Pale grey walls with pictures of sunsets, beaches, and sailboats littered the walls of Doctor Mata's exam room. Ren tried her best to focus on them but it was impossible with Sasuke sitting there. Since their argument she had surrendered and stopped fighting him about the baby; it was easier to let him play whatever role he wanted.
Sasuke's sigh as he stared at his phone drew her attention back to him. "This is taking forever," he complained.
"Well, we did get here late." Sasuke had been held up at school and he was her ride; she wasn't happy. "I told you, you could have waited in the waiting room for this part," Ren murmured.
"I'm stuck waiting for you either way. I told you I wouldn't look," Sasuke countered without taking his eyes from his phone.
Ren frowned as she stared down at the hospital gown; it and a sheet were the only things protecting her modesty. Her cheeks were aflame as her eyes drifted to her pile of neatly folded clothes that sat in the chair beside Sasuke. "F-fine," she sighed.
A knock on the door drew both their eyes to the room's entrance and Sasuke tucked his phone away as the doctor and a nurse came in. "Hello, Ren," Dr. Mata greeted, "Hello, Sasuke." Both teens exchanged greetings and he took a seat on the backless, rolling chair. "We're doing a pelvic and breast exam today. You gave a urine sample for testing already, so we're fine there. You will have to do so every time you come in. If drugs are found in your urine, we are obligated by law to report it to the police. You signed a waiver to allow that last time you were in, yes?"
Ren nodded. "I did," she murmured. Her heart was hammering in her chest as she listened to him speak; it would be a lot to remember if she could go off of the first portion of his speech.
"It's something we have to do with everyone so don't think I believe you use drugs. Typically," Dr. Mata's eyes drifted to Sasuke, "We don't allow other people in here for pelvic exams. I'm assuming you're the father?"
Ren opened her mouth to correct Dr. Mata but Sasuke was already nodding his head; she didn't know what was going through Sasuke's mind but he was going to get a piece of hers. A wildfire of rumors had already started at their school since both entered Junior year as Uchiha; Hideki had petitioned the court to allow Sasuke to revert to Uchiha at Sasuke's request. Rumors were going to ruin Ren's sanity at this rate.
Dr. Mata hummed as he turned to his nurse for a split second. Ren felt like they were judging them. "Alright, if we have Ren's permission you can stay."
Ren nodded weakly to him; the more she stared at Dr. Mata's greying black hair, dark brown eyes, and perfect teeth the more uneasy she felt. The man was older than her father, the wrinkles on his sun-kissed face showed that; he was intimidating to the five-foot one-inch, seventeen-year-old girl. Her eyes drifted to Sasuke as Dr. Mata listed all the cans and can not-s of pregnancy. He was listening to Dr. Mata's words too intently for Ren's liking; this was going to bite her in the butt, she just knew it.
The pelvic exam was painful and Ren kept looking at Sasuke to make sure he wasn't looking at her. How many different tests did they have to do? She felt highly uncomfortable the entire time and kept wondering if Dr. Mata was being rough with her on purpose. Ren was so glad to have that portion over with; for some reason, Dr. Mata thought that was a good time to run through the list of questions he had to ask about her home life.
"I'd like to schedule an ultrasound for next week," Dr. Mata said as he washed his hands at the sink. "We haven't done one yet and I want to make sure you're 14 weeks along. There's a possibility that we could tell gender, but it's really too soon to be sure. I'd like to check the baby's heartbeat before you leave. Go ahead and get dressed. A nurse will be in shortly to draw your blood and then I'll be back in."
"Thank you," Ren and Sasuke murmured at the same time. The moment the door closed Ren was hopping off the table and grabbing up her clothes to get dressed. As she pulled her panties out from between her pants and t-shirt her eyes met Sasuke's. "Stop looking," she begged as her cheeks tinted pink.
"You realize Dr. Mata kept looking at me, right? I couldn't see anything but it was like he expected me to watch or something," Sasuke grumbled.
