" I just wanna be myself " (A Hunchback Of Notre Dame fanstory)

Chapter 3

The days seemed to just fly on by, as day by day, week by week, and month by month, the pregnancy symptoms kept hitting Esmeralda left and right, and these weren't your typical run of the mill symptoms either.

The nausea and feeling dizzy were consistent, Esmeralda was usually just laying in bed or on the couch, usually with a warm damp rag on her forehead, she wanted to take medicine for it, but she didn't really know which medicine to take or if she could even take any medicine for it.

Meanwhile, Quasimodo had bought and installed a high-definition security system, he wanted to keep his family safe, despite the fact that Quasimodo himself would never hurt a fly, let alone another person, he wanted to keep his family safe as he worried constantly about them and if anyone would do anything to them.

Currently, Esmeralda was laying on the couch, a cold rag on her forehead to keep her cool, she didn't really have much on, other than some underwear and a thin blanket covering her body, she also had a small trashcan next to the couch, just in case she had to throw up, which didn't happen that often but with the constant nausea, she just always felt like she had to throw up.

" Hey Quasi? " Esmeralda called out " When's my monthly doctor's appointment? " she let out a quiet sigh as the overwhelming feeling of nausea washed over her.

The quadruplets were all sitting on the floor, staring at the T.V as some cartoons played on the screen.

Jade had a small blanket wrapped around her, her hair was tied into small pony tails, she wore a light green dress that had a butterfly pattern all over it, she also had small blue socks on as she quietly drank some juice from her sippy cup.

Felix was laying on his belly, his little legs swaying up and down. He had on a pair of overalls that were purple with hot pink buttons. He was laying his head on a plush lion and he wasn't paying THAT much attention to the cartoons though.

Charlotte was over by the toy bin, as she was playing with a train set and a couple of superhero figures, she didn't really seem to care about the T.V. She had her hair pulled into a bun, she was wearing a shirt that had a shooting star on it, along with a pair of training underwear.

Micheal was napping, and he was out like a light. His hair was wild and feathered out, drool was trickling out of his mouth and landing on the plush cat he was resting his head on. He had a regular yellow shirt on and purple pants.

" Quasimodo? " Esmeralda called out again, this time picking her head up and off the couch and sitting up a little, using her elbows to prop herself up, a confused look on her face.

After throwing her legs over the edge of the couch, Esmeralda stood up, her hands letting go of the thin blanket that was covering her body, causing the blanket to fall to the floor, revealing that she was nearly fully nude, except for the underwear that she was wearing.

Despite the constant nausea and feeling fatigued, Esmeralda slowly walked down the hall to where her's and Quasimodo's bedroom was, figuring he was still in there, as Quasimodo himself wasn't too busy with much, and he wasn't going to carve much, as his hands were becoming sore from how much carving he had been doing the past couple days, so he was taking a short break from carving.

Just as she suspected, once Esmeralda had entered their bedroom, Quasimodo was sitting on the bed, his legs bent, knees up to his chest. He was watching some random T.V drama show on their bedroom T.V, with the subtitles on, which wasn't THAT out of the ordinary for him, as he would usually watch shows or whatever else with subtitles, mainly because, as he put it in his own words; " Subtitles just help me understand it better, my ears don't really pick up certain words like they used to when i was younger "

The sound of the door opening caught Quasimodo's attention, as he looked over at Esmeralda, which made him smile " Oh! hey Mon ange! Do you need help with anything? " He asked, seemingly oblivious to the question that Esmeralda had asked him just a few minutes ago.

Esmeralda cocked an eyebrow in confusion " Uh... You didn't hear me just a couple minutes ago? Are you okay? " She asked, her arms crossed.

Quasimodo's eyes widened a bit, his face flushed red out of embarrassment " I... i didn't even realize you called for me. Je suis désolé! My ears have been ringing for continuously for the past couple days... " He responded, burying his head in his knees out of embarrassment.

Esmeralda's eyes widened in shock, did Quasimodo really not hear her? okay, that was frightening to her.

" Okay, You know what? We're going to the doctor. For both Me and you. So I can get the baby checked and you can get your hearing checked, because i'm worried about you " Esmeralda spoke as she made her way to the dresser where she proceeded to pull out a shirt and a pair of leggings.

" Do... do you think my hearing could be that bad? " Quasimodo asked, feeling ashamed as he looked down at the floor

Esmeralda looked back at Quasimodo as she pulled her shirt over her growing belly, which barely poked out at the bottom of the shirt " It's better to be safe than sorry, Mon Ange. I'd rather get your hearing checked now then wait until it gets worse " She explained as she tied a purple scarf around her neck as an accessory to complete her outfit.

