Juliana rolled her eyes, making a face at her own brother as she reached for Joslin's hand for help onto her own feet. "Put your tongue away, Bryce, 'tis not as though you don't know how it happens," she told her brother, offering her husband a reassuring smile.

"Perhaps I should remind him," Justine teased, looking amused, as she led her husband and children away, leaving Joslin alone with his very pregnant wife for the moment. He leaned down, sliding one arm around her back while taking her hand to help her slowly to her feet. "Is it true" Is it time?" he asked, a worried expression on his face.

Breathing out carefully as Jos helped her onto her feet, Juliana waited until Justine had drawn Bryce out of earshot before answering her own husband. "Aye, sweetheart, 'tis true," she told him gently. "T'will not be long now. I didn't want you to fret the way Bryce did. There's no danger."

He knew that was not quite true. There was always danger when a woman was giving birth, but there was no reason to think anything would go wrong. "What do you need me to do?" he asked, knowing once she was sequestered away with the women until the baby was born there was nothing he could do but wait, but it seemed that time had not arrived quite yet.

She smiled gently, reaching up to touch his cheek affectionately. "Take me to our room," she told him. "And stay with me until Justine and Matilde send you out. Aye, and you could think of some names. You'll be holding your own child before the sun sets, love. I promise you, it will not be long before it's all done."

Though he didn't want to question her, he wasn't sure how she could know all that, and he thought maybe she was just trying to comfort him so that he wouldn't worry. "I will do whatever you ask," he told her, carefully leading her toward the manor, one arm around her waist. As far as names, that was the least of his concerns at the moment. His only real concern was to that of his wife's health and well-being.

Juliana chuckled gently as he drew her into the manor, pausing once or twice on their journey to ease her way through the contractions coming more frequently now. "And if I ask you not to fret, will you do it?" she teased her husband gently.

"I am not sure I can promise that, cheri," Joslin admitted honestly with a small frown, not only of worry. It was a good sign that she was laughing, but he grew more anxious with each stop along the way.

Thankfully, in this manor house, the lord and lady's chambers were on the ground floor. There was no need to traverse the staircase in the wake of their siblings. "Do not be so fretful, love," Juliana told Jos gently as he guided her safely along the corridors toward their shared rooms. "The child is in the right position, well ready to be born. I am young and strong, aye, and I have the hips for it. I've not been laboring so long as to worry me, and I've the experience to tell me when that moment comes. Try not to give yourself worry lines today."

"I will try," he told her as he led her to their chambers, though he knew he was going to pace the floor and count the minutes and hours until their child's birth. "Bryce and I will keep ourselves busy thinking of names," he told her, hoping Bryce would be less nervous than he was, considering the other man had been through this once already. "Would you prefer the bed or a chair?" he asked as he led her into their chambers.

"A chair," she decided on a whim, already having decided not to give birth in their bed. She'd been at too many births to want to do that to their mattress. "Help me out of my gown, love," she asked him gently. "I'll not have need of it for a few days now." The thought of her brother being involved in naming her firstborn was enough to make her laugh through the next contraction, encouraging Jos to try not to worry too much more than he already was.

"What is so funny?" he asked, as he did as she asked. After months of marriage, he had finally mastered the art of undressing his wife, despite all the various laces and layers involved in the process. He wasn't too sure what it was she found funny, especially when she was obviously in pain. Was something wrong" "Are you all right' Should I fetch Matilde?"

"Och, no, love, I'm well," she promised him cheerfully, though her hands turned white-knuckled on the back of the chair for a moment longer before she answered him fully. "I was thinking of what Bryce might come up with for our child. I've no wish to be saddled with an Adrien or a Leona."

"'Tis more than that," Joslin replied, frowning further with concern. He had a feeling she was trying to make light of things for his sake, but eventually, she would have to admit to herself and to him what was really happening. Despite his concerns, he smiled a little at the mention of her brother. "Never fear. We did not name his children, and he will not name ours," he assured her, as he crouched down in front of her and took her hands in his. "You can be honest with me, Juli. I only worry because I love you."

Eased down into the chair, she answered his smile with her own as he crouched before her, folding her hands into his affectionately. "There is always a risk," she told him, answering his plea for honesty with the truth. "But I do not fear it. I am healthy and strong, and Justine and Matilde will look after me." She paused, biting her lip as her fingers tightened in his for a long minute, weathering the storm of another contraction until at last she could breathe comfortably once again. "I hope I give you a son, love."

Joslin knew from experience that there were no certainties in life, and yet, he refused to believe anything bad would happen to Juliana, now that she was his. His smile softened, warm with affection at what seemed to be her only concern - one that was completely unnecessary and unwarranted. "Do you think I would be disappointed with a daughter, cheri?"

