Chapter Text
All Diego could hear was sirens…
Sirens that grew louder and louder within each passing minute—It wasn’t until he saw the red and blue flashing lights from the truck that Diego would truly start to panic.
…
(Struggling from beneath Gyro’s grip)
He felt his breaths growing short and shallow as the pain from his hips intensified.
Leading the blonde to hyperventilate, as he begins to mumble out incoherent words that neither Gyro or Johnny could understand.
Till moments later when Johnny was paying close attention to the movement of Dio’s lips—He would ask—
“Hotpants??”
“…”
“Is it Hotpants who you’re trying to say, Dio?”
(To which the blonde simply looks up at him and nods back.. Covering up his ears once the sirens had gone louder. Gyro would stand up from his crouched position into quickly saying to the blonde—)
“Okay, then—Stay here Johnny while I go and fetch Hotpants real quick.”
“Okay!”
(And with that said—Gyro made his way toward the celebration)
…
Certain that he would find HP standing around somewhere. He scanned through the large crowd of people—Searching for someone wearing a black fuzzy helmet. If his memory serves him right.
His green eyes would quickly land onto an isolated figure standing off to the side. Being away from the crowd, Gyro, without hesitation, rushed towards her. Surprising her a bit, as he tells her eagerly—
“Come. It’s an emergency, Dio needs you—“
”What?—Did something happen?”
(She ask with color draining away from her face—)
“Yes, Dio’s water just broke, so he’s waiting on the edge of the sidewalk for you to come—“
“But that can’t be he’s only—“
“We have to go, Hotpants. The ambulance truck is about to arrive at any moment.”
(Gyro had said with urgency)
Leading the woman outside of the party, HP out of pure habit puts on a serious look—One that might kill. In order to try to mask her deep feeling of fear and nervousness (Crawling) from beneath her skin. As she followed right beside Gyro to the scene.
“There, Hotpants. You see him.”
“Yeah.”
(She simply says)
(Noticing the way Dio was already being loaded up into the truck. HP decides to quicken her pace to catch up with the paramedics into asking—)
“What’s going on here?! Why is Diego being taken to the hospital?”
“Wait, Ma’am—Are you by chance his wife?”
“His wife? No—“
(HP exclaims, her cheeks (Now) flushing bright red to the assumption—)
“Then you're not the biological parent to the child?“
“Why yes I’m just—“
“Then come inside, your partner is about to go into active labor soon .”
(One of the paramedics said)
(Gesturing with her gloved hand for Hotpants to come inside—HP can't help but remain stunned as she quickly thought to herself—‘Diego is far too early to be having this baby.’)
(Till she got on into the truck)
…
(With the intention to sit down next to Dio on the seat. HP can’t help but be taken by surprise when she suddenly felt the blonde reach out for her to grab her by her hand)
(Squeezing it tightly into white iron grip—As Diego rode out the pain from his hips)
(This action..)
(Would not only hurt HP’s hand, but make her to become incredibly concerned as she worries now— That something might be going on inside of Dio’s body for him to be going through so much pain like this)
(Especially for someone who’s only 5 months along to the pregnancy)
(HP silently fears—That these so-called contractions, explained by the paramedics. May be caused by something else affecting the baby in ways they might not know—Until they reach down to the hospital)
—(Onto the hospital)—
"So…”
(HP begins with crossed arms—)
“What you're saying is that—You think your stand ability, Scary Monsters, is responsible for the faster development of the baby?"
“Yes.”
"But how???”
(She asked in pure utter disbelief, while the blonde
begins to fidget nervously, at the excess fabric of his gown—)
(HP would speak moments later—)
“It wasn’t like you activated your stand for 5 whole months straight, so how—“
“It doesn’t have to be.”
(He simply says causing the woman to fall deathly silent. Into looking right at him with a raised eyebrow, with still crossed arms. Dio goes onto say—)
“I mean.. One of the things I noticed when I first obtained my stand was how my body had begun to change to adapt to my ability.”
