You all like this story more than I expected.

Here we go with a second chapter, I guess.


"So, when do you want to start telling people?" Gwen asked her adopted son.

"I don't know," he sighed. "Nikki said she wanted to go to the doctor and make sure the test was accurate, you know?"

"Is that where she is now?"

"Yep."

"Hope it was accurate." She noticed Max fiddling with his hands in a nervous manner. "What's wrong?"

"It's just… my life for the first ten years was so fucked up. I got lucky with you and David adopting me. I don't know how to take care of a kid. I don't even know how to act around them. Shit!"

"Well, for starters, maybe tone down the cursing."

"You're one to talk."

"Hey, in my defense, most of you were already using that kind of language."

"Heh. True." Max smiled and stood up.

"Where are you going?"

"I was going to check if the spare bedroom was big enough for a crib and all the other shit a baby needs." Gwen gave him a gentle smile.

"I think you're going to be fine as a dad."

"Nikki suggested I do it while she was at the doctor. She's got ridiculously strong maternal instincts."

"Oh, yeah! I remember that one day at camp when you guys took care of the platypus eggs. You two were the only ones left with an egg and had the only one that hatched."

"Until fucking Muack ate it."

"Yeah, but Muack was an asshole. We've all agreed on that."

Max shrugged and headed into the guest room. Memories flooded forward as he looked at the half-finished paint job that had been abandoned a couple years earlier—red and yellow swirling together in a violent and beautiful display.


"So, you guys are graduating soon, huh?"

Max looked up from his coffee and nodded at David's enthusiastic grin.

"One month. Then I'll have my degree in business and be able to get a fucking job that pays more than minimum wage."

"Well, I was wondering what you and Nikki's plans are."

"We're planning to graduate and continue with the part-time work until we find actual jobs."

"That's not what I meant. I meant, what are you and Nikki going to do about your living situation? Your apartment was paid for by the school, and once you graduate, the two of you won't have a place to live." Max suddenly understood.

"Oh, shit. Right. Well, we could try and find a place, I guess. But it's gonna be tough."

"Say, I have an idea! How about you and Nikki move in with me and Gwen to save money?"

"I dunno, David. Living with my adoptive parents and my girlfriend? That sounds… awkward."

"We do have the room, and we love Nikki! Plus, there's a national park not far from the house. Maybe she could get a job there!"

"Okay, okay." Max tried to hide his smile.

"Ooh, yay! Just so you know, your room is exactly how you left it when you went to college…"


"What the fuck are you doing, David?"

Max was standing in the doorway of what had been the guest bedroom—the room that David was painting red and yellow. He turned and smiled at his son.

"I'm getting the room ready for when you and Nikki move in! Your room is right next door, and this is hers! Perfect, right?"

"Yeah, except Nikki and I were going to share my room."

"What?"

It was obvious David thought he was still the kid from Camp Campbell who gave him hell out of a desire for attention and not the fully-grown, red-blooded man that was in front of him.

"I-I'm sorry. I just assumed…"

"David, I've been with Nikki for five years. We appreciate the thought, but it'd be awkward."

"Oh… sure. Sorry." Max glanced at the half-finished job.

"Paint looks good, though. Chaotic."

"I thought Nikki would like it."

"She would. How about we do it in my room, though, with yellow and blue?"

David smiled.


The room had been meant for Nikki. Now it was for his kid. It was plenty big enough for a baby and conveniently located right next to their room. If the kid woke up, screaming to be changed or fed, they'd be right there. Of course, given David's chronic insomnia, it was more likely that he would get there first. Whatever. David hadn't had the chance to raise a kid from infancy, and Max wasn't going to stop him from being a doting grandfather. He headed back to the living room, where he discovered Gwen had left. Having nothing else to do, he sat down on the couch and took out his phone to do an Internet search.

"Hey, I'm home!"

He jumped at Nikki's voice.

"Hey, Nikki!" he greeted her. "How'd it go?"

"The doctor did some tests and confirmed it. I'm about a month and a half along, so we have plenty of time to prepare."

"David and Gwen already said we could use the former guest room as the nursery."

"Great!" She leaned over the back of the couch and kissed him on the cheek. "We can start telling people soon, right?"

"Uh… sure." The excitable woman frowned.

"Max, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, it's just… I kinda wanted to just share it with you and David and Gwen for a bit."

"Aw! You're so sweet! Whoa!"

She fell over the couch and landed next to him, almost on his lap. He laughed at his girlfriend and gave her a gentle hug.

"We'll start telling people in a couple days," he promised.


"Well, this is a surprise."

Nikki looked up at the sound of her mother's voice. Max had let the woman in and was giving Nikki an apologetic expression.

"Hey, Mom!" She ran over and hugged her.

"Nicolette, are you alright? You never want me over here…"

"I'm fine, Mom. Trust me!" They sat down and Max excused himself to get some refreshments: coffee for himself and Candy and hot chocolate for Nikki. "How have things been?"

"They've been fine! Carl and I's anniversary is comin' up soon." Max set the mugs out and sat down on the couch next to Nikki. "Speakin' of weddin's, any word on when you two will be tyin' the knot?"

Max choked on his coffee.

"Mom, not yet!" Nikki sighed, patting Max on the back as he recovered from choking. Candy giggled.

"Well, there's no rush, sweetheart. You're both young. No need to settle down yet."

"There's actually a reason we asked you to come over, though." Nikki rested a hand on her belly. "We're having a baby. You're gonna be a grandma."

Candy's jaw dropped.

"I-I am? Nicolette, that's amazin'!" She hugged her daughter tightly and motioned for Max to join the hug. "I'm sure you two have a plan, though—you had one after college. Oh, won't Carl be excited?! Have you told Neil yet?"