"I should give you an heir before all else," she reminded him, always aware of her first duty as a wife, drilled into her from childhood. "I do not want to let you down, Jos. You're the light in my life, my bonny. A girl cannot succeed you, after all."

He chuckled a little, not laughing at her exactly, but obviously amused she was so concerned about something that would not happen for many years. "Then, we will either make sure she has a secure future or we will keep trying until we have a son." Or more than likely both, but he did not think it was something they needed to worry about just yet. "Try not to worry, cheri. All I wish for is a healthy child. That is all that is important."

"Then that is what I will pray for," she promised him, curling her fingers into his hair as she smiled. A moment later, she reeled back, her hands thumping to the arms of the chair as a stronger contraction rippled through her belly, unable to hide the grimace of pain from Jos this time. "You should call for Justine and Matilde," she told him, breathless after that last onslaught. "It is almost time."

His expression turned grave as he watched her struggle with the pains of childbirth - pains he had brought upon her by making her pregnant, but then, it was an inevitability, and she had been eager to have a child. "It will be all right," he told her, giving her hands a gentle squeeze and leaning forward to press a kiss to her temple. He laid a gentle hand against her belly, whispering a quiet prayer in his native tongue to keep his wife and child safe and well. "I will be only a moment," he assured her, before moving to his feet to go to the door and send a servant for Justine and Matilde.

"Does she not sound healthy?" Justine replied with a grin, as she offered the baby a pinky finger to suckle on, for the moment. "She is perfect, ma soeur. I promise you. Joslin will be proud."

"I hope he will," Juliana smiled weakly, groaning as she was helped into the bed. "He will be frantic that everything happened so quickly after he was thrown out." She chuckled, finally ready to take her daughter into her arms as Matilde turned her attention to hiding and destroying the evidence of the birth that had so recently taken place. "He promised to have names ready for this moment."

"We have not given him much time," Justine remarked, though she wasn't worried. If Joslin had not had enough time to come up with a suitable name, she was sure they would soon do so together, just as she and Bryce had done. She might have suggested a name or two herself, but it was not her place to do so. She moved closer to the bed to present her husband's wife with her new daughter. "You remember to hold her like we practiced," Justine said, more statement than question as she lowered the wriggling bundle into Juliana's arms.

It was one thing to practice holding a newborn when that practice child is a pillow, and quite another when that newborn is your own, Juliana could see her hands shaking as she reached out to take her wailing daughter from Justine's arms. "She's a fine voice on her, I'll say that," she conceded in amusement, the confidence of her healing skills lost as she looked to Justine for guidance. "Does that mean she is hungry?"

"She is only annoyed at her birth," Justine explained. The baby would grow hungry before long, but she thought it was unlikely she was hungry so soon after birth. It was more likely she was frightened and annoyed at being born and merely needed the comfort of her mother's voice and touch. "Talk to her, Juli. She knows your voice. She will know who you are."

Reassured a little, Juliana nodded obediently, oblivious to the bustle of Matilde about the room as she looked down at the squawling infant in her arms. "Oh now, you shush," she said, unconsciously echoing words spoken not only by Matilde, but by Marta in Darroch when Justine's own children had been born. "What's the need for all this fuss, mm' You're a wee lady, you should act it." In her arms, the wailing began to quiet, the unfocused gaze of the newborn girl looking up at her mother as little fingers clutched at the swaddling cloth. "Och, Justine, she's a wee beauty, isn't she?" Juliana breathed, her disappointment forgotten in the face of her own daughter's gurgling.

"Oui," Justine agreed with a smile as she watched mother and daughter inspect each other for the first time. "As lively as her father and as lovely as her mother," she assured her again. How could anyone be disappointed in a child such as this"

"Aye," Juliana agreed softly. "Lovely and lively as her cousins, too." She raised her head, sharing her smile with the woman who had become her sister. "I'm glad you're here, Justine. I wanted for a sister for so long when I was a child, and when I married, I hoped to have one close a while before I learned you loved Bryce and would marry him. But distance doesn't matter so much, does it' I'm proud to call you my sister."

Justine's smile softened, touched by her sister-in-law's words, and feeling them herself. "Non, it does not matter, and we are not so far distant that we cannot visit often," she added. After all, they had wintered together in Darroch, and no harm had come of it, and were doing the same in La Roche now that spring had arrived.

"Aye, that we can, and we will," Juliana promised her. "Our children should know one another. Family is important." She smiled once again, relieved that the little girl in her arms had chosen to shut up, finally. "And I suppose this wee one should meet her father, and I should give you back to your own husband and children."

"Oui, I am sure they are anxious to know you are well," Justine said, speaking of both brother and husband. "Do you think we dare trust Bryce to behave himself?" she asked with a smirk. It was not Joslin that worried her; she knew both men well enough by now to know which was least likely to behave.

