A Surprise

One

"Good afternoon, Lee Jenrya speaking. How may I-"

"It's me."

"Ruki." He almost smiles at the impatient way she had cut him off, typical Ruki, but her voice sounds a little off and she hadn't thrown in an affectionate insult at the end of her sentence. It's enough to get him the tiniest bit suspicious. "What's wrong?"

"Who said anything's wrong?" She snaps, but her voice is small and she'd choked a little on the word wrong, and now he's sure something isn't right.

"Tell me." Jen says firmly. It's a gamble because Ruki is unpredictable. Sometimes a demand like that can set her off and bring out the worst of her stubborn side, but sometimes it's the only way to get her to spit something out. Luckily, this seems to be one of those times.

"I… Jen, I'm…"

She sounds like she's crying. He tells her so and hears nothing but silence for half a minute. Ruki must've pulled the phone away as she tries to calm herself down.

"Damn it." She mutters when she finally returns to their conversation. "I don't know what's happening. I wasn't like this earlier," Ruki sighs. "Maybe the shock's wearing off and I'm finally reacting."

"What shock?" Jen demands sharply as he pushes his chair away from the desk and gets up. He quickly shuts down his computer and shoves the papers he'd been working on into a drawer. "Ruki, what is going on?" He's reaching for his jacket when she finally tells him.

"Jen," She draws in a deep breath, as if bracing herself for something. And then she says it, two simple words delivered in the most blunt, matter-of-fact tone he's ever heard her use. Even as he struggles to come to terms with this huge surprise, a part of his mind tells him she'd only said it that way because otherwise, she would have broken down into tears.

"I'm pregnant."

His breath catches in his throat, his heart is pounding so hard it hurts and he can't help the smile that tugs at his lips. This is great news, he wants to say. I'm so happy and I love you and a thousand other things, too. But he can hear her on the other line, breathing hard and struggling not to cry, and it's enough to make him keep his joy to himself, for now.

"Where are you?" Jen asks instead, walking away from the quiet corner he's claimed as his workspace. It's two in the afternoon; she should be in her office.

"I…" She trails off for a second, probably trying to figure out her own location. Ruki has a habit of wandering aimlessly when she's sad or happy or mad or confused. Ruki has a habit of wandering aimlessly, period. He'd be more worried about it if he didn't know that Renamon is always around to keep tabs on her. "I'm in the park." She finally says, surprised at where her feet had taken her.

"I'm heading there now," He tells her. "Just wait. Everything's going to be fine, I promise."

Silence greets him as she composes herself. "Okay." Ruki whispers, voice hoarse again. She cuts the call.

Jen rounds the corner into the main area of his floor, where dozens of cubicles are neatly lined up and people are hunched over their computers. No sign of Terriermon. He speeds up, heading for the break room and sure enough, there's the rabbit sitting on the kitchen counter with two young women gushing over his adorable eyes and huge ears. A man walks in, juggling two boxes of doughnuts.

"Hey, Terriermon!" He says, and Jen instantly recognizes him. Kent is their new intern, an American boy who'd dropped everything at the chance to work at Hypnos. "I got you some of your favorites." Jen's almost impressed; the boy's been here for two weeks and already Terriermon has him wrapped around his little finger.

"Yay!" The Digimon cheers and his Tamer picks that moment to alert the group to his presence.

"Terriermon, come on. We need to go now." He says urgently, hoping to communicate the need to make haste without having to explain the situation in front of his co-workers.

"Aw," Terriermon whines. "But Kent just got doughnuts!" He points at the intern, who's holding up an open box of a dozen doughnuts as an offering to the rabbit.

"Terriermon." Jen calls sternly.

"Fine, fine." He stands up, quickly reaching into the box Kent is still holding up. Terriermon threads three doughnuts through the horn atop his head, turning it into some kind of makeshift doughnut holder, and pushes one through his fist, wearing it like a bangle on his short arm. He grabs one last doughnut and waves goodbye to the trio in the break room. "Thanks, Kent!" Terriermon smiles, biting into the treat in his hand as he chases after an impatient Jen.

"What's wrong, Jen?" He asks curiously as they step into the lift.

The young man considers his partner's question for a long moment. The news concerns them all, but maybe it isn't his to tell. "It's Ruki," He says vaguely. "Something's happened, so we're meeting her at the park." It feels wrong somehow, to treat it like a problem. But that seems to be the approach Ruki is taking.

"Okay." Terriermon shrugs easily, reaching for the bangle-doughnut now that he's finished the first. Jen remains silent as they step out and blend into the crowd milling about the building's ground floor.

