"Mai," She heard a quiet and sweet voice across her consciousness. It took her a moment to stir herself out of the light sleep she was allowed to be in. Her eyes opened and met those of her boss's wife, comforting and wise.

"Hina?" Her throat was a bit gruff and she looked at the clock to see just how long she had been asleep. "What are you doing here?"

She was surprised they let her in, considering they weren't family but was glad nonetheless as she was sure she'd need another female figure during the most important time in her life. She had just been dropped off at the hospital about two hours ago and was allowed to suck on ice chips but that was about all. Her nurses came in every so often to check and see how dilated she was and then asked how she was feeling, and quickly left.

"I'm here to help you of course!" Hina grabbed her hand and clasped it between her two free hands. "Kado and the rest of your team are outside waiting for you both. Do you know how far along you are yet?"

Mai scooted up on her bed, as best she could with her active baby inside her, and sighed. "Well, when I first arrived, they said I was about three to four centimeters, and when they checked me a few minutes ago, I am now up to six centimeters."

Hina watched her with humorous eyes. "You don't look like you are bothered by the contractions at all."

"Oh, I'm not!" Mai smiled. "I just got my epidural, so I was actually able to sleep pretty well."

"Well," She leaned back and allowed Mai to reach for her cup of ice. "You're going to need all your rest if you're already six centimeters along. You're entering into the active stage of labor."

"Yeah, the last nurse told me she would be in every half hour to check on me instead of every hour. She said that things move more quickly when you hit six."

The older woman placed her purse properly on the table near the corner of the room and came back to sit next to Mai, and began stroking her hair a bit.

"I'm so proud of you, my dear." She said with slight tears in her eyes. "You're going to be a Rockstar mom and this baby is going to be lucky to have you as their mother."

Mai felt her lip quiver and a tear fall down her cheeks. When she was younger, she always assumed her mother would be there to help her through times that she was scared to face by herself. And through this pregnancy, she often faced the unknown alone. It wasn't like she had been in labor before, so she had been nervous the entire time she had been glued to her hospital bed. Her only saving grace was the labor pains that forced her to an exhaustive state and she was finally able to sleep pain-free. Having Hina here with her and knowing that her friends were all just outside a door waiting for her made her feel a love she hadn't felt in a long time.

"Thank you for saying that." She said setting the cup down next to her. "I'm glad you are here with me."

Mai's eyes rolled back and forth as she dreamed and she could feel the thoughts of that day bombard her with nostalgia that chilled her. She felt terribly cold and empty but a blaring pain burned into the middle of her body. It felt like someone was sticking her with a fire poker and refused to stop until she gave into unconsciousness.

She let out a groan and whimper of pain and felt something brush against her forehead and a warmth wrap around her hand. The noises around sounded muffled and distant, she couldn't quite make out what was being said, or if anything was being said at all. Darkness grabbed around the back of her mind and she felt a forceful tug ripping her away from her present state.

Naru flipped the page of his book as he sat in the plastic and uncomfortable chair. He was going to have to get up and move around the room pretty soon, let his legs get some blood moving. The room he was in was a typical hospital room, the only difference being that his son was tucked into his mother's side and the almost illegal number of balloons and flowers littering the tables around the room. The room reeked of the sweet smell of lilies, Mai's favorite flowers, and Naru had to stop from rolling his eyes at the memory of the SPR regulars who were the cause of most of the environmental changes.

His attention was caught again to the woman in the bed. Mai looked paler than the sheets that were tucked around her and the contrast of her hollow eyes and brown hair exacerbated the effect. The bullet that she had been shot with had just missed her vital organs and was a clean entry and exit. Thankfully, Mai was spared from any permanent damage, but she had lost a lot of blood, which explained why she was currently receiving a transfusion.

After he had hung up with Mai, he called Kaito and told him what was going on, he immediately got Ren from school and took off to the hospital. His poor son did not know what was happening and Naru was too distracted to bring him up to speed. He began calling the hospital for details about her condition and when they arrived at the ER she had just been released out of surgery. They had been allowed into the room, but there was an officer posted on the door, and Mai's team was also at the hospital waiting for her to wake up. Naru had a feeling that she wasn't going to be waking anytime soon, considering the amount of blood she had lost. Her team hung around for about an hour before they went back to the office and took the witness statements from Mai's neighbors.

Ren had been about to jump up onto her bed without much regard to all of the intruding tubes across his mother's body and Naru caught him just in time. He had never really had to explain things to a kid, he was usually always around those with higher intellect. Even as a child, he and Gene were placed in higher-level classes when their IQ was discovered to be genius-level and they never made any friends their own age or otherwise in their advanced classes because the other kids did not seem to like them.

He had teased Mai a few times about him having to 'dumb down' some of the topics they discussed during work when they were younger, but it really wasn't a true statement. Mai caught on extremely quickly and her grades were actually very exceptional compared to those in her classes. It was part of the deal he had made with her principal at the time to have him let him know if her grades were starting to take a turn. The school had informed him of her academic progress throughout her employment and updated her on any accomplishments that she had. To say he was surprisingly proud of her was an understatement.

