"Now, I know this is going to be hard to swallow at first but it's something I need to tell you. And as you know, I'm not the kind of woman to mince her words. I've just never been that way inclined in my life, and being a reporter kind of helped that aspect along. But now I'm getting off the subject. Look. Fact of the matter is... I'm pregnant. I know. I know, you thought you couldn't have children, but somehow this worked and I'm now pregnant with your baby. I've been to see Lady's father, who used to work as a obstetrician before he had been pulled into the world of vampire hunting and healing by marrying his wife, and he confirmed it. I know we haven't been together long, but I need to really know how you feel about this so-no. No, no. No."
Roxanne took another breath.
"Want to see a magic trick? Poof, you're going to be a dad."
She snorted and shook her head.
"Megamind, you know how you once told me that you accepted me as your apprentice because you felt you'd never have any children to teach? Well..."
The woman groaned and pressed her hands to her eyes, blocking the reflection of herself in the mirror to which she was talking to. It was important she knew what she was going to tell her boyfriend when the time came, and just how to deliver it. This was a life-changing piece of information she was going to be telling him, letting him know that he was going to be a father. Would he even want a child? What if he was against the idea? They hadn't ever talked about children before but that had been painfully obvious why. With the looming war and escalation of attacks, their relationship had barely had time to cool, and already she had a baby growing inside of her.
What if he didn't want a thing to do with her, after she told him? No. He isn't like that. Roxanne had seen how he acted around his nieces and nephews. The man had a great big soft spot for kids, even if he had been training them in how to fight. Oh God. Would he teach their child to fight, too? The sudden realization her baby could be out there slicing throats of vampires and slamming stakes into their chests made her realize just why Nina had left in the first place.
The woman and Roxanne had spoken a few times when she had come to visit over the course of the past month, and she found the woman nice enough to get along with. She was very different from her mother, yet there were similar aspects each mother seemed to hold. And in eight months she would join that rank of women. Hopefully.
They still had so much to plan, as well. Their Father's funeral had to be held, but his final wishes in his will (that had been written so long ago) were that he wanted it to be a private affair. He didn't want all the family there, only his immediate sons and anyone they may have close to them at that time. It was almost as if he knew he would never see them as adults... but it still had to be held, and Roxanne was still toying with the idea of inviting Nina.
Nina, who Megamind still hadn't met with. That was another thing they hadn't told him about. The alien had so much to adjust to after his surgery; Roxanne wondered just who would break it to him that the mother who had left him and Wayne behind all those years ago was suddenly in contact with them. Roxanne knew they couldn't keep it quiet and had told Wane straight on that he should tell Megamind once he was made aware of her pregnancy. Who knows, he might be able to approach her for help, or information on babies since a lot of her memory had come flooding back in the past month.
But that was only if he did want to speak to her. At this point, nobody really knew how he'd react.
She walked to the bed and sat down, and immediately regretted it. A sudden wave of dizziness struck and she pressed a hand to her still-flat stomach, and groaned. "Oh sure, you're going to give me trouble now aren't you?" she asked weakly.
Naturally, the baby ignored her.
Why couldn't she tell him as plainly as she had told the rest of the guys? She had called a small family meeting and the three men, Wayne, Bernard, and of course Minion, had sat on the couch while she stood in front of them.
"Are we in trouble?" Minion asked meekly.
"No, no," she had smiled shakily. "You're not."
"So why the meeting?" Bernard asked. "Are we having sex too loud again?"
Wayne turned a deep shade of crimson and Minion pointedly ignored the question with ever fibre in his fishy being.
"Ah, no. No you're not. You're actually being pretty good to be honest," Roxanne replied, hoping her blush wasn't making her freckles stand out too much.
"So?" the librarian asked. "What's up?"
"I went to see Lady's father today," she said, before looking down at her hands and cleaned one of her nails with another.
"Why, are you sick?" Minion asked.
"No. I'm not sick," Roxanne replied.
"So why did you go-" Wayne started.
"I'm pregnant."
You could hear a pin drop the house had gone so quiet. Even an owl outside the window that had been hooting most of the evening suddenly shut up too. The varying degrees of surprise on the men's faces were almost comical. Bernard's eyebrows had vanished into his mess of hair while Wayne's mouth hung open only slightly with a look of surprise on his face. Minion, meanwhile, had his jaw hanging open in shock and his fins hanging down beneath his body.
"Megamind's the father, isn't he?" Wayne asked after easing himself down from his surprise. While he didn't think Roxanne the type of girl to cheat on his brother, he too was of the same mind that Megamind as well as himself could never have children with human women.
"Yes," Roxanne admitted.
"Oh wow," Bernard whispered finally. "Wow."
