Chapter 8
First Scan
"And where the hell have you been all night?" Demanded my father as I walked through the door.
"Out." I replied bluntly, walking past him.
He grabbed my arm.
"Hey!"
"You're pregnant, Gaara! You can't go wandering off into the night like that! Do you realize how worried I was? I've been searching the streets ever since you left!"
"I'm sorry, father."
"Where have you been?"
"I was in the forest on the border and I fell asleep in a tree. I woke up and decided to come back."
"Decided to come back? Decided?"
"Yes."
"You are an idiot! How dare you walk out like that! You need to apologize to Kankuro and stop being such a brat!"
"Go fuck yourself." I growled under my breath.
"What was that?"
"Nothing."
"Good, now get upstairs and apologize to your brother!"
"No."
"Don't you dare argue with me!"
"I already am arguing with you, father."
"How dare you speak to me like that!"
"How dare I?"
"Do you want me to drag you upstairs by your throat?"
"I don't care."
"This isn't like you, Gaara! You're a good kid, now start acting like one!"
"No. I have my own opinions and choices. You can't make me do anything."
"If you expect to live under my roof, you live by my rules."
"If I expect? Are you trying to make me leave?"
"Of course I'm not!"
"That's what you're implying! I can leave if you want me to!"
"Don't you dare leave! I just want you to apologize to your brother!"
"Apologize? Why should I?"
"Why should you? Do you realize that you've broken his rib?"
"I'm sure he'll survive. I broke all my ribs on the right side of my body and I'm still breathing."
"That's not the point! You hurt him!
"Yeah, and he hurt me last night by what he said. He really hurt me."
"You physically injured him!
"A physical wound means nothing!" I yelled, running upstairs. In my room, I locked the door and collapsed in a flood of tears against it.
3
I didn't want to come out that morning. Not after everything that had happened: Dad had a go at me, Temari had a go at me and Kankuro was just being his usual self: A prick. No one cared about me. Only Lee did. That was one of the main reasons why he was so special. But no, he had to die, didn't he? He had to die because some stupid fucker on the road didn't know how to drive. Thanks to them, Lee couldn't ever come back. Thanks to them, he'd never get to see his little girl grow up.
Temari was calling my name, but I just ignored her. A few minutes later, there was a bang at my bedroom door.
"Gaara, open up!"
"Are you going to shout at me even more?"
She sighed. "No, Gaara. I'm not."
"Good."
"Why are you upset? Is it from the fight?"
"Yes. Kankuro called Lee and said some stuff."
"Let me in and we'll talk about it."
"Temari, just leave him. He's got to come out sooner or later." Kankuro said from behind the door. Just hearing his voice made my blood boil.
"You can shut the fuck up, Kankuro!"
"Say that again brat and I'll break your door down and fucking batter you!"
"Your 'broken rib' can't be that bad then if you're still making ridiculous threats!"
I heard my door crash open and Kankuro had me up against the wall. "You fucking fag!" He hissed, raising his hand to slap me.
Temari shoved him hard. "Knock it off!" She then glared at me. "Both of you!"
"What the fuck did I do?" I asked irritably.
"Gaara! I swear to God if you don't shut up-"
"What the hell is going on here?" My father rushed in and swiped Kankuro's hand away, making him him drop me on the floor. "Temari, leave. I need to have a word with your brothers."
My sister nodded and left the room.
"Will you two stop fighting? It's driving me insane!" Father yelled. He turned to Kankuro. "You should know better than this, Kankuro, so don't you dare hurt your little brother! He's pregnant!"
"So fucking what?"
"If that baby dies inside of him, he will die too. Do you not realize that?"
He shook his head guiltily.
"I don't want to see you trying to hit him like that again! Do I make myself clear?"
"Hai."
"Apologize."
My older brother sighed. "Sorry, Gaara."
Father glared at me. "And as for you, I am furious that you'd provoke your brother in his current condition! Don't let it happen again, understand?"
"Hai."
"Apologize."
"Sorry Kankuro."
