The minutes inched by slowly; it seemed every time Kaede looked at the clock that the hands had only moved a hair closer. Nervously smoothing her green cotton dress over her knees, she fought back the sickness in her stomach.

"Baby sick or nervous sick?" she muttered to herself, taking a drink of water. Or maybe just caffeine withdrawals: she might be new to the baby thing, but she had researched enough to know that the coffee habit had to go.

Any moment, there would be a knock. Any moment, Seto Kaiba would be standing outside her door, and beyond that her brain wouldn't let her imagine. Would he be happy? Furious? Or perhaps the worst, just stone-like and aloof?

Prepared as she was for it, the knock was startled her enough to drop her water glass. Thanking heaven that it was just a plastic cup, she righted it and quickly sopped the water up with a stray napkin. Another knock, and this one grated on her nerves.

"I'm coming," she called, irritated by his impatience. One last look in the mirror by the door, and she slid the chain out, turned the handle.

She was smaller than he remembered. The hair like burnt umber, pulled back away from her face, the wide green eyes, he did remember those. The dark smudges under her eyes, the pallor of her already pale skin, he could tell these were new. Was it possible she already being sapped of her strength by this infant?

She spoke first.

"Hi. Um, do you want to come in?" It was a forced politeness.

"No, thank you," Seto heard himself reply. "We'll just make your appointment if we leave now."

"Alright. Let me get my purse." She left the door open as she turned and Seto could see a postage stamp sized living room. A love seat, threadbare. A battered coffee table with a wet napkin. Beyond that, a dark kitchen with a window overlooking a fire escape and a brick wall.

"Ready?" He stepped back and let her lock the door, and gestured her down the hall to the elevator. They were silent, awkwardly so, down to the ground floor and into the limo that waited.

She sat across from him, legs crossed. Every movement of her head seemed to free another tendril of hair, and he caught himself watching for the next one.

"So, how was your flight?"

Seto hated small talk, but he forced a smile that he suspected looked like a grimace. "Well enough. I dislike flying business class, but it saves money."

She forced her own smile back, and Seto took this as an opportunity to rifle through his briefcase.

"I have something for you," he said, the metallic taste in his mouth growing stronger. He should have had a drink before he picked her up. "I took the liberty of drawing a contract up of sorts, should the child be mine."

She arched a brow, but accepted the stack of paper he handed her. "In essence, I'm prepared to marry you. Our marriage would last the duration of your pregnancy, plus an additional two years after the child is born. After that, we would divorce. You would be released from any obligations, and I will provide an annual settlement for the rest of your life. The child would bear my name, and thus have all the privileges the Kaiba name and fortune possess. You would be free to continue with your career, return to New York, whatever you wish."

"Assuming I'm not the tramp you think I am, what if I don't wish to marry you?" she asked acidly, thumbing the pages in her lap.

"Then I would be forced to seek legal action and gain sole custody of the child." He leveled a hard eyed glare at her, but she met his gaze evenly, not the least bit intimidated.

"What makes you think that you can raise a child, let alone an infant, alone? Single parenthood isn't typically sought after."

"Ms. Iwate, as I have already said, I am certain I can fiscally provide for the child far better than you could. As for the actual raising of the child, there are plenty of competent women who would be happy to serve as a nanny."

"I'm going to ignore the blatant sexism in that last sentence," she shot back. "And my name is Kaede, and I would prefer you address me as such."

Seto opened his mouth, but at that moment, the limousine door slid back and he grit his teeth instead.

"After you, Kaede," he all but sneered.

"So your sense of chivalry is just warped, not dead," she muttered as she exited the limo.

The stirrups were cold, the bed was cold, and she could tell from just looking at the instrument that it was most likely cold as well. The paper gown rustled as she fidgeted and twisted the sheet beneath her between her fingers.

"All right, Kaede, this might be a little cold," the OB said with a toothy smile, "but just relax for me, okay?" It was all too cheerful: the OB's blonde ringlet hair, Colgate smile and the I in her name dotted with a smiley face.

Kaede nodded in assent, and tensed anyway. The scope was indeed cold, and she couldn't help but shiver. Behind her, the door opened, and the last person she wanted in the room sat down beside her.

"And this must be the father!" the OB beamed. "Congratulations!"

"Thank you," Kaiba said smoothly. The OB appeared to not notice the lines on his forehead that pursed when he smiled unwillingly. Apparently, the OB also didn't know about the DNA test the nurse was running. Kaede was still confused as to why he had demanded to be present for the ultrasound, but lately, the fighting spirit had gone out of her. If he wanted it so badly, why not?

"Alright, so give me just a minute…" the scope moved just a hair to the left, and suddenly an image appeared screen by her knees. Blurry lines, but among them, a visible head. And below that…

"We got lucky! You get his heartbeat on the first try." Another beam from the OB, and Kaede felt her head swim. A real, tangible heartbeat. Another heart, beating inside her, yet totally and completely separate from her own. A heart that was born out of one thoughtless, irresponsible night.

"Kaede?" She turned her head, and saw Kaiba looking at her, shock registering across his own face. "I had to see it to believe it," he whispered. It wasn't until he reached up and wiped a finger across her cheek that she realized she was crying.

"I know what you mean," she whispered back.

"Well, we'll just print this out… I'll run and get that, and let you two have a moment." The OB was unaffected by tears, and kept the constant smile glued to her face. She turned her smile to each of them in turn before shutting the door behind her.

"This just got really, really… real," Kaede said lamely. She suddenly missed the cold of the scope and reached for the metal of the bed beneath her. As she did, her hand brushed Kaiba's.

"Sorry," she breathed, but he instead slipped his hand in hers.

"It's okay."

And for the moment, she let herself believe his words. Things would be okay.

AN: Feedback appreciated. Many thanks to TDH for her reviews. Follow me for updates.