A/N: I do sincerely apologize for the long wait, but as I continue to mention, there are other stories of mine that are waiting an even longer period than this!

Furthermore, the reason for my procrastination is that I am now a college student after putting off the thought of it for the last five years. I still haven't received my textbooks yet, but I have already ready the study guide of Stage 1, so... I have to wait patiently for it.

That being said, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 08

Second Chances

Now—

"Well, this is certainly a surprise." The male doctor announced with the surprise lingering in his voice. "When I saw the chart saying you were here for an infertility test, I thought I… imagined… uh—" He blinked as he looked at the person beside the seated giant. "Um… and w-who are you ma'am?"

"Morinozuka Haruhi," Takashi answered quickly before she could snap at him. "My sister-in-law."
"Oh… I see, well, congratulations on your pregnancy." He smiled and turned to him. "Will she watch?"
Steel blue gray hues turned to her, then the doctor, "I would prefer it if she was here with me."

"If that's what you want, whatever makes you comfortable." The doctor looked at his charts. "We can start with a physical to see if there's any damage to your testicles and whatnot. If I can't find anything wrong, then we'll go ahead and do a sperm analysis." He put the charts aside and put on some gloves. "If you don't mind, Morinozuka-sama, I'll ask you to drop your trousers so we may begin the exam."

Haruhi heard this and looked at her brother. "Do you want me to leave?" His head shook; wanting her to be there for support. She flinched for a moment and looked to the doctor. "May I sit on your chair?"

Being eight months pregnant was a lot harder with triples than it was with just one. Luckily, the man nodded, so she went across the room to sit while Takashi removed his pants and boxers. She looked at the clock for the longest time, which made the giant believe that she did not want to be present. He did not want her to be there either, it was embarrassing, but she was the only thing that was convincing him to go through with it. The doctor began to inspect him, poking and fondling to see if there were and problems. Being touched downstairs by another man was not his idea of fun, and he tried to stay calm.

"So far, everything seems normal, and your testicles seemed to be about the right size for you."

Just before Takashi could get embarrassed, Haruhi began to talk. "Is it possible that his amount of stress has been a problem?" The men both turned to her curiously. She glared at the doctor. "The combination of the stress he has and the overexertion in his exercises, do they affect his condition or not, Sensei?"

"Y-Y-Yes ma'am." He turned to look at Takashi, wondering how he could survive being near such a woman. "T-Those are very common for infertility." The devil was behind him, ready to take him to Hell.

She flinched again, and looked at the clock. "…Takashi, I truly apologize, but I have to leave now."
"…are you okay?" For a while now, it seemed that she was a bit weird. "Is something wrong?"
Haruhi smiled sheepishly. "No… it's just that I'm starting to get contractions, so I need to hurry."
His brows fused in confusion as the doctor was surprised. "Do you need me to call for a wheelchair?"
"No, no, I should be able to—" her face scrunched. "Yeah… probably, that would be nice…"

"Sorry Morinozuka-sama, give me a minute. You can put your clothes back on for now." He came over to the phone and made a quick call. "I have a pregnant woman in early labor in room 312, I need a wheelchair immediately and a team on standby in the birthing center." Once complied, he hung up.

"Labor?" Takashi began to process things and paled. "Their coming now?"
She frowned at him. "I was hoping it was false—I didn't want to interrupt your appointment."
"Haruhi…" he put his clothes back on. "Your girls are more important than my infertility."
"It doesn't seem to matter anymore, they want to come right now." There was a knock on the door.
It was a nurse, "someone asked for a wheelchair?" Haruhi stood up. "Haruhi-sama, you seem well."
"I will be when this is over, the contractions are another way to kill a woman from inside, I swear."
She laughed. "Well then, I've informed your doctor and everything's being prepared. Shall we?"
"Yes, thank you." Her attention turned to Takashi. "You can come, just don't faint."
Takashi, trying to buckle his pants, hurried to her side to be her support. "I won't leave you."
"Guess you'll have to reschedule your appointment for later, sorry."

"You first."

He fainted, twice.

