Drama/angst time! Whoo! XD Not really my usual writing style since I'm more into fluffy humor, but this chapter I had planned since around the third chapter, so I just had to write it and get it over with. I don't really know if you'd consider this one a tearjerker chapter or not. I have yet to write one of those. XD

Note: This story takes place after Season 3.

Disclaimer: I don't claim to own Monster Rancher or the characters. I'm just a huge fan. Tecmo owns everything. I just own the plot.

Moments We Share

T: Tragedy

Genki let out a tired breath of air as he used the back of his hand to wipe away some stray sweat from his warm forehead. Dust from sanding down a large slab of stone caked the young man's arms and clothing, but he really didn't care anymore. The rain outside fell heavily as it pounded on the roof of the shed he was currently sitting in and slid down the windows; the sky being a dreary gray color that seemed to drag on forever. With a small yawn, Genki stretched his weary arms before grabbing his chisel and beginning to chip away skillfully at the stone slab laid before him. He had to admit, he was good at it. He had become quite the handyman in his years living in the world of the monsters. He never thought he'd be doing a job like he was now, though.

"Hey, Genki! I brought you some water," Hare announced as he strolled into the shed with a clean cup of water in his hands. A look of sympathy crossed the rabbit monster's face as he watched his friend working hard, though it was easy to see the pain he was suffering from.

"…thanks," Genki mumbled as he took the cup of water before taking a swig of it.

"Ya know, Genki, if you ever need a place to stay or someone to talk to, I'm always here and so are the others. We'll always be here to-"

"I know, okay? You've told me that a billion times already! I don't need your goddamn sympathy and pity!" Genki shouted irritable while a dark shadow crossed over his face, but he felt himself mentally curse as he watched Hare physically flinch from the outburst before his expression faltered. "Hare… I'm sorry. Really, I didn't mean that. I really do appreciate all the support you've given me."

"It's alright. I… I know this hasn't been an easy time on you. If there's anything we can do, though, don't hesitate to ask," Hare replied with a sad smile as he gave the young man a comforting pat on the back before walking out into the steady rain.

"Yeah… I will…" Genki whispered quietly to himself. It almost felt like yesterday that he was spinning Holly around in her wedding dress and they were buying their first house together. It had been so happy, yet now their lives were but a shadow of what they once were. He still couldn't believe Holly had, though just barely, survived her plaguing illness that kept her bedridden for several long months. He should have been happy she was alive. He should have been giving her kisses and hugs every morning. He should have been thrilled to hear her voice and to stare into her eyes. Yet, he wasn't. It wasn't more of that he wouldn't do these things; it was more that he couldn't. He honestly couldn't bear to look at his own wife. As the young man continued to etch markings in the slab of stone, he gritted his teeth as the chisel slipped from his hands and clattered lightly on the ground.

"Damn it…" Genki cursed weakly as he slowly picked up the utensil before staring down at it bitterly. With an angry scowl, the young man whipped the chisel irritably at the wall, leaving it to hit the wall and clatter harmlessly to the ground below. His breathing was ragged and strained, but he didn't care. He didn't want this life anymore. He wanted things to back to the way they once were. The days when he would wake up to Holly's wonderful cooking or when the couple would walk hand in hand around the park. He missed her bright smile, the sound of her laugh, and the smell of her hair.

"…I didn't listen to you, Yosho... I lost sight of myself," the young man spoke quietly as he looked down at his stinging hands. He had been working tirelessly for weeks on his current project, though part of him knew the main reason was to avoid his wife. He knew it was cowardly and was rather shallow, but he just couldn't face her. Better yet, he was sure she didn't want to face him.

"Genki!"

Genki quickly whipped around at the sound of his voice being called, and he was surprised when Mocchi flew into the shed out of breath and wet from the cold rain; his little body looking worse for wear as he was covered in mud. "Mocchi? What's going on?"

"It's Holly, chi!"

"W-what? What's wrong with her? Is she okay?" Genki asked frantically as fear coursed in his mind.

