#dc comics#dc#batman#dick grayson#bruce wayne#tim drake#dc fanart#batfam#batfamily
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Decided to give myself a new icon for 20-Biteen! So I drew me some chaleigh because I've been getting chaleigh nostalgia during my Christmas break😂😭
She’s onto you, Chuck.
Chaleigh: AU Guardians to the Gates of "insert something bad here". :P
“No, but, does Zeus think we’re stupid? Or blind?”
Raleigh opened an eye to look at Chuck. The kid had made a hole in the clouds by the side of the Gates of Olympus and was looking down, on the Mortal World. Apparently, while he napped, Zeus decided he needed to fuck another mortal.
“Hera is not going to be happy.”
“She never is.” He didn’t understand the kid, usually Zeus would go fuck someone other than his wife, Hera would get angry at them for not stopping him from exiting the Gates of Olympus and take it out on their asses… Raleigh’s gotten quite fond of the spanking, though he’d do without licking Artemis’ feet: who knows what she could step on in the forest, bleah.
Chuck sat himself near the hole, taking peeks now and again, face getting sourer and sourer.
“This time we’re dead.”
“Oh c’mon, who ever could get her more angry than usual?”
“Oh, you should see the orgy they’ve got going down there.” There was a dusting of red on Chuck’s cheeks and his expression was a mix of horror and wonder as he tried to tilt his head in a way that would give sense to what he was seeing. “Oh, he took Ganymede with him - wah!”
Raleigh pushed him aside and took a peek himself. The kid was right, Hera was going to be furious: drunk, naked Bacchae, the Pleiades and lots of young, beautiful boys all worshipping Zeus’…”Thunder”. Some of them were so bendable…
He looked at Chuck, flushed and enraptured, light toga teasing him with how it clinged to the young body, how it drew attention to the round tight ass and the muscled legs.
Raleigh didn’t even faked being torn between temptation and the right thing.
“Oi, shove off, the hell you think you’re doing?”
They fell on the surrounding clouds and his hands immediately caressed up Chuck’s thighs. Even though he could feel the kid was half hard already, Chuck glared at him.
“I don’t remember inviting you in my toga.”
“You said it yourself,” he whispered as he nosed at his throat, “we have a sad destiny ahead, why not have one last party, uh?”
The kid put a leg over Raleigh’s shoulder and tugged him closer. “For the record, I “sleep” in Venus bed most nights, “he bit his ear,”so you better make worth my while, Raaahleigh.”
Oooh, challenge accepted.
Kids!au
There was a new kid in Raleigh’s class. Mrs Kaidonovsky said his name was Chuck and he was going to be their new classmate. The older kids started to csll him bad things right away: they teased him for his hair and his locket, they said to him that his hair were a sign that he was bad and that his locket was stupid. But the locket had been Chuck’s mom’s and at first he got angry and when the older kids said more bad things about how Mrs Hansen death was Chuck’s fault, he cried. When Raleigh went home, he asked Mr Pentecost -Mr P. was like a superhero for Raleigh: he took him and Yancy home and held him when he had nightmeres and was so strong the mosters never hid under his bed or in his closet. He asked why the older kids were mean. They said mean things to him and Yancy too, but Yancy always acted like they weren’t there and Raleigh did the same. Mr P replyed people often say hurtful things because it gives them power over other people, that they hurt others to feel better. Raleigh thought about it really, really hard. It was wrong. The next day, after the older kids made Chuck cry again, he took his juice and gave it to him. Chuck didn’t say “thanks”, but he stopped crying. The day after, Chuck gave him oneof his cookies. The following day, they built a sand castle. And started sleeping together at naptime. One day, Chuck’s dad invited him and Yancy to have a playdate. Raleigh was so excited. There was a puppy at Chuck’s home and Chuck made sure to tell them how his Max was the fiercest dog to ever fierce, but “Rahwei” was his friend so Max would like him. They painted streaks of colors on their chubby cheeks to play indians and rolled in the backyard with Max yipping at their heels. And if they became inseparable and went through every year of school together, fell in love along the way and went to prom, moved out to college still together and decided it was “til death do us apart” or nothing… Well, that’s another story.
This… thing-y is all @ohhaiguise and @chuckismycopilot ‘s fault u.u It’s kind of the worst thing I ever wrote, but I had a writing itch to scratch. The school is vague at best ‘cause I have no idea how kindergarten works or what differences from my school sistem there are….
UNBETA'D.
NaNoWriMo Fic: Where My Demons Hide 32/32
This is the Unedited Rough Draft of the story though I will try to at least clean up the spelling mistakes before I post.
Title: Where My Demons Hide Fandom: Pacific Rim – A/B/O ‘verse Relationship(s): Chuck/Raleigh, background Sasha/Aleksis Kaidanovsky Content Rating: R for Language, Sex, Canon typical violence Warnings: Alpha/Beta/Omega verse; MPreg; Knotting, Emotional aftermath of miscarriage; suicidal thoughts; Character Death – There are no heroes in a world where heroes cannot die. Angst, lots of angst. Word Count Total for this post: 2,647 Total Words Written So Far: 79,985/50,000
Author's Note: I'm not sure how much I love what I did with the epilogue so let me know what you think.
Epilogue
Five Years Later
"Good evening." The camera focused on a woman in her late thirties standing next to a wooden railing, behind her a large expanse of green lawn stretched out. Her long black hair was done up in hundreds of thin braids tied loosely at the nape of her neck. Warm brown eyes looked directly at the camera.
"For those of you just joining us I'm Jennifer Blake from the US Network Nightly News and I'm at the Hansen-Becket-Mori home for an exclusive interview with the Jaeger pilots that saved us all. A rare treat."
She walked along the railing, the camera following her. "For one day only I was allowed a glimpse into the daily life of the remarkable young men and woman who risked their lives to save the world. We all know them as Jaeger pilots, as Marshal of the PPDC, as heroes. Today we'll get to see them as a family, balancing work and home."
She was replaced by new footage of the same lawn. Laughter rang out as a ten year old boy with dark blond hair ran across the yard. Following after him were two Golden Retriever puppies followed by two toddlers, a boy and a girl with ginger hair. Behind them came a smiling Chuck. Every now and again he'd dart forward to tickle the sides of one of the toddlers making them shriek in joy.
The camera panned until it was facing the house and the large wooden deck. Seated primly on a cushion in front of a low computer bench, Mako was carefully manipulating the 3D holographic display of a set of schematics. On a stool behind her sat a 16 year old blonde girl carefully weaving Mako's long hair into a multi-strand braid, her trademark blue streaks still visible, as they discussed the schematics.
The camera continued on catching sight of Herc standing at a barbecue, spatula in one hand and a longneck bottle dangling from the fingers of his other, as he watched Chuck and the children with a broad smile. The image finally settled on a seven month pregnant Raleigh sleeping on a wide chaise lounge. Snuggled up against him was a platinum blond two year old boy bracketed by a dark blonde 12 year old girl. The little boy had his ear pressed to Raleigh's stomach, giggling softly as the girl whispered in his ear. Stretched out at Raleigh's feet was a young Bulldog.
The image faded to be replaced by the sight of the whole family, Jennifer among them, sitting down to a meal at a long table covered in food. Controlled chaos was the only way to describe it as plates were passed around and adults or the older children helped the younger ones as necessary.
Once more there was a fade. This time they were inside clearly ready for the interview itself. Jennifer sat on a comfortable armchair across from Mako, Raleigh, and Chuck on a long sofa. The Bulldog was laying across Raleigh's feet. Herc could be seen hovering in the background, arms folded over his chest.
Jennifer smiled at them and Mako and Raleigh smiled back while Chuck frowned, his arm draped possessively across the sofa behind Raleigh.
"I wanted to start off by thanking you for choosing me for this interview and allowing me to spend the day with your lovely family."
"Weren't exactly given much choice now, were we?" Chuck said, scowling when Raleigh elbowed him.
"What Chuck means," Mako said, "is that it is our pleasure. While it is true that we would prefer not to do this you have helped to make it easier, Ms Blake."
"Thank you, Miss Mori, and please call me Ruby."
