Chapter 15 (Karmi's POV)
Some mornings could be likened to climbing up a cliff with nothing but your bare hands. You open your eyes and the room almost spins. Your head feels like you've knocked it into a wall and your stomach wants to rebel at the usual sight of breakfast.
This morning, was a morning just like that.
It was also the morning that I had an important meeting at work. But not just any meeting, it was the quarterly review of everything I'd working on for the last few months. The CEO of Viro Tech had gone out of his way to personally tell me he was looking forward to what I had to say. There was no way in heck I could miss it.
So I rose from the bed like a zombie and grimaced my way dressed.
When I stumbled into the kitchen the sight of Hiro dashing around was enough to make me dizzy. In essence, I felt how I imagined being hungover would have been. Except coffee was my only vice of choice, and not even the thought of it seemed appetizing today…
"Karmi," Baymax blinked from where he was wedged into one of the dining room chairs. "You do not look well."
"I'm fine…" I muttered with all the stubborn conviction I could muster.
In between his own frantic race to get ready for work, Hiro stopped to glance back at me.
"Ouch, you do look…" But he was smart enough not to finish that statement.
"Look how, Hiro Hamada?"
"B-Beautiful…" he stammered with a grin. "Of course, that was what I was going to say, heh…"
"That's what I thought you meant…"
"Yeah, but," he went on. "You're not above getting sick, let Baymax look at you before we leave, okay."
I plopped down on one of the stools, leaning my head on the kitchen counter. "He can scan away all he wants…but I still can't miss work today."
"Who says?" Hiro countered with a frown.
"I say," I muttered back. "I have the quarterly project review today. I can't miss it…"
He put a comforting hand on my shoulder. "You can reschedule it. Stay home and go back to bed, I'll ask Baymax to stay with you until I get back."
It was such a tempting offer… So so tempting.
But I was born with the dual blessing/curse of insane academic drive. So I raised my head in defiance of everything, he how lousy I felt.
"I'm fine," I repeated firmly as if trying to manifest it.
"Karmi…" he said with a disapproving frown. "I don't want to have to worry about you all day. Don't be so stubborn."
I scoffed with what playfulness I could muster. "Do you really have room to talk about making someone worry? You're supposed to be infiltrating The Hydra tonight. It sounds like something straight out of one of Fred's comic books!"
"Yeah, but you know I have to, it's my-"
"Superhero duty, yeah yeah, I know all about it…" I muttered.
In between our banter, Baymax had waddled over and was scanning me and running his typical wellness analysis.
"What's up, buddy?" Hiro asked once he'd finished.
"It does not appear to be anything life-threatening," Baymax began. "However-"
But whatever diagnosis he was about to give got drowned out by the sound of my phone chiming. It was a text, but not just any text, a text from my parents.
I read it over quickly before moaning out in an expression of my deep anguish.
"What's it say?" Hiro asked quickly, a look of worry etched across his face.
"My dad is giving a lecture in San Fansokoyo and they wanted to stop by for dinner tonight."
"Tonight tonight?" he questioned frantically.
"Yeah…" I mumbled with an ironic snark. "But don't worry, I'll just tell them you're out at a bar in Good Luck Alley."
He rolled his eyes. "I'd really rather you didn't."
"Yeah, no kidding, if they thought you were that type my dad would probably have an assassin hired before you even got back."
"How reassuring…"
I buried my head in my arms. "Why today of all days…?"
"Look," Hiro added. "We'll figure this out, maybe I can go deal with the hero stuff after dinner? Anyway, I've gotta go or I'll be late for my first class. Are you staying home?"
I forced myself to sit up straight. "No, I'm fine."
Hiro sighed in obvious frustration. But he didn't have time to argue with me so he quickly thought up a compromise. "Baymax can have the nurse cover for him at SFIT, he's staying with you."
"I told you I'm fine…" I protested weakly.
He rolled his eyes again. "I'm not the only horrible liar around here." Then he glanced at Baymax. "Keep an eye on her for me, buddy."
"I will assist in any way, I can," he assured him before we both watched Hiro race out the door.
It would be weird having Baymax follow me around at work, but I figured I'd think up some excuse to tell my coworkers.
"Okay," I muttered. "Let's go, I can't be late."
"First, let me give you something for the nausea," he said matter of factly, before waddling away to his medicine cabinet.
I was late, but I liked the idea of something fixing how lousy I felt, so I waited for him to get back. When he did he handed me a few pills. I didn't bother asking what they were, just downed them as quickly as I could. But he seemed to want to give me the entire run down…
"This is a natural supplement that clinical trials have shown to be both effective and safe for use during pregnancy."
"Great, awesome," I muttered uninterested before I raced to get my bag. "Okay let's-" I was almost out the front door before my weary brain cells processed what he had just said. "Wait, what did you just say?"
He waddled over. "The clinical trials have shown effectiveness?"
