Dr. Bulot took control of the conversation again after the tense moment between Adrien and Marinette.

"I guess it's my turn to do some talking," she cleared her throat politely. "As you know, you were in a serious car accident." Marinette nodded dazedly while Adrien ran his hands through his blond hair. "You were apparently making a left turn in an intersection when a car ran through the red light and t-boned your car." Marinette's eyes widened in surprise.

"The [redacted] is being dealt with by the police." Adrien grumbled, while Nurse Gene gave a mock gasp of surprise at his language. It served to lighten the mood a bit and Adrien gave a wry smile. "I've already called the insurance company and everything is taken care of. We won't have to pay out of pocket and our premium won't go up… by much," he shrugged.

"Luckily, the driver had the sense to brake before impact which lessened the injuries you would have gotten. You have some scrapes and bruises, etc., but the main injury is the head trauma." Dr. Bulot moved her clipboard to under her arm so that she could gesture with her hands. "You see, because the car hit you from the side, your body was flung to the side and caught by the seatbelt, but your head smacked against your window," Adrien and Marinette winced, "and wasn't caught by the airbag in time. This resulted in a small skull fracture and some brain damage." She retrieved the CT scan photos to show to the couple.

"Thankfully that seems to be the extent of the major damage, and miraculously, the baby was completely unharmed." The photos abruptly fell from Marinette's hands.

"Merde!" she cursed. "Adrien, don't tell that there was a kid with me in that car!" her anxious gaze was met with stunned silence. Finally, it was Nurse Gene who took her hand in her own, looked her dead in the eye and spoke up:

"Dearie, I don't know if you've noticed but—you're pregnant."

There was a beat.

Marinette's brow was furrowed in confusion as her free hand made her way to her stomach. What she found thoroughly freaked her out. Instead of her usual flat stomach with pretty well-sculpted Ladybug abs, she found a slightly rounded belly, full of precious life.

And that was when she passed out.

When she had awoken, Dr. Bulot and Nurse Gene stayed for a little while longer dealing with more standard medical checks before leaving Marinette and Adrien alone.

Thankfully, a videocall with her parents (who were in China until the next month) and a phone call to Alya and Nino (who were also travelling) took up some of the time before they were left in complete silence.

"So," she spoke up after a while, "you and me, huh?" She chuckled awkwardly as her eyes casted down towards where her hand was cradling her stomach ever since she woke up again.

"Yeah," Adrien replied numbly, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand, which was a nervous tick for him.

"And I'm halfway through this pregnancy already," Marinette mused aloud. After hearing that she 20 weeks along, she was surprised that her baby bump wasn't bigger. She guessed that all those years of being Ladybug rewarded her with a well-toned body with strong abdominals. "Do we know if it's a boy or a girl?"

"A boy," Adrien couldn't help flushing with pride. Marinette gave a small smile while she stroked her stomach with her hand. Adrien resisted the urge to rub her stomach as well, unsure of how she would react to the sudden intimate gesture. He inwardly sighed, it would just have to be one of the many things they would have to talk about before he took her home in a few days. But for now, he thought that she'd had enough surprises for the day and it would be best to let the conversation flow naturally.

"So, is it Hugo or Louis?" she asked now rubbing comforting circles on her tummy.

"Hugo," Adrien was surprised and well pleased that she remembered those names.

"I guess I must've told you all about my teenage fantasies then, hehe?" Marinette nervously laughed while a blush spread across her cheeks.

"You sure did, Bugaboo," Adrien chuckled.

Marinette started.

"How did – why did you - what did you call me?" Marinette stumbled over words.

"What? Bugaboo?" Marinette's eyes were as wide as saucers now. "Is there something else wrong ma lady?" Marinette's jaw was slightly open at this point. Adrien furrowed his eyebrows in confusion before it struck him. Amnesia. She doesn't remember that I'm…

"You're Chat Noir," she whispered. All Adrien could do at this point was nod. As if on cue, a small black blob popped out Adrien's jacket pocket.

"Adrieeeeennn," it whined. "You said you'll tell when we're alone as soon as everyone left!"

