Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction ❯ Roommates ❯ Chapter 13 ( Chapter 13 )

Kitty Neko: One last chapter and the epilogue left! I'm so excited! Thank you for all your reviews! Enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own CardCaptor Sakura

"This sucks! It isn't funny anymore! My back hurts and it's really hard to walk!" Tomoyo couldn't help herself; she burst into peals of laughter. "I said it's not funny!" Sakura tried to stand with her arms akimbo, but it looked more like she was supporting her back.

"I know that you're irritated-" Tomoyo started.

"IRRITATED?!" Sakura shrieked. "Irritated doesn't even begin to describe it! It's June 14! FIVE DAYS past my friggin' due date! My brother and dad had to go home because it was taking too long and they didn't get much time off of work! My dad was already upset that he wasn't able to make it to the baby shower! I'm tired of being pregnant! I'm about to yank her out!"

"Settle down," Tomoyo said calmly, "You might strain yourself." Even though that little sentence made Sakura want to rip her best friend's head off, she refrained. It wouldn't solve anything, but… it would make her feel a heck of a lot better. "At least it's summer vacation, so there's no school and you're on maternity leave." A HECK of a LOT better.

"Yea, yea, no school, no work, I'M STILL PREGNANT! I can barely walk!" Since she was past her due date, Meiling had told her to start taking long walks to induce labor. That was all good and fine, but Sakura was going about .005 miles an hour. Sakura stopped for a second to look down at a little baby crawling nearby. "See? That baby is crawling faster than I'm walking!" Tomoyo turned her head to look; it was true.

"Are you almost done?" Both Sakura and Tomoyo whipped her heads around to glare at Syaoran who was trailing in his car with Eriol. Meiling said that it wouldn't be too good if Sakura went into labor away from transportation and suggested that they have someone follow Sakura just in case.

"Does it look like I'm having this baby yet?" Sakura snapped.

Syaoran lifted his hands in surrender. "Geeze. What's up her butt?" he asked Eriol.

"This baby is up my butt and I'm going to be as mean as I want!" Sakura stuck her tongue out just to make sure he knew she wasn't serious.

"Well, actually, the baby's up your-"

"SYAORAN!" Tomoyo cut him off. "Shut up and keep driving. Sakura, you shut up and walk."

"Yes master." They droned in unison.

*****

"Tomoyo can be so PUSHY sometimes." Syaoran complained while rubbing the stiffness from his butt. "I don't have any idea how long I was sitting in that car."

"At least you were sitting," Sakura replied sourly, "I had to walk."

"That was the whole reason for it." Well, duh, Sakura thought but decided not so say it out loud. Talking took so much energy anyways.

"I'm beginning to wonder if I'm ever going to have this baby."

"If you didn't, it would be one of the strangest records ever. Behold, the woman who stayed pregnant for the rest of her life." Sakura glared at her dark haired companion.

"Don't make jokes like that," her eyes welled up with fake tears, "I'm at the most delicate phase of pregnancy and you're stressing me out."

"You've been in `the most delicate phase of pregnancy' for a couple of weeks now."

"Don't remind me!" Sakura flopped back on the bed carefully.

"Fine. But Tomoyo told me to remind you to pick out a name. According to her, it horrific that you haven't been able to decide on a name yet and you're due any second."

"UGH! Stop reminding me of things. You're stressing me out!"

"Excuses, excuses. Don't think I'm stupid. I know that you're changing the subject on purpose. You will have to pick out a name eventually."

"I know that," Sakura groaned, "I just don't want to think about it right now." The room fell silent for a few blissful seconds.

Sakura couldn't help but think of Toji. What was he doing right now? Did he have any idea that she was about to give birth? Did he care? Well, she scolded herself; of course he didn't care. Don't be stupid. Not like it mattered anyways. All he was good for was child support. She would just have to prove he was the father.

Sakura was snapped out of her thoughts (for once) by her own bodily functions than by someone. "I gotta pee." She voiced her thoughts and tried to sit up. Feeling lazy and tired she gave up quickly.

"Syaoran?"

