Month 1: Mood Swings

It was a typical night at the mansion... Oz was fixing out a few documents at his study table. There has to be some sort of clue somewhere. It's been five years since his last encounter with the Baskervilles.... they can't just poof away.... can they? What about Jack, the tragedy 100 years ago, the truth about Alice... The story was still missing a million pages. He can't just leave it that way.

His mind was interrupted when he heard his door open. Alice peeked in timidly... as if she were a child. He wondered what happened to her this time. She usually barges in when she feels like it. He was quite surprised by her sudden shift in attitude.

"Oz..." she murmured, her eyes were red and puffy... she may have been crying for the past few hours.

"Alice? What's wrong?" he stood up from his chair as Alice ran towards him.

"What is it? Did something happen?" he asked worriedly pulling her closer to him. She wrapped her arms around him and started crying again. He embraced her and kissed the top of her head. Alice sniffed a few more times before she glanced at him.

"I missed you... What took you so long...? I tried calling out to you but you wouldn't come! I- I thought you were gone! I don't know what would happen to the baby if I'd lose you..."

As of the moment... he didn't think he was dealing with Alice. She had a really different personality than how she would normally react.

"Did you have a bad dream? I'm sorry..."

The brunette suddenly pushed him away. "THAT'S ALL YOU'RE GOING TO SAY?! I'M SORRY?! You're a useless manservant! I hate you!"

"Erm."

"Don't 'erm' me!! You're supposed to stay by me when I need you! All you think about is work work work! What about me?! I'm your master.... you're wife..." tears started flowing out again. "Am I not important?"

He reached for her hand but she pulled away. She stuck her tongue out and ran out of the room. Gil glanced at her curiously for a few seconds before entering the room. Oz sat down tiredly... frustrated at the same time. What did he just do?

"What's wrong with the rabbit?" he asked.

"I have no idea..." The blonde sighed. "Say Gil... am I a terrible husband?"

Gil laughed as he ruffled his hair. "I don't think so. Alice has been pretty stubborn since then. Try talking to her."

"Gil is right. It's normal for her act that way." Mrs. Kate came in carrying a tray of pastries. "She'll have frequent mood swings so expect her to act differently. The best thing you can do is support her... Tell her it's going to be alright." she explained as she started pouring some tea. "Please make sure you give her more attention though... she's been a lot lonely lately since you started devoting more time to work."

"Is that so?" he paused. "So... I should be going then." Oz stood up again. For some reason, he felt a little better.

His raven-haired friend smiled and patted his back. "You can do it. DAD." he teased. "Don't worry. I'll take care of these."

"Thanks, Gil." Oz smiled before running off to se Alice.

Gil got a cup of tea and chuckled. "He may have grown... but he's still the same."

"So are you." The old lady laughed. "It seems like it was only yesterday when the two of you were still playing outside... Time passes by so fast I could hardly notice."

"Yeah. Let's just hope that times like these would last... even for a short while."

As Oz entered the bedroom, he found Alice curled on the bed sleeping. He walked closer and sat on the bed beside her. He glanced at her features. Her eyes bags were thick and somehow...pale. She grew a lot thinner since she was vomiting most of what she eats. The blonde smiled as he stroked her arm gently. The brunette suddenly gave a soft moan before she opened her eyes a little. Oz instinctively withdrew his hand as he realized Alice was awake.

"Manservant?" she mumbled softly, trying to rub the sleep off as she got up to a sitting position. "What do you want?"

"Alice... I'm sorry about what happened a while ago... I- uh..." he stopped when Alice raised her hand up.

"Oz?" she looked at him innocently.

"Yes?" he titled his head slightly, waiting for her response.

Some responses aren't expressed in words... he did get a response... but not quite the way he expected it to be. Alice jumped onto him and started laughing playfully. His cheeks flushed as he realized how suggestive their position was... if only Alice was aware of it. She was on top of him with her hands pinning his shoulders down. Their faces were only inches apart.

"You know... I read something from Sharon's romance novels!" she giggled.

Oz blushed harder since he also found her giggling as seductive as their position. "W-what could that be?"

She leaned closer to him and kissed his cheek. "Do you know what a cremasteric reflex is?"

"Shit. What is Sharon teaching her?!" he thought to himself. What exactly are the emotions involved in mood swings?! Was being seductive part of it? It was unlike her to be this hyperactive. He was hoping that she wouldn't do anything that would activate his hormones to highest level. "W-What about it?"

She laughed again as her hands flew from his shoulders to his pants. "I just wanted to see if it really works! Don't move!"

Oz flushed. His hands grasped Alice's and pulled her back up to his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and pinned her down. "Alice, don't."

"What are you ashamed of? It's not like I'll be seeing it for the first time." she raised a brow.

"It's not like that! Erm, how do I explain this?..." Okay... It was all awkward. Even though they were married, he would still like to show some dignity. "Alice, you're pregnant. Don't initiate something right now that would lead to 'it'. I don't think it's safe for the baby."

"...and why would you care?!" she fought back, trying to wiggle free from his grasp, which only seduced him more.

"I CARE BECAUSE I LOVE YOU!" he yelled, making Alice stop. He released her down gently on the bed beside him and embraced her. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to spend time with you these days... I'm sorry... I know you're dealing with mood swings... and I wanted to tell you that I'm here for you... I'll be with you always... I love you, my precious Alice..."

That struck her. She was silent for the rest of the moment as she glanced at his emerald-green eyes.

"You were lonely... huh?" he whispered, sweeping out the strands of hair covering her face.

She nodded. "I was... I read from Sharon's novel that most people use sex to get love. I thought you didn't love me anymore... so..."

Oz chuckled as he cupped her cheeks with his hand. "I love you. Don't ever think otherwise."

"I-..." she blushed.

"Are we okay now?" he smiled.

Alice gave a nod.

"Somehow, you've changed. You're not as sharp as you were before."

She rolled her eyes. "What are you implying?"

He laughed. "Nothing... I'm just starting to fall in love with you more."

"Whatever." she rolled to her other side facing away from him. "Goodnight."

He smiled as he draped an arm around her. "Goodnight."

Mood swings may be a little difficult to handle but I guess Oz might think of a way to make things go smoothly.

He is... one of a kind.

Sorry for the late update. Forget about the 2-shot thingy. I'll be posting a separate chapter per month so I hope you'll stay tuned.

About Alice's OOC... It has been 5 years. Expect Oz to correct her in terms of her speech and action. :-)

What is "cremasteric reflex?"

-It is the elevation of the penis when the inner thigh is stroked. I am dealing with MATURE people, right?

I'm sorry if this chapter sucks. xD Somehow, I'm losing my motivation in writing. Ha ha. I've been practicing Elliot's version of "Lacie" on piano... so... you know how it goes. :))