Author's Notes: Thank you to everyone for keeping up with the story, adding this to your favorites and alerts, and sending in reviews! Sorry for the delay. This chapter is going to be a long one. I hope you'll like it!
Chapter 12: Of Happiness and Faith:
As Hope was working through the morning in his office, he heard the sound of his phone ring on his desk. "Hello? Yes this is him." After hearing the voice on the other line, his eyes widened worried. "What? Is she okay?!" He listened to the voice again as they continued to explain. "Thank you for calling." After he hung up his phone, he quickly stood up. As he did, his assistant walked into his office. He was surprised to see Hope heading in his direction. "Director-?"
"Listen. I need to leave for an emergency. If anyone comes looking for me then let them know that I've left for the day. Thank you." He rushed passed the assistant. The boy stood surprised. He didn't get a chance to ask what was going on.
At the hospital, Hope paced quickly and went to the front desk where there was a nurse sitting behind it. "Can I help you?"
Hope looked at the nurse anxious. "Yes. I'm looking for Lightning Farron."
The nurse checked the computer. Confusion became written on her face as she searched. "Not sure that I have a 'Lightning'?
Right away Hope realized what he said. He was so used to calling her Lightning that it seemed like her true name. "I'm sorry. I meant Claire Farron."
After he corrected himself, the nurse found her. "Ah yes. The doctors are just now finishing checking on her."
Hope hoped that she was all right. "Can I see her?"
"Give them a few more minutes and then you can," the nurse informed him.
Later, Lightning woke up lying on a hospital bed. When her eyes traveled over, she saw another figure in the room. She sat up a little, surprised and still tired. "Hope?" He gave a gentle smile as he sat in a chair beside her bed. "What are you doing here? How did you know that I was here?"
"I received a call from the hospital. I'm still listed as your emergency contact."
Lightning had forgotten that she had done so. Soon she relaxed against her bed. "Oh. Right. I guess it's only right that you know anyway."
Concern grew on his face noticeable for her to see. "The doctors told me that you almost went into early labor. If that would have happened-."
She stared forward as she had a serious look on her face. "I know. I would have lost the baby."
Hope leaned forward troubled about the situation. "Light. Maybe it's better if you stayed somewhere where you can be helped. Why don't you stay with me?"
"No. I'm fine," she answered right away.
"Come on Light. I don't hear enough from you if you're all right or if the baby's all right."
"I tell you every time that we're fine."
"But sometimes I wonder." Her eyes lowered. She didn't want him to worry about anything. Hope continued. "Look. We want to make sure that this doesn't happen again. Just come stay with me. You wouldn't have to worry about anything especially being out of the army. You could relax and I could take care of a lot of things."
While the offer sounded nice, she didn't want to feel like a burden to him. "I'm fine."
Hope frowned a little. He wondered why she didn't want to accept his help. "Won't you at least think about it?" She looked at him without saying anything. "Come on. I told you that I wanted to help and that's what I want to do. Living together can have some benefits."
"Yeah until I want to kick you out."
Hope smiled. "Fine. How about I come live with you?"
Lightning was surprised by his idea. That wasn't really an option for a different reason. "I don't think you want to live at my place. It's not big enough for two people."
"But you are thinking about my offer?" She turned silent. Hope stared into her eyes sincerely and serious. "Just listen. This child could have a nice home and wouldn't have to be taken back and forth between us. I would make sure that you would have nothing to worry about. Just give it a chance and if it doesn't work out then I'll let you live on your own. I'll just have to accept it. So what do you say?"
"Hmm…" Lightning turned her head away from him. She didn't want to admit it out loud, but the offer did sound appealing.
"So I'll take that as a yes?" he asked hopeful. She still didn't give him an answer. His eyes lowered toward the ground. "I just don't want this to happen again."
"Neither do I," she whispered. Her eyes drifted back to him.
"Then it's settled." As much as Lightning wanted to argue against it once more, she decided not to. Hope smiled at her to assure that things would be all right. "You should probably do what the doctor said and rest."
"You don't have to stay here."
He gave a faint grin. "I have nothing to do right now."
She reacted a little surprised. "What about the Academy?"
He smiled a bit more. "Took the day off for personal reasons."
Her eyes lowered disappointed. "Because of me."
"I rather be here anyway then stuck behind a desk all day. I like the company better." He hoped that what he said would make her smile.
Seconds later, a faint smile came to her lips. Once again she wouldn't argue against what he wanted to do. "Suit yourself."
"Don't you like my company?" Hope asked curiously.
Lightning's smile turned into a smirk. "Sometimes… and sometimes it can just be a pain."
