#i also faint if i stand up too fast / get slightly dehydrated / am sick / see blood / any reason at all tbh

[dykephan]

i love that dan and phil are both fainting all over the place. they're just like me fr

[cerezsis]

A Growing Family

Chapter One: Heartbeat

Series Summary: When the Avatar discovers she’s pregnant, everyone celebrates. When a prisoner on trial for crimes against humanity discovers she’s pregnant, there’s no celebration.

--

           The car came to a halt as the young engineer put it in park. Taking the keys out of ignition, she glanced over at her passenger. Korra had barely said a word since she picked her up from the ferry docks, and had been slouched in her seat with her eyes closed for the last several blocks. Even for someone who was known to have claimed that the morning was evil, this was unusual for her.

           “Hey, are you ok?” Asami asked, “You haven’t said a word the entire drive.”

           Korra slowly peeked her eyes open, seeing her girlfriend’s worried face. She sat up straight, though her movements were very sluggish.

           “I’ve been better,” she admitted, “I started not feeling good last night, and I didn’t get much sleep.”

           Asami’s face fell in sympathy. “What doesn’t feel good?”

           “My stomach, mostly. I couldn’t even eat breakfast.”

           Reaching over, Asami put a hand on Korra’s shoulder, giving her a comforting smile. “Just hang in there, alright? We’ll only be here an hour or two. After we’re done, I’ll take you back to the island and make you a pot of tea. Sound good?”

           Korra mustered a smile. “You’re the best.”

           After a quick peck on the cheek, the two women got out of the car and walked into city hall. The overall tone of the building already felt different now that Zhu Li was in office. From the new décor, to the much less tense demeanor in the staff, it was definitely a much-needed improvement.

           Despite all this, Korra was growing more and more convinced that she should’ve stayed home. Her stomach was in knots and she was so tired. All she could think about was going back to bed. After greeting Zhu Li, she and Asami followed her up to her office, where Korra immediately sat down on one of the empty couches. Thankfully, since this meeting was mostly regarding the new housing project, she wouldn’t have to be too involved.

           Still, it felt like an eternity before things wrapped up. As Asami rolled up the last of her blueprints and thanked Zhu Li for her help, Korra stood up, all too eager to get back to Air Temple Island. Before she could take a step or even utter a word, she found herself clouded by an overwhelming dizziness. The next thing she knew, the world went black and she could hear Asami cry out her name. The blackness lasted only a second, but it was long enough for her to come to barely standing, supported only by her girlfriend’s arms.

           “I’ll fetch a medic!” Zhu Li offered, urgently.

           Still mostly relying on Asami for support, Korra tried to wave her off. “No, no, it’s fine,” she said, her words slightly slurred, “I stood up too fast. I’m fine.”

           “You’re not fine!” Asami insisted, “You’ve been sick since last night, and you just fainted! You need to get checked out!”

           Korra let out a quiet sigh. She knew she couldn’t let Asami worry. “Fine.”

           As Zhu Li left to fetch a medic, Asami helped Korra back onto the couch. The Avatar rested her head on her girlfriend’s shoulder, quietly hoping the visit with the medic would be quick. Her bed was calling out to her.

           Thankfully, it was only a few minutes before the lone medic entered the room. She smiled at the women before greeting them, and soon started bending water from her pouch, using the now glowing liquid to examine Korra.

           “Well, you’re a little dehydrated. I recommend resting for the rest of the day, and drinking plenty of fluids,” she said as she returned the water to her pouch, “Other than that, there’s nothing to fret over. You and the baby are both fine.”

           Korra’s eyes snapped open, and she quickly sat up straight. Had she heard right? She could feel Asami’s posture stiffen as well, and she didn’t need to look at her to know she was staring at her with a mix of confusion and heartbreak.

           “Me and the what now?” she blurted out.

           The medic’s expression dropped.

           “Oh, you didn’t… Forgive me Avatar Korra, I thought you knew. You’re somewhere between ten and twelve weeks along.”

           Hearing this, Asami instantly relaxed. However far along Korra was, it was longer than they’ve been together.

           Korra, on the other hand, was practically shaking. Her heart felt like it was about to pound out of her chest. Whatever tiredness she’d felt was long forgotten, replaced with disbelief and the buzzing of a million questions racing through her head.

