Lying on his back with Asta curled up next to him, completely dead to the world, his gaze couldn't seem to be pulled from the bassinet with the sleeping babies in it. They were quiet- this had concerned Ulfric until he'd been assured that with time to recover, they would grow stronger and be far more noisy. The birth had been extremely dangerous and taxing for both Asta and the infants, and all three needed time to recover.
The awe he felt had yet to fade, but the anger had- and yes, there'd been some anger. Ulfric had been livid at the realization that Asta had hidden the fact that she was carrying twins from him. Part of the anger steamed from himself, and the blind unwillingness to ponder his pregnant wife's belly beyond her carrying a large child. It was obvious now, but while he hadn't talked to her about it, he could assume why she left out that small detail. A twin birth virtually never ended well when everything was going right, let alone if the labor was induced as traumatically as Asta's had been. But then, it wouldn't be the first time she'd lied by omission to him about something major.
They hadn't allowed him to be in the room with her- a ridiculous notion, now that everything was said and done, but Ulfric hadn't thought to challenge it at the time. When he did enter the room, his stomach had dropped seeing how pale she'd been, convinced she hadn't made it through the labor. Seeing both the babes had been a shock that nearly caused his heart to stop.
He was a lucky man, to still have his wife and both children.
Careful to gently roll Asta off of him, Ulfric stroked her hair for a moment, content to watch her sleep. She shifted towards his hand in her sleep, still in a deep slumber. Pulling himself away, he slipped from the bed and crossed the short distance to where the babies slept. The oldest, a boy, was dead asleep, his tiny chest rising and falling under the rays of moonlight. The second, his daughter, was not as asleep as Ulfric had thought- small eyes blearily looked at him, not quiet aware of her surroundings. Despite being the smaller one (or perhaps because of it), she was comparatively more alert then her brother was. Neither of the babies cried very often, something that would hopefully change in the next few weeks. While Asta had vehemently protested wetnurses, Lydia had managed to talk sense into the older woman- at least for now. Ulfric didn't quite have an opinion besides having a vague awareness that wetnurses were the norm in the circles he traveled in, but surely nursing one baby was taxing enough, without adding a second one on top of everything else. The one thing she didn't need to do was push herself too much, so the matter was settled at least until she recovered.
Reaching a hand in with the babies, Ulfric was still amazed and fascinated by the two, having not quite come to terms with the new change in his life. After a certain point in his life, he'd simply accepted that children may not be a part of his life, despite the societal pressure placed on him. A wife and children had never factored into the picture until much later- specifically when Asta entered his life.
Tiny fingers instinctively clamped around his much larger one, as the man watched with awe. Gently prying away from the miniature death grip, Ulfric slipped a hand under the child and picked her up as he marveled how easy the motion felt. The girl was so tiny in his arms, quiet as she blinked sleepily.
The unconditional love he could feel so instantly for someone was staggering, virtually shifting his world on its ear. The three figures in this room were undoubtedly the most important in his life and it was overwhelming at times.
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timeasmymeasure
Unconditional [1a/1]
Date: 2014-02-08 09:51 pm (UTC)It still hadn't sunk in yet.
Lying on his back with Asta curled up next to him, completely dead to the world, his gaze couldn't seem to be pulled from the bassinet with the sleeping babies in it. They were quiet- this had concerned Ulfric until he'd been assured that with time to recover, they would grow stronger and be far more noisy. The birth had been extremely dangerous and taxing for both Asta and the infants, and all three needed time to recover.
The awe he felt had yet to fade, but the anger had- and yes, there'd been some anger. Ulfric had been livid at the realization that Asta had hidden the fact that she was carrying twins from him. Part of the anger steamed from himself, and the blind unwillingness to ponder his pregnant wife's belly beyond her carrying a large child. It was obvious now, but while he hadn't talked to her about it, he could assume why she left out that small detail. A twin birth virtually never ended well when everything was going right, let alone if the labor was induced as traumatically as Asta's had been. But then, it wouldn't be the first time she'd lied by omission to him about something major.
They hadn't allowed him to be in the room with her- a ridiculous notion, now that everything was said and done, but Ulfric hadn't thought to challenge it at the time. When he did enter the room, his stomach had dropped seeing how pale she'd been, convinced she hadn't made it through the labor. Seeing both the babes had been a shock that nearly caused his heart to stop.
He was a lucky man, to still have his wife and both children.
Careful to gently roll Asta off of him, Ulfric stroked her hair for a moment, content to watch her sleep. She shifted towards his hand in her sleep, still in a deep slumber. Pulling himself away, he slipped from the bed and crossed the short distance to where the babies slept. The oldest, a boy, was dead asleep, his tiny chest rising and falling under the rays of moonlight. The second, his daughter, was not as asleep as Ulfric had thought- small eyes blearily looked at him, not quiet aware of her surroundings. Despite being the smaller one (or perhaps because of it), she was comparatively more alert then her brother was. Neither of the babies cried very often, something that would hopefully change in the next few weeks. While Asta had vehemently protested wetnurses, Lydia had managed to talk sense into the older woman- at least for now. Ulfric didn't quite have an opinion besides having a vague awareness that wetnurses were the norm in the circles he traveled in, but surely nursing one baby was taxing enough, without adding a second one on top of everything else. The one thing she didn't need to do was push herself too much, so the matter was settled at least until she recovered.
Reaching a hand in with the babies, Ulfric was still amazed and fascinated by the two, having not quite come to terms with the new change in his life. After a certain point in his life, he'd simply accepted that children may not be a part of his life, despite the societal pressure placed on him. A wife and children had never factored into the picture until much later- specifically when Asta entered his life.
Tiny fingers instinctively clamped around his much larger one, as the man watched with awe. Gently prying away from the miniature death grip, Ulfric slipped a hand under the child and picked her up as he marveled how easy the motion felt. The girl was so tiny in his arms, quiet as she blinked sleepily.
The unconditional love he could feel so instantly for someone was staggering, virtually shifting his world on its ear. The three figures in this room were undoubtedly the most important in his life and it was overwhelming at times.