"I know," she said, rubbing one of her elbows.
"I didn't... think it was possible..." Wayne mumbled, lifting a hand to stroke his beard which was more than just fuzz now. But he refused to grow it out too long, less he start to look like a biker. "Obviously his cells are really adaptable or his genetics aren't that different to humans at all..."
"Congratulations Miss Ritchi!" Minion was off of his feet suddenly and his huge gorilla-like arms were wrapping around her shoulders, hugging her. "Oh, Sir is going to be so happy to find out when he wakes up!"
"Is he?" Bernard asked, bemused by the fish's actions.
"Of course he will!" Minion readily defended his best friend and boss. "He's going to be thrilled!"
"You'll let me be the one to tell him won't you?" Roxanne asked once Minion let her go, after thanking him for his congratulations. "I don't want any of you blurting it out to him before he's ready to find out. He's going to be a wreck after he wakes up."
"We don't want him passing out again after having only just woken up, after all," Bernard mused, tapping his own chin.
"Bernard!" Roxanne chided, but secretly prayed that what he joked about wouldn't actually happen.
"I'm kidding!" Bernard replied, holding his hands up in a surrendering manner. "I'm kidding. I won't say anything. I'll shoot myself with a silver bullet if I say anything to him."
"Don't leave it too long though, Roxanne," Wayne warned. "My brother's pretty perceptive if a bit childish at times. He's going to notice if you start having sick days, and even more so when the bump begins to show." He gestured to her stomach.
"I know. I know. But I have to let him recover first."
They all had agreed that would be the best strategy, but that had been then. This was now. Megamind was now up and about the house, back to working out in the mornings, and went out at nights chasing up straggling vampires that felt lost without the presence of their master. He had, of course, boasted about the 'awesome' scars he now had on his body. His left shoulder showed the visible bite marks left by Dracula, and his stomach had a jagged scar where his sword had pierced himself. He also had multiple smaller scars running along his arms and back that he didn't have before.
How Roxanne didn't break into tears at seeing him shirtless for the first time since their tryst together, she didn't know.
But he was healthy now. He was his old self, and they were now sleeping together in his bed. Every night she'd crawl into bed and he'd arrive somewhere past midnight, sometimes not at all.
Many of the vampires had actually shown up in the woods surrounding the Manor sometimes. It was like they were suicidal, coming so close to a slayer's known location, but Megamind, being far more attuned to the sense of their presence than before, would race off into the night whenever that happened. Normally he and the rest of them would be resting after a long day's work, and suddenly Megamind would be grabbing his jacket and weapons before bolting from the door with little to no explanation.
Then there were the nights she was called out to work on urgent matters, leaving Megamind alone in the bed. It felt as though life itself didn't want her telling him the news of her pregnancy either. But it was a quiet day so far, a nice cool August evening. Bernard and Wayne had gone out to see a movie together, and Minion was outside tending to the garden. She was watching him from the window in her bedroom now. Bless the fish, he had already designed so many little clothes she couldn't help but feel a giddy rush of happiness whenever she saw them.
Just how he had continued to hide them from Megamind was a mystery.
She sighed and shut her eyes for a moment, glad the dizziness had passed without incident. Thankfully it seemed as though her early stages of pregnancy weren't going to be plagued by vomiting, but that could only be because her mother hadn't suffered any ill effects from her pregnancies. She had to thank her mother for her genetics once she let her know the truth about her daughter.
It was obvious just how deep in her thoughts the woman was since she hadn't even heard Megamind enter the room, shut the door behind him, and walk up behind her. She jumped when his arms suddenly wrapped around her middle. "Oh!" she laughed slightly and turned her head slightly to look at him, smiling. "You scared me."
"Sorry," Megamind apologized, breath warm against her exposed neck. Needless to say, it sent a pleasant little shiver down her spine.
She was suddenly aware of the fact they were very much alone in the house, how close her boyfriend was, and that they hadn't been together since that one night over a month ago. Roxanne shuddered as he seemed to be thinking the same thing, since one of his hands slowly slid down her side in a smooth caress and his lips found her neck. "Oh..." she sighed, letting her eyes slip shut. "In a mood, are we...?" she asked softly.
"You could say that," Megamind replied with a smile against her neck before he guided her around so they were facing each other. "You're so beautiful, you know that right?" he asked.
Roxanne felt the blush spread and she laughed it off. Compliments from him still continued to make her feel like a school girl with a crush... but she could probably chalk it up to her hormones too. "And you are incredibly handsome," she replied, lifting a hand and touched the tip of his nose with a finger.
