AN: Seeing as I'm going to be quite busy tomorrow and you all are such a wonderful audience, I decided to post the next chapter early. I didn't want to make you all wait for it. I'm so sorry to disappoint you for the early release. ;) Anyway, enjoy the next chapter.

Haruhi woke up feeling something was different. The bed just didn't feel right. She opened her eyes, frowning. Granted she didn't have her glasses on, but the room didn't look right; it looked bigger and… just different. She realized that it was Mori's room. Then it hit her. She remembered everything from yesterday. Oh, god. I'm pregnant. And I'm engaged to Takashi. She turned over and buried her head in her pillow. There was so much that was about to change.

It took her a minute to realize the shower had been shut off, that it had been running in the first place. She quickly got up, not wanting Mori to see her just lying in bed. She normally got up early anyway. She grabbed her glasses and looked at the time from Mori's clock on the other side of the bed.

"Holy Crap! I'm late for classes! Takashi-senpai!" Mori burst through the door at Haruhi's shout. She barely recognized that he was half-dressed. She rushed to her overnight bag, pulling out some clothes, not caring if it was an outfit or not. "I'm late! Why didn't you wake me up?! I'm going to miss everything and get behind. Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap." She tried pushing past him to get to the bathroom, but he didn't let her. His arms wrapped around her, pinning her arms and clothes to her body, and she was stuck with her side pressed against him. "Takashi-senpai! Let go! We're late enough as it is," she said as she struggled for a moment. Belatedly, she realized he was laughing. He's laughing? What is he laughing at? ME?! "What!" she huffed at him. "What is so funny?"

He rested his forehead against her. "I love you," was all he said.

It made her pause long enough to notice that she had a half-naked, gorgeous man who she loved wrapped around her. That shut down all her thinking. She relaxed against him. "I love you, too." She struggled to remember to be responsible. "Takashi-senpai, we really are late." At least she said it calmly this time.

He chuckled again. "No, we're not."

She wiggled enough to be able to look at him. "What do you mean, 'No, we're not'?" He had a large smile on his face.

"We forgot something yesterday." He loosened his arms so she could turn to face him but didn't let her go completely.

"What did we forget?"

"Classes were canceled for the tournament." Haruhi could only stare at him flabbergasted. How could I have forgotten? "Don't worry, I forgot, too, until I checked my phone this morning. I decided to let you sleep in." He looked down at her, still with that smile on his face. "And you certainly did. I thought you were hibernating."

His teasing registered and she relaxed a little, even if she was now embarrassed. Haruhi finally found her voice. "Oh, god." She dropped her head to rest against his chest. "I feel like an idiot."

Mori hugged her again, laughing. "I still love you." She could only groan. "At least we have some time to relax today."

Haruhi nodded and pushed away from him. She needed to back off from all that lovely, warm, soft skin. "Well, I still may as well get ready." She looked down at what she had. "But not with these." She trudged back to her bag. She heard Mori laugh again as he left the room. It felt good to hear him laugh. He didn't do it often enough.

She just wished it hadn't been at her expense. She sighed and left for her turn in the shower.

…

As she was eating breakfast, Mori brought over a notebook. She took a quick look at it and noticed he had covered the page with notes.

"I've been busy this morning. I've done some research and found a good doctor. When I called this morning to talk to them, they said they had an appointment for this afternoon from a cancelation. I hope you don't mind that I took it." He eyed her uncertainly. "If you don't want to, I can cancel it."

She was surprised that he had done that. She wasn't sure how she felt about it. She didn't like the feeling that she was being managed. "I don't know. I thought that was something I would decide, or at least we would decide together."

He took her hand and squeezed a little. "I know, but I just want to make sure you're both okay. He's a good doctor," he said trying to convince her. She still hesitated. "Here, look at everything I found. Then you can make a decision."

Haruhi debated on canceling the appointment outright or looking at what he was showing her; she couldn't just blindly accept his decision. She decided to look at it. The notebook was neatly laid out with the information on several doctors. She was surprised at the level of detail included. As she studied it, she concluded that Mori had made a good decision.

