You barely stirred when Rimmer woke up and got ready to go exploring with the boys for the day. Completely unaware of the gentle kiss he pressed to your forehead after leaving a note on the bedside table and slipping quietly out of the room. It was safe to say you were more than a little confused to find the other side of the bed empty when you did wake up. You were also baffled as to how you ended up in bed in the first place when you fell asleep in Rimmer's arms amongst the pillows and blankets laid out on the observation dome the night before, he had obviously carried you all the way back to your sleeping quarters without you so much as stirring.
12pm, you had slept through the morning!
Your eyes fluttered open and all seemed well for a few seconds until ...wham!... that off feeling from before hit you like a sack of bricks, you weren't any closer to figuring it out. Turning away from the empty side of the bed you spotted the small folded up piece of white paper on the side, 'My Darling Wife' written neatly on the top. Rimmer never failed to surprise you even after a year of marriage. You took the note from the side and sat up to read it.
'Darling,
I hope you slept well. I've gone with the boys and Phee to explore a nearby planetoid, I thought I'd let you rest and spend the day relaxing. Kryten's around if you need anything.
I love you to the moon and back!
Arn xx'
At first Rimmer's message had you smiling only for your emotions to do a 180 as you caught the tears that fell down your cheeks. The note was sweet and thoughtful but it shouldn't have made you cry. Little did you know that Rimmer had unknowingly given you the answer to what was happening the night before when he had told you about the things he wanted but couldn't do with you. You took a deep breath as you tried to figure out what to do with yourself.
"Morning Hol!" You sighed "Have you seen Kryten?"
"Yeah he's..." Before Holly could finish the mechanoid waddled into your sleeping quarters, trolley rolling in front of him.
"Good morning Mrs Rimmer!" Kryten smiled as he pushed the trolley to your bedside.
"Morning Krytes" You smiled half heartedly "Please call me by my first name"
"You know it's not in my programming to do that ma'am" Kryten continued to faff around with the trolley, taking the cover off of the plate to reveal your breakfast.
The smell of the fry up sat in front of you made your stomach flip, trying your hardest not to make it obvious that you were feeling nauseous. You knew full well it was your husband who had gotten Kryten to make you breakfast, you'd normally take care of yourself to help Kryten out. Compared to the 'Full Lister', that the man it was named after had almost daily, it wasn't overwhelming and it actually looked appetising.
"Are you ok ma'am?" Kryten's panic mode had kicked in.
"Kryten, can I ask you for a massive favour?" You sighed, pushing the trolley away from you to keep yourself from wretching.
"Of course"
"I need you to run a medical on me!" You took a deep breath, with Rimmer out exploring with the boys, now was a great time to get it done without him worrying and fussing over you.
"Right away ma'am, I'll meet you in the medi-bay" Kryten nodded before scuttling away to get the medi bed ready.
You ran the conversation with your husband from the night before over in your head ...surely that can't be the answer ...it's physically not possible ...right?
Meanwhile on Starbug Rimmer was having less than a good time as he sat quietly in his seat at the back of the bug's cockpit.
"Hey you alright man?" Lister asked over his shoulder "You've been scarily quiet"
"I'm fine" Rimmer mumbled, concentrating on the monitor.
"Yeah you haven't moaned at us once? Is your light bee busted again?" Cat taunted earning a glare from Rimmer. He didn't have the energy to rip Cat apart, he was far more worried about you.
"I said I'm fine" Rimmer repeated a little louder.
"I mean I'm not complaining" Cat threw his hands up "Nor would I be upset about your light bee breaking!"
"Cat shut up man!" Lister jumped in to prevent a full blown argument even though Rimmer didn't care enough to argue back.
"What? I'm just saying?"
"Please don't start a fight" Phee pleaded from Kryten's seat behind Cat.
"Excuse me" Rimmer sighed as he left the cockpit, waiting for the door to close fully before taking a deep breath out as he paced around.
Nothing in the entire universe upset Rimmer more than knowing that you weren't ok and not knowing how to help you. Ever since you became a part of his life he didn't care for arguing with Cat, he didn't care much for bossing Kryten about or complaining about Listers every move. Ever since he started a relationship with you, you were all he cared about.
"Hey, just thought I'd check and make sure you were ok?" Rimmer's head popped up as he heard the voice, he hadn't even heard Phee walk into the stern "Just ignore Cat"
"I've been ignoring him since I met him" Rimmer mumbled as he sat down at the table in the middle of the room.
"Are you sure you're ok?" Phee tilted her head to the side as she watched Rimmer chew the tip of his thumb "Worried about Y/N?"
"Is it that obvious?" Rimmer scoffed "Sorry I don't mean to be rude"
"No need to apologize" Phee sat down at the opposite end of the table "As much as I love Cat I know he's not the brightest bulb"
"You're telling me" Rimmer's lips began to curl.
"I'm sure the two of you will figure out what's going on" Phee attempted to reassure Rimmer.
