When they finally made their way onto the Waverider, Stein called out for Rip. Emerging from his office, Rip rushed over to the two when he saw them.
"What happened?!" he asked, helping Stein and Len to med bay.
"There was a bar brawl." the older man answered. Rip didn't say anything, waiting for further explanation from the two.
"I got punched in the stomach. Something's wrong. It hurts worse than it should." Len grunted out. Rip sped the pace up until they reached their destination. Both men helped Len up onto the bed and Rip turned to Stein.
"Professor, could you please go get a glass of water for Mr. Snart?" Stein nodded.
"Absolutely."
Once they were alone, Rip instructed Gideon to check Len over, specifically focusing on the baby. After a few moments of scanning, Gideon finally had a response.
"There is internal bleeding, but the baby seems to be fine." Both Rip and Len sighed in relief. Their relief was short-lived, however, as they heard a glass shattering in the doorway to the room. Spinning around, Rip saw Professor Stein with a astonished and curious look on his face.
"Baby?" he asked. "Who's baby?"
"Ah, Professor, um, you must have misunderstood."
"Please don't lie to me, Mr. Hunter." While Rip, who was flustered, attempted to think of a better explanation, Len scowled.
"It's none of your business anyway, old man." Having had enough of the two, Stein addressed the AI.
"Gideon. What are they talking about? Who's baby is on board?"
"Mr. Snart is pregnant with Mr. Rory's child." came the unemotional response. Stein looked from one man to the other.
"How is that possible?" he asked Rip, who had his head in his hands. Rip sighed loudly before explaining the situation while Len cursed Gideon out.
"I...this is fascinating. The implications that-"
"I'm not gonna be your lab rat, Professor." Stein looked surprised.
"No, I'm not expecting-"
"Just drop it." Len snapped. He sagged against the table as Gideon began to work on sealing off the bleeds in his abdomen. "Why did I bleed so easily?" he asked Rip. Before the former Time Master could respond, Stein spoke up.
"Well, I know with pregnant women, their abdominal region is much more sensitive in the beginning. That's one reason miscarriages happen so often. It takes time to build up strength and resilience. You're very lucky this didn't result in a termination of the pregnancy. You need to be more careful." Len winced in pain at Gideon's ministrations before scowling at the older man.
"Yeah, yeah." he grumbled.
~x~x~x~
When the rest of the team entered the ship, they were perplexed to see that nobody was on the bridge. They spread out a bit just as Rip and Stein came down the hallway.
"Where's Leonard? We couldn't find him or you, Professor, after the fight." Sara asked. Rip and Stein exchanged a look before Rip answered.
"He's in the med bay. He was injured during the fight, which I will address later, and is currently being looked after by Gideon." Mick looked up from what he was doing at the news and Sara, seeing this, asked what everyone wanted to know.
"Can he have visitors?"
"Of course."
After Sara and Mick exchanged quiet words and they both left the bridge, Jax walked up to Stein.
"What's wrong, Grey?" he asked.
"Nothing, why do you ask?" Stein lied.
"C'mon. I can tell that you're stressed. Or, have you forgotten that we're connected?" Stein looked around, nervous. He didn't want to tell anyone else unless he was expressly given permission, but he couldn't hide anything from his partner. That would betray the trust they had built with each other. Making a decision, Stein grabbed Jax by the elbow and led him to the kitchen area.
"Jefferson, you cannot tell anyone what I am about to tell you."
"I won't. You don't have to worry. What is it?" Stein hesitated for a moment before answering.
"Mr. Snart is pregnant." At Jax's shocked and disbelieving look, Stein explained everything.
"How does that even work?"
"I'm not sure, myself, but, according to Mr. Hunter, it does."
"Who all knows?"
"Just you, Mr. Hunter, Mr. Snart, and myself." Jax blew out a breath.
"So, this is some heavy stuff. What the hell is he doing going into the wild freaking west being pregnant?! Who the hell thought that was a good idea?" Stein just shrugged and looked at Jax with pride. The boy may not fully understand the situation, but he wasn't judging or sticking his nose up at it. He was far more mature than his age would lead one to believe.
~x~x~x~
To say that Len was in pain would be an understatement. His face hurt, his stomach hurt, and he was humiliated that Stein now knew about his predicament. He hadn't wanted anyone else to know. He had always had to do things on his own and this was no different. He would do it by himself. He could. He had to. Nobody had ever helped him before and he didn't expect them to start now. Well, that wasn't true. After they met, Mick had always helped him. Tears stung his eyes at that thought. He had always been able to count on Mick and he had gone and fucked that up. His dad had been right all along. He was a screw-up. Just as his thoughts were becoming more and more demeaning, the door slid open and Sara and Mick walked through.
"Heard you got into some trouble." the blonde said. Len turned his head to the wall so he could wipe his eyes without either of the others noticing.
"Yeah, well, you know, when you're this perfect, people are bound to get jealous." he said with an air of superiority. Sara rolled her eyes and Mick snorted.
"I heard you were the one that started the whole thing." he said, accusingly. Len got defensive at that.
"That jackass was going to kill the Professor. I was just making sure that didn't happen. Can't loose one half of Firestorm, now can we? Besides, I'm not the one that got wasted trying to out drink a girl." he said with a smirk.
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Mick and Sara said at the same time. Len's smirk grew at that.
"Oh, nothing." he said in a sing-song voice. He was beginning to feel better now. Instead of wallowing in his own physical and emotional pain, he was content with this easy banter. It wasn't long before Sara took her leave with a "Be good boys." and left Mick and Len alone. They both looked incredibly nervous to be alone together. Mick looked down then back up at Len.
"How do you feel?" he asked, unexpectedly. Len looked at the other man, suspicion coloring his gaze.
"Why?" Mick sighed in frustration.
"I'm just asking, but, if you don't want to answer, that's fine. I'll just leave you alone." he said, turning to walk out of the door. Len didn't know what to think. Was Mick sincere? Was he just 'making nice' as he had said earlier? Well, it didn't matter, as long as he didn't leave.
"Wait!" Len blurted just before Mick reached the door. "I'm fine." he answered. "You know how I feel about hospitals, though." Mick turned and nodded, coming closer to the bed. He thought for a moment before speaking.
"Wanna make a break for it?" he asked conspiratorially. Len looked startled.
"What?"
"Do you want to get out of here?" Mick said slower. "Get ice cream. Like we used to whenever one of us had to make a visit to the hospital." Len felt his chest constrict painfully. Those were some of the best times they had together. Ditching the hospital before the staff found out that the information they had given was complete bullshit and going to the ice cream parlor down the street from their hideout. Those were good memories in a life filled with bad ones. Tears threatened to fall once more and Len had to swallow before he could speak.
"Yeah, sure."
"Good. Gideon, can Snart leave?" he asked the AI.
"Technically, yes, however, I suggest he remain under observation for-" Mick cut Gideon off.
"Good." He walked over to the bed and helped Len stand and they both made their way to the kitchen. A small feeling of hope blossomed in Len's chest as he walked beside Mick.