It was the day before my birthday, and Megumi called me. I assumed it was for a final dress fitting, or make up consulting, so I had Sano drive me to her mansion.

She met us at the door, a large smile on her face. When I rolled out of the car (I was so big, I really felt as if I was rolling out) she grabbed my hand and ran me up the stairs. I struggled to keep up with her, my breath coming in gasps as soon as my speed had increased. My hand automatically rested on top of protruding belly, and I gasped out, "Meg, stop!"

She did stop, thankfully, in front of a white door. I gave her a quizzical glance and her bright face made me feel suspicious. "What's behind the door?"

She grinned. "Look. It's beautiful."

I raised an eyebrow, but did as I was bid. I slowly opened the door, and baby blue walls greeted me. My breath hitched in my throat as I looked at the rest of the room. The walls were baby blue – as I had noticed right away – with tiny clouds dotting the top of the wall. Around the middle of the walls was a parade of various animals, done in the 3D paint, so they seemed as if they were coming off the wall.

On the wall directly opposite the door, a wooden crib stood with a floating, lit-up mobile. The crib was already filled with a large teddy bear and a pillow, and covered in deep blue sheeting.

There was a small changing table off to the side, already equipped with diapers and wipes, and other baby things. There were two drawers on the changing table, and I walked over to it, slowly. My hand was still on my stomach as I opened the drawers. Inside, neatly folded, lay a variety of onesies in blue, violet, yellow, white…and mixtures, patterns, and all so adorably packed. Tears pricked at the corner of my eyes, and I felt an arm around my shoulder. I looked up to see Sano, and he gave me a small smile. He brushed the tear from my eye, and we both stared at the pile of clothes in silence.

Megumi came up next to me. "Don't you like it?" I looked at her, and wrapped her in an embrace. She relaxed, and started to jabber. "I'm so glad you like it, when you didn't say anything, I wasn't sure, but it was finished last night and I couldn't wait to show it to you, I got so excited…" She took a deep breath and stepped away from me, tears in her eyes. She hurriedly brushed them away and became composed again.

"Meg, I love it. Did you design it?"

She flipped her hair and laughed. "No. I hired the same person who designed Demi Lovato's house to do it."

I sighed, a smile tugging at my lips. In true Megumi fashion, if she couldn't do it, she hired someone else. But that doesn't mean that she didn't leave her mark on it. I could see it in the wood in the crib and table; Meg and I were same in that we appreciated the olden use of wood for furniture. However, that didn't mean we liked the modern furniture less – like my hovering chair, for example.

Just like how she manoeuvred Kenshin and my DNA to make her baby. But she didn't tell me how; it'll be revealed when the baby is born. At the time, I was totally ok with it. I didn't know Kenshin, and Meg was a benefactor – an annoying one, but a benefactor nonetheless.

Kenshin was right to scold me. I had made all of this – this, being the relationships formed in our group – happen, whether I had wanted it to happen or not.

Now, knowing that she had tampered with nature's way to make our baby look the way she wanted, well, it was an abhorrent thought. he's not my baby, I thought to myself. He's Megumi's. She did pay for him. Knowing Kenshin does not change that. I even allowed myself to fantasise of a time when Kenshin and I may be together…married…a red-haired, blue-eyed boy grasping my legs…

Tears welled up in my eyes again.

I cleared my throat. "So, thought of any names?" I kept my voice light, for her sake. I hastily swiped at my eyes, and turned to face her with dry eyes.

She began conting them off. "I wanted to keep with the Japanese vibe we have-" at the incredulous look I gave her, she glared at me and said, "Yes, I am Japanese- anyways, I was thinking of Japanese names. Hibiki, Kai, maybe even Kenji – after Kenshin, but I'm not sure about that one - Kaede, Yuuki…huh. That's all I could think of right now."

I whistled, and Sano rolled his eyes. "That's a lot of great names, Megumi."

"Why do girls only think of these things? Tch."

I put a hand on my hip. "And guys only talk about sports and violence."

He shrugged. "Why not? Those are great topics."

Meg and I gave sounds of disgust. "Yeah, maybe to a guy." Meg retorted.

"And do I look like a girl to you?" Sano rebutted. He then gave Meg a calculating look. "Is that why you're dating me? 'Cause I look like a girl? Oh, Kami. I'm rugged looking! RUGGED! I'M A MAN!"

Meg and I looked at each other and slowly backed out of the room.

"Where are you going? Are you denying I'm not manly? I AM THE MANLIEST MAN ALIVE! RUGGED!"

Meg and I quickly closed the door behind us, and dashed down the hallway, laughing. I couldn't keep it up for long, but it was still fun. Sano burst out of the nursery, screaming, "I'm a man!" He then saw Megumi and I and rushed us.

I squealed, but his target was clearly Megumi. Picking her up over his shoulder, he spun in a circle, still screaming he was a man.

He only let her down when she laughingly admitted that yes, he was a man. He tenderly lowered her to the floor, placing a kiss on her nose. She wrinkled her nose, and gripped the back of his neck. My face was now ablaze, not sure I wanted to see my brother make out with his girlfriend.

I heard Meg say, "Now gimme a real kiss," and barely had time to turn around, away from the smooch-y scene. Ick.