"You may call me Mako," she nodded.
"Thank you. And I can certainly understand the desire to keep your lives private. At the same time you all are the closest thing we have to real life superheroes." She smiled at the bright blushes she got from all of them.
"I think I can speak for all of us," Raleigh said glancing at Chuck and Mako, "when I say we're not superheroes. We're just people who had the ability and the determination to do what was necessary. And we weren't the only ones. A lot of good people came before us and stood with us."
"And that is why you're heroes," she said making him blush harder. "Now, we all know the basic story of the final battle and I've been reliably told," her eyes cut to Herc, "that certain specifics will never be told. So let's focus on what you all have been doing since then.
"Let's start with you, Mako. You're an engineer of exceptional skill. You were responsible for the restoration of the Mark III Jaeger Gipsy Danger and you had a hand in the Jaegers that have been restored since then. I've also been told that you're responsible for some of the advances we've seen in cybernetic limb replacement?"
"I simply helped to oversee the restoration by looking over new designs and upgrades," she said modestly, folding her hands in the sleeves of the kimono style dress she wore. "I was still recovering from the injuries I received during the battle and could not leave my bed for quite some time."
"You suffered radiation poisoning from the destruction of Striker Eureka, correct?"
"Hai," Mako replied, covering the hand Raleigh put on her arm with her own. "I was very sick for a long time. I will never be completely healthy but advances in medicine have given me time I would not have had even ten years ago."
"Something for which your family is very grateful for I'm sure," Ruby smiled sympathetically.
"We're very grateful," Raleigh asserted. Chuck nodded brushing his fingertips over her shoulder from behind Raleigh.
"And the work you've done in cybernetics?"
"It is not much," Mako demurred. "I built off the concept of the Jaeger pilot biofeedback circuitry suits. Chuck was also instrumental in the work I did."
"Yeah nah," Chuck shook his head. "It was all Mako. Her ideas, her designs. I just helped build some of the early prototypes because she had some motor control issues. "G'wan, show her your hand."
Mako bit her lip but pulled up the left(?) sleeve of her gown uncovering her gloved hand. She carefully removed the silk glove revealing that her pinky and ring fingers were in fact mechanical constructs attached to a thin neoprene type fabric with delicate circuit wires woven into it covering part of her hand and wrist.
"It's just like the circuitry suits we wear to control a Jaeger," Raleigh explained, gently cradling her hand in his.
"Only instead of controlling a Jaeger," Chuck picked up the narrative, "the circuitry fabric picks up the nerve impulses and muscle movement in her wrist allowing her to move the fingers like they were her own."
Mako demonstrated by first curling her fingers into a fist before flexing them. She then moved each finger individually proving that the mechanical ones could operate independently.
"That's amazing!" Ruby gushed, her hands clasped tightly in her lap to keep from reaching out to touch. "Is there any pain from them? Are they permanently attached? Has this been made available to the public yet?"
Smiling, Mako replaced her glove. "There is no pain from the prosthetics themselves although there can be if I damage them. As I said they work on the same principle as the circuitry suits providing biofeedback allowing me a measure of sensation. They are currently removable. There are scientists working on a more permanent integrated solution but such things take time. It is not technically available to the public yet. Clinical trials are being conducted with volunteers from various military hospitals. Soldiers who were injured in the line of duty."
"An admirable decision," Ruby agreed before turning to Chuck. "And you helped build this, Ranger Hansen?"
"Chuck, and just the early prototypes," he said with a shake of his head. "That one was created by some of our Specialty Projects engineers. I can do small work like that but I prefer working on the Jaegers. Been working on them since I was a teen, don't plan to stop now."
"So when you're not piloting Coyote Tango you're working on the Jaegers? Design or repairs?"
"Both when I get the chance. And I do more than that. I train all our new pilots. They don't go through quite the same training we did at the Academy. With no imminent threat of Kaiju combat training isn't as heavily focussed on but we prefer they be prepared just in case."
"You believe the Kaiju will be back then?" She asked shuddering lightly.
"Didn't say that now, did I?" Chuck growled. "I said just in case, didn't I? Breach is closed. Last thing I want is to find we risked our lives for a bloody time out. On the other hand I got kids now. If those bastards come back I want to be damn sure the men and women we're putting in those Jaegers know how to take them down. Better to be over-prepared than caught with our shorts around our ankles."
"Do you agree with that sentiment, Raleigh?" She turned to him. He nodded easily.
"Like Chuck said, I don't like to think we risked our lives for just a brief time of peace. But I'd also prefer that we be over-prepared than caught unawares. This world has suffered enough from the Kaiju."
"Very true. Now, you co-pilot Coyote Tango with Chuck. Primarily search and rescue missions as I recall."
"Yes. Jaegers can withstand weather conditions that more traditional rescue vehicles can't. Plus it's a great feeling knowing you've directly saved someone's life."
"I can imagine. There must be a point at which you're no longer able to pilot due to your pregnancy?" Ruby gestured to his rounded stomach.
"So far, late in the fourth month has been my stopping point. More because I couldn't fit in the drivesuit anymore than because there was any danger to the baby." Raleigh shrugged, a hand falling to his stomach. "Outside my duties as a Jaeger pilot I usually act as an aide-de-camp for the Marshal, putting my knowledge of different languages to good use."
"How many languages do you speak?" Ruby asked surprised. No Jaeger pilot could be unintelligent, no matter their ability to Drift, yet Raleigh Becket had never seemed the intellectual sort, interviews always focusing on his physical skills. Then again until he'd become pregnant after the Battle of the Breach many had questioned his status as an Omega, insisting he was really a Beta. It seemed the world constantly underestimated him.
"Fluently I can speak seven languages. Enough to get by in, four. A few others I know the absolute basics like where's the bathroom and how to curse. I'm currently working on my Australian," he answered, pronouncing it like a native.
"How many times have I told you we speak English?" Chuck grumbled. 'It's not some bloody code to crack."
"It was easier for me to learn Japanese, probably the hardest language for a native English speaker to learn, than it's been for me to figure out Australian slang. Seriously. Figjam? Fair dinkum? What do they even mean?" He whined, glaring when Chuck started to answer. "Don't even start right now. And don't think I can't hear you laughing back there, Herc."
"Sorry, Raleigh," Herc called not even trying to hide his snickering.
"No you're not," Raleigh grumbled good-naturedly, smiling slyly at Ruby. She had a hand pressed to her mouth to cover her smile. Her smile widened when the Bulldog wiggled her way up onto the sofa between Raleigh and Chuck, deliberately putting her back to Chuck whining at the blond. Raleigh laughed, scrunching her face. "It's okay, Sasha. Daddy and Grandpa were just teasing Poppa. You're such a good girl. Poppa's little babushka."
He cooed at her in Russian until Ruby cleared her throat to get his attention again. Raleigh grinned keeping the dog snuggled against his side to Chuck's consternation. Mako just shook her head, clearly used to his antics.
"Is she named after..."
"The Kaidonovskys?" Raleigh supplied. "Yeah, pretty much. She's from the last litter Max sired before he passed." His hand slipped to Chuck's, lacing their fingers together. "We'd been thinking about keeping one of his pups for awhile but none of them had really clicked."
"Then we go to meet the latest litter and there is little Sasha. Very much the Alpha of her littermates," Mako said smiling.
"She took right to Raleigh. Bossing him about," Chuck grinned. Raleigh shrugged.
"She reminded me of Sasha and Aleksis and the way they took me under their wing when I first got to Hong Kong. It was only natural to name her Sasha."
"And teach her Russian apparently," Chuck muttered, grinning when Raleigh glared at him.
"All of our kids speak Australian. I can teach her Russian if I want."
"Boys, on point," Herc interrupted before they could really get going.
"Sorry, you were saying?" Raleigh turned back to Ruby with an innocent look she didn't buy for a minute.
"Tell me about your children. You have six with another on the way but they're not all biologically yours, correct?"
