"It's a simple cold, but with the pregnancy his body can't fight it as well as it would if he wasn't expecting." The doctor informed them, seeing the relief on Harry's face as he held onto Louis' hand where he was sitting next to him on the bed.

"Do you think my child is okay?" Harry asked, knowing the doctor wouldn't talk to his father about him and Louis.

"It is moving as it should and Louis is big enough like he should. I say he or she is in good condition." The doctor assured him as he smiled, "Are you going to tell your father soon?" He asked him.

"Tonight after Louis and his friends move in with me." Harry nodded, looking Lucy's way who was busy packing Louis' stuff, "And if he doesn't accept him and my child then I guess he'll be the last of the Styles to rule over England." Harry said, having decided that no one, not even his father will keep him from being with Louis and their child as he looked at a sleeping Louis, running his fingers through his soft hair.

"I know Des and your mother have been dying for a grandchild. Sure, the circumstances are different but you're intending to marry him. That child will be born under that marriage and will have a right to the throne once the time comes. I've known Des since we were very little and I know that if you approach him the right way then he won't deny you anything." The doctor said, placing his hand on Harry's shoulder, then pulled it back to gather his things.

A few minutes later he was out the door leaving the house soon after with Zayn who offered to accompany him back to the palace now that Harry will be leaving with the rest. Harry let Louis rest a bit more before he had to absolutely wake him up, and instead watched Lucy finish what she was doing before she excused herself to go pack her stuff and let Liam know who no doubt will go wherever Louis went.

"Harry?" Louis woke up almost half an hour later, looking around the room until he spotted him by the window looking outside.

"I'm here." Harry rushed to his side, taking a seat next to him, furrowing his brow when Louis only stared at him, his blue eyes searching for something in his that he couldn't decipher until Louis spoke up completely surprising him.

"That night I waited for you to come back, I wanted to tell you I had changed my mind but you never did. Then I went looking for you and when I saw you I followed you hoping you'll still want me...I guess you don't anymore. I was too late, wasn't I?" Louis looked down, tracing circles on the bedsheet with his index finger.

"No." Harry answered, catching Louis' attention who looked up at him, "I still want to marry you, I was just giving you the space you needed before I decided when to approach you again."

"I was scared, I didn't want to end up the same way again. I- I didn't want to go through the same hell again. There's so many things you don't know about me as I don't about you. I wasn't sure you were telling the truth." Louis confessed as he looked around the room, sitting up when he saw his packed bags.

"I told Lucy to pack them for you. You're coming with me, Kitten." Harry said.

"W–What about Lucy and Liam? I'm not going to leave them behind." Louis looked at him as he chewed on his bottom lip.

"They're coming too and when we get there, you and I need to talk. I won't keep any secrets from you." Harry said, leaning down to kiss Louis' forehead focusing on whether it was still warm or not, never seeing Louis blushing.

When Louis felt a bit better, Harry helped him up and helped him change into warmer clothes then led him outside to where a carriage was already waiting for them. He helped him into it then Lucy while a few guards loaded their bags in the back, and as soon as they were ready he and Liam as well as the many guards he had brought for protection got on their horses and started their journey. On the way there he couldn't stop looking around the almost dark empty streets, making sure no one was lurking around afraid of something happening to Louis and their child.

When they got to the palace Liam didn't say anything and instead helped carry Lucy's bags inside while Harry carried a sleeping Louis who was too tired to see where he was. Liam and Lucy's eyes widened when Harry offered them rooms right next to his, and when they insisted on sleeping in the servants quarters, Harry convinced them that they were his future husband's friends and in that case also friends of his. He waited for the maids to put Louis' things away with his in what was now their wardrobe, and when they were done he thanked them then went to lay down next to Louis rubbing small circles on his belly waking him up.

"Where am I?" Louis asked as he looked around with sleepy eyes.

"Home." Harry answered, lifting his shirt up feeling the warm smooth skin on his fingertips.

"Home..." Louis repeated and seconds later smiled, snuggling closer to Harry, "What do you do? You must be close to the king to live like this." Louis asked, seeing how luxurious everything was then frowned when he felt Harry stiffening next to him.

"I told you I wouldn't keep secrets from you." Harry slowly said.

"And I won't either, I will tell you everything." Louis said, then took a deep breath gathering enough courage to say what he needed to say, "I– I'm not in love with you right now, but I'm sure that with time I will. You're everything I've always wanted."

"As I'm sure I will fall in love with you some day, kitten." Harry kissed the top of his head, glad that he was being honest. They weren't in love yet but there was mutual attraction and affection, which was a good thing.

