Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Marie Lu owns it all.

A/N: Wazzup b-words. I've missed you all. Ha. I speak like I have a fan base. I like to think I do, okay? Anyways.

Important: this is a short but multi-paraghaph story about June and Day. However, I have changed some details. 1) Day wasn't in a coma for too long. 2) You will find out later.

I hope you guys enjoy this. Please let me know what you think. I'm not sure how many chapters this will be total. You should know that this isn't action packed. There's not much of a plot to it. This is mainly cute fluff after the third chapter.

June

The morning Day left the country, I had thrown up. Tess had assured me it was due to my disarray from his departure. I listened and didn't think anything of it. I vomited again Friday evening. Now, lying flat out on my back staring up at three dark clouds and Pascao's frowning form with ten stars dancing across my vision, I wondered if it was more. I was a fit girl. Running eight miles in the morning wasn't something unusual for me, especially since I had declined Anden's offer the moment Day left Antarctica. I took over Commander, not lost to the vengeful feeling I gained as I did. It put me in the field enough to keep my mind mostly off of the gaping black hole slowly forming in my soul. Every morning right before dawn approached, Pascao and I ran on the track. It was my favorite time of the day. The approaching light paired with the intense activity and somebody to talk my ear off made me feel whole again.

"June? Can you hear me?" Pascao was shouting, and it didn't help the heat rushing through my body.

"Yes," I paused, mentally checking over my body. "I passed out, but I wasn't shot."

"No," Pascao laughed nervously as he glanced over his shoulder. "No. You weren't shot. Why did you pass out?"

He helped me sit up, and the edges of my vision started to blacken. I blinked it back to the best I could. "It's not hot. We had barely begun our run. I ate and drank plenty this morning."

"You don't know?" Pascao asked.

"I didn't say that," I hissed. My tone was icy cold. He was one of my captains, and I knew every second he spent with me he was always unsure whether I was his friend or his commander. It was silly considering I treated him the same either way. "But yes. I don't know."

He snorted and cracked a smile. "Should we call Tess?"

He always wanted to call Tess. I shook my head. "I'm fine." It was a common lie I said lately. Rarely did it apply to my physical being. I looked around. Four people were gawking at us. By their lingering gazes, they recognized me. I ignored them and stood, swaying on my feet. "I'll get water and be back out."

He protested, but ultimately I had more authority. After gulping down a quarter of my water, not enough for a stomachache, I stared out at the track and regained some energy. It didn't make sense. Was I ill? I had never felt so weak before. It reminded me when Day had cradled me against his chest in the underground tunnels when I was sick.

Now my heart clenched, as well. My mouth went dry, and I took another sip of water. The thoughts ran through my head no matter how hard I fought them.

Where was he? I knew he arrived safely, but did he like it there? The world was so different in Antarctica. The idea of basing every move off of points was so foreign to me. It would be to trivial knowing all that I had been through here. However, Day didn't know what he had been through. Still, he knew what life was like in the Republic before. Either way, I was sure he was happier than he was before.

I went back out and joined Pascao. My head was spinning towards the end of the run. I didn't think too much of it. If something were wrong, I'd find out eventually.

And I did.

The next day, I broke down in tears when the sun set. I was hysterical. It was right in front of Tess, as well. She was like a package deal. When I saw Tess, I used to know Day was close behind. We were seated outside having dinner at a restaurant where we saw the sun dip down behind the sea. Normally, I was working when the sun set. However, Sunday evenings I was off, and it had been exactly a week since Day left.

In my mind, the setting sun was much too close to the way my world was now. With the sun was Day, and they both left my world in darkness. And then I cried. I cried so much even Tess didn't know what to do. For three minutes and twelve seconds, I silently wept into Tess's shoulder.

I wanted her arm to be Day's as he held me closely. I wanted him to whisper soothing words into my ear to make it all better. I wanted him to kiss me so hard I forgot why I was even sad. I wanted my light back.

I was making a scene. Eight eyes were glued on us. So I dried up my eyes and a half a minute later, I was numbly sipping my water again. "June. I've never seen you cry like that."

I squared my shoulders and wiped at my cheeks. "Well, I apologize."

Tess shook her head, and her doe eyes forced me to look at her. "No. I mean, that's not normal. You're way too composed to show that much emotion."

She was correct. I always could reign in my mental lapses. They normally got me when I was alone. Tess had been doing well at holding a one-ended conversation for me. "You're training to become a nurse, correct?"

"Yeah," she said. "Why? Is something wrong?"

I huffed. Doctor visits were annoying. I was a healthy girl. I was strong. Any illness I had, I should have been able to push past it. I felt ridiculous admitting this. "I threw up again Friday. The next morning, I passed out during my run with Pascao. Now I'm an emotional wreck. This isn't normal, Tess."

She frowned and thought for a second. "It doesn't sound like any illness I've heard of, but I mainly train in trauma now. You know where I work, yeah?"

"I'm not coming in," I said, knowing where this was headed. She sent me a sour look and continued to stare worriedly at me until our food arrived. I had ordered lobster.

