D/C: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin, the Fashion channel, MTV...I only want a car and then I'll be satisfied.

Hello!! I'm back with chapter 2!! Did it take long? If it did, it was because I was working on chapters 5 and 6!! Yes, I've reached up till there already! I really like this story and I don't want to be pressured by it, so I decided to finish most of the chapters before hand and then update them at my own leisure (that's what I did with the Babysitter too). Well, anyway, I'll stop babbling now and let you get on with the chapter! Enjoy!!

Ooh, and btw, thank you so much for all your reviews!

Chapter 2:

'Here we are.'

Sano opened the door to his apartment and walked inside. Megumi held back, peering into the apartment. The only other guy's apartment she had walked into was her husband's, and she wasn't too comfortable with the thought of going inside the apartment of a complete stranger who she'd met on the subway train...but he was also the same stranger who had saved her life; she supposed she should give him some credit for that. She took a cautious step inside, and started to digest her surroundings. She had to say that this was nothing compared to her place, but, to be honest, this apartment, a one which she had never been into before, felt more warm than any house she'd ever been in.

'Sano...?' she called out uncertainly.

Sano looked out through one door in the corridor and beckoned her inside. 'Come in,' he told her. 'Make yourself at home.'

Megumi nodded. She walked inside. She looked into the door Sano had appeared, and saw that it was a kitchen. Sano, himself, was heating a kettle on the stove. She walked further inside into what looked like a living room, although she wasn't too sure with all the trash lying around the place. She picked her way through the popcorn and the empty bags of chips which were lying on the floor towards the nearest couch. She shoved the trash to the floor and gingerly settled down on the couch, dropping the stuff she'd been holding next to her feet. She leaned back and closed her eyes; feeling able to relax for the first time in days. She heard the sound of something being broken in the kitchen, and she sat up straight.

'Sano?' she called out again. 'Are you alright?'

'Yeah, I'm fine; don't worry about me!' he shouted back. 'I just broke a plate; no big deal! It always happens, anyway!'

Megumi giggled. She noticed a remote control lying on the crammed coffee table and leaned forward to pick it up. She switched on the TV, and it opened to a match of football; Megumi couldn't imagine why that wouldn't have surprised her. She flicked between the channels, pausing every now and then at the channels she used to watch before; the Fashion channel, MTV...but that was history now. She looked around as Sano came into the living room, carrying a tray. With his forearm, he hastily shoved everything on the coffee table to the floor and placed the tray on it. Megumi looked, and saw that it bore a teapot, cups and a plate of muffins.

Cheeks flushed, Sano settled down on the couch opposite from her. 'Erm...sorry about the mess,' he mumbled, busying himself with the teapot. 'I always tell myself that I should probably do some cleaning, but I never get to the point where I actually obey myself, you know?'

'That's alright,' she replied. She eyed the teapot with mild curiosity. 'Sano...is that...erm, did you make me tea?'

'Herbal tea!!' he said at once. 'I heard that it could be very relaxing! Er...why are you laughing? Did I say something wrong?'

Megumi shook her head. 'No, I'm sorry,' she replied, wiping tears of mirth out of her eyes. 'I just...well, you don't look like the type of guy who'd have herbal tea at his place. I mean...' She let her voice trail off as she gestured to all the junk food lying around.

Sano's cheeks flushed even more. 'Yeah, I got you,' he murmured. He poured her a cup of herbal tea and handed it to her, and then he poured himself one, too. 'I really don't know why, but I've been always such a fan of herbal tea. Here, have a muffin; fresh from the bakery.'

Megumi picked up a muffin and took a sip from her tea. They didn't say anything all throughout; the only sound was coming from the TV, and it was a woman advertising some new kind of kitchenware. When she had drained the last of her tea and put it back on the tray, Sano got up to his feet, and she blinked, confused, before realizing that he had been waiting for her to finish before he could get up.

'Right, you can go into my room and rest there,' he told her, and pointed at a door behind her. 'There's a bathroom in there in case you wanted to take a shower or something. Do you need clothes? I could give you some if you want.'

'Thanks, I appreciate the offer but I have my clothes right here,' she told him, and patted her carrier. She picked it up by its cords and stood up. 'What are you going to do?'

Sano waved at the living room. 'I'm gonna stick back here and do a bit of cleaning,' he replied. 'I mean, it's about time I did, don't you think?'

Megumi smiled and nodded. Turning on her heels, she walked towards the bedroom door. She pushed the door open and went inside...and got surprised. The bedroom looked like it was the calm eye in the middle of a storm; a king-size bed with neat bed sheets, pillows and blankets, two wooden bedside cabinets and a wooden cupboard, and a small dressing table with a huge mirror across from the bed. What was surprising is that everything was really neat. Chuckling to herself, she dropped down her bags to the floor and plopped down on the bed. She lay down, and indulged in the first comfortable thing she had experienced in two weeks. She got up and started undressing herself, the idea of a shower just too tempting. She pulled off her sweater, her shirt, and was just about to unhook her bra when the door was flung open.