"She's sitting on the roof, chi! We don't know what she's doing, but Hare said she might do something rash and to get you, chi!" Mocchi exclaimed with what little breath his lungs still held. He didn't have time to speak another word, anyways, because Genki had already bolted out the door and took off toward the house. The rain stung like little needles and blinded his vision, but Genki ignored it as he tore into the house and ran upstairs to find the other rebels and Yosho huddled around in a circle. They're attention was averted, however, when the young man approached the group with a fearful look playing across his face.

"Genki, good timing! Listen, Holly-"

"I heard from Mocchi. Why is she on the roof?" Genki asked in worry.

"We really have no idea. We've tried to coax her down, but she won't listen and we're nervous that if we try and climb up there to grab her, she may slip or… well…" Hare trailed off nervously.

"You don't think she'd jump, do you?" Yosho asked gruffly.

"I mean, I sure hope not, but it would explain why she's on the roof in the rain in the first place," the rabbit monster admitted with a frown.

"Holly is not… like that," Golem stated softly.

"I agree with Golem. Holly's never struck me as the kind of person who would take her own life," Tiger spoke up sternly, though his confidence was lessened by the fear in his eyes.

"People do some horrible things when a tragedy happens in their lives, and for a woman to have something happen to their child, it's the worst pain imaginable. For Holly to have a stillbirth, it could have really set her over the edge," Hare sighed sadly while the other rebels felt their hearts sink at the rabbit monster's words.

"…Genki, she might listen to you," Suezo spoke up suddenly while the young man flinched.

"…I think I'm the last person she wants to see," Genki frowned, but his eyes widened when Suezo grabbed the collar of his shirt before forcing him to lean forward.

"I don't want to hear you talk like this! You and Holly both have been avoiding each other because you both think the other doesn't want to see them! You have to break the cycle! You just have to!" Suezo shouted angrily, but his eye slowly began to get glassy as the eyeball monster held back a sob that desperately wanted to escape from his throat. "Genki… I'm askin- no, I'm begging you to talk to her. Please, Genki…"

For Suezo to beg for help, Genki felt his stomach drop at watching the distraught monster. No one could understand the tension of raw emotion that was happening between him and his wife, and truthfully, he didn't quite understand it either. They had gone through a horrible tragedy that left both of them broken, yet both avoided asking the other for help healing. He often thought about opening up to Holly, yet every time he saw those empty eyes flash his way, he would freeze up and retreat back into his shell. Now, though, there was a real reason to finally talk. Maybe Holly knew this and only did this in hopes of talking with him or maybe she really was tempted to jump. Genki couldn't quite be sure, but he couldn't let his fear stop him any longer.

"…alright, I'll go talk to her. I just hope she'll listen…" Genki spoke quietly as he gave Suezo's head a friendly pat before he opened up the window and climbed out into the cold and wet weather. The sides of the house were slippery, but the young man skillfully scaled the house until he reached the rooftop with a relieved sigh. At the very end, Holly sat quietly like a still statue; her body unmoving and her eyes hollow, the once powerful spark they held had fizzled out. With a small gulp, the young man slowly began to make his way over to his beloved, all the while being careful not to slip, for the way down was a long one.

"Holly?" Genki called out gently to ensure she knew his presence was there, but not enough to startle her and make her slip off the edge. Her body seemed to tense up, but she didn't call back to him or even glance over in his direction. Taking that as a sign that she wasn't going to jump, Genki slowly made his way over to her side before he sat down next to the shivering young woman who was completely soaked.

"…you're going to get sick again if you stay out here," Genki spoke up quietly.

"…maybe," Holly whispered softly while her gaze stayed focused at the dark sky.

"Well, I don't want you to get sick again," the young man replied awkwardly as he scooted a little closer to his wife and when she didn't move away, he took it as a good sign.

"…why does it matter anymore? I really don't know," the wielder of the Magic Stone spoke sternly as her hands clenched into tight fists.

"It matters to me… you matter to me."

"I shouldn't matter to you anymore."

"Why would you say something like that?"

"Because… I lost our child."

