Uh, this'd be your standard disclaimer, I don't own Tenchi Muyo!!! Ok, got it? Great! Now, on with the story!

OH BABY

"Gah, I can't find anything to watch!" Ryoko turned off the tv and threw the remote on the other side of the couch. Sigh "Can't sleep, can't watch tv! CAN'T EVEN LISTEN TO MUSIC!! Why do people sleep at night anyway?" Ryoko's frustrated state suddenly turned solemn, "I can't even remember that last time I slept at night." She suddenly perked up once again, "I'll go for a walk, no prissy princesses to bother me this late at, uh, early in the, um, oh whatever." Ryoko floated up in the air, then thought better of it, "I suppose a walk IS meant for walking." She phased through the front door and began to walk off the porch. However, before she could accomplish this, her foot caught on something and she tripped and fell face first into the dirt. "Hey, what's the big idea, heuh?" Ryoko looked down and sweatdropped. A baby carrier set right in Ryoko's path. Awakened by the sudden movement, the baby inside started to cry, loudly. Ryoko backpedaled a couple of steps before it dawned on her that the crying could wake the entire household. "Ssshhh, you could wake everyone up and I'd get in trouble." Surprisingly, at hearing the soft voice, the baby stopped crying. "Well, that was easy, now, what to do with you." Mentally deciding, Ryoko took the baby and sat on a chair on the porch, muttering to herself, "There goes my walk."
Without noticing, Ryoko spent the whole time since she was awake trying to find away to deal with the new 'addition' asleep in a blanket in Ryoko's arms. Eventually, she heard the familiar clank of dishes and she was struck with inspiration. "Oh I am sooo devious! OOOOOHHHHHH AYEKA!!!" She muttered to herself. The baby giggled. Ryoko looked down at her, "Wow, someone who would actually think this is funny beside me and probably Washu, oh well, shall we?"
Reaching the door, Ryoko stopped, "Maybe I should find a name for you. Hmm, Rychi? No, I don't like it, and you're a girl, sooooo, Rei? Ew, no, to plain, how aboooooouuuuuuut, Reina, no way, too Ayeka...um, how bout Ry?"
The baby girl giggled and yanked on one of Ryoko's pony tails hanging over her shoulder, "OWCH, don't do that!" Ryoko was surprised when Ry let go. "Strange." Ryoko took Ry into the house. At the entrance to the kitchen, Ryoko stopped and waited for everyone to notice her, first was Tenchi.
"What do you have there Ryoko?" her face fell, 'Maybe I can still pull this off.' she thought.
By now everyone had noticed the bundle in her arms, Mihoshi gasped, "Oh my, Ryoko's had a baby!"
"Who's the father?" Tenchi asked. Ryoko could spot a slight disappointment in his voice, however, she was more discouraged at the giveaway.
"I dunno." Everyone sweatdropped. Ayeka meekly pointed at Ryoko asking, "Well, you are the mother right?"
"Um, no." she grinned, they all facefaulted.
"MISS RYOKO I DEMAND TO KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON HERE." Ayeka's face was red.
Ry started to cry and Ryoko immediately ignored her and tended to baby Ry. "Hush now, I know Auntie Ayeka is a very scary woman but you have to learn to just ignore her and maybe someday she'll go away."
Ayeka went even redder (if it's possible) and formed her logs around Ryoko. Tenchi was up and determined to difuse the huge bomb threatening to explode.
"Miss Ayeka please, let it slide, at least don't hurt the baby."
Ryoko's head shot up faster than the eye could see, "Oh really? So, this is what you think of me, nice to know I'm dispensible, Kagato thought so too." She phased away with tears in her eyes. Tenchi instantly regretted the way he worded the plea. However, Ayeka was still fumming, "That woman, the child cannot even be six months and already she is filling it's head with horrible thoughts, she is not fit to raise this child." Tenchi sweatdropped as the memory of Taro came to life again. 'Washu's probably gonna end up takin care of um, is it a boy or girl, ah well, I hope Ryoko comes back. I feel like such a jerk.'

Ryoko phased on the roof and held little Ry in her arms. "Ya know something Ry, why do I always dwell on the past? They must think I do it only to make them guilty or something, why can't I just get over it?" Ry started to pout a little then cry. "Ugh, what now?" Ryoko looked at the baby exaustedly, which only made her cry louder "Um, hush hush baby Ry, come on, you don't wanna cry, someone's gonna laugh at ya or something, come on, quit cryin." Ryoko was panicked, Ry wouldn't stop, she checked her diapers, nothing, a thought hit her. "Are you hungry."
Ry stopped crying and looked up at her curious, then started to cry again. "Hm, guess not, um...what'd do I do?" She considered going back to Washu and asking her but then Ayeka would definitely see she wasn't fit to care for the child however long she was here. She was officially panicked now, on a last ditch effort, she looked around to make sure no one was around, then she started to sing a soft lullaby. Ry immediately stopped crying and pulled on one of Ryoko's ponytails. "Owch!" She pulled her ponytail away from Ry, "I'm glad you like me singing, no one else does, I used to get beaten for it." Ryoko fell into a remiscense of when she was caught by Kagato, "It's funny, the one thing that brought me solace and it brought me as much, if not more, pain. Once, he caught me singing and damaged my vocal cords so bad I couldn't talk for a year. Then I got beat for not answering when he talked to me." Ryoko looked down at the baby in her arms. To her surprise, she found the child hanging on her every word, not laughing, not accusing, granted the baby lacked the ability to truely understand at the moment, when Ryoko looked at her, she saw the child was truely listening to her. It touched Ryoko in a way that she neaver thought possible, someone actually at least looked like they cared, which got her thinking about Ry in general, when she sang, Ry listened, when Ryoko was annoyed, Ry would cry, when she was happy, Ry would laugh, when she talked about her past, Ry would listen intently, not interrupting, saying it's over and she should forget, but actually listened. "There's more to you than meets the eye, you're just not normal, but then neither is anyone in that house." Ryoko smiled and Ry laughed, which only made her smile wider, never had she felt this way, about anyone. "We might just make it after all."

