Nothing Will Ever Change That

Chapter 111: Family Time

A/N- This chapter was proof read by Frost-Eva-04. Thanks for the help!

A/A/N- Speaking of proof reading… I'm looking for someone to proof read what Frost hasn't… I'm not going to lie, it's a lot. From chapter one to chapter sixty-eight. That's a little under 200 pages, so yeah, it's a big job. I need someone that will do it and not drop out half way. I will – of course – give you credit in each of those chapters just as I do for Frost. If you want to do it, e-mail me with your profile URL and the request. Thanks to any of you that are willing to help me out!

Shinji/Asuka's Room – Same Night

After basically biting the bullet so to speak and apologizing, I felt as if I had lost. She accepted my apology and Cass had no hard feelings, but that wasn't the point; the point was that they weren't ready for marriage. I'm not by any means saying that I'm the perfect husband, but I think I do an okay job with it… I think… when I finally got back to our room, I noticed just how long I was gone. Crap… she's probably asleep by now. When I opened that door, I found that to be true, but with a much more heartwarming sight.

"My two girls…" I grab a blanket and gently cover the two up, taking care not to cover Dietlinde's head. After pecking both on the forehead, I change into some night clothes and crawl into bed. This is the first time sleeping alone in this bed for God only knows how long… I like it better with Asuka!

As always, when I'm feeling guilty, I find myself staring into the blackness thinking about whatever the hell I did. Now that I've calmed down a bit, I realize that what I did could possibly destroy their relationship all together, not just the marriage. Cass was going through hell, and I didn't exactly help him with it. I have to do something to make up for it… but what? What if I took them and helped to pick out some baby supplies? That might work… of course nothing big, she still needs a baby shower, all of the big items people will get for her. I guess that could work… now I just gotta get them out of NERV… what am I talking about? They'll jump in when they find out I'll be paying for them!

Just as I'm falling asleep, I feel another person climbing in bed next to me… why, hello Asuka! I feel a dead weight being put on my chest that – after setting my hand on it – turns out to be a sleeping Dietlinde. After a few seconds of positioning, Asuka makes her way onto my right side with her leg swung around me, and her arm around both me and Dietlinde… I like this!

"I love you Shinji…" she buries her face a little deeper into the crook of my neck.

"I love you too Asuka…"

---

Morning – 8:00 AM

"Mmmmm…" I wake up to the slight sound of Dietlinde whining. She wasn't on my chest anymore, and when I open my eyes, I see her on Asuka's looking down at her with a worried face.

"Come here Dietlinde, let mommy sleep," I slowly crawl out of bed with her in my arms, all the whilst yawning and rubbing my eyes. I slept great last night! Two of the most important people in my life sleeping with me… that was great, "Are you hungry?" I grab a can of baby food and she reaches out for it, "Take that as a yes…" I set her down in her high chair and quietly began to feed her, "Don't you worry, me and mom will stay together, no matter what."

"Shhhh… I'm trying to sleep…"Asuka rolls on her side as she whispered.

"Sorry," I finish feeding Dietlinde and pick her up, holding her in one arm. I might as well make some breakfast, right? I'm not too hungry, but I'm sure Asuka is… okay, I KNOW Asuka is! Within a few minutes I had eggs and bacon on the stove, almost fully cooked. Dietlinde had been watching me the entire time as if she was learning what I was doing – even though it's just curiosity. When I was almost done and turning off the stove, I feel two arms wrap around my waist and a head rest on my shoulder.

"Shinji… what took you so long last night…? I tried to wait up…" Dietlinde's face instantly lit up when she saw her mother.

"Sorry about that, it took longer then I thought it would," she took a short pause before responding.

"I had a dream last night…" I saw a small tear start to roll down her face, "We broke up and you left with Dietlinde… you left me alone…" I turn around and try to hug her without smothering Dietlinde, "I know this is childish… but I really can't have you leave again…" I lean back and look down at her with a smile.

"You know I wouldn't do that to you. It was just a dream, nothing more, I promise," I peck her on the lips and she smiles.

"I really hate it when I get like this… sorry…" probably just the pregnancy taking effect again.

