(This chapter co-authored by Roku Kyu)

-6-

I just stared at him for a second, 'cause the words didn't make any sense. "But…the blood," I managed.

"It's not blood," he insisted, and before I remembered to be embarrassed, he lifted the bottom of my dress up, just enough for me to see the clear liquid runnin' down my legs. "Your water broke."

"My…wha?"

Just when it was startin' to sink in that Tama meant I was about to have the baby, an' that meant that the little guy was still alive an' okay, there was another spasm from my stomach and I doubled up, every muscle in my body goin' tight.

Through the pain, I felt Tama's hands on my shoulders, then on the sides of my face. He was sayin' somethin', but I couldn't quite make out—

"Tasuki, breathe. Listen to me. Take deep breaths."

Easy for him to fucking say! But I tried to do what he said, an' either 'cause I was concentratin' on it so hard or else 'cause doin' it actually worked, the pain faded…and then finally went away.

It was weird, but once the pain stopped, I felt pretty okay—normal, almost. Well, as normal as a pregnant bandit can get. Still, it was weird to feel so okay when somethin' like this was happenin', when this was it. I mean, here we were, out in the middle of nowhere, nobody but me an' half-drowned Tama, an' I was about to have a baby.

This sense of urgency hit me then, makin' me push away from Tama an' crawl kinda shakily to my feet. For once, I didn't get pissed when he put his arm around me to support me.

"Tama, we gotta get movin' while I still can move," I said. "If that pain hits again…" I shook my head, havin' trouble findin' the words, but he got it.

He didn't waste any time replying, just tightened his arm around me as we started haulin' ass up the hill. An' it wasn't no fucking picnic, but we made it okay; I was still feelin' all right, barely any pain 'cept the occasional cramp, an' none of 'em were too bad—just real uncomfortable.

After a hell of a long hike, we got to the stable, an' it was this squat little building with chipping paint and scuffling animal sounds comin' from inside. I was just openin' my mouth to cuss out the innkeeper when my muscles started goin' all tight again, an' somehow I knew it wasn't gonna be another wussy cramp. This was gonna be a Big One.

"Shit, Tama," was all I managed to get out, staggerin' over to the wall of the stable so I could lean against it—an' then the pain hit hard, squeezin' and twistin' everything I had. An' I couldn't even scream, 'cause it was all I could do just to breathe, takin' in these little gasps of air that didn't quite fill my lungs but were all I could manage. I felt my knees go out from under me but didn't fall down, 'cause the stable was hard against my back an' I was clingin' to somethin' solid in front a' me.

Finally, the pain started backin' down, fadin' away like it had before, clearin' the haze from my eyes—an' I realized with a jolt that I had my arms wrapped around Tama's neck. He was pressed up against me, his arms braced against the stable wall, holdin' me up. I felt my face turn about six shades of red—I mean, what the hell must he be thinkin', havin' me holdin' onto him like that?

But he just pulled back an' gave me this serious look, like there was nothin' weird at all about me hangin' all over him. "Do you think you can move now?"

Suddenly, the ground was just fascinatin'—ya know, all that mud and rain-drenched grass. Couldn't seem to take my eyes off it. "Uh-huh."

Tama got his arm around me again, still actin' like this was all the most fucking natural thing in the world, an' a couple a' hurried steps took us over to the stable door. Tama kicked it open, an' I got a whiff of warm hay an' horse shit; from somewhere inside came nervous whinnying an' the long, agitated low of some pissed off cow.

Great fucking place to have a baby, I thought, an' then we were inside an' Tama was lookin' around, tryin' to see by the little bit of daylight still tricklin' in through the door. Finally, he spotted somethin' an' hurried forward, an' a second later was at the stalls in the back, strippin' the blanket off a' the old plow horse, who snorted at the intrusion. Tama tossed the blanket over a big pile of feed hay, then looked over to where I was leanin' against the door.

"Tasuki…" he said, soundin' kinda nervous, but I was too scared of when the next pain might hit to give him any attitude. Without a word, I hurried over and sat down on the blanket, tryin' not to fidget while Tama piled the hay up behind my back to support me. An' even though the blanket was prickly an' smelled like horse, I wasn't about to complain; it was better'n havin' jabby ends of hay shoved up my ass.

