Disclaimer: I don't own YYH or the characters. I also don't own the songs "Syndicate" by The Fray or "Bells of New York City" by Josh Groban. And yes, that last song is the song that I've been longing to write in here, and I have the perfect scene pictured for it. I hope you enjoy!

Also, in addition to trying to work weekly updates for a few of my stories, I'm hoping to also keep you more notified. On my fanfiction profile, I do a monthly update deal and occasionally change the stories in my "Currently Working On" section. I decided that I wasn't doing much with my DeviantArt account except the occasional practice drawing. So now, I'm going to be using it to give you more real time updates. Feel free, if you have or decide to make an account, to search and watch Firestorm1991 (makes it easier to remember, right?). That way, you can know what I'm up to and updating.

A month had passed since that one night Hiei and Botan had spent together, and they had spent many more nights together. It had become a new development in their relationship, neither wanting to spend much time apart. Usually, Hiei would sneak out after Kuwabara turned in for the night, simply to not have to explain himself to the man. After all, he and Botan were both adults, and Hiei had no intention of hurting her, so his roommate's skepticism and questioning insulted him. He would rather avoid confrontation altogether.

Their chemistry had increased even more in their actual relationship and even for rehearsal. Everyone had taken notice of it. Every kiss, every touch, and even when they practiced the scene where Preston undressed Hope and lied her down on the bed all just seemed so natural and true. Of course, they didn't practice the last scene too much for Hiei would always feel the need to continue the scene after rehearsal in private.

Kurama even noticed a change in Hiei's mood. He tried to question his friend about it, but, as usual, Hiei had kept his answers short, clipped, and very cryptic. All he would really tell his nosy friend was that everything was going well. The redhead could only guess at what that meant, but he honestly liked to assume that Botan had been responsible for the change in Hiei. It was a very positive change. Both seemed to be incredibly at ease, so whatever was going on must have calmed the both of them.

That was until Botan found out she was pregnant.

The woman had found this out on her own. Not only had she missed her period, but she had gotten sick one morning after Yukina had left and put two and two together. To be sure, she had cancelled her meeting with her advisor regarding the upcoming recital and went to get a pregnancy test. So now, she was just sitting in the bathroom staring at the positive test and the little plus sign in disbelief. It wasn't a complete shock to her that she was pregnant, though she and Hiei had used protection, but she didn't know how to react to it. She and Hiei were just at the start of their relationship. He already had so much stress regarding the upcoming show. He had been handling it better because he was with her the majority of his free time. Even so, she didn't want to add the idea of a child into the mix, not yet.

Botan made a decision. For now, she would keep it to herself, only for a little while. She wasn't very far along, and besides it could have been a false positive. She planned to get another test sometime after rehearsal, just to make sure. Speaking of, she needed to get to rehearsal very soon. Tossing the test in the trash, she then washed her hands and went off, making her way to the theater. They had a lot of work to do. A proud smile graced her features. Hiei's show was going to be amazing. She just knew it.

"Don't go."

Preston froze on the platform in front of the entrance of a train, looking back to see Hope standing there with tears in her eyes. A sigh escaped him, and he walked away from the vessel. "Hope…I didn't expect to see you," he said softly, stroking her cheek. "I was going to call you when I got settled in."

"Why are you leaving?" she asked, leaning her head into his touch. "I thought we were happy."

He smiled at her, a forced smile, but it appeared genuine to Hope. "We are happy. This is just something I have to do…for us and our future. I tried to get out of it, but my father wouldn't hear of it. It's temporary, Hope. I'll be back, and we can pick up right from where we left off."

"But what about…" She froze as she saw that same impassive mask slip back on his face. "Preston?"

His hand moved to her belly. "I will be back," he promised, his voice devoid of emotion. "I promise."

Though she was uncertain about his tone, his words brought comfort to the woman. But it still wasn't enough, and a part of her told her he was giving up. He was listening to his father doing something he didn't want, but he still had time to fight back. The piano vigorously played an intro before other instruments, drums and guitars, piled on, Hope trying to reason with her lover to convince him to stay. "Halfway around the world lies the one thing that you want," she indicated, knowing that New York was pretty far away, that they wouldn't be together for all that time. "Buried in the ground, hundreds of miles down…

"First thing that arises in your mind while you awake," she predicted, knowing how torn he must be. "It's bending you 'til you break. Let me hold you now."