“How so?”
(HP had asked)
(Without much thought to her question, the blonde began to feel irritated…)
“…”
(As if he already stated the obvious by now—)
“Oh come on, HP. It’s not like you haven’t noticed its effects—By now.”
(To which Hotpants quickly realizes what he initially meant—)
“What?? To the way you can’t stand anything lower than 65 degrees outside?”
“Yes, Exactly.“
(Diego says with his tone of annoyance gone, he adds on—)
“Along with how sensitive my nose and ears are—Even when my stand isn’t activated—“
“Then.. That practically makes you half Dino, Dio.”
(Hotpants says in a somewhat joke, as she begins to card her fingers down, through Diego’s soft blonde hair. To get the small gold strands of hair from his face—Into neatly tucking it behind his ears)
(She silently notes how long his bangs were getting—To the point where they might not be considered bangs anymore—Her thoughts were quick to vanish once she heard the man ask her—)
“Now does it make more sense?… To how my stand come into play here?”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
She simply says, allowing the silence to take over comfortably. Hotpants can't help but smile back when she starts to feel the blonde lean in—To her gentle scratches at his scalp.
Thinking in that moment... While soaking through the warmth and comfort from HP‘s fingers. How they’ll soon become parents—Despite having nowhere to live. Here in the state of New York.
Along to the lack of supplies that they absolutely don’t have—Whatsoever—To properly care for the newborn child—It's within this very moment that Diego starts to truly realize how screwed they were—To the lack of preparedness and readiness for the child’s soon arrival.
…
As his original plan would have gone off smoothly without a hitch if only his body had stayed pregnant throughout the 9 months like he was supposed to. Into traveling back to England while he still had 4 months left of his pregnancy to get he and Hotpants situated into their new home—Just in time for their baby to finally come.
Diego would (Mentally) curse out his stand for being in the way of his perfect plans.
…
Turning himself over so that way he could be laying on his side. (Facing HP). His mind would shift into thinking about the health of their child. As now that his stand had messed around with the anatomy of his insides—
Diego could only hope that the slight changes wouldn’t impact the baby. Towards inheriting his part Dino onto his or her DNA.
As—More often than not... Diego would always find himself worrying over this fact, since the day he found out that he was pregnant. Into whether or not their child was going to have to suffer through the same enhanced senses and transformations like he does. Through a day to day basis—For the rest of his or her life.
To which.. He could only deeply hope—Isn’t going to be the case.
…
(Despite his earlier resolve not to get too emotionally attached to the baby at the start of his pregnancy, Diego can't help but feel deeply concerned about the child‘s—His or her health whe he laid in bed)
…
And now.
That his mind brings up about gender—
Diego can’t help but silently wonder to himself whether the baby is going to be a boy or a girl.
Not that he had a preference or anything. As he’ll still love his baby no matter what gender It turns out to be. But rather…
He’s going to have to start thinking of baby names to give for their child. Both girl and boy names. Till his thoughts were cut off by a sudden question of—
“How is the epidural doing for the pain, Dio?”
(Her hand stills on his head)
”It’s. Getting there… Just need to wait a bit longer for the full medicine to kick in.”
“But is it at least helping you a bit?”
“Yeah.. The pressure from my lower back and hips no longer feels like they’re going to break.”
“Good.”
(HP responded)
Happy to know that the pain was no longer bothering Dio.
She recalls the moment (Earlier) when she had to hold onto Diego’s hand when the nurse was about to inject him with this really long needle—That Hotpants was so glad he couldn’t see otherwise he would’ve freaked. Right into the lower part of his spine—Hotpants felt her hand nearly break—From the pure pressure and strength the man had put to not scream.
Biting harshly at his lip till it bled, HP could only bring in comfort while the blonde laid out on the bed. Patiently waiting for the full effects of the epidural to kick in.
…
As the plan was for Dio to undergo a C-section.
