Chapter 4: Another Visit
Destiny Islands, 5:45 am the next morning
A loud yawn was emitted and arms were extended upwards in a stretch. It was much too early for anyone to be up, let alone a certain silver haired teenage boy. The stretch, despite the fact that it felt good, was a bit unbalancing at best, given his current position. Which was on a branch of the paopu tree. With a loud thud, his back connected with the loose sand of the ground and a groan escaped his lips.
Giggling erupted from the space above him, where a moment ago he had been sitting. "Very graceful Riku." Came a soft, sweet voice.
With a grunt, the guy in question rolled over on his stomach and lifted himself off the ground. He grumbled something incoherent as he brushed the sand off himself. "It's not funny." He snapped as the sound of laughter came to his ears.
"Oh come on Riku! It is too!" Giggled the auburn haired girl who was sitting unbalanced on the branch. Catching the glare he gave her, she lifted her hand to her lips, covering the giggles. "I'm sorry. But it was a sight."
Riku moved around to the front of the tree, glaring at it as well. Not wanting a repeat performance, he chose to lean against it, crossing his arms about his bare chest. "Whatever. I should be asleep now, Kairi. And I blame it on you!"
"Oh come on Riku!" She slipped from the branch and pressed her arm against his. "This is fun!"
"Fun?" He laughed and dipped his head. "It's fucking cold out."
Kairi giggled as she poked his bare arm. "Then you should have put a jacket on or something."
Riku glanced down at himself and smiled. He was wearing only a loose pair of faded black pants. Yes, he should have grabbed a jacket or at least a shirt. But then again, he was woken up from a particularly nice dream and wasn't exactly thinking with the head on his shoulders. "You're the one who snuck in my window while I was sleeping." He pushed off from leaning against the tree and stepped forward.
Kairi giggled again and followed him. "So what?"
"You were lucky I was wearing anything at all." He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "I usually don't."
Her entire face flushed bright red and she dipped her head, not saying anything.
Riku lifted his arm and threw it around her shoulders, pulling her against him. "I'm just teasing Kairi. I don't really mind. I've gotten used to yours and Sora's odd antics by now. If I really didn't want to be here, I wouldn't be."
Kairi beamed up at him and poked his chest. "Don't tease me like that Riku! You're evil!" She felt Riku flinch and she instantly bit her lip, regretting her words. Sometimes it was easy to forget everything that had happened and everything that they had been through.
After a moment's silence, Riku cleared his throat. "Why don't we get to the real reason you drug me out here?"
"Oh" Kairi said slowly. "And what would that be?"
"Sora."
"Sora?" Kairi laughed nervously and waved her hand. "What makes you think that?"
"Oh! So I'm wrong?" Riku let his arm slip from her shoulders and he stepped away from her. "And I thought you wanted to ask about the phone call last night. Guess I was wrong."
"Riku! Don't you dare leave!" Kairi called, raising her finger to wave at him. "Get your ass back here mister!"
Riku spun around and lifted his hand to his mouth as he gasped loudly. "You said ass!"
Kairi rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Riku, please!"
Riku sighed as he saw the desperation on her face. It was clear to everyone but Sora how much the girl loved him. And Riku was the only one who knew how Sora felt, other than the brunette himself. Yep! He knew more about Sora than anyone else. He knew what made the younger boy tick, what made him laugh, the things he liked and didn't, his lack of an alcohol tolerance, how he tasted...
"Come on Riku!" Kairi's voice was beginning to teeter on the whining scale.
Riku knew stuff about Sora that Kairi never would... He shook the thought from his head quickly and glanced to Kairi, smiling.
"That cryptic message you gave me last night was just cruel!"
"Cryptic?" Riku crossed his arms. "There was nothing cryptic about it."
Kairi pointed an accusing finger at him. "Hey Kairi. Sora called to say he was staying the night. Bye." She said sarcastically.
Riku nodded. "Exactly. That's what he said."
Kairi raised her arms and stepped closer to him. "There just HAS to be more Riku! Isn't there? Come on! Tell me he said more!"
A smile played about his lips. Turning, he let his gaze wander over the steadily approaching dawn. After a moment, he spoke, his words leaving his tongue slowly. "There may have been more..."
"Really?" Kairi practically jumped to his side and latched into his arm, holding it ransom. "Tell me right now mister!"
Riku shrugged slightly in answer and sighed. "He said he was supposed to have an appointment with a specialist yesterday and she never showed up. Something about a family emergency. And that it was rescheduled for today. So he was staying for one more night."
