A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry, I know it's been a few weeks. I honestly don't really have a consistent update schedule for this story because well, I work four days a week and sometimes I just don't feel like writing lol. I also have to fight with motivation sometimes, so there's that too. Anyway, enjoy!


When Marinette awoke, there was a brief moment where she had forgotten where she was. All of the craziness of the recent night slipped her mind. It wasn't long before it all came flooding back.

The pain, the fainting feeling, the blood, the tears.

This time; however, her mind did not correspond with her body. She turned her head and looked at the window on the other side of the room.

The sun was shining brightly, though it was dimmed from the dark curtains that had been closed while they slept. Birds could be heard chirping outside along with the not so faint sound of a siren coming near.

Her eyes closed as she felt peace within her body. The shakiness in her legs was very faint and the sharp pain in her abdomen was almost absent. She noticed the IV in her hand and scratched at it.

Though she couldn't do much to ease her wandering mind, at least she could enjoy the bliss of her body not giving up on her.

Her eyes then wandered to the futon next to the window, which was currently home to her love. She always loved how peaceful he looked when he slept.

His glasses still resided next to him on windowsill, though now covered up by the curtains. His hair looked slightly unkempt as it was swept off to one side. A small trail of drool escaped his mouth as he laid on his side.

She smiled at the sight. Even if they were separated at the moment, she still loved waking up to his sweet face.

As she laid her back onto her pillow, she winced. The pain medication being pumped into her veins couldn't cure all of her ailments. That aching pain in her chest still remained. The one she faintly remembered feeling just a few hours before.

A pain that almost made her not want to look at the sleeping man close to her.

"What's wrong, Marinette?"

She looked to her purse in the chair next to her to see Tikki sitting on top of it. "It's nothing, really," she said, shaking her head.

"I've been watching you all night," the kwami said. "You never look at Adrien like that."

Marinette turned away from her. "I'm fine, trust me," she said. "I'm just shaken up still, that's all."

Tikki seemed to accept that for an answer at the moment and nodded. "Okay, I believe you," she said. "How are you feeling today?"

That one question stayed in her mind for longer than she had liked. How was she feeling? There was a sudden tugging feeling coming from her chest, one that made her want to cry while simultaneously screaming out in anger. So many emotions had flooded through her in a span of less than a day.

The excitement she had experienced just the day before when she told her parents the news. It was now faded away like an old can label. That sparkling feeling she felt within her had been replaced by a much dimmer one.

The butterflies in her stomach now vanished. She never thought she'd miss such a feeling.

Tikki's question repeated itself again. How are you feeling today?

With a deep breath, Marinette finally answered. "I don't know," she said, answering as honestly as she possibly could.

The kwami looked up at her charge with big eyes. In the few years she's known Marinette, this was probably the lowest she has ever seen her. "It's okay," she said, flying up to sit on the girl's shoulder. "Just focus on getting better. Paris needs their Ladybug, ya know." Tikki kissed her on the cheek. "And so does Adrien."

Marinette found the strength to giggle at her kwami's sweet gesture. "Thanks, Tikki," she said. "Could you do me a favor and pass me my phone?"

Tikki nodded and flew back inside of her purse, returning with the device. Her small arms struggled to hold it up, nearly dropping it before Marinette grabbed it.

"Thank you again," she said, a small smile on her face. Marinette pushed the button to unlock the screen.

The clock read 9:27am.

Her eyes widened as the realization hit her. She was scheduled for a doctor's appointment that morning, in less than an hour as a matter of fact. She pinched the bridge of her nose, taking deep breaths as she felt the warmth of anxiety building in her chest once again.

"What's wrong, Marinette?", Tikki asked, noticing the distress in her owner.

She took another deep breath, feeling the shaky feeling returning to her lungs. "My doctor…the baby…this morning," the slight burning in her chest made it hard to speak. Closing her eyes, she took a few more deep breaths. "I…I have to call them."

"Don't force yourself, Marinette," Tikki urged. "Let Adrien do it if you're still too weak."

"But he's still asleep," she said, looking over at her sleeping husband. "What if he doesn't wake up in time."

"I'm sure the doctor will understand when he finds out why you didn't show today," said the kwami. "Just try to relax."

