One thing to explain about medicine in Japan. The Japanese are, in general, far less likely to go see a doctor than an American for minor illnesses and injuries. They're not suspicious of medicine, but doctors are expensive and most sickness can be taken care of with over-the-counter drugs and home/herbal remedies. They also do not necessarily have yearly physicals after graduating from high school. As a result, they are far less comfortable in a medical environment and only see a doctor when poor health is an immediate danger. Doctors are often referred to using the "-sensei" suffix to show appreciation for their skill. (Thank you for the correction, Takani-sensei's Nurse.)
I'm not an expert, but I had to do some research on international attitude toward preventative medicine when I was in high school, so I'm relying on my impressions from that research.
Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket. I do own the obstetrician.
Step By Step
Step Three: Getting Tested
After a while, Yuki had become convinced that there was nothing material that would make Tohru recoil. He had seen her embrace monsters and open her heart without hesitation. He had seen her iron will to make others happy. It was certainly more than the ex-rat could say he would do. Then again, rats were cowards. They would abandon ship before the sinking even began.
What he did not know was that Tohru despised needles. He had sat next to her in the obstetrician's waiting room with his hand on her knee, registering ever tremor that went through the brunette's body with a tightening in his jaw. At first Yuki had attributed it to nerves and nothing more; this stranger they were about to meet would become an intimate acquaintance like no other. Having convinced Tohru that using Hatori's services would be a bad idea, it was entirely Yuki's responsibility if the replacement candidate was somehow deeply inappropriate for the job of delivering their child into the world. An image of his older brother – soon to be an uncle, though Yuki somehow hoped he could hide this fact as long as possible – came into the ex-rat's mind, and he willed it away with a shake of his head.
It wasn't until the two of them had been led into an examination room, complete with the stirrups that Yuki had seen in the books from the library, that his wife clutched his arm in earnest and said, "Yuki, what was the name of that procedure?"
He put his hand on top of hers on his forearm. She was shivering. "Which one?" He asked.
"The one with the needle."
Yuki blinked and then let his head tilt back, looking up at the ceiling tiles as if the relevant pages from the books were taped there. They weren't. He hazarded, "It started with an A. Analgesic?"
Tohru shook her head and almost moaned, "It sounded like anonymous."
He pried one of her hands off of his arm to weave their fingers together. She turned her body toward his as if she could hide behind him. Yuki could see her shoulders shaking. He squeezed her hand and said softly, "Nothing bad is going to happen."
Tohru inhaled slowly and then replied, "That's what Mom said when we went to see Father in the hospital."
Yuki squeezed her hand again and leaned his head against hers.
The door to the examination room opened, and a woman entered with a smile on her face. Tohru immediately sat up straight and let go of Yuki. She had always been hesitant to show affection in front of strangers – it was so easy to offend someone, she said. Yuki was of the opinion that discretion was proper, but it was perfectly acceptable for a husband to hold his wife's hand in public. It was an innocent gesture. Children held hands.
The woman sat down on the rolling stool that had been waiting at the foot of the examining table and spun to face the couple. Her smile was genuine as she said, "I'm Dr. Ueno Aiko. This is your first child, isn't it?"
Tohru blushed and shifted in her set so that she was no longer angled toward her husband. She rested her hands in fists on her thighs as she bowed her head and answered, "Y-…Yes. I am Sohma Tohru and this is my husband, Sohma Yuki."
She gestured to Yuki, who stood and bowed at his name, managing to hesitate as his wife had before adding, "It's nice to meet you, Ueno-sensei."
The doctor waved her hand at the formality and motioned for the man to sit. The tilt of her smile indicated that she was perfectly accustomed to the awkwardness that came with expecting fathers. She looked down at the clipboard in her hands and lifted a few pages, reading their paperwork for a moment before saying, "Well, Sohma-san, it looks like you've already done what I would advise. You don't smoke, and neither does your husband. That's very good."
She continued in this vein, listing out some of the other no-nos and smiling approvingly at every confirmation that each had been avoided. Finally, after ten minutes or so of such conversation, the doctor asked, "Do the two of you have any questions for me?"