She pushed it away. "Alright, I guess he is the best doctor." She wasn't sure if she felt disgruntled or not.

Mori rubbed her arm. "I just want to make sure you're okay."

And just like that, all her resentment disappeared. It was his way of showing he cared. She smiled softly. "Thanks, senpai. I love you."

Mori hugged her. After a moment, he said, "You do realize that we're more than simply senpai and kohai."

Haruhi looked up. "That's right, you're my fiancé." She got an impish grin on her face. "So should I call you Takashi-sama?" she teased as if he was her lord. She giggled when he narrowed his eyes at her.

"Would you obey my orders?" he asked in a low voice.

Haruhi gawked at him, surprised that he would say something like that. "Wha – what?!" she sputtered.

Then his face broke into a wide grin and he chuckled. "I'm joking. But I do feel uncomfortable with you calling me 'senpai'."

She could feel her face warm up and knew she was blushing. "Ah, well then, how about just Takashi?"

"Mmm. I like that better. Are you okay with it?"

She smiled at him. "Yes. I just am getting used to our relationship, is all."

"Ah," was all he replied with. Eventually, he pulled back and she was able to finish her breakfast. "Do you feel like going out?" he asked as soon as she was finished.

That came out of the blue for Haruhi. "Huh?"

He smiled at her. "I haven't bought you a ring yet, since I thought I had plenty of time. I thought we could go look together before your appointment."

She blushed, but shook her head. "I don't need one."

He brushed his palm against her cheek. "But I want to. It would make this more real for me. Would you mind?"

She was touched that he really did care for her so much. And a bit amused by the well-hidden possessive part of him that she sensed. "Alright. I'll go with you."

…

Mori led Haruhi to his car after the appointment. Before they got in the car, he just held her for a few minutes. It had stressed her out with all the questioning and poking the doctor had done. Mori had been with her for most of it – he left for the more embarrassing part of the exam – and helped her a lot. Haruhi really appreciated how much he was supporting her.

"How about we go out to eat? I'm sure by now you're hungry," he said.

Haruhi nodded her head. "That sounds good." She didn't feel up to cooking tonight. "Thank you." She gave him a small smile.

"No problem." Mori kissed her lightly and helped her into the car. They discussed where to go as he drove through the parking garage. He won the discussion for a more expensive place that offered excellent but simple food.

Haruhi leaned back in the seat, a little disgruntled. "You won't win every time."

When he didn't pull out into traffic immediately, she turned to look at him. He was looking at her. She thought he looked a little hurt. "I don't."

She felt bad. She leaned forward and kissed him quickly. "I know. I'm sorry; I didn't really mean it."

Mori gave her a smile and a quick kiss in return. "So, you don't really mind going there?"

Haruhi smiled back. "No, I don't."

"Okay," he said, and he drove.

She looked down at her new ring. It was beautiful. She still couldn't believe that she was engaged to Mori. She was just starting to get used to the idea that she was pregnant. She still felt scared and unhappy about the situation. Aren't women supposed to be happy they're pregnant? Why aren't I? But she knew why. This was throwing her life completely out of control. She might not ever be able to get her degree. It depends so much on unpredictable events. Her mother already had her degree and license before having her. Plus, it wasn't just her life that was being affected; everyone else was going to be, too.

She sighed and leaned her head back with her eyes closed.

"Are you okay?" she heard Mori ask.

She lifted her head and smiled at him. "I'm fine. I'm just thinking."

He quirked an eyebrow at her. "About what?"

"Everything."

He reached over and held her hand. After a moment, he said, "It'll be okay. We'll be okay. I'll make sure."

Haruhi smiled slightly. She quickly squeezed his hand. She appreciated his determination, but she knew that sometimes life just decided for you, and it wasn't always what you wanted; look how her mother had been taken from her. But she wanted to believe in him. She was determined that she would help him make things work.

They arrived at the restaurant and Mori got them a semi-private table. Without saying anything to each other, they agreed to keep the conversation neutral. They started talking about their friends' lives, school, simple stuff, while eating. Mori finally told her about being a mediator with Kyouya between the Haninozuka and the Ootori companies.

