Jesus, this parenting this was no joke. How had her mum ever survived three kids?

Flipping through a manual she'd picked up at a book store the week before, Megan chewed at her bottom lip nervously. She honestly couldn't believe that she wanted to go through with it... really. She had never considered herself a kid person, to the point where she pointedly refused to be around the little ankle biters if she could help it. Yet here she was, wading waist deep into unknown waters with some guy she was only on friendly terms with, about to pop out a little miniature version of herself.

Mom... Megan the mom... ugh.

She shivered, rolling her magazine up before stuffing it in her pocket. She was one hundred percent sure she'd never get used to being called that. And, oh god... she hadn't even figured out how to tell her parents yet! Her sister already had a little monster of her own, so Mamma Rova's grandmotherly itch had already been satisfied for the most part, but how was she supposed to break it to the lot of them that she was bearing a child out of wedlock?

"..God, I need a #$@!in' icecream."

After a few minutes waiting in line, Megan returned to the spot she was due to meet Maya, with the largest bowl of ice cream she could buy.

It was kind of like being an uncle/aunt in training.

Mirror had never had a lot of family experiences. There was Mom, and that was it, and even Mom had been gone for the past too many years. There had been girls, of course, and some of the X-men did feel like a loving family of misfits (with Sam being the questionable but loyal big brother).

But now, for the first time for a long time, it felt like Mirror was part of something important.

She was going out baby-shopping with Megan. The whole situation was unexpected and far from perfect, and Megan could definitely use some support, tough lady as she was. Maya was all for buying baby stuff. Baby stuff was cute. And it did not get smelly until there was a baby in it.

Megan was nursing the world's largest ice cream when Maya showed up on the street.

"Hey there little mama" she grinned at her roommate "Ready to spend some money on things the kid can destroy?"

With her spoon stuffed in her mouth, she nodded her head at Maya in greeting... then immediately regretted the mouthful of pain she'd just brought upon herself. Blinking away tears from the worst case of brain freeze she'd ever experienced, Megan (ever a glutton for punishment) dug her spoon back in and barely got out a greeting before she stuffed her gob again.

"About as ready as I am before a root canal." She glanced down at her barely touched treat, before chucking it into a waste bin at her side. One funny thing about pregnancy that she'd noticed was how food only tasted good the first few bites. After that it tasted like boiled leather shoes. She'd know, too, because Roach had once convinced her to try one.

"You ready to fork over some baby shower presents?" She grinned a shallow, tired grin, and stretched her back. "Where to first? I bet you're just dying to see me try on some muumuu's and stretch pants."

>>"About as ready as I am before a root canal. You ready to fork over some baby shower presents? Where to first? I bet you're just dying to see me try on some muumuu's and stretch pants."

Maya chuckled as Megan dumped the half eaten ice cream in the trash can. Apparently she was doing the pregnant woman thing where she would eat at random and then change her mind. Cute.

"Well, I was thinking buy the essentials first, since neither of us has a lot of money to throw around. So... what is it that can't be inherited from friends, and the baby definitely gonna need it?..."

Mirror had never been around babies much. She was going out on a limb here.

"Shoot... ya got me." What did kids need these days? From what she could remember as a child, running loose outside had kept her mostly entertained for a good long while. Considering that she lived in busy lil' New York City, though... kids rolling about on the streets didn't seem like such a good idea.

"Uh... Bottles, probably. Blankets too, and clothes. Can't have naked infants runnin' around, can we?" Then there was formula, and binkis, and diapers. Not to mention all of the things that went along with diapers. How much did diapers cost, anyway? Maybe she'd have to look into washable substitutes instead.

Chewing on her lip, she noticed that she'd started unknowingly rubbing her tiny baby-bump, and forced herself to quit. "Uuuh... I can already feel my bank account drying up, and the little monster hasn't even been born yet!" And yet, she was still heading pointedly toward a large store called The Baby Palace, to join an inevitable throng of women bustling about in different stages of parent-hood.

