Even after several years, Blaziken and Danica were still living happily as a married couple. There had been some resistance to their relationship from some of Danica's fans, but overall people had accepted them. Only about a year after their wedding, the two decided to start trying to have a baby. But by the time they celebrated their 5th wedding anniversary, Danica was starting to get worried that something was wrong with her and she wouldn't be able to give Blaziken any children. She had gotten pregnant a few times, but each one resulted in a miscarriage before the end of her first trimester. One night she had spent so much time worrying about things, she actually got out of bed and walked out onto the bedroom balcony, looking for her Great Great Grandfather.
"Great Great Grandfather Darkrai...?" she asked the night quietly. After a moment of silence, a gentle breeze blew by and Darkrai appeared on the balcony beside her.
"I am here Danica." He replied. He immediately saw the worry in her eyes even in the dark of night. "Something troubles you?"
"Yeah...I haven't been able to give birth to a baby in the 5 years I've been married to Blaziken...and I just worry that something is wrong with me…" she explained as she held back tears on the brims of her eyes.
"Danica you mustn't get discouraged. Pokémon-human conception is possible, but it's not easy to accomplish. And not only that but there have been a few members of your family that have had trouble conceiving children even under normal circumstances. Both your Father and Grandfather had trouble conceiving with their mates. But even they were eventually blessed with children. I believe you will be too." Darkrai comforted her. Danica dried her eyes and looked back at him.
"I see..." she replied.
"It may be hard and seem impossible now, but I believe you two will have children when everything lines up perfectly. I believe that you are meant to be parents." He continued. Danica was finally able to crack a smile, his encouragement helping her feel a little better. She hugged him and he returned it without hesitation.
"Thank you Great Grandfather…" she whispered.
"Anytime my dear..." he nodded. Danica stayed in his embrace for a moment or so longer before letting go of him. "Now you should go back to your husband and get some rest." He suggested.
"I will." She nodded before heading on back to bed where Blaziken still slept. "Goodnight Great Grandfather."
"Goodnight Danica." Darkrai smiled as he faded away again. Danica laid down next to her mate, cuddling up to his chest for additional comfort before going back to sleep. The rest of their week later passed relatively normally until finally, Saturday arrived, their day off from work. The sun was shining brightly through the bedroom window which lit up Danica's face as Blaziken slowly opened his eyes and smiled at the sight of her. He gently kissed her lips, prompting her to smile and slowly open her eyes.
"Good morning." He greeted her with a stroke of her cheek. "Tired after last night?"
"Sure am." She said with a giggle.
"So can I assume I did a good job?" he flirted.
"Oh most definitely." she winked.
"Always happy to hear a rave review." He teased her. Danica smiled and lightly hit his arm in fake protest.
"Don't go getting a big head." She warned him with a smile.
"Who? Me?" Blaziken asked, playing innocent.
"Yes, you!" she laughed, sticking her tongue out at him. Blaziken smiled and kissed her forehead.
"Then how about this for humble? You go get cleaned up and I'll make you breakfast?" he suggested.
"Okay." She nodded. Blaziken kissed her and then headed downstairs while Danica went to the bathroom. She got herself cleaned up and took a pregnancy test out of habit, just as she did every morning after a night of fun. She checked the results, barely even noticing what the result was, and then tossed it in the trash just like always. But as she walked away from the trash, she suddenly froze in her tracks as she realizes something. The symbol that appeared on the test...was a plus. "Oh, my Arceus..." she gasped, slowly looking down at her stomach. She began to happily tear up while she rubs it ever so gently. After digesting the news, she eagerly ran downstairs and leaped into her husband's arms.
"Whoa!" Blaziken yelped, stumbling a bit, but still managing to catch her. "What's all the excitement about?" Danica smiled at him brightly before answering.
"We're finally having another baby!" she revealed. Blaziken's eyes widen in complete shock as his jaw fell open.
"Wait...what...? You're serious...?" he stammered. Danica happily nodded in reply. Blaziken stood still for a moment, completely stunned. Slowly, a smile crept onto his face and he picked her up, spinning her around in joy. "Oh my gosh! We're going to be parents!"
"We sure are!" Danica giggled. Blaziken set her back down on the ground and began to kiss her lips over and over again.
"I love you! I love you so much!" he exclaimed in between kisses.
"I love you too!" she smiled as she kissed him back. Blaziken bent down and kissed her stomach tenderly.
"And I love you too! I can't wait to meet you!" he told her stomach, causing Danica to giggle again. Blaziken then stopped abruptly, remembering how many miscarriages they had gone through and how painful it was for Danica, both physically and mentally. He looks at her face in concern as he held her close, but in a gentle way. "How do you feel? Do you need anything? Can I get you something?"
