A/N: Sorry fellow readers for the late update once again! Life has been catching up on one of us, and therefore, have not had much time to really write. (That, and a severe case of writer's block does not help anything. At. All.)

Chapter 9 - Freedom

The sun was shining rather brightly, which made Haruhi that much happier. She was walking home from shopping at the local grocery store, considering that it was a Sunday. Today, however, Haruhi had more things to do on her list than normal. Thankfully the Host Club had told her that they were too busy this weekend to bother her, so most of the work that had piled up was able to be split between both days.

Tamaki had heard about potlucks and their affiliation with commoners and thus declared the need for one to welcome the youngest Morinozuka home. The lunch was going to be at the Morinozuka estate at 1 pm; though a car was going to be picking her up around 11:00 that morning. She was excited knowing exactly why the car was going to be picking her up early: her boyfriend, Satoshi Morinozuka, had asked her to be there when he was finally released. She had been released nearly a week ago, as her injuries were less severe than his had been. It still pained her to think about how badly he had been hurt and Katsuro had been the one to inflict the damage; and still after two weeks it angered her to think that the demented teenager had done everything he had to both Satoshi and to her. Pushing those thoughts aside; today was going to be a happy day and she refused to let the psycho mar her good mood.

Reaching her house once again, Haruhi started working on one of many dishes that her mother had shown her how to make. She was thankful that the cuisine wasn't going to be overly fancy, since it would make hers look weak in comparison when the others had gourmet cooks working for them. After the dish had been prepared, Haruhi glanced at the clock and panicked a bit before quickly making her way to her room so that she could get ready for the lunch and too see her boyfriend. After all, it was 10:00 am, and she hadn't even started to get ready for everything.

Once she was cleaned up, she was rummaging through her closet hoping to find something decent to wear. She wanted to look perfect and special for Satoshi, but she couldn't find anything that met her standards for the day. Tossing outfit after outfit onto her bed, she wasn't sure what she was going to do because everything was a failure; but when she looked up, she spotted a bag in the back of her closet that she knew was not there yesterday. Pulling the bag out of her closet, she noticed a note attached to it:

Haruhi,

Please wear this today.

Love, Dad

Her anxiety was soon decreasing at the thought of her father thinking about her today. Her father knew her so well and knew she would probably be in distress trying to figure out what to wear to a simple lunch. Sighing, she unzipped the bag and found a cute sundress that had spaghetti straps and was covered in prints of different flowers. She slid the dress on and it was perfect. It fit her like a glove and just what she was looking for today. Glancing at her reflection in the mirror, she knew exactly how to wear her hair because she had the hairclips to match the dress.

A few minutes later, a knock sounded at the door and Haruhi looked at the clock, it was 11:00 exactly. Answering the door, Haruhi opened it to see Chika standing on the other side, "Hello Chika! Please, come in. Can I get you anything?"

"No thank you. But, we really need to get going soon though," Chika responded with a smile.

"Sounds good, I was just finishing up with getting ready. Let me just grab my purse and the dish I made for the potluck and we can go," Haruhi stated as she walked away and grabbed the two items.

Once they were seated inside the limo, the car headed to the hospital and Haruhi anxiousness at seeing her boyfriend grew. She was happy when she was released, now that he was going to be released from the hospital also she was ecstatic.

When they arrived, Morinozuka parents went to the nurses' station to inquire about the discharge papers while Haruhi and Chika headed to Satoshi's room. Haruhi let Chika enter first and didn't disturb their visit as she silently took a seat near the window. Chika had not been able to come up as often as she did and therefore they had not been able to see each other as often as they usually did. Her position by the window didn't last long though as her boyfriend waved her over to his other side and he grabbed her hand as he continued to talk animatedly with his cousin.

Satoshi knew that Haruhi was trying to give him and his best friend some space, but he wanted her next to him believing they had been separated enough. So he called her over and held her hand as they waited for his release papers to be signed by the doctor. Once he was sprung and free, they were going back to the Morinozuka estate for a little get together to celebrate sweet freedom. As his parents entered the room, he knew it was time to go because right behind them, a nurse was pushing in a wheelchair, "YES!" He could hear everyone's laughter and he didn't care. He was ready to get out of the hospital and back at home and in his own room.

Carefully he stood up from the bed with Haruhi and Chika's help and sat down in the wheelchair. After they were out of the room he had been occupying for too long in his mind, he grabbed his girlfriend's hand and linked their fingers together. She was the reason he had fought so hard with Katsuro and she was the reason he wanted to live everyday… just to see her smile.

When they got down to the car, Satoshi slowly took his seat and Haruhi sat down next to him. Chika got in after they did and sat on one of the side seats. She knew that he was still hurting, but at least he was out of the hospital and well enough to go home. She had been worried about him and hated having to follow visiting hours in order to spend time with him. The rules were gone and they could be together whenever they wanted to be now, well as long as didn't ignore their other responsibilities.

"What's that?" Satoshi asked noticing a covered dish on the ground next to her feet.