"Wait here," Tama told me—like I was gonna run off an' go dancin' or somethin'. An' then he was hustlin' over to the firepit on the other side of the room, kneelin' down on the stone floor in front of it.

Good thing the innkeeper actually used this place, I thought, 'cause he kept the floor swept clean, an' he had a big pile of dry wood an' some fire tongs an' hammers layin' around for us to use. While Tama got the fire goin', I took back half the nasty things I'd been sayin' about that bastard of an innkeeper. But only half, 'cause we wouldn't've fucking needed this stable if he'd given us a room. An' at least at the inn, there mighta been a midwife or somethin', or at least some woman who knew about birthin' babies.

But here there was only me, who didn't know shit, and…Tama.

Another pain hit me, but it was just one of those crampy little spasms, enough to hurt but not enough to take my breath away. Brought reality home to me real quick, though. This was gonna happen, here and now, an' I sure as shit hoped Tama knew what he was doin', 'cause he was all I had.

Tama turned back from the fire then, an' I guess some of the fear an' resignation musta shown on my face, 'cause he came over an' knelt beside me. After a second, he clasped our palms together, not like he was holdin' my hand to comfort me, but more like it was a promise between guys; an oath. "We're going to get through this," he said, an' his voice was real firm, completely unafraid. "Listen. Tasuki, in my village, there are girls who get married off young—when they're only fourteen or fifteen—because…well, a married-off daughter is one less mouth to feed. But these girls…they have babies, and they come through it fine all the time. And if they can do it, then I have to believe that we can, too."

Made sense. I mean, shit, I'd heard a' girls younger'n fifteen havin' babies and gettin' through it okay. But still, I couldn't help thinkin' that not all of 'em made it through. Bad things happened to girls havin' babies all the time, an' not just the real young ones—it happened to grown women, too. Like Tama's mother.

But sittin' there in that stable, so scared I could hardly see straight, I needed to believe what Tama was sayin', an' maybe he needed to believe it, too. So I nodded, squeezin' his hand an' managin' a shaky smile.

"Sure, Tama. But what's with this 'we' shit?"

Tama didn't smile at my smartass tone, just reached out an' covered my hand with both of his, his eyes starin' straight into mine so I couldn't help seein' the truth in 'em. "You're not in this alone," he said softly.

He looked like he wanted to say more, but the pain hit again before he could, an' it was another fuckin' big one. I squeezed my eyes shut against it, holdin' real tight onto Tama's hand an' tryin' to remember to breathe—an' somehow, knowin' Tama was in this with me, feelin' the proof of it in our clasped hands, I started thinkin' that maybe I could get through this. I mean, the pain was bad, but it wasn't unbearable—nothin' I couldn't handle. An' shit, Tama was right—two Suzaku seishi oughta be able to do what some dippy peasant girl could do. No sweat!

Three hours later, I wasn't feelin' so sure. There were no more of those wimpy little cramp pains—oh, no. Every damn one was big and gut-wrenching and somehow worse than the last one, an' they were comin' closer together, too, so I only had around thirty seconds to rest in between.

"Oh, shit," I managed to wheeze out as another one hit me, makin' me curl forward so I was sittin' almost all the way up an' hangin' onto my knees. An' I started wondering, not for the first time in the last couple hours, if maybe Tama was wrong—if maybe this wasn't normal and the baby was dyin'…or maybe I was. 'Cause shit, it felt like everything from my lower abdomen to my ribcage was on fire, an' if the pain kept up for any fucking longer, I was pretty damn sure I'd have nothin' left in there but smoking cinders—no baby, no insides, just ashes.

