Chapter Nine - Malpractice Lawsuit
***
"What kind of colors do you think she'd like to wear, Masaya?"
Masaya didn't answer Ami as she headed around the corner of the maternity section of the department store. Aiyana couldn't even attempt to squeeze into any of the clothes his "aunt" Setsuna had left behind for her earth travels, so Ami had taken a small allowance from the hospital's account to get her a few maternity items.
"Masaya? Are you listening?"
Actually, he wasn't. He was thinking about Aiyana. The poor young woman. She'd been lied to and then beaten in the barbaric system she'd pledged her total allegiance to...and she still only half-believed the truth about her life and her history. The story was so sad...and here she comes to Earth, pregnant and alone. For goodness' sake, she'd come to Earth pregnant! She'd fought with swords with his uncles, his own father, when she was pregnant! He remembered she'd stabbed his father in the stomach. What if the roles had been reversed? He couldn't even begin to think about what could have happened to the baby…and Aiyana, for that matter.
He was sure that if the Senshi knew the truth, they would want to let her go. They wouldn't want to hurt her. Just yesterday he had had one of those dreaded conversations with his mother.
"You two haven't found anymore information on that assassin yet, have you?" she'd asked while washing dishes after dinner one night.
"No..." Masaya hated lying to his parents, because he wasn't any good at it, but he managed to pull it off by not looking at his mother.
"Ami-chan hasn't been volunteering any information. And you..." She had dried her hands and turned off the faucet. "You aren't saying anything either. You two aren't hiding anything, are you?"
Masaya looked as if he was surprised his mother would even accuse him and her almost-sister of going into conspiracy together. "Why would we hide anything from you, Okaa?" he'd said. "I mean, Aunt Ami loves the queen as much as you do. And I wouldn't hold anything back from you."
Minako had given her son the once-over, then narrowed her eyes. "Just see that you don't," she'd said in a low voice, then turned back to cleaning her kitchen.
Masaya was brought back to reality upon the realization that Ami had disappeared. He searched until he found a blue head bobbing behind one of the racks. He sauntered over to where Ami was. Coming shopping with her, even for Aiyana's clothes, hadn't been on the top of his list today, but she had persuaded him to come using a guilt trip. "Don't you care about your patients at all, Masaya?" Masaya had just now realized he could have pointed out that Aiyana wasn't really his patient, but he didn't want to admit that quite yet, so he'd kept quiet and just come along.
"Ami-san," he started, "why can't we tell the others about Aiyana's condition?"
"She doesn't want us to, Masaya-kun," Ami said. "We're bound to uphold a moral code when doctors. Aiyana doesn't want us to reveal that information to anyone."
"But..." Masaya shook his head. "It might help clear the situation. I mean, if they knew the things that she went through...they might not, you know, what to hurt her anymore. They're women like you, they're sensitive to that kind of stuff."
"Masaya, not everyone is as willing to trust and believe as you and I," Ami said, lowering her voice and turning to her apprentice. "Look. Your mother is straight bent on killing Aiyana, and you know it. If your mother were to hear things like that, I don't think she's above twisting the story a bit."
"Ami!" Masaya said scoldingly. "My mother wouldn't do that."
"Oh, you think?" Ami raised an eyebrow. "Masaya, I'm going to tell you something. Your mother is Sailorvenus."
"I know that," said Masaya.
"Yes, I know. Sailorvenus is the leader of the Inner Senshi. She was the one commissioned to protect the princess most closely. Now that Selenity is queen, she doesn't take that commission any less seriously than she used to. She'd believe that she's doing a good thing. First off, she wouldn't even believe Aiyana. How many people do you think would believe that an assassin was raped and mistreated on a foreign planet over believing that she made up a sob story to get her over?"
"You have scientific proof she was raped," Masaya said. When Ami raised both of her eyebrows, Masaya stepped back. "Don't you?"
"I never ran that examination, Masaya," Ami said. "I just took her word for it."
"But...you never do that," Masaya said. "Why would you do it now?"
"Because of you," Ami said, smiling wryly.
"Me?" Ami turned away and went back to browsing, but Masaya followed her. "What have I got to do with this?"
"I know you like her," she said simply.
"So?" He cursed himself for not denying it, but there was no point to doing that, was there? It wasn't as if he was going to get into a real relationship with her, right?