"I know. Great match, aren't we?" he asked with a grin before he stepped back, but kept his hands on her waist and back, gently moving her with him with purpose towards the bed behind them. "Exceedingly beautiful woman and incredibly handsome man, why, anybody would be jealous of us if they saw us together." She saw him slowly sit on the bed but he pulled her in close, so his knees pressed against her legs while she remained standing for now. Her hands found his shoulders and she carefully touched his left one, still unsure if it was tender to him.
"They would..." she mumbled as she bent over and bumped her forehead against his as their eyes remained locked. "But I like keeping you to myself. You're all mine."
"Every part," Megamind replied, before he could no longer contain it and kissed her smoothly. Roxanne's eyes finally shut and she sighed heavily into the kiss as her arms locked around the back of his head as she kissed him in return. She became aware of his hands having found their way under her shirt but didn't break the kiss as his warm, ungloved hands touched her back.
Clothes suddenly felt incredibly tight and unneccessary, not only to her, but the both of them.
She was barely registering the fact that not ten minutes later she was without her shirt, skirt, and her underwear. When had that happened? When had she and Megamind ended up in the bed under the covers with one another, touching each other in private places? His kisses left her dizzy and yearning for more, and every touch sent shivers through her body. God, she had missed this. Even if they had only made love that night in her apartment a month ago it suddenly felt like a lifetime had passed between then and now.
Roxanne felt a jolt rush through her when his hand suddenly pushed against her stomach and she was suddenly painfully aware of what she still hadn't told him. He had to know. He had a right to know. She had said she would tell him when he was better and my God was he better right now. Her mind suddenly became a raging storm of thoughts and Megamind was oblivious to the storm in his girlfriend's mind whilst his was driven by a single purpose at this moment.
Her hands gripped at the back of his head and his back desperately and her mouth fell open.
"I'm pregnant!"
It hadn't been what she had wanted to say, truly it wasn't. She had wanted to say anything else at this very moment but the words had escaped her faster than she could stop them. Those two words seemed to hang suspended in the air above them as Megamind had suddenly stopped everything he was doing, and that included both thinking, and breathing.
The man was still knelt over her, blanket warm against his lower back while the rest of him was exposed to the room's warmth. Roxanne was still beneath him, yes he could feel her there, and he had to make sure his heart was beating. After a moment he finally heard it in his ears, as the world began to slowly restart itself from where it had been jarringly stopped seconds before. He pulled back to look at her with large eyes, and the blue in his cheeks being replaced with a pale sky blue.
"...but I haven't... even..."
"N-no, no..." Roxanne said shakily, gently gripping at his back as a looming fear of him suddenly bolting filled her heart. "I... I've been pregnant a month... remember? The night I killed Hal, you... you came around..."
"Yes I remember it well," Megamind mumbled before he looked down at her exposed body, before back to her face. "...I... I didn't think I could..."
"I didn't either," she replied quietly. Oh God please don't ask if I think it's somebody else's. Please don't.
Megamind shifted against her slowly, before he lay down beside her in the bed now, as his hand ran the length of her until it found her stomach. The alien stared at that part of her anatomy for a moment as his thumb caressed the smooth skin, before looking back up at her. "You're sure?"
"Mmhm. I saw Lady's father and... and he confirmed it," she replied, praying the fear in her voice wasn't as obvious as it felt like it was.
He nodded numbly before looking back down at his hand over her stomach.
Megamind didn't know what to think at first. Roxanne was pregnant? How was that scientifically possible? He was an alien, a being of another planet; his DNA shouldn't be compatible with anyone, anywhere. Had she slept with another man while he was asleep? What if she had gotten drunk and some man had taken advantage of the woman? No. Roxanne never drank to the point of being that wasted... and she would have told him if she had been taken advantage of. If she had, he would go and rip the man to pieces with his bare hands no matter how big and intimidating he might be. Yet he knew she would never sleep with another man while she waited for him; even if he hadn't known her three months yet, he knew so much more of her than she thought.
This was a scientific miracle. That's what this was. He made a mental note to do a DNA compatibility test with both of their DNA to see if it actually was possible. But what was he thinking, of course it was possible. She said she was pregnant and Roxanne would never lie about this to him, she had no reason to do it. Most women would lie about pregnancy to keep a man with her but she already knew he loved her, and that he would be with her always. She had even moved into the manor to be close to him, even when he was asleep. If that wasn't a sign that the two deeply cared for one another, then what was?
A baby.
She was going to have a baby. What would it look like? What if it was deformed? Sick in some way? What if he had doomed Roxanne to having a baby with a big head and caused complications for her? Would the child be welcome in the world or would it have to be shut away like he had been? What would they name it? Would it be blue, or peach colored? What if it had a mental disability or something else because its parents were of different species? What would this do to Roxanne's reputation, or her job? How would her parents and family react to this? Did having a baby mean marriage, too? Would she be able to give birth safely? Would Lady be their doctor, or her father? Would it go smoothly or would she need a C-section?
