A/N: I thought of several different ways this could go. Even had a conversation with Sherl months ago. And this is what came out. MONTHS after a long block.

Part 6: Lovers' Reunion and Nosy Neighbors

San Diego, California

"Walter was telling me the other night that he saw a suspicious character prowling around his patrol. It was the strangest thing," Sylvia was saying while she cut several vegetables on her wooden cutting board. "You'd never suspect that behavior in that neighborhood."

Chase glanced up from his flight manual from his position on the couch. "That's the problem, sometimes. The things you least expect happen in the places you don't predict."

"But still…" Sylvia trailed off. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously as she stared out her window. "Chase!" she hissed in a whisper.

Frowning, he rose from his position, joining her at the window, immediately seeing what had caught her attention.

A tall man dressed in black slacks, blue collared button down shirt, and black leather jacket was standing in front of Megumi's front door. A large black bag was set on the ground at his feet. Dark sunglasses shielded his eyes from the setting sun.

Sylvia gasped. "That man's going to rob Megumi's apartment. In broad daylight, no less!"

While Chase would normally think Sylvia was overreacting, he knew that Megumi didn't have many friends who came to visit. And this man hardly looked like a salesman.

"We need to do something!" Sylvia hissed. Then she snatched a knife from her cutlery set.

"Sylvia!" Chase immediately snagged her wrist. "You can't just go out there with that!"

Sylvia paused, letting him take the knife and put it away. "You're right. I have pepper spray. It can shoot several feet…"

Okay, so that was slightly better than the knife.

Sylvia armed herself with spray and cordless phone in hand, opening the door quietly.

Megumi's door then opened. She and the man exchanged greetings before the man stepped inside, bringing his bag with him.

Sylvia turned to him, her eyes huge. "What in the world…?"

Chase tamped down the tiniest wave of possessiveness. "It's Megumi's business, Sylvia."

"But…"

"Sylvia. We'll let it go…"

--

"Well…" Megumi shrugged and said with a small smile once he stepped inside, "Welcome to my home."

He dropped his bag onto the carpet. "It's good to see you."

Unable to stop himself, he let his eyes take in the sight of her. The white cotton long-sleeved shirt she wore exposed her navel, and the black drawstring pants hung low on her hips. Her hair fell down her back, and he felt the urge to run his fingers through those long tresses, as he had done so many times before.

At his comment, she nodded. "Same here."

She immediately pulled away, heading towards the kitchen. He looked at her retreating form for a moment. She wasbeing distant.

"I made dinner," she announced, and he heard the distinct sound of items being placed in the sink.

"Thanks. Perhaps later." He picked up his bag and brought it to Megumi's bedroom.

He shrugged out of his leather jacket and placed it over a chair in her bedroom. After pulling out a few items from his travel bag, he noticed Megumi hovering in the doorway.

She spoke up quickly, "There are some towels in this closet if you need to shower. Here…"

Aoshi watched as she reached into her closet.

"Sorry I haven't really called," Megumi hastily explained. "I've been really busy…and I know that you had to recover. They have some nice people here at the hospital."

He smiled wryly at her quick conversation. If he didn't know any better, he'd swear that she wasn't sure how to act around him. To him, everything seemed normal…but she had gone on for close to a month in limbo with their relationship.

"I didn't know this, but there's ballroom dancing lessons at the base, and…"

He might as well act on what he wanted to do from the minute he stepped inside.

"Oh, here we are…" Megumi found a towel and turned around, jumping slightly once she realized how close he was standing behind her. Then she frowned. "You still remember how to sneak up on people."

"I remember a lot of things," he stated matter-of-factly.

"Well, that's good. Really." She moved past him but he didn't let her get very far. He grasped her elbow and pulled her back, turning her to face him.

"Aoshi, what-?"

He gently extracted the towel from her hands, tossing it aside. Her eyes lowered, following the movements of the fabric. Then he closed the distance to kiss her firmly on the lips, his arms going around her waist.

A small sound of protest emerged at the back of her throat, fading the instant his lips touched hers. She softened against him, her hands grasping his shoulders. He heard her breath catch in her lungs and her hand reached up to cup the back of his head, his hair scraping against the flesh of her palm.

Her fingers tightened on his shoulders. "Wait…" she whispered against his lips. "I…I…"

Then he lifted his head, staring down into dark eyes that reflected uncertainty, desire, and a little bit of fear.

"I remember that, in case there's any doubt," he said quietly.

Immediately, something flashed in her eyes. "Of all the conceited little…" She spun away, picked up the towel and shoved it in his arms. Hard. "Go shower. You smell like airplane."

Ten minutes later, he had showered and changed. When he entered the kitchen, his eyes widened in shock at the sight of Megumi kneeling on the floor. He immediately went to her side.

"Megumi." He gently shook her shoulder. "Megumi, are you all right?"

She nodded, bracing her hand against her chest. "Just…feeling a little nauseous."

"Are you sick? Stomach flu?" he asked.

Megumi shook her head. Aoshi immediately lifted her in his arms, carrying her to the living room. Much to her protests.

"Aoshi, I'm pregnant, not an invalid," she argued.

When he set her on the couch, he noticed that she seemed slightly paler than usual.

"Aoshi, you don't need to-"

"I haven't seen you in a month, and the first time I do, you don't look well. Humor me," he responded, settling next to her. He reached up to feel her forehead.

