The next day...
Minerva POV
I grabbed my keys from the plate before exiting the door.
"Sora, I'm going to the hospital!"
"Okay, have fun!"
I left our house and drove to Fairy Tail Hospital. Wendy admitted me into the daycare.
"You're not going to Adrian and Kai's birthday party?" She asked.
"Oh, right. I forgot it's their birthday today."
"You can go to their party. It's at the guild hall. I'm about to go there right now."
"It's okay. I don't think anybody wants me there."
"Why not?"
"It would be awkward if I was there. You know, Freed and I."
"It's not like the guild hates you. You guys broke up because you wanted different things."
"Yeah, I know. But I took the first shower in a week yesterday. If I saw him again, I'd probably lock myself in my bedroom."
"I guess I can understand that. He still misses you a lot, by the way."
"He does?"
"Very. Anyway, I have to go. Have fun!"
"Thanks, Wendy!"
I walked inside the daycare to see Athena run up to me.
"Hi, Moma!"
"Hey, Athena! Oh, I missed you so much! I'm sorry I didn't visit for a week."
"It's okay!"
I played around with Athena until someone spoke to me.
"I see you know Athena."
I looked up to see who it was.
"Yes. Who are you?"
"Oh, pardon me. My name is Carmen, and I'm the social worker for Athena."
"I didn't know Athena had a social worker."
"She started today. There is a family who's considering to adopt her."
"What?"
"She might get adopted."
"Wha- why?"
"Because she doesn't have a family?"
"Right."
"Who are you to Athena?"
"Oh, nothing. I visit her from time to time."
"That's nice of you. What's your name?"
"Minerva."
"Oh! You're Minerva from Sabertooth!"
"Yeah, that's me!"
"Wow! Oh my gosh! You're even more gorgeous in real life!"
"Awh, thank you!"
"Sorry, I must sound creepy. I'm a huge fan of you from Sorcerer's Weekly."
"Oh, that makes more sense."
"I have to go now, but it was lovely to meet you."
"It was nice to meet you too!"
Carmen walked away. I turned to Athena.
"A family is trying to adopt you. I don't know how I feel about that."
"No Moma?"
"I'm still here, sweetie."
"Yes, Moma!"
"I might not be your Moma soon."
"No! I want my Moma!"
"It's okay, honey. I'll visit you every day!"
"Pru-mise?"
"Promise."
"Yay yay!"
What am I going to do without you?
"You won't!"
"What was that?"
"You won't be without me!"
"How- how did you-"
"You said it aloud!"
"But that was in my mind...oh my gosh. Can you read minds?"
"I don't know!"
"Okay, tell me what I'm thinking."
Twinkle, twinkle, little star.
"Twinkle, twinkle, little star!"
"Oh, my goodness. You can read minds!"
"Huh?"
"You can hear what people are thinking without them saying anything!"
"Yay!"
"I think Dr. Dreyar-Clive should see this!"
"Okay!"
Freed POV
"Come on, kiddo. It's time for your birthday party! You and Kai will be turning one today!"
"Hehehe!"
He shook his arms and clapped.
"Let's go. Everyone is probably waiting for you."
I picked him up and walked to the guild hall.
"Adrian!"
Mirajane and Laxus ran up to me. I laid him into their arms.
"Thank you so much for watching him," Laxus thanked.
"Did you two have fun?"
"I- uh- y-"
"You're not supposed to answer it!" I turned red.
"Sorry! Did you two have fun?"
"I guess. He learned how to say one."
"One!" Adrian shouts.
"Oh my gosh! Yes, you're one!" Mirajane cheers.
"Where are Cana, Lyon, and Kai?"
"LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!" Cana barges into the guild hall with Lyon and Kai.
"Speak of the devil,"
A few days later...
Minerva POV
It was another regular day when I was visiting Athena. There were two women and Carmen having a meeting. Athena was in the woman's arms.
"Moma!" She shouted when she saw me.
"Hey, Athena!"
I walked up to them.
"Hi, Minerva! Nice to see you again!" Carmen greeted. "This is Rose and Iris. They are the couple who wants to adopt Athena."
"It's so nice to meet you, Lady Minerva. My wife and I are huge fans of you."
Iris shook my hand.
"Always lovely to meet a fan. So you're thinking of adopting Athena?"
"Yes, she is a delightful child."
"Mmhmm."
"What brings you here?" Carmen asks me.
