In the last chapter, Ami was kidnapped! Oh no! But guess what, in this chapter and next chapter, it'll be more on Ami. It'll be extra chapter next chapter. Can't wait. I've got everything planned already. I agree, the step mother is a real bitch! XD but that's the best part of the story isn't it? And yes, the part where they said I love you was sweet… but we have to pay attention on Ami-chan! So, here's chapter 12.

Chapter 12: Thanks

Mm, what… what happened?

Where am I? What happened last night?

Hang on, I remember. I was on my way home from the clinic. Then someone covered my mouth from behind.

I was kidnapped? Now, I'm tied up on a chair. My hands, legs, everything is tied up. What's going on?

"Ah, so our girl is awake." I hear a voice say. I look up, and see a man smirking.

"Mmphhmmhhmm!" I tried to say. It meant, "What do you want from me? Let me go!"

Unfortunately, my mouth were covered with a cloth. Oh great. Wait, baby. How's my baby.

I look at my belly and it's okay. I sigh in relief.

"Well, Derimi-san has a little message for you." The man says. My eyes open wide. That bitch (Ami-chan, since when do you curse? T.T) was the one who planned all this?

"She says, she won't harm you or your baby until it's out. Why? Because, she wants to look at it, then 'play' with it a little. After all, she is the baby's grandmother."

I shook my head, furious. I hate that bitch. She's really evil. She's a real bitch. I don't know what Papa saw in her.

The man chuckles. "Well now, how about a little food. You hungry?" he asks. I look away.

"My, my, your mother is right. You are a real beauty. Too bad for the baby though." He laughs.

"Here, eat up." He says, bringing a spoon near my mouth. I look away.

"Eat." He says, this time, more forceful.

I kick his feet and he howls in pain.

"Why you…" and he slaps my face, hard and rough.

The slap was pain, there was a red mark on my face.

"Haha, that's what you get for not obeying my rules." He laughs evilly.

"Now, I won't be back till tomorrow morning. So, you stay here and be a good girl, will you?" he say and turning his back on me.

"Now, good night and sleep tight." He chuckles and leaves the room.

What is going on? My baby is kicking me.

"I know, but I don't know how to escape." I told it in my heart.

I remember this place very well. It's the house which onee-chan and I left about a year ago. It's the same one. It was our old house. Our old, ugly memories house.

Oh, onee-chan. Please, come and save me. Please! Onee-chan.

NORMAL POV

"I'm sorry, Amu. I was responsible for Ami's safety, but…" Ikuto's mom says, comforting Amu, who was now crying.

She shook her head. Her voice was trapped in her throat.

"It's alright. We'll find her, don't worry." Ikuto's dad says, patting her shoulder.

She doesn't respond to that. He might be right, but what if Ami is never to be found.

"Who would kidnap a pregnant girl?" Ikuto asks, the idea getting stupid to him.

They thought about it. Slowly, a person's name flashed in Amu's mind. So did Ikuto's.

"It's her." They say.

"Who?" their parents ask.

"The bitch from hell." Ikuto says. His parents glare at him.

"He's right." Amu says, her voice back. "She's the one."

"Derimi."

IN AMI'S PLACE

Ami didn't know what to do. She looked at the watch on the table near hers. It's almost dawn, she thought.

Suddenly, she felt something wet under her.

"Oh no." She says. "Oh no, oh no!" she yells.

Her water broke. Which meant, it was time.

"Shit. Shit!" she cursed. How is she suppose to…

That's it. Make noises. She saw the table. She kicked the table and it fell on the floor. Good, that's what she needed. Noise.

Then, she dragged her chair to the wall. Kicking it furiously to make louder noises, she kept kicking.

She slowly fell weak. And then, her belly felt pain.

"Ow!" she yelled. But she didn't give up. She continued to kick the wall and drag her chair.

OUTSIDE

"God, who is making that noise?" A husky voice says.

A man was outside the door. He heard the noises from inside. And he was sleeping.

"Arghh! Is this what I get for working late hours?" he asks, angrily. Knocking on the door, he calls, "Hey, do you mind? Some people need sleep!"

Ami heard the knock. Yes, she was heard. She continued to make the noises.

"Oh my god! Do you not understand English?" he asks angrily. Then he saw an open window.

