I originally had this written as a full, multi-chapter story quite some time ago. However, I was very nervous about the reception it might get as it is an mpreg story and there's not too many of them out there. However, with Darkness Death and Riches's amazing reviews on my stories, I was inspired to put this out there regardless. They truly gave me so much confidence from my last story, and I'm so happy to be able to put this up.
I'd also like to personally thank them from the bottom of my heart. You are absolutely the most amazing source of inspiration and confidence I've had in so long. I've never had a dedicated reader of my stories before, and it's such an amazing feeling. Thank you so much for everything!
The day Esteban was born was by far the best, and the worst day of Ulrich's life.
Ulrich woke up that morning in a funk he knew would take more than coffee and sweets to get out of. His head was aching, he hardly slept the night before, and he had a science exam to boot. The German boy twisted himself around on his bed, coming face to face with his fast asleep boyfriend. Ulrich smiled lightly and ran his fingers through the blonde locks thrown wildly around the Italian's head. Taking Odd's hand in his own, Ulrich was careful to remove the blue ring from his boyfriend's finger, double checking that the door was locked before he fully pulled it off.
Jeremy had worked on the ring from the moment they found out Odd was pregnant, until he finished it just as the blonde had started to show. Unfortunately for Jeremy, that wasn't very soon after, Odd's petite figure giving away more far quicker than usual. Ulrich didn't understand all the computer talk when Jeremy tried to explain it to him, but Aelita simply made sure he knew that it didn't hurt their baby. When Odd wore it, the progressively growing bump disappeared, allowing them to avoid all side eyes and questions of, "I thought he was a boy?"
It also allowed them to avoid telling everyone that a computer program captured his boyfriend and implanted female organs and a new set of hormones in him. Aelita was positive that XANA was only intending on putting a pause on one or two of them constantly being able to go to Lyoko quickly, while Jeremy was adamant that XANA wanted to use the baby to kill Odd. After all, men couldn't have children, there was no way he could have carried the baby to term without it affecting his health somehow. Despite Jeremy's stance, everyone had been against the blonde, and he got to work on a new scanner to check the baby's progress, the ring, and a plan for what to do when the baby was born.
Ulrich placed his hand delicately on Odd's protruding stomach, kissing the blonde lightly on the cheek. He knew that realistically, XANA hadn't been intending on giving them a gift with that attack, but Ulrich couldn't help thinking that the entire thing might turn out okay. It had been nine months and Odd was still as strong and healthy as he was before it happened. Ulrich smiled lightly as Odd's eyes flittered open, a tired groan leaving his lips as he stretched.
"Good morning." Ulrich said, kissing the younger lightly on the lips. Odd sighed in contentment, hand laying atop Ulrich's still lazily stroking his stomach.
"Morning." Odd shifted slightly so he was lying more on his back, Ulrich's arm still supporting him. The blonde pulled his shirt up to his chest, hand immediately finding its way back onto Ulrich's. The German boy leaned down, kissing his stomach lightly before kissing Odd's lips again.
"Good morning, kleiner junge." Ulrich whispered, smiling as he felt his son kick his hand lightly. Odd squeezed his hand, pressing a sweet kiss to Ulrich's forehead.
"He's such a sweet baby." Odd said, pushing himself back against the wall. Ulrich helped him sit up, arm still wrapped around his boyfriend's shoulders. "My mom said I used to fight monsters when she was pregnant with me." The Italian chuckled, Ulrich nodding in agreement.
"My dad said I'd give him a good sidekick to the face if he got anywhere near my mom's stomach. I used to think it was a boy thing." Ulrich leaned his head against Odd's own, the two content to sit in silence for the remaining time they had before their first class.
"Ah!" Odd sat up suddenly, hand cupping his back as his face contorted in pain. Ulrich immediately sat up with him, face twisted in worry as he rubbed the blonde's back comfortingly.
"You okay?" Ulrich asked. Odd took a deep breath in, clenching his teeth before letting it out. The blonde nodded his head yes, Ulrich continuing to rub his back. "I think we should go to Jeremy." Odd shook his head, smiling reassuringly back at the German teen.
