I couldn't believe it. How could we have a mission today of all days? I sighed angrily, flipping one of Ben's pancakes. The satisfying sizzle, coupled with the fantastic smell, made me smile a little.

"Mama, what's wrong?" Ben asked, his words a little hard to understand due to his age.

"Huh?" I asked intelligently. "Oh, Mama's okay, baby."

"You and Daddy have a mission tonight, right?" How could a three year old be so observant?

"I'm so sorry, sweetie! Here, we'll all go out for lunch. How's that sound?" Ben's disappointed face barely raised.

"Okay, Mama." He pushed away from the table, walking dejectedly toward his bedroom. He mumbled a "Morning, Daddy," to Soul as he passed him in the hall.

"I take it he found out about the mission?" Soul guessed, staring after Ben. I heaved a huge sigh.

"And he's so disappointed. How could Lord Death give us a mission today? Couldn't he have given it to Tsubaki and Black*Star?" I asked angrily.

"Tsubaki and Black*Star are signing the papers to adopt Angela today. They won't be back in Death City until tomorrow."

"What about Kid? Kid could do it."

"Kid and Patty are still on their honeymoon, and Liz is at that spa until they get back. Before you ask, Ox and Kim are getting married tomorrow, Killik is out of town on another mission, Stein and Marie are investigating a witch, and your dad can't leave Lord Death's side. I'm the only deathscythe that can go, and you're my meister, meaning you have to go, too."

"Yes, but today?" I emphasized again. "Couldn't we go tomorrow?"

"Maka, as much as I'd like to be here, kishin don't stop because it's your child's birthday." Soul ran his hands through his hair in frustration, showing that he'd rather be home with Ben, too. I sighed yet again (I was doing that a lot today) and set breakfast on the table, calling for Ben to come and eat. He ate slowly, his dull green eyes staring off into space. It was almost too much to bear.

"Hey, little man," I cooed, "how about Daddy and I get rid of this kishin real fast so we can be home for dinner?" I asked. Ben's eyes brightened immediately.

"Really?" he asked, looking hopefully from me to Soul. Soul chuckled.

"Well, kishin are a piece of cake for your old man," he informed Ben, smiling. "We'll be home in no time."


As we waited for the kishin to show up, I began to think maybe promising Ben we'd be home by dinner was a bad idea. It was already five o'clock, and we ate at seven. Just as I was beginning to think it wasn't going to show, Soul yelled for me to look out.

I dodged just in time to miss the kishin's claws as they sliced through the air. Soul launched himself into the air, transforming as he soared into my waiting hands. I spun him expertly, stopping him and settling into a defensive position.

"Kishin BTK, your soul is mine!" I called to him, letting all my frustration and anger out. He smirked at me.

"You think you can get rid of my so easily? We'll see about that."

BTK lunged at me, and I dodged expertly. I got a good hit in, and he fell to the ground. He looked dead, but I knew better than to turn my back on him. I flipped Soul around and put all my strength into thrusting him downward, bent on cutting off BTK's head. As I expected, at the last minute BTK shot out from under me, trying to slice me from behind. I now understood why a student wasn't sent on this mission. No student would've expected that move. They'd have turned around to leave, giving the kishin the opportunity to kill them.

In the midst of our battle, I was thrown against a wall, BTK rushing up and grabbing me by the neck. He shoved me into the wall, his beefy hands crushing my windpipe. As my brain became fuzzy from lack of oxygen, my mind became oddly clear. Strangely enough, with my newly cleared mind, I could think of only one thing: my promise to my son. I had promised him we'd be home for his birthday dinner, and at that moment I realized that may have been a mistake. Suddenly, anger filled me. I began struggling against BTK's grasp. The more I struggled, the tighter his grip became.

"Why don't you just give up? It's hopeless," BTK taunted me.

"No-!" I managed to strangle out. This caught the kishin off guard.

