Serena had put it so simply that it was almost frustrating.
"I'm pregnant." She said, matter-of-fact.
How does one say something like that? Out of the blue, completely sudden, with no further elaboration, or so Clemont assessed the situation. Just as one expects their weather information.
The blond man could tell she expected a response out of him, one other than dumbstruck silence. She needed him to be happy, worried, something by the news, and yet, all he felt was paralyzed. He could not say what was going through his head on that moment, because all he could think about was a replay of his wife saying 'I'm pregnant' over and over again, on a loop.
Of course, they had talked about this on a theoretical level before they got married, as one should. Not only because it is basic information you need to know about the other person before a wedding, but also because his sweet younger sister, Bonnie, not happy with just getting married before he did, also got around into getting "accidentally" pregnant, too, and that was enough to bring up the conversation multiple times over the course of nine months.
After much calm and reasonable consideration, they had agreed that they would not stress either way. They were young and had much to concern themselves with, between the gym, League business and his scientific endeavours, without adding a baby on top of it. Besides, as much as Clemont loved his father, he was one irresponsible guardian, and so he had hoped that he would have more structure before he considered a child of his own.
Nevertheless, it was understood that, if something came to happen, well, they both agreed that they would be overjoyed by the new addition.
That was then, though. When they were calmly and rationally discussing a situation so far down the line it was hardly worth mentioning. This is now, and now, Serena was staring at him, expecting her husband to say something, anything to her announcement.
And all Clemont could manage was a jumbled up "preg-preg-pregnant?!"
The national champion's face fell into a dejected grimace.
"Yeah." She said. "I just took the test."
She held up the stick, as if to offer proof that this was real. As she had been waiting for the result, she kept picturing Clemont, holding his new-born nephew, when they went for their visit at the hospital some five months prior. She had always believed that he was a good father, considering how well he took care of Bonnie when they were teens, and she wanted to see him with their child, hers and his together, but now…
Now, she is not sure about what to think. Sure, they had not made definitive plans, but he had seemed receptive whenever they talked about the possibility of having a child together. Seeing how the gym leader is reacting, that seemed out the window now.
"Oh, yes. Well, that's… Very unsanitary." Clemont said, gesturing to the pregnancy test.
He cringed at his own words. This was not what he wanted to say, this was not the type of man he wanted to be.
Serena left the room, tears starting to flow. Of all the ways this could have gone, she never would have expected this. She quietly threw the test into the nearest trashcan, and walked dejectedly into their bedroom.
They had been close for many years, now, since she challenged his gym almost thirteen years ago, long before they started dating. Serena knew that adjusting to a baby was a big step for the anxious and soft-hearted Clemont, but it was not coming out of the blue. They were married, after all, and quite sexually active.
Why had he not expressed doubt before now? She sat down on the bed, and gently rubbed her stomach.
"It's okay, baby. I love you." She quietly said to herself, trying to communicate to the embryo whose father, should he be in his right mind, would say that they still have no ears or something, and so could not listen.
Clemont watched her receding form, so much wanting to call out, to tell her what he was thinking, to hug her, hold her, take away her pain, the pain that he himself had caused. How did this go so wrong?
He loved his wife, and he is sure he will come to love his child very soon, when he is able to wrap his head around the shock. His family's love and security, financial and otherwise, were his greatest achievements. He might be an accomplished scientist and a fairly powerful Pokémon trainer, but he had long since came to the realization that all the distinctions he could ever manage to receive and all the wondrous inventions he could ever manage to create did not matter if he did not have them in his life, and now their love had brought forth a new life. This should be a joyful time.
He had seen how even Bonnie had changed with the arrival of her son. She had always been caring and fiercely loyal, but she was still a twenty-something teenager, even after she married one of his gym trainers. After she learned about her pregnancy, it was if a switch had turned onto her head and she became the most focused and responsible person he knew, and he longed for that experience, those momentous changes, for his own.