Right?
"So...you're a good judge of character," she said. "I figured if you could trust her, maybe she was telling the truth."
"That doesn't mean anything. It could have been..."
"What?" Ami said, turning around to face Masaya with an interested look on her face. "Your attraction to her muddling your senses?"
"Attraction?!" Masaya tried to look surprised. "What the hell are you talking about?!"
"People only get really excited at the truth, Masaya," Ami said teasingly.
"What?!"
"It's quite obvious that you're attracted to her, Masaya," Ami said, shrugging. "I don't blame you. She's a pretty girl."
"Whatever," Masaya sighed, exasperated. There was a point to denying this claim. Doctors weren't supposed to be attracted to their patients, no matter how pretty. The phrases malpractice lawsuit and loss of license popped up in his mind, and he groaned. "Even though I'm not, saying that I was, what if that clouded my judgment?"
"You are, and it didn't," said Ami. "I just have this feeling, okay? Call it a hunch, but I'm a Senshi and I'm allowed to follow my hunches."
Masaya shook his head, but his thoughts were really focused on what Ami had just said and the reaction it had elicited. People only get really excited at the truth, she had said. Even though she was teasing, there was some truth behind her words.
You know she's right, you dimwit, a little voice whispered off in the corner of his head. What he had recently been contemplating didn't make him feel any better.
He shrugged. So what if he was? He could keep it hidden and no one would ever have to know...
***
"Arigatou gozaimasu, Dr. Amesuino-sensei, Masaya-sensei," said Aiyana. Although her smile wasn't very broad, Masaya could tell she appreciated the "gifts."
"Oh, don't thank me," said Ami, waving a hand. "We just got you some necessary things, that's all."
"Arigatou anyway," Aiyana said. "You still got me them. No one else would have." Her eyes were sad when she said this.
Ami nodded and smiled a bit. "Well, I have a patient in a few minutes, so I've got to get going. I'll see you later and see how you fit those things, okay?" She scooted out of the door, closing it gently behind her.
Aiyana turned back to the small yet substantial pile of maternity clothing laying on her bed. She smiled more at the bright colors than the styles...she'd never worn such bright colors before. They didn't help inconspicuousness, and the dyes were expensive anyway, so she had mostly worn blacks and dark blues. But these colors were vivid, and obviously not too expensive on Earth. They were pretty, and she found herself wanting to wear them.
She smiled broader when she saw a flash of bright red underneath the pile. Unearthing the garment, she found it was a red silk dress with a high Chinese collar. It had a deep violet floral print, with rich golden threads sewn in as a design. It was the prettiest garment she had ever seen, much less owned. Turning it to the side, she noticed it also had rather large slits up the sides. They would reach maybe her midthigh. Best of all, it was a stretch maternity garment, so she might be able to wear it after her pregnancy. She giggled a little, holding it up to her body and spun around to face the mirror, seeing...
Masaya.
In her embarrassment she dropped the dress. She'd forgotten he was still in the room.
He had a wry smile on his face. "I guess you like it," he said, indicating the dress.
Wordlessly, mortified, she nodded.
He stooped to pick it up and placed it back on the bed. "Ami said you'd like red. I doubted it--I thought you were more a dark color person--but she said every female likes wearing red now and then. I guess she was right, although I can't possibly see where you'd wear it." He shrugged. "Whatever. Anyway...I sort of...got you something a little special, too."
She was still mortally embarrassed, her cheeks pink, but she nodded and sat down in the chair placed by her bed. "Oh, arigatou."
"Here..." Masaya looked embarrassed himself. "I'm sorry I can't stay...but I've got a patient in a few moments too. I'll be back to see how you like it, though..." He hesitantly placed the small box in her hands, then dashed from the hospital room.
Aiyana looked down at the small box in her hands and slowly went to open it. Sitting inside was a golden chain with white pearls equally spaced on it, at the end a teardrop-shaped pendant made from pure amethyst. Her eyes widened.
"Jewelry? He bought me a necklace..." She felt her eyse fill with tears again, but this time she wasn't so eager to brush them out of her eyes.
***
"State our position again, men?" Delta Hojo said in an inquiring tone, swng his leg over the seat behind the pilot.