"Please just look away," Ren groaned, "we can talk about it when we get out of here."
"Why do you think they did the pelvic exam first," he asked as he put his hand over his eyes.
Ren's shoulders slumped as she quickly made herself decent. "Because we were late? Because it's the worst part? I honestly don't know, Sasuke. I seriously was worried he wasn't even going to check for a heartbeat."
"If he didn't, there would have been no point in me coming," Sasuke hummed. A deep set frown formed on Ren's lips as she pulled her long raven ponytail free from the back of her black t-shirt. "I didn't mean it like that," he told her as their eyes met.
"I'm sure you didn't," she muttered coldly as she put the gown and sheet in the linen bin.
"I just meant that you could've brought TenTen or mom with you instead. You wouldn't have had to be so embarrassed," he tried to explain.
"Sasuke," Ren grumbled, "I would have been embarrassed no matter what, even if I was in here alone. Just," her words trailed off and she got back on the exam table with her frown still lingering, "I don't want to talk about this right now. You're the father, remember? You're supposed to be here for every appointment. You're supposed to be supportive and right there with me." Her words had been sarcastic.
Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "We'll talk about it when we get out of here."
After another nurse came in, drew seven tubes of blood, and left the two teens were left to their silence again. "Do you want to know the gender," Sasuke asked quietly.
"I'm not even sure," she responded with a shrug. "I guess that's something else to discuss in private."
"I'd like to know. Itachi would've wanted to know too."
"Sasuke," Ren had to swallow the lump forming in her throat, "Don't go there. He's gone. I have to decide what's best without his input now. Apparently, I have to accept yours, however." She was going to keep jabbing at him for saying he was the father for the rest of their lives.
"Yes you do," he smirked; it was painfully obvious that he was just trying to get under her skin at this point.
Dr. Mata and the original nurse came in with a small cream-colored bag and their stupid computer. "Alright, Miss Hyuga, I'll have you lay back now."
"Actually it's Uchiha now," Sasuke corrected.
"Ah, my apologies. We'll have that changed in your chart," he grumbled.
Ren laid back and prayed for Sasuke not to embarrass her any more than he had already done. Prayers went unanswered she decided when Sasuke got up from his chair and stood beside her head looking down at the doctor. She thought about telling him to sit down but bit her tongue the moment a quick heartbeat filled the room.
Tears began to flood Ren's eyes as the sound engulfed her. Sasuke had wrapped his hand around hers and was holding the back of her hand against his chest; his face was unreadable as he stared down at her belly.
"Hm," Dr. Mata hummed as he moved the device to the side slightly. The heartbeat seemed fainter and slightly slower. "You're 17?" Ren nodded. "You've not had an ultrasound yet?"
"No," she told him with her brows furrowed. "Is something wrong?"
"No, no," Dr. Mata told her with a quick shake of his head, "It's just that we seem to possibly have two heartbeats here." Ren's eyes widened as she stared up at Sasuke; he looked like someone had just punched him in the gut. "I don't want to say one way or another without an ultrasound. Do twins run in your family," he asked.
Ren was silent for a few moments as she listened to the quieter heartbeat. "My maternal grandmother was a twin. A handful of my cousins are twins," she murmured.
"Interesting." He turned to the nurse and asked, "Put in an order for the ultrasound for as soon as possible. We need to see what we're dealing with. Put a rush on her bloodwork too."
"Are twins a bad thing," Sasuke asked with his brows furrowed.
Dr. Mata shook his head and sighed as he turned the doppler off. "No, they aren't a bad thing. It just changes how much weight she needs to gain, restrictions, and how often we need to see her. Your age is also a factor, Ms. Uchiha."
Ren swallowed hard as Sasuke helped her sit up. "I didn't even think about it," she admitted weakly.
"Don't worry," the nurse told her with a smile, "We don't get to deliver twins often. It's always exciting when we do." Ren and Sasuke both nodded dumbly.
"You're free to go as soon as your ultrasound is scheduled," Dr. Mata informed them.