"Correct," Raleigh agreed. "Our three eldest are adopted siblings. For reasons I'd rather not talk about we didn't think I could have kids of my own. So Chuck and I talked about adopting. Then I got pregnant but we still felt that adopting was the right thing to do. When I started talking to the adoption agent and explained that we were looking for an older child because I knew they were harder to place they asked if we'd be willing to consider siblings. They preferred to adopt out siblings together but prospective parents frequently were only looking for one, maybe two children. We discussed it and agreed to at least meet with them."
"That was the end of that. One look and Raleigh was a goner for them."
"Right," Raleigh drawled. "Because you didn't spend the entire time bonding with Hannah over Striker Eureka and Max."
"What can I say? The girl has good taste. Besides, you had the two little'uns crawling all over you."
"Was there any conflict when you started having your own children?"
"Not really. We've done our best to ensure that they all know that we love them equally. They're all my kids whether I gave birth to them or not," Raleigh insisted. "Unless they're sick. Then they're Chuck's kids."
"Big baby, can't handle a bit of kiddie chunder," Chuck smirked.
"Do I need to remind you about the time..."
"Foot and ankle massage as soon as we're done if you never ever mention that again," Chuck cut him off, a bit wild-eyed. Raleigh smirked settling back on the sofa.
"Add in my favorite bath salts and you've got a deal."
"You're watching the sprogs tonight, old man," Chuck said twisting around to look at his father.
"Told you not to call me that," Herc snorted.
"Whatever." He turned back around at Raleigh's poke.
"One more question before we go to break. Is there anything you regret and wish you could go back and change?"
They sat silent for a moment thinking it over. Raleigh was the one to speak. "I think that regret and wishing you could go back and change something are two very different things. We all have someone we wish we could go back and save by doing something different. Regret though? I don't think I have anything I regret because everything we've done has led us to here, to this point in our lives, and I can't regret anything about that."
"None of us do," Chuck agreed and Mako nodded. They were happy and couldn't regret that.
The end.
The names of the kids for anyone who's interested:
16 yo girl - Hannah (Adopted) 12 yo girl - Mackenzie (Adopted) 10 yo boy - Flynn (Adopted) 4 yo twins - Angela & Yancy (Biological) 2 yo boy - Mason (Biological)
Except for Angela and Yancy all the names came from the top 50 baby names list for Australia in 2013.
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NaNoWriMo Fic: Where My Demons Hide Pt 31/32?
This is the Unedited Rough Draft of the story though I will try to at least clean up the spelling mistakes before I post.
Title: Where My Demons Hide Fandom: Pacific Rim – A/B/O ‘verse Relationship(s): Chuck/Raleigh, background Sasha/Aleksis Kaidanovsky Content Rating: R for Language, Sex, Canon typical violence Warnings: Alpha/Beta/Omega verse; MPreg; Knotting, Emotional aftermath of miscarriage; suicidal thoughts; Character Death – There are no heroes in a world where heroes cannot die. Angst, lots of angst. Word Count Total for this post: 2,248 Total Words Written So Far: 78,974/50,000
Author's Note: So, originally the first scene here was going to be the last scene. But after the third rewrite, because Herc was being incredibly schmoopy and not at all his gruff self, I thought maybe I needed to do something completely different despite having this scene planned since about the 30k word point. That's when I started the ultrasound scene only I wasn't sure if it fit in with idea of non-explicit mpreg so I rewrote the first ending scene yet again. But you all wanted the ultrasound so... Here you go. Enjoy! Epilogue will be up tomorrow.
* * *
Herc paused in the doorway of Raleigh's room watching the younger man curled up morosely on the bed talking quietly to Mako through the computer. It had been a couple of days now since the breakdown and, according to Chuck, Raleigh hadn't recovered from it at all. Seeing him now, Herc had to agree he wasn't bouncing back. He knew Ting had located a therapist she approved of who dealt specifically with grief counseling and PTSD. But it would be another couple of days before they arrived.
Letting out a soft sigh, he knocked on the doorframe as he walked in. Without thinking on it too much he sat on the edge of the hospital bed by Raleigh's hip. He gently cupped his head in a comforting gesture Chuck hadn't allowed him to do in years.
"How're you doing, son?"
"I'm okay," he shrugged. Herc saw Mako shaking her head on the screen out of the corner of his eye. "It's... I miss him. I know he's been gone for five years but it feels like I've lost him all over again."
"You did." He shrugged when Raleigh looked at him. "In a way. From what you said there was still part of him with you so you grieved for him but you didn't have to completely let him go. Now you do and it hurts."
"I want it to stop hurting," Raleigh sighed. "I want to just be happy for once."
"I know. It gets easier and you've got the sprog on the way. Happiness'll come."
Herc waited as Raleigh contemplated this. He wasn't prepared when Raleigh suddenly sat up wrapping his good arm around Herc's waist in a hug, his head nestled beneath Herc's chin. Herc froze uncertainly. The only person he'd touched beyond a brief pat or handshake in the last few years had been Stacker. He looked desperately at Mako. She looked pointedly back.
Slowly he put his arms around Raleigh's shoulders, hugging him back. Unbidden the memory of meeting Raleigh and Yancy in Manila all those years ago came back to him. They'd constantly touched each other. Hugs and pats, brief touches to get attention and mock-wrestling when they squabbled. It occurred to him that Raleigh must be touch-starved at this point. It certainly explained Chuck's almost pathological need to be in constant contact with Raleigh whenever they were near each other. Herc held him a little tighter when Raleigh relaxed completely into him.
"Oi, something I need to know about?"
Herc's eyes snapped to the doorway to see Chuck walking in, half a dozen drink boxes marked chocolate milk in his hands. They were dumped on a side table as Chuck frowned at him. Before he could come up with a suitable response Raleigh held out his hand to Chuck.
"Come here."
Chuck's frown intensified even as he shifted forward a little. "I don't know how you talked the old man into it but we don't do hugs, Rals."
"Please?" Raleigh continued to hold out his hand. Chuck wavered but gave in. It was quite possibly the most awkward hug ever as Chuck wrapped one arm around Raleigh then tentatively put the other around Herc. Just as tentatively Herc did the same. For the first time in ten years father and son hugged each other.
Realizing he wasn't likely to get another opportunity like this any time soon, Herc cleared his throat. "I know I'm not good at saying it..."
"No, don't," Chuck started to pull away but Herc held tight. "I know, Dad. I know."
"Doesn't mean I shouldn't say it," he said gruffly. "I love you, son. Always have. Always will. I'm proud of you."
At Chuck's choked off sob Raleigh shifted so Chuck could bury himself in his father's arms, clinging to him in a way he hadn't done since he was a child.
"I love you too, Dad," he whispered. Herc's eyes were suspiciously damp as he pressed a kiss to Chuck's head.
Staying pressed against them Raleigh turned so that he could press his fingertips to Mako's face on the laptop screen. It was the best he could do to include her. She smiled pressing her fingers to the screen on her side.
They might be a little broken but they were family.
* * *
"Am I late?" Herc asked hurrying into Raleigh's hospital room. The quarantine had been lifted after Raleigh's breakdown but he was still confined to bed until Ting decided the baby was healthy. They were all hoping that would be today.
"And what if you are, old man? What's so important you'd miss the first chance to see your grandsprog?"
"Dr Ting is getting the ultrasound machine now," Raleigh assured him, pinching Chuck's thigh making him yelp.
"Cheers, Raleigh," Herc smiled finding a spot next to Chuck where he wouldn't be in the doctor's way but could still see. Max lay on Raleigh's other side pressed against his hip. "I couldn't get the bloody PM off the conference call."
"How are things progressing?" Mako asked from the laptop screen.
"Good. Really good. We've got full support from Hong Kong, Australia, Japan and the Philippines. Russia, Peru, Argentina and Panama are tentative but looking good. China and the US are bitching about who owns what. The lawyers Stacker had found are doing a good job of shutting them down on those points. Apparently it was in the PPDC charter that the Corps retained all patents and intellectual rights though so it's they're own faults really."
"Does that mean it's going to happen?" Chuck asked.
"Have to wait for the UN vote next month," Herc said. "We've got public support, that video interview you boys did the other day helped a lot, and if we can prove ourselves financially viable..." Herc shrugged. "Hong Kong, Australia and Japan have already deeded us the land the Shatterdomes are sitting on and given them foreign embassy status. If it all works out we'll be a sovereign nation by the end of March."
