Umm...yeah, I can't tell you how sorry I am that this chapter has taken so long to write, I've had three projects to do, and because it's near the end of the school year here, the teachers suddenly think that no other teacher has set us homework, even though they have, so I end up getting a homework asignment for every lesson! So it's very stressful!

I must warn you in advance that there is one swear word in this chapter, I thought I should at least warn people, rather than catch anyone off guard who would rather not read it, it's not distasteful and it doesn't make up the chapter's entirety - so it's nothing major, but I know how some people do not like swear words anyway!

Anyway, enjoy!

DISCLAIMER- I DO NOT OWN LOONATICS UNLEASHED, IT IS LEGALLY OWNED AND COPYRIGHTED BY WARNER BROS. HOWEVER, ANY CHARACTERS THAT APPEAR IN THIS STORY THAT ARE NOT MENTIONED IN LOONATICS UNLEASHED, ARE OF MY CREATION!

SONG LYRICS AND ARTSTS, AS WELL AS LOCATIONS EITHER IN THE USA, OR INTERNATIONALLY ARE REAL AND ARE NOT IN ANYWAY SHAPE OR FORM, THE RESULT OF MY IMAGINATION.

***

"Alex." Lexi squeaked, she became tense as she stared up at the doctor before her, the rest of the assembled males giving her both concerned and puzzled looks.

Ace looked from Lexi to Alex; and back to Lexi again. He rested his hands on her shoulders; the touch making Lexi reluctantly turn her head towards her partner.

"Lexi, what's wrong?"

Lexi couldn't answer; she looked back up at Alex; who hesitated before clearing his throat and inviting the team to talk in his office rather than the waiting room where patients were beginning to stare.

As the rest of the team, and Alex, filed into the room, Ace looked to Lexi again, "Lex…you know him. Are you okay…was he…did he…how do you know him?"

Lexi sighed and gazed at the floor underneath her.

"Lexi…who is he?"

Lexi looked up at Ace, her eyes meeting his, she spoke in a quiet whisper, "He's Leah's older brother, and he's a friend from Utah." She left Ace where he was and walked into the room.

Ace stared into space for some moments, before face palming himself. 'Oh brother.' He thought as he walked into the room too.

--

"Well, it's great to see you again, Lex!" Alex smiled as he embraced his friend. Lexi could feel herself gripping onto him, whether it was to comfort herself, or whether it was her insecurities surfacing, she wasn't sure.

Alex stepped back after releasing his hold on the bunny and looked down at her, "But, in all honesty, I would have preferred to see you some time when you didn't have to be in a hospital, what's wrong?"

Lexi stared up at him, she tried to speak but as soon as she opened her mouth to do so, only a small breath escaped from the back of her throat. She shut her mouth, her eyes following suit, before hanging her head in shame. She wrapped her arms around herself and stared at her feet.

Alex could sense that there was something wrong, something really wrong. "Umm...maybe you should all sit down…it, might make things easier." He gave Lexi a pitiful smile –not that she was able to notice it – she still hadn't looked up. Ace put his hands on her shoulders and guided her over to one of the small chairs in the room. He sat her down, and stood close by her.

Tech glanced back from the two bunnies, to the doctor, who stood before everyone, he sighed before speaking. "Umm…Doctor Mason….you…you've gotta…understand that this is probably gonna be difficult for Lexi to say…she almost broke down telling us."

Alex looked at Tech, now becoming increasingly concerned for the well being of his long-time friend and he braced himself mentally – readying himself for the apparent shockingand possibly frightening news.

Lexi looked at Alex, he was seated opposite her, and she made eye contact with him briefly, before hanging her head and staring at the floor. "Umm…Alex…I…I" She took a deep breath and spoke quietly, not wanting to look at him either, "I'm pregnant."

All of the male Loonatics' eyes landed on Alex, who seemed to be at a loss for words upon what he just heard. He looked distraught – his kind and understanding, face became pale, and his knowledgeable; and trusting eyes were wide with shock.

Lexi glanced up at her friend for a brief moment, before sighing, and allowing her gaze to meet the floor once more.

Alex stood up after a moment of thought, he faced the wall – not making eye contact with anyone – before he slowly turned his head to face Lexi; he spoke to her softly. "I…I'm guessing that it wasn't planned?"