"No, I'm okay. Really, just a bit of a pinch." Ulrich was still skeptical. Odd didn't usually express pain very freely. "We have an exam today anyway. The last thing we need is a detention for skipping again." The younger said, and Ulrich nodded in forced agreement. He'd still text Jeremy and let him know what had happened, but he wouldn't force them all to go to the factory if it was nothing more than a twinge in his back. Ulrich lifted himself off his bed, holding his hands out for Odd to take them. The blonde smiled at the gesture, taking Ulrich's hands in his own and allowing him to lift him off the bed.
"You're beautiful." Ulrich whispered, pulling Odd's shirt the rest of the way over his head. The Italian looked down bashfully in response.
"I'm fat."
"You're beautiful." Ulrich interrupted him, locking their lips together in a sweet kiss. Ulrich's hand found it's way to Odd's stomach yet again, running soothing circles over the spot his son kept pressing against. Odd wrapped his arms tightly around Ulrich's neck, their kisses becoming more passionate the longer they allowed the moment to last. That is, until a pounding knock startled them both right out of it.
"Wake up, chuckle heads! Do I have to remind you your class has an exam today?" They heard Jim shout. Looks like they weren't the only ones taking their time that morning. Odd sighed as Ulrich slipped the ring back over Odd's finger, any sign of their son disappearing the second the silver found it's place.
"I hate that we have to do that." Odd said, pressing his hand to his stomach. Ulrich placed his hand over Odd's, it merely looking as if the two were holding hands between their bodies.
"I do, too." Ulrich said sadly, kissing Odd lightly on the forehead. "Once he's here with us, we won't have to hide anymore." Odd nodded, walking away to get dressed for the day. Ulrich followed suit, and before long they were both heading out to get breakfast with the rest of their friends.
"Hey, Ulrich?" Odd asked. Ulrich looked down at the younger questioningly. "What are we going to do when, you know what happens? I mean, we can't just show up here with a baby." Ulrich sighed as the question flew around his brain. It wasn't as if he hadn't thought of that problem himself, in fact, that had been one of Jeremy's main issues with Odd keeping the baby in the first place.
"I'm not sure. I wish XANA had waited a month to do this, then we'd have graduated by then." Ulrich rolled his eyes, Odd intertwining their fingers together. "We'll be okay. We practically live at Yumi's anyway, and once we all graduate, we're going to move in with her. I'm sure she wouldn't mind if he lived there until we graduate." Ulrich said, rubbing his thumb comfortingly over Odd's.
"I don't want to be away from him. I can't stand the thought of not sleeping in the same room as him for an entire month." Odd said sadly, wiping at his eyes in aggravation. Ulrich knew Odd was frustrated by the entire situation, much like Ulrich was himself. The German couldn't count how many times he'd wanted to scream thinking about how complicated the first month of their son's life was going to be unless they figured something out. "We're supposed to be there. What if he gets upset? Yumi's not his mother." Ulrich stopped them just outside the lunch room, wrapping his arms tightly around Odd. The younger trembled as his emotions began to overflow, irritation and fear all coming together.
"We're going to figure this out, Odd." Ulrich said, rubbing his hand up and down Odd's back. Odd coughed loudly, a small whimper escaping his lips immediately after. "We will. We'll figure out a way both of us will be there." Odd nodded his head, wiping at his eyes.
"My father was never there for me. I was his little failure, he never spent a minute of his time with me. I won't let that happen with our son. There's never going to be a day I'm not there for him, okay?" Odd nodded his head and let out another small sob, the younger's arms wrapping tighter around Ulrich at the mention of his father. Odd never had liked hearing about how much Ulrich's own father had hurt him, ruined his self esteem. "I love you, and I love our son. We'll figure this out."
"Okay." Odd whimpered, taking a deep breath in and out. "Ow!" Suddenly Ulrich was grasping at his boyfriend's purple jacket in a feeble attempt to keep him from hitting the ground. The two ended up on their knees, Odd bent over with his arms wrapped around his stomach.
"Shh, shh. You're okay, I'm here." Ulrich looked around frantically, eyes catching a worried Jeremy's from inside the cafeteria. Ulrich waved him over, the blonde grabbing Aelita and running outside. "He's been having pains like this all morning." Ulrich said, Jeremy pulling out a small pen looking object from his bag.
