Silver wanted to read his book, but watching his wife easily competed for the time. She was doing stretches and light exercises that involved her entire body, minus her injured wing. "You could join me, if you were feeling up for it."
Silver perked an ear. "I don't have the parts to do some of those. How are you holding up, hon?" He jumped to the ground from the bed, the chain of his new watch swaying from the motion. "When have you last been looked at?"
Night snorted softly, turning towards Silver. "Besides Cadance?"
"Yes." Silver moved in close to nuzzle her, but she rebuffed him lightly, pushing his snout away with a hoof. "Something wrong?"
She looked ready to deny him on the spot, but a tremble ran through her instead. "Yes..."
Silver's ears perked in unison. He heard her need in that one word and took a slow step forward. "What is it? No matter how stupid you feel it is, let's face it, together."
Night quirked a smile. "Good choice of words. It is stupid..." She glanced away. "Getting pregnant, popping out a foal or two? Pretty natural. Just sit back... let it happen... That was my plan, but I'm getting larger every day." She sucked air through her teeth. "What if something goes wrong?"
Silver circled her, coming in at the side. "Then let's go. Let's make sure everything's working right, for you, and them."
She shrank back from him a little. "I don't need fawning over."
"You do." Silver frowned. "And protecting. I know you prefer to be the protector, but we're a family, and that means we all get to play that role sometimes. Right now, I am protecting you and our foals, and I wouldn't have it any other way." He took a half step towards her. "I won't let them do anything without discussing it first, just look."
Night's ears spun backwards as she slumped against the bed. A hoof came down beside the smaller dollop of ooze. She noticed it and tilted her head at it. "Were you doing something with this?"
Silver looked down towards it. "Ah, creating one was the first step, but I got distracted. It's not nearly as important as you are. It is getting smaller though? I wonder if it just evaporates." He caught himself getting distracted again and shook himself out. "Come on. We're royal guests, let's play that card and get you a little physical, then we'll find a spa willing to roll out the carpet for heavy mares and we'll enjoy the day, together."
"Spa?" She burst into a short fit of laughter. "Spa... Luna above! I swore I'd never end up in such a soft place." She prodded at Silver in the chest with a hoof. "What are you trying to do to me?"
Silver smiled gently. "Treat you like the wonderful pony and wife you are?"
Night reached for the ooze, easily gathering it on her hoof and raising it up. "If I treated you like the spellcrafter you are, I'd leave you here to play with your slime." She deposited it right on Silver's head, where it balanced a moment before encapsulating his horn without prompting.
Silver shuddered. Its motions were a little ticklish around his sensitive horn. "Is it alive?"
Night raised a brow behind her glasses. "You don't know?"
Silver shook his head. "I didn't get that far in the book." He looked up at it. "I think it's getting larger again." He could feel his magic being pulled on. It was no vicious or violent draw, more like a little suckle. It almost felt good, in a disconcerting way, and it grew back to its original form before the suction ended on its own.
Night shook her head back at him. "Only you would create something like that without knowing a thing about it. It looks happy enough just hanging out there. It isn't hurting or anything, is it?"
Silver considered it a moment. "No, no pain. I think it 'fed', but only what it needed and it stopped on its own."
Night rolled a hoof. "Good, it's a well-behaved little beast. So what were you going to do with it?"
"Walk you down for that physical." He turned to the door. "No more distractions."
Night peered at him skeptically. "With that thing on your head?"
"If it helps you move, yes. Come on, Night." He smiled at her gently. "I won't let them do anything you don't want."
Night thrust a hoof at his face, dangling between his eyes. "I'll hold you to that, mister 'protector'."
Silver snorted softly. "That's Mister Watch, thank you."
Night burst into laughter. "Surprise was right... Go on, let's go, stupid stallion."
"If loving you is stupid, I'd rather be a moron." Silver trotted for the door, his magic pulling it open before he stepped into the hallway, leading Night.
Night trailed behind him as he trotted. "You seem confident about this..."
Silver swiveled an ear back at her. "Night, it's alright."
"What is?"
"Let go. I'll be the rock this time."
Night went quiet, her teeth clenched and fighting against a fresh shudder. Just as they arrived at the infirmary, she circled him quickly and got in the way of the door. "Do you mean that?"
Silver nodded slowly. "Of course I do. Night, you're pregnant, and that's not something to be ashamed of, but you're going through a lot, and, damn it, I plan to be there for you." He advanced on her. "I'll be the rock. You want to cry, you go right ahead and cry. You feel panicked, you just say that, let it out. You have my full permission to feel emotions, and you're not any less Night Watch for doing so."
Night sank to her haunches and raised a hoof, pulling off her glasses. "You know... that's very nice, and a little absurd coming from a unicorn with slime all over his horn."
Silver snorted explosively at that, turning quickly into peals of laughter that had him flop over onto Night, hugging her tightly. "I may be a funny shaped rock, but I'm still yours. Now we're heading inside and we're getting that examination, alright? We're going to handle this right." He nuzzled into her cheek to find it was becoming damp with silent tears. He licked one away and held her tighter. "I'll be with you every instant."
