**Here's chapter eight! I can't believe how long this is so far! Tai's going to leave Pearl Harbor in this chapter. It's been a week, and he isn't needed on the island again. Before he leaves, however, he makes a short visit to someone who affected him deeply. You'll find out what happened to Matt in this chapter also. Did he die? Is he alive? I don't know, but you will soon! Sora and Mimi also know whether or not Mimi's having Matt's baby or not by now. Review for me, and a bright new chapter will come to you soon!**
War Torn
Chapter Eight: Home
Tai struggled to pick his pack up. He was so sore from all the work he was doing on the island. He'd been at the harbor for a week, and had patched roofs, scavenged for animals and people trapped beneath piles of debris, and he had even manned a life boat once to drag the dead out of the dark waters. The strain of his work had made Tai look much older than he was. He no longer looked like a fresh young eighteen year old, but a man in his thirties. He knew lack of sleep was what was making him look so terrible, but he couldn't force himself to go to bed at night with all the work that needed done. He spent nights staring at the ceiling as he thought about all the things that needed fixed. Finally his group was freed from duty, and was going home. Though Tai wanted to stay and help, he also wanted to hold Sora in his arms desperately.
"One more stop before I go." Tai said to himself decisively as he walked out of the makeshift barracks he had shared with numerous other people. He walked toward the shelter where he had stopped to leave the four orphaned children he had found a week before. He remembered the overwhelming sadness that had almost overtaken him when he looked into the little girl's eyes. He had bottled it up inside him so no one saw him cry, but in an instant, Tai felt hot tears rolling down his face. He remembered the baby he held close to him, a small infant no more than two months old.
"It's not fair." Tai murmured, stopping and sitting on a flat rock. For a few minutes, Tai sobbed openly for the little children who would never see their mother and father again. It broke his heart to know that they would be separated, but there was nothing he could do about it. Getting up and wiping the tears from his brown eyes, Tai continued toward the shelter.
"May I help you?" a kindly woman asked, straightening her white nurse uniform as she stood from her desk.
"My name is Lieutenant Taichi Kamiya. I brought four children here about a week ago, and I wanted to see how they were doing before I left for the states again." Tai replied, showing the woman his dog tags. She smiled, and led Tai to a small room swarming with children of all ages. Tai caught notice of the four little ones and walked over to them.
"Hi kids. How are you doing?" Tai asked. Mary looked up at Tai, her eyes bright, yet sad at the same time. Joshua and Ruth also looked up. Tai noticed Layne sleeping peacefully in Mary's arms.
"We're okay." Mary replied. Joshua stood up and frowned.
"No it's not. They tried to take Layne away from us. Mary hasn't let him go all week. She's scared they'll come and take him away. We don't want to be separated." Joshua stated, glaring at the nurses. Tai looked over at the women, who were sitting close to the children.
"They're just trying to take care of him so you guys will be able to play with the other kids. Don't you want to play with them?" Tai asked.
"I want my Gramma!" Ruth wailed, her blue eyes filled instantly with tears. Joshua comforted his sister as Mary cradled Layne, who was still sound asleep.
"Mary, can I take your brother over to the nurses? I promise if they try to take him from me, I'll bring him back to you." Tai offered. Mary contemplated Tai's request, then handed tiny Layne to Tai, who held him in his arms and looked down on him. Upon seeing him move in his sleep, Tai couldn't help but feel sadness for the child who had no idea what was happening to his life at the moment.
"Excuse me, but the little girl thinks you're going to take her brother from her. Is that true?" Tai asked, walking up to two nurses.
"Oh no, we're just trying to take him so the children can relax. Their grandmother and grandfather live in California, and their plane leaves soon." The nurse replied. Tai thought for a moment, then looked around the room at the children playing.
"Are they going on the plane bound for the base in California?" Tai asked. The nurses nodded, and Tai smiled.
"I'll take them. I'm going on the very same flight." Tai suggested.
"Normally we wouldn't permit it, but since you seem to like these little ones, I think we'll let you. You leave in an hour, but you already know that, don't you?" the nurse replied, smiling sweetly. Tai grinned and nodded, then walked back to the other children. The nurses smiled as they watched Tai talk to the kids, then hug them nicely.
Matt woke from a deep sleep to find Candie staring down at him with intense eyes. He tried to sit up, but felt dizziness overtake him, so he laid back down.
