Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Baby of Mine ❯ Heartbeat ( Chapter 24 )

Ok, Guys, apparently, there was some confusion as to the last chappie. I'm sorry about that. Basically, the kid with white hair and blonde streaks is Marik's kid. Ryou has twins, not just one baby, even though it is alluded that Ryou suspects he is having two just from instinct.

Again, sorry for any confusion.

AMT: Yeah, Steven was still an ass back then.

Falling Leaves: There will be twins and Marik is the father of that baby. Bakura is the other daddy.

Angel Black: Sorry. Here's the idea: Anubis is playing with Ryou and Bakura's minds. Ryou's mother protected Ryou's dream from Anubis. Bakura's nightmare was caused by Anubis foreshadowing that Marik's son is destined to kill him.

Ryou's Misstress: There will be twins. Marik is one father and Bakura is the other. It's rare, but one woman can carry two babies from two separate fathers.

Leilarose: I'll update every day until my vacation in June and August, then updating will still happen, just not every day.

Lupusdragon: Yuppies, foreshadowing, baby!

Ssjgoddesschico: Poor Bakura. He won't be getting much sleep.

Aino Bakura: Thanks!

Heartbeat

Ryou rose out of bed for her morning routine of wake up, throw up and take

her medicine. She was brushing her teeth when

Malik walked in without knocking. Ryou rinsed out her mouth seeing the

other hikari was half-awake and probably didn't realize he

didn't knock.

"How are you feeling this morning, Malik? You look a little better."

"My yami held me all night last night. he didn't fall asleep until I did."

Ryou looked down at her belly now the size of a basketball. She gasped. "I

can't believe this!" Ryou sounded surprised. "I'm

so.....fat." Ryou broke down into tears leaving Malik stunned at the sudden

burst of emotion.

Malik only did what was natural and kissed Ryou's cheek. "You're not fat,

Ryou! You're having a baby!"

"I can't leave the house looking like this!"

Malik rubbed her belly. "It's not bad, Ryou. You're still beautiful the

way you are."

Ryou picked up the bottle of mouthrinse and found it was empty. "We're out

of this, too?" Ryou cried harder when Marik staggered into the bathroom unceremoniously still in his underwear.

"Ryou, what's the matter?" Marik said yawning.

"We're out of mouthrinse, Marik!" Ryou sobbed. "We have no more! No more

mouth rinse and I'm fat!"

Marik shifted his eyes between Malik and Ryou. "It's too early for this,

Ryou. It's not the end of the world. We'll get some later."

"My yami's right, Ryou. I'll stop off after school and get some for you from

the store. How does that sound?"

Ryou nodded. "I'm sorry, Malik. Maybe I should go to the doctor. I just

want to make sure everything is alright with the baby. I don't

know if I'm supposed to be this big yet."

Marik looked at Ryou. "Hey, it doesn't matter what you look like to us,

Ryou. You know we'll care for you no matter what you look

like. Besides, if that baby is mine, I want to make sure everything is fine

with it." Marik returned back to his room mumbling about

going to work.

Ryou dressed and went downstairs to call the doctor who told Ryou to come

to the doctor's office that morning if she thought something was wrong.

Bakura agreed to take Ryou to the doctor's office before the trial

continued. Bakura made breakfast silently.

"Bakura? You're very quiet. Didn't you sleep well last night?"

"Not really. I had one hell of a nightmare. Marik and I were in ancient

Egypt being chased by Yami's general. Marik was killed and I

was arrested. The strangest part of the dream was one of the soldiers that

shot at us....called Marik his father."

Ryou put his glass of orange juice down and approached Bakura slowly.

"Marik? The soldier called Marik his father?"

Bakura nodded. He placed the scrambled eggs he was making onto two plates

for him and Ryou. He grabbed the toast and sat at the

table. "Yes. The soldier called Marik his father which means....."

"Which means that you aren't the father."

Bakura covered his eyes and Ryou heard him sniffle. Ryou wrapped her arms

around him.

"Bakura, we don't know anything specific yet. Let's wait until I go to the

doctor. Maybe he can run a test or something to tell us for certain who is the baby's father."