"We're about fifty light-years from the planet, Delta Hojo, and swiftly approaching at a speed twice that of which we had when we left."
"Good, good. So how long do you think it will take us the reach the planet over fifty light-years?"
The pilot checked the monitors. "Approximately...five months, Delta Hojo."
Delta Hojo sighed. "So how did she get there so fast? They said it didn't take her but a month to arrive at Earth?"
"Space turbulence and a few mix-ups added the extra months to arrive." The pilot cut a look at the co-pilot, who cringed.
"What the hell..." Delta Hojo narrowed his eyes at the pilot and co-pilot. "What are you men talking about?"
"Space turbulence..."
"I don't want to hear about the...fudging...space turbulence," Delta Hojo said angrily, jumping up. "What did you mean by mix-up?"
The two pilots looked up at the Delta leader. "Well...we actually were a bit off point. Eta Yasu here was picking up the wrong frequency and it confused the computers. We were travelling quite a bit away from the planet in actuality."
"I thought you were supposed to be the best of the Eta force," said Delta Hojo. "What are your rank numbers?"
"Seventh and Eighth, Delta Hojo."
"Seventh and Eighth Eta?! Why the hell did they give me you guys?"
"The first six were off on a training-testing mission, First Delta Hojo, and--"
Delta Hojo threw up his hands. "You know what? Never mind. I don't even want to know. Jesus, five months, and she's already been there four!" He shook his head, then twisted his mouth in a sardonic sneer. "She could have gestate and give birth in that span of time!"
***
"Well, Tetsuya-chan," said Dr. Koikokoro, tickling the little boy's stomach, "you're all done. How do you feel?"
Tetsuya opened his mouth and pointed to it, indicating discomfort.
"Well, it'll take a little while for the medicing to start working," Masaya said, stooping down to Tetsuya's level. "But it will be okay in a few minutes, and then your mommy can give you more medicine so you can feel even more better, okay?"
Tetsuya nodded. "Arigatou, Doctor Koikokoro-sensei!"
"You're so welcome, Tetsuya-chan," said Masaya, smiling at the little boy. He gave Masaya a toothless smile. Then he stood up and noticed Tetsuya's mother was giving him the same smile, only with more teeth.
He groaned. This one was a trip.
"Thank you so much, Dr. Koikokoro-sensei," she gushed, wringing her hands together. "It was good of you to see Tetsuya on such short notice..."
"Twenty-four hours is short notice?" Masaya raised an eyebrow.
"Erm...don't they usually allow about three days for an appointment?"
Masaya shook his head, eyeing Tetsuya's mother.
"Oh...well, then, I'm just glad you saw him today. You always do such a great job with the children."
"Thank you, Hinagiku-san," Masaya said, nodding. "I'll see you at another time, I suppose."
"Wait--"
"The prescription's on the slip; the nurse will give you any more directions. Bye now, Hinagiku-san!" He quickly ushered Tetsuya and his chattering mother out of the door and closed it swiftly behind them. He leaned against the door and let out a sigh. What was it with these young (and not-so-young) mothers trying to hit on him while he saw their children? That was the only bad part about being a young male pediatrician. Why couldn't more fathers come?
His thoughts on the mothers actually were taking his mind away from a greater issue at hand. He was wondering if Aiyana liked his present to her.
He'd thought he'd bought it on a whim, but he had actually be thinking about it since before they even went to the store. He felt bad for being sarcastic with her earlier and revealing the truth about her history, so he'd wanted to make it up to her with something special. He hadn't seen any rings on her fingers or jewelry, and figured that the officers of her empire probably didn't wear any jewelry on their missions--most reasonably-- and thought that jewelry was probably the best way to go for a girl, even a girl like Aiyana.
But he had to admit, if only to himself, that feeling sorry for her wasn't the only reason he'd gotten the necklace for her. He was feeling other things for her that definitely had nothing to do with pity. When he'd went up to the counter--covertly, so Ami wouldn't see him--and looked for a nice trinket to give her, the small pendant seemed to have Aiyana's name written all over it. Small enough to be worn inconspicuously, but still there, a subtle expression of affection...
Masaya shook his head, but the aged gesture didn't clear his head sometimes. In fact, it seemed as the clutter had resettled in the wrong places. He couldn't even think straight when he had seen the bauble, just went on instinct and bought it, no matter how expensive it may have been-- because it was real amethyst, real pearl, and twenty-four karat gold.