The anxious feeling in her chest began to subside as she listened to Tikki's words. The burning, aching feeling was still present, but now was joined with a cool, soothing feeling as well. "You're right," Marinette said, putting her phone down in her lap. The doctor was of least priority to her at that point. Although, she knew that she would still have to break the news to a few certain people. "I think I should call my parents at least." She turned to Tikki. "What do you think?"

"They love you so much, Marinette," Tikki said. "I know how excited they were yesterday for you and Adrien." Her voice began to break off a bit. "But they definitely need to know where you are."

Marinette fumbled with her phone in her lap, her lips threatening to tremble at any moment. She could already feel the corners of her eyes itching as brand new tears tried to break out.

Her mind flashed back to the evening before. The smiles on their faces when they discovered that they would be grandparents meant everything to her. The immense support that her parents had for her and Adrien was enough to make her heart swell a hundred times over.

The pain she currently felt in her chest was something she wouldn't wish on anyone. How could she do that to her own parents?

"Marinette…", Tikki sat down on her owner's shoulder, readying herself to catch any fallen tears.

The girl shook her head. "I can't do this, Tikki," she said, her voice beginning to break. "I know they'll be so worried about me and about Adrien and just…everything." She closed her eyes as the hot tears began to fall onto her cold cheeks.

The kwami snuggled up to Marinette's cheek, wiping away tears as they fell from the corner of her eye. "I know it hurts," she said in a soft voice. "But I think it would be worse if they didn't know."

Marinette sniffled, wiping her eyes as she took in Tikki's words. Taking a deep breath, she picked up her phone with shaky hands. Once it was unlocked, she opened her contacts to find the number she was looking for. Her breath hitched as she glanced at her mother's name on the screen. She hit the "call" button and her hands shook as she brought the phone up to her ear.

It rang a couple of times before she heard her mother's sweet voice on the other end. "Marinette? Hello?"

"Hi Mama," she said, trying to keep her voice from shaking.

"What are you up to today? How did the appointment go?"

Marinette gulped, feeling the lump in her throat return. "I-I didn't go to the doctor today," she said. Despite her eagerness to keep herself calm; she could already feel her eyes beginning to well up again.

She could feel her mother's confusion through the phone. "What? How come?", Sabine's voice echoed through her ear. "Is everything okay?"

Marinette resigned and let the dam break. "No, everything is not okay," she said, feeling her voice break. "I-I'm in the hospital because I…I…" She took a deep, shaky breath as she tried to regain her voice. "I lost the baby."

She heard what sounded like her mom almost dropping her phone, causing her to jump back a bit. "Marinette, sweetheart, I am so, so sorry," she spoke to her daughter in a soft voice. "Is Adrien with you? How are you feeling?"

"Yes, he's with me. He's still asleep currently and I'm trying my best to not wake him up," she said, wiping her eyes. "I'm still bleeding, but they have me on medication so I can't feel the pain."

From the other side of the phone, she could hear her father in the background. "Is that Marinette? Is she okay?"

Marinette felt her heart sink deeper into her chest. "You can tell him," she said, her voice cracking.

She heard her mother put the phone down. There was some muffled voices in the background and her heart raced in anticipation as she waited.

Suddenly, her father's voice boomed through the phone. "Marinette, please tell me you're okay," he said, his voice resounded in a panicked tone. "All I wanna know is that you're okay."

"Yes, Papa," she nodded her head even if he couldn't see it. "I'm hanging in there."

"My sweet baby girl," Tom said, trying to keep his voice from breaking. "I'm going to close the bakery for the remainder of the day. This is family emergency and you need us right now."

"You don't have to do that, Papa," Marinette insisted, even if her heart told her otherwise. "Please don't worry about me."

"How could I not worry?! You're having a miscarriage!", he raised his voice a little, resulting in his wife calling out his name. "Sorry, honey. But I promise you, Marinette, we want to be there for you. Both you and Adrien. You mean the world to us."

Marinette closed her eyes as she tried to hold back the tears that were stinging at her eyes. "Thank you so much, Papa. Mama too," she said, finally letting a tearful smile cross her lips. "I'll see you guys later then?"

"Absolutely. We'll clean up and close up the bakery and then we will be there as soon as we can,"Tom said. "Your mother and I love you so much."

"I love you too," she said, laying her head back. She heard stirring on the other side of the room and turned her head towards it. "I think Adrien is waking up now, au revoir."