Fuck, this one was goin' on too long! It was like it was never fucking gonna stop, squeezin' and rippin' at my stomach, wrenching deep inside a' me. All of a sudden, this wave of nausea hit hard, an' I barely had time to turn my head to one side before I threw up all over the hay. I hadn't had much to eat for the past few days, but it was still disgusting, especially with all the river water I musta swallowed when I was rescuin' Tama. That sour smell mixed with the stink of the river got me goin' all over again, an' I kept throwin' up like I was gonna puke the baby outta my body. Somewhere in there, the labor pain musta stopped, but it didn't make no difference to me, 'cause now I was hurtin' in my throat an' chest, an' I couldn't breathe in 'cause I was afraid I'd inhale that shit an' drown in my own vomit. All I could was blink the hot tears outta my eyes and howl this long, miserable wail that made the cows stomp in their stalls.

Suddenly, the puke-sodden hay was whisked out from under my nose, and a cold wet cloth was pressed to the back of my neck.

"Here, Tasuki." I opened my eyes an' saw a ladle of water right in front of me. "Rinse your mouth and spit it out."

I did what he said, gettin' a moment's comfort from the cool water in my mouth—but then another pain hit an' so did the nausea, an' I kept on emptyin' my stomach over an' over again, 'til I was sure there was nothin' left…but there always was, an' my throat was so raw an' I had so little time to breathe that I couldn't even cry. I just had to lie there an' wait for it to end, thinkin' the whole time that I'd never been so disgusting in my life.

But Tama stayed right by me the whole time, rubbin' my back an' replacing the cloth on my neck, all the time murmuring soft words of comfort. And finally, there really was nothin' left inside me, an' I was down to just dry retches. Tama made me take a little water again, an' while I sipped it, he cleaned up the puke an' then cleaned up me, wipin' my mouth an' face with clean, wet cloths that smelled like rain. An' when the pain seemed to back down for a little while, an' my stomach felt like it might be settlin' down, I risked opening my eyes and looked up at him.

I expected him to look…I don't know, sick or somethin', but he was just a little pale. He was still dabbing at my face with the cloth, real gentle and careful even though his hand was shaking, an' I suddenly wondered how he could stand to be this close to me—how he could stand to touch me when I was prob'ley the most miserable, revolting person he'd ever seen in his life.

I felt a hot rush of shame at that thought, an' lowered my eyes. "Sorry," I mumbled.

"Don't worry about it," he said quietly, like it was nothin'—like he did this sorta thing every day. An' then while I was still starin' at him in shock, he took the empty ladle from my hands, filled it up, and gave it back to me to drink. "This is all normal," he went on. "And your contractions are coming pretty close together."

"No shit," I managed weakly.

He gave me a faint smile, but it was gone before I could blink. "What I meant was that that's good—it means it's almost time for the baby to come out. If they were further apart, we might wait more than a day before it was time. But maybe because of the spell, the birth will be faster."

"Fuck," I whispered. "You mean women go through this for fucking days?"

Tama nodded. "My mother was in labor with Yuiren for thirty-one hours. I don't think her contractions were as bad as yours, not until nearer to the end, but…"

I shut my eyes, havin' a hard time believin' it. Thirty one hours. Thirty one fucking hours to have a kid, thirty-one hours of dealin' with this kinda pain… Shit, I'd only been through a tenth of that time, an' already I didn't think I could take any more.

I suddenly thought about my mom, havin' all those babies, one after the fucking other. Did it hurt her like this every time? An' if it did, why the hell did she keep havin' kids? It was fucking nuts! Why go through that kinda pain over an' over again just to bring more shit-faced little brats into the world?

Of course, I was one of those shit-faced little brats, an' if she'd stopped after the first one (or the fifth, for that matter), I wouldn't even be here.

But why go through that over an' over? I just didn't get it. How the hell could it be worth it, goin' through all that gut-wrenching agony six fucking times?

An' speaking of gut-wrenching agony…

The pain rolled in, one of those fucking 'contractions,' as Tama called 'em. Good name, too, 'cause that's what they felt like, like giant hands grabbin' my organs and contractin' their grip. Stars exploded behind my eyes, but I started countin', 'cause these fuckers couldn't go on forever—they hadda let up, usually by the time I got to sixty. Fifty-nine, sixty…yeah!

