QUICK NOTE!!Honestly, everyone, you HAVE to thank 'Meiling'-chan for this chapter. I was having to many difficulties with it and she took it under her wings. This chapter, has therefore, been co-authored by me and swallowingtears. Although, I will admit that most of this was her XDD I don't understand this legal business what so ever! That, and I wasn't expecting to update until after my exams are done...and they only began today. Sooo...again, all Mei-chan!!

Thanks hun!!! You're the bestest EVER! Seriously!!! Love ya!

Enjoy this extra-long chapter ^.^ And thank you SO much for your patience! I'm sure you all know how hectic and stressful exams can be though -.-'

Her Rising Saviour:

Chapter Nineteen – Trial

"Sakura, please stop," Syaoran practically begged as he reached for her hands to keep her from slowly tearing apart a small piece of paper she had found in her purse, the fragments of it scattered on her knees. He pulled her one hand away from the paper and gave it a gentle squeeze as he brought it up to his lips. "Please sweetheart, you're putting me on edge seeing you so twitchy. After all," and he smiled a little smile, "we're ready for him."

Sakura sighed and looked over to him, her eyes showing her vulnerability. "I can't help it, I'm sorry. I'm just..." she sighed, not knowing how to explain it, and instead leaned over to place her head on Syaoran's shoulder. Syaoran wrapped his arm around her and pulled her near while his other hand kept ahold of hers.

He kissed the top of her head, "I know sweetie, I understand. Just seeing you all twitchy is making me twitchy," he chuckled dryly and kissed her head again. "Sakura, I promise you, you have nothing to worry about. This isn't a case against you. It's Rika against him. You're simply a witness to his ways, alright? You have nothing to worry about."

Sakura sighed and closed her eyes, resting her free hand on her rounded stomach. She knew Syaoran was right, but she still felt anxious. Sometime today, she'd be called up to the stand to tell her story once more. It had been difficult to tell Eriol and Syaoran, and then her family, but now a whole room? She had thought she could do it, and now – being here – she was having second thoughts.

Sitting beside her on the wooden bench was her own little support group, which consisted of her brother and father. Her father had his hands on her knee, giving her silent support, as he spoke to Touya about his latest dig. Obviously, he was trying to give his daughter and her husband some privacy. In a row in front of them sat Rika's support team – Chiharu and Takashi Yamazaki, an older couple who had been introduced to Sakura as Rika's parents, and Tomoyo. Chiharu held little Hayate in her arms, gently rocking him as he slept. Rika hadn't wanted to bring the baby, but Eriol had insisted and Chiharu had agreed, but promised to leave if he became fussy.

Beyond the gallery, on the other side of the courtroom, were two tables for the defendant and plaintiff and their attorneys. On one side, the side Sakura sat behind, were Rika, Eriol and Yoshiyuki. All three were sitting quietly.

Sitting at the table across the aisle from theirs was Natsuo Hamada and a man Sakura did not recognize from work. She gathered that he worked on another floor but for the firm. He wore a grey suit and purple tie, blending in well with his smoky violet-grey eyes and tea-stain coloured skin as if he were a smoker. He was a larger man, both up and outward, with greying black hair and a moustache streaked with age. His large fingers drummed against the table annoyingly as Hamada kept letting out heavy sighs, his head resting in his hand while his elbow sat on the table top. They both seemed bored.

Eriol looked at them, then glanced at Syaoran. Oh they would nail Syaoran's boss for forcing the case on him; conflict of interest could get the firm's license tangled for years. It was the only time Syaoran had been glad he'd been assigned the case — and since he'd already signed off on the billable hours, and been sent three pointed memos by his boss, Nakamura, he had the evidence to make things nasty. He smiled.

"That's Itsuo Reed," Syaoran whispered in Sakura's ear, watching her gaze linger at the defendant's table. "He's some big shot in the building, works on the floor above us. Not under Nakamura. His family has been lawyers for generations, or some crap like that."

Sakura frowned, "I've never heard of him."