They said their goodbyes before hanging up the phone. Nearby, Adrien began to stir on the futon. He threw the blanket off of his legs and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. She loved the way his golden locks glistened in the sunlight. The light illuminated from the window, igniting to form a beautiful golden ray on his disheveled hair.

He noticed her looking at him and the edges of his lips curled into a warm smile. "Good morning, my beautiful princess," he said, his words rolling off his tongue in a smooth voice. "How do you feel today?"

Marinette did her best to hold in a sigh. There were those words again. She had a feeling it was a question that wouldn't go away for a while. "I'm…better," she said, trying to smile a bit for him. "I'm not hurting anymore." She looked down, realizing what she had just said. "In my stomach, I mean."

Adrien felt the edges of his lips curl downward this time. He gazed upon his wife in an aura of sadness, but the same warmth still filled his heart. Standing up, he walked the few feet to where she laid in her bed. With a need to feel her warmth, he gently placed his arms around her neck and laid his head on top of hers. "That's good that the medicine is helping then," he said. He lifted his head up and placed a kiss on her forehead. "Sabrina also left these underwear for you so that you can be more comfortable." He pointed to the disposable underwear that laid on the table next to her.

Despite currently being covered by the sunshine that radiated from her love, she could still feel the dark cloud that stayed above her. Everything that had happened to mere hours ago felt like a blur; one that she didn't want to remember. Even if there was currently a wall holding up her heart, she knew it could break again at any moment. "Oh, that's so sweet of her," she said, looking up at him. "I'll have to go change into them in a bit."

All the medicine did at that moment was create a numbing sensation in the pit of her stomach, keeping her from feeling the cramps of her uterus. There was still there weakness in her legs that she had felt the night before.

"Do you need my help?", Adrien asked, preparing to pick her up if he needed to.

"I might," she said. "But I'm fine for now."

She took a closer look at him as their faces stayed close. There were noticeable red circles around his eyes, both of which could be a result of his breakdown or lack of sleep. She attributed it to both. His hair curled up in the back, while the front was a messy tuft of hair.

Reaching a hand up, she ran her fingers through his golden locks. His eyes shifted to look at her hand; his eyes closing as he felt her fingers gliding across his scalp. "What are you doing?", he asked, his voice having a hint of playfulness.

"Your hair is all messy," she said, taking her hand back. "But it's still soft."

He opened his eyes again, bringing his hands up to his hair. She was right. The pieces of hair that touched her hand as she guided it through his hair created a sensation that made her feel very satisfied. Also, yes, it was very soft. "Heh, thank you for fixing it for me, my lady," he said, giving her a wink. Adrien noticed that everything in front of him was blurry. His vision not allowing him to fully see Marinette in front of him. "Oh, let me get my glasses."

As he walked back to the side of the room to retrieve his glasses, Marinette felt a pounding in her chest. Her voice cracked a little as she called out to him. "Hey, Adrien?"

He turned around while placing his glasses perfectly on his face. "Yeah?"

She took a deep breath, feeling the anticipation rising in her chest. "How are you feeling today?", she asked him. "I…know you took things pretty hard as well and you always take such good care of me so…" Her voice trailed off a bit as she looked at her lap. "I just want to know how you're feeling, too."

He stood in place with his feet feeling as though they were nailed to the ground. She was still looking away from him, but it left him with little concern. That warm, yet uneasy sensation found its way to his chest and up to his throat, where it left a knot. "I…", he found himself not being able to find the right words to describe his feeling.

There was that burning in the back of his head that told him he needed to cry. It told him to lie down and just let everything out as tears fell down to his shirt. Then there was the swelling in his heart that came back stronger every time he looked at Marinette. It was as if her aura left Adrien with a cloud of relief.

Now, to answer her question: How did he feel?

With a sigh, he finally answered.

"I think I'm okay," he said. The uncertainty in his voice caused her to look at him. He hoped that she wouldn't notice the mistiness in his eyes.

"Adrien…", she started. "Are you sure?"

The voice in the back of his mind kept yelling at him to say "no". It told him to just run over to Marinette and hold her in his arms while she rubs his back. He wanted nothing more in that moment, but the tugging in his heart told him otherwise.

"Yeah, I am," he spoke. "Despite the circumstances, all I really want right now is to see you get better."

The little smile he had on his face reassured her that he was doing better than she was. Still, something inside of her heart told her that he wasn't as fine as he seemed.

That would be a bridge she'd have to cross later, though.