Now I could lean back against the hay and relax for at least a half a minute—but before even ten seconds went by, there was another one, even bigger than the fucker before it! An' not only did it hurt like hell, but I was totally unprepared for it when it hit—all I could do was choke in a couple a' breaths and hang on to Tama's hand, squeezin' it hard, letting it anchor me so the pain didn't sweep me away an' swallow me whole.

Finally, the contraction started fading—and this time, I didn't even get six seconds break before the next one came rollin' in. My body curled up, bending towards my knees, and it was right about then that I knew I was in trouble.

"Oh, shit," I gasped. "Oh, fuck. Tama, I can't fucking do this! Tama—!"

I couldn't help it; I screamed. Screamed like I was dyin', 'cause it sure as fuck felt like I was. I mean, I've been beaten an' stabbed an' a million other nasty things, but right hand up to Suzaku, I never felt pain like that before. An' knowin' that I wasn't gonna get a break from it, that the pain was just gonna keep comin' and comin', faster an' harder 'til my body just couldn't take it anymore—it stripped me of all the hope an' control an' sanity I had left, an' I screamed until my throat was raw and my voice gave out.

I don't know how long it took or how many contractions I had in a row, but finally they faded for more than two seconds, an' I fell back against the hay, gasping and crying weakly. Somehow I was still clinging to Tama's hand, an' I wondered dimly if I'd crushed his fingers to powder. Just then, I felt him peelin' his fingers outta mine, makin' like he was gonna leave.

Panic welled up in my chest. Shit, I couldn't do this alone—where was he goin'?

"Shh," he said, an' I guess I musta cried out or somethin'. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm just going to check on the baby."

Check on the—? Oh. He meant…

An' sure enough, he crawled down to my feet and, real carefully, pushed my knees apart an' slid my filthy wet dress up to my waist.

Ya'd think that with the pain an' the puke an' the tears, I wouldn't have any sense of shame left, but I still felt my face gettin' hot when the cold air hit my thighs. I mean, I knew that Tama hadda do it, but I couldn't help feelin' naked and ashamed with him lookin' at me there, lookin' at me where it was real fucking clear what a freak of nature I was. In fact, at first I tried to close my legs, keep him from lookin', but he just pried 'em apart again, real gentle and patient, an' so I lay back and closed my eyes an' tried to pretend I was anywhere but here.

"Tasuki," he whispered suddenly, an' the awe in his voice jerked me outta my shame an' made me look at him. And even though I couldn't fucking see why, he was smiling. "I can see the head. I can see the baby's head."

I blinked at him. "Are you shittin' me?"

"No. Now listen, the next time a contraction comes—"

Speak of the fucking devil. This one came on so suddenly that I didn't waste any time cringeing or crying or swearing. I just let loose again and screamed.

"Tasuki!" Tama shouted over the sound of my howling. "Tasuki, push!"

PUSH? How the fuck—? Push what? With what?

But my body understood even if I didn't, 'cause suddenly I was pushing, tightening already tight muscles an' shoving everything down, out, out—!

The pain tapered off for a second then an' I lay back again, the stable ceiling swimming in front of my eyes an' my breath coming in shallow little gasps. An' even though the contraction was gone for now, I still fucking hurt down there, only it was a different kind of hurt—felt almost like I was bein'…stretched, like something solid and so ridiculously fucking big was stuck inside of me, half in an' half out, an' even though I wanted like hell to get it out, get it outta me, I just didn't have the strength to push anymore. I was so tired an' dizzy an' hot, an' every breath meant more pain an' fuck, why did I ever think I could do this?

"Tasuki, you have to keep pushing!"

"FUCK YOU, TAMA! YOU FUCKIN' PUSH!" I snarled. "I can't—" I broke off, sobbing. "I can't push anymore. I can't…oh, Suzaku!"

More pain. More fucking pain, this time so sharp and blinding that I couldn't even scream—couldn't breathe. I couldn't breathe! Oh, fuck, I was gonna die! My body felt so heavy all of a sudden, an' I felt this sticky warmth on my thighs, smelled blood—my blood. An' there was still that awful stretching pressure down there that felt like it was gonna rip me in half, an' the dizziness was so bad that I gagged, an' prob'ley woulda puked again if not for the fact there wasn't any puke left in me anymore.

