Her hands shook as she felt the next wave of nausea come over her. Quickly, she grasped the edge of the toilet seat and ducked her head in. She heard a knock on the door and instantly became frustrated. "Fuck off!" She then kicked the door as a form of retaliation to the echoing knock. Thank god the person did as she told them and left her. Glancing back up at the bathroom counter, she spotted the slim white stick that she just used a few minutes ago. She grabbed it quickly along with the directions that lay next to it. She stared at the stick then her eyes darted back to the directions. The stick and directions dropped to the floor while she buried her face in her hands. Byte tried to keep it together but the shock of it all just got to her. "God this can't be happening. What's Java gonna think? I have to tell her because everything will only become more obvious within nine months. But I have to tell Max first. Brace yourself, Noelle…it could get ugly. Stuff like that does indeed happen…look at mom. He loves me though…but would this change that?"

She scrambled to get off the floor. For the next two minutes, she fixed herself up to look decent enough. Afterwards, she walked out of her room casually then made her way toward the computer room. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she did so and they just kept coming. No matter what she did, she couldn't stop.

Then she heard "the voice". No, it wasn't the voice of God. It was the voice of the person she hated to disappoint; the person whom she happened to connect the most with; the person whose reaction she most feared at this point; the person known as her mother.

"Noelle, what happened?" Java asked.

Byte shook her head, said nothing and continued along her way. Then she saw Jay come out of his room and soon she found herself between the two people she dreaded interacting with.

"Byte, you alright?" Jay asked as he stepped right out in front of her, blocking her path.

"I'm fine, thanks," she muttered as she tried to push her way past him but he wouldn't let up. Frustrated, she turned to Java, who idly stood there as if she was watching a TV show. "Do something about this," she said sternly.

"Come on, Jay. Won't you ease up on the girl today?" she asked and like magic, Jay stepped aside.

"Thank you," Byte said quietly. She soon found herself in the middle of the hallway, in front of her mother. After a moment, she took a seat at the end of the hallway…a mini lounge if you will.

Something was wrong, she could feel it. The kid didn't seem like her normal self, she could tell just by Noelle's appearance. She looked pale and just plain exhausted. "You alright, kid? You seem very…I dunno…different today."

She glanced up at her then shook her head. "What do you mean by different?" she asked.

Java moved over next to her. "Well honestly…ya look like crap," she bluntly said while she took a seat in the black leather chair.

"Thanks."

She smirked slightly. "I meant that you just look exhausted. Is the game tiring you out or something? Or is it because Siva's been gone for the past week?"

"No, I um…" Byte paused for a moment then just shook her head. She was hesitant to tell Java or even speak to her at this point.

Java saw the reluctance. Something had to be seriously wrong with the kid. It wasn't like her at all to be this quiet and this patient. "C'mon…you can tell me anything. I thought you knew that and besides, I'm worried about you, Noelle. If you're not exhausted or working too much then can you please explain your behavior lately? Come on, kid…you fainting? It's not you."

"I know it's not me…I don't know what is anymore," Byte muttered softly.

Java stared at the young girl. She was confused as to why Noelle would say such a thing. From that statement she knew bad news was coming and she knew her daughter well enough to concur that Noelle wouldn't be telling her the news immediately. She had to be patient with her because she knew that she'd do the same exact thing.

She couldn't tell her now, she wasn't ready. It wasn't a matter of breaking the news to her that held her back, it was the matter of how Java would react. "You know what? I…um…I gotta get to work. See ya."

Java sighed. "See ya, kid. Get better now."

Byte hastily walked down the halls, passing the computer room along the way. She came to a stop in front of Max's room and she knocked loudly.

Damien watched Byte for a second and approached her carefully. "Max is out at the moment," he said now standing next to her.

"What are you, his secretary?" she smirked before walking past him.

"No…no…I just thought I'd let you know. You seem very-"

Byte sighed out of frustration and sharply stared at him. "I seem very what. High strung? Tired? Now get out of my way then maybe I won't be any of those things."

"I meant to say hasty but hey, whatever floats your boat. So tell me, Commander, what's got you all hasty?"

"Nothing. I just need to speak to Max. Now move out of my way," Byte replied. She stepped aside but Damien stepped in front of her. She tried moving away from him once again but he blocked her again. "This some sort of game you like to play?"

He disregarded the question and smiled. "So what's on your mind?" he asked.

"There's some ass in my way, it's quite annoying," Byte sighed as she looked up at him.

He smirked and bent over. He then poked her bum with his finger, "You mean this ass?"

"Pervert," Byte scoffed.

"Uptight," he smiled.

"Obnoxious."

"Twat," Damien then raised an eyebrow as Byte couldn't think of anything else to say. "Looks like we're even," he said to her. She raised her hand toward him, just about to slap him. Once she brought her hand down to do so, he caught it. He laced his fingers around hers and inched closer toward her.

