A/N: Speedy update! I'm glad that you all liked that surprise (trust me, I was just as surprised)! Thank you for the reviews, and hopefully, this story is going in a direction you're fond of. And props to Noniebee (4352183) for brainstorming and helping with Catherine's lines in this. :)

Two days were needed for the results of the blood test to come in. Both of which were spent in as much isolation as Ame could afford and trying not to set off any communication alarms or raise any eyebrows. The moment they'd gotten back on the ship she'd broken away from their small group and that was about the last Kamui had seen of her; save for occasional hallways passes and the mornings that she would creep into the room under assumption that he was still asleep to snag a pair of fresh clothes.

Aside from that, she'd always been busy. Had to shine her shoes, then something about borrowing medical journals from Ryu. After that, she claimed the ship's cooling system sounded funny and that she was going to take a look at it. Then, for some odd reason, it was cleaning duty in the kitchen, though Kamui had never seen her take that kind of initiative before.

"This is the worst soup I've ever tasted." Grimacing down at the bowl Kamui and Ryu had brought into his room, Abuto dropped his spoon into the ominous brown broth. Whatever trick Kamui and Ryu were pulling on him wasn't funny any more. They'd been funneling soup down his throat at startling speed. After he finished each bowl, they crouched beside his bed and stared at him, long and hard, and it was no shock that he was increasingly uncomfortable with it.

Kamui kneeled beside his bed until he was eye level with the soup and intently gazed at it.

"You have to drink it all up. It's really not that bad."

"How would you know, dumb ass?"

"Because we made it!"

"He had four bowls." Frowning down at Abuto, Ryu crossed his arms. His gaze set directly on Kamui's back, and he shrugged as if to say that he didn't know why the Captain was guzzling what was supposed to be their medicine, but also had no intention of reprimanding him. The fact that Kamui had made the soup did nothing to make it taste any better. Sure, he could cook, Abuto would give him that, but this particular recipe was nothing to enjoy. Ryu, on the other hand... Abuto had no idea about him being in the kitchen, but the soup wasn't earning him any kudos.

"You two can't keep- bring me something edible for a change!" His words hung in the air and the opposites, blue and red heads turned to one another. Seemed to be silently contemplating whether they would cut him some slack. Then Kamui shattered all hope of such luxury.

"He yelled without coughing."

Nodding, Ryu hummed in agreement. It wasn't hard to see where this was going. They expected him to finish the soup, but he wasn't going down without a fight. Rather, it wasn't going down without a fight. He tried to fabricate an excuse. Something better than throwing the bowl, because he didn't want to budget that out later. Instead, an excuse found him, and fleeting as it may have been, Abuto grasped on with all his might.

"Ame!"

Just as the woman thought she had crept by the open door unseen, her name blared into her ears and she came to a halt. Fuck. Leave it to Abuto to blow her cover and pull her into a room with Kamui. She needed to slip out of the ship, unannounced, and take care of a few things. They would have been none-the-wiser, if not for Abuto's big fat mouth blurting out names for no reason. Slowly, so not to disturb her train of thought, the woman peeked into the room. She could already smell that soup from a mile away. The entire ship reeked of it, and now that she was practically in the same room as it, the aroma hadn't gotten any friendlier.

Abuto wasted no time in trying to drag her in and force her to his defense, but she was in no position to be defending herself, let alone a grown Yato with a cold.

"Bring me something to eat. Tell these idiots this has gone to far- Nobody in their right mind would eat this!"

Bright blue eyes set on the woman, and from his spot beside the bed, Kamui stood. Turned to her as if he knew that she was starving him of attention. Intentionally. And this was his only chance to reclaim his rightful seat at the forefront of her mind.

"Look at this! It's almost gray!" Abuto continued on, and as Kamui watched the woman, she slowly stepped into the room and eased closer to Abuto's side. Just enough to catch a glimpse of the sludge he was complaining about.