"Need help?"

"Uh huh." Sakura felt a little sheepish.

"This is getting old." Syaoran teased. He didn't really mind, but it was fun to pick on her.

"Quit complaining and help me."

Syaoran obliged and pulled her to her feet, bringing them face-to-face. Time seemed to stop.

Sakura could have sworn that her heart skipped a beat when their eyes locked. He was staring at her so intently. He had never looked at her that way before. No, that wasn't right. When she woke up and he was looking at her, he had that expression. Sakura swallowed thickly. His eyes flickered downward (at her lips, she thought) for a split second before he leaned over her belly agonizingly slow.

They were closer than they had ever been before. Even closer than the last time they had almost kissed. His warm breath was tickling her face and this time she didn't close her eyes. Their lips brushed. Sakura thought her chest was going to explode, her heart was pounding so fast. And then, Syaoran took a sharp intake of breath and jerked back. To say Sakura was sorely disappointed would have been an understatement.

Syaoran looked at her, astonished, before spinning on his heel and leaving the room. Sakura blinked a couple of times in shocked silence. That didn't last long. For the first time in a long time, she felt anger boil inside her. Walking quickly, she followed him.

She was just in time to see him open the front door, holding his car keys. The hurt, shock, anger, and passion got the better of her, "WHY WON'T YOU JUST KISS ME?!" She screamed.

Syaoran stopped for a second and turned slightly with his eyes to the floor. He opened his mouth to say something, but stayed silent. Deciding better of it, he turned around and left, shutting the door on his way out.

Sakura felt her nose tingle before scorching hot tears welled up in her eyes and spilled onto her face.

*****

Sakura was convinced that she had cried herself dry. Her nose was still stuffy and she knew that she must have looked like a mess. Not like she cared. No one was around to see her anyways. She had thought about calling Tomoyo but she didn't want to talk about it yet. The wound was still too fresh.

Where was Syaoran now? She wondered, her mind betraying her. Would he be back that night? There was a part of her that didn't want him too, but another part that did. Even though she might have been pissed with him (and believe me, she was) she hated to be alone. Especially when she was due any minute. Not only that, she still loved him. That ^*(%$^*. It wasn't fair that he could make her feel this way!

It was starting to get late. Almost ten o'clock. Please get home soon, she prayed. It was just slightly past ten when she heard the front door open and close.

When Syaoran entered the kitchen, she feigned indifference. She helped herself up and got a cereal bar to snack on. Syaoran followed her with his eyes, still standing.

When she sat down again he said, "I'm sorry about earlier." Sakura didn't reply. He smiled tightly, "I wouldn't want to talk to me if I were you either. But please, just hear me out." Sakura neither agreed nor declined.

Syaoran cleared his throat. "I don't really know where to begin, but I'll do my best." He stopped to think and proceeded. "I was ashamed of myself today. I couldn't believe what I was about to do and panicked."

He looked at her for some kind of response, which she did not give. "After I left, I did a lot of thinking. I'm really an idiot, did you know that?" When Sakura made an affirmative sound, he smiled. At least she wasn't completely ignoring him. "When I pulled away, I was thinking about how much your life was already complicated, what with Toji and the baby. I didn't want to make things even worse, so I did the first thing that came to mind. I guess I was about fifteen minutes away from the house when I realized something."

Sakura stared hard at the table. She didn't know what else to do. Her breath caught in her throat at Syaoran's next sentence. "I love you. I love you and your baby too much to pretend like I don't. I don't care who the father is, I don't care if you don't feel the same way, and I don't care that your brother is going to skin me alive for telling you this. I just… had to tell you."

Sakura looked up at the man she had been dieing to tell the same words to for months. She couldn't believe that he felt the same way. It almost seemed too good to be true. "I love you, too!" Sakura laughed in a relieved sort of way and stood up to embrace him. This he did readily.

"Thank God." He laughed into her hair. "I lied a minute ago. I would have cared if you said that you didn't love me back. I just didn't want you to feel like you had to say it."