"Odd, can you move your hands for me?" Jeremy asked, nervous but still trying to remain calm so as not to scare Odd anymore than he probably already was. Odd removed his hands and quickly latched onto Ulrich, the older shushing him as he wrapped his arms around Odd again. Jeremy took the object and pressed it to Odd's abdomen, pressing the small button on the side. A small beep resounded from the silver pen, and Jeremy lifted it up to look at it.
"Shit." Jeremy exclaimed, placing the pen back in his bag. "Odd, how long have you really been feeling these pains?" Odd looked down guiltily.
"Last night." The group sighed collectively as Odd whimpered again, hand clutching his back.
"We have to get him to the factory." Jeremy said, rushing to Odd's right side to help lift him off the ground. By the time Odd was off the ground, the contraction had passed and the blonde looked much better. "We'll go slow okay? If it gets too hard to walk just let us know. I know it's a long walk." The group began to walk slowly forward, getting to the end of the lunchroom before a looming red figure stood in front of them.
"And where do you guys think you're going?" Jim asked, hands crossed over his chest. Ulrich cursed inside his head, wanting nothing more than to just knock Jim out of the way so they could get to the factory. They couldn't just say Odd was sick, they were well aware the infirmary was in the opposite direction.
"Just, taking a little walk." Aelita spoke up. Jim looked at her questioningly. "Well you see, nature is good at helping you remember things when you take tests." Ulrich knew the 17 year old had pulled that out of her ass, but it seemed to work as Jim began to ramble on about the benefits of going outside to study for exams.
"Odd?" He heard Jeremy whisper, the brunette looking over to see his boyfriend's face contorted in pain again. The blonde's legs began to wobble as he lost his ability to hold himself up, Jeremy and Ulrich both quick to hold on tight enough he wouldn't go crashing to his knees again. "Ulrich, if we don't go now your son is going to make his grand entrance right here." To top off their problems, a loud beeping noise began to resound from Jeremy's bag slung over his shoulders. The entire group groaned in frustration.
"I'll call Yumi and William." Aelita said, glad that Jim was now so entranced by his own lecture that she hardly needed to sneak the fact she was calling somebody. After only two rings, the Japanese girl picked up her phone.
"Yumi, we have a major problem." Aelita said. "Odd's about to have his baby, we're stuck with Jim blocking our way to the factory, and now XANA's attacking." Aelita heard Yumi groan in frustration, a small chuckle coming from someone in the background.
"Oh don't worry, I can get you out of Jim's clutches." Aelita heard William say. She sighed in relief and turned to Jeremy and Ulrich, giving them both a thumbs up. They smiled gratefully at her. "I'll be there in three minutes, don't go anywhere." He said, the sound of the door slamming shut sounding through the phone.
"Couldn't if my life depended on it." Aelita said. "Yumi, meet us at the factory."
"Will do, tell Odd I'm thinking about him, okay?"
"I will, good luck." Aelita said as she hung up her phone.
"Jim, quick! I saw Herve Pichon trying to skip class a moment ago!" Aelita turned her head just in time to see William pop through the trees in the woods, Jim looking at the young man skeptically.
"Dunbar? What are you doing here?" Jim said, stalking up toward the black haired man. Seeing their chance to flee, Ulrich lifted Odd into his arms bridal style as the four ran back toward the boiler room. It seemed as if the passage in the woods was now out of the question, but that meant less climbing for Odd anyway.
"Are you okay?" Ulrich asked as Odd clenched his fists into his shirt, the smaller nodding as he attempted to breathe. "I need super sprint in real life, too." Ulrich said, Jeremy and Aelita nodding in understanding. The four finally made it to the boiler room without any further interruptions, Jeremy holding the door open for the other three to go through. Once all of them were inside, Jeremy slammed the door shut and joined them.
"Ulrich, it hurts so bad." Odd cried, a small tear escaping his closed eyes. Ulrich pressed a kiss to Odd's forehead, his heart beating frantically in his chest. He couldn't stand seeing Odd in so much pain. He was supposed to protect him from any pain, and he was the one that caused this.
"Ulrich," Aelita said softly, resting a soft hand on his shoulder. "It's okay. I know what you're thinking, but I promise, once this is over and you're holding your son in your arms, you'll know this was all worth it." Ulrich smiled brokenly at Aelita, sighing softly as Odd nodded his head to him with his eyes lidded.
