After forcing Yahiko to look at the pictures too, I finally collapsed into my bed and disappeared from the conscious world for a few blissful hours. Being pregnant was hard. I had to take this pill before my breakfast that toned down the effects of the pregnancy – the morning sickness and such – and I was eating like a horse. Actually, I'm sure I eat a horse for each meal. And then I feel like throwing it up. Sometimes I do, but not all the time; that's what the pill is for. And I felt like I was PMS-ing all the freaking time. Yeah, that one isn't so much fun.

The bright side was that the pill hid most of the symptoms of the pregnancy, so I'm able to attend my classes and go to work without raising suspicions. Yet. It isn't like there aren't people getting pregnant all the time (some men have even been getting pregnant lately. Honestly, as a doctor-to-be, I think that it's a perversion of nature and should never be attempted. Then again, people are weird, and with the technology we have now, why the heck not? If they want to go through all the wonders – not! – of being pregnant, then let them. Just…don't allow them out in public yet. It's kinda freaky) I just never wanted to be seen as one of those girls. I always prided myself on having high standards and being the modern definition of classy, and I was originally planning on having my first child when I was happily married, as I told Megumi. So me being pregnant, with all the joys and downfalls of it, is a strange and bewildering experience. I'm happy that I do not have to worry about my school fees for the remainder of my school life, which at the rate I'm going, is only a couple more years anyways, but at the same time I'm sad that my first child isn't even with a man I love and when I'm married. Technically, my first child isn't even mine.

At this morbid thought, I chuckled to myself. Megumi sounds like that old fairy tale, stealing my child as a payment for turning various materials into gold and keeping the child unless I guess her name. Unless she has a secret name that I am not aware of, our story is almost identical. Which is slightly scary. Is there a moral to this? Don't give her my child? Pay my own dues? But at the same time, I know that Sano, Yahiko and I are struggling enough as is. We want to hold onto our old family home but it's proving to be more costly than we had first anticipated. Megumi's offer came as a God-send. Plus, if I do decide to keep the child, them Megumi would retract all her financial support and then we will have a baby to take care of on top of everything else. This is the smarter choice.

Right?

Right.

-x-

As I was saying, life continued on normally. I went to classes, fought with my brothers, and went to work. Kept in contact with Megumi a little, and she showed up randomly on weekends to bring some food or something. I personally think that she was coming to spend time with Sano. Sano, being the daft boy that he is, wasn't picking up on Megumi's not-so-subtle hints that she may be interested in him. I guess he cannot get it through his thick skull that a beautiful, older woman like her would even be interested in him. I honestly don't know what she sees in him. I don't think she knows herself.

I occasionally talked to Misao and sometimes saw Kenshin in school. He and I were not exactly friends, but not exactly acquaintances. It's not like we shared a meal or spent time with each other since the last time, no matter how much I wanted to, but I understood why. Finals were around the corner, but summer was rearing its lovely head. Two more weeks and I'll be scot-free. I was looking forward to calm days at home, and work on afternoons. A predictable, soothing routine before going into back into the hell that is med school. By now I was about a month into my second trimester, so when I returned to school I would be at the end of my pregnancy. I was even considering taking the semester off or doing classes online instead, because I really didn't want to go to school with my belly protruding like a sore thumb.

So while I was planning all these wonderful, expected things, a certain green-eyed girl was planning something totally different.

Something such as pulling up to pick me up after my last final with her dashingly handsome brother in the front seat, to stalk Aoshi.

"What?" I almost screamed at her when I heard her plan. "Nuh-uh. Count me out."

"Kaoru-chan, you promised!"

"I promise a lot of things. And I recall that I was forced into promising." I retorted, walking beside her car. She was following me slowly, a line of cars lengthening behind her as she kept up with me.

"Um, Misao, do you want to pull over?" Asked her brother, casting anxious eyes at the line of impatient college students behind them. She dismissed him with a wave of her hand.

"C'mon! I know you don't have anything better to do! And you can't use class as an excuse. I waited a whole extra week for you to finish with all your finals and stuff."

I gave Kenshin a quizzical glance. "Her school ended last week, and she has been itching to chase down this Aoshi guy ever since. She has been practically bouncing off the walls. It was hell," was his answer.

"I wasn't that bad and you know it, you baka." Misao replied sharply. She returned her attention to me. "C'mon Kaoru, or else I won't call you my friend anymore."

It was such a childish statement, but it gave me pause. In truth, I had never had a friend ever since I started skipping grades like how Sano and I used to skip rocks, and the fact that Misao was offering her friendship to me without any strings attached, any animosity of anger or jealousy….well, I really wanted it. Call me a sap or whatever, but I really like having friends.