"I know" Rimmer mumbled "I just don't like leaving her when she's not ok"
"Y/N will be fine, she always comes out on top"
"That's why I asked her to be my wife" Rimmer smiled properly "She's the strongest person I know"
"And between the two of you you'll figure this all out" Phee smiled.
"I just can't stand leaving her alone" Rimmer grumbled.
"Kryten is with her, she couldn't be safer" Phee replied as the door to the cockpit opened behind her.
"Right..." Lister marched over to Rimmer and slammed a can of lager down in front of him "Get this down ya"
"Listers it's barely afternoon?" Rimmer looked down at the can and back up at the man with the dreads.
"So?" Lister shrugged.
"So? We don't all live off beer like you do!" Rimmer scoffed as Lister pushed the can closer with his finger.
"It will help you relax" Lister grinned "Now drink it!"
"I'm not sure alcohol is the right answer here?" Phee tried to step in.
"One can ...drink it!" Lister smiled as he cracked the pull tab and nudged it closer to Rimmer.
"One can!" Rimmer gave him a stern look before letting out a sigh and taking a swig from the can. It's just one drink right?
Back on the rust bucket Kryten was just finishing up your medical exam and asking every question possibly created.
"Sorry about the fry up Kryten, I don't know what came over me?" You sighed as you sat up on the bed.
"Its not a problem, I'm sure Mr Lister will eat it when he gets back" Kryten grinned.
"What cold?" You grimaced at the thought, you were already feeling nauseous as it is.
"It's Mr Lister ma'am!"
"Good point" You laughed a little as the mechanoid smiled looking pleased with the joke he had just made.
"Miss Y/N, may I ask why you requested a medical?" Kryten asked as he worked away at the console.
"I'm trying to figure out why I've been feeling so down Krytes" You explained as the mechanoid turned away from the screen to face you.
"Ma'am you have been through some terrible things, you're probably experiencing Post Traumatic Stress?" You had considered that it could simply be that you were struggling mentally but it couldn't be just that surely.
"But this feels different Kryten"
"Different how?"
"I don't know, just different"
"Well maybe start with symptoms that you've noticed, I think everyone has noticed your mood being lower than usual" Kryten suggested innocently.
"Yeah don't remind me" You sighed as Kryten looked at you in panic.
"Sorry ma'am i didnt mean to offend you"
"Its alright Kryten" You smiled a little "Lets just focus on the medical yeah?"
"Of course ma'am!"
"So my mood has been up and down like a yoyo, although with Cat and Lister around thats kind of inevitable" You let out a quiet laugh "I've definitely been more emotional"
"Emotional?" Kryten raised an imaginary eyebrow.
"Things have been making cry a lot, not just sad things but happy things too"
"Should I ask?"
"Arnie left me a sweet little note before he left this morning and I cried" You paused to take a deep breath before you could start crying again "...also theres the nause.... what?"
"I think I might know what the problem is... although I'm not entirely sure how it's even possible" Kryten stood up and walked over to a machine next to the bed without looking at you once, making you all the more worried.
"Krytes? What is it?" You asked as he continued to fiddle with the machine beside you "Kryten?"
"Would you mind laying back down for me ma'am?" Kryten asked politely as he manically pressed buttons on the console.
"Kryten whats going on?" You asked again making sure your voice was much more stern.
"Ma'am..." Kryten took a deep breath as he swivelled the screen by your bedside to face you "...You're pregnant!"
"...I had a feeling" You looked at the tiny blob on the screen then up at the mechanoid who was grinning from ear to ear "How is it even possible? We're both holograms?"
You waited for Kryten to reply but was greeted with nothing but silence as he smiled endlessly at the monitor.
"Well I see you're happy about it" You replied sarcastically as the mech finally turned his attention back to you.
"Of course ma'am, think of all the tiny little clothes I'll get to take care of" Kryten swooned, anyone would've thought he was the one that was pregnant "Oh the socks ...the teeny tiny little socks"
"Kryten you can't mention this to anyone ok?" You tried to be stern but the sweet but goofy smile on the mechanoid rubber features was distracting you slightly.
"Sorry ma'am?" Kryten snapped out of his trance.
"You can't tell anyone about this" You replied softly "Not til I've told Arnold ...oh god how do I tell Arnold?"
"With words ma'am" Kryten's quip caught you off guard.
"Has Lister been teaching you sarcasm?" You trained your eyebrow before jumping back to your previous dilemma "Nevermind, Kryten is it possible to get a copy of the scan?"
"Of course, right away ma'am" Kryten tapped away at the console.
After instructing Kryten and Holly to look into how it was even utterly possible for a hologram to be pregnant you made your way back to your quarters with the tiny scan photo in hand, of course after having a quick look into something else that was on Rimmer's wish list.