Kairi watched his face for a moment, trying to judge on whether or not that was the complete truth. Deciding it was she nodded. "That seems a bit rude... but I guess things come up even for doctors."
Riku nodded and both stood quietly for a while, staring at the approaching dawn.
"How... uh... did he sound?" Kairi asked slowly after a few moments.
"How did he sound?" Riku repeated. Like shit was the real answer. Riku would tell right away that Sora was lying in some shape or form. But it wasn't his place to pry. "He sounded... tired."
"Tired?"
"Yeah..."
Kairi leaned her head against Riku's shoulder. "Then he better hurry up and get his ass back here."
"You said ass again Kairi."
"Oh! Shut up!"
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
Room 41 at the Starlit Inn, 8:23 am
With a barely audible moan, Sora rolled over under the heavy, laden hotel blankets. It wasn't visions of sugar plums that danced in his head but someone else. And while dancing was involved, there was a lot more alcohol.
"Com on Ora, ewe be da gurl."
"No! I dun wanna be gurl." He felt dizzy and tired and awake all at the same time. A hand grabbed his and spun him around.
"Dance wit me gurly." The body pulled him close and grinded against him.
"Noss sa gurl..." He muttered, his words slurring together. The wall he was suddenly pinned against didn't register to his spinning mind.
"Giss noss. Gurls dun ave dese." Hands fumbled with the buckle on his belt.
He brought the bottle of burning liquid to his lips again. Finding the bottle empty, he let it drop to the floor. He was only vaguely aware of the fact that he was no longer wearing his pants but he was very aware of the hot breath on his thigh.
His eyes fluttered open, taking in the dimly lit room that had been his home half the week. The face was still behind his eyes and the name still on his lips. Swallowing almost violently, he sat up and placed a hand subconsciously over his stomach. "What the hell am I going to tell him?"
Dr. Veronica Verse's Office at Landic Hospital, 8:46 am
The small space was quiet and dark, as it had had no visitors yet that morning. That fact, in itself, was an odd one. Because the owner of said space was always there bright and early. But today, she was running late. She had arrived on time, like usual, but she hadn't been by her office.
The knob to the office door clicked and the door was slowly pushed open. A dark shape slipped into the equally dark room and the door was closed quickly behind. The shadow moved forward and sat in the chair opposite the desk.
All was silent until the door was opened a second time. This time, though, the intruder flipped the light switch and allowed for her eyes to adjust. She made no comment towards the brunette boy as she closed the door and made her way towards the desk. With a smile, she set down her papers and turned to lean against the wooden object. Crossing her arms, she peered down at the silent boy whom had yet to meet her gaze or acknowledge her presence. "Good morning, Sora. It's nice to see you." She said brightly.
Sora sat with his arms crossed and his head downcast. He said nothing.
Veera nodded slowly. "Not talking to me, eh?" She waited for a moment for an answer, and then stood up and moved around the desk to sit in her chair. She leaned back slightly and laid her arms across her desk. "I'm not the enemy here Sora. I didn't do this to you..." She shook her head slowly and cleared her throat. "Silent treatments aside, you are here. That's the first step." She leaned forward and peered at him. "Something I said yesterday must have convinced you."
"You have no idea..." Sora muttered under his breath.
"Ah!" She clasped her fingers together, smiling. "He does speak."
Sora lifted his head and cast a glare in her direction. He sighed deeply and leaned back in his chair. "Look, before you do whatever you're going to do to prove what you said yesterday, I have a few questions."
Veera nodded. "Of course. Ask. I'll try to answer them."
"How did it get there?" He asked, refusing to call it a baby. Doing so would mean that he accepted it.
Veera shifted slightly and averted her gaze for a moment. She glanced down at the pile of papers in front of her, hoping he didn't see her hesitation. Zing warned her about this. She had to be careful and watch her words. Clearing her throat, she met his questioning gaze again. "Truthfully, I don't know." She feared that she might have stressed the word truth a bit much.
Sora nodded, accepting the answer. "You mention removing it yesterday... can you really do that?"
"I can Sora." She said slowly. "But that would mean killing it, you understand. An abortion."
"Killing it?" He repeated, clearly not pleased with the words she used.
She nodded. "I believe from what I saw that the baby may be about eleven weeks along and that's nearly the end of the first trimester. It would be an easy and quick procedure to abort the baby but that would mean killing it. Basically sucking it out."