"Hey!" he raised his voice pretending to be upset by her comment. In response she gave a silent chuckle as she closed her eyes. He was happy to see her feeling better.
Hours passed into the afternoon. Lightning was asleep peacefully in the bed that was given to her. Hope sat by her bedside as she slept. He didn't want to leave her side just yet. His eyes traveled over to her sleeping face. His mind was going over how he could help now. He just wished that he had helped her sooner like he wanted, but he held back so that she wouldn't think that he was pushing things. He knew that she didn't want to accept a lot of help from him. It was probably better that he complete his own plans to help her. It wouldn't be long before she would be released from the hospital. He stepped out of her room as he pulled out his phone. Now was the time that he would do something.
The next afternoon after Lightning was released from the hospital, she left with Hope. Instead of going back to her place or his, they ended up going somewhere else which made her curious. Soon they stepped in front of a door. She turned her head toward him. "Where are we?" All he left her with was a smile before he unlocked the door. They stepped in through the kitchen first and entered into the living room. Lightning was amazed by the big, empty space. The sun was shining brightly through the windows. The place they entered into looked very nice and definitely bigger than her apartment. She turned to Hope. "What are we doing here?"
Hope gave his answer in three simple words. "We live here."
Once she heard that, she stood stunned. She didn't understand when he had the time to pick out a place for them. "Hope…"She couldn't believe it nor knew what to say.
He noticed her reaction and smiled. "Let me show you the rest. Then you can tell me if you like it or not." He took her hand and led her back toward the kitchen. He opened the fridge. "And here is a fridge packed full of food. I put in some of the things that you like. You can let me know later if there's anything else you want."
Lightning was amazed with everything he had done. It was overwhelming. "Hope. You really didn't have to do all of this."
Gently he smiled. "It's the very least I could do. Come on. I'll show you the upstairs." Hope got ready to head upstairs, but then looked back as he stopped on the steps. He noticed that Lightning wasn't following him. Instead she stood leaning forward with a piece of food in her mouth that was sticking out clear for him to see. The fridge door was still open as she was eagerly searching through it. When she was done and closed the door, she turned to spot him watching her. Her eyes widened a little and looked as if she had gotten caught doing something she didn't want him to see. The look on her face made him laugh. "Nice to know I did something right."
Afterwards the two headed upstairs. "There are three rooms. I got three just in case you wanted your own room, but one of the rooms is for the baby." When they headed into the room that he planned to be the child's, it was empty. Regardless, the two had their own ideas about what to put inside.
Shortly after, they headed into the master bedroom. In the closet, she noticed that some of her clothes were there. She was surprised that he already moved some of her stuff in. When she searched through the rest of the closet, she noticed that there were also clothes there that didn't belong to her. Slowly she began to go through them. "Hope? Are these yours?"
He stepped over and looked nearby where she was standing. He figured out what she was searching through. "Oh. The moving guys must've put your stuff in here and when I unpacked it, I didn't realize. I was really tired last night getting all your stuff moved in. I can move it to the other room if you like."
Lightning stood up straight. "You don't have to." She didn't want him to go through the trouble of doing so and it wasn't as if they haven't slept in the same room before.
Hope was surprised that she didn't mind. "Are you sure?"
She nodded. "Yeah."
"I guess the extra room could be used as a training room for you or an office for me so I could work here more often." He stepped in front of her as he smiled, nervous. "I hope that it was all right that I packed your things for you."
Lightning took off walking toward the door. "It's fine." At first it was surprising and bothered her, especially when she didn't give an answer about whether or not she wanted to stay in the new place, but in the end, she became fine with it. It saved her the trouble. It would have been harder for her to pack and carry her stuff on her own especially when she was supposed to be resting. They left from the room and explored the rest of the two-story house.
Later that night, Lightning headed upstairs to her new bedroom. After exploring the new place, she had come to like the space. It was growing on her. Once she entered the room, she saw Hope already lying down on the bed. He sat up on his elbows and smiled as he saw her with food in hand eating. "Taking full advantage of the fridge I see."
Lightning let out a frown. "Shut up. It's your fault that I'm like this."
Hope grinned. In a way it was nice to hear that she didn't take the responsibility all on herself like before. "Oh now it's my fault? I thought that we were both responsible." Lightning settled into the bed and pulled the covers against her without saying a word. "There's plenty more," he said to make her feel more at home. She turned on her side away from him and closed her eyes waiting for sleep to overtake her.
As the night continued to pass, Lightning awoke in the middle of it. Around her she felt something warmer than the blanket covering her. When her eyes traveled over, she saw Hope lying next to her with his arm wrapped around her. His hand rested on her belly. She was a little surprised that he was lying so close to her. She thought about making him move, but she let it go. It actually felt kind of nice with his warmth over her. She lied back down and closed her eyes. She slept through the night beside him. Little did she know how happy he was to lay like that with her again.