Over the next few weeks, Ryoko cared closely for Ry. Hardly did she go anywhere without the baby. And likewise, if Ryoko wasn't there, Ry would cry and cry until Ryoko was there. Often, Ayeka had caught Tenchi looking at Ryoko as she cared for the baby. She was irate, Ryoko didn't seem to be noticing the attention like Ayeka, for some reason, felt like she should. Also, whenever Ayeka tried to get near the baby, she would cry, pull her hair, or something else. Once, Ayeka confronted Ryoko about this, but she simply passed it off as what babies do, and the fact that Ry did it to her all the time, it usually meant she liked something. Washu, on the other hand, couldn't have been happier. Ryoko consulted her on many occasions of caring for Ry. Washu had never felt closer to her daughter, often, she and Ryoko would just spend time in her lab with Ry, finding strange games to play with the baby. It had come to the point that Washu actually anticipated someone barging into her lab, and she welcomed them with open arms, which at times, unnerved Tenchi, but even he lightened up after a while. Ry often did similar things to Sasami and Mihoshi that she did to Ayeka, but they didn't seem to mind so much. They often told Ayeka that she should lighten up, it was a babies nature to take to her mother and not many other people. At this, Ayeka became enraged,

"THAT DEMON IS NOT THAT CHILD'S MOTHER!"

Apparently, it had sounded too much like it was infact, Ryoko and Tenchi's child. Although, after the rant and the storming up to her room, Ayeka wondered why she had been so mad, Tenchi had not chosen, she flinched at that word, no, not chosen, said who he love is. Ayeka really didn't like the word chosen in this case, it made them seem like they were some kind of cereal box sitting on a shelf in a grocery store, someone had to chose which one they wanted. No, he loved someone, Ayeka could see it in his eyes now-a-days, he was much more relaxed around everyone, though he never really illustrated who it was he loved. It made her nervous, but Ayeka coudn't really do anything about it, change is inevitable and she had to accept it. After this thought, Ayeka felt strangely lighthearted, she would accept whatever came her way, just like Ryoko, if it were heartache, she would morn, then move on. She walked out of her room to almost ran headfirst into Ryoko herself. She scowled at first, but then saw immense bags under her eyes and her weakly holding Ry.

"Oh, Ayeka" she said surprised, evidentally about to knock on her door, she quickly recovered, "Could you take Ry for the afternoon? I'm utterly exausted, been up all night, she didn't feel good. Please, I need a little rest."

Ayeka was about to think of a smart retort, but saw the sincerity on Ryoko's face, and heard it in her voice, something else that had been brought out since Ry had come to them, which would perhaps be why the whole house accepted Ry into their daily lives. On a last ditch effort to save her hair and her dress, Ayeka asked, "Well, why haven't you asked Sasami or someone?"

Ryoko was distressed, "Sasami's cleaning and cooking, Kiyone and Mihoshi have to go on patrol soon, Tenchi's at the fields, Nobuyuki's in his study, demanding not to be disturbed, Washu's locked her door, I don't know why, probably cause she put this stuff in her formula that'd make her hyper all day, ugh, and I don't think Yo-Ka-grandfather would like to be disturbed right now." Ryoko sighed and started to turn away, but Ayeka stopped her, motivated to give Ry a chance, and, she thought she was insane, but to give Ryoko a nap.

"I'll take her for a while Ryoko. It'd be my pleasure."

Ryoko whirled on her, delight written on her fatigued face, "REALLY?!"

"Well, of course, someone must teach the child proper manners, she can't possibly learn them from you, can she?" Ayeka added the last bit to make sure Ryoko knew she hadn't lost her touch and she could conjure up a fight at will. Ry pulled a huge scow, then made a grab for Ayeka's hair.

"Mmhmm, sure, here, night, uh, afternoon, whatever." Ryoko handed Ry to Ayeka and phased away into her room. Upon hitting the pillow, Ryoko fell into a deep, dreamless slumber.

Ayeka, however, didn't get off that easy. Once Ryoko handed her Ry, Ayeka smelled something fowl. "You did that on purpose!" Not getting an answer, Ayeka spun around and headed for the nursery, a little something Washu added to the house the night after Ry came to the house. She didn't much like the prospect of a baby anywhere in her lab at night.

"Now little Ry, it's not polite to do such things in greating people." Ayeka giggled, "They don't like it much."

Again Ry scowled and made a grab for Ayeka's hair. It was then, she decided to put it in ponytail and make sure it was well behind her back the rest of the day.

A couple hours later, Tenchi came home to find Ayeka, Ry, Sasami, Kiyone, and Mihoshi on the couch. Sasami was holding Ry and waved at Tenchi. "Hi Tenchi, welcome home!"

Tenchi smiled and waved back, instantly noticing that Ryoko wasn't there. "Where's Ryoko?"

Mihoshi looked up from playing with Ry and searched the room, "Oh, Ryoko's not here?"

Kiyone, along with everyone else, sweatdropped massively. Ayeka was first to recover and answered Tenchi's question, "She's upstairs." Much to Tenchi's surprise, Ayeka went back to playing with Ry. Tenchi dismissed this and went upstairs to check on Ryoko. He heard an 'OWCH' come from the living room and assumed Ry had taken the opportunity of Ayeka's turned head to latch onto her hair and pull it hard. Ry was a strong little girl, probably from the influence of Ryoko. Tenchi found himself smiling, he had thought something out throughly while in the fields