When the spring month of April finally dawned, Hiei thought he would have been excited, seeing as his one-year wedding anniversary with Kurama was coming up. But on April 1, two days before their anniversary, Hiei woke up feeling cold, stuffed-up, tired, and sore. It was sort of like the struggle he faced every morning these days—that is, whether it was really worth it to attempt to get out of bed and use the bathroom—but today, he felt even worse than usual.

Why did this stupid baby have to ruin every single important day in Hiei's life? He was too sick to celebrate Halloween, he cried at the Christmas movies, he couldn't drink a toast on New Year's Eve, their Valentine's Day in Hawaii was just too many crowds and sore muscles and everyone wanting to feel the baby, he'd forgotten to give Kurama a present on White Day, he hadn't been able to fight in the tournament, and now…There was no way Hiei would be well in time for their special day. And it was because of the baby, because normally he'd be able to fight this off.

Kurama had promised to make Hiei a nice dinner full of all his favorite foods, with an unspoken promise of sex afterwards, but now Hiei didn't feel like eating anything. Or doing anything.

"Hiei?"

At the sound of his husband's soft voice, Hiei groggily opened his eyes. Even now, he still had to use the bathroom, but he just couldn't get himself up out of bed.

"What?" he mumbled.

"Are you not feeling well?" Kurama asked, making his way into the room.

"N-No…" Hiei responded, staying on his side. That was still uncomfortable, but out of all his options, it was the least painful position he could lie in. He coughed and tried to hold back the saliva dripping out of his mouth because he couldn't breathe through his nose. He felt itchy, too, as if there were insects marching all over his skin. Kurama reached out and gently touched Hiei's forehead.

"Poor Hiei, you're burning up," said Kurama, rushing into the bathroom to get the thermometer. When he came back into their room, he was holding a wet washcloth, which he quickly set on Hiei's forehead to help the fever go down. Hiei was too tired to squirm as the thermometer was inserted into his ear. "We had better call the doctor."

Hiei sort-of slept while Kurama made the call on his communication mirror to Dr. Setchi. When he was finished, he closed the mirror with a snap and turned to Hiei. The pregnant demon's vision was blurred, but he could just make out a pitying sort of look on Kurama's face.

"It's just as I suspected," he said. "Stuffed-up nose, fever, fatigue…Your symptoms indicate you most likely have Makai Flu."

"But…but how?" Hiei mumbled. "S-class demons…don't…"

"Normally, demons of your caliber aren't too affected by it," Kurama agreed, nodding. "But right now, the baby is using up the energy you'd normally use to fend off illnesses like this, leaving your immune system weakened."

"Itchy…so itchy," said Hiei weakly, using his remaining energy to scratch at his belly.

"Itching?" Kurama seemed concerned. "That's not a symptom. How long has that been going on?"

"Ages…" Hiei had been feeling itchy for a large part of his pregnancy, his belly more so as it grew, but he had been trying to ignore it. He lost the battle to keep his eyes open and felt them shut.

…

Kurama tried not to be too worried about Hiei, seeing as Makai Flu wasn't typically deadly and it would likely be over in a week or so. Dr. Setchi had instructed the fox-demon to keep a close eye on his husband, which he did, although in truth, he was a little disappointed that Hiei was still showing no signs of improvement on Saturday, because that was their anniversary, and now they were going to have to skip it.

Hiei threw up if he ate hardly anything, and the only thing he could handle was water, tea, and soda crackers. He needed the two pots by his bed again, too. When Kurama entered the room carrying a tea tray with Hiei's "lunch," he noticed Hiei on his side, as usual, but staring intently at the ceiling, his red eyes clouded in fever. Kurama was very glad he couldn't catch this sickness in a human body.

"Yukina?" Hiei mumbled, his ears perking up a little at the sound of Kurama entering the room.

"Um…yes?" said Kurama, deciding to just play along. There was no reasoning with someone in a feverish delirium, after all.

"Can you tell that lightbulb to stop screaming at me?" he asked. "It's giving me a headache."

Kurama winced. "Please…stop yelling at Hiei…lightbulb."

"Didn't you hear her? SHUT UP!" Hiei hollered, his hands over his ears. "TOO LOUD!"

Luckily, this time Kurama brought the ice pack upstairs with him, so he quickly set it on Hiei's forehead, holding it there with one hand while he set the other on Hiei's chest, trying to stop him from thrashing around. After a few moments of carrying on about how the lightbulb wouldn't shut up, Hiei finally passed out.

Hallucinations were normal for those with Makai fever, and Dr. Setchi said they wouldn't hurt the baby. But as the week went on, it was still disturbing for Kurama to hear Hiei screaming about things that weren't there, often not noticing his presence. And if Hiei did notice Kurama, he always thought he was someone else, usually Yukina, but a couple of times it was Yusuke and once it was even Kuwabara, which involved some anger on Hiei's part as to what "the fool" was doing in his bedroom and where Kurama was. Kurama kept Hiei fed and cleaned up, but emotionally, it was difficult.