Genki physically flinched at Holly's words, for hearing the hard truth come from her mouth was one of the most painful things imaginable. He still could remember the day it happened and how frightening it had been. He remembered the doctors yelling in the midst of all the chaos, yet he was too focused on Holly's limp hand he was holding and all the blood on the sheets to even hear what they were saying. All that blood. He had been sure she was dead and when the doctors forced him out of the room, he had been so confused and disorientated. Genki couldn't remember why, but he remembered one of the doctors telling him everything would be alright and he remembered turning to them and bitterly replying "just how the hell do you know?". The wait had been so agonizing, though he thanked his lucky stars his friends had been there with him the whole time. He had watched as Yosho paced the floor, his once hard expression turned into one of fear and helplessness. Just as he felt.

When the doors to Holly's room had opened, Genki had felt such relief when the doctor told him his wife would make it. When he heard Holly screaming, though, his entire world had spun. He had to admit, if anything in the world ever shattered his heart, it was the image of Holly cradling a bloody bundle in her arms while sobbing uncontrollably with tears streaming down her cheeks. They weren't tears of joy. And just like that, the would-be parents had their hopes torn from them so quickly that it took days for it to finally sink in; to finally realize they weren't going to be parents any longer. It was too much to bear.

"It wasn't your fault, Holly. Sometimes things just happen that we have no control over," Genki spoke up soothingly while he slowly brought the soaked woman into a weak hug, though she didn't try to escape it.

"…it was my fault. I wish I had died instead of our child," Holly muttered bitterly as she subconsciously snuggled up against her husband for support. "I know you feel the same way, too."

"Don't speak like that! And how could you ever think I would feel that way?"

"…because you've been avoiding me. You don't want to see me anymore."

"I… It's not like that at all, Holly. I've just have a lot of… inner turmoil I've had to deal with and I didn't want to burden you because I knew you were feeling the same way. I just didn't want to overwhelm you or to make you any more upset," Genki explained with an apologetic glance down at the brunette in his arms.

"…but, this whole time, all I've wanted was for you to talk to me. I just wanted to see you, but you kept avoiding me. Are… are you going to leave me again?" Holly whimpered quietly, and for a brief moment her eyes flashed with an emotion other than sorrow. Her question was answered, though, when Genki hugged her tighter before burying his face against the nape of neck.

"I'll never leave you, Holly. Ever. I love you too much to ever leave you."

"…promise?" Holly squeaked softly.

"Yeah, it' a promise."

"…okay, I believe you," the young woman smiled weakly while Genki stroked her wet hair with his free hand. It was hard, yet somehow Genki's promises always seemed to have a positive effect on the young woman, and she could never find it in herself to doubt them.

"Can I ask you something?" Genki asked with curiosity.

"Sure. What is it?"

"Why were you on the roof? Were you really going to jump?"

"What? Of course not. I came up here because… well… it always seems to rain whenever bad things happen, yet this time I felt I needed to feel the rain. I thought maybe it would help take away this pain," Holly admitted with a sad smile while her body shivered from the cold.

"Well, I don't want you to get sick again, so let's go inside and I'll make us some tea," Genki grinned softly while extending his hand out for his wife to take, in which she complied.

"That would be nice," the brunette replied quietly and her husband began to lead them back down so they could climb back through the window, though she blinked in surprise when Genki suddenly stopped walking.

"You know, Holly…"

"Yes?"

"Just because things didn't work this time, doesn't mean we can't try again someday."

Holly felt her heart pound briefly for a moment until Genki helped to lead her down the side of the house and back through the window where they had come from. As the other rebels crowded around to ensure Holly was alright, the young woman couldn't help but catch Genki's gaze, and she felt a smile work its way up to her face before she flashed him a tired, yet genuine look before speaking words only he would understand.

"Only if you're up to it."

So, Holly had a stillbirth. That was way more angst than I can handle. XP If you didn't pick up on it, Genki is carving out a tombstone for the lost child at the beginning of the chapter. ;_; But in a way, the ending is a little happier since they made amends and whatnot. Thanks so much for reading! ^_^

RockyRoadSmith: Signing off! :3