"Uhnnnn."
Ranma stirred as his senses started to return to him. He felt the sheets and the soft pillow under his head.
The bed was really comfortable.
He rolled over and felt a warm spot on the bed. His arm reached up and found a new pillow and pulled it under his head. It had a nice smell that reminded him of Nabiki.
Nabiki.
His eyes flashed open and he sat up quickly to find that the world was suddenly spinning in directions that were all wrong. Ranma recognized the signs of a concussion and slowly laid down again, letting the room slowly come to a stop. He eyed the ceiling and slowly turned his head to look around the room.
He saw that the walls were bare white, a window with plain curtains over his head, and two small black nightstands on both sides of the large bed. The desk that was next to the door had several books on it, and some blue clothes covered the chair.
Ranma quickly grasped that he was not in a hospital room, and he wasn't at the Tendos either. He slowly slid up the bed and leaned against the headboard. He started to taste bile in his throat, but at least the room wasn't spinning. After a short fight, his stomach settled down and he felt a little better. He slowly moved his hand up to his head to wipe the sweat away but stopped when he felt a bandage covering his scalp.
His head didn't hurt, but there was some slight itching. He moved his arm again and gently touched the side of head where the itch was the strongest. He applied a little pressure with a finger to the gauze, and when he did not feel any pain he pressed his whole palm on his head and found a place where it hurt.
That made sense to him, the last thing he remembered was...
He couldn't remember. He thought for a moment. He remembered he went to school, and it was a really bad day. No. It was a very bad morning, everyone was apologizing and offering sympathy, but not exactly why. He remembered seeing Nabiki being attacked and the immense sense of relief he felt when he knew that Nabiki was safe.
The rest of the day was sort of missing, so he closed his eyes and tried to mediate. Just as he started to relax, Ranma heard the door latch click and opened his eyes.
"You're awake again!" Nodoka exclaimed as she entered the room with a full laundry basket, which was quickly placed on the floor at the foot of the bed. She walked around the bed to her son and immediately started checking his bandages.
"I guess the doctor was right; he did say you were probably going to wake up today. How are you feeling, Ranma?"
Ranma winced at his mother's ministrations; her motions were too unpredictable for him to feel safe. He could feel her touching the bandage, probing the parts that hurt when they were touched.
He felt awkward, his mother was obviously very happy to see him again and that he was awake and he had not said a word yet. "Uh. Hi, Mom," he stammered. "Again?"
"Oh, yes," she replied, "but this is the first time you sat up."
When she stopped doing whatever it was to his scalp, Ranma worked up the courage to ask where he was. "Where am I?"
The smile on his mother's face was bright, and her voice was filled with pride when she said, "This is your room, Ranma. They just finished it the day before yesterday. Like it?"
"My room?" Ranma looked around. If this was his room, then that means that the Saotome house must have been rebuilt. "Really?"
Nodoka laughed as she watched his eyes dart from corner to corner. "Yes," she replied.
Ranma's stomach growled in hunger. "Mom?"
Nodoka patted Ranma's leg, and said, "I know. You haven't eaten since yesterday, so you're hungry. You just rest, and I'll bring some food in a little while."
"Yesterday? How long have I been out?"
"Well, you went in the hospital on Tuesday night and today is Friday."
Ranma's stomach growled again. "Mom?"
"Just relax, and I'll be back in a few minutes."
Ranma watched his mother leave as he leaned against the wall. He closed his eyes and pictured the room in his mind, trying to memorize where everything was located. Memorizing the layout of a room was a habit he gained while traveling with his father; knowing where everything was made it less painful to move about the room in the dark. It was also an excellent exercise of his visual perception.
He tried to focus on what the room looked like but found it difficult to think about anything for more than just a few minutes. After a few attempts, Ranma gave up and opened his eyes again. He wondered what time it was and saw a digital clock radio on the nightstand.
He thought aloud, "One twenty, huh? I wonder what's going on at school?"
He heard the door again and turned his head to face it, and was rewarded with a psychedelic wall. He closed his eyes and waited until he was sure that straight lines would be straight again.
His mother spoke with a concerned voice, "Ramma? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. I moved my head a little too fast and the room went all weird on me.
He opened his eyes as he felt a tray placed on his lap. Carefully looking down, he saw a bowl of soup, a bowl of rice and a large cup of tea. Moving slowly as not to spill anything Ranma picked up the soup bowl and took a sip. It was not too hot and tasted very good. Satisfied that this was not Akane's cooking, he took a big swallow of soup then set the bowl down. He looked up to compliment his mother on how good the food tasted and found that she was no longer in the room. After mentally shrugging his shoulders, Ranma ate his meal in quiet.
Ranma felt exhausted when he finished eating. He lifted the tray up and moved it to the other side of the bed before sliding down back into the sheets and was asleep within seconds of closing his eyes.
"Ranma-kun?"
Ranma felt a small hand on his chest gently shaking him. I opened his eyes to see Nabiki sitting on the bed next to him.
"Nabiki" he said as soon as he recognized her.
A smile crossed her face. "I have dinner here for you, so why don't you sit up."
Ranma slowly sat up and had to fight the bitter taste again. He looked over at Nabiki who had placed a tray on the nightstand and was stirring the soup. He watched her pick up the soup and slowly hand the bowl to him.
"It's hot, so be careful," Nabiki warned.
Ranma could see the steam wisp above the bowl as he gently cradled the bowl in his hands and took a tentative sip. It was hot, but consumable. He ate the soup in silence with Nabiki occasionally wiping the errant drop off his face. When he was done, she took his bowl and placed it on the tray.
"So, do you think you can eat this without making a mess in bed?"
Ranma thought that Nabiki had a playful look on her face when she asked that question. Some warning bells went of in his head -- she was obviously up to something, and his reply carried his suspicions, "Yeah."
She placed the tray on his lap and watched him eat and when he was finished, Nabiki took the tray from him, and with a wink, said she'd be right back as she left the room.
Ranma didn't miss the wink. If the warning bells were ringing before, they sounded like a hundred klaxons blasting now.
Nabiki returned and sat on the edge of the bed. She brushed her hair out of her eyes and said, "Scoot over, I need more room" as she climbed on the bed next to Ranma.
Ranma slowly moved from the middle of the bed and watched her take a lazy position next to him.
The silence bothered Ranma, he had to say something to release the tension he felt. "You alright?"
"I'm fine."
"What happened?"
"What do you remember?"
Ranma started a stream-of-consciousness dump, occasionally remembering a new small tidbit from Tuesday.
"Do you remember why you were so mad?"
"Yeah. Everyone was saying all those mean things about you."
"What do you remember after the fight?"
"Nothin, really. I remember waking up earlier today and Mom feeding me, but that's about it."