An' just like that, I knew: I couldn't do this.

It calmed me a little bit, realizin' that, knowin' it was true.

I couldn't do this. It was as simple as that. I was never meant to have a baby, an' now that I was stuck in the middle of havin' one, it was gonna kill me. I just didn't have the strength to keep pushing, to suffer through one more minute of this fucking pain, an' there was nothin' left to do but give up. So I lay back against the hay, closed my eyes, an' waited to die. No, I wasn't just waiting—I was wishing for it. Praying for it. Please, Suzaku. Please just let me die so I don't have to hurt anyfuckingmore…

I don't know if I said any of that out loud or not, but suddenly there was this…heat against my forehead, an' when I opened my eyes Tama was right there. His forehead was resting against mine an' his face was swimming in the red glow of his seishi symbol, an' his eyes were so fierce that I could only stare at 'em in shock.

"No," he said in this low, furious voice. "You are not giving up. You are not! Do you hear me, Tasuki? You are not giving up!"

I looked away, even though it was pretty damn hard with his eyes right there in front of mine, an' tried to swallow even though my throat was dry from screaming. "I-I can't do this, Tama," I managed to shake out. "It's too hard. It hurts too fucking much; I-I can't…"

"GODDAMN YOU, YES, YOU CAN! YOU CAN! You have to. Please, Tasuki…"

Meetin' his eyes again, I saw that they were like they'd been back on the slaver's ship—dark, angry, but…different, 'cause even through all the fury I could still see Tama in there. An' I could feel his hand clasped in mine, our palms pressed so tight together that it almost seemed like they were part of the same limb. An' suddenly it felt like maybe I could borrow some of Tama's strength just through the press of his skin, like maybe it wasn't just me against all this pain, just me alone with the agony and the fear and the blood.

Tama was with me.

Right on time, another contraction grabbed onto me an' twisted—an' this time, with Tama's angry, pleading eyes right in front of mine an' Tama's strength seepin' into me through my palm, I didn't back away from it. I didn't cringe or run or wish to Suzaku it'd go away—I got right in its fucking face and let myself feel it. It was like standin' in the middle of a fucking firestorm, an' for the first couple seconds I thought that bein' in the thick of all that naked, undiluted agony was gonna kill me. But somehow, facing it down, meeting it head-on instead of cowerin' in the corner…it did somethin' to me, made me feel stronger, more like me again. More like maybe, maybe, I could do this. Maybe I could get outta this okay.

Tama let go of my hand, an' I knew it was 'cause he was goin' back down to check on the baby—an' that was okay, 'cause I was back. I was still Tasuki, goddamn it, an' there was no way I was quittin' now, not after all I'd gone through to get here. NO FUCKING WAY!

"Push!" Tama kept yellin', so I did. I gathered up every last scraping bit of strength I had an' even some I didn't, an' I fucking pushed. An' every couple a' seconds, I was sure I was at my limit—that there was no way I could keep pushing for even another second—but I did it anyway, just kept pushing.

An' somewhere in there…somewhere in there I felt this sudden release, like all the pressure that'd been buildin' up inside of me was finally sliding out, gettin' the hell outta me and fading away for good. I fell back against the hay, gasping for breath, crying with the relief of knowing that it was over, it was over—

Except that I finally remembered what was supposed to be happenin' now, that there was supposed to be a baby cryin' somewhere, but I didn't hear anything, anything at all—

An' that was wrong, so wrong that I sat straight up in spite of the blood and the muck and the pain, lookin' around for Tama an' tryin' not to panic. I finally spotted him near the fire, an' he was holdin' somethin', somethin' small that he brought up to his mouth. He had his mouth on its face an' he was suckin' and spittin' somethin' out, then rubbing that tiny thing briskly with another cloth—

—an' that was when I heard it.

It was a real quiet sound, like a cough or a gurgle, but then suddenly it turned into these little gasping sobs that I'd never heard before but recognized anyway, knew better than the sound of my own voice.

