When love and death embrace-It does. I opened up the freezer one days and went 'What the heck'. I have no idea why my family decided to buy it since almost no one even likes real egg nog, but we currently have a full container of the stuff in our fridge.
DeathsIllulsion-You enjoy torturing characters too?
dragonlady222-Ryou's always jealous, I could have made him more accepting... but no. Bakura has his work cut out for him, doesn't he?
journey maker-Glad you agree. You're right. That was the big sign that he'd forgiven Marik.
Chapter 25
Bakura heard a loud crashing noise. Darien was asleep in his crib, and he was holding Rain. Ryou had taken Sam to the vet and Marik was paralyzed. That left one person who could have caused the noise.
He rushed out to the main room, still carrying Rain. Malik was on the floor sobbing next to an overturned chair "Are you okay?"
"N-n-n-no" Malik managed to say "I-it… hu-urts"
"What hurts? Malik, what's wrong?"
Malik made an ever so slight motion towards his stomach. Bakura felt it and whistled slightly "That's the first time I've ever felt a contraction that was outside my body. Hang on. I'll call Yami and Ryou" He started to go, but paused "Marik's the father. I can give him the ability to move, just until the babies are born, if you'd like. He actually learned a good deal about birth from when I was in labor with Darien. Okay?"
Malik nodded frantically.
Bakura ran off and put a bit of shadow magic from the ring in Marik so the yami could move about for several hours. Next he took a couple minutes to figure out where the phone was kept before, as well as the list of phone numbers, before calling anyone.
SC
Yami picked up the phone "Hello?"
"Pharaoh, get your ass over here right now. Malik's in labor"
Yami scowled. Bakura had no right to talk to him that way, and it meant that the timing was either coincidence of Bakura had been right about how to get the babies out of Malik sooner. Still… "I'll be right over"
He hung up before he had to listen to anything else Bakura might have to say "Yugi, Malik's about to give birth. I'll be gone a little while"
Yugi looked disappointed "Well… I'll go with you!"
"I don't know if that's…" Yami trailed of as Yugi made a little puppy dog face "Oh… fine… just don't bother Malik in any way. I mean it" Yugi nodded before following Yami out the door.
SC
Sam started meowing frantically as Ryou cell phone rang. The boy had some theories as to what about it scared his cat, but none had been seriously tested "Hello?" he made a hand gesture to tell the vet he was taking this call.
"Ryou, its Bakura"
"Obviously. Why are your calling"
"Can you and Sam come home yet?"
"Not yet. Why?"
"Malik's in labor"
"WHAT? OHMYGOD! I'LL BE RIGHT THERE" Ryou almost forgot to hang up before shoving his phone into his pocket He turned to the vet looking a little panicked "Is it okay if I leave now and pick her up later?"
The vet shrugged, sensing that what ever was up was urgent "Go ahead"
"Thanks" Ryou called, already halfway out the door
SC
Remembering the mess from his labor, Bakura had assembled a pile of maternity clothes and exaggeratedly large shirts into a nice little pile which he and Marik had gotten Malik onto "How do you feel?" Bakura risked asking
"I'm going to die" Malik whispered back "It hurts way too much. I'm going to die in child-birth"
Rain was screaming in the other room as a way of protesting no Sam in the house and her daddy setting her down, which had woken Darien up, but he was more mature and refused to throw a fit over the fact that his older sister wouldn't shut up. She was soon joined bay a scream from Malik as his contractions became more painful.
He looked up pleadingly at Bakura "How does it stop? Tell me how to stop it!"
"Calm down"
"I'LL CALM DOWN ONCE IT STOPS!"
Marik flinched. Unless hit in the head physical attacks meant nothing to him. He had almost no sense of touch in his body, but screaming still hurt is ears. Bakura had two noisy babies to raise, screaming was no big deal for him.
Ryou burst into the room, he was about to rush to Malik's side but spotted Marik "What's he doing here?!"