Lexi slowly lifted her head to face him, "No." She simply said, but her voice was shaking as she spoke. The rest of the assembled group noticed this.

"So…do you know what you're going to do?"

Lexi made eye contact with Alex once, before she hastily moved her gaze to the floor, she didn't want to see his face anymore – she felt awful, he was her friend, and now for him to see her like this – and to know what was wrong, made everything all the more difficult for her to respond to his queries.

She shook her head slowly, her eyes never focussing on anything other than the floor underneath her.

Alex furrowed his eyebrows, he opened his mouth to speak, and some stuttered words came out, he closed his mouth again, obviously correcting his answer.

"Well…are you gonna keep it, or…y'know, there is the alternative…"

"No." Lexi interrupted him sternly, taking everyone else by surprise – they weren't expecting her answer to be so fervent.

"…Lexi, what do you mean?" Ace spoke to her calmly, as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I mean," Lexi started, she looked up into his eyes, "I don't want to get rid of it." Her voice lowered in volume as she spoke.

Ace furrowed his eyebrows as he looked at her, "What? What do…what do you mean?"

"I…," Lexi shut her eyes in annoyance, "I just don't want to get rid of it, okay?" She reopened her eyes and stared at Ace, "I…I just can't, it's not fair…"

Ace nodded his head, he understood how she felt, plus he knew that such an act could lead to problems - she might not be able to have children again. Also, some part of him had felt the urge to do whatever it took for his child to not be destroyed – whether it was in its early stages of development or not – it was still a living organism.

The bunnies turned back to the doctor. Alex still looked as though he was trying to get to grips with the situation. He let out a sigh before standing up, and walking to a cupboard.

When he came back, there was a small rectangular box in one of his hands, he walked over to Lexi and handed it to her.

Lexi studied the box before looking back up at him, "A…pregnancy… tester?" She said quietly, raising an eyebrow. "But…I've already taken two, surely that's a sign that there is something in there."

Alex gave her a pitiful smile and nodded, "I know, and I'm sorry. But it's a…formality, we have to have positive confirmation, I don't know why – I think it's a waste anyway, but…I'm sorry, Lexi, you have to."

Lexi slowly nodded and looked down, fiddling with the small box in her hands for a moment, before standing up and looking around. "Uhh…"

"Oh, bathroom's through that door." Alex pointed to a door at the end of the room.

Lexi looked back at him awkwardly, "That's not one of those ones where you can…you know, hear…like…everything. Leah's told me about them – she said they're awkward, especially for the patient who has to use them."

Alex smiled, "Nah. You're okay."

Lexi gave a small nod in acknowledgement before she turned from the group, walked across the room, and entered the bathroom.

Alex, who had watched her go, now frowned and sat down in the chair that he was seated in earlier, Ace also sat in the vacant seat which Lexi had been occupying.

Alex held his head in his hands before speaking, "So…how'd this…happen?"

Duck scoffed before replying, "You're the doctor, surely you should know all of the technicalities – even I know!"

Ace gave the waterfowl a displeased look before turning back to the doctor, "I'm not sure…it was…unexpected it just…kinda…happened." Ace rubbed the back of his head in awkwardness, not making eye contact with anyone.

"So you didn't use protection?" Alex raised an eyebrow.

Ace slumped his shoulders, his body language telling the rest of the group the answer, to save his reputation Ace quickly spoke again, "But believe me, I would've!"

He saw the cold look that Alex gave him, Ace gulped and continued.

"She's my best friend, and girlfriend. You can't honestly t'ink dat I would want to put her through all of dis on purpose? Like I said, it just…happened. If I had known what was comin', of course I would have done somet'in' to prevent dis! Or at least asked her if she was sure, and dat …you know, it wasn't da time of da month where she was the most…" He looked up, trying to think of the right word, he sighed when he couldn't find the word he wanted, "…fertile."

"So, are you gonna say the same thing to her family?" Alex raised an eyebrow, and spoke rather coldly to the male rabbit.

Ace looked taken aback by his question, "I hadn't planned on it…" He mumbled, "I don't know." He sighed in defeat, "What are they like?"

"Protective. That pretty much sums it up. And, in a situation like this, I don't know who would be worse, her dad, or her four older brothers. I think her mum and sisters would be more…surprised, but they wouldn't act as…hostile as the guys would."