Byte angrily looked up at him and sighed.

"So, won't you tell me what's bothering you? Obviously you seemed to relax a little bit with that sigh of yours. Perhaps it's the fact that we haven't taken it a step further than just holding hands." Damien's face then inched closer to hers.

She smirked and inched closer towards him. "I wouldn't dream of it," she whispered then shook her hands free from his and walked off.

The only thing that touched his lips was her hot breath. He watched her walk off as he let his finger touch his lips. He smirked slightly then walked off in the other direction.

"Boys want what they can't have," Java smirked as she watched the two kids on the computer monitor. She then turned around and found Max behind her. "Hey Max have you spoken to Noelle lately? She seems a bit off today."

He shook his head. "No, I'm sorry."

At that moment, the door swung open and Byte walked in. She grabbed Max by the hand then pulled him outside while shutting the door. "Max, I know you're busy…I'm sorry to disturb but I...I…really need to talk to you right now," Byte said quickly.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa…hold on baby. You're speaking too fast. What's going on?" Max said calmly with a slight smile.

She inhaled deeply then exhaled before looking up at him. "Do you love me?" she asked, slightly exasperated.

"What?"

"Just answer the question," Byte sighed.

"Yes I do, you know that. What's going on, Byte?" he asked, now concerned.

She shook her head as she felt herself become more nervous than ever. Tears began to form in her eyes as she tried to speak.

Max stared down at her, took her by the hand and began leading her back to his room. Once there she held the door open for her and walked in after her. After seeing her sit down, he knelt on the ground so that he was at eye level with her. "What's wrong, baby?" he asked once more. He then let his hands rest on the sides of her knees.

"Max, I'm pregnant," she muttered quietly.

He took his gaze off her for a moment, trying to absorb the sentence she just said. "Wha…what."

"I'm pre-"

"Yes I know what you just said," he said. He ran his hands through his hair with his eyes widened slightly. "I can't believe it," he said with a sigh. He stood up for a second and paced around his room.

Byte just watched him as tears now flowed down her cheeks. [i]"Please…Max please don't be like Noah,"[/i] she thought.

Max looked back at her and noticed the tears flowing. He knelt down once more and wrapped his arms around her waist. "No, baby it's not like that. I'm not angry or anything." He then pressed his forehead against hers. "It's alright," he smiled, "everything's alright." After seeing her smile, he pulled away and kissed her on the forehead. "Have you told Java?"

Byte shook her head. She sighed softly after glancing at the door. "She's who I'm afraid to tell."

"She's been through it though. Wouldn't you think she'd be the most supportive? She's your mom and I mean…c'mon she cares so much about you. She may be disappointed at first but she'll come around. I know for a fact she will."

"What makes you think that?"

"Well," he sighed, "if I know you that well then I think I know her that well."

Outside in the hall, Java walked toward her room. She whistled a tune as she walked through the door. After collapsing on her bed, she gave a sigh of relief, relief that her work day was over. She looked around in her room for one of her shirts. It was a purple and black plaid button down shirt that Byte had "stolen" from her two days before.

Flashback

"Oh hell no! You're not borrowing that one!" Java said loudly as Byte brought out her favorite plaid button down.

"Why not? It looks better on me anyway," Byte replied as she took the hanger out of the shirt.

"You've tried it on before?" she asked as she raised a brow at the kid.

"Yes."

"When?" Java asked then placed a hand on her hip.

"Just now," Noelle smiled.

She scoffed as she came closer to the girl. "Alright, joke's over. Give it."

Reluctantly, Byte handed the shirt back over to her. "Fine," she sighed. She then continued to "shop" in her mother's closet. She pulled on a drawer on the bottom of her armoire. The contents of the drawer made her scream.

"What? What'd you find?"

"Your lingerie drawer," Byte said and closed the drawer immediately.

Java chuckled. "Alright, c'mon kid. It's not like you're out to impress Max or anything, just put something on."

"Fine fine fine," she said quickly. She smirked and grabbed a shirt from another hanger. She walked into the bathroom to change. Once out she smiled. "Would you rather have me wear this then?" she asked. What she wore was a red top that revealed more cleavage than she needed.

Java looked over to Byte and shook her head. She stared down at the ground then blindly handed the purple and black shirt to her. "You get that thing dirty, Noelle, I swear I'll kill you," she said with a light smirk.

Byte smiled and changed into the shirt in the bathroom again. This time her outfit was complete. She wore the button down shirt open with a grey tank top inside, some short denim shorts, and some black sandals.

She looked over her daughter's outfit and noticed the shorts barely covered a third of the girl's thigh. "Oh no, no, no, no. Get some longer shorts on yourself."

"What, Java if I had worn this a few months a go, you wouldn't have cared."

"That's because a few months ago, I didn't tell you I was your mom," Java replied. She then turned to the door after hearing a knock.

