Day Four – Christmas Day – Part 2: Realizations and Hospitalizations.
Mokuba, Joey, and Mai, and the three kids, barely managed to fit all the presents, luggage and people inside the Wheeler Van. However, with some maneuvering on Mokuba's part they managed to make it work. Without a work to his mother Joey pulled out of her drive way and headed back to domino.
"Well…that was interesting." He muttered quickly. Mai nodded, wondering if the full affect of Serenity's pregnancy hadn't hit him yet. Or maybe it had, and he was acting this way because he was so angry at his Mom for how she treated Serenity. Joey was always the first one there to defend her, no matter what.
"Do you really think you'll never go back?" Mai asked, raising an eyebrow and looking at her husband. Joey shrugged.
"My Ma and I have never been close Mai. You know that. But all those things she said to Serenity…" His hand gripped the wheel even tighter. His knuckled turned white and he glared at the road in front of him, as if wishing to cause it pain. "She killed whatever relationship we might have had. Serenity can do what she wants but…I'm never going back there. I hope she doesn't too. She doesn't deserve to be called that." Joey said, giving a firm nod of his head.
Mai cast a glance towards Mokuba, in the back, struggling to find a comfortable spot among all the bags. "But…you hate her being with Kaiba." She whispered. Sure, she knew Mokuba was aware of Joey's feelings for his brother, they were reciprocal after all, but she felt this was a private conversation.
Joey nodded. "I do. He is the last person I want her to date, marry, or father her child. But…" He hesitated, as it was clear the next thing he was going to say pained him. "But she loves him. And I'm actually starting to think he loves her back. I mean…they have been dating for what…four years?" He asked slowly.
Mai shook her head. "Five." She corrected. Joey raised his eyebrows a bit.
"I guess I just…didn't want it to happen. But it already did. A long time ago. Before she even moved in with him she loved him. She had the same look in her eyes then as she does now. It makes me sick mind you…but…she's my sister. What makes her happy makes me…well…?" He hesitated. "I can deal with it." He finished with a shrug.
Mai smiled broadly. She slowly leaned over and gently kissed his cheek as to not distract him too much from the road in front of them. "I'm proud of you. You know, your approval is all Serenity ever wanted when she started dating Kaiba." She said as she kissed him again, making Joey blush a bit.
He suddenly turned around and spoke loud enough for Mokuba to hear him in the back. "Hey! Think you can make it all the way back to Domino? Or wanna find your brother?" He asked, feeling bad for making him sit on top of suitcases.
"Well…I'm already here. " He said, and then leaned up a bit to try and talk to the family a little better. It was going to be a long drive after all.
As soon as Serenity walked into the hospital loads of horrible memories suddenly flooded back. She was bombarded by flashes of nights alone in a cold room. Lying on examination tables, wondering what her future would bring. She squeezed Kaiba's hand tightly. She hated hospitals. And she didn't want to be there. One of the perks of dating him had been his personal medical staff. However, she figured he wanted more immediate attention.
They walked towards the front desk and Kaiba briefly let go of her hand. "We need a sonogram. Immediately." Kaiba said, and then expected things to be done that second. However, the nurse on the other side looked up at him, seemingly not interested.
"I'm sorry sir. But you're going to have to-" She suddenly stopped when Kaiba pulled out his wallet and showed her his I.D. The nurse's eyes widened and she looked at Serenity, then back at Kaiba. "Right this way Sir." She said standing and then leading them down a hallway.
"It should go without saying…" Kaiba started to the nurse in a threatening tone. "If you speak a word of this to any one you will regret it. And I will know if you said anything." He said dangerously. The nurse noticeably shuttered, but didn't stop walking. She gave a nod and then ushered them into a room.
"You didn't have to scare her." Serenity lectured in a whisper. She hated it when Kaiba intimidated innocent people like that, just to get what he wants. It was horrible. Sure, it usually paid off for her as well. But it was taking advantage of people's fear of him, and she didn't want him to be something people feared.
"I'll do what I have to." Kaiba replied stoically and then looked away from Serenity and straight forward. The couple was led to a room where Serenity was handed a hospital gown.
"Here you go miss." The nurse said, glancing at Kaiba and shaking a bit. "You can change right in there and the sonographer will be with you as soon as possible." She said, looking to Kaiba again as if the news will make him yell at her. Serenity took the gown and then smiled at the nurse.
"Thank you." She said, trying to ease her a bit. The nurse then bolted from the room and left Kaiba and Serenity alone. Serenity looked at Kaiba briefly and then turned to go into the bathroom and change. Typically she didn't have a problem changing in front of him. However, now that she was pregnant something had changed. Also a hospital seemed so public.
She slipped into the bathroom and then shut the door behind her. She briefly looked at herself in the mirror and then sighed a bit. She closed her eyes and then slowly glanced to her stomach. She then quickly began changing. She slipped the hospital gown on and then tried tying it along her back, but she couldn't reach it right. Instead, she held onto it lightly and then went out of the bathroom again.
"Seto…I need help." She said lightly, unsure if he'd be willing to assist her. The man just nodded and walked over to her. She slowly turned around and then felt him tie the gown straps for her. He then helped her onto the table and Serenity shuttered a bit. Being there reminded her too much of her eyes surgery. She frowned and looked out the window.
She had always hoped this moment in her life would be a moment of joy. Not one of tension. She watched as snow fell outside and then sighed while she closed her eyes. "Seto-" She started, but the door opened and she turned quickly. She saw a new woman, dressed in nursing clothes and smiling brightly.