She embraced him gently, her hands on his cheeks as his eyes remained averted, like he couldn't face her after cowardly giving into a man he detested. "Baby close your eyes, don't open 'til the morning light. Baby don't forget we haven't lost it all yet," the chorus went, Hope trying to renew his vigor, promising that they could still make it through everything together.

Preston turned away from Hope, facing the train once more, his expression pained and defeated. It appeared he really wanted to stay with her. "Don't know what you're made of 'til the one thing that you want is coming with the dawn and suddenly changes," Hope offered to her lover, encouraging him but also questioning him indirectly on what he truly wanted. Either he still wanted to be with her and would show his father what he was made of or he actually wanted to go to New York without her. That thought terrified her. She was starting to feel like she was saying "goodbye."

"Monday, syndicate me, it's everyone the same," Preston interjected bitterly, still sounding like he didn't want to go, that he was convincing himself to do it because of his father and obligations. He didn't want to be controlled by the group he'd be forced to work under and was dreading the separation just as much as his love. Relief washed over Hope. He shook his head, succumbing to defeat. "But all we've lost to the flame…"

"Listen to me now," Hope demanded lightly, the chorus resounding, once again encouraging Preston to stay and reason with his father, stand up to him. She added another argument to her encouragement, and Preston turned back to her smirking. "All we know for sure is all that we are fighting for...baby don't forget we haven't lost it all yet.

"Someday when this is over, we mix it up, no answer," Hope sang, moving to embrace Preston, and he returns her embrace this time. "For now it's when I hold you. We are closer, we are closer."

Preston returned her line, agreeing. "We are closer, we are closer."

Hope once more sang the chorus, Preston walking away from the train, the two ready to fight for their relationship to their families. The guitar played a nice string of notes that held a certain softness that they only felt with each other, both of them echoing that they were closer. Closer to being together and being a family, the piano finishing out the song after Preston one last time said, "We are closer."

The whistle of the train blew the second the song was ended, the conductor calling, "All aboard."

Preston looked back to the train, releasing a heavy sigh. "Hope…I have to go," he told her. Hope's expression became one of fear, but Preston smiled. "But this isn't over. The only reason is I do have to be there for an important meeting, but it doesn't mean I've given up on us. My father is there waiting for me, and I'm going to tell him about us, about us and the kid. I promise, Hope. I'm going to fight for us, just as long as you keep fighting, too."

"I already have," Hope admitted. Preston seemed shocked. "I told my mother the last time Bryson came over for dinner that I would not be marrying him, that there's someone else."

Preston flashed a tight smile. "Was that wise to do, now? Surely it hasn't been easy for you. Your mother must be furious."

Hope laughed at that. "Not as much as she will be when she finds out I'm pregnant. I'll tell her soon." A look of concern flashed over Preston's face. "Preston, what's wrong?" Hope asked when he gave her that look. He didn't answer. Instead, he just embraced her and held her tightly. Strangely enough, his embrace held a certain finality.

"I love you, Hope…I always will."

Hope smiled, ignoring the wistful tremble of his voice. "I love you, too, Preston. I'll wait for you, always."

Preston finally released her, heading to the train, and he cast her one final glance before he went inside and a door slid closed. The stage went dark, the scene finished. The stage crew then came up to change the scenery around to Preston's New York City office, more like his apartment really at the top of the office building. Hiei went to Botan under the darkness of the stage, kissing her cheek and whispering a compliment to her, a simple, "You did well." Botan beamed at him before kissing him on the lips. She had to leave him for a little bit, the next scene primarily being Hiei's big solo. During that scene, a letter would be ready in her voice from below the stage before she actually played along with Hiei's song.

Hiei made his way into his chair, picking up a piece of paper. The lights flared up, a television in the room giving off a fake fire to make the living space homier. He was learning against his desk, snow falling outside the window behind him. Below the stage, Botan was prepared to speak into her small microphone, to read the letter that Hiei held in his hands.

"My beloved Preston," it read. "I have so much to tell you. Though I haven't heard from you, I understand. Recently, I told my mother everything. It became impossible to hide myself any longer even though I'm not so far along. I'll get to that in a moment. My mother was furious and kicked me out, so if you tried to contact me I wasn't there, but I landed a job at the place we met. I made enough to afford a small apartment. In other news, an old friend of mine is moving back to the area. She's so excited for us. I told her all about you. I miss you so much. I wish you were here. I found out the most amazing news. Twins, Preston. We're having twins! I couldn't believe it when I heard the two heartbeats. I wish I could have shared that with you. Hopefully soon I'll have a number to give you, but I hope mail will be enough for now. All my love. Hope."

