The adrenaline from the battle still rushed through Chat's veins as he raced across the city holding Marinette close. He made it to the nearest hospital, and Marinette detransformed in his arms. She winced as the pain of her cuts seemed to intensify, though Chat tried to adjust his grip the best he could to keep from adding pressure to her wounds. He stormed into the emergency room, scattering the groups of people standing in his way. He was able to quickly get her into a room, and placed her carefully down on a bed as nurses came in.
His explanation was brief and to the point: she was pregnant and had been given an unknown sedative by Shadow Moth. There was soon a bustle of activity.
After stitching up the deeper cut on her arm, one nurse began to draw blood. Chat could see Marinette's breathing start to quicken as she paled considerably. He darted to her side, taking her other hand in his as he tried to calm her, brushing the hair back from her face as she lay back. Her eyes locked with his as he mirrored taking deep breaths back to her. He didn't want to admit that it also helped to calm his own frantic heartbeat as he focused.
When she made it through the blood draw, another machine was brought in. The nurse explained that they would be monitoring Emma's heartbeat with it, to check for signs of fetal distress. They both sat gripping each other's hand tightly as they waited for the verdict.
"Good news, the heartbeat sounds just fine." Chat let out a deep breath, sharing a relieved smile with Marinette. The doctor told them they'd continue to monitor Marinette for a few hours, suspecting a type of sedative that was not usually harmful for pregnant women. Unfortunately, without knowing how much was given to her, they needed to wait for the blood test results to be sure she was in the clear.
When the doctor exited the room, it left Chat and Marinette alone for the first time that evening. Chat felt his hands shake as the adrenaline finally began to leave his system. She was safe, Emma most likely safe as well. And his father –
He couldn't think of his father right now. The anger within him fought against uncertainty and confusion. Despite it all, Gabriel was his father. How would he move forward? How could he even begin to process–
No. He wasn't ready to deal with that at the moment, not when he still had something he needed to focus on.
Chat climbed into the bed next to that focus, placing his hand next to Marinette's on her bump. The kicks he felt brought a fresh dose of relief shooting through him. He met her eyes, which were intense as she looked him over. Her other hand reached for him, messing with his hair slightly before rubbing one of his ears. "You did a good job hiding your identity from me. I was – am – truly blown away. Though I should have seen it."
He smiled into her hand, nuzzling in slightly, which caused her to laugh. He felt lighter at the sound of it. "I'd hoped you wouldn't be upset with me for hiding it. It was difficult at times." His mind flashed to when she'd first told him about her pregnancy as Chat, and to earlier that day when she fell from the balcony in front of him.
Marinette's eyes held a deep sadness as she clutched his hands. "I'm so sorry, Adrien." Her voice was a whisper in the dimly-lit room. Her hand found his face again, and her next words made his heart soar. "I love you, Adrien. Mon minou."
Piece by piece, Chat felt the burdens of his secrecy begin to slip away. She knew him now; she knew all sides of him.
He finally could tell her.
He sat up slightly, brushing the top of her hands with his thumb. "I didn't want to tell you this before, because you didn't know me – who I was – on both sides of the mask. I wasn't sure if you would understand. But I want you to know that I love you too, Marinette, my lady. I thought that I had loved you when you were only Ladybug, but I didn't realize what real love felt like until I also knew you as Marinette." He paused as he considered how to explain himself. "It was sort of like a puzzle; getting to know you over the years as Ladybug, it was like I knew what the picture was, but I only had half the pieces. I thought just knowing was enough, but then this happened –" he used his thumb to brush across her stomach, "—and I learned you were Marinette. It was like I had the other half of the puzzle the whole time and just didn't know it belonged. And everything suddenly fit; each time we spent a night together, more pieces connected. Until everything clicked together. And I knew then that I was truly in love with you."
Her smile lit up the dark room. She pulled him down by his bell to kiss him. He relished the softness of her lips, the press of which served as yet another assurance that she was here with him and safe, before she moved back again, her smile turning cheeky. "You like puzzles then, Chat?"
Laughter bubbled from his chest. "Actually, I do." His eyes caught the red rose, still clipped tenuously into her hair, and his smile fell away. "And then I watched you die. I didn't handle it well. It didn't matter that Scarabella could bring you back; she had to force me away from that pile of rubble. I'll never forget that feeling." The pain of that moment echoed through him, though thankfully seemed to be lessening the longer he held her, the knowledge that she was alive and well acting as a balm to heal the wounds to his heart. "I guess I understand you a bit more now, why you'd always chastise me for sacrificing myself in battle."