Pregnant. Ruki is pregnant with their child, and it's everything he's never even dared to hope for. Things have changed in the ten years since she first kissed him but she's still the same girl who'd warned him not to expect much from her. What they share is still a secret from all but Juri, and their friend only knows because she'd finally figured it out after nearly a decade, not because Ruki had seen fit to inform her. She doesn't call him her boyfriend and he's never declared her his girlfriend. Beyond living together, which she had finally agreed to two years ago, Ruki had warned him not to expect anything else. The only time the matter of children had been brought up was when they were seventeen and she told him not to worry about it because she was on birth control. And they've never even discussed marriage, even though he's tried to bring it up a few times.

Jen wishes things could be different. He imagines what could have happened if things were different. They'd probably be married by now. The child would have been something they'd planned for. Maybe the news would come as a surprise, a bit earlier than they'd thought, but they would have been happy. He'd have been with her when she found out; they'd go out and celebrate, maybe round up all of their family and friends to share the happy news.

Instead, she's waiting for him at the park, probably trying her best not to break down into tears, and Jen's desperately trying to fight the happiness that's swelling in his heart so that he can remain objective and offer Ruki his support in any way she'll accept it.

He sighs heavily as they exit the building. The park isn't far and Jen prays the short walk won't be enough for him to get his hopes up.

"It'll be okay, Jen. You'll see." Terriermon assures him, picking up on his Tamer's distress. He reaches for one of the doughnuts stacked on top of his horn. "Moumantai." The rabbit quips, earning himself a smile and a playful swat at his ears.

"You won't be saying that when you get sick from all those doughnuts," Jen warns, smiling at Terriermon's efforts to cheer him up. Will his partner even understand what's happening? He's been in this world for a long time now but humans are still so different from Digimon. Even Renamon sometimes has trouble fully adapting to this world, and she's put in the most effort to study their world and observe their ways. And as far as Jen knows, Digimon have nothing like pregnancy, or any similar reproductive methods.

Terriermon scowls. "At least let me enjoy myself for now." He demands, crossing his arms. "Buzzkill." The Digimon mutters, just loud enough for his Tamer to hear.

Jen almost laughs, but the park appears within sight at that exact moment.

"Did Ruki say where she is?" Terriermon asks. Renamon appears by their side just then, presumably there to act as their guide.

"Come," The fox intones. "I will lead you to her."

"Renamon!" The smaller Digimon cries happily, offering her his last doughnut. Renamon politely declines. Terriermon shrugs and devours the treat himself.

"How is she?" Jen asks discreetly, hoping to get Renamon's take on the situation. Even after ten years with Ruki, he'll easily admit that her Digimon partner knows her better than anyone else in both worlds, better than Jen or even her family.

"She is… confused," Renamon muses. "Lost, somehow, as if she is torn between a dozen choices." Despite his attempts, a small flicker of hope makes it presence known. So Ruki hasn't decided yet. Maybe…

"It would be wise to tread carefully." The fox says. "I think she knows what it is she wants to do, but Ruki has a bad habit of denying herself the things she wants the most, believing that she is unworthy."

"She-" Jen interrupts, leaping to Ruki's defense. She would make a wonderful mother; he knows this with more certainty than he does anything else regarding this situation.

"I know." Renamon states before he can say any more. "But she does not think so. It will take time for her to believe this, and if we try to push her into this belief before she is ready, she might react… unfavorably. Ruki can sometimes make hasty decisions. Bad decisions she often comes to regret."

The fox gives him an expectant look, waiting for him to get on the same page. Jen takes a few seconds to process her words before he nods.

"I understand."

Renamon acknowledges this with a nod of her own. "She is there," The Digimon points straight ahead. "The bench closest to Guilmon's old house." She pauses to pick Terriermon up by his ear. "We will give you some privacy."

"Thank you." Jen says as Terriermon starts to protest.

"Hey, what's going on? Where are we going? I wanted to say hi to Ruki!"

"You will," Renamon states simply, walking away from Jen with Terriermon still securely in her hold. "Soon."

Jen watches their retreating forms a few seconds more, then turns to face the direction Renamon had pointed out. He takes a moment to prepare himself for the situation before he starts moving at a brisk pace to where Ruki is. If he's this messed up, then he can't imagine how Ruki feels right now. He's kept her waiting too long; he should've moved faster, rushed here instead of taking his own sweet time, fretting and allowing himself to be lost in his thoughts. This is something they need to discuss together.

