[Ranma][Fanfic] Nabiki-New Horizons Part 6

[Uncle Fester]

Nabiki - New Horizons
Part 6 - And Baby Makes Three
By G.L. Sandborn
(AKA Uncle Fester)

"Well, Nabs, what do you think?" Jeff asked as they pulled up in
front of a newly built house in a fashionable upscale neighborhood
overlooking the blue Pacific ocean on the west coast of Oahu, Hawaii.
He had purchased the house and had it furnished during the honeymoon;
something Nabiki totally missed due to her preoccupation with Sodoshi
Tanaka.
Nabiki just sat in the front seat of the Jeep Cherokee, arms
crossed, and stared at the building. She wasn't sure just how to react.
In Japan, the wife makes all the major purchase decisions. Jeff had
purchased this home without even consulting with her - that was bad
enough - but now, he was acting like he expected her to simply move in
and be happy. Needless to say, she was *not* amused.
"And just what is *this* supposed to be?" She refused to even look
Jeff's way. Her face grew hard and dark with the question.
"We needed a place to live." Jeff was nonchalantly attempting to
defuse a potentially explosive situation. "I arranged to buy this house
a couple of months ago."
Slowly, Nabiki turned to look at her husband. Her eyes were slits,
her jaw set. It was plain there was a vicious internal struggle taking
place within her.
"You never asked *me*, Jeffrey," she growled. "I have to live here,
too, you know. You should have at least *shown* it to me."
Jeff swallowed hard and and looked at her like a wounded puppy.
Since their marriage, Jeff had developed into more of a coward when it
came to his wife; refusing to confront or challenge her on many
important things surrounding their union. More often than not, he
simply acquiesced to Nabiki's desires. This was one of those points of
contention he feared. It was a clash of cultures, struggle of wills,
and collision of personalities. Jeff had already lost.
"You don't like it." Jeff began his retreat early. He didn't like
fighting with Nabiki; it always left him psychologically battered.
"I didn't say that." Nabiki snarled. "Don't put words in my mouth,
Jeffrey." She was breathing faster - like she was on the verge of a
violent explosion.
Jeff began to have the same feeling of danger as the night she
slapped him back in Nerima. The little boy in him tried to run but was
physically restrained by his shinobi maturity - for now.
"Just take a look at it." Jeff offered as he opened his door. He
was hoping Nabiki would follow his lead without a fight. "If you don't
like it, we'll make other arrangements."
"That's not the point, Jeffrey, and you know it."
For only a moment, a vicious war erupted within Jeff Lawrence. The
forces of retreat, long used to having their way, were battling Jeff's
pre-shinobi trained emotions. Without warning, Jeff slammed the door
shut, his eyes squeezed shut in frustration. In spite of this, his
voice was controlled and calm.
"Nabiki, I've put up with this nonsense for almost two months," He
was looking straight ahead; fearful of even facing his wife. Fearful of
what he might really say. "You've insulted me, belittled me, shouted at
me, even struck me, and I've put up with it all. Now I provide us with
shelter and all you can do is snap at me for not consulting you first.
You're right. As usual." He practically spit out the last. "I'm sorry
but I don't think I deserve this." He finally worked up enough anger to
look at his wife. What he saw instantly drained him.
Nabiki, face buried in her hands, was sobbing silently. Her body
uncharacteristically shaking with the emotional release of her tears.
Leaning forward, resting his head on the steering wheel, Jeff
tendered his apologies.
"Aw, jeez, Nabiki. I'm sorry..." <Damn! Why can't I just get her
to realize that all her mood swings are because she's pregnant?> He
sighed audibly. <And why can't I keep my mouth shut?>
For several minutes the silence in the car was broken only by the
sounds of Nabiki's occasional sniffs. Jeff remained still with his head
resting on the steering wheel, his hands gripping the wheel tightly and
his eyes closed; seriously wishing he were somewhere else.
The sound of Nabiki's door opening broke the spell. Jeff's head
tilted enough for him to look her way in surprise. He saw his wife step
silently out of the Jeep and head towards the house.
Jeff, worried but hopeful, quickly exited the Jeep and hurried to
follow his wife. As he caught up with her, he cautiously slipped an arm
around her waist and gently tried to hug her lithe body to his. At
first, she hesitated, unsure and a little ashamed of her earlier
behavior, before leaning lightly against her husband, her head rolling
with relief against his shoulder in quiet penitence.
"I'm sorry, Nabs." Jeff lamented barely above a whisper as he
gently kissed the top of her head. She had done it to him again. Every
time he tried to assert himself, she cut him down with practiced
strokes. This 'argument' hurt as much as any; leaving him emotionally
bruised and battered - but still very much in love with his wife.
They stopped at the front door and stood silently. Nabiki sniffed
once and hugged her husband, burying her face in his shoulder. A light
breeze caressed them, its sound a Hawaiian welcome home.
"It's a nice house," she hesitantly replied in a small, embarrassed
voice. She was aware of her mood swings; actions that scared her in
their unpredictability and lack of control. This last clash frightened
her more than any before. It was something she desperately wished to
contain and control.
With a renewed sense of optimism, Jeff led the quiet Nabiki on a
tour of their new home. She was impressed but uninterested in the
modern kitchen, bemused at the oversized master bedroom, pleased with
the Japanese style bath, and delighted with her private office, complete
with a sophisticated computer system. Almost excitedly, her earlier
behavior forgotten, she hugged her husband. She had something she
always valued in a home; a place to call her own. A place where she
could pursue whatever venture she chose. A place to build her own
fortune. She hugged Jeff again, sniffing back a new round of tears,
this time caused by the realization of just how lucky she had been in
choosing this unpredictable gaijin with a shinobi past. Jeff just held
his wife remembering all the reasons he married her in the first place.
He was grateful at having survived another Nabiki assault and prayed
that he wouldn't have to endure very many more.