"Great." Ace sighed. "But what about da whole...you know, doctor, patient confidentiality t'ing?"

Alex momentarily diverted his eyes as Lexi approached, but he turned back to Ace, understanding that his friend had heard Ace's question, "There is that. But would you honestly not tell them about this?"

Lexi handed Alex the tester and leant on Ace's chair, holding his hand, "Actually…we were kinda hopin' not to tell them…at least not while there's da whole pregnancy t'ing going on…" Ace spoke quietly, suddenly feeling very foolish. He looked up at his girlfriend, "Right, Lex?"

Lexi looked from him to Alex, she spoke quietly, "Actually, Ace. Maybe…maybe we should tell them, they need to know."

Ace stood up at her comment, and looked at her in the eyes, "What?"

"Ace, we can't hide this. They'd just be more upset if they found out and they knew we hadn't told them."

"But what about…your…"

"Oh forget my dad and brothers. It's about time my dad realises that he can't control my life, and that things are gonna happen!"

"But won't they be…mad?"

Lexi held her arm, "Well…yeah. But I'll make sure that they don't…strangle…you, this whole mess is my fault anyway." She looked down as she spoke.

Ace was about to answer when Alex spoke first, "Umm, Lexi. I'm sorry, but, I guess it's third time unlucky in this scenario." He looked up from the tester, to Lexi.

Lexi nodded and hugged herself. Ace wanted to do something to make her feel better, but she already moved past him and sat down in the seat that the two had been 'sharing'.

"Look, Lexi. If it helps, I'll come over…when you tell your folks….at least that way I might be able to make sure they're not too rough on you."

"Yeah." Lexi sighed, she watched as her foot circled the floor underneath her. "At least I'll get to see them again?" She smiled weakly before turning to Ace, "And…your parents…"

Ace felt a wave of horror run through him, he forgot about his parents and his uncle and cousin, how would they feel about this. He knew that they probably would be a little bit less…hostile than Lexi's parents. Purely because he was their son, and nothing would be happening to him that would be painful and hard, like it would be to Lexi – he understood that her father and brothers especially, wouldn't like that idea, especially because that also meant that some stranger (to them) had been 'fooling around' with their daughter, or sister. 'This won't be good' Ace thought sorrowfully.

--

"…So, nine months from (and including) May is…January. So, January the sixteenth, approximately, is when it's due." Alex said, still putting on a weak and pitiful smile, he had always seen grins on the faces of previous couples when he had told them news like this, and he could easily smile – without having to fake one – but now, with the Loonatics, there was no happiness, just acceptance and some sadness. And it pained Alex to see them, especially Lexi, in such sorrow. He wished he could do something to stop all of this from happening, but there was nothing he could do – or at least there was nothing that could be done that Lexi would comply to.

"So, does this mean no…air travel or anything?" Tech asked.

Alex looked over at the Coyote, "Well usually we say that there's no air travel allowed during the first and third trimester – so the first and last three months of the pregnancy – but considering the kind of things you guys do…I wouldn't be too comfortable with that. If my opinion counted in this matter, I would say that Lexi shouldn't really be going on any missions. It could be dangerous."

Tech nodded his head, "Okay." He looked to Ace and Lexi, Ace looked sadly down at Lexi, and he knew that she wouldn't like the idea of being home alone whenever they went on missions, but he also had a look of understanding that that was the most sensible thing to do.

Lexi merely looked at the floor, Tech understood that inside she felt upset and just didn't want to show it – and he was sure that he could see tears welling up in her eyes – but, like Ace, there was some acceptance in the matter. She knew that her job would temporarily not be for aiding the Loonatics in battle, but for keeping the child inside of her safe by all means. It was the powerful maternal instinct that all women had – which Tech had always admired.

"And..." Duck spoke now, "It's just the usual kind of thing; don't stand too close to microwaves…yada yada yada…"

"Yeah." Was all Alex replied with.

They all stood up, Alex shaking the hands of the male Loonatics, "And Lexi, you'll receive notification about any ultrasounds, and you can call to arrange a date and time when the notice arrives."

"Okay." Lexi nodded her head, "Thanks, Alex." She smiled and hugged him, he returned the embrace.

