Right, this chapter is seriously just tension-building, so be prepared. Everything I wrote in this chapter abut Mai's pregnancy is actual fact, feel free to look it up, it's quite fascinating. Also, don't be too hard on Naru.

Many thanks for all the favourites and follows, as well as to Sesshy's Rose, Fancy Kagome86, . , revrymetrlnce2 and SSTrans for being great readers who reviews. Thanks to all my other anonymous great readers as well:D

As always, ENJOY!

Chapter 8

"Wh-what? How is that possible?! Scan again, I can't be pregnant! I had my period this month!" Mai was breathing heavily as Emily shakily ran her hands down Mai's waist, resting them above her flattish stomach. Sure, Mai had gained a small bit of weight, but it was nothing too much. She had gained weight like this many times before and then lost it again. In fact, she usually gained weight when she visited Naru's parents, as the English food was a lot heavier than the Japanese food she was used to. She hadn't thought anything of it…

"I-I'm sure. In fact, I can clearly feel the fe-fetus… it's very well-formed, I would say you're at about 21 weeks pregnant, almost five months."

"Five MONTHS!? How is that even possible! Shouldn't I have gained weight, like, a lot of weight by now? What about the morning sickness or my period? I've had my period for the past five months!"

Cian's eyes were just as big as Mai's, both of them staring in disbelieve at Emily, who fidgeted nervously. Finally, she squared her shoulders and spoke up after taking a deep breath. "No, I'm not joking. My professors had me help out at a clinic on a weekly basis so that I could get some experience with my healing while being supervised and I've encountered a lot of pregnant woman in various stages there. I'm telling you Mrs Davis, you're about five months along."

"What. "

The blood drained from Mai's face at Naru's hissed voice, her hair standing on end as she turned to see Naru, his face stony, framed in the doorway. His hair looked ruffled as if he ran the entire way to base, with Alisha and Rhys behind him, their faces shocked. "Everyone except Mai and Miss Taylor, out!"

Mai flinched at Naru's harsh tone, looking pleadingly at Cian as he stood up. He looked at her with apologetic eyes as he left the room, closing the door behind him. Naru went to sit down on the couch, the bridge of his nose pinched between his fingers and Mai cautiously sat down across from him, Emily standing behind her. She could hear the woman shifting her weight around as they waited for Naru to speak.

"Explain."

Mai swallowed nervously, glancing up at Naru before looking back down to her hands in her lap. "Uhm, I do-don't really know how to. Emily says that I'm five months pregnant, but I didn't kn-"

"Mai, how can you not know?! Five months of pregnancy, and you didn't think to tell me you missed your cycle? Did you think it's fine to come on a dangerous case whilst pregnant and more so, not even have the decency to tell me? What am I supposed to think Mai, when my wife won't even te-" Mai felt her own temper flare, as Naru wasn't listening to her. As the idiot scientist he was, he had formed a theory about what happened and now didn't want to hear anything contrary to that. She knew he was in shock and if she could just get him to calm down, then he would be able to listen to her.

"NARU! YOU IDIOTIC SCIENTIST, LISTEN TO ME! I DIDN'T KNOW! I had my period the last five months! That's just why I was telling Emily that she had to be mistaken!" Naru snapped his mouth shut as they both glared at each other, Naru with his arms folded and Mai standing in front if the couch, her fists clenched. She could tell Naru calmed down a bit as he started speaking in English again, enabling Emily to understand them.

"Mai, it is physically impossible to have your menstrual cycle whilst pregnant. Unless you're lying, then Emily diagnosed you wrong."

"I'm not wrong and Mrs Davis didn't have her period." Snapping around, Mai glared at the blonde twit. She was tired of being attacked about something that wasn't just her fault and so she bit out angrily, "Are you calling me a liar? I'm telling you, you idiotic twit, I had m-"

"No wait, that's not what I meant. Please, just listen, I can explain this!" Mai snapped her mouth shut, sitting back down and sulking. Emily sat down next to her cautiously, as if afraid of inciting her wrath and with the mood Mai was in, she might just lash out.