Neither slept well that night, especially Nabiki. Both restlessly
tossed and turned; he because of the new bed and she from something else
- something deeper.
Shortly after midnight, Nabiki gave up trying to fall asleep and
slipped quietly out of their bed. She hesitated, running her fingers
lightly through her hair, before crossing to the open sliding glass
door; as if drawn by the sounds of the surf. A cool breeze swept
through the opened door, swirling around her light nightgown and
caressing her with the fragrances of ocean and tropical vegetation. She
stood silently looking at the dark horizon to the west; one hand on the
door frame and the other clutching the front of her gown. Casually, she
brushed her wind blown hair from in front of her face and grimaced
slightly.
Somewhere over that horizon was the home she had grown up in; the
place where her family were, even now, going through the daily
activities she was so familiar with. Ranma was probably running for his
life with Akane close behind. Her father and Genma Saotome were,
undoubtedly, beginning their latest board game; each secretly plotting
how to cheat themselves to victory. Kasumi would be planning the day's
meals and preparing her shopping list.
Kasumi. Why did the thought of her cause Nabiki so much anxiety and
such a warm feeling at the same time? Perhaps she missed her older
sister more than any other of her family. For just that moment, she
wanted desperately to talk to her Oneechan; to tell her what she was
feeling. Something was wrong. Something inside her didn't... feel
right. She closed her eyes and battled a very depressing thought - that
Jeff was right - that she really was pregnant.
A sudden chill caused Nabiki to wrap her arms across her chest and
shudder slightly. Was it just the cool air or the added feeling of fear
and loneliness? A flicker of homesickness touched her heart briefly
and moved on. Its icy fingers causing her to shudder again. She'd
never been away from home so long - so permanently. She didn't realize
until now just how important the mundane, commonplace things she had
grown up with meant to her. She sadly shifted her gaze to the twinkling
stars above the horizon and made a little wish.
<Oneechan, if I could talk to you for only five minutes...> she
thought, leaning slightly against the door and hugging herself against
the chill.
With a spark of indignation, her stubbornness regained control.
<NO! I'm *not* bothering them with my problems. They'll think I can't
make it on my own.> Her scowl seemed to sever, once again, that
symbolic link with her family. <I can handle this. I don't need
*anyone's* help.>
With a look of irritation at her earlier emotions, Nabiki shook her
head, trying to clear the childish fears she had, and quietly slipped
back into bed. Jeff, stirred slightly and draped his arm sleepily over
her mid-section. With a small smile, Nabiki took his hand and pressed
it lightly against her flat, firm stomach. She didn't know why; it just
felt right. That must have worked because it allowed her to finally
fall to sleep; enveloped in the love she had always dreamed of.

Morning found the couple going through their usual activities; Jeff
checking the news on his computer and Nabiki in the bathroom throwing
up.
Jeff sighed with resignation at the 'cat coughing up a hairball'
sounds coming from the master bath. This morning sickness was going to
have to be addressed. Like it or not, Nabiki was going to have to face
the prospects.
Moments later, as she crossed the hallway heading for the kitchen,
Jeff decided the time had come.
"Nabiki," he called to his wife. "Can we talk?"
"Sure," she answered from the kitchen. "What about?"
Jeff eased himself out of his chair and slowly walked into the
kitchen. Nabiki was pouring herself some orange juice. That, in
itself, wasn't so unusual. The fact she was pouring the juice over a
bowl of sugar frosted flakes, was. He decided the direct approach was
inadvisable for the moment and took another direction with his
questioning.
"You're not cooking breakfast?" he asked with raised eyebrows.
"No."
"Don't know how?"
"No. I choose not to. Why don't *you* cook?"
Jeff sighed. "All I know how to cook are American breakfasts."
Nabiki wrinkled her nose at the prospect of bacon and eggs.
Munching on a spoonful of frosted flakes marinated in orange juice, she
offered an alternative. "How about we eat out? I hear McDonalds serves
breakfast here in America."
It was Jeff's turn to wrinkle his nose. Somehow, what passed for
breakfast under the golden arches didn't sound too appetizing at the
moment. Nabiki had yet to learn that 'fast' and 'food' didn't always go
together... especially at breakfast.
"I guess breakfast isn't what I wanted to talk about." Jeff
nervously thumbed the back of a kitchen chair. His panic fighting for
control.
"Then why did you ask?" Nabiki's eyes were wide as she continued to
crunch her way through her bowl of flakes. It was then Jeff noticed the
mini-marshmallows floating in the bowl. As he thought of the strange
combination, it almost made *him* sick.
"It's about your... ah... problems in the morning." Jeff struggled
to correctly identify and address his wife's daily ritual.
"It's just a bug I got back in Japan." Nabiki stopped chewing and
gave her husband a hard look. "Nothing else."
"Have you talked to anyone about this?"
"I mentioned it to Doctor Tofu before we left." She squirmed
slightly in her seat as she used her spoon to pick at the bobbing lumps
of sugar in her bowl.
"And..."
"You know Japanese doctors. They never tell you everything they
know." She looked at her husband with clear irritation. "Why?"
"Well, I've had a talk with Tofu myself..." his voice trailed off.
This was not going the way he had hoped it would. His panic started to
gain the upper hand. He began to sweat.
Nabiki already knew where he was going and quickly moved to cut him
off.
"I am NOT pregnant!" She slammed her spoon down into the bowl
creating a tiny orange tsunami that left frosted flakes and marshmallows
all over the table.
"How do you know?" Jeff was partially relieved that the issue was
finally out in the open.
"I'm a woman. We *know* these things."
Jeff just threw up his hands and started to leave. Two steps were
all he took before turning back around. They had had this argument
before and he had always abandoned the field before its resolution. He
had always proved his cowardice in the face of his wife. This time it
would be different. This time he was going to finish what he started.
"Nabiki, that's ridiculous."
"Yeah? Have *you* ever been pregnant?" She shot back smugly.
"No. Have you?"
Nabiki's mouth opened and quickly closed without answering. Glaring
at her husband she debated the many violent responses at her disposal.
Jeff sensed his advantage and quickly moved the discussion to closure.
"Nabiki, without checking, how would you know for sure?"
"I'm *not* going to a doctor." she flatly refused. <*That's* how all
this got started.> she bitterly thought to herself.
"You don't have to." Jeff was becoming frustrated, even in his
victory. "You can buy a testing kit at the store and find out here 'in
the privacy of your own home'."
Nabiki shot Jeff a disgusted look.
"What? They have those in Japan. I've seen them." Jeff returned
her disgusted look. "I'm surprised you didn't know that."
"Maybe because *I* never needed to use one."
They glared at each other for several seconds. Jeff was holding his
own. Not since the first wedding had he felt enough confidence to
openly confront Nabiki. He liked the feeling.
"Look, let's end this debate. I'll just run down to the drug store
and buy you a kit. You can check for yourself. If you're not pregnant,
we can try something else. OK?"
For a few seconds Nabiki crushed cereal flakes on the table with her
spoon.
"Oh, all right," she finally snarled. "If it'll get you to stop
pestering me about... you know." She dismissed Jeff with a wave of her
hand.
Relieved that violence had been avoided, and still reeling from the
sight of Nabiki's 'breakfast', Jeff quickly departed for the nearest
drug store.
Just after Jeff's departure, Nabiki pushed back from the table and
stared down at her belly button.
"You *better not* be in there," she growled. <Good grief! What am I
doing?!?>