"We should probably do some shopping soon," Hope spoke as Lightning and he stepped through the door of their house.
Lightning turned to him uneasy. "Maybe it would be better if we stay here."
He looked over at her surprised and curious. "Why?" Lightning grew quiet not wanting to say the real reason. Hope searched her expression trying to read what she was thinking. Then he smiled for comfort. "Light. Don't worry. Who cares if anyone sees us together?"
"Anyone who sees us together could figure it out."
"Not exactly. Listen. I don't care who knows. The reputation I have as Director doesn't matter. This is important to me. Let people say what they want. I know what I've done to help the world and people will see that." He grabbed onto her hands and smiled in order to persuade her. "So what do you say? We'll have fun shopping together."
Lightning looked down. She could tell that he really wanted them to do this together. "I guess."
Lightly he placed his fingers underneath her chin and lifted her head. "Have fun with me."
"Fine," she agreed.
Hope let his arm return to his side as he continued smiling gently. "You must be tired. The doctor's appointment today went well."
Lightning walked ahead of him toward the stairs. "Yeah. I'm surprised that you didn't want to know."
He looked a little surprised. "Know what the baby was going to be? You didn't want to know either."
She looked back at him. "I was curious, but I would like to wait."
He smiled. "Me too although it's going to make it harder when we have to get clothes."
"Just get a few for now and get the rest later," Lightning suggested.
"All right." Hope followed her, heading to their room. Afterwards they settled in for bed after a long day.
In the night, as Lightning was lying on her side, she had a little trouble sleeping. Wide awake, she turned on her other side and looked over. Hope had his eyes closed as he was sleeping on his back. His hand was resting against his stomach as his other arm lied by his side. Her eyes lifted up to his sleeping face. Her thoughts began to wander. It had been a month since she started living with him and things have gone better than she expected. Not only that, but she was starting to feel their relationship as it once was before this had happened, just without any physical, intimate contact like a kiss. She kept her distance from him and in return, he respected her wishes. Through their time together, he was kind, attentive, and helpful toward her. He spent what time he could to make sure that she was comfortable and doing well. Her eyes traveled between his eyelids and lips. As much as she was tempted to be with him as they once were, she told herself to stay away and convinced herself that things would be better as they were now.
Out of her thoughts, she could hear him breathe out louder than usual as his head moved a little. Before she could turn away, she saw his eyes open halfway. He grew surprise to see that she was still up. "You're still awake?"
It was too late to turn back now or make an excuse. "Yeah."
Hope sat up on his elbows concerned for her and cut on the light that was nearest to him. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah. I'm fine," she assured him.
He began to calm down a little. "Just couldn't sleep?"
"I guess not."
Hope gave a tired smile. "Then I'll stay awake with you. Maybe drinking something warm will help."
"It's all right. You don't have to. You have to be at the Academy tomorrow. Just get some sleep."
The two laid in silence thinking about the other, but kept their thoughts secretly to themselves. Hope noticed the somewhat stressed look on her face. He wanted to be there to comfort her if he could. He slid more over toward her which she noticed. Her body remained motionless. Gently he placed his hand against her arm. He smiled to assure her. "It'll be all right. I don't mind staying up with you. You sure you're okay?"
"Yeah." Her eyes traveled away from his and drifted toward her pillow.
Hope rested his head against her pillow as he relaxed comfortably. Lightning could feel his hand caress her skin gently along her arm and up toward her shoulder. "Don't." She started to feel that he was getting too close.
His hand stopped on her arm. He smiled at her. "I was just-."
Harshly she knocked his hand away as she got upset. "I said don't!" she raised her voice.
Hope was surprised by her reaction and wasn't sure why she seemed offensive. He moved back giving her room. His eyes lowered in sadness. "I'm sorry. I just… wanted to help." Afterwards he stood up and left from the room for a bit.
Lightning felt bad for how she acted toward him. She didn't mean to do it. She just wanted to make sure that neither one of them were getting too close. It was best to let things be as they were. That's what she told herself, but why did it have to hurt so much? She closed her eyes. Inside of her heart, she knew that she still carried love for him. At the same time, she felt as if she had become a burden on him for what was going on. She didn't want to be the cause of him being unhappy because of something unexpected that happened. Her eyes closed. As much as she tried to suppress her emotions, she could feel them come to the surface. It became harder to control them internally with how she was now. Her arms wrapped around her body as she tried her best to go to sleep.