Syaoran chuckled, "No offence sweetie, but that's because you're a secretary. You wouldn't have heard of him, especially since you don't work on his floor. But he is some big shot, and the only reason why Hamada wasn't directed to him first was because Hamada's regular lawyer was under Nakamura."

And that, Syaoran thought with satisfaction, was more proof against Hamada. If he could afford to hire Reed to begin with, then his insistence on Syaoran was now ammunition against him. Ethics violations, deliberate causing of grief and anxiety…and if Sakura was willing, she could mention the harassment of Hamada in the office. Syaoran smiled grimly. It had been Tomoyo's idea to check for the tapes of the security cameras in the office — and voila, Hamada's harassment had been caught on tape.

Sakura nodded against his shoulder, her hand rubbing over her stomach; she sighed in exhaustion. She hadn't slept much the night before, and not simply because of her rattled nerves but also because the baby had been kicking more then usual. Not that it hurt, but it had worried her and was slightly uncomfortable for when she was trying to fall asleep. And, of course, since she had been awake most of the night, so had Syaoran. She had tried to make him sleep, but he had, of course, stayed awake with her and had refused any sleep. All through this morning, Sakura had had to be careful not to stare at his eyes too long. Or else she'd see the redness in them and she knew that then she'd try and convince them both to stay home so he could get some rest.

Suddenly, a door opened and Sakura's eyes snapped open in time to see the judge enter the room. A bailiff near the wall spoke and everyone stood. Syaoran took Sakura's hand and helped her up, watching her with a frown as she heaved herself upward with such a struggle only to have to sit back down immediately after the judge sat down seconds later. The doctor had said that for a small girl, Sakura was having a large boy—he was at least nine pounds, the doctor said in wonderment. Hence the trouble Sakura was having with her pregnancy. Once everyone sat back down, all chatter ceased. Sakura nestled back into Syaoran's side and Yoshiyuki patted Rika's hand before joining Chiharu in the gallery. He reached his hands out, silently asking for the baby, and Chiharu placed sleeping Hayate in his arms without a second thought.

The opening went smoothly in Sakura's opinion, but she had never been to a trial before so she tried not to think too much of it. Rika was the first called to the stand by Eriol to give her statement. She raised her hand and gave her oath, then Eriol proceeded.

"Now Miss Sasaki," he began in a professional tone. "I have here that about fourteen months ago, you were impregnated by your boyfriend, is that correct?"

Rika nodded; she would have been wringing her hands together nervously as she normally did except now, she had been thoroughly coached by Syaoran and Eriol on her behaviour. She responded in a firm tone, "Yes."

"Is the man responsible for this present here today?"

"Yes."


"Can you identify him for us?"

Rika looked over to Natsuo and nodded, "Yes, Natsuo Hamada over there."

"Thank you, Miss Sasaki," Eriol nodded. He paused slightly before continuing. "Now, would you say that yours and Mr. Hamada's relationship was abusive? That he dominated the relationship?"

"Objection your honour," Natsuo's lawyer, Itsuo Reed, stood up and interrupted. "Leading the witness."

"Sustained," the judge said.

Eriol did not permit himself a tiny smile — he'd phrased it that way on purpose. "Allow me to rephrase the question. Can you describe your relationship with Mr Hamada?"

She described an abusive relationship that began with being raped, then being forced to live with Hamada, who told her constantly that she was worthless; then she added how when he had thrown her out upon the discovery of her pregnancy, he had suggested that she work 'until the bump shows' at Raz.

"Do you think he'd done this to other women before?" Eriol asked.

"Yes," and Rika stared back fiercely at Hamada. "Ask his current girlfriend, Xing Huo."

Reed and Hamada merely sneered at that revelation; Xing Huo was sitting, clad in an expensive designer outfit, in the audience. "I own her," Hamada whispered to Reed.

"You have every confidence in her loyalty?"

"Of course," Hamada smirked.

After Rika returned to her seat, Itsuo called on a bored-looking Natsuo. A routine question, though, drew a smile from Eriol.

"Where do you live?"