My baby. My baby. Tama had him cradled in his arms, starin' down at him an' then over at me with tears in his eyes, an' then finally he was crawling over to me and lowering him into my arms—

"It's a girl, Tasuki. We've got a little girl."

His voice was all funny an' shaky, an' I didn't even care that he said "we," 'cause she was ours, his as much as mine.

I looked down an' there she was, this wet, wrinkled little thing with black fuzz on her head an' little spots of my blood on her face, which was all scrunched up while she cried. She had lots of white stuff like cream on her skin, and the cord that had connected her to me was still red and round up to the place where Tama had tied it off. She was real funny-lookin,' not exactly a pretty sight, but I held her against me, feeling that she was warm and breathing and alive, okay despite all the shit that'd brought us to this point.

And just like that, I understood. I understood why my mom went through this—why all women went through this, even though it hurt like hell an' ya felt like your insides were being turned into fucking soup while it was goin' on.

It was for this. For her. For a squirmy little baby in your arms with a scrunched up face and tiny, fragile, perfect hands that wave around in the air. For the first time she opens her eyes and looks up at you, and you know. You know she's yours, and even though you just met her, you know you'd die for her in a heartbeat. You know you'd do anything to keep her happy and safe, to keep her warm, to make her give you one of those looks that's so full of calm trust that you're gonna take care of her. You just know, and suddenly everything seems worth it.

Holdin' her in my arms, still cryin' like I was the goddamn baby, I looked over at Tama. He was kneeling right beside me, smiling at me through his own tears an' lookin' about as exhausted an' happy as I felt…an' I loved him. At that second, seein' him sittin' there beside me an' knowin' that it was 'cause of him I was alive an' holding this warm little baby in my arms, I loved him.

An' he knew. I could see it in his eyes, in the way they softened when he looked back at me.

An' then the moment was over, an' he was lookin' around for somethin' dry and warm to wrap the baby in. He finally found this real soft cloak hangin' over by the door, not dirty at all despite bein' in a damn stable, an' together we got it around her little body so the night air couldn't get to her.

After that, Tama started bustlin' around, addin' more wood to the fire an' then huntin' around for somethin' we could use for a crib, but I barely even glanced at him. I just kept starin' at my baby, lookin' into her big blue eyes, runnin' my fingers real lightly over the dark fuzz on her scalp, feeling her breathe in my arms. I just couldn't get my mind around her bein' here, bein' mine, an' yet here she was. Beautiful. Perfect.

"Hey, Tama," I said after a minute. "She's gonna need a name."

Tama'd found this empty manger an' was linin' it with hay, makin' it nice and cozy for the baby; he didn't stop what he was doin' when he answered me, but his voice was weird, soft. "Yes, she will."

I was quiet for a little while, watchin' him work, before I got the guts to say what was on my mind. "Look, uh…I'm no good at this stuff. I'd prob'ley give her some dumbass name that'd get her picked on for the rest of her life or somethin', so, uh, I was thinkin' that maybe if, you know, you didn't mind or nothin'…maybe you could name her."

That made him stop. Even so, he just sat there for a minute, not movin', before he finally turned around to look at me. His expression was real cautious, like he didn't want to risk gettin' too hopeful. "Tasuki…are you sure?"

I shrugged. "Sure I'm sure. Shit, ya'd be doin' me a favor. I don't got a fucking clue what to name her."

He was still lookin' kinda cautious, but at least he came over to sit beside me, lookin' down at the baby like he was expectin' her to tell him what to say or somethin'. Finally, he turned his eyes back on me, an' the look in 'em was almost…shy. "My mother's name was Yugetsu," he said, real quietly. "She…" He glanced down at the baby. "She looks a little bit like her. The hair. The eyes."

I waited a sec, like I was thinkin' it over. "Yugetsu's kind of a mouthful," I said after a minute, pretendin' I didn't see Tama's quick look of disappointment. Suddenly, I grinned at him. "Guess we'll have to call her 'Yu-chan,' huh, Tama?"