"What happened? Is Mimi okay?" Matt asked, staring back at Candie with confused blue orbs.
"I don't know. Mimi isn't here. You were having a nightmare. You were talking about Mimi and a baby. Are you and Mimi having a baby?" Candie asked. Matt shook his head and looked away.
"A nightmare. . . that makes sense. I need to leave now, is it possible for me to find the rest of my squad?" Matt asked, sitting up. The dizziness had subsided, and Matt swung his legs out of bed. Candie looked down and sighed.
"They're dead, Matt. Your bunker was hit early, and none of them made it. You're the only one left. They're sending you home in an hour. If you weren't awake by then, they were going to load you on the plane asleep." Candie responded. Matt stared straight ahead, trying to understand the woman.
"Dead? All of them? No way, they're not dead, you must have the wrong bunker. They're not. . . ." Matt said, breaking down completely.
"It's okay. . . " Candie said, hugging Matt tightly. Matt sobbed into her white uniform, wetting the shoulder slightly.
"I can't believe it. . ." Matt whispered, still unbelieving. He got up and walked out of the hospital, Candie watching him as he walked into the light for the first time in almost a week. Matt walked toward the airstrip to wait on his flight home. Images of his now dead comrades flew through his mind, along with a constant image of Mimi at home. The thought of seeing her again made him happy, but the deaths of his friends made him miserable. Still weeping, Matt continued to walk.
Mimi and Sora sat in Sora's home, tea in their hands. Sora looked out the window and sighed.
"Tai's coming home soon. I hope Matt comes home too so you can tell him." Sora said distantly. Mimi nodded, her face pale.
"How can I tell him about something this serious? He'll leave me to raise it alone." Mimi said quietly. Sora shook her head negatively.
"I don't think so. I think he's the kind of guy who doesn't leave anyone, plus I think he really loves you, otherwise, he'd be dead. Tai's letter said that Matt was alive, and that he would probably be coming home. If he didn't have you to live for, he'd have surely died in that plane." Sora replied.
"I hope you're right." Mimi whispered, looking into the sky absently. Sora poured more tea into her cup, sipping it quietly.
"I have to go pick up Tai in about an hour and a half. Do you want to come?" Sora asked. Mimi nodded, and poured some tea for herself, drinking it slowly.
Matt waited with some other soldiers for the plane. He was still thinking about Mimi and his friends, but his thoughts were interrupted as Tai walked into his field of view.
"Tai!" Matt cried, getting up out of a chair. Tai walked quickly to Matt, holding baby Layne in his arms. The other three children followed like ducklings, each hidden behind Tai's legs.
"What's this?" Matt asked. Tai smiled and showed the baby to Matt.
"This is Mary over here, and her brother Joshua, and that's her sister Ruth. This is her brother Layne. Their mom and dad were killed, and now I'm taking them to their grandparents in California. It just so happened our flights coincided. I didn't know you were leaving. I visited you all week, but you were always sleeping. You were on the brink of death, man." Tai explained, rocking the now crying baby in his arms. Matt laughed at Tai, then stopped when Tai looked at him oddly.
"Look at you. Wouldn't you make a good daddy?" Matt teased. Mary, Joshua and Ruth all nodded and ducked behind Tai once again.
"Don't you mean you?" Tai retorted. Before he could think, he had given away the secret Sora had told him to keep. Matt turned a pale shade and looked at Tai carefully.
"Please say you're kidding." Matt asked. Tai handed Layne to Matt, who held him shakily.
"I don't know if you're going to need to know how to hold one, but you might want to get familiar." Tai replied. Matt groaned.
"We were careful! She can't be. . .no way." Matt stated, handing the sleeping baby to Tai once again. Tai shrugged and turned as the plane began to land on the ground. He herded the children behind a bench as dust flew everywhere. Matt took off his button down shirt and covered the baby with it as Tai shook his jacket off and handed it to the three children to hide under.
"Nice way to use a uniform." Matt commented absently as he got onto the plane and took a seat next to Tai. Ruth and Mary jumped into Matt's arms, sitting on his lap. Joshua got onto Tai's lap and cuddled up next to Layne.
"It's going to be a long thirty minutes." Tai joked as the plane lifted from the earth.
