The next morning a knocking at the door woke the expecting parents from their sleep.
"Are you two awake?" June asked from the other side.
"We are now." Jack replied before yawning. Looking over to the digital clock he saw it was only 6:00 AM.
"Are you decent?" June's question made the two teens blush slightly.
"Yes June, we're decent," Miko said in an irritable tone. "what do you take us for."
"Well I can see your not an early morning person." June said as she entered the room.
"No, I'm not, especially on the weekend." Miko then got out of bed and stretched her tired joints.
"I wanted to give something to you two before I left for work." June then reached in to her pocket and pulled out a small box and handed it to Jack. He opened he box and inside were two rings.
The two teen stared at them for a few seconds before Miko spoke up."What are the rings for?"
"Well seeing as you two are going to be parents soon I thought it best that you two get married before its born." June's words made their eyes go wide and their jaw drop.
"M-Married!" Jack said in shock
"Yes Jack, should know that's what your supposed to do after you get a girl pregnant." June said to her son. Jack scratched the back of his head looking like a child in trouble. June then pulled out some money and handed it to Miko, "Here, take this and go buy some cloth's that will be better suited for when you get further along in your pregnancy."
"Wait, isn't that the money you were saving for that new dress?" Jack said to his mother.
Miko was shocked by what he said. "June, I can't this, it's yours."
"We all have to make small sacrifices in situations like this. Besides I'm happy knowing that it'll help you." June then looked at her wrist watch. "I gotta go, you two have a good day."
"We will." the two said in unison as she left the room.
During the next hour the two went about their morning. Miko tossed her cookies because of morning sickness, then came breakfast which Jack chose to skip after seeing what Miko ate and how see ate it.
Miko text Raf asking him to inform the bots that she and Jack wouldn't be coming to the base because they decided to take a break from all the abnormal stuff and have a little quality time around town.
"I'm gonna go tell Arcee that were spending the day together." said Jack walking to the garage, but as he opened the door and looked inside Arcee was no where to be seen. "That's odd, she's not here." he pulled out his phone and attempted to contact her.
"Arcee here."
"Arcee, where are you?" Jack questioned, normally she would be in the garage ready to go to the base, so it was unusual not seeing her there.
"Sorry Jack, I was thinking about the old days and wasn't paying attention to where I was going."
"Are you hurt!" Jack said worried that something happened to his friend.
"I'm fine Jack," Arcee said in an 'I can take care of myself' tone. "Don't laugh but I ended up crossing the state line into California."
"Oh, I see." Jack nearly broke out into a laughing fit, but kept his lips shut tight.
"Don't even think about telling anyone Jack, or else I'll tell June and Miko you went to see that R rated movie last weekend."
"You said you wouldn't tell anybody about that." Jack said softly so Miko wouldn't hear. He really didn't want to see the movie but some guys from school got jobs at the theater and offered to get him in. At first he turned it down until Vince started egging him on and they ended up in a bet in which they both had to watch the same movie. They sat at opposite ends of the front row so it didn't seem weird. They went in, watched the movie, and left scott free. Although Jack made the mistake of asking Arcee to cover for him.
"I also said that you'd owe me one, and now I'm cashing in."
"Alright fine, but don't worry about coming to pick us up, Miko and I are gonna spend the day together."
"Alright, then I guess I'll head to the base. Good thing too, after driving all night I could use a power down. Talk to you later."
Jack hung up his phone and sighed. "Why did I let Vince talk me in to seeing that stupid movie?"
Later at the local department store Jack sat in a chair near the dressing rooms, forearms on his knees, and watching intently as the clerk brought what Miko might need.
"Don't be bashful now ma'am, plenty of other girls have come in this store for the same reason." The clerk said to Miko in comforting tone as she handed her a small stack of cloths. "You're a little on the skinny side, but these should be just what you're looking for."The clerk then looked over to Jack with a look that could only be described as neutral before walking a little closer to him. He had an idea of what was going through her mind. "I take it that you're her boyfriend?"