Ranma's eyelids started to droop and he fought to stay awake.
"Go to sleep, Ranma. I'll wake you up later."
***
It was to a gentle shake that woke Ranma, and when he opened his eyes, he saw Nabiki on the bed next to him.
"You there?" she asked.
"I think so," was his sleeply reply.
"Good."
He looked around the room for a moment and wondered where he was for a moment before remembering what his mother told him.
"Nabiki?"
"What?"
"I gotta go to the bathroom."
"Okay. Let me help you." Nabiki sat up and walked around the bed. She put her arms out and helped Ranma slowly pull himself into a sitting position on the edge of the bed.
Moving with all deliberate slowness, Ranma stood with Nabiki's help. His first step was unsteady, and he felt himself being caught by Nabiki.
Nabiki's voice was soft and re-assuring, "I have you, Ranma. Just take it slow."
Ranma silently thanked Nabiki for being so supportive; he was having serious problems discerning what direction was "up". As the two of them slowly staggered out the door, Ranma realized he had no idea where the bathroom was, but when he felt a tug, he let Nabiki lead him to the water closet that was in the bathroom.
Ranma leaned against the wall and reached to open the door. His own movement was too fast for his brain to decipher, his stomach started to cramp and the walls started to move. He quickly close his eyes and started to hyperventilate to see if he could hold his dinner down.
It took what felt like a long time for the nausea to pass, and when it did, Ranma felt clammy and wanted to take a bath.
He relaxed his tight grip on Nabiki and said, "You can let go of me now. I think I can stand again."
Nabiki released her hug and slowly stepped back, and when she let go of him, Ranma's hand shot for the wall. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to judge the distance and he grabbed air.
Nabiki quickly caught him as he started to topple over.
"I guess I can't," Ranma sheepishly said. "Thanks for catching me."
Nabiki shifted Ranma's weight a little and wryly said, "Yeah, I caught you alright."
Nabiki took a small step towards the water closet and Ranma mimicked her motions. Once in, he grabbed the rail on the wall and Nabiki let go of him.
Stepping back out of the room, Nabiki slowly closed the door and said, "call me if you need help."
Going to the bathroom wasn't that hard, all Ranma had to do was hang on to the rails on both sides of the toilet and close his eyes. Now all he had to do was get dressed again. Pulling up his underwear was easy, just reach down and pull up.
"Uh, oh." Ranma said as the room changed shape again. He leaned against the wall grabbed for the rail, smashing his hand against it. His stomach started to convulse and a strong taste filled his mouth. Bending over what he thought was the toilet he let his body do what it needed.
He felt someone holding him steady as his chest started to relax. He rolled over and saw Nabiki flushing the toilet with one hand. Closing his eyes, he relaxed and breathed slowly. His throat and chest hurt, and he tasted some vile stuff through his nose.
He felt a cool washcloth wipe over his face opened his eyes.
"You know, I thought you were actually going to make it there, Ranma."
"Sorry about that, Nabiki. I just moved too fast again."
Nabiki chuckled as she said, "at least you pulled your shorts up. Think you can get up again?"
"Yeah. Maybe."
Nabiki stood up and held Ranma's hands in hers. Ranma slowly pulled himself up, and once standing, he reached for the support bars again. Nabiki guided his hand to the bar and stood back.
"That better?" she asked
"Yeah. Thanks, Nabiki." Ranma looked down at the floor and found that his pants were still around his ankles. His face turned red with embarrassment. He thought about pulling his pants up, but he remembered what happened with his underwear. Modesty lost to his desire to keep his body fluids inside of him.
"Ranma, can you make it to the bathroom?"
"Maybe."
"Come on. I'll help. First, step out of those pants," Nabiki said as she held him up. Ranma moved slowly and the pants fell of his leg. He shifted his weight and repeated the same process with the other leg.
He took a tentative step forward, and with Nabiki's help made it to the middle of the tiled bathroom floor.
"Sit down and relax, Ranma. You are getting a sponge bath."
"Sponge bath? Why can't I take a regular bath?"
"Because, Ranma, you can't even stand up without my help, so what makes you think you can get out of the tub, much less into the tub? Maybe tomorrow you can have a real bath. Right now you stink, and you are getting a sponge bath."
"Why can't I do it myself?"
"Can you pull up your own shorts without throwing up?"
The truth hurt. The macho part of him said, "hell, yes", but the water closet floor was evidence to the contrary. Sheepishly he said, "Uh, no?" as he sat down.
"Relax, Ranma. You'll feel better when I'm done."
Ranma sat on the cool floor and watched Nabiki get ready to wash him. After she readied the buckets, washcloths, towels and soap, he watched her hesitate for a moment as if she was making her mind up about something. Finally she pulled the stool next to him and sat on it.
"Ready?"
"Yeah."
Ranma was glad that the only thing that was said between the two of them was instructions that Nabiki gave him to make it easier for to wash him. The bath felt good, and Nabiki had a nice touch. He luxuriated in her ministrations. Even her toweling felt good.
When she was finished, he felt wonderful, and extremely thankful that she insisted that she give the bath.
"Nabiki," he started to say. In the back of his mind, calling her Nabiki wasn't the right thing to say given what she just did for him. He started again, "Nabiki-chan?"
He found it hard to look at her, and her whispered reply was almost lost in the sound of his own blood pounding in his ears.
"Ranma-kun?"
"Can...May I give," Ranma's voice weakened, and he tried again, "Want me to wash you?"
He looked up to see Nabiki's blush. He wasn't sure how she was going to answer.
"Y-yes, Ranma."
Ranma started to move.
She hurriedly put her hands on Ranma's shoulders, and said, "Not now Ranma. Later, when you feel better."
Ranma looked at her for a moment and watched her play with the ends of her hair.
"In fact, I'm going to insist that you do," she said as she smiled.
Ranma felt her eyes roam over his body, but he didn't mind, for he was doing the same to her. He felt something started stir, and immediately became self-conscious. Hiding his privates, he indicated that he wanted to put his pants on with a nod of his head.
Nabiki turned crimson and tore her eyes away from him. She quickly gathered a measure of composure and instructed Ranma to wait a few seconds while she went to get some clean clothes for him.
When Nabiki returned to the bathroom with a clean change of clothes she found Ranma sitting on the bathroom counter. "That was stupid of him," she thought.
She tossed the boxers and trousers to his feet. "Get back down on your butt and put these one," she said.
She watched Ranma bend over to pick up the shorts and staggered. She felt sorry for him, the blow to his head was serious, and it was going to take time for him to realize that he wasn't going heal as quick as he normally would.
