Chapter Text
-Tuesday, May 9, 5:21 am/Karkat & Terezi's house-
The hot water calmed her nerves as she slowly slid into the bathtub. She didn't know why she was hurting so badly. Unfortunately, the hot water didn't help with the pain at all.
She couldn't get her mind off of the pain. It had been hurting all day, and she didn't know what was wrong. It worried her.
She smelled a faint trickle of teal coming from somewhere. Soon the smell continued to get stronger, as well as the pain. Finally she realized what was happening.
And she screamed.
Terezi rolled over and stuffed her head underneath the pillow, trying to forget the horrid recurring nightmare. This had been the fifth one in a month. She was already scared enough as it was, having to carry an egg inside of her for who knows how much longer. The nightmares weren't helping; she couldn't afford to have another miscarriage.
After trying to fall back asleep for at least ten minutes, she just decided to get up.
Terezi got out of bed, trying not to disturb Karkat, and went down the hallway to the nursery. The teal-blood sighed as she flipped on the light and sat down in the rocking chair in the corner.
Her hands rested on her swollen stomach as she took a look around the room. We did a pretty good job for buying most of this secondhand, she thought, deciding to stand back up.
She walked past the brown crib and slowly ran her fingers across the bar, reminding herself that soon, a grub would be sleeping there. Terezi and Karkat were certain it was only one, but they didn't know what gender it would be. Could grubs even have a gender? How on Earth were they going to name the poor thing?
They hadn't even thought of names, either. Terezi had hurried to finish the semester's work, not to mention her internship, which would be resumed during the fall semester. Karkat's early-morning job at Starbucks paid decently, but there was no way a family of three could live off of just that. So Terezi had pushed herself to work (much like Vriska had when she was pregnant with Casey), and had only stopped a couple of weeks earlier. So, of course she had barely had any time to think of names.
Terezi heard something in the hallway and turned around to see what, or who, it was. Karkat walked into the room, yawning and scratching his head.
"What are you doing up this early?" he asked, yawning again.
"Couldn't sleep." The troll softly laughed, staring at the floor. Her hands folded protectively on top of her stomach yet again.
Karkat leaned against the wall. "Why not?"
Terezi slowly looked up, but once she caught her husband's eye, she instantly looked away. "Karkat, I'm—I'm scared," she squeaked.
Karkat sighed, walking over to his wife and wrapping his arms around her in a loving embrace. "Babe, everything is going to be fine, I promise," he reassured her, giving her a kiss on the cheek.
"But—" The teal-blood sighed, tears beginning to form in her eyes. "I don't know what to expect! I've never taken care of another living thing before, what if I do something wrong? What if I've already done something wrong and it comes out dead?!"
Karkat squeezed Terezi again, this time his hands sliding down her body to cradle her stomach. "Babe, I trust you with this. Remember when you planned our entire wedding with almost no help at all? You're definitely responsible enough to take care of our kid."
"I know that, it's just…" Terezi pulled Karkat's hands away and turned around to face him. "I don't think I'm ready yet, that's all. We should have waited a few years before trying again!"
"Terezi." Karkat put his hands on his wife's shoulders and looked straight into her eyes. "We can do this. We're twenty in human years. We have our driver's licenses. We have our own house; no matter how badly it needs to be fixed up, it's still ours. Don't be afraid, Terezi, I trust you." He pulled Terezi into yet another hug. "Soon, it'll be you, me, and our little miracle."