"Any more fighting, and I'll ground you both." He left the room and so did Kankuro. I was glad. I got up and sat on my bed, then felt my stomach. It was still hard and uncomfortable to touch, but I was glad to know my little girl was still alive inside of me. Shukaku would've said something if anything bad had happened. "I love you." I mumbled to her. "You and me will have a great life together, I promise."
3
Since I was now over a month pregnant, I was due to have my first ultrasound. Looked like I was visiting the hospital again. I hated going; it drove me mental. All of these tests just to check on one human! God, I could do that at home since it would save driving. The worst thing was, the hospital I was appointed at was the hospital Lee died in so I always got awful flashbacks hitting me whenever I walked in that place. At least Temari would be there to stand by me. She was looking forward to being an auntie, I could tell. I got in the car, shuddering. The accident was last month now and cars still scared me. I was too drugged up on painkillers last time I went in a car to even acknowledge what was happening.
"Are you okay?" Asked my sister.
"Yeah. Just drive really careful, okay?"
"Gaara, I've been driving for three years now. Don't get so worried." She reached over and ruffled my hair.
"Ahh! Don't take your hand off the wheel! Put it back on!"
"Gaara, calm down, honey." She said soothingly.
I smirked. "Sorry."
"Don't be. If that happened to me, I'd be a nervous wreck too."
"I'm not a nervous wreck! Not yet anyway..."
Temari smiled.
I suddenly felt sick. "Pull over."
She nodded and swerved the car to the side of the road. I immediately jumped out and threw up in some nearby bushes. Temari came up behind me and rubbed my back. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah."
"We'd better get out of here quick."
"Why?"
"Nobody is meant to be on here. You just threw up on a protected nature sight."
"Oops."
"Come on. In the car quick."
"Well, you're the one who pulled over here." I said defensively, getting in the car.
"Yeah, 'cause Dad would kill us both if you did it in the car."
"I guess."
She quickly drove away.
We got to the hospital five minutes later. The waiting room was full of pregnant women and their husbands. It made me feel a little embarrassed. They stared at Temari, obviously thinking she was the pregnant one. Their faces dropped when we signed in at reception.
"Hello, how can I help you?" Asked the receptionist.
"My brother is here for his first pregnancy ultrasound."
"B-Brother? Is this a joke?" She spluttered, staring at us.
"You really think I'd joke about this? Check your files if you don't believe us." I said in a monotone voice. I was sick of her looking at me as if I was a freak. Who cared if I was? Soon, I'd be a parent.
"All right. I need to check your details before you can proceed any further."
"Go ahead."
"Surname?"
"Sabaku."
"First name?"
"Gaara."
"Age?"
"Fifteen."
"Date of birth?"
"January the nineteenth."
"R-Right. Now that's confirmed... Just go take a seat down there."
"Thanks." I said, following Temari. We sat at the back under the gaze of every single person in the room. "You all ought to take a picture, it lasts longer!" I said rather loudly. Everyone immediately dropped their gazes, looking extremely embarrassed. Temari looked up from the leaflet she was reading and snickered. "Nice one."
"Thanks." I replied.
Five minutes later, Tsunade came in. "Gaara-san. Come on."
I got up, feeling nervous and followed her down the corridor, praying that there was nothing wrong with my daughter.
"In here." She opened the door and I went in, followed by Temari.
"Is it okay if I stay with him?" Asked my sister.
"Yes, that's fine. Just take a seat over there." Tsunade turned to me. "You need to take your shirt off."
I obeyed and passed my top to Temari.
"Lay down on there."
Sighing, I got up on the bed... or whatever it was and lay back.
"This is going to be cold." She said, squeezing some transparent gel onto my stomach.
I flinched a little.
Tsunade ran this scanner over the gel to spread it over my abdomen. "How are you feeling anyway?" She asked.
"I'm fine. Just morning sickness and stuff like that."
She smirked. "Don't worry. Morning sickness only usually lasts up until the first trimester."
"Good." I looked up at the screen next to me. It was a blur of black and white at first. I could make out a few of my organs.
Tsunade pointed to the screen at a black mass with a tiny shape in the middle.