"I'm good at the moment." She assured him. Blaziken gave a small nod and hugged her. He was determined that he'd do whatever he could to help keep this baby alive.
"We have to make doctor's appointments right away. Make sure everything is healthy." He told her.
"Right." She agreed.
"We should call your parents too." He added.
"Good idea." She nodded. Blaziken slowly let her go and she grabbed her phone off the table. She dialed her parents' house and after a few rings, her mother's voice came through the line.
"Hello?" Caitlin asked.
"Hi, Mom." Danica replied.
"Oh hi, honey! So good to hear from you!" Caitlin smiled.
"You won't believe what happened to me!"
"What happened? Is everything okay?"
"I'm pregnant!"
"You are?!" Caitlin gasped. "Oh my gosh, honey! That's amazing! Congratulations!"
"Thanks, Mom!" Danica smiled. "Is Dad there? I want him to know about this as well!"
"Let me see if he's busy." Caitlin responded. She put her hand over the speaker of the phone and walked to the basement where Andy was clearing out some old boxes. "Andy honey? You have a minute?"
"Sure thing Caitlin. What's up?" he asked.
"Danica is on the phone with big news." She replied, handing him the phone.
"Dad?" Danica asked.
"Hi, honey. What's going on?" he questioned.
"I'm pregnant." She smiled.
"Oh my gosh!" And gasped. "I'm happy for you sweetheart! You've waited so long!"
"We sure have! We couldn't be more excited!" Danica agreed.
"I'm so happy for you honey. I know how much this means to you." Andy said.
"Thanks, Dad."
"Make sure to do everything the doctor tells you ok?" he reminded her. "Remember this could be the first-ever human child to be more Pokémon than human. Even your Great Grandfather was only half Pokémon. Your child's DNA would be 54% Pokémon and 46% human. So you must take extreme caution with this pregnancy."
"I will." She nodded. She remembered the heartbreak everyone went through during her miscarriages. She would do anything to keep that from happening again.
"That's my girl." Andy replied. "We'll talk again real soon ok honey?"
"Sure thing Dad." Danica agreed.
"Alright. We love you, honey." He said.
"I love you guys too." She echoed.
"Take care." He said, hanging up the phone afterward. Danica smiled to herself as she put her phone away before turning her attention back to her mate, who kissed her to show his support. Support which she responded back with. Within a few days, the couple was at their first doctor's appointment. They sat together in a private waiting room since they were far too recognizable to wait in the normal room without drawing a crowd. Blaziken was holding her hand to comfort her as they waited.
"Everything will be fine. Promise." Blaziken assured her.
"I hope so..." she sighed.
"I know so." He affirmed. Danica smiled a little as Nurse Joy walked out into the waiting room.
"Danica Hvam?" She asked.
"That's me." Danica nodded as she got up. Nurse Joy smiled and walked the couple back to an exam room.
"Good morning. I understand this is your first baby?" Nurse Joy questioned.
"Sorta…" Danica admitted. "I just…haven't been able to carry a baby to term yet…"
"Well allow me to offer my congratulations to you both, as well as my assurances that we'll do everything we can to keep you and your baby healthy." Joy explained.
"Thank you." Danica nodded politely.
"If you'll lay on the table in a hospital gown we'll get started." Nurse Joy added. She began to get out the ultrasound equipment as Danica put on a hospital gown and then laid down on the table. Blaziken held her hand and Nurse Joy began the ultrasound. Danica watched as Nurse Joy spread the gel on her stomach and turned on the machine. After a moment of running the scanner over her stomach, the baby's heartbeat suddenly began to be heard through the monitor.
"Wow..." Danica gasped.
"That's our baby..." Blaziken whispered, squeezing her hand. Danica smiled and nodded while tearing up herself. Nurse Joy smiled at the happy couple until a sudden sound catches everyone off guard, something that sounded like another heartbeat.
"Huh...?" Danica asked.
"Could it be?" Nurse Joy wondered aloud. She readjusted the ultrasound and pulled up the picture on the monitor before smiling. "Sure enough. I'm picking up two heartbeats. Congratulations. You're having twins."
"I'm...I'm having twins...?" Danica stuttered.
"You are." Joy nodded. She showed them both the monitor and pointed out two different babies on the display. "See?" Danica slowly makes out the outlines of the babies on the monitor and begins to smile even more as more happy tears slide down her cheeks.
"Two babies...this is amazing...!" Blaziken smiled, in the same state of awe as his mate.
"It is…but how is it possible? There aren't any twins in my family that I know of…" Danica asked.
"Actually, now that I think about it, my Dad was a twin." Blaziken commented.
"Twins do tend to run in families. And it's not uncommon for certain Pokémon to have large litters of eggs. So it would make you having twins much more likely, considering bird-like Pokémon like Blaziken can have multiple eggs at once." Nurse Joy explained.