She crossed her arms, wondering when he was going to change his shorts. A sudden "ahem" from him caught her attention and she realized that he wanted a little privacy while he changed. She felt a little disappointed that she wasn't going to get a cheap show but tried not to let it show.
"I'll turn around Ranma. Let me know when you are done so I can give you your pants."
She turned around and thought about what was going to happen when she took him back to the bedroom. The sponge bath that she gave him affected her thinking; she was wishing she could see him in a mirror. She thought she knew what she was going to say once they were alone in the bedroom, but now she was a little uncertain. Life since Tuesday has been crazy, and she was feeling ragged. She wanted to talk, to let out the stress and feelings she had been holding in. Ranma's mother was wonderful, being helpful, but she didn't feel as if she could tell her everything. Normally she would talk to Kasumi, but she wasn't here at the moment. She may have considered talking this over with Akane, but things between them were a bit tense at the moment. Her father was a large part of what she wanted to talk about, so she couldn't talk this over with him either. Since this was a private family matter, so her friends were not available either. That left the only one more person, and that was the boy that was behind her. One way or another, everything revolved around him, and that was both a blessing and a curse. And she knew that if she was going to stay sane, she was going to have to face up to him before too long.
"Nabiki? Uh, could you pull my pants up?"
"Huh?" Nabiki turned around was looking at Ranma with his pants around his feet. Obviously he never took her instructions to heart. She kept thinking about Ranma, and started to study him, thinking about Tuesday morning.
"My pants?"
"Oh, sure!" Nabiki sat on her knees in front of him and started tugging his pants up. She found herself producing a lot of saliva and had to swallow a couple of times when she had a little difficulty pulling his pants over his butt. With the pants up her hands became unsteady and she started to fumble with the string in his waistband.
The bathroom door opened, and a voice came from the hall, surprising the two occupants, "Oh! I'm sorry. I'll come back later. Just take your time. Bye!"
The door clicked shut, but not before Ranma and Nabiki heard, "I'm so happy!"
Nabiki sat on the floor stunned. There was no mistaking the picture that Nodoka had in her mind, and it was going to be impossible to get correct her impression.
"Well, looks like Mom's happy," Ranma said.
Nabiki muttered something.
"What did you say?" Ranma asked.
Nabiki sighed, and repeated what she said, "I have the worse luck."
"What do you mean by that?"
"If you are up to it, I'll tell you when you get back into bed."
***
Back in the bedroom, Ranma was lying on the bed trying to catch is breath while Nabiki went to the bathroom. When she returned, he saw that she had on a pair of blue and green pajamas and sat at the desk and started brushing her hair.
"What are you doing?"
"Getting ready for bed."
"Oh." Ranma was silent for a moment, but only for a moment. "What? Getting ready for bed? In here?"
"Yes, Ranma. We have a lot to talk about tonight, and I think I'd rather be comfortable when we do." Nabiki walked over the bed and made a motion for Ranma to move over. When he did, she pulled the covers back and climbed in.
She saw that Ranma was at the edge of the bed, if she as much touched him, he would fall out. She debated whether or not she should entice him to come closer and decided that he would be prone to panic if she did anything overt, so she started to talk. Eventually, she hoped, he would relax and would get comfortable.
"What do we have to talk about?"
Nabiki was tempted to say, "us", but she wasn't ready for that herself. Instead, she said "Your skull fracture, for one."
Trying to make light of the serious injury, she said, "Honestly, I thought your head was thicker than that. I mean, you've come unscathed from Akane's blows to the head, why would some pirate cause so much trouble?"
Ranma's face went a little dark and she knew she went a little too far. "I'm sorry, Ranma. I'm just trying to joke a little.
It was scary, knowing that you were in a coma. When you woke up a few times yesterday..."
"I woke up yesterday?"
"Uh, huh. But you never made much sense. Basically you just ate some soup and went back to sleep. The doctor said that you would probably wake up for good today.
"Anyhow, you have a really bad concussion, and it's going to affect you for a while."
Nabiki watched his blue eyes meet hers; he was obviously hanging onto every word she said. "How long?" he asked.
"Well, he said a month." Nabiki waved her hands to stop Ranma from getting too agitated and continued, "but we know better. It'll probably be a week or so for you. After all, what little you have up there," Nabiki pointed at Ranma's head, "can't take too long to heal. Right?"
She saw Ranma relax a little. At least this time he saw the humor. He moved into the bed a little and propped his head up on the pillow.
"What happenend? I can't remember anything after I was hit."
This was the opportunity she needed, so she started telling him the story. She had rehearsed what she was going to say with Nodoka, but now it was for real, she felt unsure of herself.
Nabiki realized she was taking too long in thought when she heard him ask, "Did I win?"
It was stupid of him to ask. Of course he won. "Yes, Ranma. You put all three of them down."
"Good."
"That's all he has to say?" she thought. She felt as if she missed something, so she asked him, "Good?"
"Yeah. They shouldn't be doing that. At least," Ranma went silent, and Nabiki didn't press him, knowing that by the night was over, there would be a lot of things said and left unsaid.
Nabiki went on to describe the walk home, the arrival of the ambulance, and a very edited version of what happened at the hospital. She watched Ranma for fatigue before continuing.
She found it hard to look at Ranma when she confessed, "I kind of messed things up in the hospital."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, after you were taken out of the ER, your family was allowed to see you. And so your father, mother and I went in." She waited for what she said to steep into his addled brain. It took about a minute, but she wasn't disappointed.
"They let you in to see me?"
"Yes."
"But..."
"Like I said, I kind of blew it. I told everyone I was your wife."
"So. It's not like everyone doesn't know already."
Ranma's nonchalant answer surprised her.
"Now the hospital has me listed as your spouse and next of kin." Nabiki sighed, "Things are so much more complicated."
Ranma sat in thought for a moment. Finally he asked, "So, did you get them to sign the divorce stuff?"
Nabiki looked at him and shook her head. "No. Like I keep trying to tell you, things are now more complicated, and it's all my fault.
"Akane, Kasumi, and I had this talk with your mother. Then she," Nabiki paused. This wasn't going the way she wanted it too. She wanted to calm and collected, but she found she was turning into an emotional wreck as she relived the pivotal hours in the hospital.
"Then she told me to call her 'mother.'" She could feel tears forming in her eyes as she spoke. "I couldn't do it any more, Ranma. I just couldn't. I started to cry and just kept crying until they said you were in your own room."
Ranma moved slightly closer to Nabiki and touched her cheek and said, "And that was when you told everyone we were married."
Nabiki nodded.
"Then what? Did Pops and your dad start dancing or something?"
Nabiki smiled, "Or something. They hugged each other and completely forgot about you. While the two of them celebrated, Mother and I went in to see you. We didn't stay long, we just wanted to see you. When we left the room, Kasumi and Akane had our fathers begging for mercy." A grin crossed her face when she said, "I still don't know what they said or did, but they both have been on their best behavior since then."