"I can't wait to meet him." Odd smiled, and Ulrich placed a soft kiss on his boyfriend's lips.
"So let's get going." Ulrich responded, and with small smiles stuck on their faces, Jeremy and Aelita led the way.
The group was met by Yumi and William at the sewer exit, William assisting Ulrich in getting Odd up and out with as little effort on Odd's part as possible. The younger was in an excruciating amount of pain, and even once he made it out of the sewers, he immediately collapsed into Yumi and William's arms. Ulrich practically flew out of the entrance, grasping Odd and lifting him back into his own arms, pressing delicate and calming kisses over the boy's sweaty and red face.
"Come on, hurry!" Jeremy said as he assisted Aelita out of the passage, the group running to the ropes that would lead them to the factory elevator.
"There's no way." Ulrich said as Odd let out another heartbreaking whine.
"Okay, we'll go the other way. All of us." Jeremy said, and the others nodded. They made their way quickly around and to the elevator, the entire group piling in as the doors opened.
"Ulrich, I can't. This-ah!" Odd cried, tears now falling freely down his face. Ulrich looked frantically to Jeremy for any help he could possibly offer.
"Odd, listen to me, alright buddy?" Jeremy said soothingly, placing his hand on top of Odd's forehead. The smaller blonde looked up to his friend with pain filled eyes, and Jeremy's heart dropped to his stomach. He couldn't stand seeing any of this friends hurt, let alone in this much pain. "I created something for you that'll take the pain right away okay? Just a few more minutes." Odd nodded and buried his face back into Ulrich's chest, the older pulling him closer and whispering comforting words into his ears. By the time the door opened to the lab, Odd was a lot more sated. The pain lessened only slightly, but he felt a lot more comfortable now that they were finally at the factory.
"I brought blankets and pillows, a few towels too. I figured you wouldn't have time to grab any on your way here." Yumi said, pointing to the well set up area in the corner of the room. Ulrich quickly walked over to it, laying Odd down on his side where he knew his lover was more comfortable.
"Good thinking, Yumi." Jeremy said, immediately running over to his computer. The blonde sifted through a small box next to his chair, pulling out a half filled syringe and bringing it over to Odd. Just before Jeremy arrived over, Ulrich pulled the blue ring off of Odd's finger, revealing the existence of his son yet again. "Hey, Odd. I'm going to have Ulrich help you sit up okay? I'm going to inject this at the base of your spine. It's a lot like an epidural, but I made it with some help." Jeremy said. Odd nodded tiredly as Ulrich lifted Odd up, resting the blonde against his chest bent over slightly. Jeremy looked up to Ulrich for permission before removing Odd's shirt, the brunette assisting only when Odd's laying against him prohibited Jeremy from going any further.
"This will sting, but you can't move at all, okay?" Jeremy said, disinfecting the small area he would inject the serum into. Odd nodded and took a deep breath, hand clenching Ulrich's hard. "Ready?" Odd nodded. "Okay, 1, 2, 3." Odd squeaked at the pain but held still like he was told, Ulrich's tight hold on him helping him to not jerk.
"All done." Jeremy said, rubbing Odd's back comfortingly. The blonde could already feel the serum taking affect, a small sigh leaving his lips as the pain receded slowly until it was gone all together.
"What next?" Yumi asked, staring at Odd with worry and apprehension.
"Well, even though XANA gave Odd the parts to carry the baby, he didn't give him the parts to actually give birth properly." Aelita spoke up. "The reason you guys haven't seen much of us recently is because we've been gathering supplies and learning about c-sections. I'm sure the maternity ward at the hospital is throwing a fit about now." Aelita finished.
"It's the only way we can make sure they both live. There's no way for Odd to have the baby except by c-section." Jeremy said, eyes locked with Ulrich's worried gaze.
"I trust you." Jeremy looked down to see Odd staring back at him, the trust he voiced showing bright in his eyes.
"I trust you, too, but can you please explain it to me?" Ulrich asked, his hand wrapping around Odd's as he laid him back down against the pillows.