           “How… No. No, that’s impossible!” she insisted, “I can’t have kids! The poison made me infertile!”

           “I assure you, it’s possible. You’re definitely pregnant.” Seeing Korra’s expression unchanged, the medic thought of something. “You’re a healer, correct? You can check for yourself.”

           For a moment, Korra found herself unable to move. Eventually, she stood up and bent some water out of the medic’s pouch. Bending it around her pelvic area, she concentrated, and soon she found it. It was tiny, barely even the size of a fig, but it was there. Her baby…

           Hands shaking, Korra bent the water back into the pouch, just barely managing to not let it splash onto the floor. Without saying a word, she sat back down next to Asami, her hands clasped over her nose and mouth. She couldn’t believe it. She really was pregnant.

           The next half hour was a blur. She remembered getting in the car, and from there getting on a ferry to Air Temple Island, but the details were lost to her. She couldn’t even remember if Asami spoke to her or not.

           Before she could even really register it, Korra found herself sitting at the small table in the kitchen, while Asami made some tea. Eventually, she decided she couldn’t put it off forever, and looked over at Asami.

           “Are you mad?” she asked, unsure if she was prepared for the answer.

           Asami looked to her, surprised. “What? No, of course I’m not mad. It happened before we started dating, so there’s nothing to be mad about.”

           Korra let out sigh, instantly relieved. Taking the kettle off the stove, Asami began to pour two cups of tea.

           “Though… I am confused,” the non-bender admitted, “You’re three months pregnant and you had no idea?”

           Korra shook her head. “I’ve never been the most… regular person, but since the poisoning, my periods have been… really out of whack,” she explained, “The whole six months I was traveling alone, I didn’t get my period once.”

           Asami stared at her for a moment. “You, uh… you should probably see a doctor about that. I know certain contraceptives can help regulate your cycle.”

           “Thanks, I’ll get right on that as soon as this baby pops out,” Korra said with a hint of sarcasm.

           Taking that as her cue to be done with the subject, Asami walked over with the cups of tea. She handed one to Korra, then sat down across from her with her own cup.

           “So… can I ask who the father is?”

           Korra’s body stiffened and her cheeks turned red. She found herself unable to look Asami in the eye.

           “Don’t be mad, ok?”

           “I promise I won’t be. Just tell me.”

           Korra hesitated for a moment. “It’s… it’s Mako.”

           Before she could stop herself, a fairly loud chuckle escaped Asami’s lips. Realizing that wasn’t at all an appropriate reaction, she clasped her hand over her mouth.

           “I’m sorry, that’s not funny.”

           Relaxing a bit, Korra gave her a small smile. “Eh, it’s a little funny.”

           Asami relaxed too and smiled back at her. “So… is it ok if I ask… when did it…?”

           “The night I confronted Zaheer,” Korra admitted, “Mako offered to get us dinner, we went back to his place, and things just kinda… happened.”

           Asami nodded. She thought back to a certain night three years ago, thinking how she would’ve likely done the same if he hadn’t gotten arrested just moments after she arrived at his apartment.

           “I probably should’ve asked this first, but… how do you feel about this? Are you…” she trailed off.

           Korra glanced down at her still steaming cup of tea, thinking long and hard about the question. “I feel… shocked… scared… but, also weirdly happy.” Having said it, she couldn’t stop herself from smiling. “It would’ve been nice to have some time to plan for this, but I’m so, so happy. I wanna keep it. I wanna have this baby!” She glanced back up at Asami, and her smile instantly faded.

           “I know this changes things for us. If you don’t wanna stick around, I understand. You didn’t sign up for a baby.”

           Asami didn’t respond right away. After a moment, she stood up and went to her girlfriend’s side, taking hold of her hands.

           “I’m not going anywhere,” she assured her, “I love you, Korra. You and everything that comes with you.” She paused and placed her hand on Korra’s belly. “We’ll raise this baby together.”

           Korra could barely hold back her tears of joy. She placed her hand over Asami’s before standing up as well. The two of them embraced, holding each other close.

           “You really are the best,” Korra said.