"What did you say?" He asked, loosening his grip only slightly. All that time, I still had Soul clasped tightly in my hand. I used my soul wavelength to keep him in weapon form. I had an idea.

"No!" I repeated, giving BTK a good scratch. He didn't even flinch.

"Why not?" he yelled, obviously upset. "What do you have to live for?"

"I made a promise to the most important person in my life that I would be home for dinner," I explained. Slowly, I turned Soul so his blade was facing the kishin.

"So, you have a meal to live for?" BTK asked incredulously. He let out a half-crazed laugh. "And you think I'm crazy. Just give up. I'm going to kill you. If it'll make you feel better, I'll kill your important person, too. That way you'll be together forever."

"I can't let you do that," I growled, pressing the opposite side of Soul's blade into the stomach. "Because I made a promise." I shoved Soul's blade through BTK's stomach.

"And I intend to keep that promise."


"Mama! Daddy!" Ben's voice was music to my ears as Soul and I walked through the door. I smelled sausage and macaroni and cheese. Blair came skipping down the hall in her human form.

"You were almost late," she scolded us. "I had to cook dinner. You two are lucky Soul taught me how to cook last year."

"We're sorry, Blair," Soul apologized. Blair gave him a look, then turned her attention to me. Or, to the scarf around my neck. She picked up an end and quirked an eyebrow at me. I slid part of it down to reveal brownish bruises encircling my neck. They would be gone by morning, but I didn't want Ben seeing them.

"Mama, why are you wearing that ugly scarf?" Ben inquired, looking exactly like his father with his eyebrow raised.

"I was cold?" I answered, smiling lamely. Ben stared me down for a second before shrugging and walking into the kitchen, calling for the three of us to follow. As we walked into the kitchen, Soul pulled me back and whispered, "Epic fail," into my ear. I smacked him playfully on the head and walked into the kitchen, taking my place at Ben's side.

After dinner, cake, and presents, I was tucking Ben into bed when he wrapped his arms around me, whispering in my ear:

"Thank you for keeping your promise, Mama."

I had to keep myself from tearing up. I didn't cry so much before I had Ben. At first, I thought it was because of my hormones. Now I realize that you will always get emotional about your children, no matter what. You just have to accept it. I wrapped my little man into a hug.

"Mama will always keep her promises."


GAH! I finally finished chapter 2! I finally started chapter 2. Haha. I was reading through some Soul Eater fanfictions and realized that I wanted to write a fight scene. Too bad I wasn't completely in the mood to write a fight scene, hence the crappyness of this chapter. It's not so much that I CAN'T write one, it's I didn't want to write a LONG one. I lost patience. Oh well. As promised, this chapter was infinitely better than chapter 1. See? I keep my promises, too! Yay for Mama Maka and I having something in common!

On another note: I didn't completely proof-read this chapter, so if you see some mistakes, tell me. I may not fix them, but it's nice to know I'm not the only grammer Nazi here. :)

My nephew got his first haircut today. He was so good! That is my daily shenanigan. Haha.

To explain why Maka explained her emotional behavior: I got a review a while back on Baby Mine by someone who calls themselves "the cridic". Said person doesn't have an account, so I kind of felt like I'd wronged you guys by not explaining why Maka cried a lot. I wasn't offended by the review, not in the slightest, but I figured I'd have Maka explain to you why she's so emotional as opposed to me (seeing as half you guys never read these). When you have a child or live with one, everything they do can make you emotional. My sister my not cry every time her son gives her a hug, but you can see just how happy it makes her in her eyes. In the canon-verse, we HAVE seen Maka cry, and she does get emotional, so I figured that, in that situation, Maka WOULD feel really upset. She'd be pissed at herself for having sex, she'd be pissed at Soul for knocking her up, and her hormones would make her pissed at everyone else. XD

Alright, I'mma go now. Dream on and live strong! (I'm not gonna say Bysies anymore because my sister made fun of me for it. Haha. I like 'Dream on and live strong' better anyway.)