A/N: I do not usually respond to reviews in the Author Notes, but I really want to thank everyone who chimed in. I realize that the previous chapter was somewhat "unpleasant." I regret nothing. Please enjoy (?) and let me know what you thought.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but an old laptop, a mountain of debt, and an evil imagination.

Ten Years Later

Chapter 20: 30 Minutes

(From last chapter) The next morning, Yumi awoke to the feeling of a mouth filled with cotton balls. Her head was pounding, and the sunlight that filtered into the room through the shades hurt her eyes. There was a warm lump next her in bed. 'Maybe Shi-chan came up here. I don't remember a damn thing except that Sachiko-sama showed up out of nowhere.' She slowly pulled the sheet back. Instead of her honey-blonde girlfriend, there was the raven black hair of her ex-girlfriend. Oh shit… She was naked. Oh shit… Sachiko was naked. Oh shit… She was lying in a wet spot and her groin was a mess. Yumi screamed, "Oh shit! What did I do?"

Sachiko, roused by the younger woman's uncharacteristic hysterics, grabbed her sleepily, and said, "Let's sleep a little longer, Yumi."

Yumi pulled away, stood up, and fled to the bathroom, making it to the toilet just before her abused stomach divested itself of its contents. She began to cry, knowing that she had just done the unthinkable. She had slept with Sachiko.

Sachiko

Waking from the greatest night of her life, Sachiko was confused. Why was Yumi so upset? Did she not mean to sleep with her? The heiress dismissed those doubts as remembered Yumi's passionate love-making. It was a whole new world for Sachiko. She had never felt more excitement and joy. Yumi was everything that she had spent nights dreaming about. She took the older woman places that she didn't think that could go. It confirmed to her that the architect was the only person for her. 'Now I just have to remove Yumi's lingering regrets for Shimako. Yumi is my destined one.'

The raven-haired woman got out bed slowly because she was still not a morning person. She moved to the bathroom room, and knocked, asking solicitously, "Yumi, do you need anything?"

"I need to die," rasped the younger woman between retches. "I just cheated on my girlfriend with my ex. What do you think that makes me?"

The self-loathing in Yumi's voice took Sachiko aback, "We made love as we were always supposed to. If I had been stronger, this would not have been an event out of the norm. I love you, Yumi, and I think that deep down, you still love me."

Sachiko heard the toilet flush and Yumi rinsing her mouth. The brunette then tore open the door. Her mouth twisted with rage. "Are you delusional or just insane? I just did the one thing that I told Shimako that I would not do, the one thing that she most afraid of and you look at it as a good thing?" Yumi sank to her knees. "I am the worst! I know what she has been through and I got drunk because I was mad at her for being paranoid and mad at you for showing up. I don't remember a damned thing, but I'm still guilty. I knew that this dinner was a bad idea," she finished, beginning to weep.

The older woman's mind swirled with conflicting emotions. She was disappointed that Yumi did not remember the previous evening and their time together. She felt sorry that Yumi was hurting so much over this. She was also confused because she knew that she should feel bad that a friend was going to get hurt over this, but she didn't. She gently cupped her love's chin and lifted it so that they were looking into each other's eyes, "I wish that I could say that I regret what happened last night, but I cannot. I would do anything except give you up to take away your pain, Yumi. I love you and last night was something I will treasure forever."

"Good for you, Ogasawara-sama," Yumi replied in a cold voice. "You can remember while I try to forget this ever happened. I have a girlfriend that I love. I am taken. I know that your husband will be cheering for you, but my girlfriend will cry because I broke a promise." She wiped the tears from eyes, stood up, and moved to the door, "Goodbye Ogasawara-sama, I will not be meeting you again."

'Get moving and stop her, you fool!' Sachiko's mind screamed. 'If she walks out that door in this mood, you will never see her again.' Sachiko's long legs closed the distance to the door, trapping Yumi in the room. "Would it be so bad to give this, give us a chance, Yumi?" The heiress pleaded. "I love you more than life itself. I want nothing more than to give you my entire future and spend that time loving you and healing the pain that I caused you."