"Not yet," Max replied. "He's coming over later for movie night, so we'll tell him then."

"Great! You mind if I tell Carl?"

"Not at all."

After a bit more talking (in which Candy asked to be more included in their lives), Nikki's mom left the young couple alone. That didn't last long, because Neil showed up about ten minutes later. He had the popcorn and snacks, as usual, along with a movie since it was his turn to pick.

"So, what'd you pick this week?" Max asked in a deadpan tone with his arm around Nikki.

"I picked a movie that a friend of mine recommended. She said it's a marvel of mechanics, puppetry, and practical effects."

"Your friend sounds like a nerd."

"She's a movie enthusiast, especially when it comes to horror movies. According to her, this is a horror parody musical."

"What is it?" Nikki groaned. "You're leaving us in suspense!"

"Little Shop of Horrors."

"I've… heard of it," Max admitted. "Isn't that the one with the plant?"

"Yep! Rosemary said the plant is entirely done with puppetry—no CGI whatsoever!"

"I find that hard to believe."

"I did, too, but she promised that this version has a behind-the-scenes look at how they made it move!"

"Pop it in."

"Actually," Nikki interrupted. "We have something we need to tell you, Neil."

"Are you two finally getting married?"

"No," both of his friends answered.

"We're having a baby," Nikki added.

"Oh, well, I knew that."

"What?!" they both yelped.

"I'm going to medical school! They teach us about this stuff, and Nikki's been hormonal for weeks now. Either she was going through menopause—unlikely, given she's in her early twenties—or she was pregnant."

"Whatever. Let's watch the stupid movie," Max grumbled.

The movie itself was a little slow-paced but campy in a 'B-horror movie from the fifties' sort of way. Even the music made the three bob their heads to the beat, though the giant, man-eating alien plant made it even better.

"I refuse to believe that's a puppet," Max told Neil bluntly.

"I know, right?" Neil agreed. "Rosemary said she didn't know it was a puppet until she looked up who animated it!" Max noticed that there were a few Twizzlers left and picked them up.

"Hey, Nik," he said. "Want some Twizzlers?"

The smell of the candy reached Nikki's nose and she gagged.

"No, thanks. I feel like I'm gonna barf. The smell…" She covered her mouth and ran to the bathroom.

"What the fuck? She loves Twizzlers… unless you got Red Vines?" Max glared at Neil.

"Hell, no! I made that mistake in high school during Shark Week—I am never making it again!" Max could hear Nikki retching in the bathroom and got up out of concern. She was hunched over the toilet, panting.

"Hey, babe, you okay?"

"Sorry, Max… I just really had to puke."

"I get it."

"My body wouldn't let me eat Twizzlers!" she whimpered. "I can't deal with that! I can't!"

She gagged again and turned her face back towards the toilet. Max held her hair out of the way, ensuring that she wouldn't get chunks in her hair. Once that was done, they headed back out into the living room, where Neil was watching the puppetry feature on the DVD.

"Oh, hey!" he greeted them, pausing the screen. "I found out how they did it! Apparently, Rick Moranis lip-synched his lines at half-speed and they sped it up in the final product!"

"Great. How about why Nikki couldn't eat her favorite candy?" Max asked.

"Oh, that. Well, during pregnancy, tastes change. It's all according to hormones and the nutrients the baby needs. Also, the reason she threw up is simply morning sickness. Nothing to worry about unless it turns into hyperemesis gravidarum." Both gave him an odd look. "Severe morning sickness."

"I thought you were trying to become a surgeon or something," Nikki commented, looking confused.

"I am, but when I figured out you were pregnant, I started looking stuff up about it. Morning sickness starts around week 4 or 5 and lasts until about week 14."

"How many weeks are there?" Max inquired.

"40. But don't worry! According to experts, morning sickness actually lowers the chances of having a miscarriage or stillbirth!"

"The fuck?!"

"Oh, relax, Max. You and Nikki should talk to her doctor about this stuff, though—never too early! And you might wanna get an ultrasound done every month and a half or so to check on the baby's progress."

"I got one done last week," Nikki replied. "They made me drink like a gallon of water before they did it, so I really had to pee afterwards."

"As long as you guys aren't too reckless, you won't have to worry about anything!"

That did not help Max's nerves. Neil finished watching the puppetry feature and took the DVD out.

"I'd better return this to Rosemary. It's her favorite movie."


After Neil left, Max took a shower and headed up to bed, where Nikki was reading something on her tablet.

"Whatcha reading?" he asked.

"I'm reading up on pregnancy stuff. Apparently, coffee is bad for a developing fetus? Oh, and I can't mess with animal feces. It carries diseases."

"Nikki, you are a goddamn park ranger. You handle animal shit all the fucking time."

"Well, I have to stop… at least until I'm done breastfeeding."

"Do we have to discuss this now?"

"No, but we really should be better informed on this. Raising a baby is different from hatching a platypus egg."

"Yeah, because I actually care about the baby."

"Why does it seem like we always have these talks right before bed?"

"Because we're two fucked-up people who want to clear their minds before sleeping."

"True." She put the tablet on the charger and kissed Max. "Night!"

"Night."


I can already tell I'll be doing a lot of pregnancy research for this story, since it's my first time writing about a pregnancy in its entirety. And that thing about morning sickness is an actual thing experts have said. Also, after the events of 'Nikki's Last Day on Earth', I had the headcanon that Nikki's favorite candy is Twizzlers.

Next time, Max confronts Nikki's mood swings… times ten.

So long and thanks for all the fish!