The moment the waiter set the plate in front of me and the smell hit me, waves of nausea hit me like a flood. I sprang up from my seat and emptied my stomach into the nearby bushes, hacking and coughing like a fiend.

That was how I ended up sitting in an emergency room, being asked a load of boring questions that lead nowhere. Tess was by my side taking my blood for tests. Anden was on his way over, to my displeasure. I asked Tess to inform Pascao that I needed him to take over my command for an hour. He informed Anden.

He was standing by my bedside when the blood tests came in. Tess sat on the bed beside me. The doctor looked paler than before, as if he was about to deliver unpleasant yet not life threatening news. I didn't know if that was good or not. It got Anden to stop nagging Tess about possibilities so I deemed it as good.

"Well?"

Doctor Kann was Day's former doctor. He came in and bowed to Anden before addressing me. Seeing him reminded me of the four weeks day had been in a coma. It reminded me of the sharp morning I heard that Day had awoken. "Wonderful news" quickly turned into dreadful words for me.

Once again, that's what I heard. "Wonderful news," Doctor Kann said. He looked up and paled again. "Sorry, Ms. Iparis." He cleared his throat. He was uncomfortable. "We found high levels of a certain hormone in your blood, commonly produced after fertilization on women."

Tess's eyes bulged. She looked at me with a different light. Her gaze settled on my stomach for two seconds, longer than normal. I frowned. "What does that mean?"

He huffed awkwardly, like it was a task he never wanted to perform in his life. "It means you're pregnant, Ms. Iparis."

My world shifted. That line sentence, laced with such nervousness, changed my whole life. The news seemed impossible to hear. Me? Pregnant? Those were words I never envisioned hearing at all in my life. Picturing me as a mother made me want to laugh. I was cold and heartless now more than ever. Mothers were nurturing and caring. Mothers were Tesses. Mothers were not Junes

"I'm pregnant." I repeated. The words felt like acid in my mouth. It wasn't something too uncommon in the republic...for the poor. People married young for money. People got pregnant for money. People had accidents due to the lack of money. But I wasn't poor. I didn't need money. I could buy contraception.

For the first time in my life, I forgot something. I had forgotten to use contraception. It only occurred to me now. Day had been everywhere. He was everything that night. I couldn't tell you what time or where it happened. Clearly, it happened. I was overtaken by emotion. Day had been a blinding light for that night we shared together; so blinding I lost all thoughts aside from him. Now I faced the consequences.

"How...?" The question died on Tess's tongue. The doctor was watching me. Anden was eerily quiet. He had known Day had spent the night. It wasn't a horribly outrageous assumption. I remembered his face when he saw Day's jacket he had left. I supposed now there was no way he could pretend to be in the dark.

"In order to give you all your options, it would be beneficial if you told us how far along you are," Doctor Kann said, but I hardly heard him.

"What?" I asked. I knew what he was asking. I simply didn't want to recall.

"When did you conceive?"

Heat ran into my face. Images of that night flashed into my head. I could still feel Day's hands running delicately along my body, caressing me in a whole new way. Desire had been running alongside love that night. Everything about that evening was in a red blur. It was my secret. Day had left it behind, and it had been okay. Until now. Now everyone would know about that night.

"Six weeks ago," I muttered. Tess was quiet. She was looking at me with hurt clearly strewn in her eyes. I was reminded once again of our awkward tension we once shared long ago. It felt like years. She had had a crush on Day. She always would love him, but in a different way than Day had loved her. She had come around eventually. Now, I was throwing it in her face.

"Tess, could you explain to her all of the options?"

Tess was mute for a second longer than normal. She cleared her throat and looked at me with her large eyes. "You can keep the baby, give the baby away, or you can, er, terminate the pregnancy."

"Do we condone killing fetuses?" Anden interjected. He cleared his throat. "Sorry, June, this is your decision."

The doctor looked taken back. He glanced at the chart and frowned. "My apologies, glorious elector, but are you not the father?" I almost choked.

"No. I'm not."

Ouch.

The doctor's gaze turned from him to me, uncertainty crossing his gaze. "While there is no law to it, common courtesy is to alert the father. Ms. Iparis, do you know whom it is?"

I nodded.

He didn't know what to do with my lack of information. Anden spoke for me. "Consider it classified information."

His cheeks turned red as he nodded and looked back down at the clipboard. "Do you know what you'd like to do?"

I didn't speak. There was only one option. Killing was something meant for harsh criminals, not growing children. I was wealthy. Even if I wasn't, I was sure Anden would have given me everything I needed if I asked. My job could go on hold for as long as I wanted to. There was nothing stopping me. Nothing except a certain man at the bottom of the earth.

"Yes. I will keep it."

Tess breathed a sigh of relief. She wiped her forehead, which had glints of sweat on it. She didn't like this situation as much as me. The doctor nodded. "Whenever you are ready, call me. We can get started on prenatal care. The sooner the better."

He exited. Anden and Tess took his spot directly in front of me. I stared past them. This meant so much more to me than they realized. With a trembling hand, I felt along the panes of my stomach. My smooth skin was still the same. Nothing was there.

Tess spoke first, realizing what I was doing. "You won't show for a while. If you want proof, there's an ultrasound."