"That's… different, Chat. I never had to watch you go in such a…non-magical way. I'm sorry you went through that."
He squeezed her hand in acknowledgement before continuing. "I couldn't forgive myself for not getting to you fast enough. So, when I heard that Fath—that Shadow Moth had taken you, I barely waited long enough to tell Scarabella where I was going before taking off." A harsh echo of fury roiled in him, pressing up against the wall in his mind. He took a few deep breaths to try and calm himself.
"I'm so sorry about your father, Adrien."
Bitter frustration welled within him. "I'm just so angry that I didn't know. I should have realized he was a monster long before tonight."
Marinette shifted next to him. "Wait, your mom; didn't he say something about her being in a coma somewhere? Where is she?"
In the chaos, he hadn't fully acknowledged the implications of his father's words. His mother was alive. He jerked up in surprise. "I need to call Scarabella. I was so focused on you that it slipped my mind." He opened up the communicator in his baton, but a nurse entered the room. He looked apologetically at Marinette before leaving so he wouldn't be overheard.
Scarabella answered his call. "Chat? Is she okay?"
"Yes, Marinette is fine; they both are. They're going to keep her for a little longer to make sure of it."
"Oh, thank God."
"What's going on there?"
"Shadow Moth – your father – he's in custody. His lawyer showed up and made a scene, and they almost had to let him go. But Nooroo revealed where he was keeping your mom. There's a basement level in your mansion; did you know?"
"What? No, I didn't." He felt blindsided by that knowledge. He'd had no idea.
"The police found her there, and it was enough to keep Gabriel in, for now at least."
"How is my mom, do you know?"
"They found her in a glass box that seems to be preserving her, but she's not waking up, just like he said. I'm sorry, Adrien. Tikki said she'd take a look at her when she can, to see if there's anything one of the other Kwamis can do."
He swallowed at that, absorbing the information. "I can't believe she's alive at all."
Scarabella sighed. "We've got some work ahead of us if we want this to stick. There's not much in the way of physical proof that your dad was Shadow Moth outside of our own testimony. Unless you count the room of butterflies in the basement. We need to make a statement. Ladybug too. I know who she is, Chat. It's me, Alya. I'm sorry I didn't get the chance to say that before you left."
Alya, of course. That made too much sense. "It's an honor to be your partner, Alya."
"Same here, Catboy. Now you go take care of that girl of ours, and come by the station when you can and we'll finish this. We're all here by your side, Adrien."
He swallowed the emotions that threatened to spill out. "Thanks, Alya. That means a lot."
He put his baton away as he walked back inside, feeling as though he was moving through sand. He'd barely had any time to process everything. His father was Shadow Moth and his mother was alive, but in a magical coma of unknown origins. He took a few deep breaths before he re-entered Marinette's room, choosing to push everything back besides what was directly in front of him.
She was alone again, and he went to her, explaining what he had learned from Alya, including the part about his mother.
When he finished, she threaded her fingers through his. "You could go see her."
"I'm not leaving you here." The desire to see his mother itched at him, but he wasn't about to leave Marinette's side. It wasn't even an option to him.
He hoped he could bring Marinette with him to see her, after they finished up at the hospital, however.
"I'll be okay, Adrien," Marinette told him, still trying to convince him to go.
"You heard what I said down there, right? You're my family now, and the most important thing to me. You and Emma. I'll go see her when you are both healthy and out of here."
"We'll go together." She tugged him close. "You know, I agree with what you said earlier, about not being able to truly love someone until you really know them. I thought I loved you before, too. But now, knowing you're both Chat and Adrien, now it all makes sense. And I love you all the more for it."
His heart felt like it might burst with the love he felt for this woman.
Unfortunately, the doctor interrupted their moment, letting them know the drug used was confirmed, and that they would be free to leave after a few more hours of monitoring just in case.
Chat climbed back in the bed next to Marinette when the doctor left the room, making sure she still had plenty of room. They cuddled together, until Marinette finally fell asleep.
As the final drop of worry left his body, exhaustion eagerly flooded into the space it left. It had been such a long and harrowing day. Eager to hide from the thoughts that were threatening to burst through the barrier in his mind, Adrien managed to fall asleep next to her.
It must have only been a couple hours when the nurse came back in, waking Chat and letting him know she was good to go. Chat reluctantly woke Marinette up, and together, they walked outside.
A/N: And we're almost to the end! Only one chapter left. I hope you guys have been enjoying this so far! I posted an additional one-shot as part of a challenge that fits in the future of this series. It's called Her Favorite Hero, and gives you a glance at 5 year old Emma. Go take a look!
