A knock sounded on the hotel room door. It was gentle, so Ruby automatically assumed it to be room service.
She hoisted herself off the couch, where she had made her own cozy indent that usually lasted for hours, and waddled to the door. Over the last month, she'd grown more than she had thought possible. Now she really looked pregnant with twins.
When she opened the door, her heart leaped in her chest.
"Dad!" she exclaimed. She jumped into his arms, nearly knocking him over with how heavy she was.
"Woah, easy there, Ruby!" he laughed, catching her and leaning up against the wall. They stood up straight and gently pulled away from each other. "Now, let me take a look at you."
Ruby felt excited for him to see her, for whatever reason. She was also a little embarrassed when his gaze dropped down to her gigantic stomach, billowing out from the thin white shirt she was wearing below her soft tan robe.
"My goodness, sweetie," he marveled, "You are just...ginormous."
Ruby blushed. "Uhm, yes, yes I am." She watched as he stared at it, then bent down and came 'face-to-face' with it. "You can feel it if you want."
"I think I will," he said. He slowly reached out and let his hand rest on its wide surface. He gently rubbed it, grinning with that one grin, native to him and only him. Then he pressed his ear up to it.
"I haven't done this is 16 years," he chuckled softly. He almost looked sad. "You've grown up so much already...It feels like just yesterday when I brought you home from the hospital, swinging you in a car seat." He chuckled again.
After a few more minutes of observing and marveling over her huge belly, he looked around the hotel room.
"Nice room you've got," he said, "So where's this Oscar guy?"
"Oh, he's out shopping," she replied, "He should be back any minute now. I told him you'd be coming any day now, so he's been making sure his trips have been short."
"I have a feeling he's elongating this one," Tai said, "I'll bet he's afraid to face me- and rightfully so!"
"No he's not," Ruby playfully chided, giving him a light swat on the arm, "And please don't hurt him. It wasn't like we were enflamed with lust for one another or anything at the time...It was just weird, okay?"
"Right, right, whatever you say," he mumbled, "So, where are you two going after you have the kids?"
"Uh...we haven't decided that yet," she answered, "But we do know that Oscar's gonna save up and get us a house as soon as he can."
"You know, you guys could always just come and live at the house," Tai suggested, "I've got all the rooms you'll need- you can sleep in your room, Oscar could stay in one of the guest rooms, and the kids could just sleep in the old nursery."
"Oh my gosh," Ruby gasped, "Why didn't I think about that? That's a great idea!"
"And by the time you two get married," he continued, "Oscar should hopefully have enough to get that house. You won't be paying for food or lodging, so he can directly save everything he makes."
"Dad, that's wonderful!" she cried, "Thank you so, so, SO much!" She hugged him again, as well as she could with her belly coming in between them.
He held her tightly, patting her back. Just then, the door opened and Oscar walked in. A brown paper bag stuffed full with groceries was in his arms, which he set on the table.
He noticed Tai as he was unzipping his light jacket.
"Oh, uh, h-hi, Mr. Xiao Long," he greeted, "You're uh...you're hear."
"Yes I am, boy," Tai thundered, obviously trying to make him afraid, "You have done a bad thing to my daughter, and my forgiveness comes with a hefty price." He stomped towards him, eyes comically covered in shadows and glowing red.
"The punishment you have reaped is merely a product of what you've sown!" he boomed, "Every painful lash you will receive has come by your actions alone!" He towered over Oscar, making the poor guy shrink.
"Today you have met the man who will cause your eternal condemnation, the man who-"
The dark organ music playing from Oscar's imagination came to a halt when Ruby interjected, pushing Tai away from him.
"Dad, stop it," she muttered. "Sorry, Oscar, he's just trying to scare you for fun. He's not that mad, don't worry."
"Yes I am!" Tai roared, the music and shadows returning in a snap, "He has every right to fear me and what I will mercilessly heap upon his head!"
"Dad said we can live at the house until you buy one!" Ruby chirped excitedly, interrupting the mood, "The babies can sleep in the nursery, you can sleep in the guest room, and I'll be in my room. Isn't that great!"
"Oh wow, that's awesome!" Oscar exclaimed happily.
"You don't have to buy food or rent lodging- it's all free because Dad is already paying for it. Isn't that tremendous?"
"Yeah, it is!" Oscar agreed, "Thank you, Mr. Xiao Long!"
"Hey, it's nothing, kid," Tai said, now calm and formal again for some reason, "It's the least I could do for my daughter. Her wellbeing the only thing I care about, and my grandchildren, too. Speaking of, what're their genders?"
"One girl and one boy," Ruby said.
"That's fun," Tai said, "Any names designated?"
"Not really," Ruby laughed, "We have a few names written out, but naming the girl seems to be the biggest problem. I wanna name her Summer, and Oscar agrees with me on it, but I feel like I don't wanna call my daughter by my mother's name. I want Summer to be her middle name, y'know?"
"Hmm, I see," Tai said, stroking his soul patch.
"I suggested naming the girl Jubilee," Oscar said, "Because Ruby's big craving was watermelon."
"Creative, but dumb," Tai said, "Don't name your kid off of cravings."
"I think it's a good name," Ruby defended, "It's just nothing I'd want to name my little girl."
"Well, not naming the babies until they're born is fine," Tai said, "I mean, we didn't name Yang until she was born, and you, Ruby? It took us until the day after to decide between Dahlia or Miriam."
"I would've been named Dahlia?" Ruby said, wrinkling her nose.
"Me and Summer were in dispute about names for the longest time, and for some reason, Qrow suggested that we name you Ruby, after he saw you for the first time. I guess it really stuck."