"He's the twins' father" Bakura snapped "He has a right to see this. What do you think he's doing here?" He was not in the mood for having a fight with Ryou right then. Marik was here for Malik, or at least Malik's babies, not him. Duh.
Ryou growled slightly but came over to Malik anyway "Has his water broke yet?" He asked in a voice that sounded unbelievably forced.
"Not yet" Marik replied, trying to ignore the hate emanating from the hikari, as well as suppress his own. His other two babies were about to be born, he didn't have time to try to fight a losing battle over Bakura.
Malik screamed again and screamed Marik's hand tightly. Marik didn't even grimace. Ryou felt a little jealous. Paralyzed, Marik wouldn't feel any pain Malik might normally force on his hands.
Malik glanced over at Ryou "When I go… can you tell… Ishizu that I… don't… hate her?"
Bakura hit Malik on the head, lightly. "You aren't dieing any time soon. Calm down"
Malik did anything but calm down.
Yami and Yugi arrived just as Malik's water broke. Yugi stood there in shock while Bakura and Ryou did whatever Yami said. Marik was the one delivering the baby.
There was quite a bit of excitement when the first one came out. A little girl who looked exactly like Malik, which didn't make her appear any less effeminate than a girl ought to.
In the middle of the short verbal celebration of the first child's birth Malik let out a heart wrenching scream. It took Bakura, Ryou, and Yami to finally calm him down while Marik figured out what was wrong "The spell I used on him was only for having one kid. Now that one's been born the magic is wearing off. He's loosing the ability to have children while there's still one in him"
There was a painful silence in which everyone shared Malik's belief that child-birth would kill the boy.
Malik whimpered and tried to sit up, but failed "Hold still" Yami ordered, pressing a hand on Malik's chest to hold him down while the other went to the boy's stomach. "Ready?"
"No" Malik squeaked.
Darkness spread from Yami's hand and covered Malik's entire body before flickering away "Better?"
Malik nodded weakly.
In spite of Yami somehow making the spell hold out longer it was another half an hour before the second baby was born. A little boy who closer resembled Marik "The one that died was the boy's identical twin" Yami whispered to Ryou. The borderline albino shuddered, remembering the site of the dead fetus.
"Malik, what do you want to name them?"
"Zoe"
"What about the boy"
"Marik can name him" Malik muttered, rolling over and falling asleep with his head in Yami's lap.
All gazes where directed towards Marik, whose brain was still processing this. It had just killed him to know that Ryou got to name his baby. Was Malik really letting him name one after all the rape and abuse? Scary.
"Well" Yami asked "What's his name?"
"Gary" Marik muttered. He'd been caught off guard by the whole thing.
"The magic I gave you will let you move around for about another hour. Can I trust you to treat the babies humanly?" Only Bakura and Marik knew that second line was well disguised sarcasm, keeping Bakura out of trouble for offering to let Marik take care of the twins.
"Sure"
"Will Malik be okay?" Ryou asked softly "He… almost died… didn't he?"
"If we'd been a few seconds later he probably would have left us. He'll be fine with enough rest, though"
"More rest? You don't like him being active, do you?" Bakura joked
"How can you act like that now?"
"Everyone's okay, right? Stop acting like it's so serious and help me clean Malik up so we can put him on the couch for a party when he wakes up" Bakura grinned "Yugi, you help. You just stood there like a statue this whole time"
Yugi took one look at the mess and did something he'd been trying the whole time not to do. He passed out.
Malik murmured something, opening his eyes for a second before going back to sleep.
Bakura glanced at Marik, who was concealing his delight in finally being trusted with a child he was the father of, then to Ryou, who was watching Marik like a hawk. He'd have his work cut out for him keeping both of them satisfied, but that was okay. His babies were fine, Malik's babies were fine, and they'd both survived pregnancy. He kind of missed it, actually. It had only been a few months, right? Not to late to get knocked up again.
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SnowCreek: Just for the record, Darien is his last kid. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading this!