"I believe you," she said, laying her head back on the pillow. After a brief moment of silence, she sighed. "I um, I told my parents."

Adrien felt the need to come sit by her now, pulling up the chair he had used the previous night. "You did?", he asked, grabbing her hand. "How did that go?"

She looked down at her stomach, swallowing hard. "It was difficult," she said, feeling the itchiness in the corners of her eyes. "Just as I had thought it would be."

He squeezed her hand, noticing the same mistiness in her own eyes. His mind went back to the previous night when he had called up Nathalie. Even though he didn't talk to his father directly, he still felt the same shakiness that Marinette was probably feeling at that moment. The feeling of dread that came with it was almost too much to bear, but it had been overwhelmed by the feeling of the loss they had just suffered.

Adrien shook his head to keep his mind from going in that direction. He knew that if he went there, then it would be all downhill from there. There would be time for his own sadness later. Right now, Marinette needed him.

"But at least you did it," he reassured her, taking the opportunity to push some hair out of her face. "And I'm very proud of you for that."

Their eyes met and he finally noticed the tear streaks on her cheeks. He leaned forward and kissed her cheek, making it last a little longer than usual as his lips pressed to her warm skin.

"You're too sweet for your own good, Adrien," Marinette said, smiling a little after his kiss. "They said that they'll be here later. They have to close up the bakery."

"It'll be nice to have some company," he said, sitting back in his chair. "I um, I actually called Nathalie and Father last night too."

Marinette felt her eyes widen. "You did?", she asked, a bit surprised. "I'd ask how it went but…it was probably similar to mine."

Adrien nodded. "Yeah, Nathalie insisted that they end their 'vacation' early to come and be here with us," he explained. "I tried to object, but she wouldn't let it go."

"I think that's very sweet of them," she said. "Did you talk to your dad at all?"

He shook his head. "No, not yet," he continued. "So I have absolutely no idea what his reaction was like." His voice trailed off and he looked at the floor. "Probably not that good though."

Marinette frowned as she looked at his sad face. It had just dawned on her that they'd hadn't told his parents yet. It was all brand new news to them, and her heart ached at how they had to have been feeling at that moment. "That's right…they didn't even know that I was-", her stomach turned. "Pregnant…"

Before Adrien could reach up to comfort her, there was a knock at the door. They looked up to see Sabrina coming inside. "Hey guys," she said in a soft voice. "Did you both sleep well?"

Marinette yawned, rubbing at her slightly swollen eyes. "Kind of," she answered. "The painkillers knocked me out."

"Well, that's good that you got a bit of rest," Sabrina said walking over to her bed. "Do you need to use the restroom? We didn't bother putting in a catheter, but I can help you if you need to go."

Focusing on her body for a second, Marinette noticed the familiar sensation in her lower half. "Yeah, I think I do," she said, already beginning to throw her blanket off. "Can I also change into those disposable underwear you gave me?"

Sabrina grabbed her hands, preparing to help her up. "Absolutely," she said. "I'll also change your sheets for you too and give you more blankets if you need them."

Marinette gave her a warm smile as she gripped her hands. "Thank you, Sabrina," she said. Sabrina pulled on her gently, allowing her to sit up so that she could turn and throw her legs over the side of the bed.

Stepping back a little, Sabrina watched as Marinette dropped to the floor slowly. Her feet touched the cold tiles, causing her so shudder slightly. "There ya go," she said, still holding her hands as she tried to make she was stable. "Come on, I'll take you."

Marinette nodded, letting Sabrina guide her to the bathroom as she held her hand. "I'll be back," she said to Adrien from over her shoulder. The coldness from the floor made the bottom of her feet tingle. "Do you maybe have any socks?"

Sabrina nodded. "I do and I'll be sure to get you some," she said, smiling sweetly.

As they entered the bathroom, she closed the door behind her. Marinette let go of her hand and walked over to where the toilet was. Sabrina took it upon herself to turn around as she did her business.

"Ya know, Marinette," she began to say. "I talked to Adrien last night when you were asleep." She tried to drown out the sound of urine tinkling behind her. "I know that we haven't really spoken much since graduation a few years ago, but I still think of you and Adrien as my friends."

Marinette smiled a little as she looked over at the girl. "I still think of you as a friend, too," she said. "And I can't thank you enough for being so incredibly sweet to me." As she turned back to the front, her eyes glanced down at the panties she had pulled down to her ankles.

