The chapter yall all've been waiting for! And sorry it's been, well, basically two years... And sorry for those of— okay most of you that will probably have to reread this whole story just to remember what's happening. Yeah...just...sorry. Be sure to read the AN at the bottom. ^^;

Saturday, November 30th. Weeks of pregnancy—34

The days began to get colder, and Mai felt more miserable as they passed. She was still being sentenced to bed rest, and Naru was still being overbearingly strict about her schedules. Some days, when her mood was really nasty, she just wished she could strangle him. But then she remembered she wouldn't know what she'd do without him so she'd bite her tongue and tightly clasped her hands whenever he'd mention her incapabilities. It was only one more month until her due date; she could totally do this. Once the baby was born, Naru would—hopefully—back off some and just go back to being overprotective and not...well, whatever he is now.

Just one more month and she would finally be able to see and hold her precious baby.

...

"Well, Naru should be back any minute. Is there anything you want me to do before I go?" Ayako asked the brunette, placing her hands on her hips. Mai glanced up at her before shaking her head and looking back down at the blanket she was fiddling with. Ayako sighed softly and sat down beside her on the bed. She gently placed a hand on Mai's and waited until she looked at her before speaking. "Mai... Everything is going to be okay. Don't think about it too much."

But she couldn't not think about it. Ever since Keiko called her earlier that morning, it was all she could think about. It opened her mind to a lot of terrifying realizations. Realizations that she didn't want to face before, but it was becoming harder to ignore—especially after today—since she only had one month left.

"Yeah..." Mai whispered, but said nothing else. She closed her eyes and swallowed thickly as Ayako leaned over the kissed the top of her head.

"Do you want me to stay?"

Mai bit her lip, knowing what she meant. She shook at her head. "No... I need to talk to Naru about it alone. We never have before... and after today I know we need to."

"Alright." The redhead nodded in understanding before standing up. They both heard the front door open and close and knew Naru was home. "Good luck." She gave the pregnant woman a small, sad smile before leaving the bedroom.

Mai blew out a deep breath. She didn't know what her husband's mood would be like right now, and she honestly didn't know if it would be better if he were in a good or bad mood. Either was a lose-lose situation. If he was in a good mood, then he would get upset when she told him—and she hated to ruin that. But if he was in a bad mood, then he would get even more upset, which wasn't good at all.

After a few minutes, Naru walked into their bedroom. And when he sat down beside her on their bed, kissed her forehead, and looked at her with gentle eyes, she knew his mood wasn't an unpleasant one.

"Hey." She said, giving a small smile.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, and Mai mentally rolled her eyes at him worrying about her already.

"Same as always, miserable beyond belief." She stated, and when her husband frowned deeply at her, she really did roll her eyes this time. "I'm kidding." Kinda, she mentally added. "Aside from me having to use the bathroom twenty times a day and the baby kicking me in the ribs, I'm doing just peachy."

Another kick wiped away her sarcastic smile and sudden mood change and reminded her of earlier, before Naru came home.

"Have you had any more false contractions?"

"No." Mai sighed. She ended up having Braxton Hicks contractions for the first time twice last week. They weren't necessarily painful, but they were extremely discomforting. The baby kicks harder than the contractions sometimes, so she was used to it... She winced. Like now. "But someone knows their daddy is here." She grabbed Naru's hand and guided it to the spot where he could feel the kicks. He never said it, but Mai knew he loved feeling them from the look on his face whenever he did. "Don't kick so hard." She said to her stomach, poking it gently. In response the baby kicked the spot where Mai had poked. Naru smirked slightly at her, and Mai tried to give a smile in return.

Something shifted in Naru's eyes, and she recognized worry and curiosity swirling around in them. It was then she realized she must not have been doing a good job at acting like normal. She looked away quickly before berating herself. Way to go, Mai, like he won't think nothing is wrong now! I didn't want to tell him this soon!

"What is it, Mai?" He inquired. The brunette steeled herself and looked back at him. She wasn't going to deny that nothing was wrong—because there kind of was—but she couldn't do it right now.

"I'll tell you later, okay? I promise. But right now, I'm starving." She told him. It wasn't a lie, she was hungry and she knew he'd rather feed her and their child than to push and argue about something when she just told him she would tell him later. As predicted, Naru nodded and stood up. He held out a hand for her to take to help her up and into the living room.

"Let's get you fed then."

After they ate the dinner that Ayako had prepared for them and Naru had taken his shower, Mai decided she had put off telling him long enough. Biting her lip, the brunette glanced in the direction of the kitchen, where Naru was cleaning up. She had dropped a glass when she snuck into the kitchen while her husband was taking his shower to get a cup of water. She thought she would have gotten away with it, but she forgot to put her clumsiness into the equation before she did it. Having not disobeyed Naru in several weeks, she had been too eager to do something for her self. And once Naru had heard the crash, he ran into the kitchen and scolded Mai before ordering her to go back into the living room and not to move while he cleaned up the mess.

Before she could lose her nerve, Mai slowly stood up and made her way back into the kitchen, stopping in the doorway. She watched as Naru swept the kitchen again, making sure he didn't miss any shards. It took several moments before Naru finally noticed her out of his peripherals. He straightened and turned toward her with a small glare.

