AN: SOOOOO sorry for the delay in updates... Serious writers block and depression... but anyway... yay new chapter! Sorry I'm working out the plot still. And was stuck on baby names and stuff too which didn't help.
"This is driving me nuts..." Aren protested as she was pacing the room biting at her nails rather worried since it was so quiet and she hadn't heard from Cross yet. Link was still sitting on the floor as he watched Aren pace around.
"To be honest your pacing is unnerving me... So if you could stop that would be great..." Link replied though of course he meant it in a respectful manner. It was hard to focus and listen for any trouble with Aren distracting him with her pacing. Both sort of jumped when the door to the nursery opened.
"Easy Link its just me." Cross said when he knew that Link had his gun in his hand but wasn't aiming it just yet. "Levierre sends his regards Link." Cross added as he walked over to Aren placing his hands on her shoulders to get her to calm down.
"Of course he did..." Link replied as he stood up dusting himself off even though really he was still clean.
"What did he want Marian?" Aren asked looking up at her husband concerned.
"Well...He wants your uncle. Somehow he heard that your uncle Nea is back and wants me to help him..." Of course Cross had no intention of helping Levierre and the two other occupants in the room could see that.
"Wait...why does he want Uncle Nea?" Aren couldn't even guess why the German Mafia leader wanted her uncle. Then again Aren never really knew much of the mafia business especially when she was younger.
"Well he said that Nea stole his lover but somehow I think that's a ruse." Cross said as he gently rubbed Aren's belly as he turned to look at his second in command.
"Levierre never really had long term lovers... So that story can't really hold any water... But...I've met your uncle before and he had interacted with Levierre on a few occasions. Nea is actually the reason I left the German mafia..." Link said now having Aren and Cross' full attention. Seemed it was story time apparently. Sighing softly Link walked out to the hallway pulling in the rocking chair for Aren to sit down in since she was making him nervous. Aren was seated in the chair simply to humor Link even though she felt fine.
"To be honest I had heard rumors that Levierre was doing some things that are against the code set by all mafia groups, that being harming children or being involved with sex traffic rings... Nea was the one who really brought this to my attention... He was going to expose Levierre I believe but something must have happened because Levierre found out and threatened both Nea and myself... So I left the German mafia and Nea disappeared..." Link explained as he was once again sitting on the floor as he spoke.
"Why didn't you mention this?" Cross demanded. If he had known that Levierre was involved with such things he would have dealt with Levierre then. And little did Cross know that if he had dealt with Levierre back then he would have saved Aren a lot of hardship.
"Why would Nea tell you all of this?" Aren asked rather curious. How did Link and her uncle knew each other? The German and English mafia didn't get along at all so really there was no easy way for them to communicate or meet up.
"Well... It's not my place to say...if you wish to know I suggest you ask your..." Link trailed off as Aren pick pocketed Cross' cell phone and started to dial her grandfather's number. Adam had answered the call on the first ring in a panic worried something had happened to Aren.
"Grandpa its me... I'm fine... Is Nea there?" Aren was straight to the point not wanted to waste any time. Adam was a little surprised by the question but confirmed that Nea was there and passed the phone to Nea.
"Aren... What is wrong?" Nea asked a little worried since he couldn't imagine why Aren would call him so soon after she had stormed out before.
"How do you know Link...?" There was some silence from the other side of the phone and Link looked away.
"Right I forgot Howard went to the Irish side... Can I talk to him?" Nea responded completely ignoring Aren's question.
"If you want to talk to him call him yourself later. It looks like he doesn't want to talk to you. Now...if I'm reading all of this right I would say that you and Link were lovers..." Aren said in all seriousness. Which of course Aren then thought back to how Link had so easily aimed his gun at Nea acting as if it had been nothing.
"...Ever the person reader... But what makes you ask all this?" But before Nea could get his answer Aren hung up handing Cross back his phone.
"There's more to this I believe Link... Was Nea trying to get rid of Levierre...for you?" Aren asked studying Link who was still looking off to the side. Nea had never been too interested in the mafia side of family work from what Aren remembered so it was unusual that he had suddenly felt the need to make sure another mafia was abiding by their code.
"If he was he never told me... Which...if he was... He was foolish..." Link sighed heavily. Well now Aren was less curious about the whole Levierre thing and more about Link and Nea.