Nabiki felt a little better. If there was one good thing that came from the hospital, it was a subdued Genma.
"I guess your mother wanted to talk to her new daughter-in-law, so we took a private taxi back home. That's when I told her about the marriage, the divorce papers, that day at school, and everything."
If Nabiki wanted to, she could reach over and embrace Ranma, but she fought not to. What she was about to say was going to be the hardest thing she would say that night. She reached out and found his hand and held it.
"Ranma," she said as she squeezed his hand, "your mother asked why I wanted the divorce. After I told her, she said I really didn't want the divorce."
"What? Why would she say that?"
"I guess I hesitated too much with my answer."
"So?"
"Ranma, it wasn't just a slight pause. I actually had to think about it."
"What did you say?"
"I said I wasn't ready to be married; that I was still in school, and I wanted to go to college.
She said that wasn't good enough. She asked me if I...if I...loved you."
Her grip on Ranma's hand tightened.
"I said I didn't know. We ended up talking all night. We even saw the sunrise. We went to bed, and I didn't get up until after lunch."
Ranma playfully chided her, "Like that's new."
"That night we had a family meeting."
"Uh oh."
"'Uh oh' is right. I told the fathers that if they didn't sign the divorce papers, you and I would sell the dojo at our first opportunity."
"What!"
"Relax, Ranma-kun. I wouldn't do that. Maybe I would have earlier, but not now. And they didn't need to know that."
"Did they sign?"
"Yep, but only after Mother threatened divorce herself. She can be very convincing."
Ranma relaxed knowing that the papers have been signed. He sighed a breath of relief, "So that's all taken care of. You had me scared there for a minute."
The predatory grin on Nabiki's face scared him. He'd seen it when she has captured a new sucker for one of her schemes, and he knew he was the sucker.
"Don't get your hopes up, husband." There was no mistaking the emphasis on 'husband' in her voice. "I said they signed the papers, I didn't say we filed them. And I didn't say your mother signed the papers."
"Mom didn't sign the papers? Did she have to?"
"She is your mother, so she does. And why she didn't is because of what we have to talk about."
"I think I'm going to hate that word."
"What word?"
"Talk."
Nabiki thought the same thing, but she couldn't come up with another word. She reached and touched Ranma's face for a second, and was surprised that he didn't flinch.
"She didn't sign the papers because she thought it would be a mistake."
"A mistake? It was a mistake that put us in the place to start with."
"She thinks it would be a bigger mistake." She stopped Ranma from speaking, "Wait, you asked what happened. Let me tell you.
"After she said she wasn't going to sign the papers, she asked if Akane or Kasumi wanted to marry you. You can probably guess their answers."
"Yeah. Akane called me a pervert, and Kasumi said I was too young."
"Close enough. Akane said that you two just fight all the time."
"Huh?"
"Never mind. Akane's answer is a long story that needs to be told later. Mother then asked me if I divorced you, would I consider marrying you.
It was the weirdest feeling, Ranma. Maybe it was the lack of sleep the night before and all the stress. I wanted to say yes, but..."
"You said no..."
"I said I didn't want to get divorced."
Ranma's eyes opened so wide Nabiki thought they would roll out of their sockets. She waved her hand in front of his face and asked, "Ranma? You there?"
Ranma came to and said, "Wow. I thought you said you didn't want to get divorced."
"I don't."
"But I thought we agreed..."
"We did. But there's something new that puts a different spin on things.
"Ranma, think about it. We get divorced, engaged and then in a couple of years we get married again. And in those years, what changes whether or not we are married? Nothing. Well, almost nothing."
"Almost nothing?"
The predatory smile came back to Nabiki's face. "Almost nothing, as long as I don't get pregnant."
Ranma stuttered, "P-p-p-pregnant?"
"Yes, Ranma. Pregnant."
"But, but..."
"Ranma. Stop and think a bit. If we stay married and it works out, no harm is done and we'll both be happier. If it doesn't work out, we get divorced when the time's right and that's it.
"But if we get divorced now, that means we have to get married again, and maybe go through another divorce. I'd rather do it all just once."
Ranma was silent while he thought about the situation he was in before speaking. "What about Ukyo and Shampoo?"
Nabiki moved closer to Ranma and pulled him in closer. Their bodies weren't touching but they could feel the heat emanating from each other.
"Oh, yes. Cologne stopped by yesterday to talk to me."
"She did? What'd the old ghoul have to say?"
"The 'old ghoul', as you call her, said she agreed to help you trick the fathers into divorcing us."
"I don't remember that."
"I suspected as such. Anyway, she and Mother had a short conversation in private."
"What did they say?"
"I don't know. But after Cologne left, Mother told me that she and Shampoo wouldn't be bothering us too much."
"Did Mom say why?"
"No, and when I asked, she wouldn't tell me why. Suspicious."
"What about Ukyo?"
"Well, that is a different story. After you left school Tuesday, she came hunting for me."
Ranma's eyes went from blue to gray as he asked, "Hunting?"
"That's as good as word as any. She wanted blood, and if wasn't yours, it would be mine."
Nabiki felt a small chill, and realized that Ranma was trying to do something. "Ranma-kun. Stop. She didn't do anything." Nabiki tugged his arm and held it against her chest as she pleaded, "See. I'm here. I'm not hurt."
Something made it through to Ranma and he calmed down. "What happened?"
"You can thank Akane in the morning."
"Akane?"
"She may have been mad at us, but she is our sister. You should have seen her, you would be proud of her. She actually beat Ukyo one on one."
"She beat Ukyo?"
"Well, almost. Ukyo broke off the fight when she discovered that you had left the school. But Akane would have won in any case. I guess she did learn something from watching you in all those fights."
"Hey, she's not stupid. Just angry and impatient."
"That's my sister."
"So, that means Ukyo is still after us?"
"Maybe. I don't know. The restaurant has been closed since then."
"Now what?"
"I don't know. We can talk about this tomorrow. Right now I need to get some sleep." Nabiki resettled the covers over her and looked over to Ranma. She found him looking at her.
"What is it, Ranma?"
"I thought you said it was time to go sleep."
"I did."
"So why are you still here?"
Nabiki had a sudden impulse to hit Ranma. Then she started to laugh, finding the situation humorous. "Want in on a couple of little secrets, Ranma?"
"Uh...maybe."
"Let me whisper it in your ear." Nabiki leaned over to Ranma and placed her mouth next to his ear, and quietly said, "First, wives sleep with their husbands."
Then she kissed the ear and said, "Second, I think it's time I told you that I love you." She kissed cheek before saying, "Good night, Husband."
