want to. I'll keep the shorts though!", she quickly explained.
After helping her out of the very tight piece of clothes, Gabriel held her very firmly by her arm, so she wouldn't slip and fall and together they glided into the warm water.
"Just relax and trust me, okay?", the man hummed as he wrapped his arms around her from the back and pulled her towards him, making her float right underneath the surface of the water, while her head rested safely on his chest.
"God, that feels good", she blurted out and pulled her husband down to kiss him.
They soon settled at the wall of the outside bassin, relishing in the warmth while they were gazing at the dark sky. Enjoying the time as a couple, they stayed like this for the rest of the evening.