           They continued to hug for a while, but after a moment, Korra suddenly stiffened.

           “Oh boy. I’m gonna have to tell Mako.”

           They pulled away from the hug, but Asami still held Korra’s hands.

           “You want me to be there when you tell him?”

           “Yes, please.”

--

           The café was abuzz with the morning rush. The bells on the door chimed as Mako came in, looking around. He had no idea why Korra and Asami wanted to talk to him alone, but the tone of Korra’s voice on the phone the night before had him worried.

           Finally, he spotted them, already seated at a table near the back. The café was already crowded enough that no one would notice them, but the location of the table would give them a little extra privacy. Making his way over, he sat down across from them.

           “Hey Mako,” Korra greeted with a nervous smile.

           “Hey,” Mako said to the both of them, “You finally gonna tell me what’s up?”

           Korra tapped her fingers against the table, constantly glancing towards Asami, but struggling to meet Mako in the eye. She didn’t think she’d be this nervous.

           “Ok, um… I’m pregnant,” she admitted, figuring it best to just blurt it out, “It’s your baby. I’m keeping it, and Asami and I are gonna raise it. You’re free to be as involved as you wanna be, I just thought you should know.”

           Mako blinked. There seemed to be a delay between Korra saying the words and his mind understanding it. Once he finally did, his face went pale. Breaking out in a cold sweat, he found himself unable to speak.

           “You alright there, Mako?” Korra asked, genuinely concerned.

           The firebender stayed silent. His eyes were as wide as the café’s teacups.

           “I… I gotta…” he stuttered, before awkwardly standing and stumbling out of the café in a half-dazed state. Korra and Asami looked at each other, sharing looks of non-amusement.

           “Well, that was about what I expected,” Korra said.

--

           The stairs creaked as Bolin made his way up to the apartment, a slight pep in his step. He couldn’t wait to tell Mako about his first day at his new job. He was already certain his found his new calling.

           Unlocking the door, he stepped inside and flipped on the light switch. As the lights turned on, Bolin jumped as he spotted a shell-shocked looking man sitting on the couch, slouched forward with both hands clasped together in front of his face. Realizing it was only Mako, Bolin released his fighting stance and raised an eyebrow at his brother.

           “Uh… you good over there?” he asked.

           Mako didn’t answer right away, his eyes still staring straight ahead.

           “I’m going to be a father,” he blurted out.

           “Whoa!” Bolin excitedly exclaimed. He shut the door behind him and sat down next to Mako, wrapping an arm around him. “Congratulations, bro! That’s awesome! Who’s the lucky lady?”

           Again, Mako hesitated.

           “Korra,” he sheepishly admitted.

           Bolin’s expression dropped and he raised an eyebrow.

           “Korra? But… but she’s dating Asami?”

           “It… happened before that,” Mako explained, unclasping his hands and running his fingers through his hair, “She… said she and Asami are gonna raise it… and I can be as involved as I want.”

           Bolin perked up again. “So, are you gonna be involved?”

           Mako looked at him for the first time since he got home. “I… haven’t thought about it yet,” he admitted, “Should I even be? After everything that happened between me, and Korra and Asami… would that make things too awkward?”

           Bolin frowned. “But what about the baby? Don’t you think it’ll wanna know its dad at some point?”

           Mako sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “That’s true…”

           “Just forget about Korra and Asami for a minute. You’re gonna be a dad! There’s gonna be a baby! That’s exciting! You could have a strapping little boy or a cute little girl! Just imagine that!”

           Mako thought for a moment. Then another. Eventually, he relaxed a bit and even cracked a slight smile.

           “A strapping little boy or a cute little girl,” he thought out loud, “Yeah… Yeah, I guess that is exciting.”

           As his nerves faded and his mind began to clear, a thought occurred to him. Suddenly, he shot up from the couch, a wave of panic crashing over him.

           “Crap, I left them at the café!”

--

           “How’s the letter coming along?” Asami asked, walking over to Korra, and putting a hand on her shoulder.

           “I keep having to start over,” Korra admitted, “I know my parents will be happy, but I wanna find the right way to tell them.”

           Before Asami could respond, the phone rang. Taking her hand off Korra’s shoulder, she walked the few steps towards the phone and answered it.