"Mai—"

"Come with me." She interrupted him before he could yell again. Her gaze flittered everywhere but on him. "I need to tell you something."

Naru's lips pressed together. By the way his wife was acting, he already knew he wasn't going to like the news. His stomach felt heavy at the thought of her passing out again today—or anything along the lines of it. With a curt nod, he propped the broom against the wall and walked to Mai. Together they sat back down in the living room.

"Keiko... She, uh, called me today." Mai began quietly, causing him to lift a brow. This was not anywhere near what he was expecting her to say. "She said her cousin and his wife had a baby boy yesterday."

"I see..." Naru wondered what this had to do with him. "That's good." He was a bit put off though when Mai looked up at him. She was biting her lip with tears forming in her brown eyes, making them look even bigger than they normally do.

Mai shook her head absently. "The mother... She died a few hours after she gave birth; she had started hemorrhaging. The doctors caught it too late, they just... they tried to save her, but... Naru... She had no complications during her pregnancy." She felt all of her emotions bottled up in throat. She swallowed, trying to get rid of the lump stuck in there. It was horrible what happened to that woman. She would never get to watch her son grow up and enjoy life, or see him get married and have grandchildren. She would never get to grow old with her husband and be there for him when he and their son need her the most. Now her husband has to raise that little baby all on his own. More tears gathered in her eyes at the thought that something similar could happen to her.

"But... I do, Naru. I have complications." She spoke softly, reaching up to stroke his hair. When he turned his gaze onto her, she quickly averted her eyes and focused them on her hand. "And we both know there are risks involved in this, especially since I have the preeclampsia thing. I think... I think we've both been avoiding this, pretending it won't happen, but there are still chances that I'll—"

"Stop."

Startled at his sharp tone, Mai blinked, retracting her hand from him, and looked into his eyes. Though his face was expressionless, his jaw—as well as his hands—was clenched. His eyes were hard and guarded, but Mai could see a sliver of pain in them.

"Naru..."

"Nothing is going to happen, Mai." His voice was firm. Guarded.

Mai mentally bit her lip. She already knew Naru was going to more or less blow up at her no matter what she said right now, but she still needed to choose her words carefully.

"I really hope nothing does either," She spoke in a soothing voice, nodding. "but we don't know for sure."

"Yes, we do! I've almost lost you several times already, do you honestly think I'd let something like that happen again?" He demanded vacuously. Mai smiled sadly to herself, her chin wobbling. He can't control anything like that. He knows that. He's just desperate right now.

"Naru, I'm just saying in case—"

Naru abruptly stood up, his still clenched fists shaking. "We're done talking about this."

"Please, Naru, just—" Mai reached out to grabbed his hand or shirt or something, but he stepped away from her and marched straight into their bedroom, slamming the door behind him. She sighed, squeezing her eyes shut. She couldn't say anything to him right now. He needed to calm down first. Hopefully when she went in there later he wouldn't say anything and just listen. She would just say what she needed to and never bring up the subject again.

Almost an hour later, Mai slowly walked into the bedroom and approached the bed. The room was dark, but she could tell her husband's silhouette was laying on his side, facing away from her. Placing one knee on the bed, she got on it and laid down next to Naru. She wrapped one arm around his torso and rested her head on his shoulder, leaning on to him. At first she honestly didn't know if he was asleep or not, but when he moved his hand to lightly grasped her fingers, she knew. She waited a few minutes before deciding to speak again.

"I'm only going to say this once, and then I promise I'll never bring it up again... okay?" She asked. When he gave no acknowledgement to her words, she tightened her grip on him. She closed her eyes momentarily and spoke in a soft, almost whisper-like, voice. "Naru, I love you—so much—and I never want to leave you or our baby, and even if there's a slim chance, I might have to... I'm scared of leaving you, and I pray—I pray—that I won't have to and that the delivery will go smoothly. And I'm sure it will, but I'm just going to say this just in case." She paused and peeked over his shoulder a bit to see his eyes open, still hard and looking away from her. She gently placed her head back on his shoulder. She knew it'd be easier for both of them if she didn't look at him.

"Naru, I know you and I know that if...if I died, you probably wouldn't want to keep the baby by yourself. I know Ayako, or Madoka, or even your mother would take it... but I don't want that." She paused again, but this time she stopped because of the onslaught of emotions hitting her. She felt worry and frustration over not knowing the future, anger because she was crying about something that probably wouldn't happen, but most of all, she felt this overwhelming fear that she might have to leave her husband and never see her baby. Tears began to run down her cheeks. "I want you to raise our baby, Naru. No one else can do it but you. I know you'll need help and that's okay—Ayako and the others will be right there to help you. Or if you even want to move back to England to be with your parents, that's okay too. Luella will be ecstatic." Mai gave a shaky laugh.

"I don't care where you go... I just want you and our baby to stay together. I want you to tell him or her all about me..." It was getting harder to speak without screaming and wailing. Tremors wreaked her body, and she felt Naru hold on to her hand so tight that she thought he was going to crush it. "And how much I love them, and that I never wanted to leave either one of you. Tell our baby that I will always be watching over them. I want you... I want you to love our child enough for the both of us, Naru. It might seem hard to you right now to do that, but it won't be. I know you can do it; I believe in you. I know you thought it'd be hard to love me, didn't you? But you do it so easily whether you realize it or not. I know you'll love our child just as much and you will be a wonderful father."