I shook my head. "No, the other… Oh never mind," I said dismissing it. Baymax was the king of giving way more medical description than needed, that was all it was. So I pushed it out of my head and raced for the door.
Thankfully, by the time I made it to Viro Tech, Baymax's magic pills were starting to work. I almost felt human. Almost. But it was enough to get me through the review presentation.
Through it with flying colors, I might add.
By noon, I no longer felt like hurling, and the CEO had seemed impressed. At the moment those two things were more than enough to satisfy me. I sat at my desk, breathing a sigh of relief. But the relief was short-lived when I remembered about my parents. I leaned into my hand.
Focus on one miracle at a time, I guessed. We'd figure it out and get through it somehow…
Baymax was an unexpected hit at work, at least. My lab assistant was buzzing around him like she was a six-year-old fawning over a mascot at a theme park. But that suited me just fine if it meant I wasn't subjected to another of her relationship drama question sessions. So for a while, I let myself just relax into my work. No matter how crazy everything might have been, I felt an instant sense of calm when I looked into a microscope. The predictable rhythm of science was stabilizing, honestly.
As I watched the pathogens jiggling together in the Petri dish I allowed my brain to reach an almost zen state. From that zen state came the solution to how to handle my parents. Firstly, we'd go out to a restaurant, which meant no cooking or cleaning. Secondly, we wouldn't stay too long. We'd blame it on work, and Hiro would still have time to meet everyone else in Good Luck Alley.
It could work…
I felt a little guilty because it wasn't like I didn't want to see my parents. It was just a little hard to explain why their son-in-law was constantly disappearing into shady alleys late at night. They still didn't know Hiro that well, and if they even dreamed he was cheating on me they'd terminate his existence. Especially, my dad, it would probably take all of Big Hero 6 to stop him from ending Hiro.
Which, was a little funny when I thought about it, actually…
I smiled to myself. They just didn't know him the way I did. If they did they'd know I never had to worry about that…
"Wow, look at that sentimental smile," I heard my assistant gush suddenly. "It's almost like you're glowing, Dr. Hamada!"
I swallowed awkwardly. "G-Glowing how, like radioactively or-"
"Of course not, I just mean you seem so happy." She sighed like a fangirl, and it made me cringe. "I envy that… Especially since the lousy date I had last night. It was-"
And so it had begun.
For the next hour, I was locked into an agonizing sympathizing, and nodding session. It got so bad that I finally let my shipper's brain take control of the situation. I had a strict "stay out of a co-worker's personal life" policy, but I had to end this.
"You know what your problem is," I finally said cutting her off.
She just hung there in stunned silence, waiting for my supposed wisdom. "You always go for guys that are the glaringly wrong type for you."
"Really? But how do you know?"
I rolled my eyes. "It's…complicated, I just do," I said, figuring it sounded more convincing than admitting that being a fanfic writer gave me special powers of relationship discernment.
"Take Greg, for instance," I said frankly as I gestured to the guy in the cubical across from ours. "He's bought you donuts every morning for a year, but he lacks all confidence in himself and so never asked you out."
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Greg petrify into a statue when he overheard us. But I didn't care, I had to end this so I'd finally get some peace.
"G-Greg…" she mumbled dubiously.
"Yes, Greg," I confirmed confidently. "Just go date Greg, okay?"
Without another question, she wandered off to confront him while I turned back to my microscope in peace.
Peace at last…
The rest of the day went by more or less without problems. All that was left was getting through the visit with my parents. So leaving Viro Tech I headed home with plenty of time to spare. For a day that had started out so lousy, I thought things were working out okay in the end.
When I got home, I collapsed onto the sofa, allowing myself five minutes of mental pause before rushing off to get ready. It felt good to just sit and do nothing, honestly. But I knew I didn't have long to waste.
"How are you feeling?" Baymax asked he scanned me again.
"Tired, but a lot better than this morning," I reassured him. "Thanks for your help, whatever those pills were they really did the trick."
"I am happy to hear you are feeling better, Karmi," he said matter of factly, before hesitating for a second. "However, I need to speak with you."
I leaned back. "Sure, what is it?"
He sat down next to me in an awkward plop. "I have studied the effects of certain medical diagnoses on human emotional and mental health."
I raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "What do you mean? Just what have those scans of yours been showing? You did say it wasn't life-threatening, right?"
"Indeed it is not," he confirmed. "However, I do not want you to be…shocked."
He placed an awkward hand on my shoulder. "So please remember I am here to give you emotional support, Karmi. Not only as a health care assistant but as…a friend."
Now I was really worried. "W-What do you mean, Baymax? What's wrong with me…?"
He paused, the only sound filling the room was his mechanical blinking. Then he broke the silence with one simple matter-of-fact statement. A scientific assessment that left no room for anything else…
"Karmi, you are pregnant."