Not Alone

Mai moaned in discomfort as she settled into her chair behind her desk. Her stomach heaved and she glanced at the clock across the room with a grimace. It was only 9:00 in the morning and all she wanted to do was throw her guts up and sleep, but the pile of files that sat menacingly before her meant that would not be happening anytime soon. She swallowed the bile resting in the back of her throat and tried to get comfortable in the chair as she checked her emails again, responding quickly to the only one that had popped up since she had checked it a few hours ago.

Mai shifted the pile of work to the side, clearing the workspace directly in front of her in order to secure a clean spot to work on the files that had accumulated since she had left the morning before. Head bowed, Mai released a slow breath, her stomach still tumultuous and pulled the first file off the stack and went to work on it.

It was this way that Naru found her when he walked into the office, buried in her work, unnoticing of his presence. He stopped and regarded her quietly. She looked tired and sick, her breaths released in thick, quick bursts in order to lower the chance of throwing up. He cleared his throat, watching as her head snapped from the paperwork and riveted to his face almost comically in its speed. He watched her face go green and felt guilty when she rushed to the bathroom directly across from his office. He heard her retching, knowing she had not found the time to close the door before her stomach heaved.

Naru followed her path, a frown marring his features as he heard a sob escape Mai's lips amongst the sounds of vomiting. He wasted no time in settling on his knees behind her and brushing back her slightly sweaty hair from her face.

"I'm sorry." Mai's voice sounded exhausted as she laid her head back onto her husband's chest and closed her eyes after flushing the stool. Naru wiped away the tear that was tracking down her cheek. She felt a little warm to the touch and throwing up had left her face darkly flushed.

"You should have stayed home like I suggested." His tone was gently reprimanding as he kissed Mai's temple and brushed his fingers along her slightly curled fingers that rested in her lap.

"I wanted to work. I don't want to see things change; I'm so used to taking care of myself." She admitted quietly, the flush of her face now tinged pink with a blush she couldn't contain.

"But you aren't." the words caused Mai to force her eyes open and quickly pull herself from Naru's slack grasp, despite the comfort it provided. Anger flashed through her and Naru leaned away as she went to stand, fighting his instinct to grab her when she wavered with dizziness. Mai slid back down to the ground, leveling a look at Naru the firmly told him to keep his mouth shut.

"I AM taking care of myself. I AM working!" she replied slowly, indignantly, to the silent man before her.

"That's not what I meant, Mai." He held back the exasperated tone the best he could, knowing now was not the time for it.

The woman in question sat back, her arms crossed under her chest and her eyes planted on the man before her in question.

"It's not just YOU that needs taking care of anymore." Mai's hand lightly touched her stomach at the reminder.

"Like I could forget." She whispered with a pout.

The fact that Mai was pouting pulled a small smirk from Naru.

"You're also not alone, idiot." He allowed the endearment to slip from his lips as he pulled his wife against him again, her face landing comfortably in the crook of his neck.

"I know." Her muffled response made Naru chuckle and Mai shivered as the reverberations from his chest rolled through her. She grinned as she inhaled his calming scent, her breath skating over his neck causing him to shiver slightly in response, but Mai noticed and lifted her head to look her husband in the eyes.

"We are quite the pair." She said, her eyes alight in merriment. Naru shook his head with a sigh as he took in her rumpled appearance. Only his wife would be throwing up and crying one minute only to be laughing the next, it was part of what made her Mai.

"Are you alright." He asked, cupping her cheek seriously in his hand and staring at her in question. He could see the exhaustion in her eyes and it showed as her hand moved sluggishly to cup his own.

"Yeah," she replied with a smile, matching his stare, "but I could use a nap. Growing your child is exhausting." She said with a small yawn, her eyes closing and her hand sliding to her lap as she rested the weight of her face into his palm.

"I did tell you to stay home." He said with conviction as he stood, pulling her slowly with him, knowing that if she stood too quickly, she would be dizzy again.

"I know, but I didn't want to. I still don't. I'm not sick, I'm…pregnant. I should be able to do all the things I did before." Mai said with a sigh. It had been the first time she had said the "p" word. It was all still so surreal to her.

"You may not be sick, but you are growing a human." He replied, he hated to see her suffer, even if it was for such an exciting reason.

I'm going to be a father. The thought left his breathless as a jolt of excitement found its way down his spine. He pulled the woman beside him closer and led her out of the bathroom and into his office, where he settled her on the couch before going into the kitchen and grabbing the bottle of ginger soda he had purchased yesterday just in case something like this happened. His hand wandered into the cabinet for a package of saltines he knew was pressed to the back of the shelf.

Mai smiled up at Naru as he set the cup of pop and the plate of crackers in front of her before moving behind his desk.

"Eat and drink what you can and take a nap on the couch, Mai." He motioned to the blanket folded at the end with the pillow resting on top, "If you feel up to it when you wake up, you can work on some paperwork."

Mai grimaced, but forced herself to much on the corner of the cracker, "And if I don't feel better?" she asked, watching him with a frown.

"We will go home and I'll do some work while you rest there." He said without looking away from his computer screen.

Mai sipped at the drink before her before reaching out to organize the pillow and blanket to her liking. Her eyes slipping shut without a fight.

"You're going to be a great father." She said drowsily as she felt herself sliding into unconsciousness.

"I know." The reply came without a skip in the sound of typing that filled the office. Mai snorted, realizing that it was such a Naru-esque thing to say.

I hope our daughter doesn't inherit his ego. Mai thought absently as her breathing evened, unaware of the eyes that watched her lovingly as she slept.

Author's Note: Just a little one shot with lots and lots of fluffy NaruxMai love! I need to go over it with a fine tooth comb, but will do so later when I have more time. Let me know what you thought and thank you for reading!