Outside of a few snide remarks and a knowing wink from the teenaged
clerk, the trip was uneventful and Jeff returned quickly with a standard
home pregnancy testing kit.
Nabiki, now dressed in a loose yukata, snatched the kit from Jeff's
hand and stared at the instructions. For several minutes, she struggled
with the English words until Jeff couldn't take watching her any more.
He gently eased the box out of her limp fingers and started to translate
the instructions. Needless to say, both were embarrassed by the
explicitness of it all.
"I could have figured it out myself," Nabiki pouted. "My English
isn't *that* bad."
"Well, Nabs, my dear, your English certainly got us this far." Jeff
fought back a tiny smile. Good thing too. Considering Nabiki's current
disposition, a smile could have been fatal. Humor was no longer a
defense against Nabiki's wrath.
Snatching back the box, Nabiki disappeared into the bathroom. She
knew enough of the instructions to complete the disgusting test. At
first, she toyed with the idea of just dipping the device in plain water
to prove she wasn't pregnant to her husband. That idea quickly gave way
to her own secret desire to know the truth. All she had been going
through the last two months was certainly more than a 'virus'.
Jeff settled back in his chair and did a little channel surfing with
the TV remote. Nothing really caught his attention as his mind kept
wandering to how their lives would change if Nabiki really was pregnant.
He wasn't ready to become a father just yet and felt certain Nabiki
wasn't prepared to assume the responsibilities of motherhood. Of the
three Tendo sisters, only Kasumi seemed to him the type that would
eventually have children. He mused how she would probably make a good
mother, too. Nabiki, on the other hand... He shuddered at the thought.
<My God!> he thought with despair. <We're still kids ourselves.
We're not ready for this!>
Further thoughts were derailed by the tiny sound Nabiki made in the
hallway. Jeff turned and was immediately sobered by what he saw.
Nabiki, glassy-eyed, slumped wearily against the wall, her trembling
hand holding the test kit.
"I'm... I'm... pregnant." She sounded like a ghost and looked
almost as pale. She also looked like she was about to cry again.
"Nabs, that's wonderful!" Jeff leapt to his feet and quickly
scampered over to take his wife in his arms. She didn't resist as he
gently folded her into an embrace. Instead, she buried her face in his
chest and began sobbing.
"I don't want to be pregnant," she moaned, her body shuddering.
"I've got things to do - a life to live. Jeffrey, I DON'T WANT TO BE
PREGNANT!" The last pronouncement was punctuated by her fist striking
his chest hard enough to make him wince.
"Now dear," Jeff tried to reason. "You once told me every child is
a gift."
She wasn't buying it. "Why me? Why now? I finally get everything
I want. I finally get a chance to do the things I've always wanted; to
live the life I've always dreamed of..." She sobbed again. "Now THIS
has to happen! Jeffrey, I DON'T WANT TO BE PREGNANT!"
Their eyes met as she looked up at him and Jeff could clearly see
the fear and, even, panic in her. He gulped hard, closed his eyes and
dreaded what he was about to propose.
"Nabiki, if you feel that strongly..." he bit his tongue trying to
keep from suggesting what he was about to suggest. He hated himself for
even thinking such a thing but the happiness and well being of his wife
came first. His voice lost all its emotion. "There... there are things
that can be done... about being pregnant, I mean." he practically
whispered the last. He never felt so rotten as that moment holding his
unwillingly pregnant wife.
Nabiki's head snapped up, stunned by his suggestion. She knew
exactly what he meant. For several seconds, she stared at her husband
in shock. While it was true that abortion was the second most used
contraceptive method in Japan, it was also the most feared procedure to
a Japanese woman. Many believed that it condemned the soul of the baby
to wander the earth for all eternity, alone and unloved, searching for
its mother. It was the kind of thing that had driven other women mad
with remorse. Abruptly, Nabiki's demeanor changed. Her hands flew to
her husband's throat.
"You'd have me KILL MY BABY!" she screamed as she slammed Jeff's
head against the wall hard enough to cause him to see stars. Her
maternal instincts kicked in and she was now defending the life she
carried. No one, could fight for their child like a Tendo. Nabiki
struck her husband with repeated blows of fear and frustration, her eyes
screwed tightly shut, tears flowing freely. It was all his fault. HE
got her pregnant. HE brought all this upon her.
"I thought you... I mean..." Jeff was stumbling for words and trying
to clear his aching head. To protect himself from further injury, he
held his wife in a tight enough embrace to keep her from continuing her
physical assault. His superior strength and conditioning quickly gained
control. Her struggles became weaker and weaker.
Her hands went from fists for striking to clutching embrace as
rationality slowly seeped back into her body. As they clung to each
other, their bodies slowly slid to the floor where Jeff came to rest
sitting with his back to the wall and Nabiki curled up in his lap, still
crying over the shock and injustice of it all. Every now and then, she
would sob: "I don't want to be pregnant." and slap her fist against her
husband's chest.
Jeff continued to hold his wife and tried to reason with her. "You
can still go to school, handle your investments, run your businesses.
Having a child shouldn't stop you."
Nabiki slowly turned her tear-stained eyes towards her husband.
"But I don't *want* to be a mother. I don't know *how* to be a
mother." she whimpered. "Jeffrey, I *can't* do this."
Jeff stroked his wife's hair lightly and softly suggested: "WE can
do this, Nabiki."
Wrong answer.
"Oh, that's easy for *you* to say," she moaned sadly. "*You* don't
have to carry it for nine months. *You* don't have to go through all
the discomfort. *You* don't have to give birth."
"I'll be there with you, Nabs," he tried to reassure her. Another
wrong answer.
"I *don't* need... anyone," she growled, her anger beginning to rise
again. "I survived my mother's death. I survived ten years of
supporting my family. I survived the Saotome's and all the damage they
caused." She practically spit out the last. "And I did it all without
*anyone's* help." She shot Jeff a look of defiance and repeated her
first claim: "I don't need anyone's help".
"Not even mine?"
Nabiki hesitated. It suddenly occurred to her she was far from her
home and family. Jeffrey was all she had. Her response was to silently
grip her husband tighter.
Jeff sighed. "Nabiki, we're getting a little ahead of ourselves
here. We need to get you to a real doctor who can do a real pregnancy
test on you and we can find out if you really are pregnant. I mean,
those test kits *are* sometimes wrong."
Nabiki only weakly nodded her agreement. Both knew the truth. The
kits were rarely wrong in the affirmative. Nabiki really was pregnant.