He gave her a final peck on the cheek and nudged open the door. Inside was a new nurse, and yet one quite familiar.
Samantha, the crazed and amoral doctor of his dreams looked up from a clipboard. "Oh! Hello there! My my, look at you." She hopped down and trotted directly for Night Watch. "I've never had the pleasure of examining a lunar pegasus in this advanced state of pregnancy..."
Silver kept a leg around Night and felt her tense at her approach. "Hello Samantha. Pleas--"
"You know me?!" Samantha tilted her head. "I didn't know I had reached that level of academic acclaim. My efforts must be working better than I remembered." She tapped her chin even as various implements began to hover around her. "Now let's have a look."
Silver reached out with his own magic, keeping the medical instruments at bay. "We're here for an examination. No tools outside a stethoscope allowed."
Samantha frowned, but that quickly eroded to a manic smile. "Oh alright. I can still get fantastic data without these." She set them aside on a table and pointed at another. "Please lay down."
Silver led Night along even as he wondered just how similar dream Samantha and the real one were. Were they both... "Samantha? May I ask what is likely a personal question?"
"I'm certain you can." She kept pace with them, her eyes fixed on Night Watch. "I may not answer, but there's no physical reason you couldn't, is there? Are you feeling any obstructions in your larynx?"
Silver raised a brow. "All clear. Samantha, are you half-human?"
She came to a sudden halt, her pupils contracting and clear shock running across her features. "H-how? Only one pony in the world knows about that, and you're a poor lookalike for my father."
Night slid up onto the table and laid on her side, peering between Silver and Samantha. "I'm going to guess this is a dream thing?"
Silver nodded to Night. "Sorry to bring it up here, but I met her in it."
Night scowled. "Was she part of your ever-growing herd?"
Samantha blinked rapidly. "W-what? Oh no! I'm much too busy to settle down in any herds." She waved the motion off.
Silver took a slow breath. "We did nothing, but she did..." He looked to her. "No instruments. Hooves and stethoscope only."
"I heard you the first time," assured Samantha, rolling her eyes as she approached Night. "You will inform me as to the source of your knowledge after the procedure." She ran a hoof gently over the dome of Night's belly. "Look at you... You're developing quite nicely. How far along are you? Six? Seven months?"
Night flushed brightly. "I'm having twins."
"Ah! That changes my estimates." She began delivering little pokes and feels over the pregnant mare. "I'd like to do a peek inside of you. No tools, just magic. Magic's acceptable, hmm?"
Night glanced to Silver, who nodded. "Alright, so long as it's not invasive."
"Well, I am looking inside of her. I believe that qualifies as invasive. See?" Her horn began to glow with an alien spell and ghostly outlines began to show through Night's belly, revealing two small forms hiding within her. "Twins, confirmed. We'd have a clearer picture if I was allowed to use the screen."
Silver tilted his head. "Ah, it doesn't touch her? You can use that."
Samantha grinned as a screen floated in quickly, arranging itself in front of her belly and bringing the picture into focus. "Two healthy specimens. Hmmm, both unknown tribes..."
Night frowned a little. "Unknown? Do they have wings, or horns? How hard can it be to tell?" She tried to lean over the screen, but doing so put everything at a bad angle and she settled back.
Silver leaned in. "One has a horn, I think, cute little nub."
Samantha pointed with a delicate hoof. "Male, that one."
Silver's heart thudded suddenly. Morning Glory... "The other..." The other didn't look like they did in the dreams. They were a bit larger, and had no horn or wings. "An earth pony?"
Samantha nodded. "Mare, but they don't fit the traditional profile. They've taken after their mother, but I have no literature on lunar unicorns or lunar earth ponies." She clopped a hoof on the ground with an irritated expression, but it turned to a sudden smile. "Which means I get to write one!" She clopped her hooves together as that joy mounted. "Oh yes, this'll get..."
Silver cleared his throat loudly. "Samantha, please, focus. The care of your patient comes before academic glories."
Samantha blinked out of her thoughts. "Oh, yes, of course." She leaned towards the screen. "You look perfectly healthy, miss, as do your foals."
"Congratulations!" Surprise popped up beside the bed, living up to her name. "Happy First-Time-Seeing-Your-Twins Day!"
Night squinted at Surprise. "You're sounding better."
Surprise threw her fore legs wide. "I feel better. Ooo, lemme see." She nudged in between Silver and Samantha, peering into the monitor. "Awww, they're so cute!"
Night shook her head slowly. "Team Triple-S is on the case, I see."
Samantha tilted her head. "Triple-S?"
Surprise stuck out her tongue. "Surprise, Samantha, Silver. Triple-S!"
Though Night didn't say as much, Silver felt confident she was a little better for knowing with certainty her insides were doing what they should. "Now let's find that spa."
Samantha raised a brow. "Be mindful of hot tubs and similar instruments. They can cause undue harm to the developing infants."
Surprise bounced around Silver. "I saw a place that had a pony with a big ole belly on their sign. I'm sure they're good for just this kind of thing."
Samantha tapped at Silver's shoulder. "I will be looking you up later. You have answers to questions I didn't even know I had this morning." She giggled in her manic fashion. "Oh this is too exciting!"