Well, the last chapter was intense! Don't worry, it won't get too bad for a little while.
Two more nights in the four days they had left consisted of lovemaking, before Ember came to pick them up and bring them back to the mainland. The two of them caught a plane that evening back home. Although this one was a bit harder to fall asleep on for some reason, so they both stayed up throughout the night.
The moment they stepped off the plane and walked into the airport, they were bombarded with hugs by Sonic, Tails, and Amy, who were waiting for them when they got off the airplane.
"It's so great to see you again!" Sonic said, hugging both of them at once.
"He's just too embarrassed to admit that he really missed you guys," Amy said, causing Sonic to blush.
"I missed you, y'know, as friends do!" Sonic clarified.
"So, did you guys enjoy your trip?" Amy asked them.
"Oh yes, very much!" Ruby said. "It was so beautiful! We have pictures of the island and what we did, just wait until you see them!"
"Did you see anything cool?" Tails asked.
"Yeah, we saw a flock of macaws, we went snorkeling and saw lots of exotic fish, we found a waterfall that was practically in our backyard," Knuckles replied.
"Sounds like you two had a lot of fun!" Amy said. Sonic kept his mouth shut this time, although the first thing he thought was, "Yeah, lots of fun!" and he smiled.
After an hour drive back home, and a few hours of showing all their friends their pictures and telling them about what they did, Knuckles and Ruby were ready for a good night's sleep… at 6:30 at night. Immediately after they got home, they dumped their baggage and went to bed, completely exhausted. They continued to sleep in, until before they knew it, it was 10:30 AM the next day.
Ruby woke up first, unable to sleep, her mind preoccupied. She looked at her husband, asleep next to him, and smiled. Then she got up and went into her suitcase, pulling out a plastic shopping bag as silently as possible. She looked back at Knuckles; he turned in his sleep, and she saw he was still wearing his necklace, and she smiled. Then she turned back to the bag. Inside the bag was a box of pregnancy testers that she'd bought at the airport. She headed into the bathroom and performed the test. Now all she had to do was wait for the results. After a few moments, she got the results. It came up negative, and Ruby sighed a breath or relief. Truthfully, she was a little scared. She wasn't sure if she was ready to have a baby… but that night, it felt so good, so right! But it was relieving to know that she wasn't pregnant.
Ruby left the bathroom and headed back to bed, snuggling against Knuckles. He shifted in bed and rolled around again to face her, his eyes opening a crack.
"Mmmh… hey, where've you been?" he mumbled groggily.
"Just in the bathroom," Ruby replied, smiling at him. Knuckles made a small half-smile and nuzzled his nose against hers. Ruby giggled slightly at the gesture, then kissed his nose and sat up.
"I'm not really very tired anymore," she said.
"I am," Knuckles replied. "But you can get up if you want." Ruby kissed his cheek.
"Ok, I'll make some breakfast," she said, and she got out of bed.
It was several days later, that evening, when Ruby noticed something wrong. She was overdue for her period, which worried her. She'd forgotten to take another pregnancy test since the first time, and while she was in the bathroom, she performed one more pregnancy test. This time, when she got the results back, she was shocked and she dropped the tester. She looked at herself in the mirror for a moment, beginning to breathe heavily, before she ran out of the bathroom, leaving the pregnancy tester that read "positive" on the floor where she'd dropped it.
"And you're sure it said positive?" Knuckles asked her, as Ruby led her back to the bathroom.
"I'm sure, I wouldn't lie about this," Ruby said, and she knelt down and picked up the pregnancy tester. Sure enough, it still said positive on it. Knuckles put a hand to his head and mumbled, "Aw geez," and he bit his lip. This was exactly what he didn't want to have happen. They'd just gotten married no more than a week ago, and now they were going to have a new addition to the family! Then, Knuckles heard that Ruby was crying, and he came up to her and hugged her from behind.
"I'm sorry Ruby," he said comfortingly. "I realize this isn't what you wanted." Ruby turned around and hugged him back, and spoke.
"No Knuckles, I do want a baby… but… I just don't think I'm ready right now," she cried, and she rested her face in his chest.
"It's too late for talk like that," Knuckles said quieter, and he placed a hand under her chin and lifted her head up to look at him. "Now I know you're scared," Knuckles said, "But don't worry, I'll help you through this. So will everyone else… as long as you feel comfortable telling them." Ruby sniffled and kissed Knuckles' lips gently.
"Thank you," she said, her voice still quavering. "I know you'll help me. Later today, we can tell the others," she said. Knuckles smiled at her, and placed a hand on her stomach. Ruby looked up at him and smiled, wiping her eyes, then they kissed again.
"You're what?" Amy exclaimed. Ruby had all the girls gathered at her house, to tell them the news. When she told them, Amy, Rouge, and Cream looked very surprised… and she couldn't blame them.
"You just got married a week ago!" Rouge said. Ruby put her head down.
"I know, I know," she said quietly. "It just sort of happened."
"Man, who would've guessed that Knuckles would be that impulsive," Amy thought out loud.
"No no, it wasn't his fault. He actually asked me if I wanted to… I agreed," Ruby said, "So it's my fault, it was my choice!"
"It was my fault really," Knuckles said to the guys, who were a bit less stunned and a little more proud of him. Sonic, Shadow, Silver, and Tails were being a bit too forgiving. "…I pressured her to do it, and now I feel so awful," Knuckles continued.
"Naw man, we understand," Sonic replied. "It's hard to control those urges. You did good in asking her pal!" Knuckles blushed slightly, not exactly feeling the same way.
"But are you two ready for a child already?" Shadow asked him.
"But are you two ready for a child already?" Cream asked Ruby. Ruby sighed and put a hand to her stomach.
"I think we can actually do this," she said. "He told me he'd be with me every step of the way, and I trust him." The girls let out a couple of "Aaws."
"I hope we're ready for a child… it's not like we have a say in the matter anymore," Knuckles replied, looking the guys dead in the eyes. Nobody had anything to say for a moment.
"C'mon Knuckles, don't be so down! I'm sure you two are going to raise a great child!" Silver said to try and cheer him up.
"Yeah, we'll help you guys too!" Sonic said, wrapping an arm around Knuckles' shoulder.
"Thanks guys. You're the greatest," Knuckles replied. The guys began to disperse and talk to other people, when Tails came up to Knuckles.
"If you want Knuckles, I can be Ruby's doctor," Tails offered. "I'm starting to get into medical science a lot, since Sonic here seems to keep getting injured every ten seconds!" Tails added, giving Sonic a dirty look. Sonic shrugged.
"I can't help it, I jump head first into danger!" he said. Knuckles huffed slight and spoke to Tails.
"Sure, I bet Ruby would feel so much more comfortable around you anyways," he replied. "Thank you."
Later that evening, Knuckles and Ruby were watching TV when Knuckles brought up what Tails had said.
"Ruby, when I was talking to the guys, Tails offered to be your doctor for the pregnancy," Knuckles said to her. "I told him yes, but what do you think?"
"And he doesn't mind being a maternity doctor?" Ruby asked him. Tails just seemed too young and innocent, she didn't want him to feel forced to do it and scar him for life.
"No, he actually seemed excited to be your doctor. He told me he's really gotten into medical science recently," Knuckles replied.
"Well, as long as he's ok with it, I don't mind. It'd actually be nice to have someone I know as my doctor," Ruby said.
"That's what I told him," Knuckles said. He relaxed back on the couch and looked at the TV. Ruby did the same, and she cuddled up against him. Knuckles' eyes trailed over to her and he smiled.