"Plagg!" Marinette exclaimed. She held out her hands for Plagg to settle in them.

"Marinette!" he cried out, "I heard everything. I-I'm so sorry," he said dropping his voice.

Marinette's expression softened as she brought Plagg closer to kiss his forehead, despite knowing that he preferred hugs or ear scratches. Thankfully she clearly remembered that she was now the Guardian of the Miraculous Box and during the first couple of months immediately after Miracle Queen, she had dedicated a lot of time to getting to know all the kwamis better, especially Plagg.

Marinette's heart ached when her mind passed on one kwami in particular.

"Where's Tikki? I- I really need her now," her voice trembled.

"Oh, yes! Right!" Adrien quickly rooted through his pockets and handed her a baggie with jewellery. There were her earrings, currently dangerously conspicuous having reverted to their red and black spotted form, her kwagatama, and a bracelet locket and wedding ring set which she didn't recognise.

She immediately put on her earrings and squinted her eyes at the flash that occurred when TIkki reappeared. Plagg silently flew out of her hands to give TIkki room, and settled on her stomach, which was his new favourite spot since the pregnancy. He automatically splayed out and began waving his arms and legs around on her tummy like he was making snow angels.

"Marinette!" Tikki chirped.

"Tikki!" Marinette kissed Tikki before bursting out in tears.

"Oh, Marinette," Tikki cooed as she nuzzled up to her face, stroking her bandaged head.

"It's just so much is happening right now, TIkki." She said hiccupping. "I'm not sure how to process everything."

"Shh, everything will work out in the end," her kwami soothed. "We'll all figure this out together."

Plagg, who usually is hard pressed to leave his favourite spot, now flew over to Adrien who was dejectedly slouched in his chair, staring straight ahead.

"You okay, kid?" he asked, being the (sometimes) perceptive little bugger that he is.

"Yeah… No. I don't know? Not really?" Adrien shrugged, trying to stop the frustrated tears that now threatened to spill over.

"I'm sorry, Adrien," Marinette spoke up, wiping her face, "I know that this is hard for you too." Adrien took her right hand in his, while he placed his free hand on her stomach because… well darn it he's her husband.

"Never apologise for this," he said emphatically. "It wasn't your fault. TIkki is right, we'll figure this out together." His gazed tenderly in her eyes while he stroked her stomach with his thumb. Marinette felt her cheeks burn and her urge to ramble take over.

"W-well, o-of course! Yes! You're right. It's just that its not everyday I wake up in a hospital and find out I've lost a chunk of my memory, only to be told that I'm married, and not only that, but also that my husband is my partner, who's child I'm pregnant with…" Adrien snorted at her antics. Hoping to little the mood further, Marinette continued:

"Next thing you'll tell that le Papillion surrendered his miraculous and is now in jail."

Whoops.

Marinette could visibly see the mood in the small room sour. Several wordless moments passed before a terse whisper coming from Plagg, who was now perched on Adrien's shoulder, broke the silence.

"Tell her!"

"What?" Marinette asked. She turned more to Adrien and was surprised to catch a hint of a scowl on his face before he turned his head away from her. "What's going on?" she asked after several more moments of silence passed.

"Le Papillion is in jail," he said tightly. "However, he didn't give up his miraculous and it somehow got into the hands of a new villain who calls herself La Farfella."

Marinette nodded slowly as she took this new information in, her heart sinking for Nooroo. Suddenly, a new thought took over.

"Who was le Papillion?" No response.

"Adrien?" He turned away from her even more.

"Adrien." He started to remove his hands from her.

"Adrien!" she caught his hands firmly as he whipped his head around to face her. Her expression was patient despite her previously exasperated tone.

"Who was le Papillion?" she repeated in a softer voice.

Adrien gulped. This was another thing that's going to be different. He suddenly realised that the days of pretending that this issue didn't exist and Marinette letting him get away with it to spare his feelings were over. Maybe this was a good thing? This is what his therapist wanted, right?

"My father," he choked out. "Le Papillion was my father." He hung his head at the weight of the full admission.

"Oh, mon pauvre chaton."