Takashi did not know if it was because he watched the doctor pull a messy baby from Haruhi's nether region… or because the woman going through labor nearly broke his hand when holding it. When he came to, Haruhi was giving birth to the last girl, and offered him to cut the cord now that he was awake. Although he cut the cord as asked, seeing another bloody baby and the doctors covered in it, he fainted and hit his head on the counter behind him. This made him a patient for the day, but Haruhi insisted on letting him share a room with her due to being family…

At the moment, Takashi was barely waking as he watched as Tamaki and the twins crowded Haruhi's hospital bed with balloons, flowers, and boxes chocolate. She seemed accepting of their antics for the most part, but she looked a bit tired. He looked left and right, noticing that the girls were nowhere in sight. Takashi jumped of his hospital bed and looked around in worry. They looked at him curiously, wondering why he was so alert. No one else seemed to be panicking about the missing newborns…

Haruhi quickly understood and smiled weakly at his amount of concern. "Satoko, Kotoko, and Takako are in the nursery. They're safe." Almost instantly, he settled down. "When I have a little more energy, I'll take you to go see them." The other three raised their hands in hopes of seeing the newborns. "Nope, only family, he can see them because he's their uncle." Actually, they could see them, but she did not want to deal with everyone fusing over the girls. "In fact… I think it's time for another small nap."

Hearing that she wanted to rest, the others had no choice but to leave or else they would either have to face Takashi's fury, or worse… hers. They said that they would visit tomorrow as they walked out the door, and carefully closed it behind them so that it would not manage to slam shut somehow. Once they were out of sight, Haruhi sighed tiredly and bundled up under the cover to do as she said she would. It was not that she was exhausted or felt the need to rest, she just knew that she needed her strength for later. As she began to doze off, Takashi stood from his hospital bed—stirring her wide awake again.

"…sorry."

"No… it's okay." She inhaled delicately and pointed to a door. "The bathroom is there."
It did not surprise him that she knew what he needed after waking. "Are you okay?"
"…Takashi, never ask a woman that question after giving birth, do you understand?"
His head nodded slowly in fear of being punished. "A-Ah." He headed to the restroom.

"Your doctor came in after we were settled in here to reschedule, when you're finished, you should call him." Her gaze focused elsewhere. "He also believes that it's a mental block for you and wants you to see a shrink. Naturally, I would've been on him for suggesting it, but it might not be a bad thing if—"

"I refuse." Takashi interrupted sharply. When he realized that he nearly snapped at her, he felt bad. "I'm sorry," he stared at the floor. "Talking to others… especially about myself, is not easy for me to do."
"You talk fine with me, I haven't seen your old habits in some time now." His cheeks reddened as if to tell her that she was special enough to receive a full sentence from him. "Senpai, I have faith in you."
Although it helped him to hear her say this, he could not reply, so he went to the bathroom to push the topic aside. After he finished and washed his hands, he came out to see tears in her eyes. "Haruhi…"

She looked at him tiredly. "Yes?" It seemed that she did not realize that she was crying, so he came over and wiped her eyes for her. "Oh—I'm so tired that I didn't know, sorry." Haruhi wiped her eyes slowly.

"It's my fault." Takashi grabbed a chair and sat at her side. "I was rude, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have walked away from the conversation. I didn't want to talk about it because I don't like talking to others about personal problems or anything that has to do with me." She was taken aback by how fast he was talking to her—it was almost difficult to keep up. "If it will make you feel better, then I'll schedule to see a—"

"Shh… stop, it's okay."

Very carefully, she shifted her body to sit upward in order to talk to him appropriately. It allowed her to see that it looked as if he was about to have a panic attack just because of a little tear he saw from exhaustion. Her hand came forth to caress his head so that he knew she was not mad or had any negative emotions toward him. He slowly relaxed at her touch and eventually closed his eyes as a sign of his trust for her once he was fully calmed down to start over the conversation.

"If you don't want to talk about things with a professional, no one is going to force you." Haruhi's hand glided down his face to hold his right cheek. "But if you want to understand the root problem of your infertility, you must deal with the urologist in order to take the next step." He nodded stubbornly.