The rest of the weekend went by slowly, Nabiki spending most of her
time in the bedroom, laying down and watching TV. Her English was
improving but that was about all that could be said.
Jeff used his contacts from the country club, namely Doctor Stanley
Wiseman, head of obstetrics at the local hospital, to arrange for an
appropriate doctor for his wife. Stanley, while amused at his young
friend's situation, quickly came to the conclusion that there was only
one doctor for a woman like Nabiki, Doctor Bridget Engman. Jeff liked
the sound of a woman doctor for his wife and felt certain that Nabiki
would agree. Stanley made a quick phone call and the appointment was
set for first thing Monday morning.

As first meetings go, that first appointment proved to be a
harbinger of things to come.
As Doctor Engman entered the room, Jeff got the impression he was
dealing with a no-nonsense young physician who had more experience than
her years. Jeff quickly took stock of his wife's new physician. She
was shorter than Nabiki, had long, honey-colored hair that was pulled
back in a ponytail and wore half-lens glasses balanced on the end of her
nose. Jeff proved his maturity by demonstrating his advanced case of
'foot-in-mouth' disease.
"So, you're the doctor," Jeff quipped.
"And you're the father," Doc Engman dryly observed.
"... of the baby," Jeff finished.
"I figured you weren't grandpa, kid."
"Well, I..." Jeff never got a chance to respond as Doctor Engman
quickly moved on to Nabiki.
"So, I'm told you're feeling a little pregnant," the doctor quipped
with a friendly smile as she started with the general portion of the
exam by listening to Nabiki's heart.
"Hai... yes," Nabiki struggled with her English. She didn't like
being unable to speak the local language freely. It caused her to feel
like an outsider - a gaijin - herself. "We use test at home."
"We used a home pregnancy test kit I got at the drug store," Jeff
tried to inject himself into the discussion.
"I *know* what she meant," Dr. Engman said almost tiredly, looking
over her glasses at Jeff.
That one look gave Jeff the impression that his presence was no
longer required.
"Would you rather I waited outside?" Jeff sheepishly asked.
"Perhaps it would be best if you did. Things would go easier if
your wife and I did this alone," she replied absently while returning to
the examination.
"Fine...," Jeff almost mumbled. He wanted to stay, he wanted to
know, but felt his presence was clearly unwanted. "I'll just... out
there."
"Yes, do," Doctor was beginning to sound irritated.
"Yeah, that's a... good... " He was rambling now, fiddling with the
door knob. Like a child who didn't want to go to bed, Jeff was stalling
- putting off the inevitable.
Nabiki finally had enough. Leaning around the doctor she barked:
"Jeffrey. GO!"
Feeling suitably dismissed, Jeff retreated to the waiting room. He
tried to distract himself with six month old women's magazines. Not the
best of ideas. Half the stories were about how to keep your figure
after having a baby. The rest were how rotten it is to be pregnant and
how the father is an idiot because he didn't have a clue how rotten it
really is. All of which, made him more nervous than he already was.
Thirty minutes later, Nabiki emerged from the examination room with
Dr. Engman, a resigned look on her face. Whatever happened, Nabiki was
not much happier than when she arrived.
"You okay, Nabs?" he anxiously asked.
"Hai." Her voice was soft, almost yielding. "I'm really pregnant."
She still sounded sad at the revelation.
Jeff scowled in his confusion. This was supposed to resolve the
issue. Instead, she seemed no better off than before.
Dr. Engman, however, wore the expression of a person completely in
control of the situation. Perhaps it was because she had seen hundreds
of such cases; all scared, nervous, and unsure of what to expect from
their first pregnancy. She specialized in the difficult cases; the
young, the scared, those with language barriers. Nabiki fit all three.
"So, we can go home now?" he asked with an unsure cock of his head.
Dr. Engman smiled to herself and suggested that Nabiki go an talk to
her nurse about managing her diet during the pregnancy. She wanted a
few minutes alone with the father.
Once inside the doctor's office, Dr. Engman made her case.
"Mr. Lawrence, I believe there are a few things we need to talk
about." She leaned back against her cluttered desk and crossed her
arms. "You're young, you're recently married, and now you're about to
become a father. I'm concerned as to just how ready you are for this?"
She leveled her most serious look at Jeffrey. She was used to
dealing with reluctant fathers - when her patients came with fathers.
This probe was just to determine if Jeff fit such a title.
"I'm not really sure." His sheepish reply and the rubbing of the
back of his head told Dr. Engman all she needed to know. "It's all so..
