I want...
“Are they alright?”
“Mother and baby are FINE. Sit down, Mr. Ain’t-Her-Husband-And-Baby-Daddy.”
“Tsk.”
Namor had gotten used to being misunderstood over the past few months, especially by her doctor, Dr. McKenzy, who was a bit of a jerk and just loved to tease him.
“TOLD YOU we are fine,” Shuri grumbled while the nurse carefully held her up. Dr. McKenzy was grinning behind the computer.
“I’m not the one who was screaming like a baby and yelling, “She’s comingshescomingSHE’S COMING!” all the way here just an hour ago.”
Namor was doing it again, slapping the air like how she slapped and gripped his arm in panic in the car, pretending to be her like the drama queen he was.
Shuri watched as he playfully mimicked her and finally felt completely relaxed, rolling her eyes at him. “Stop itttttt~” The tension she felt from thinking she was about to go into labour vanished completely. She couldn’t help but start laughing in glee because of him.
“Your due date is next month, Shuri, you have to be careful and stop laughing, baby girl is having an earthquake in there. And you,” After lecturing the pregnant mama, Dr. McKenzy turns to Namor, “—don't stress out the pregnant lady, you know she can’t be too emotional. If she gives birth now, there will be extra charges,” he teased mischievously.
Namor still held onto the tiny bits of respect he had for him. “Don’t you have any other female doctors?” He clicked his tongue at the nurse, Ms. Dina, who when Shuri’s condition required hospitalization and took special care of her.
“You know Shuri’s condition is a bit special, Namor, and Dr. McKenzy is our best obstetrician. You asked for the best when you first came, did you not?”
Dina was such a savage McKenzy and Shuri loved her from the moon to the back.
“TSK.”
“You are stuck with me, buddy~” McKenzy swats his arm playfully and the two men just start bickering like children. Sometimes Shuri felt that— pfftt, they’ll be a pretty good couple if either of them is not straight.
“You are doing very well these past few months, Shuri, just a few weeks more to go, hang in there.” Dina squeezed her hand, giving her support. She squeezed back. “You are younger than me, Dina, yet you are much more mature and steady.”
Shuri still remembered her first prenatal check-up and Namor, the one who dragged her here, the one who had nothing to do with her getting pregnant, received a severe scolding and was chewed out completely by the doctor he now bickers with instead, all because of her.
“And you have the courage I lack, Shuri. Your baby is so lucky to have you as a mother.”
She didn’t know if she was going to be a good mother… “Thank you, Dina.”
But with Namor by her side, her courage, which had once been used up and all drained out, had now built up into a mountain that reaches up into the clouds.
Shuri watched them go over her birthing schedule again and recalled how Namor practically dragged her here after discovering she hadn’t had a check-up for once since she got pregnant.
4 months ago
“I was busy.”
Shuri shrunk into a smaller ball on the chair when she saw Namor was fuming.
That man is on fire.
“Are you kidding me?! Four months and you never went to have a prenatal check-up?!?!”
“I’m doing fine,” Shuri sheepishly said.
“FINE. MY. ASS. Look at you, all skin and bones! If you’re committed to keeping the baby, you need to take responsibility for them. And more importantly, you need to take responsibility for yourself! First and foremost is to take care of your own health!”
She listened intently, feeling that her recklessness was ultimately to blame. What if the baby had any problems because she hadn’t gone for a check-up earlier? How would she react? What would she do? What could she do? To save her baby.
“Let’s go to the hospital now.”
He gently nudged her arm, urging her to no longer hesitate.
After calming down, Namor realized he had overreacted. He had scolded Shuri so much that she didn’t dare to speak anymore. He felt he had meddled too much… it was not his business.
“Yes, sir.”
But when Shuri gave him a relieved smile and playfully saluted him, Namor was stunned.
Shuri looked at her noticeably showing belly, even though it was only four months along, she realized her secret could no longer be hidden. Everything Namor said was right. She had been so busy covering up the truth that she forgot to take care of herself. It was her negligence. She needed to change, she was going to be a mother ever since she decided to keep the baby when she first found out… she needed to take responsibility.
Even if the whole world has abandoned her, she would never abandon the little life growing inside her.