Suddenly she felt something slid against her body. It made her jump a little. Quickly she opened her eyes and looked over. Once she saw what it was, she relaxed. "Hope?"
He was pulling the blanket over her up to her shoulder. There was a look of concern. "Sorry. I thought that you had finally fallen asleep. I just wanted to make sure that you weren't cold. I noticed that you were shaking a bit."
Lightning grabbed onto the top edge of the blanket pulling it closer toward her face. "I'm okay. Thank you," she spoke softly. "You don't have to worry so much over me."
Hope went in beside her and sat up on his elbow. He gave a smile of comfort. "It…It kind of can't be helped. I'm going to worry about you regardless."
She wanted to argue otherwise, but quickly gave up on doing so. It wasn't worth going into an endless argument. He would feel what he felt no matter what she told him. Her eyes lowered as they drifted toward her pillow. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something heading toward her face. Instinctively she leaned back a little as she became on edge. "What are you-?"
There was a look of sadness on his face. Softly he pressed his thumb to her cheek. "Why are you crying?" he whispered.
"What are you talking about? I-." Before she could finish, she felt his thumb move across her skin. She blinked. With that, she felt it. The cold substance that was easily recognizable to her running down her cheek. It stunned her. She didn't realize until that moment that water had slipped out of her eye. She turned silent. Whenever she would cry, it would be while she was alone, not in front of anyone to see. Her eyes drifted to the side as she put on a strong front. "I wasn't. I just got tired and yawned. It must've happened because of that."
Hope let out a sigh as he closed his eyes. He wished that she was honest with him. Through the bangs that covered her face and eyes, he could see the look of sadness that she tried to hide. During the times they spent together, he got to understand her emotions a little better even when she still tried to hide them. Sometimes her true emotions would slip through the cracks of the wall that she had built around herself just in time for him to see. He just hoped that one day she would let down her wall completely even if it was just for him. He leaned in close, lying down on his side. He shared her pillow along with her and placed his hand against the back of her head. When he tried to pull her in close, she pressed her hands against his chest pushing herself away. He attempted the same thing again. This time, she didn't fight him back on it. Instead she buried her face within his chest. With that, he wrapped his arms around her. As much as he wanted to tell her that he would be there whenever she needed someone to lean, as much as he wanted to ask what was wrong, he kept quiet. He didn't want her to retract from him. He would let his actions speak for him.
Through her nose, Lightning inhaled his pleasing scent that made her feel at ease. The touch of his skin was smooth. Her eyes could only see the darkness against him. Letting herself accept his comfort, she raised her hands underneath his arms to his back. Her fingers grasped onto his shoulders. She decided to let herself stay in that comfort. A part of her felt that she could fall asleep where she was. She began to get tired against him, but not enough to fall sleep just yet. Still he wouldn't let go of her and a part of her hoped that he wouldn't.
Minutes later, Hope separated from her unable to lie that way for long and lied down on his side facing her. "You mind telling me what's on your mind now?"
Lightning thought about it. She knew if she told him that she would already know what he would say in return. Slightly she shook her head. "It was nothing. I don't know what I felt. I guess it was just one of those things that hits you out of nowhere."
He smiled to show he understood. "I understand. It's to be expected with what you're going through right now."
She noticed that he wouldn't stop smiling at her. She became curious as to why. "What?"
He wasn't sure if he should say what was on his mind because he wasn't sure how she would react. "It's nothing."
More, Lightning became curious, but she was too tired to show it. She wanted to know. "What?"
Hope lifted his eyes to hers through her bangs. His fingers reached over and touched the wavy strands of her hair. He smiled a little at what he thought. "It's just how you look."
She became confused. "What's wrong with how I look? I've always look the same. Well…" She looked down at herself. "Sort of..." It was hard to forget that certain parts of her had grown bigger over the months.
He smiled more. "There's nothing wrong. I was thinking." He reached over and placed his hand on her side. "I heard that when woman are like how you are now, they have this glow about them. I didn't understand it at first such as what I was supposed to look for." He gave a gentle look. "But now I think I see it. You just seem different to me now."
She closed her eyes as she sighed. "Well it won't be that way for long so don't get use to it."
He smiled. "Fine, but I really think that… it looks beautiful on you," he spoke a little nervous.
Lightning was stunned at his words. Soon she turned her eyes away as she frowned and crossed her arms. "You don't have to say that. It's not good to mess with me. I don't know if I'll be able to control whether I'll hurt you or not."
Silently he grinned. "I was being honest." He leaned his head against her pillow.
Her eyes lowered. "No flattering me either."