sudden."
Dr. Engman chuckled softly to herself. <Bingo!> she thought. She'd
heard it all before. Young couple, about to become parents for the
first time, totally unprepared for what they were going to experience.
"I can pay for whatever..." Jeff began. Bad move. Dr. Engman was
totally unimpressed with Jeff's wealth.
"You think money is the solution to everything?" she asked in a
shocked voice.
"No... I just mean..." Jeff failed to put into words his objections.
In 'normal' society he was always struggling with having to explain his
wealth. He hated it. It wasn't fair. It wasn't right. Money or not,
he was still the same person. It was one of those things they forgot to
warn him about.
"Your friend Dr. Wiseman has told me all about you. Your life, your
marriage, and your sudden wealth. So, we can dispense with the crap,
kid." She sounded a little peeved and looked even more so. She was too
used to working with the poor and underprivileged. Faced with two young
people with all the advantages, she too was struggling with a bit of
adjustment. "Your basic problem is no different than anyone else's."
She locked Jeff with a stern look. "You have a scared first time mother
out there. What she needs is no different from any other pregnant
woman; love, support, and understanding. THAT is your principal job for
the next seven months. Do you understand?"
That admonishment stung Jeff like a slap. He felt his tenuousness
being quickly replaced by his own irritation.
"I've been loving, supporting, and understanding her for the last
two months... longer if you count the courtship," Jeff replied with a
hurt but defiant look. "I have bent so many directions supporting and
understanding her, people have begun to question my backbone. Marriage
has been a big adjustment for Nabiki - for us both. You have no idea
what I've had to endure just to keep this marriage together. YOU are
the last person who needs to lecture me on those issues." He glared at
the doctor for a few seconds before adding: "I only mentioned the money
because I want what's best for Nabiki - whatever it costs."
A pregnant pause gave Dr. Engman time to reassess the young Mr.
Lawrence. He was certainly not what she expected. He was kind,
concerned, and loved his wife but, most importantly, didn't seem to have
let his money go to his head. Dr. Engman's tone softened.
"You've known about her pregnancy for two months?"
"Almost," he walked over to the window and looked out. "Let's just
say, *I* believed she was pregnant. I couldn't prove it, of course, but
her family doctor back in Japan agreed with me. Until today, I've not
been able to convince *her*."
"Well, well," she replied under her breath, almost genuinely
impressed. It was beginning to look like she was dealing with an
unusual couple. "Has she always been so stubborn?"
"You don't know the half of it, doc. She's a Tendo. I think they
invented stubbornness. At least they have the Far East patents."
Gently, Dr. Engman placed her hand on Jeff's shoulder. She now
understood what Jeff had been through the last two months and was
visibly impressed with the fact he refused to give up on his wife. "You
really do love her, don't you?"
Jeff only nodded. <How many times do I have prove that?> he asked
himself. If he only knew...

The ride home was considerably quieter, the silence broken only by
the occasional small talk.
"I suppose we better let the rest of the family know," Jeff
commented offhandedly.
"Hai," Nabiki replied softly. She still didn't like the idea of
being pregnant; of bringing another life into this world. It would cut
into her personal freedom. Second to owing people, the loss of her
personal freedom was high on her list of things she disliked.

At home, Nabiki paid a quick visit to the bathroom. Jeff decided to
take advantage of the situation and phone his mother of the news. It
was almost 5 AM Tokyo time so it came as no surprise that his mother
sleepily answered the phone.
"Mom, it's me, Jeff." Jeff's opening was less than original.
"Oh, Jeffrey. Is there a problem?" she sleepily replied.
"Mom, Nabiki's pregnant."
"That's wonderful, Jeffrey. I'm sure she's thrilled." Sounding
suddenly wide awake.
"Mom, we're talking about Nabiki here."
"Jeffrey, I'm sure she's taking it well."
"Mom, we're talking about Nabiki here."
"Well, I'm sure she'll make the adjustments."
"Mom, we're talking about..."
"Jeffrey, dear. If you say that one more time, I'm going to strangle
you through this phone line." She sounded peeved.
"Yes, mom."
"I get the feeling you want me to come for a short visit to help
Nabiki over the first hurdles."
"Like you wouldn't believe, mom."
"No problem. I'll be on the first plane out this morning, Jeffrey.
Don't worry, she'll be fine."
"Mom, we're talking..."
"Jeffrey, dear, shut up." she interrupted, sounding really
irritated. "I'll call you from the airport when I arrive."
"Yes, mom. Sorry mom. Bye mom."