Ranma stirred as his senses started to return to him. He felt the sheets and the soft pillow under his head.
The bed was really comfortable.
He rolled over and felt a warm spot on the bed. His arm reached up and found a new pillow and pulled it under his head. It had a nice smell that reminded him of Nabiki.
Nabiki.
His eyes flashed open and he sat up quickly to find that the world was suddenly spinning in directions that were all wrong. Ranma recognized the signs of a concussion and slowly laid down again, letting the room slowly come to a stop. He eyed the ceiling and slowly turned his head to look around the room.
He saw that the walls were bare white, a window with plain curtains over his head, and two small black nightstands on both sides of the large bed. The desk that was next to the door had several books on it, and some blue clothes covered the chair.
Ranma quickly grasped that he was not in a hospital room, and he wasn't at the Tendos either. He slowly slid up the bed and leaned against the headboard. He started to taste bile in his throat, but at least the room wasn't spinning. After a short fight, his stomach settled down and he felt a little better. He slowly moved his hand up to his head to wipe the sweat away but stopped when he felt a bandage covering his scalp.
His head didn't hurt, but there was some slight itching. He moved his arm again and gently touched the side of head where the itch was the strongest. He applied a little pressure with a finger to the gauze, and when he did not feel any pain he pressed his whole palm on his head and found a place where it hurt.
That made sense to him, the last thing he remembered was...
He couldn't remember. He thought for a moment. He remembered he went to school, and it was a really bad day. No. It was a very bad morning, everyone was apologizing and offering sympathy, but not exactly why. He remembered seeing Nabiki being attacked and the immense sense of relief he felt when he knew that Nabiki was safe.
The rest of the day was sort of missing, so he closed his eyes and tried to mediate. Just as he started to relax, Ranma heard the door latch click and opened his eyes.
"You're awake again!" Nodoka exclaimed as she entered the room with a full laundry basket, which was quickly placed on the floor at the foot of the bed. She walked around the bed to her son and immediately started checking his bandages.
"I guess the doctor was right; he did say you were probably going to wake up today. How are you feeling, Ranma?"
Ranma winced at his mother's ministrations; her motions were too unpredictable for him to feel safe. He could feel her touching the bandage, probing the parts that hurt when they were touched.
He felt awkward, his mother was obviously very happy to see him again and that he was awake and he had not said a word yet. "Uh. Hi, Mom," he stammered. "Again?"
"Oh, yes," she replied, "but this is the first time you sat up."
When she stopped doing whatever it was to his scalp, Ranma worked up the courage to ask where he was. "Where am I?"
The smile on his mother's face was bright, and her voice was filled with pride when she said, "This is your room, Ranma. They just finished it the day before yesterday. Like it?"
"My room?" Ranma looked around. If this was his room, then that means that the Saotome house must have been rebuilt. "Really?"
Nodoka laughed as she watched his eyes dart from corner to corner. "Yes," she replied.
Ranma's stomach growled in hunger. "Mom?"
Nodoka patted Ranma's leg, and said, "I know. You haven't eaten since yesterday, so you're hungry. You just rest, and I'll bring some food in a little while."
"Yesterday? How long have I been out?"
"Well, you went in the hospital on Tuesday night and today is Friday."
Ranma's stomach growled again. "Mom?"
"Just relax, and I'll be back in a few minutes."
Ranma watched his mother leave as he leaned against the wall. He closed his eyes and pictured the room in his mind, trying to memorize where everything was located. Memorizing the layout of a room was a habit he gained while traveling with his father; knowing where everything was made it less painful to move about the room in the dark. It was also an excellent exercise of his visual perception.
He tried to focus on what the room looked like but found it difficult to think about anything for more than just a few minutes. After a few attempts, Ranma gave up and opened his eyes again. He wondered what time it was and saw a digital clock radio on the nightstand.
He thought aloud, "One twenty, huh? I wonder what's going on at school?"
He heard the door again and turned his head to face it, and was rewarded with a psychedelic wall. He closed his eyes and waited until he was sure that straight lines would be straight again.
His mother spoke with a concerned voice, "Ramma? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. I moved my head a little too fast and the room went all weird on me.
He opened his eyes as he felt a tray placed on his lap. Carefully looking down, he saw a bowl of soup, a bowl of rice and a large cup of tea. Moving slowly as not to spill anything Ranma picked up the soup bowl and took a sip. It was not too hot and tasted very good. Satisfied that this was not Akane's cooking, he took a big swallow of soup then set the bowl down. He looked up to compliment his mother on how good the food tasted and found that she was no longer in the room. After mentally shrugging his shoulders, Ranma ate his meal in quiet.
Ranma felt exhausted when he finished eating. He lifted the tray up and moved it to the other side of the bed before sliding down back into the sheets and was asleep within seconds of closing his eyes.
"Ranma-kun?"
Ranma felt a small hand on his chest gently shaking him. I opened his eyes to see Nabiki sitting on the bed next to him.
"Nabiki" he said as soon as he recognized her.
A smile crossed her face. "I have dinner here for you, so why don't you sit up."
Ranma slowly sat up and had to fight the bitter taste again. He looked over at Nabiki who had placed a tray on the nightstand and was stirring the soup. He watched her pick up the soup and slowly hand the bowl to him.
"It's hot, so be careful," Nabiki warned.
Ranma could see the steam wisp above the bowl as he gently cradled the bowl in his hands and took a tentative sip. It was hot, but consumable. He ate the soup in silence with Nabiki occasionally wiping the errant drop off his face. When he was done, she took his bowl and placed it on the tray.
"So, do you think you can eat this without making a mess in bed?"
Ranma thought that Nabiki had a playful look on her face when she asked that question. Some warning bells went of in his head -- she was obviously up to something, and his reply carried his suspicions, "Yeah."
She placed the tray on his lap and watched him eat and when he was finished, Nabiki took the tray from him, and with a wink, said she'd be right back as she left the room.
Ranma didn't miss the wink. If the warning bells were ringing before, they sounded like a hundred klaxons blasting now.
Nabiki returned and sat on the edge of the bed. She brushed her hair out of her eyes and said, "Scoot over, I need more room" as she climbed on the bed next to Ranma.
Ranma slowly moved from the middle of the bed and watched her take a lazy position next to him.
The silence bothered Ranma, he had to say something to release the tension he felt. "You alright?"
"I'm fine."
"What happened?"
"What do you remember?"
Ranma started a stream-of-consciousness dump, occasionally remembering a new small tidbit from Tuesday.
"Do you remember why you were so mad?"
"Yeah. Everyone was saying all those mean things about you."
"What do you remember after the fight?"
"Nothin, really. I remember waking up earlier today and Mom feeding me, but that's about it."
