Chapter 9

The next few days were a whirlwind of happiness and bliss for the new couple. There were a few little speed bumps along the way, like when Adrien pushed past Natatle and into his father's office to introduce Marinette. It went something like this...

"Adrien, what is the meaning of this interruption?"

"Your next appointment isn't until next Thursday, and I thought I should introduce you to my girlfriend before you read it in the press. This is Marinette"

"I didn't give you permission to start seeing anyone."

"That's good, because I didn't ask." The young man then turned and led his young lady out the door, not seeing the older man's slight grin of pride.

Also noteworthy was the interview with Nadja two days later, where the reporter ignored the list of questions approved by Gabriel and simply talked to the couple. Marinette fielded the interview like a champ chatting with the reporter like the old friend she was. All in all, everyone finished out the week in relative contentment.

Hawkmoth smiled to himself as he wound himself around the dark unlit streets in this part of town. The final piece of his plan had unexpectedly fallen into his lap just that morning. His son had a new girlfriend that should keep him occupied and out of harm's way for a while.

He rounded the corner and saw his destination. It was a reasonably nice inn, for the price (not more than three stars), where he had stashed his recently acquired asset. The supervillain waited for the lobby to clear out before heading to the elevator. On the third floor, he let himself out and made his way to the corner room and let himself in.

The man with his wheelchair saluted the masked man smartly. The rundown derelict cleaned up smartly into a well-groomed solder waiting for a beefing on his new mission. Hawkmoth leaned on his cane. "First, let me show what I am offering." A moment later, a dark butterfly crossed the room, entering a bullet-shaped keychain transforming the man. "Stand Tireur D'élite and revel in your freedom. This is temporary. I am sending you on some training. When you finish, I will return your powers."

"How long will I be gone?" The man now dressed in camo was stoic, though you could see the fire of hate in his eyes.

"That's up to you. The faster you complete the training mission, the sooner you can start the real one. Now, if you will sit, I am going to pull your power until you get back." The man sat in the wheelchair and waited as the butterfly left him. "Now get some sleep. A car will be here to pick you up at oh-six-thirty tomorrow."

Ladybug and Rena Rouge raced across the rooftops. It was a quiet night, so the girls were having a little fun. However, for the last few minutes, Rena had been falling uncharacteristically behind. The red heroine stopped and waited for the fox to catch up. Ladybug was a little concerned when she saw her friend was winded when she stopped. "Rena, are you ok?"

Leaning against a chimney, the orange-clad woman smiled. "Yeah, just haven't had enough sleep. Now that you have a boyfriend and are running rooftops, you understand soon enough." Ladybug hugged her companion, still just a little concerned. She felt something a little... off, stiffened briefly, then smiled. As the holder of creation, Ladybug could sense life energies. Alya had a second, very faint, but distinct, energy signature.

"Ok, the boys have a testosterone night. Why don't you run home to grab some things? I'll call the girls, and we'll have a sleepover at my house." Rena nodded gratefully and vaulted off the roof.

Arriving home, Marinette de-transformed and feed her kwami. "Tikki, did you feel it?"

The little red goddess smiled. "It is differently early, but yes, I did. She likely doesn't even suspect it yet."

The bluenette started pacing, "With transforming, will it be ok?"

Tikki floated over to comfort her holder. "Trixx's power will help strengthen and protect the baby. The most significant danger for her or the baby is taking a direct hit in either form. A pregnant holder usually has a more comfortable pregnancy and birth than a non-holder. However, the sooner she knows, the sooner she can take precautions."

Marinette nods and hands the phone to Tikki. "I need you to text the girls and invite them while I go talk to my mom." As she darted down the stairs she shouted, "Mom!", trying to locate her.

"In the bakery, dear." The younger woman nearly tripped over her own feet as she hurtled into the large kitchen. Watching her daughter's antics, Sabine was a little concerned. "What's going on, Mari?"