As soon as Botan finished speaking the lines, Hiei's head dropped as he sank into his chair, and below the pianist turned off the mic she was wearing and readied her fingers over the keys. After a moment of silence, her fingers clashed on the keys loudly, an eerie, mystical sound relaying the tumultuous emotions of Preston while taking place of the grandfather clock, the bell tolling for the man. The flutes entered quite daintily, followed by an eloquent string of notes by the piano accompanied by the horns and brass. The final notes of the intro were held shortly before dissipating.

"There's a pale winter moon in the sky coming through my window," Hiei came in joining the orchestra, his voice soft yet passionate, slowly increasing volume, "and the park is laid out like a bed below. It's a cold, dark night, and my heart melts like the snow…and the bells of New York City tell me not to go…" The piano resounded, the sound of the clock haunting Preston once again before he cried out his frustrations delicately on an elongated "oo," Botan's playing shifting to accompany him and take him where he needed to go.

Hiei got up from his spot at the desk while the instruments played a small interlude. He looked out the makeshift window to look at the snow, his hand pressed firmly on the side panel. His eyes narrowed, his expression sullen. "It's always this time of year that my thoughts undo me with the ghosts of many lifetimes all abound," Hiei sang, symbolizing the torment of past winters with nothing but his broken family for company, "but from these mad heights I can always hear the sound of the bells of New York City singing all around." As if to prove his point, the piano and flutes acted as those bells before another moan on "oo" fled his lips.

He walked across the room, gripping the desk as he looked down at the letter. "Stay with me," he pleaded, "stay with me." His hand grazed over the letter, his eyes glowing in the firelight. "Refuge from these broken dreams." He turned back to the window behind him, gripping the sill tightly, as he imagined watching people walking through the snow-covered park. "Wait right here, oh, wait with me on silent snow-filled streets." A violin ended the line, the note containing a hopeless tinge.

A pause existed as the instruments held their notes, and Hiei took a breath and turned back appearing to be filled with determination, his stance proud and tall. "Sing to me one song for joy and one for redemption," he demanded, tilting his head upward slightly and crossing his arms, "and whatever's in between that I call mine." His voice increased in volume practically shouting out, and his gaze went back to the window, "With the street lamp light to illuminate the gray…

"And the bells of New York City calling me to stay..."

He was taking in the city, the instrumental fury creating a whirlwind, and the fake snow swirled in kind. His voice rang out loud and clear, surrendering to the call. "The bells of New York City…calling me to stay!"

He turned again and grabbed Hope's letter, this time singing the "oo's" for a longer time, the instruments playing along and accompanying the unrestrained emotions Preston was feeling as he tossed the note from his beloved away in the trash, the voice, flutes, and piano holding together until the song ended and the stage was cast in darkness.

Following rehearsal, Botan and Hiei had decided to grab dinner together at a nice Italian place that was on campus. The two had been engaged in light conversation, though it was sort of one-sided considering Hiei was on the other side of it. He listened intently, occasionally grunting and, even rarer, responding with something of substance. Either way, Botan was happy to be with him. Even though the two had slept together, nothing was awkward. Hiei acted as if everything was normal. Honestly, Botan felt like it was regardless, her love for him coming out in her tone and not so much in her words.

Of course, she couldn't help but commend him for his performance. She could hear him so well as he sang along with her playing. Honestly, once the music had ended, Botan had felt awed and honored to be the one to play for him. The two of them made a wonderful team, and yet she had to admit it was because of Hiei's zeal. "You were amazing today," Botan told him, sincere in tone. Hiei paused in eating his salad. "I mean it. You were so passionate in your solo, and it went so well and sounded so beautiful. I think that's the best song in the play, although…" A sadness took over her.

Hiei's brow furrowed. "What is it?" he asked, though he already had assumed what her answer would be, and he was correct.

"It just breaks my heart," she replied, her amethyst eyes on his, and her brow creased in concentration. She was trying to force herself not to break down with emotion. "It just saddens me. It's heart-wrenching to know what your parents went through, and that your father could make that decision…" She had glanced down at the food in front of her, glowering, but then she looked back to her stoic boyfriend and flashed him a weak smile. "But I do feel better knowing that the story will have a happier ending."

