Baby Mine

Chapter Three

For the next couple of weeks Tenchi went to Ryoko’s room and spent the night with her. Every morning Ryoko woke with an upset stomach but by the afternoon she was fine. She began to wonder if her being with Tenchi had anything to do with the sickness. She figured it was a long shot, but still, who knew with the Masaki household. So during the fourth week of her mysterious illness, she locked Tenchi out of her room. Needless to say, Tenchi was rather annoyed with her for that, but Ryoko couldn’t quite understand why.

‘He must be upset because he’s not getting laid. Well, he should have thought of that before he decided to fall in love with Prissy Princess Ayeka,’ she thought one night as she listened to Tenchi tread back to his own room. However, by Saturday, she was still throwing up in the mornings and realized that maybe Tenchi’s nightly visits weren’t the cause for her illness. So she unlocked her door at night and Tenchi returned without fail. In fact, a couple of nights Ryoko woke up in the middle of the night feeling sick to her stomach and Tenchi would follow her into the bathroom and hold her hair out of her face. She never saw the loving yet concerned look Tenchi gave her each time he did.

One night, Tenchi woke to find the space beside him in Ryoko’s bed empty. Frowning, he slid out of bed and stepped out into the hallway. He saw a light on in the kitchen and soft humming. Making his way downstairs, he found Ryoko with her head in the fridge. She came out with a jar of large dill pickles and what looked like a jar of sour cream.
“Ryoko? What are you doing?”

“Hmm? Oh, I’m getting a midnight snack. I’ve had this sudden craving for a pickle covered in sour cream,” Ryoko answered, dipping a pickle into the sour cream.

“What? That is disgusting, Ryoko! Why would you have a craving for that?” Tenchi asked, his face twisting into a look of disgust.

“I don’t know, but since I’m hungry and had the craving, I decided to eat one,” Ryoko shrugged taking a bite. “Want some?”

“No, and I think its food like that that’s what’s making you sick in the mornings,” Tenchi said sternly as he felt his own stomach turn at the thought of eating a concoction such as Ryoko’s.

“I just started having these cravings, Tenchi, so it couldn’t be this food that’s making me sick. But, I hope this doesn’t become a favorite meal. I don’t even like pickles.”

“You must really be sick, Ryoko,” Tenchi grinned as he gave Ryoko’s shoulder a slight nudge. Ryoko just laughed and took a bite of her pickle.

“Hey, you’re going to the store tomorrow, right?”

“Yeah, did you need something?” Tenchi asked, picking up an apple and taking a bite.

“I’d like to come if that’s alright?”

Tenchi paused in his act of taking a bite and just looked at Ryoko for a moment. Then he smiled. “Sure, Ryoko. You can help carry the bags.”

“Oh, I see, I’m only allowed to join when my strength is required,” Ryoko laughed but she breathed a sigh of relief when he didn’t ask what she needed. She couldn’t very well tell Tenchi that she suspected she was pregnant. So Ryoko finished her pickle and they both went to brush their teeth before Tenchi led her back up to her room. Ryoko was surprised when he slid into the bed with her. She looked at him in confusion as he pulled her up against him and kissed her temple.

“I thought you would be going back to your own room.”

Tenchi looked at her and grinned. “Why? I’m quite comfortable right here, thank you very much.”

“Oh, okay then.” Ryoko yawned and snuggled up into Tenchi’s chest as she succumbed to sleep. Sighing, Tenchi closed his eyes and followed Ryoko into the world of dreams.

* * *

“Hey Ryoko, are you coming?” Tenchi called as he stood next to his dad at the front door.

“Coming, Tenchi!” Ryoko hurried down the stairs in a pair of jeans and an emerald green tank top. Tenchi thought she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen and a small smile graced his lips.

“What is going on, Lord Tenchi? Why is Ryoko going with you?” Princess Ayeka demanded as she strode into the room.

“She’s just coming with Dad and me to the store,” Tenchi answered.

“Oh, well you better not try anything, Miss Ryoko!” Ayeka growled. “And get me some, too,” she added quietly, suspecting the reason for Ryoko’s going.

Ryoko just frowned at the princess but said nothing. Tenchi turned and the three headed out to the car. Once they reached the store, Ryoko turned to Tenchi.

“I’m going to go get my things and I’ll meet back up with you two.”

“Take your time Ryoko, we’ll be here awhile,” Nobuyuki smiled as he dragged Tenchi away. Nobuyuki may have seemed like an idiot but he knew Tenchi loved Ryoko like he himself had loved his dearly departed Achika. Nobuyuki had a feeling that his son would soon be revealing his choice to the girls. Casting a quick look at his son, he noticed Tenchi’s eyes were following Ryoko as she moved in the opposite direction. With a smile Noboyuki just shook his head.

Ryoko found the isle for the feminine products and walked up it looking for the desired product. She found them towards the middle of the isle and she came to a complete stop when she saw all the different brands. Which one was the best one? Which was the one with the most accurate results? Which one was easiest and had the fastest results?

“Here, try this one, I’ve found it has the most accurate results,” a voice suggested kindly. Ryoko turned and looked at the young woman standing next to her with a box in her hand.

“Does it really?”

“Oh yeah, I’ve used it for all three of my pregnancies,” the woman grinned. Ryoko noticed the woman was pregnant so she assumed that the woman had at least two other kids. Ryoko took the box and looked at it for a moment. “So, if you’re pregnant are you going to find out what sex the baby is?”