"147 Subashi Lane, in Southern Tokyo. With my gorgeous girlfriend Xing Huo, over there," he pointed.

The judge caught Eriol's eye, but Eriol smiled and did not move to strike the irrelevant statement. A few more routine questions, then they went on to the relationship between him and Rika.

His other answers to some questions were quite disturbing.

"Mr Hamada, do you admit to the possibility that Ms Sasaki could have had your child?"


"We won't know until the DNA tests come in," Hamada said lazily. "After all, I seem to pick whores every time."

Eriol rejoiced inwardly. Now they were getting somewhere. Hamada's arrogance would be his undoing, and he had correctly based an entire prosecution on it. Reed shot his client a glare, and Hamada said, "What? I swore to tell the truth."

"Mr. Hamada, were you and Miss Sasaki prepared for a child?" Itsuo asked.

"No, we were not," Natsuo replied.

"So that means you two were using protection, is this right?"

"Of course," Natsuo agreed. "She was on birth control pills."

"So how is it that Miss Sasaki become with child, Mr. Hamada?" Itsuo pointed out.

Natsuo's mouth twitched at the corner slightly, as if he were trying to stop from smiling. He was looking straight at Rika, who did not flinch. "Well, I honestly don't know how she got pregnant. I know that if you take certain antibiotics the pill won't be affective, and she did have a throat infection a couple of months before claiming she was pregnant..." he paused to gauge everyone's reaction, particularly Rika's wide eyes. "She could have been after my money to tie me down, I suppose. She had mentioned marriage to me once or twice before, and each time I told her I did not want to marry her yet. I am after all a rich, powerful, and important man," he gloated.

Yes! Eriol barely kept himself from punching the air in triumph. Just the opening he needed!

The court room immediately began to buzz with protests, including an angry Chiharu who jumped to her feet. Takashi tried to make her sit, but she shook him off.

"That's bull, you prick!" Chiharu screamed. "She never even brought up marriage!"

The judge ordered Chiharu taken out of the court; he was clearly running a tight ship, and he warned the rest of the courtroom that he would not tolerate emotional outbursts from anyone.

During the commotion, Hayate woke up in Yoshiyuki's arms and began to cry. The baby was scared easily, and it was obvious that the loud sounds of the court room was frightening him. Yoshiyuki excused himself and ushered himself with the baby out of the room. Rika's mother followed suit. Chiharu was allowed back in shortly, but only after she was called as a witness.

"What is your relationship to Miss Sasaki?" He began.

"I've been her friend since fourth grade when she moved to the area," Chiharu said. "We're practically like sisters."

"Now you obviously got upset with Mr. Hamada's previous statement. May I ask why?"

"Because Rika never talked about marriage!" She said fairly loudly. "They dated for only a month or so and suddenly they were in bed together! Rika isn't the type of girl to rush into a relationship, but when I asked her why she was with this guy, she couldn't answer me. She was clearly scared of something. Also, that Hamada guy refused to let her see her friends; you can ask everyone at the Carrot Café, where we've met once a month since college. When she was with Hamada, she never showed up."

"How are you so sure Miss Sasaki never asked Mr. Hamada about marriage?" Eriol asked dispassionately.

Chiharu looked down as if ashamed, "I...I once asked Rika, in anger, if she saw this relationship going into the marriage stage. Quite honesty, I didn't approve of the guy and was scared for my friend. That was when she told me she'd never see herself marrying the man. So judging from that comment, I very well can't see her asking him about marriage."

"Thank you, and secondly – You said Miss Sasaki never rushed into relationships, except this one," he began. "What do you think changed with this one?"

Chiharu looked up defiantly, "Quite frankly, I think he persuaded her some way."

"Yes, thank you," Eriol nodded. "Now, as her friend, can you please tell me what happened when Miss Sasaki found out she was, indeed, pregnant."