"So what do you do for a living?" Louis insisted, hearing Harry taking a deep breath. "Are you the king's strongest knight or his advisor? Am I going to marry my very own knight in shining armor?" Louis giggled as he traced circles on Harry's chest.

"He's my father." Harry blurted out, feeling Louis stopping what he was doing, "And our child, that baby we manage to create together, is second in line to the throne." Harry finished, tightening his grip around Louis when he tried to get up.

"Your father will never allow you to marry someone like me, I- I'm not a royal and he won't accept my baby because of me." Louis started panicking, "I can't marry you, I'm sorry."

"If he doesn't accept you and our baby then I guess we'll have no choice but to pack our stuff and leave, build a little house in the countryside where we'll raise our little one and many more. I'm not giving you up, Louis." Harry said, set on not letting Louis go.

"I've always wanted that." Louis smiled, remembering how Edward had promised him just that and he was finally getting it but with a different man, one he was sure he would come to love with all his heart.

"Anything for you." Harry kissed him again, letting him go watching Louis sit in front of him with his legs under his bum seeing how excited he looked.

"I hope your father accepts me but if he doesn't...if he doesn't then we can leave and raise our children far away from here and I can ask Lucy to teach me how to cook so I can cook your and our children's favorite meals. It will be perfect!" Louis happily told him, already imagining everything.

"I have to go talk to my father before he goes to bed." Harry sat up, giving Louis a kiss on the lips, "Go to sleep, I'm not sure how long it's going to take me so don't wait for me."

"Are you going to tell him why I got pregnant?" Louis shyly asked, suddenly feeling horrible realizing that he had forced Harry into it even though he had willingly fucked him all night long.

"Kitten...for our sake, I'm going to sugarcoat it just a little bit." Harry said, quickly kissing Louis again when his eyes widened.

"We shouldn't lie to him, he needs to know the full truth." Louis insisted.

"Just let me handle it, kitten. Go to sleep." Harry grabbed Louis' dainty hands kissing each one then made Louis lay down on the soft bed and covered him so he would stay warm.

Harry left his bedroom soon after, heading straight to see his parents knowing that both his parents were still up and probably reading in their small reading room used exclusively by them. He knocked three times hearing a raspy come in then opened the door taking a deep breath as he did so.

King Des and his wife the queen Anne, were sitting together on a loveseat reading a book, each taking turns reading a passage having paused when they heard the knock. They looked at their son with pride in their eyes but soon turned into a frown when they noticed how nervous he was, which was something their son never showed.

"Son, is there something wrong?" Des asked, closing and putting the book on the little table in front of them.

"Darling, you look a little pale." Anne quickly got up, checking to see if her son was running a fever, frowning when she found nothing wrong with him.

"I need to talk to both of you." Harry said, wrapping an arm around his mother's waist after kissing her cheek. He let her sit down back on her spot then took a seat on the chair in front of them getting ready to talk.

"Do you remember that trip I made to Doncaster a few months ago?" Harry asked them, then continued when they nodded, "Those men tricked us then tried to kill us, and Zayn got hurt..."

"We know son." Des urged him when Harry completely stopped talking, wondering what his only son was hiding from them.

"What I didn't tell you was that we got captured by a few guards when we hid in a house, turns out it was the home of the earl of Doncaster. He...He wanted us dead and he would have killed us if I hadn't..." Harry paused to take a deep breath, making sure he was looking as distressed as ever. His future and Louis' depended on how well he acted.

"Darling, you're scaring me." Anne tried to get up, but stopped when Harry started talking again.

"He was married to a boy seventeen years younger than him and had no children after many years of trying. He knew it was him who couldn't have them and to make sure the title stayed in his family he...he forced me to bed his husband without the boy's knowledge." Harry confessed, seeing his mother covering her face with her hands mumbling things he couldn't hear.

"Did he know who you were?" Des asked in a cold hard tone, making Harry shiver.

"No father, he didn't care who I was or what I looked like as long as I did what he wanted me to do." Harry lied.

"And the boy?" The king asked, "I know Lord Clark is dead, now tell me what happened to the boy." He demanded.

"He's...he's expecting my first child." Harry told them with a small smile on his face.

"Oh lord, no, this cannot be happening." Anne started crying, feeling her husband's arms around her.

"I've asked him to marry me and he accepted. Father, I'm not going to leave him and my child alone when it's partly my fault he's in this situation." Harry got up from his spot to kneel down in front of his parents, taking both of their hands in his, "I can't abandon them when I'm all they have."

"How far along is he?" Des asked, already thinking of what the church would say.

