A/N: It took me a little bit to revise this chapter, but I'm happy with it. Things will really start moving along starting next chapter. One of the main points in this story is that, obviously, Franny only has one child, but doesn't have him until 2024. Who knows, we might even see Wilbur cameo. We'll see how that goes, but for now, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I definitely don't own Meet the Robinsons.

Chapter 3: Warning Signs

May 2020

Cornelius was worried; for the past week his wife had been having serious mood swings. One minute she would be over the moon rejoicing about a breakthrough with the development of her singing frogs, then the next she would snap at anyone and everyone who interrupted her research. He would get very angry with Franny and be close to retaliating with a quip of his own, then suddenly she would burst into tears, apologizing for being so callous. She would say things like, "I don't mean to be this way. You don't deserve to have me snapping at you. Oh, I don't deserve you!" then run into the nearest bathroom and sob.

It wasn't like normal monthly cycle mood swings, either. Usually she would just be slightly more irritated than normal, but that was okay because he could handle that. No, these mood swings were like that of a mental breakdown. But that wasn't what Cornelius was worried about at the moment. Right now, he was more worried about her change in diet.

Ever since the last night of their honeymoon, Cornelius began noticing that Franny would hardly eat anything. He would try to make her pancakes, eggs, steak, spaghetti-all her favorite foods-but when she tried to eat it, she always seemed to throw it back up. He couldn't figure out why Franny was acting this way until, that is, one night as he was searching for something in his bedroom.

"Where did I put that thing?" he muttered to himself, digging through his dresser. He was trying to find a prototype he had apparently hidden from himself (a small device that allows items to teleport from one room to another). After rummaging through all the drawers in the bureau, he moved onto his nightstand to no avail.

"Maybe Franny took it," he said, going over to the other side of the bed and pulling open the drawer on her nightstand. He moved a few things around, then froze. His hesitantly picked up a small white pack of pills with every few missing but was mostly full. "Oh, my God," he said to himself. The answer to all his questions smacked him on the forehead all at once.

"What is it, honey?" Franny said suddenly from the door. Cornelius hurriedly stuffed the pack into his pocket, quickly closing the drawer and turning to face her.

"Oh, um, nothing. I was just looking for the Teleporter prototype I must've misplaced." There was an awkward silence as Franny stared at him. "I just realized what time it is," he said looking down at his watch. "Boy am I hungry." Cornelius practically bolted out the door with Franny staring after him inquisitively.

"That was strange," Franny muttered to herself. She shook her head and made her way downstairs.

"Honey?" Franny said, lightly knocking on Cornelius' office door.

He didn't look up from the paperwork he was reading over. "Come in," he grunted.

Franny came in and quietly closed the door. "I brought you some coffee. Just how you like it," she said, setting it down on the desk in front of him.

He looked up, confusion tainting his face. "You made me coffee? You can't even stand the smell of it." Franny shrugged. Cornelius dropped the pen he was holding and checked his watch. "Is that really the time?"

"Yes," Franny said with the slightest hint of annoyance. She had fallen asleep around 7:00 but woke up only a few hours later to an empty bed. Franny sighed. "Sweetheart, I didn't just come up here to bring you coffee." He raised his eyebrows as she wrung her hands. "Look, I wanted to apologize. For the way I've been acting." Her throat started getting tighter as her eyes pricked with that all too familiar feeling. "I just don't know why I've been this way lately. It's like, no matter what I'm doing, even when we're together and I'm genuinely happy, something inside me is telling me something else." Cornelius pinched the bridge of his nose and balled his other hand into a fist, then unclenched it. "And it's not you, I swear-"

"Franny, have a seat," he said, motioning to the chair on the other side of the desk. He picked up the coffee mug and took a sip, humming in satisfaction. Franny nervously sat down without another word, looking intently upon the genius man in front of her. He reciprocated her stare for a moment before beginning. "I think I know why you've been acting this way."

Franny creased her brows. "You-you do?" she said confused.

"Yes," he said matter-of-factly. He shook his head and half smiled. "Franny, sweetheart," he looked her directly in the eye. "I think you're pregnant."

Franny's eyes widened; she said nothing for several agonizingly long moments until finally, she said, "I'm…I'm what?"

"Now, I didn't say you were. I just said I think you're pregnant."

She blinked. "Why do you think that?"

"Because," he sighed, opening the top drawer and pulling something out. He laid the small object in front of her and watched with satisfaction as her eyes filled with realization. "You haven't been taking these."

Franny eyed the pack of pills. Suddenly her eyes filled with tears. "Oh my God! I'm such an idiot…" she began, being cut off by her own sobbing.

"Franny?"

"I must've-forgotten-about them," she managed to gasp out.

Cornelius, despite watching his wife break down in front of him, smiled. "Franny, it's okay. You were just caught up in the excitement of our honeymoon. Don't beat yourself up." She sniffled. "Come here," he said, patting his leg. Franny got up and slowly made her way to the other side, tentatively sitting on his lap. "Also because of your intense mood swings. And," he said, brushing a strand of hair out of her face, "because, who eats ketchup on chocolate cake?"

She blushed. "You mean you're not mad? I mean we've been married barely a month and you think I'm already knocked up."

Cornelius let out a laugh, placing his forehead against his wife's. "Franny, please don't say 'knocked up.' We're married."

Franny looked at him with so much love written on her expression that Cornelius couldn't help but pull her in for a kiss. "Why are you so good to me?" she asked, bringing her hand up to caress his face.