Botan went back to eating, not noticing that Hiei's expression grew grim. Yes, he had lied to Botan saying that his parents had been awarded a happy ending. He knew it was the furthest thing from the truth. For a moment, it seemed cruel to let Botan believe it when the ending would prove otherwise. He had to tell her, even if he wasn't ready, and now seemed like the perfect moment. He didn't care about surprising the woman like the rest of the cast. She deserved to know the truth about his life. "Botan…"

Her disarming smile silenced him. "What?" she murmured warmly, her eyes alit with an emotion Hiei couldn't describe or understand. He quickly regretted his decision.

Instead, he reminded her, "Next rehearsal you have your own solo." The finale.

"I know," she giggled. "And I'm excited and all, but come on, Hiei. Can you tell me anything about the final scene?" As a joke she added. "I'm getting a little desperate…and nervous. I need to rehearse it. It took me forever to memorize the other scenes."

Hiei did not trust his voice, so he simply took Botan's hand, both distracting her and reassuring her. She was feeling much better until a wave of nausea washed over her. "Oh no," she moaned weakly.

Her boyfriend's expression was full of confusion. "What's wro-?"

Botan rushed off to the bathroom before Hiei could finish asking his question. As quick as she was, Hiei followed closely behind her, waiting outside the bathroom door. He held it open slightly, not entering, but he needed to make sure his girlfriend wasn't hurt. "Botan?" he called gently. "Are you all right?" His answer came soon after as he heard Botan retching in the public bathroom. Concern flickered across his crimson irises. Was she okay?

The woman took a deep breath after the contents of her stomach had been emptied, her breathing still ragged regardless. She pushed strands of blue from her face and leaned against the cool stall. "I'm fine," she responded quietly before laughing weakly. This wasn't the right time to tell him about the baby, so she added, "Maybe I ate something bad earlier."

Hiei wasn't reassured by that. "I could take you home if you would like," he offered. He didn't care if their meal hadn't come yet. Botan needed to rest, and he was prepared to walk out.

"I think that would be best," Botan sighed. "I'm sorry…"

"Don't apologize for being sick," Hiei admonished. "That's not something you can help. Take your time. I'll go settle the bill for what we have eaten. Then we'll go back to the apartment."

"Okay."

Hiei left her for the moment so she could get her bearings. The further he got away from her, the more his heart ached. He had only ever been around the sick when his mother had been ill, and watching the woman deteriorate had been painful. He knew that Botan probably had a bug, but it did not settle him. Now that he had let her into his life so much, now that he knew what he felt for her, seeing, or rather hearing, her get that sick made his stomach churn with anxiety. He wanted her to be okay. He wouldn't leave her until he knew she was safe at home.

Botan was thankful that Hiei drove her car back to the apartments. She was still feeling a bit queasy and was trying to focus on not getting sick again. She hated the feeling of acid burning her throat. It was a highly unpleasant feeling.

Hiei had led her in after she unlocked the door, Yukina already in for the night. He brought her to her room, Botan immediately climbing into her bed. Hiei kissed her forehead to comfort her, and she smiled cuddling into the blankets. His eyes still conveyed his worry as he asked, "Do you want me to stay with you for the night?"

She reached out for him, still smiling, and hugged his rigid form. As she released him, she voiced, "You've helped me enough for one day. I should be fine by tomorrow for rehearsal; I promise."

Hiei kissed her forehead again, lingering there for a few extra seconds. Botan could feel his warmth and love in the gesture and sighed, relaxing. "Good night, Botan."

"Good night, Hiei," she whispered. He left soon after.

As Hiei left and walked away from the apartments, he couldn't help but feel anxiety towards Botan's condition. His heart still ached at the thought that she was in pain. He couldn't believe that she had brought up rehearsal. She was so selfless, always. It was one of the qualities that he loved about her, but it aggravated him this time. How could she think about him and his show when she was ill and in pain? Heaven help him as he dared to think that she had reminded him so much of both his mother and sister…they had always looked out for his emotional wellbeing even when sick and saddened. Why couldn't any of them focus or have focused on themselves for a change?

He made a mental promise to not overtax his girlfriend the next day. He'd keep her solo on the backburner and focus on scenes where she was barely needed. She could rest that way. If she was going to look out for him, then he would reciprocate and look out for her.

It was the least he could do.

A/N: Hey everyone! I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Just an ending author's note here. I know we're like fourteen chapters in, but I have a question. What do you think about me creating a playlist on YouTube containing the songs I've used in the story? I don't know if I'd be able to find all of the songs, but the idea hit me the other day. Let me know what you think.