"You are going to the doctor today?"

"I don't think I am supposed to be so big yet. I just want to make sure."

Bakura nodded and wrapped her arms around her waist putting his ear against

her belly. Ryou sat beside him to eat when Marik and Malik ran down the

steps. Malik grabbed some money and ran out the door.

Marik put down his hamburger hat. "I wish I didn't have to do this today."

Ryou watched Marik grab some orange juice and sit down rubbing the sleep out

of his eyes. "Marik, I'm going to the doctors today. Do you want to come?

See if work will let you go in later. We shouldn't be long."

"Really? Yeah. I'll just tell them it's a family emergency. What will they

care? Besides, I can go in later."

Marik grabbed the phone. "Yeah....Boss? Yeah. Marik Ishtar here....*sigh*

Mr. Happy Pickle, sir. I can't come in. Yes, sir I do realize it is only

my second day......I have to take my wife to the doctor....She's sick....No,

sir. Only I can take her. She's really ill. I will make up my time,

sir.....Thank you, sir. Bye." Marik put the phone down. "I'm off! Thank

you, Ryou!" Marik hugged her tightly.

"I'm glad you're happy, Marik....just don't squeeze too tightly."

"We have the trial at noon. I hope we can make it in time."

"The doctor said he'll see me immediately. We'll leave after you both

finished eating. While You're doing that, I'm gonna go sleep on the couch.

Wake me when you're ready."

"You've just finished sleeping."

"I'm tired, Marik. I don't know why."

Ryou fell asleep on the couch.

Bakura turned to Marik. "Marik, do you dream of when we were back in Egypt

together?"

"Sometimes. There were some pretty wild nights we had in that desert."

"It's not just that. Do you dream of your death?"

Marik stopped drinking the juice for a minute and coughed. His eyes

narrowed. "Why?"

"I dreamed about your death last night. Do you remember someone calling you

father before you died?"

"Someone called me father? Not to my knowledge. Maybe someone did, but I

was more concerned about that arrow and that dagger in my back. Why?"

"Someone called you father in my dream. I don't think I've never heard

someone call you that before. I have that dream sometimes, but I don't think

I've ever heard anyone call you that."

Marik put down his glass of juice. "Bakura, I know how much you want to be

the father of Ryou's baby. Maybe subconsciously you think it is me. It was

just a dream, tenshi. That's all it was."

"It felt so real."

"Some dreams feel real to us. We are all worried about Ryou. We know this

is very strenuous on her. In order to keep her calm, we

have to keep ourselves calm."

"So did you fainting in the doctor's office help calm her down?"

"It was shock! I'm never going to be forgiven for fainting in the doctor's

office will I?" Bakura shook his head. "Well, it was shock. Now

if you want to go to the trial on time, we can't waste much time.

**********************In the Doctor's office****

Ryou sat in the doctor's office and rubbed her belly waiting for the doctor. Bakura fell asleep on Ryou's shoulder and Marik watched the television. No matter how boring the news was, it still beat scrubbing dirty tables and serving rude customers.

The doctor called Ryou into the office quickly and brought her into the examination room with the two yamis. The doctor looked at Ryou and his jaw dropped. "Ryou? Are you sure you just got pregnant?"

"Yes. I couldn't have gotten pregnant before two days ago."

The doctor told Ryou to lay down. He placed his hand on Ryou's belly gently pressing on it. "How have you been feeling?"

"I cry at everything. My back and my ankles are killing me."

"How about your heart medication? Are you taking that regularly?"

The doctor placed the stethescope on Ryou's belly. "What brings you here today?"

"I was alarmed this morning when I found out how l look."

"The baby's heartbeat sounds….." The doctor stopped. Marik and Bakura looked up in alarm at the doctor's sudden silence. "There is another sound…..It sounds like….two heartbeats."

Marik and Bakura exchanged glances. "Two?"

"I'm not sure, it may be a murmur, but I hear one definitely. Either you are having twins, Ryou, or your baby has a heart murmur. The second beat is very faint."