(Right after the nurses had concluded through their careful examination that Diego’s hips were far too narrow for natural birth—)
The doctor explains to them about waiting up to 30 minutes for the epidural to (Fully) kick before going through with the operation.
(To which HP is glad that she’ll be able to stay alongside Dio. Throughout the C-section, which should take up to 15 minutes according to the doctor)
She notices the way Diego had started to pale (Significantly)—The moment the doctor had started to explain how the C-section works. Into cutting him open from beneath his pelvic area to get access to the baby.
Hotpants—Through some extra comforting and gentle touches—Was able to get Dio to calm down into reassuring him that the surgery wasn’t going to hurt if the epidural was going to numb the entirety of his lower region. Like the doctor had explained it’ll do—Once the 30 minutes were up.
Into convincing Dio that everything was going to alright—Till she would hear moments later—
(Diego asking her—)
“Are you absolutely sure that the baby will be okay?”
(Replying in a somewhat of an optimistic tone)
“I would hope so, yes.”
(Not sounding convincing enough to relieve Diego’s stress and worries)
(It wasn’t till the woman had taken notice to him fidgeting again—With the fabric of his gown—That she’ll go on. To change her response)
(Into—)
“I mean…Going off by what the nurse had told us. She said that everything looked good including your blood pressure, weight, temperature and even the way your belly had already dropped. In preparation for birth—You were deemed perfectly healthy by both the doctor and the nurses, Dio.”
“Yeah, but what if something wrong happens to the baby and—“
(HP places a gentle palm onto his cheek. Catching the blonde off guard from completing his sentence)
(HP presses a gentle kiss onto the middle of his forehead)
(Before pulling back to reassure him once more—)
”Everything is going to be okay, Dio. Just... Put a little more trust in God for him to do his thing, and I’m sure everything will be okay.”
“Okay.”
(Diego simply says loosening up his stiff posture— HP takes notice to his tired eyes—)
“Just focus on getting some rest, okay.”
(Dio hums back in acknowledgement)
“I’ll be here right beside you if you need anything, okay.”
She says calmly.
Keeping her voice soft while (Gently) encouraging the other to get some shut-eye. Diego would eventually turn himself over—To change sides. Into having his back turned to HP. While the woman settles for the wooden chair next to his bed.
They both wait in comforting silence for the 30 minutes to be up.
(While they each silently think on the baby they’ll soon be meeting through the peaceful silence)
…
…
—(Timeskip to when 30 minutes are up)—
Diego would find himself being wheeled into the operating room (In a wheelchair), as anything below his waist had felt incredibly numb—Thanks to the epidural doing its thing.
The nurses made sure to assist in moving him up onto the bed once he had arrived into the operation room. Where the blonde would start to feel the (True) gravity of the situation.
…
The sterile white room..
That smelled strongly of disinfectant alcohol..
Became almost too real for Diego to take, once he realizes how he’s soon going to be cut open. With the coldness of the room beginning to seep through to his bones. Along to the shining bright lights of the room.
The blonde would start to feel nervous, as that feeling of panic starts to dwell up into his chest. Leaving him short of breath the more he had fought to breathe—Just as Diego had thought his anxiety would (Fully) overwhelm him, he would suddenly feel a hand grab onto his own.
…
Looking up to the side to see who it was—He had felt relieved to see Hotpants. Who was now dressed in a blue baggy gown similar to the way the doctors had looked in the operation room—To prevent cross contamination.
HP takes his hand into her own.
Giving him a tight reassuring squeeze, as she smiles back at him with her purplish eyes filled with unspoken support. While her soft expression indicated to him that everything was going to be okay.
Returning the tight squeeze into HP’s gloved hands.
It was at this moment.
That Diego had truly—In his life—Felt ready to see their own child.
Together.
…
—(Time skip)—
January 19, 1891
At 5:36 PM is when the first cries were heard.
