Author's Note: Okay, this isn't my usual thing. Most of the couples I will be writing about are couples that I DO NOT usually support. However, since I run a very popular couples forum here, I'm trying to open up a little more to pairings and to lose the bias I typically have toward them. Hence, I will be writing one story for every pairing with a topic on my forum. Enjoy! (BTW, I don't write gay pairings, so if you're here looking for that, LEAVE!)
Ulrich Stern shut the door behind him as he entered the room. A pure white hospital room. Talking to a doctor was the last thing he had expected to do on this bright summer afternoon. But he had to. Aelita Stern, his wife, had been admitted to the hospital earlier that afternoon.
He sat down in the seat next to the bed where his beautiful wife lay sleeping, her pink, shoulder-length hair spilling around her on the pillow, contrasting against the pale sea-green hospital gown she wore. Monitors were hooked up all around her. One was blank- a fetal monitor. Aelita had miscarried. She had been pregnant, with a baby that she hadn't even told Ulrich about. And according to the doctor, Aelita had known for nearly a month now.
How could she have done this to him? She hadn't even told him that he was going to be a father. What good did it do to know now? Would it have made a difference if she had told him? He was sure it would have. He could have made certain that Aelita took good care of herself, and that she got plenty of nutrition. He would have cared for her. But now it was too late. The baby he hadn't even known existed was dead.
He was drawn from his musings by her eyes fluttering open, eyes that were normally a warm green, but that were now a murky color, devoid of any spark of life because of the pain she had been feeling before. Her skin, though pale by nature, was even pastier than usual.
She glanced up at him with those lifeless eyes, devoid of any feeling, and then looked around as though trying to figure out where she was. Suddenly it seemed to click, and she tried to sit up, but she winced before she could and fell back to the bed.
"Stay down," Ulrich ordered her in a slightly harsh voice. "You just need to rest now." She shook her head and looked into his eyes, a slight spark of hope returning to her own.
"How's—" she began, but Ulrich cut her off.
"It didn't make it," he replied in a curt voice. Tears came to Aelita's eyes as the realization sunk in. Her eyes exploded with pain of a different kind than before. She slumped back against the bed and began to cry.
"Ulrich… I was afraid this would happen…" she sobbed.
"Aelita, why didn't you tell me?" Ulrich demanded softly. "Why didn't you tell me that you were pregnant? Why didn't you tell me I was going to be a father?" His own eyes filled with tears.
"Ulrich, I… I was so afraid that this would happen… I never wanted it to, but I was so scared… I was going to tell you, I really was, but…" She sniffled, pulling a tissue from a box near her and using it to wipe her eyes and her nose before continuing. "Ulrich, I was going to wait a little while… the first trimester is the time when the risk of miscarriage is the highest… I was going to tell you this weekend, because the first trimester was nearly over, and I just couldn't keep it a secret from you any more… I just didn't want you to get hurt if this happened."
"So you hide it from me?" he asked, beginning to raise his voice. "You hide the fact that you're pregnant, that we're going to be parents, and that you've been getting sick? That's how you decide to handle it? Aelita, don't you think I'm old enough to handle it?" His voice had risen to a near yell by this time.
"It doesn't seem like you're handling it very well right now," her soft voice cut in. Ulrich was surprised. He collected himself and lowered his voice before speaking again.
"Aelita, I wish you would have told me. It would have been a lot easier for me to handle this now if you had told me when you found out."
"But Ulrich, you keep telling me how much you want to have kids with me… how much you want to have a big family. I didn't want you to get your hopes up."
"Don't you think I might have been able to help prevent this?" he persisted.
"ULRICH, I WAS SCARED!" Aelita cried, sobbing the entire time. "I was in a computer for 10 years of my life! Why do you think I keep getting quiet every time you talk about how much you want a family? I love you so much, Ulrich, and I didn't want to disappoint you by telling you that it might not be possible!"
Ulrich's face softened. "Aelita, you should have told me…" He leaned forward and wrapped his arms around her in a comforting embrace.
"Ulrich, the doctors said the reason why I miscarried is because there was something wrong with the baby! What if I just can't have healthy babies? What if my body…" She broke down.
"Asking all these 'What ifs' is unhealthy, Aelita… and there are lots of ways to have a big family even if you can't carry babies."
"But Ulrich, I want to know what it's like… I want to know what it's like to feel a baby move inside me, to know that there's life inside of me."
"Aelita, I was worried that you might not be able to have babies when I found out about this, too. Listen to me." He pulled away a little bit and looked into her eyes. "I asked the doctor to run a few tests, just to see. She said you're fine. There is nothing wrong with you. You are PERFECTLY capable of having a baby." He stroked her hair as she stopped crying and looked at him in disbelief.
"A-are they sure?" she asked softly.
"Yes, Aelita," he assured her. She started to cry again. "Aelita, what's wrong?"
"N-nothing," she whispered. "I'm just so relieved to hear that…"
The pair hugged each other tightly before they pulled back and kissed each other softly.
"Aelita, I can't wait—" Ulrich began, but he was cut off by a knock at the door. He looked up and saw some very familiar faces outside. "Are you up to visitors?" he asked Aelita as he began to smile. Aelita smiled as well and nodded. Ulrich beckoned for the others to come in. William and Yumi Dunbar, Jeremy and Sissi Belpois, and Odd and Emily Della Robbia walked into the room.
"Hey, Aelita, how are you?" Jeremy asked, going to her side with Emily.
Aelita smiled up at Ulrich, taking his hand. "I'm fine. Just fine."