"I took her to the doctor to make sure, since Rika never trusted the pregnancy test we bought. When he gave her the news, she was obviously shocked. She knew there was still a slim chance, even with being on the pill, but didn't think it could really happen I suppose. I took her home and that night she was on my doorstep in tears because that bast – I mean, Hamada had kicked her out of the house. The next morning I found all of her things out on the front lawn of his apartment, ruined from the rain the night before. You can ask all their neighbours. Here," she said, shooting Hamada a triumphant look, "I have a photo," and she waved a photo for all to see. A woman's things were strewed all over the lawn, clearly ruined from the rain."

"I would like that photograph marked as an exhibit," Eriol said.

"Objection!" Reed was on his feet. "Defence should be informed of all evidence and witnesses! Move to strike that as evidence!"

"Mr Hiiragizawa, I will allow this objection. You should know better," the judge said.

"My apologies," Eriol smiled. Reed exchanged looks with Hamada, who was calm.

"It's your job to keep me out of jail," Hamada whispered.

Soon the questioning continued.

"So they were sharing an apartment?"

"Yes, for a month at that point."

Eriol nodded, "Thank you, Miss Mihara. No farther questions."

Eriol went to take his seat as Itsuo stood up and adjusted his glasses. He walked up to Chiharu as the woman glared at him.

"Miss Mihara, was it?" He asked. "You seem fairly close to Miss Sasaki there. Did she ever mention Mr. Hamada beating her? Or forcing himself on her?"

Chiharu's eyes narrowed, "Rika is a very quiet girl. She would never speak ill of someone – "

"Yes or no, please, Miss," Itsuo cut her off.

Chiharu ground her jaw, "No, she did not."

"So you simply presumed that Mr. Hamada did such an awful thing to your friend. Correct?" He sneered, "After all, my client has no record of any abuse whatsoever."

"That isn't proof," Chiharu sneered back. "Rich men can always buy themselves out of records like that. And what makes you think there's no proof of his abusive ways? Then again, you're paid to act blind," she jeered.

"Move to strike last sentence," Reed said calmly.

The judge leaned over and warned Chiharu about her attitude. "If you want to help your friend, keep your temper, Miss Mihara, or I shall eject you and strike your entire testimony from the record. Unless you want to make sure your friend loses the case, I suggest you shut up and be more respectful."

Chiharu glared at the judge then looked away, deciding to co-operate.

Itsuo's questions continued for another ten or so minutes before Chiharu was allowed to return to her seat. And for the next hour or so, witnesses continued to be called up. Some included Rika's doctor, one of Natsuo's co-workers (who testified about his endless female conquests), and a counsellor who worked with victims of abuse, whose testimony drew startled gasps from the courtroom. Her photographs of Rika's injuries were duly entered as evidence. Yet Reed and Hamada looked incredibly confident.

Eriol stood and cleared his throat for his next witness. "I'd like to call Mrs. Sakura Li to the witness stand."

Sakura tensed even though she knew it was coming. Syaoran slipped his arm off of her and stood up, taking her hands to help her to her feet. Touya and Fujitaka moved out of her way and she took the stand a bit laboriously but confidently.

Eriol went through a folder and picked up three large photos, then moved over to Sakura. His eyes told her she was sorry as he showed her the three photos. Sakura's eyes widened on them and she began to tremble, having to bite her tongue to stop herself from crying—she was ready for this, now was not the time to cry, not when they were ready to nail Hamada. They were three photos of her the morning after Natsuo had raped her. She was asleep, and Tomoyo had removed her shirt to show the bruising along her torso, particularly large bruising around her breasts imprinted in the shape of hands. Another photo showed her face; her cheek bruised, a large hickey on her neck and her lip slit.

"Mrs. Li," Eriol spoke, obviously trying to be gentle in his tone. "For the record, is this you?"

Sakura jerked her head in a nod, "Y-Yes."

"Can you tell us what happened?" Eriol asked as he handed the judge the photos.

Sakura inhaled a shaky breath and went into telling her story. During the whole time, her eyes were locked on Syaoran, and he kept hold of her gaze firmly. For some reason, she felt stronger looking at him. So long as she was, she could tell the story without going hysterical or crying.

Eriol thanked her, and it was Reed's turn. She braced herself mentally.