"And remember," He said, when the two had released each other, "Call me, and I'll come over, If you have any problems, and make sure you tell me when your family comes."

"I will." Lexi smiled, her voice breaking slightly.

The six Loonatics filed out of the door just as Alex's pager beeped, and he quickly ran out of the room, he shouted "Good bye!" as he jogged down the corridor, obviously the message he received was that a patient was experiencing life threatening problems.

--

"Sooo…" Ace started as he and Lexi walked into his room to talk, "January"

"…The sixteenth…" Lexi finished, staring at the ground.

Ace noticed her gaze, and turned to her, resting his hands on her shoulders; the action making her look up at him. "Look…Lexi, we'll be alright. We just have to t'ink positive. I mean, think about it," He looked down at her abdomen, "We're gonna have a baby!"

Lexi moved out of his grasp and sat down on his bed, "Yeah, but you don't have to carry it around with you for nine months, AND give birth to it." She looked up at him, sadness showing in her eyes.

Ace came and sat down next to her, "You're…scared, aren't you?" He put his arm around her and pulled her close to him.

"And you're not?" She snapped, looking up at him with fear in her eyes.

Ace bit his lip, "Look…Lexi, I am."

She looked back at him, waiting for him to explain his concerns over their current predicament.

"I mean, dat time – a while back, do you remember we had dat conversation…"

"Huh?"

"Da one about kids…?"

Lexi looked up in thought, trying to remember…

"….Yeah…" Ace didn't seem as though he was listening. Lexi noticed this and sat up, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Ace, what's wrong?"

"Nothin'. It's just dat, would you…would you ever… you know, want to have kids?" Ace looked at Lexi thoughtfully.

Lexi looked taken aback. "Whoa! Umm…Well, I don't know…it, it's weird. And we don't really need to be thinking about this kind of thing now I mean, we're only dating."

Ace pressed on. "Yeah well you know, have you ever considered it?"

"Well, I don't really actually know why people could bring themselves to have kids." Lexi looked apprehensive. "I mean, for one it's carrying round a ball of squishy gooey…life in your abdomen for nine months and having to deal with all the crap that comes with pregnancy, and then there's the whole giving birth thing…I mean, I don't know about you…But to me it seems… really painful." Ace smirked at her little rant but let her continue. "And then there's the whole, Life thing again. I mean it's screaming, pooping, hungry, crying… life. I've always been scared of that; you know…what if you do something wrong?"

Ace hugged her. "You're right; we don't need to be thinkin' of dis kind of t'ing now. Don't worry about it."

Lexi pulled away from his embrace. "What about you? Have you ever thought about that?"

Ace hesitated, "Yeah a few times. You know, when you see couples with babies' dey all seem to look so happy. And you always wonder if it could ever be the same for yourself, but with us…I don't know…I mean, don't get me wrong, I t'ink we'd make great parents but…It would be…difficult." He sighed, and dropped his gaze, staring down at the bed sheets in a motionless gaze.

Lexi looked at him with pity. "…Yeah…" She too looked down, but only briefly. She leant forwards and kissed him, playfully pushing him back as she did so.

"Ohhhhh, that conversation!" Lexi said out loud, Ace gave her an amused look, before turning serious again.

"Yeah. Lexi, I had always liked da idea of havin' a kid, you know, it would be…I don't even know how to describe it, but da feeling dat you've created life must be…"

"…Amazing." Lexi sighed.

"Yeah. And then you get to teach it stuff, watch it grow up and see what he or she will accomplish through life, and whatever they manage to do, you would always feel proud of them. And, I like dat thought."

"Yeah." Lexi smiled, thinking about what he had just said.

"But, Lexi." Ace sighed, "I had always imagined dat if I ever did have a kid..." He looked at her in the eyes, "It would be…after marriage. Y'know? I mean, now…you and I are…dating, I mean, yeah it feels like more than dat, but still."

Lexi looked up at him quickly, slight anger in her eyes, "What's that supposed to mean? Are you ashamed that we 'did it'? 'Cause in the long run, Ace. You can pull out of this whenever the hell you want, but I can't. Ace, I'm stuck with it, either I keep it, and look after it for the rest of my life, or I get rid of it before it's too late and feel completely…shitty about myself!"

