Chapter Twenty Six
A/N: I do not own anything other than my OCs when they come out to play. Everything else belongs to either Disney or the Greek Myths.
*rises from the smoke a la Mushu* I live! Sorry for the lack of posting, but I was off on vacation enjoying the beauty of London! If anyone wants to see my pics, I'm on Tumblr (same user name) or I'm also on Insta (nerdom_is_my_right_hand_man). My Insta's older than my Tumblr account and I never really thought to tie it to my fanfiction…and I'm rambling :D
Anywho, the trip was great but I'm happy to be home, readjusting to my time zone and listening to Ghosted by Jeremey Shada until I hate the sound of his voice lol!
Oh, I feel I should note here-I am not a doctor and I don't play one on TV. I aim for realism but sometimes that's hard to do in a world where teenagers become kings while still in school and people can turn into dragons and everyone's okay with kids living on a penal Island. So the medical information in this chapter might not be 100% accurate :D
OceanBlueSeaEyes: Yeah, everyone's going to have some sort of rep—and at least it's not a bad rep! :D
danifan3000: I definitely was laughing when I was writing that, I don't know how I thought of the idea but it just came to me one day and I was like boom, that needs to be part of the fic lol
Guest: I'm so glad you liked it!
AmethystDragon14: Yay! Yep Carlos graduated! The little puppy's all grown up and going to be a great vet! And you're right, it was definitely a sweet moment between the three siblings, I definitely enjoyed writing it, that's for certain!
Guest: I used to watch it all the time as a kid, sometimes I get the theme song stuck in my head to this day!
Katt Kiki: So glad you liked it!
BAL4ever: So glad you liked it! :D Yep, Cruella is Clay's mother with Clayton as his father and Clayton's Ginny's father with Gothel as her mother. As for Carlos' father, he's Le Pelt from the 102 Dalmatians movie (the live action one with Glenn Close)
: Oh thank you so much! I'm so glad you're enjoying it! As for the bad guy who's coming up, all I'll say is that they're one we already know and hate so it's not as if a new baddie will be making their way in the fic any time soon. :D
Tracie Adams: I think that might be in the pipeline!
Hope you all enjoy this chapter! Let me know what you think! :D
Ginny sighed softly as she sat in the doctor's office; Chad's hand gently holding her's while Cassandra stood by the doorway. Today was the day, the day where she would find out exactly why despite their many, many, attempts, they had failed to get pregnant.
While logically, Ginny knew it could have been an issue with either of them, in the back of her mind she couldn't help but blame herself. She was the one from the Isle and unlike Mal or Uma with their connections to Olympus and Hades' cooking, she had been lower on the Isle totem pole.
She had been one of the girls without a gang.
Her only comfort, as cruel as it was, was the fact that Harriet had been having difficulty conceiving a child as well according to Mal. The other Isle royal wouldn't gossip per se about the other Isle girls but if Ginny asked, Mal would tell her. The two of them had become…Ginny wouldn't say close friends but they were at least closer than acquaintances.
It was certainly nice to see Mal's face at the monthly Learning to be Royal meetings. Not that it wasn't nice to see her brother-in-laws' faces but Bobby and Roland had been born in Auradon even if there were some on the Isle who might have thought Robin Hood should have been one of their number rather than getting to live in the sun. The boys didn't know the awkwardness of having to adjust from an Isle way of thinking the way she and Mal did.
Well…she, Mal, and now Hadie as the blue haired boy had been a not so frequent member of the meetings after he changed his GraceBook status to 'dating' with Alexandria Charming being tagged. Something that had not escaped Kitty or Lucy's attention.
Maybe that was the reason why Alexandria often spent as much time as she could at the meetings despite the fact she'd been raised as a royal herself. She was definitely good company to have at the meetings.
The doctor came back into the room causing Ginny to pull herself from her thoughts. This wasn't a meeting to be caught with her head in the clouds after all and, if Ginny was honest, she wasn't sure she liked the look on the doctor's face. Her only comfort was Chad gently squeezing her hand as if to remind her she wasn't alone.
"Your highness, your results are back," the doctor said. "Is…is it alright if I—?"
"Of course," Ginny nodded. "I have no secrets from my husband and my sister. And you don't need to use my title. Just Ginny is fine."
The doctor nodded. "Okay, I just wanted to make sure. I know some people prefer their medical history remain a secret."
"I'm trying to get pregnant with my husband's child, doctor. I don't see what good keeping my medical history from him would do."
Chad snorted softly and Ginny couldn't help but smile, happy that she had been able to do that much to cheer him up. No matter how many times he had told her that it didn't matter to him if they didn't have kids…Ginny had seen his face whenever there was a Charming family reunion and Kitty ran around with Elliot. She knew Chad wanted that as well and it broke Ginny's heart to know she hadn't given that to him.