           “Avatar Korra’s room, Asami speaking.” She listened for a moment before handing the phone out to Korra. “It’s Mako.”

           Putting her pen down, Korra got up and took the phone from Asami.

           “Hey Mako. You doing better?”

           “Yeah. I… I’m so sorry about earlier. I don’t know what I was thinking just leaving you there. I’m an idiot.”

           “Yeah, but don’t worry about it,” Korra assured him, “We know you pretty well. We knew you’d come around.” She paused for a moment. “So… have you thought about it at all, or do you need more time?”

           “I’ve thought about it. Of course I wanna be involved! I know we have a… complicated history, but I wanna know my kid.”

           Korra smiled. “I’m glad to hear that.” She paused again. “So… Asami found me a doctor. I have an appointment tomorrow to check to make sure everything’s going ok. If you want, you could come with us.”

           “Yes, of course!”

           “Great. I’ll hand you back to Asami. She knows where the place is.”

--

           The waiting room was uncomfortably quiet. Sitting in the seat between Mako and Asami, Korra alternated between twiddling her thumbs and mindlessly flipping through magazines. Every once in a while, she wondered if the press would already be speculating by the time she got out of there; it wasn’t every day she openly walked into an obstetrician’s office with her girlfriend and ex-boyfriend. The thought was nerve wracking, but it was somehow easier to think about than the awkward silence that was currently happening between the three of them.

           Finally, Korra’s name was called. She stood up, Mako and Asami following behind her, and they were shown to a room. Once the nurse left, they were met with more waiting, only it somehow seemed more awkward. At least in the waiting room there were other patients and magazines to be distracted by. Now with just the three of them, the silence was so much worse.

           Thankfully, they weren’t left in that silence for long. Less than ten minutes after being shown to the room, the doctor walked in, greeting all three of them.

           “Hi, I’m Dr. Yuzuki,” she said, grinning politely. She then walked over to Korra, extending her arm towards her. Korra did her best to smile back, and shook her hand.

           “So, your chart says you’re between ten and twelve weeks. Is that correct?”

           “That’s what I was told,” Korra said.

           “Great. Since you’re a new patient, we just need to check some basic things, and then we can try to pinpoint your exact due date.”

           For the next fifteen minutes, Mako and Asami stayed silent while Dr. Yuzuki took Korra’s vitals. While doing do, she asked her the standard questions of when her last period was, what her diet and exercise routine was like, if she’d experienced and cramping or spotting, etc.

           “Now what I’m going to have you do is lie on your back and lift your shirt,” the doctor said as she wrote the last bit of the basic questionnaire on Korra’s chart. She then gestured towards Mako and Asami. “You’ll wanna come here. This is the exciting part.”

           As Asami and Mako stood up from their chairs, Korra did as she was told, lying down on the table, and exposing her belly. Meanwhile, Dr. Yuzuki took out a probe-like scanning device, attached to a small monitor and speaker.

           “This is called a fetal doppler,” she explained, “It will allow us to hear the baby’s heartbeat.”

           Korra looked towards Mako and Asami, all three of them having a mix of nervousness and excitement. Once the device was set up, the doctor spread a goo-like gel on Korra’s lower abdomen and started moving the probe in small circles below her navel.

           “It can take a couple minutes to locate the baby’s exact position. Don’t be worried if we can’t find the heartbeat right away.”

           The three twenty-somethings listened intensely to the sounds given off by the fetal doppler. Despite the doctor’s assurance, Korra grew anxious as the minutes ticked by with only soft, mechanical whirring sounds. Sensing her anxiety – and maybe feeling some of her own – Asami reached out and held Korra’s hand.

           Suddenly, the soft whirring was replaced with a strong, fast-paced thumping sound. Korra’s eyes widened as she began to register what she was hearing.

           “That’s the heartbeat,” the doctor confirmed.

           The parents-to-be listened closely, mesmerized by the sound. Asami gave Korra’s hand a gentle squeeze, just beaming at her. Korra herself nearly teared up. She never thought she’d have a child of her own, let alone hear its heartbeat. Mako stood beside them in awe, trying to memorize the pattern of the fast-paced thumps. It was in that moment that it seemed to click for all three of them. This was real. This was happening.