"So...do I need to sleep with one eye open or are you two too over to worry?" Cross asked resting a hand on the back of Aren's chair. Of course he was joking, he had little to worry about...well except for the fact that he was married to Aren... So maybe he was in danger.
"I'm sure you will be fine... You're with Aren...well... That poses its own risk but if Nea goes after you it won't be because of me... He probably is still mad at me because I said I would go to Mr. Campbell not Mr. Cross." Link sighed again with a shake of his head. This was all too foolish for him right now.
"Well...We shall deal with all of this later. I'm hungry and demand that Marian takes me out to get a burger..." Aren said as she stood up from the chair. Really why had she been sitting anyway... she was only six months pregnant not eight or nine... Well call Cross impressed, he never knew that Aren had the potential to just take command like that over his mafia...and him...
"As the Lady wishes..." Cross said with a smile wrapping an arm around Aren's waist letting his hand rest on her hip. Link stood up from the floor giving a small bow before he left the room. Cross led Aren out of the nursery and downstairs. "Where do you want to go for food?"
"There's this pub I went to with Kanda and Alma when they were here helping me pick out a gift to give you..." Aren said as she followed Cross out of the house to the car. "The burgers there are so good and I've been craving those burgers for a week now..."
"Okay..." Cross sighed a little as he opened the door to the passenger seat for Aren and closed the door once she was safely in the car. After getting into the driver's seat with both of them buckled up Cross drove to the pub Aren told him too. Of course Aren had found a slightly shady pub just outside of town and wanted to eat there... Though luckily the owner knew Cross so he knew Aren would be safe here... As the couple ate they were silent since Aren was really focused on eating and Cross didn't have much to say. After eating Cross paid for their food before leading Aren back out to the car.
As Cross drove them home Aren gently rubbed her stomach even though the baby was rather calm at the moment. It seemed the baby was happy with what they had eaten earlier. Aren was a little… disappointed that her stomach seemed rather small for how far along she was but the doctor assured her it was just because she was really fit and that the baby was perfectly healthy. Once they parked in the driveway to the house Cross helped Aren out of the car and into the house.
"You should take a bath… you are covered in paint…" Cross commented as they made their way upstairs towards their bedroom. It was kind of cute how Aren had bits of paint on her but he didn't like the idea of it staying on her for too long.
"Okay. You should take one with me." Aren said as she turned to Cross in their bedroom. With a soft smile Cross agreed to take a bath with Aren helping her clean the paint off of herself. Sitting in the hot water Aren had her back against Cross' chest as Cross had his hands gently on her stomach.
"So…. We should think of names…." Cross broke the silence as he gently rubbed Aren's stomach thinking of the baby growing in Aren's womb. Aren smiled giving Cross a kiss on his cheek before she moved his hands from her stomach to her breasts which of course Cross wouldn't complain about. Taking the hint Cross started massaging her breasts which were a little bigger than Cross remembered. Aren moaned softly as Cross massaged her aching breasts.
"We aren't going to get very clean if you keep moaning and rubbing against me like that~." Cross whispered in Aren's ear making Aren shiver in pleasure.
"Mm... It feels good though..." Aren replied with a moan. For whatever reason her breasts had really been aching, probably because they had gotten bigger as she was further along with the pregnancy. "I wish my belly was bigger... like other women when they are as far along as me... I think its... pretty..." Aren commented looking down at her belly. She did have the round pregnant belly but not like six months along look. She looked more like four months maybe.
"Maybe with the next baby you will have that..." Cross replied still massaging since she didn't seem to want him to stop. The feeling of Cross massaging her breasts was more comforting and pleasurable but not in a sexual sense.
After their bath Cross dried Aren off and helped her put on a night gown as well even though she was perfectly capable of doing so herself. Cross simply liked to help Aren at this point because he would never admit it but he really cared for Aren and was happy that they were going to have a baby. Once they were ready they laid down in bed, laying on their sides Cross held Aren close with her back against his chest. Cross' hands rested on Aren's belly rubbing it softly which felt really nice to Aren. Unknown to them they weren't going to get much sleep.