"Six months.." Harry answered waiting for his father to say something.

"You're making sure to keep your bloodline where it should be." Des commented. "But the church won't allow it."

"To hell with church!" Harry exclaimed. He got up and started pacing back and forth in front of his parents, trying to think of something to convince them, to get their blessing.

"He is not a royal." Des insisted. "He has been married already, and that child was conceived under nothing but sin."

"And I am not a puppet for them to do with as they wish! He is the one I want to spend the rest of my life with, he's carrying my first child out of many and I'm not going to give him up." Harry stood in front of his parents, a dark look on his face. "If you and them can't see that then I don't see the point in staying here. I'm giving up my title as The Duke of Cambridge. We'll be gone by morning. Now if you'll excuse me." He turned around and started walking towards the door.

"No! Please no!" Anne got up and ran to him, wrapping her arms around her son.

"Mother, please let go." Harry tried to pry her arms off from around him. "Don't make this more difficult than it already is."

"Des, you can't do this!" Anne glared at her husband with tears in her eyes. "That child is our grandchild and rightful heir to the throne. We can say they've been married for a while, that the child was conceived under their union. No one has to know and the church owes us many favors, they won't deny us this."

"Anne..." Des said through gritted teeth.

"Mother, please don't beg him." Harry turned around and wrapped his arms around his mother. "Louis and I will be fine and you'll be able to see your grandchild whenever you want."

"There won't be an heir to the throne unless Gemma comes back from France, and we know that's not possible." Anne told her husband.

"But the church–"

"The church won't stop me from leaving you." Anne interrupted him.

Harry watched and wrapped an arm around his mother's waist, waiting for his father to make a decision. He knew what it would be when his father looked away and refused to make eye contact.

"I will not allow this." He said, and it was final.

"You're always preaching about keeping your bloodline close, not everywhere!" Anne screamed, her face getting redder by the second. "You're a liar just like church!"

"We'll be gone soon, father." Harry told him, unable to move when his mother once again wrapped her arms around him.

"I will be leaving with you, my child." Anne announced. "Your Louis will need someone to keep him company, someone to help him through the birth. After all, it's no easy thing."

"Anne..."

"You made your choice, Desmond! I warned you." Anne glared, and just like that she made her way to the wardrobe to start packing her things herself.

Harry looked at his father one more time before he walked out of there and made his way back to his bedroom. He found Louis sleeping soundly under the covers, and without waking him up, Harry made his way to the wardrobe to pack all of their things. He stopped halfway through it and walked out of there and knocked on Liam's door. The man opened the door, still fully dressed but looking exhausted.

"Is there something wrong?" Liam asked.

"Get your things, we're leaving in an hour. Please let Lucy know." Harry told him.

"Why?" Liam asked, seeing Harry taking a deep breath.

"Father didn't accept Louis and that I want to marry him so we're leaving. I have a house my grandfather left me and it's out in the countryside, it will be our new home." Harry told him.

Liam nodded and Harry left to go back to his bedroom to finish packing. He had a few guards carry all of their bags outside where two carriages were already waiting for them. The journey there was going to take them a full day and he wanted to be there by nighttime. He didn't want to expose Louis and his mother to cold temperatures more than he had to. He was dreading having to wake Louis up again when the sun wasn't even out yet but he had to.

He gently shook him and ran his fingers through his silky hair as he mumbled his name. Louis opened his blue eyes and Harry couldn't help but smile and find them beautiful. He hoped their child would inherit his future husband's eyes.

"We have to go." Harry told him, leaning down to kiss his forehead.

His heart ached when Louis' face completely fell and tears filled his eyes. In that moment, he promised himself to do the impossible to always make Louis happy. Louis would never again shed a tear, except if they were out of happiness. He placed his hand on his cheek and kissed his head before wrapping his arms around him.

"Where would we go?" Louis cried against Harry's chest.

"Don't worry about that. I have a house and that's where we will be staying." Harry told him, furrowing his brow when Louis started shaking his head.

"I can't let you give up everything for me. That would be selfish of me." Louis pulled away from him.

"And it would be selfish of me to choose a title over you and our child. Louis, I want to be with you. Who cares about a crown, a title." Harry said, sounding on the verge of begging.

"Just...please don't hate me when you realize what you gave up to be with me." Louis wrapped his arms around him and rested his head against his chest, feeling Harry's hand rubbing his back.

"Never, darling." Harry kissed the top of his head.

They were interrupted by a knock on the door and Louis sat up then scrambled out of the bed when the queen walked into the bedroom in all her glory. She was the most beautiful woman Louis had ever seen, worthy of being a queen. Her hair was down in waves cascading down her front and was wearing a thick expensive coat.

