Work Text:
The Pastures
June, 1781
Eliza woke up with an overwhelming urge to vomit. The feeling had overcome her so suddenly that she was reaching for her chamber pot, hunched over and emptying the contents of her stomach into one place.
She laid back against the pillows, eyes closing as he just used to moment to lay there and trying to gather what strength she had. Eyes closing, almost feeling like she could drift back to sleep.
It seemed like a few minutes went by when there was a knock on the door. "Eliza?" Peggy's voice called from the doorway, her younger sister's head poking into the room.
Eliza pushed herself up and looked at her sister. "Hm?" She asked, not moving to stand up. All she wanted to do was lay there and ignore the world around her.
"Mama's looking for you. Are you okay?"
As the eldest daughter in the house now, Eliza had always found herself helping her mother wrangle the younger ones but today, she could barely sit up in bed. Eliza's head shook. "No, can you tell Mama I'm not feeling well today?"
Peggy's brows furrowed together and nodded. "Alright." There was a momentary pause as Peggy lingered by the door. "Do you need anything?"
"No," she answered softly.
With that, Peggy turned leaving Eliza to rest, softly shutting the door on her way out.
It wasn't long before the door opened again and Eliza let out a groan, pulling the covers over her head. "Eliza," a voice began and reached out to place on her shoulder.
Brown eyes peered over the blanket and she saw her mother sitting there on the edge of the bed with her. "Mama? I told Peggy to tell you 'm sick." She didn't want her mother or younger siblings to catch whatever it was she had.
Catherine reached out a hand, running her fingers through Eliza's hair. It was a soft gesture something that she had done since they were children when they were upset or not feeling well. "Darling, can I ask you something?"
Part of Eliza really wished that her mother wouldn't, she wanted to sink back down into the blankets and just rest and sleep it off. Knowing her mother, however, she knew that she was better off answering the question. "What is it?" She asked softly.
Catherine was silent for a moment before she asked. "When was the last time you bled?"
Eliza sat there, dumbfounded. Her face turned red as she glanced away from her mother. It was a question. When was the last time she had bled? She could remember it happening before Alexander had came home to visit and they had spent nights in the bedroom, but she didn't remember bleeding since Alexander had left.
"Oh," she said softly.
Catherine gave her a soft smile. "The first time always comes as a surprise and unexpected."
Eliza glanced down as another wave of nausea hit her. This time she wasn't sure if it was the baby growing inside of her. A hand rested on her stomach as she adjusted herself in the bed. "Mama, we're at war. What if….what if…" She didn't finish her sentence.
Catherine reached out, placing a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. Her mother had been around for a long time, even having her and her sisters when her father was fighting. It was a familiar feeling. "Darling, you shouldn't think about that." Catherine spoke softly. "I know it's hard, but he will return. You need to tell him that he's going to be a father."
Alexander had begged her constantly in letters to write him back and Eliza was always afraid to, ever since their courtship. She wasn't eloquent with words like Angelica was and always worried that she would bore him with her words. She glanced down. "I don't want to tell him through a letter. I want to tell him in person."
Catherine let out a soft sigh. "Eliza, we don't know if he's coming home anytime soon."
Eliza grasped the covers of the bed, knuckles going white. "Mama, stop." Telling her husband through a letter that he was going to be a father wasn't the way she pictured of delivering the news about their first child.
"Eliza," Catherine reached out and placed a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "You have to know that might be a reality. You have to let Alexander know and I think writing to him will be the best course of action."
The brunette woman didn't say a word as she stared down at the blankets in front of her. She wanted to lay down and curl up and make the world go away. He wrote her letters all the time and Eliza barely responded always being blown away about how he could pack everything so eloquently into a letter.
She rarely wrote to her husband because she couldn't find the proper words most of the time. She wanted her letters to be as flawless and as eloquent as her husband and he teased her at times that she wasn't as quick. Her hand rested on her belly as her mother's hand came off her shoulder. "Just think about it, alright?"
Eliza let out a soft sigh and nodded. "Yes, Mother."
July, 1781
The weeks passed and every day, Eliza found it harder and harder to write a letter. There was so much to say. She sat on the porch, cradling her youngest sister, Catherine. Eliza couldn't believe that some day soon that she would be cradling her own child like this.
Hearing something, Eliza looked up and saw Alexander coming on horseback. Her face lit up and she wanted to cry. She stood up, still holding her youngest sister in her arms as he dismounted the horse and made his way up the porch. "Alexander," she said softly as she made her way over to him. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm happy to see you too," he said as he leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her lips before he looked down at his wife standing before him.
"Give me a moment, yeah?" Eliza said as she nodded her head and came in and handed her sister off to her mother before stepping back out. She looked up and smiled Alexander and leaned in and placed a kiss on his lips once again. "I missed you," she murmured as she wrapped her arms around him.
"I've missed you too."
"I thought that you wouldn't be able to come home."
Alexander brought a hand up, resting along Eliza's back as they found a seat. "I wanted to come home and see you before I'm off once again."
The brunette rested her head against Alexander's chest, letting out a soft smile as she looked up at him. "I see," she murmured, biting her lower lip. "Alexander, I wanted to talk to you." She glanced around for a moment and invited Alexander to sit down with her to the bench that was on the porch.
"Is everything alright?" He asked softly as he reached up, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Eliza bit her lower lip as she looked up at her husband, soft smile on her face.
"Mother suggested I write this in a letter to you, so I'm glad you're here. I was struggling to find the words and I wanted to tell you in person."
"Eliza, my love, whatever it is, you can tell me."
She looked at her husband, smiling. "I know. Alexander, I'm with child."
There was a long pause as Alexander just stared at her for a long moment. "Eliza," he said softly as he took her hand in his. He pressed a kiss before pulling her into a tight hug.
Tears sprung to her eyes. "Alexander," she began as she pulled away, looking up at her husband. "Please, please. Just come back to me, come back to us."
Alexander didn't say a word as he hugged her tightly, rubbing her shoulders. "I can't make any promises Eliza, but I will do everything in my power to come home for the both of you."
"That's all I ask," she whispered, kissing his lips once again.