"Forget about it, it's not your fault. So, I was thinking, did you want to go to the lake? I thought that maybe we could take Dietlinde and give her some fresh air," Asuka wipes away a tear and gives me a weird look.

"But you know she hates water, what would be the point of going to the lake?"

"Well, I was kinda hoping to break her of that. I mean, if we're both there, she might feel safe," or we could traumatize her shitless… nah, if she's not like that now, she's not going to be!

"Maybe… might as well try it. If she doesn't want to we can still just lay back on the shoreline… I'm not wearing a bikini though! I'm going in shorts and a t-shirt!" she acts like she's some fat monster!

"Well, I like your looks no matter what, and since we're going to be the only ones there, you might as well be comfortable," she plants her hands on her hips and smirks at me.

"Can you honestly say that you find me attractive when I'm pregnant?" I go back to making her breakfast and start to put it on a plate.

"If anything it attracts me to you more. You're carrying our child!"

"Sexually I mean," she really loves to test me, doesn't she?

"Still, the answer is yes. I love you for you, not how you look," she raised an eyebrow and smirked, "Okay, yes, I'd rather have you with a flat stomach, is that what you wanted?" she chuckled as she finally got the truth out of me, "But…" I leaned over and whispered in her ear, "I still think you're sexy," she instantly turned red as I went back to preparing her food, "Okay, food's done!"

"Thanks… really…" now smiling, she took the plate and sat down at the table, "Um… you're not eating? And what about Dietlinde?" with her still in my arms, I sit next to Asuka.

"I already fed Dietlinde, and I'm not too hungry myself. Just eat up and we can go to the lake," she takes the first bite and once again smiles at me after looking up at me holding Dietlinde.

"You know what I just noticed? You've really bonded with Dietlinde the last few days. I've barely gotten to hold her lately – not that I'm complaining of course, I just think it's cute. You two are really becoming close!" just then, Dietlinde looked up at me with a wide smile.

"Yeah… I guess we have… thanks…" I hold her a little closer and smile down at her myself, "I'm glad that we've gotten this time too, after the new baby comes, we won't have as much time together alone," as Dietlinde continues to smile up at me, I realize what I just said. How much time will be deprived from Dietlinde exactly? Hopefully not too much, but I know some will. A newborn baby isn't exactly a non-time consuming thing. Dietlinde will only be about a year old when the new baby is born, she still doesn't understand the concept of having a sibling, and therefore she will most likely become jealous.

"Don't worry about that, I'm sure we'll find a way to make them both comfortable. But for now," she gets up and stretches her arms above her head, "Let's focus on Dietlinde," how did she finish eating so fast!

"Yeah, you're right. I'll go pack her diaper bag while you get ready, okay?" she walks over to the closet and grabs her bikini, winking at me as she walked into the bathroom, "Damn I love that woman…" I mutter under my breath. Just then, Dietlinde began to giggle… crap, "I mean… um… don't tell mommy I said that, okay?" personally laughing at myself, I walk over to the closet and grab her diaper bag, "Man, I can't wait until you're potty trained… you ready for it yet?" just then, the distinct smell of… yeah… entered the room.

"Mmm…" she looked down and began to whine.

"Take that as a no…"

---

Half An Hour Later

"I'm telling you, you look fine!" we were just getting into the car and she – of course – was worried about how she looked.

"Yeah, to you, but if another person is there then we're leaving!" that's what sucks, I can't guarantee that! "Whatever, let's just get going," as I pull out of the parking lot, I realize that Sam and Cass might feel left out… I really need to start thinking about myself before others! This is supposed to be time alone with my family, not friends.

"I hope we can get Dietlinde over her fear of water," Asuka lets out a long sigh.

"Yeah… remember when she actually liked the water? I wonder what happened…" with Dietlinde in her arms, she began to softly stroke her hair.

"A lot can change when a baby is growing, maybe she just developed that," it sure was a hell of a lot easier when she wasn't afraid of it!

"Maybe…" an awkward silence enveloped the car soon after that. I didn't tell Asuka this, but I have to drive past YY's place to get to the lake. Hopefully no one recognizes me there… when that time finally came to pass Rei's old house, we – of course – hit a red light, "Did you have to drive past here?"