"Jeremy and I gathered quite a bit over the last few months. IV bags, stands, we made the epidural. We even have stitches, scalpels, and suction devices. We have one for the actual procedure, and one for the baby." Aelita began. Ulrich stared in rapt interest. "What we're going to do, is make a cut here at the lower part of the uterus. Once we do that, we'll suction out the amniotic fluid. Once that's done, we just have to get the baby out." Aelita explained. Ulrich nodded his head in understanding, hand rubbing comfortingly over Odd's forehead.
"Once the baby's out, we suction his mouth and nose so he can breath properly. Don't panic if he doesn't cry right away, he'll get there. Then we'll stitch him up. That will take the most time." Jeremy said, looking around at the other people in the room. "I'm going to sterilize the room with a program I created, so I'm going to ask everyone to take of the clothes they're wearing and change into sterile scrubs please." Yumi, William, Aelita, and Jeremy all finished the task quickly, Ulrich waiting until someone could take his place before getting up and changing himself. Each person gathered their clothes together, Jeremy placing them all in the far corner of the room.
"I'm going to activate the program now." Jeremy said as he sat himself in his seat, pressing the enter key. "I would go into all the technicals, but I assume you guys don't want to hear it?" Jeremy asked as the process completed. The entire group shook their heads, Odd and Ulrich included.
"Alright, Odd." Jeremy said, kneeling down next to the smaller. "I'm going to place a curtain up so the actual surgical area stays clean okay? The second he's out I'll bring him over to you, I promise." Odd nodded, hands shaking as he sought Ulrich again. There was no denying the 17 year old was scared. He was aware that Jeremy and Aelita knew what they were doing. They never did anything halfway, and he really hadn't seen them for the past 5 months or so. If Jeremy could take what he thought was a computer program and materialize it into flesh and blood, he had no doubts Jeremy could safely deliver his child.
Aelita quickly set up the blue screen, placing it just over the middle of Odd's ribcage. Ulrich went to stand behind it with William and Yumi. The others seemed not interested in seeing their friend be cut open, and Ulrich had to admit he was pretty averse to the idea as well. Ulrich stared lovingly down at his boyfriend, amazed at how calm and in control Odd seemed to be. Everything about the younger amazed Ulrich.
"You're staring at me weird." Odd said, chuckling lightly. Ulrich smiled, resting his forehead against Odd's.
"I love you so much." Ulrich said. Odd leaned up and kissed Ulrich's nose lightly.
"I love you too." Odd smiled, face twisting as he felt a strange pulling on his abdomen. It felt distinctly like a zipper being pulled open, and it was not a pleasant feeling. Though, he had to admit, it wasn't painful.
"You okay?" Ulrich asked. Odd nodded and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. He couldn't believe that he would be meeting his son soon.
"Do you remember when you told me to stay out of your hair when I first got here?" Odd chuckled, staring up at Ulrich. The older scoffed and chuckled.
"Yeah, really worked out for me." Ulrich rolled his eyes mockingly, Odd chuckling lightly. Ulrich really couldn't believe how far they'd come since that first day Odd came to Kadic Academy. Odd's face contorted into a grimace again, Ulrich immediately whispering comforting words to his lover to help him feel better.
"Feels really weird." Odd said, and Ulrich smiled sadly.
"There we go." The group behind the curtain heard Jeremy say, the sound of a small suction cup entering their ears. "Look at you!" Jeremy said breathless, Odd choking on a sob as the sound of his son's cries entered his ears. Not a second after Jeremy walked around the curtain, a small bundle wrapped in his arms. Odd reached out eagerly, Jeremy laying the baby gently down onto Odd's unclothed chest.
"Hi, hey." Odd said, tears falling freely down his face. Odd looked up at Ulrich, shocked to find the brunette's face soaked with tears of his own. The brunette placed a delicate hand over the baby's back, leaning down and kissing Odd sweetly on the lips.
"Oh, mein liebes kind." Ulrich said, wiping uselessly at his eyes. "I love you." Ulrich said to Odd.
"I love you." Odd responded, the two sharing another kiss before Aelita walked around the curtain again.
"Do you want to cut the umbilical cord, Ulrich?" She asked. Ulrich nodded his head, taking the small pair of scissors out of her hands. The pinkette guided him on where to cut it, the process done in only a few seconds. Aelita smiled brightly at him in response.
"Congratulations, Vati." Aelita said, causing a whole new wave of tears to crash over Ulrich. He was a dad, he couldn't believe it.