Thankfully, with the combination of his and Mai's intellect, their son didn't require any further explanation from the original that Naru had given him. Of course, he did not get graphic with his detail about why mommy was in the hospital, but he explained that she had been hurt and while she was healing, she couldn't have him laying on her. Ren had asked if he could lay next to her, which is where the young boy was currently residing and had a small arm wrapped around her middle. Naru was a little less strict about his facial expression giving away any unwanted stress that could make Ren fret, but now that the boy was asleep, he was able to be a little more transparent with his appearances.

The door to their room slid open. "How is she?" Madoka said quickly moving into the room and then replying with a quick apology when she noticed Ren sleeping soundly. It had taken a while to get him to sleep.

Martin and Luella had entered behind her and they had taken a seat on some chairs that they set closer to the bed. Madoka had snagged the other chair across from Naru and quickly took a look over Mai's vitals.

"She's stable, but the doctors say she'll be out for a little longer until the anesthesia wears off." He had one hand locked in the limp grasp of her left hand and the other hand had rubbed at his temples trying to alleviate some of the growing tension. "I should have known."

"Oliver, no," Luella said with a strict expression. "You didn't know this was going to happen. No one could have guessed that things would escalate so easily."

"She called me right before it happened and I knew something was off. She didn't sound right and kept going on about random topics, like constantly saying 'I love you.'" He watched their expressions twist in confusion. "I had a feeling something was off, so I asked her if she would be there for dinner – I knew I couldn't ask her if someone was in the room with her because he was close enough to hear." He brought up her hand to his lips and pressed a light kiss to the top of her cold fingers. "She caught on and said she wasn't. When she hung up, I called the authorities, but they had told me they already sent an officer to the scene because a neighbor heard a gunshot in the area."

It was almost like Naru could hear the gunshot go off in his chest as he retold his narration. Madoka and Luella looked astounded and his father looked lost in thought.

"Well, do we know when she will wake up?" Madoka said stroking Mai's hair gently. "Will she be able to come home soon?"

Naru leaned back in his chair. He must have told this story to a dozen people and was getting tired of repeating it. He had to try and mellow out Kaito and the rest of Mai's team letting them know that she was not in any immediate danger from her injuries and that they had said she could leave in a few days when the possibility of infection was less likely.

"She should be waking up soon," He said. "The doctor took her off the original anesthesia and she'd been on another one that is less drowsy. If in a few days, she doesn't show signs of infections, they will let her leave."

His mother sighed. "Oh, thank god." She looked to the small figure on the hospital bed. "How long has Ren been here?" She then turned to look at her son. "How long have you been here?!"

It was said in a harsh whisper, but Naru glared at her in a silent statement for her to keep her voice lowered. His demands went unnoticed and his mother shook her head at him.

"A few hours." He rolled his eyes at her shocked expression.

"Noll! Did you and Ren get something to eat or drink? He's still a baby and needs to be fed! He's a growing boy!"

"I picked him up right after had finished his lunch and, as I stated, it has only been about two hours. Ren has been asleep this whole time." He didn't have much experience with taking care of kids, but Naru knew how to take care of his own son. Mai had said that she felt the same way, but parenting came pretty naturally to her, even though she still asked Hina questions from time to time. For her, though, Naru could see Mai as a mother. She had a kind nature about her and she often embodied a youthful disposition when interacting with all ages of people. They were drawn to her sunny personality. He didn't think he could measure up, but Ren had also been raised to be patient and kind, like his mother. So, he was calm and forgiving for any mistakes Naru made in the beginning when bonding with Ren.

His mother's voice had woken the boy right up and he looked around a little confused. "Nana? Papa? Aunty? I missed you!" A smile immediately lit up his face and Naru was again reminded that Mai was still unconscious.

"Missed us?" His father said. Watching as Ren hopped down from the bed and gave a hug to Madoka before throwing himself into his grandfather's arms. "We would have seen you when you got home from school."

Ren was released from the older man's hold and, again, threw himself into the arms of Naru's mother. "I know!" He smiled as he was squeezed in her arms. "But school seems to take so long!" He was content with remaining in his grandmother's lap and watched his mother with a worried gaze.

Naru was glad that Ren didn't hide how he was feeling. Whereas, Naru was rarely loose with his expressions. "She'll be okay," He said, catching his son's eyes. "She's strong."

He laughed and bobbed his head up and down, his black hair bouncing along with him. "I know!" Another quiet moment passed and was interrupted by low rumbling noise. "I'm hungry." The toddler wrapped an arm around his stomach and his face blushed in embarrassment.

Luella glared at Naru. "I knew you were going to be hungry." Ren looked over his shoulder to her and she smiled. "How about we all go get something to eat!"

His mother stood easily placing Ren on her hip and Naru watched the others around him follow her lead.

"Naru," Madoka said. "Come on, you need to eat."

"No. I'm not leaving right now."

"Fine." The strawberry blond said. "Let Mai yell at you when she wakes up. We'll bring you up something."

The door slid shut and Naru scooted his chair closer to her bed and leaned his head down to rest on the soft padding of the bed next to Mai's hip. Slowly, he let his eyes shut and his consciousness drift to light sleep.

Hey there! I'm exhausted! This week has been tiring and I've got an early day tomorrow so I need to get to bed! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and are looking forward to the next one! Let me know what you think in the reviews!

See you all next week!

Cheers!