He sighed heavily. The only way to find out if she had liked it was to ask her.
***
Aiyana sat down and touched her stomach. If that little fluttering in her stomach wasn't butterflies, then could it be...what she thought it was? Masaya was nowhere in sight--she blushed at the realization that he was the biggest butterfly-causer so far--and she wasn't hungry, so...what else could it be?
There was a short knock on the door. She smiled. So far, Masaya had been keeping his promise about knocking before entering. "Come in," she called calmly, and the door soon opened, Masaya peering in.
"Are you okay?" She was sitting in bed, the sheets drawn to her waist. The top of her slight build was extending over the top, and Masaya could observe a few changes in the size of...the upper half...of her torso. Blushing madly, he entered the room and tried to avert his eyes from that area of her body. Yet, that was where the necklace would be.
"I'm fine. Why do you ask?"
"You look better than you did when you first got here." He smiled. "Much better." Actually, healthwise she looked better...but in other ways, she looked just as beautiful, yet different. When she first arrived, she looked evil but much seductive. She'd lost the softly curvaceous figure and the thinness, but with her increased bust and stomach, she looked more maternal, and there was something angelically lovely about a pregnant female.
"They hurt." She smiled.
"What hurts?"
"What you're staring at."
Masaya felt his face heat up again. "I wasn't..."
"You were staring."
"Um..." He looked away.
"Unless you were just looking for this." She pulled the necklace out of the collar of her new nightgown, which now fit comfortably over her rounded stomach.
"Oh. You're wearing it." He smiled. "I was wondering whether you liked it or not."
"Of course I do. Purple is my favorite color."
"Really?"
"Yes. Thank you so much." She smiled faintly until another small tickling made her remember the question that she wanted to ask Masaya. "Masaya...I remember once you asked me if I could feel the baby kicking."
"Hai, I did," Masaya said, taking a seat in the chair left by the bed. "Usually women don't feel it until four and a half months." He stopped. "You're about four and a half months, aren't you?"
She smiled weakly and nodded. "Because earlier I was feeling this little fluttering and--there it goes again!"
"You--" Masaya stopped, his eyes widening. "You feel it kicking?"
"I...think that's what this is," she said, placing a hand over her stomach. "I mean, I'm not hungry, and--" She stopped. She couldn't tell Masaya the second reason why she might have butterflies. Although it was probably quite obvious in her mind to Masaya that she liked him, she didn't want to sound like a desperate little girl.
"Well, you're at the right time of your pregnancy. It probably is the baby. It's low, about--" He was about to indicate where when he hesitated. Should he touch her?
"Here?" she said, solving his dilemma by pointing in approximately the right spot.
"Yes. There. That's great...it is the baby." Suddenly he felt a rush of excitement.
Obviously Aiyana felt touched by it, too. She was staring down at the good- sized protrusion of her stomach that was steadily growing, smiling a Mona Lisa smile as she placed her hand over the spot where the child was growing. "It's kicking me. It's really in there." She looked back up at Masaya, her eyes sparkling. "You know, until now, it felt so foreign. I felt like maybe I was holding it in my head or something. Now that I can actually see it and feel it--it's stretching my stomach and I can feel its little kicks--it makes it so much more real. I'm...actually anticipating it. How much further do I have to go?"
Masaya laughed. "Five months, Aiyana," he said. "You still have five months to go."
She groaned. "Do these aches and pains start getting worse?"
He nodded.
"Ooooh," she moaned. "Well, at least the morning sickness is gone."
"It gets replaced with dizziness, fainting, cramps, insomnia, headaches, and anemia."
Aiyana's eyes widened from the way he rattled off the maladies and laid back against the headboard, suddenly feeling weak and defeated. "Oh."
Masaya laughed. "Don't worry, you'll survive. Some women do it three and four times, and in my aunt Rei's case, five. You'll get through it just this once."
Aiyana sighed deeply. "Is it worth it all?"
Masaya took her hand and squeezed it gently. "You bet."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------
AN: No, Delta Hojo does not know Aiyana's pregnant. It was a sarcastic joke that he made on the trip. Yes, Proximians and Centurians have the same gestation period as humans. Why? Because I said so…e-mail me at julymoonbunny@hotmail.com.