All of a sudden Naru turned so quickly and wrapped himself around Mai, lying his head on her chest and squeezing her so tight that she could barely breathe. She was so stunned that she didn't know what to do at first. After a moment she let out a deep breath and tightly wrapped her arms around him. She hoped he got the message she was trying to send. That if there was ever a choice, he would choose the baby's life instead of hers.

The chances of something happening to her during labor were small, she knew that. But still, the chances were there. And no matter how small those chances were, she wasn't going to take them lightly. If God forbid something it did happen, she wasn't going to give up until she didn't have an ounce of strength left. For Naru and their baby's sake. And for herself.

Thursday, December 5th. Weeks of pregnancy—35

Mai's eyes opened groggily before snapping back shut. She was in the state of being asleep but still being aware of her surroundings. She hated it. Either wake up or go back to sleep, she didn't want to do both. Preferably she'd rather go back to sleep. Only a few hours ago did she finally fall sleep, having pain in her stomach from the baby moving and kicking most of the night. Not to mention getting up every ten minutes to use the bathroom. Just as she was about to fully go back to sleep, she suddenly felt something soft poke her in the cheek and someone whisper, "Mai." She jerked awake, flying into a sitting position, and blinked a few times to get rid of the blurriness.

"Madoka?!"

Mai furrowed her brows. The first thing she noticed was that it was still kind of dim outside. Glancing at the clock beside her, she realized it was nearing seven o'clock. The second thing was that her husband was missing from the bed. After a few seconds of silence, she could hear water running from the bathroom. He must be taking a shower. The third thing was that Madoka was still standing above her, grinning. It was creepy and unnerving. What on earth was she even doing here, much less this early in the morning? Then another thought came to her.

"Madoka, how did you even get in here?!" She yelled quietly. She placed the palm of her hand on her forehead. She felt drained.

"What do you mean?" The pinkette asked, feigning innocence. Which made Mai give her an annoyed look. It was way too early to deal with Madoka.

"You know what I mean. You don't have a key to our house."

"Pfft. Who needs keys anymore..."

Mai's jaw dropped. "Did you just break into my house?!"

"Is it really 'breaking in' if I didn't break anything?"

"You are unbelievable." Mai shook her head in disbelief. How does poor Lin handle her from day in to day out?

"I'm sorry, okay? But I knew if I called you'd just hang up and I needed to talk to you before Naru left and Ayako came over."

"...Why?" The pregnant woman asked suspiciously. Madoka suddenly grinned and sat on the bed, grabbing Mai's hands.

"Please, please, please let me stay here with you today instead of Ayako."

"What? No!" Mai tugged her hands free from the woman's grip and pushed the covers away to stand up, but she didn't get far. Her legs only swung over the bed before she couldn't go anymore. I'm more tired that yesterday! Suddenly she felt a lot of painful cramps. That didn't feel too good. She felt like doubling over. "Forget it, Madoka." She breathed out.

"Mai, it's been months since the last time I watched you. I'm sure Ayako will like a break, and I promise I'll be on my best behavior." Seeing the look Mai gave her, she backtracked. "Okay, I'll try to be on my best behavior. I won't hover anymore since technically you're not really my responsibility anymore. You can always call Ayako later on, if you really want me to leave at any time..." She finished dejectedly.

Mai crossed her arms and looked away in determination. She would not give in. Nope. Madoka was just acting, like usual, trying to get her way. The whole day would probably just be a mess if Madoka stayed. Although it has be a couple of months since Madoka stayed with her—No! She would not give in! Everyone always gives Madoka her what she wants because she guilt trips them into it. But nope. Not this time because—

Madoka sighed dejectedly, causing Mai to look over at her. Mai rolled her eyes at the pitiful look the woman had on and uncrossed her arms. Screw it. It was for one freaking day. Besides, she felt too tired to put up a fight. With the way she felt, she already knew she'd probably just lay in bed all day.

"Fine, whatever. Now leave before Naru kills you for disturbing me." The younger woman waved her hand in a shooing motion as she heard the shower shut off.

"Thank you, Mai!" Madoka said happily, giving the girl a hug. "I'll be back in a few hours!"

Once Madoka left, Mai exhaled deeply through her nose before laying back down, clutching her stomach. She tried to go back to sleep before Naru came back into the bedroom, but she felt too alert now after almost being scared the death and from the pain. Seriously. What was Madoka thinking? It was like something out of a horror film, having something whispering your name and someone standing over you like that. Although that was kind of ironic considering her line of work... You'd think she should be used to being woken up like that, but nope, Madoka was just that much scarier.

"I didn't wake you, did I?"

Mai opened her eyes at the sound of her husband's voice. She shook her head and patted the spot beside her. "I know you have to get ready for work, but five minutes? Please?" She continued once Naru fulfilled her request. "And no, you didn't wake me up." Madoka did was left unsaid. "The baby's just been giving me a hard time lately." Her smile was tense as another wave of pain came over her. She winced and breathed out slowly.

