Mai tried very hard not to roll her eyes at Naru's tongue-lashing she was currently receiving. She had only been awake for about an hour and after checking in with her doctor, and hugging her friends and family, Naru had all but ripped her apart at being more careful in the future. In all likelihood, she wouldn't be surprised if he refused to let her go anywhere herself for a while.

While he continued and she stopped listening, she decided to watch her son as he curled into her side and pet his head with slow strokes. She had missed him and was truly worried that she would never get to see him again, and that led her to stare into the eyes of the beloved ranting man sitting to the side of her. He had his arms crossed and was glaring harshly at Mai, but she paid it no mind and continued to watch him, their eyes locking.

"Are you even listening to me?" He said angrily. His voice was lowered in light of their sleeping child between them.

She shook her head. "Not even a little." An honest reply, one that Naru did not like. "I'm so happy to see you." She smiled as she leaned her head into the plush pillow behind her and Naru fought to keep up his lecture but the resolve melted when she looked at him like that.

He stood and leaned down to capture her lips for a passionate kiss and her finger wound themselves into his hair, gripping it near the nape of his neck. Naru cupped her cheek and ran his tongue over her lips easily gaining entry when she gasped, and they fought for dominance for a moment before he pulled back and pressed his forehead into hers. Her eyes slid shut and she gently caressed his face.

"I love you." She said pressing a kiss onto his cheek. She reached up and pulled him down so that he sat more comfortably next to her. He wrapped his arms around her and she smiled as she pushed into his middle. They sat there in a warm and content moment before Naru whispered into her ear.

"I am never going to be letting you out of my sight." He said, his hand placed against the back of her delicate head and caressing her soft hair. He felt her chuckle against his chest and curl into him.

The small figure between them began moving and woke up with a yawn. "Mama?" He opened his blue eyes and watched his parents stare at him, both smiling in different intensities.

Slowly, their son crawled towards them both and onto his mother's lap before curling into the both of them before letting his eyes droop once more as he settled back to sleep. The two adults eyeballed the child between them and Mai smiled a bit and giggled into her hand as Naru tightened his hold on Mai and wrapped his other arm around his son's back, his small back moving up and down as he breathed deeply.

They hadn't realized how much time had passed until Luella was waking them from their slumber. Ren stayed asleep against his mother's chest and Mai remained content to lie on Naru's chest, his back resting on the raised head of the hospital bed.

"What time is it?" Mai asked rubbing her eyes and adjusting her position.

"It's early," Luella said sitting on the chair off to the side of the room and gazing out the window. "How are you feeling today?"

"Good," The girl in the bed said leaning back into Naru's body. She usually would have felt a bit embarrassed over her outward affection towards Naru, and in front of his parents no less. "The doctor is going to let me go home tomorrow, but the meds they have had me on have kept me asleep for most of the day. So, I don't know if I can say I am doing good - I can't feel anything."

Luella smiled. "Better to feel nothing than to be in pain." She shifted and faced the two on the bed. "I think your team wants to meet with you soon, they've been working nonstop, it seems."

"I know. Kado mentioned to me that they were able to get an idea of where he went but the trail goes pretty cold again."

"Well, his face is being plastered all over the news, so, if someone does get a good look at him, they'll probably report him." Luella watched Mai's eyes become vacant as she held her child. She could only imagine how much stress was placed onto the young girl in the current predicament.

"Ouch," Mai grit her teeth as she hopped out of the car and onto her driveway. She had moved her body too quickly and her skin pulled at the stitches, causing her a great deal of pain, medicated or not. She hissed through her teeth bringing her slightly crouching body up to stand straighter as she eyed her house carefully. It was a deep worry that this would happen, that she would ever feel unsafe in her home. The one she had built together with her child.

An arm wrapped around her shoulder and helped take the weight off her abdomen a bit. "I told you to wait until I got over here to help you," Naru said to her side. "You need to be more careful."

"I'm fine, Naru," She said looking at him in a sidelong glance. "Honestly, I think I just moved too quickly."

He watched her for a moment before narrowing his eyes. "You're a bad liar." Mai glared at him and they continued toward the front door, her go-pack from the hospital slung over his shoulder.

A sudden laugh escaped Mai's throat. The position she was in was so similar to when she came home from the hospital with Ren. Naru stared at her.

"What is so funny?"

She shook her head and chuckled a little. "Nothing, I was just thinking that this is such a similar circumstance that we are in when Ren was allowed to come home for the first time." Naru looked at her squarely, now interested in hearing what she was going to say. "Kado was helping me and Hina held Ren in his car seat. I was so excited to get him inside and just kick everyone out." She could only imagine how ungrateful that sounded and she blushed a little at the revelation. "That's not to say I didn't like their company! I was just so exhausted and was happy to be with him for a while without someone wanting to take him away from me and hold him."