However, as soon as Serena told him the news, all he could think about was being a dad. A dad. Of course, because of his father's job and extracurricular activities, he had mostly taken care of Bonnie since she could talk, but she was his sister, not his daughter.
This time, it would not be a part-time he did to help out his dad. He will be the sole person responsible for rearing a baby, from cradle to university, and that required a lot of work. Babies require more than weak admonishment, three meals a day and bonding over Pokémon and physics. They required time, near-constant attention and, more importantly, love, and that last demand is what scared Clemont more than anything else.
He knows the concept of love. He even feels it, very strongly, in fact, towards his sister and his wife, but to this day, he wonders how on Earth he managed to push Serena into marrying him. He was a mess with interpersonal relationships. He fears that, should his child care not for either Pokémon or electricity, he will not be able to forge a relationship with them. Being rejected by his peers at university hurt, but being rejected by his own blood will be much, much worse.
Both his and Serena's relationships their fathers had been tumultuous, to say the least. Her father passed away when she was young, and she was raised being shuffled around the Rhyhorn Racing continental circuit with her mother, while he was shipped off to the mountains at age six because his father, while very well-intentioned, did not know how to deal with a precocious child.
He had no idea how to be a father, and he does not have anyone he can ask for guidance, and no book he can read on the subject. He had no idea how to love a child. To nurture a living being, it was more than even his stellar rational brain could comprehend.
And then there was Serena. She had looked at him so expectantly, ready for him to smile, laugh, share in her joy, and yet, he had let her walk away, hurt, disappointed and upset. The haunting image of her retreating frame was more than he could bear.
He followed her to the bedroom, quietly knocking at the door. "Serena?"
He heard her gentle sobbing stop, but she said nothing in response.
"I'm sorry… I just…" Clemont paused, trying to find the words. "I know you were expecting something else. I should have…"
He heard shuffling from the other side of the door, but still, Serena remained silent. He needed to do this on his own.
"I'm scared." His voice choking over the words.
Serena opened the door. Her eyes were reddened with tears.
"I am, too." She confessed, softly, her voice still hoarse from the earlier crying.
"Why? You… You know how to love." He sighed. "You are great, Serena, and everybody just flock around you. I am an annoying geek, and I don't know how to deal with the emotional needs of an adult person, lest a child."
"Is that what this is about?" Serena chuckled through her tears. "You might not be the life of the party, but I don't know how to change a diaper. We are a team, Clemont, and I am here to help you on your failings, just like you will with mine. Besides, we'll learn as we go along. It's normal to be scared about a new baby. It's going to change a lot, but I know you'll be a great parent because you have already proven it to me many times."
"Bonnie is different. She…"
Serena cut him off before he could articulate his moot point, raising her right hand softly and placing a finger on his lips.
"Bonnie is great. She became an amazing woman, in great part thanks to you, but she was just a baby once, just like this one. She grew into herself, through the experiences during her life, some provided by you, and some she created for herself. Just like Bonnie, this baby…" She places her husband's hands over her still-flat stomach. "This baby will be great too. Because it got us."
Clemont's voice trembled. "But what if…"
"Honey, both you and I had many 'what if's in life, because that is what it is. Full of possibilities for good and bad, times to cry and times to smile." Serena said calmly. "Between all the times a horde of Fletchlings could have burned me to death during my journey, I was also blessed with getting to know you."
The blond man was still unconvinced. "There's still so much that could go wrong. Besides all the inherent risks involving our job, there are bullies and illnesses and what if that…?"
"No, Clemont. No. Listen to me." She cupped his cheeks in her hands. "What if it all goes right?"
He stared into her eyes, they were so clear, so focused. The gym leader could feel his objections melting away.
"What if it all goes right?" He repeated.
"Exactly. Imagine all the things that can go perfectly right." Serena smiled. "We are going to have a baby, honey."
Clemont's expression mirrored hers, his smile wider that it had ever been before; his eyes brimming with tears of joy. "We're going to have a baby."