Her sapphire eyes glowed with love and Yumi started slightly. 'She's thinking about it!' Sachiko's mind and heart exulted. That joy turned into pain as Yumi delivered a stinging slap to her face.

"If you think imprisoning me in your hotel room is going to get me to break up with Shimako then you are insane," Yumi spat. She took a deep breath and continued, "I need to go home, collect my son, and see if I can salvage my relationship. I just pray that Shimako doesn't dump me over this."

Sachiko grasped her bruised cheek and hung her head. This was not the way that it was supposed to happen. After making love, Yumi was supposed to see that Sachiko loved her more than Shimako and would be hers once Yumi dumped her girlfriend. What went wrong? Yumi clung to her so desperately when they loved. Yumi even moaned her name as touched each other. 'She called out my name in ecstasy, not Shimako's. Why is she being so stubborn?' Sachiko gave her love a passionate hug, and slowly and sadly moved away from the door. "Yumi, please don't completely cut yourself from me," she begged. "I love you."

The younger woman sighed, "Okay, I won't, but do not think that I will come running to you immediately if Shimako cannot forgive me."

"I understand," Sachiko answered gently. She caressed her love's hair one more time and said, "Yumi, thank you."

The young architect opened the door to leave, and the raven-haired woman sank to her knees, sobbing. "Why can't it be me Yumi? What can Shimako offer that I cannot?"

"What she can offer me, Sachiko-sama is that SHE didn't break my heart and nearly kill me," replied Yumi sadly. "You were my first love and my first girlfriend, but Shimako is my girlfriend now. Please move on. I'm asking this as a friend, please move on." With that, Yumi walked out the room.

Shimako

Toudou Shimako awoke on that Saturday morning with a sense of dread. 'Yumi will be back today, and every thing will be fine.' It was a scarily familiar feeling to when things with Noriko started to sour. The uncertainty, the desperation, and the hurt were old friends. 'Why would I feel this way with Yumi? Is it because I can't trust anyone or any happiness?' She knew that Yumi was happy with her and tried to do everything in her power to make Shimako feel secure, yet those old feelings came back.

Shaking her head, 'There's nothing for it. I just need to calm down. Maybe if I called Yoshino-san, she could cheer me up.' Decision made, the young teacher called her friend and fellow teacher.

The phone rang once, and a familiar voice came over the line, "Hello, Shimako-san, to what do I owe the pleasure of this call?" Yoshino's cool, crisp tone had just the effect that Shimako was hoping for.

"Well, I just woke up feeling that something was wrong with Yumi," the honey-blonde answered. "We had a small fight over an overnight business trip that she had to take. I felt like it had Sachiko-sama's fingerprints on it like a dinner presentation for which she just happened to be the client."

Yoshino sighed, "Don't do this to yourself, Shimako-san. I don't think that Yumi would (a) fall for Ogasawara's tricks again, and (b) if she did, Yumi wouldn't consciously do something to hurt you or jeopardize your relationship. That's not the kind of person that she is. If Ogasawara were to show up where Yumi was, you know that she would tell you. Trust in her."

"You are right, as always, Yoshino-san. How do you put up with Yumi and me with all of our foolishness?" Shimako smiled.

The literature teacher snorted, "You have met my wife, right? There's your answer. She is more neurotic than the two of you combined, but I love her, so it's okay. Besides, you two are my best friends and I love you both."

Shimako giggled, "Now you are just mushy now. You must have had a good time with Rei-sama last night." She was gratified to hear her friend sputter through the speaker.

"If you are going to tease me, Shimako-san, I will hang up!" Shimako could almost picture the formerly pig-tailed woman sticking her tongue out at her in indignation. "Stop laughing Shimako!"

