Love First, Babies Second

Writers: Chelle, Eimi
Date Posted: 9th August 2010

Characters: Parale, Ioven
Description: Parale and Ioven discuss starting a family of their own.
Location: Elsewhere on Pern
Date: month 10, day 15 of Turn 5

Luckily there were a few other young girls riding on the river boat once
they boarded it. That would give his daughters something to do along
the next leg of their journey. He had made a point to meet their
parents and together they had worked out a bit of a schedule. At least
one parent would make sure to be on deck while the girls were up there.
This time it was his turn.

He sat back on the bench, feeling the warmth of the sun as the young
gaggle of giggling girls played a card game in a shady spot. Ioven,
however was enjoying the warmth. He was surprised at how much he had
missed it while up in the cooler climate of Garnet Valley. Parale
didn't seem to like the heat much, which was something that worried him
a bit. But he was pleasantly surprised when he saw her walking out of
the shade and towards him in his little spot of sunshine.

It was hard, but she was slowly accepting the heat. It would take some
time to get used to it, but it was obviously something she'd have to
live with so she was making an effort. She did have a skin of water in
her hand though. "Afternoon."

Ioven nodded his greeting. "Have you been getting to know the other
passengers a bit?" He sincerely hoped she was enjoying the trip at
least a little.

"Some of them. Most of them..are already married." That was awkward in
some respects, always having to tell her turns and then that she was
still single technically.

He wasn't catching on to why that might be a problem. "What's wrong
with that?"

She came closer and spoke lower so as not to be overhead. "Most of them
make little noises when I tell them how old I am since I am *not*
married yet."

"I'm sorry." It obviously bothered her what other people thought. On a
small boat, those people would be hard to avoid. "Maybe when we switch
boats we can lie and say we're already married if that would make you
more comfortable."

She shrugged, looking off to the side at the water. "No..I don't want
Syren to wonder why we would be doing that and then having to explain.
Better to just smile and nod."

"As you like." Perhaps she was right. It might be confusing for the
children. Perhaps it wouldn't be a bad idea to just do it and get it
over with once they reached the Weyr. But he thought better of it.
Trying to adjust to your first few days of married life on a boat
sharing a room with two small girls would just be too much to ask of
anyone.

She sat down and adjusted her skirt. Parale was wearing only a light
blue sundress and sandals, with a scarf holding her hair up. "Venrys
says I have to fall in love with you before we can have babies."

The statement took him a little off guard and the surprise registered on
his face before it turned into a slight blush that was not due to the
heat of the sun. "Well... I think you and I both know that's not
necessarily true."

"Well no, but she says you said so. Syren wants a brother." She
watched him carefully, though the conversation was still lighthearted.

"You know how kids are. They want to know where babies come from. You
have to tell them something." He gripped his knees looking out over the
water, suddenly a little uncomfortable with this topic. It was a
conversation they had to have, though, sooner or later. "What do you
think about having kids of your own?"

"I've wanted it all my life," she answered simply.

"Do you want to start trying right away, then?" he asked, his brow knit
slightly. Ioven wasn't so sure it was a good idea. He wanted his girls
to have time to adjust to one new member of the family before they added
more. Then again, he knew sometimes you couldn't plan a baby.

She shrugged. "Well obviously I'd like to be married first. But..with my
turns, there might only be a limited time there."

Ioven was slightly taken aback by her answer. "So what are you saying?
Are you saying you want to start trying _now_?"

"I'm saying I want a ceremony before anything happens. However, I
don't plan on waiting for months after the fact when I might be dried
up." She hated to say it like that, but Parale knew plenty of women who
never had children due to waiting.

"Oh thank the Egg, I thought you meant _now_!" he said with a nervous
chuckle, glad he was wrong about that. "Listen, we can check with the
healers when we get to the Weyr or back to the Hold and ask if they
think you'll have any trouble conceiving, but truly you still have
plenty of time to have children. You know as well as I that it is not
uncommon for women to have children into their forties."

"Right but..those children usually have more problems, Ioven." Parale
had seen some of them. Most of them ended up as dimglow drudges or
worse. They had to be taken care of for their whole lives.

"Well, how many do you want?" After all, it was possible to have five
children before she reached forty, though she would be in an almost
constant state of pregnancy until then.

She was quiet for awhile. "I'll be thankful for whatever I have."

"I understand. And I promise that as long as you keep wanting to try,
we'll have as many as we can. But let's hold back at least a few months
and give us all a chance to... adjust." He had a feeling they would all
need time to get used to their new situation.

"So you want to hold back on consummation?" That wasn't proper in the
least. Parale knew it was part of her wifely duties and she'd never
consider herself married until the act had been done. The look on her
face told how much she liked that idea.

"Well... No..." That thought hadn't even crossed his mind. He shifted
uncomfortably. "I just mean not... indulging... so often. During
certain times, at least."

She shrugged. Not having much experience with sexual relations, it was
easy for her to agree with him. "Well I'm sure we'll be busy enough for
awhile anyway not to be..indulging..all the time."

"Just for a few months. Until we've all had a chance to get settled
in," he assured her, though he wasn't sure if he sounded too eager or
too apologetic. Who knew if they'd even enjoy sharing a bed. Though
Faranth he hoped they did, or it would make for a very uncomfortable
life together. "Let's just see what happens. But I promise, we will
start trying as soon as we're both ready."

Last updated on the August 13th 2010

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Love First, Babies Second