"Your majesty." Louis was just about to bow when she stepped forward and offered her hand, smiling when Louis took it.

"He is beautiful." She said to Harry, seeing Louis blushing.

Her eyes much like her son's wandered down to Louis' stomach, slowly lifting her hand up but stopping to look at Louis. "May I?" She asked.

Louis never thought he would be in the presence of the queen herself. The strong wise woman who reigned along her husband, the woman many looked up for her courage, fairness, and kindness. He nodded and soon her palm was against the side of his stomach. His child gave a hard kick, making the queen smile at the greeting.

"Your child is a strong one, my dear." Anne said.

"He takes after his father." Louis returned the smile, but it went away as soon as she raised her brows.

"He?" She asked.

"I–" Louis blushed. "I was hoping for a boy, your majesty." He confessed.

"Call me Anne, dear." She waved him off. "And whatever the lord decides to bless us with. My grandchild will be loved either way."

Louis seemed surprised at the queen's attitude when all his life he had been told over and over the importance of giving his husband a male firstborn. In the world he had grown up in, a male was worth more than a female. But if a male was born with the mark like Louis had, then his worth reduced to one of a female. Liam would always make sure to tell him he was worth it, but years of abuse had made Louis incapable of thinking like that. Sadly, with that mentality, he knew he had to give Harry a son. One with no mark. And if he didn't, he would be considered unworthy of him..

"I'm sure Louis knows that, mother." Harry smiled at his mother then Louis. "We should go, we have a long way to go and I don't want to be out late at night.

"I'll wait in the carriage." Anne said, leaving soon after.

"You ready?" Harry asked Louis.

Louis only nodded and let Harry put a thick coat over him before the man wrapped his arm around his waist to help him down the long staircase. Louis made sure to hold on to the railing, feeling exhausted by the time they made it downstairs. Louis thought they would make it out with no problem, but that was before he saw a man standing by the front door. His aura was powerful and he wore the most expensive clothes, deemed for only the king himself.

His gaze lowered down to Louis' belly, lingering for a few seconds before looking up. He let out a loud sigh and Louis' felt his cheeks heating up with shame. Harry made an annoyed sound and pulled Louis closer to him, walking past his father without acknowledging him. He helped Louis into the carriage and seconds later Lucy climbed in as well with Harry's help. Louis kept his gaze down, unable to look at the queen in the eyes, having noticed her sitting in front of him. He clung to Lucy and she let him rest his head against her shoulder so he could continue sleeping.

"You're going to love the country house." Anne spoke up, making Louis look at her. "Don't let my husband make you feel ashamed." She told him.

"I–" Louis looked down again, feeling Lucy tightening her hold on him.

"He's a stubborn man, but soon he'll get over it and end up asking us to go back." Anne took off her gloves, then chuckled. "No heir has ever been born out of the palace. I would like to think Des will not allow our grandchild to be born in some town, in a place that is not their mother's nest."

Louis nodded obediently, biting his tongue when he wanted to tell her his child would be born in the home Harry had provided for him and their child. He ended up sleeping for most of the morning until the sun was rising high in the sky, that's when they stopped and Harry opened the door.

"We're stopping to eat something." He informed them. "The place is a little run down, but it is clean. We'll eat, rest and then continue."

He helped his mother out, then Louis and finally Lucy who still wasn't used to being near royalty. But her place was by Louis' side no matter what, she and Liam had promised to look after him and his child. The place was exactly like Harry had described it, but the old woman serving them was the sweetest person Louis had ever met. She had owned the place along with her husband for years and to her, it was an honor to have them there.

Louis ate until he was full, having blushed when Harry started feeding him from his own plate. When they were done, they left after resting for an hour, but not before rewarding the couple. Soon dirty streets started turning into snowy valleys and for once, Louis felt happy to see them. He was finally going to start a new life with a good man he knew he was going to fall in love with soon.

When Harry told him about owning a country house, Louis thought he had meant a one story house, not the two story mansion standing in front of him. He was standing right next to Harry, a hand over his belly and the other holding Harry's hand. His baby gave a few kicks and Louis smiled, placing Harry's hand right where he had felt it. He knew Harry could feel their child when he smiled, dimples showing up full force. He blushed when Harry wrapped his arms around him and kissed the side of his head.

"This is where we'll start our new life, my love." Harry told him.

Louis' eyes filled with tears and his heart with hope. For the second time in his life, he had hope.

Thank you all so much for the lovely comments! They're really appreciated. :)