Author's Notes: I'm back! I was touched by those reviews so much. Took longer for this chapter to form though. I made an earlier one and scrapped it because it was pointless. Hope this one is better.

Disclaimer: I disclaim Super Gals and its characters but I do own Hatake Souji (I was watching Naruto when I named him ;), Reki-chan and Siggy-kun.

Chapter 4: Making Amends

There was nothing wrong with waking up. There was nothing wrong with waking up on a couch. There was something wrong with waking up on a couch snuggled next to your ex-girlfriend whom you just agreed to have a friendly relationship with.

They were entangled, her head rested on his shoulder, his arms round her thin waist in a loose embrace. If someone entered and saw them in a position such as this…well…. it would be awkward, not to mention slightly scandalous. At least they were wearing clothes.

Rei let these thoughts slip his mind for the moment. The important thing was they were both comfortable and with that he was content. Those people who thought otherwise could just go to hell. His conscience should learn to keep its mouth shut once in a while too. Besides, the two of them were adults already. He glanced at the slumbering woman beside him.

Aya was sleeping peacefully; unaware of the scrutiny her couchmate was subjecting her to. If she knew how intense his gaze was, she would have blushed.

Locks of hair spilled all over the both of them, blue-black in the reflecting sunlight. Rei did not stop the urge to push some of the offending strands off her pale face. When he did, he instantly regretted coming into contact with her skin. It was soft to touch, and he brought his hand down to caress it lightly. This elicited a soft sigh from Aya, causing Rei to draw his hand quickly. He did not want her to know that he was watching her sleep.

His eyes wandered to her full lips unconsciously, and he looked away hastily, a slight blush on his cheeks. Contrary to popular belief, he was human, and he was capable of reddening, though in less quantities. But the fact that he was blushing now confused him. There had been many women who had tired to push themselves on him, but none had the effect Aya had on him.

'Maybe it's because you have feelings for her?' He shook his head at the silly notion, but inwardly agreed with it. There was no use denying that he still liked her. The problem was with him and his obvious insensitivity.

But not only that, what about her? Did she still feel the same? Her behavior last night screamed she cared for him enough to let him in on her personal time. The concerned look she had said so. But it was not enough evidence to determine her stand on the issue. So he would have to wait when she was ready, just like she waited on him before. He hoped she would not take too long. Or had found someone else.

The conversation he had accidentally eavesdropped on was a constant reminder that she would not be single forever. He had to take this chance NOW.

Dialing a number he had never dreamed he would use for his own on his cellular, Rei removed himself from his secure position next to Aya.

…

Can a single word cause this hurt to you?

Please teach me loneliness.

--Final Distance, Utada Hikaru

He was gone when she awoke. At the realization, tears welled up in her eyes, and she checked the counter for her emergency box of tissues. She was glad to find that they were there, and proceeded to wipe her eyes of the salty liquid that had started to come.

Why am I crying? She asked herself belatedly. She should have expected that he would leave once morning wormed its way into the apartment.

What had she been thinking? That maybe he actually needed her to comfort him? That would have been utterly silly of her. Maybe it was because he didn't say goodbye…or anything else for that matter.

These petty things were making her cry. She was being weak again when she swore she would be strong.

Otohata Rei didn't care that his sudden appearance into her life complicated matters. No matter how old she was he would always be one of her weaknesses. She hoped he knew that and wouldn't act so aloof all the time. She wanted to be his friend. She wouldn't ask for anything more. Not anymore.

Her attention was diverted when the apartment door jingled, signaling her that someone was outside. Aya turned to give the intruder a piece of her mind. She had every right to be irritated. After all, her sentimental time was being encroached on. Wiping the last of her tears away, she mustered the most snappish voice she could, and opened the door.

"WHAT?" It came out louder than expected and for that, Aya felt ashamed. She had not been brought up like this.

The teenaged boy looked scared for a moment, before he shoved a bouquet of white roses forward. Stuttering, he delivered his message.

"D-Delivery for H-Hoshino Aya-san."

