They Believed Astartes Could Never Father Children...
For as long as they had served the Chapter...
They had believed one thing without question.
Astartes could not have children.
It was simply accepted as fact.
Neither of you had ever expected otherwise.
Before leaving on a deployment that would last several months, the two of you had made a promise.
You would wait for one another.
Always.
So when they finally returned to the battle barge...
Battle-worn, exhausted, and longing to see you...
The last thing they expected was to find you with the unmistakable curve of a pregnant abdomen.
For one terrible, heartbreaking moment...
The impossible seemed true.
Until the truth finally came to light.
---
Brother Valius
Valius had imagined your reunion a hundred different ways during the voyage home.
None of them looked like this.
He stopped in the doorway of your quarters.
His single eye immediately fell to the gentle curve beneath your robes.
His entire body went still.
"..."
You smiled through relieved tears.
"Valius..."
He couldn't answer.
His thoughts raced.
That isn't possible.
It can't be mine...
His heart sank.
"You..."
His voice was barely audible.
"...You promised."
The words struck you harder than any blade.
Your smile disappeared.
"...Valius..."
"I never broke that promise."
He looked away, unable to meet your eyes.
He wanted to believe you.
More than anything.
But everything he had ever been taught insisted this could not happen.
Before either of you could say another word, the Chief Apothecary entered the room.
"My lord."
"There has been... an unexpected discovery."
Valius slowly turned.
"The child is yours."
Silence.
"The gene-seed did not render you infertile as previously believed."
"It merely made such pregnancies extraordinarily rare."
Valius stared.
Then looked back at you.
"...Mine?"
Tears rolled freely down your cheeks as you nodded.
"You never had a reason to doubt me."
He crossed the room in seconds, gently wrapping you in his arms.
"I am so sorry."
He buried his face against your hair.
"I failed you."
"You never failed me."
"I should have trusted your heart before my assumptions."
---
Brother Quartus
Quartus had survived centuries of war.
Very little could truly shake him.
Seeing you pregnant...
Did.
He stood perfectly still.
"...Explain."
The single word was calm.
But underneath it...
You heard heartbreak.
You immediately reached for him.
"I never betrayed you."
His jaw tightened.
"I know your character."
"But..."
"This should not be possible."
His voice carried genuine confusion rather than anger.
"I believed we were incapable."
"So did I."
The Apothecary quietly confirmed the truth.
"Your child is biologically yours."
"It appears the old assumption was incorrect."
Quartus closed his eyes.
A long breath escaped him.
When he looked at you again...
His expression was filled with guilt.
"I doubted the woman I love."
You gently took his hand.
"You doubted what you had been taught."
He slowly rested that hand against your stomach.
"...Forgive me."
"There is nothing to forgive."
---
Brother Decimus
Decimus practically sprinted through the corridors after hearing you had been waiting for him.
He burst into your quarters wearing the biggest grin imaginable.
"...I'M HOME—"
He froze.
"..."
You smiled nervously.
"...Welcome back."
His eyes slowly drifted downward.
"...You're..."
"...Pregnant."
Silence.
His grin disappeared.
"...How?"
You stepped forward.
"I can explain."
His laugh was hollow.
"I don't think you can."
The pain in his eyes broke your heart.
"I never broke my promise."
"I swear it."
Before either of you could say more, the Apothecary cleared his throat.
"Brother Decimus."
"I have already confirmed the child's parentage."
Decimus blinked.
"...What?"
"The child is yours."
"...Mine?"
"Entirely."
He looked between you and the Apothecary three different times.
"...You're serious?"
The Apothecary nodded.
Without another word, Decimus crossed the room and hugged you so carefully it almost made you cry.
"I am never assuming anything ever again."
You laughed through your tears.
"I'd appreciate that."
---
Brother Scipius
Scipius immediately recognized every visible sign of pregnancy.
His conclusion was immediate.
And completely wrong.
"You are approximately several months pregnant."
"...Yes."
His expression remained unreadable.
"We have been separated for an equivalent period."
"...Yes."
He quietly looked away.
"I see."
"No."
"You don't."
Your voice cracked.
"I never betrayed you."
Before he could respond, the Apothecary handed him a medical report.
Scipius read every line.
Twice.
Then a third time.
Finally...
"...My calculations were based on an incorrect premise."
He looked at you.