"It's not very..." Flinching away from the sight of the food pooled into the spoon and splashed back into the bowl, Ame swallowed. Whatever the hell the guys were making, it was downright unholy.

"He needs to eat it." Kamui peered directly at her, only managing to make Ame more uncomfortable than she already was. Maybe it was the fact that he wasn't smiling. Over-enthusiasm had been thrown to the wind, and for once, the man's calm demeanor wound her nerves into a bunch. He knew. He had to know. That's why he was being so nonchalant about everything.

"Eat it? I wouldn't even flush this down the toilet!"

Though the statement made Ame want to laugh, nothing could convince her to inhale another whiff of the horrid concoction on the tray. Nothing. Fame, fortune, even the kid she'd been trying to get from Iori would perish long before Ame drew another breath. Her stomach churned at Abuto playing with the spoon, muttering all the while. Behind Kamui, Ryu perched a cigarette between his lips.

She started to speak against it, but with the flick of a lighter, she took a breath and her senses were flooded with the nauseating fumes of supposedly medicinal soup. Before the woman knew it, her hand clamped over her mouth and she was fleeing the room with no explanation or input on the situation at all.

Alarm crossed Kamui, and he watched as the woman retreated.

"I told you." Grumbling at the men beside his bed, Abuto plopped his spoon back into the liquid and crossed his arms.

"It's not that bad..." Ryu was the next to speak, and his attention returned to the older man.

With a grin, Kamui shrugged and motioned to the food in question.

"It's got radish in it."

After what felt like hours Ame found herself at the snack shop in broad daylight. When she entered the bar, Otose was laxly polishing a glass. Glanced up at her, but didn't offer much of a greeting. The building was empty from what Ame could see, and she helped herself to a chair in front of the older woman, wordless and out of place.

"A whisky?" Otose's first words received an odd frown. Ame shifted on the stool and placed her elbows on the counter.

"Uh, no..." At the refusal, the older woman paused. Waited for a new order, or an answer. Maybe even eye contact. After what felt like far too long, the younger woman spoke up. "Maybe... a juice? Cranberry juice?" As if unsure of her own answer, Ame's brow pulled into an uneven frown, and she stared up at Otose until the older woman smoothly reached under the bar and produced a plastic bottle of the requested beverage. A glass was filled with ice, and soon followed by the scarlet juice.

When it was pushed in front of Ame, she awkwardly rubbed at her neck and turned her head. It didn't take a genius to work out that something was wrong with the girl.

"No company?"

"Oh- no, I uh... Thought that maybe I could talk to you?"

"To me?" Perplexed by the doubtful tone, Otose returned the bottle in her hand to the bottom shelf of the bar. She frowned down at Ame as the woman sipped her cranberry juice and for the umpteenth time, glanced across the bar as if she'd find something interesting on the walls. "If this is about the kid, you don't have to worry. His uncle hasn't called or written back yet, but it's probably only a matter of days now."

The kid. That was right. Ame still needed to get that kid. She'd practically forgotten the little guy and if not for Otose, he would have left her mind as easily as if she had slipped and bumped a reset button in her head.

"That's not..." There wasn't a doubt in Ame's mind that Otose would be the most reliable person she knew to look after her old Captain's son. "No, about something more... Have you ever had a secret?"

"A secret?" Leaning up from the bar, Otose tilted her head. She crossed her arms and glanced towards the ceiling as if counting the seams in the boards would reveal what her customer was getting at in the least invasive method possible. Instead, she sighed to herself and tapped her chin with her index finger. "Plenty. Don't we all?"

"Well, yeah but... A big secret. Like, you know you should tell him, but you don't want to tell him, because what if it doesn't... What if he doesn't believe that it's...?"

"It...?" Slowly fixing her eyes on Ame, Otose started to say something. She started to, but the words vanished before fully appearing, and her eyes went wide. Something clicked in her mind. Ame wasn't smoking her bar up. The juice. The odd pop-in just to chat. "Oh," Secrets. "Oh!"

