*Kicks down door* I'm baaack!

Please forgive my long absence, besides school keeping me busy - Final Fantasy XV and Yuri On Ice happened. Yep.

I took a break from this story and focused instead on my other fic Je Veux Être Avec Toi so it's time to update this one as well.

Thank you again to those following and reviewing this fic! It makes me happy knowing there's still interest in it!

Happy reading~

La Dure Décision

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"Knock, knock!" knuckles lightly tapped against the wooden doorframe.

Lightly giggling, "You can come in" Marinette informed her visitor.

For the past three days, she had been stuck in a fancy hospital bed equipped with all the pillows in the world that she could ever want, a fluffy black leather couch, flat screen tv mounted on the wall, a view of a beautiful garden from her two large windows, and of course a mini kitchenette.

"Just making sure you're all alone so that I can stuff your room with flowers" a voiced behind a wall of two flower vases in his arms said.

"That's very sweet of you, Adrien" Marinette thanked him as she moved her IV cord further into her side so that Adrien wouldn't trip as he placed them on her nightstand.

"How are you and baby today?" he asked, leaning down to hug her.

"We're both good. Doctor said that I only suffered a small concussion but I'll be able to go home tomorrow. I still…" Marinette paused, biting her lower lip, "I still don't know how to thank you and for whatever excuse you gave my parents. You're an amazing friend, Adrien"

Adrien chuckled, gently taking a hold of her hand and squeezed it. "You're lucky that they were in Rouen and were just getting back into town. They were unpacking when I saw them and told them that you were staying with Alya due to a big school assignment" he told her, plopping down on the plush couch.

Marinette was relieved at that, having forgotten that on the day that she had her minor accident, her parents were leaving again for Rouen to go check up on Grand-Mère Dupain.

"Now are you going to eat that fruit cup or can I have? I skipped out on lunch" Adrien joked as he eyed her leftover snacks while playfully rubbing his lean stomach.

Marinette rolled her eyes with a smirk on her lips and handed him the fruit cup, "You're lucky that baby is picky about tangerines"

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Chloe had seen better days.

Her nose crinkled at the discomfort of the neck brace she was forced to wear. Alya had done a number on her and if she could arrest her - she would've. She had hand prints on her injured neck, a torn lip, bruising on her left eye and under her right cheekbone.

"Wipe that smug look off your face, bitch" Chloe sneered as she watched Alya make her way into the school's courtyard.

"Not until you realize you nearly killed my best friend and her unborn child, you psychotic whore" Alya spat back as she shoved Chloe's books out of her arms with Sabrina doing nothing but staring speechless.

Normally Alya wouldn't show her evil side but almost killing Marinette after losing her first child and now putting her second's life in jeopardy? There was no forgiving that, not even if Chloe was Paris royalty. She didn't care who it was, Alya Césaire would give them hell.

Marinette had returned the next day to school. She and Adrien had become closer friends in the span of three days than all the years together in the same classroom.

Alya was happy to have her best friend back as she wrapped her arms around Marinette's petite frame. The only thing getting in their way of a tighter hug was the tiny bump that was Marinette's belly.

"Don't you ever scare me like that ever again!" Alya gritted her teeth, stopping herself from freely crying in front of their classmates.

Marinette was a hormonal mess and didn't care who saw and knew - she tipped toed and kissed Alya on the forehead. "I'm so sorry, you're too good to me"

Everything had returned back to normal and for the remaining four months of her pregnancy, she still hadn't told her parents. Again, she was beyond grateful for her Cheng women genes. Her parents suspected that she had gained weight from sampling too many sweets and new pastry recipes but not once that she might be pregnant. Another thing she was grateful for was the fact that Hawkmoth had been quiet. A little too quiet to the point of suspicion but as long as she was able to hide her secret from her Kitty, she wouldn't complain.

Marinette paced back and forth in her small balcony of her roof. She nervously fidgeted around with the hem of her shirt as she clasped her hands together, rubbing them. She knew she had a matter of days before she'd pop.

Just a few days ago she had a false alarm that shot her out of bed from the pain in the middle of the night.

She was terrified about needing her parents to rush her to the hospital so she needed another plan for this. She didn't even know what kind of excuse she'd give them if it ever came to that.

Pacing back and forth as she waited for her phone to ring any second as Alya had planned on calling her back after abruptly hanging up on her when Marinette had expressed just how much she was freaking out to the point of almost hyperventilating.

As if on cue, her phone started ringing and vibrated.

Marinette desperately reached for her life line and answered.

"Hello?!"

"Sweetie, calm down"

"I… I… you know I c-can't Alya. I'm due any day now!"

"And that's why you have me as your best friend. My mom is leaving for another food convention but this time in Nice" Alya paused.

Marinette sucked in air as she waited for whatever surprise build up Alya was setting up.

"Breathe, Marinette. My dad and sisters are tagging along this time so I'll have the house alone for two weeks. Here's the plan - you're going to tell your parents that you'll be spending the night for a project and we'll deal with the rest later"

Marinette coughed as she exhaled, holding in her shaky breath for longer than anticipated. She felt like her heart was gonna jump out of her chest at the good news.

"A-Alya, t-t-thank y-you" her voiced cracked.