" What about our kids? " Quasimodo asked as he stood from the bed, his hands clasped together, patiently waiting for Esmeralda to finish getting dressed.

Esmeralda smiled " I'm gonna make Clopin watch them, I've already spoken to the other Romani folk to not smoke or burn anything if they were to watch our children "

Quasimodo quietly laughed " If anything, Clopin will teach our children how to pickpocket people and how to do somersaults instead of actually babysitting them "

After a while, The couple had dropped the kids off at the ' Court Of Miracles ', where their l'oncle Clopin picked them up and promised to take good care of them. The couple then started to make their way to the local Eye and Ear doctor, mainly because Esmeralda stated that Quasimodo's hearing was much more important then her own check-up.

When they finally reached the Eye and Ear doctor, they sat patiently in an exam room, they both had fearful expressions on their faces, afraid of what the otolaryngologist would say about what was going on with Quasimodo's hearing.

Quasimodo himself was already near-blind in his left eye, he didn't have much sight left in that eye, but loosing his hearing or even going deaf? He'd be so devastated, would he even be able to hear his children call for him? Would he be able to hear his newborn child cry for the first time? These upsetting thoughts were clouding his mind as he sat in the chair, fidgeting with his thumbs as his gaze met the ground, trying to keep himself calm.

Esmeralda sat in a chair next to Quasimodo, one hand interlocked with Quasimodo's arm, it was one of her many methods of keeping him calm when he was getting anxious or worried about something. Her other hand rested on her small baby bump, occasionally rubbing it gently as she felt the growing baby move ever so slightly against her.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, the otolaryngologist finally entered the room after running a few test on Quasimodo and his hearing, and they look on her face wasn't a good one. She had bad news, the couple knew, and they braced themselves.

" Well... " The doctor began " After looking at all the results, me and the other doctors have discovered that you've lost about 50% of your hearing in both ears, have you been around any objects or items that could cause loud noises constantly? "

Quasimodo felt his face flush red from embarrassment, his gaze still on the ground, he rubbed the back of his neck " Well.. yeah, i'm the Notre Dame bell ringer. And I've been the bell ringer ever since i was about... maybe 13 years old? " he responded.

The doctor's eyes widen in surprise upon hearing this " Since you were 13? And if you do not mind me asking, how old are you now? "

" I'm 23 now " Quasimodo responded

The doctor sighed quietly as she thought to herself ' 23... oh my god, he's so young still! But then again, hearing loss can effect anybody at any age, no matter what. Well, he's going to need hearing aids. '

The doctor clasped her hands together " You're going to need hearing aids " She spoke

This caught both Quasimodo and Esmeralda off guard, a look of shock plastered on their face, they looked at each other, they were clearly worried, how would their children react to their father with hearing aids? How would their friends react? How would the other Romani folk react? Quasimodo was so nervous, he thought he was far too young to loose his hearing.

" Now, Now, you're going to be okay " The doctor reassured " Once you get your hearing aids in, you'll be able to hear a lot better, you'll be able to turn them on and off, and you can even take them out "

Quasimodo let out a sigh " What about our kids? Will they need hearing aids too? like... can my hearing loss be hereditary? " He asked.

" Well, no. From what we can tell from the test we ran on you, the main cause of your hearing loss is from you ringing the bells ever since you were 13. So it's unlikely for your hearing loss to be hereditary, unless your kids become bell ringers themselves " The doctor responded as another doctor walked in the room, holding a case that was holding the hearing aids themselves.

The doctor opened the case, revealing the hearing aids, they had small buttons on the back of them so they could be turned on and off, or to turn the volume up and down. The doctor gently brushed Quasimodo's hair way from his ears as she carefully attached the hearing aids to him. She then turned them on, catching Quasimodo off guard for a brief moment.

" Alright " The doctor spoke " Can you hear much better now? Or is it the same as it was before? Or did nothing change? "

Quasimodo smiled " Seems to be working! Everything seems to be much clearer then before! " he began to clap happily.

Esmeralda smiled and let out a sigh of relief, she felt herself well up with tears of joy, but she hid the fact that she wanted to cry " Merci beaucoup! "  she told the doctor.