Naru placed a hand on her side and stroked her stomach with his thumb. "Just a few more weeks." He reminded her, noticing her pain. Honestly she hoped it would be sooner because all she wanted to do was cry in frustration and scream from how miserable she felt. But she didn't tell him that. Instead she just nodded.

After a couple of minutes, the mother-to-be spoke. "Naru?"

"Hm?"

"I was thinking... maybe Madoka could stay with me today." She looked at him through her eyelashes to gauge his reaction. As expected, he looked at her with suspicion.

"After you made me promise never to leave her alone with you again? Why?"

That made Mai crack a smile. "I know, I know, but it'd be nice for Ayako—it'd give her a break. Plus it's been months since I was alone with Madoka. Maybe she won't be as bad now. It's only for a day."

"Are you sure?" He asked. His wife nodded, so he stood up with a sigh. "Alright, I'll call Miss Matsuzaki and Madoka."

After having to repeatedly tell Ayako that no she wasn't being threatened and no she wasn't being blackmailed or anything of the sort by Madoka, the red-head finally agreed to let Madoka watch Mai for the day. With the condition that she could call a few times to make sure the pinkette wasn't driving her crazy. Mai kept trying to tell her not to worry, but Ayako was stubborn that way—like everyone else she knew. Except Masako. And John. But he was a sweetheart who knew not to pry and respected personal space. She was extremely happy when he came over for a surprise visit last week. It felt like she hadn't seen him, or anyone really, in forever.

It was around noon before Mai decided to finally get out of bed—but it wasn't her choice. She needed to use the bathroom, especially after holding it in for as long as she could since she didn't feel like moving. She slowly walked over to the bathroom that was attached to the bedroom and did what she had to do. Apparently she made more noise than she thought because Madoka called from the living room.

"Mai, are you up? Come in here if you can! I need your opinions! My deadline for dresses is in two days!"

The pregnant woman sighed. It probably would be a good idea to move a bit and keep Madoka company. Laying in bed for so long wasn't good either. She hadn't even had her ten minutes of moving freely yet because she was so tired. Just as she stepped on the threshold of the living room, Mai felt another wave of pain in her lower abdomen. Placing a hand in her stomach she tried to breathe through it. What was up with today? The pain felt a lot different than anything else she's felt and within the last couple of hours it seems to be happening more frequently and—

Her hand fell back to her side as her eyes widened. Extremely exhausted? Pain? Frequently?

Was she in labor?

Holy cow.

But she wasn't due for another month and four days! Hardly any babies are actually born on their due date. She remembered telling Naru that once, but a whole month before?! The doctor did say there was a chance the baby would be born earlier with the whole preeclampsia thing... Oh my god.

"—I was thinking maybe onion purple or opal purple for the bridesmaids dresses and I know onion purple sounds gross, but it's not. It's actually quite pretty, but I'm leaning more towards the opal one. What do you think think?"

"Madoka..." Mai finally managed to move her lips, but the word came out in a whisper.

"And for the maid of honor's dress, which is yours, I was thinking sky blue. No other light-ish blue color popped out to me, but—"

"Madoka!"

The older woman finally looked up from the many papers and color palates she had surrounding her. Her eyebrows furrowed together in concern when she saw Mai's shocked face. What's wrong? Does she not like the color scheme for the wedding? She inwardly joked.

"Mai, are you okay? You look kind of pale."

"I...I think I'm in labor."

"WHAT?" Madoka jumped up and rushed over to her, instantly hounding her with questions. "Are you sure? Are you in a lot of pain? How far apart is it? Wait, did you water break?!" She was about to run into the bedroom to see if Mai made a huge mess, but Mai grabbed her wrist just in time. She slowly shook her head, as if trying to get rid of the cloud of fog in it. Was she really in labor?

"I don't know!" She burst out. "I've never been pregnant before! How am I supposed to know if I'm in labor?!" She locked eyes with Madoka, fear creeping into them; her heart started pounding.

Madoka, sensing the girl was about to start panicking, placed a gentle hand on her arm. Though she herself felt like panicking as well. "It's okay, just tell me how you've been feeling."

Mai nodded, taking a deep breath. "Um... I've had pain all morning, but it's starting to become more constant. And no, it didn't break." She felt like she was going to cry. She wasn't ready for this. Not yet. "Madoka, am I really in labor?"

The pinkette tried not to grin like a maniac. Of all days for her to watch Mai! Ha, take that Ayako!

"I think so, sweetie."

And now she looked like she was going to pass out.

"O-okay, let's get you to the hospital." Madoka said. She could just see the color draining from Mai's face. Mai took another deep breath, letting it out slowly.

"Call Naru. Now."

"Are you sure?" The Chinese man didn't know what to think. He knew Madoka had a tendency to over-exaggerate—a lot—but... this?

"Yes, I'm sure, Koujo! We're almost at the hospital now, so grab Noll and get your butts over here!" The line went dead not a moment later. It wasn't until he registered that there was screaming in the background, did he get up and quickly walk to Naru's office. Without knocking, he swung the door open. Naru's eyes snapped towards him in surprise while Lin tried to find the best way to tell him. Might as well get straight to the point.

"Mai's in labor."

Naru's face instantly paled. If Lin hadn't been so freaked out himself, he probably would have been amused at the sight.

"What?" The father-to-be sounded panic. Yep, definitely would've been amused. All Lin could do was nod.