***
"What kind of colors do you think she'd like to wear, Masaya?"
Masaya didn't answer Ami as she headed around the corner of the maternity section of the department store. Aiyana couldn't even attempt to squeeze into any of the clothes his "aunt" Setsuna had left behind for her earth travels, so Ami had taken a small allowance from the hospital's account to get her a few maternity items.
"Masaya? Are you listening?"
Actually, he wasn't. He was thinking about Aiyana. The poor young woman. She'd been lied to and then beaten in the barbaric system she'd pledged her total allegiance to...and she still only half-believed the truth about her life and her history. The story was so sad...and here she comes to Earth, pregnant and alone. For goodness' sake, she'd come to Earth pregnant! She'd fought with swords with his uncles, his own father, when she was pregnant! He remembered she'd stabbed his father in the stomach. What if the roles had been reversed? He couldn't even begin to think about what could have happened to the baby…and Aiyana, for that matter.
He was sure that if the Senshi knew the truth, they would want to let her go. They wouldn't want to hurt her. Just yesterday he had had one of those dreaded conversations with his mother.
"You two haven't found anymore information on that assassin yet, have you?" she'd asked while washing dishes after dinner one night.
"No..." Masaya hated lying to his parents, because he wasn't any good at it, but he managed to pull it off by not looking at his mother.
"Ami-chan hasn't been volunteering any information. And you..." She had dried her hands and turned off the faucet. "You aren't saying anything either. You two aren't hiding anything, are you?"
Masaya looked as if he was surprised his mother would even accuse him and her almost-sister of going into conspiracy together. "Why would we hide anything from you, Okaa?" he'd said. "I mean, Aunt Ami loves the queen as much as you do. And I wouldn't hold anything back from you."
Minako had given her son the once-over, then narrowed her eyes. "Just see that you don't," she'd said in a low voice, then turned back to cleaning her kitchen.
Masaya was brought back to reality upon the realization that Ami had disappeared. He searched until he found a blue head bobbing behind one of the racks. He sauntered over to where Ami was. Coming shopping with her, even for Aiyana's clothes, hadn't been on the top of his list today, but she had persuaded him to come using a guilt trip. "Don't you care about your patients at all, Masaya?" Masaya had just now realized he could have pointed out that Aiyana wasn't really his patient, but he didn't want to admit that quite yet, so he'd kept quiet and just come along.
"Ami-san," he started, "why can't we tell the others about Aiyana's condition?"
"She doesn't want us to, Masaya-kun," Ami said. "We're bound to uphold a moral code when doctors. Aiyana doesn't want us to reveal that information to anyone."
"But..." Masaya shook his head. "It might help clear the situation. I mean, if they knew the things that she went through...they might not, you know, what to hurt her anymore. They're women like you, they're sensitive to that kind of stuff."
"Masaya, not everyone is as willing to trust and believe as you and I," Ami said, lowering her voice and turning to her apprentice. "Look. Your mother is straight bent on killing Aiyana, and you know it. If your mother were to hear things like that, I don't think she's above twisting the story a bit."
"Ami!" Masaya said scoldingly. "My mother wouldn't do that."
"Oh, you think?" Ami raised an eyebrow. "Masaya, I'm going to tell you something. Your mother is Sailorvenus."
"I know that," said Masaya.
"Yes, I know. Sailorvenus is the leader of the Inner Senshi. She was the one commissioned to protect the princess most closely. Now that Selenity is queen, she doesn't take that commission any less seriously than she used to. She'd believe that she's doing a good thing. First off, she wouldn't even believe Aiyana. How many people do you think would believe that an assassin was raped and mistreated on a foreign planet over believing that she made up a sob story to get her over?"
"You have scientific proof she was raped," Masaya said. When Ami raised both of her eyebrows, Masaya stepped back. "Don't you?"
"I never ran that examination, Masaya," Ami said. "I just took her word for it."
"But...you never do that," Masaya said. "Why would you do it now?"
"Because of you," Ami said, smiling wryly.
"Me?" Ami turned away and went back to browsing, but Masaya followed her. "What have I got to do with this?"
"I know you like her," she said simply.
"So?" He cursed himself for not denying it, but there was no point to doing that, was there? It wasn't as if he was going to get into a real relationship with her, right?