Nabiki came into the room just as Jeff was hanging up the phone.
She looked strangely content. That, alone, was enough to unnerve Jeff
but she was also smiling. That, gave him the willies.
"You all right?" he asked hesitantly.
Her answer was to wrap her arms around his neck and pull him into a
passionate kiss, practically grinding her body against his. While his
mind raced to figure out what was going on, his body took over and
responded to his wife's advances. Without breaking the kiss, Jeff
scooped her lithe form into his arms and began carrying her back towards
the bedroom.
"It's been a long time since we've done this," she whispered after
breaking the kiss only to resume with nuzzling the base of his neck.
"You know I *always* get what I want." What she was doing with her
tongue sent shivers up his spine.
As Jeff gently placed her on the freshly made bed, he tried to
recall the only male oriented article he read in one of the magazines
back at Dr. Engman's office.
<What was the title of that article...?> He crawled onto the bed
with her as she excitedly attacked his clothes. < Oh, yes. 'Elevated
hormones in early pregnancy and how to survive them.' >
At that point, his analytical mind took a vacation.

The next day dawned as beautiful as any in Hawaii for everyone
except Jeff. As planned, Jeff retrieved his mother from the airport
when she called. While he was happy to see her, he quickly got the
feeling she was a woman on a mission.
Arriving home, Mrs. Lawrence wasted no time in dispatching her son.
She wanted some time alone with her daughter-in-law.
"Jeffrey, dear," she smiled sweetly. "Do you still have those golf
clubs your father bought you?"
"Yes mom."
"Do you still use them?"
"Yes mom."
"Are you still a member of that fancy country club of yours?"
"Yes mom."
"Do you remember where it is?"
"Mom, are you trying to tell me you want me to leave?"
"I always said you were a smart boy, Jeffrey."

As she watched his car disappear down the street, Mrs. Lawrence
thought: <You haven't a clue, do you? My poor baby is about to become a
father and has no idea what he's in for.>
With Jeffrey gone, Nabiki felt strangely vulnerable. She had never
had a private conversation with his mother - never been alone with her,
period. The idea of their first discussion being the kind of chat a
mother usually gave her pregnant daughter unnerved her slightly.
"Has your son always been so... glib?" Nabiki shyly asked as she
poured her mother-in-law a cup of tea. Not knowing just what else to
ask, she started with her best 'small talk'.
"It's just his defense mechanism," his mother replied with a smile
as she continued to stare out the window. "When he's scared or unsure,
he tends to use humor to protect himself." She blushed a little as she
turned Nabiki's way. "You know he's really a bit of a coward."
Nabiki blinked, a little surprised at the older woman's open honesty
about her own son. Nabiki thought back over the last year at all the
times Jeff backed down when she confronted him. She always thought it
was just because he realized she was right. The thought of a coward for
a husband disturbed her.
"Well, not a coward in the traditional sense." The older woman sat
down and accepted a cup from Nabiki. Her little smile was directed more
at the table than her son's wife. "More of a social coward, really.
He's always been overly deferential to those he admired..." She
suddenly looked Nabiki's way. "...or loved."
"Lawrence-senpai..." Nabiki shyly attempted to find a way of
responding.
"Nabiki, why don't you call me 'mother'... or 'Anne'?"
Nabiki stared at Mrs. Lawrence again. It had been many years since
she had called anyone 'mother'. She wasn't sure she could ever call
anyone that again.
"Would 'Anne' be okay?" Nabiki asked softly. Nabiki didn't blush
very often. Something in Jeff's mother caused her to blush like an
embarrassed school girl. In a way, she almost enjoyed the feeling.
"'Anne' will be just fine. Now, let's talk about you. How are you
doing?"
"Fine, I guess," Nabiki stirred her tea nervously. "A little
scared maybe." Only two people on earth could have ever gotten Nabiki
to admit her fears; Kasumi Tendo and, now, Anne Lawrence.
"That's natural. Having a baby is pretty stressful."
Nabiki painfully smiled and nodded.
"Still getting sick in the mornings?"
"A little."
"Keep a few crackers by the bed at night and eat them before you get
up. That'll help with the morning sickness. Eating alright?"
"I guess."
"That's important, you know. And watch out for 'cravings'. They'll
destroy a good diet faster than anything. Got a good doctor?"
"I think so."
"You'll do fine, honey." Anne picked up her tea again, cradling the
warm cup in her hands. "Now Jeffrey... that's another problem."
"Jeffrey?" Nabiki was suddenly lost.
"Jeffrey, sometimes, refuses to face things head on. I guess it's
all that 'Shinobi' training of his." Anne took a sip of her tea to
focus the rest of what she intended to say. "I'm afraid of just how
he's going to handle all this." She sighed audibly and looked hard at
her cup. "We didn't do a very good job raising him, I'm afraid. He's
still pretty childish."
"Jeffrey has been very supportive," Nabiki insisted.
"That's good," Anne actually sounded relieved. "He's run away from
easier things than being a father, I'm afraid."
Nabiki scowled at her own cup. Anne Lawrence was painting a picture
of something other than 'marriage in paradise'. Nabiki got an
uncomfortable feeling again.
"Frankly, I'm surprised he didn't run away from you." Anne took
another sip of her tea while watching Nabiki closely for a reaction.
"Me?"
"You're a strong willed woman - and that's good. I just never
imagined my son would find enough courage to even date, much less, marry
someone like you." Anne made the whole line of conversation sound so
mundane. Like she was discussing some stranger instead of her only son.
"I was quite skeptical when he described you the first time. I thought
he was... making a mistake."
Nabiki's stunned look prompted Anne Lawrence to complete her
thoughts.
"Since I've gotten to know you, I think Jeffrey made a wise choice.
"I love Jeffrey," was Nabiki's only reply.
"And I think Jeffrey loves you too. I just want you to be aware of
what he's capable of. He's scared right now. He sometimes does
regrettable things when he's scared." Anne looked apologetically at her
daughter-in-law. Admitting the truth about her son was always difficult
- more so because she was admitting it to his wife.
"I'm not worried. I can take care of myself."
"Good. Then we have nothing to worry about." Anne Lawrence
actually seemed to relax with that resolution. Nabiki was a tough girl.
She would need to be over the coming months if she was going to survive
both her own pregnancy and her husband's reaction to it.
The rest of that afternoon was spent discussing pregnancy, being a
good American wife, and how to deal with Jeffrey; all subjects Anne
Lawrence was knowledgeable about. By the end of the day, Nabiki had
gained new respect for Jeff's mother. She especially like the prospects
of having a real mother to talk to again - someone who would be brutally
honest when necessary but still offered the warmth and love only a
mother could give.