"I wouldn't do that," he assured her. As he stared into her eyes, a thought had crossed his mind. He wondered if he should act upon what he wanted to do for a while now. Taking a chance, slowly he began to lean down as her eyes followed. "Hope…" Softly his lips had met with hers. Her eyes lowered to a close. Slowly they kissed on and off, enjoying the feel of their lips slide against the others'. It seemed innocent as if they were trying kissing for the first time.
Some time into it, the passion and craving he felt throughout his body began to take over him. He lifted himself up on his hands. She kept her eyes closed and turned her body along with his to keep them from separating from their kiss. As he was leaning over her, she was lying on her back.
Both of them breathed out. Being around her this close again was intoxicating. His elbows became pressed into the mattress to support his body so that he could keep sitting up. His fingers became entangled through her pink strands as his face was buried in the crook of her neck. She could feel his lips kiss her skin down to her collarbone. Her hand reached to the back of his head and grabbed onto his hair. After Hope parted from her, Lightning shook her head as she was breathing hard. She felt as if she was losing herself with him and control of the situation. Deep inside, there was a burning desire that if pushed far enough, she knew that she would giving in. "This…we shouldn't..."
"It's okay." Hope leaned in and kissed her again. More she began to lose herself with him. Along her side and arm, she could feel his hand caress her. When she felt his hand brush against her chest, she breathed out. Through his haze, he heard the small whimper she gave. Yearning to hear it again, he returned to grasp the soft bosom. The sensitive sensation drove her body wild. Eager, she moved over him pinning him down strongly onto the mattress by his arms and sat over him. Underneath she could feel that he was firm and ready. A few times she rubbed against him. Their eyes drifted to a close as they exhaled in satisfaction. He could feel it though his boxers as she could feel it through her shorts. Shortly after, Lightning managed to stop before they reached the end. She looked down at him. She remembered her thoughts from earlier about leaving things the way they were before. Should she give into what she wanted and be with him?
Hope sat up still keeping her to sit on top of him. At her shoulder, Lightning felt the thin strap from her tank fall off of her shoulder and further down her arm. His forehead pressed against hers as he breathed out. Sweetly he whispered to her as his hand brushed lightly against her cheek. "What I feel won't change. I want you to feel that you're happy here with me. I know I am when I'm here with you." Her eyes lowered and drifted toward the side as her hand held onto her arm. His fingers reached up and gently caressed her arm until he placed his hand on top of hers. "You are beautiful Lightning." Her eyes lifted up to meet his. By the look in them, he seemed sincere. She was happy with him, but the words didn't come to speak out loud.
Hope leaned in, letting his lips brush against hers. Again she wanted to give in and connect with him. Softly she placed a few kisses on his lips. As her eyes stared into his, her hand grabbed onto the thin strap of her shirt and let her arm out of it. She closed her eyes as she did the same for the other. Silently she was giving him her sign that she wanted to be with him. Hope lied down as she leaned over him. He took another glimpse into her eyes as his fingers were underneath the strands of her hair. Lightning read his eyes one more time. She could see that he wanted to be with her. For that moment, she let go of the doubting thoughts that clouded her mind. She moved in and kissed him passionately. There would be no more debate for tonight, but only a night for their hearts to give in to each other.
The next morning, Lightning sat in the kitchen at the counter with a mug next to her. As she sat with her body in the same clothes as she worn the night before, she leaned her head against her hand. Her mind was lost in thought over what happened. At first, it wasn't her intention to give into her feelings, but it ended up happening.
Soon she heard the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs, but didn't turn her head. It was easy to tell who it was. Hope walked down dressed in his Academy uniform. Once he saw her, he smiled. "Good morning." He headed over toward her. "I'm off. I'll be back later."
From her, all he was greeted with was silent. Hope started to get curious. Her eyes didn't glance at him once. He leaned against the counter beside her. "What's wrong?" She remained quiet as she kept her eyes away from his. "If you're worried about what happened, the doctor said that a little exercise is fine. We didn't put much pressure on your stomach and I didn't go in-."
"That's not it."
"Then what is it?" She didn't want to say out loud. He looked more curious. "What?"
Finally she got out the words that were on her mind. "We shouldn't do this."
Hope sighed as he closed his eyes. He pressed his hand to his head. "Again?" His eyes traveled over to her. "You know there is a chance that I could actually want this. You don't have to keep pushing me away because you don't think I'm happy. I thought I made it clear that I was."
Lightning crossed her arms as she rested them on the counter. There was an upset look on her face. "Who said that this was about you?" She turned her head more away from him. "Maybe it's me that doesn't want this."
"That's fine if that's what you really want. Why don't you look at me when you say that?"
Lightning turned her head to him serious. She was about to say something to end things, but stopped once she saw the serious look on his face and in his eyes. Her eyes drifted down. She decided to back down from lying to him. "I don't want to tie you down because of this." She told him how she really felt.