Echoing (Loudly) through the once silent room. The nurses were gentle to hand Diego his baby. Over onto his exposed chest while they had begun to clean the wailing newborn. One of the nurses gave Diego a soft smile, before she announced to him—
“Congratulations, it’s a girl.”
Leading for tears to welled up into his eyes as he looked down to the squirming bundle of joy in his arms.. Her tiny face, so delicate and adorably chubby, mirrored his own golden strands of hair onto her tiny head.
Causing his heart to swell with both love and joy into (Finally) seeing that she was okay as HP had said to him earlier—He turned his gaze to look at HP.
(Curious to see her reaction—)
Diego was shocked to see her—Full on sobbing.
(Like…Ten times more than he was)
Into carefully adjusting the blanket wrapped around their baby—Hotpants goes on to express her feeling of happiness through her teary smile and gentle touches to help soothe their baby.
They‘ll soon come to realize…
That they had to part with their baby—Once the doctor had gently explained to them—That a full checkup was necessary to ensure their daughter was in good (Proper) health before spending quality time with her.
One of the nurses even goes on to mention—Once she saw the sorrowful expression on Diego’s face—That the checkup shouldn’t take more than 30 minutes to complete before they could have their baby back.
Which helped lift Diego’s spirit a little, as he nodded back with consent for the doctor to go ahead with the checkup, before (Moments later) handing his baby over to the nurse next to him.
…
This left the blonde feeling deeply sad, as they wheeled him back into his plain cold room (again).
Diego couldn’t help but feel a sense of emptiness—As though something precious had been taken away from him.
There was also…
A sense of calm and quiet reassurance that this was temporary—That soon enough despite his current sadness. Diego would be able to hold his little girl again.
Right into his arms again.
…
"So...”
(HP quietly starts off)
“Have you come up with any names that you might want to give to our daughter, Dio?”
(To which he quickly responds her—)
“No not yet.. But I’ve been trying to think of one.”
“Then how about Alice?”
(HP suggested)
(Catching the blonde off guard into seeing where this was going—)
“Sounds way too simple for my liking.”
”And how about Emma?”
“Way too common. Infact. I think I've met like four people by that same name—“
“And Fiora? It’s a bit on the unique side but.. I don’t think either of us have met someone by that name before.”
(To which the blonde gives her an arching brow—)
“Yeah, I don't think I'd remember how to say that name correctly… Maybe. I don’t know. Olivia?”
“Hmm.. I don’t think- that name. Would fit her very well.”
(HP says with her hand up to chin while she tries to come up with more names in her head—)
“Well, I did think once. About naming her January, since that’s the month she—”
“No, Dio. Those are terrible name ideas. I’m against naming our child after the names of the months or days of the week.”
(She says, causing the blonde to laugh in amusement, as he always enjoyed seeing her cute expressions whenever she found his reasoning absurd or strange—)
“Including the names of the seasons and planets.”
(HP had quickly added in—Once she saw Diego’s lips move to suggest a name—)
“And how about Maggie?” (D)
“Hmm… How about Grace?” (H)
“Bella?” (D)
“Ivy.” (H)
“Riley?” (D)
“Charlotte?” (H)
“Uhhhh.. Nora?” (D)
“Stella.” (H)
(They both think for a moment..)
“…” (D)
“…” (H)
“And.. (D)
“…” (H)
“How about Layla?” (D)
(Diego suggested)
“…“ (H)
(Looking right back at HP when she doesn’t respond—)
(The woman paused…)
(Considering on the name for a bit before saying it out loud with her voice—)
“Layla... I think... I might actually like that name, Dio.”
(She says. Now making eye contact to the blonde—)
“Yeah. I think so too… The name is simple, but not too common like Emily or Sarah.”
“And it even sounds nice.”
(HP says. Causing the other to smile a bit at the compliment. He goes on to confirm—)
“So we stick to Layla?”
“Yup.”
“Then Layla it is.”
…
—(Time skip 10min)—
After a thorough checkup was done on baby Layla—
The doctor confirmed that she was perfectly healthy, with no signs of illness or abnormalities.