"We going to start building Jaegers again?" Chuck practically vibrated at the thought.
"Eventually," Herc nodded. "We'll restore some of the decommissioned ones first. Echo Saber and Vulcan Specter are already on their way here from Australia. Thanks to some private funders the paperwork is almost finished to release Coyote Tango and Horizon Brave from Oblivion Bay. Restoration will be geared towards deep sea scientific exploration, ocean salvage and even search and rescue," he nodded towards Raleigh. "A Jaeger can go out in weather that choppers can't."
"It can beat the hurricane," Raleigh said quietly, smiling sadly. He brightened when Chuck pressed a kiss to the side of his head.
"Alright, gentlemen," Ting said pushing the equipment laden cart in ahead of her. "And lady," she nodded to Mako. "Ready to see your baby?"
"Yes, definitely," Raleigh said sitting up straighter. No one pointed out the white-knuckled grip he had on Chuck's hand. She smiled, setting everything up before turning to Raleigh with a large squeeze bottle of gel.
"Lift up your shirt, please, and push down your pants a little. Perfect. This may be a little cold."
Raleigh sucked in a breath at the cold gel hitting his stomach. He grimaced when she used the ultrasound wand to smear it around. Finally she held it pressed in one place turning to the machine itself and making a couple of adjustments. The screen lit up with a grainy image that didn't look like anything. She shifted the wand a bit.
A collective gasp went through the room as the distinctive image of a baby appeared. Raleigh let out a choked sob, his grip on Chuck tightening further. Chuck didn't protest, just leaned into him, pressing their heads together.
They all watched Ting as she studied the image, waiting for a verdict. To their untrained eyes the baby looked completely normal. Then again, with the exception of Herc, none of them had ever really paid attention to what a baby should look like at this stage of development.
Chuck finally broke the silence, unable to wait any longer. "Well?"
"Congratulations," she said smiling at them. "You have a healthy baby. A little on the small side since we know the exact date of conception but otherwise completely fine. It's turned away from us so I can't quite tell the sex yet but it'll likely shift before the next ultrasound and we can tell then. Would you like to hear the heartbeat?"
They nodded eagerly. Ting flipped a switch and a fast rhythmic whooshing sound filled the room. Max let out a surprised woof at the sudden sound making Raleigh and Chuck laugh. Herc frowned at the same time as Ting did.
"Is that an echo?" He asked.
Ting didn't answer, moving so that she could still see the screen while palpitating Raleigh's stomach and move the wand.
"Echo? Dad?" Chuck asked for them both as Raleigh nearly bit through his bottom lip in sudden fear. "What's going on?"
The image stopped shifting and the reason for the echo became clear.
There were two babies on the screen. One partially obscured the other but they looked identical otherwise.
"Is that," Chuck squeaked, cleared his throat and tried again. "Is that twins? Are we having twins?"
"Yes, you are," Ting smiled. "It also explains the smallness which is perfectly normal for twins. Congratulations. And," she shifted the wand slightly, "it looks like you're having a boy and a girl."
Raleigh and Mako both chuckled remembering Chuck's panic at the thought of having a daughter. Chuck grumbled but there was no hiding the grin on his face. Not knowing what that was all about Herc just shook his head at the three of them, smiling.
"Everything looks good so I'm going to okay taking you off bed rest and release you back to your quarters. You are still to take it easy, Raleigh. Mild exercise only and if I even hear of you going near the kwoon you'll be back in this bed for the rest of the pregnancy. Understand me?"
"Yes, ma'am," he replied solemnly. He wasn't going to do anything to risk being put on bed rest again.
"Good. I'll have your discharge papers, instructions, a check-up schedule, and some photos," she nodded towards the machine as she packed it up, "ready in about half an hour. Then you're free to go."
"Thank you," Raleigh said smiling. "For everything."
"It’s my pleasure," she replied squeezing his hand gently before wheeling the cart out.
Once she left Herc grabbed some wipes for Raleigh who was poking at the gel on his stomach distastefully and sat at the foot of the bed facing them.
"All seems a bit more real now doesn't it?" He said.
"Is this what is was like for you?" Chuck asked, barely able to tear his gaze from Raleigh.
"Pretty much. Though it was just you and not twins. That's... Well, that's going to be interesting. It'll probably be awhile before you even want to think about having more." He frowned when they exchanged looks. "What?"
Chuck gestured for Raleigh to go ahead. (He) Raleigh frowned at him but took a deep breath. "We talked about it a little when we thought I couldn't have kids and we've talked about it more since then and we decided we still want to."
"What he's trying to say is we plan to adopt," Chuck explained, rolling his eyes. "There's lots of orphans."
"Too many," Raleigh sighed.
"Because of the Kaiju," Chuck continued, "and even though we can have sprogs of our own it's the right thing to do."
"Plus someone promised me a whole passel of ankle biters," Raleigh grinned up at Chuck who shook his head fondly.
"Promises made during sex..."
"Oi!" Herc cut him off with a grimace. "I don't want to know."
Chuck smirked completely unrepentant.
"I think adoption is an admirable idea," Mako said, dragging them back to the topic. "Have you decided if you are going to adopt right away or wait until the babies are born?"
"I'd prefer to adopt before. I want them to feel settled before we add newborns to the mix," Raleigh said. "I don't want whatever child we adopt to question their place in our family. I do think that we need to find a house first. I doubt the adoption people would be thrilled about us raising the kids in a Shatterdome. At least before they're ten," he amended when Chuck started to open his mouth.
"Guess it's a good thing then that the reason I couldn't get the PM off the conference call is because she keeps sending me property listings. Trying to tempt me into moving headquarters to Sydney by offering us any house we want."
"Anything big enough for four adults and a bunch of kids?" Raleigh promptly asked.
Herc blinked in surprise looking to Chuck who nodded.
"He wants us all together and I'm not gonna be the one to tell him no," he shrugged. "We're definitely sound-proofing our room though because I am not going without."
"That is too much information," Mako informed him before turning her gaze to Raleigh. "I do not wish to be a burden."
"You're family, Mako. You'll never be a burden." He waited until she acquiesced before turning to Herc. "When do we get to look at these property listings?"
Herc laughed, shaking his head. "Guess we're moving headquarters to Sydney then."
The End.
Of the 1st draft.
Except for the Epilogue
NaNoWriMo Fic: Where My Demons Hide 30/32
This is the Unedited Rough Draft of the story though I will try to at least clean up the spelling mistakes before I post.
Title: Where My Demons Hide Fandom: Pacific Rim – A/B/O ‘verse Relationship(s): Chuck/Raleigh, background Sasha/Aleksis Kaidanovsky Content Rating: R for Language, Sex, Canon typical violence Warnings: Alpha/Beta/Omega verse; MPreg; Knotting, Emotional aftermath of miscarriage; suicidal thoughts; Character Death – There are no heroes in a world where heroes cannot die. Angst, lots of angst. Word Count Total for this post: 2,802 Total Words Written So Far: 76,406/50,000
* * *
Watching Mako sleep for a minute, Raleigh smiled at the improvements he could already see in her condition. She still had a long way to go and tired easily but she no longer looked like she was a very short step away from death's door. Color had returned to her skin and her eyes were full of life. The rest would come in time. Feeling like he'd started to enter creeper territory, he turned off the program and put the tablet aside. Catching sight of Yancy's picture on the wall, he let out a soft sigh. Times like these he really wished his big brother was here. He wanted to be able to talk to him, tell him about everything and have Yancy tell him they'd be fine. Yancy'd grin and tell him they were Beckets and they could do anything.
Raleigh steeled himself, waiting for the onslaught of memories that always came when he thought about Yancy.
And waited.
And waited.
Sucking in a ragged breath, Raleigh curled in on himself, a pit opening in his stomach.
He couldn't hear Yancy.
Pain lanced through his chest suffocating him. He pressed a hand to his heart and to his head.
He couldn't hear Yancy.