Takashi pulled out his phone to get in touch with the doctor personally. "If you have a moment, I would like to finish the exam?" The doctor agreed and claimed to be there in a few minutes. "Thank you."

The moment he put the phone in his pocket, she smiled at him. "Good for you."

Although the doctor said minutes, there was a knock on the door, followed by a cautious doctor. "Hello, congratulations on the triplets." Haruhi nodded her head before a female nurse walked in with the paperwork. "I hope you don't mind that I brought my assistant, we've been busy with other patients."

Haruhi saw the look of disapproval on her brother's face. "Seeing as I just gave birth and his exam is obviously going to be done in this room, I kindly refuse the thought of another woman near me."
"A-Ah… now that I think about it… Morinozuka Satoshi-sama once mentioned that you were hostile around other women after giving birth." He smiled weakly to his assistant. "I'm sorry Suzuki-san."
"Not a problem, Sensei. If you need anything, let me know." The woman left without another word and Takashi allowed a heavy sigh of relief escape from his lips, earning their attention almost instantly.
"Oh, my apologies." The doctor looked at the charts the nurse gave him before leaving. "I didn't think she would cause a problem since you were insistent of Haruhi-sama's presence earlier during the day."

"…only Haruhi." He mumbled under his breath.

Said woman smiled as she rustled his hair once more before bundling herself for a nap so that Takashi could have a bit more privacy. The doctor had him drop his bottom clothes down after they relocated to his bed to restart the exam again. Just as before, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary that he could tell. It was time for a semen analysis, which the doctor provided a container for Takashi to use when he entered the restroom. Once the door closed, Haruhi shifted to look at the doctor in a cranky fashion.

She decided to ask despite knowing the answer. "Are there marks on his testicles, such as punctures?"
Instantly, the doctor was taken by surprise, but regained his composure. "Sorry… I can't answer that."
Her head shook in annoyance. "If my assumptions correct, I don't believe he'll produce any sperm."
This got his attention. "Do you have an idea as to his infertility?" Haruhi lowered her gaze in silence.

"Just one—" the door opened with an annoyed man coming out with an empty container. "Takashi…"
"Can't…" He looked away; almost ashamed that he could not produce a sample that was needed.
"It's barely been two minutes, though." Haruhi turned to the doctor. "Do you have any magazines?"
The doctor cringed. "Yes, but they're down two floors where the procedure is normally done, Ma'am."
"I understand, can you excuse us for a moment then so that I can talk to my brother in private?"

He looked to Takashi who nodded slowly; unsure if he would not be helped or lectured by the woman. It was out of the man's hands, so he stood up while announcing that he would wait outside for them. Haruhi thanked him briefly before the door closed behind him. Her form sat up slowly while still leaning upright against the bed as he came closer to hear what she had to say to him. There was a good chance that the doctor was trying to listen to the conversation, which was something he wanted to avoid.

"What's wrong?"

Takashi tried to avoid her gaze. "Uncomfortable."
"If you want them to understand what's wrong, they need to analyze your semen."
His face turned red when hearing her say this. "A-Ah… I know…" He still hated it though.
Haruhi frowned at this. "Do you feel pressured into this, or am I making you uneasy?"
"…pressured …humiliated." It was amazing he could admit this to her right now.

"Satoshi had an analysis done a few years ago." This earned her the giant's attention. "He was so scared about giving a sample, but he was worried that we could never conceive the proper way. I gave him so much grief for being uptight and paranoid that he couldn't even provide the doctors a sample. My point is, this procedure is very common, and it's only to help you. Even your brother faced his fears of it."

"How?"

The question had her look away a bit. "…I helped him." She almost smirked. "Magazines, porn videos, nothing helped him, and your mom even walked in and scarred him when he had his pants down." Takashi snorted at the thought of his late brother being caught. "That aside, I believe it's important that you give them a sample." He looked at her, and she rubbed his arm. "I'm concerned about something."

"Concerned?"