"Ohhhh…fine." I hemmed, finally jumping into the convertible. Misao did a little whoop of triumph and sped away from the curb at what I'm sure was a good sixty miles per hour in a fifteen miles per hour zone.

-x-

Twenty minutes later, Megumi joined us. She had called to see where I was, because I wasn't at home, and after I explained the situation to her I swear I saw a pair of fox ears pop above her head. "Hooking up Aoshi with this girl sounds interesting. Count me in!" And so, Misao, Kenshin and Megumi were all formally introduced as Misao speeded at a hundred miles per hour down the freeway.

I am going to die.

Megumi directed us to his house, and I was surprised at how far away it was from Megumi's. I had assumed that because they were so close and he was practically her chauffeur/bodyguard that they would live relatively close. However, he lived approximately thirty minutes away even with Misao speeding and weaving. I felt sorry for Aoshi even more.

When Misao finally parked in front of Aoshi's house, I immediately jumped out and sat on his well trimmed grass. "Land! Sweet, sweet, land! Oh, how I have missed you so!"
"You're such a baby." Scowled Misao as she jumped out of her car. "I don't drive that fast."

Kenshin, Megumi and I all answered in chorus: "Yes, you do."

Misao humphed and turned away from us, towards the house. She and Megumi walked up to the front door, leaving me on the grass and Kenshin leaning against the car, his hands in his pockets.

"So, how's life?" I asked to lessen the awkwardness.

"Good."

"Classes?"

"Fine."

"Your father?"

"Crazy as ever."

"Tomoe?"
"Engaged."

I was expecting a myriad of answers, but that certainly didn't make my list. "Come again?"

"She's engaged to Akira."

"Um, haven't they been together for only a month or less?"

"Yup."

"Well, this is awkward."

Kenshin laughed. "Why would you say that?"

"Well, it think it's kinda obvious that you're angry with her for marrying this new dude and I think I may have ticked you off."

At this, Kenshin finally met my gaze. "Me? Angry with you? No, quite the opposite."

Ok, I admit it. His words made me feel all fluttery inside. I couldn't help the small smile that spread on my face. "What do you mean?"

He crouched down in front of me so that we were at eye level. "I think you are terribly fascinating."

I gulped. "Fascinating how?" My throat was really dry. His nearness made me feel really nervous, a feeling I had before. But it couldn't be true, I refuse to let it be true. I refuse to acknowledge this feeling.

Kenshin's gaze was like a magnet, or a horrifying event, in that I couldn't look away. After holding my gaze for what felt like eternity, Kenshin leaned away from me. "I don't know. I can't stop thinking about you and what you are doing. I don't know whether I think it is a perversion, or a testament to your strength and determination."

Oh, I sincerely hope it was the latter. The thought of this captivating man thinking of my actions as being a perversion made it hard for me to breathe. Hoping to lighten the mood, I interjected, "Or maybe it just shows how broke I am." I gave him a weak smile, one that he didn't return. My smile died on my face.

I got up from the uncomfortable atmosphere and dusted of my behind. "Well, I should go and see how 'Operation Aoshi' is going." I refused to look him in the eyes. I felt as if I just got a slap in the face, but for some reason his rejection of me hurt more than I thought it would. Why did this man affect me so?

Before I could turn away from him to go into the house, he was suddenly in front of me. He captured my eyes with his compelling ones and my feet stayed rooted where they were. Kenshin took a careful step towards me, then another, then another, until we were only a breath apart. My breathing was becoming ragged at his proximity, and I fought to calm myself. He lifted his arm slowly, as if afraid of startling me. "I offended you. I apologise. That was never my intent." His voice was soft, and if we weren't standing so closely, I'm sure I would not have heard him. He gently brushed a strand of hair away from my face, tucking it behind my ear. His touch was light like a butterfly's wing and my breath hitched at the contact. I couldn't look away from his violet orbs. He lowered his arm, slowly still, until it touched my stomach. I was already showing slightly, but so far it only seemed as if I was gaining weight. It was easy to cover with flowing dresses and shirts. His hand tenderly brushed the area where the foetus was being formed into a human, his eyes never wavering from mine.

I wish I could drown in the depths of his eyes.

"Hey Kaoru, Kenshin, are you coming or what?" Cried Misao, breaking the spell Kenshin held over me. We broke apart, colour on our cheeks as we rushed to the house.

What the hell just happened?

Hey, sorry it's so short. This one was kinda hard for me to write for some reason, though I was happy with the little KK at the end .

And could you please tell me of anything you may know about pregnancies, like how many times you should check up on somebody, symptoms, etc.? Especially for the second and third trimesters?

Any thoughts? Comments? Criticisms? Like it? Hate it? Love it?

r.e.v.i.e.w.

please?

;]