"Can you see her?"
"Y-Yeah. That's her?"
"Yes."
I suddenly felt so happy and amazed that she was growing inside me and that I could actually see her...
"You are currently eight weeks pregnant, so that means you probably conceived at around February..." Tsunade said to me.
"Is she alright?"
"Yes, she's growing perfectly and even moving a little bit. There's nothing to worry about. You need a check-up every month to make sure she's developing properly. As she grows, it's going to hurt a bit as she'll take up a lot room in your body and squash some of your organs so you'll need plenty of rest."
I nodded.
"Also, you're hunger will probably expand out of control. Make sure you eat little and often, understand? You need to drink plenty of fluid to keep hydrated too."
"Okay."
"Alright. Do you have any questions?"
"About the labour... yes... I'm just really frightened about it."
"Once you reach your third trimester, I'll arrange with your family for somebody to be with you in the house constantly. That way, if you go into labour, they will get help really fast."
"What about giving birth?"
"There are two things that could happen. The first one being cesarean and the other being if your Bijuu creates some sort of opening where you can push the baby out."
I hated the sound of both ideas.
"Anything else you want to ask?"
"No thanks."
"Right, you may go now. Your next appointment will be this date, next month, got it?"
"Yeah and thanks." I got up and put my shirt back on, then followed my sister out of the room.
3
The next morning, I got up at about five and got ready quietly. I was going to school today and nobody could do a thing about it. Unfortunately, I dropped a glass on the floor and it broke, waking my father up. He rushed downstairs, looking panicked. "What the hell are you doing at this time in the morning?" He yelled, then noticed my uniform. "You are not going to school!"
"And what good will I ever be? A single, teenage parent with no money, no job and no qualifications! How am I supposed to provide for my child and myself?"
"I can give you the money!"
"And that's supposed to make everything better is it? Having a rich father means nothing to me. I'd rather work for my money than have it all handed to me on a plate!"
"What if you pass out again?"
"Yeah, so what? It didn't kill me did it?"
"Morning sickness?"
"I'll be fine as long as I don't eat anything before I leave!"
"And what about needing to pee every five minutes?"
"That's why you're going to write me a note." I handed him a piece of paper an a pen.
"I'm not going to write you a note!"
I sighed. "Why the hell not?"
"Because you're not going to school!"
"Whatever." I started to leave, but he gently took my wrist.
"Gaara, please listen to me. I don't know what's gotten into you lately, but I didn't raise you to disobey me."
He was right. I was acting completely out of order. "I'm sorry father." These mood swings were really starting to get to me.
He sighed. "I'm only looking out for you."
"I know, father... I'm really sorry."
"Let's just calm down for a minute, huh? Think things over."
I nodded.
He picked up the phone. "How about I arrange somebody to come to the house to teach you?"
I smiled. "Hey that's not a bad idea."
"Go upstairs and get changed out of your uniform alright? I'll phone up somewhere and arrange a tutor. How does that sound?"
"Great, thanks dad!" I went back upstairs and changed into a baggy black shirt and jeans. As I was getting dressed, I noticed that my body was shaped a bit like a woman's... I had a little bit of a curve at my waist! Was this normal? Once dressed, I went back down to the lounge and sat on the sofa next to my dad. "Did you get me a tutor?"
"Not yet. Nobody answered when I phoned so I'll call them back tomorrow. How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine."
"Want me to make you something to eat?"
"Sure."
"What do you want?"
"Food." I replied.
"Yeah, what kind of food?" He asked irritably, obviously not understanding my sense of humor.
"Umm... I dunno. A bagel?"
"I don't buy bagels. Do you want pancakes?"
"Please." I suddenly had a craving for bagels... nothing in them... just the bread. God I was weird.
I loved pancakes though. Lee and I used to make them all the time but I couldn't compare to his home-made ones. He was just stupendous at making them. He used to cover them in golden syrup, then two scoops of vanilla ice cream for a side dish. Our daughter would have adored them; I knew it. But that could only be a fantasy now... "Lee, I miss you." I said out loud.
