Obsessed in Space

"Don," she sighed and gave him a pointed look. "We have to tell them."

He knew he was acting childish, but he respected John and Maureen, and he really didn't want them to lose respect for him. He sighed and looked at the ground, kicking his boot softly against the floor.

Judy must've guessed what he was feeling, as she usually did, because he felt her fingers intertwine with his slowly, and then a gentle reassuring squeeze.

"They aren't going to hate you. They love you! We've all been through so much together." She pulled on his hand to get him to look at her. As their eyes met, a smile danced in Judy's eyes as she pulled her hand, along with Don's attached hand towards her stomach.

She knew he couldn't help but smile at the reminder of the new little life that they had created. Despite the circumstances, and that this baby had pulled a complete 180 on their lives, they were both ecstatic.

Something about a new baby coming into the world, not long after so many had perished, filled them with hope for the future.

The future held so many unknowns for them. Would they ever reach Alpha Centauri? Would Don be allowed to stay? What would being a mom mean for Judy's still young medical career?

Right now, however, the main unknown was how the rest of the Robinsons would react to the news that their family was expanding. Judy seemed confident that they would ultimately be happy, but Don couldn't help but feel anxious.

After everything they had done for him, John and Maureen felt more like parents to him than his own parents ever did. But he trusted Judy when she told him that 'parents are always happy to become grandparents!'

Don could've stayed like this all day. His hand on Judy's stomach, feeling his baby kicking him, which was no surprise given who the mother was. Her hand was on his, so when she pulled it away, he was knocked out of his trance.

She was looking at him funny, with her head tilted to the side, as he continued to stand there, not moving his hand.

Suddenly both of his arms were around her waist and he pulled her against him and pressed his forehead to hers, sighing.

"I guess we'd better go tell them, huh." They both had their eyes closed, basking in the moment.

"Huh..?" Judy said breathlessly, obviously affected by his sudden closeness. If they weren't careful, they'd end up staying in his room for the rest of the night instead of going to see her parents.

She pulled back and cleared her throat as Don chuckled. She seemed to be more affected by him lately. Probably the hormones, not that he was complaining, but it did tend to keep them away from other important things.

She nodded in response to his question, if slightly delayed. He smirked and leaned in to kiss her on the cheek. "Alright, princesa, lead the way."

When they approached the Jupiter, they let go of one another's hand, because, oh yeah, the Robinsons didn't even know that they were dating. Or so Don and Judy had convinced themselves.

When they walked into the hub, they were surprised to see all four of the other Robinsons around the table playing cards. Penny was usually with Vijay in the afternoon, and Will was usually in his room with his Robot, or walking around the ship, with his Robot.

Four sets of eyes looked up from their cards as soon as they heard Don and Judy walk in. Don stopped and almost tripped on his own feet when he realized they were all staring at him, which was unfortunate because Judy was directly behind him and slammed into his back when he stopped.

"Ouch," Don turned around to grab her in case she was falling, but she was only rubbing her forehead and stifling a laugh.

"What have you two been up to?" Maureen asked, eyebrows raised.

The Robinsons weren't idiots, and one would have to be an idiot not to notice that Don and Judy always left and arrived together.

"Who?" Don asked, playing innocent, and Judy had to resist the urge to facepalm.

Judy sighed and stepped closer to him. "Mom, Dad, Penny, and Will," she interlaced her fingers with Don's, "Don and I have something to tell you."

To their surprise, when they finally looked back at the family, John and Maureen were smiling, Penny was smirking, and Will looked like he had just finished rolling his eyes.

"So you finally decided to tell us," Penny said, her smirk turning into a smile.

Don and Judy locked eyes, deciding there was no turning back now.

"Yes, we decided to finally tell you that we are officially together, that way you would know we were telling the truth when we tell you..." Don trailed off, nerves getting to him in the last second.

Judy cleared her throat. "When we tell you that... we're having a baby."

Don West wasn't a nervous man. He usually operated with a baseline confidence level that could even be called cocky.

If someone came across him now, pacing back and forth and seemingly talking to himself, they might pass by without realizing it was him at all.

"Don?"

He froze, identifying the voice in his head, and trying his best to compose himself before turning around.

Don tried to look normal, but he really had a very fake looking grin and wide eyes, as he turned to meet the shocked and confused face of Penny Robinson.

"Hey, what's up?" Don asked, propping his arm up against the wall as if this was a completely normal spot for her to find him standing.

"Well... I was just wanting to talk to my parents, but it seems like maybe you have something more pressing to talk to them about?" She gave him a quizzical look, and her eyes seemed to be analyzing every movement of his face for the tiniest of clues.

