"Sure thing, beautiful."

Sure enough, he arrives only minutes later, greeting Uncle Ted and Aunt Babs on the way up to Dinah's room.

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Dinah was sitting on her bed, looking at the floor. She looked up when Riley came in, and Khaji Dha identified him as "50% genetic contributor to parasite."

"Hey," she said. "You're, um, gonna want to sit down."

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He furrows his brow as he can sense something's up. He crosses the room and sits down on the floor in front of her, kissing her and then holding their hands together in her lap.

"What's wrong?"

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"Ri... I... I'm..."

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"Buggy? Do you and Riley want nachos? I'm throwing a batch together." There's an abrupt knock and questioning at Dinah's door.

Ted tended to ask a lot of questions during any period of time that Riley and Dinah were alone in her room.

"Sure thing, Uncle Ted, thanks." Riley answers quickly.

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Ack! Dinah instantly turned almost as red as her hair.

"Great, Dad, thanks," she said quickly.

She cheated a little and waited until the Scarab marked his position as back downstairs.

"Ri..." she began again. "I'm pregnant."

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Riley just smiles.

And blinks.

And blinks again.

"I... what'd you say?"

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"I said, I'm pregnant!" Dinah said, louder than she intended, pulling her hands away.

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There's an abrupt stomping on the stairs, followed by a squeak of wheels, and someone being soundly thumped, followed by hushed exchanges.

"...Oh."

Riley just gets up and holds her. "I'm sorry... whatever you decide, I love you and I'll support you no matter what, but I'm so sorry you have to be in this situation at all."

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Dinah held on to him tightly, leaning her head against his chest. "I'm... I'm scared, Riley."

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"It's okay to be scared. Perfectly natural to be." He strokes her hair, holding her against him. "Whatever you want to do, I'll make sure you get the best medical care available in any time period."

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Still holding on. She might never let go.

"You promise?"

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"Of course. I'm a Time Master. Solving problems is what I do." He smiles reassuringly at her.

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"We're... we're gonna be parents," she said, quietly, as it sunk in more fully.

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Riley feels his chest tighten a bit. "So you've already decided?" He smiles at her, wanting to make sure.

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"I... I can't see deciding anything else, Riley," she told him quietly. "I love you."

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"I love you too, Dinah." He responds, then mumbles. "Marry me.... and I know it's not horribly romantic like this, and I was planning to wait until we both graduated college, but... well.... kind of an impetus now."

Yeah, that's right, Riley knows words like 'impetus'. So what?

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Dinah would defend to her dying day that Riley was smarter than most people believed.

"Like there was ever any danger of me marrying someone else anyway?" she quipped. "Better make it quick though, because I'm pretty sure Dad's going to kill you. And then go kill Uncle Mike."

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"I just didn't want you to think I was taking it for granted! You could have your pick of guys."

Then he snorts.

"My dad can beat up your dad."

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"You wish."

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