"Oh..." He muttered softly as he clasped his fingers together over his stomach. He let his gaze fall. "Is there a chance you could be wrong?"
Veera sighed slightly, her heart aching for the boy. "There is always a chance, Sora, but I don't want to lie to you, okay? A hormone was found in your blood that shouldn't be there. And a moving mass was detected in your pelvic cavity. Both would add up to a baby in a female without a second thought."
"Is it a threat to me? If it's really there and if it were to stay there..." He lifted his gaze to hers once again.
Veera tilted her head to the side and leaned her elbows against the desk. "Well... ectopic pregnancies are always hard and troublesome, but right now, no. I don't think it's a problem."
Sora nodded again for what seemed like the millionth time. "Okay. How will it come out?"
Veera laughed slightly and leaned back. "Well... since you aren't a girl, it can't be delivered. We'll have to perform a caesarean section."
Sora shifted slightly and rubbed at his stomach. "Ouch!"
"You'd be drugged." She smiled. "You won't feel a thing."
"I have one more question."
"Yes?"
"If you do find it there... can you tell me if..." He shifted slightly, feeling suddenly very uncomfortable with the conversation. "Umm... if it's..." He shook his head slowly and rose from the chair, unable to voice the question. "Let's just go get this over with.
Veera rose quickly and intercepted him at the door. "If it's as far along as I believe, I can do a DNA test. Quick and painless. Neither of you will feel a thing."
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
An Ultrasound Room, 9:32 am
"Ahh!"
"What?"
"It's cold!"
"Sora!" Veera lifted her finger to wave it in the smirking brunette's direction. "Don't do that again, okay? Not in a hospital, unless something is wrong!"
"Something is wrong!" He whined. "It's COLD!"
"Yes, I know." She shook her head slowly. "And you should too. Didn't Dr. Trippi do one of these the other day?"
"And it was cold then too!"
Veera smiled as she pressed the small scanning device to Sora's lower abdomen again. The transducer slid easily over the well lubricated area, reflecting sound-waves within and sending images to what Sora had called a television. She felt the boy squirm slightly as she increased the pressure to better the pictures. "If you don't stop moving, we're just going to have to do this again tomorrow."
Sora rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "Well it feels funny."
"Funny?" She turned her gaze on the screen. "How?"
Sora stared at the white ceiling and sighed. "I don't know... like something's moving around..."
"Ah ha!"
Sora turned his head instantly to look at Veera. "What?"
She pressed a button on the transducer, freezing the image on the screen. "There."
Sora eyed the image but couldn't make out any actual shape. "Where?"
She lifted her hand to the screen and traced an odd shaped white blob with her finger. "There."
"And that is..."
Veera turned back around to glance at him, smiling. "What we've been looking for. The baby." She shook her head slowly and looked back to the screen.
"Baby?" Sora squinted his eyes and tilted his head to the side. It sort of looked a bean or maybe a mushroom. But a baby? "Really? That's it? Are you sure?" He asked. "It doesn't look like anything to me..."
Veera didn't answer as she stared at the screen. Something on it sparked her attention.
"Veera?"
"Page!" She said loudly, jumping out of her chair and dropping the transducer. It fell to the floor with a loud clack. "I got a page that I have to answer! I'll be right back!" Without waiting for a word or reaction, she ran from the room and headed straight for her office.
She didn't slow until she was sitting behind her desk. She leaned back and took a few deep breaths. "On my god... he's going to kill me..." She whispered. A few moments later, she had retrieved her cell phone and was holding it to her ear, listening to the dull ringing sound. "Come on Zing..." She muttered. "Pick up the phone. You stupid fucking bastard! Where the fuck are you?"
"Right here." Came an amused voice.
"Zing?" Veera's eyes widened. She hadn't even heard the line pick up.
"Yeah?"
She shifted slightly in her seat. "We may have a problem."
"What?"
"The baby..." She said real slowly.
"What?"
She sighed as she bit her lip. "There's two of them."
"WHAT?"
"Twins."
"The damn thing split?"
Split? "Umm... yeah... that's what happened." Why didn't I think of that? She rubbed at her forehead as she shook it slowly. That would have been a better explanation.
"Veera, what are you not telling me?"
And he had heard her hesitation. "Well..." She paused a moment. "It's possible that the embryo split. But it's more likely that two anchored instead of one."
"Two? You implanted two?"
"No Zing. Of course not. I didn't implant two." There was a slight hint of sarcasm in her voice. "I used seven."