"What should we name him?" Odd asked, grasping Ulrich's hand in his own. Ulrich thought hard about the names they had come up with over the last few months. He wanted their son to have a meaningful name, one that fit everything they'd gone through to get to this moment.
"Esteban. Crowned in Victory." Ulrich said, and Odd nodded his head, more tears flowing freely down his cheeks. Ulrich kissed each one of them away, his hand finding its way back to his son's small back. He had long since stopped crying, content with both of his fathers being near him. Aelita came back around not long after, a small blue blanket clutched in her hands.
"Don't want him getting cold." She smiled, assisting Ulrich in swaddling the baby. Once he was wrapped up and back in his blonde father's arms, Odd sighed in content and kissed the baby lightly on the forehead.
"He's so small." Ulrich said, hand gently rubbing against the small amount of brown hair covering the boy's head.
"He really is. Do you want to hold him?" Odd asked, and Ulrich nodded his head. Ulrich took the bundle from Odd's arms, the baby cooing at the change before relaxing into Ulrich's arms. The German teen stared down at his son, heart fluttering as his son's eyes met his in curiosity. They were getting to know each other just through that single exchange, and Ulrich's heart swelled.
"Hello, mein kind." Ulrich said quietly, rocking the small baby back and forward in his arms. "Oh, are are so beautiful. I love you, so much." Esteban cooed quietly as he lifted his small hand up toward Ulrich's face, the 18 year old grasping the baby's small hand in his own. "I promise to protect you, to always be there for you. I'll never make it so you feel as if you can't come to me. I'm your number one fan, okay?" Ulrich said. The German boy was so entranced by his son that he didn't notice as Jeremy finished stitching Odd back up, the entire group watching him with soft smiles on their faces. They knew how rough of a relationship Ulrich had with his father, and how important it must be for him to be in his son's life in a positive manner.
"You're so special. You're so outstanding and amazing." Ulrich said, the baby yawning and squeezing Ulrich's finger with his tiny hand. "Everything you ever set out to achieve, I know you'll do it. Even if you don't succeed the first time, or the second. I know you'll achieve everything you set your mind to."
"Even if you do bad in school, or you're awful at sports, or you can't draw to save your life, I'll still be there for you. I'll still be the person you can come to for anything. I promise, Esteban, Vati will always be here for you." A small tear fell from Ulrich's eye, the pain of his father's treatment of him melting away as his son reached his other hand up to Ulrich's face. The German kissed the small hand, holding his son closer as the baby began to doze.
"Ulrich?" Ulrich looked down to see Odd with fresh tears still falling down his face. The older bent down onto his knees, shifting the baby so he could hold him with one arm and grasp Odd's hand in his free one. "I love you. You're going to be such a good dad." Ulrich smiled, placing another soft kiss on Odd's lips.
"You're going to be the best one." Ulrich said. Odd chuckled and shook his head, motioning for Ulrich to lay down with him in the mostly uncomfortable ground. Ulrich passed the baby back to Odd, the little one settling perfectly onto Odd's chest as Ulrich laid down next to his lover.
"The activated tower is gone." Ulrich heard Jeremy say in the background. He'd forgotten all about the XANA attack during the chaos of the last hour.
"He probably knew Odd was going into labor and wanted to do something that would stop him from delivering safely." Yumi spoke up, settling on the floor next to where Odd and Ulrich lay. Jeremy nodded in agreement, coming back to join the rest of the group again. In the end, they all settled sitting in a half circle around the new parents, eyes trained on the family in front of them. "He's beautiful." Yumi said, smiling brightly at the two.
"Do you guys want to hold him?" Odd asked. They all nodded, Ulrich lifting himself up and grasping the baby in his arms. He carried it over to where Jeremy sat, and placed the baby in his arms first.
"Jeremy, I have something very important I need to ask you." Ulrich said, kneeling down so he was eye level with Jeremy. The blonde looked up from the baby in his arms, swallowing at the intense look that settled onto Ulrich's face. "You've done so much for Odd and I through all of this. You worked so hard, made sure everything was perfect so that both Odd and our baby would be okay. We want to ask you to be our son's godfather. That way, if anything happens to us, you'd be there for him." Jeremy blinked away the tears in his eyes, filing it away as a lost cause as the tears flowed freely down his face. He had been so against the idea of Odd and Ulrich having this baby at first, knowing that XANA's only motivation could've been one of evil. Jeremy couldn't have imagined he would outsmart the program with his careful planning, nor how much he truly loved the small child in his arms.