And then he took her to the hospital for a check-up. That was the second week after she moved into their home.
…
“ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! Call yourself a man?! Your wife is four months pregnant, and you’re only bringing her in for a check-up now?! A little later, and both she and the baby might not make it! She’s so thin, and her health is in such poor condition! What have you been doing?! If you are not prepared to be a father and can’t handle the responsibility, use protection! Or do you not care about both mother and child? But now suddenly you’ve had a change of heart??? I see she marked 'single' on the form, so what made you suddenly decide to take responsibility??? We don’t need you, fuck it, having you around is as good as having no one!”
The doctor is chewing out Namor with an intense scolding as soon as they enter and after a brief check. Behind the partition, Shuri wanted to intervene to defend him, but she was stopped by the nurse at the time. She even quietly asked, “Are you being abused or are you in a situation involving gaslighting? We can help.”
Shuri doesn’t know if she should cry or cry harder now. “No! You have misunderstood!” She gets up hurriedly, wanting to defend the innocent Namor. He has nothing to do with anything! He was even the one who took her here—!
The nurse stopped her again. “No, Dr. McKenzy is really pissed now. You can’t say anything to help.”
“But we can’t let him…!” Shuri let out a relieved sigh when she managed to peek behind the curtains because…
Namor was just crossing his arms, calmly listening to the barrage of condemnation, facing the doctor with a serious expression and scrutinizing eyes.
“I see your husband seems pretty calm.”
Shuri slapped her forehead in frustration, realizing she should have clarified their relationship from the beginning. She told the nurse with immense exasperation.
“The point is he’s not my husband!”
Shuri’s voice was still drowned out by the doctor’s voice outside, but she heard it— the nurse’s face turned into great shock.
“OH. MY. GOD. He’s scolding the wrong person…”
…
He looked at the doctor, who was panting with his hands on his hips after his tirade towards him, Namor raised an eyebrow slightly.
Is it his turn to speak now? Good.
“Is there a way to improve her condition?” he asked in a serious tone, for the past few minutes of being bombarded, he mentally sifted through the scanty knowledge he had about pregnancies, only to realize how little he actually knew. Tsk.
“Of course! And it’s the simplest method! Nutritious meals, adequate sleep, and regular prenatal check-ups!”
“Are you the best obstetrician and gynecologist here?”
“Who else do you think you’re talking to?”
Namor looked at the doctor, finally nodding in satisfaction. “Alright, I’m appointing you. We could schedule every future prenatal check-up starting now.”
“Don’t order me around. You’ve pissed me off. It’s because of people like you that all the good men in the world get blamed.” The doctor clicked his tongue at him.
Namor rolls his eyes at him, slightly incredulous yet amused. This doctor really talks a lot, he thought. Pregnant women must be annoyed by his long speeches, but they might have listened to him just to stop him from rambling. Plus, this guy doesn’t have a single serious look of a doctor. Should he ask for another doctor? Wait- he hadn’t asked whether Shuri was comfortable with this male doctor yet, he should—
“Dr. McKenzy, can we come out now?”
“Oh, I forgot.” The doctor got up to open the door. The two women emerged from the partition, and their expressions varied.
“Are you okay?” Shuri anxiously checked Namor over to make sure he hadn’t been beaten.
“I’m good, just the doc is in good spirits.” Namor chuckled lightly and reassured her, patting her shoulder to ease her worries.
It was nothing. He didn’t mind it at all. In fact, from the way he scolds him, McKenzy sounds like a good doctor because he cares about his patients.
The nurse pulled McKenzy back to his seat and told him. “Hey, doc? You scolded the wrong person.”
“I scolded the wrong person? I didn’t impregnate anyone,” he rolled his eyes and spoke earnestly.
The nurse kept trying to signal him with her glares, but it was no use. The other two were barely holding back their laughter, and she eventually gave up and said,
“He’s not the baby’s father.”
The whole room fell silent.
“Huh?” McKenzy froze for a moment, then quickly recovered. “Oh, so he got cuckolded. Got it, sorry about that.” He looked at Namor squarely throughout, without a hint of embarrassment. “No offense, Ms. Udaku, cuz he looks like a shitty spouse to me—”
The nurse didn’t stop there. “He’s not her husband either.”