           And it was wonderful.

[sickficgalore]

Day 2 : Emeto (Keith)

hello!! this is a little something i wrote for @vldwhumpmas2017 ! it is set in college au and on christmas eve.

Lance had awakened to a weird, monstrous sound coming from outside his room. He sat up, rubbing his eyes and attempted to figure out what the sound was.

“Keith? What’s that sound?” Lance waited, but no reply came. He looked over at the single bed placed at the other end of the room, and Keith was nowhere to be seen, his sheets thrown over the bed like he was in a rush.

As his brain started to be able to think properly again, the ‘monstrous sounds’ that he had thought he had heard before started sounding like faint…retching noises?

Lance got up as fast as he could, throwing the covers over his bed as he briskly walked out of the room (and almost tripping over his own feet), following the horrible retching noise which led him to the bathroom.

Before he even saw Keith, he could already smell the sour scent of his vomit. That could not be good.

The door to the bathroom was closed, but Lance was pleased to find that it was not locked as he easily pulled it open, revealing Keith. He was squatting in front of the toilet, knuckles gone white as his hands gripped onto the toilet seat for dear life. As he coughed and heaved, nothing but another string of saliva fell from his lips.

“Hey, are you alright?” Lance asked as he sat down next to the sick boy, steadying his shaky frame, “who am I kidding, you’re definitely not fine.”

Keith groaned, voluntarily leaning against Lance’s stronger frame as he breathed heavily, exhausted from the non-stop heaving.

“What happened that caused this?” Lance asked, worry evident in his voice.

“I don’t know..maybe it’s something I ate..?” Keith stoned as if trying hard to remember something, “I can’t remember what I ate yesterday..” his mind was way too fuzzy to process any sort of thought.

“That’s alright. Are you any better? Do you want to go sit down on the couch?” Lance asked, Keith nodded.

Lance winced inaudibly, the strong vomit stench coming from the toilet was starting to get to him, and he started to feel slightly nauseous as well. Figuring that they did not need another vomiting individual, Lance took a deep breath before stretching over to reach the flush button, flushing Keith’s vomit along with most of its stench down the toilet.

“Okay. I need you to stand for a bit, but just lean on me.” Lance instructed, placing one of Keith’s arms around his own shoulders, “on the count of three. One, two, three.” The two stood up, Keith mostly relying on Lance for support.

Lance had to mostly drag Keith to the couch, the sick boy far too weak to walk on his own. Keith had basically slumped down bonelessly when Lance placed him not-so-gently on the couch.

Lance left hurriedly, then returned back to Keith’s side with an armful of stuff that Keith could not make out in his haze. Keith was first handed a thermometer to put under his tongue. It came up to a whopping 39.3 degrees celcius (102 degrees farenheit).

“Okay, you’re burning. That’s not great. Now, take some medicine.” Lance said as he held the glass and two white pills in front of Keith. Keith opened his eyes momentarily before closing his eyes again, shaking his head in protest as he groaned, “Look, Keithy boy, if you don’t take this, you’re going to die of dehydration right here on this couch. I’m not sure if you want to die in this apartment.”

Thankfully, Lance’s words managed to bring a small smile to Keith’s face, “Anything but that…” Keith chuckled weakly as he sat up with Lance’s help, swallowed the pills and drank the warm water before falling asleep once again.

Keith managed to get a good rest, which thankfully no longer consisted of fruitless gags, until it was time for the two of them to get ready to meet their friends for lunch.

“Tell anyone that I’m sick later at our Christmas Eve gathering and I will kill you.” Keith said as he got up from the couch.

“Are you really feeling well enough to go for lunch..?” Lance asked, still relatively unsure. The pallor in Keith’s face had managed to subside with the rest he had, but his fever was still high and was still suffering from some nausea.

“I’ve been worse. I’ll make it.” Keith muttered, putting his jacket on.

“No you won’t.” Lance corrected.

“Look, I’ll just go there, have a bit of food, then come straight back to rest, alright? Stop worrying.” Keith reassured as he grabbed his car keys and was about to place them in his pants pocket.