I sighed, remembering how much fun we had.
"Gaara-kun, you have syrup on your face!" Lee pointed out.
I smirked and looked right into his warm, charcoal orbs. "Then come and lick it off, bad boy."
It was a rainy Saturday afternoon and what a better way to spend it than to brighten up the dreary day by making pancakes? Of course I knew Lee was the absolute master at making them, but I could at least give it a go couldn't I? Even if they did burn.
Lee grinned. "If you insist..." He leaned over and ran his warm, wet tongue over the syrup on my cheek, causing me to giggle. "Mmm... Sweet... Just like you..." His mouth then moved down and his lips pressed against mine. I kissed him back, leaning against the counter top. My leg lifted up and wrapped around his waist and I moaned as he pushed his tongue into my mouth,leaning further back. Lee kissed my my neck and bit down a little, then sucking the bruised area. I let out a mewl at the pleasure it brought, but then the smell of burning filled our noses and we pulled away suddenly.
"Shit! The Pancakes!" Lee rushed to the stove and took the frying pain off the heat.
"Did they burn?" I asked, walking over to him.
He smiled and shook his head. "Almost... looks like I got them off of the stove just in time."
"They smell great."
"Thanks." He plated them up and we sat at the table. "Let's eat."
Once my dad gave me the pancakes, I started to eat them and they were nice, but they tasted nothing like Lee's. I don't think anybodies could ever compare to them. Just as I finished eating, the front door opened and Naruto walked straight in. "Mornin' Non-Believer!" He greeted cheerfully to my father, who just rolled his eyes in return.
The blond was dressed in our school uniform: A white button-up shirt, a black tie and black pants. Boring and depressing, I know. He had his bright orange rucksack slung carelessly over one shoulder which always made me smirk because he just ignored the countless orders from teachers to get a 'normal' coloured schoolbag. Like I could say much - mine was red.
"Morning Naruto. Ever heard of knocking?" I said to my friend as he lazily flopped down on the sofa next to me.
He just grinned and rubbed the back of his head. "Heh... I keep forgetting don't I?"
"Yes you do. You're lucky my father still tolerates it."
He nervously glanced at my dad who was cleaning up the kitchen and then looked back at me, sighing."Anyways, why aren't you ready for school yet?"
"I'm staying off for a while." I replied.
Naruto looked at me a little confused. "We have exams Gaara. You can't stay off... and besides, who's answers can I copy now if you won't be there?"
"Look at Sakura's. She's smart enough." How I hated that bitch. She always called me names to look cool in front of Sasuke. Fortunately, he barely batted an eyelid when she spoke to him.
"Sakura doesn't even sit near me! Anyway, she'll clobber me for it."
"True."
"So why aren't you coming to school?"
"I'm sick."
"Well you look fine to me."
"It's a stomach bug."
"You shouldn't be eating if you have a stomach bug, Gaara..." He said, gesturing over to my now empty plate.
"My dad said it might make me feel a little better." I suddenly felt nauseous and ran into the bathroom, throwing up in the toilet.
"You know what, Gaara?" Came my fathers voice from the kitchen. "I don't know why I bother feeding you if you're just going to do that straight after."
I finished vomiting and groaned slightly in pain. "Oh, well I apologize for being hungry! I do have two people to feed now, you know!"
"Two people?" Asked Naruto curiously, staring at me.
Shit.
I really had to think before I spoke sometimes. "What is this?" I hissed. "Is it fun to watch me puke my guts out?"
"No Gaara, I'm just concerned about you."
I sighed and got up, then flushed the toilet. "Sorry..."
"Hey, it's fine." He said. "So what did you mean by feeding 'two people'?"
"I-I can't say..." I replied sadly, looking at the floor.
"C'mon... We're best friends... You can tell me anything."
I bit my lip, thinking for a moment. "Come over after school tonight and I'll tell you."
"Why not now?"
"Because you'll be late for school if you don't get a move on."
"You're way more important to me than school."
"Naruto, I need some time to think about what to say..."
"Alright, fine." He pouted. "See you later then."
"Bye."