The whole room fell dead silent, except…
Seeing McKenzy’s terrified expression, Namor and Shuri leaned on each other’s shoulders and finally burst into crazy laughter. The nurse squeezed out a smile along with them, amused.
His mind is still reeling, with a blank expression on his face, McKenzy asked,
“Then what is their relationship??”
“Roommates.”
“Roo- Room…Mates???” McKenzy repeated as if he had never ever heard of this word in his entire life.
“Roommates. Ms. Udaku told me herself.”
McKenzy suddenly stood up, startling the other three a bit.
“It’s okay, don’t be scared… I’m here,” Namor reassured a startled Shuri, patting her hand to comfort her. Shuri nods, gradually feeling at ease.
In the end, the doctor…
“Buddy,” McKenzy slapped his shoulder, pointed and shouted to Namor—
“You are the most solid roommate I’ve ever met, I respect you!”
The nurse sighed and covered her face. Namor and Shuri glanced at each other and shook their heads in sync. They had never met anyone so funny before. Namor gestured for him to sit down, looking completely nonchalant and dashing.
McKenzy thanked him, sat back down, and started muttering to himself as if no one else was around.
“Oh shit, oh no, fuck, gonna get complaints again... Oh fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck…”
The nurse watched as McKenzy made another blunder again. She stepped in to take control of the situation. “I haven’t introduced myself yet,” she said.
“I’m Dina, Mr. Almehen. You mentioned you would like to schedule the appointments for Ms. Udaku’s future check-ups, right? Let me make the arrangements.”
“Yes, thank you, Dina. And just Namor.”
“And just Shuri too, thank you so much, Dina.”
“No worries, it’s my job. And ignore him, just let him keep muttering to himself. He’ll come through.” Dina smiled at them.
Shuri partially covered her face with one hand, leaned towards him and whispered. “So… he’s my future check-up doctor?” Namor turned to glance at her.
“Yeah, who else?” he grinned.
“Bast help me.”
…
“Do you think it’s a boy or a girl?”
The slightly damp coldness slid slowly and softly back and forth on her stomach making her already tense nerves even more tense, Shuri pulled the blanket tighter around her.
“As long as it’s not twins, I’m good,” she managed to joke.
Dr. McKenzy chuckled, “So, boy or girl?” She looked up at the black-and-white screen, feeling a bit lost.
“I don’t know…”
Shuri looked down, self-doubt creeping over her. She clutched the sheet beneath her. She feels a bit cold, her hands are cold, and her whole body feels cold, she…
Until a large hand gently pried open her clenched fist, warmth flooded her.
It flooded her hands, her heart, her everything.
“What do you want, a boy or a girl?" Namor asked.
What do you want?
She wanted to bring her baby to the world, she wanted to love the baby.
“I want a girl…” A daughter. Shuri felt the warmth of his hands… dispelling the coldness of the hospital, and her heart.
“Then I hope it’s a girl too.” Namor held her hand tightly, offering his support.
“Wait- nope, it is a girl. I have a great sixth sense.” He added in glee, his beautiful brown eyes full of certainty towards the uncertainty, with so much faith just for her.
His support meant the entire world to her.
“Time for the reveal, ladies and gentlemen, it’s a—” McKenzy winked at Shuri to make her feel at ease, he wanted to let her guess, but the death glare from Namor gave him a chill down his spine so he spilled—
Shuri tightened her grip on Namor’s hand, she wanted a daughter, she wished for a daughter, she would love her with all she had… well, a boy would be nice too—
“Congratulations, Shuri, it’s a baby girl!”
Tears caught Shuri off guard. At this moment, she seemed to truly feel her baby’s existence. Her tiny presence was like a little ball of sunshine inside of her, spreading waves and waves of warmth and excitement throughout her fragile yet strong body. She wiped away her streaming of happy tears, her hurricane mind finally at ease. She would do her daughter right no matter what.
“Told you it’s a girl.”
Shuri lifted her teary eyes to look at him and beamed in bliss.
“Guess I owe you one.”
Namor turned to meet her gaze, grinning smugly.
“Score one for me.”
Namor and Shuri shared a wishful smile that was full of hope with each other, and with hearts full of joy as they embraced this very special moment together.