I walked downstairs, trying hard not to think of what my twin and Megumi were doing. Hopefully, they didn't end up in a bedroom. But thinking of them, made me miss Kenshin more. He was already gone for two weeks – he was coming back in three days! – but I missed him so much it made my heart ache. And even though I had told him, repeatedly, that it was all right that he was missing my birthday, it wasn't. I wanted him there. I wanted to dance with him under the stars.

On the bright side, he called me everyday, sometimes twice a day. It was usually to talk about our days, and I could tell Kenshin was trying to take it slow. He had regressed into the way we were before the kiss, which was even more awkward through our wristwatch telephone. I wanted to tell him that, technically, we were having a baby already, but I didn't know what that would trigger. So we just talked. And, eventually, it got easier and more natural to just talk, for hours on end. I can't tell you what we talked about; for all I knew, we were talking about the moon being cheese and how good it'll taste. All I remember is Kenshin's voice, watching his lips form the words, and imagine how warm those lips had felt against mine. And I know that when our conversation drifts off, that he's thinking about it too.

And that's when we would say, "I miss you," and hang up. Because, really, what else is there to say?

Maybe that I want him here. That I want him, and I think I love him. No, not think. Know. And even though I'm only nineteen – nearly twenty, tomorrow! – I am sure that I want to be with him 'til I die.

Except I'll never say that. First, it's too intense. Secondly, it's way too embarrassing.

Megumi and Sano came down the stairs, and I giggled. Meg's hair was slightly ruffled, and Sano's lips had Meg's lipstick imprinted on it. "Come on, lover boy, I wanna get home. Misao is probably trashing the place with Yahiko."

-x-

The party was held at Megumi's house, where we got to take full advantage of her mansion and gardens (and superb cleaning agency). I got ready there, Misao and Megumi fussing over every single detail, down to the patterns on my fingernails.

Yes, people, I was wearing nail polish. And not normal nail polish; it was in swirly, flowery patterns. I couldn't wait to get it off, no matter how pretty the blue and purple things looked.

The dress, though, was truly a work of art. It was simple, made of silk, and gorgeous. In a deep, royal purple, the dress reached a little passed my knees. It was a halter that tied under my breasts, and then flowed out elegantly. The tie under my breasts was on my left and extended past the length of the dress. Sure, it sounds really simple, but you had to see me in it. Gorgeous, if I say so myself.

Sano and I descended the stairs arm-in-arm when most of the guests had amassed. I didn't know I was so popular, but then again…a med student who received an invitation from the great Megumi Takani would be an idiot to refuse. I recognised most of the people there, but I only smiled for those in the front: Megumi, Aoshi and Misao. A flash of white caught my eye, and I looked up to see Enishi. He gave me a mocking grin and toasted me, and I smiled back. I didn't want any hard feelings between us, but maybe inviting him to my party was a bit much?

Whatever.

Tonight was my night – well, mine and Sano's – and I was determined to enjoy it to the fullest.

So I danced on my swollen ankles, and laughed and I even talked to other people in my class. Sano's fighter friends were rowdy, but knew how to have a good time, while keeping it clean.

The DJ played a slow song, and I took it as a cue for me to rest my feet so I sat off to the side. I was perfectly content on watching Sano and Megumi sway to the music, and I laughed when I saw Aoshi get led onto the dance floor by a very exuberant Misao. I saw everyone gradually pair up, and I found myself missing Kenshin even more.

Someone stood in front of me. Opening my mouth to argue with him, I took one look at him, and a smile spread across my face. Enishi extended a hand out to me, a smirk on his face. "May I have this dance?"

I really wanted to rest my feet, but how could I say no?

So I elegantly took his hand, and in the most affected accent I could do, I replied, "Why yes sir, you may."

He swept me up from my seat and spun me in a circle. I giggled, and he placed his hands on my…erm…waist. My hands wrapped around his neck, and we swayed. We didn't really move, and I was extremely grateful. I don't know how much I could move.

We didn't speak, but we didn't need to. We had reached an agreement. But I wanted to say something. As I opened my mouth to speak, Enishi inclined his head to his right, my left. "Someone's here for you." His dark eyes were sad, but his smile was genuine.

I gave him a puzzled look and turned to where he had indicated, and the breath stopped in my chest. I vaguely felt Enishi's hands slip from my waist, and he melted into the crowd.

He was dressed in a magenta button down and black pants, a small smile decorating his lips. I stared at him, too stunned to move. When he opened his arms, I ran into them, laughing as I did so. I was so happy to be back into Kenshin's arms, even if it had only been two weeks. A week was far too long for me, far less two.

And then I felt a cramp, and something wet my shoes.

The names for the baby are a bit of a joke to me :P I'm writing a manga, and I have a set of twins, one of who's name is Kenji. (If you want to check it out, I have a group for it on deviantART . com. JOINNNN.) The other names are other characters in the manga, with the exception of Kai and Yuuki. Kai is another twin in another story (I really have a thing for twins, someone help me!) and Yuuki…is Fruits Basket XD

HINT: The kid's name is one in the list, can you guess which one? ;)

The design of the dress was inspired by the picture Steffi27 sent me . Sorry, hun, I didn't stick to the exact design and tweaked it a little (if I was looking at the right picture, in the first place…)

And I only realised as I finished I forgot to throw Kaoru a baby shower ^^;

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