Sano was in the doorway, holding up her bag. 'Megumi, your bag...!!' he said, and his jaw dropped.

It was only when she screamed that he immediately left and closed the door. Megumi had quickly reached for her sweater again, but it had been too late; the damage was done. She felt her cheeks burning, and her heart thudding against her chest. She swallowed hard.

'I'm so sorry!!' she heard Sano shout from outside the door. 'I honestly didn't mean to barge in on you like that!! I'm just used to this room being mine, I didn't think...!! I'm really sorry!!'

'That's...that's all right,' she stammered. 'Jus-just leave my bag next to the door please.'

'Okay! I'm sorry!!' he said again. 'I left your bag...I'm going now, okay?'

She heard the distinctive sound of something being dropped next to the door, and then the sound of footsteps walking away from the door. Megumi let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. Sighing, she slumped down on the bed and put her face between her hands. She just hoped that incident wasn't the beginning of a string of more embarrassing events.

-

An hour later, after she'd taken a quick shower and had a bit of a nap, Megumi left the room. She gasped when she set eyes on the transformed living room, because it was nothing like the living room he had seen when she first came in; the trash was gone, the couches were organized, the tables and the floors were wiped clean...and there was even a vase of white daisies on the coffee table. She heard a clutter coming from the kitchen, and made her way to it. She peered in though the doorway and saw Sano stirring the contents of a pot on the stove.

'Cooking something?' she asked.

Sano looked around at her, blushed and turned back to his pot. 'Erm...yes, I'm making you chicken soup,' he murmured.

'You are, huh?' she said, and sniffed the air. 'It smells really good.'

Sano shrugged. 'Yeah...well, chicken soup had always been my specialty,' he replied. He rubbed the back of his now-reddening neck. 'Erm...about what happened before...I swear I didn't mean to barge in on you like that...I only wanted to give you your bag, I didn't think...I'm not a pervert.'

Megumi smiled. 'I didn't say you were,' she replied. 'And I believe you, you don't have to swear to me. Apology accepted.'

'Thank you so much,' he said, grinning at her. 'I promise you, from now on, whenever I want to come into any room, I'll knock at the door first, is that good enough?'

Megumi nodded. She moved aside and sat down on one of the chairs at the kitchen table. She didn't want to stress on the subject, and that's why she hadn't said anything, but she couldn't help but think about Sano's words. What he said meant that he was actually counting on her to stay with him, where as what she had in mind was closer to just sleeping the night and leaving first thing in the morning. He poured them both a steaming bowl of soup before sitting down on the chair across from her.

Megumi took a sip from her bowl. 'Mmm, this is really good! You weren't kidding when you said it was your specialty!' she exclaimed, and he chuckled. 'Really, Sano...thank you for everything. You've been so good to me, and I don't even deserve it.'

'Don't say that,' he chided her. 'When we finish the soup, we'll call the police, and have them check these two guys out. We don't want them hurting you, do we?'

'Yeah, Sano, about that...well, I've been meaning to tell you about that...' she said, slowly setting her spoon back on the table. She folded her arms on the table before her. 'The situation's really complicated. We can't just call the police and expect them tom make everything better. It doesn't work like that.'

'Of course it does,' Sano said incredulously. 'These are just too normal thugs! We'll call the police, give them their description...you do remember how they look like, don't you? So what seems to be the problem, then? And where's your husband or boyfriend, anyway? Shouldn't he be looking out for you? I mean, this is his baby, for God's sake!'

'My husband's dead,' she muttered.

'Ouch,' he said. 'Okay, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought this up...'

'No, that's okay,' she assured him. 'I hated him, anyway.'

'Oh,' was all he could say. He scratched his head. 'Okay, Megumi, this really isn't making any sense to me. If I'm going to help you, I should be able to understand things a little bit more, am I right?'

Megumi sighed. 'Sano, maybe you shouldn't help me at all, I don't want you getting involved in my mess,' she said. She pushed back her chair and stood up. 'I dunno...maybe I should just get my stuff and leave before you sink even deeper in this, I'll only get you into trouble, and you seem like such a nice guy and I really don't want you to get hurt.'

'Come on, Megumi, I really want to help,' he pleaded. 'Just...tell me what's wrong. I know I'm a complete stranger who you've only met a few hours ago, and I know I'm not the first one you'd want to trust at the moment, but...I'd like to help you, if you'll let me, that is.'

Megumi slumped back on her chair. She gazed thoughtfully at him for a few moments, and then she opened her mouth...but then she closed it again and threw up her arms. 'I'm sorry, I can't, I just can't,' she mumbled. 'I'm really sorry, Sanosuke, but I just can't pour out something so huge to someone I've just met. If I do, I'll end up feeling really stupid. Nothing against you, of course, I swear, but I just can't tell you...'

Sano looked rather hurt, but he still smiled at her. 'Alright, don't tell me,' he agreed. 'But at least...stay with me until the problem is resolved.'

'Sano...I can't possibly stay with you,' she told him, patiently. 'Pregnant women are only a hassle. I'll just be a burden on you. No, I'll leave first thing in the morning, and you'll never hear from me again.'

