Hi, guys! Sorry for not updating sooner...I've been busy writing chapters on my notebook...You see, first, I have to write it in my notebook, after that I have to type it in my computer...Sigh…And then I have to re-type the first five chapters & upload them again…Anyways, I was hoping to get more than 20 reviews before I put up the next chapter, and since you all have been so good sharing your thoughts, I'm giving you chapter 7!

Chapter Seven

Matt took off his suit jacket & slung it over on one of the chairs arranged on Sora's front porch. Then tugging the top button of his dress shirt, he loosened the knot of his tie as he followed the boys into the house.

TJ & Tom-Tom ran upstairs to change out of their best clothes while Matt went looking for Sora. He followed the aroma of roasting beef & found her in the kitchen pouring gravy into a bowl.

"Hi," he said. "We're back!"

She turned around & he saw that her cheek was flushed from the heat of the oven. She set the gravy down on the table & said, "You'll never guess what happened on my way home!"

"You got a ticket for speeding?" he teased.

"If I did, it wouldn't be the first. Anyway, I was driving along Fourth Avenue when I spotted a friend I hadn't seen in...probably thirteen years! She had changed a bit, but I knew her by the way she walked...that hadn't changed. And her legs, of course! Mimi Tachikawa always did have the most fabulous legs! Anyway," she said beaming at him, "you'll meet her because..."

"I've met her, Sora."

Sora did a double take. "You have? But...where?"

He should have told her yesterday when he had the opportunity. They had been together all day with the boys.

"Matt? Do you know Mimi Tachikawa?"

"Sora, that's what I wanted to talk to you about."

Her brow wrinkled & she looked at him like she didn't quite understand what he was saying.

"At the church," he reminded her. "When I told you I needed to talk to you? It was about..."

"About Mimi."

He couldn't understand why she suddenly looked so disappointed. What had she thought he wanted to tell her?

"She turned up at Laurel House on Friday night. She didn't know her father died...didn't know he sold the family home."

"Oh my! What a dreadful shock she must've had when you told her. So, is she here on holiday? And where is she staying? Did she book in at a hotel?"

"I believe she's staying here permanently. No, she's not booked in a hotel; she's staying at Laurel House."

"What?" Sora's eyes grew wide.

"She's there...with me...for the mean time until we sort things out."

"What things?"

"She says she has papers to prove that her father had no right to sell the property without her consent."

"But everything was legal, wasn't it? You're a lawyer. You should have checked everything out..."

"Oh, it's legal all right. No questions about that."

"Then...she'll have to leave. Find another place to stay."

"It's not all that simple, Sora..." Matt broke off as he heard the boys running down the stairs. He put a hand on Sora's shoulder. "Let's leave it for now. We'll talk some more after lunch."


Mimi had always loved Laurel House. She knew it was mostly because of the memories it held when she was a little girl...when everything was still complete.

Now, on this Sunday afternoon, knowing Matt wouldn't be back for a while, Mimi decided to look around the place...not that she wanted to poke around Matt's things; she just wanted to reacquaint herself with her old home.

On the night of her arrival, she noticed the new appliances in the kitchen; & in the morning, she saw that the cupboards were new, too. But apart from that, everything seemed the way she remembered it.

Upstairs, she found the first of the two guest rooms had obviously been refurnished with a king-size oak bedroom suite, cobalt-blue drapes, and blue-&-cream striped duvet. From there she moved on to the other guest room, where she found that the bed was draped with sheets, the floorboards were bare, & the bay window was uncurtained. Three cans of paint were stacked by the closet, along with paintbrushes, a roller & a paint tray.

Matt, it seemed, was planning to redecorate. It hurt her to have an outsider brashly take possession of her home. And added to the hurt, was a spurt of anger. By rights, this house didn't even belong to Matt. She marched into her own bedroom & irritably gathered up a pile of clothing that needed to be washed.

The laundry room was in the basement & she found it just as tidy as the rest of the house. The white-tiled floor was spotless, the washer & dryer gleamed, and a pile of folded but unironed clothes sat on the ironing board. On a shelf above the ironing board was a box of Tide. Mimi moved over to get it, but when she glanced absently at the pile of clothing, she came to an abrupt halt.