"That would be Max, looks like it's too late to change," Byte said. She opened the door and smiled. "Hey there." She wrapped her arms around the boy as the boy did the same.

Java watched as Max's hands slowly slid down her daughter's back. She clapped loudly and simultaneously exclaimed: "Watch those hands, Max!"

The two kids looked back at Java. Byte of course glared slightly at her, but then eased up. "I'll see you soon," she said to her.

"Yeah. Don't come home drunk tonight," Java teased. She then went back into her room after shutting the door.

End of flashback

Java entered Byte's room carefully, in search of her favorite shirt. She opened a few drawers and also opened the girl's closet. She found nothing. She looked over Byte's bed and rifled through some of the sheets. Still nothing. "Dammit I hope it's not in Max's room."

She walked around and finally sighed. She couldn't find it in the girl's room. As she was just about to leave, she remembered one thing. The girl had a bathroom that connected to her room. Java waltzed over to the girl's bathroom and there she found the purple and black shirt. It hung from the towel rack loosely. She grabbed the shirt and examined it quickly, "Very good, Noelle."

Just as she was about to leave the bathroom, she felt her foot hit something and caused it to slide on the tile floor. She glanced down to see what it was. On the floor next to her foot was a small white stick with a pink plus sign at the end of it. Adjacent to the stick, she also saw some directions with a picture of the exact same stick on it. Instantly she knew what it was.

Quickly, Java grabbed a piece of toilet paper and used it to pick up the stick. She also picked up the directions and scanned over them carefully. Her eyes darted back and forth between the two and finally she shook her head. Tears fell from her eyes at this point but suddenly she heard the door to the adjacent room open. She peered out from the bathroom and saw that it was indeed her daughter. Java walked out carefully, not caring that tears were rolling down her face. "What is this, Noelle?" she asked firmly. She came closer to the kid, still holding the test in her hands. "Are you?" she said, her voice now quivering.

Her throat tightened as tears brimmed over her eyes. She wanted to speak but just couldn't come to terms with speaking to her mother. Instead she buried her face in her hands and let the tears flow, her breathing became sporadic.

That was enough of an answer for her. She shook her head while she watched her daughter slowly back away and head for the door. "Son of a bitch! Noelle!" Java screamed, stopping the girl in her tracks. She walked swiftly up to her and grabbed her by the arm before she dragged her back into the room. "How could you do this to me? How the hell could you do this to me?" she yelled, her voice quivering.

"You think I wanted this to happen? I didn't mean to disappoint you! Please just don't lecture me now. I've had enough!" Byte shouted.

Java scoffed before she replied to Byte. "Yeah? Well someone's gotta give you a damn lesson in responsibility! Jay or Mega won't do it but I will. You know why? Because I'm not afraid of hurting your feelings, because I know you can handle the truth…because you're strong. But right now you've shown none of it! This boy's made you weak that you're so fucking blind to see it. Look at you now! You're knocked up!" Java swung the door open. "Sometimes I question if you really are my daughter." She slammed the door shut after she stormed out.

"I thought you of all people would understand! I was just so foolish to even think that!" Byte screamed as she followed Java out.

Her eyes narrowed in on her. "You disappointed me, Noelle. I told you before and now I'm gonna repeat it again, lose the boy before he hurts you! I understand-" By this time both of them silenced the hallway with their powerful voices.

"Yeah? What is it that you understand now? You don't understand anything that I'm going through because you didn't have a guy that actually cared for you! Now you're nothing but a jealous bitch!" Byte yelled back. In response, Java's hand struck the girl's cheek. She felt the stinging immediately as she huffed.

"You don't know shit about your father. Think I'm a jealous person? Think what you want but all I know is that I tried to protect you from becoming like me. I gave you so much and now all you do is throw it back in my face." Java sighed deeply as she instantly regretted striking her daughter. "I didn't raise you to be like this!"

"That's right, you didn't. The person you raised was Byte, Commander of the Technos, not Noelle, your daughter." Byte finally turned her back to her and walked back to the computer room. "Don't even try to talk to me."

"Oh that's so mature, Noelle. Now get your ass back here, we need to talk!" Java yelled after Byte. The guards all stopped in their tracks and looked at both commanders.

"No! As far as I'm concerned it's a screaming match, why don't you save your voice for that General of yours!" Byte hollered.

Java gritted her teeth as she tried to contain her temper. "All of this wouldn't have happened if you had kept your knees shut and didn't become some whore to that boy!"

"Now you've done it, now I really hate you!" Byte yelled and turned around. "You're really one to talk, Java! You know at least I'm not going to be stupid enough to give this baby up!" she said. She noticed the other guards standing around and the usual bustling of other Technos had ceased.

She stared at Byte for a second, just hurt by her words. Now her heart beat out of anger as more tears formed in her eyes. "You're nothing to me now. I want you out of here. I can't even look at you right now," Java said lowly. She wiped her tears away quickly then walked off.