"Madoka said they're on the way to the hospital now."

The older man could honestly say he had never seen Naru move so fast. Finally letting out a small chuckle, he grabbed his coat and followed his old charge out of the building.

As soon as Mai saw her husband walk through the threshold with Lin, she sighed in relief.

"Naaaruuu!" She whined, reaching her hand out for him. He went to her side, lightly grasping her hand.

"Mai..." He begin, looking at all the machines hooked up to her, the hospital bed, and the gown she was in. "You're really..."

Mai nodded, her eyes softening. "Yep, this is it. Our baby's almost here."

"Finally. I can't wait to see what it'll be." Madoka said from the corner of the room, giving Lin a knowing look. They had waited about five months for this bet and the day has finally arrived. Naru silently agreed with the woman. He had been waiting just as long to find out since his wife was stubborn as hell and refused to tell him what their child was doing to be. He glanced at Mai to find her smiling to herself.

"Oh, Madoka." Mai looked towards her after a few moments. "Would you call Luella and Martin and everyone else, too, to let them know?"

The pinkette's eyes widened. "Oh my god, Luella's gonna to kill me!" She hurried out the door with her phone in hand, and Lin followed her out, leaving the parents-to-be alone.

Not knowing what to say, Naru distracted himself with examining the heart monitor for a few minutes. Her blood pressure was slightly above normal but nothing to be worried about. Oxygen level was at 99, and her heart rate was the only thing that was concerning—135 beats per minute. Suddenly he felt Mai's clammy hand touch his. He looked at her.

"Everything on there is perfectly normal, considering the state I'm in." She reassured him. He gave a slight nod.

"How far are the contractions?"

"Only seven minutes apart, but since I've already dilated five centimeters they said it was best to stay here. Besides, I'd probably have to come back later today even if they did sen—ahhhh!" She tightened her grip on his hand as another contraction came. After what seemed like forever to Naru, Mai finally let go of his hand.

"...I can see why Madoka was so far away from you now." He murmured, flexing his hand. Mai smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry... and just think, the worst hasn't even come yet."

For the second time that day, Naru paled.

"Will you stop that?" Ayako snapped impatiently.

"What?" Monk asked. He wasn't doing anything!

"That obsessive leg bouncing! You've been doing it for the last thirty minutes!"

"Well, what else am I supposed to do? We've been sitting in this waiting room for over five hours!"

"Stop complaining, child birth isn't quick you know. If you can't handle waiting, then go home."

"Ha! Like I'm leaving my little sister and my baby—"

"This isn't your baby!" Ayako shouted at her boyfriend, looking at him like he was stupid.

"Oh, please! This will be everyone's baby and you know it!"

"Will you both shut up?" Masako yelled quietly, then turned her gaze to Monk. "It's bad enough you and Yasuhara got us kicked out of Mai's room, let's not be escorted out of the hospital as well."

"Hey! It was not my fault!" Yasu tried to defend himself.

"Says the person who—"

"I think Miss Hara is right. Do shut up." Lin glared at all of them. When was Madoka coming back? He couldn't believe she left him to babysit these idiots while she went to go check on Mai's progress. "Just be glad it was the hospital staff who removed you from the room and not Naru."

Monk and Yasu blanched, remembering the murderous glares he gave them from the moment they all had walked into the room. The silence only lasted twenty minutes before someone spoke again.

"When were Luella and Martin coming?" Ayako asked Lin.

"The earliest flight they could get isn't until first thing in the morning—their time. So they won't be here until tomorrow night."

"I know they'll be disappointed, Mrs. Davis especially." John commented. Ayako snorted.

"I'm sure she's having a cow."

"Ugh, how much longer?!" Monk complained impatiently, earning a smack from his girlfriend.

"Well, it won't be for much longer!" Madoka grinned, walking up to the group. "She's dilated nine centimeters now, so the baby should be arriving within the next few hours."

"Alright, Mai. Let's try it again, you're doing fine." Dr. Nishida stated. Feeling out of breath, Mai leaned back on to the bed, Naru's hand still in hers. With her other arm, she threw it over her eyes to hide the tears. She was exhausted. It felt like she had been pushing for ten hours, but every time she mumbled her thoughts, Naru kept assuring her it hadn't been that long.

"I can't!"

"Yes, you can, Mai. Try a little more." Naru tried to encourage. One suffocating squeeze and a death glare a moment later was enough to shut him up.

"If you start going into the explicit details of childbirth and every thing that my body is going through right now again, I swear—I will punch you." His wife muttered tiredly between gritted teeth. He frowned as he watched Mai in pain, sweat collecting around her forehead and temples. He knew childbirth was probably the most painful thing a woman had to go through during her life, but from what he read online, it seemed Mai was having more trouble than most. She was pale as a sheet, sometimes her words would be sluggish, and despite what the doctors tell her, she claims she can't push anymore because she's exhausted. But bless her she still tries her hardest.

"Mai," The doctor began but stopped when Mai started shaking her head.

"I can't," She moaned. Naru felt her squeeze his hand again, but it didn't have as much strength as it did before. "Something—something's not right."