Five years Yancy had been a constant voice in his head. He couldn't touch him, couldn't comfort himself with his Alpha brother's strong presence. But he'd been able to hear him, had always known he was still loved by someone. He was gone now.
He couldn't hear Yancy.
From a distance he could hear a keening wail accompanied by high pitched beeps screaming their warning. Voices, unfamilar and unwanted, shouted over him. Hands grabbed at him, holding him down as he lashed out at them. Suddenly they were gone, replaced by strong familiar arms gathering him close. A familiar scent smelling of home and security surrounded him, He clutched at the familiar body pressed tightly to his. A familiar voice whispered comfort in his ear, slowly drowning out everything esle. It wasn't Yancy's voice, the accent and sound was wrong, but it was close enough.
Love and sorrow, sympathy and protectiveness filled Raleigh. He let himself sink into it, drawing those feelings around him like a security blanket shutting out the world. His breath hitched as one thought followed him into unconsciousness.
He couldn't hear Yancy.
* * *
Chuck slowly let himself relax when Raleigh slumped bonelessly against him, breaths evening out into a steady rhythm. his own heart still pounded in his chest from the whole ordeal, his hands continuously carding through Raleigh's hair in a soothing gesture.
He'd been in the conference room attached to Herc's office, bored out to tears by paperwork with Raleigh's contentment a pleasant hum at the back of his mind. Being confined to the hospital room for three weeks had been wearing on him but being able to see and talk to Mako helped some. Tendo'd asked him recently if he resented Raleigh's obvious feelings for Mako. Chuck had looked at him like he was nuts. Resenting Mako would be like resenting Yancy and Chuck wasn't so self-centered he needed 100% of his Bondmate's love and attention all the time.
The sudden burst of grief and distress lancing through him had Chuck on his feet and racing out the door before it had truly registered. He vaguely recalled saying Raleigh's name at his father's shout of concern after him. The emotions he was getting from Raleigh he'd assumed Mori had taken a turn for the worse and yet when he burst into Medical all the activity was centered around Raleigh's room, not hers.
Chuck shouldered his way through the crowd, growling at anyone who tried to get in the way. Reaching Raleigh's room, a red haze clouded his vision at the sight of orderlied tryingto restrain his keening mate while doctors and nurses shouted incomprehensible medical jargon at each other.
Pushing a nurse out of the way, he'd grabbed the two orderlies closest to him yanking them away from his Bondmate. He bared his teeth at the third, a low growl rumbling in his chest. The man wisely slowly removed his hands from Raleigh and took a couple steps back. The moment he was free Raleigh curled up into a ball, as much as his injuries allowed, still keening.
He climbed onto the bed gently gathering Raleigh into his arms and rocking him. Crooning soothingly, Chuck eased open the fingers clutched in Raleigh's hair, wrapping his own around them.
"I've got you, love. I've got you," Chuck soothed even as he glared balefully at the people still cluttering the room. Ting and his father got the idea quickly ushering everyone out until it was just the four of them. Raleigh's keening had eased off into heartbreaking sobs, his face buried against Chuck's chest. Chuck started to growl again when Ting approached with a needle.
"It's a very mild sedative," she said undaunted by him, pushing up the sleeve of Raleigh's t-shirt to get to his bicep. "Just enough to calm him down. He'll probably fall asleep but it shouldn't be long before he wakes back up. This level of stress isn't good for him or the baby."
Chuck gritted his teeth, swallowing back his protest as he cradled Raleigh tighter to him. The sobs slowly tapered off until with one last hitched breath he felt Raleigh go boneless against him, breathing slow and even. Once he was certain Raleigh was fully asleep Chuck levelled a glare at Ting.
"What the hell happened?" He demanded. "Is Mori alright?"
"We don't-" Ting blinked, tilting her head a little at the second question. "Ranger Mori's condition continues to improve. She's had no significant setbacks recently. Why?"
"Because one minute he's all happy contentment and the next it feels like someone died. He's usually talking to Mori this time of the day so... If it's not her though." Chuck sighed, his gaze landing on the copy of Moby Dick that had fallen to the floor and been kicked aside in the melee. "What's that doing on the floor? Raleigh'll freak if it's been damaged."
"Important to him then?" Herc stooped to pick it up, wiping off any dirt on his pants leg.
"Could say that seeing' as it's... Buggering fuck. What's today's date? No. Nevermind. It's still January. It can't be that."
"Can't be what, son?" Herc carefully placed the book on the side table where Raleigh would easily find it.
"Anniversary of Anchorage," he said instinctively covering Raleigh's ear with his hand as if he was awake to hear them. "He..." Chuck pressed his lips together uncertain of how much to say, how much did they really need to know without Raleigh's consent. "S' not my place to say much but he never really let Yancy go. Hard to when you're still Ghost Drifting, I s'pose."
"Chuck, you can't Ghost Drift with... with a ghost," Herc said patiently, as if he was some noob recruit who didn't know a Jaeger from a hole in the ground. "It's not possible."
"Right, //Dad//, and you've had how many co-pilots die on you mid-Drift?" Chuck glared. "I didn't say he was actually Ghost Drifting with Yancy's ghost. Said he was Ghost Drifiting. Maybe chasing the RABIT is a better way of putting it. It's- It's just that he's got some of Yancy's memories mixed in with his and you don't know they're Yancy's until Raleigh's looking at himself in the memory or someone calls him Yancy."
"Christ, that's..."
"Yeah," he agreed when Herc trailed off. "Don't know if that's got anything to with today though. What would've set him off like that if Mori is fine?"
"We won't know until he wakes and we've had a chance to speak with him," Ting answered, making notes on Raleigh's chart. "I am, in the meantime, going to schedule him for a round of CAT scans, EKGs and EEGs. While we have the scans from Marshal Pentecost after he solo-piloted we have very little from Raleigh. They were also different circumstances. Raleigh is the only pilot to survive the death of (his) their co-pilot in the Drift and that makes him very unique."
"Oi, you're not turning him into some kind of lab rat," Chuck growled.
"Has anything I've done led you to believe that I have anything other than the health and well-being of your Bondmate and child in mind?" She asked, eyebrow raised.
Feeling like a scolded schoolboy and refusing to show it, he glared shaking his head. "Best you keep it that way."
"Chuck," Herc sighed. Ting just laughed patting Herc's arm as she passed.
"He's not the first overprotective Alpha I've dealt with and he won't be the last. I'll be back in a few hours. Have a nurse find me if he wakes before then."
"Yes, ma'am," Herc replied when Chuck didn't. Keeping one eye on his father as he dropped into the visitor's chair, Chuck carefully rearranged Raleigh so he was lying more comfortably on Chuck. He made sure there was no pressure on the damaged shoulder then tugged at the blanket tangled around Raleigh's legs.
"Thanks," he muttered, glaring sulkily when Herc helped him. The glare kicked up a notch at Herc's huff of laughter. "What's so funny, old man?"
"Don't call me that," he grumbled without heat. "Nothing's funny. Just looking at myself twenty-odd years ago. Used to fuss over your mum like this when she was pregnant."
"Surprised you were around for any of it." Chuck looked at him from the corner of his eye, fussing with the blanket around Raleigh's shoulders.
"Except for two weeks and the occasional weekend I was there for the whole thing. When you were born I was the first person after the doctor to hold you. I'll never forget that moment, holding this tiny little miracle your mum and I had made. Best day of my life."
Chuck looked away, clearing his throat, determined not let Herc see how much he'd affected him. He didn't know how to respond. It's not like they ever talked about this stuff. They hadn't talked about Chuck's mum at all in six years. Even then it had been part of an argument. In the end he decided to avoid the conversation altogether.
"You don't have to stay. He's just gonna sleep for awhile."
"I don't mind. Seeing him like that... 'Sides, being here gets me out of that damn paperwork."
"You need to find yourself a real assistant. Not me and Tendo. You're lucky any of it's right with us working on it."
"Once things are a bit more settled I'll look into it. Things are too up in the air right now. I'm not going to hire someone just to have to fire them if it doesn't go the way we hope."
"Or a proper assistant could make sure it all gets done right so it does go the way we want. I've got a sprog on the way and we need to make sure I've still got a job."
