Chapter 14
Week 28 of Gatomon's pregnancy. Patamon thought that he had learned to control his nightmares, but the same nightmare of Gatomon giving birth to their daughter and then dying afterwards repeated almost every night, and it was driving Patamon crazy. He decided to not mention anything about this to Gatomon since he didn't want to worry her. Instead, he decided to speak with T.K. and Kari and see if they could help him. "Hmm... Recurring nightmares, eh?" Kari asked, and Patamon nodded. "When you see the same dream over and over again, it usually means something. Is there something that you've forgotten to do?" "N-no, at least I think so." Patamon replied honestly. "Maybe it's something in your subconscious mind." Kari suggested. "Try to think hard: Is there anything you think might have caused all this?" "Well, not really." Patamon muttered. "Well, other than... I'm just really worried about Gatomon and the baby in general. I don't want anything bad happen to them." "That's completely normal." T.K. stated. "It's because you love them so much. I wouldn't want anything bad happen to Kari, either." Kari smiled a bit, but didn't say anything. "Well, thanks anyway guys." Patamon thanked. "Now if you excuse me, I need to see how my love is doing." "Okay. See you later." T.K. said. "Bye bye!" Kari exclaimed, and Patamon left.
Gatomon wasn't really doing that well either. Her leg cramps and the pain in her lower back had started to get worse due to her increasing girth, not to mention she experienced minor itching. "Euurgh..." Gatomon groaned while trying to scratch her back. "Have I got lice or something?" "Honey, I'm home!" Patamon said after he returned home. "Hi there..." Gatomon muttered while still trying to scratch her back. "Umm, are you alright?" Patamon wondered. "Not really." Gatomon admitted. "My back's itching like there's no tomorrow, and I can't reach my back-" "Hold on." Patamon said, and then started massaging Gatomon's back. "Oh!" Gatomon yelped out of surprise. Patamon rubbed her back for a while. "Feeling any better?" Patamon asked. "Mmmm..." Gatomon murmured and purred happily. "Yeah, the itch is all gone, and so is the minor back pain I had. Thanks Patamon, you're so good at this." "Well, thank you for the compliment." Patamon thanked. He looked a little self-satisfied. "You really know how to make your girl feel better." Gatomon stated. "And I think that the baby agrees as well." She added after feeling the baby lightly kicking her belly. Patamon smiled, and said "It's only because I love you so much." "I love you too." Gatomon replied, and kissed him.
"Hmm." Kari mumbled. She was sitting at a desk, holding a pencil. There was a sheet of paper on the desk. "Let's see now..." "Kari?" Asked T.K, who had just stepped in the room. "Yeah?" Kari replied. "May I ask you, what are you doing?" T.K. wondered. "I'm planning the baby shower." Kari explained. "E-eh?" T.K. wondered. "Umm, don't you think it's a little too early to think about things like that? I mean, you're not even pregnant yet or anything-" "I wasn't talking about myself, dummy!" Kari giggled. "I mean the baby shower for Gatomon!" "Aah." T.K. said, finally understanding what Kari meant. "I see. Is there anything I could do to help you out?" "Not at the moment, thanks." Kari replied. "I'm still at the developing stage." "Hmm... I think I should plan something for Patamon as well." T.K. stated. "You mean, so you girls can have fun without us making fun of you." Kari looked at him funnily, but remained quiet. "Hmm, let's see... Who should I invite?" Kari thought. "Usually you invite the friends and family of the mother-to-be, but I don't think that any of Gatomon's relatives are alive anymore, other than Gina, who's... Not well." Kari sighed quietly. "Poor Gatomon... She's lost all of her family." She tapped the pen a couple times. "Oh well, at least she's got a loving boyfriend with her." Kari smiled slightly as she started writing on the piece of paper.
