A/N: A short chapter, yes, but my classes are clobbering me right now. I will try to do longer ones during Thanksgiving Break or so. Thank you for your patience!

Chapter 10

"He still thinks he's going to die," Melody said brokenly, "he thinks that he's going to be replaced with our child…but that was the whole point of me defeating the curse in the first place. I thought for sure he'd be happy, but he was so angry."

She absently stirred the cup of tea that was growing cold in her hands. Despite the fact that she truly had no interest in drinking it, it made her feel better to have something to hold. The group was sitting around the table and listening intently.

"He told me before I died that I would be the only one he'd consider marrying and having children with," Melody continued, "I find myself wondering if he really meant that or if he was just reacting to the shock."

"There's a few things you need to understand about Akito," Shigure finally spoke up, his big, dark eyes sympathetic and kind, "he didn't have much of a relationship with Ren—and what he did have was terrible. Akira passed away when he was only seven. He doesn't have any idea how to be a father. I'm sure he'll have picked up a few tricks from Hatori, but it's not always the same as the person that helped make you. Another thing is that he's been terrified of being left alone or replaced. He's acquired Ren's jealousy over the years and the belief that he must be the center of attention or he'll…perish…somehow. He saw what Ren put Akira through and he doesn't seem to know any better."

Melody unconsciously rested her hand on her belly. Though she wasn't showing, the knowledge that there was something in there made her do that constantly.

"But I would never do that," she said, "next to Father, Akito is the most important man in my life. I would never try to replace him. Father said we never run out of room—our hearts just expand to fit everyone."

"He's frightened," Tohru finally cut in, "he's very frightened. You didn't see him the day I came to visit him. He was angry because I asked to be a part of his life—and to continue being part of Kyo's, Yuki's, Shigure's…everyone's. He thought he was being replaced then, too. I could see it in his eyes. He doesn't know how to deal with being afraid."

Melody nodded.

"Give the baka some time," Kyo muttered, "he'll be back to hogging you before you know it."

Melody smiled a small smile. Despite his roughness (and sometimes rudeness), he really was a sweet young man deep down.

"Thanks, Kyo," Melody said quietly.

"Just…don't cry anymore, okay? Crying girls freak me out."

"That's because you have the emotional depth of a tea spoon," Yuki muttered.

"You got something to say, Rat Boy?"

"Kyo, Yuki, before you get into your usual house-wrecking mode," Shigure said quickly, "we need to consider that Akito may come over looking for Melody. Let's try and keep the damage to a minimum for today, all right?"

"Fine."

The two boys continued to eye each other across the table, though neither made any outward mood to instigate a scuffle.

"So…enough about our grouchy Head of Family," Ayame said, putting one arm around Melody's shoulders, "do you know which kind you're having?"

"Not yet," Melody admitted, "it's still too soon to tell. I won't find out until I'm between three and four months."

"I've still got all the patterns for Tianshi's dresses," he offered, "if it ends up being a girl, we could have so much fun!"

"We could," Melody admitted, "Father says we're not to be materialistic, but I always did have a weakness for sparkly dresses and pretty hair-clips. Goodness…I have to find a crib and a changing table and we have to figure out where the baby's going to sleep…so much is going to change…"

"You have nine months to get ready for it," Tohru told her, "and we'll be around to help just like we did with Isuzu and Hatsuharu."

Melody felt more drained than she ever had in her life, but she felt very content as well. She picked up her cup of tea and finally drained it.

"I'm so terrified," she said, "that I'll do something wrong…but I feel so excited, too. It's like my feelings are so big that they're too big for this body to contain them."

"Could be the indigestion we've heard all about," Shigure joked. Melody pretended as though she was going to throw the cup at him, but she didn't. Squishie heard something and began to bark.

"I'll get it," Tohru said, getting up to see whose car had pulled in. She had a very strong feeling as to who it might be, but she wasn't sure. Hatori and Akito drove similar cars and it wasn't always clear which was which until the driver got out.

"Oh…hi, Hatori!" she exclaimed to the tall doctor, "Nice to see you again!"

"You, too. You haven't seen Melody around, have you?

"Yes. She's in the kitchen with Shigure, Kyo, and Yuki. We were just about to make dinner. Would you like to join us?"

"I might," he replied. As much as he never, ever wanted to admit it, Tohru even had Kana beat on cooking.

Melody glanced up from the vegetables that she was chopping. Yuki had brought in a basket full of fresh ones this morning after tending his garden.

"What happened? Did my nasty husband give you an earful?" she asked.

"Two earfuls," Hatori answered bluntly, "he wants you to come home soon."

Melody made a face.

"I'd rather not…not yet," she admitted, "you aren't going to make me, are you?"

"I'm just the messenger," the dragon-spirited man replied, "I can't make either of you do anything. Though I can't say I blame you for coming out here. He was in quite a state when I found him."

Melody sighed.

"He didn't make himself sick, did he?"

"He said he had a headache."

"That man is going to kill himself," she muttered, hacking a carrot in two with more force than necessary, "all because he can't quit worrying."