"Mrs. Li, you say my client did this to you and yet you did not file anything against him," Itsuo began. "Why? Obviously, rape is a crime, so why didn't you file a report against Mr. Hamada?"

"I didn't want to... because I believed that he had told me, about me being worthless. I didn't think there was any reason to."

"Is that so?" Itsuo smirked. He strolled back to his desk and grabbed a folder, then walked back. He handed Sakura the folder and she looked up at him, confused. "Please look through that, Mrs. Li. In there, I have evidence that you worked at the strip-bar called Raz. Do you deny working there for four years?"

Sakura stayed calm as she looked through the photos, seeing her dressed in skimpy skirts and sexy bras or even in just mere undergarments. She would be sitting on a man's lap or her tongue would be down a man's throat. She was horrified as to how they even got the photos. Her fingers trembled as she ran her fingers over one particular photo of her grinding herself into a man, his hands firmly on her ass. Her heartbeat was beating wildly, nervously.

"Mrs. Li?" Itsuo spoke up after a few moments of silence.

"No, I don't," she said. "The person who should be ashamed is the one who drove me into working there, knowing full well his family owned it. And I'm not the only one," she smiled at Reed. "Besides," and her smile became wider, "it's his modus operandi — if you ask the stenographer to go back to Rika's testimony…And isn't it a legal tenet that the source of testimony is irrelevant so long as it is truthful? Even if I was a slut or a whore," she got the words out, seeing Syaoran wince from the corner of her eye, "I am telling the truth."

Reed turned back to Sakura, "But really, Mrs. Li, if you were...a prostitute, how can we possibly believe your words? In that job, rough sexual intercourse is sometimes expected, am I right?"

"Excuse me," Sakura said frostily, "just because you rented a car doesn't mean you have the right to go slamming it into walls for fun. So unless you're saying that prostitutes have fewer rights than inanimate objects, I suggest you focus on what is on hand here—the trial. And in case you didn't know, prostitutes can be raped too. That a woman sells her favours does not prevent rape from happening to her. Just because something is on sale doesn't mean anyone can take it; you're a lawyer, Mr Reed, so I find your question a bit strange. You do know what theft is, right? To take what isn't yours — and so should a prostitute be blamed if she is raped? We all know," and her eyes swept the court confidently, "how many women are driven into prostitution by need or abuse."

"Mrs. Li," Itsuo brought down his voice only slightly. Loud enough for the courtroom to still hear him, but still slightly quieter. "You do realize that is what you were doing, yes? How could you possibly blame my client for forcing you into that line of work when it was very obviously your decision?"

To his shock, Sakura smiled. "That's what we're proving here: the abusive behaviour of Hamada. My past is irrelevant except when it comes to how Hamada abused me — and in fact, Mr Reed, I'm surprised you want to focus on me being a prostitute, because your client raped me then led me to that bar by convincing me it was what I deserved. After all, the statute of limitations on rape and abuse from him hasn't expired yet — and I can still sue. Plus, you appear to be focusing on my being a prostitute to change the issue. I'm not on trial here, but your client is. But thanks for reminding me about my past — because," and she lifted her chin and stared at Hamada, "I shall be taking him to court for it as well, so that he can pay for his sins."

Reed looked at Hamada, his look saying, You said she was weak and stupid!

And at the same time, Sakura was silently gloating inside – Helps to have a husband for a lawyer, now doesn't it? She obviously missed Syaoran's own gloating smirk that was slapped on across his face. He didn't think he could be prouder of Sakura when she told Eriol and then her family about what had happened, but now he was. He was amazingly proud of how strong she was being.

Sakura added, "Mr Hamada is an abusive, manipulative man who cannot take any responsibility for his actions because he is at heart nothing but a worthless bully. Everything I've done after what he did to me is an example of how self- destructive a woman can become after abuse. Rika was lucky because she had family and friends who wouldn't let her go, who helped her. Other victims of abuse push themselves away from their very support and isolate themselves. That was me. But the thing is, I no longer wish to be Hamada's victim. And I fully intend to use my history to make sure he goes behind bars and can never hurt other women ever again. If you have a daughter, Mr Reed, I hope Hamada never does to her what he did to me. Assuming you love your daughter, as all good fathers do."