"Damn it..." Patamon cursed after waking up from yet another nightmare. "What's wrong with me? Every night I see this very same nightmare... And there's nothing I can do about it!" He was sitting on his bed, lost in his thoughts. "But... WHY is it always the same nightmare?" Patamon wondered. "Is this some sort of sign? Or... Or am I just going completely insane?" Patamon sighed quietly and climbed out of the bed. "I'll have to get that out of my head." He muttered while walking down the steps. "I just have to think of something else... It's just a ridiculous nightmare. Gatomon's here, alive and well." Gatomon indeed was alive, sitting at the kitchen table and drinking coffee. "Morning." Patamon greeted her, and gave her a kiss to the cheek. "Hello." Gatomon replied. "How are you feeling today?" Patamon asked. "We're both fine, thanks." Gatomon said as the baby kicked her stomach. "That's great." Patamon said happily. Suddenly, the phone rang. "I'll get it." Patamon said as Gatomon was about to stand up, and grabbed the phone. "Hello?" He answered to the phone. "Yes, this is Patamon speaking- Oh, hiya T.K! Yeah, we're fine, thank you. So why did you call me? ...Oh, really? Okay then, I'll be there in a minute. See ya!" Patamon hung up, and put the phone back on the table.
"It was T.K." Patamon explained. "He asked me to come over to his apartment for some reason." "I see." Gatomon said. "Well, see you later then." "Yeah, bye." Patamon replied, kissed Gatomon and gently patted her belly before leaving. "Well, looks like it's just you and me then." Gatomon said to the baby, not being sure whether or not the baby understood. "I guess we could do some mother and daughter-stuff together, heh heh..." Gatomon soon heard the doorbell ringing. "Hmm? I wonder who it is... Did Patamon return already?" She went to open the door, and much to her surprise Kari was standing outside. "Hi, Gatomon!" Kari said cheerfully. She was carrying two packages in one hand and a huge plastic bag in the other. "Kari?" Gatomon asked out of surprise. "Can I come in?" Kari wondered. "O-oh, sure!" Gatomon replied. "Come on in! What are you doing here?" "Well, I've organized a little... Surprise for you." Kari explained with a suspicious smile. "Just sit down for a while and relax, the others will come soon enough." "The others?" Gatomon muttered. "Who are you talking about?" "Only Biyomon, Palmon, Sora, Mimi and Yolei." Kari replied. "...What exactly is this surprise you've planned?" Gatomon inquired. "Just a small thing called baby shower." Kari explained. "It's a celebration held for the soon to be mother by her friends and family. We'll give presents for the baby and just relax and have fun together." "Kari, I... I..." Gatomon started. She was touched by Kari's kindness, and a tear dropped from her eye. "Thanks." "You're welcome." Kari replied happily.
While Gatomon's baby shower was being held in her and Patamon's house, T.K. decided to throw a party in Patamon's honour, partly as a reason to celebrate the soon to be father Patamon, partly in order to let the girls have their own party so that they could act as 'girly' as sentimental as they want without the boys teasing them or making any comments. All of the male DigiDestined, their digimon partners and Hawkmon showed up at T.K's aparment, each bringing their own food and drinks. "Alrighty then," T.K. started after everyone arrived, and clapped his hands together. "I guess we can start the party now." "Alright!" Davis, Veemon, Tai and Matt cheered, and everyone else looked excited as well... Apart from Ken, who was sitting in a corner, moping and sighing every once in a while. T.K. and Patamon both noticed this. "Hey, what's wrong with Ken?" T.K. asked Davis. "He's been like that for quite a while now..." "Is his past as the Digital Emperor tormenting him again?" Patamon wondered. "Oh, it's not that." Davis started, looked at Ken, and hesitated for a moment before eventually telling what's going on. "Umm... Ken and Yolei got in a really flaming argument a week ago, and now, well, Ken's afraid that he's lost Yolei for good." "Aww, poor Ken." Patamon said sympathetically. "What were they arguing about, anyway?" T.K. wondered. "Well, Yolei said that Ken was neglecting her, while Ken claimed that Yolei had no idea what he was going through or how busy he was at the time, and..." Davis explained. "Oh." T.K. muttered. "Maybe we should try to cheer him up." Patamon suggested. "Wormmon has already tried that, but Ken's so heartbroken he won't listen." Veemon sighed. "I do hope that he and Yolei get back together." T.K. said. "We all do." Cody stated as they looked at the depressed Ken.