"So we need a sonogram hum?" She asked brightly as she looked at the two. She immediately sensed something was off, and her smile faltered a slight bit. She cleared her throat and then looked to Serenity. "So dear, I just have a couple of questions and then we can get started." She said brightly. Serenity nodded and then glanced to Kaiba.
They quickly responded to the nurse's questionnaire and then Serenity was instructed to lie down on the table. She did so apprehensively and then felt her heart start to pound. She was about to see her baby for the first time. She closed her eyes and tried calming her breathing. She felt a blanket lay over her legs and then she helped roll her gown up over her stomach. She slowly opened her eyes and then shuttered a bit as she felt a gel being smeared over her belly.
She glanced to Kaiba and noted him looking at the screen intently. Serenity really wished she knew what he was thinking. But it was impossible to read his face when he didn't want it read. She looked at the screen herself and then adjusted herself to get a bit more comfortable. She bit her bottom lip and then watched as the nurse began the sonogram.
"Alright so things are going to look kind of fuzzy, but I'll help you through it." The nurse explained. Suddenly an image came onto the screen and the nurse moved the instrument over Serenity's stomach slowly. After a few moments she paused and then smiled. "There it is." She said, pointing to a spot on the screen. Serenity and Kaiba were both silent.
Serenity looked at the screen, but for the life of her she couldn't see what the nurse was pointing at. Maybe she wasn't pregnant! It would be a miracle. Still, the nurse would know, and she seemed to be confident that there was a baby inside of her. If only Serenity could see it. She suddenly felt like a horrible mother. She couldn't even see her own baby on the sonogram.
She glanced up at Kaiba and then noticed something she'd never expected to see. He was smiling. The nurse looked up at him and then nodded. "I'll give you two a moment." She said, quickly wiped the gel off Serenity's stomach, and then left the room.
Kaiba sat where the nurse had been sitting and continued staring at the screen, his smile growing bigger. "Serenity…" He whispered, suddenly over come with joy. He looked over at her and then slowly took her hand.
Serenity looked at him shocked. "You…you're happy." She said, with a hint of hesitation. She momentarily forgot her bout of guilt at not being able to spot the baby on the picture, and concentrated on Kaiba's sudden mood swing.
Kaiba nodded in response. "I'm as surprised as you are but…Look at it. It's ours. All ours. A part of me…" He said slowly. He wouldn't have expected such a big impact to come from seeing his child on the screen. But as soon as the nurse pointed to it he couldn't help but feel pride. How could he have been angry about this? How could he not have wanted kids? He wanted this feeling all of the time.
"I'm glad." Serenity said, looking back at the screen. She searched desperately, but still couldn't see where her baby was. Suddenly tears welled up in her eyes and she sniffled a bit. "I'm horrible…Seto!" She called out, squeezing his hand. "I can't see it!" She exclaimed and started crying openly.
Kaiba quickly stood and moved closer to her. "Shhh…It's alright." He started trying to calm her down. He then inched a bit closer to the screen and pointed. "It's right here." He said simply. But Serenity shook her head.
"Where? All I see is a white oval shape!" She exclaimed, tears still streaming down. Kaiba chuckled a little.
"Serenity…It is the white oval shape." He explained. Serenity stopped crying and then leaned forward, tugging the gown down a bit to meet the blanket at her waist. She pointed to it and then looked over at Kaiba a bit.
"That one right there?" She asked, raising an eyebrow a little. Kaiba nodded and kissed her hand.
"That one right there." He repeated for clarification.
"Well I saw that…" She muttered. She then smiled brightly and looked over at Kaiba again. "We're having a baby." She said happily. Kaiba quickly kissed her and reached for his pocket. Her withdrew the ring box and then held it out and broke the kiss.
"Now that we're safe from your family…and with this news…" He said, suddenly finding words hard to come up with. "Well…I never thought I'd want a child. And when you first told me I was angry. I didn't want to be a father. But now…With you…Serenity…" He trailed off and shook his head. Serenity looked up at him with big eyes and then glanced at the box.
"Seto…" She started but Kaiba shook his head.
"Let me finish…" He said with a little grin. He didn't think anything in his life was this hard. Serenity nodded and grew quiet, but still looked up at him with adoration. Kaiba squeezed her hand a bit tighter and then looked at her. "Serenity being here has changed my mind completely. I want to have this child with you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. And I was already planning on doing this anyways and just had to find the perfect time. And this is it." He said with a sure nod. He slowly popped the box open revealing the engagement ring.
"Serenity. Will you marry me?" He asked looking at her hopefully. Serenity smiled brightly and tears started coming down again. She opened her mouth but wasn't able to speak, so instead she just started nodding. Kaiba smiled and then slipped the ring onto her finger. He then kissed her deeply and they embraced tightly. After a moment they broke the kiss and Kaiba looked at her adoringly. "We'll do this together." He finished, placing his hand on her belly. Serenity nodded again and then kissed him again.
"Together." She repeated and then held onto him tightly. She leaned against him and closed her eyes contently. She had been so worried, so anxious. But it had all worked out. She was finally marrying the man of her dreams, and she was going to have a child. It was perfect.
Kinda short, I know. But it was too long to add to the other. Anyways, there's only one more chapter after this, so we're coming to a close here. ^.^ I hope you enjoyed it, and your Christmas. Or whatever other holiday you celebrated today. Review please!