Marinette blushes a little. "I need a little help, and I need to preface this by assuring you this not for me. It's a team matter." Now the older woman was perplexed and concerned. "Mom, I have invited the girls over for a sleepover. And I need you to pick up a pregnancy test for one of my teammates."

Sabine nearly dropped the measuring cup she was holding. "And it's not for you?"

Mari blushed as red as her supersuit. "No, Mom. Adrien and I have not done anything to make that even an option."

Sabine hugged her daughter. "Just so you know, if something did happen, you could come to me. But with as excited as I am to be a grandmother, I don't think either of us is ready for that." Releasing her daughter and turning for the door, Sabine called out. "Tom, I need to step out for a bit. Oh, and you're about to have half a dozen girls or so descend on the place."

Marinette grabbed a tray from the bakery and headed upstairs.

The first to arrive was Ayla, who came through the skylight and de-transformed. Marinette ran up and grabbed her in a big hug. Next was Juleka, who seemed to be upset about something. The bluenette approached the taller woman. "Is everything ok?"

Juleka swept her hair to the side so she could stare down at the shorter girl with both eyes. "You should have chosen my brother." Then she turned her nose up and held that pose for several moments before she started to giggle. She then looked down, seeing her friend at the edge of tears.

"I…I'm sorry, Juleka. I never meant to hurt anyone." Juleka quickly wrapped Mari in a tight hug as her voice began to quiver with tears.

"God, I'm gonna strangle my mother. She thought it would be funny to give you shit about it. My brother and I both knew that given half a chance with loverboy, he would not win. I'm so sorry."

"Juleka?" The bluenette's voice was still quivering bit there and was a breathless quality to it as well. "Juleka? I'd like to be able to breathe now." Juleka blushed and instantly released her hold. Marinette hugged her back, showing all was ok.

It was about this time Tom entered the room with a tray of fresh goodies. "Room service closes at ten. That gives you four hours." His daughter hugged him before he left.

The next two to arrive were a surprise as Sabrina pulled a reluctant Chloe up the stairs. Marinette glanced at the shelf of stuffed animals where Tikki hid. The little kwami just shrugged and smiled. Marinette grabbed a tray and welcomed the two girls in.

Mylene entered with an entirely unexpected but not unwelcome Kagami. Marinette approached with a huge smile and gave them both hugs while whispering in Kagami's ear, "You give it a chance, and you could walk out of here with the best group of friends you could ever want."

Mylene shouted, "Hey everybody, this is Kagami, a friend of Mari's from outside of school." She then took the Japanese girl around to meet those in the group she hadn't met yet.

Last to arrive was Alix, popping her gum. "Hey, guys!" She waved, and used the hardwood floor as a roller disco. The others just moved out of the way.

When Marinette looked around, she saw that the party was going great; however, Juleka was sitting alone, watching from the outside and Rose was a no-show. "Hey, Jules, what's up? Where is Rose." The bluenette sat next to the taller girl. Juleka sighed, "Her mom caught us playing strip poker in her room. Apparently, her mom didn't realize she was gay until then. So she is grounded."

Marinette gasped. "She's grounded because she likes girls?!"

Juleka suddenly looked shocked. "What? No… no, She was grounded because she had her girlfriend in her room unsupervised." She laughed, and Marinette got an idea, slipping out of her room to talk to her mother again.

Thirty minutes later Rose showed up with her overnight bag.

The night had been a blast - pillow fights, girl talk, and even a few rounds a strip poker just because they could. Ayla was out by ten. The rest drifted off in the early morning. Marinette being the excellent host, was second up, and only a short time after Kagami. The two of them went down to gather breakfast for the rest and returned to the room, ladened with goodies. At the smell of the food, the others started to wake. Alya bolted for the bathroom. Marinette followed at a slower pace. The others were all concentrating on their empty bellies.

Entering the bathroom, Mari held The redhead's hair out of the way. "Marinette, Please, I don't want to get you sick too." Her voice was plaintive.