Ruki won't blame him, he knows. If she had been around to see the way he's beating himself up, she would have slapped the back of his head and called him an idiot. Ruki's always said he's too hard on himself.

He can't help but judge himself harshly, though, when he finally walks up to her.

"Hey," He says softly, hoping not to startle her. She quickly moves her hands away from where they'd been hiding her face, swiping away tears as she turns to face him.

"Jen." She hiccups, eyes still glistening even as she tries to compose herself. He wishes, again, that things were different, that she wouldn't feel the need to hide her pain and fear from him. But if all these things he wished about her were true, then would she still be the same woman he loves? Once, during a particularly bad fight, Ruki had accused him of seeing the version of her he wanted to see, not the Ruki that truly was. He's been very careful ever since to make sure that he's in love with the real her, not the Ruki he sometimes wishes she could be.

Still, he wants to comfort her, and he wants her to be able to let him, just this once. Jen sits down next to her and hesitantly holds his arms open, and Ruki surprises him by rushing into his embrace, arms reaching up and hands resting on the back on his neck as she presses her face into his shirt.

"What are we going to do?" She wonders, voice muffled by his shirt.

He's given it a lot of thought by this point, and there's only one right answer. It's an answer he's ready to stand behind. "Whatever you want."

Ruki pulls away to look at him. "But you… don't you-?" Jen pushes back the strands of red that have fallen into her face. Somehow, he knows what she's asking.

"I'm…" He struggles for words. "Ruki, I'm happy." Jen admits, and it feels good to finally say it. But that isn't the point. "I'm happy, but I'm only going to do this if you're happy too. I don't ever want to force you into something, or make you feel like you have to do something for me."

"I don't know how I feel about… this." She whispers, and he's just glad she said this and not it. "And I don't know what I want to do."

Jen laces their fingers together and brings their intertwined hands up to his lips, kissing hers. "I promise I'll support whatever you choose. All I ask, Ruki," He grips her hand a little tighter. "All I ask is that you don't make your decision now. Just… think about it. Really think it through. You can take all the time you need."

They both know it's not true. There's never been any reason for them to look into this but there has to be some sort of deadline if Ruki decides… if she decides she isn't happy about this. Still, his words are enough for her… for now.

"Okay." She promises, and Jen gathers her into his arms again.

"I'm never going to leave you, you know that, right?"

"I know." Ruki sighs. He can feel her lips moving against his neck. It goes without saying that she won't leave him either. These things always go without saying when Ruki's involved, but the sentiment is just as clear to him as his words are to her.

It's a nice, calm moment after the storm they've weathered and the hurricane that awaits, but they can't remain there all day. Somewhere, Terriermon is probably bugging Renamon to bring him to them. The people in Jen's office are wondering where he is. He wonders if Ruki has the day off or if her co-workers are puzzling over her absence. Somehow, it doesn't seem right to ask her.

"Have you eaten?" He asks instead and she shakes her head no.

"I was late this morning so I skipped breakfast-" He remembers that she'd asked him to let her sleep in and told him to go ahead to the office, said that she didn't have anything scheduled so she could go later. "And then after I left the doctor's office-" So that's where she'd gone, where she'd found out about their child. He knows so little of what she's been through so far, Jen realizes. "After… I didn't really feel like eating." She finishes.

"Come on, then." He sighs, pulling them up to their feet. Ruki seems content to remain pressed against him so he wraps an arm around her waist. It's a rare display of public affection; usually, she scowls and pulls away when he tries to hold her hand in broad daylight. "I'm not going to let you starve yourself." Jen says, and barely manages to shut his mouth before he adds and our baby.

Ruki reluctantly agrees to a meal and their partners join them as they leave the bench behind. Terriermon is mercifully silent, probably due to Renamon's coaching. Not much is said between the four as they leave the park, and Jen is glad for it because his brain is a mess.

A baby.

It all seems so impossible to him but as they join the masses and Ruki remains by his side, letting him hold her in full view of a thousand strangers, Jen starts to let himself hope.

Just a little bit.

So in case you missed it, there's a seven-year gap between the prologue and this chapter. I imagine they're both twenty-four here, along with the rest of the gang. And we'll be seeing those guys soon.

What do you guys think so far? Too sappy? Too dramatic? I'm still trying to wrap my brain around the fact that I'm back in the Digimon fandom after ten years, and now I'm writing in the fandom. My younger self would have been so proud of me. Or embarrassed.

Reviews would be very, very nice. And warmly welcomed. And really appreciated. You get the gist of it, yes? I am begging for feedback. My younger self would definitely have been embarrassed.

E Salvatore,

October 2014.