Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Phoenix ❯ Chapter 8 ( Chapter 9 )

See Chapter 1 for Disclaimer

Marx sat in the classified vault in the squadron. His paperwork was done, the regulations all updated and current, so he was busy going over the exercise plans for Red Flag. But every so often, he'd take a look at the phone sitting on his desk. On the butcher block surface next to it was a piece of paper with a phone number in one of the outer wards of Tokyo on it. "I promised Ranma that I wouldn't interfere when we got back from Atsugi. But I'd like to make amends with the head of her Clan," he said quietly. "And, damnit, she's been waffling since we got home from the hospital two months ago." He closed the folder and picked up the phone and dialed. And waited as it rang and rang.

"Moshi, moshi. Saotome-ke," the voice on the other end sounded suspiciously like Ranma.

"Saotome-san, my name is Christopher Marx. I'm an officer with the US Air Force at Misawa Airbase. You do not know me, but I know your…" he was about to breach a difficult subject, "your daughter." There was a definite pause on the other end of the phone. "Saotome-san?"

"Go ahead, young man."

"Ma'am, Ranma is pregnant, and would like to make amends with you. She has made it quite plain to me that she would like to meet you at a neutral location."

"Young man, I do not have a daughter. I had a son who died while he was training with his father in China."

She was about to continue when Marx interrupted her. "Did you know that your husband abducted Ranma from where she was staying on the airbase? That there was a three-day manhunt for her father that was solved by a dockworker? Do you know that your husband has been extradited to Thailand for crimes he committed there while he was training Ranma? Plus, the US military authorities want him as well for kidnapping her from an American installation.

"My god, Saotome-san, your son who is now your daughter is about to have a child, and she wants her mother to accept her and her child before we move to the United States." Marx shut up. He just let the cat out of the bag, so to speak.

"Marx-san, just what exactly is your relationship with Ranma?"

Marx sighed audibly into the handset. He really didn't want this to happen, at least until his wife and mother-in-law met again for the first time in close to eight months. "Ranma is my wife," he said plainly. "We were married two weeks after I rescued her from the weather last December. It was a marriage of convenience, but I truly love your daughter, and would do…will do anything I can to protect her.

"Saotome-san, all I ask is that you meet with your daughter, talk to her, forgive her of her father's mistake. We'd like you to be a part of the family again."

"I will think about what you have said, Marx-san. Good day." It seemed like something aggravated her, but Marx blew it off. Of course it was probably the way he had talked to her that did it.

That night, Ranma noticed how quiet her husband was at dinner, and later on. She resolved to find out what was bugging Marx, when her schoolwork and practice was done, of course.

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A letter from Tokyo's Minato-ku arrived in the mailbox a few weeks later addressed to the Marxs. It was with great hesitance that Ranma opened and read the letter, particularly after reading the return address. So that when her husband walked in from work, she met him at the door. "Christopher," she said in a tone that brooked no argument, "what's the meaning of this letter?"

Marx had an idea that he might be in a little trouble. Taking the letter and scanning it, he was at a bit of a loss, since his ability to read kanji hadn't really improved since his marriage to Ranma. "I would assume that it is an invitation for a meeting."

"You assume? That's exactly what it is. Damnit, I wanted to meet my mother on my own terms, not like this." There was a look in his wife's eyes that he'd never seen before, and certainly wouldn't want to see again. It was pure venom.

Marx looked at his wife. "You want to fight it out?" He was serious about it. But at the same time, knew that his wife would wipe the floor with him and hoped that her time with the Joketsuzoku would remind her that some fights are better fought with words, rather than fists. "I'd rather not, but if you're going to press the issue, then let's take this outside."

"Why should we?" She asked, the venom still present in her voice. "You know as well as I do that you aren't up to my skill level."

"Then would you listen to why I did it?" Ranma nodded, and her husband began to explain why he did what he did, and that it was to have been a surprise. She listened, but she didn't listen. She heard what her husband said when he told her his side of the story, but for some reason, the underlying sentiment was missed. Probably because she was too pissed off at her husband to really listen.

Ranma began to wonder why her husband was acting coldly to her in the days following the arrival of the letter from her mother. Part of her mind told her that it was the way she acted when she read the letter, and that she needed to apologize to her husband. The other part reminded her that her husband was in a squadron that was prepping for a deployment. As she sat at the vanity combing out her long, fiery tresses, a plan began to form in her mind. Sure she was six months pregnant, but Dr. Yamashira, the base OB/GYN, assured her that she and her husband could enjoy sex until about the seventh month, but not in…unusual positions. The 17-year-old former heir to the Musabetsu Kakutou Saotome-Ryuu smiled as her plan came to fruition. Even though she was off from school, and was going to enter her junior year of high school in the fall, Marx was at the squadron, preparing for Red Flag at Nellis Air Force Base, in Nevada. So, she had the jeep and visited several stores in town to pick up what she needed.