Jeff's arrival at the country club was greeted like... well, nobody
actually noticed. As it was Wednesday, Dr. Wiseman was already out on
the driving range. The rest of Jeff's usual foursome were scattered
throughout the club house.
Tony Johnston, Australian entrepreneur, was in the bar closing
another deal on his cell phone. Jeff could only guess where in the
world Tony was connected to. He had business in more countries than
Jeff.
<That man's phone bill must be unbelievable.> Jeff mused as he
watched the animated Aussie make his points over the phone. Jeff was
glad he never had to do business with the guy.
Jeff found the last of his foursome down in the locker room. James
Bateman, local attorney, was trying on his new golf shoes. Spotting
Jeff, he became his usual talkative self.
"Jeffrey, what do ya think?" He held up one of the shoes and
wiggled it like Exhibit A.
Jeff blinked and paused before answering, not wishing to offend his
friend. "Jim, they're yellow." he cautiously pointed out.
"No no no, they're high visibility, all weather, state of the art
golfing footwear. Guaranteed to protect me from the elements while
providing me with the visibility to be seen even in the dimmest light."
He finished with a grin that looked like he just made his best case to
the jury.
"Jim, they're still yellow," Jeff insisted in a monotone as he
crossed his arms and leaned against a locker.
"True." The barrister finally admitted with a sheepish grin. "Ugly
bastards, aren't they?"
"Where did you get them?"
"My wife, Kei, bless her heart." Jim sighed with resignation as he
looked at his gaudy footwear. "She thought I needed some new golf
shoes."
Jim had also married a Japanese girl; an athletic little bundle of
energy that participated in and often excelled at just about every sport
she could find. She was also a sucker for every sport 'gimmick' on the
market. Sometimes inflicting her naivete on her husband. Still, it
gave him and Jeff something in common to talk about; surviving marriage
to a Japanese woman.
After rounding up his 'gang', suitable caddies, and enough liquid
refreshment to last 9 holes, the game was on. Right away, Jeff got the
impression that this was *not* going to be one of their usual rounds.
"So, your wife is pregnant," Dr. Wiseman said nonchalantly while
taking a few practice swings at the first tee. The reaction from the
others was... underwhelming.
"Pregnant? Who's pregnant?" Tony asked, interrupting his latest
phone conversation only long enough to figure out which conversation was
the most interesting. Nabiki's condition won, hands down. "I'll call
you back, Stan. Something's come up." he barked into his phone before
terminating the connection.
"Heh, I knew you had it in you kid," Jim smirked. "By the way, a
dollar a hole and no halves, right?" Like a good lawyer, he wanted to
make sure everybody understood the rules before he teed off.
Four holes and 4 lost golf balls went by before the first attempts
at advice began.
"How'd the meeting with Dr. Engman go?" Dr. Wiseman casually asked
as he and Jeff walked down the fairway.
"Ok, I guess," Jeff suddenly became very aware of the fact he was
younger, in some cases much younger, than the three people he was
playing golf with. "I'm not sure she likes me."
Stanley just laughed. "Son, I don't think Dr. Engman likes *any*
fathers. She treats them all like the cause of some horrible disease -
pregnancy. Good with the mothers, though."
"Just so they don't choose up sides against me," Jeff muttered.
"Don't worry, kid. Engman's a good doctor. If anybody can handle
that iron butterfly you married, it's Dr. Bridget Engman."
"It's not Nabiki I'm worried about."
"Well... You'll have to endure a few shots to your ego. But I
suspect you're big enough to take it."
"I hope you're right. I'm not sure I'm ready to be a father."
"Who ever is?"
The game progressed and Jeff soon found himself walking with Jim
Bateman. Attorneys still made him nervous.
"So, Nabiki acting strange yet?"
"Strange?"
"You know, weird cravings, mood swings, outbursts of temper - stuff
like that." He opened his second can of beer.
"All of the above."
"Ah, good. Now comes the best part."
"Best part."
"Marital troubles."
"What?!?!?"
"Just kidding. Geez, you're so touchy." Bateman lined up a shot,
poorly, and hit the ball, equally poorly. It bounced twice and landed
in a sand trap. "Mulligan?" he called out.
"No way!"
"You're crazy."
"Dad was right," he sighed. "I should have been a doctor. More
time on the golf course."
"I heard that," yelled Dr. Wiseman from across the fairway. They'd
had this debate before and Stanley wasn't going to let the younger
attorney get away with such slander.
"Well, it's true," Jim yelled back. "You spend more time in golf
lessons than I do in court." He shifted his attention to the fourth
member of their group. "Tony, dammit, put the phone down and hit the
ball."
Tony scowled across the fairway at his tormentor. All watched as
Tony Johnston carefully placed his phone on the ground, hit a perfect
shot onto the green, deftly picked up the phone and resumed his
conversation. "Lucky shot," mumbled the lawyer. "How, the hell, does
he do that?"
By the 6th hole, the sound of Tony's phone interrupted Jim as he
lined up his tee shot.
"Dammit Tony. Can't you go just a few minutes without that thing?"
Tony ignored Jim's irritation and answered his phone. Seconds later
he interrupted Jim again.
"It's *your* secretary, Della. She wants to know if you've heard
from your partner, Perry. She needs to find him."
Jim held his arms heavenward. "Why me?"
"Because you're a flippin barrister and ya owe us six dollars
already."
"Six dollars? How the hell did I get down six dollars so quick?"
"'Cause you're playin like crap, sport."
Jim just slapped his forehead.
Jeff really didn't notice as he was lost - looking off towards the
club house - thinking about Nabiki. He had hoped this golf game would
take his mind off his wife's pregnancy. It had just the opposite
effect; he was more apprehensive now than ever before. What's worse, he
became acutely aware of the fact he was playing golf with three guys who
made him feel like a kid amongst adults again. A quick check of his
caddy confirmed his worst fears. On top of being scared and confused,
he was probably still the youngest person on the golf course.