"It's a long shot, and I could be wrong. But first things first, you need to give a donation into that container." His face became heated again; she was teasing him and he knew it. "Do you want help?"
"I can't ask that, you married Satoshi…" In his mind, his was crying to be touched or handled by her. "To betray him after death is—" she began to sit up to face him, and he quickly helped her. "…Haruhi."
"You have never been with a woman intimately, so I won't have to touch you there to get you riled up. Go lock the door so you won't have any visitors for a moment." Instantly, he did as he was instructed.
Thinking that she was going to do something to get him excited was already a turn on, but he was also terrified of being close to her while having to deliver a semen sample. "…I'm …nervous." He swallowed.

"You're okay, unless you don't trust me with your body, then it's—"

"I trust you."

Haruhi smiled softly before motioning him to her, "you'd be surprise, Senpai." Once he was in reach, she carefully shifted him around carefully. "The fact that you're a masochist makes you a playful target." Before he could ask what she meant, his skin crawled in delight as her hands snaked under his shirt to caress his abs in a tantalizing manner. "Ease into it, you're okay." Takashi felt himself wanting to create friction for himself, and more so when she rose her fingers to his nipples to tweak them. His back began to arch as he felt the need to release. "Are you at your limit without even having the container open?"

Takashi blushed more as he was enjoying the attention too much to remember that detail. He twisted it open and unzipped his pants for easy access. His hands stroked the throbbing fiend, but it was not working as the thought it would. The moment a disgruntled tone escaped his lips, she slid her hands down his chest to his lower abs. Her hands began to graze his pubic hair, and his knees began to buckle at the foreign sensation, but it did the trick. With a sigh of relief from him, she pulled her hands away and tucked herself back in for a nap as she had been trying to for twenty minutes. It dawned on him that she was probably severely sore and that she was exerting her body more than necessary. However, after a brief taste of her attention… he was beginning to crave for more of it. It took a moment for him to care or acknowledge the doctor still waiting patiently outside the room, but Takashi unlocked the door to open and handed him the container without a word.

"Thank you," the doctor spoke quietly. "Did she go to sleep already?"
"Yes, she's tired and needs her rest." He would not let him back in.
"I understand completely. It's just that… she seemed onto something."
Takashi did not understand what he meant by this. "It will have to wait."
His head nodded. "I'll put a rush order on this for quick results for you."

With a final grunt and a nod, Takashi closed the door so Haruhi could rest for as long as she needed. To his surprise though, she only rested for thirty minutes before sitting back up with a hint of pain. Her gaze landed on the wheelchair across the room long and hard—as if debating whether it would come to her or if she had to get it herself. The moment she started to try standing on her own, Takashi grabbed the wheelchair and brought it to her in order to protect her from harming herself. He even picked her up and carefully placed her on the chair in hopes of lessening her pain from moving around too much.

"Restroom?"

"No," she exhaled tiredly. "The nursery." Her attention turned upward to see the surprised look on his face. "I think it's about time you met your nieces, right? I think you'll bond well with Takako even."

"…Takako?"

"Kotoko after my mother, Satoko after Satoshi, and Takako after Takashi. After all, you cut Takako's umbilical cord." Judging by the look in his eyes, he was completely taken back. "With Satoshi gone, I have a feeling that you'll do your best to spoil them rotten." His head nodded dumbly. "Well then, let's go. The nursery is just down the corner, and I'm sure that they will be hungry." The poor guy was still shocked from the honor of having a child named after him, in a sense. "Takashi." Said giant looked down at her. "Can we go to the nursery now? Or did you want to stay behind and protect the hospital beds?"

"A-Ah, sorry."

He took the brakes off the wheelchair and guided her to the door where he opened it with one hand and scooted her out as carefully as possible. There they were instantly greeted by his parents who were ecstatic about the newborns. They had pink balloons and gifts ready for the girls since Haruhi did not have a baby shower or anyway to celebrate the future Morinozuka girls. Haruhi asked them to set the items in the room after announcing that they were on their way to see the girls over in the nursery. Akira took everything to place inside, only to notice that there were two hospital beds, and then realized that his son was sporting a bandage wraps on his head for some reason.