"Apparently," Mori said with a small smirk that Haruhi was surprised to see. "Ootori-san is so desperate to have the Haninozuka business back that he agreed to let the business transactions go through me. However, he didn't want to deal with me directly and assigned Kyouya to deal with it."

Haruhi shook her head, now understanding the smirk. It felt good to see the senior Ootori having to bow to what was right. "At least he didn't throw it out completely. I just hope it's a sign that he's changing his mind about what it takes to succeed – brains and talent over family background." They shared a smile. "So, when did this start?"

"Four days ago. I have to admit, I was surprised at first when Uncle Yorihisa and Father had assigned me to the task. But then I realized that Mitsukuni had too much going on to deal with this as well."

Haruhi nodded, understanding what he meant. Honey was doing a dual major in business and engineering, was starting his training in the Haninozuka companies, and had a new fiancée to discuss wedding plans with. Even taking into account his new situation with Haruhi, Mori still had it comparatively easier. "How do you feel about it, now?"

Mori shrugged. "I've only just started. So far, we're just renewing the training contracts without any changes. The Ootoris don't have any supply contracts that need dealing with right now, which is a good thing. From what I understand, those require extensive research to complete safely. Really, it isn't that much work for Kyouya or me, at least for right now. The main work is done by the same project groups from both companies. All Kyouya and I need to do right now is review the contracts to make sure there's nothing either family objects to."

Haruhi nodded again, but she was curious about something. "Did you ever find out what Ootori-sama wanted to change?"

Mori's lips thinned as he nodded. "He wanted to remove anyone related by blood, marriage, or major affiliation to the Morinozukas from all positions of authority. When Uncle Yorihisa and Father cancelled his contracts, he had a good taste of what he wanted. Apparently, it wasn't to his palate."

Haruhi shook her head at his analogy, but she couldn't stop the smile. "Well, I hope he's learning."

"I think so," he replied.

The conversation turned back to their friends just before they finished. Haruhi was glad they kept away from anything that had happened for the last couple of days. They were able to leave feeling relaxed for the first time in two days.

…

In the morning, Mori brought to Haruhi's attention something that she had been unconsciously ignoring. "Haruhi, have you thought about telling Kyouya?"

Haruhi hugged herself. She felt miserable about that. "I don't know. I mean, I know he'll figure it out no matter what, but…"

Mori waited for her to finish. When she couldn't, he asked. "But?"

In a quiet voice, she forced herself to complete her thought. "But I don't want to cause any more problems for him."

Mori quickly pulled her into the comfort of his embrace. "He should still know, and he should hear it from you. It'll hurt him more if he finds out on his own."

Haruhi nodded against him. "You're right, but I don't know if I can do it just yet. Can we talk about this after we tell our parents?" She looked up at him pleadingly. She had so much to worry about already that she felt that she was just adding to the list without removing anything. She wanted, at least, to get their parents off the Worry List before she added anything else.

Mori looked at her for a moment before he leaned down and gave her a soft, loving kiss. "Okay, we'll talk about it later," he said when he pulled back.

Haruhi gave him a small smile. "Thank you." She sighed and sat back down. He settled next to her. After a few minutes of holding each other, she finally said what was on her mind. "I've been thinking. I don't know about your parents, but I think I should tell my dad the truth. I'm pretty sure he'll keep it to himself if I tell him how serious it is. I mean, he is pretty smart. He'd at first accuse you if we didn't tell him, and I don't want you to get in trouble with him when it's not your fault at all." Mori opened his mouth, but Haruhi spoke before he could. "No, Takashi. I know you'd go through that for me, but I really think I need to tell him the truth." She gave him a wry smile. "Besides, isn't honesty the best policy?"

Mori ran his hand through his hair and sighed. "You're right. Alright, we'll tell him."

Haruhi placed her hand on his arm. "Takashi, I meant that I'll tell him. You don't have anything to confess."

But Mori quickly shot her a chastising look. "First, I'm not letting you tell him everything alone. Second, I still need to ask for his blessing."