The doctor went on to explain that Layla's weight was ideal for a newborn, coming in at a healthy 6 pounds.
Diego had never felt so happy to see his baby again.. Till the nurse had gently placed her within his arms. Causing Hotpants—Who sat right next to him. To stand up from her seat as to take a closer look to their baby—
HP had felt it. The moment she laid eyes on Layla—The way her heart swelled up with emotion, as she sees her peacefully asleep within Dio’s arms. All snugly wrapped in a soft white blanket to keep her warm.
The nurse would go on to suggest for Diego to try on feeding her. To which the blonde immediately agrees, as he (Himself) wasn’t too completely sure what to do or how to do it properly—Until the nurse had got Layla to latch onto him.
“Is it working? I don’t feel anything different.”
“Just give it a moment.”
(The nurse reassures)
(Having them all wait in the complete silence while the only soft sounds came from Layla sucking till—)
“Ah, I think I feel it now. It’s working.”
“Good. Good.”
(She says watching as the baby feed off from his chest)
(Layla would soon open her eyes, causing HP to take immediate notice—)
“Her eyes. They’re the same color as mines.”
“Yeah. I think you’re right, HP.”
(Diego said, surprised by the sudden discovery, as Layla began to look around to her surroundings. It quickly became clear to everyone (Within the room) that she had the pinkish-purple eyes. Inherited from HP. The nurse, noticing this, couldn’t help but laugh as she complimented them both—)
"Well, would you look at that? Blonde hair just like the mother and Purple eyes just like the father. Just how cute is that.“
Leaving for the days ahead, to be filled with everlasting love, as Diego was advised by his doctor to stay at the hospital for a few more nights to ensure that both he and Layla were doing well. Leading Diego to wake up the next day feeling incredibly sore—As the epidural had worn off somewhere in the night for him to be in such great pain by morning.
This left Dio begging. By early afternoon. For HP to heal him once he could no longer stand the soreness from his abdomen.
It took great patience for HP to (Carefully) pry off the bandages covering his wound without the blonde yelling at her to stop. As her ability to heal wouldn’t work unless his wound was completely exposed to her—
Leaving behind a red pinkish scar once healed...
This mark would serve as a permanent reminder for Diego of the miracle they had just made and experienced—For every time he runs his hand through his scar—
Diego trusted HP with the money he had just won from the race. To go out and begin searching for a new place to live. Knowing full well that traveling with a newborn baby could pose a huge risk to Layla’s health. HP would soon come across an apartment—Little ways from the hospital—That was built in the perfect size for what they need. With the apartment containing two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, living room and office.
HP would go back to the hospital to tell Diego of their new place.
Nearly.. Making him cry, once she had handed him the tiny clothing for Layla. For when she went by the clothing shop near the hospital to get their daughter some things.
The blonde just couldn’t get over how tiny the socks were compared to his hand. Including the tiny pink beanies that HP had got for Layla to wear for when they go outside—Diego was quick to begin dressing her up into her new outfit.
(With—Of course—Some help coming from HP to her get dressed)
It wouldn't be till later on that same day that Diego would finally be sent home with discharged papers, that goes into deeper depth how he should be taking care of himself—Including a long list of symptoms categorized in two main parts of: What was normal and what was not normal, in case of an emergency.
Because in the end..
Diego and Hotpants couldn’t have been happier to have their little one with them. In the safety of their own home, as neither of them could’ve guessed that they'll be starting a family this soon until baby Layla had arrived. Leading for the journey
to parenthood, to bring them a sense of fulfillment.
That they hadn't realized they were missing as they watched Layla begin to take her first steps—All thanks to Hotpants encouragement.
Diego smiles back at her.
(With bright blue eyes filled with nothing but hope and excitement for what the future holds)
Diego knows.
That someday.
He would ask HP to marry him.
Once he finds the perfect ring to give her—For his soon to be wife.
The End.
…
(Bonus drawing done by me)