Smiling, Haruhi looked from the dish to Satoshi, "One of my mom's favorite dishes. I thought you might like it. It's her recipe."

"Ok, but what is it?" Satoshi pressed the issue. It smelled good and Haruhi's cooking was excellent, but that didn't stop the curiosity.

"Nikujaga," she replied smiling.

Leaning over, Satoshi gave her a small kiss, "Thank you. I love that stuff."

"And he isn't lying," Chika teased his friend.

As the car pulled up to the house, Satoshi was helped out of the car by his father and then together everyone walked into the house, the parents allowing the younger generation to enter first.

"SURPRISE! WELCOME HOME!" Everyone yelled causing the couple to shriek. Luckily Akira had taken the dish from Haruhi before they approached the door. Standing in the very festively decorated room were the rest of the hosts including Honey and Mori, Ranka, and the Haninozuka parents.

"We wanted to celebrate the fact that you were both finally released from the hospital and free to enjoy life living amongst us again. You can now rejoin us in the host club and once again make our princesses happy," Tamaki gushed causing everyone in the room to face palm.

Looking at each other before returning their eyes to their friends, they were a little speechless about it all. Haruhi thought she was just attending a simple pot luck, but of course she should have known that when it comes to the Host Club, nothing is simple. She felt an arm snake itself around her waist and she grabbed the hand on her side. It may not be simple, and when it concerned their friends... that was ok.

Satoshi cleared his throat to interrupt the Host Club King's speech, "Thank you everyone. I know we both appreciate it."

"Do you Haruhi? Do you like everything that daddy did for you?" Tamaki rushed up to the girl in question, but was stopped by a piece of wood blocking his path. Following the bamboo shinai, he found that it led right to Satoshi, "Where did you get that?"

"I always keep a spare on me," Satoshi smirked refusing to move the weapon, "Now, calm down Tamaki-senpai. I am sure Haruhi has had enough of that while she has been going to school without me. We do like everything you did and are grateful."

Haruhi giggled trying to suppress the mirth at the situation she was witnessing. Satoshi seemed to have pulled the shinai out of nowhere and it was in front of her before she could blink and realize what was going on. The crestfallen prince was darting his eyes back and forth as if looking for a good place to start a mushroom grove, "Don't even think about it Tamaki-senpai. This is a party and no one needs any additional mushrooms, but Satoshi is right. Thank you everyone." She felt like everything was finally going right for her and Satoshi, and it appeared that her friends were finally on board with it all. She was ready to celebrate the fact that she had a wonderful boyfriend, they were all safe, and on the way to healing completely.

As the couple moved further into the room, Akira smiled at his wife before taking Haruhi's dish into the dining room where the rest of the food could be found. He knew that both of his boys had a wonderful set of friends and when Kyoya had called to set up the surprise party, he could not deny them. It was a good idea since they had so much to be happy for. A celebration was definitely called for.

Satoshi took a seat on one of the chairs and pulled Haruhi into his lap. This caused Chika to laugh at Tamaki as the king turned pure white and his soul started to float out of his head. Hikaru and Kaoru caught the little floating Tamaki before it went too far and shoved it back in his body only to tease him mercilessly about the fact that Haruhi was being so lovey dovey with a boy.

"Are you alright Satoshi? Maybe I should get up?" Haruhi questioned wondering if she should be sitting on her boyfriend's lap when he was just released from the hospital.

Pulling her closer, he shook his head, "No, I like having you right here." After a few minutes though, the smell was getting to him and his stomach grumbled causing his girlfriend to chuckle, "It isn't my fault. I don't care if the hospital food at an Ootori hospital is better than others… it is still hospital food."

"How about I go and make you a plate so that you can feed your growling organ," Haruhi suggested trying to fight back the amusement.

Satoshi rolled his eyes before dropping his arms so that she could stand up, "Fine." While she was gone, he talked to Chika and the twins. He knew that Hikaru still had issues with the fact that he had "stolen" Haruhi from him, but he also knew that the hotheaded older twin had accepted the fact that Satoshi had won Haruhi's heart.

When Haruhi had returned with two plates, she handed one to youngest Morinozuka and sat down on the arm of the chair so that he could rest his food in his lap. A tap on her shoulder got her attention though and she looked up to see Mori standing behind her with a chair in his hands. Smiling at him, she stood up and let him place the chair next to Satoshi's so that the couple could sit next to each other, "Thank you Mori-senpai!"

"You're welcome Haruhi," Mori smiled and ruffled the female host's hair.

The party continued with laughing and joking, and generally having fun. Everyone was having a good time and the food was consumed. Somehow the cake was the first thing to go thanks to Honey and much to the chagrin of Chika as he watched his brother inhale the sweet confections, but he was good and let it pass this time since it was a party and not the place to tell his brother he was an alien.

Haruhi and Satoshi enjoyed themselves too, but after a few hours of company and merriment, Satoshi was having a hard time keeping his eyes open. Accompanying him to his room, Haruhi helped him get into bed and lay down with them. Both of them were exhausted and needed a nap.