'And where will you go?' he asked flatly.

Megumi blinked. 'Excuse me?' she said.

'After you leave my place, where will you go?' he asked again. Megumi just shrugged. 'I mean, you said your husband was dead, and you've obviously run away from your home, or you wouldn't have run away from home, because you didn't have any bags with you, and it would explain why you were shopping...so, where will you go?'

'I'll...I'll go stay with my sister,' she lied, with a defiant expression upon her face.

'Your sister,' he echoed. He rubbed the back of his neck. 'Okay, so where does this sister of yours stay? I mean, so that I could take you there and make sure you're okay and everything.'

Megumi mouthed silently for a few moments, before scowling and clamping it shut again. 'You know what? Why should I even tell you? I mean, I don't even know you!! For all I know, you might be trying to get me, too!' she exclaimed. She got up from her chair again. 'This whole situation is too absurd, anyway; I shouldn't have even come here in the first place...in fact, maybe I'll just go on and leave right now.'

Sano was staring at her with a raised eyebrow. 'Okay,' he finally said, and started drinking up his soup. 'I won't pressure you anymore. You do what you want.'

Megumi was a bit stumped; he wasn't supposed to agree with her! 'Okay...okay, I'll go and get my stuff, then,' she said, feeling rather dispirited. She turned to the door, but looked around when he called her name. 'Yes?'

He smiled at her. 'Wouldn't you like to finish your soup first?' he asked her.

-

Half an hour later, Megumi was at the door, wearing a jacket Sano had given her. She looked up shyly at him, while he just kept his hands buried in the pockets of his jeans and was looking at anything but her. She tightened her grip around the cords of her carrier. 'Well, thank you for everything...when this is over, I'll be back to thank you properly,' she told him, and he nodded. Unsure of what she should be saying next, she reached out and gave him a brief hug, which took Sano by surprise, which was probably why he didn't return the hug. When she pulled away, they were both a bit red in the face. 'Well...good bye, then.'

'Yeah, bye,' he murmured. 'It's dark outside. Be careful, okay?'

Smiling, Megumi gave him a small wave, and then she turned on her heels and walked towards the staircase. She didn't look back because she knew that if she did, she'd want to go back, because she really didn't have anywhere to go. Upon leaving the building, she pulled the hood of the jacket over her head, because, as Sano said, they wouldn't be able to recognize her like that, whoever was trying to get her. Yet, Megumi, doubted it will be able to hide her stomach. She shivered due to the cold, and wrapped the coat tightly around her.

Head bent, she walked down the street, and asked the passer-bys about a nearby cheap hotel, but they would either shake their heads or just completely ignore her. She found herself thinking longingly of the warm bed in Sano's room, but she quickly shook the thoughts out of her mind. Her stomach growled, and she felt it with a weary sigh; one bowl of soup wasn't good enough for two people.

'You're hungry, too, aren't you, sweetheart?' she murmured softly to her baby. She looked up and saw a diner ahead. A cozy, warm-looking diner. 'Let's treat ourselves, okay?'

She quickened her pace and headed for the diner. She opened the door and went inside. A few people were scattered around in the booths, and a plump lady was standing behind the counter, serving a couple of teenagers. She lowered her hood and walked up to the counter. When the teenagers had walked away, the lady gave her a warm smile.

'Hello, dear,' she said. 'And what would you like today?'

'Erm...' Megumi said, looking down at the open menu before her. 'Well, I'd like a milkshake and a cheese burger, please.'

'Coming right up!' she told her. 'Maybe you'd like to sit down while I get your order ready?'

Megumi nodded. She went to an empty booth and slid inside. She huddled close to the window and gazed outside at the empty streets; Sano's neighborhood was sure a quiet one. She looked back at the lady and saw that she was talking urgently on the phone, which set Megumi on an edge, but when she saw Megumi's eyes on her, she flashed her another warm smile, and Megumi smiled nervously back at her. She ended her call and went through a door behind her. Minutes later she came out holding a tray, which she placed on the table in front of Megumi.

'Here you go, sweetheart,' she said kindly, making her feel like she was a tramp from the street. 'Have a nice meal!!'

'Thanks,' Megumi replied. She waited for her to walk away before unwrapping her burger and sinking her teeth into it. She had been living off fast food for the last few days, but that didn't make the experience any less tastier. But after she had taken several more bites, she felt like she's lost her appetite. What more, she was starting to feel a bit woozy. 'What the...?'

She looked around at the lady for help, and gave a startled gasp when she saw her beckoning two men in black suits in through the back door, and suddenly, everything made sense. The urgent phone call, the kind smile and warm attitude, and her wooziness...she had definitely been drugged.

'Shit,' she muttered under her breath.

-

A/N: There goes my second chapter!! I know you all want to kill me for leaving you on such a cliffhanger, and for not explaining why these guys are after Megumi, but don't worry, I'll clear everything in the third chapter, I promise. Anyway, if you did like this chapter, then would you please leave a review? I'd really appreciate it! Thanks!

- S. N. B.