"I, yes. Of course I will be." Jeremy cried, placing a gentle kiss on top of Esteban's forehead. The small baby seemed just as content in Jeremy's presence as he did in both of his father's, the amount of time the group spent together the most likely reason. Ulrich smiled brightly at the genius of the group, wrapping his arms around the other. "Thank you, I don't know what to say."
"Don't thank us. You're the reason he's here with us, on all accounts." Jeremy smiled brightly at them, his voice catching in his throat as he realized that something else amazing had come out of him starting up that damned Supercomputer.
"Yeah, thank you, Jeremy." Odd added, smiling tiredly at the boy. Jeremy nodded back to him.
"Aelita." Ulrich said next, lifting the baby out of Jeremy's arms. "We would like you to be his Godmother." The brunette handed the small baby over to Aelita, a shocked expression adorning her face as she was presented with the information.
"Yes, I'd love to." She said happily, tears streaming down her own face in response. Jeremy lifted himself up from his place to Aelita's left, wrapping his arms around the pink haired girl and kissing her lightly on the temple.
"Uncle Jeremy and Aunt Aelita, has a good ring to it." Odd chuckled, causing the other two to laugh tearfully.
"I'm so happy for you guys." Aelita said, handing the baby back to Ulrich yet again. The brunette walked over to the Japanese girl sitting to Aelita's right, handing the small baby over to her next.
"Here you are, Aunt Yumi." Ulrich said with a small smile. The black haired girl smiled, her heart melted as she stared into those eyes that clearly resembled Odd's own. She saw so much of her friend's already in the small child. Odd's eyes, Ulrich's hair, all the way down to Odd's long and nimble fingers and Ulrich's smaller lips and just slightly pointed ears. She handed the baby back to Ulrich, the brunette taking a step over to hand him over to William.
"Do I get to be uncle William then?" William asked, Esteban cooing in response. "Guess so, he says yes." The whole room chuckled, a comfortable atmosphere hanging over them as everyone got to know the new addition to their group.
"Odd, I'm going to do a quick scan on you to make sure everything's in order and then we're going to clean up here and take you back to the dorms okay?" Jeremy said, lifting himself off the ground. Odd nodded tiredly, exhaustion sweeping over him as the events of the day crashed over him. "You're going to need to stay in bed for 4 days so your incision can heal properly, and after that it should be able 4 weeks until you can do any physical activity. It's going to be a boring month, but you should be able to handle it." Jeremy winked, and Odd groaned at the idea of such a long period of bed rest. The worst part was, Ulrich was going to enforce every bit of it. He wouldn't even be able to get up in the middle of the night for his midnight pantry raids.
Ulrich left Aelita to hold the baby while he assisted Jeremy with checking over Odd to make sure all was well. The pink haired girl was absolutely smitten with the boy, already telling him stories of his both his father's many adventures and the lengths they went to for her so they could share that moment together.
"That's strange." Jeremy said, hand held contemplatively under his chin.
"Oh no, don't say something like that." Ulrich said, groaning in worry.
"No, it's not bad." Jeremy said quickly, Ulrich letting out a sigh of relief. "Odd still has the hormones and female parts. I thought that once he gave birth it would be reverted back, but it hasn't yet."
"Maybe it will take a little while?" Ulrich questioned, not daring to voice the fact he hoped they wouldn't revert back. Now that his and Odd's son had been born, Jeremy was clearly more open to the idea, but he didn't want to push it by mentioning the talks Odd and Ulrich had over some nights; always over the thought of having more children in the future.
"Possibly. The way I see it, it shouldn't matter if it goes away or not." Jeremy shrugged, looking back at Ulrich. "The only thing we'll have to make sure of if it doesn't that Odd comes to me for check ups and not doctors. We don't need any more return to the pasts." Ulrich nodded, heart swelling a little at the thought Jeremy didn't find Odd keeping the parts given to him by XANA a bad thing.
"I think Mr. Esteban is hungry." Aelita said as she walked over with the crying baby. Ulrich gathered him into his arms, looking to Jeremy for any clue on what to do.