"No further questions," Reed said reluctantly.

"I would like to call on Kanika Kurushi," Eriol said.

"Objection!" Reed called. "We were never informed of this witness!"

"She is under the witness protection programme. Mr Hamada said it earlier: I am a rich powerful man," Eriol said.

Reed shot his client a venomous look; Hamada was beginning to look worried. Although he quickly tried to hide it and leaned over to Reed, "Don't worry. I've never even heard of this chick. It's probably some joke."

That changed when the girl walked into the room, her eyes shifting around nervously as she clung to her tiny handbag. Hamada's face paled slightly when he saw her face; short brown hair, big brown eyes and round classes. This wasn't Kanika Kurushi – this was Naoko Yanagisawa. She had been his first fuck after Sakura.

"Crap," Hamada groaned, catching Reeds attention. "I take that back – I most certainly do recognize her, but she's not Kanika Kurushi. That's Naoko Yanagisawa."

"Objection!" Itsuo demanded, glaring at Eriol. "That girl is Naoko Yanagisawa – not Kanika Kurushi!"

The girl stood at the witness stand, frozen, unable to sit down. Eriol quickly stepped in, "Yes, that was true...but Miss Kurushi is under the protection programme, and therefore, had chosen to change her name to keep hidden from Mr. Hamada over there." He turned back to the stand, offering a soft yet comforting smile, "Would you mind taking a seat, Miss?"

The young woman took a seat, her posture very stiff.

"For the record, do you deny anything I have just said?" Eriol asked, knowing that the court needed to hear from her what the reasons were.

Shaking, she shook her head, "No, it was all true. I...I only came today because the programme promised me new protection."

"So your name will change again?"

"Yes," she said quietly. "I...I'm scared."

Eriol nodded in understanding and continued with the questioning.

It ended up being very obvious why Kanika was in the protection programme. She broke down on the witness stand, and pointed them to links on websites where Hamada had posted videos of them having sex. She said she felt so worthless afterwards, she went to Raz and applied for a job there upon his suggestion. She, however, was told she was too quiet and emotional. She was, luckily, cut loose from the position a week after starting, accused of driving business away with her sad expressions.

"I...I brought some ph-photo's from the site," Kanika said quietly. She went through her purse with shaking hands and pulled out a yellow envelope.

"Objection!" Itsuo growled, standing up from his seat. "That evidence – "

"I did not ask Miss Kurushi to bring anything," Eriol told the judge, swiftly cutting the other lawyer off. "I only asked her for her testimony. She was reluctant to contact me for fear of her life, so I think it's understandable why she would have withheld evidence. I submit it now, openly, before the court."

The judge nodded and allowed the evidence to be shown.

Syaoran watched as Eriol continued with a few more questions, feeling sorry for the girl but also silently gloating inside. He had teamed up with Eriol to help find the witnesses, and it had been plenty difficult. Even when they had found them, they had been very hesitant, especially the former known Naoko. She had turned them down at first, and called back a day later claiming that she wanted to help put an end to his vile ways, not wanting other women to go through what she had gone through. Syaoran was shocked that they could find Naoko to begin with, with so little time and all.

Then Eriol called in another surprise witness, earning another objection from Itsuo. Hamada sighed in relief when she walked in, not recognizing her. He leaned over, smirking, "I definitely don't know this bitch. We're safe. Let him call her up."

"Natsuo..." Itsuo growled, "I wouldn't say we're safe anymore, you idiot."

This second woman angrily testified about how her sister had committed suicide after Hamada's abuse — the girl had been distraught, leaving behind a suicide note that said, in part, 'If all I'm good for is to work at Raz, I'd rather die.' Then she told she court of how Hamada had sneered at her and her husband when they had confronted him about her sister. "One less whore," the woman quoted him, her voice bitter and enraged. "One less whore? But isn't the true whore a man who sleeps with a lot of women then betrays them and abuses them?"