"I know." Sakura couldn't believe her luck! A day that was turning out to be so sucky, didn't turn out horrible! And she had finally told him! A great weight was lifted off her chest and she smiled at him brightly. He gladly returned the gesture.

Syaoran felt a cold sweat break out. "You're brother is really going to kill me. This may seem like I'm rushing things, but I don't ever want you out of my life. I don't have a ring or anything, but would you marry me?"

Rushing things? Was he crazy?! She didn't think she could say anything, so instead she nodded. Her reward was great. Syaoran leaned in and captured her lips in an amazing kiss. At one time, Sakura had thought that Toji was a good kisser, but compared to this, he might as well have been a teddy bear!

A flash of remembrance made Sakura stop.

This wasn't the first time they had kissed.

Syaoran looked at her strangely.

Syaoran… kissing her tenderly, nipping at her ear lobe and nuzzling her neck, the new dress that Tomoyo had bought for her, the smell of wine. Sakura went rigid.

"Is something the matter?" Syaoran asked, fearful.

"Yes." Sakura grabbed her stomach forgetting everything for the time being. "I'm having contractions."

Syaoran's eyes got impossibly large, and if it had been at any other time, she would have had a great time laughing at him.

"Go get a towel." Sakura said more calmly than she felt. Syaoran ran to the bathroom and reappeared a couple of seconds later. "Good, now get me to the car."

*****

She had been wrong earlier. So wrong. Tears were streaming down her face without any signs of stopping. "I don't have any idea how women can stand to go through this several times!" She winced as another contraction assaulted her. In a way it felt like very bad period cramps: VERY bad. It seemed like her body was trying to make up for all the missed periods that year. "Why can't men go through this?"

"Sakura," Syaoran reasoned, "Do you want the homo-sapiens to go extinct?"

"If it means that I won't have to be pregnant ever again, then sure!" Syaoran actually had the gall to laugh at her. LAUGH AT HER! "Syaoran, lean closer so I can gouge your eyes out." Not much had changed between them. Wisely, Syaoran chose to take a couple of steps back.

"Tomoyo and Eriol should be here any minute." Syaoran had called them as soon as Sakura was settled.

Very unlike her normal nature, Sakura didn't even notice the change in topic. "Who cares about those people? The only one I want here is Meiling with my epidural."

The door to Sakura's waiting room opened and the woman just mentioned entered the room. "Hi Sakura, Syaoran. How are you doing?" Sakura laughed sadistically at the question and Syaoran moved closer to his savior.

"Do you have the epidural?" He asked, getting straight to the point.

"Yes." Meiling rolled her eyes. "Why don't you go get Sakura some ice chips while I do this?" Syaoran nodded and left the room. More than likely, he would run into Tomoyo and Eriol on the way back.

Sakura could have kissed Meiling after she injected the epidural, but not only would it have been weird, but she didn't want to waste any energy.

Meiling quickly went through with procedures before saying, "Ok, let's see how far you're dilated."

"The embarrassing part." Sakura muttered. Well, at least she knew her doctor.

"Three centimeters." Meiling stood and wrote on her clipboard.

"Only three centimeters?!" Sakura groaned loudly.

"That's the way it goes."

"That's not helping."

"It wasn't really intended to."

"Don't you have a job you need to get back to?" Sakura asked glaring at one of her closest friends.

"I get the jest, I'll go!" Meiling waved cheerfully, leaving Sakura to herself for a few minutes. That few minutes didn't last very long. It seemed like Meiling had barely left when Tomoyo burst in.

"How are you feeling?" She asked, concern in her eyes.

"Why is everyone asking that stupid question?" Sakura's eyes fluttered upward. "I'm having contractions. How do you THINK I'm feeling?" Well, actually, she was starting to feel kind of numb.

Doing what she was best at, Tomoyo ignored Sakura's sarcasm, and placed a large bag on the bed next to Sakura. "It took me forever to get here because I had to go by your place and pick up a few things. Oh yea, by the way, Syaoran and Eriol are getting you some ice chips. If you had cared to ask how I knew which room to find you in, you would have known already." Sakura decided that it was a waste of time to tell her friend that she already knew about the ice chips and that anyone with half a brain could have figured out that she either ran into Syaoran or asked the receptionist.