"I see." Danica responded.
"So I guess more congratulations are in order." Joy smiled.
"Thank you, Nurse Joy." Danica answered.
"Everything here looks healthy. So we'll see you again in 4 weeks for another checkup ok?"
"Of course." Danica nodded. Blaziken then helped her up and after getting ready to go, he escorted her home, both of them still beaming with pride.
"This is amazing...after all this time...we're going to have two babies..." Blaziken sighed happily.
"It's really exciting." Danica agreed, but her smile faltered a bit as she remembers their previous attempts. "Assuming they don't…" Blaziken sensed where her mind was going and stopped walking, taking her hands in his own.
"Don't think like that. They will make it. We'll make sure of it." He assured her. Danica looked back into his eyes for a moment before giving a small nod.
"Right…" she responded. Blaziken smiled softly and changed the topic for her as they continued their walk.
"After your first trimester, we have to find out the genders."
"Right." Danica agreed. "Any guesses on what they could be?"
"I think they'll be two beautiful girls who are just like you in every way." He grinned. Danica chuckled and playfully nudged his arm.
"It could be boys instead. Boys who are just like you." She added.
"As long as they have everything I love about you, it doesn't matter to me which gender they are." He answered, earning a blush from Danica.
"I love you." She reminded him.
"I love you too." He smiled. "How about I make you lunch to celebrate?"
"Now that sounds delicious." She giggled as they went back inside the house. Blaziken smiled at her and then headed to the kitchen. Danica sat at the table and smiled as she watched him work. "Of all the Pokemon in the world, how did I get married to the only one who can not only cook but do it better than even some human chefs?"
"Just lucky I guess." Blaziken winked as he cooked. After a few minutes, he brought her a plate of eggs and toast and set it down on the table in front of her. "In honor of our twins, I present to you two eggs sunny side up. May our twins be just as sunny and bright."
"Cheesy, but cute." Danica smirked as she began eating. Blaziken sat beside her with a plate of his own and planted a kiss on her cheek before beginning to eat his own food.
"Have you thought about names at all?" he asked.
"Not really. I was going to come up with them when we see their genders." She explained.
"I've thought up one for a girl that would be great." Blaziken smiled.
"Oh really?" Danica asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Picture this. Little Danica Jr." he joked.
"Seriously?" she chuckled.
"Why not? She'll be born from the most beautiful woman in the world. Why not have a name to match?" he added.
"You're a dork." Danica commented. "I think I'd rather she have her own name instead of just using mine."
"Alright alright. We'll discuss it more." Blaziken chuckled.
"After we see their genders." She reminded him.
"Right. But you can't blame a Pokémon for being curious." He winked. They both laughed softly when the phone started ringing abruptly. Danica got up from the table and picked it up.
"Hello?"
"Hi, honey! How are you feeling?" her mother asked.
"Hi, Mom! I'm doing great!" she responded.
"Glad to hear it! Everything go ok at the doctor's?" Caitlin asked.
"Even better than ok actually." Danica corrected her.
"What?" Caitlin questioned.
"I'm not having just a single baby. We're having twins!" she exclaimed.
"Oh wow! That's amazing!" Caitlin gasped. "Congratulations sweetheart. I know you two will give those babies a wonderful life."
"Well, we had great examples to work off of." Danica smiled.
"Thank you, Danica. That means a lot to me..." Caitlin replied, wiping away tears. "We love you so much, sweetheart."
"And I love you guys too." She answered.
"I'll tell your Dad all the good news when he gets home." Caitlin assured her.
"Thanks, Mom. We'll talk again real soon. Promise." Danica nodded.
"Okay honey. Take care of yourself and those babies. Bye-bye." Caitlin finished before hanging up the phone. Danica hung up as well before heading for the couch. Blaziken cleaned up the dishes before joining her on the couch. Danica smiled and shifted her position carefully until she was sitting in his lap. He kissed her forehead and wrapped his arms around her waist. Danica snuggled up to him, relaxing herself into his feathers.
"Comfortable?" he jokingly asked her.
"Very." she nodded.
"It's been a long day. Get some rest." He told her.
"You sure?" she asked, stifling a yawn in the process.
"Of course. Go ahead and get some rest. I'll watch over you. All three of you." He promised her. Danica rested into his feathers before slowly closing her eyes. Blaziken kissed her head as she began to drift off to sleep. His touch left her with a smile as she fell asleep. Blaziken watched her sleep in his arms, her chest rising and falling in rhythm with every breath she took. As happy as he was that their babies were on the way, he knew that the hard part was just beginning. No matter what, he was going to make sure they'd meet their babies face to face this time.
To be Continued...