Right?
"So...you're a good judge of character," she said. "I figured if you could trust her, maybe she was telling the truth."
"That doesn't mean anything. It could have been..."
"What?" Ami said, turning around to face Masaya with an interested look on her face. "Your attraction to her muddling your senses?"
"Attraction?!" Masaya tried to look surprised. "What the hell are you talking about?!"
"People only get really excited at the truth, Masaya," Ami said teasingly.
"What?!"
"It's quite obvious that you're attracted to her, Masaya," Ami said, shrugging. "I don't blame you. She's a pretty girl."
"Whatever," Masaya sighed, exasperated. There was a point to denying this claim. Doctors weren't supposed to be attracted to their patients, no matter how pretty. The phrases malpractice lawsuit and loss of license popped up in his mind, and he groaned. "Even though I'm not, saying that I was, what if that clouded my judgment?"
"You are, and it didn't," said Ami. "I just have this feeling, okay? Call it a hunch, but I'm a Senshi and I'm allowed to follow my hunches."
Masaya shook his head, but his thoughts were really focused on what Ami had just said and the reaction it had elicited. People only get really excited at the truth, she had said. Even though she was teasing, there was some truth behind her words.
You know she's right, you dimwit, a little voice whispered off in the corner of his head. What he had recently been contemplating didn't make him feel any better.
He shrugged. So what if he was? He could keep it hidden and no one would ever have to know...
***
"Arigatou gozaimasu, Dr. Amesuino-sensei, Masaya-sensei," said Aiyana. Although her smile wasn't very broad, Masaya could tell she appreciated the "gifts."
"Oh, don't thank me," said Ami, waving a hand. "We just got you some necessary things, that's all."
"Arigatou anyway," Aiyana said. "You still got me them. No one else would have." Her eyes were sad when she said this.
Ami nodded and smiled a bit. "Well, I have a patient in a few minutes, so I've got to get going. I'll see you later and see how you fit those things, okay?" She scooted out of the door, closing it gently behind her.
Aiyana turned back to the small yet substantial pile of maternity clothing laying on her bed. She smiled more at the bright colors than the styles...she'd never worn such bright colors before. They didn't help inconspicuousness, and the dyes were expensive anyway, so she had mostly worn blacks and dark blues. But these colors were vivid, and obviously not too expensive on Earth. They were pretty, and she found herself wanting to wear them.
She smiled broader when she saw a flash of bright red underneath the pile. Unearthing the garment, she found it was a red silk dress with a high Chinese collar. It had a deep violet floral print, with rich golden threads sewn in as a design. It was the prettiest garment she had ever seen, much less owned. Turning it to the side, she noticed it also had rather large slits up the sides. They would reach maybe her midthigh. Best of all, it was a stretch maternity garment, so she might be able to wear it after her pregnancy. She giggled a little, holding it up to her body and spun around to face the mirror, seeing...
Masaya.
In her embarrassment she dropped the dress. She'd forgotten he was still in the room.
He had a wry smile on his face. "I guess you like it," he said, indicating the dress.
Wordlessly, mortified, she nodded.
He stooped to pick it up and placed it back on the bed. "Ami said you'd like red. I doubted it--I thought you were more a dark color person--but she said every female likes wearing red now and then. I guess she was right, although I can't possibly see where you'd wear it." He shrugged. "Whatever. Anyway...I sort of...got you something a little special, too."
She was still mortally embarrassed, her cheeks pink, but she nodded and sat down in the chair placed by her bed. "Oh, arigatou."
"Here..." Masaya looked embarrassed himself. "I'm sorry I can't stay...but I've got a patient in a few moments too. I'll be back to see how you like it, though..." He hesitantly placed the small box in her hands, then dashed from the hospital room.
Aiyana looked down at the small box in her hands and slowly went to open it. Sitting inside was a golden chain with white pearls equally spaced on it, at the end a teardrop-shaped pendant made from pure amethyst. Her eyes widened.
"Jewelry? He bought me a necklace..." She felt her eyse fill with tears again, but this time she wasn't so eager to brush them out of her eyes.
***
"State our position again, men?" Delta Hojo said in an inquiring tone, swng his leg over the seat behind the pilot.
"We're about fifty light-years from the planet, Delta Hojo, and swiftly approaching at a speed twice that of which we had when we left."