What was once a plain, soft pink pattern, now had spots of red spread around on the inside. She felt her stomach turn, almost enough to make her grab the garbage can next to her. "D-Did you bring those panties with you?", she asked, trying to resist the urge to vomit.

"No, but I'll go get them," Sabrina said, opening the door to go back to the room. Once outside, she walked around the corner to where the bed was, only to find Adrien staring at it intently. "Adrien?"

His body shook in surprise when she called out his name, an indication to her that he had been zoned out. He looked up at her. "Y-Yeah?"

She stepped closer, looking back and forth between him and the bed. "Is something wrong?"

He straightened up in his chair. "N-Not really, i-it's just…", he turned back to look at the bed, causing her to look also.

Covering the white sheets was yet another pool of red blood, though this one was smaller than the one they had left at home. Adrien tried to stop himself from looking intently, but it was too late. The memories of what had happened the night before quickly came rushing back into his mind. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath as he tried to push away the negative thoughts.

Sabrina quickly ran over to the bed and covered the sheet with the blanket. "Oh, oh I'm so sorry," she said, her face reddening a bit. She picked up the pair of underwear from the table and handed it to him. "Will you take this to Marinette then? I will gladly clean this up for her."

Adrien didn't hesitate to stand up and grab it from her. "I'd be more than happy to," he said, walking around the corner to the bathroom. As he walked inside, Marinette was still sitting on the toilet. "You rang, my lady?"

She took the underwear from him and quickly disposed of her soiled ones. "Thank you, Kitty," she said in a quiet tone. Once she wiped, she stood up and pulled the disposable underwear up to her waist. "Man, this thing does look like a diaper."

Adrien tried to hold in a snicker. "I bet it'll be a lot more comfortable on you, though," he said, offering her his hand. "Need some help?"

She took his hand in hers and let him lead her back into her room. Sabrina was still in the corner, disposing of the soiled sheets as she prepared to put new ones on. "Oh, sorry guys," she said. "I'll have your bed ready in a bit, but I think you guys could go walk around if you want." She took notice of Marinette clinging onto Adrien's arm. "That is, if you feel like it, Marinette."

She stood up straight. "That actually sounds really nice," she said in a sweet tone. "What do you think?" She looked up at Adrien.

"Whatever will make you feel comfortable," he answered, giving her a kiss on her hair.

"Then let's do it," Marinette said. "I'm kind of tired of being cooped up in here."

Adrien held out his arm as if he were a prince leading a princess. "Lead the way, Milady," he said.

"We'll be back," she said to Sabrina as they left the room.

Exiting the room made them even more aware that they were in a hospital. The plain, dreary walls fit the atmosphere quite well. Marinette didn't even bother putting her shoes on, despite the fact that the floor beneath her was cold.

She could feel herself regaining her strength, making her feel as though she could turn into Ladybug and go swing from the Eiffel Tower. The slight achiness that had been present in her limbs was slowly beginning to dissipate.

Although she was beginning to feel better, nothing could be done about the emptiness she was feeling in her heart.

Adrien noticed her unusual quietness and looked at her. "You seem to be feeling a bit better," he said. "This is kind of nice, isn't it?"

"Just a little," she said. "I can't wait to leave, though."

"Same here," he said. "Honestly…this whole day has felt like a dream. No, more like a nightmare."

Marinette shook her head in agreement. It also warmed her heart a bit to see him letting out his feelings a bit. It was something he always struggled with and she would be lying if she said it didn't hurt her. "Yeah…"

Adrien looked straight ahead and squinted a bit. "Hey, is that…?"

She did the same, her eyes focusing on two figures in the front of the waiting room, near the entrance. A little gasp escaped her throat. "I think it is!"

Indeed, standing close to the front were none other than her wonderful parents. Even from far away, she could see the worried looks on their faces. If it weren't for how weak her body felt, she would've ran towards them at lightning speed.

Adrien must've picked up on her vibes because he sped up just a little. He made sure she could still keep up, though. As they got closer, Marinette could feel her heart begin to pick up speed. She wondered how long it would take for them to notice their presence.

As they finally made it to the waiting room, she found her parents talking to a nurse at the front desk.

"Her name is Marinette. Marinette Dupain-Agreste. She's my daughter," her father spoke in his booming voice.