"Sorry, it's the only way there," crap! I nervously look around, trying to see if anyone was around that could recognize me. Just as the light turns green, I see a familiar looking man sitting against a house… I know I've seen him before.

"Shinji, the light's green, go," I get out of the car and turn back to Asuka.

"Listen, stay here for a second, I'll be right back," her eyes went wide.

"Are you kidding me! You aren't going to… you son of a bitch!" I try to ignore her as I walk to the man. When I stopped in front of him, he looked up… I know him…

"Shinji?" a hoarse, monotone voice came from his mouth.

"Toji… what happened to you? I haven't seen you since my wedding!" what's happened to him? His clothes were rags, and it looks like he hasn't taken a shower in months. The bloodshot eyes didn't exactly help his appearance either.

"Yeah, I kinda… went through some stuff…" he once again lowered his head, "Sorry about running off like that…"

"Don't worry about it… how have you been?" he lets out a small chuckle.

"Oh man, I can't even describe it… I got kicked out of my folk's house, I dropped out of school… my life's been a living hell… but listen, forget about me, what's been going on with you?" what's happened to him?

"Um… well, we're having another baby, Asuka's four months pregnant. Sam and Cass are having a baby too… are… you okay? I mean, if you don't have a place to live, I can work something out with NERV to get you a room if you want," he stumbles to his feet to meet me at eye level.

"Thanks… but don't bother… congrats on the new baby though… listen, forget about me, go spend time with your family…" I take out a pen from my back pocket and take his hand, jotting down the address of NERV on it.

"Listen to me, if you need anything – food, water, a place to sleep – go there and ask for me, I'll do whatever you need. You're a good friend Toji, I don't want to see you like this. Please take me up on my offer…" he gave me a weak smile, "See ya," with nothing else said, I walk back to the car, and a wide eyed Asuka.

"Was that… Toji?" I drive off, leaving Toji staring at his hand.

"Yeah… I think he's addicted to something… I told him to go to NERV and get some help, but I doubt we'll see him again…" I really hope he does show up though, "Forget about it, we're out here for fun, not to worry about him."

"Yeah… you're right…" I reach over and wrap my arm around Asuka.

"So, how'd you sleep last night?" I give her a warm smile and she smiles back.

"Pretty good, thanks. I had a dream about the baby… well… babies… I dreamt that I had twins," I'm sure my eyes were as wide as dinner plates right then! "Oh, don't worry about it, that won't happen!" I sure as hell hope not! It's weird enough being seventeen with two kids let alone three!
"Well… did either one take after me this time?" she chuckled and nodded.

"Yeah, both of them actually, one was a boy and one was a girl. The girl had red hair, but it looked exactly like you. The boy was basically exactly like you! I hope the baby does take after you this time, I don't want another clone of myself!" she pecked Dietlinde's forehead and smiled down at her.

"Eh, I'd be okay with it," really, I would be. I don't care about stuff like that, as long as they're my children, I'm fine, "Anyway, how was Dietlinde in the dream?" she shrugged and looked down at her.

"I don't know, for some reason she wasn't in it. The dream was only a few minutes long, so she was probably with Akagi or something," that was kinda… disturbing that she wasn't in it. She's probably right though.

"Hm… weird… well, hopefully it was only a dream!" she chuckles.

"Yeah, I'm not about to give birth twice in one sitting!" we have a good laugh as I drive through the grass and up to the lake.

"Okay, we're here," I grab the diaper bag and crawl out of the car along with Asuka, "Do you want to take Dietlinde into the water now or later?" we sat down under a large tree and stared out at the lake.

"Let's wait a little, I just want to relax for a bit," she lays back with Dietlinde resting on her stomach, "Here, why don't you take her, I'm not too comfortable to lay on anymore!" smirking, I lift up our child from her stomach.

"Come here baby, I'll hold ya," next to Asuka, I lay down with Dietlinde on my chest. Dietlinde smiled as she stared up at me, and her eyes slowly closed.

"How cute is she? She really loves you Shinji," I couldn't help but smile.