"If he makes her cry, I'll box his ears," Juliana threatened fondly. She knew as well as Justine that Bryce wouldn't mean to if he did make his niece cry; he was just too excitable not to make a stupid amount of noise.

"I'll call the young hellion and his lordship, then," Matilde nodded to them both, moving to the door. "Until you're out of that bed, my lady, Lady Justine will be mistress of the house. You are a mother, and have the right to enjoy it a while."

Juliana's jaw dropped as the door closed behind the woman, turning her astonished eyes onto Justine. "I think she has missed you, sweetling."

Justine bit the inside of her mouth to keep herself from laughing until Matilde had left. "Make no mistake. It is she who runs the house," she said, leaning closer to have another look at the baby and her mother. "Juli, I, too, have long wished for a sister, and I am proud and happy it is you," she told her, now that they were alone, at least momentarily.

"And our other sister will be spitting feathers that she missed this," Juliana added in amusement, referring to the Duchess of Lonnare fondly. Alys had become a good friend to both of them - Justine first, and then Juliana - and if she hadn't been called to the royal court to show off her husband and son and generally be enjoyed as the only royal princess of the blood to be still in Francia, she would definitely have been at La Roche for this.

"We will write her with the news," Justine suggested, though it kind of went without saying. Perhaps with luck the Duke and Duchess would find some excuse to visit. "Joslin is going to be very happy," she assured her again, touching a sisterly kiss to the other woman's cheek.

Though there were still times when Juliana did not feel worthy of her happiness her, with her husband, she could not help but smile as Justine assured her that Joslin would be pleased with the fruit of their love. "Aye, he will be a good father," she agreed fondly, stroking her fingertip down the little button nose that wrinkled as the newborn girl grasped at her own coverings.

A knock sounded on the door, drawing her attention away from her daughter as her brother's voice made itself known. "Am I going to get my ears boxed if we come in?"

Joslin might not have been quite so formal as to knock, but he let his brother-in-law take the lead, just in case the women were not ready for them.

Justine laughed when she heard her husband's question. "What shall we tell them?" she asked Juliana with a playful twinkle in her eyes.

"If he makes her cry, I'll wash his face in my chamber pot," Juliana suggested with a wicked smirk. "Wrap it up in pretty language and tell him to get Jos in here."

Justine chuckled, knowing Juliana would do no such thing, but it was funny to imagine the possibility. She started toward the door, choosing not to change startling the newborn awake by shouting to the men waiting on the other side of the door. "You may come in, but you are to behave. Soft voices, or I am instructed to dunk your head in the chamber pot," she warned, mostly to Bryce. Okay, so she had been pretty blunt about it, but he'd likely know it was an idle threat.

Juliana rolled her eyes at the merry entrance, glad to see that her brother had not become completely impossible during the short wait.

Joslin brightened further as his sister and brother-in-law joined them, flushed with pride and joy at the daughter the Goddess had given them. "We have decided to name her Eliane Justine, if you are agreeable," he told them both, though he was mostly concerned with his sister's reaction to the naming.

Justine lifted her brows, not entirely surprised by this bit of news, and not unpleasantly so. "You would name her for Mama?" she asked, looking to both of them, as this was as much Juliana's decision as Joslin's.

Juliana had a little surprise of her own at that revelation. "'Twas your mother's name?" she countered, surprised but no less pleased with their choice. "Ah, then, 'tis even more beautiful. I wear our mother's name myself; such names should live on."

"'Tis a very pretty name," Bryce said approvingly. He could not resist adding a tease, however. "I can't see the wee one from here, but I'm sure she'll grow into her father's nose."

"Let us hope neither of our children grow into their father's mouth," Justine said, giving her husband a reproachful, though affectionate, look. "Well, go on, then," she said, giving him a small shove. "Go greet your niece properly and perhaps if you are nice, she will not decide to poop on you."

Chuckling, Bryce released Justine, moving over to Jos' side of the bed to take a good look at his new niece. "Och, aren't you a bonny wee lass?" he declared, reaching down to gently stroke the little button nose. the newly-named Eliane's eyes crossed following the finger, and she promptly belched loudly, setting her mother to laughing.

Justine laughed at their new niece's greeting, knowing Bryce was accustomed with babies well enough not to be offended. "She shares her uncle's good manners," she teased as she came around to stand near Juliana, while the men admired the small one.

"I have very good manners, wench, as you well know," Bryce defended himself. He'd put his hands very firmly behind his back; they all knew he was grabby when it came to babies, but wary of being spanked by his sister for grabbing at this particular baby.

"I shall be up and about come the morning," Juliana predicted. "Our wee ones can nap together in the sunshine."

"You should rest as much as you can," Justine advised the other woman, though it might be a little easier on her, considering she had only one child to care for at a time, instead of two. She and Bryce had had help, but those first days had still been exhausting.