He smiled, his shoulder pressin' against mine while we both looked down at Yu-chan, who right about then was losin' the fight to keep her eyes open.

"Yu-chan," I murmured, trailin' my fingers over her cheek real lightly so I wouldn't keep her from her nap. She gurgled somethin', her eyes falling shut, an' I couldn't help feelin' like she was givin' us her okay on the name.

"Hey," Tama said softly.

I glanced up at him, thinkin' it was weird to feel so happy, so complete, when I was sittin' on the dirty floor of somebody's stable with the one guy I never thought I would trust.

Tama's eyes were as soft as his voice. "If you want to sleep for awhile, the manger's ready. I can watch the…" He smiled. "I can watch Yu-chan while you sleep."

I opened my mouth to tell him nah, I wasn't that tired, but it was like hearin' the words made me remember that they were true, 'cause all of a sudden I was havin' a hard time keepin' my eyes open. I yawned, and gave Tama a bleary kinda nod. "Yeah," I managed, slurring the word through another big yawn. "Sure. Thanks."

He reached down like he was gonna take Yu-chan, gettin' his arms around her little body and startin' to lift her…and I don't know why, but suddenly I tightened my grip on her. Tama was already startin' to pick her up, but he stopped when he realized I wasn't lettin' go, frownin' at me like he was wonderin' what the hell I thought I was doin'.

I wasn't too sure myself, but suddenly it seemed real important—urgent, even—to keep my arms around her, keep her against me so I could feel her breathing. There was this fear in my gut, ice-cold and churning, an' even though I didn't know what the hell it was about, I knew I hadda hold onto my little girl, keep her close to me.

After awhile I felt Tama's hand on my arm, real gentle. "Tasuki," he said quietly. "She won't disappear if you let go of her."

I just hugged her closer. "I know that," I muttered. "Shit, ya think I don't know that?"

Tama watched me for a second more, somethin' I couldn't quite figure out passin' through his eyes, an' next thing I knew, he was tucking his cloak around me like a blanket, an' fluffin' up the hay behind my head so it'd feel a little more comfortable. "Go ahead and sleep," he said, an' there was no more talk of takin' Yu-chan outta my arms. "I'll keep watch."

I nodded sleepily, the fear backin' off just as quick as it'd come. "Thanks, Tama," I murmured, my eyes already closing. Somethin' whispered up through the haze, though, an' I cracked my eyes open one more time, my voice goin' low, serious. "For everything."

I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer after that, an' got as comfortable as I could in the hay, the cloak all nice an' warm around me an' Yu-chan nestled in my arms. The last thing I felt before I fell asleep was a real light touch against my forehead, an' a warm whisper of breath against my skin.

To Be Continued…

Notes: As always, let's begin with a nod to the reviewers: Skippys Cat, Emmi-chan, Aenisses Thai, Everqueen, fluffy-sama's worshiper, Kei-chan1, x Belles Reminisce, Sednaa, Whitney-chan2005, Roku Kyu, and Skittles1. I'm very grateful for all of your feedback, so thanks for taking the time to review—it's much appreciated.

Next, I would like to say that this chapter would not have been possible without the expert assistance of co-author and ever-faithful-beta Roku Kyu. Roku's firsthand knowledge of childbirth made the level of realism I was going for with this chapter possible. There's only so much you can research about these things, after all—sometimes you just need to have someone who can tell you what it really feels like.

And now, without any further ado, a preview of chapter 7, to be posted next Monday, May 30th.

Chapter Seven: Running

The only light was coming from the last dyin' embers in the fireplace an' a little bit of moonlight through the window, but it was enough for me to see the fear on Tama's face. His jaw was clenched real tight an' his eyes were wide, his head cocked to the side like he was listenin' to somethin'.

I held my breath for a second so I could listen, too…an' froze as I heard it.

Voices. Coming from outside.

It coulda been anybody, really. Maybe the innkeeper an' his family comin' to check on us, maybe a buncha kids passin' through, maybe the fucking Imperial Dance Troupe, for all we knew…but I knew in my gut who it was.

It was the slavers.

They'd found us.

Shunyata Ryuen