As the doors to your quarters swooshed open you walk straight over to the bed to sit down. You had to find a way of telling him that wasn't just 'Hey how was your day? I'm pregnant by the way'. Suddenly your eyes darted to your bedside draw. Of course! You took out the packed envelope of photos and postcards from your getaway to Ganymede that you were yet to put up. Amongst the pile was a photograph from the day the two of you got married, you had asked Phee to take photos.
With everything spread out on the bed in front of you, you began placing them up on the wall one by one, leaving one last space in the middle perfectly sized for the scan photo. Rimmer had never been the most observant, there was a time you could've walked into his quarters naked and he would've just assumed you were lost, the last thing that would've crossed his mind was that you were doing it for him.
Not long after placing the final piece a pair of arms in their all too familiar puffy blue sleeves appeared round your waist.
"How many times have I told you about doing that?" You smiled as you turned your head slightly to look up at your husband who looked at you as if he hadn't seen you for months "How did you even manage to walk in without me knowing?"
"You left the door open" Rimmer chuckled, muffled against the top of your head, taking in a deep breath of your scent and instantly relaxing.
"...ah!" You laughed softly, gently running your fingertips over Rimmer's arm as he willed the jacket away not wanting to let you go to take it off himself "I wasn't expecting you back so early?"
"I couldn't bare being away from you knowing you haven't been feeling too good" Rimmer cooed in your ear as he swayed you gently "I asked Holly to send out Blue Midget"
"Darling I'm ok?" You looked up at him with a pout as you reached for his cheek "I've got Kryten?"
"I still worry" He smiled sweetly as he leant in to kiss you "Anyway what have you been up to?"
"Why don't you see for yourself?" You hinted towards the display of images on the wall in front of you.
"Oh you put them up" Rimmer hummed as he held you against him, completely oblivious to what was right in front of him.
"I know we were supposed to do it together but I thought I'd surprise you" You tried to keep yourself from smirking as you waited for him to spot the odd one out.
"Hey that's ok" Rimmer buried his nose into the crook of your neck "It looks amazing"
"Thank you" You replied desperately trying not to get distracted by Rimmer's lips nipping at your neck "So which photo would you say is your favourite?"
"Hmm?" Rimmer lifted his head up from your shoulder and glanced over the wall, his eyes stopping on the unfamiliar piece in the middle "What's this? ...wait ...is this? Are you?"
You smiled sweetly as you nodded at him.
"I am" Your voice was almost a whisper as you watched Rimmer's face light up as he processed what you were telling him "I'm pregnant darling!"
Before the last syllable fell from your mouth you were swept of your feet as Rimmer span you round in excitement, wrapping your arms around his shoulders and leaning into kiss him as he slowly came to a stop and let your feet meet the floor again.
"Wait ...how is that even possible?" Rimmer suddenly remembered that confusing fact that you were both holograms.
"I'm just as confused as you ...Holly and Kryten are looking into it as we speak" You smiled with a soft laugh as you ran your thumb across his cheek "but I can safely say I think that might explain why I've been feeling the way I have"
"That does make sense..." Rimmer's eyes were locked on your stomach as he held your hips "We're having a baby!"
"The little smegger has been playing havoc with my hormones" You smiled down at your belly "Not that I was even aware holograms had hormones"
"Well you learn something new everyday" Rimmer smiled.
"I've learnt a lot of things today"
Rimmer's hands let go of your hips, slowly traveling up to cup your face as he pulled you in closer to kiss you.
"Before you get too carried away..." You pulled away slightly, your hands on his chest "I've got one more surprise!"
"Hmm... I'm not sure you're going to be able to beat that one" Rimmer grinned, looking over at the scan photo before looking back at you.
"Close your eyes!" You spoke soothingly.
"Ok that scares me a little" Rimmer chuckled as he followed your order.
"Hold my hands" You took his hands in yours as he held onto them.
"What are you up to?"
"You'll see!"
You carefully guided him over to the shower stall that had remained unused since you started occupying the sleeping quarters. Opening the door as quietly as you possibly could to not draw suspicion or give anything away as you gently pulled him into the small space with you.
"Can I open my eyes yet?" Rimmer asked curiously as you closed the door behind you "Are we still in our room?"
"Shhh" You laughed quietly as you let go of one of his hands and clicked your fingers.
"Hang on?" Rimmer froze a little, he knew full well that a click of the fingers either meant a change of clothes or clothes were gone entirely.
"You can open your eyes now!" You smiled as he opened his eyes with a blink while your hand snuck behind you to turn the dial on the shower "Ready?"
"Ready for what?" Rimmer raised his eyebrow as you turned the dial, the first few droplets of water hitting his hair and face as he looked up before looking back down at you as he chuckled "I love you!"
"Surprise!" You smiled as he tugged at your waist, closing the gap between you as the water cascaded over your bodies.
"I should leave you at home more often" Rimmer smiled as he held your face in his hands, leaning in and kissing you with vigor, the feeling of his skin on yours felt electric as he pressed against you. It wasn't as though this was the first time, you being pregnant was proof of that, but the change in environment made it all the more exciting.