“You’re NOT driving, dude.” Lance shouted, running to his friend and swiftly snatching the keys from him and placing it in his own jacket pocket.

“It’s MY car???” Keith retaliated, but sighed in submission.

In the car, Keith kept shifting uncomfortably in his seat. Lance was not a very good driver, he did not know how to smoothly maneuver around bumps that well, and Lance swore that he saw Keith’s complexion gradually turn green in the fifteen minutes they were driving for. But much to both of their relief, they had made it to the restaurant without any issue.

“Woah, Keith. Why are you so sweaty?” was the first thing Hunk had asked when the two of them showed up, slightly late, at the restaurant.

“Lance drove my car..” Keith covered up, side-eyeing Lance as he took his seat.

“Yikes. That must have been terrible.” Pidge commented.

“I’m improving every day, okay? Give me a break.” Lance defended, taking his seat as well.

“We’ve ordered steak for everyone by the way. The steak here is amazing.” Shiro announced.

“Oh..but I was going to just have like a sandwich or something..” Keith said. Lance could already visualise in his head how bad Keith would have it after the meal.

“Sorry, man. My discount coupons here are only for the steak.” Hunk replied, waving his discount tickets that he had gotten from his mother.

“I-its okay, I guess.” Keith forced a smile, stomach already protesting before the meal even came.

When the steak came, everyone had immediately dug into it….except for Lance and Keith. Lance was too busy observing Keith to actually start on his meal. The mere thought of Keith vomiting again also took the apetite right out of Lance’s stomach.

Keith was trying not to be obvious as he played with the baby carrots on his plate. Just looking at the meat made him feel so nauseous that he could probably pass out. It took him a lot of courage to take his first tiny bite out of this carrot.

“Keith, you doing alright? Why aren’t you eating?” Shiro asked, concern evident in the way he spoke.

Keith forced a smile, “Yeah.. just that school’s been really taxing, you know? I’m just exhausted.” To overcome the worried faces staring back at him, he stuffed a large piece of meat into his mouth, chewing it as if it was delicious and swallowing it forcefully.

At this point, Lance was so horrified he just stared at Keith, wide-eyed. Keith was continuously forcing the food on his plate down his throat, frustrated at his own body and was attempting to force it back into working properly again.

Keith’s terrible coping mechanism had been pretty successful for about a good two minutes before he could not take it anymore. “Excuse me for a second. I need to get to the bathroom real quick..” he murmured as he stood up, walking as fast as his shaking legs could carry him to the bathroom. Lance was extremely tempted to run after him, but was afraid that the action would give it away that something was not right.

Minutes passed, and Keith still had not returned from the bathroom. Lance was impatiently shaking his legs under the table and trying his best not to let the panic show on his face.

“Keith has been gone for really long. Lance, would you go check on him?” Pidge asked.

Lance never shot up as quickly as he had just did. “Yup! No problemo, my dudes. I’ll bring him right back!” Lance basically shouted before running towards the bathroom.

As Lance pushed open the door to the Men’s room, he could already hear the familiar loud, horrendous retching noises echoing through the room. He pushed open the only closed stall door to reveal Keith, shaking like a leaf, collapsed against a stall divider as tears streamed down his face. Lance rubbed his back until his heaving subsided and eventually stopped.

“Alright buddy, we’re going home.” Lance stated firmly, and Keith knew there was no room for negotiation as he was pulled up on his feet, supported by Lance, “Rinse your mouth while I head back to the table to grab the keys, alright? I’ll be real quick.” Lance said as he walked Keith to the sink and made sure that Keith could steady himself against a wall before running off.

The others were alarmed when Lance ran back to the table, scrambling to get Keith’s keys as he hurriedly explained, “Keith’s been really sick, so I’m bringing him back to our place, alright? You can drop by our dorm after you’re done with the lunch if you want. See ya later!” before running off.

“Oh, alright! Drive safely!” Shiro shouted back, loud enough for Lance to hear as he ran off to get Keith.

Lance had tried his very best to drive safely, and he did his very best as a caretaker back at their apartment too. Keith odd stomach bug, or whatever it was, had thankfully gotten a lot better by the next day, so Christmas Day wasn’t that terrible for them after all.