All these ugly questions bounced around in his head until he pushed them away violently, locking them behind a door where all the rest of his worries and concerns in his life lived. He had to look at this for what it was; a miracle. Roxanne was making life, right now, inside her body and it was his child. A little innocent life that had no knowledge of the world outside. It didn't know that its father was an alien, or a vampire slayer. It knew nothing of monsters. In fact it knew nothing at all.
He envied the baby already.
"Ethelwine?"
She was using his real name, and that meant she was concerned. That was the only reason why anyone would use the name his Father had given him. Shaking his head once, Megamind looked at her and smiled faintly. "Sorry. I zoned out didn't I?"
"For a while." Roxanne replied quietly. "You scared me."
"Sorry, I didn't mean to," he said before he settled down beside her properly, resting his head on the pillow beside her own. "This is just... a lot to take in."
"I know," she said quietly.
She watched him carefully and wondered just what was going on in that genius mind of his. Was he thinking of everything that was going to happen, or what could happen? What if he was thinking of how to break it off with her now, and send her on her merry way? No he is not like that stop thinking that! The fears and emotions suddenly got the better of her and she choked out a sob before quickly covering her mouth with her hand. "Sorry. I'm sorry."
"Hey hey hey...!" Megamind had his arms around her instantly, pulling her close and hugged her tight as he dare. "No, no, no. Don't cry, please don't. Why are you crying?"
"I've been so scared that you wouldn't want it, o-or me. I don't know. All these stupid emotions making me all...!" Roxanne was unable to finish the sentence due to another racking sob raising from her chest.
"Wouldn't... Roxanne!" he chided her softly, pressing soft kisses to her face. "Don't you dare. Don't you dare! I may be many things, I may be an alien, a vampire slayer, and a guy who looks damn good in leather pants but I am not the type of man who would throw his pregnant girlfriend out of his life. What kind of a man do you think I am?" he asked her, finding her lips and kissed her despite the salty taste due to her tears. "I love you. I love you so much. I would never tell you to leave, not after making my life everything it is."
Roxanne couldn't answer him with words, not any more. This had gone so awkwardly, but they had seemingly agreed on the fact she was keeping the baby, and that he was keeping her too. A wave of relief crashed down upon the flames that were her fears and extinguished them, and she sobbed again as she wrapped her arms tightly around him and buried her head into his chest. She loved him; she had loved him ever since he had come into her life and turned her world upside down. He had saved her life but he had also opened a door she didn't even know existed before. It was not only full of the supernatural and spooky things, but also love, adoration on a level she never thought she would experience.
To think all it took was almost getting eaten by a vampire to get her here.
When she finally found her voice again, she couldn't help but smile against his chest. "You... realize this means you're going to have to meet my parents, right?"
Megamind, also known as Ethelwine, had faced down countless numbers of vampires since he was a teenager. He had even taken down Dracula with his blood, well-chosen words, and his Father's sword. He had never known fear for himself but for those around him, but suddenly at the idea of meeting Roxanne's parents he felt... not fear, but something close to it. Nerves? Apprehension? He didn't know since he had never felt this before. He opened his eyes and peered down at her.
"I... kind of told them you're a lawyer by the way. I couldn't tell them you fight vampires or, or that you're an alien. Not yet. I think that's... that's something we'll have to ease them into. Carefully. Did I mention my father was in the army his whole life?" Roxanne asked feebly, glancing up at him with a sorry expression on her face.
"Well that certainly makes things a whole lot easier," he replied playfully, tapping her nose this time with his finger. "A lawyer, huh?"
"Hmm hmm. I mean that'd explain you being away a lot, right?" she asked.
"I guess so. But no other lies for now," Megamind said firmly. "We met outside a club one night, and I helped you home and we happened to run into each other again at that gala. We'll just... leave out the vampires. Sound right?" he asked.
Roxanne nodded before settling down against him, suddenly feeling so very tired. "Sorry I ruined our moment," she mumbled.
"Ah, that's all right," Megamind replied with a chuckle as he got comfortable with his girlfriend and... Well, mother-to-be of his child. "We can go at it later."
She laughed and slapped his arm playfully before he kissed her deeply, to which she readily returned with gusto. Yes, this had gone far better than she had thought... but she still couldn't help but what kind of future the two of them now had to look forward to thanks to the life growing inside of her. No doubt it would be far from easy, there'd be hurdles, but with this blue knight in black leather she knew that they would get through it.
Together.
The End
The Story continues in Under Our Wings now available!