"Good, good. So how long do you think it will take us the reach the planet over fifty light-years?"
The pilot checked the monitors. "Approximately...five months, Delta Hojo."
Delta Hojo sighed. "So how did she get there so fast? They said it didn't take her but a month to arrive at Earth?"
"Space turbulence and a few mix-ups added the extra months to arrive." The pilot cut a look at the co-pilot, who cringed.
"What the hell..." Delta Hojo narrowed his eyes at the pilot and co-pilot. "What are you men talking about?"
"Space turbulence..."
"I don't want to hear about the...fudging...space turbulence," Delta Hojo said angrily, jumping up. "What did you mean by mix-up?"
The two pilots looked up at the Delta leader. "Well...we actually were a bit off point. Eta Yasu here was picking up the wrong frequency and it confused the computers. We were travelling quite a bit away from the planet in actuality."
"I thought you were supposed to be the best of the Eta force," said Delta Hojo. "What are your rank numbers?"
"Seventh and Eighth, Delta Hojo."
"Seventh and Eighth Eta?! Why the hell did they give me you guys?"
"The first six were off on a training-testing mission, First Delta Hojo, and--"
Delta Hojo threw up his hands. "You know what? Never mind. I don't even want to know. Jesus, five months, and she's already been there four!" He shook his head, then twisted his mouth in a sardonic sneer. "She could have gestate and give birth in that span of time!"
***
"Well, Tetsuya-chan," said Dr. Koikokoro, tickling the little boy's stomach, "you're all done. How do you feel?"
Tetsuya opened his mouth and pointed to it, indicating discomfort.
"Well, it'll take a little while for the medicing to start working," Masaya said, stooping down to Tetsuya's level. "But it will be okay in a few minutes, and then your mommy can give you more medicine so you can feel even more better, okay?"
Tetsuya nodded. "Arigatou, Doctor Koikokoro-sensei!"
"You're so welcome, Tetsuya-chan," said Masaya, smiling at the little boy. He gave Masaya a toothless smile. Then he stood up and noticed Tetsuya's mother was giving him the same smile, only with more teeth.
He groaned. This one was a trip.
"Thank you so much, Dr. Koikokoro-sensei," she gushed, wringing her hands together. "It was good of you to see Tetsuya on such short notice..."
"Twenty-four hours is short notice?" Masaya raised an eyebrow.
"Erm...don't they usually allow about three days for an appointment?"
Masaya shook his head, eyeing Tetsuya's mother.
"Oh...well, then, I'm just glad you saw him today. You always do such a great job with the children."
"Thank you, Hinagiku-san," Masaya said, nodding. "I'll see you at another time, I suppose."
"Wait--"
"The prescription's on the slip; the nurse will give you any more directions. Bye now, Hinagiku-san!" He quickly ushered Tetsuya and his chattering mother out of the door and closed it swiftly behind them. He leaned against the door and let out a sigh. What was it with these young (and not-so-young) mothers trying to hit on him while he saw their children? That was the only bad part about being a young male pediatrician. Why couldn't more fathers come?
His thoughts on the mothers actually were taking his mind away from a greater issue at hand. He was wondering if Aiyana liked his present to her.
He'd thought he'd bought it on a whim, but he had actually be thinking about it since before they even went to the store. He felt bad for being sarcastic with her earlier and revealing the truth about her history, so he'd wanted to make it up to her with something special. He hadn't seen any rings on her fingers or jewelry, and figured that the officers of her empire probably didn't wear any jewelry on their missions--most reasonably-- and thought that jewelry was probably the best way to go for a girl, even a girl like Aiyana.
But he had to admit, if only to himself, that feeling sorry for her wasn't the only reason he'd gotten the necklace for her. He was feeling other things for her that definitely had nothing to do with pity. When he'd went up to the counter--covertly, so Ami wouldn't see him--and looked for a nice trinket to give her, the small pendant seemed to have Aiyana's name written all over it. Small enough to be worn inconspicuously, but still there, a subtle expression of affection...
Masaya shook his head, but the aged gesture didn't clear his head sometimes. In fact, it seemed as the clutter had resettled in the wrong places. He couldn't even think straight when he had seen the bauble, just went on instinct and bought it, no matter how expensive it may have been-- because it was real amethyst, real pearl, and twenty-four karat gold.