"First, how did you experience your period the last few months? Was it heavy flow or light?"

Mai rolled her eyes, crossing her arms defensively as she glared at no one. "Ugh, I can't remember! Light I guess, it changed sometimes."

"Right. Ok, there was this one teenager who came to the clinic, because she had stomach cramps. Turns out she was pregnant and didn't know it. When I asked the nurse how it was possible, she told me this. Firstly, not all women experience pregnancies the same and not all their pregnancies are the same. Some women, like Mai I suspect, barely have any morning sickness, cravings, cramps, nosebleeds or anything like that. Secondly, there are some women who barely gain any weight. I knew a woman who stayed as flat as a board until the end of her sixth month, when she suddenly started ballooning out.

"This is unusual in Mai's case, because of her slim form and small structure, but not impossible. Thirdly, it is not possible to have your period whilst pregnant. But it is possible to experience vaginal bleeding for the duration of your pregnancy. To the woman experiencing it, it would feel and look the same as a normal period. That's probably what happened to Mai. It's not very common, but there have been women before who gave birth without ever knowing they had been pregnant all along, due to the symptoms not manifesting strongly enough.

"Now, because your job is so stressful and time-consuming, it would leave you with even less time to notice the very small signs of your pregnancy. In fact, I don't blame you for not noticing. Dr Davis, this is not your wife's fault in any way, it just happens sometimes."

Mai sat frozen, her mind barely comprehending what Emily was saying. She could see Naru was in a similar state of shock, though he didn't wear it as openly as she did. She could see his thoughts flying along a certain path only he knew. Naru glanced up sharply, his eyes flicking towards Emily before he turned back to Mai, even as he addressed the other woman. "Miss Taylor, you mentioned nosebleeds as a symptom…?"

Mai felt a sense of disbelief fill her. Naru couldn't be suggesting what she thought he was. She had always gotten nosebleeds for no reason, ever since she was a child. That didn't mean that she was suddenly pregnant!

"Yes, pregnant women may experience nosebleeds more frequently, because of the increased blood flow." Mai swallowed as Naru's serious gaze bore into her. This was starting to become more real by the second. Mai's mind raced along, trying to find more evidence for her supposed pregnancy. The very brief bout of cramps and nausea she had experienced; the nosebleeds, while always random and without reason, suddenly increasing; the slight weight gain, the fluttering feel in her stomach as Naru lied unconscious…

Mai flew up, her hands on her stomach, her gaze panicked as she watched Naru. "Naru, remember when you fell unconscious and I told you I felt a strange feeling in my stomach before the power flowed out of me into you? You don't think…" Eyes sharpening, Naru turned to Emily.

"Can you check the health of the fetus?" Emily nodded jerkily, lifting Mai's shirt and placing her cold hand on Mai's skin. "Sorry Mrs Davis, but I sense better with skin-to-skin contact." A few moments went by where the psychic sat with her eyes closed, her brow furrowed, until she sighed and finally sat back.

"It's fine, just a bit small, which would explain Mrs Davis' lack of belly. Also, it feels… hungry, almost? It's not as far as malnourished, but I can feel the fetus isn't getting all the vitamins it needs." Naru looked amused to Mai's eyes, though she could still see the small signs of anger on his body.

"Guess that explains why you were trying to empty our food supplies. Get something to eat Mai, we're getting out of here sooner rather than later. Miss Taylor, please let the other's know to come back. Oh, and fill them in before you arrive, I don't want any inane questions." Nodding, the young woman jumped up and about ran out of the room. Mai was once again aware of the tension that was strung between her and Naru and she could feel sweat beading on her forehead. Licking her lips, she spoke up hesitantly.

"Naru? Naru, I'm s-" She bit back tears as her husband held up his hand, his expression shuttered and he turned away, walking to the monitors. "Not now Mai. We can discuss this later, after the case is finished." Mai nodded, her throat tight and her eyes burning as she tried to hold back her tears.