They stayed on the phone for a few minutes and then hung up.

Marinette allowed herself this time to finally break down because her next plan of action was the hardest one thus far.

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Everything had happened in a blur.

Marinette was in Alya's kitchen preparing the popcorn for their movie night when suddenly she felt a pang of pain in her lower half. Then she felt a wet sensation soaked the title floor as she bunched up her short sleeve pink nightgown and noticed the puddle underneath her.

"A-Alya!" Marinette frantically yelled as her legs wobbled and her hands shook.

Alya immediately ran to her and the next thing she knew, there was a rushed welcome to the hospital, a quick seated ride in a wheelchair, a room with four white walls, hours and hours of excruciating pain, crying and yelling, and she was pretty sure Nino had fainted a couple of times while Alya held her hands because Nino couldn't handle it.

Marinette was incredibly thankful to have a best friend like Alya in her life and their supportive designated driver and Alya's boyfriend – Nino.

The chaos, the yells, the excruciating pain all suddenly came to a halt when a newborn's cry filled the room.

Marinette held her fuzzy patch of blonde haired princess in her arms and cried even more.

She was exhausted but also filled with the most intense love she had ever felt in the entire universe for a single human being.

"Welcome to the world, Emma" she kissed her baby's tiny hands and feet.

Marinette cried even harder when the silence filled the room after everything died down. After Alya and Nino had left her to rest for the night, Marinette allowed herself to fully break down as she held her precious daughter securely in her arms.

"Forgive me for what I'm about to do, Emma"

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Alya had tried to talk her out of it but Marinette had made her decision.

After the loss of her first child, who Tikki had informed her was a boy, she knew it would be worse for her mental health if she gave her son a proper name but she did anyway. She didn't want Louis to be a sole memory that lurked in the dark times. He was once here, he once existed and she loved him and was overjoyed, ready to have met him.

It took her a long time to calm her grievance over her son and now that she had a healthy baby girl with the same sun kissed blonde hair and bright emerald green eyes as her Kitty's, Marinette had convinced herself that her choice would be the best one for Emma.

Maybe someday she could face her life choices head on.

Maybe someday he'd forgive her for the burden she was about to put on him.

Maybe someday she'd forgive herself and stop being a coward.

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It had been about three weeks since the last time he'd had seen his Lady. He didn't blame her, thinking that she was merely taking a short break to relax. After all, she deserved it. The city didn't need them as much lately but he still kept a watchful eye over Paris.

He happily leaped over rooftops as his Lady finally contacted him.

It wasn't a secret passionate rendezvous as he had hoped but he'd take anything to get to see her bright, smiling beautiful face once again.

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Ladybug carefully swaddled her two weeks old daughter in a red fleece blanket shielding her from the slightly chilly air that night. She kissed her rosy chubby cheeks one final time and held her tightly in her arms.

"If things were different, I'd never let you go" she whispered to the sleeping infant, "Please forgive your weak cowardly mother someday, Emma" a tear slid down her blue masked eyes.

Ladybug placed her daughter in a basket. It was cliché but what else would she placed her baby in?

She knew Chat Noir would be there soon as she lingered for a few seconds longer.

This was harder than she thought it'd be but she knew that her Kitty wouldn't let her down.

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"Ladybug?" Chat happily called as the distance between them shortened. He could make out her red form from a few rooftops away.

He could see that she was holding something bundled in red in her arms and quickly left as soon as she heard him reaching out for her.

"My Lady!" Chat, in his confused state called out again but it went on deaf ears as she all but vanished.

He thought that she wanted to see him so why was she running away?

Reaching the roof that she was just on, he felt the brisk air ruffle his hair. Bending down he uncovered the blanket covered dark brown basket and found a sleeping infant swaddled in a red blanket inside.

Chat instantly let go of the blanket cover as if it burned his skin.

He noticed a small note attached to the infant inside.

But what did this mean?

With a shaky hand, he braced himself as he opened the letter. The baby mumbling incoherently in her sleep as he paced around reading the note.

"This is your daughter, Emma.

She's two weeks old.

Please take care of her.

Please forgive me someday, Chaton.

Your Lady."

Chat Noir read the small note over and over again hoping that the words would change, as he glanced back at the little girl soundly asleep inside the basket and finally dropped the note.

Adrien fell to his knees, the pain of the gravel ignored as he broke.

Adrien broke down and cried his eyes out harder than when his mother left him all alone.

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Done! To be continued.

MWAHAHAHA. We're now entering the second half to this story which is the part of the story that was my very reason for writing this fic in the first place.

A time skip looms in the air.

Oh no, Marinette feels unfit to be a mother! D:

How will this affect her life and her relationship with Chat Noir?

And what about Adrien? What will happen to him now that he was left with a daughter he didn't even know he had in the first place?

Wait and find out next time!

Please do review! Follows and Alerts tell me that you guys are at least interested in the story but reviews really let me hear out what your feedback and personal opinions on my stories are!

If anyone is afraid to leave reviews due to language difference - please don't be! I can fluently read Spanish and partial French! :) And hey, that's why Google translate was invented after all! LOL.

So ya know the drill! Tell me what ya think! ;D