Reed sent Hamada a glare, while he groaned and rested his head in his palm. But he didn't recognize her! Then again...he could only vaguely remember a woman, distraught and angry, coming to his door with her husband, screaming at him about a dead wife. But he had been partying the night before, so how drunk was he in the morning? Not to mention the sexy woman waiting in his bed for him. He had simply wanted them off his doorstep. The girl's death wasn't really his fault. Not his problem.

Or so he thought.

The final witness was, to Hamada and Reed's shock, Xing Huo. She provided medical records, photos, and a file in which Hamada tracked the profits of Raz after each new 'entry' he sent there.

"You bitch! You pretended to like me! You came on to me, you whore, you…"

"Bailiffs, remove this man to the holding cell," the judge said. Reed was desperately trying to calm down his client, but even he knew it was lost. All three witnesses were going to file charges against him, as well as Sakura. Given their evidence, Hamada was as good as lost.

Sakura watched two men dragged Natsuo away, watching him thrash around angrily and screaming at his current girlfriend. She was sobbing into her hands as a man beside her was trying to comfort her, rubbing her back soothingly. When his cold, furious eyes met Sakura, she felt herself stiffen. Time seemed to slow down. He glared at her angrily, mouthing the words 'fuck you, you bitching whore!'. She pushed herself closer to Syaoran, suddenly feeling like the room was shrinking. The room seemed small, and suddenly, she couldn't get away from her ex fast enough, no where to run.

And that's when the emotion became too much for Sakura. She suddenly felt a tiny pain in her lower abdomen and a sudden gush of wetness was between her thighs.

"Syaoran..." she croaked, her hands flying to her stomach. She heard Natsuo's final protesting scream as the doors shut behind him. Syaoran's eyes were narrowed on the doors, his hold on her tightening in protection, as if he was scared the man would suddenly make another appearance. She spoke up a bit louder, but her voice still sounded strained, "Syaoran..."

Syaoran stiffened and his eyes shot down toward her, his ears ringing with Sakura's shaking voice. He saw her hands clutching her stomach and her wide eyes. He pulled his arm off her and placed both hands on her cheek, looking straight into her frightened eyes. "Sakura? Sakura, sweetheart, what's wrong?"

She tinged pink and looked down pointedly at her skirt. Seeping through the cloth was a small wet spot. She pressed her thighs together, embarrassed. Syaoran's followed her gaze, his eyes immediately widening and danced with excitement.

"Is it...?"

She nodded, smiling sheepishly, "It's time."

Author's Note: Like I said above, you all seriously need to thank swallowingtears ('Meiling'-chan) for this update. Exams have only began wand I wasn't planning on having any updates until next weekend, after my exams are finished, and Mei-chan asked if she could see this chappie, since she knew I was having difficulties with all the legal stuff in here. And, because she's brilliant this way, she basically wrote out the chapter for me! About half, if not more, of this chapter is her. So please, if you have time, drop in and thank her ^.^ Or better yet, READ HER BRILLIANT WORK!! (Look under my profile for a link to her page!)

Quick thanks, also, to 'Tomoyo'-chan for having a look over this chapter ^.^ I highly suggest you read her stories as well. Vampire Eriol; need I say more? I don't think so. Yummm!! (Look under my profile for a link to her page! GO!) Luv-luv!

Note to Jackie-chan -- Don't know if you'll get this, but I'm still praying for you hun. -hugs tightly- Love ya!!

Also, I've created a "Twitter" account. If you Follow me, you will be notified on which work I'm working on when, and when updates are coming, and so on. Just please PM me first and tell me what your name in Twitter is if you decide to Follow me, that way I can accept your request ^.^ Thanks!! Again, see profile for link.

Please leave some words ^.^ They definitely rock my world. And they'll make me smile through the stress of exam-season ^.-

xox, Riva

Next Time... OMG!! Baby time!!! Okay...breathe in, breathe out...I still have a wicked trick up my sleeve ^.- Stay tuned! Update in a little over a week!!