"I told him to go and lie down, maybe take Squishie as a napping companion."

"Good idea."

She sighed.

"He really doesn't get it, does he? That curse is gone. It's never coming back. We'll never have to deal with it again. I'm kind of wishing I'd remembered to take my pills…."

"Once, I'd have agreed with you," Hatori said, "but now that we've seen the changes in him, I'd say it's not a good idea to always do what he wants. It's going to be hard for Akito, but he'll learn to deal with it. Once he learns a thing or two about being a father, maybe he'll stop thinking only of himself."

"And you could show him…you and Haru," Melody said, "not to mention my Father. It's just the transition…"

He stepped into the living room to make a quick call to Kana to let her know not to worry. The girls finished making dinner and they all tucked in. Even when Melody's cell rang, she ignored it.

"I'll be back soon enough," she said, "I'll talk to him then."

She took her time eating and even stayed around for dessert before she and Hatori finally headed home. Before they set out, she hugged everyone and thanked them for making her feel better. Though she'd had a nap, she was already tired again. It was probably the emotional stress.

"Thanks for coming to get me. I didn't have my car—I just started walking and not paying attention to where I was going," Melody told Hatori, "and then Ayame found me and took me over there."

"He can be surprisingly mature at times. It's just that he chooses not to exercise it. The stories I could tell…"

On the remainder of the way home, he told her about the Great Student Council Incident, which cheered her up even more. She was laughing so hard by the time they got home that the redness in her cheeks had been replaced with rosiness and she was out of breath.

Akito was waiting for them in front of the house. Squishie was meandering around by his feet until she saw Melody get out of the car. Then, she bark-sang and was alternating between jumping at Hatori and Melody. Then, she tired herself out by running around in circles and flopped over on her side.

"Feeling better?" Hatori asked the temperamental head-of-house.

"A little," he answered.

Melody wasn't quite sure what to do or to say. If she said she was sorry for "running away", she'd be lying for sure. Saying so might upset him, though. He paused about two feet away from her, waiting on her to react. He expected—even wanted—her to give him a piece of her mind. But she didn't. Pulling him into a hug, she rested her cheek against his shoulder. Despite his bad attitude, she'd missed him. Her breath caught a little as his arms came up around her, squeezing her a little hard.

"If either of you needs anything, I'll be home with Kana and Tianshi," Hatori said, locking the car. He knew they'd probably want some time to themselves to sort everything out. Squishie, ever the jealous little dog, was pawing at them, asking to be held, too.

"You don't know you're a dog, do you? You think you're royalty!" Melody giggled, picking her up.

Akito watched her shower affection on the dog until she was finally tired of it and Melody put her down so that she could take off after something she'd seen moving in the grass. She slipped her hand in his and they went to the place they always went to have their talks: the gardens. The light was soft and lavender as the sun retreated to its hiding place for the night.

"There must be a million things going through your mind right now," Melody voiced his thoughts, "you're thinking about how Ren was never there for you, how she made you feel like the world's biggest piece of crap. You're imagining the curse coming back and dying like Akira even though you and I beat it together. You're thinking of every possible thing that could go wrong, and that's what caused this freakisode. Am I right?"

He nodded.

"I don't blame you for being afraid," she said, turning to face him, "but I want you to know that I'm afraid, too. There's a thing—a life—growing inside me right now. I feel really strange. My body's changing and so is my mind. I never dreamed I'd be a mother…I can't remember if I was one in my previous lives or not. I have no idea if I'm going to get this right or not. I don't even know if I've got the hang of being a wife yet."

He was quiet beside her, not knowing how to respond. His dark eyes were downcast, the dark sapphire not quite visible in the dim light. They looked black, which was fitting for a man like him. He'd always have a touch of darkness in him even if all the evil was gone.

"I hate when you do that," he finally said.

"Do what?"

"You make me feel like the biggest piece of $#&* in the world," he answered, "with the way you handle things. You're too damn sweet. Just once, I want to see you do something different. It's nauseating the way you preach this 'peace, hope, and love' crap."

"You want me to yell and break things and strike you? Since when has that ever actually worked?" Melody asked, "It makes you feel better for two seconds and then you're worse off because you blew up. No thanks…"

She remembered the night that the men working for Ren had nearly raped her. She'd lost her cool then and she'd killed them in cold blood. As powerful as she'd been, she could have warded them off easily and just ran. But no…she hadn't stopped herself. That was one of the most terrible feelings in the world. It caused a shudder to run through her body and her blood to run cold. Those men hadn't been the true monsters that night—she had. The idea that such a twisted and evil desire could exist inside of her was terrifying. Now that she was human, it would be all too easy to forget herself again. Hopefully, it wouldn't cause deaths or even permanent damage this time around. She hadn't wanted to know what happened to the two men's souls.

