Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX

Chapter 2

Chazz was vaguely aware of the darkness of his surroundings, though not to the point that it intimidated him - not like the time he'd woken up in the cave after he and his girlfriend had finally decided to visit the Belgian caves his brother had once spoke of, after the man dressed as a bear had grabbed his shoulder.

No, it was a soothing darkness, broken only by the small blinking lights of a … dashboard? Oh, so he was in a car. His own car.

Chazz lifted his head from where it was situated uncomfortably against the steering wheel, angling his neck strangely to stretch the stiff muscles, groaning slightly at the discomfort of the action. Somewhat still subconscious, Chazz wondered why he was asleep in a car with his head on the steering wheel. It was dark outside, narrowing the time of day down to night.

And beside him, he could hear the laboured panting of the person who meant the most to him. He'd know Ryleigh's voice anywhere, be it speaking or panting or anything else.

And with those heavy pants, Chazz's last thoughts before he'd passed out flooded his memory and he was almost overwhelmed by the knowledge that he now knew.

His girlfriend was in labour!

"Are you okay?" he asked, somewhat harshly.

Ryleigh turned and glared at him for a moment, saying nothing, and then after a few moments she let out the breath she had been holding and her eyes softened.

"You passed out" she stated bluntly. "And no, I'm not okay. I'm being torn apart."

Chazz gulped; Ryleigh never did handle pain all that well.

He desperately - yes, he was desperate, he admitted it - pulled out his phone and tried once again to get a signal. Still no luck, those little bars were gone. His eyes glanced at the time and he noticed that, if memory served - and it did - then he had been unconscious for only five to ten minutes. At least he hadn't left his girlfriend alone throughout the whole birth; that would've been plain humiliating to him and agonising to her.

Well, The Chazz didn't want anyone to be able to say he was a bad lover; he was damn well going to do his best here, and who could do better?

Oh, right: a qualified doctor!

Still, Chazz put down the backseat of the car after a valiant struggle against the stubborn clips, and then he gently manoeuvred Ryleigh into the back of the car, lying her back against the front seat after he'd tilted it forward so that she would be comfortable.

Ryleigh looked up at him and a soft smile graced her lips, her pretty features enhanced by the smile that she saved only for her boyfriend. Ryleigh had a positive outlook on life and usually smiled, but not this kind of smile; this was special.

"It's finally happening, huh?" she muttered, trying to smile as if she wasn't afraid even thought her heart was beating furiously inside her chest.

Chazz just nodded, slightly bewildered, and hoped that Ryleigh would be able to see him do so in the dark of the car. It wasn't going to be getting light for several hours yet; he hoped with a passion that the delivery of their first child was going to run smoothly. He had no idea what to expect or what to do - he'd imagined that there would be a midwife and a doctor to guide Ryleigh through all that when the time came. He'd imagined himself doing nothing more than sitting there with her, watching and waiting.

Why did the kid have to be coming now!?

/

Ryleigh closed her eyes and whimpered as a contraction, more forceful than the previous few, took over her frame and shook her. She clenched her hand around her boyfriend's; she swore that she heard him whimper himself.

Next to her, Ryleigh could feel the spirit of her own favourite Duel Monster, Petal Guardian Myoko, smiling at her.

Ryleigh was very glad to have her own spirit partner at her side along with her boyfriend, but she was heartily glad that her boyfriend's partners - the Ojama trio - did not make an appearance. She was usually okay with them - funny little things that they were - but she couldn't deal with their antics while she was in pain.

Already she had begun to moan a little with the pain, and as far as she could tell in the dark, she wasn't dilated enough to actually give birth to the baby just yet.

She was surprised by the amount of sheer pain that flowed through her.

Of course, she had expected pain. She'd known that agony was just an unpleasant part of bringing a child into the world. She'd thought that she was ready …

But not here. Not in a car, of all places, and not with no help but her clueless boyfriend. If something went wrong - and her mother had had to get a emergency c-section with Ryleigh herself - then there would be no help to be had. Something bad might happen to her. Or worse, something bad might happen to the baby.

/

Time was passing slowly, much too slowly, although Ryleigh's labour was progressing very quickly for a first birth.

She was holding both Chazz's hands in her own, whimpering with the pain and occasionally letting out strangled moans. An hour - wait, two hours?! - had passed since they had broken down. In some respects it didn't seem to be as long as that.

On the other hand, Ryleigh felt that she had been in labour for an endless agonising time, and time meant little to her.

The pain was enough for Ryleigh to begin to wish that Chazz would suddenly be swallowed into a hole and be crushed to death, slowly and painfully. And that was completely out of character for Ryleigh, who cared very much for Chazz and loved him wholly. But it wasn't her heart or even her mind speaking for her; it was the pain that was slowly consuming her …

Please R&R