"I can only imagine." He said. His heart broke a bit at the thought of him missing out on important moments of their lives, but understood where Mai came from when making the decision not to tell Naru about their baby.

Mai noticed his shift and immediately felt guilt work its way into the deepest crevice of her bones. It settled into her and wore her like a glove, almost suffocatingly. She slowed her walk down and Naru stopped to look at her confused.

"Naru, I… I'm so sorry." She said looking down to the ground, her arm resting over her bandaged center loosely. "I am so sorry that I didn't tell you and I wish I could give you an excuse as to why I did, but I really can't." She wiped at her eyes fiercely. "It was a terrible decision and, I know I can never make up for it, but-"

"Mai, just stop." He said pressing his hand to her mouth and then wrapping his arms around her. "I don't blame you for anything and I have already come to terms with why you did what you did." He raked a hand through her hair. "I am so happy that I got to meet him and even happier to be with you again." She leaned into him and wrapped an arm around his middle. "Besides, we can just make another." His breath was knocked out of him as Mai's small fist punched him in the gut.

"Jerk," Her voice was muffled by his chest but when she pulled back they both smiled at each other and continued up to the house.

Naru reached out in front of her and unlocked the door to their house before lightly shoving it open. He led Mai through the threshold and went to shut the door. A brief moment passed before the light was suddenly turned on.

"Surprise!" A group of voices screamed, a banner welcoming Mai home behind them.

An immediate moment of panic struck Mai and her eyes widened in fear and she pressed her back into the wall as far as possible. Her knees shook so bad and she ended up sinking to the floor, her breath still attempting to suck enough oxygen into her deflated lungs. Stars swam in her vision and lightheadedness took over the weight of her skull.

"Mai?" Naru's voice was in front of her and she met his eyes with a terrifying stare. "It's okay, you're home and there is no threat."

She took a gasping breath of air and could now feel her abdomen crying out in pain. Her hand immediately went to her stomach and she groaned. The discomfort was slightly irritating but it was also a lighthouse for her through her haze of agony. Something she could zone in on and keep her focus on while she attempted to calm herself down.

Naru's body was still in front of her and he quickly reached into the go-bag he once had around his shoulders and snagged the prescription medication. He held out one of the tablets and pulled out the water bottle on the side of the pack. Relinquishing the hold she had across her stomach, she grabbed both and took the pain meds without much restraint.

Ren was standing off to the side and wanted to be by his parents. However, his grandfather had explained to him what was going on and his grandmother held him in a tight hug, waiting out the episode. It was only a few moments, but it felt like a while since she had walked through the door. Glancing around, he stared at the faces of his mother's team from work. They all looked regretful and worried. Their plan for a simple surprise party had gone wrong, but his mother rose with the help of his father and beamed at the group.

"Sorry about that," She said laughing nervously. "You all startled me a bit." As if that wasn't obvious. His father rolled his eyes at the obvious statement his mother made and, catching him in the act, she retaliated with a well-deserved stomp on his foot. "What is all of this for? I just left the hospital. No reason to make it a big thing."

Kado laughed heartily. "Of course it is!" He went up to the young girl and grabbed her in a hug. "You're up and moving and moments like this should be celebrated and treasured. We don't get a lot of them with our job."

Mai smiled at him with understanding and started giving out hugs to everyone and mingled for a bit before she settled herself on the couch and watched her friends and family interact with each other. Hina had made Mai's favorite dessert, strawberry cake and Maki had brought over some finger foods. Ren was laughing happily as Luca tossed him in the air. Another smile overcame her face and she closed her eyes, sending a brief prayer to an unspoken person, thanking them for allowing fate to let her live to be around a family such as this.

A movement next to her made her open her eyes at the shift and Naru wrapped an arm around her, bringing her into his chest, her head resting just below his.

"We're all very glad that you're okay."

She closed her eyes to the scene around her and relished in the sensory information her brain was currently picking upon. Different voices, the sweet smell of fruit, and the feeling of Naru's heartbeat just beneath hers. The pills began taking their soothing effect as a wave of drowsiness hit her full force. She fought to stay awake for as long as she could before she completely relaxed into Naru and he pulled her legs up over his, bringing her to curl into his chest.

Hey! I'll be leaving for a trip tomorrow, so I wanted to get this updated sooner rather than later! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I really liked writing it and I am excited to get to the main event. Let me know what you thought in the comments, I'd love to hear it!

Cheers!