Aya abandoned the annoyed façade, and simply looked curious. "From who?" Secretly, she hoped it came from Rei, no matter how frustrated she was with him. They say love is blind.

"Hatake Souji."

"Oh." The disappointment was obvious, but the delivery boy continued nonetheless.

"Please sign here." He pushed a clipboard towards her, all the while struggling with the flowers. A pen hung on a string that was tied to the board. Aya signed, and was promptly given her delivery. She thanked him and was about to close the door, when the boy stopped her.

"Wait! I haven't given you the other one yet." As he said this, he pulled out a single red rose from nowhere. Aya looked at him, dumbfounded.

"From someone who wishes to remain anonymous," He explained, and continued almost mechanically, "Sorry."

Despite the short, unromantic message and the terrible delivery, Aya found herself crying again. The boy looked alarmed. He looked around the corridor frantically.

"Don't cry miss! What's wrong?"

Her reply did not surprise him as much as the smile on her lips.

"There's nothing wrong with tears of joy, is there?"

…

Heels clicked noisily as they came into contact with the smooth floor. Every now and then, she would slip, and cling to the wall. The vermilion-haired woman swore and removed her high-heeled shoes, slung them disgustedly on her back, and started to run.

It had all gone so quickly; she had been out with her parents on a metropolitan police shindig when her mobile had rung, disrupting the punch line of her joke. She had excused herself from her audience at the refreshment table and hurried to have her call in peace. The caller was Miyu, and she had sounded very calm despite the labored breaths that were coming from her.

"Ran, can you come over and take care of the triplets?"

"Why? What about Reki-chan? Are you all right?" That eerie calmness in her sister-in-law and bestfriend's voice was not normal. Ran herself had only heard it once from Miyu when said girl was talking with Yamato while being rushed to the delivery room.

"I'm fine Ran. Reki-chan's in the car with me and Sayo. My water broke and Yamato's still not home. We're on our way to the hospital." Miyu was tranquil all over and Ran had felt the exact opposite. She was frantic.

"Miyu! Oh my—I'll be right over. Which hospital?" All the while Ran was speaking she was making her way slowly to her parent's table. Her shoes hurt her feet (she felt more comfortable in platform boots) and her dress wasn't much help either. It made walking almost impossible.

Her mother had noticed the creased look on her oldest daughter's face and the hurrying pace when Ran was near. "What's wrong?" She had to nudge her husband so that he too would attend.

"Miyu's water broke. Sayo's bringing her to Tokyo General."

"Really? Anata, we're going to have another grandchild." Ran mirrored her mother's smile while her father looked just as joyous. That had led to their early departure from the party; Ran went to Tokyo General, and her parents to take care of the triplets. There had been no time to change into proper clothes.

Sayo's blonde head was easy to spot in the waiting room. She had this impatient frown on her face and was drinking a soda. Reki sat beside her, swinging his short legs back and forth. One of his hands held a tetra pack of juice and the other hugged a big brown bear. When he saw Ran approaching, he grinned, revealing a missing tooth in the center.

"Ran!" He hurried over to her, the tetra pack forgotten, but the bear still firmly in his grasp. Ran beamed and swiftly enveloped the child in a hug. When she released him, he was smiling inanely.

"I'm going to have a brother! Look, I'm giving Siggy to him as a present." The stuffed toy looked quite harassed as Reki shoved it forward. Despite this, Ran was pleased. Reki was quite mature for his age, like Miyu was. However, he was still very young and it was a bit too early to be able to be sure.

"That's nice." She was also slightly puzzled as of why the child was in the hospital. It would have been smarter to leave him with the other children.

"He snuck in the car." By this time, Sayo had stood up and was beside the two. The edgy frown had been turned into a tired smile. Ran gave her a reassuring embrace.

"Too much excitement for you?" The older girl joked heartily, tilting her head to regard her nephew who had decided to wander over to the north part of the room. Sayo laughed and managed a semi-threatening 'Ran-oneechan'.