It was only several moments later that Naru heard a beeping-like alarm go off. Immediately, his gaze went to Mai, but upon seeing she was still semi-awake, he realized it was the baby's heart monitor that was strapped over his wife's abdomen. The doctors pushed him away from where he was standing and further towards Mai's head; he refused to let go her hand. His heart sank when he heard a nurse speak.

"The baby's heart rate is decreasing, its going into distress."

Dr. Nishida sprouted some other words he didn't really catch, his mind too jumbled. It wasn't until Mai squeezed his hand again and he made out the words "not getting enough oxygen" that he finally focused on his wife's eyes. They were so panicked.

"What? Naru, what's happening? What's wrong with the baby?! Naru!" She looked even paler, if that was possible. Naru opened his mouth to speak, but after a few attempts of trying, he closed it. He meant to reassure her the doctors knew what they were doing, but he couldn't and he didn't know why. He felt as panicked as she looked. Then, for the second time within a few minutes, another alarm sounded off. This time it was Mai's. Her heart rate was increasing while the baby's was still low. Naru placed a firm hand on her shoulder when he realized she wasn't breathing properly—she had begun to hyperventilate.

"Mai, breathe!" He didn't know what to do or tell her. He could only watch helplessly as she wheezed, trying to find air. The doctor and nurses were so busy trying to help the baby, did they not notice the mother struggling to breathe? The dark-haired man gritted his teeth. Just as he turned to a nurse and was about to order her to help his wife, he felt Mai's hand that had been in his fall limp. His eyes snapped back to her unconscious form, so pale and listless. "Mai? Mai! Mai, wake up!"

"If something happens to me during delivery..." The words Mai spoke a week ago floated into his mind. He shook her even more.

"Mai!"

"Mr. Shibuya, we need to do a C-section." The doctor spoke up, gaining his attention.

"My wife—"

"Your baby is losing oxygen, we need to do a C-section immediately."

Not knowing what to say, Naru's gaze snapped towards Mai within the sea of nurses who were finally helping her before falling on to her abdomen where their child was. Mai was okay. She was fine, right? She was just stressed over the baby which caused her to go unconscious. No other serious complications. Right? She was fine and so would the baby, they had to be.

Mai would yell at him for taking so long and putting their baby's life in more danger, he knew. Without trying to think too hard about it, Naru turned towards the doctor and nodded. As the nurses started to prepared the unconscious Mai for surgery, one of them told him he had to leave.

"No. I'm not leaving."

"Sir, it's protocol, we need you to wait in the hallway." She gently began pushing him out of the room after she opened the door. Sensing he was going to refuse again, she sighed sympathetically and leaned in to whisper to him. "Mr. Shibuya, I know you're worry about your wife right now and we will do everything we can to help both of them, but it can't happen as quickly as they need if you don't leave."

Once the door had shut firmly in front of his face, Naru just realized the nurse had somehow maneuvered him out of the room while she was talking. He clenched his teeth out of anger and panic, glaring at the door. He turned, deciding to lean against the wall beside him. A hot sensation began to surround his eyes. He squeezed them shut for a moment and slide down until he was sitting on the floor. Raising his knees, he placed his hands on his head, trying to control himself.

Why was this happening?

For the thousandth time within the past four and a half hours, Naru looked over at his wife, wiping the palm of his hands against his thighs. It was past two in the morning, but sleep wasn't even on his mind. He never felt so restless in his life since his wife was in the hospital a few years ago. Mai had gotten out of surgery several hours ago, but she hadn't woken up. The doctors said she needed the rest after everything she went through and would be going through, but at the moment Naru didn't care. He just needed her to open her eyes for a little bit or make a sound, or move her fingers. Something. And then she could go back to sleep. He just needed her to show signs of life, instead of the unconscious form that she was.

He swore, once they are able to return home, they wouldn't be leaving the house for—

Naru paused in his thoughts, snapping his wondering gaze back to his wife. He strained his ears, contemplating whether he actually heard a noise coming from Mai or if it was just his imagination. He waited a minute, but didn't hear anything else. Probably just wishful thinking on his part. It was about twenty minutes later, he realized it might not have been his imagination after all. He heard another sound come from Mai, and just mere seconds later, she finally opened those big brown eyes.

"Mai." Naru huffed in relief. Instinctively, he reached for her hand, trying to avoid the IV that was sticking out of it. "Mai, can you hear me?"

"Mn... Naru?" She asked groggily. Her brows furrowed together, trying to open her eyes again. They were so heavy, they felt like lead. Naru noticed how hard she swallowed. He knew she must be thirsty. She kept moving her head from side to side in an attempt to stay awake. It took a few minutes before she was able to keep her eyes open for more than a few seconds, and she still looked extremely tired, but Naru was just happy she was awake. Suddenly she gasped and clutched his arm tightly. "Naru, is the baby okay?!"

He placed his hand on hers reassuringly. "Don't worry, Mai, she's fine. The nurses have her right now."

Mai's body visibly relaxed at the tone of his voice. She knew if something was wrong he wouldn't be able to say it so calmly. Her baby was okay.

"Wait... did you say she?" Her weak eyes had an excited spark in them. A gentle smile graced his face as he nodded.

"We have a daughter, Mai."

As she instantly choked up, the hand that wasn't in Naru's covered her mouth and joyful tears filled her eyes. "I was right," she sobbed. "In your face, Naru."