"I don't feel tied down. Maybe this was just meant to happen." His eyes traveled down toward the floor as he smiled. "Even if it wasn't, I wouldn't regret it."
She looked toward the counter. "You say that now..."
"And I do mean it. Just trust me on that." Her eyes searched his. So far, she didn't see any trace that he was just saying that. Hope smiled as he leaned in toward her. He kissed her lips on and off.
A faint smirk came on her lips. Already she could feel the same feelings rising within her like the night before. "I wouldn't do that if I was you."
A smile curved at his lips. "And why not?" he asked rhetorically.
"I think that you already know. You have to go. You're going to be late if you do."
His smile became replaced with a smirk. "So? I could be running a little late. I think that would be okay since I am the guy that runs the place." Hope leaned against the counter thinking back. "I can't remember you ever being that way before. You were louder plus a little rough on me."
"Sorry," she replied.
Hope pulled his collar aside. "A little proof of that." When Lightning looked over, she noticed dark red spots on his skin. What she did showed as clear as day. He let go of his shirt. "I think this whole baby thing is making you a little more aggressive."
"Maybe…" Her eyes traveled down as she began to get lost in thought. She remembered last night before they fell asleep. It brought a gentle smile to her. As they were lying together in the night, she could feel the inviting warmth of his body and how closely pressed hers was to his; the way her head was pressed against his chest. There she felt a deep comfort and affection through his words and embrace. She could remember herself smiling. Being there alone together brought a sense of happiness. That connection was something she wasn't ready to lose just yet.
"Light?" She snapped out of her thoughts and looked up at him. Hope smiled. "What were you thinking about just now? Whatever it was, it must've been good."
Her lips curved up into a smile. "Wouldn't you like to know? You might be able to get it out of me."
Hope became interested in her challenge. Afterwards he leaned in and kissed her as she kissed him back.
Sometime later while it was still morning, Hope stepped back downstairs wearing everything but his jacket and gloves. "So that's where I put that." He leaned down to pick up his phone along with his jacket and other things that he left on the kitchen floor. All of a sudden he felt something warm wrap around him. When he looked back, he saw Lightning leaning her head against his back with her eyes closed. Her arms were wrapped around his waist. He couldn't help but have a smile. "You didn't have to come down to see me off."
She kept her eyes closed as she relaxed against him. "You were supposed to be in an hour ago."
"I know. I forgot to call in." After he finished adjusting his uniform, he turned to her. "I guess I better go. I'll be back later as soon as I can."
In response she nodded. "All right."
Before Hope left, he grabbed onto her hands. "I'm really glad that I was able to make you smile and…" His eyes lifted up to meet hers. He still kept his smile on. "And I'm glad that you told me why." Afterwards he took off for the door as she watched. He was able to see her smile one more time.
A sigh left from his lips as he stood with bags in his hands. Lightning sat down on a bench nearby. "You can't seriously be tired. I'm the one carrying the extra weight around."
Hope placed the bags he was carrying down on the ground. "I think with some of the things we brought might compensate for that. Could have been worse if we were carrying that crib that we picked out."
She crossed her arms. "I guess you could take more breaks-. Ah!" Suddenly Lightning breathed out as she let out a sound. Her eyes widened.
The shocked look on her face made him react with worry. Hope kneeled down in front of her. "Light! Is there something wrong?! Is the-?" Before he could ask more questions that raced across his mind, she grabbed his hand and placed it on her stomach. It made him turn silent. Then he felt something which instantly took his worry away.
Lightning lifted her eyes to him. "They…just kicked me. That's the first time that has happened. They kicked me kind of hard."
Like her, he was just as surprised, but then his lips curved into a smile. "Wow! Really let's you know that they're alive in there."
"I heard that… if you talk to them, then they can actually listen and maybe even respond."
Hope looked up at her amazed. "I can tell that someone has been doing their research."
"Well I needed something to do while sitting around waiting for her to come out."
It surprised him that she knew what she was carrying. "Her? So you already know?"
"No, but that would be my guess."
He arched his eyebrow interested. "Oh yeah? And what makes you so sure?" Afterwards they stood up.
Lightning looked over at him. "By how hard she kicked me." She placed her hand on her stomach as her eyes traveled down. "I can tell that it's going to be a girl."
"So we're ruling out the possibility that it could be a boy?"
"I'm not ruling it out, but I think there's a pretty good chance it's a girl."
Hope grinned. "Fine. I'll take your word for it."
There was a faint smile to her. "We should probably head back to Academia. It's getting late."
He smiled back. "Yeah. We could stop for something to eat if you want first."