Aren woke up in the middle of the night crying and screaming sitting straight up in bed. Cross had been startled awake by Aren's movement and screaming. Aren was sitting in bed hyperventilating holding her stomach which at first made Cross think something was wrong with the baby. The screaming caused Link to come running into the room gun in hand.
"Aren! Aren what is wrong?" Cross demanded holding Aren's shoulders trying to get her to look at him and calm down. After a while Cross got her to calm down enough to talk.
"I-I... T-the... I-I'm sorry... I-it was just a bad dream... We're fine... i-it's just a really bad dream. I dreamt that the baby...was gone...just... gone. Like she just disappeared..." Aren explained with her hands still holding her stomach reassuring herself that the baby was still there. Link sighed putting his gun away leaving the room realizing there was no danger to anyone. Cross sighed holding Aren close stroking her hair and gently rocking her. He hadn't expected Aren to have such a bad dream she woke up screaming.
In the morning Cross found Aren pacing around the kitchen on the phone. Clearly Aren hadn't fully recovered from her nightmare as she was on the phone with the doctor. Though the doctor was familiar with pregnant women having bad dreams and freaking out about their babies the doctor set up an appointment that day to check the baby like Aren wanted. So Cross simply went back upstairs and got changed out of his pajamas and into normal clothes so he could take Aren to her appointment. Everyone knew better than to argue with a pregnant woman.
"So... baby is happy and healthy... see? Baby is still there and heart beat is strong." The ultrasound technician said showing Aren the monitor so she could see the baby.
"She is okay?" Aren asked staring at the monitor.
"Yep. She is making good progress at the second trimester. We might actually be able to give you a more accurate due date soon. But... nightmares, especially involving the baby are common with pregnant women. More so when they enter the third trimester. Stress mostly is what seems to be the cause so try and stay relaxed... Stress isn't good for you or the baby." The technician said before the appointment was over.
"I'm sorry..." Aren said as Cross was driving them home from the appointment.
"It's fine Aren. I don't mind. Clearly it was a really bad dream... And mother instinct is said to kick in even before the baby is born. So if ever you think something is wrong we can get it checked out. Okay? Its not like we can't afford it." Cross replied stopping at a restaurant figuring they both could use some food since neither had eaten breakfast yet. Both were pretty quite for most of the time as they sat in the restaurant. Cross kept an eye on Aren since it was uncommon for her to be so quiet.
"Are you feeling okay? They said the baby is fine..." Cross said after a while. He was worried Aren wasn't feeling good.
"Can we name her Myrna?" Aren asked looking across the table to her husband.
"Myrna? Sure. That's a wonderful name. Where did you learn it?" Cross asked curious as he watched Aren.
"I was looking at baby names in a book... and that one stood out to me... It means beloved right?" Aren asked setting her utensils down deciding she was done eating.
"It does. I think it suits our princess very much." Cross replied actually smiling a little at Aren. Aren couldn't help but smile at Cross feeling a little better now.
"So... what are you going to do about Levierre? Isn't your deadline for your answer today?" Aren asked as they continued to eat their breakfast. Cross sighed shaking his head in annoyance.
"Well I have to talk to Nea actually. For now I'll play along with Levierre but only to buy time. If I can get whatever evidence Nea has on Levierre both your grandfather and I can take Levierre out of the picture... And honestly... maybe have Link take over the German mafia and open back up a good relationship between the German mafia and our groups." Cross said thoughtfully as he sat back in his chair studying Aren.
"Hm... Most of that sounds right.. But I wouldn't bet on Link taking over the German mafia... He doesn't seem like he wants to be a leader. Though I do think he would make a really good, fair leader. So I would suggest you have a backup plan for who you want to place in that role." Aren suggested before finishing off her food. Cross studied Aren surprised at just how good and quick she was at assessing people and situations. She was right about Link, he would be a very good leader which is why Cross wanted to have him as the leader of the German mafia but Aren was also right that Link very likely didn't want to take the leadership role. But maybe Link would surprise them and be happy to not be a bodyguard and second in command anymore.
Levierre was pleased that Cross "agreed" to help get Nea but didn't like that Cross said he would do it his own way on his own time. Levierre didn't want to wait, likely because he knew that Nea had dirt on him and wanted him dealt with sooner rather than later. After Levierre was dealt with Cross, Aren, and Link all made their way back to London to talk to Nea and so Aren could visit her family again.