Her husband rolled his eyes in amusement. "I never doubted you knew what you were having."

"Liar, you did so." She claimed, the smile never leaving her face. "We have a daughter." She repeated happily. Once she realized something, a frown began to form. "Why isn't she in the room with us?"

At her words, his smile dropped. He knew she would take this in a bad way. "She's in the NICU."

"What? But you said she was okay!" The panic Naru had seen in the delivery room was back in her eyes. He instantly feared she might hyperventilate again, so he spoke quickly.

"She is, she's fine."

"Then why—"

"Even though you had her at 35 weeks, she's still technically a preemie—though only by a week. Normally they wouldn't send them to the NICU at that age, but considering everything that happened during the delivery, they thought it was best to keep her under surveillance for a little while. Just to make sure she's healthy and can breathe and regulate her temperature on her own, which she's been doing so far."

Mai took a deep breath and nodded along to what he was saying. That made sense... "What happened though—in delivery? Why did she go into distress?"

"Some babies will do that when the mother has preeclampsia." Naru replied patiently. "And because you were under so much stress, you hyperventilated and passed out."

"Oh." Feeling uncomfortable, Mai slowly moved so she was leaning more on her side, facing Naru. She tried not to groan at the pain that ran five inches right below her stomach. She would probably need more pain medication soon. Great, another scar... She thought sourly. At least I never had any stretch marks. Before Naru could pick up on her discomfort, she asked, "Madoka and the others aren't still here, are they?"

"No, I called Lin and told him to make them to all go home for now. We didn't know when you would wake up, and when you did, I'm sure you wouldn't feel up to visitors. They'll be here in the morning though."

Mai nodded. It was true. While she loved her friends dearly, she didn't feel like seeing everyone or speaking too much. Right now she just wanted to keep talking with her husband, and in a little bit, once she felt like she could sit up, she'll demand to go see their daughter.

"Did you get to see the baby? What did she look like?"

"I didn't see much of her before they took her away." Naru replied. Seeing his wife's slightly disappointed face, he tried his best to describe their daughter. "Do you remember seeing pictures of newborns that we've looked at before?" At her nod, he continued. "Well, she looked exactly like that—reddish purple, her head was perfectly round since she didn't have to go through the birth canal though, and she screamed until no end. I'm sure she got her lungs from you." He smirked at the weak glare she was giving him. "From what I could tell, she seemed to have black hair, as thin as it was, but she was crying so much I couldn't see her eyes."

"How much did she weigh?" She knew her daughter had to be tiny. She was born a month before she should have been.

"She's 5.1 lb and exactly 18 inches long. She was born 10:22 pm. She's so small, Mai."

Suddenly she grabbed on to the bed railing with one hand and tightened her grip on Naru's hand to pull herself up.

"Mai, what are you doing?" Naru asked warily, though he had a good feeling what it was.

"I'm going to see our baby."

"Mai—"

"Naru, I have waited five months since I found out I was pregnant to see our daughter." She said in irritation, glaring. "I am not waiting anymore. Take me to her."

After a quick checkup from a nurse to make sure Mai had the clearance to leave her bed, Naru placed her in a wheelchair and wheeled her in the NICU. They spoke with another nurse, and after giving her their names and washing their hands free of germs, she led them to their baby girl. The first thing Mai wanted to do when she saw her was cry. The baby had a lot of wires hooked up to machines to monitor her vitals, an IV in her tiny little arm, and a nasal cannula in her nose, much like the one Mai had in the delivery room she noted. When the nurse saw the worried look at Mai's face, she quickly told her that the baby was doing all the breathing on her own, the nasal cannula was just to give her a little bit more oxygen to keep her oxygen levels high.

"Can I hold her?" Mai asked softly, her eyes never leaving the baby.

"Well, she's been doing great so far, so I don't see why not." The nurse carefully picked up the baby and handed her to Mai, showing her the correct way to hold her. At first Mai remained stiff, fearing something might go wrong, but she soon relaxed and held her daughter closely. Like Naru had said, she had a reddish purple tint to her skin—the nurse informed her the coloring would get lighter in a day or so—and she had very thin black hair, taking after her father. When she lightly stroked the sleeping baby's cheek, the baby opened her eyes for a moment at the sudden contact and Mai caught a glimpse of brown. She had an adorable little button nose and seemed to have the shape of her father's lips. Mai hugged her closer to her with tears in her eyes. Their daughter was a perfect mix between the two of them.

"Hi, baby. You are so beautiful, I love you so much." She cried softly.

"Have you two decided on a name for her yet?" The nurse asked, looking at the couple. Mai shook her head.

"No..." She glanced up at Naru, who was staring down at their baby with soft eyes before switching his gaze to his wife. "But I think I might have one."

The next day, like Naru said, everyone came before noon. Somehow they all managed to come into her hospital room at once. Mai silently worried if a nurse would come and kick them all out. She knew Naru hoped for it, but if it really happened, she knew the gang would just cause an uproar.

"How are you feeling, Mai?" Ayako asked, sitting on the edge of her bed. Mai gave a small smile.

"Still exhausted. They gave me enough pain killers so I don't feel too much pain though."

"What's the baby?!" Monk burst out impatiently. Mai blinked and looked at Naru who hadn't left her side since she woke up last night.

