…to trust someone…
…to cherish someone…
…hope…for the future…
Love Taught Me
Sitting on the soft, grassy plains and looking into the beautiful sunny skies, Marlene rested her cheek on Yuji's shoulder. It was his day off, and the two decided to spend the day riding on the motorcycle that the two had built together. The Sleeper had to admit, Marlene was just as capable of handiwork, if not more so, than any man. If there was anything good that came from the horrible war, it was the destruction of the boundaries that separated men and women. Marlene was never self conscious about her body, she never felt suppressed or intimidated by men. In her mind, the only thing that separated the two genders were organs alone.
A small shiver coursed through him. It was the only good thing to come from the war…
Apparently noticing even the small tremor, Marlene lifted her head and looked up at him. "Yuji…?"
Snapped out of his thoughts by her soft voice, the Sleeper smiled at her and wrapped his arm around her waist. "I can't wait to show our child how beautiful this world is now."
She rested her cheek on his shoulder again. "Is…this what your world looked like…before you went to sleep?"
Yuji gaze lingered on the sparsely growing trees, the grass growing where months earlier the soil had been stained red with blood. Months before the skies were dark with smoke and ash, now they were clear. The sun shined down, a breeze passed through. "It's getting there…it's definitely getting there."
Marlene rested her hand on her stomach, which had grown drastically within the past few months. According to the village's only doctor, the same one who had diagnosed them with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, the baby would be due somewhere around this time. "Do…you think we will be good parents…?"
Yuji could understand her concern. Despite everything they had done, and were continuing to do, to rebuild their lives neither could deny the effect the war had on them. What made matters worse was that although their village doctor was educated enough to make the diagnosis, he did not specialize in that field and therefore knew of no means of treatments. The village had no chemists, in fact it couldn't be determined if there were any chemists or even other doctors still alive, so medication was out of the question. At least, neither of them could deny that the problem existed and they could draw support from each other. With a confident smile, the Sleeper rested his hand on her stomach, on top of her hand.
"We're going to make wonderful parents!" Yuji answered. Marlene smiled back at him. He released his grip around her waist and gently cupped her chin. The two leaned forward, their lips touching in a tender but passionate kiss.
A sudden whimper made the Sleeper draw back with concern. "Marlene?"
"I…I think my water broke…" she answered, her voice shaking with uncertainty.
"What?!" Yuji cried. "Are you sure?!"
Marlene shook her head. "I…don't know… I think so…"
If her water broke, that means…
He suddenly jumped onto his feet, gently pulling her up with him. "Can you hold it until we get back to the village?!"
"This isn't a package, Yuji!" she snapped, her voice strained but not overly biting.
He had never been around a woman in labor before…what if there was something they were supposed to do? What if they were doing something wrong?! What if they didn't make it back to the village in time? What if something bad happened?! What if--
"Oh man, what're we going to do?!" the Sleeper cried, almost panicked. "What if we don't make it back to the village?!! I don't know how to deliver babies!! What if something goes wrong?!! What if something happens?!! What are we going to do?!"
Seeing her companion in a frenzy brought out the composed, collected side of her. "Yuji, calm down. We're going to make it back to the village. Everything's going to be alright..."
He stopped for a moment to take a deep breath and compose himself. "You're right! C'mon!"
With that said, he helped her onto the motorcycle and, worried about her being unable to hold onto him in her current condition, sat behind her. He then gripped the handlebars, each arm on either side of her, and kicked the stand up. With a roar of their hand-made engine, he drove them to the village as quickly as he possibly could…
"Are you sure it's not just gas…" the doctor's assistant asked. Marlene scowled and Yuji sighed. The doctor was the only educated physician in the entire village, and although he was trying to pass his knowledge onto the others, some were a bit more intelligent than others.
"Yes, I'm sure it's not gas!" Marlene snapped, sitting up from her position on the cot. She suddenly held her stomach as labor pains returned. Yuji gently placed his hands on her shoulders and eased her back down.
The doctor walked in, looking over the young couple through thick-rimmed glasses. "Looks like the baby's decided it wants to come out now."
"Yeah…" Seeing his companion holding her stomach painfully worried him. Marlene had an extremely high pain tolerance, for her to be showing pain must mean that she was in a lot of it. Yuji looked over his shoulder at the physician. "Is she supposed to be in this much pain?"
"Probably. Having babies isn't a walk in the park, son," the doctor answered. Afterwards he sent his assistants to retrieve necessary (and available) supplies.
A cry from Marlene brought Yuji's eyes back to her. "Yuji…th…this pain's different from …anything I've…ever experienced on the battlefield…"
Yuji nodded in understanding, gently holding her hand. "It's alright…the doctor said it's normal… Just squeeze my hand whenever you feel any pain…"
As the girl began to go into contractions, she crushed her partner's hand in her iron-like grasp and the Sleeper literally clenched his teeth to keep from crying out. He could feel his bones straining within her grip. Ignoring the pain, Yuji gently stroked her forehead with his free hand.
The assistants returned, one standing on Marlene's other side, another standing with the doctor. The physician sat down before her, readying himself to receive the baby.
"Alright, Marlene," his voice was stern. "When I tell you to, you're going to have to push, alright?"
The girl shook her head violently. "I…I don't know if I can…"
"I know you can," Yuji said soothingly. He continued to stroke her forehead with his free, undamaged hand. "Just push as hard as you can…"
"Alright…" Marlene glanced over at her companion with a slight smile. "You…you know I… hate you right now…don't you?"
The Sleeper smiled back, gently squeezing her hand. "I figured you probably do."
A sudden contraction brought a whimper of pain out of her.
"Push!" the doctor ordered. She obeyed, leaning forward and using all of the strength she could muster. After a short time, she fell back with a sigh and wheeze of pain. "Again!"
Marlene weakly shook her head. "I…don't…"
"Yes you can!" Yuji said, his voice stern. "Do it, Marlene!"
"Push!"
Again she tried to, but after a moment her strength faltered.
"One more should do it," the physician informed. The girl shook her head weakly.
"I can't…" she moaned.
"C'mon, Marlene!" the Sleeper said sternly, squeezing her hand gently to show support.
"Just one more…" one of the assistants urged.
Marlene shook her head. "I…just can't…"
"Push one more time!" Yuji cried. "That's an order, Marlene!"
Suddenly, stirred by her subconscious programming to follow orders, she leaned forward and pushed with every essence of power she possessed. The Sleeper again gritted his teeth as she let out a shriek of pain and crushed his hand in her grasp.
At that moment, the room filled with the cries of the newborn child. Yuji, and even the exhausted Marlene, both looked to see the doctor gently wrapping the baby in a blanket and wiping the blood away.
"Congratulations, you two…" he announced warmly. "You have a new baby girl!"
"A new… baby girl…" Yuji repeated, his voice soft. A sudden thud resounded as the excitement and shock was too much for the new father to bear and he fainted onto the floor.
Author's Notes: Wow, after all of the reviews I had received wanting this story to continue, I knew I just had to! There may be a chapter or two after this, just fluffiness and perhaps them adjusting to life with their new daughter. I could so imagine Yuji fainting like he did, he's so sweet and effeminate. I noticed the demand to make this fic more fluffy and less angsty, which I hoped I accomplished in this chapter. Anyway, I hope you liked it!
BTW I hoped that I didn't totally screw up the birthing process, which I have little real life knowledge of (yes I am woman but that doesn't mean I automatically know how it's done)…I don't know much about all of the things that happen during labor. If I messed it up big time, then tell me and I will try to fix it accordingly.