"Me? Talk to your parents? Why would I, Don West ever need to talk to John and Maureen Robinson about anything, ever? That's the most insane thing I've ever heard in my life. Seriously, what are you even talking about, loca?

"Okay, well that was insanely over the top, so obviously you do need to talk to them. I'll be quick so that you have the rest of the night to work up the courage to go inside...." she smirked, almost knowingly, as she entered the Jupiter.

Which made Don wonder, could she know? No, it wasn't possible. He didn't even really know what he was going to say, how could she?

Penny was true to her word, and way before Don was even close to ready, he came face to face with John Robinson.

"Don, come inside. It sounds like we need to talk."

The way he said it made Don feel as though he was being called into the principal's office. Not that he had any experience with that...

He sighed as John turned around and walked inside. Don took a moment to shake out his nerves as best he could before following John inside. Maureen was already seated at the table, which meant that he really had no more time to prepare, it was now or never.

"So, Don. Penny said you were outside acting weird and nervous, and she could tell you wanted to talk to us about something?" The look Maureen was giving him made him want to turn around and walk out.

He cleared his throat. "Oh yeah, now that you mention it, I did have something I wanted to talk to you both about."

When he received no response other than expectant stares, his hand came to rub the back of his neck.

"Okay, so, there's something I need to ask you, but I need to provide background information before we get there. You guys remember how we were stranded for seven months on that planet together?"

John sighed and Maureen rolled her eyes. "Yes, Don. We remember." She said, with exasperation.

"Well, you know, Judy was there too, and she and I really hit it off throughout those seven months."

At that, John's hands moved to grip the table. "Hit it off? Why don't you elaborate for us."

"Okay, well-"

"Choose your words carefully, West."

"Uh, okay. Well, Judy and I actually, it's a funny story. For a different time maybe... We, well, we started dating."

He paused there, to gauge their reactions. John was still, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the table harder. Maureen, though, appeared to have a smirk on her face, much like the one Penny had given him earlier.

He shot her a quizzical look before continuing.

"So, me being, well... me, and Judy being Judy, I always assumed that she would want to stop seeing me if and when we ever got back to civilization. I assumed she only dated me because I was her only option.

As it turns out, we got back, started working, and stayed together. It's been a little while now, and things are reasonably calm for the moment..."

He decided to end there for now, to make sure John wasn't about to launch towards him and pull some Navy Seal assassination move on him.

To his surprise, John's knuckles were no longer white, and Maureen was actually smiling.

"So, Don," said Maureen, still smiling. "What was it that you wanted to ask us?"

He glanced over at John, who nodded at him in encouragement.

"Okay, so, even though things are calm for the moment, I think we all understand that things can change in an instant.

I love your daughter, and for some reason she actually loves me. I was hoping to get your blessing... in the interest of making the most of the time we have... to ask her to marry me,"

Don zoned out for a moment, surprised that he managed to make it through the question. He might've been mistaken, but he was pretty sure he heard Maureen make some sort of girlish squealing sound, or could that have been coming from someone listening in at the door of the Jupiter?

Maureen stood and walked over to him. She placed her hand on his shoulders before pulling him into a full blown hug.

"Don, you've been part of the family since you agreed to accompany John to try and reach the Resolute. Of course you have my blessing to be with Judy!"

They both laughed, and Don thought maybe his allergies were kicking in, because he could feel his eyes watering.

John had remained silent, but finally came to Don, and put a hand on his shoulder, gripping very tightly.

"Don, if you ever hurt her, you'll have to deal with me, and Penny. That being said," he finally smiled then, "I agree with Maureen."

Don's allergies were really hitting him hard after that, but he managed to choke out a promise to love and cherish their baby girl before excusing himself from the Jupiter.

When he was gone, Maureen looked at John smugly. "What?" John asked, still smiling.

He shouldn't have been surprised. He turned her down when she asked him to kiss her a couple months into their seven month involuntary vacation.

He knew that she was only asking him because she was about to turn 19 never having kissed anyone, and he was the only non-family member on board. He knew if she could just get back to civilization, she would find someone who fit her better, deserved her and all that.

So why, then, was he was frozen in the entrance of the dining hall, tray in hand, watching Judy giggle as some tall blonde jock whispered into her ear?

Don didn't realize he had stopped until someone came up behind him and cleared their throat. "Sorry," he said as he shook his head to clear whatever was going on and found a seat.

Coincidentally, the seat he chose had the perfect view of Judy and her new friend, but he was out of her view.

He pretended to be busy eating, but his eyes never left her face. Blonde boy moved his arm from her shoulder to her lower back, and started tracing circles there. Don scoffed and looked around to gauge any other reactions to the display. Turns out he was the only one paying attention.