Haruhi was surprised that she forgot the second part. She took in his stubborn expression and gave in without arguing. "Okay, then, we'll tell him together." That got her another kiss. This one lasted for a good couple of minutes and got quite passionate. Haruhi had climbed onto Mori's lap and they both had their hands under each other's shirts, when Mori's phone rang.

"Arg," Haruhi grumbled as Mori reached for it.

But she wasn't about to get off his lap. She snuggled into him, resting her head on the unoccupied side. She heard him greet the caller – Honey – but decline a visit from him. Haruhi listened to him talk but was more interested in the soft pulse just inches from her lips. She couldn't resist. She leaned in and gave him a soft kiss there. She felt his hand caress her back. But she wasn't satisfied with that and started some serious nibbling on his neck. She smiled when she felt his breath hitch and his hand fist in her shirt. In turn, she snuck her hands back under his shirt. He quickly got off the phone with Honey.

He pulled her head up and gave her another passionate kiss. "That wasn't very nice," he said, his voice husky, when he came up for air.

She rocked against him. "The evidence says contrary, Counselor."

That brought his lips back to hers. They eventually made it back to the bedroom, consummating their desire.

…

Haruhi laid snuggled next to Mori. It was the first time they had made love since they had found out she was pregnant. She couldn't stop caressing his chest, just as he couldn't stop caressing her arm. She really did love him and she felt blessed that he felt the same about her. Her thoughts resolutely turned to the one topic that couldn't go away. She was a little scared of what laid ahead of her. Okay, a lot scared. Her life was about change drastically, forever. She clutched Mori and buried her head against him. She could feel the tears in her eyes, but she tried to keep them there.

Mori held her tightly. "What is it?"

"It's too fast. Everything's changing too fast."

He was silent for a moment. Then, he asked, "Do you still want to marry me?"

Haruhi held him tighter. "Yes, I do. It's just – it's just – I'm pregnant." The last came out as a whisper. "I have no idea what to do. I don't know what I'm going to do. I mean, I just started college, what's going to happen with that? Will I still be able to go? And our friends are going to freak when they hear. And other people are going to say stuff about us, cause problems. It's just…" She took a deep breath. "I'm just a little overwhelmed."

Mori just rubbed her back and arm for a minute before he replied. "I know. But I'm here. I won't let anything happen to you. We'll figure everything out together. For now, we'll just take things one step at a time."

Haruhi was so lost, she couldn't think; she could only trust him. She took another deep breath. "Okay." She started to feel a little more settled after that. And didn't I just decide to focus on our parents first? Takashi's right, one step at a time. "Okay," she repeated with yet another deep breath. She sat up so she could more easily look him in the eyes, and leaned on one arm. "Thank you." She smiled at him. "I really mean it. I love you so much and knowing you're here with me helps. So, thank you."

Mori gave her a soft smile. "No need to thank me. I love you, too. I'll always be here for you."

That made her feel really warm inside. She sat there smiling at him for a moment before she brought up his parents. "So, we know what we're going to tell my dad. What do you think we should tell your parents?"

Mori watched her for a while, just caressing her arm. Haruhi didn't rush him; she knew he needed to think.

"It'd be best to tell them everything except who the father is. First, I don't think they'd believe your baby is mine if we tried to claim that, and second I don't like lying to them. But I don't want to tell them Kyouya's the father. I'm still not sure how they feel about him. I think they think highly of him, but it may affect our businesses, eventually if not now, if they know and it shouldn't."

Haruhi agreed with him. She also didn't want to lie to them. She liked them and it was just as wrong to lie to them as it was to her dad. She smiled at him. "That sounds good." But then she had another thought. "How are they going to take it? I mean, I'm in a pretty bad situation; I'm drawing your family into a scandal."

"They'll understand. They're pretty good at that. And they'll see that this is for the best. They'll help minimize any stories that start. Besides, they knew I had already planned on asking you to marry me. This is just a little early." He smiled at her.

Haruhi was flustered. "They… ah… what?"