Ranma's eyelids started to droop and he fought to stay awake.
"Go to sleep, Ranma. I'll wake you up later."
***
It was to a gentle shake that woke Ranma, and when he opened his eyes, he saw Nabiki on the bed next to him.
"You there?" she asked.
"I think so," was his sleeply reply.
"Good."
He looked around the room for a moment and wondered where he was for a moment before remembering what his mother told him.
"Nabiki?"
"What?"
"I gotta go to the bathroom."
"Okay. Let me help you." Nabiki sat up and walked around the bed. She put her arms out and helped Ranma slowly pull himself into a sitting position on the edge of the bed.
Moving with all deliberate slowness, Ranma stood with Nabiki's help. His first step was unsteady, and he felt himself being caught by Nabiki.
Nabiki's voice was soft and re-assuring, "I have you, Ranma. Just take it slow."
Ranma silently thanked Nabiki for being so supportive; he was having serious problems discerning what direction was "up". As the two of them slowly staggered out the door, Ranma realized he had no idea where the bathroom was, but when he felt a tug, he let Nabiki lead him to the water closet that was in the bathroom.
Ranma leaned against the wall and reached to open the door. His own movement was too fast for his brain to decipher, his stomach started to cramp and the walls started to move. He quickly close his eyes and started to hyperventilate to see if he could hold his dinner down.
It took what felt like a long time for the nausea to pass, and when it did, Ranma felt clammy and wanted to take a bath.
He relaxed his tight grip on Nabiki and said, "You can let go of me now. I think I can stand again."
Nabiki released her hug and slowly stepped back, and when she let go of him, Ranma's hand shot for the wall. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to judge the distance and he grabbed air.
Nabiki quickly caught him as he started to topple over.
"I guess I can't," Ranma sheepishly said. "Thanks for catching me."
Nabiki shifted Ranma's weight a little and wryly said, "Yeah, I caught you alright."
Nabiki took a small step towards the water closet and Ranma mimicked her motions. Once in, he grabbed the rail on the wall and Nabiki let go of him.
Stepping back out of the room, Nabiki slowly closed the door and said, "call me if you need help."
Going to the bathroom wasn't that hard, all Ranma had to do was hang on to the rails on both sides of the toilet and close his eyes. Now all he had to do was get dressed again. Pulling up his underwear was easy, just reach down and pull up.
"Uh, oh." Ranma said as the room changed shape again. He leaned against the wall grabbed for the rail, smashing his hand against it. His stomach started to convulse and a strong taste filled his mouth. Bending over what he thought was the toilet he let his body do what it needed.
He felt someone holding him steady as his chest started to relax. He rolled over and saw Nabiki flushing the toilet with one hand. Closing his eyes, he relaxed and breathed slowly. His throat and chest hurt, and he tasted some vile stuff through his nose.
He felt a cool washcloth wipe over his face opened his eyes.
"You know, I thought you were actually going to make it there, Ranma."
"Sorry about that, Nabiki. I just moved too fast again."
Nabiki chuckled as she said, "at least you pulled your shorts up. Think you can get up again?"
"Yeah. Maybe."
Nabiki stood up and held Ranma's hands in hers. Ranma slowly pulled himself up, and once standing, he reached for the support bars again. Nabiki guided his hand to the bar and stood back.
"That better?" she asked
"Yeah. Thanks, Nabiki." Ranma looked down at the floor and found that his pants were still around his ankles. His face turned red with embarrassment. He thought about pulling his pants up, but he remembered what happened with his underwear. Modesty lost to his desire to keep his body fluids inside of him.
"Ranma, can you make it to the bathroom?"
"Maybe."
"Come on. I'll help. First, step out of those pants," Nabiki said as she held him up. Ranma moved slowly and the pants fell of his leg. He shifted his weight and repeated the same process with the other leg.
He took a tentative step forward, and with Nabiki's help made it to the middle of the tiled bathroom floor.
"Sit down and relax, Ranma. You are getting a sponge bath."
"Sponge bath? Why can't I take a regular bath?"
"Because, Ranma, you can't even stand up without my help, so what makes you think you can get out of the tub, much less into the tub? Maybe tomorrow you can have a real bath. Right now you stink, and you are getting a sponge bath."
"Why can't I do it myself?"
"Can you pull up your own shorts without throwing up?"
The truth hurt. The macho part of him said, "hell, yes", but the water closet floor was evidence to the contrary. Sheepishly he said, "Uh, no?" as he sat down.
"Relax, Ranma. You'll feel better when I'm done."
Ranma sat on the cool floor and watched Nabiki get ready to wash him. After she readied the buckets, washcloths, towels and soap, he watched her hesitate for a moment as if she was making her mind up about something. Finally she pulled the stool next to him and sat on it.
"Ready?"
"Yeah."
Ranma was glad that the only thing that was said between the two of them was instructions that Nabiki gave him to make it easier for to wash him. The bath felt good, and Nabiki had a nice touch. He luxuriated in her ministrations. Even her toweling felt good.
When she was finished, he felt wonderful, and extremely thankful that she insisted that she give the bath.
"Nabiki," he started to say. In the back of his mind, calling her Nabiki wasn't the right thing to say given what she just did for him. He started again, "Nabiki-chan?"
He found it hard to look at her, and her whispered reply was almost lost in the sound of his own blood pounding in his ears.
"Ranma-kun?"
"Can...May I give," Ranma's voice weakened, and he tried again, "Want me to wash you?"
He looked up to see Nabiki's blush. He wasn't sure how she was going to answer.
"Y-yes, Ranma."
Ranma started to move.
She hurriedly put her hands on Ranma's shoulders, and said, "Not now Ranma. Later, when you feel better."
Ranma looked at her for a moment and watched her play with the ends of her hair.
"In fact, I'm going to insist that you do," she said as she smiled.
Ranma felt her eyes roam over his body, but he didn't mind, for he was doing the same to her. He felt something started stir, and immediately became self-conscious. Hiding his privates, he indicated that he wanted to put his pants on with a nod of his head.
Nabiki turned crimson and tore her eyes away from him. She quickly gathered a measure of composure and instructed Ranma to wait a few seconds while she went to get some clean clothes for him.
When Nabiki returned to the bathroom with a clean change of clothes she found Ranma sitting on the bathroom counter. "That was stupid of him," she thought.
She tossed the boxers and trousers to his feet. "Get back down on your butt and put these one," she said.
She watched Ranma bend over to pick up the shorts and staggered. She felt sorry for him, the blow to his head was serious, and it was going to take time for him to realize that he wasn't going heal as quick as he normally would.
She crossed her arms, wondering when he was going to change his shorts. A sudden "ahem" from him caught her attention and she realized that he wanted a little privacy while he changed. She felt a little disappointed that she wasn't going to get a cheap show but tried not to let it show.