And with lips compressed, she glared at the wispy lace bra snuggled up to a pair of navy cotton boxer shorts. It didn't take a genius to figure out what this meant. Sora Takeneuchi has slept here...with Matt!


Matt leaned against the veranda railing & looked down at Sora, who was lounging back on one of her Adirondack chairs. "You never mentioned," he said, "that you & Max Tachikawa's daughter had been childhood friends."

"It just never came up." Sora placed a hand over her eyes to block out the sun as she looked up at him. "After we moved to another town, she & I did keep in touch for a little while but our letters eventually dribbled off. It wasn't till after Tai & I settled back here that I really thought about her again. I did mean to get in touch once we were settled, but then I heard that after high school, her dad sent her off to some fancy college & she never came home again. Nobody seemed to know where she was...so I let it slide."

But Mimi's father didn't send Mimi off to college...he just came up with that story to protect the family name. The truth was, he sent her somewhere else, & though he refused to tell Matt where, he took a vicious delight in telling him why.

Flashback

"Did you think," Max Tachikawa had shouted at him on that black, never-to-be-forgotten autumn night, "that I should allow my daughter to let her pregnancy turn its course so she could give birth to a child by the likes of you? You think I'd have let you ruin her life...her future? She's a Tachikawa, boy, and you're a what? A nobody!"

End of Flashback

Matt would never forget the hatred in the man's eyes. Every time he thought about it, he feels like an old scar would open. Sora had been right, though; none of the town's folk knew where "the rich & lovely Tachikawa girl" had gone. And as far as he was aware, only six people knew of her pregnancy: Mimi, himself, his brother TK, his parents, & Mimi's father.

"Matt?" Sora prodded his ankle with the toe of her sandal. "What is it? What are you thinking?"

He dragged his thoughts to the present. "I knew her too, Sora. I knew her years ago when she was eighteen."

"But…how? You would have been away at law school?"

"I came home in the summer break & I met her a few weeks before she graduated from high school. I think it was in early June. And we hung around together till I went back to law school in the fall."

"You & Mimi Tachikawa…dated?"

"Yeah."

"But…nobody has ever mentioned it…to me."

"Nobody knew, Sora. We had to keep it quiet & meet in secret because of her father. He didn't think I was good enough for his daughter."

For a minute or two, neither of them spoke.

Finally, Sora said, "If you let her stay at Laurel House, I'm afraid you're going to have your hands full."

"I'm not sure I know what you mean."

"I'm a nurse, Matt…or at least I was, and I know all the signs. I know that…look."

He stared at her & felt a growing sense of dread that chilled him. "Mimi…isn't ill, is she?"

Sora closed her eyes & leaned her head back against the slats of the chair. "No, she isn't ill, Matt…she's pregnant."


PREGNANT! The word was still rolling around in Matt's head when he left Sora's place an hour later. But maybe Sora made a mistake…is it? If Mimi's pregnant…what should he do?

By the time he got back to Laurel House, he decided to wait till Mimi opens up & gives him the information. He parked the car inside the garage & went in. By the time he walked into the foyer, he heard footsteps on the stairs. Mimi stopped on the last step & looked at him.

"Hi," he said observing her carefully. "How's it going?"

She was so thin with long arms & longer legs; he never realized how tall she was. She was wearing a pink silk blouse over a cream miniskirt.

He scrutinized her face, searching for whatever signs Sora had seen. Dammit, he didn't know what the first signs of pregnancy were!"

Mimi put a hand on the newel post & frowned at him. "What's the matter?" Her voice rang with challenge. "Why on earth are you staring at me like that?"


AN: I hope you guys were satisfied with this one. Sora found out that M&M used to date each other, and Matt found out that Mimi's pregnant…Tell me what you think so far.

EUR3K4 – Sora fancies Matt, but don't worry coz this totally a Mimato fic. MaRoNcOoL – I'm really glad that both you & your sister like my story. Keep R&R! KoumiLoccness – If you don't like Mimato, then why are you reading this fic! Angel – Glad to hear from you again! Mimato fan - You don't have to be afraid of anything. Everything will turn out the way it should be…oops! Did I just say that?...wink…hehe! Gabumon7000 – Thanks for the review! Keep R&R!

Chapter 8 will be posted in a couple of days! lol