"I hope you know that i'm going to slap a baby carrier on you the first chance I get, so you ain't getting off scott free." She grinned lopsidedly at maya, and shuffled herself into the store. As expected they were immediately assaulted by soft pinks and blues from every direction. Pastel colors usually reserved for painted eggs and giant bunnies. The sheer volume of overwhelming cute was infectious, and Megan couldn't help but oogle all of the little dresses and suits.

>>"Shoot... ya got me. Uh... Bottles, probably. Blankets too, and clothes. Can't have naked infants runnin' around, can we? Uuuh... I can already feel my bank account drying up, and the little monster hasn't even been born yet!"

Maya commiserated. Man, babies were expensive! She had never given that a thought before. Even if one had a job... how did her mom do it all alone?...
They marched into the baby store.

>>"I hope you know that i'm going to slap a baby carrier on you the first chance I get, so you ain't getting off scott free."

"As long as ya don't make me take the kid into Teletubbies we're peachy" Maya grinned, looking around. "So... do we even know if it's a boy or a girl yet? I mean, we can always just go with green or yellow in case it's a gender shifter..."

She smirked. "A gender shifter for a kid? Can't say that wouldn't be a ton of fun, but it's probably more likely to turn out like the dad, or worse yet, me." Wrinkling her nose, she shifted through a rack of blue things, "'Course, given Nate's freaky huge spider pet, my mutation probably wouldn't be all that bad."

Now that she thought about it, a little brat with the ability to shift into shadows would be downright annoying. Maybe passing on her genes wouldn't be the worse choice, after all.

Wait... what had she just said? Had she told Maya about who the father was before? A quick, panicked brain search ensued while she picked apart all of the memories from visiting Maya and spilling the news. @#$%! She hand't told her yet! Maybe it would get shrugged off or something, if she didn't bring attention to it.

Trying not to look guilty, she lifted a little blue pants suit about eye level. "As far as I know it's a boy, or so says the doc. I have another ultrasound appointment coming up just to make sure, 'cuz the last one was a little early. Does this look cute, or like someone vomited lace and velvet onto a jumper?"

Act cool, Megs. Play it cool...

>>"A gender shifter for a kid? Can't say that wouldn't be a ton of fun, but it's probably more likely to turn out like the dad, or worse yet, me. 'Course, given Nate's freaky huge spider pet, my mutation probably wouldn't be all that bad."

So daddy was a mutant, which was interesting, because now they had a chance to see genetics at work and what the kid would come out to... waaaaaait a second.

"Did ya just say Nate?"

>>"As far as I know it's a boy, or so says the doc. I have another ultrasound appointment coming up just to make sure, 'cuz the last one was a little early. Does this look cute, or like someone vomited lace and velvet onto a jumper?"

Pushing the jumper down to look at Megan, Maya smirked. The spider queen was definitely blushing, and she shifty eyes did not help either.

"Nate as in, teaches at the school Nate?... Megan tell me ya did not bang the art teacher."

Oooh, this was seven shades of fun.

Her cheeks turned an deep red, and Megan huffed as she thrust the suit back onto the rack. "Of course I didn't!" She glanced around for somewhere to storm off too, as Maya had latched right onto her admission, but couldn't find a path not already blocked off by ladies with baby bumps.

Scowling, attempted to shrug it off nonchalantly. "I banged someone I tried to steal a giant pet spider from." Toying with the frill on a pink dress, she rolled her eyes innocently to the ceiling, "...After I emptied his apartment of booze."

>>"Of course I didn't! I banged someone I tried to steal a giant pet spider from...After I emptied his apartment of booze."

"Nate keeps a giant spider in the sch... you know what, nevermind." Maya chuckled, shaking her head. Art teacher indeed. Good thing Megan was not technically a student.

"Stealing booze, huh." she grinned "Ya got off easy, girl. It coulda been Sam."

God help us all.

"All right" she decided to unlatch from the confession "Baby business. Boy, huh? Do you have a name yet?... First or last?"

"Sam..?" Where had she heard that name before? oh! Right. Sam was some guy who needed a black eye. She shrugged, and boredly picked through the rest of the rack.