"I promised Athena I would visit her every day."
"That's so nice of you."
"It's not a big deal. Athena is great."
"We can't wait to have her!"
"Yeah...Excuse me."
I ran out of the daycare. This feels like getting dumped again. I can't lose Athena. She's- she's my- I don't know what it is!
"Minerva?"
I turned around to see who was talking to me.
"Oh. Hi, Dr. Dreyar-Clive."
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine."
"Are you sure? You were hyperventilating a second ago."
"I was just thinking."
"It's about Athena. Isn't it?"
"Yeah, I can't believe she's getting adopted."
"She lived in the hospital her whole life. It's about time she has a family."
"I...never mind..."
"What is it?"
"It's just- I felt like her family."
"Awh, I'm sorry. I can tell how much you care about each other."
"What do you mean?"
"Athena would always ask when you would come back. She cried when you didn't come for a week."
"Really?"
"If I am honest, I can relate."
"To me?"
"No, to Athena. I guess you as well."
"How so?"
"When I had my kids, I couldn't imagine being without them. They came 14 weeks earlier than they should've, and they were so tiny. I wanted to hold them tight forever, but I had to wait months when I could carry them. I would always swarm to their room when I returned from work until I could finally carry them. I fell in love with them, and now they're my world. Except Gildarts is taking care of them right now."
"That's a beautiful story. I never thought I could love kids, but she waved and smiled at me."
"And you fell in love."
"I don't know if it's love."
"It's that parental love."
"Oh. It's too late now. She's getting two great moms."
"Well, adoption is always complicated. They still need to get background checks and that stuff."
"What are you saying?"
"There's a possibility the adoption might not be final. But I don't have a place to say that."
What if I adopted Athena? No, there's no way I can pass the background check.
February 14, X796
It was Valentine's Day night, and Blue Pegasus was hosting a Valentine's party. Rogue and I were at the bar talking about our problems.
"Do you still not recall her?" I ask him.
"Nope. It was all blank before I was hospitalized. How are you?"
I drank my third glass of peach margarita.
"I miss him."
"I can see that. Why did you guys break up again?"
"Because he doesn't want freaking kids."
"How do you know that?"
"I got attached to Athena, and I later asked him if he wanted kids, and he said no."
"Awh, I'm sorry."
I consumed another margarita.
"You should calm down on the alcohol."
"No, I won't. I won't because it's freaking Valentine's Day, and I don't have a date! I'm hot, and I'm sexy. People want me, and I'm hungover from my breakup."
"Okay."
"Ugh, I just want sex. Meaningless sex."
"Um- hello?"
"What?"
"I'm here."
"What?"
"I can be the meaningless sex."
"PFFTT! You did not just say that."
"I mean it. Kagura won't be with me until I can remember her, and you're helplessly lonely. You want sex, and here I am."
"You serious?"
"Yeah. We've already done it. It won't be some random person."
"We were pretty good. Okay, let's do it."
"We can go to my place, and I'm driving."
"Mhm,"
Timeskip
"Wow, we have not done that in a while," Rogue spoke.
"I miss her..."
"Athena?"
"Yeah,"
"Why don't you adopt her?"
"I can't do that."
"And why not?"
"I- I don't know."
"So what's stopping you?"
"I probably won't be able to pass the background check."
"You never know. You've never been so attached to kids until you met her. She means something to you."
"Yeah, you're right. But would they let a single woman with an abusive dad and an absent mom adopt an infant?"
"Or, they'll let you adopt her because you're the strongest member of Sabertooth. I'm sure they'll approve."
"But-"
"You might as well try."
"Yeah, you're right!"
"Go for it!"
"Yeah! Thanks!"
I pecked his lips and changed back into my clothes. I rushed to the hospital to look for Carmen. I found her talking to one of the doctors.
"Sorry to interrupt, but may I speak to you, Carmen?" I interrupted their conversation.
"Sure, no problem. I'll talk to you later, Lydia."
We walked to a table.
"What's up?"
"I know I'm probably late, but I was thinking of adopting Athena."
"Oh."
"I'm sure Rose and Iris are great people, but I love Athena. My boyfriend broke up with me because he didn't want kids and saw how much I cared about her. I feel like I'll lose everything if I don't have Athena."
"Rose and Iris are one of my best friends. They tried having kids by a sperm donor, but none would work. All they wanted was kids."
"I feel terrible for doing this, but I lost everything. Athena is my only joy."