"For the last time," Megumi said through gritted teeth. "I'm just pregnant."

"I thought nausea only exists during the morning."

"I just decided to cook fish…forgetting that my sense of smell is a lot stronger now that I'm pregnant," Megumi pointed out. "I'm a doctor. I can tell when I'm sick."

Aoshi dropped his hand. She looked mad enough to poke his eyes. "I'm concerned, Megumi. You-"

"I've been taking care of myself for a long time, I don't need a keeper," Megumi responded. "So stop worrying about me."

As soon as he found out that Megumi was pregnant, he had bought two books on pregnancy, one on the stages of pregnancy and another on diet and exercise. He knew everything there was to know about the first trimester.

But judging by her demeanor, she looked very close to losing her temper with him. So he decided a different tactic. "How have you been?"

She smiled softly at the change in subject. "Busy."

As the tension left her body, he slowly pulled her to him, pleased that she didn't resist. "So I've been told."

"Misao's been keeping you up to date?" she queried, bracing her back against his chest.

"She's been writing down summaries of your conversations so she can tell me everything."

They were quiet for several moments, and he realized that his hand was now covering her belly. Megumi covered his hand for several seconds before pulling away from him, settling on the edge of her sofa.

"I guess…we should talk…about our plans." Megumi crossed her legs. She sighed. "Now that you've had time to absorb everything…how do you feel?"

"Anxious," he admitted after a moment. "But I am looking forward to having a child."

Megumi nodded and looked away. "A part of me…doesn't think I'm ready for it. I always thought I'd be married for a few years before I had children."

He swallowed. What was she saying? "Do you regret any of this?"

Her eyes widened. "Oh, Aoshi, no. Regardless of my feelings on my life…this baby is ours, and I can't blame him or her for that." Then she said on a small laugh, "Goes to show that one time unprotected…"

He was silent for a moment. "What are we going to do once he or she is born?"

Megumi cleared her throat. "Well. It is the twenty-first century. Many people raise children individually..."

He blinked. "You're saying we'll have joint custody?"

She bit her lip. "Yes."

Aoshi looked at the ceiling for a moment. "There is an alternative to that."

"Raising the baby together, you mean?" she prompted. "As in getting married?"

Of course. What else was there? he thought."Yes."

"Why?"

"I have brought up marriage before," he reminded.

"And I told you I wasn't ready to hear it," she argued.

He took a breath. For the first time…in a long time…he was starting to feel the edge of panic. It wasn't very often a man told a woman he wanted to marry her and got turned down. "It makes no sense for two parents who obviously share the same goals in life and who happen to be in love, to not share their lives together."

"How about timing?" Megumi suggested, getting up so she could arrange some items on a nearby desk.

A completely useless task. He knew she was doing it to keep herself busy.

"Timing for what?"

"Everything!" Megumi whirled around to face him. "You just got your memory back. I've only been here for a few weeks. Suddenly, there's a baby on the way, you're talking about marriage-"

"You're not ready to talk about any of this," he concluded flatly.

"You just got here," Megumi pointed out, clasping her hands in front of her. "I just got a new job…I just got my boyfriend back! Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you're here…even if it's only for a few days, but now you're talking about marriage and raising children…as if the past few weeks never happened!"

"You think everything is happening too fast." There was panic in her voice. He didn't recall ever seeing her so fidgety.

"I don't know what to think," Megumi admitted. Her eyes had gone moist. Instantly, a flicker of guilt appeared inside of him. She wasn't usually like this. Was it her condition? She turned around to rearrange some pencils and pens, her fingers trembling slightly. "Besides…it's a little too early to be planning. I…I'm not even sure if the pregnancy will follow through."

"Meaning what?"

She sighed. "Meaning…it's still an unpredictable time." She shook her head. "I should have waited at least a couple more weeks…First trimesters can be-"

Aoshi narrowed his eyes. "I think it's a good idea you told your family let alone me."

"Even if things might have been a false alarm?" she asked. She sighed again. "Look, Aoshi, I understand if you were hoping to get married. I'm sure my family is hoping for it…But right now isn't a good time for me. You just fully recovered…you just found out I'm pregnant…and you want to take control of your life again-"

He cut her off, saying in a low, but clear voice, "This has nothing to do with control."

Megumi smiled ruefully. "Can you honestly tell me that? You know how I feel about marriage and you're still pressuring me-"

"I am not-"

"Yes, you are," she interrupted. She braced a hand against her head. "All of this is giving me a headache…" She blew out a breath. "Besides, a baby really shouldn't influence you into proposing."

"I'm not marrying you for the baby," Aoshi argued, walking up to her, cupping her shoulders. "I'm marrying you for me."

"You mean to tell me that after a month of not remembering what we've had together, the emotion switch goes back on when you do remember?"

"I know it sounds strange, but even when I didn't remember…I just…knew. I wasn't ready to admit it yet." He stared at her, swallowing, knowing that this was the most he had ever expressed to her, verbally. "I'm happy about the baby. But even if there was no baby, I'd still want you because I love you."

She studied him for a few moments. "Then that's the difference between us, isn't it?" When he frowned, she continued, "I love you, too. But that doesn't mean I want to get married."

With that, she retreated to her room. He let it go. For now.