Tohru flushed again and raised her hand. The doctor laughed and said, "You don't need to raise your hand, Sohma-san." Which only made Tohru's flush spread from her face to the back of her neck. She lowered her hand and said timidly, "When do I need to have the procedure with the needle done?"
The doctor frowned in confusion. "Do you mean an amniocentesis?" She asked.
Both Yuki and Tohru's faces lit up as the doctor said the word they had been hunting. "Yes, the amniocentesis!" Tohru exclaimed, clapping her hands together in delight before the meaning of the word reached her, making her wilt in her chair.
She continued in a much softer voice, "I apologize for the inconvenience, but is there any other way to test me without using a needle?"
The doctor raised an eyebrow and asked, "Are you afraid of needles, Sohma-san?"
Tohru nodded, and Yuki wanted to smack his forehead. Of course she was afraid of needles. Everybody was afraid of needles. The only reason it had never occurred to the ex-rat that his wife would be nervous about a giant needle being inserted into her stomach was his childhood frailty and his subsequent overexposure to needles. It had always been the same pediatrician that administered his shots and performed tests when he was little, and then it had been Hatori. After gasping for air for so long, the sight of a needle was a welcome relief. It meant things were going to get better, that he was saved. Now he reached for Tohru's hand and it took it, looking from his wife's red face, paler than usual behind the flush, to the doctor. Ueno said slowly, "Well, I would perform an amniocentesis between 15 and 20 weeks, but I'm not sure testing is necessary for you, Sohma-san. Your family has no history of genetic defects."
Yuki swallowed, his eyes dropping back to Tohru. He cleared his throat and said, hating himself, "My family has a history of genetic defects."
The brunette met his gaze questioningly, and he tried to apologize to her with his eyes alone as he continued, "I was born with a poor respiratory system, and there is a history of…mental troubles in my family."
At that moment he would have given anything to not be a Sohma. The doctor consulted the paperwork again and replied, "If you're truly concerned, Sohma-san, I could perform the amniocentesis today. You're at 15 weeks. The test would also determine the sex of the fetus."
Her voice eased from professionalism to sympathy. "I've performed this procedure nearly every day I come to work, Tohru-kun. I know it's scary, but I promise it won't be as bad as you think."
The brunette had lowered her head again, looking down at her abdomen as if she had to consult the baby's opinion as well in the matter. In the past week her stomach had started to protrude, the bowl of her hip bones cradling the new shape. It was scary and a relief at the same time to Yuki. It meant he could tell that it was really happening, that he was really a father. It also meant that he would really feel it if something went wrong. Tohru's hand gripped tighter with his, and she raised her head. "We should do it." She said.
Ueno nodded and stood. "I'll be right back with the equipment." She said, "If you wouldn't mind changing into the dressing gown, Sohma-san." And closed the door behind her.
The couple sat next to each other in silence for a moment. Then, her voice barely above a whisper, Tohru said, "Yuki, I don't want to know what gender the baby will be."
The ex-rat nodded, willing to agree to anything to atone for his part in the reason for the amniocentesis. He had always protected Tohru, and now he was the reason behind the thing that was causing her pain and fear. He wanted to stroke her hair and rub her back like he did in the mornings next to her in the bathroom as she vomited. As it was, all he could do was hold her hand and lift her to her feet, coaxing her to change. Still quiet, the brunette rose and reluctantly let go of Yuki's hand so she could change. Ever considerate, the young man turned away from his wife and looked down at his shoes, listening to the sound of fabric whispering. He swallowed again and said, "I love you more than anything."
There was a pause, and then two pale arms wrapped around him as Tohru hugged him from behind, her cheek between his shoulder blades. "I love you too." She said, leaning on him.
He could feel the unfamiliar curve of her stomach pressing into his back. He smiled.
This is slightly more fluffy than the last one, but I can't help but feel that I'm not fulfilling the rainbows and cotton candy quota to truly call this fic "fluffy." Oh well. Try, try, try again!
Please review! I may be updating regularly for the first time in my fanfiction career, but there's no guarantee that'll last. Reviewing lets me know if I'm doing this right and reminds me to keep writing. Happy change of seasons!