I nodded. It didn't matter. I believed them. It made sense. Morning sickness. Lightheaded-ness. Hormonal shifts. Everything fell into place.

"I suppose I can't try to influence you to take my offer," Anden laughed dryly. He was trying to lighten the mood.

"It's Day's kid, yeah?" Tess asked. Again, I nodded like I was in a trance. She mirrored me and blew out a breath of air. "Well how are we going to tell him now?"

That got my attention. I jolted out of my shock. "We aren't." I ordered. Tess raised her eyebrows. "We can't. He doesn't even remember me. To call him up and say he has a child would be out of the question."

Anden sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "That's his child, June." One of his many guards stuck his head in the room for the second time. He didn't bother being addressed before speaking.

"You're needed."

Anden cursed. "June." I raised my eyes to his. He was very shaken up. "Call me for any reason. Please, do the right thing here. You owe him that much."

I thought back on Anden's words. Anden, who was normally never against or for Day, had just fought for him. I looked up at Tess. She was staring right back at me.

"You have to tell him." It was the first words out of her mouth as she sat on the bed beside me. I shook my head. "You know how much he loves his family. Family is everything to Day." Finally. "He has a right to know."

I huffed. "I won't trap him here where he'll have to relive everything he's went through." Tess opened her mouth to speak, but I cut her off and stood. "He will grow up and marry some random girl. He'll have a family with her. He'll be happy with her. Life will be easy for him. This is his last gift to me, Tess. Don't make it come with a price."

After eight months and five days, I found that he truly did bless me with a sliver of his light. My new light. He left me with something to sew me back together after he ripped my heart apart. The dark hole in my soul was filled with a new light, a new day, a new dawn.

Six Years Later

"Thank you, Commander," said my second to last captain. It was inspection day. My squad was spotless, as usual. Pascao stepped up with a grin. I sent him a curt lift of my lips before looking him over. After moving on to his guns, I deemed him safe.

"Clear," I nodded. Then I dropped my attitude. "I heard you're taking Tess out to dinner after seven years."

He rolled his eyes. "She was caught up on a certain someone for a while. Clearly, his charm lasts a while," he snickered. I sent him an icy glare and shoved his rifle back into his chest. "I heard he's coming back."

This caught me by surprise. "What?"

He scratched the back of his neck and coughed. "So Tess didn't tell you..." He muttered a curse at her.

I suddenly felt lightheaded. My world had finally righted itself, and now it was about to be flipped upside down. Day was coming home. So many emotions flashed through me. Hope. Horror. Excitement. Fear. Longing. Curiosity. The first thought that crossed through my mind was Apollo. What would I tell Day? Did he remember? If he didn't, what would I tell Apollo? If he did, what would I tell both of them? Dread filled me to the brim.

"Why?"

Pascao shrugged. "Didn't say. He just called Tess up the other day and said he was coming home. Eden is staying behind for the time being, though."

That made me even more suspicious. Day chose this. He chose to come back. Why? If it wasn't for Eden, then why? What would make him want to leave his brother whom he fought so hard for? What was that powerful?

"When?"

"Dunno. I'll ask Tess and tell you tomorrow...after our date." Pascao whooped and swung his fist in victory. Normally, I'd laugh. Now, I was thinking about too many things. I needed to be prepared. I had to figure out what to tell Apollo. He wasn't a dumb kid. He was just like his dad. Hanging around Tess so much, he sounded like him, too, using Lake sector slang. I found it quite endearing. He also was very perceptive, like me. I was glad. There were practically no similarities between my own son and me.

Just thinking so much about him made me itch to run home. I glanced at the clock. It was time, I supposed. Being a commander was a time consuming job. I hardly ever got to go home before seven. It wasn't helpful that the crime rates were just as bad, if not worse, at night. Thankfully, a lot of my job could be done over the phone.

"Do that." I said, more of a command than anything. He waved in goodbye and jogged off to prepare for his date.

I got home late that night. It was nine and raining hard. When I finally got to my apartment, Apollo was reading to the guard. Yes, guard. To keep me in my position, Anden assigned a guard to Apollo for me, but I used her like a babysitter. The moment he heard the door open, he came running. Apollo clung on to my legs with a big grin. "Mommy! Mommy! Guess who I met today?"

I crouched down, simultaneously waving at the guard as she left. I wrapped him up into my arms and forced a wide grin on to my cheeks. "Who? Who?"

Apollo caught on to my teasing quickly. He just stuck out a lip and stepped out of my hug. He crossed his arms and refused to look at me. I grinned genuinely now. My fingers attacked his stomach in wave after wave of tickling. He held back his laughter for as long as his little body could stand until he finally caved. He fell in a heap in my arms. I scooped him up and entered further into our apartment. I kicked the door shut as well.

"So, who did you meet today?" I asked, still holding him over my shoulder.

His words left his mouth the moment we rounded the corner into the living room. "I met a super hero! I met Day!" But my eyes already landed heavily on the very man standing before me.

A/N: I would love love love three reviews! Can we get at least two? First chapter in a small fandom, but…two reviews! Let me know if you like it or hate it. I want to hear some rants. I can take anything (let's hope).