I'm pretty sure all of you will enjoy this one. It's got lot's of stuff, most of which would probably answer some of your questions…like M&M's baby. And we'll get to meet new characters, too! Have fun reading & don't forget to leave a review! lol

Angel – now that I have my notebook again, I promise to keep on typing. No, Mimi's not gonna tell him, but she won't deny it either. Actually, you'll find that out in this chapter! A Fire Inside – thanks! I totally agree with you, I think he/she is a wannabe. Hehe! PnkSaKuRaSyAoRaNS2 – you've got a really long name, but I like it anyway…hehe! I like Sakura & Syaoran too! Keep R&R!

Chapter Ten

Matt leaned his hip on the edge of his desk & watched narrowly as Mimi sat back in an armchair & sipped her iced tea. Seeing her in the park surprised him…especially because he'd been thinking about her & with such intensity he actually wondered, when she materialized in front of him, if he had conjured her up out of his own mind.

But no, it had been Mimi in the flesh. And she looked so sexy in that prim navy suit with her pretty hair tightly coiled up, he almost forgot to breath. She didn't know it, of course. He guessed her intention had been to present a proper image; what she didn't realize was that what she presented was a temptation…an irresistible temptation. What he ached to do was uncoil that silky topknot, unravel that glossy hair, and open each button of that suit jacket…

"You said we have to talk. What did you want to say?"

He wanted to say that he had a phone call half an hour ago from the painter work person…& the call had seemed to confirm what Sora told him yesterday. And he wanted to say that while he'd been sitting in the park, he came up with a plan.

But before he got to that, he first had to find out if Mimi really was pregnant. He was pretty sure she was, & he was going to call her on it…right now. Pushing himself from the desk, he stood straight.

"Mimi." He hoped to hell he was right, or he was going to appear like the biggest fool on the face of the earth. "I know you want to fight m for your family home & I can't stop you from doing that. It's your decision…"

"Well, thank you!" Her tone was sarcastic.

"…but I suggest you postpone taking any action…"

"No way," her eyes had taken on a steely determination. "I'm going to take action now."

"…for at least a few months until you're more able to cope. Court fights can be extremely stressful & you've already admitted you're burned out. I'd say you're on your way to cracking up. Take it easy, take a break…"

Her eyes flashed sparks & she opened her mouth to shout him down. He didn't give her a chance.

"…if not for your own sake," he finished steadily, "then do it for the sake of you unborn child."


Mimi stared disbelievingly at Matt. How on earth had he discovered she was pregnant? She leaned over & set her glass on the low coffee table in front of her, stealing a moment to steady herself. When she looked up again, her face was emotionless.

"My pregnancy," she said," has nothing to do with you." Old wounds, still painful, made her cruel. "This time."

She saw his Adam's apple jerk convulsively. "But this time," he said, "you want to keep the baby."

Her fingers trembled. She placed them together on her lap. "Of course I want to keep my baby. I don't know what you mean…what do you mean? What are you trying to say?"

He sighed. "I'm sorry, that was unfair." He crossed to the window & stood looking out, though he saw nothing of that would interest him. His eyes blurred as his mind got tangled up in anguished memories. "I know I let you down. I know that if I'd been the man I should have been, we'd have stood up together to your father when he forbade you to have my child, & you'd never have let him send you away or let him force you to have an…"

"What are you talking about?"

He turned around abruptly as he heard the grating edge to Mimi's voice.

She lurched to her feet & her eyes were filled with horror. "What are you saying, Matt? You think I didn't want our baby, you think I…"

He closed the space between them & grabbed her shoulders. "Mimi, you don't have to defend what you did. You don't have to explain why you…"

"Matt, my father didn't send me away. He wasn't going to let me go through with my pregnancy so I ran away. I would never have let anyone take our baby from me, I ran away because I so desperately wanted to keep it…but in the end," she said chokingly, "I lost it anyway." She wrenched herself free & staggered back, coming up against the wall & staring at him as if she didn't even recognize him. "Are you telling me that all these years you thought I…"

"It was what your father told me." Stunned, Matt stared back at her. Was it really true? Had Max Tachikawa lied to him? But worse than that…if those had indeed been lies, he, Matt, had believed them.

"Mimi." He didn't know what to do, or what to say. He could hardly bear to look at her. Her eyes were swimming with tears…tears of incredulity, tears of hurt, tears of betrayal that tore his heart. "Oh, sweetheart, I…"

"I am not your sweetheart." Furiously she brushed away her tears with the back of her hands. "I'm nobody's sweetheart." She realized she was shouting. "Least of all, yours."

She spun away toward the door, but before she got there, she felt light-headed and saw gold stars suddenly dance & swim in the air in front of her. Dizzily she fumbled for the doorknob but before she could find it, a black curtain descended slowly over hr eyes. It was the last thing she was aware of before she fainted to the floor.


Matt prowled the waiting room at the Medical Center, occasionally pausing to stare at Dr. Joe's firmly closed door. Mimi had been in there for almost half an hour. What the devil was going on? And how much longer did the doctor need to find out what was wrong with her?

Fortunately, the clinic was located directly across the street from his own office & he lost no time in carrying Mimi across the way when she passed out. Feather light in his arms & limper than wet paper, she begun to come to wake up as they entered the clinic, & by the time they reached the reception desk, she was demanding to be put down.