The female DigiDestined, Palmon and Biyomon had also already started the celebration at Gatomon's house. Yolei seemed to be the exact opposite when compared to Ken: She was loud, eneregetic and optimistic. Or at least that's how she acted: Kari told Gatomon about Yolei and Ken's argument. "What?" Gatomon exclaimed. "Shh!" Kari whispered. "Oh, sorry." Gatomon apologized quietly. "But... Just look at Yolei! Judging by her actions, there's no way to tell she had broken up with Ken." "I know." Kari said with a sigh. "She's just trying to cover her sadness, but she acts way too cheerful to be believable." "I see." Gatomon muttered. "Do you think that she misses Ken?" "I'm sure of it." Kari stated. "But you know how stubborn Yolei is: She won't get back together with Ken unless he crawls back to her and apologises first." The two remained silent for a while, until Gatomon felt the baby kicking again. "Hmm, she seems to be excited about you girls coming here." Gatomon said happily. Kari smiled, and said "That's so nice. Would you want to drink something?" "Thanks, but I can get it myself-" Gatomon started. "Hey, this is your day, Gatomon." Kari interrupted. "Just sit back and enjoy yourself. We'll do everything for you." "Please not everything!" Gatomon begged. "Because I want to have some fun myself as well, not you guys to have fun FOR me!" They all laughed for a while. "Come on gals!" Yolei cheered. "Let's play something!"
Meanwhile, at T.K's house, everyone else was partying while Davis and T.K. tried to cheer Ken up. "Hey, c'mon Ken!" Davis started and slapped Ken's back. "You've got to cheer up and have some fun! Yolei dumped you, so what! There's plenty of fish in the ocean, you'll get yourself a new girl in no time-" "You don't understand." Ken whispered. "I, I don't want a new girl... I want Yolei. I love her." "I know, I know." T.K. said gently. "I understand you perfectly. I would never want to leave Kari, for example." "Well, maybe you should try to talk with Yolei." Davis suggested. Ken just snorted coldly. "Never." He muttered. "Girls always expect the guy to be the one who'll eventually crawl back to them, but not this time! Unless Yolei comes to me and apologises first, we're over!" "I see." T.K. said in a suprisingly cold tone. He glared at Ken with a contemptuous look on his face. "So you put your pride ahead of love? That's just pathetic. I don't think you really love Yolei..." "Y-yes I do." Ken said and sighed. "I just want her to prove that she loves me..." "She does." T.K. stated. "Deep in your heart, you know that." "Maybe you're right..." Ken mumbled. "Come on buddy, cheer up and have some fun!" Davis said. "Forget about your worries for today, you'll eventually get Yolei back." "You know what, maybe you're right." Ken said with a small smile on his face that made both T.K. and Davis happy. He stood up from the chair, looking really confident. "I'll have to drag myself out of this depression." "That's the spirit!" Davis said, and slapped Ken's back again. Ken just smiled as he grabbed a glass of lemonade.
Gatomon's baby shower ended at 1:00 A.M. The guests left one by one, until only Gatomon and Kari were left. "Phew..." Gatomon sighed, and sat down on the couch. "I'm so tired." "Well, at least you don't have to clean all this mess up." Kari said optimistically. "E-eh?" Gatomon asked. "I'll do the cleaning for you." Kari explained. "Oh, no, you really don't have to-" Gatomon started. "I insist." Kari said. Gatomon hesitated for a while, but eventually gave up. She yawned, and stretched her arms. "Boy... I think I'm going to bed now." "Well, good night then." Kari said to her. Someone suddenly knocked on the door. "Hmm? I wonder who it is..." Kari went to open the door. "Hiya Kari!" Said T.K, who was standing outside with Patamon. "I just came to bring Patamon here and pick you up." "Aah, I see." Kari muttered, and looked at Patamon. "Gatomon already went to the bedroom." "I see." Patamon said, took off and flew upstairs. "So... Shall we get going?" T.K. asked Kari. "Sorry, I can't go yet." Kari replied. "I promised Gatomon I'd clean up all this mess so she wouldn't have to." "Aah, I see." T.K. muttered. "I can help you if you want." "Aww, thanks T.K." Kari thanked. "You're so sweet..." "Anything for you, my love." T.K. replied, kissed Kari and then started cleaning the house with her. Meanwhile, Patamon was having a small conversation with Gatomon. "Did you have fun?" He wondered. "I sure did." Gatomon replied happily. "What about you? Did you drink again?" "Nope." Patamon said. "I promised you I'll never drink again." "That's my Patamon." Gatomon whispered and gave him a good night kiss.