The offer did sound tempting. "I'm already the size of a house. Now you're trying to turn me into a mansion."
"I told you that you are not a house. You look beautiful." Hope turned along with her and starting walking toward the food court.
"You can say whatever you want," she told him. As the two walked, her hand had brushed against his. Hope reached over and grabbed her hand. Lightning's fingers intertwined with his as they went over to one of the nearby food places in the plaza.
Meanwhile, there was a reporter walking around. There was a disappointed look to his face. He let out a sigh. "I need to find my next big story before my boss decides he finally wants to fire me."
Hope and Lightning turned from the place where they brought food and began to head out of the outside mall. While they were walking, Hope moved as many bags as he could in one hand and held Lightning's hand with the other. The reporter continued walking when he noticed something. At first he was confused by what he saw, but then looked surprised as he sort of realized something. Across the way, he noticed the two of them walking closely and talking. She placed dark sunglasses over her eyes and he did the same. Interested, the reporter ran after them.
Later, Lightning and Hope traveled on a train heading back to Academia. They sat toward the back where there weren't as many people sitting around. Tired, she leaned her head against his shoulder as she closed her eyes with her sunglasses off. Hope looked at her which caused him to smile. From the look on her face, she seemed somewhat exhausted from their day of shopping. His hand touched her arm. Soon his eyes had met with something else. Curious, he raised his hand and lightly pressed it against her stomach. He wondered if he would get a response like earlier. More, things were becoming real to him that it was happening. Seconds later, he felt a response. The life dwelling inside had made another kick. Instantly his lips curved up into a smile. Maybe the life inside could sense that he was there. He felt a few more kicks. His eyes traveled up to Lightning to see that she was still asleep. He was surprised that the movements didn't wake her and figured that she must've been more exhausted than he thought. As much as he wanted to say something to the life inside, he decided to stay quiet so that Lightning could sleep.
A couple of hours later, they returned back to Academia. When they headed off of the train, the same reporter from before had followed them. "So wait? That's the Director of the Academy. I wonder who the woman that's with him is. I didn't know he was with someone. Seems like something serious." He lifted his camera from off of his chest and began taking pictures.
A few days later, Hope walked into his living room to see Lightning sitting on the couch. He was curious because there was a serious look on her face. "What's wrong?" He walked over and sat beside her. Once he did, she brought up a screen from a device in front of her. There was a picture of the two of them from their backs in Academia the same day they went shopping and an article next to it. "It seems that someone has spotted us together." She looked over at him. "Everyone is going to know soon enough."
Hope gave a nervous smile. "They're already starting to ask questions now." Lightning leaned back against the cushions as she looked down. She was trying hard to avoid something like this from happening and was beginning to think more that they shouldn't have gone out at all. Hope smiled at her for comfort. "Don't worry. We'll get through this together all right?"
Lightning nodded. They didn't really have a choice now. "I guess so."
A few more months had passed. As the sun was setting upon the city, Lightning was lying asleep on her bed with her head resting on her arm. A weird feeling came over her that made her wake up. "What-?" she whispered. A sharp pain crossed over her body which made her eyes widened in shock. Quickly she grabbed onto her stomach. It wasn't long before she realized what was happening.
Downstairs, Hope had just returned home from the Academy. He headed upstairs to see where Lightning was. "Light?" He searched inside of their bedroom. When he looked in, he grew worried. She was lying down on their bed with her eyes closed tight and a look of pain on her face. Her arms were wrapped around her stomach. On the floor beside her, he noticed the phone which she had attempted to call for help. "Light!" He kneeled down in front of her and checked on her.
"Its… time," she managed to get out. Deeply she continued inhaling and exhaling to subdue the pain. It wasn't long before he called the hospital.
When Lightning awoke hours later, she noticed that she was in a room with white walls and medical equipment around. She was lying on her side in a hospital bed. Night was already upon the city.
"Hey," a voice spoke softly from nearby. When she looked over, she saw Hope sitting in a chair at her bedside.
"Hey," she replied back softly.
Hope gave a gentle smile. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm okay. I'm still kind of tired." Her eyes lowered somewhat to his arms. Her reaction changed to surprise and made her wake up even more. In his arms, she saw a small child sleeping. Instantly that made her recall what happened. She was rushed to the hospital after Hope found her. Through hours of labor, she had delivered. There wasn't much she could remember after that. Lightning sat up on her elbow. "That's…"
Hope smiled as he looked at the sleeping child. "Yeah. After she was born, you fell asleep. The doctors said that you slept a lot after that. You must've been really tired."
Lightning looked surprised. "She?"