"What's in the bag?" she asked instead.

"Everything I thought you'd need. Nightgown, change of clothes, a robe, slippers, socks-" Sakura reached into the bag and snatched out the socks. The hospital was cold. "Toothbrush, brush, hair scrunchie, etc."

Sakura had just said thanks when the door opened again and Eriol entered with Syaoran and the ice chips. Sakura took them gratefully.

Instead of asking the infuriating question that everyone else had, Eriol said something that surprised Sakura, "Congratulations!"

"She hasn't had the baby yet." Tomoyo pointed out the obvious.

Eriol looked at her strangely. "I was talking about the engagement. You know, between Sakura and Syaoran."

Tomoyo's large amethyst eyes widened and she rounded on Sakura. "How come I wasn't informed of this?" She demanded, looking scary.

"I was about to, but you just got here and it slipped my mind."

"Slipped your mind?!" Tomoyo's voice was high pitched and screechy. Eriol and Syaoran clamped their hands over their ears. "It should have been the first thing that left your mouth when I walked through that door!"

"Well I-"

"Never mind that. Tell me all about it!" Tomoyo pulled up a chair and sat down, staring intently at Sakura like a little kid about to be told a bedtime story.

"She can change her emotions on the turn of a dime, can't she?" Syaoran asked Eriol.

"Try being her boyfriend."

*****

"Got any sixes?"

"Go fish."

Syaoran grunted and drew a card from the middle. "Would you cut that out?" Sakura snapped. Eriol and Syaoran had been playing different card games for endless hours. Tomoyo had her head rested on her arms and was snoring lightly. "Can't you guys think of anything else to do?"

"No." Syaoran said bluntly. "Seven hours, Sakura. It's 5:30 in the morning. You're luck that we're still awake."

"Well, most of us." Eriol poked Tomoyo lightly.

"Huh, what?" Tomoyo stirred looked around at her surrounding before saying, "oh" and laying her head back down. "I don't suppose that she's having the baby yet."

"It's not my fault!" Sakura wined.

"Not directly." Syaoran shuffled the cards acting bored. He wasn't actually acting.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that you're not doing it on purpose but it is your body."

Sakura narrowed her eyes dangerously and Tomoyo even opened her eyes long enough to see what she would say next. "When this is all over, you are going to be in SO much pain. You'll know exactly what this pregnancy thing in like."

"How so?"

"You're going to have a really hard time shitting the basketball I'm going to shove down your throat."

"Calm down." Meiling said soothingly, coming into the room for the millionth time. "Let's see how far along you're dilated."

Out of respect, Syaoran and Eriol looked away while Meiling checked. "Ten centimeters."

The room fell silent out of shock and relief. "That means we can get started?" Sakura asked.

Meiling nodded, smiling. "Let's get you to that delivery room, shall we?"

*****

"Push, Sakura!" Tomoyo encouraged.

"What the hell do you think I'm trying to do?" Sakura said, panting between each word.

"She's crushing my hand!" Syaoran exclaimed pointing with his free hand. He would be lucky if she didn't break anything.

"Just remember that it's nothing compared to what she's going through." Eriol commented from the sidelines.

"Then trade me places."

"Would you guys shut up?!" Tomoyo said, wiping the perspiration off of Sakura's head with a damp washcloth.

"Just a little more." Meiling's eye's flickered up to Sakura's face. "You're doing great."

Sakura took a deep breath and gave one last huge push. A baby's crying filled the room, drowning out anything else everyone had to say.

The nurses cleaned the baby and wrapped her in a blanket before placing her in the new mother's waiting arms.

Sakura had never felt anything quite like it. She'd held babies before but it was nothing like holding HER daughter. Lovingly she looked down at the barely noticeable thatch of dark brown hair so unlike her own or Toji's but so much like someone else's she knew. A lump gathered in her throat. She remembered.

Kitty Neko: I hope that you liked it! Ja! kittyneko@tenchiclub.com