He went to look at it and saw a girl. A young girl. She was tied around a chair, kicking on the wall. And she was also howling in pain.

"What the hell?" the man asks. Ami looks behind and she saw him.

Please, help me. She thought.

It seemed he heard her, he quickly jumps into the window and ran to her.

"Are you alright?" he asks. She nods. Then he notices her chair.

"It's wet. Don't tell me… you're pregnant?" he asks. She nods again.

Suddenly, her belly felt pain. It was the baby kicking her, asking for freedom. She howls in pain again.

"Okay, calm down. Hang on, hang on. Okay, I'm a doctor okay? I've helped loads of mothers give birth to their children. So I need you to trust me, okay?" he asks.

She now looks at him. His brownish black eyes asking for approval. Then she nods.

"Alright. Let me just get your rope cut, and get some hot water. Guess we have to do this the traditional way." He laughs at his private joke. Then he looks back at her.

"Right, I forgot." He leaves and comes back with a bucket.

"My sister will be here soon. You must trust the both of us, alright? And during the whole process, stay calm." He says. Ami nods.

"I will trust you," her voice like pure honey spilling out.

"Okay, so, let's get ready?" he asks. She nods.

AMI POV

The whole thing went on without me realizing. I was crying in pain the whole time.

It seemed like hours. I could see the sunlight rising already. And we're still here.

Suddenly, I heard a cry. It was… my baby.

"It's a girl." The man announces, smiling.

I look up and smile too. My baby girl.

Then… I must have blacked out. Coz, everything around me was dark and quiet. But I don't really want to wake up. I want to sleep.

NORMAL POV

"You mean you've caught the person who kidnapped her?" Amu asks the person on the phone excitedly. It was the police.

"Yes, I understand. Where is she now?" Amu asks, silent for a reply.

"Alright. Thank you very much!" she says.

"Ikuto! Ikuto!" Amu calls him, running to the hall.

He looks up from the paper and laughs when she jumps on him.

"They've found her! They've found Ami!" Amu says happily. Ikuto smiles.

"That's wonderful. Where is she?" He asks, kissing her forehead.

"Hokkaido."

AMI POV

I woke up and I was in a room which I didn't know. Actually, only my senses woke up, but not my eyes. They remained shut.

I groan, my head feeling heavy. I can't remember what happened last night. Suddenly, I felt some warmness on my cheeks.

"You alright?" the voice asks. It's familiar.

Slowly, I open my eyes and see a young man, around his 20's but perhaps older than me. More like Ikuto-kun. His hair was black. It was spiky and very silky. His eyes were dark brown. He had a tall figure. He was wearing a white coat. There was an identification card pinned on the pocket of his coat.

"Where am I?" I ask. My voice was a little croaky but maybe its because my throat's dry.

"You're in the hospital." He replies. He opens the window binds and I see sunlight.

"What time is it?" I ask again. He looks at his watch. "Mid-afternoon." He says.

I pat my belly and it felt, flat. There wasn't anything there. Which could only mean…

"Where's my baby?" I ask, worried a little. I pull the sheets up and check inside. The man, who actually looked very serious chuckled lightly.

"You won't be finding her down there. Don't worry, she's at home. And I'm taking you home too." He says.

"Home? Am I in Tokyo?" I ask, confused. He shakes his head.

"You're in Hokkaido." He says and then he pours some water for me.

"Well, I've contacted the police and they've caught your kidnapper. Funny, someone would kidnap a pregnant lady." He laughs and I just giggle a bit.

"So you were the man who saved me." I said. He nods.

"Thank you for your help. I don't know what happened if you didn't come over." I said, looking down.

He laughs again. "Well, if you hadn't kicked the table and dragged your chair so noisily, I guess I would have been sleeping soundly."

"Sorry for waking you up." I mumbled. He laughs.

"You're one funny girl." He says. I blushed. Looking up, I saw him. I realized he was actually very good looking. He seems approachable. Although, he looked very serious in the first place…

"Well, can I go now?" I ask. He shakes his head.

"Nope, you've gotta wait till evening because, you need some rest and I can't leave work until evening."

"Oh, you're a doctor here?" I ask.

"Yeah. Waiting for more pregnant women to come over to this hospital so I can get their babies out." He laughs and I laugh too.

"But for now, I would like to learn more about you." He says.

I blushed. The way he said it was very… intimate.