"Odd actually has the ability to breastfeed." Jeremy said, causing Ulrich to look at him questioningly. "The glands are inside his chest, rather than outside. Therefore, no breasts, but he should still be able to latch okay if he gets a bit of help." Ulrich nodded, rocking his son lightly in his arms. The baby, now back in his father's arms, stopped crying. Though despite this, he still made the mouth movements that showed he was hungry. Jeremy called up to Yumi to tell her to stop the scanning process, the scanner opening seconds later with Odd sitting inside. Jeremy lifted Odd out of the scanner, carrying him back to the elevator with Ulrich and Aelita in tow.
"Why Jeremy, I didn't know you had so much muscle." Ulrich joked, Jeremy scoffing in response.
"I would feel better about that if he didn't weigh as much as a twig." Jeremy pouted, Ulrich chuckling lightly in response. Once the elevator opened back into the lab, Jeremy laid Odd gently back onto the now clean floor, Ulrich handing their baby over to the tired blonde. "Odd, I'm going to guide you through how to feed him, okay? I know you're tired, but I just want to show you this and then we'll take you back to the dorms." Odd nodded and Jeremy went through the entire process, Esteban having no issues latching and eating greedily. There's another Odd trait, Yumi absently thought as the baby finished, his German father holding the baby yet again.
"Why don't we take him back to the house? Your bed there is much more comfortable than the dorm's, and you can lay together far more comfortably on a queen bed than a twin. Plus, the baby's room is set up there. I'm sure he'd much rather have a crib to sleep in" Yumi said, and the others all nodded in agreement. Ulrich handed the baby to Jeremy to carry, the blonde accepting the small child with a smile.
"You ready?" Ulrich asked Odd, the younger nodding his head. Ulrich picked him up gently, the entire group piling back into the elevator yet again.
"I'll keep an eye on the superscan, but I think we should be okay." Jeremy said as they walked the short distance to Yumi and William's rather large house. They all intended to move into said house when they graduated, as it was the perfect distance from their access to the factory, and it was large enough to fit them all comfortably.
"And if there is, we just kick some butt and come home." William said. Yumi rolled her eyes and elbowed her boyfriend in the side, William chuckling in response. "It's true." By the time they made it to the house Odd and the baby were fast asleep, Ulrich and Jeremy making their way upstairs to the new parent's bedroom. Ulrich laid Odd down carefully on the purple sheets of their shared bed, tucking him in tightly and placing a soft kiss on his forehead. Next to their room was the room dedicated solely to their baby, Jeremy already having laid Esteban in his blue crib.
"I'm going to check him over by hand for a long time, like I did for Odd while he was pregnant. I don't want to expose him to the scanners just yet." Jeremy said. Ulrich nodded in thanks. "I also have all the stuff we need to make sure Odd's incision heals correctly."
"I can't ever thank you enough, Jeremy." Ulrich said, wrapping his arms tightly around his friend. Jeremy hugged him back, smiling at the display of affection. Neither of them were really ones for such physical displays, usually using jokes and a hey good buddy or two to show their friendship. It was a pretty marvelous day however, it made sense that they change things up a bit to fit the occasion. "I'm going to go lay down with Odd." Ulrich said as he pulled away, taking a glance at his son resting in his crib.
"Here," Jeremy said as he pulled up the small bassinet sitting in the corner of the room. It was the one that Yumi's parents had used with both her and Hiroki when they didn't want their babies away from them for too long. Jeremy rolled the piece of furniture next door into Odd and Ulrich's room, setting it next to Ulrich's side of the bed. Odd shouldn't be moving very much, so it made sense to keep it on Ulrich's side of the bed. Walking in right behind him was Ulrich, holding his still fast asleep son in his arms.
"Thank you." Ulrich whispered, placing the baby down in the comfortable bassinet. Jeremy smiled at him and walked out of the room. Ulrich sighed as he laid down in the bed, arm resting on top of Odd's now clothed chest. Odd sighed in content, eyes opening lazily to look at Ulrich.
"I love you." Odd said, grasping for Ulrich's arm and maneuvering it underneath his shoulders. Ulrich smiled and pecked Odd on the temple, pulling the smaller to him.
"I love you, more."