And yes, they had run tests on both of them. It'd been at Chad's insistence that both of them have tests done because he hadn't wanted her to feel guilty about not being pregnant when the blame could have fallen on his shoulders.
Ginny loved him for that even though she knew the blame couldn't fall on him. He was a Prince of Auradon, with all the resources that came with such a title, whereas she…she was a girl without a gang from the Isle…
"As I said, we have your results back," the doctor said.
"And there's no issues right? I'm fine?" Ginny asked.
The doctor sighed. "…I'm afraid I can't answer that in the way you're hoping your highness. The years of poor diet from the Isle, even with the years you've spent in Auradon, have unfortunately taken a toll on your reproductive system."
Ginny felt a pit grow in her stomach. "But…I can still have children right? Please…even just one child would be more than what I would have thought possible with what there was to eat on the Isle," she said, her voice almost no higher than a whisper.
"There is always a chance your highness, only a complete removal of your reproductive system would make it so that there's absolutely no chance especially with how young you are…but…the test results show that you've got probably a fifty five percent chance of getting pregnant."
"…Fifty five?" Ginny asked softly, her eyes growing wide and Chad gently rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand as if to remind her he was there for her to lean on. "I…I didn't think it would be so low…I know my diet wasn't the best on the Isle but I still tried to get food when I could…and my brother and sister also made sure I had something to eat when it was available…even if I wished they'd give it to Carlos who needed it more…"
"Clay and I were able to give you both food when we could, Ginny," Cass spoke up from her spot in the back corner.
"But Carlos was the one smart enough to join up with the Rats," Ginny whispered.
Most likely because he needed the added help with how small he was...and still is for that matter, Chad thought but wisely did not say anything. Hey, it might have been a bit of a shock to learn that Carlos was technically his brother-in-law but he was the one VK Chad had liked back when he was under the hypnosis…and Chad had no intention of running afoul Cass' sword thank you!
The doctor sighed. "I understand this is stressful your highness and the last thing I want to do is cause you more distress but…I must advise that if you do become pregnant, it be your only pregnancy as you will be considered high risk."
"And…and what, Gods forbid, but what if I do get pregnant and I…I lose the baby?" Ginny asked, her voice no higher than a whisper. "Would I never be able to have kids after that?"
"That would have to be discussed if and when that happens and we'd have to take you physical condition at that time into account," the doctor said.
Chad gently rested a hand on Ginny's shoulder once more and squeezed it slightly, to remind her that she wasn't alone, that she could lean on him if she needed to.
"I…I understand doctor. Thank you," Ginny said with a whisper even as she seemed to almost shut down.
The doctor sighed. "You're welcome, I only wish I had better news for you your highness. I'm sorry."
Ginny nodded her head slightly, not trusting herself to speak lest all the feelings she had building inside of her bubbled up and she started crying right then and there. The last thing they needed was a chance encounter with paparazzi catching them leaving a doctor's appointment with her in tears.
"Hey, hey, it's okay Gin. Really it's okay chérie, it's not your fault," she could hear Chad murmuring in her ear as he rubbed her back.
"…It is though…who's fault would it be Chad?" Ginny whispered faintly, her voice so soft he wasn't sure if her lips moved.
"I know exactly who's fault it is. It's Leah's, not yours," Chad said softly.
"I could have gone to Lord Hades' restaurant or Ursula's…there were options for food that I never considered," Ginny whispered. "It's not like I was banned from either…nothing stopped any of the girls without gangs from just walking in…so…it's my fault…it's all my fault…"
"Your highness, forgive me for interrupting, but I hear that line a lot during these appointments and let me tell you, it is not your fault," the doctor said.
"The doctor's right," Chad nodded as he gently kissed Ginny on the top of her head.
Cass nodded as well as she watched her sister and brother-in-law. If you want to blame anyone, blame me Ginny, she thought. I could have…should have gotten you off the Isle years ago. I should have written to Raps and gotten her to look after you while I stayed on the Isle to make sure Gothel didn't try anything..or I could have written to Lance or Varian or hell, I could have left the Isle too. My being there was completely voluntary after all. I…I am so sorry, more than you could ever know and…I'll understand if you never talk to me again.
Looking over at Chad, she locked eyes with him as he continued to gently rub Ginny's back and hold her close. As Cass looked at Chad, she seemed to pick up the message her brother-in-law was trying to give: I've got her.
"I'll give you all a moment alone," the doctor said, her gentle voice breaking the silence.
"Thank you doctor," Cass nodded and the doctor gave them all a sad smile before getting up to leave.