"What happened?" He looked at them back and forth.

Takashi did not understand what he meant, but Haruhi did. "We were here for his appointment, but I went into labor. Takashi felt obligated to come with me to be at my side during delivery. Unfortunately, he couldn't take it too well and became light-headed after cutting an umbilical cord, then unfortunately hit his head on the way down." Akira and Masayo nodded quietly. "Would you like to see them now?"

Before his wife could say anything, Akira spoke. "Absolutely."

They left the room as a group as Haruhi gave them directions of which way to go. A nurse was just walking in when seeing them coming over for a visit and allowed Haruhi and Masayo inside while Takashi and Akira watched from the window. As Haruhi picked up a child to breastfeed, but Takashi noticed that Haruhi was giving his mother a dangerous glare as she picked up one of the other girls.

"Haruhi looks as if she'll attack Mother."

"Yes, well… the blood between them isn't particularly grand after all." Akira was also watching them carefully. "You probably don't know, but Masayo and Haruhi had an altercation the night before their wedding." He looked over at his son. "She admitted to loving both of you, and your mother assumed that she chose your brother because you were infertile." Takashi turned to him. "It was not because of your condition, but it was because you allowed Satoshi to take her from you. You pulled away from having your own happiness with the woman that you both love so dearly." Hearing this, Takashi watched as the girls bonded. "I know you still love her, even after what happened to Satoshi. If you choose to pursue her now, I won't scold you for it. However, remember that she's still grieving."

"…aren't we all." He whispered before watching his mother set the newborn down and came out.
Her smile was from ear to ear after handling the baby. "It's your turn, Takashi, they're adorable."
It was brief, but he festered with a bit of aggression toward her, yet pushed it aside. "Thank you."

Once maneuvering around her, he slowly entered the room in order to continue the peace in the nursery. There were three other newborns in the room, but as he got closer to Haruhi, none were cuter than his three nieces. He looked at the names on the wrist bands: Morinozuka Satoko and Morinozuka Takako. So in Haruhi's arms must have been Kotoko, but he refused to look at her because her right breast was partly exposed due to feeding the child. To keep his mind focused, he stared at the two that were waiting in line to be fed, only to see that Haruhi was putting Kotoko back to rest for a little.

"Would you like to hold one of them?" Haruhi smiled softly, only to stare at her in horror. "Would you like to hold Takako while I feed Satoko?" His head shook quickly. "You're not scared of an infant, right?"
"Terrified." He corrected. "I don't want to hurt them."
"You'll hurt them by denying them of their uncle's attention." Hearing this, he seemed more agreeable. She slowly got up from her wheelchair and picked up Takako. "Cradle her and be mindful of her head."
"I-I can't…" As the girl came closer to his arms, he panicked.
"You'll do fine, I have faith in you." Haruhi waited to watch the confidence grow in his eyes, and she placed the girl in his arms. "There you go, it's not that hard." She turned away to pick up Satoko."
"Wait—what do I do?" Takashi felt a knot in his chest. "Haru—"

"Just hold her and keep her close. Sway her gently side to side and talk to her."

It was obvious that the mother of his nieces was not going to save him from the new experience, but he looked to the little creature in his arms, and subconsciously caressed her small squishy face with a finger. Her left arm flapped once with a tiny fuss, but her tiny little hand found his finger, and held onto it weakly. Takashi stared in amazement that Takako's hand could barely wrap around the tip of his finger because she was so small. The moment that she took his finger, the little girl stopped fussing whereas Haruhi hummed with interest. He looked over at her to see that she was obviously amused by his little fascination with the little bundle in his arms. Whatever anger toward his mother had vanished instantly.

"I understand that Satoshi is no longer among us." Takashi started quietly. "…but, will you allow me to be in their lives regardless?" On her face was nothing but a gentle smile as she nodded softly to him.

"Even if Satoshi was here, I would still want you to bond with them."

"…thank you."

A/N: Hope you enjoyed the chapter. In all honesty, I was also stuck after Takashi fainted. What do you think of their names?