When she asked him what turned him on one night, after a passionate session of love-making, and before The Letter, Marx told her that he was a bit of a pervert at heart, and had this thing for his partner wearing a schoolgirl's uniform with stockings and a garter belt under the dress and her hair in pigtails. Unable to get a school fuku, Ranma settled for the lacy undergarments and pigtails.

Walking up the front walk, Marx trudged wearily home. The past few days for the middle-aged captain had been sheer hell. Between getting the classifieds ready for deployment, and going up against the Panthers, he was beat. With Red Flag around the corner, both combat squadrons on base were trying to outperform the other. So caught up in mentally reviewing his performance today, he missed the fact that his wife was wearing a kimono when he walked through the door. "Evening, Ranma," he muttered. *God,* he thought, *these long days are killing me. I just want to eat, and get some sleep.*

"Welcome home, anata. Why don't you go upstairs, get cleaned up and change; dinner will be ready soon." *He didn't notice,* she thought to herself. *I guess his mind is elsewhere right now. Probably stuck at work.*

Marx nodded and staggered up the stairs. Not noticing the kimono hanging from the bathroom door, he showered, the hot water reinvigorating him. He pulled the kimono on, and headed down stairs. That was when he noticed his wife for the first time that night. She was standing there, her long red hair done up in two pigtails. The lavender floral print kimono contrasted her pale complexion perfectly. Ranma smiled as she let her husband's eyes roam over her body; her swollen belly didn't seem to detract from her looks. In fact, it served to remind her husband how much he had come to love her since that cold, snowy December night. "Christopher," she said, "I'd like to apologize for the way I acted when my mother sent us the letter. It was, unfortunately, childish and immature of me to act the way I did."

Marx was pulled out of his reexamination of his wife by her statement. "And it was childish of me to do what I did, my love. I should have said something earlier, but with the upcoming mission, I've had a lot on my mind…"

She placed her finger against his mouth. "Shh," she said. "We both caused what happened. So let's not dwell on it. Ok?" Marx nodded, and his wife took his hand and led him into the dining room. The Captain knelt on to a cushion at the table, as wife went into the kitchen and began bringing out the covered dishes with dinner.

Dinner was a quiet affair, although the Marx nodded appreciatively at his young wife for the improved quality in the food. It seemed that both parties forgave the other for the fight. Marx talked to his wife about work and the upcoming deployment to Nellis. "What's for dessert?" Marx asked his wife.

An innocent enough question with a not so innocent answer. Ranma stood, and undid the obi on her kimono. She let the silk garment fall in a puddle around her feet. Marx felt the hint of a nosebleed come on as he looked at his wife standing there. The red lace bra and silk panties brought out the blue in her eyes, and matched her red hair perfectly. "I was hoping," she said in a not so innocent voice, "you would take me for dessert."

A lecherous smile appeared on Marx's face. "Did you really have to ask," he said, as he reached over the low table and ran his hands along her stocking-clad legs. Ranma moaned slightly at the gentle touch of her husband's hand. He stood and walked up behind her. Leaning over, Marx kissed the nape of her neck, while his hands snaked around and cupped her lace-covered breasts.

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MPAA Advisory: Due to the explicit nature of the following gratuitous sex scenes, they have been cut, and may be available in a future Director's Cut

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The couple lay in bed, still entwined from their lovemaking. Marx's arms held his wife almost protectively, his one hand on Ranma's belly. "Chris," she asked, "do you still want me to go to my mother?"

"Ranma," he murmured, "I want you to do what ever is necessary to get your mother to end this rift between the two of you." He smiled, although his wife was unable to see it. "I just felt our child kick."

"You should feel it from this side, anata. He's definitely a ran ma." She said, playing on her unchanged birth name. "I almost wish we could name him that."

"I'm sure you do, but I'd find it confusing to introduce you and my son as 'Ranma'. Especially trying to explain it to my new squadron commander. Most military types highly discount even the existence of magic."

"I'm glad you didn't find it too hard to believe, Chris."

"I was brought up to have an open mind."

"I know you were. Your parents haven't even met me yet, and they already don't have a problem with me. I'm just a little concerned that when they meet the real me, they might not like me."

Her husband kissed the back of her neck. "We'll come to that bridge when we get there, my love."