Disclaimer: I don't own Gakuen Alice or Kyou Kara Maou.

Chapter 12: Her Pregnancy

Hotaru picked out their home. It was a large, three bedroom home with an underground basement that was converted into a lab. This way, Hotaru would be able to work mostly at home. For large projects, she would have to rent a space, but that wouldn't be very often. With all the money Hotaru had been making and hoarding during school, they had no problem purchasing the home.

Upon moving in, Hotaru immediately began working on new projects, and selling inventions to her loyal companies, usually the ones with the highest bid. Ruka enrolled into a veterinary program at a local university. Mikan was permitted by Hotaru to have a temporary part time job at a local café.

The home was rather comfortable. Mikan was lying on the couch at home since it was one of her days off work. "Work is hard…" Mikan whined to no one in particular. Ruka was in class and Hotaru was working hard down in her lab. Mikan gazed at her swollen fingers. I guess they are pretty swollen.

Mikan's fingers and feet had been swelling a little due to her pregnancy. It wasn't anything real noticeable, but it made the already clumsy Mikan even more clumsy. At work she had already broken three cups and spilled tea on two customers. As Mikan lied on the couch, she began to cry.

At first, the tears began from thinking about her horrible clumsiness. However, they quickly grew into tears of heartache. She missed Natsume so much. It had already been a month since his death, and she wasn't taking it much better. The hormones didn't help.

Hotaru opened the lead door from the lab. Immediately she heard Mikan's sobs. She's at it again… Hotaru scowled but didn't make a comment. She quickly made a cup of hot tea and brought it over to the sobbing girl on the couch.

Upon smelling the deliciousness, Mikan's sobs quieted. She hadn't heard Hotaru come out of the lab, so was thoroughly surprised to see the woman standing above her. Mikan attempted a weak smile, and solemnly accepted the tea. "Thank you…" Mikan managed to mutter. Hotaru simply nodded. Mikan made room for Hotaru to sit on the couch, and Hotaru gladly took the seat. She placed one arm around the thin shoulders beside her. "It will get better."

The days passed slowly. Mikan's stomach grew a little more round each day. Mikan looked forward to dinners with Hotaru and Ruka. Ruka always had exciting stories to tell about his classes and classmates. Mikan would always listen with wide eyes. Hotaru only cared about the detailed technical information.

Every week that passed Mikan got a little more used to her pregnancy. Occasionally, someone new would notice her pregnancy and congratulate her, which always made Mikan smile and a pain strike her heart. Mikan's job at the café became a bit easier as she learned to deal with the customers and the drinks.

Every day that Mikan had off work, she tried to occupy herself at home. Sometimes she would lie on the couch and slip into memories as she gazed at her engagement ring. Since her fingers were swollen, Mikan wore the ring on a necklace and seldom took it off her neck. On those days, either Hotaru or Ruka would find Mikan sobbing and comfort her.

Months passed this way. Six months into Mikan's pregnancy, they began preparing for the baby. Mikan was only allowed to work two days a week now. Hotaru was extremely strict on how much energy Mikan used. The third bedroom in the house had not been used since it was reserved for the baby.

"Hotaru…" Mikan started one night during dinner, "We can start decorating the baby room now, right?" Hotaru thought for a moment. "Sure. That's a good idea. You are welcome to decorate it as you wish. I'll give you an allowance." Mikan smiled. She knew she could never afford the baby by herself.

"Are you going to help me decide?" Mikan questioned the silent woman. Hotaru shook her head. "Babies aren't my business. If you want help, ask him." Hotaru noted, pointing to Ruka who had been silent. "I think that's a great idea, Mikan!" Ruka exclaimed, excited that he was going to be included in something.

"Will you really help me, Ruka-pyon?" Mikan's eyes grew wide with pleasure. She loved spending time with the blonde. Ruka was busy with school a lot, plus he was often more fun than Hotaru. Ruka nodded back with a pleasant smile. "Of course! We can start making plans this weekend." Mikan tittered with excitement.

That weekend, Mikan and Ruka began making plans for the baby room. "I want to paint the walls a boy color." Mikan ranted to Ruka while they were looking through paint samples. Ruka nodded in agreement. "Did you ever ask the doctor if it was going to be a boy for sure?" Mikan shook her head. "I don't have to. I just know." Ruka didn't argue with Mikan, she was stubborn and wasn't going to change her mind. I guess we'll see when the baby comes.

Ruka found picked a few paint samples and showed them to Mikan. "This bluish-gray is Eminence, this blue has a bit of a green tint and is Shallow Sea, and this is greener than blue and is Gem Turquoise, then there is this soft bluish gray and is Tender Twilight. Do you want to continue in this area or stray towards different color shading?" Ruka questioned Mikan, but she wasn't listening anymore.

Mikan's hazel eyes were intently staring at one of the colors in his hands. "This is it!" Mikan shouted as she yanked one of the colors out of Ruka's hands. Ruka chuckled. "Okay then." He went up to the clerk. "I'd like eleven liters of Gem Turquoise please."