"Tell me about it. . ." Matt mumbled, preoccupied by Mimi and what Tai had said earlier.
**There's another chapter! Review it for me, and then you'll get to see Sora and Tai reunite, the kids going with their grandparents, and Mimi telling Matt something he'll never forget. Lata for now!**
War Torn
Chapter Eight: Home
Tai struggled to pick his pack up. He was so sore from all the work he was doing on the island. He'd been at the harbor for a week, and had patched roofs, scavenged for animals and people trapped beneath piles of debris, and he had even manned a life boat once to drag the dead out of the dark waters. The strain of his work had made Tai look much older than he was. He no longer looked like a fresh young eighteen year old, but a man in his thirties. He knew lack of sleep was what was making him look so terrible, but he couldn't force himself to go to bed at night with all the work that needed done. He spent nights staring at the ceiling as he thought about all the things that needed fixed. Finally his group was freed from duty, and was going home. Though Tai wanted to stay and help, he also wanted to hold Sora in his arms desperately.
"One more stop before I go." Tai said to himself decisively as he walked out of the makeshift barracks he had shared with numerous other people. He walked toward the shelter where he had stopped to leave the four orphaned children he had found a week before. He remembered the overwhelming sadness that had almost overtaken him when he looked into the little girl's eyes. He had bottled it up inside him so no one saw him cry, but in an instant, Tai felt hot tears rolling down his face. He remembered the baby he held close to him, a small infant no more than two months old.
"It's not fair." Tai murmured, stopping and sitting on a flat rock. For a few minutes, Tai sobbed openly for the little children who would never see their mother and father again. It broke his heart to know that they would be separated, but there was nothing he could do about it. Getting up and wiping the tears from his brown eyes, Tai continued toward the shelter.
"May I help you?" a kindly woman asked, straightening her white nurse uniform as she stood from her desk.
"My name is Lieutenant Taichi Kamiya. I brought four children here about a week ago, and I wanted to see how they were doing before I left for the states again." Tai replied, showing the woman his dog tags. She smiled, and led Tai to a small room swarming with children of all ages. Tai caught notice of the four little ones and walked over to them.
"Hi kids. How are you doing?" Tai asked. Mary looked up at Tai, her eyes bright, yet sad at the same time. Joshua and Ruth also looked up. Tai noticed Layne sleeping peacefully in Mary's arms.
"We're okay." Mary replied. Joshua stood up and frowned.
"No it's not. They tried to take Layne away from us. Mary hasn't let him go all week. She's scared they'll come and take him away. We don't want to be separated." Joshua stated, glaring at the nurses. Tai looked over at the women, who were sitting close to the children.
"They're just trying to take care of him so you guys will be able to play with the other kids. Don't you want to play with them?" Tai asked.
"I want my Gramma!" Ruth wailed, her blue eyes filled instantly with tears. Joshua comforted his sister as Mary cradled Layne, who was still sound asleep.
"Mary, can I take your brother over to the nurses? I promise if they try to take him from me, I'll bring him back to you." Tai offered. Mary contemplated Tai's request, then handed tiny Layne to Tai, who held him in his arms and looked down on him. Upon seeing him move in his sleep, Tai couldn't help but feel sadness for the child who had no idea what was happening to his life at the moment.
"Excuse me, but the little girl thinks you're going to take her brother from her. Is that true?" Tai asked, walking up to two nurses.
"Oh no, we're just trying to take him so the children can relax. Their grandmother and grandfather live in California, and their plane leaves soon." The nurse replied. Tai thought for a moment, then looked around the room at the children playing.
"Are they going on the plane bound for the base in California?" Tai asked. The nurses nodded, and Tai smiled.
"I'll take them. I'm going on the very same flight." Tai suggested.
"Normally we wouldn't permit it, but since you seem to like these little ones, I think we'll let you. You leave in an hour, but you already know that, don't you?" the nurse replied, smiling sweetly. Tai grinned and nodded, then walked back to the other children. The nurses smiled as they watched Tai talk to the kids, then hug them nicely.
Matt woke from a deep sleep to find Candie staring down at him with intense eyes. He tried to sit up, but felt dizziness overtake him, so he laid back down.
"What happened? Is Mimi okay?" Matt asked, staring back at Candie with confused blue orbs.
