A/N: Finally been able to upload the next chapter, please review, review, review for more chapters! Enjoy! :D

"Congratulations! You're with child!"

"Thanks, Shinra, but this isn't exactly a joyous occasion…"

Izaya had been hoping for (admittedly) the impossible. Shinra had told her no different than the pregnancy tests that littered her desk back home. After a few questions, a request for Celty to bring some lab equipment home for Shinra to work with, and a couple of blood samples later, Izaya was dizzy, tired, and still very much pregnant.

Shit.

"What? Why not? Your body is brewing a new life! A creation brought upon by the coupling between you and Shizuo. A true testament to your bond and your love for one another! You should be happy, Izaya! Why, if Celty would permit me, I would love to father her children!"

Izaya had to interject before Shinra really got started. "Are you even sure you can have children with her? She's already missing a head. What if she's missing the necessary organs for child-bearing too?"

Clack clack clack.

[Hey! Watch your mouth.]

"Ahaha! Sorry, Celty, sorry. I was just a little bit curious." Izaya said with a smile up at the headless woman from her position on the couch. Honestly, Izaya had forgotten about her presence. She had been too preoccupied with the news.

"Hm. That is an interesting hypothesis you've brought up, Izaya." Shinra admitted, already lost in a sea of his own thoughts. "I'll have to look into this further. Celty, we should try and find out if it's at all possible for us to have kids! When you and I next make lo-urk-!" The jab Celty delivered to Shinra's ribs silenced him effectively enough.

Sighing, Izaya looked back down at the steaming cup of coffee she held between her hands. She shifted her fingers around the ridges of the cup, enjoying the heat that permeated her fingers and palms.

Whilst Shinra began to pester Celty about whether or not they would be able to successfully have children, Izaya allowed herself a moment of silence as her mind reeled.

She really hadn't expected for this to happen. How was she supposed to care for a child? She wasn't even good at taking care of her younger brothers, and she was expected to now cook for, bathe, change, and nurture this new entity brewing inside of her tummy? No, this wasn't very fair. She was only twenty-one! …Twenty-four, in all actuality, but who was counting?

Not to mention the fact that Shizuo was going to kill her when he found out. Yup. Dead. Orihara Izaya might as well start writing her will, because she was going to fall victim to one of Shizuo's famous rampages. And the way that even the wrong smell or a certain strong movement sent her stomach into a death roll, Izaya didn't have enough confidence in herself to be sure that she would escape him this time.

Fantastic.

"Izaya? Hello? Iz-a-ya~" Shinra called out. Hearing the syllables of her name so off-key, Izaya lifted her head and smiled.

"Yes?"

"I asked you if you had told Shizuo yet?" The good doctor asked, and returned the smile with enthusiasm. If he saw that the smile was an emotional mask Izaya chose to wore, he made no comment and acted as if he didn't notice.

"Aah, no. I was just thinking about doing so, however." She said, placing the cup of coffee she held down onto the table before her. With a stretch of her long limbs, Izaya decided not to put it off any longer. She gave a small sigh through her nose. "There really isn't any way around it. Even if Shizu-chan reacts violently towards me, I'm going to have to explain to him that I'm not terminating the little human." She fondly patted her belly.

"Hm?" Shinra's smile fell slightly. "You don't think he'll take the news very well then." It wasn't a question.

Izaya laughed. "Not particularly. I'm not making any concrete guesses since Shizu-chan is very prone to surprising me, but I don't think he'll react well at all. The severity is what I'm unsure of." That was a lie. She was positive that she was going to die.

xXx

Shinra tapped his chin after he straightened out the glasses on his nose. "Well, you're right about Shizuo being quite unpredictable… Though are you certain that he won't react positively to hearing that he's going to be a father?"

Celty tapped rapidly on her PDA and held it out for Izaya to glimpse.

[He did tell me he wanted a family someday, Izaya. This might be something he wants to hear rather than bad news. I think he'll be happy.]

This surprised the short haired woman slightly. Shizu-chan wanted a family? Huh. Well if that was the case, then perhaps Celty and Shinra had a point. But Izaya still wasn't sure.

It was true that she had no reason to doubt Celty; after all, the dullahan was one of Shizu-chan's closest friends. He talked to her about everything. Apparently he talked to her about things that he didn't think he could trust Izaya with. That was interesting. A bit irritating as well, but then again, as far as Shizu-chan was concerned, Izaya always ended up irritated in one way or another.

"Well, that's a valid argument. I can't say anything to or against that." Izaya tapped her chin. "Perhaps I'll give him a call." She didn't like it. The feeling in her stomach was making her semi-nauseas. But Shinra and Celty seemed so sure of themselves as they both eagerly gestured for her to do so.

If this backfired, they were so not inheriting anything from her.

- - -

"Hello?"

"Shizu-chan!"

"Oh great..."

Izaya pouted into the receiver as she heard Shizuo's rather unenthusiastic greeting. It was partially an act, though, as she found herself more relieved than anything as she noted that Shizuo's voice was flat and bored. It was how he always sounded when he was calm. It really was no cause for concern, and Shizuo wasn't necessarily giving her attitude. It was just how he was accustomed to speaking to her.

Well, this was a nice place to start, if anything.

Now then, just don't piss him off before you tell him.

"Are you busy?" Izaya asked, listening hard for any background noise.

"Huh? Oh. No. We just finished with a client." 'We' of course was Shizuo and his boss, Tom Tanaka.

"Oh, good. Then you'll have time to hear me out for a minute. I've got some news for you, Shizu-chan." Izaya said as sweetly as she could. Lazing into the cushions of Shinra's couch, Izaya held the phone against her ear with one hand while the other traveled down to her stomach. She couldn't seem to stop touching her belly now.

"What is it?" Shizuo asked.

"Well, you see Shizu-chan," Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap. "when two people love each other very much," Ooh, crap… "they like to show their love by having sex."

Izaya's attempt at humor did not blow over well. Shizuo snapped at her in the next second, and she had to rethink her strategy a bit.

"What the hell, flea. Did you just call to mock me? Spit it out!"

"Ne, ne! Shizu-chan, patience. It's a virtue, you know~" Izaya's sing song was quivering slightly. Even she was aware of that much. Nevertheless, Shizuo didn't fail to amuse her by completely missing the break in her usually even tone. Instead he pressed for her to tell him the 'news'.

"Calm down, Izaya." Shinra coaxed gently. He patted his friend on the shoulder, offering her another steaming cup of coffee. The one from before had gotten cold, and she had failed to drink even a little.

With a nod and a small smirk up at the doctor as she took the offered beverage, Izaya went back to her conversation.

"Okay, okay. No more jokes." She said, sighing a bit. "I'm at Shinra's. I was having some tests done."

"You sick?" Shizuo questioned.

"No."

"Then…?"

"I was having some blood work done. I just had to be one hundred percent sure about something before I called you to let you know."

"Okay…" Shizuo dragged it out as if saying 'go on'. Izaya sighed at his stunted replies.