Hope looked to her as he grinned. "Yes. I guess you were right. It's a little girl. Do you want to hold her? You only got to hold her for a short time once."
Lightning sat up. Her eyes followed as he came over. He placed the small girl in her arms. From the moment that Lightning stared at her, she started to lose track of time on how long she held her. Instantly she felt a connection with her. Her fingers stroked the soft skin of her cheek. "She's beautiful," she whispered.
"So? What do you want to name her?"
She turned her attention to him. She didn't hear what he asked her completely. "What?"
Hope smiled. "What do you want to name her?"
Lightning turned her eyes back to the baby as she went over possible names. Then Hope's name had come to mind. It wasn't long before she thought of one similar. "Hope. Faith," she said to herself out loud. She looked over at Hope. "Faith."
He seemed a little unsure. "Faith?"
"It just…sounds similar to your name. It's nice."
Hope let out a smile. "Faith does sound nice." His eyes drifted down as he smiled. He thought about her last name and wondered if Lightning wanted her to have her last name. "Faith Farron. It's a nice name."
"I was thinking that… maybe Estheim has a better ending to her name."
Hope's eyes lifted to her in surprise once he heard her. He was touched. "You would give her my last name?"
Lightning looked up at him. "Why not? Faith Estheim sounds just as good. Maybe better."
"We could give her both of our names." He wondered if that would make her happy.
Lightning shook her head. "We don't have to." Her eyes returned to Faith. A faint smile came to her lips as she watched the sleeping girl. "It really is a nice name. Faith…"
Faith searched around the dark night area of the Yaschas Massif. Suddenly she heard a small growl which made her quickly turn her head. When she listened for it again, the area became quiet. Cautious, she continued walking. Then she heard the growl again. When she looked behind her, she saw a giant behemoth. It stood to it's feet. Faith looked worried at first. She never had to take on one by herself before. She stepped back while keeping her eyes on it. "What should I do now?"
The behemoth growled more as it got ready to attack. Before she knew it, she felt her back hit against something hard. When she looked back, she saw that she was under a lamp post. Her eyes traveled to the behemoth to see that it had stopped. She wondered why it wasn't attacking her until she realized something. "I see. Everywhere around is dark and it doesn't like the light. Well I can't stay here all night, but I can't take on this thing by myself." At that moment, she imagined Lightning and how she would attack the creature. It encouraged her somewhat. "If mom can take down one of these things then all I have to do is do what she would do."
Slowly she began to step from underneath the light as the behemoth kept its eyes on her. When she felt she was ready, she ran off. The behemoth chased after her. It gained more speed and soon jumped in front of her. Faith halted and stepped back. She shot toward the creature with her gunblade, but it didn't seem to affect it that much. She switched her gun to sword form. She dodged and rolled from it stepping on her. She stuck her sword within its chest, but it threw her back against the rock wall. She closed her eyes tight as she was in pain. She couldn't die. Not there. Not yet.
She used her magic to first heal herself and then used it to attack. She managed to hurt the creature a little and make it step back. She took the opportunity while it was distracted and managed to remove her sword from its chest. It swiped at her, but she moved out of the way. She climbed upwards toward a higher cliff. She avoided the swings from the behemoth as she climbed up. She managed to get up higher than it. She stepped toward the edge and jumped. She landed on its back and stuck her sword into its head. The behemoth stepped around a little as Faith continued to have a hold on it by her sword. It fell on the ground dead. Faith pulled her sword out and stood breathing hard. Again she began to hear more growls. "I better get out of here before something else shows up." Soon she took off running.
She made it out of the wildness to a camp set up by the Academy. Curious, she looked around noticing the scientists working. "Hmm…I'm actually somewhere where the Academy is working." She made her way upwards across the wooden bridges.
Underneath a huge open tent, Hope was sitting at a table as he was reading over his notes. While he was working, he heard something from nearby. When he looked over, he became confused. There was nothing there. He stood up. "Hello?"
Soon Faith stepped into his sight. She was surprised once she recognized him. "It's daddy, but he seems older."
Hope was amazed to see her. He never thought he would again after last seeing her in the facility in Palumpolum. "It's you."
Faith's expression had turned into sadness as she remembered that the Hope from her time was killed. Even though it wasn't the right time for her, she was still glad to see him again alive. She rushed toward him and wrapped her arms around his neck. Her head leaned against his shoulder as she closed her eyes. "Daddy," she called out to him with remorse.
And with that, we close out a part of the past and get back to the rest of the story staring after chapter five. The last section of the story is getting back to the time travel and on the mission to save them from dying.
On a side note I was able to finished what I wanted to special for this chapter on my blog.
As always, let me know what you think and I'll be back to update!
