Short Stories

Snail's Worry

Summary: Now more aware of Bella's pregnancy, Slow Seline is met with some concerns.

....

"Your dad doesn't know that you're pregnant....right?"

Some time after Bella dropped the news on her, Slow Seline went with her for a small walk in Gravity Falls to help them clear their heads a little from the shock.

"Don't worry, he doesn't know," Bella assured her. After a lot of walking, they decided to take a break, heading to the park and taking a seat on the bench. "And I don't plan on telling him."

"Well, that's good," Slow Seline sighed. "After what happened last time, I really don't wanna give your dad another reason to try to kill us."

The snail said that last sentence with a shiver. It made Bella feel bad for her. She almost had a near-death experience with her dad, along with Bittergiggle, Fern, Billie, and Fantoccio. Anyone would've been a victim. She had every right to fear Bill.

Now, an unborn baby was involved, thrown in just to complicate things a lot more. "Bella, this might be a troubling question, but how long do you think Bill shouldn't know about, well....that?"

The snail lowered one of her eye stalks, gesturing to the demon's swollen midsection. "Don't get me wrong," Slow Seline continued. "I don't want Bill to find out one of us got you pregnant, but something tells me he is still gonna find out one way or another. And your baby is also his grandkid, so...as much of a bad idea it is, perhaps he does need to know at some point."

Bella put a hand to her forehead. "I haven't figured that part out yet," she sighed. "I don't know. Maybe when he stops being evil. Maybe when it's safer for him to be around you guys."

"You...really think he can be redeemed?" Slow Seline raised a brow.

"Well, he is my dad, so I have to believe in him," Bella shrugged. "Besides, Charlie and I believe in a thing called second chances. There are some people out there that did horrible stuff, even to the point where they're considered irredeemable. But you'd be surprised when they turn out to be capable of redemption. I mean, one of the Apples, Bakugo, caused an entire genocide a long time ago, and he was able to redeem himself thanks to Applejack and Vriska."

"Well, some people are still skeptical of him though," Slow Seline spoke. "I think I heard that mammoth, Manny, say that he makes both the Apples and Class 1A look bad."

"I've never been there when the genocide happened, so I can't really give much of a judgement," Bella said. "But still. It's true that my dad is selfish, but he really does love me. If he's willing to put me before himself, then wouldn't that give him a little bit of a chance at redemption?"

"I guess," Slow Seline said, though still sounding a bit doubtful. "I hope if he does, he'll at least give a bit more effort."

"Look, let's not worry too much about him, okay?" Bella told her. "Everything will be fine. I know, things are a bit harder to adjust ever since the incident, but it's just one baby. We can get through this."

"Okay..." Slow Seline agreed. As she and Bella sat on the bench together, she watched as the children in front of them played, giggling and cheering as they ran around.

"To be honest, I always did wanted kids," Slow Seline spoke, which made Bella raise a brow in surprise.

"You did?"

"Yeah, to have a little girl or boy of my own," the snail chuckled. "But back when I was a human, it wasn't  easy. Not many boys were interested in a relationship, and I couldn't really adopt since it was too expensive. So, I'm actually pretty happy I get to experience it with you."

"That's really nice to hear," Bella chuckled again. "It's nice to hear something positive for once. The others I've told have been all stressed out."

"I wouldn't blame them," Slow Seline told her. "They're probably more scared about what your dad's gonna do when he finds out. Not to mention a few of them would have to explain to their own parents. And a baby is a different level of responsibility, which is another thing."

"I know, it's hard," Bella said, and placed a gentle hand on Slow Seline's head. "But we're all gonna get through it together. After all, I have all of you, and you guys have me."

Slow Seline smiled a bit. "You're...a miracle, you know that? We wish there are more people like you."

Bella chuckled as she blushed. "Yeah, well. There's gonna be another. And they'll be just as wonderful."