"Seven? What the hell for?"
She flinched slightly at his tone of voice. "All fertility experts and books say you increase chances of a healthy pregnancy by using more than one."
"I don't care about others, Veera! What the hell am I supposed to do with two?"
"You could let..." She started to say.
"Just see to them, Veera."
She leaned forward on her desk. "What about Sora?"
"What about him?"
Her eyes flitted to the clock quickly. She had better hurry. "Do I tell him?"
"I don't care. Either way doesn't affect me. I have to go Veera. I've got business to attend to."
"Business?"
"I will expect a full report when I get back."
"Back?" She rose from her desk. "From where? What are you up to Zing?"
"That's none of your concern right now."
Shaking her head slowly, she moved towards the door to her office. "For the record, Zing, I hate this."
"Noted. Later."
"Later?" She repeated after the line went dead. "I wish you would tell me what's going on."
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
Back in the Ultrasound Room
Sora sighed as leaned against the windowsill in the small room. Tears collected at the corners of his eyes as he stared out the window. The view wasn't extremely appealing. It was just of the back parking lot. And it seemed to stretch forever.
"This can't be happening..." He whispered.
The doorknob clicked and a second later, the door opened.
Sora didn't turn. "What's wrong?"
Veera stopped dead in the doorway. "Huh?" She glanced around the room quickly before spotting the brunette at the window. She breathed a quick sigh of relief that he was still there.
"You ran out of here without a word. Something must be wrong."
Shit, she thought. "No. Nothing's wrong. And I did tell you, I just got a page." She stepped inside and closed the door behind her quickly.
"A page? I didn't hear anything."
"I... uh... we are required to carry a silent pager on us at all times." She said quickly. "It went off in my pocket."
Sora nodded slowly, his eyes still on the window.
She moved towards the ultrasound machine and silently cursed herself as she saw the broken transducer on the floor. "So I see you decided we were done."
"You were done, weren't you?" Sora said with a hint of venom in his voice. "You proved that you were right."
Veera fought the urge to flinch as she sat down in front of the screen. "That I did." She said softly. "But I have one more surprise for you."
Without a word, Sora pushed off from the window and turned from it. He moved towards her and stood just behind her, looking at the screen.
"Now..." She lifted her hand to point once again at the first white spot she had indicated earlier. "This is one. Here's the head, the arms, and the legs." She said, pointing out each. "It's not fully developed of course, so I can't tell you yet if it's a boy or a girl. But it's real." She moved her finger quickly to another white blob. "And this is the other one. The head, the arms..." She began to point out the second baby.
"Wait!" Sora reached out and pulled her hand from the screen. "You said the second one? There's two of them?"
Veera nodded slowly. "Let me play it back for you." She pressed the rewind button for a second and then let it play. There was a slight movement on the screen. "See this little blip here and over here?"
Sora pressed closer to the monitor and nodded slowly.
"Those are the heartbeats."
Sora stared blankly at the screen for a long time, not saying anything. After a moment, Veera touched his shoulder gently. "Are you okay?"
"This makes it real. Too real."
"Sora, you're a strong boy. You're kind, you're honest, you have a good heart, and friends that would do anything for you."
Straightening up, he glanced down at her. "How do you..."
Veera stood up quickly. "What I'm trying to tell you is that it'll all be okay. The hardest part will be accepting it yourself and getting your family and friends to."
"Oh..." He nodded. "Yeah..."
Dr. Veronica Verse's Office at Landic Hospital, 12:46 pm
"So... now you know everything you wanted to know, right?" Veera asked slowly as they stood just inside of her office door. "You've seen it, you know it's yours, and I've given you the only reason I could think of how it got there."
Sora didn't answer but he nodded slowly, eying the door.
"I want to see you back here twice a month for now, okay? And I think it's best if you don't discuss this matter with anyone else at the hospital."
"Why not?'
"Your situation is rare and... odd at best. There are those out there that might try to exploit you. Unless, of course, that's what you want to happen."
"No! No." Sora answered quickly, pressing the pictures and video tape Veera had given to him to his chest. "I don't want anyone to know..."
With a smile, she nodded and opened the office door. "Good. Then I'll see you in a couple weeks, okay? You call me if you need to, okay?"
Sora nodded and stepped through the door.
"Take it easy Sora. Remember what we talked about. It won't be easy."
Sora gave her a genuine smile before he disappeared down the hall.
End of Chapter 4. Stay tuned for Chapter 5: Planning Stages.