"You didn't tell them?" She asked. When Naru shook his head, she was about the speak but she stopped herself and inwardly smirked. "I had twins."

"WHAT?" The look on everyone's faces was priceless that Mai couldn't help but laugh while Naru smirked.

"I'm kidding! It was only one baby!" Mai smiled in amusement. The disappointed looks on John and Masako didn't go unnoticed by her.

"Well? Come on, Mai, did you have a boy or girl?"

She waited a bit, enjoying the tortured look at their faces. Soon she took pity on them and rolled her eyes.

"We had a little girl."

Madoka gasped before squealing and running to hug her while Lin smiled. They were the winners. "Oh, Mai!"

Ayako sighed. Oh well, it was just a stupid bet anyways. Besides, now she has a little girl to spoil and dress up! She went over and hugged Mai as well then whacked Naru on the back in joy. "Congratulations, you two."

Yasu cackled, getting over his loss fairly quick. "I can't wait until she gets older and discovers boys. Papa bear Naru will come out—claws and all!" He smirked, earning a glare from said papa.

"My daughter is only twelve hours old. Don't talk about her growing up already." Mai begged, glaring at the bespectacled man too.

"Naru's not the only one who would be kicking some boys' butt." Monk stated, cracking his knuckles. To Mai's surprise, Lin gave a nod to Monk, agreeing with him. She sweatdropped. Her poor daughter. She's not going to be able to do anything when she's gets older without those three men breathing down her neck.

"Are you going to tell us what you named her or not?" Masako asked. Mai smiled and nudged Naru, signaling for him to tell them the name they agreed on.

"Emiko Marie."

Ayako blinked in surprise at hearing Marie. "An English name?"

Mai nodded, absently taking Naru's hand in hers. "Well, she does have English blood in her and it's how Naru was raised. I want her to know both cultures. And Marie is Luella's middle name. For Emiko, Luella once told me that our baby would be a blessing and she is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. I used the character "ko" after my mother... so Emiko Marie. She's named after both her grandmothers."

Madoka sat, staring at the new mother with tears in her eyes. "That's the sweetest thing." She sniffed. "I'm still the godmother though, right?"

Mai laughed. "Yes, you can the godmother!"

"Um... not sure rush, Mai, but when can we see the little one?" John asked sheepishly.

"Ahh, we'll have to put you guys on the list of people who can visit her first, since she's in the NICU and all. As long as none of you are feeling under the weather though, if you are stay away from her for now." She warned protectively. The nurses had already warned them of that. The slightest thing could make those babies sick.

"And only two are allowed in at a time." Naru said. He didn't want any of them around his daughter right now, especially without him there, but he wasn't going to argue with Mai. She's been through enough to last her a lifetime. Her pregnancy had been bad enough, especially with him being away, but the delivery was even more stressful on her. He wasn't sure he could watch her go through that again.

As Mai watched her self-proclaimed family argue about who was going to get to see the baby first, she smiled. They were all crazy, and with the new little addition, things were bound to get even more crazier. Oh well, she wouldn't have things any other way. She just hoped her daughter was ready for it.

She leaned towards Naru and whispered, "I love you."

He smiled and kissed her in the cheek while everyone still argued. He replied in the same tone. "I love you too. Thank you for giving us our daughter."

From on now, life was just going to get better.

IT'S DONE! I'm so happy I finally finished this for you guys that I wanna cry! I truly am sorry it took me so long to finish it, through the years I always worked on it off and on though so I never abandoned this. I just had writer's block a lot of the time, and life has been crazy for me especially last year.

Well, I graduated my online class last November, but before that, first I had to do a externship at a vet's office. That seriously sucked up my time. Five days a week, woke up at six in the morning, and worked about ten or twelve hours. I. Was. Dead. Lol. I did this about everyday for four months. But I learned and experienced a lot and got to see a lot of cool things especially when I helped with surgeries. So I am officially a veterinarian assistant now!

The beginning of this year, my bunny got extremely sick for two months. I really thought she was going to die. She was just skin and bones towards the end because she refused to eat or drink. But after a lot of vet visits we found out she had a extreme case of UTI. The vet said she had never seen one that bad. But she's all good now! And during the time this was happening, my dad's dad died (don't worry I barely knew him) but we were busy with the funeral. And throughout the year I have had a lot of kittens be born! :) Most of them we had to raise because the moms wasn't taking care of them, but I've had about six of them die... I have a total of 26 kitties now!

Trying to find a job now, but I've had have a lot of health problems so that's not too good with having a job. Anyways I just wanted y'all to know that I have been busy and didn't just abandon this. (SORRY FOR THE LONG A/N but notice that I have a coverart for this story now! Thank you AmyNChan for drawing it!)

Not sure if any one still wants the sequel for this. Last time everyone said they did. Just know if I do it, I'll write several chapters before I even post the story so y'all won't have to wait so long. Which I should've done all along but hey! I've grown wiser in my 20 years lol. Hard to believe I started writing on this site six years ago (I feel old). The sequel would be named Stay Happy if I posted though. Okay, I'll just say this and I promise I'll shut up.

Thank you everyone for supporting me with this story! I hope to hear from all of you! It's been fun :D