"I'm glad it stuck, because I wouldn't want either of those names," she muttered.
The afternoon rolled by in no time. The three went out for dinner, on Tai's treat, and decided to stop at a movie theater. Aside from the incredibly long wait line for the only good moving showing and the expensive snack expense thanks to Ruby, it was a pretty fun time.
Halfway through the movie, Ruby dropped her bag of popcorn.
The crinkling of the bag and the soft sounds of kernels spilling over the floor were drowned out by the audio of the movie. Ruby's sudden gasp was also rendered inaudible.
It wasn't until Ruby's hold on Oscar's arm became tight enough to drift his attention from the movie that he noticed her pale, terrified face. He turned in his seat and grabbed her shoulders.
"W-what is it?!" he asked. His heart began to pound in his chest as Ruby gave him a look of pure fear. Tai glanced over at them, sensing a disturbance in the atmosphere.
Ruby's hands, frozen in the air, quickly hugged her belly. "My stomach just tensed up and hurt!"
This caused a major spike in Oscar's anxiety, and he almost called 911 after seeing her do just that. Fortunately, Tai was there to calm him down.
"Calm down, buddy, calm down," he whispered, trying not to disturb the people sitting behind and around them, "She's probably just having Hicks; it happens all the time in the 8th month."
"H-Hicks?" Oscar stammered, shaking, "All the time? What?"
Ruby looked equally confused and afraid. With a heavy sigh, Tai motioned for them to leave the show room and sat them down in the lobby. Ruby and Oscar instinctively held hands, earning a brief frown from Tai, as he discussed with them.
"Braxton Hicks are like contractions, but not the real deal," he explained, "Summer and Raven got them all the time when they were around 7-8 months. They're nothing to be afraid of."
"B-but how do we know I'm not in real labor?" Ruby asked. "What if it isn't a false alarm or whatever?"
"Well, how long did the pain last?" Tai asked.
"Uh...not long," she replied, "Maybe a few seconds? It was like a real tense though, and it hurt the whole time."
"Yeah, normal contractions are about 30 seconds or more, but no more than a minute and a half. If you feel it again in a few minutes and it stays like that consistently, then maybe you're in labor. I'd honestly assume it was just the Hicks and you're fine for now. Nothing to worry about."
The calmness in his tone as he discussed what Ruby was fearing most was insane. It did relax her and Oscar's tenseness, as Tai was learned in this kind of thing. But Ruby's stress was still on the rise.
"But what if I am in labor?" she pressed, "Isn't it too early? Wouldn't the babies get hurt or something? Would I die? Would they die?!"
"No, no," Tai soothed, "8 months is just a little early, but I'm sure all three of you would be fine." His warm expression seemed to quiver for a slip second as he spoke. "A lot of babies are born two or so weeks early, which would mean about two weeks from now. Especially with modern medical technology, you've got nothing to be worried about."
"A-are you sure?" she stammered. Her hands continuously stroked her stomach, which was resting on her thighs.
"Yes, I'm sure," Tai said assuredly, "Trust me, I've had two kids myself with two different women; different people's bodies work in different ways, so that gives me twice the experience."
"Wow, when you put it like that," Oscar said slowly, "You sound kind of terrible."
Tai returned Oscar's comment with a glare before smiling sweetly at Ruby. "We can finish the movie if you want, or we can go back to your hotel and rest. Whichever you want; it's your body and your children."
Ruby seemed to have calmed down now.
"Well, okay," she said quietly, "I guess we could finish the movie."
Ruby didn't feel any weird contractiony things for the rest of the movie, so with the movie distracting her from worry, they left the theater feeling fine. As they went to bed however, she remember her fear, and thought about how close she was to delivering.
"In a few weeks," she murmured as they laid in bed, "I'll give birth to two babies, and our whole lives will change forever."
Oscar rolled over, the blankets and sheets shifting. He propped up his head on his elbow and looked her in the eyes. He looked pretty darn cute whenever he positioned himself like that.
"Yup, that sounds about right," he said.
"I'll become a mother," she whispered. Her whole body shivered as the truth sunk in. "You'll be a father!"
"And the ground shook!" Oscar teased. His smile faded and he flopped down onto his back. "Yeah, I will be. The job itself sounds pretty daunting. And I've gotta provide for our f-family."
"Family..," Ruby murmured. She closed her eyes and lightly sighed. "The world's a scary place."
"And discussing the truth makes it even scarier," Oscar mumbled, "This is the kind of stuff that keeps me up at night, and then you scold me for being all tired the next day."
"It's just a lot to take in," Ruby whined, "It seems a lot more real when you realize it'll happen in a matter of weeks."
"I know, I know," Oscar said.
Silence filled the cozy hotel room. Ruby broke the silence in a very hushed voice, because the room was quiet and because she was scared.
"I don't think I'm ready to be a mother."
Tears filled her eyes and began to run down her cheeks. When Oscar didn't reply, she turned to him for comfort. But he was silently snoring, fast asleep. For some reason, this made her cry more, and soon, all the bad feelings were coursing through her.
Flashbacks of Tai's calmness translated into a lack of care for her and the babies' wellbeing. Oscar's slumber translated into a lack of attention for her feelings; the group's leaving was like an act of desertion; the coldness of the room was the manager of the hotel's fault.
Her crying only became harder, and she ended up falling asleep with trouble on her mind and tears on her face.
It was funny how easily good things could be canceled out by negativity.
Hrmy hrm hrm. The reality of things are finally sinking in for real, huh? It sure is a lot, when you really think about it. Also, Tai was totally scared to death! He was only acting calm! :O
Thanks for reading and tune in for the last chapter!