"I'll be back in with the details," the nurse promised as she and the doctor left the room.
"Sasuke," Ren groaned, "I think I'm going to puke."
"Don't," he ordered but it was too late; Ren got off the exam table and was puking in the waste bin.
XXXXXXXXXX
Ren was still green when she got into Sasuke's RAV4. Her ultrasound was scheduled for the following afternoon; she hadn't even bothered trying to argue about having to leave school. Sasuke, on the other hand, had asked about school notes; once he was reassured there would be one for him too he seemed placated. "I can't believe this," Ren muttered for the second time since they had left the parking lot.
"I know," Sasuke murmured. "I can't believe you puked in the office three times."
"Ugh," she groaned, "It's so embarrassing."
"They said it happens sometimes," he told her with a shrug.
"That doesn't make me feel any better," she growled.
"You'll get over it," he smirked.
"You're such a jerk," she deadpanned, "Why would you tell them you are the father?"
"Do you think they'd let me stay if I told them I was the uncle? Did you want to explain the situation to them? I don't want to say 'My step-sister is pregnant with my biological brother who died a few weeks ago' to anyone."
"So 'I impregnated my step-sister' sounds better?" Ren was shaking her head the entire time.
"Yes, it does. It saves a lot of explaining," he shrugged.
"Everyone at school already thinks we got married. They think it's because I'm pregnant. You're making my life a living hell. Why couldn't you have just kept the Hyogo surname until you graduated?"
"Why do you care what they think," he asked quickly.
"Because," she began but the words halted. "I don't know," she deflated. "I just wanted to be under the radar this year. Your fangirls keep saying awful things when they think I can't hear them."
"Jealousy heightens negative personality traits," he stated, "There's a reason I refuse to date anyone anymore."
"I just thought you were asexual," Ren grumbled. "Why did you date Karin then?"
"Because she's cheer captain and Naruto's cousin. I didn't realize how crazy she is at first," he shrugged. "I guess I just resigned to my fate."
"I'm sure you'll find someone who's not crazy to fall for," Ren told him gently as her eyes drifted away from him and to the scenery, they were driving past. She missed Itachi; he had been her one and only soulmate, she knew it.
"I don't really care one way or another," he stated.
"Don't you want kids someday?"
"I already have one, possibly two, on the way, remember?"
Ren's face paled and she shook her head so hard she felt lightheaded. "No, you don't. You have a niece or nephew on the way. It's not funny, Sasuke."
"I'm not laughing. I'm trying to give the three or four of us a less complicated life. Do you want to tell your kid its dad died?"
Ren clenched her fists so hard that her fingernails dug into her palms. "I don't want to lie."
"Then tell them the truth but no one else needs to know anything."
"I feel like you're taking Itachi's request to take care of us in a completely different way than he meant it," Ren groaned.
"I know how he meant it, I just don't feel like it's enough."
Ren glared at Sasuke with her brows furrowed. "Not enough?"
"I mean that me watching over you guys is all well and good but they are going to grow up without a father if I don't step up into that role. Or worse, they'll have some creep you date acting as their father."
Ren's brows scrunched down even further as she glared at Sasuke. She wanted to punch him in his stupid, proud, thin nose! If he wasn't driving the car she may have. "I'm not going to date anyone," she snapped at him.
"Then I don't see what your problem is," he countered.
"You're so infuriating," she barked out.
"So are you," he deadpanned.
Ren tried her best to come up with something to say to him but her mind was racing too quickly to form any ideas. She growled lowly and crossed her arms over her chest. "I wonder what Hideki will say," she murmured; it was childish but it was all she could come up with.
"I'll get to him before you do," Sasuke promised with a smirk. "He's a man of reason. All I have to do is explain my reasoning."
"Your reasoning is insane! There isn't any logic to this," Ren grumbled.
"We'll see." Sasuke pulled into the driveway and put the SUV in park; Hideki's Mercedes was already in the garage.