He wished Debbie was there, she would understand.

You see, Don was pretty sure Debbie thought he was a moron for turning Judy down. And since Debbie was a chicken, she was pretty much only there to confirm his own true thoughts.

Honestly, Don had spent a lot of time thinking and talking to Debbie about Judy, and the more he thought, the more he regretted not kissing her.

Worst case scenario, they would've entered into a part time fling that would've ended as soon as they found their way back. But best case scenario... Don could be the one with his arm around Judy in the dining hall, making her laugh like that.

He sighed as he looked down at his untouched tray of food, and decided that all this reflection had made him lose his appetite.

He sighed and pushed his chair back to stand up. As luck would have it, his chair made such a loud screech when he did, that the entire dining hall stopped talking and turned to stare at him. Including Judy.

He picked up his tray and gave a nod and smile to the room before making his way out.

As Don passed her table he caught Judy's eyes, and the look on her face made him furrow his brow. She was smirking, with a sort of knowing laughter in her eyes.

Son of a.... She was playing him.

As he dropped his tray and walked out of the dining hall, he heard footsteps running behind him. He visibly sighed, turning to see what she wanted, ready for whatever she planned to throw at him.

As he turned, he was shocked when he felt a pair of arms around his neck, as she pressed her forehead to his.

"I knew you would get jealous," she whispered, smiling smugly.

"Jealous? Don West doesn't get..." she interrupted him by pressing her lips to his, smiling as she felt his arms wrap around her waist and pull her closer. He pulled away to look at her.

"So who was that guy?"

"Oh, just one of the other first years in my program. I saw you going through the line, and I needed to know for sure if you really didn't want to be with me. Turns out I was right all along."

She grabbed his hand from her waist and intertwined their fingers. "Come on, let's go tell my parents."

He smiled at her and followed her, and then came to a halt when what she said finally reached his ears.

"Wait, what?!" Judy stifled a laugh as she stopped and waited for him to catch up with her so she could peck him on the cheek.

She hesitated as she walked towards Don's door. She hadn't spoken to him in a few days, but she needed to see him after what he did for Penny.

As she approached, she saw a crumpled piece of paper bounce across the threshold, and quickened her pace to find out what it was. It was a list of former customers of Don's, and it served as the perfect ice breaker for Judy.

It was harder than she thought, returning to the resolute and the 24th colonist group. She figured being away from her family for the first time in seven months would be difficult, but she hadn't anticipated how challenging it would be not being able to see or talk to Don whenever she wanted. As much as she tried to tell herself that she really only missed Debbie, she was finally at a point of acceptance.

Judy Robinson had feelings for Don West, the badass princess.

Don seemed less upbeat than normal. Even the annoyance about his long list of unsatisfied customers didn't explain it. Despite his deflection, she knew something else was bugging him.

"You know, once we get to Alpha Centauri, everyone will hear about your heroism and all will be forgiven."

"Is that how it works? Yeah. Maybe." He didn't seem convinced.

She still stood in the doorway as he responded, but the resignation in his voice made her take a step into the room and move towards him, taking a seat beside him on the bunk. It sounded like he had already decided that he would never be able to stay on Alpha Centuari, never be able to stay with her. Or maybe he was just wallowing in his current situation, being imprisoned in small quarters.

Don turned to look at her as she sat down, his head resting on the wall behind him as he winked and gave her one of his signature smiles. Judy decided she must have been subconsciously giving him a pitying look, so he was resorting to his most reliable form of deflection, his charm.

"Don't worry about me, Princess. I'll be fine in here until we reach Alpha Centauri. I've got Debbie to keep me company."

"I'm not worried, I'm just upset that you're being punished for saving the lives of four colonists."

Something made him move his hand to cover hers, maybe the slight frown or the tremble of her bottom lip as she looked down at the ground.

She brought her free hand to their already entwined hands.

"It's not fair," she whispered, as a single tear slid down her cheek. So much had happened since they had decided to sail the Jupiter, the emotion of it all was finally hitting her. Don almost dying from the kelp, Penny and her mom almost dying from the lightning, her Dad almost dying in the well, and now this. Her best friend being seen as a criminal instead of the hero that he truly was.

Don caught the tear with his thumb. He had a puzzled look on his face for a moment, but it must've dawned on him how emotionally draining the past few days had been. He sighed, and looked at her with understanding.

"Come here," he said, as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to him.

Despite all of the emotion that Judy was feeling in that moment, she couldn't help but feel safe with Don's arms around her, his chin resting on the top of her head.