Equally alarmed, Ame gazed up at her, and they stood there in silence. Just gaping at one another, though one was far more distraught and frowning.

"You have to tell him!"

"Are you insane?! What am I supposed to say?!" Snatching her juice from the bar, Ame turned and downed half of the glass. As if that was a reasonable interjection. Probably buying time to think of something to say.

"Is that possible? It's his?" Out of seemingly nowhere, a voice cut into the conversation, and Ame found Catherine standing from one of the booths behind her. She swiveled around to face the cat-eared lady, and her surprise transformed into defensiveness for no apparent reason. A warning that they weren't alone would have been appreciated.

"Well it can't be any body else's" Snapping back at the woman, she slapped her glass back onto the bar.

"Is it a mutant?"

Wide eyed and slack jawed Ame pushed herself to her feet.

"No! It- it is not a mutant! You're a mutant!"

Still eying the customer, Catherine walked around her overly offensive stance and joined Otose behind the bar.

"No need to get testy, we're just trying to help. If you don't like it, just poop it out and try again."

Stammering over her words, Ame shook her head. What was she even hearing right now?! Who gave advice like that?! She didn't know what the hell Catherine was, but if she had those capabilities, Ame would have been more comfortable not knowing about it.

"Who can do that?!" Slapping her hand to her chest Ame couldn't decide whether to laugh or strangle Catherine. "My body doesn't work like that!"

"You knew the risk the moment you-"

"Catherine!" Interrupting what was bound to be the start of a fight, Otose turned to her friend and employee. Shot her a look that reigned her tongue in, and gave the floor back to the older woman. She grabbed her cigarettes and pulled one out, only to place it back on the counter, unlit, then sighed to herself as the peace returned to her bar.

"Sometimes, knowing sooner is better than later." Those words lessened Ame's tense posture and cloaked the women in a blanket of quiet that was louder than anything they could have ever said. Instead of accepting or denying the advice, Ame stepped to the bar and set the money for her juice on the counter. The silence was maintained as she met Otose's gaze and pinched her lips together. Then left as quickly as she had come.

Once back on the ship, Ame ducked into her old room. It was still empty and a perfect place to pace to her heart's content with just the right amount of solitude to think. Otose may have been right, but considering the situation from all aspects, if Ame was Kamui she wouldn't believe herself. Maybe there was another way. Military instinct could only help so much, but with each step she took, the gears in her brain turned with enough force to form a plan.

Maybe she could hide it.

Work out every day, avoid most foods, not that she could get many down at the moment... Maybe she could constrict her waist with a bodice and avoid any unsightly growing. Shove the thing in a drawer when it came out and feed it by nightfall when nobody would suspect a thing.

That was a terrible plan, and one of the most ridiculous things she had ever come up with. She couldn't tell Kamui. There was no way that she could string together enough convincing words to explain the test papers. Hell, she didn't even believe it. She'd have pinned it on an alien abduction, but that was exactly what had gotten her into this mess and she didn't want any more to do with aliens at the moment. By the time she had finally stopped pacing, the sun was well below the horizon, and she was nowhere ahead of when she'd started.

Then she remembered Abuto. He had asked for food, and she hadn't even thought about him after leaving. Kamui and Ryu were torturing him with their experiments, and something to eat would give her the perfect excuse to talk to him. She wouldn't even have to do most of the talking. He was smart enough to piece it together, like Otose. At that thought, the woman made her way to the kitchen. She fixed a plate among the cooking staff, and ignored the dirty looks she received for serving herself. Lots of food was the best bet. The most food she could pile onto the tray. Abuto didn't eat like Kamui, but maybe a few days of that rancid Miso or whatever they were feeding him would convince him to polish off the tray.

She made it to his room undetected, and after the slightest rap against the door, let herself in. The light was off, but a flick of her wrist against the wall switch remedied that. Though the man was turned over in his bed, he hissed a line under his breath. An insult intended for the idiots force feeding him garbage, most likely.