Ginny rested her head on Chad's shoulder. "I'm so sorry," she whispered.
"It's not your fault," Chad said gently. "Don't apologize because you don't need to okay?"
"But I—."
"But what Gin? It's not your fault. It could never be your fault."
Ginny sighed but nodded. She wasn't going to go into her feelings here. She wasn't going to make Chad pretend to be strong longer than he could fake it.
"…Come on…let's go home," she said softly.
Chad glanced at Cass, who nodded slightly, before looking back at Ginny. "Okay."
"Raps will drive," Cass said, her soft voice no higher than a whisper.
"Are…are you sure Cass?" Ginny asked, looking over at her sister.
Cass nodded. The whole reason why they'd brought Rapunzel along, at the former blonde's insistence by the way, was in case there was news that wasn't the most pleasant. Rapunzel knew that in that case, neither Chad nor Ginny would be in the headspace to watch the road and Cass would want to be with her sister.
And yes they could have brought the limo in case of that but Chad had thought the car would provide more privacy for Ginny.
They headed back out to the waiting room where Rapunzel was. The former blonde looked up from her phone, as she'd been handling a bit of business regarding her line of anti-aging skin cream while Ginny had her appointment, and opened her mouth to ask how it went when she noticed Cass shake her head slightly.
Rapunzel's green eyes widened and she looked over at Chad, who was still hugging Ginny close to him and whispering in her ear.
Oh honey…Rapunzel thought. Oh Gods…I…I don't know what to say…I'm so sorry Ginny.
"Come on, let's get them home," Cass whispered into Rapunzel's ear.
Rapunzel nodded. "Come on you two," she said, keeping her voice gentle. "Let's get you two home."
There really should be a member of Chad's family here too, Rapunzel thought as they began to head out of the waiting room. Maybe one of his sisters or a parent…someone he could fall apart in front of without having to feel like he had to stay strong for Ginny…It doesn't matter that he's in his twenties, anyone would fall apart after the news…
Without even looking down at her phone, Rapunzel quickly sent a text to Cinderella. She didn't say why someone from Chad's family was needed, just that they were.
She would never tell Ginny's business without getting prior approval—Cass was like a sister to Rapunzel and therefore Ginny was like a sister too. And even if there was no familial bond, that still wasn't something that was done. Not with something as sensitive as fertility issues.
Cinderella responded with a quick 'Kit will be right there'. And sure enough, as they were leaving the hospital, Rapunzel caught sight of Kit heading over to them.
"…Dad?" Chad asked, his eyes widening slightly as he caught sight of his father. "What…what're you…?"
"Hey Chad," Kit said, his voice soft as he walked up, telling Chad in all but words that his father had already been filled in on what had happened.
"Wha-I mean…not that I mind but…what are you doing here?" Chad asked. It was entirely possible that he was completely off the mark as to why his father was there.
"I reached out to your parents," Rapunzel said, her voice soft as Chad looked over at her. "I realized that Ginny had two people who were firmly in her corner here but you should have someone here too Chad."
"Queen Rapunzel I mean-I appreciate it but really, I'm not the one who—."
"Chad, bud, you both got rather shocking news," Kit said but winced slightly as he noticed Ginny flinch. Maybe he could have said that a bit more tactfully. "Sorry…"
"It's…it's fine dad," Chad said with a small sigh. "Can…can we just go home?"
"Of course," Kit nodded, softly wrapping his arms around both his son and his daughter-in-law. He wanted to make sure they knew he was there for them, that they didn't need to be strong if they wanted to fall apart.
"Gin…Ginny, I…" Cass tried to speak but Ginny shook her head.
"Don't Cass…please? Not now…?"
Cass nodded sadly as the five of them headed out back to the limo. Kit quickly got the door for Chad and Ginny while Cass acted as the guard; keeping an eye out for any pesky photographers.
The likelihood of any member of the press being at the hospital was slim but after what had happened with young Princess Stephanie…well that photographer was lucky Cass hadn't been there that day. That photographer was lucky he'd only been pulled away and didn't have his camera broken or anything else.
So if any errant members of the press happened to snap a photo of Ginny right now…it was safe to say that Cass wasn't feeling the most generous and it would be likely that Corona would owe that member of the press a new camera.
Thankfully, there were no stray members of the press and Chad and Ginny were able to get into the limo un-accosted. And if any of the older adults in the limo noticed a few errant tears silently streaming down either Chad or Ginny's cheeks, well…no one said anything as the group made their way back to Charmington's castle and the awaiting comfort of home baked cookies and fresh brewed tea courtesy of Cinderella and a furry compatriot who never failed to put a smile on either Chad or Ginny's faces.