Joslin smirked as he looked over at Bryce, seeing how he was making an effort to keep his hands to himself. "Juli, do you think it's safe to let your brother hold her?"

"I'm not made for resting unless I've no choice," Juliana reminded her sister with a warm smile, glancing at Jos as he suggested letting Bryce hold their daughter. Bryce himself was almost hopping from one foot to the other, openly on tenterhooks for her decision. Laughing, Juliana rolled her eyes. "I think he may break in here tonight to do it if we don't let him have a wee cuddle now."

"Then I suppose we shall have to appease him," Joslin said, an amused smirk on his face. "You remember what to do?" he asked, knowing his brother-in-law was in all honesty better prepared to handle a newborn than he was.

"Catch her by an ankle and swing her 'round my head," was Bryce's deeply sarcastic reply, but there was no mistaking the sheer glee on his face as he held his hands out for the tiny girl. "Och, no wonder you had such an easy time of it. She's a wee tiny spriggit of a thing!"

"Childbirth is never easy," Justine corrected her husband, even if Juliana had had an easier time than most.

Joslin made no remark as he very carefully handed his daughter to the other man, confident he would handle her with care, despite his teasing.

Lifting the new baby up onto his shoulder, Bryce was confident enough to hold her there with one hand, the other playing with the tiny hand that grasped at his collar. "Was Heather this small?" he asked his wife curiously. "I don't recall her being this small. And if she wasn't ....you should have a medal, my bonny, for squeezing them both out at once!"

"Was it so long ago that you do not remember, my bonny?" Justine teased back, turning his petname for her around on him. "And I did not squeeze them out at once, but one at a time," she informed him, laughing a little at his ignorance of childbirth, despite having two children of his own.

Bryce stuck his tongue out at his wife playfully, automatically rocking as the baby girl on his shoulder started to stir. "Och, I must not smell right to her," he bemoaned, pouting as he turned to offer Eliane back to her father.

"Och, poor big baby," Juliana teased her brother. "First time a baby's preferred someone else to you."

"First time he's held a wee bairn that wasn't his own," Justine pointed out, smiling in amusement at her husband's antics. "Come, love. We should leave them to get better acquainted and go see to our own before they wonder what?s become of us."

"All right, all right." Chuckling at the way he was being maneuvered around, Bryce squeezed Jos' shoulder, rounding the bed to bend and kiss his sister affectionately. "You keep well, you hear," he told Juliana quite seriously. "None of this getting up before Matilde says you can, or I'll tie you to the bed." Snorting with laughter, Juliana reluctantly nodded in agreement, kissing his cheek as he stepped back from the bed. One large hand patted Justine's rear end familiarly. "Come along then, wife, we've some bonnies to see to of our own."

Justine, too, touched a kiss, first to Juliana's, then to Joslin's cheek, before slipping her hand into her husband's and leading him toward the door. "We will be back later, when you are rested." She did not define "later", but as they were staying at La Roche for the spring, it was a given that they wouldn't be far away.

"Merci," Joslin told them, grateful for all they had done for them.

"'Tis our turn to be bullied into looking after ourselves," Juliana murmured to Jos as the door closed behind their siblings. It was only fair, in a way - after Justine had given birth in the winter, she and Jos had spent the following months making sure that the new parents had plenty of time for themselves and their children.

Joslin chuckled lightly at his wife's remark. "C'est vrai," he replied, glad they'd been able to help when his sister and her husband had given birth. "I will miss them when they return to Darroch," he admitted with a small frown, despite his happiness. It wasn't just Justine he'd miss, but Bryce, too, who'd become like a brother to him.

"Aye, 'tis true enough," Juliana murmured softly. "And there will be months at a time when we do not see them. But we will never lose contact - we are family, love. I think we will all grow very used to splitting our time between home and there."

"Oui," he murmured in agreement. Her statement was true enough, but that wasn't what worried him; what worried him was his duties to his king and duke and country. If he were called away to war again, it would leave Juliana and their daughter alone. He and Bryce had even gone so far as to discuss it, deciding that if the worst was to ever happen, they women would go to Arindale for safety. But today was not the day to worry about such things; today was a day for celebration. "We are family, and I, for one, will do everything in my power to keep our family safe."

She smiled faintly, understanding why he needed to say it out loud, when she knew deep in her bones that he would never willingly allow harm to come to any of them. "Our family," she repeated, feeling a moment that might almost have been shy as it finally began to sink in that this was her husband, holding their daughter. "I love you, Jos."

There was that smile again, as she declared her love. "And I love you," he replied, touching a soft kiss to her lips to prove his point. Today was a day he would not soon forget, spent with people he loved and would not soon take for granted. It was the first day of their firstborn daughter's lifetime. Long may it continue.