"I…I'm just… I need-… shower…" Mai choked out her jumbled message, rushing past Naru and the rest of the team who had just returned. She wasn't aware of Alisha and Cian following her on Naru's gestures, she just knew that Naru hadn't stopped her. He hadn't even looked at her. Was he now so disgusted with her that he didn't want her anymore? That's probably it. He knew she was going to look like a beached whale now and he didn't want to sit with the mess a baby would make. If there was one thing Naru hated, it was chaotic and messy things and a baby was undeniably that.

Brushing her thick tears from her cheeks, she barely noticed that the hallucination on the hallway seemed to have lifted, as she could make her way down it even through her continuous stream of tears. Arriving at the small bathroom, she slammed the door behind her, pulling off her clothes and climbing into the shower. She turned the water to burning hot and beneath the water spray, she finally broke down.

Bawling her eyes out, she slipped to her knees, her entire body wracked with her sobs. She couldn't believe him! SHE COULDN'T BELIEVE HIM! He had also played a role in making this baby. She didn't pop one into existence by thought alone! Naru usually took care of the condom, as he hadn't wanted Mai on the morning after pill, as it messed with her body's cycle. That narcissistic, idiotic, big-headed, insufferably, hypocrite seemed to forget that it takes two to tango! How dare he push her away, ignore her and treat this as if she was the sole cause! Slamming her fist against the wall, Mai gave a scream of frustration and anger, before her body slumped. Leaning against the wall, Mai idly watched the water pounding onto her stomach before her face.

As her emotions settled, Mai sighed and her thoughts became calmer. What was she saying? Naru was just being Naru. She, more than anyone, knew the shock he had to be in at the moment. Naru was just acting like the idiotic scientist with the emotional range of a teaspoon that he was. He probably wasn't even angry at her, but at the situation they were in. After all, here they were, trapped in a building with a volatile spirit and she was a bit more than five months pregnant. She knew he loved her and if he hadn't ever wanted children, he would've gotten a vasectomy. The fact that he hadn't, meant he wasn't entirely opposed to the idea.

She couldn't believe they hadn't thought to talk about this before, but their four years of marriage seemed to short and they were still young. They had been so busy hunting ghosts and Mai studying psychology that they had no time to think of children. Sighing, Mai smiled ruefully. Storming off like a child probably wouldn't enamour Naru to her in his current mood, but at least she had calmed down and couldn't worsen the situation by saying the wrong thing, as she was wont to do.

Mai stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around her and searching for her clothes. She grimaced as she realised she would have to wear the same clothes again, since she hadn't bought a clean pair. Shrugging, she bent down to pick up her underclothes, when she felt a chill in the air. Freezing, she slowly exhaled, trying to calm her racing heart. Closing her eyes, she breathed deeply, centring herself and composing her mind.

She almost screamed as she opened her eyes to find two small see-through feet in her vision. Jerking back, Mai stared wide-eyed at the tiny child who stood in front of her, curiously regarding her with his unnaturally green eyes. Heart pounding, Mai realised that her charm that Ayako made her was still in her pile of clothes, as she had left it there when she took a shower. She swallowed, as her clothes were lying right by Daemon's feet.

"H-hello." She stuttered, slowly getting her breathing under control. She was hyper aware of everything around her and more specifically, of her unborn child resting within her body. She had to let Naru know. There was no camera in the bathroom, but there was a microphone, so maybe she could alert them that way.

"What are you doing here? Do you want to tell me something?" Daemon just continued to stare at her, before a small smile lighted his face, though his eyes were still solemn. Words echoed around her.

Look…and see the truth…

Mai opened her eyes to find herself in the small padded room which she was certain was Daemon's room, though she wasn't sure where it was. The boy, probably around ten, was lying on his stomach as he drew with crayons on pieces of paper. He was humming disjointedly, his hair dishevelled and scars covering his back, which Mai could see due to Daemon not wearing a shirt. Instead, strange leather straps were tightened around his body, forming a type of harness, and various chains were connected to these straps. Mai looked in horror as the chains disappeared into the walls and roof, holding the boy in more or less the same position.