He sighed heavily. The only way to find out if she had liked it was to ask her.
***
Aiyana sat down and touched her stomach. If that little fluttering in her stomach wasn't butterflies, then could it be...what she thought it was? Masaya was nowhere in sight--she blushed at the realization that he was the biggest butterfly-causer so far--and she wasn't hungry, so...what else could it be?
There was a short knock on the door. She smiled. So far, Masaya had been keeping his promise about knocking before entering. "Come in," she called calmly, and the door soon opened, Masaya peering in.
"Are you okay?" She was sitting in bed, the sheets drawn to her waist. The top of her slight build was extending over the top, and Masaya could observe a few changes in the size of...the upper half...of her torso. Blushing madly, he entered the room and tried to avert his eyes from that area of her body. Yet, that was where the necklace would be.
"I'm fine. Why do you ask?"
"You look better than you did when you first got here." He smiled. "Much better." Actually, healthwise she looked better...but in other ways, she looked just as beautiful, yet different. When she first arrived, she looked evil but much seductive. She'd lost the softly curvaceous figure and the thinness, but with her increased bust and stomach, she looked more maternal, and there was something angelically lovely about a pregnant female.
"They hurt." She smiled.
"What hurts?"
"What you're staring at."
Masaya felt his face heat up again. "I wasn't..."
"You were staring."
"Um..." He looked away.
"Unless you were just looking for this." She pulled the necklace out of the collar of her new nightgown, which now fit comfortably over her rounded stomach.
"Oh. You're wearing it." He smiled. "I was wondering whether you liked it or not."
"Of course I do. Purple is my favorite color."
"Really?"
"Yes. Thank you so much." She smiled faintly until another small tickling made her remember the question that she wanted to ask Masaya. "Masaya...I remember once you asked me if I could feel the baby kicking."
"Hai, I did," Masaya said, taking a seat in the chair left by the bed. "Usually women don't feel it until four and a half months." He stopped. "You're about four and a half months, aren't you?"
She smiled weakly and nodded. "Because earlier I was feeling this little fluttering and--there it goes again!"
"You--" Masaya stopped, his eyes widening. "You feel it kicking?"
"I...think that's what this is," she said, placing a hand over her stomach. "I mean, I'm not hungry, and--" She stopped. She couldn't tell Masaya the second reason why she might have butterflies. Although it was probably quite obvious in her mind to Masaya that she liked him, she didn't want to sound like a desperate little girl.
"Well, you're at the right time of your pregnancy. It probably is the baby. It's low, about--" He was about to indicate where when he hesitated. Should he touch her?
"Here?" she said, solving his dilemma by pointing in approximately the right spot.
"Yes. There. That's great...it is the baby." Suddenly he felt a rush of excitement.
Obviously Aiyana felt touched by it, too. She was staring down at the good- sized protrusion of her stomach that was steadily growing, smiling a Mona Lisa smile as she placed her hand over the spot where the child was growing. "It's kicking me. It's really in there." She looked back up at Masaya, her eyes sparkling. "You know, until now, it felt so foreign. I felt like maybe I was holding it in my head or something. Now that I can actually see it and feel it--it's stretching my stomach and I can feel its little kicks--it makes it so much more real. I'm...actually anticipating it. How much further do I have to go?"
Masaya laughed. "Five months, Aiyana," he said. "You still have five months to go."
She groaned. "Do these aches and pains start getting worse?"
He nodded.
"Ooooh," she moaned. "Well, at least the morning sickness is gone."
"It gets replaced with dizziness, fainting, cramps, insomnia, headaches, and anemia."
Aiyana's eyes widened from the way he rattled off the maladies and laid back against the headboard, suddenly feeling weak and defeated. "Oh."
Masaya laughed. "Don't worry, you'll survive. Some women do it three and four times, and in my aunt Rei's case, five. You'll get through it just this once."
Aiyana sighed deeply. "Is it worth it all?"
Masaya took her hand and squeezed it gently. "You bet."
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AN: No, Delta Hojo does not know Aiyana's pregnant. It was a sarcastic joke that he made on the trip. Yes, Proximians and Centurians have the same gestation period as humans. Why? Because I said so…e-mail me at julymoonbunny@hotmail.com.