Mori chuckled at her. He sat up and kissed her quickly. He just went to his bathroom without answering. She could hear the water for the shower start. Then he called to her, startling her. "You're welcome to join me…"

Haruhi blushed at the offer and stayed where she was. Yes, they had been intimate several times and she had agreed to marry him, but she was still too shy to do that.

When Mori emerged, she took her turn in the shower. When she returned to the living room, she asked, "When did you want to talk to our parents?"

"That is up to you," he replied calmly.

Haruhi played with the hem of her shirt. "Well, I really don't want to have to do this, but I also don't like sitting around in knots." She took a big breath. "I think it'd be best to just get it over with." She looked up at him with apprehension. Is he really ready to tell his parents? He only just found out a couple of days ago…

Mori hugged her. "That's sounds like a good idea. We can do it whenever you're ready."

Haruhi held tighter, thankful for having such a wonderful boyfriend. No, he's my fiancé, now, she reminded herself. "Could we talk to them today? Before I lose my courage?"

Mori kissed the top of her head. "I can see if they're available for a long lunch. Would that be alright?" Haruhi nodded her head, unable to say anything. "Okay." After a moment, he said softly, "Haruhi, you need to let me go so I can call them."

She jumped back, embarrassed. "Ah, sorry." She just knew she was blushing fiercely. Of course he needed me to let go…

Mori chuckled and ruffled her hair.

She turned to go back to the bedroom as she heard him greet his parents. She didn't feel comfortable just waiting for Mori's answer. The sheets need changing, anyway. As she was straightening Mori's comforter, Mori came in. He handed her one of the pillows and placed the other at the head of the bed on his side. She took her time smoothing her pillow. She waited for him to say something, anything. She could feel his eyes on her as she needlessly fussed over the bed.

She glanced at the dirty sheets. "Should I go ahead and wash these?" she asked as she picked them up. She felt him come up to her, and she finally looked him in the eye.

"I'll wash them later." He took them from her and put them in his laundry basket. She sat on the bed, not able to do anything else because of how nervous she was. She looked up when he came back because he just stood in the doorway, watching her. He finally answered her unasked question. "They agreed to a late lunch and cleared the afternoon for us to talk. We're meeting them at their house at one thirty." She just nodded her head. He looked at her with concern. "Are you sure you want to do this? You shouldn't have so much stress put on you."

Haruhi took a breath. "I know the doctor said my fainting was from stress and that it could be bad for the baby, but if I keep putting off telling them, the stress will just build. I want to at least get their part over with." She walked to Mori and held him. "Yes, I'm nervous as hell, but I know that you'll be there with me." She had a sudden zing of fear and jerked her head up to look at him. "You will be there with me, right? Am I going to have to talk to them by myself?"

Mori kissed her and said, "Yes, I'll be with you, and no, you won't have to talk to them alone." He led her back to the living room. "There's something I want to ask you, something I want to make sure you want. Do you mind if we publicly acknowledge your baby as mine?"

Haruhi was taken back. She wasn't sure why he was asking. Hadn't she already agreed to it? "I'm not sure why you're asking. I thought we agreed it would limit the amount of scandal if we said so. Or is there something else you're trying to get at?"

"What I'm trying to say is if I acknowledge your baby, they'd be raised as a Morinozuka, with all of our family values. They'd be trained in the Morinozuka styles in both Judo and Kendo, encouraged to contribute to the family companies, and if it's a boy, he'd be my heir. If I say your baby is mine, they would be a Morinozuka. Are you okay with this child, and any others we have, to be raised this way?"

Mori studied her, but she wasn't sure what he was looking for. "Oh, well, I kind of already knew that." She was surprised he had to say all that to her. "I mean, no one said it as explicitly as you just did, but, yeah, I know all that. I already accepted it when I agreed to marry you." She smiled at him, wanting to reassure him better since he still looked unsure. She cradled his face in her hands and spoke gently but with conviction. "Morinozuka Takashi, I would be honored for my children to be Morinozukas."

Mori gave her a brilliant smile. He pulled her close and kissed her senseless. Haruhi didn't mind one bit.