Ace looked back at her, "Lexi, I'm not gonna bail on you! Sure I had pictured somet'in' like dis…and truthfully it was a little different, but it doesn't mean I don't care. I…I can't even believe dat you would even t'ink that I wouldn't take care of dis!"

"How can you take care of this, Ace?" Lexi's voice was less harsh than previously, partially because she was now crying.

"Lexi I…"

"No Ace," She sniffed, "Right now, there physically is nothing you can do to help me. What's happening to my body can't be stopped. And no one from the outside can change that." She wiped away some tears with her wrists before continuing, "Ace, I know you want to help, and I know you'll try to help in every way that you can, but face it. You can't, not until it's born anyway – and by then, it wouldn't matter anyway!"

"Lexi yes it will matter!" Ace spoke loudly, causing the female to jump in surprise, noticing this, Ace lowered his voice when he spoke again, "Lexi, of course it will matter. Wha…what do you mean…why do you t'ink dat it won't?"

Lexi sniffed again, and felt more tears welling up in her eyes, "Ace…what…what made you like me?"

"What?"

"What made you…want to go out with me?"

Ace raised his eyebrows in surprise and took in a deep breath before speaking, "Lexi, it was…it was because ever since we first met I liked you, and when I got to know you more, I felt that it was almost as if we were made for each other." He took her hands in his as he spoke, "Why?" He asked softly.

Lexi turned away from him, "You…will…will you still think of me like that even when I'm…huge?"

"Lexi" He continued to speak softly to her, he wiped away some tears with his thumb, and moved her hair out of her eye, "I don't care what you look like on da outside, as long as it's still you on da inside. I only want da Lexi that I've fallen in love with, no one else."

"So you wouldn't…ditch me, just because I would be…heavily pregnant, moody and sick?"

Ace smiled at her, "of course not."

"Good."

--

"Oh my god."

--

"Oh My God"

--

"Oh my god"

--

"Oh my – Ouch!"

"Okay, Slam – Pay-up. I-told-you-Tech-would-stop-meditating-if-Duck-kept-saying 'Oh-my-god' every-two-minutes!"

Slam grumbled and gave the fast talking bird a five dollar bill, crossing his arms in annoyance.

Tech stood up and walked over to the sofa, Duck for an unknown reason had 'Broken' since realising what had become of Lexi, and could not break out of his trance, nor get over the matter.

In annoyance, the desert canine had tried to clear his head, both from the annoying bird's continuous speech, and the stress of the current situation with Lexi.

"You guys bet?" Tech asked as he sat down on the sofa, looking at Rev and Slam in confusion.

"Yep!" Rev chirped. "You-see, we-both-knew-that-Duck-was-gonna-get -annoying,-and-boy-did-he-may-I-add,-so-we-remembered-that-it-only-seemed-to-be-Duck's-annoying-ring-tone-that-could-distract-you-from-meditation,-so-I-bet-against-Slam-that-Duck-talking-would-also-distract-you,-whereas-he-didn't-think-so. And-obviously-since-you-threw-the-TV-remote-at-him….I'm-guessing-he-did." Rev smiled.

It took Tech a moment to interpret what his fast talking friend had just said; he simply nodded when he had deciphered the speech.

Duck finally seemed to 'wake up' and return to reality, "So, can you guys believe it? Lexi's pregnant! I mean, I actually think it's hilarious that she – the one who could do no wrong, just because she's the only female on the team, the one who never had to carry around heavy stuff, the one who never had to cook for us despite the fact that she's a woman – is pregnant! And, Ace, our leader, who is constantly telling me off for breaking the rules, was the one who knocked her up in the first place!" Duck smiled smugly and crossed his arms.

"Duck," Tech sounded mad, "A piece of advice for you, if you'd like to stay alive – DON'T mention that to either of them, got it?"

Duck nodded meekly, he was surprised that the normally 'mellow' member of the team was suddenly so aggravated by the Duck's comment.

"And no." Tech sighed, "I can't believe it either." He rubbed his eyes as he spoke, "I mean, she's gonna need a lot of support from all of us, and I feel sorry for her. I mean, she's only nineteen, that's pretty young."

"Yeah, but I've seen a lot of women younger than her carrying babies around. Somehow nowadays, I think the age she's got pregnant at would be considered 'old'. I mean, it was only in the news last week about that girl who threw everything away because she got pregnant."