"Well, I have a last name, but no first. Kinda figured since you are the official god-parent you could help me out with one." She turned a wide grin on Maya, and pulled her very best kicked-puppy eyes.

"All i've got so far for a name is either Richard, or William. Both of whom come from distant great grandfathers, one twice removed." She'd thought about using her father's name, but eventually decided against it in order to avoid confusion. She hardly saw her family anymore, anyway. She didn't need a constant reminder to call home squealing at her every day. Not to mention how holidays would go, with her screaming at a toddler who shares her dad's name.

"Gah, I dunno! I'm hopeless with names!"

>>"Well, I have a last name, but no first. Kinda figured since you are the official god-parent you could help me out with one. All i've got so far for a name is either Richard, or William. Both of whom come from distant great grandfathers, one twice removed... Gah, I dunno! I'm hopeless with names!"

"Chill out little mama, you don't have to decide right now" Maya laughed, clearly enjoying Megan's less snarky side. But even with that, her face visibly lit up when Megan mentioned her naming responsibilities as a godparent. That was... so cool! Also, she had known before that she would be important in supporting Megan through her pregnancy, but that... was an actual fact that drove the thing home.

"Hey, I was named after a mythical knight and an Indian goddess" she held up her hands in defense "Have you thought this through?..."

"Oh Yeah? I once had a dog named Barky. And a hamster called Squeak. You leave me on my own with naming things and this kid's gonna have to suffer through life known as Screaming Poop factory.."

A soon to be mother who was walking past balked at Megan, which the twenty six year old didn't notice, before quickly waddling off.

" 'Sides, if I wanted a boring ol' name i'd look online." She glanced sidelong at Maya, her nose wrinkled and lips pursed, and shrugged. "...And... you know, it'd mean a lot to me, and junk."

Uncomfortable with the addition, she shoved a handful of random baby clothes into a basket someone had left unattended, looping it over her arm.

>>"Oh Yeah? I once had a dog named Barky. And a hamster called Squeak. You leave me on my own with naming things and this kid's gonna have to suffer through life known as Screaming Poop factory... 'Sides, if I wanted a boring ol' name i'd look online...And... you know, it'd mean a lot to me, and junk."

"D'awwww" Maya swooned in a very non-Mirror-like way, mostly induced by cheer and sympathy nesting instincts, and planted a big sloppy kiss on Megan's cheek "Love ya too, little mama. C'mon let's hunt for something we can put the kid in. You don' want them rolling off the bed. Or maybe I can just train Angua to lie alongside the bed? She makes good buffer..."

Nesting, nesting.

Her nose wrinkled and she scrubbed at her cheek with the back of one hand ruefully. "I don't want my kid covered in dog hair all the time. S'bad enough that blasted creature sheds all over my bed." Nope, a cradle it would have to be.

..Just... what the hell kind of crib did she need? She knew there were cribs for big kids... she'd used her sisters as a toddler. Newborns though?

Slumping across the store to where an large, elegant Bedding sign had pointed her, she stopped when she spotted the cribs. Or, rather, a crib. "...Seriously? An entire store devoted to wailing ankle biters, and they only have one bed?"

A saleswoman appeared at her side like a sale-sniffing shark, and Megan was bleeding money. "That's our brand name model. It's top of the line; memory foam mattress with temperature sensors built in to monitor the heat of the baby. You would be notified if it drops under or rises above safe temperatures for infants."

Blinking slowly, while her brain attempted to process all of that, Megan stared at the woman who had seemingly appeared out of thin air. "It's also water-proof, has a natural dipped in center to keep infants from rolling over the sides, and comes with a free baby monitoring system."

The woman looked so proud of herself, all smile with a twinkle in her eyes. Megan was starting to feel less like a customer and more like a mutant steak the more she stood there.

"Is it designed for mutant children?" Squinting at the woman's name tag, Megan angled her question at 'Rebecca' and waited. "Those features sound fine and all for human babies, but what if mine comes out sharing an x-gene with me? What if it simply turns into a spider and crawls up the sides?"

She reached out and flipped the tag on the crib, nearly toppling over when she spotted the price. "Jesuscrist, this thing is the same price as a freakin' sports car!"