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It had all started with an illness.
Not an entirely unexpected thing, considering how she was still drastically underweight, even with how Jäger insisted on feeding her. And not unexpected considering she hadn’t exactly been in the best of health due to the conditions of the camp. So when she came down with a nausea that left her wiped out for days, it was not the most odd thing in the world.
But then the other symptoms started to appear.
She felt tired all the time, even more so then normal, a tiredness that no amount of sleep would solve. She had reoccurring headaches that would last for hours and would withstand sleep, making it hard to think straight. Her breasts hurt, for no reason whatsoever, and she had taken to lying entirely on her back to try and ease the pain. Even her sense themselves changed, her taste for foods varying wildly by the day and making it hard to hold anything down, even as she ached to not starve.
And through it all, Jäger was there by her side, worrying over her, trying to comfort her from whatever affliction had settled onto her. Not that she wanted his comfort or care, but considering she couldn’t stop him even when she had been in better health, she had no choice but to let him pamper her as best he could.
After a few weeks of steadily getting worse, with no attempts from Jäger helping, she began to suspect poison. She wouldn’t put it past him, to make her ill just so he could comfort her freely. Perhaps he had gotten tired of her attempts to fend him off and simply decided that basic force was not to his taste, that a sugar-coated lie would serve him better. He certainly seemed more than happy to dote on her as she lie incapacitated in bed, stroking her hair and massaging the tension out of her skull as she tried to avoid rolling to vomit onto the floor. It was only when he visibly started panicking over her condition that she truly stared to get worried.
He had taken her to the camp doctor five weeks into the ordeal. That in and of itself spooked her, Jäger always previously insisting on caring for her personally rather than letting her out of his room. He carried her there, barking at whomever was unlucky enough to be caught out in the halls to get out of his way, sending SS men of all ranks scurrying. It would have been funny if not for how miserable she felt.
She had lied back on a table, letting the cool wood calm her aching head as she tried to ignore the invasion of having blood and urine samples taken from her. She had no idea what use the latter would have, only that the doctor was insistent after Jäger described what she was going through. He had tried to ask about her cycle, only to be met with a blank stare and a gesture towards her prominent ribs that caused him to immediately change focus to another matter.
That was several days ago and Jäger had again carried her to the doctor’s office. He was pacing incessantly, boots constantly clicking on the tile floor. He drummed his gloved fingertips together, occasionally reaching out to touch her shoulder before resuming his pacing, agitation now fully visible. For all that she was physically there, she truly wasn’t, mind fully elsewhere as her headache made her unable to focus and her tiredness made her want to close her eyes and never wake. She actually missed much of the doctor’s chatter when he returned, catching a bit about anemia and relaxing a little knowing it was just a common affliction. Then she heard the rest.
“-pregnant? Are you sure? This had better not be a trick or I’ll beat you to death myself.”
The doctor’s response was hesitant. “Of course not, Herr- she is- I mean-” He cleared his throat. “The test doesn’t lie, Herr Standartenführer. She is pregnant.”
Jäger gave no response. Neither did she. She heard Jäger swallow hard.
“So... I’m going to be a father. That is what will happen.”
“Unless you would like otherwise, of course. We could solve the problem for you, if you’d like. You’d just have to wait a few days before contin-”
“No! Don’t you dare even suggest that!” Jäger was in the doctor’s face, shoulders forward and hands curled into fists. “You will not lay a hand on her without my permission. Understand?”
“Herr Standartenführer, I-”
“I said, understand?”
The doctor nodded frantically. “Of course, Herr Standartenführer, she’s yours, Herr Standartenführer. Whatever you like.”
“Good. Let’s keep it that way.”
Jäger seemed to calm into blankness, eyes unfocused on the far wall. “I’m going to be a father. I’m going to be a father and I’ll be yours as well, Anna. It’ll be our child.”
He turned to her with a face of boyish, naive happiness. He rushed to pick her up in his arms and twirl her around. “It’ll be our child. Ours!” He kissed her and when he backed off his expression was a dopey, loving smile. “It’ll be ours. Just like you are mine.”
The finality of it all crashed down on her and she never cried so hard in her life. And through it all, Jäger held her, telling her he would make it okay, just like always.