"Yeah," Tech sighed, "Apparently she had good grades, she had a promising future, she wanted to be an Astrophysicist, and she was only what…fifteen?"

"fourteen." Rev sighed, "Sometimes-I-wonder-why-girls-do-that, y'know? Why-do-they-throw-away-everything,-why-not-stay-pure-until-marriage,-or-at-least-until-they-find-the-right-guy?"

"Yeah well, it takes two to tango, remember, Rev." Tech reminded the bird, "It's the guy's fault too." He looked down at the ground thoughtfully, "At least we know that Ace and Lexi will stay together through this, I mean, it's not like Ace is gonna walk away and leave Lex to suffer, I mean, of course he wouldn't; besides, I certainly won't let him!"

"Yeah." Rev smiled, "But-you're-right-Tech, it-will-be-hard-on-her, I-mean,-she's-gonna-have-to-go-through-all-of-that-painful-stuff, and-she'll- be-pregnant-for-a-long-time, and…you-know…the-kid's-forever…" He trailed off after he realised this.

"Well I can't believe they're gonna get their parents involved, I mean, talk about awkward!"

"Yeah well, Duck, they can't just hide it," Tech looked at Duck, "their parents need to know, they deserve to."

"Yeah, but I don't want to be around when they come." Duck widened his eyes as he verbalised his next thought, "I mean, we've all heard what Lexi's dad's like…somehow I don't think he'll just be mad at Lex….he'll be mad at us too"

"ghrksf sfsjfks snfsf Bad!" Slam grunted, annoyed, he slouched in position and rested his head in his hands.

"Yeah, it will be bad, Slam." Duck patted the Tasmanian devil on the shoulder, "But think about Ace I mean, that will be hilarious!" Duck laughed at the thought of his leader being intimidated by Lexi's father.

"Oh yeah Duck, won't that just be hilarious." Lexi commented sarcastically as she walked into the room holding Ace's hand.

Ace gave a displeased look at Duck, "Could you guys at least even act supportive!?"

"Sorry, Chief." Tech replied, standing up and walking over to the two rabbits, "But we'll help," He glanced back at the rest of the team, "…Or at least I will." He smiled at the couple.

--

"Lexi, everyt'in's gonna be fine." Ace spoke softly as he moved some stray hairs out of her eyes.

It was late, the clock read 23:36, the Loonatics had long since departed to go to bed, Ace and Lexi were in Ace's room, once again talking about their current predicament. Lexi lay under the covers while Ace sat on the bed next to her, he was positioned roughly in line with her hip, to the right hand side of her, looking down at her as they spoke.

"No it's not, Ace." Lexi furrowed her eyebrows sorrowfully, "This is not okay, I am not okay. I don't think I've ever been this frightened before, Ace; and you know I've been in bad situations before, but this, this is the worst. Ace, I, I'm terrified!" Tears were visibly leaving her eyes, giving her eyes a bright sparkle to them, which was still easy to see in the darkened room – the light from Ace's bedside lamp helping the two bunnies to see each other.

Ace frowned; the sparkles that were present in her eyes were not the ones he wanted to see, easily because they were wet with tears, and not happiness or love like they normally were.

He sighed, and he quickly submerged his hands underneath the darkness of the bed sheets to find Lexi's hands, and pulled them out from underneath the blankets and held them in his own hands which he rested on his lap.

"Lexi you don't need to be scared," He said softly, "I'm here, I'll always be here, I'm not going anywhere, you're not alone in dis – you'll never be."

Lexi gave him a weak smile, "Yeah well, that's comforting to know." She smiled properly, an idea forming in her head. She smiled at him and bit her lip.

"What?" Ace smirked at her.

"What's the point in being miserable?" The question was rhetorical, as she immediately pulled Ace down and kissed him before he had the chance to question her, he joined in almost instantaneously.

When they parted to breathe, Ace's face remained close to her own so that the two were close enough that they could stare into each other's eyes.

They were close enough now that Ace was easily able to whisper into Lexi's ear, what he had said made her smirk and bite her lip as she stared up at him and slightly nod her head, Ace smiled back at her and reached over to turn off the bedside lamp so that all was dark in the room, before he leant down to kiss her again…