"Oh, Marinette," the nurse said, looking at something on her screen. "She would be…" She looked down the hallway, but stopped when she noticed Marinette and Adrien standing there. "She's right here actually."

Tom and Sabine both looked to their left simultaneously, their faces lighting up when they spotted their daughter and son-in-law.

"There's my little girl!", Tom said, running up to hug Marinette. "Oh, we've been so worried about you."

She heard him sniffle and her heart almost broke in two. "I'm so happy that you're here," she said, wrapping her arms around him. "Adrien has been taking really good care of me."

He pulled away to look at Adrien, who attempted to smile a little. "There was no doubt in my mind," he said. "Adrien is a good boy." The boy looked away, a bit of blush developing on his face.

Sabine came up and put a hand on her daughter's shoulder, wiping a few tears from her own eyes. "We're here for you, sweetheart," she said, then looked over at Adrien. "For both of you."

"Thank you, Mom," Marinette said, feeling tears well up in her own eyes.

"Excuse me, Mr. and Mrs. Dupain-Cheng?"

They all turned around to see a nurse leaning over the counter.

"Yes?", Sabine spoke up.

"You both are free to visit your daughter back in her room," she said.

"Thank you so much," Tom said. "Ready to go back you two? You probably need more rest, Marinette."

Adrien and Marinette looked at each other and nodded.

They began their walk back to Marinette's room, with Adrien holding her hand as they walked down the long hallway. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see her papa trying his hardest to keep his eyes clean. He was never the type of person to cry, especially not in front of her.

To know she was the cause of his pain, even unintentionally, made her heart ache.

She saw her mom walk up next to him, wrapping her arm around his in a similar way to how she was holding Adrien's. Next to her, Adrien tried to keep a small smile on his face. Marinette knew him better than that. Even if he didn't say it, she could feel the pain he also felt within his heart.

She didn't know why she hadn't noticed it sooner.

The hallway in front of them started becoming longer and longer. Her vision became blurry. That pounding in her head she had felt the night before returned with a screaming passion. Adrien's hand that she held in hers slowly became just a lingering feeling.

It was too late for her to say anything before her whole world went black.

"Marinette!"

"Get one of the doctors, please!"

Adrien still held onto her as her body went limp and he turned to her immediately. He refused to let her body hit the ground as he held her head in his hand. "Marinette, please," he said, tears welling up in his eyes. "Please be okay."

She could still feel his soft hand gently brushing across her cheek. Her body refused to move. It kept itself locked in place as she laid close to the floor.

After a few moments of darkness, she found it in herself to open her eyes. The first thing she saw was Adrien's petrified face looking down at her. There were tears streaming down his cheeks and she could feel his fingers tangled up in her hair.

"Adrien…", she found the strength in her to say.

"Marinette…", he brought her up to him and squeezed her, as if he never wanted to let go. "I love you, okay?"

"Okay," she said. "I love you, too."

They shared a kiss just as more doctors came to check up on her. She didn't remember much of how she went from laying in Adrien's arms to being back in her hospital bed.

She could hear small talks amongst him and her parents as she faded in and out of consciousness.

Sometime during the whole thing, he had called Alya and Nino and told them about everything that happened. She could hardly hear their voices through the muffled speaker of his phone, but she knew the news made their hearts break.

She felt a warm sensation in her hand and she opened her eyes weakly to see Adrien holding it, keeping it close to his face. "Please, Marinette," he said, his voice shaky. "I don't want to lose you. I-I can't."

She wished she could reassure him that she'd never leave. She'd give anything to be able to lift his spirits, especially because she knew he was also going through as rough of a time as she was.

It was impossible to do that when she wasn't even sure anymore herself.

All she could do was unfold her hand and press it against his cheek. His face lit up in surprise, with his eyes glistening in the florescent lights of the room.

"I'll try," is all she could manage to say before she fell back asleep.


Adrien's eyes burned as he tried to hold back the tears. It had been so long since he had cried so much in one day. The aching feeling that currently resided in his heart was a familiar one. It brought him back to a few years before, to a time when he felt as though nothing would get better. He was so young at the time, so fragile.

"Dad…where is Mom?", he heard his younger voice say.

It was the only time he had ever seen his father cry. "She's gone, son," he had said to him. "I'm so sorry."