He gave in, but he'd been mightily relieved when Dr. Joe had whisked Mimi straight into his office…where she'd been ever since. Matt turned to the receptionist, Kari Yagami, a pleasant girl he'd known since the day his little brother started going out with her.

"What the devil's going on in there?" he asked.

"Dr. Joe just wants to make sure." Kari tried to calm him with soothing words. "Ms. Tachikawa's in very good hands, Matt. she should be coming out any minute now."

And at that, the office door opened & Mimi appeared with Dr. Joe right behind her.

"Thank you, Dr. Joe," she said. "I'll see you again in two weeks."

"Make an appointment with Kari before you leave." The doctor adjusted his glasses. "Now remember, you must have lots of rest…a nap every afternoon & early to bed at night. And no housework, no gardening, no slaving over a hot stove! No exertion of any kind. Basically you're healthy enough, but you've let yourself get run-down & we have to build you up again."

Mimi was going to be fine. As Matt assimilated the great news, he felt his heart lighten. He watched Mimi move over to the desk and he noticed that her cheeks had more color & her eyes had a lovelier spark. She must be happy that everything was okay.

And the baby's father…would he be happy, too, when she told him? Would she tell him…or had she cut the guy completely out of her life, in the same way as she had done to him? He wanted to know…but he didn't have the right to ask. He had no rights where Mimi Tachikawa was concerned. Any rights he once had was forfeited eight years ago.

"Matt."

He snapped out of his straying thoughts as the doctor called him. Dragging his gaze from Mimi, who was taking an appointment card from Kari, he said, "Yeah, Joe?"

"Mimi tells me she's staying at Laurel House. I'll be depending on you to look after her. Make sure that she does what she's told…"

"Oh, you can count on it! I'll drive her home & make sure she…"

Mimi appeared at his side & put a light hand on his forearm. "Let's discuss this outside." Her smile was honey sweet…on the surface. "Shall we?"

"Sure." He said easily. "Let's do that."

She thanked the doctor again & then led Matt out to the street.

Once on the sidewalk, he said, "Where's your car?"

"I walked. You may recall I ran out of gas and…"

"Oh, yeah, I was going to bring home a container of gas tonight &…"

"Thank you," she said, "for offering to drive me home. I'll take you up on that because I don't want to risk passing out on the road, which I might well do if I were to walk. But we'll stop at the gas station on the way & I'll but a can of gas for my car…"

"No."

"No?"

"No, Dr. Joe has put you in my care & if you need to go anywhere, I'll drive you. At least, for the next couple of weeks till you go back for your checkup."

She opened her mouth to protest, but when he said quietly, "Mimi, it would be best for the baby's sake."

He could see the frustration in her expression & knew how bad she felt by the limitations her condition had placed on her. But in the end, she said reluctantly, "You're probably right. Just for the next couple of weeks, though, & then I want to get around on my own."

"Agreed…if the doctor gives you his approval."

While they'd been talking, he led her to his car. He opened the door & helped her inside. As they made their way up the street, she said, "We have to talk…about the house."

"We will." He put his signal out & turned left at the end of the block. "I have to go back to the office till around four, but I'll be home as soon as I can get away. In the meantime, you'll follow the doctor's orders & take an afternoon nap. Take it easy & avoid stress." His eyes were on the road but he could feel her stiffen.

"I don't need you to give me advice, Matt."

He flicked a frowning glance her way. She was staring ahead & her profile was forbidding.

"You & I," he said, "and any differences we have or may have had…they're not important now. What's important in your baby. As I've said before, I'm not your enemy. I want only what's best for you. I'm not about to make you try & do things you'd rather not, and I'll try not to give you advice you don't want. But I do have a plan in mind, one I hope you'll find acceptable. I'll tell you what that plan is tonight."

"There's one thing," she said," that I want to settle right now."

"Sure, what is it?"

"That painter, the one who fancies herself as a rocker…"

"Yeah, what about her?"

They had reached the driveway leading up to Laurel House. As Matt slowed the car & coasted to a stop by the front steps of the house, Mimi turned to him.

"She has to go." Her eyes flashed. "Will you please find her & fire her?"

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw an overalled figure come out the front door. He hid a smile.

"There she is," he said, gesturing toward the woman who had paused at the top of the steps. He pushed open his door & strode around the Honda to open Mimi's door. He offered her a hand & though she allowed him to help her out, she slipped her fingers free as soon as she was upright.

He cupped her elbow & led her to the foot of the shallow steps, where he came to a stop. His smile was mischievous as his gaze flicked from one woman to the other. "I gather you two haven't been formally introduced."

"So do it!" Mimi hissed. "Tell her she's toast!"

"Elena," his tone held a ripple of amusement. "I'd like you to meet Max Tachikawa's daughter, Mimi Tachikawa. Mimi…" he turned to the woman standing rigidly by his side because not for anything in the world would he have missed the expression on her face when he completed the introduction, "I'd like you to meet my mother, Elena Takeshi Ishida."


AN: I'm not quite sure if I wrote the maiden name of Matt's mom right. I know it starts with a "T" but I forgot what it was. I'm pretty bad at remembering other people's last names…like Jun, for example…hehe! I'd really appreciate it if you guys help me, again, with this one. Lol

Please review!