"...I am sorry."
"I trusted logic more than I trusted you."
You gently embraced him.
"And now?"
He rested one careful hand against your stomach.
"...Now I trust both."
---
Brother Vespasius
Vespasius felt as though the ground had disappeared beneath him.
"You are with child."
"...Yes."
His voice was quiet.
"We have been apart for months."
"I know."
His heart urged him to trust you.
His mind insisted such a thing was impossible.
"I..."
"I do not understand."
You took his trembling hands.
"I have never loved anyone but you."
Moments later, the Apothecary explained everything.
The child belonged to him.
The impossible had simply become reality.
Vespasius closed his eyes as tears gathered.
"I asked for understanding."
"The Emperor granted me humility instead."
He embraced you gently.
"I should never have questioned your faithfulness."
---
Brother Straban
He entered.
Looked at you.
Looked at your stomach.
"...Observation."
You sighed softly.
"...I know."
"...Pregnant."
"...Yes."
"...Timeline inconsistent."
You looked down.
"It isn't."
Before either of you could continue, the Apothecary spoke.
"The timeline is entirely consistent."
Straban looked over.
"...Clarify."
"The pregnancy is yours."
A pause.
"...Impossible."
"...Apparently not."
Another pause.
Straban looked back at you.
"...Assessment revised."
You smiled weakly.
"...And?"
He walked over, resting a careful hand against your stomach.
"...Apology required."
"...Immediately."
---
Brother Telorian
Telorian approached the situation analytically.
He observed.
Calculated.
Compared dates.
Every equation produced the same impossible answer.
Until the Apothecary presented genetic confirmation.
Telorian read the report in silence.
Then again.
"...The foundational assumption was incorrect."
He looked at you.
"So..."
"I accused you internally of something you never did."
You nodded sadly.
"I know."
He immediately stepped forward.
"My conclusion was unjust."
"I should have sought evidence before reaching judgment."
Very gently, he rested his forehead against yours.
"I am profoundly sorry."
---
Captain Acheran
Acheran had always trusted you.
Yet the sight before him challenged everything he believed possible.
He struggled to reconcile his faith in you with what decades of doctrine had taught him.
When the Apothecary confirmed the child was his...
Relief washed over him so powerfully he nearly staggered.
"I allowed impossible assumptions to outweigh the character of the woman I love."
He took both of your hands.
"I will regret that for a long time."
You smiled through your tears.
"Then spend that time making happier memories instead."
A faint smile finally returned to his face.
"I intend to."
---
Sergeant Varellus
Varellus said nothing at first.
He simply looked at you.
Then quietly asked,
"Did you keep your promise?"
Your eyes filled with tears.
"Every day."
The certainty in your voice gave him pause.
When the Apothecary confirmed the truth...
Varellus closed his eyes.
"I should have believed you first."
You reached for his hand.
"You believe me now."
"I do."
His hand settled gently over your stomach.
"And I intend to spend the rest of my life proving it."
---
Lieutenant Titus
Titus was silent for a long time.
Not because he believed you capable of betrayal.
Because everything he knew told him this could not happen.
The Apothecary's explanation changed that in an instant.
"Our understanding was incomplete."
"The child is yours, Lieutenant."
Titus looked at you, guilt plain in his eyes.
"I never spoke the accusation aloud."
"No."
You nodded.
"But I saw you wondering."
He stepped forward, carefully embracing you.
"I am sorry."
"I should have trusted the woman I love before trusting old assumptions."
---
Sergeant Gadriel
Gadriel's first reaction was confusion.
His second was hurt.
His third, after hearing the Apothecary's findings, was deep remorse.
"I judged an impossible situation using incomplete knowledge."
He bowed his head slightly before you.
"I ask your forgiveness."
You smiled gently.
"You have it."
Only then did he allow himself to rest a careful hand over your abdomen.
"So small..."
He murmured.
"...And already so loved."
---
Brother Chairon
Chairon looked at you with quiet sadness rather than anger.
"I know your heart."
He said softly.
"But I do not understand what I see."
When the Apothecary revealed the truth, Chairon let out a long breath.
"It seems even warriors may still learn."
He smiled warmly as he embraced you.
"I never wish to doubt your honesty again."
Then he knelt before you, resting one gentle hand against your growing belly.
"Little one..."
"You have already taught your father his first lesson."
