The Jackpot

"I feel <i>terrible</i>," Elly said in a weak voice, covering her mouth as she burped. "Ugh, Chiyo, I've been like this all day."

"Hmm. Anything else? What was the rest of your week like?" She unwrapped the blood pressure cuff from her patient's arm.

"Well, I guess I was tired a lot. I took quite a few naps when I could. Nothing too odd, though. I get like that sometimes."

"Mm hmm. Here, I'm going to take some of your blood for a quick test... ah."

"Ow."

Recovery Girl laughed. "Easy, there. Here - no band aid needed." She used her quirk, enabling the pinhole to heal over quickly. "Eat a pez while I check this out in the back," she called over her shoulder.

Elly shrugged and shot a tiny candy out of an All Might pez dispenser, munching absentmindedly on it. She sat, idly twitching her tail as she stared out into the hallway and waited for the nurse to return. 

She waited for several long minutes when she heard a soft whistle from the back. Her ears perked, and she turned to see the older woman smiling kindly at her.

"Hey, is that scruffy boyfriend of yours on campus today?"

"Aizawa's with his class right now. Said they had to work on some desk stuff."

"Oh, good." She reached for the P.A. system, clearing her throat. "Eraserhead to the nurse's office, please." She paused. "That means <i>now</i>, Mr. Aizawa."

Elly scratched her head, confused. "Uh... is it that bad? Am I okay?"

"You're fine, dear. Here, let's get your neck gear off the cot so you can have room."

"But - but calling Shota..." 

Aizawa knew she had gone to the nurse that afternoon and he surmised what the call was about. He was rapping on the door in no time, his face flushed from running down the halls. "Ches? You okay?"

"I don't know what's going on. Chiyo won't say."

He walked over and placed an arm around her waist. "All right, I'm here. How sick is she?"

Recovery Girl shook her head, still smiling. "She's not sick, Aizawa." She pursed her lips, considering the laconic man for a moment. "I'm just gonna ask you to sit, too..."

"Oh my god," Elly said with an odd tremor in her voice, "I'm <i>pregnant</i>, aren't I?"

Aizawa stared first at her and then at the beaming nurse. 

"Chiyo?"

"She's right."

"Ufff." He sat heavily down, having luckily been positioned above a chair so he didn't fall to the floor. "How did this happen?"

The older woman raised an eyebrow at him. "If I need to explain <i>that</i> to you..."

He waved one hand in the air, cutting her off. "I know how it occurred. What I don't understand is that Ches is on the pill <i>and</i> we were using protection. Aren't the odds stacked pretty high in that case?"

She nodded. "Yes, but there's always that little chance. You two hit the baby jackpot." She cackled like this was the joke of the century. Or perhaps she was just looking at the Erasure Hero's face, which was finally stunned beyond his capacity to react. His bloodshot eyes were huge and he sat slumped over like he always did, but he was twitching slightly all over. 

"Shota?"

He turned to find his girlfriend absolutely terrified. She was chewing on her lower lip, her eyes teary and her cheeks stained pink from holding in as much if not more emotions than he was dealing with. He mentally scolded himself. Of course she was scared, it was her body and here he was, too stupefied to support her. 

"Sorry," he apologized, shaking his head to clear it. "I ... oh." His arms were suddenly full of shivering, sniffling cat woman. "Ches, calm down! I was just surprised, that's all."

"I'll leave you two for a bit," Chiyo murmured and slipped into the back again.

"Look," he said as calmly as possible. "This happened early, that's all. Weren't we headed in this direction in the long run?"

She buried her face in his chest, sobbing something incoherent. 

He took a very deep breath and kissed the top of her head. "<i>Calm down</i>," he repeated firmly. "All this excitement can't be good for the little one."

She sat up, nestling in his arms as he rocked her gently. "It's just that I wasn't prepared for this!" 

Aizawa nodded solemnly. "We knew there was a chance, however slim. But I never thought it would happen. Are you happy, Ches? You seem frightened more than anything else."

"Wha?" She seemed taken aback at the question. 

"Are you happy?"

She stopped shaking and burped ahain, groaning softly. "Aside from the nausea, you know, I was too caught up in everything to think for myself."

"You've got a lot going on," he murmured.

"Yeah. Oh... Shota. There's a little us-baby in here. H - holy shit." She placed a hand on her stomach protectively. "We're going to need a bigger apartment."

He sighed with relief as she started to smile. "I think that's only the beginning of what we're going to need."