Marik joined Ryou at the examination table. "Are you saying…there could be…two?"

"Sounds like it, but I'm not sure."

Bakura stood beside Marik. "You sound shocked."

"Normally, I should not be able to hear the heartbeat until another few months. This is very strange, indeed. This shouldn't be happening at such a fast rate."

"But if there are two, will both of them be alright?"

"I don't think you have anything to worry about, Ryou, but we should get you checked. If you feel unsettled, go to the hospital for an ultrasound. That way we may be able to see if anything is wrong, but right now, they sound healthy."

Marik opened his mouth. "You can hear them?"

The doctor removed the instrument and handed it to Marik.

Marik's POV

The doctor gave me the contraption. He told me to put it in my ears and to listen. I heard it. I heard a strong beat followed by a very faint one. To hear the heartbeat of your own child…..it's nothing short of a miracle. The new life Ryou and I had created was pulsing with its own heartbeat. At least, I hope this child is mine….or children or whatever. Ryou smiled at both of us as I almost felt tears come to my eyes. Bakura tugged at my arm. He wanted to hear.

Bakura's POV

I took the instrument and heard the loud pulse of the life within my lover. A slightly smaller, weaker pulse followed immediately after. It didn't hit me until now that in the future….I was going to be a daddy. I was going to be a father. I didn't believe the doctor at first when he told us Ryou was pregnant. Now after physically hearing the heartbeat of the tiny life, I almost joined Marik with my own tears.

When I thought I wasn't the father of this baby…or babies…I felt crushed. I wanted a child with Ryou. I wanted a family with him. How could I not? I loved him more than life itself! When he was male, obviously, it was physically impossible. When he became a girl, I was happy for him….happy for us. We could finally have what we always wanted. I wanted to have a son. I wanted to be the father I never had.

Ryou tugged at the instrument and she even wanted to listen.

Ryou's POV

There it was. The heartbeat…no….heartbeats. I knew it. I don't know why I suspected more than one. I didn't even have that "woman's intuition" for very long. I haven't even been a woman for very long! One week ago, I never thought I would be in the doctor's office listening to the sound of my babies' heart beats inside of me. I took Bakura's hand and Marik put his hand over ours. This must have been my mother's joy when she heard my heart for the very first time. It was then that I knew I would do anything to bring this child…or my children…into this world.

********************

Normal POV

"I love you, Bakura. You too, Marik."

Marik blushed. "This was worth a day off."

The doctor took back the instrument. "I think you should think of joining Lamazze classes, Ryou. It will teach you how to breathe while you are in labor. It will also help reduce the pain a little. Parenting classes wouldn't hurt either since this is your first pregnancy and you really haven't been….a woman."

"What will we learn?" Marik asked.

"How to nurture a baby, change diapers.."

"I am NOT doing that, Ryou," Marik whined.

The doctor ignored Marik. "You will also learn how to breastfeed if you choose to do so and basic ways on how to feed and bathe a baby."

Ryou smiled excitedly. "That sounds like a great idea, yami!"

Bakura shrugged. "Alright, Ryou. It will help us both."

The doctor wrote a document stating that Ryou needed an ultrasound. Bakura saw the time and said that they would have to go after the trial.

Bakura lead Ryou to the trial. "Can you believe it, Ryou? We could be having two babies!"

"I think we should join those classes, Bakura. Marik can take me sometimes and you can take me other times."

Marik walked beside them still stunned at what he heard inside Ryou. He couldn't wait to tell Malik! Marik stopped walking. Bakura and Ryou turned around.

"Ryou?"

Ryou's white hair glistened in the sun along with Bakura's. Before Marik stood Bakura, his former lover; Ryou stood there possibly carrying his own flesh and blood. Marik walked up to Ryou.

"Ryou?" Marik wrapped his arms around Ryou. "I'm proud of you, Ryou. I'm going to be here for you. I don't care who's responsible for this. I just care about you and about your children."

"Marik? This isn't like you. Are you alright?"

"Better than alright, Bakura. I may be a dad, too."

Next Chappie: Physical Evidence