FicWad

"Okay, everyone, gather around. I've got something important to tell you," Luigi said.

Peach, Daisy, Yoshi, Toad and Toadsworth were all sitting in Luigi's room a few days later. Luigi and Peach had discussed on who to tell the big news to, since they wanted to do something for the little wolf. Luckily for them, Mario was sleeping in his own room, having felt very tired again. Everyone else in the room had no idea what was going on, though.

"What's this about, Luigi?" Yoshi asked, sipping on a red drink.

Luigi anxiously wrung his hands, wondering how his friends would handle the news. "What I'm going to tell you next must be kept a secret between us. You can't tell anyone about this, okay? It's really important."

Everyone nodded solemnly. They didn't know what he would tell them, but it sounded pretty serious.

"Promise you won't say a word to anyone else?" Luigi added, needing confirmation.

"We promise," everyone repeated simultaneously.

The younger sibling in green took a deep breath. "Okay, then," he started. "You guys have all seen how Mario has been acting lately?"

"Yeah, I've seen him. He looks like he ate a whole watermelon without chewing it!" Yoshi said first, taking another sip. "I'm wondering how that happened, since I can't even do that myself!"

"He's always tired for some reason," Toad added. "I asked him to play Eels and Escalators with me, and he fell asleep before I even rolled the dice!"

"And when he's not tired, he's winning heated debates with that tough old chef in the dining hall!" Daisy exclaimed. "I saw that about a month ago, and it was amazing!"

"Master Mario has been acting rather strangely," Toadsworth remarked. "His appetite reduced to nothing a month ago, and now he's stuffing himself with just about any kind of pastry he could find! I had to hide my strawberry waffles from him!"

"Well...we know why he's acting like that," Luigi continued, gesturing to Peach and himself. He took another deep breath. "It's because...Mario's pregnant."

+++

Yoshi immediately did a spit take. "WHAT?!"

"Yo, for real?" Toad asked, stunned.

"That can't be true! This has to be a joke!" Daisy exclaimed, laughing a little out of spite.

"Master Luigi, I must remind you that men are not able to be impregnated," Toadsworth said, his voice a bit shaky. "Mario can't possibly be carrying a child inside him."

"No, it's true!" Luigi said quickly. He turned to Peach, who gave him a manila folder. He opened it and took out a photo of the most recent ultrasound, giving it to Toadsworth. "Look, it's right here!"

The elderly Toad adjusted his spectacles before taking a look at the photo. His eyes widened and his face paled as he saw the black-and-white images of the developing fetus. "Sweet mother of Peach..."

"Lemme see it!" Daisy exclaimed, snatching the photo from Toadsworth. When she saw the fetus, she did a double take. "You sure this is Mario's baby?" she asked hesitantly, turning it around. "This could be fake, you know...what if this is simply some other woman's ultrasound picture?"

"Have you seen any humans pregnant around here?" Luigi asked. "This is a human baby."

"Um...no?" Daisy replied.

Peach came over to Daisy and pointed at the photo. "See right there? This baby has a tail," she said.

"Damn, it really is Mario's baby then," Daisy said, surprised.

"Our turn!" Toad called while Yoshi took the photo from Daisy. The two eagerly looked at the picture. "So he didn't eat a watermelon, then," Yoshi said. "Darn, I was gonna ask him how'd he did that."

"Like the watermelon was gonna stay in his belly for a month," Toad replied, rolling his eyes.

"How long has Mario been pregnant?" Toadsworth, seeming to have gotten over his little panic attack.

"About two months now," Peach replied.

"Wait, he's only been preggers two months, and his belly's already swelled up like a balloon?" Daisy asked. "I don't get it."

"Oh, Dr. Toadley said that male pregnancies occur three times faster than normal pregnancies," Luigi explained. "My guess is that he'll be due in about a month and a half."

"And why wait till now to tell us?" Yoshi asked, feeling a bit offended.

Peach looked nervously at Luigi, then turned back to the group. "We weren't sure if you guys would handle the news well," she said softly.

"Well, I suppose that would make sense," Toadsworth said, nodding. "It does sound like an impossible story. But it does explain his erratic behavior and his swollen stomach."

Toad looked at the ultrasound image again. "So, is the baby a boy or girl?" he asked.

"It'll probably be a girl," Daisy spoke up. "I can show her how to be awesome at sports and have rockin' tea parties!"

"Nah, I think it'll be a boy," Yoshi contradicted. "I can teach him how to gulp down apples in a single bite and go on adventures!"

"Well, Mario wants the gender to be a surprise, so we won't know until the baby is born," Luigi said. "But that is part of the reason why I wanted you guys to come here."

Everyone quieted down. There was more?

Luigi looked around and lowered his voice, as if Mario himself was listening through the walls. "Peach and I want to throw Mario a surprise baby shower in about two weeks, when he enters the third trimester."

Daisy did a gasp that was so loud and high-pitched, the windows could have cracked. "Omigosh, REALLY?!" she squealed.

"Shhh!" Peach shushed her. "It's supposed to be a surprise! We can't let Mario find out!"

Daisy immediately shushed. "Oops, sorry," she whispered sheepishly.

"A baby shower sounds great, Luigi!" Yoshi said in a quiet voice. "Especially if there's gonna be food!"

"I can help with the decorations!" Daisy piped up in an excited, yet quieter voice. "Ooh, I've always wanted to plan one of these!"

"It will have to be a private one, though," Luigi said. "If word about this baby shower or Mario's pregnancy gets out and the wrong person hears it, that could be bad news for us!"

"Why would it be bad?" Toad asked, confused. "I thought baby showers were supposed to be big events."

Luigi and Peach (besides Dr. Toadley) were the only ones who fully understood the little wolf's inner powers, so they tried to word it as simply as possible. "Dr. Toadley believes the baby may be born with extraordinary powers, so if Bowser or any other bad guy finds out, they might try to kidnap him or her," Luigi explained.

"And if Bowser kidnaps me again before Mario's due, and he tries to save me, Bowser will definitely find out about the baby," Peach added, worriedly. She hated to be a liability in all of this. Of course she was strong, but Bowser was far larger and stronger than she was. She could never break out of his iron grip, and whenever he crashed through the walls, roaring fire, she would always become so paralyzed with fear that she couldn't do anything but scream for help.

Everyone gasped. "Then we are in a graver situation than I thought!" Toadsworth said, shocked and concerned for the well-being of his princess. "We cannot let that fiend Bowser find the baby, and we certainly cannot let Peach be kidnapped!" he cried, his face turning two shades paler. "What are we going to do?"

"The best thing for all of us to do is keep Mario's pregnancy a secret," Luigi said. "If Bowser never finds out, he'll never have a reason to kidnap the baby."

"But what if Bowser comes to kidnap Peach?" Toad asked. "I know he's definitely willing to do that."

"Dr. Toadley and I have talked about that. We're setting up a secret passageway all within the castle that leads to a safe room that Peach and Mario can escape to. That way, no one will get kidnapped, and Bowser won't find out about the baby!" Luigi answered. "I've handled Bowser before, and if he poses a threat to the kingdom, I'm more than willing to stop him."

"Attaboy, Luigi!" Yoshi and Toad both cheered.

"Thank goodness for that," Toadsworth said, wiping his forehead in relief. "I feel a trifle better now that the princess will be secure, as well as the unborn child."

"Now...about that baby shower..." Daisy began, with a twinkle in her eye.