"I will talk to Rose and Iris about this. We need a background check for you to apply. We will get it verified before we do anything about it."
"Yes, thank you so much."
"Happy Valentine's Day, Minerva."
"Happy Valentine's Day to you also, Carmen."
She walked back to the woman she was talking to. I could have a child.
A few weeks later...
Ugh. I feel terrible. Maybe it was that sushi I ate last night. Why did I let Sorano sign me up to that campsite? Oh, god. My chest hurts. What did I do last night? Maybe I should book an appointment.
"Minnie, are you going to the hospital?"
"Yeah?"
"Okay, I'll come with you."
"Why?"
"To visit Erik and Kinana."
"Okay, but I'm leaving now."
"Wait! Give me five minutes!"
"Five, and I'm out."
Sorano and I drove to Fairy Tail Hospital. Since when was a hospital a place everyone wanted to go to? I saw the doctor Carmen would talk to near the daycare.
"Excuse me, doctor."
"Hi, may I help you?"
"Could you check on me, please? It should take a few minutes."
"I guess my patient can wait. Follow me."
She took me into one of the rooms. I sat on the exam table.
"You're Minerva Orland, right?"
"Yes, doctor."
"I'm Dr. Chambers."
"Yes, Dr. Chambers. You look familiar."
"I was the one who came with your friend, Rogue, when he was admitted to the hospital."
"Oh! That's right! You work here now?"
"Rogue gave some good points."
"I see you talk to Carmen a lot."
"Yeah, she's pretty great. So tell me, what have you been feeling?"
"I woke up to what felt like a hangover but didn't drink last night. I had a migraine, and my chest hurt."
"I'm only a surgical oncologist student, so I might not be capable of helping as much."
"That's fine. Do I need to worry about it?"
"Do you feel the chest pain is more in the breast area?"
"Now that you mention it, yeah."
"May I examine it?"
"Of course."
Dr. Chambers lifted my shirt. She examined my breasts and questioned me more.
"How long have you felt the pain?"
"Since this week. I thought I was going through menstruation."
"Do you feel your senses have heightened?"
"Yes. I also felt nauseous until I threw up. It only started yesterday, though."
"This is not my specialty, but you could be pregnant."
"Excuse me, what?"
"Have you been sexually active these past few months?"
"Yes?"
"I'll page Dr. Dreyar-Clive to check on you."
"Oh- okay."
I waited a few minutes for Dr. Dreyar-Clive. There's no way I could be pregnant...right?
"Minerva Orland. I'm surprised to see you as a patient today."
"Yes, I know."
"Dr. Chambers told me she thinks you are pregnant."
"Please tell me it's not true."
"Tell me, Minerva. Have you had sex in the past three months?"
"Yes?"
"When was your last period?"
"Six weeks ago."
"If you are pregnant, we could do an ultrasound, but you could use the stick if you'd like."
"Ultrasound. Please."
"You got it. Will you lay down for me, please?"
I did as she said. She lifted my shirt and applied the gel on my belly.
"I can't be pregnant, right?"
"It's been a while since you had your period, but it could be only late."
"I can't be. I just can't."
"May I know why?"
"I slept with Rogue, and I still love Freed. He won't talk to me, and he won't even look at me. Did he let go of me that fast?"
"Awh, Minerva. Men are strange beings, but Freed? The guy loves you with all his heart. I see his car at the hospital daily and see him waiting for you. Oh, my goodness. I could never imagine a world where Freed wouldn't love you."
"Why won't he talk or look at me?"
"He's probably just scared. You are a pretty intimidating woman."
"That doesn't help."
"Sorry. I think he can't bear to hurt both of you again."
"What are the results?"
"Do you want to know?"
"I'm pregnant, aren't I?"
She nodded her head.
"Oh, dear..."
She turned the screen.
"If you see that little thing that looks like a peanut, that's the baby."
"Oh, my god..."
That little thing was the best thing I have ever seen. There's a baby inside of me.
"Pretty fascinating, isn't it?"
"No wonder why you're so happy all the time!"
"I guess you can say that."
"I'm in love! Wait. How far along am I?"
"Six weeks?"
"No. No! NO!"
"I'll be going now. Congratulations and good luck!"
Dr. Dreyar-Clive rushed out of the room.
No.
It can't be.
This is the worst thing that could happen.
There's a baby inside of me...
And it's Rogue's.