"You can't be a good detective if you get beat this early in the game," Ran was thoroughly amused, as she ruffled her sister's hair affectionately. Sadly, Sayo was her height, and the girl managed to tousle Ran's fixed hairdo.  When they finally stopped and acted their proper age, Sayo was first to voice her concern.

"I can't stay any longer, oneechan. I have class tomorrow. But I don't want to leave Reki-chan unattended or Miyu-san..." The frown had returned, and Ran laughed at her imouto's discomfort.

"Don't worry about it! I'll stay with Reki until Yamato gets here."

"But oniichan's in Okinawa on a case, he won't be back until tomorrow afternoon."

'Stupid Yamato.' The thought never really occurred to her often, but when it did, Ran was convinced of it. Now she had to be the adult, which she did not enjoy as much as others did.

The first thing she had to do was to get Sayo out of her tense state. Placating Sayo had always been Ran's job and she was an alleged expert at it. Or she thought. This situation was proving tricky.

"All right. I'll stay until lunchtime tomorrow then drop Reki off somewhere he can be taken care off. I hope by then the operation will be finished."

"But he insists that he wants to see the baby before he goes home. He can be very stubborn." A glimpse at the platinum blonde kid across the room playing made Ran think twice as hard for a plausible plan. After much glimpsing and thinking, she stumbled upon a perfect arrangement.

'Well, it may be one-sided and it may distract her but it's only for a while…besides, she supposedly likes kids. Hopefully, she'll forgive me.'

"It'll be fine Sayo. I'll handle things here." And practically pushing Sayo towards the exit, Ran felt that the whole evening would go smoothly. There was no other place she would rather be anyway, except maybe somewhere she could get a change of clothes. If Reki decided to pull a Houdini on her, the blood red dress she had on would be the death of her, but I digress.

Reki watched the siblings oddly from his corner in the room.

"They're weird, ne Siggy-kun?" He asked his stuffed bear.

…

The next morning…

She was making her rounds, checking on the occasional patient or two. It was routinely, and she was feeling particularly bored. Sometimes she wished she had opted to wait and finished her medicinal course properly. A few more years in medical school would have made her feel better. Studying kept her focused on reality.

Aya reached the end of the corridor and entered the room to her left. She was back in home base.

The office was not really hers; she was more of a resident than a full-fledged pediatrician. It was a quaint room she shared with a senior physician. It had two divisions, the waiting room, where their secretary stayed, and the main office, which she alternated using with Aikawa Kaoru on office hours. Speaking of which, Kaoru would be leaving in a while. It would be Aya's turn to use the desk and the facilities.

"Sensei, someone's been here to see you." Aya thanked Takako first before she queried on the supposed patient. 'Been' meant the person had gone, didn't it?

The woman behind the desk looked quite perturbed because she was twiddling her thumbs. Aya was glad that she was not the only one to be cursed with that nervous habit.

"She said that she wasn't a patient."

"Oh. Then who was it?" It was something of note that Aya used to be blessed with absolute patience. Used to. Now she only retained half of said virtue.

"She was in a police uniform."

"And?" The police uniform didn't seem the cause of Takako's fretfulness. The woman probably had seen many of the sort.

"She said her name was Kotobuki Ran."

Ran…that made sense. What did she want with me? Nothing illegal, I hope.

"Oh. Anything else?"

"She left this little boy with me."

"What?" Throughout the whole conversation, Aya had not noticed the glistening blonde head sticking out from beside Takako. O-oh.

Time to make amends to her friends.

Tbc

Author's Notes: Sort of a change in direction? Gomen ne, I couldn't bring myself to continue writing too much on Aya and Rei's central musings on each other. It'll turn very depressing. And I don't do sap well either. Rei'll have more appearances in chapter 5, promise.

Becoming a doctor (according to my mom) takes more than eight years of studying but I cut some years out. Okay, a lot of years. Lol…I can twist it any way I want. Sides, twenty-six is old enough. I was hoping for twenty-two or so but them in college and Miyu pregnant did not mix well.

You know the drill. Review.