"I'm Ami Hinamori. I'm 21. I'm from Tokyo. The place you found me, that was my old house. I used to live in that house, until I moved."

"I haven't seen you before. Maybe its because I'm new here. I just came about 2 months ago." He says. I nod. "We left almost a year ago." I say.

"Ah." He replies.

"What about you?" I ask. Even though we've been talking for a pretty long time, but I haven't got to know his name. Or whoever he is.

"I'm Maki Dakuto." He says. "I work here. And I brought you here, to get some treatment." He says briefly.

"That's not enough." I say. He looks at me. "Well, you haven't really given me much information about you either." He says.

"I've told you about…5 things about me." I reasoned. He chuckles.

"You're weird." He says. I pout. No one ever calls me that.

"First you said I was funny, now you say I'm weird. What am I?" I ask. He looks at me, thinking about it.

"You're someone I found in the deserted house and I helped save her baby." He says.

"Oh! Where is she?" I ask, referring to the baby.

"Don't worry. She's at home. My sister's looking after her." He says. I give a sigh of relief.

Now we're silent again. I want to start a conversation, but I don't know what to say.

He's staring at me now. And I try to look away.

"Is there something wrong?" I ask. I look up and down. Nothing.

"Nope. I just thought you were… never mind." He says.

"What?" I ask, curious.

"Nothing. I just said never mind." He repeats, looking away. Now it was my turn to stare at him. The more I looked, the more I felt a tiny spark in between us. Does he feel it too?

"Why you staring, pervert?" he asks. I snap. Did he just…

"You're the pervert, you were staring at me too." I retort. He just pretends he didn't hear anything.

"You're pretty cold, for a doctor." I say.

"Really? You're the only person who says that." He replies. "Well, that's good. Perhaps I'm the only sane person among others." I say. He laughs.

"Well, whatever it is, just wait here till evening, I'll come pick you up later." He says. I just nod.

As he leaves the room, I look around. Boring… there's no TV, no radio or anything fun to do.

I might as well, close my eyes again, even though I'm not sleepy.

But in the end, I doze off.

NORMAL POV

In the courtroom…

"Derimi Hinamori is sentenced to death!" the judge announces. Everyone gasps. Everyone but Amu and Ikuto.

Ikuto was holding Amu's hand tightly. She was pokerfaced. He knew she wanted to strangle that person immediately, but she tried to stay calm.

The lady's face turns pale.

"Decision is final. No more changes will be made." The judge says. Amu and Ikuto nods.

"Somehow, even if she dies, I wouldn't really forgive her." Amu says as they get into the car.

"Mmhmm. But who cares, at least she got what she deserved." Ikuto says. She smiles and nods.

"So, when do we want to pick Ami up?" he asks.

"Tomorrow morning. I miss her. It's almost a week now hasn't it?" she asks. He nods back.

AMI POV

My baby's name is Seira. Seira Hinamori. I'm staying with Maki-san and his sister Erin.

Erin and Maki-san has been very nice people. Although, Maki-san could be a pain sometimes, but he has a good heart.

The whole time I stayed with them, I felt a connection with him. There was something about him, which I have never felt before. I'm not too sure what it is…

Maki-san is now with me, in my room. I'm singing Seira to sleep while he sits next to me. I had one hand on Seira's back and the other on the bed. His hand was very close to mine.

When I confirmed Seira was asleep, I put a finger on my lips. Maki-san nods.

I had eyes on Seira when I felt Maki-san's fingers brush my hand. I blushed. There was a little static to it.

"Sorry." He whispers. I shook my head.

He stood up and opened the door. Then I follow him from behind.

Erin was away for the night. She was out with her friends so it was just the 3 of us home.

I went to the balcony. The cool breeze tickled my skin. My brown hair followed the wind. Maki-san stood by my side, his hands on the railing.

"Maki-san, thank you, for everything really." I say, looking at him. He looks back at me. Then, his face crinkles into a smile.

"It's nothing really. I don't mind." He replies. His voice was the same cold tone he normally used, but I knew he meant it nicely.

We were standing very close to each other, I think almost touching. I blushed at the thought of that.

Suddenly, he takes my hand. At first, he hesitates. Then slowly, he takes it and hold it tightly.

I blushed. "Maki-san?"

