As Lin soon found out, Mai herself had not been aware of the fact that she would soon be enjoying the sound of tiny feet pitter-pattering.

Still a little in shock, the teenager currently had her face buried in her hands and her knees drawn up against her chest.

For once Lin did not feel any irritation at seeing her shoes up on the van's leather seats, even though the bottoms of her sneakers were caked with the thick county dirt.

He could feel only pity and...was that prickling sensation in his chest sorrow?

Mai was feeling terribly embarrassed. Truthfully, there had been a part of her that suspected she was pregnant. Her period was late, and she had been feeling sickly in the morning for the past couple of weeks. But she had just assumed stress was the culprit.

"I won't tell the others," Lin soothed, his gaze locked on the road ahead as he drove. "It's still your news to announce."

Mai sniffled, much to his horror. She wiped at the tears on her cheeks. "I'm such an idiot. You must think I'm so stupid for letting this happen."

"My opinon of you hasn't changed, Taniyama-san." Lin glanced over at her when she shook her head in disbelief. "I'm not going to scold you."

Mai swallowed around the lump in her throat. "I know you won't."

Both their chests were tight.

The girl leaned against her window and pressed her cheek to the glass. They drove in silence for a while before Mai whispered, "his name is Simon."

Lin's chest tightened for a whole new reason, and the man scowled as he came to a realization: that feeling in his chest wasn't sorrow; it was anger.

They arrived at the women's shelter too soon. Mai opened her door, squinting against the fine mist drifting through the crisp air. Lin walked around to her side, handing her a pair of crutches-his old crutches, to be exact. He had kept them even after recovering from his injury way back when.

Mai still felt bad about that.

"Thanks, Lin-san," She smiled, taking them as she stood.

He nodded, seeming a tad tense. Mai couldn't really blame him for that.

Naru was standing outside, his arms crossed. He had a nasty look on his face that softened slightly at the sight of his injured assistant.

"Are you feeling better?" He murmured, giving her a quick once over. Maybe she was just tired, but the weight of his gaze didn't give her any butterflies. Mai nodded, and he almost smiled. "I'm glad to hear it."

Naru turned to Lin and began speaking with him in a hushed, angry voice. Now forgotten, Mai stood there awkwardly.

A few seconds into the conversation, Lin looked up at Mai with narrowed eyes.

She looked down, chewing at the inside of her cheek. Does he think I'm eavesdropping...?

Gravel crunching under her shoes, Mai limped into the shelter.

Hana (the owner of the shelter) had been waiting inside.

"Though I do feel awful, I am glad it was you who stepped on it and not one of the mothers." Hana had pressed a hand to her chest. "Or, heaven forbid, one of the children."

So now the injured girl was sitting in Base, a cup of steaming green tea clutched in her hands.

They had set up base in an old bedroom. The room still had some cribs in it, cribs and well-loved blankets and worn teddy bears.

Seeing all this baby stuff made Mai want to cry again. Her toes curled as she leaned forward in Lin's desk chair, tea splashing out and burning her fingers. She didn't a thing.

"I can't do this."

There was the sound of the door sliding open and Mai looked up sharply, half-hoping it was the man who knew her secret.

But it wasn't Lin.

It was Simon, and he had a camera crew behind him.