"I don't know. Mimi isn't here. You were having a nightmare. You were talking about Mimi and a baby. Are you and Mimi having a baby?" Candie asked. Matt shook his head and looked away.
"A nightmare. . . that makes sense. I need to leave now, is it possible for me to find the rest of my squad?" Matt asked, sitting up. The dizziness had subsided, and Matt swung his legs out of bed. Candie looked down and sighed.
"They're dead, Matt. Your bunker was hit early, and none of them made it. You're the only one left. They're sending you home in an hour. If you weren't awake by then, they were going to load you on the plane asleep." Candie responded. Matt stared straight ahead, trying to understand the woman.
"Dead? All of them? No way, they're not dead, you must have the wrong bunker. They're not. . . ." Matt said, breaking down completely.
"It's okay. . . " Candie said, hugging Matt tightly. Matt sobbed into her white uniform, wetting the shoulder slightly.
"I can't believe it. . ." Matt whispered, still unbelieving. He got up and walked out of the hospital, Candie watching him as he walked into the light for the first time in almost a week. Matt walked toward the airstrip to wait on his flight home. Images of his now dead comrades flew through his mind, along with a constant image of Mimi at home. The thought of seeing her again made him happy, but the deaths of his friends made him miserable. Still weeping, Matt continued to walk.
Mimi and Sora sat in Sora's home, tea in their hands. Sora looked out the window and sighed.
"Tai's coming home soon. I hope Matt comes home too so you can tell him." Sora said distantly. Mimi nodded, her face pale.
"How can I tell him about something this serious? He'll leave me to raise it alone." Mimi said quietly. Sora shook her head negatively.
"I don't think so. I think he's the kind of guy who doesn't leave anyone, plus I think he really loves you, otherwise, he'd be dead. Tai's letter said that Matt was alive, and that he would probably be coming home. If he didn't have you to live for, he'd have surely died in that plane." Sora replied.
"I hope you're right." Mimi whispered, looking into the sky absently. Sora poured more tea into her cup, sipping it quietly.
"I have to go pick up Tai in about an hour and a half. Do you want to come?" Sora asked. Mimi nodded, and poured some tea for herself, drinking it slowly.
Matt waited with some other soldiers for the plane. He was still thinking about Mimi and his friends, but his thoughts were interrupted as Tai walked into his field of view.
"Tai!" Matt cried, getting up out of a chair. Tai walked quickly to Matt, holding baby Layne in his arms. The other three children followed like ducklings, each hidden behind Tai's legs.
"What's this?" Matt asked. Tai smiled and showed the baby to Matt.
"This is Mary over here, and her brother Joshua, and that's her sister Ruth. This is her brother Layne. Their mom and dad were killed, and now I'm taking them to their grandparents in California. It just so happened our flights coincided. I didn't know you were leaving. I visited you all week, but you were always sleeping. You were on the brink of death, man." Tai explained, rocking the now crying baby in his arms. Matt laughed at Tai, then stopped when Tai looked at him oddly.
"Look at you. Wouldn't you make a good daddy?" Matt teased. Mary, Joshua and Ruth all nodded and ducked behind Tai once again.
"Don't you mean you?" Tai retorted. Before he could think, he had given away the secret Sora had told him to keep. Matt turned a pale shade and looked at Tai carefully.
"Please say you're kidding." Matt asked. Tai handed Layne to Matt, who held him shakily.
"I don't know if you're going to need to know how to hold one, but you might want to get familiar." Tai replied. Matt groaned.
"We were careful! She can't be. . .no way." Matt stated, handing the sleeping baby to Tai once again. Tai shrugged and turned as the plane began to land on the ground. He herded the children behind a bench as dust flew everywhere. Matt took off his button down shirt and covered the baby with it as Tai shook his jacket off and handed it to the three children to hide under.
"Nice way to use a uniform." Matt commented absently as he got onto the plane and took a seat next to Tai. Ruth and Mary jumped into Matt's arms, sitting on his lap. Joshua got onto Tai's lap and cuddled up next to Layne.
"It's going to be a long thirty minutes." Tai joked as the plane lifted from the earth.
"Tell me about it. . ." Matt mumbled, preoccupied by Mimi and what Tai had said earlier.
**There's another chapter! Review it for me, and then you'll get to see Sora and Tai reunite, the kids going with their grandparents, and Mimi telling Matt something he'll never forget. Lata for now!**