"Yes." jack answered plain and simple
"Our lay away has a three month holding period we we'll hold on to them until she needs them." The clerk said before she walked away. Jack pinched the bridge of his nose as he fell deep into thought.
-
After leaving the store hours later Jack and Miko went to KO Burger for a bite but Jack wasn't feeling very hungry.
"You really should eat something Jack," Miko said handing him a burger. "You skipped breakfast, which if I remember correctly from health class is not a good thing."
"I guess you're right," Jack replied as he took the burger and unwrapped it. "I just can't help but think about how much our lives will be changing soon. I can't help but think about all the ups and downs." he took a bite out of
Miko paused and looked at her concerned boyfriend. "Honestly I'm pretty scared too. I mean I'm not even out of high school and I'm going to have some major responsibilities. And I don't do well with responsibilities."
Miko avoided saying 'pregnant' because it might attract unwanted attention. "You want my advice? Focus less on what happened in the past and what could happen in the future; focus only on the present. Thing's will work out better that way, I'm sure."
Jack stared at her in mild disbelief. "When did you get so wise? Better yet, who are you and what have you done with Miko?" In response, Miko reached over the table and playfully punched his arm.
"I can be wise when I want to, I just usually don't want to. Besides, I'm having a new perspective on things as of late." She put her hand to her stomach as she said this.
They continued to eat for a little while longer until they heard someone crying. Looking out to where it came from they saw it was Sierra sobbing in her hands and her friend Zoe trying to comfort her.
"Sierra!" Jack exclaimed putting down his burger and rushed over to the two girls. "What's wrong."
"JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" Sierra practicaly screamed completely surprising Jack, he'd never seen her so angry before and after a good look one could see she was a mess. Her expression softened after her gaze landed on Jack. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry Jack."
"What happened?" Jack asked the girls.
Sierra was on the verge of tearing out again so Zoe answered for her. "Well Sierra wanted to know how much her boyfriend Nick loved her and I thought it would be funny to play a joke on him so she told him she was pregnant with his baby, but before we could explain it was a joke he up and dumped her."
Jack was shocked by what he heard, and all he could do was feel sorry for Sierra, yes she left his heart in a hundred pieces, but if she didn't then he and Miko never would have become a couple. "Sierra, I'm really sorry."
Sierra sniffled a bit before looking at Jack. "You mean it?"
"Of course, no one should have to go through that. Nick must be a brain dead idiot to dump you." The next thing Jack knew Sierra had her arms around him. his mind was on overdrive and the only way to reply he could think of without hurting her feelings was to return the hug.
"HEY, get your hands off my boyfriend!" Sierra and Jack let go and turned to see an utterly irate Miko standing right behind them. Sierra just stood there in surprise while Jack panicked and tried to explain things.
"Miko, i-it's no what you think it is!" However, Miko didn't listen and started going off at her boyfriend.
"Oh I know I just saw you and Sierra hugging like a couple! Are you two having an affair behind my back? Huh? Are you?"
Jack responded in a shocked tone. "Miko, how can you say that? I'd never do that to you, to anyone." Not surprisingly, Miko still didn't believe him.
"Oh really? Well you were doing a pretty good impression of that just a second ago." A guilty-looking Sierra tried to intervene.
"I'm sorry for this Miko, but I had just got dumped by my boyfriend and…" Miko didn't let her finish, instead interrupting with what she though happened.
"You couldn't even remember his name the first time you actually talked to him and now you decided to make Jack go behind his girlfriend's back to satisfy that hole in your heart. How typical."
That comment made Sierra flinch and angered Jack. "That was uncalled for Miko. Sierra was just trying to help clear things up."
Miko responded in a rising tone with "Oh, I have a perfectly clear picture of what the situation is. You've been cheating on me with her this whole time, haven't you?!"
Jack's face started growing increasingly angry. "All right now that's just being paranoid. There's nothing going on between me and Sierra; I thought you had more faith in me then that."