Akito felt exhausted despite his nap. Emotional distress was something he'd constantly battled throughout his entire life. Though he knew his porphyria was cured, he sometimes felt what he referred to as a "ghost ache" in his abdomen. He still half-expected the frightening symptoms to return—the pain, the vomiting, the weakness, the blood-colored urine. He hadn't had a single symptom since Melody's death, but he'd feel the slight twinges of pain in his gut. It was more the expectation that he should be hurting rather than actual pain. Strong emotions had sometimes triggered the porphyria attacks when Lyt was still inside him and he was still hypersensitive about his body. Taking Melody's hand in his, he wondered what it must be like to have something living in there. He didn't know much about babies other than the basic biology-class stuff. Was it moving yet? How big was it? Probably not very big yet. Could she feel it in there? Did it have any weight to it yet? When would it start developing a conscience? If they made love, would the baby somehow see or feel it? He felt blood rushing to his cheeks when he thought of that. Would it recognize his voice when he spoke to Melody? When would he know whether he had a daughter or a son?

"What's on your mind?" Melody asked, seeing his expression change rapidly.

"A lot," he answered truthfully, "mainly when we'll know what we're having."

"Hatori says we'll know somewhere between four and five months," Melody answered, "I already asked about it. I don't think we're near there yet."

"You don't know?" he asked.

"Nope. That ability is gone," she admitted, "and Father won't tell me. I suppose we'll both have to wait."

She paused at one of the flower beds, her fingers stroking the delicate petals.

"Just between me and you…I'm sort of hoping for a girl," she admitted, "though I'd be happy with either one. I guess it's because I've actually seen you holding Tianshi so much. It's easier for me to imagine."

Akito tried to imagine it himself. Some laughing little toddler girl with pink cheeks and Melody's eyes in a frilly white dress…it didn't seem so impossible. And yet, that image terrified him. That cute little thing was going to grow into a teenager and she might inherit his temper…that was a frightening thought.

"That's a scary thought," he said out loud. Melody was puzzled, so he told her the image that had morphed into a slight nightmare in his head. She laughed.

"You're forgetting," she said with a playful wink, "there's some of me, too. Maybe it'll be enough to cancel a little of the you out."

They lay side by side in bed that night in the spooning position. Akito had apologized to her just after turning the light off. Confession was always easier in the dark, especially when he didn't have to look at the hurt expression in her dark green eyes. Laying like this had made it even easier. Her head was tucked under his chin.

"You've gotten a raw deal with Ren," Melody had finally said, "but there's one thing you can take away from all this. You've witnessed Ren's mistakes firsthand without making them yourself. You can learn from them and you can avoid them. You don't have to be cruel and mean and uncaring with this baby."

Akito had let his eyes slide closed feeling completely at peace. Instead of a dark, uncertain future, he'd begun to daydream of the possibilities. No one was perfect, so he wouldn't be, either, but he could still try to make things better. He was going to be sure that this baby had a good mother and father. If she fell and scraped her knee up, he'd be there to "kiss it better". If she had some kind of music recital or contest, he'd be in the audience to watch. And he would never accuse her of ruining his life. His daydreams began to morph into real dreams in which he saw several different children, each one a possibility of the future.

The prison break was violent, bloody, and confused. Twenty very dangerous inmates got away, Ren being the first. Lilith lent her strength, causing her to tear apart barred gates with her bare hands. The guards were all either dead or half-dead with blood loss crippling them. Ren had promptly gone into the wilderness and lost her pursuers. She chuckled madly to herself as she raked her crazy hair out of her face. How must she look? It was insane. But she'd be damned if she'd go back to that place! Her dark sapphire eyes glinted in the moonlight as she ran tirelessly across the stretch of wilderness. It reminded her of the days when she was young and would race her own shadow. The cool air slid in and out of her lungs like mercury and she didn't start to tire until long after she'd made it out. She paused to rest, her face glistening with sweat. First things first…she had to get rid of this uniform. She headed straight for the house where she'd been arrested for kidnapping Kana. It was mostly burned down, but she might still find something with any luck. Sifting through the ruins without being caught was difficult, but she managed it. There was a skin-tight pair of black pants and a red shirt. She yanked them on and tried to organize her hair into some semblance of order. After she'd cleaned herself up a little, she decided she wasn't recognizable and headed into town to do some shopping.

"I want to pay my son a visit."

"No," Lilith scowled, "do you seriously believe your presence won't go unnoticed at this time of night? You ought to do it when you aren't expected. Surely the Main House will have hired guards now. You were too careless with Hatori and Melody and that fire. You need to be more subtle."

"What about the angel girl?"

Lilith smiled nastily.

"She's the one I want," Lilith replied, "I could care less about how you settle things with your boy. But for now, we need to lay low. We need a base of operations. And that hotel over there ought to do nicely."

"All right," Ren sighed, "I am a little exhausted."

How wonderful it was to have an actual bath instead of a lukewarm shower! How wonderful it was to be able to eat her room-service meal in peace and not be disturbed by anyone else! How wonderful it was to sleep in an enormous bed with soft sheets and no huge, unattractive woman in the bunk below snoring her head off! She stretched out in the soft sheets while Lilith switched on the TV for a little while. She thought it would bother her initially, but it didn't. After she rolled on her side and pulled the covers over her head, she promptly fell asleep. Her last coherent thought was I had no idea demons enjoyed fashion shows.