Handing her a glass of water, "Drink. This will help the taste in your mouth and keep you hydrated." While Alya slowly drank the water, Marinette brushed out her hair. "Feel better?"

Alya nodded, "A little."

Marinette smiled. "Good. I need you to do something for me. If it makes you feel better, take it as an order from your leader."

The redhead looked up questioningly. Marinette reached into the drawer in her vanity and handed Alya the box her mother had purchased last night. The dark skin of the creole girl went a pasty white.

Ten minutes later, Marinette held her crying friend, who still clutched the positive pregnancy test. "What am I going to do?" Her words were barely understandable through the sobs.

Marinette stroked her hair and rocked her friend. They had moved to the guest room to not be disturbed while the other girls got ready for the day. "Ultimately, that decision is in your hands. You're sixteen. Here in France that means that the decisions are yours. Everyone's going to have opinions, and many are going to give them whether you want them to or not." The crying was beginning to subside, and the distraught girl was starting to calm down.

Ayla took a deep breath and gave a weak smile. "So what would Ladybug tell me to do?"

Marinette thought about it for a while, then gave a quick nod. "Are you sure you want to hear?" Alya just snuggled in and nodded. "One, you are too tender-hearted to abort. Carry to term and if you don't want the child, give it up for adoption. Two, think carefully about what you want. Personally, I think you would be a remarkable mom, but that your choice. No one can make it for you. Three, in that other room, is a group of girls that would bend over backward for you and will be very put out if you don't let them. Especially Rose. Four, tell Nino and your mom. And let Trixx help you."

This brought Alya up short. "I can keep using Trixx?"

Marinette smiled softly. "I consulted our local creation expert. She says that using Trixx will make this easier on your body. You are, however, relegated to support. You are no longer a front line fighter for at least the next year. I will not risk either of you. I will always support your choices. Now I need to get back. You may stay here as long as you need. I will check on you later if you haven't joined us." Quietly the bluenette slipped away.

After rejoining the party, Marinette discovered that the girls had found her new makeup kit (a gift from Adrien's personal makeup team when they started dating) and had created in doing each other's makeup. Rose looked around. "Wasn't Alya with you?"

Marinette a wry smile. "She's not feeling well. She is going to lay down for a bit."

Rose got all concerned, "Is she ok? is there anything we can do?"

Mari just shook her head. "No. Girl problems." All the girls nodded knowingly.

Everyone was settling into the living area for lunch when Alya emerged freshly showered and with steel in her eyes. Rose was the first to notice. "Are you feeling better?" There was both concern and relief in her voice.

Alya smiled at the little bundle of emotions. "Yes, I am feeling much better." Rose bean to cheer until her girlfriend calmed her down. The creole approached Mari, "What did you tell them?"

The bluenette shrugged. "I kinda told the truth. I said you were having girl problems." Alya laughed. (It was a little hysterical, but a good sign nonetheless.) Looking around at everyone, Mari realized someone was missing. "Um, where's Chloe?"

Sabrina just shuffled for a moment "Her parents are finalizing their divorce today. She didn't want to spoil the time for everyone else." Marinette knew that there was something left unsaid.

After a fantastic lunch and during a break between Mecha Strike rounds, Alya stood up and got everyone's attention. Sabine came to see what was going on. Marinette went and stood by her best friend and squeezed her hand. "I am going to need all of your help soon. Marinette told you I was having girl problems. That is very true, but it's not a short term issue. You see, I just found out that I'm pregnant. I'm no more than a few weeks, so it is early on. The worst part of that is the timing. I will likely deliver late in the school year. After giving it much thought, I have decided I'm keeping the child." She turned to Marinette. "I was going to ask you to be godmother, then I realized you're no better set up than I am. So knowing that you were my first choice, would you allow me to ask your mother." Marinette stepped back and waived Sabine forwarded to give the mother of her new godchild a comforting mother's hug.