A clink sounded through the room and before Mai could even wonder about it, she saw one of the chains being pulled tight, jerking the boy's arms just bout out of his socket. He cried out, tears gathering in his eyes and a voice that she recognized as Dr Crowther's echoed through the room. "Bad boys need to be punished. This is nothing to what they will do to you Outside, demon spawn. Don't try to run again, do you hear me?"

"I-I didn't try to run! I ju-just wanted to look out of the window! I wouldn't have gone Outside! Pinkie swear! Please… please sir…stop. It hurts…" Daemon was trying to muffle his sobs, but the fat tears continued down his face unabashedly as snot mingled with spit and tears. The doctor didn't speak again and after a moment, the chains loosened, but Daemon just continued to lie there, his crayons and paper abandoned; crying like the pathetic creature he was made into.

They taught me a lot…Mary especially taught me about the Outside, how if I was cured, I could go and live with normal people. But then, one year… I was punished.

The scene changed to when Daemon looked about the same as when he was thirteen years old. A few more scars and his face a bit more angular, she would say it was either later in the year from her first dream, or he was maybe a year or two older. Despite his age, Daemon was cowering beneath a gurney, his pale arms wrapped over his head as if he was trying to hide his sickly body.

Or protect himself.

"You INSOLENT CHILD! IS WHAT I ASK SO DIFFICULT?! All I need is a little data to complete my experiment! All I want is to help you, yet you continue to fight against me, spouting this fucking crap about becoming normal and living outside. Don't think I don't know about Mary fucking Dale, filling your ears with this nonsense about being able to leave. You are and will forever be stuck here, since the taint of your blood cannot be erased! I already took care of Mary, she's now a permanent ward in the main building. Hopefully I can reverse the damage she did, now that there's no chance of her filling your head with more absurd ideas. The most you can get is the knowledge that your tainted blood is helping others. Now shut up, stop snivelling and get on this gurney!"

Sniffing heavily, Daemon crawled out from his hiding place, trembling as he climbed onto the gurney and was strapped down. The doctor injected him with a paralysing agent, before he pulled on some surgical gloves and took out a scalpel. Mai dry heaved as she watched the vile man cut a perfect crescent on the boy's scull, where Mai now noticed a patch of hair had been shaved. Peeling back the bloody skin, Mai felt her heart break as Daemon cried useless tears, his body unable to move as the doctor cut into him.

Taking what looked like a small saw, Mai turned away in nausea as she heard the sound of metal on bone and despite the paralyzing agent, whimpers escaped from the teen on the table. She fell down to her knees, clutching her stomach protectively as thick sobs about tore her body apart. She couldn't breathe; she couldn't think… this was, this was…!

The loss of Daemon's whimpers had her looking up to see the boy had fallen unconscious, his chest rising and falling gently as the doctor ooh'ed and aah'ed over the part of the brain he could see. He was holding a tiny tweezer-like tool and just as he was about to start poking around, the door slammed open.

And Mai was jerked from her dream.

GH

Naru stared unseeingly in front of him. His thoughts were slow and sluggish, his mind turning one piece of information over and over, examining it from every possible angle. He almost couldn't believe it, but after tallying all the facts and observations from over the months, he knew it was certainly possible.

Mai was pregnant.

His brain just about jump-started every time he thought those words and Naru couldn't even revel in the proud, happy feeling he could feel stewing in his chest. This was the worst time ever. With all the stress Mai had been experiencing over the last five month, they could have already damaged their child in a way that Emily couldn't see. He knew he hurt Mai's feelings with his dismissal of her, but he had to think now. He had to figure out a way to get Mai out of here and to the hospital. This case was too dangerous for her and he couldn't bear it if something happened to her or their child. He-

"Mr Davis! We lost Mai! We thought we were following her, but apparently we were caught in the hallucination, as we just realised we had been walking around Lab 2's observation room!" Naru cursed under his breath as he came out of his thoughts with a snap, realising he had been neglecting the monitors because he had been so deep in thought. Frantically scanning the screens, he flicked through them till he found the camera pointing at the bathroom's door. Just as he was scolding himself for showing some propriety and not placing a camera in the bathroom, Mai's voice crackled softly over the microphone that had been placed in the bathroom. Turning up the volume, he heard her speak again.