His eyes gaze into mine. Slowly, he comes closer to me. My face continues to burn. I'm not looking away this time. I'm just waiting for him to do something.

I was waiting for him to kiss me. To gently put his lips on mine. To hold me closer to him.

And he does it. His mouth opening wide. I don't hesitate. I just pull him closer to me.

It seemed like hours when we broke from the kiss. I look at him again and he does the same. He gently strokes my face and kisses me briefly.

"Ami…" he whispers. His warm hand around my waist, our face so close I can feel his hot breath.

"Maki-san." I whisper back. And that night, I felt so happy when I went back to sleep.

THE NEXT DAY

NORMAL POV

Amu knocks on the door with Ikuto, slumping on the wall.

"Sleepy." He says. She gently touches his face.

"I'm sorry. I promise, you'll get some when we get home." She says, smiling. He smirks.

"I don't wanna sleep just yet. I wanna touch you and kiss you and…"

"Shut up, pervert." She giggles.

"Excuse me." a small voice says. The two look behind. A girl with black hair and wide eyes was jumping excitedly.

"Oh my god! It's… It's… Ikuto Tsukiyomi-sama!" she exclaims. "And you're Amu Tsukiyomi!" she says.

Amu blushes. She wasn't really used to the name Tsukiyomi, but she felt happy when she was called that way.

"Yeah. Do you live in this house?" Ikuto asks.

The girl nods.

"Why yes, yes I do. I live with my brother." She says.

"Is my sister living with you too?" Amu asks, nervous.

The girl looks at her, confused. "Sister? Do you mean… Ami?"

Amu nods excitedly. "Yes. Ami's here isn't she? I've got a report from the police. It said you found her in our old house."

"Mm, actually, my brother did. Come on in." she takes a key from her handbag and opens the door.

"Onii-chan! I'm home!" she yells. Footsteps could be heard from upstairs.

"Shh, you'll wake the baby and Ami." He hushes her. Then he sees Amu and Ikuto.

"Are you Ami's sister?" he asks. She nods.

He comes down and greets them. "I'm Maki. Ami's still asleep. Unless you want me to wake her up…" he says.

"No, no. It's fine." She says. "I'll go up myself." She says and heads up. Ikuto follows and so does Maki.

"Right here." Maki gestures to a room and open the door. Ami was awake, her brown hair messy and she was carrying a little baby.

"Ami." Amu says. Ami looks up and she quickly runs to her sister.

"Onee-chan!" she cries out. Amu's tears flowed down without warning. She quickly wipes them off.

"Is this the little one?" Amu asks, wanting to hold the baby.

Ami nods. "Her name's Seira." She passes it to her sister and her sister cradles the baby. Ikuto stands beside her and smiles as Amu cooed the baby.

"Ami, she's gone." Amu says, still holding the baby.

Ami stood frozen. Then she smiles.

"Okay. That's good." She replies.

"As in gone, I mean gone." Amu says. Ami nods. "I understand."

DOWNSTAIRS

"Thanks Erin, for all your help. I appreciate it." Ami says, holding Erin's hands.

Erin smiles. "It's okay. I hope you come back to visit more." She says.

Ami nods, then looks at Maki. "I will."

Erin knew what it meant, and so did Amu. They quickly leave the two alone.

"So… you're leaving." Maki says.

Ami nods. Her bangs were blown to her eyes. She tries to shove them off but Maki had his hands on them already.

"Maki-san…" Ami says. The two just continue gazing back at each other.

"Ami, if you need anything, just call me. I'll come to you. I promise." Maki says, gently touching her cheeks. She nods.

"Maki-san, I…" she doesn't finish that sentence because Maki had headed for her lips.

They don't let go for a while, and when they do, Ami looks at him.

"I love you." Maki says.

Ami smiles happily. She understood now what she felt. That connection between them.

"I love you too." She says, and they kiss once again.

IN THE CAR

"So, Ami…" Ikuto says as he starts the car.

"Tell us about your prince charming." Amu says, grinning from ear to ear.

Ami blushes. "He's just someone who saved me." she says briefly.

"And you kiss the person who saves you." Amu says, looking at her niece and playing with her. The baby laughs in excitement.

Ami remains silent, smiling to herself.

"He's someone. Someone who cares for me." she smiles, the thought of Maki making her happy.

(I love the ending. Congratz Ami :D)