The next day, all of the Junior DigiDestined were having a meeting, which meant that both Yolei and Ken showed up. While they acted completely normal like nothing had happened, the others felt the tension between the two. One by one, Davis, T.K, Kari and Cody came up with excuses in order to leave the room, until only Yolei and Ken were left. Yolei turned her head away, and started looking really cold. Ken took a deep breath. "Yolei, I..." He started. "I want to talk to you." "Well, too bad." Yolei replied harshly. "Because I don't want to talk to YOU!" "...I want to apologise." Ken said in a shaky voice. Yolei now looked more interested than upset. "Yolei, I-I'm sorry I mistreated you and yelled at you, I really didn't mean to... The past month had been really rough, and I've been busy with my studies. But I didn't mean to hurt your feelings... Yolei, I love you." Ken's eyes were filled with tears. "I know that this is pathetic, but I beg you: Please, take me back." "...Damnit." Yolei sighed with a gentle smile. She turned around, and wiped the tears from Ken's eyes. "I can't stay mad at you. I love you too, Ken. I'm sorry I didn't realize how busy you really were, I was being so selfish." "You had the right to be." Ken stated. He gently brushed Yolei's hair. "So... Shall we get back together?" Yolei giggled once, and said "Of course." Ken and Yolei shared a passionate kiss. The four other DigiDestined were hiding behind the door. "Yes!" Davis cheered silently, while the other three just smiled.
"Whoa, looks like our friends are awfully generous." Patamon said as he looked at the pile of presents that was in the living room. "These would be enough for three babies!" "I know." Gatomon said. "I promise I'll throw Kari a baby shower that's just as good as the one she threw for me." "What exactly did you girls do last night?" Patamon wondered. "Oh, nothing special." Gatomon replied with a suspicious smile. "Just chatted, partied, played games and overall had fun. What about you guys?" "Pretty much the same." Patamon said and shrugged. "Oh, and we also watched a couple of movies as well." "That's nice-" Gatomon started. "Aah!" She suddenly screamed. "What's wrong?" Patamon asked worriedly. "I... I..." Gatomon gasped. "A contraction." Patamon looked shocked. "Oh no..." He muttered. "B-but the baby can't be born yet... Or can it?" "I-it could." Gatomon said, and flinched again. "But it'd just be a little early..." "We have to take you to a hospital." Patamon stated, grabbed the phone and dialed T.K's number. "T.K?" Patamon started. "Hi, it's Patamon here. Listen, I need your help. We need to take Gatomon to Joe. She had a contraction, and... I think she's about to give birth to the child. Okay then, thanks." He looked at Gatomon. "T.K. said he'll be here in a minute." "O-okay." Gatomon said and nodded. "Do you feel any better?" Patamon wondered. "A little." Gatomon replied. "Hey, everything's going to be alright." Patamon comforted her. However, little did Gatomon know what Patamon had in his mind: The nightmare of her dying after giving birth to their child...
"Hmm..." Joe muttered while inspecting Gatomon. "There seems to be no signs of the baby about to be born yet." "R-really?" Patamon asked, and Joe nodded. "Yes. Contractions usually occur at this point of the pregnancy." Joe explained. "They prepare the mother's body for labor." "Kari told me about that a while ago." Gatomon admitted. "But it felt a lot more painful than the usual ones- Ouch!" "Are you sure about it?" Patamon asked Joe. "Well, it shouldn't be the time of the delivery yet..." Joe muttered. "That is, unless the baby wants to be born now." Thirty minutes later, Gatomon experienced no more contractions. "Well then, it seems you are all fine now." Joe stated. "Do you want me to check the baby with ultrasound?" "That'd be nice." Gatomon replied. "Okay then." Joe said and took out the ultrasound machine while Gatomon climbed on the hospital bed. Patamon sat down next to her as Joe started scanning Gatomon's belly again. "Okay... There she is." Joe said. Patamon and Gatomon both looked at the monitor. This time, the baby was easily identifiable: It was a small Patamon baby whose eyes were shut. "She's so adorable." Gatomon whispered. "Hey there." Patamon said to Gatomon's belly. "Can you hear me?" Gatomon felt the baby kicking in her belly, which was also shown on the monitor. "Looks like she recognizes your voices." Joe stated. Patamon and Gatomon stayed there for a small while, just happily looking at their soon to be born-baby via the monitor.