Miko never let up on her rant. "I could say the same for you!"
That really got Jack mad, and Sierra and Zoe inched into a nearby alley as the verbal fight escalated.
"How can you say that to me?! You know I care for you with all my heart and that I would do anything to help you!"
Miko stepped closer and got up in her boyfriend's face. "Really? 'Cause it seemed like you were getting pretty chummy with Sierra a second ago!"
Jack started getting louder as well. "Miko, I love you! Why can't you seem to get it!"
Things started getting on a more personal level with what Miko said next. "My cousin Yumi said the same thing about her boyfriend, but it didn't work out so well for her! Now it looks like history's going to repeat itself!"
Jack responded with "And what, pray tell, happened to cousin Yumi?" Miko had tears in her eyes as she recounted the long-and-short of the story to her boyfriend.
"She got pregnant at 16, she was kicked out, she moved in with her irresponsible louse of a boyfriend, and she ended up getting shot in a gang war! The only difference here is that I'm having more sense then her and actually dealing with the lazy boyfriend!"
Jack was stunned by what his girlfriend had just said. Sierra and Zoe were stunned as well, but not just about Miko's cousin. They were now wondering if Miko really was pregnant with Jack's child. What Jack said next all but confirmed their newfound suspicions.
"I'm sorry about what happened to Yumi, but do you really call letting you move in with me, helping you shop for maternity clothes, and staying with you when most guys, guys that include Sierra's ex-boyfriend, would have left their pregnant girlfriend in a heartbeat being lazy?"
Sierra and Zoe looked at each other in astonishment; Jack and Miko are going to be parents. But judging from how the argument was escalating, things would start going downhill real soon.
Despite Jack's insistence about his loyalty to Miko, she still seemed dubious as well as angry. "I thought you said that Sierra had nothing to do with mess! Hypocritical much?"
Jack tried to respond, but instead he just let out an angry growl and started walking away. Once again, Miko didn't take too kindly to that. "Where are you going?! We're not done here!"
Jack called back without stopping or even turning his head. "We are for now! I can't talk to you when you're like this!"
Miko responded to that with "You're the one who's like this!" Again, Jack called back without as much as a turn of the head.
"You're the one who made me like this!" Miko then let out a frustrated growl and started walking off in the opposite direction. This left Sierra and Zoe standing their, digesting what they had just heard. Zoe turned to Sierra and spoke first.
"Did you just hear…?" Sierra just nodded mutely. Now she understood why Jack had seemed so nervous about his girlfriend being near. However, her friend didn't seem to be getting the message like she did.
"This…is…massive. Can you just imagine what the buzz around school will be if this gets out? Heck, those two will be the news of the whole town by week's end considering how fast word travels around here."
Sierra came out of her stunned stupor and turned to Zoe with a serious look. "That's why we're not telling anyone about this. Regular teenagers have enough on their plate without worrying about being pregnant. If they decide to come clean, which I'm sure will happen eventually, they need to do it on their own."
Zoe looked at her friend with a look of understanding and nodded. They didn't move or say anything for a little while afterwards, instead just staring in the direction Miko had gone.
-
Miko kicked a dented can across the pavement with a grunt. "Stupid Jack, how could he just... ooh he just makes me so mad." Suddenly Miko heard a strange buzzing she turned to where it was coming from. Her eyes then widened in horror and before she had time to react she was swooped off the ground screaming.
Jack continued walking not caring where he was going at the moment. All his mind was telling him was that he needed to get away from Miko. He began to think back to the happier times espesially the day before, and as the memories went through his mind his anger and pace began to drop until he stopped walking all togather. "What am I doing?" Just then he began to hear what sounding like screaming and buzzing he looked up and what he saw made him turn white as a ghost, it was Laserbeak with Miko "No, no, nonono." He started sprinting after them.
"JAAAACK!" he heard Miko scream at the top of her bofore a ground bridge opened and Laserbeak flew into it along with Miko.