Herc rolled his eyes. "I'll talk to Tendo later about it, yeah? You just don't want to do the paperwork either, ya brat."
"Too right," Chuck agreed.
* * *
Raleigh sighed sleepily rubbing his face against Chuck's chest. His brain felt fuzzy and sluggish taking him a bit to parse out why. Normally he went from asleep to wide awake and only felt like this after he'd been sedated or heavily medicated for some reason. It took him a few more minutes to put together why he'd been sedated.
Yancy.
Grief filled him anew and he curled into his Bondmate, fingers clenched in the fabric of his t-shirt. Strong arms wrapped tightly around him, holding him close. He was grateful for the silent support. Concern and love tempered by curiosity filtered through the Bond yet Chuck didn't give voice to any of the questions he clearly had, allowing Raleigh to gather himself. When he no longer foverwhelmed Raleigh pulled back to meet Chuck's worried gaze.
"Hey," he whispered.
"Hey," Chuck replied, wiping at a few stray tears on Raleigh's cheeks. "What's going on, Rals? Mori's fine. That was the first thing I checked after making sure you were okay. What happened?"
Swallowing thickly, Raleigh looked away unsure of what to say without sounding like he was crazy. Maybe he was crazy. Chuck had been in his head though; he'd seen the times he couldn't tell what was him and what was Yancy. He'd seen the way he could get lost in a memory or the times he really thought Yancy was right beside him only to turn and find nothing.
"Raleigh?"
"I can't hear Yancy anymore," he admitted. Chuck's sharp intake of breath said he understood and Raleigh relaxed. Herc speaking had him tensing again, not having realized he was there.
"What do you mean by you can't hear Yancy?" Herc asked gently, the underlying hint of steel indicating he wouldn't back down on this.
Raleigh sighed, shifting with Chuck's help until he was in a sitting position. He didn't want to be lying down for this. He needed to feel like he had some kind of control. Takign a deep breath then letting it out slowly, he explained what the past five years had been like with Yancy living in his head.
Herc was quiet the entire time, watching and listening to him intently. The only time he showed any reaction was a tightening of his jaw when Raleigh admitted to repeatedly hearing the Marshal blame him for Yancy's death. At the end Herc's gaze dropped to the floor as he rubbed a hand over his face.
Feeling like he was waiting for some kind of verdict from Herc, Raleigh picked at the blanket covering his lap until Chuck laced their fingers together, pressing a reassuring kiss to his shoulder. He smiled gratefully though the smile quickly slid away into uncertainty. Finally Herc looked up again, taking Raleigh aback at the sadness he saw there.
"I'm sorry, Raleigh."
"I, uh," he darted a quick look at Chuck who was just as baffled. "Thank you? But why are you sorry?"
"Because someone should be. You shoudn't've had to through any of that alone. And I'm sorry for that. You're not alone anymore."
"Thank you."
"All that said, I'm not a doctor but when was the last time you remember hearing Yancy?"
"Uh, when Chuck and I first Drifted, the first rush of memories. Before that I think was maybe when we were in LOCCENT during the harbor battle? I don't really remember. Why?"
"But you do remember hearing him after you Drifted with Mako?"
"Yeah, definitely," Raleigh said, burning with curiosity now. It only increased when Herc nodded as if to himself with a grimace. 'Herc?"
"We don't know as much about the Drift as we like to think we do. We really don't know near enough about what happens when one person dies in the Drift and their partner doesn't. I... It's possible you Bonding with Chuck might be why you're not hearing your brother anymore," Herc said in a rush, like ripping off a bandaid. Raleigh stared at Herc, a slew of emotions rushing through him so fast he barely had a chance to recognize most of them.
"Okay," Raleigh finally said, squeezing Chuck's hand to reassure him. It didn't really work.
"That's it? Okay?" Chuck demanded. "He tells you Bonding with me is the reason you can't hear your brother anymore and all you say is okay?"
"Chuck." Herc stopped at Raleigh's raised hand.
"There really isn't much else to say, Chuck. Do you want me to get mad at you? Is that what you want? It's not going to happen. Yancy is gone. He's been... He's been dead for five years. I can't hold on to him forever. Am I going to miss hearing him? Of course but at the same time no. I've been hearing, feeling him die over and over and over again all these years. I don't want to feel that anymore. And if I have to chose between hearing my brother's voice or our Bond, our baby," he rested their joined hands on his stomach. "If I have to make that choice then I'm going to choose you, Chuck. I will choose you every single time.
"Sappy bastard," Chuck muttered hoarsely, framing Raleigh's face with his hands as he leaned in to kiss him. "I s'pose that means I've gotta choose you too?"
Raleigh chuckled wetly, pretending he didn't see the sheen of tears in Chuck's eyes. "You already did. No getting rid of me now."
"Too right, love."
Neither of them noticed Herc slip quietly from the room, a bittersweet smile curving his lips.
?
NaNoWriMo Fic: Where My Demons Hide 29/?
This is the Unedited Rough Draft of the story though I will try to at least clean up the spelling mistakes before I post.
Title: Where My Demons Hide Fandom: Pacific Rim – A/B/O ‘verse Relationship(s): Chuck/Raleigh, background Sasha/Aleksis Kaidanovsky Content Rating: R for Language, Sex, Canon typical violence Warnings: Alpha/Beta/Omega verse; MPreg; Knotting, Emotional aftermath of miscarriage; suicidal thoughts; Character Death – There are no heroes in a world where heroes cannot die. Angst, lots of angst. Word Count Total for this post: 3,739 Total Words Written So Far: 71,682/50,000
Chuck grumbled but let himself be guided away from the stupid reporters. How dare they suggest Mako was Raleigh's Alpha. They'd Drifted once and it was a disaster. He's the one who Drifted successfully with Raleigh. They're the ones who achieved 100% synchronicity and took Gipsy into the Breach. Him and Raleigh. Not Mako. Raleigh was his Bondmate. His dammit.
"I get that you're feeling territorial, Baby Hansen," Tendo's voice cut through his thoughts, "but you're squeezing poor Max to death."
Chuck immediately loosened his grip looking down at his pup. Max gave him a doggy grin. "Sorry, Max," he muttered. Max wiggled in his arms until he could lick Chuck's chin. Max always forgave him.
"That's better," Tendo grinned. "Now you don't look homicidal anymore. Well, any more than you usually do."
"I do not look homicidal," Chuck growled.
"Of course not, kid."
"Fuck off, Elvis," Chuck huffed, relaxing as they neared the entrance to the Shatterdome. A few more minutes and he'd be back with Raleigh. His Bondmate had been a constant supportive presence in the back of his mind as he'd endured the funerals and memorials. All he wanted to do now was crawl into bed and hold Raleigh tight.
"And then Baby Otachi just reared up and swallowed him whole! I still can't believe he survived."
Zeroing in on Geiszler's manic arm-waving, Chuck grin turned feral.
"Oh, no. What's that look for?" Tendo demanded, getting in his path. "Why do you have that look?"
"I don't have a look." Chuck grinned wider. "Here. Hold Max. I need to have a chat with our resident Kaiju groupie."
"What? Why? Hansen!" Tendo called after him, struggling not to drop Max.
Chuck ignored him striding towards the gaggle of scientists Geiszler was holding court with. "Oi, Geiszler! Hold on a tic."
The group suddenly looked like deer in headlights then quickly scattered deserting Geiszler who was making a 'who me?' gesture.
"Uh, Ranger Hansen, how-how can I, uh, help you?" He said when Chuck was close enough. "Hey, how's Becket? I heard they have him in isolation. Do you get to see him cause that's gotta be harsh on a new Bond. Has he said anything about what it was like in the Anteverse? Did he see the Kaiju masters? The ones who make them? Do you think he'd talk to me about what he saw? That would be so cool! And, you know, it would help our understanding of them and make sure they can't, uh, come back. Because that would be bad. Really. And you're glaring at me. Like seriously glaring. I'm gonna shut up now."
"Do you even breathe or did you develop gills when you tried to fry your brain Drifting with a Kaiju?" Chuck demanded slightly derailed from his original reason for approaching the jumpy little scientist.