“Wha… what?” Ryoko’s head snapped up in shock.

“Sorry, was a little too personal? I’m a complete stranger and asking questions like that! My husband is always telling me I’m too accepting of strangers. I’m Aiko Minako, by the way.” The woman’s eyes quickly darted to Ryoko’s hands but her smile didn’t fade.

“Hakubi Ryoko,” Ryoko shook the woman’s hand. Ryoko couldn’t help but smile back at Minako; she had an infectious smile and her toffee brown eyes glittered with mirth.

“I take it this will be your first child?” Minako asked, brushing a stray piece of brown hair out of her eyes.

“Hai.” Ryoko turned back to looking at the box.

“I notice you’re not wearing any form of ring so I gather you aren’t married or engaged? Do you know who the father is? Oh, geez, there I go again with the bluntness! Just ignore anything personal that comes out of my mouth.”

“Hai, I know who the father is. He’s the only man I’ve ever been with; the man I love,” Ryoko sighed wistfully.

“I hear a big ‘but’ in there. Hey, are you here alone because I thought maybe we could grab a coffee and talk. My feet are killing me right now!”

“No, I’m here with him and his father. I’m supposed to meet them once I get my things. But they’ll be a while and coffee sounds great.” Ryoko smiled.

“Great! Let’s pay for these and then I can give you some helpful hints about child care,” Minako grinned. Ryoko smiled back and agreed. She grabbed a box of tampons and pads for Ayeka and smirked in her mind over the fact that they were generic store brand, not name brand! She then followed Minako over to the check out line to purchase her items. A short while later, the two women were seated at the café each sipping a cup of coffee.

“So, what sort of relationship do you and the father of the baby have?”

“Tenchi’s and my relationship has always been that of friends. I’ve always wanted more but he was so shy around women that any little thing I did that was suggestive, sent him into a fit. It wasn’t until about a month ago, when he came home from college that he suddenly began taking charge. We were looking at some of his baby pictures and I told him that the one thing I really wanted, apart from him, was a baby of my own. That night he showed up in my room and, well, you get the picture.” Ryoko was bright red when she finished speaking and she toyed nervously with her coffee cup. She didn’t know why, but she felt really comfortable talking about her personal life with this woman. There was just something so open and non-judgmental about her. Of course, maybe she just needed to get her worries off her chest and Minako seemed the best candidate. Washu would just grin and make lewd comments.

“Well, college life forces people to really open up their minds, so I can only guess that your Tenchi began to see things as they really are and that he couldn’t be shy anymore. Does he love you?”

Ryoko shrugged. “I know he loves me as a good friend or a sister. But I love him like a woman loves a man. I want to spend the rest of my life with him. He knows that but he’s afraid of hurting me or one of the other girls by making a commitment in that department.”

“Other girls?” Minako asked, confusion showing on her face.

“It’s a long story.”

“Well, hey how about we get together this Thursday for lunch and we can talk more about this? By then you will know if you are pregnant or not and I can help you decided how to tell this Tenchi about it. Here, here’s my number in case you can’t make it or something, okay?” Minako wrote her phone number on a napkin and passed it to Ryoko.

“And here’s mine. I really appreciate this, Minako. I don’t have very many friends,” Ryoko smiled softly as she handed the number to Minako.

“Ryoko, consider me one of your new friends. I’ll give you a call regarding where and what time we’ll meet. Well, I’d better get going. I left my sons with their father and kami knows he never lasts longer than two hours with them alone. I’ll see you on Thursday so be sure to be prepared to tell me everything.”

Minako stood up and after giving Ryoko a quick friendly hug, she left. Ryoko turned and went in search of the two Masaki men. She found them in the cereal aisle and when she made her way over to them, they looked up and smiled.

“Hey, did you get what you needed?” Noboyuki asked.

“Yep, right here.” Ryoko held up her bag with a grin.

“Who was that woman you were talking with?” Tenchi asked, a slight frown marring his handsome features.

“Oh, that was Aiko Minako. We met in one of the aisles and got to talking. I’m meeting her for lunch later this week. Just think Tenchi, my first non-alien female friend!”

“Hey, that’s great Ryoko. I feel bad that you girls don’t get away from the shrine that often to meet other women your age.” But then again, who knows what kind of havoc they’d cause if let loose around the city, Tenchi thought.

Nobuyoki noticed that Tenchi seemed to be forcing his enthusiasm. ‘What is wrong with that boy? Didn’t he want Ryoko to have friends?’ With a sigh, he just shook his head, he may be Tenchi’s father but at times that boy was a walking enigma.

The group finished shopping and returned home. Ryoko helped Sasami put the groceries away and then went up to her room to take a nap. She put the bag of her stuff in her closet and decided to check later that night after Tenchi was asleep. Deep down inside she knew she was pregnant but she felt she needed to see actual proof before she said anything. So, with a sigh, she climbed into bed and went to sleep.

A/N: Does anyone else feel like these two are being idiots? I feel like I'm beating them over the head with their feelings and actions and they're aren't getting the hint! I hate when characters, whether my own or borrowed, don't do what I ask them to! Thanks for reading and I apologize for any confusion regarding the status of this story. It is finished on my hard drive and I'm just uploading the individual chapters. There are still quite a few to go so I hope you will all stick around until the end.

Celticreeder