After that, the couple left the Eye and Ear doctor as they began to make their way to the obstetrician's office, as it was also time for Esmeralda's monthly check-up. As the couple walked the streets, Esmeralda felt the baby kick very gently against her hand. She gently rubbed her baby  bump as the baby continued to gently kick against her hand.

"What gender do you think the baby will be, Quasi? A boy or a girl? " Esmeralda asked as she looked over at him

" Well, to be honest with you, I don't really care what gender the baby is, what matters more to me is if the baby is healthy or not. " Quasimodo responded, looking at Esmeralda as he spoke.

Esmeralda's eyes widen in surprise, but it quickly faded away as she nodded in agreement with what Quasimodo said " yeah, you got a point. The baby's health is much more important then whether or not the baby is a boy or a girl. Although, no matter what gender the baby is, They will be wearing adorable clothes! "

Quasimodo giggled " Aren't all baby clothes adorable though? "

" Yes, a lot of baby clothes are adorable. Not the ones from America though, those ones are always... weird " Esmeralda shuddered slightly as the couple finally made their way into the obstetrician's office.

" Really? What makes you say that? " Quasimodo asked as he sat in a chair in the somewhat packed waiting area.

Esmeralda began signing herself in " Well... " she began as she signed some papers " I had a family friend that traveled to America, mainly to see a bunch of landmarks. And they had a 3 month old baby with them, and one day, they went shopping for a couple of baby's clothes and... they were all gendered. "

Quasimodo cocked an eyebrow in confusion, tilting his head to the side " But... wouldn't that help with parents? Like, are the clothes just pink and blue? "

Esmeralda finished signing herself in as she gave the paper back to the front desk nurse before sitting back down " While that is true, the clothes themselves have words written all over them, saying weird stuff like ' ladies man ' or ' i'm single '. Very gross stuff like that "

Appalled couldn't even describe how Quasimodo reacted once he heard this, his hand covering his mouth as he sat, that very sentence swimming through his mind, he tried to figure out why baby clothes were saying stuff like that, but there wasn't an answer he could come up with, or even if there was a answer.

" But... they're for babies, why would baby clothes say weird or gross stuff like that? " He questioned, scratching his head.

Esmeralda shrugged in response " Honestly, i can't answer that. We'd have to ask the Americans that kind of question "

Quasimodo laughed quietly as a nurse walked through the door, and called their names out, signifying that the doctor was ready for them. The couple stood up and made their way to an exam room, where Esmeralda sat on the examination bed and Quasi sat in chair next to said examination bed.

The nurse took the typical assessments; Blood-work, heart rate, blood pressure, and asked if Esmeralda had been drinking or smoking while pregnant, which she denied, as she wouldn't dream of drinking or smoking while pregnant. After taking in everything, the nurse made her way to the door, explaining that the obstetrician would be in shortly, and offered Esmeralda a hospital gown to wear, which she agreed too.

After the nurse felt, Esmeralda took her clothes off and put the hospital gown on, she folded her clothes up and set them on the empty chair that was next to Quasimodo, who was looking away, mainly out of respect. Esmeralda then sat back on the examination bed, the baby bump just barely covering her upper thighs, her hand gently resting atop the bump itself.

After what seemed like forever, the obstetrician finally entered the room with an ultrasound machine in tow " Bonjour! Comment allez-vous?  " She asked as she closed the door, moving the ultrasound machine next to the examination bed.

Esmeralda smiled as she turned herself so she'd be laying on the bed " We've been okay. These symptoms haven't been light this time at all, but I've been managing with it. "

The obstetrician laughed " I see, i see. I bet this little one is giving you a lot of troubles, huh? " She walked over to a cabinet, took out a pair of gloves and put them on before grabbing the gel that would be used to perform an ultrasound.

" Yeah, they really have been. But then again, at least it's not four of them all kicking or moving continuously all day and all night. " Esmeralda remarked sarcastically.

" That's true. So, you excited to find out the gender of the baby or are you more worried about the baby's health? " The obstetrician asked as she placed the gel on Esmeralda's stomach, she also turned the ultrasound machine on.

Esmeralda tilted her head to the side " A bit of both, actually! " She stated as she looked over at Quasimodo, who was smiling softly back at her " We personally don't mind what gender the baby is, we really wanna know if the baby is healthy " 

" Right, that makes sense. Health is more important than gender "

The obstetrician that placed the probe on Esmeralda's stomach, which the screen showed the inside of, and showed the image of a fetus inside as well, and the sound of a baby's heartbeat came though the machine, kind of echoing off of the walls of the room.