Since Mikan wasn't supposed to inhale dangerous fumes like paint, Ruka ended up painting the entire room that weekend. Occasionally, Mikan would wander in to inspect the work. The color was so beautiful on the walls. Mikan could only imagine how great the room would look once they had the room set up. It's going to be so pretty!

Exhausted from painting, Ruka didn't want to do anything else that weekend. "That's okay, Ruka-pyon! Thank you for painting! Can we go shopping next weekend?" Mikan's hazel orbs looked eagerly into Ruka's tired blue ones. He couldn't resist her childish happiness. It was too rare these days. "Of course! Just don't work me too hard or I won't be able to pass my classes!" Ruka joked.

At work that week Mikan couldn't stop talking about the baby room to be. All her co-workers were exhausted from all the baby talk. However, they did seem to notice that she had a childish happiness about her so they didn't complain.

Hotaru came up from her lab on one of Mikan's days off. Please don't let her be crying again. Hotaru hoped as she opened the lead door. Mikan was seated on the couch again. Hotaru closed her violet eyes and pleaded. No… please… this can't continue. She opened them and prepared for the task of comforting Mikan. However, to Hotaru's surprise, Mikan wasn't crying.

"Hi, Hotaru! How are you doing?" Mikan beamed up at her best friend with a brilliant smile. Hotaru couldn't resist smiling back. "Fine. I'm almost done with a new invention. I already have 100 bids on it, but I'll probably get a better bid from one of my contractors once it's finished." She took a seat in a nearby chair.

"That's great!" Mikan enthusiastically added. Hotaru was puzzled. "What are you up to?" Hotaru questioned. Mikan visibly got excited. "Oh! I'm thinking about what I'd like to do to decorate the baby room, see?" Mikan held out a magazine with lots of circles and exes marked all over the pages. Hotaru chuckled. "I see. Is Ruka going to help you shop?" Mikan nodded. "Yeah! He's so great to do these things. He's really good at shopping and stuff." Hotaru laughed. "Yeah, he sure is."

Speaking of the devil, Ruka came home. He noticed the girls in the living room and got a bad feeling, but he was immediately relieved when he saw them smiling. He joined the party.

That weekend, Mikan and Ruka went shopping for baby supplies. At the local baby store, Mikan picked out a beautiful crib, a matching changing table, and a matching dresser. After finding the main pieces, Mikan dragged Ruka all over the store picking out clothes for a baby boy.

"Ruka-pyon! Look at this! Isn't it adorable?" Ruka stared at the miniature sailor suit and just nodded in reply. This poor child… "Look! Over there!" Mikan rushed over to a display of flashing ducks. "Look! They flash in the bathtub! We need lots of these." Ruka followed the excited brunette over to the ducks and inspected them. "Yeah, they are pretty cute." He touched the heat sensors on the bottom of a duck and it flashed in multiple colors. "Look! Over there!" Mikan rushed off to another part of the store.

The two left the store with Ruka carrying bags upon bags upon bags of baby stuff. The large pieces were being delivered later that week. Ruka groaned as they trotted home.

The day the furniture arrived, Mikan spent the day in the baby's room decorating it and putting thing away. Hotaru was in her lab and Ruka was at school. The baby is going to love this room! He's going to look so cute in all of his new clothes! Even Hotaru and Ruka like what I bought, so I know I'm not entirely crazy.

Mikan sighed as she took a break and sat on the floor. I wonder if the baby is going to look more like me, or Natsume? As Mikan thought of Natsume again, tears began to fill up in her eyes. She rubbed her round stomach, soothing the baby living inside. I wish you could meet your daddy, little one… you would have loved him, just as I do.

When Ruka came home from class, he didn't see Mikan or Hotaru in the kitchen or living room. He knew Mikan didn't have work today, so he was a little worried. He opened the lead door leading to Hotaru's lab and went in. Hotaru didn't look up from her work. "What do you want?" Ruka didn't argue with her tone. "Have you seen Mikan? She wasn't in the living room." Hotaru shrugged. "I think the baby stuff came in today, maybe she's upstairs."

Ruka nodded. "That makes sense. Do you want to check on her with me?" Hotaru sighed but gave a nod and followed Ruka upstairs. They didn't hear any noises coming from the baby room and wondered what Mikan could possibly have been doing quietly.

Hotaru opened the door and gasped. Mikan was lying on the floor in a puddle of tears. She was still grasping some baby clothes in one hand, while the other while lying on her stomach. Ruka and Hotaru rushed to her side. "Mikan, are you okay? Do you hurt anywhere?" Ruka frantically asked her, worried something might be wrong. Mikan shook her head. "I-I'm fine… I just… miss… Natsume…" The name barely a whisper on her lips as she burst into tears again. Hotaru nodded at Ruka. I knew it. Ruka took the hint and carefully carried Mikan to her bedroom and placed her on her bed.

Hotaru and Ruka soothed Mikan until she fell asleep. They then went downstairs to begin dinner preparations. They didn't say anything to each other. They didn't have to.