"I'll turn around Ranma. Let me know when you are done so I can give you your pants."
She turned around and thought about what was going to happen when she took him back to the bedroom. The sponge bath that she gave him affected her thinking; she was wishing she could see him in a mirror. She thought she knew what she was going to say once they were alone in the bedroom, but now she was a little uncertain. Life since Tuesday has been crazy, and she was feeling ragged. She wanted to talk, to let out the stress and feelings she had been holding in. Ranma's mother was wonderful, being helpful, but she didn't feel as if she could tell her everything. Normally she would talk to Kasumi, but she wasn't here at the moment. She may have considered talking this over with Akane, but things between them were a bit tense at the moment. Her father was a large part of what she wanted to talk about, so she couldn't talk this over with him either. Since this was a private family matter, so her friends were not available either. That left the only one more person, and that was the boy that was behind her. One way or another, everything revolved around him, and that was both a blessing and a curse. And she knew that if she was going to stay sane, she was going to have to face up to him before too long.
"Nabiki? Uh, could you pull my pants up?"
"Huh?" Nabiki turned around was looking at Ranma with his pants around his feet. Obviously he never took her instructions to heart. She kept thinking about Ranma, and started to study him, thinking about Tuesday morning.
"My pants?"
"Oh, sure!" Nabiki sat on her knees in front of him and started tugging his pants up. She found herself producing a lot of saliva and had to swallow a couple of times when she had a little difficulty pulling his pants over his butt. With the pants up her hands became unsteady and she started to fumble with the string in his waistband.
The bathroom door opened, and a voice came from the hall, surprising the two occupants, "Oh! I'm sorry. I'll come back later. Just take your time. Bye!"
The door clicked shut, but not before Ranma and Nabiki heard, "I'm so happy!"
Nabiki sat on the floor stunned. There was no mistaking the picture that Nodoka had in her mind, and it was going to be impossible to get correct her impression.
"Well, looks like Mom's happy," Ranma said.
Nabiki muttered something.
"What did you say?" Ranma asked.
Nabiki sighed, and repeated what she said, "I have the worse luck."
"What do you mean by that?"
"If you are up to it, I'll tell you when you get back into bed."
***
Back in the bedroom, Ranma was lying on the bed trying to catch is breath while Nabiki went to the bathroom. When she returned, he saw that she had on a pair of blue and green pajamas and sat at the desk and started brushing her hair.
"What are you doing?"
"Getting ready for bed."
"Oh." Ranma was silent for a moment, but only for a moment. "What? Getting ready for bed? In here?"
"Yes, Ranma. We have a lot to talk about tonight, and I think I'd rather be comfortable when we do." Nabiki walked over the bed and made a motion for Ranma to move over. When he did, she pulled the covers back and climbed in.
She saw that Ranma was at the edge of the bed, if she as much touched him, he would fall out. She debated whether or not she should entice him to come closer and decided that he would be prone to panic if she did anything overt, so she started to talk. Eventually, she hoped, he would relax and would get comfortable.
"What do we have to talk about?"
Nabiki was tempted to say, "us", but she wasn't ready for that herself. Instead, she said "Your skull fracture, for one."
Trying to make light of the serious injury, she said, "Honestly, I thought your head was thicker than that. I mean, you've come unscathed from Akane's blows to the head, why would some pirate cause so much trouble?"
Ranma's face went a little dark and she knew she went a little too far. "I'm sorry, Ranma. I'm just trying to joke a little.
It was scary, knowing that you were in a coma. When you woke up a few times yesterday..."
"I woke up yesterday?"
"Uh, huh. But you never made much sense. Basically you just ate some soup and went back to sleep. The doctor said that you would probably wake up for good today.
"Anyhow, you have a really bad concussion, and it's going to affect you for a while."
Nabiki watched his blue eyes meet hers; he was obviously hanging onto every word she said. "How long?" he asked.
"Well, he said a month." Nabiki waved her hands to stop Ranma from getting too agitated and continued, "but we know better. It'll probably be a week or so for you. After all, what little you have up there," Nabiki pointed at Ranma's head, "can't take too long to heal. Right?"
She saw Ranma relax a little. At least this time he saw the humor. He moved into the bed a little and propped his head up on the pillow.
"What happenend? I can't remember anything after I was hit."
This was the opportunity she needed, so she started telling him the story. She had rehearsed what she was going to say with Nodoka, but now it was for real, she felt unsure of herself.
Nabiki realized she was taking too long in thought when she heard him ask, "Did I win?"
It was stupid of him to ask. Of course he won. "Yes, Ranma. You put all three of them down."
"Good."
"That's all he has to say?" she thought. She felt as if she missed something, so she asked him, "Good?"
"Yeah. They shouldn't be doing that. At least," Ranma went silent, and Nabiki didn't press him, knowing that by the night was over, there would be a lot of things said and left unsaid.
Nabiki went on to describe the walk home, the arrival of the ambulance, and a very edited version of what happened at the hospital. She watched Ranma for fatigue before continuing.
She found it hard to look at Ranma when she confessed, "I kind of messed things up in the hospital."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, after you were taken out of the ER, your family was allowed to see you. And so your father, mother and I went in." She waited for what she said to steep into his addled brain. It took about a minute, but she wasn't disappointed.
"They let you in to see me?"
"Yes."
"But..."
"Like I said, I kind of blew it. I told everyone I was your wife."
"So. It's not like everyone doesn't know already."
Ranma's nonchalant answer surprised her.
"Now the hospital has me listed as your spouse and next of kin." Nabiki sighed, "Things are so much more complicated."
Ranma sat in thought for a moment. Finally he asked, "So, did you get them to sign the divorce stuff?"
Nabiki looked at him and shook her head. "No. Like I keep trying to tell you, things are now more complicated, and it's all my fault.
"Akane, Kasumi, and I had this talk with your mother. Then she," Nabiki paused. This wasn't going the way she wanted it too. She wanted to calm and collected, but she found she was turning into an emotional wreck as she relived the pivotal hours in the hospital.
"Then she told me to call her 'mother.'" She could feel tears forming in her eyes as she spoke. "I couldn't do it any more, Ranma. I just couldn't. I started to cry and just kept crying until they said you were in your own room."
Ranma moved slightly closer to Nabiki and touched her cheek and said, "And that was when you told everyone we were married."
Nabiki nodded.
"Then what? Did Pops and your dad start dancing or something?"
Nabiki smiled, "Or something. They hugged each other and completely forgot about you. While the two of them celebrated, Mother and I went in to see you. We didn't stay long, we just wanted to see you. When we left the room, Kasumi and Akane had our fathers begging for mercy." A grin crossed her face when she said, "I still don't know what they said or did, but they both have been on their best behavior since then."