"Yeah, I know… you too though. If anything, she's closer to you then me," I was fine with that though. Mother's are always closer to the children then the fathers are, they have that special bond that fathers just can't create.

"No, I think she sees us both as equals. Like it matters anyway, were both her parents, she'll grow up with both of us, so she'll always love both of us, same with the new baby," Asuka can be pretty deep sometimes!

"You've really changed, you know that? Don't get mad, but you used to be…" I'm trying to search for a word that wouldn't piss her off, and failing miserably.

"Bitchy?" yeah, that's the word!

"A little harsh, but yeah. I mean, not even three years ago you would tear my head off for the littlest things, and now… you're perfect," she smirks at me and leans her head back, closing her eyes and relaxing.

"You just insulted me and complemented me in the same sentence… good job! But yeah, you're right. You've changed too though, you used to be the biggest wimp on the face of the earth. Now you're actually a man," of course she had to return the favor!

"Thanks… I think…" from that point on, we both relaxed under the tree, simply enjoying the fact that our whole family is here. About ten minutes later though, she gets up and looks down at me.

"So, you wanna try putting Dietlinde in the water now?" I get up, waking up Dietlinde in the process, and we begin to walk towards the shoreline.

"Sure, but we can't push her. If she starts to freak out, we have to take her out or it'll just get worse," we both look down at a confused Dietlinde and smile.

"I know, don't worry," we kneel at the shoreline and when she sees the water she tenses up.

"It's okay Dietlinde, we're here," we once again get up and walk into the water until we were both at lower chest level, "Well, she seems okay so far," water still hasn't touched her, but she knows we're in it.

"Go ahead and lower her into the water," doing as I was told, I slowly – VERY slowly – put Dietlinde in the water. She looked worried, but she didn't struggle or try and get away. When the water gets up to her chest, I stop and let her look around.

"Hm… she seems to be okay to me," I mean, if anything she's nervous because she's never been here before, not from the water, "How about we go back to the shore and let her play a little?" she might be okay now…

"Sure, might as well," to Dietlinde's delight, we began to walk back towards the shore. When we got to very shallow water, I sit her down in the water – which was up to her stomach – and gently support her. She rose up her arms towards me, asking me to pick her up again.

"I don't think she likes it… maybe we should take her out," of course Asuka wanted to rescue her!

"No, let her try and deal with it. Like you've said before, we have to stand back every now and then," I smile over at Asuka and she glares at me… shit! "No! I wasn't trying to ridicule you! I was just… ugh… sorry…" she stands up and walks back to the tree, laying down when she gets there… crap… I pick up Dietlinde and follow her. With her in my arms, I sit next to Asuka, "Asuka, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that."

"Whatever…" she rolls onto her side and closes her eyes.

"Come on, you know I wouldn't attack you like that," she still didn't say anything, "Asuka, I-"

"Just shut up…" maybe now wasn't the best time to talk about this… with Dietlinde on my chest, I lay back next to Asuka and TRY to relax. Eventually, I fall asleep with a sinking stomach.

---

Same Place – 10:00 AM

"Shinji! Shinji, wake up! I said wake up damnit!" I feel a strong pushing at my side and a loud yelling, obviously pulling me out of my sleep. When I open my eyes I see Asuka hovering over me with tears in her eyes, "Dietlinde's gone! I can't find her!" I leap up and meet Asuka t eye level, "You fell asleep! What the fuck is your problem!"

"I-I didn't… we have to find her!" I frantically look around, seeing nothing but plain grass and the lake.

"I already looked! We have to go back to NERV and put out a search!" she jets off to the car and I run after her, "How could you do that!" the car revs to life and I speed off.

"Now's REALLY not the time to argue this Asuka! I screwed up, okay? Is that what you wanted to hear? Well I said it, is Dietlinde back?" I see her clench her fist in either anger or just trying to relieve stress.

"Just shut up! I swear to God Shinji… if she's…" I look over to see her tears starting to run heavier. Please be okay…

A/N- This went from a heart warming family moment, to a mini get-away, to Dietlinde once again coming up missing. That baby will be the death of Asuka and Shinji, won't she? Anyway, not much to say here aside from; read the next chapter; Toji's Past, until then, keep on keepin' on!