A sudden surprise

The next few days go by without incident. You go back to work as if nothing happened, and fall back into your comfortable routine. Sam ends up spending more time in your apartment than at her house, and you joke with her about it constantly. You even have a serious talk about moving in to her place, but decide to wait until all the weirdness swirling around you calms down.

All four of you have bonded together as a family now. A strange one, to be sure, but there’s an undeniable love between everyone. There’s rarely a moment where you don’t find yourself smiling, and you see the same happiness in the faces of the others.

You’re awakened one day to the sounds of someone in the bathroom, and it’s not the sound of the shower. You poke your head in to see Emi bent over the toilet, wiping her mouth. She looks up, and gives you a weak smile.

“Hey, love…could you please tell Sam to come here? I need to talk to her.”

You nod, and hurry into the living room, where Sam and Lili are sitting together on the couch. The harpy is humming a tune as Sam braids her blue-green hair. Sam looks up as you apply, smiling.

“What’s up?”

You glance towards the bathroom. “Emi is puking. She asked me to get you.”

Sam grows serious. “I’ll go see what’s up. You want to take over here?”

You grimace. “I’ll do my best…”

Lili giggles. “Yes-yes! Make me pretty-pretty!”

You chuckle as you sit, kissing the top of her head. “You’re already pretty, Lili, but I’ll try.”

The harpy cheers, and you begin to ineptly braid her hair. Lili doesn’t seem to mind, happily humming and singing as you fumble through. Her cheerfulness is as infectious as ever, and soon you’re smiling, despite your worries about Emi.

Just as you’re finishing up, Sam and Emi emerge from the bathroom, their expressions unreadable. Emi looks slightly green, clearly still sick, and they sit down beside you on the couch. You look between the two of them, nervous.

“Well?”

Sam sighs. “Well. I won’t know for sure until we get a test done, but based on her…symptoms, I’m fairly certain as to what it is.”

Your heart beats faster at the mention of a test. Usually things that require a test are serious. You feel a panic starting to rise within your chest.

“A test? A test for what?”

Sam cracks a slight smile. “A pregnancy test. I think Emi is pregnant.”

You’re stunned into silence. Lili is not. “Babies, yes-yes? I bet Emi’s babies will be cute-cute!”

Emi is just staring at you, awaiting your response. After a moment, you shake your head. “I thought Hybrids couldn’t get pregnant?”

Emi answers, her voice quiet. “They can’t. Or at least, most can’t. But I’m not a true Hybrid, remember? Whatever change that was supposed to make me infertile…reverted itself.”

She looks down. “When we were visiting Mark and Alice, that’s what I was talking to Alice about. Apparently she’s had it happen a few times. Mark got her pills to…fix it.”

You nod, still reeling from the news. “Is that what you need me to do?”

Emi hesitates, rubbing her stomach. “I…I don’t know. I kind of…I want to keep it…”

Sam interrupts. “Before we make any decisions, we really need to get a test and confirm it. Okay?”

You nod. “That’s probably best. But Emi… why not just tell me?”

Emi sighs, shaking her head. “I don’t know. I was scared. It’s such a big thing…but then this happened, and…I love you, Andy. I want this for us…”

Sam stands up. “Okay, you two talk this out. Lili and I will go buy a test, then we can figure everything out.”

You nod. “I think that’s a good idea.”

You hold out your arms for Emi, and the cat girl embraces you. “Don’t worry, Emi. I’m not upset, just surprised. I love you, and if you’re really pregnant…we’ll figure it out.”

Emi is about to respond, when you’re startled by a knock at the door. Everyone stares for a moment, wondering what it could be.