"Abuto," Softly calling the man's name, Ame approached with caution. She'd never woken him up before. "I brought that food, get up."

That seemed to do it. The man sat in his bed and peered at her through squinted eyes. Took a moment to register her sudden appearance, but his face lit up at the sight and smell of dinner.

Moments later, Ame was seated on the edge of his bed, examining the plain gray walls of his room while he wolfed down the food she'd offered. He was ravenous, and barely allowed time to speak between bites.

"Thank you," The man shoved a forkful of rice into his mouth, and his words were muffled by the food. He scarfed it down and took a sip of his water before continuing. "Those idiots are trying to kill me with their natural medicine and-" steak was pushed into the man's face and his sentence died again. At the scent of it, Ame wouldn't have minded a big juicy steak, but her dinner privileges had been spent like this. Better if the steak was bloody, and peppered to perfection. Just the thought made her mouth water. But Abuto was starving, and the opportunity to talk was worth more than any steak could have been.

When he finally finished, he sighed under his breath and Ame turned to him. Maybe rice wouldn't be bad either. She could probably stomach that. The smell wasn't too bad.

"I didn't think you'd come through." Far more even-tempered than when she'd entered, the ashy haired man gazed at Ame with a dull grin that let her know she was in. Now she just had to tell him and ask what he thought. He wouldn't persecute her. He was logical. If anybody could tell Ame how Kamui would react, it was Abuto.

"You looked pretty miserable, and you're an asset. I couldn't let you die."

"Good thinking." The words were muttered under the man's breath and earned a smirk from Ame. She released a short snicker and shook her head. Reminded herself that nothing was pleasant about their meeting.

"I- I have a problem... I think."

"What is it? Did that idiot use your soap to clean the sink again?"

Shaking her head, Ame couldn't help but allow another grin. She dug into her pocket and fished out the papers that the hospital had given her earlier, then pushed them into Abuto's hands. The man took them and glanced at her before unfolding the documents, and as he did, Ame crossed her arms. If he just read them, he'd be able to tell her what he thought. That way, she wouldn't have to say it out loud...

The talk with Abuto had been more positive than Ame had expected. Bewildered, yes, but she hadn't anticipated the amount of positivity and support the man had offered. Realistic as it was, he'd assured her that it wasn't entirely impossible and that there was a decent chance that Kamui would be receptive. Before she knew it, she was at the window of the ship, staring out into the town. Wishing a definite answer would fly smack into the glass in front of her.

Assuming the test results were true, she could place it at about a month. Before the poisoning incident. That had to be bad for it. And she'd been smoking and drinking like an idiot the entire time, just living it up and possibly killing it every day. She wasn't showing at all, and there had been no way to know, hell she'd been regular, as she told the nurse. But here she was, with elevated hCG levels, and the only thing that could cause that was a placenta.

A jolt of panic surged through her at the sensation of hands on her hips and she jumped to attention. Twisted around, only to find Kamui.

The man frowned down at her, and appeared to be more startled than she was at her reaction, but she could do nothing but gape up at him. Could hardly stammer his name in her usual greeting that was far more unusual than intended.

"K- Kamui..."

"Are you okay?" His question came out of nowhere, and Ame crossed her arms. Tried to play casual.

"Uh, yeah... Of course I am. Why would you ask that?" Smooth. Really smooth. This was going terribly. The way he was eying her let on that he suspected something, and Ame could hardly collect her frazzled mind. How was she supposed to reassure him?

"You've never been surprised by me before..." Murmuring back to the woman, Kamui set his eyes on the window. She didn't join him or look away. Just continued to stare up at him. There had to be another reason he asked. Was he suspicious? How did he know?

No, that was silly. He couldn't. Couldn't.

"I- I was just-"

"Looking at everything?" The familiar statement provided an easy excuse, and Ame went with it.

"Uh, yeah." She turned back to the scene of the city, willing herself to relax when the man latched onto her as he always did. Wrapped his arms around her waist and set his chin on her shoulder.