On Monday morning, Kurama was downstairs in the office, working on more plans for his new plant shop (currently he was involved in finding and buying premises) when he heard Hiei screaming bloody murder from upstairs. It sounded like he was being attacked. Kurama dashed upstairs on instinct, ready to defend Hiei (and the baby) from danger.

But it was just Hiei again, of course, terrorized by his own mind, sitting up straight and clutching Kurama's pillow tightly in his arms. When he noticed Kurama there in the doorway, such a horrible mixture of fear and rage etched across his face, he went ballistic.

"STAY BACK!" Hiei bellowed, and Kurama dodged as one of Hiei's flames narrowly missed him. That was the first time Hiei had tried to attack him.

"Hiei, it's me, you're hallucinating!" said Kurama desperately.

"I said stay BACK!" Hiei looked angry and afraid both, but there was also an element of desperation in his feverish eyes, and upon closer inspection, they were sparkling with tears. "I won't let you take my son!"

"What are you t—"

"Leave him alone!" Precious tears were definitely falling from Hiei's eyes now, crystallizing and landing on the pillow he was cradling in his arms. "I won't let you do to him what you did to me! He's just a baby, a helpless little baby!"

Kurama didn't dare come any closer at first, not when Hiei was like this, but he wondered—did Hiei think the pillow was their baby? And did he think Kurama was one of the Koorime elders, come to throw him away? Kurama had spent the whole week dealing with Hiei and his fever dreams, but this was undoubtedly the most heartbreaking of them all.

"You smell just like Kurama," Hiei told the pillow tearfully, rocking it in his arms. "I wish he could see you now."

Kurama felt tears burning in the corners of his eyes too, knowing that right now, these nightmarish visions were Hiei's entire reality. But then he realized: that was his pillow. It really did smell like him. Hiei wasn't imagining that. Was there a chance that Kurama could break through, even just a little, enough to calm Hiei down?

"I'm right here, Hiei," said Kurama, carefully approaching the bed and getting as close to Hiei as he could without touching him, so as not to startle him. "See?"

Hiei didn't seem to be able to hear or see Kurama, but he took a deep breath in through his nose, sniffed, blinked, and held the pillow up to his chest.

"K-Kurama?" he said weakly.

"Yes, Hiei."

"They…they tried to take our baby." Hiei's voice was shaking, just like his body. "They want to throw him off a cliff, too."

"I will never let that happen," Kurama said softly, leaning over to give Hiei a kiss. "My job is to protect you both, and I always will. Now why don't you let me tuck you in, and the two of you can get some sleep. They can't hurt you now."

"Promise?" Hiei said sleepily, his eyes shutting as he slowly lay down, the pillow still in his arms.

"Promise," Kurama replied softly, bringing the covers up to Hiei's neck and tucking him in, then finishing it with another kiss.

…

Everything hurt.

My head…my back…my hips…

Not only that, but Hiei was absolutely starving. Listening to the grumbling in his stomach, he opened his eyes, noticed his husband sitting on the bed, and said quite plainly, "Kurama, I want Tater Tots."

Instead of going to get them, Hiei was surprised to see Kurama's eyes fill with tears, yet at the same time, the fox-demon burst out into laughter.

"Hiei, you're awake," said Kurama, setting one hand on Hiei's. "I was so worried!"

"What? Why?" said Hiei, as Kurama set one hand on the pregnant demon's forehead.

"It's cool!" Kurama proclaimed. "Your fever has broken! You'll start to feel better very soon, Hiei."

"I still don't know what you're talking about, fool."

"You were out of commission for a week, honey," said Kurama, setting one hand gently on Hiei's belly. "It was a bad case of Makai Flu."

"I was out for a week?" said Hiei in disbelief. "What day is it?"

"April 7," Kurama replied. Hiei felt the baby kick, and Kurama must have felt it too, because he leaned over and gave Hiei's belly a kiss. The baby kicked again.

Hiei tried to remember. The last memory he had was of passing out on the first of the month…but wait a minute! Didn't that mean…?

"Oh, Kurama! I missed our anniversary!" Hiei said in despair, sitting upright in bed. "I'm really sorry."

"It's all right, Hiei," said Kurama, gently pushing him back down. "You're all better, honey, and that's all that matters."

"Thanks, Kurama." Hiei closed his eyes, lying down on his side again, and set his hands on his belly. The baby was kicking so much, and Hiei wanted to feel all of it.

"Not a problem at all, honey." Kurama stood up, and Hiei could hear the smile in his voice. "Now, let's see what we can do about those Tater Tots."