Wiping the tears from her eyes, Shimako replied, "Thank you, Yoshino-san. You got me out of my Yumi-withdrawal funk. I'll buy you a daiquiri the next time we all go out."

"I'll hold you to that," Yoshino responded. "I never turn down a free drink from a friend." Both women laughed and ended the call with Shimako feeling more confident, yet anxious to see Yumi again.

Yumi

In the limousine speeding back to Tokyo, Yumi was devastated. She had done the unthinkable. She didn't know what to do. She had never been in this position before. Infidelity was not something that she ever experienced. Sure, she had fantasized about women while her ex-husband exercised his "marital rights," but it had never had been something that she would ever act on. All it took was a pre-trip fight, a lousy dinner, a nasty surprise, and WAY too much alcohol for her to forget her personal ideals and standards.

Unable to process this any further, Yumi called her sister-in-law in tears. When she heard her soeur answer, she wailed rapidly, "Touko, I just made the biggest mistake of my life. I didn't ever want to see that woman again. Why the fuck did I get so drunk? What am I going to do?"

Taken aback by how fast her sister by marriage was speaking, the young doctor yelled into the receiver, "Onee-sama, calm down!" There was just the sound of sobbing on the other end, but it was quiet otherwise. "Now please, slowly tell me why you are so upset." She had a feeling, but she understood that the older woman needed to verbalize it.

"You know that dinner in my honor that I went to last night? Sachiko-sama was there. I didn't know she was going to be honored as well. I was so pissed off that she was there that I got so drunk that I don't remember what happened after that, but I woke up in Sachiko-sama's hotel room."

The sinking feeling that Touko had became a full-fledged migraine. She knew that this was not the end of the story, so against her better judgment, she asked, "Did something happen?"

"I am pretty sure, no I know that I slept with that witch," Yumi cried. "I cannot blame the alcohol because I am still to blame for drinking it in the first place. I just did the one thing that Shimako will never forgive. Oh Maria-sama, how can I tell her? How could I do that?" She was now crying so hard that she began to hiccup.

Rubbing her temples, Touko grimaced, "Onee-sama, I am not going to sugar-coat this. You cannot hide this from Shimako-sama. There will be consequences. For her, it will be like what happened when she was Noriko all over again."

"Do you think that I don't know that?" Yumi rasped. "We had a huge fight over this business trip so she might think that I did it because I was still angry with her. Oh fuck! Fuck! Fuck!"

Trying but failing to stifle the thought that popped into her head, Touko replied sarcastically, "That's what got you in trouble, Onee-sama!"

On her end, Yumi made the goldfish face, stunned to silence by her younger sister's remark. "Wh-wh-what?" She sputtered when she could finally breathe.

With a heavy sigh, Touko continued. "Onee-sama, I know that you wouldn't purposefully do something to hurt Shimako-sama. I think deep down that she knows it as well, but she isn't going give you the "I was drunk and didn't know what I was doing" pass. She will likely separate from you for a while until she can remember the person that you really are."

"That's the last thing that I want!" Yumi cried. "After I divorced his father, I brought Shimako into my son's life, and I just chased her away too. How many more of my mistakes will he have to live through until I pull my head out of my ass?"

Touko felt sympathetic to her sister-by-marriage's plight, yet she knew that Yumi had brought this on herself. And if she was completely honest, Touko liked Shimako, but she never thought that the two should have gotten together as quickly as they did; considering both had just ended previous relationships. She could see her Onee-sama and Shimako being together long term, but they really rushed things. As much as the young doctor disliked Kanako, she believed that the tall girl would have been a better choice for the rebound lover. 'I love my Onee-sama, but she is a mess!'

Yumi was still crying on the other line, her sobs broken intermittently by sniffs. "Maybe it would just be better if I stayed single and concentrated on my son and my career. That way, I wouldn't hurt him or anyone else."