"Uh, no? Not that I know of. It's a talent I've always had?" Geiszler answered uncertainly.
"Eh, whatever. Raleigh's fine. I'm with him most of the time. No idea if he'd be willing to talk to you but I'll ask him if you do something for me," Chuck said folding his arms over his chest and looming.
"I-I guess. What do you need?"
"I want you to setup a meeting for me with your Kaiju parts dealing buddy."
"C-Chau? But why? I didn't think you'd be interested in Kaiju parts."
"Can you do it or not?" Chuck asked looming over him more. He gave him a shark's grin when he nodded vigorously.
"Y-yeah. I can do that. Sure. Just, uh, give me a couple days, okay? I got a thing tomorrow but I can head over the day after, okay? Chau doesn't, uh, he doesn't like doing things over the phone, y'know?"
"Whatever," Chuck sneered, he really didn't care how mob bosses preferred to conduct their business. "Just get me that meet and I'll talk to Raleigh for you."
Another vigorous nod and Chuck turned to go but turned back at a thought.
"You tell no one about this or I will find a way to open the Breach and stuff you through it in pieces. get me?"
"Loud and clear."
"Good." Chuck clapped him on the shoulder almost knocking him over. He rejoined Tendo, who watched him suspiciously and took Max from him. "Such a good boy," he cooed to his dog, scrunching his ears and rubbing the sweet spot right behind them before he put Max on the ground, leash firmly in hand. "C'mon, boy. Let's go see Raleigh, yeah?"
"Do I even want to know what that was all about, Baby Hansen?" Tendo asked falling into step with him, hands shoved into the pockets of his suit jacket.
"No worries, Elvis. He wants to talk to Raleigh about what he saw in the Breach. Told him I'd ask but no promises."
"Uh-huh."
Chuck relaxed a little when Tendo didn't push. He wasn't ashamed of what he was planning, far from it, but he did prefer the fewer people who knew about it the better. Plausible deniability and all that rot.
Inside the Shatterdome they went their separate ways, Chuck heading to his quarters and Tendo to LOCCENT. In his room, Chuck quickly stripped out of his uniform and into more comfortable clothes. He grabbed the engineering text he'd started reading what felt like a lifetime ago and whistled for Max. In the hallway he debated for a second then headed to Raleigh's quarters. He wouldn't bring everything, just a couple of items to give his mate some measure of comfort.
Thankfully the nurses let everything through decontamination. Once inside he dumped it all on a side table on his way to Raleigh's side. Cupping his face, Chuck kissed him long and hard, plundering his lips with fierce possessiveness. Raleigh responded without hesitation, opening himself completely to Chuck. His good hand wrapped around the back of Chuck's neck, carding through the short hair there, fingernails lightly scratching at his skin.
They were both breathless with want they couldn't currently do anything about when they finally pulled apart. Raleigh's fingers rubbed soothingly even as he projected love and assurance and his own possessiveness through the Bond.
"I'm yours, Chuck. Bondmate. Co-pilot. Yours. No one else's."
"Mine," he agreed with a light growl. "And I'm yours. No one else's. Just didn't like them suggesting otherwise."
"I know. When I'm out of here the first interview we'll tell the world we're Bondmates. Everyone will know. Kay?"
"Good," Chuck muttered kissing him again.
"Mm, as much as I like this, pick up Max so he doesn't whine and get your ass in this bed. You've been away from me too long."
"Yes, sir," he grinned stealing another kiss before doing as he was told. Max waited patiently at the foot of the bed for them to get sorted. They finally settled down with Raleigh leaning back against Chuck's chest, his head resting against Chuck's jaw, with Max laying at their side. If this position allowed Chuck to wrap his arm around Raleigh, his hand resting possessively on his mate's stomach, well, it was just a convenient spot. That's all.
***
"Knock, knock."
Raleigh looked up from his book smiling at Tendo standing in the doorway. "Hey! Come on in, brother."
"I see Hansen left Max to play guard dog for him," Tendo laughed putting down the tablet he was carrying to rub Max's belly. The bulldog was splayed across the foot of the bed, legs in the air. Raleigh laughed.
"Chuck had to go for more x-rays for his ribs but, yeah, Max is keeping me company. He's a good buddy. Aintcha, boy?"
Max woofed, wiggling under Tendo's hand. Dropping down into the visitor's chair, he picked up Raleigh's book. "Wow. Moby dick. You must be really bored. Melville was always more..." He paused seeing the name written inside the front cover. "Kid."
"Yeah. It was a way of remembering him," Raleigh said, picking at the sheets and shrugging. He grimaced at the pull on his injured shoulder. "It's all I have right now. That or this book on mechanical engineering Chuck's reading."
"Yeah," Tendo chuckled. "You never were very good with the theory part on that stuff. Too much of a hands on kinda guy." He waggled his eyebrows.
"Shut up or I'll tell Alison about some of your dates before her."
"Sorry, my man, but that ship has sailed. She knows everything. However, because I am an awesome friend, I come bearing gifts." He picked up the tablet and activated it before handing it over. "This bad boy has access to every movie, tv show, and book stored on the Shatterdome servers. Which is a lot. I also," he leaned forward to change the screens then double-tapped an ico, installed that language game you loved when you broke your leg back in '19. There's like 50 languages on there so there should be something you don't know."
"That's great, man," Raleigh smiled at the tablet then Tendo. "This should really help. The doctors are saying another two to three weeks before they let me out of here. They figure if anything's going to... to happen because of, you know, the Breach it should show up by then."
"That's a bit paranoid, isn't it? I mean, I can understand wanting to keep an eye on things but isolation like this? Isn't that a bit extreme?"
Raleigh bit his lip staring at the tablet, debating if it was worth the risk. Tendo was his oldest friend.
"Raleigh?"
"It is a little extreme but it's, uh, it's not just me they're worried about. You can't tell anyone what I'm about to tell you. Only me, Chuck, Herc and the doctors know. We don't want any crazy rumors flying around."
"You know you can trust me, Raleigh. What could be so bad though? It's not like you're going to tell me you're pregnant with a Kaiju baby. Are you?"
"Thank you for that horrifying thought," Raleigh glared at him. "I'm not pregnant with a Kaiju baby but I am, uh, pregnant."
Tendo stared at him slack-jawed. After several seconds of silence Raleigh began to fidget. After a minute he got angry.
"Would you say something? And stop staring at me. I'm not going to turn into some kind of freakshow."
"No! Sorry. I-I didn't mean to stare. I don't think that," Tendo stumbled over himself to explain. "You surprised me is all. Congratulations! Really. It is congratulations, right? it's Chuck's right? Please tell me it's Chuck's."
"Yes, it's Chuck's. I haven't been with anyone else."
"That's good then. Uh," his gaze dropped to Raleigh's stomach then back to his face. "Sorry if this is a sore subject but I thought you couldn't have kids?"
"So did I. Turns out the doctor who told me I was hadn't bothered to do a proper physical and just assumed I was because I hadn't gone into heat in awhile. Long, complicated story that I don't entirely get but the gist of it is since I miscarried while in the Drift my hormones never really got the message that I wasn't pregnant anymore. Basically my heat cycle was put on hold for the last five years."
"What got it going again?"
"Drifting with Mako and then Chuck."
"Makes sense," Tendo nodded. "Wait. Does that mean you were pregnant before you went into the Breach? No wonder the doctors are being paranoid. I'm surprised you didn't miscarry with everything that happened."
"I am too," Raleigh sighed, his hand curling protectively over his flat stomach. "This baby is a miracle in a lot of ways. It'll kill me if anything goes wrong."
"Hey, don't think like that, Raleigh," Tendo put his hand over Raleigh's giving it a reassuring squeeze. "You said it yourself. This baby is a miracle. Everything'll be fine."
"I really hope so."
"I know it will. Hey, do I get to be the godfather?"
Raleigh laughed. If there were a couple of tears in the corners of his eyes neither of them mentioned it.
***
"You're not even listening to a bloody word I'm saying, are you, Mori?" Chuck said, abruptly cutting off the description of possible upgrades to Striker's joint design that he'd been rambling about for the last hour. She'd stared at the wall the entire time never acknowledging his words or his presence.