"-re you doing here? Do you want to tell me something?" Gritting his teeth, he turned the volume even higher, only to hear a boy's voice followed by a thud.

Look…and see the truth…

Ripping off the headphones, he barked out orders. "Miss Malakar, Mr Foster, follow me and get ready for a possible confrontation with our spirit. Mr O'Brian and Miss Taylor, check our progress and tell us if we go astray. I believe our spirit has pulled Mai in a vision and is probably preoccupied right now. Considering his singlemindedness, we should be able to reach her without any problems."

The four of his subordinates nodded and Naru took off, Alisha and Rhys following him as Cian watched their progress on the screens with Emily hovering behind him. Luckily, they didn't have a lot of trouble getting to the bathroom and Naru was never so glad that his theory that the spirit only focused on one thing was true. Bursting into the room, he saw Mai lying on the ice cold floor, her body barely covered with the towel. Daemon was crouched next to her, his hand lightly stroking her belly, but as Naru flung the door open, he looked up and disappeared, leaving Mai in the icy room.

"Mai!" Hurrying forward, Naru crouched down besides his wife, hissing as he felt her freezing skin. Picking her up, he made sure she was covered and he strode down the hallway. Before he could even ask, Alisha made a ring of fire around them, warming Mai up and giving some protection against potential attacks. They made it back to base without further mishap and everyone averted their eyes as Naru dressed Mai warmly, trying to get rid of the chill that clung to her body.

It would, however, only be an hour later that the petit woman wakes up to see Naru hovering next to her.

His eyes were slightly crinkled and his mouth pulled tight and she lifted a hand, smoothing out the lines of worry on his face. "It's fine Naru, I'm alright. He only wanted to show me something. Really, I'm not hurt." Those midnight blue eyes didn't soften, in fact, they became even harder. Mai's brow creased as she sat up, reaching out to her husband who was doing a good impression of being a statue. "Oliver…"

"This time, Mai. Who's not to say you're going to go running off again? Maybe next time you will get hurt. Next time it will not be alright. I will not allow you or my child to be placed in such danger. And you are in constant danger on this case. Daemon seemed to have fixated on you and I will not juggle with your life or the life of our baby." Naru had stood up as he spoke, his face hard and he grabbed her hand, pulling her up and along with him, even as his hand was unbelievably gentle around her frail wrist. Pulling her out the door, Mai saw he was heading towards the lower door, that led to the entrance hall and she felt her stomach drop.

"Naru…Naru, what are you planning? You know we're stuck here. Naru!" Her husband's steps were sure and his gazed fixed on the door.

"I will get you out of here. As soon as you are outside, get to a hospital and call Martin. I will solve this case in the meantime, but my priority is getting you and our child outside this damned building to safety." Naru ignored Mai's protests, his mind preparing as he started to build up his PK internally. He would blast that bloody door away if it meant letting Mai escape, even if he might experience some side effects afterwards. Exhaling heavily, he was just preparing to enact his plan, when the blasted boy's childish voice echoed through the corridor.

Demon children do not go outside…

Mai's hand was ripped from his and Naru spun around to see his wife, screaming, being dragged along the corridor to the top door that opened into the hallway. He jumped forward, trying to reach her, but even as she clawed at the floor, not finding any grip, Daemon was faster.

"Mai!"

"Naru!"

The team, who had followed them outside, tried to dive for Mai, but she was jerked sharply around them, her body sliding over the tiled floor at a dizzying pace. Naru sped up, determined to reach his wife before she reached the hallway.

"Naruuuu!"

Demon children do not go outside…

Diving forwards, Naru reached out, Mai's tear-stained face and large chocolate eyes gazing into his midnight blue as their fingers brushed. Then she was jerked to the side, her head slamming against the wall and her body becoming limp as she was pulled beyond the corner.

"MAAIIII!"

GH

Ok, I feel bad for leaving you on such a cliffhanger, but hey, the climax is upon us! I admit I feel some guilt for what I put Mai and Naru through, but they are strong and will work through it. Probably. Hopefully... Review and give them some good luck?