"Ame, where have you been lately?"

She knew it. He was trying to ease it out of her, because he already knew. He was just waiting for her to tell him.

"Around." Vague was probably her best bet. She could play dumb until he came out with it. Then she would spin this around like he had hidden his forbidden knowledge from her. Or something. Maybe. She wasn't sure, but the best answer was to just go with it. Then again, if he didn't know, Otose and Abuto were probably right. It was wrong to keep the information from him, and he had a right to know about it, even if she was uncomfortable telling him. She had to say something.

"Have you eaten today? I didn't see you for breakfast."

Though she didn't mean to, Ame spun around to face the man.

"Kamui," Swallowing her nervousness, she tightened her crossed arms. The man was caught off guard by the sudden motion and his brows cinched together. "I need to talk to you..."

A long moment of quiet passed, and curiosity splashed across the Yato's features as he peered down at her. When Ame didn't speak, he pressed on. "Oh? What is it? "

"Well, uh... When we went to the hospital... " This was it. She would tell him everything. He had to believe her, there was no other plausible cause. He knew they'd been faithful the entire relationship. Even if they'd had a little spat over it, there wasn't a doubt in Ame's mind that he would trust her. Abuto told her that he would. But what if he didn't? What if he was just as naive as her, and thought it impossible? Questioned their time together, and suspected her of infidelity? What if he wasn't happy about it, and pushed that it wasn't in any plans they had, though they'd never really made any... What if he rejected her? "It's nothing. It's stupid, never mind..."

The words tumbled out before she could think otherwise, and Kamui's frown returned. If this was any other time, Ame would have reached out to play with the red tip of his braid. Kissed him, tried to lure him off to a sufficiently secluded place, or shut him out with stone cold wall of defense that had taken years to perfect. Instead, for the first time in her life, she found herself vulnerable. At a loss for words, and unable to express what was truly on her mind.

"What? That doesn't sound like nothing. What happened at the hospital?"

"I uh..." Abort mission. Abort. She couldn't do it. Of all the things they had been through, she couldn't possibly tell him that she was pregnant. It was impossible, as far as they knew, and though it had reared its ugly head in the middle of what should have been paradise, Ame couldn't confront it. Not now. "I bought an extra roll of gauze..."

"You did? You want me to pay for it?" Innocent as ever, Kamui tilted his head. He released a short breath of a laugh, and smiled at Ame as though everything was alright.

"Uh... no... I was just telling you..." Perfect. Just perfect. She had abandoned her clear chance at letting him know. Why was her tongue failing her now, of all times? All the things she had said in the past, the snark, the smart-assery, the one time she needed to say something she couldn't and she didn't know why. Kamui seemed satisfied. Hummed under his breath, and gave her a look that let her know the conversation had stuck him as odd.

"Hmm... Okay." Somehow, the clear opportunity had slipped away right in front of Ame, and she was reduced to looking up at the man and far too guilty to gauge her own expression. "Are you hungry?"

Shaking her head, Ame turned back to the window. This was all fucked. She was fucked. Kamui accepted her answer and left for the mess hall alone, and all Ame could do was stare at the lights beyond the window, wondering where she had gone wrong. She should have told him. Nothing could justify keeping it from him, but she just couldn't do it. He'd left as quickly as he had come, and she was stuck in a system error; pretending not to watch him walk away.

This was too much for her.

She had to tell Kamui, but how, and when? Everything had failed her when she tried, and the man, while clearly suspicious, hadn't tried to pry any further than what she'd told him. Sure, she bought extra gauze. What did it matter? He didn't need to pay for anything and they both knew it. She'd never told him when she bought things before, so why now?!

Just as the stress started to burn her eyes, she was tapped on the shoulder and briskly turned around. Kamui would have been her first guess. Abuto, maybe. On an even slimmer chance, Ryu, or the strange Yato woman she'd encountered, but instead, she was met with a pair of refined chocolate eyes that winked at her despite her astonishment.