"If Shimako breaks up with you, then maybe you should stay single for a time. Give yourself and Yuuichi-kun a chance to settle into a life routine. When he is older and things have calmed down, take a chance if it comes to you. Your number one priority is your son. Even your Mom was concerned about how quickly your relationship with Shimako progressed. It's okay to take your time. Live for your son and live for yourself," advised Touko.

Yumi chuckled in spite of herself, "When did you become Dr. Phil? The student has surpassed the teacher indeed."

"Smart aleck," the younger girl chided, mollified that her sister was shaking off her despondency, however short-lived the reprieve might be. "I need to go do rounds, so can I call you tonight, Onee-sama? No matter what Yuuki and I will love and support you. That's what family does."

"Touko," Yumi began. "Thanks for everything. The best choice that I ever made was giving you my rosary because you became my true sister. You marrying my little brother just made us sisters in the eyes of the law, but we were the real thing far before that. I will talk to you later."

Touko blew air out of her mouth like a balloon losing air, "Well, at least she appreciates me. I almost want to be a fly on the wall when Onee-sama tells Yoshino-sama what happened. It should be entertaining."

Entertaining was not the word Yumi would have used after her best friend blew a gasket when she told Yoshino what happened. Profane was the better choice, "Are you fucking serious? You fucking slept with the ice bitch?" The literature teacher was just warming up. "That has to be one of the top 10 stupidest things that you have ever done, leaving yourself vulnerable around that evil witch! That fucking cow is probably on Cloud 9 right now, thinking that she has you back!"

"I set her straight on that before I left," Yumi rebutted when Yoshino took a breath. "I told her that I remembered nothing, which is true, and that I will never put myself in a position in where there could be another occurrence. I called her crazy and I told her to move on."

Yumi could feel Yoshino's frustration through the phone, "It's not like I don't know what it feels like to be in your shoes. Rei-chan still doesn't know about that drunken night I had with Nana when she was away at Todai. I was so angry at her for not telling me that she was going somewhere other than Lillian University. I was going to just ride the escalator to Lillian U. so I didn't prepare for any other school. I was never going to make it. She did it on purpose to get some distance. I was hurt, but she actually was right. It did wonders for our relationship."

"I know that I need to tell Shimako what happened. I'm only 20 miles from Tokyo, and she will know something is up as soon as I walk in the door," the young mother remarked sadly. "I was drunk off my ass. I don't remember a thing. I don't love Sachiko-sama. All of those things are true, but I don't think that Shimako will be in the right mindset to actually hear any of that."

Yoshino groaned, "This is so fucked up! I don't want you guys to break up, but I can see Shimako running from you as fast as she can. I don't think that you would ever do this again, but she suffered through all the crap that Noriko-chan did: the secrets, the flirting, and the probable cheating. You need to be prepared for her to think that it will all happen again with you, and then you are well and truly done."

Sniffles replaced Yumi's breathing as she started crying again, "I have to accept whatever she says because ultimately, I betrayed her. Pure and simple. No excuses, I betrayed her."

"Yumi, I need to go. I am supposed to go with Rei-chan to her kendo competition. I wish that I could make this easier for you. Maria-sama knows that you deserve a break, but I can't," the former Rosa Foetida said regretfully before hanging up, leaving Yumi to her tears and self-loathing.

The limousine continued to speed southward, and Yumi was no closer to deciding how she was going to tell Shimako. No matter what, she was going to hurt Shimako. Not telling her was not an option. Neither was sweeping it under the rug because deep down, Yumi knew that Sachiko was not going to give, especially now that they had had sex. 'If it wasn't for Yuuichi-kun, I would probably be suicidal over this. I need to get it together because he is my number one priority.' One decision made, Yumi sat back and began to relax as the countryside retreated and the city took over.

To be continued…

A/N: Ugh, this took a long time. I have had some health issues that made it really difficult for me to have the mental energy to write even this coherently. I do apologize. This was not an easy chapter to write. I hope that it was worth the wait. Thanks for reading and Peace!