He shook his head, trying to rid himself of those painful memories. All he wanted to focus on at that moment was his Marinette. The love of his life, the one who was currently hooked up to a few different tubes that he had no idea of their purpose.

He held her hand, gently squeezing it. The warmth radiating off of her skin reminded him that she was still so full of life, despite her current condition. He listened to the heart monitor to his right; the waves moving along as heart kept pumping at a steady pace.

Even if she looked so calm and peaceful on the outside, he knew it was like Hell for her.

He hated himself for not being able to do anything.

As he looked on at Marinette, he felt a friendly hand on his shoulder. He turned to his left to see Sabine standing next to him. "Adrien, sweetheart," she said in her usual soft tone. Her expression softened when he looked at her. She immediately noticed the dark circles under his eyes. "You've had such a long day. Why don't you go home and take a shower, get something to eat, maybe take a nap." She placed a hand on his head and stroked his hair. "Her father and I can watch her and we'll call you if she wakes up."

He sniffled. "Are you sure?", he asked, his voice slightly hoarse. "I really don't want to leave her side."

Sabine looked on at the boy, feeling her heart tugging at her chest. "I've been taking care of her for her entire life," she said. "You need to keep up your strength, too."

Adrien contemplated her words in his mind. A nice, hot shower and some takeout did sound really good to him at that moment. Perhaps the irrational thoughts also came along with the near exhaustion that he felt. "Okay, I think you're right," he said. "Thank you, Mrs. Dupa- I mean, Sabine."

"You go and take care of yourself, young man," Tom said from across the room. "We care about you a lot too, you know."

As he stood up, he felt Sabine place her hand on his arm. "Marinette needs you, but we do too," she said. "Please go get some rest, Adrien."

He used his sleeve to wipe the unshed tears from behind his glasses. "Thank you Tom, thank you Sabine," he said. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

They watched as he gathered his things from around the room, his body moving slower than usual. Before leaving the room, he stopped at Marinette's bed. He pushed a few sweaty pieces of hair out of her face and gently placed his lips to her forehead. "I'll be back, ma chérie," he whispered. "I love you so much."

He bid farewell to Tom and Sabine as he left them temporarily to look after their sickly daughter.

As soon as he made it out to their car, he threw his bags into the passenger seat. Two very audible "ouches" could be heard as it hit with a thud. Once we he was in the driver's seat, Plagg flew out from one of the bags.

"We're going home?", he asked. "Finally, I needed more camembert!"

Adrien tried his hardest not to scowl at his kwami. It seemed he didn't need to reprimand him though, as Tikki jumped out at the next second.

"Is that really all you can think about right now?!", she said, her small voice squeaking as she nearly yelled. "Marinette is sick and she's in the hospital. She and Adrien lost their baby and all you wanna think about is cheese?!"

Plagg whimpered, his whiskers drooping. "I…I didn't mean it to come off that way," he said. They looked up at Adrien, who was trying his hardest to keep himself together. "I'm sorry, Adrien."

Tikki flew up and pressed herself to Adrien's cheek. "I'm also sorry," she said. "That was very insensitive for me to say."

"I know you guys meant no harm," he said. "But please understand that I'm not in a good place right now."

"We understand," Plagg said. "We as kwamis don't know much about these kinds of human things, but we know when our humans are sad."

"And it makes us sad too," Tikki said. "We're always here for you and Marinette."

Adrien held out both of his hands. "Come here you two," he said, watching as they came up to sit in his palms. "I could never be mad at either of you. Can we please just…go home so I can get some rest?"

Plagg looked off to the side. "Can I still have my cheese?", he asked nervously. The kwami tried to ignore the angry look that Tikki was giving him.

"Of course you can," Adrien said. "Now I need to actually drive so that we can get home."

The small creatures flew back inside of his bag, only sticking their heads out.

Adrien tried to clear his mind as they drove back to the house. The thought of sleeping alone in his big, comfy bed made a shiver go down his spine. Despite this, though, there was a tingly feeling in the back of his head. It made him want to smile, the one that always made Marinette happy.

It was a feeling that told him somehow, someway…

…everything would be fine.


A/N: I'm sorry if this chapter seems a bit boring. I was going to have A LOT more stuff happen, but I don't like to make my chapters too long or feel like I'm cramming a whole bunch of things in at once. So basically, if this story ends up having like twenty chapters, it's no big deal. It's however long it takes for me to tell the story that I want to. Anyway, see y'all next time!