Chapter Text
Nina never wanted children.
In theory, they were nice. Children were very inquisitive and a blank slate to teach the wonders of the world. In reality, though, they required a lot of attention and discipline on the parents' part to stay calm and level-headed while a baby wails or a toddler has a meltdown. That was something Nina didn't feel she had in herself.
"Shit."
She stared at the pregnancy test on the counter of her sink. Its positive reading acted as if it were a billboard for saying, "You're Pregnant!" She didn't know how this happened. How something had slipped through her cautious actions was beyond her, but here she was, faced with a new reality.
"How do I tell Stu? I mean, I can't be like, 'Hey, Stu! Guess what? I'm pregnant!' I don't think he wants children either".
Nina bit her thumbnail as she walked out of her restroom and paced the living room. How was she going to tell him was indeed a good question. She knew Stu wasn't fit to be a father. He could barely function on a good day and was catatonic on a bad one. Her mind drifted towards an abortion, but she shook her head. It wasn't on a moral ground of her not wanting to go through with that. She was happy to even have that option. Just... Nina paused and stared ahead. She worked through all her shit in therapy, she had more patience than she did before and people were always saying how caring she was.
Maybe she did want to be a parent.
She flopped down on the couch, her cat jumping up and headbutting her side for pets that she was happy to give. Now that the initial shock had run its course, the next step was informing Stu.
She had no idea how he was going to take it.
Stu was lying on his bed with a joint in his hand. It wasn't even the afternoon, and he was already getting high. He could also smell himself, a mixture of sweat and Murdoc's cheap cologne that he stole from him the last time he was in his room. He didn't know if Noodle had anything planned for today or if they had any meetings to be held with the big heads of the record label. What mattered now was chasing that high, mellow feeling that always hugged him.
His phone rang, and with his free hand, he answered it.
"Ello, you've reached Stu."
"Stu, it's Nina. Are you free?
Stu looked at the joint in his hand and took a whiff of himself. He definitely needed a shower.
"Kinda. Need to take a shower in a bit. Somethin' up"
"I need to tell you something, and I need you to know that whatever you do afterwards, I won't hold it against you."
Stu chuckled, "Nina, you're makin' it sound like you have world-altering news."
"I do."
Stu noticed that Nina's voice was tense, lacking the sense of calm that she usually had. Despite this, he chuckled again before taking a hit off his joint and blowing the smoke out. "Come on, nothing is world-altering."
"Stu, I'm pregnant."
There was silence from both ends. Stu had no idea if he heard her right. Was his brain foggier than usual? He took his phone away from his ear and stared at it. He was talking to Nina. He has been on the phone with her for two minutes and seconds counting.
She just told him she's pregnant.
As soon as the realization hit, he quickly snapped his cellphone shut, ending the call. Stu stared up at the ceiling with a blank expression. His phone began to ring. He let it ring and ring, hoping that it would eventually stop, but once it hit the max amount of times it would stop and then restart back up. On the third round, he answered it.
"Nina, you said you're pregnant?"
"Yeah."
"How?"
"I don't know. I was taking my birth control. I noticed my period was late this month, so I decided to test myself, and the test was positive." Nina let out a harsh laugh, "Guess I'm the less than five percent."
"Oh."
The line was silent save for their breathing. Stu was fighting the urge to hang up again, but he knew that Nina would call him again. He didn't know what else there was to talk about. She told him the news, and he couldn't do anything about it. It wasn't as if he were the one pregnant. He heard Nina take a shaky breath.
"Do you..." She paused before she continued, "Are you going to be here with me?"
"Do you want me to?"
Stu could hear the change in her voice, from flat to pleasant, "It'd be nice, but you're not obligated to."
"Could I get back with you?"
"Yeah."
Stu hung up the phone and set it to the side as he stared up at the ceiling again. At twenty-four years old, he was going to be a father.
He wasn't high enough for this