"Because I love you and I believe you to be carrying my child," he whispered. He felt something in him swell as he said the last part, and he couldn't resist putting his hand on her belly to make his point. They both looked at his hand for a moment, then looked back up at each other, their eyes now both full of tearful joy.

"Francesca Robinson?" a petite blonde woman called, looking down at a clipboard. It had been a week or so since Cornelius' revelation; he had her take an at home pregnancy test but was making her get a doctor's opinion for good measure.

Franny stood up and looked down at Cornelius' hand in hers before moving her gaze to his blue eyes. He smiled up at her, sensing the tension radiating from her. "It'll be okay," he whispered, kissing her hand. She beamed at him, squeezing his hand back.

She turned and walked toward the woman. "Franny, please," she said with her usual charm.

After the nurse got Franny's information and submit her samples for her tests, she led her to an exam room. The woman handed her a paper robe and said, "Dr. Shelton will be right with you." She closed the door, leaving Franny a nervous wreck.

After she changed into the robe, Franny sat on the exam table and looked around. There were pictures of young women around her age, smiling and carefree, as well as diagrams of the uterus and all the inner workings of the woman's anatomy. She noticed there were several ads and brochures for birth control, and a guilty feeling swept over her.

She started biting her nails, thinking of all the possible outcomes: A. She was pregnant. Okay, not too bad. B. She was not pregnant and just experiencing some bizarre illness. Not good.

Just as her brain was coming up with more possibilities, there was a knock on the door. The doctor barely waited five seconds before opening the door.

"Francesca, Dr. Shelton," a woman in her mid-forties said, extending her hand. She smiled at Franny as she shook the hand in front of her.

"Oh, please, call me Franny."

"Franny," she said, correcting herself, jotting it down on the clipboard in her hand. Dr. Shelton sat down in a chair and said, "So, what are you here for today?"

"Well, I-I mean, my husband, thinks I'm pregnant."

"Your husband?" the doctor asked. "You don't think you're pregnant?" Confusion was written all over her face but was mixed with amusement.

"No, I do think I am. It's just that my husband had the suspicion first. He's a very observant man," she said, smiling fondly.

"I see," Dr. Shelton replied. "Well, first I'm going to ask you a few questions, and then your test results should be ready. Okay," she said, holding the clipboard up, "are you on birth control?"

"I was," Franny replied.

"You were? Were you advised to stop taking it?"

"No. I may have…forgotten about it during my honeymoon."

"I see. Next, have you been experiencing fatigue?"

"Yes."

"Have you noticed any abnormal food cravings or changes in your diet?"

Franny recalled the ketchup smothered chocolate cake and shuddered. "Oh, yes."

"Have you been experiencing mood swings more intense than normal?"

"I have."

"Very good," Dr. Shelton said, all the while scribbling on her clipboard. She continued to ask a few more questions, getting all the answers she was expecting. "Okay," she said standing up and heading for the door. "I will be right back, so just sit tight." Franny half smiled and nodded. Before Dr. Shelton opened the door, she looked at Franny softly. "Hey, whatever happens, it's going to be fine," she said reassuringly.

As the doctor left the room, Franny grabbed her purse and rummaged around until she found her cell phone. It had dinged a few minutes ago, signaling she had gotten a text. She smiled as she read:

(Cornelius): I love you, darling. No matter what happens.

Heart swelling with love, Franny texted back:

(Franny): I love you more, sweetheart. I'll let you know when I find something out.

She ended the text with a kissing emoji.

Her phone dinged again.

(Cornelius): No rush, darling. I'll wait for you. ?

Franny was about to text him back when Dr. Shelton came back into the small room. Franny threw her phone back into her purse as though a teacher had caught her texting during class.

Dr. Shelton was smiling softly as she sat down in her chair again. "Okay, Franny. I'm going to ask you one very important question." Franny nodded, waiting. "Do you want to be pregnant?"

"What an odd question," Franny retorted.

"It may seem that way, but your answer greatly affects how you're going to feel about your test results."

Franny took a deep breath, thinking for a moment, then said, "Oh, yes. I would love to have a baby."

Franny held her breath as Dr. Shelton paused. After a moment of silence, Franny was beginning to think the worst when suddenly Dr. Shelton broke out into a huge grin. "Well, then congratulations, Franny. You're pregnant," she said patting Franny's knee.

Cornelius sat in the waiting room for what seemed like a very long time. He had texted Franny back, but she hadn't answered yet. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat just as his phone began to ring rather loudly in the quiet waiting area. Cursing quietly to himself as unapproving glares were shot at him, he quickly hit the answer button and said, "Yes, hello? This is Cornelius Robinson."

"Ah, Mr. Robinson. This is Dr. Ekhardt."

Cornelius immediately straightened up. "Dr. Ekhardt, yes. I've been hoping to hear from you… But, sir…" Cornelius sighed. "Yes, sir. I'll-I'll be right down."

"Excellent," Dr. Ekhardt said, hanging up before Cornelius could reply.

Cornelius stood and began pacing when Franny and Dr. Shelton emerged from the triage door. He couldn't help but notice they were both grinning from ear to ear, and the mere sight of his wife this happy took his breath away. He looked at her for a moment, the question written all over his face. Franny met his gaze and simply nodded. Overjoyed, he ran over to her and picked her up, spinning her. "I knew it!"

Suddenly there was a chorus of shushes from around the waiting room. Cornelius rolled his eyes and kissed his wife. After a moment he pulled away and said, "Franny, I know this is terrible timing, but I need to get to Inventco asap."

Franny merely kissed his cheek and replied, "Okay, honey. You do what you need to do."