Nabiki felt a little better. If there was one good thing that came from the hospital, it was a subdued Genma.
"I guess your mother wanted to talk to her new daughter-in-law, so we took a private taxi back home. That's when I told her about the marriage, the divorce papers, that day at school, and everything."
If Nabiki wanted to, she could reach over and embrace Ranma, but she fought not to. What she was about to say was going to be the hardest thing she would say that night. She reached out and found his hand and held it.
"Ranma," she said as she squeezed his hand, "your mother asked why I wanted the divorce. After I told her, she said I really didn't want the divorce."
"What? Why would she say that?"
"I guess I hesitated too much with my answer."
"So?"
"Ranma, it wasn't just a slight pause. I actually had to think about it."
"What did you say?"
"I said I wasn't ready to be married; that I was still in school, and I wanted to go to college.
She said that wasn't good enough. She asked me if I...if I...loved you."
Her grip on Ranma's hand tightened.
"I said I didn't know. We ended up talking all night. We even saw the sunrise. We went to bed, and I didn't get up until after lunch."
Ranma playfully chided her, "Like that's new."
"That night we had a family meeting."
"Uh oh."
"'Uh oh' is right. I told the fathers that if they didn't sign the divorce papers, you and I would sell the dojo at our first opportunity."
"What!"
"Relax, Ranma-kun. I wouldn't do that. Maybe I would have earlier, but not now. And they didn't need to know that."
"Did they sign?"
"Yep, but only after Mother threatened divorce herself. She can be very convincing."
Ranma relaxed knowing that the papers have been signed. He sighed a breath of relief, "So that's all taken care of. You had me scared there for a minute."
The predatory grin on Nabiki's face scared him. He'd seen it when she has captured a new sucker for one of her schemes, and he knew he was the sucker.
"Don't get your hopes up, husband." There was no mistaking the emphasis on 'husband' in her voice. "I said they signed the papers, I didn't say we filed them. And I didn't say your mother signed the papers."
"Mom didn't sign the papers? Did she have to?"
"She is your mother, so she does. And why she didn't is because of what we have to talk about."
"I think I'm going to hate that word."
"What word?"
"Talk."
Nabiki thought the same thing, but she couldn't come up with another word. She reached and touched Ranma's face for a second, and was surprised that he didn't flinch.
"She didn't sign the papers because she thought it would be a mistake."
"A mistake? It was a mistake that put us in the place to start with."
"She thinks it would be a bigger mistake." She stopped Ranma from speaking, "Wait, you asked what happened. Let me tell you.
"After she said she wasn't going to sign the papers, she asked if Akane or Kasumi wanted to marry you. You can probably guess their answers."
"Yeah. Akane called me a pervert, and Kasumi said I was too young."
"Close enough. Akane said that you two just fight all the time."
"Huh?"
"Never mind. Akane's answer is a long story that needs to be told later. Mother then asked me if I divorced you, would I consider marrying you.
It was the weirdest feeling, Ranma. Maybe it was the lack of sleep the night before and all the stress. I wanted to say yes, but..."
"You said no..."
"I said I didn't want to get divorced."
Ranma's eyes opened so wide Nabiki thought they would roll out of their sockets. She waved her hand in front of his face and asked, "Ranma? You there?"
Ranma came to and said, "Wow. I thought you said you didn't want to get divorced."
"I don't."
"But I thought we agreed..."
"We did. But there's something new that puts a different spin on things.
"Ranma, think about it. We get divorced, engaged and then in a couple of years we get married again. And in those years, what changes whether or not we are married? Nothing. Well, almost nothing."
"Almost nothing?"
The predatory smile came back to Nabiki's face. "Almost nothing, as long as I don't get pregnant."
Ranma stuttered, "P-p-p-pregnant?"
"Yes, Ranma. Pregnant."
"But, but..."
"Ranma. Stop and think a bit. If we stay married and it works out, no harm is done and we'll both be happier. If it doesn't work out, we get divorced when the time's right and that's it.
"But if we get divorced now, that means we have to get married again, and maybe go through another divorce. I'd rather do it all just once."
Ranma was silent while he thought about the situation he was in before speaking. "What about Ukyo and Shampoo?"
Nabiki moved closer to Ranma and pulled him in closer. Their bodies weren't touching but they could feel the heat emanating from each other.
"Oh, yes. Cologne stopped by yesterday to talk to me."
"She did? What'd the old ghoul have to say?"
"The 'old ghoul', as you call her, said she agreed to help you trick the fathers into divorcing us."
"I don't remember that."
"I suspected as such. Anyway, she and Mother had a short conversation in private."
"What did they say?"
"I don't know. But after Cologne left, Mother told me that she and Shampoo wouldn't be bothering us too much."
"Did Mom say why?"
"No, and when I asked, she wouldn't tell me why. Suspicious."
"What about Ukyo?"
"Well, that is a different story. After you left school Tuesday, she came hunting for me."
Ranma's eyes went from blue to gray as he asked, "Hunting?"
"That's as good as word as any. She wanted blood, and if wasn't yours, it would be mine."
Nabiki felt a small chill, and realized that Ranma was trying to do something. "Ranma-kun. Stop. She didn't do anything." Nabiki tugged his arm and held it against her chest as she pleaded, "See. I'm here. I'm not hurt."
Something made it through to Ranma and he calmed down. "What happened?"
"You can thank Akane in the morning."
"Akane?"
"She may have been mad at us, but she is our sister. You should have seen her, you would be proud of her. She actually beat Ukyo one on one."
"She beat Ukyo?"
"Well, almost. Ukyo broke off the fight when she discovered that you had left the school. But Akane would have won in any case. I guess she did learn something from watching you in all those fights."
"Hey, she's not stupid. Just angry and impatient."
"That's my sister."
"So, that means Ukyo is still after us?"
"Maybe. I don't know. The restaurant has been closed since then."
"Now what?"
"I don't know. We can talk about this tomorrow. Right now I need to get some sleep." Nabiki resettled the covers over her and looked over to Ranma. She found him looking at her.
"What is it, Ranma?"
"I thought you said it was time to go sleep."
"I did."
"So why are you still here?"
Nabiki had a sudden impulse to hit Ranma. Then she started to laugh, finding the situation humorous. "Want in on a couple of little secrets, Ranma?"
"Uh...maybe."
"Let me whisper it in your ear." Nabiki leaned over to Ranma and placed her mouth next to his ear, and quietly said, "First, wives sleep with their husbands."
Then she kissed the ear and said, "Second, I think it's time I told you that I love you." She kissed cheek before saying, "Good night, Husband."