"Can I safely assume that there's no getting out of this?" Haruhi pouted as we sat in the car in the parking lot of an Ootori hospital.

"That is correct." I smirked at her.

"Okay, but there's NO way?"

"Can you absolutely guarantee that whatever is making you ill is a simple stomach bug?"

"...yes?" She shrugged. "I mean, I'm fine now!"

"Even if it is just that you have a sensitive stomach, I'd still really prefer you have a medication around to help you. As much as I'd love for you to be sick AND dehydrated all the time..."

"Fair enough, I guess." She slumped down into her seat. "I still don't wanna, though."

I opened my door and walked around to open hers. She used to hate when I did this, but she'd stopped trying to fight me on it. She didn't expect me to do things for her, but I always would.

She smiled a bit as she stepped out of the car. "Look, we could just goooo... And watch a mooooviee... and..."

"No."

"Worth a shot."

I held her hand as we walked inside. I was acutely familiar with navigating this particular facility, as this had always been the particular hospital where my family had come for emergencies.

She always looked so uncomfortable in hospitals. I knew she wasn't afraid of them, or needles or anything like that. I'd always figured it had to do with her mother's passing. Haruhi didn't talk about that much, and I had no intention of prying, but I was always curious about her mother. From what little she'd told me, she sounded as if she was a wonderful woman.

I brought Haruhi into the room she needed to be in, I had set up a private doctor for her in advanced, as much as she asked me not to, and just leaned against a wall outside the door. I didn't prefer to assume that she wanted me in there, she never liked to be babysat. So, I just sat and went through some emails, and replied to the daily onslaught of Host Club group chat messages that had been directed at me.

After about twenty minutes, the doctor, one I knew well, stuck his head out of the door.

"Mr. Ootori, sir? With Miss Fujioka's permission, I am going to ask you to enter the room for a moment, if you would." I nodded and walked in. Haruhi was sat down, wearing an examination gown. She looked both impatient and very anxious.

"Now... Mr. Ootori... I've asked you to join us as... this directly involves you, I would assume." The doctor said, a bit awkwardly. Haruhi looked over at me, eyebrow raised. She was clearly exactly as confused as I was. She reached out and grabbed my hand.

"Miss Fujioka? You're pregnant."

Those words hit me like a train, causing me to immediately choke on my saliva. Haruhi just looked like a deer in headlights. I don't know what hurt me more, knowing how terrified she must be, or knowing that this is, biologically speaking, 100% my fault.

"Oh." Haruhi managed to say, before I was even to put my thoughts in a logical enough order in which to speak. "That... isn't what I was expecting." Her face now looked less shocked, and more... like she was trying to think. "I guess that'd make sense timeline, wise... maybe I hadn't been using the birth control as effectively as I could have, or..."

She just sat there analytically thinking about the details of the how, as I had an eternal crisis about the situation. Obviously, I was no longer in the running to inherit the business any longer, but that wasn't even the worst of where my mind went. I selfishly thought about school, my career, my future... our future. I had no idea how to be a father. At least not one Haruhi would be proud of. I wasn't given a superb example.

"Kyoya, are you okay?" Haruhi asked, in a tone clearer than I could have imagined at this moment. She did seem to handle things like this fairly well, at least in the moment. She's excellent at bottling emotions. Other than anger. She's terrible at bottling that one.

"I think I should be asking you that." I responded, quietly.

"Hey, I totally get that you have a lot more at stake than I do at this point. I'm not going to be upset if you freak out."

"I will not be freaking out, Haruhi." Yet. Perhaps in the car...

The doctor spoke up. "This news can be a lot to come to terms with, in some cases, I understand. My daughter definitely came as a surprise to us!" The doctor laughed a little. "I'd be more than happy to walk you through the next steps, if you'd like?"

Haruhi nodded, and intently listened to the doctor tell us about check-up dates, things she should and can't eat or drink, conversation about supplements, and a few bits I had admittedly tuned out of.

I couldn't stop thinking about how I'd tell my father. He was absolutely the type of man that would cut me off for something like this, and I had no idea how I was going to manage taking care of Haruhi and a child without the financial support of my family. I mean, I was sure Fuyumi would be more than willing to help where she could, but I wasn't expecting more than a packed suitcase from my father...

By the time I'd thought this over in my head for at least the seventh time, we were out the door.

We walked hand in hand, silently, until we reached the car.

"Well, that was... educational." Haruhi joked. She didn't seem to be phased at all.

"Haruhi... I must ask, and I apologize if this comes across as rude, but... how are you okay right now?" I asked her.

She smiled a little and shrugged. "I could've been dying. This is basically the opposite of dying. Am I terrified? Absolutely. But, people have kids at our age every day, so it can't be impossible. We'll be fine."

She must have been able to read the pure terror in my soul like a children's picture book. "Kyoya, we'll be fine. With or without your family's approval..."

Up to this point, I hadn't even thought about the fact the Haruhi must have realized that, as the father, it would absolutely be possible to cover this up and take no responsibility for her or the child. Not that I would ever do it, but it could be done with relative ease.

I sighed. "Haruhi, you know I love you, right?" She nodded. "I need it to be clear to you, that I am here for you and this child, no matter what. No amount of Ootori family loyalty can change that. So long as you're safe, happy and loved, I don't care what my father has to say on the matter, alright?"

She smiled and teared up. I quickly leaned in to hug and kiss her. This was never the direction I expected my life to go, but I loved Haruhi far too much to care.

"This does mean you can't have any more raw fish, though." I smirked at her.

She groaned. "Well, NOW it's terrible..." She grumbled, cracking a smile.