"So that's it then? I've been coming here every day for the last five days since the funerals and it's always the same. You just lay there like a bloody lump while Dad and Raleigh worry themselves into ulcers. You just going to let yourself waste away until your body just up and dies? Should we have just buried you with the others? Is that it?" He glared at her, willing her to look at him. Her gaze never moved.
"You really are a selfish little bitch. You think you're the only one who lost someone? The only one who feels lost now that the Kaiju are gone? You built a fucking Jaeger, Mori. There are things for you to do. You need to man the fuck up and start getting better," he hissed in her face. No response.
Growling, Chuck pushed out of the chair and stomped to the door. He paused there turning just enough so he could see her.
"I'll never forgive you if you let yourself die, Mori."
He yanked the door open, remembering at the last minute to disconnect the air hose from the wall, then slammed it shut behind him. He didn't see her gaze shift briefly towards the door or the single tear slip from her eye.
By the time he was on the other side of the decontamination airlock Chuck was struggling to hold onto his temper. Raleigh's concern filled the Bond making things worse rather than better. He sent back as much reassurance as he could knowing it wasn't enough. Chuck glared at the nurse who stood there watching him seethe.
"Get this fucking thing off me before I tear it off."
She shook her head but moved forward to help him anyway. The second he was free of it he took a deep breath.
"Thank you," he bit out then, not being a complete social incompetent, softened his voice. "Can you tell Raleigh I went for a walk? I don't want him to worry."
"Not a problem, Ranger Hansen," she smiled, storing the suit away.
Chuck nodded and hurried from the room. One thing you could count on was the utter soft spot the Medical staff all seemed to have for his Bondmate. Even if he was starting to turn into a cranky bastard, going stir crazy being confined to his room.
Striding through the Shatterdome hallways, Chuck tried to think of anything other than the situation with Mako. It didn't work. Everything just kept circling back to her. She'd given up the will to live and it was killing Herc and Raleigh.
He couldn't decided which of them was taking it harder. Both of them had Drifted with her even if the one with Raleigh had been a disaster. Herc was able to visit her every day, watching her slowly waste away. Losing her so soon after the Marshal, losing her like this would wreck Herc.
Confined to his bed Raleigh didn't get to see her. He only had secondhand accounts from him and Herc, the nurses and Tendo who'd been by a couple of times to visit. Chuck could feel Raleigh worrying himself into a stew even now and felt helpless to stop it. It wasn't good for Raleigh or for the baby but how do you tell someone to stop worrying about a dying friend? Chuck knew he could be insensitive sometimes but he wasn't that insensitive.
Finding himself in the Mess Hall, he grabbed a couple of easy to carry items thinking to head up to the Shatterdome roof. The access hatch was located behind Striker's bay so he rarely had to worry about anyone joining him.
"Chuck!" Herc's voice rang out across the Mess Hall. Chuck spotted his father and several tech's from Striker's crew sitting at a table across the room. He made his way over dropping down into the empty seat across from his father, nodding his greetings. He picked at the cellophane wrapped around the sandwich he'd grabbed growling in frustration when he couldn't find the edge to get it open.
"She's not getting better," he said, putting aside the slightly mangled sandwich. He grabbed Herc's knife instead using it to cut his apple into slices.
"She's had a hard time of it, son."
"We've all had a hard time of it. She's just lying there like a bloody lump." He grimaced at his word choice but didn't apologize. Chuck blinked when his sandwich appeared next to him unwrapped. Looking up, he realized he was sitting beside Sylvia and Mara. "Thanks."
"No problem, kiddo."
He pulled apart the sandwich picking out the wilted lettuce and tossed it aside. He put it back together and took a bite, chewing for a moment. He swiped at his mouth with the back of his hand.
"What the hell are we going to do about, Mori?" He demanded of his father.
"She's grieving, Chuck," Herc sighed putting down his fork to rub tiredly at his face.
"Boo fucking hoo. We're all grieving. We've all lost someone. You don't see any of us just laying down and dying like a whiny little-"
"Chuck," Herc snapped, cutting him off. "That's enough."
Chuck glared but wisely kept his mouth shut. For about 30 seconds. "Raleigh is worrying himself sick over her. Ting refuses to let him out of isolation for at least another two weeks. They want to be sure nothing," he cut himself off, slanting a quick look at Sylvia and Mara. They hadn't told anyone about the baby yet. "They want to be sure nothing from the Breach affected him. She threatened to cuff him to the bed if she caught him trying to workout again."
"Could be fun," Mara wiggled her eyebrows making Sylvia swat her. She grinned at Herc's look of pain.
"Shove off," Chuck grumbled. "Your mate isn't driving them self bonkers with worry."
Mara grimaced. "Sorry, kiddo."
"I wish I could say everything will be fine but I won't lie to you," Sylvia said gently grasping his wrist. "You can't make someone want to live. all you can do is be strong. For Miss Mori and for your Bondmate."
He grimaced but nodded. He just hated felling so helpless. He felt like he was failing Raleigh by not being able to help Mako get better. Even more he hated the way the light dimmed in Raleigh's eyes every time he had to tell him Mako wasn't getting better.
Sylvia pat his arm as she stood up, Mara following suit. "We need to get going. Promised the kids we'd skype them at one. If you need anything just let us know, Charlie. You boys are family."
Chuck started to nod then paused. "Skype?"
"Video chat over the computer?" Mara replied uncertainly.
"Video chat," Chuck muttered frowning.
"Yeah. Been around for awhile?" Mara shared a glance with Herc and Sylvia. Chuck ignored them turning the idea over in his head. Realizing it could work, he scrambled to his feet with a grin.
"I am a genius. Cheers!" He ran out the Mess Hall leaving them bewildered. He needed to see Ting and Tendo.
Three hours later he'd gathered everything he needed. stepping back into Mako's room, he really hoped this worked. Raleigh had lit up at the idea when he'd explained it. Chuck took a deep breath, plugged in his air hose then the power cord for the laptop he was carrying. He moved the chair he usually sat in until it was directly in her line of sight then placed the laptop on it but kept it turned away from her.
"Alright, Mori. I've got someone here who wants to talk to you and if you want tem to go away you're going to have to actually move because I'm not turning the laptop off for you." He sighed when she continued to lay there like a broken toy. A look at the screen and his waiting mate's apprehensive face Chuck steeled himself. He turned the laptop around so the two could see each other. Chuck bit his lip at the heartbreak he felt in the Bond and heard in Raleigh's voice.
"Oh, Mako-chan."
She blinked once, twice, then for the first time since he started visiting Chuck watched her eyes focus on something. They immediately filled with tears, her lips moved shaping words but no sound emerged. When she swallowed with a grimace Chuck realized the problem. He grabbed the pitcher of water and cup the nurses replenished everyday, almost knocking them over in his haste. He got the cup filled and brought it to her, pressing the straw to her lips while he held the cup.
Chuck glanced at the laptop, grinning at Raleigh's beaming face as she sipped at the water. After a moment she moved her uninjured hand enough to push at his arm. He pulled the cup away but held onto it just in case.
"Let me know if you want more, yeah?"
"Thank you," she said, her voice dry and crackling as leaves in late autumn. She was talking though. Chuck resisted the urge to crow in triumph. Instead he pulled up the second chair to listen to them speak. He didn't even mind when they lapsed into Japanese. Despite Mako's attempts to teach him Chuck had never managed to learn more than the basics. Languages had never been his thing.
"Congratulations, Chuck."
Her soft words drew him out of his own thoughts to grin at her. "Rals told you about the sprog then?"
"Mmhmm."
"Means you gotta get better then, yeah? Our sprogs are gonna need Aunt Mako to make sure we don't traumatize them, or some such. Cause seriously? Me, Raleigh and Herc raising kids? No way we don't mess them up. What if we have a girl?" Chuck froze, eyes widening in panic at the thought. "Fucking hell, Raleigh. What if we have a girl? I don't know what to do with a girl.. She's not dating. Ever."
Raleigh's loud guffaws and Mako's raspy chuckles did little to reassure him.