[Month 4 - The Lamaze Class]

Dr. Engman insisted Jeff and Nabiki attend a Lamaze childbirth
class, taught at the hospital, to better prepare Nabiki for giving
birth. Neither Jeff nor Nabiki really wanted to attend; Jeff was just
too busy and Nabiki thought the whole thing a waste of time.
Nabiki was beginning to show, her waistline expanding enough to
necessitate her first set of maternity clothes. She didn't like the
change. It only confirmed for all to see the very thing Nabiki hated
most; the fact she was very pregnant. All this exacted a hefty price
between them. As the baby grew, so did their arguments.
They arrived at the class with their obligatory pillow and blanket.
Shown to a place on the floor, they took up casual but uncomfortable
positions. Looking around the room, they noticed immediately that they
were easily the youngest couple there. They were also eliciting
occasional looks of pity. Obviously, some had determined that Jeff and
Nabiki were a couple of kids who 'got in trouble' but decided to have
the baby anyway. Little did they know.
"Hi," came a friendly voice from behind. Nabiki and Jeff cautiously
turned to face a young yuppie couple; easily in their mid-20's. Jeff
just nodded with an embarrassed smile.
"My name is John." The stranger stuck out his hand. "And this is
my 'significant other', Caroline." He indicated the very pregnant woman
with him.
"Charmed," she chirped with a thick Australian accent while holding
a limp wrist in Jeff's direction.
"Significant other?" Nabiki thought out loud. The English language
continued to reveal its intricacies a little each day, sweeping poor
Nabiki along in total confusion as it went.
"We decided to forgo the phony, materialistic, ostentatious,
pseudo-religious costume playacting with all its superstitious nonsense
that is nothing more than the disgusting bonding of a female into slavery
to some hormone driven barbarian for our own personal, free-will
declarations of intent to each other." Caroline seemed to take some
perverse pride in her declaration of yuppie independence. "Isn't that
right, poopsie?" She cooed towards John.
"Right you are, sweetie-cakes," John cooed back before doing an
exaggerated cuitsie-kiss.
Nabiki just looked away with a thoroughly sick look on her face.
"Jeffrey, am I to understand these two are not married?" she finally
asked Jeff in Japanese.
"It would appear so, my wife," Jeff replied in Japanese while trying
to maintain his friendly smile.
"And she's having his baby?"
"Looks that way."
"That's disgusting!" she hissed under her breath. Only Jeff's look
of disapproval kept her from voicing to the couple her feelings on the
matter.
Oblivious to Nabiki's scorn, John quickly whipped out a small
camcorder and began taping Caroline as she assumed her place on the
floor next to Nabiki and posed for the camera. Nabiki tried to scoot
away from the annoying Australian. Unfortunately, not fast enough.
Caroline reached out and pulled a reluctant Nabiki into the picture too.
Nabiki's face took on a distinct snarl, kinda like a dog would do just
before biting.
"Smile dear." Jeff was trying to smile himself; hoping to humor the
annoying couple until they latched on to someone else. At least, that
was the hope.
Nabiki's response was a positively lethal look Jeff's direction.
"If this woman doesn't take her hands off me," Nabiki growled to
Jeff in Japanese. "I'll find out where she does her banking and..."
"Now, Nabs," Jeff cautioned in Japanese. "There's no need to go
that far. We could just invite Akane over to cook for them."
Nabiki's scowl suffered a fleeting smile before resuming its hard
look. As long as it was a private joke, Akane's ineptness in the
kitchen was fair game. Still, Akane *was* her sister.
"You know, John is going to be a very famous writer some day,"
Caroline said conspiratorially while leaning over towards Nabiki. "He's
the one who wrote the article in the University of Hawaii literature
review about how the 'Star Wars' trilogy paralleled the American war for
independence." She looked lovingly at John who peeked out from behind
the camera just long enough to make a kissy face at Caroline. Nabiki
just held her hand over her mouth and made a face like she was about to
'hurl'. Jeff rubbed Nabiki's back soothingly while trying to continue
looking interested. Fortunately, the teacher decided then was a good
time to begin the class.
"Ok, everybody." The instructor in her maternity nurses uniform
smiled at her students like a kindergarten teacher the first day of
school. "I'm Nurse Jeanne and we're all here to learn how to have a
baby. Isn't that exciting?" She sounded cute... too cute for her own
good.
<Oh great. An Azusa clone. Why don't they just kill you and make
the world safe.> Nabiki was *not* in a good mood. Caroline and John had
seen to that.
"The first thing we need to learn is that baby's are cute."
<Yup. Needs to die.>
"Babies make us want to cuddle and coo."
<Kill it, kill it, kill it.>
"Babies fill our lives with love."
<For the love of humanity, somebody put her out of her misery.>
As the class progressed, Nabiki was doing alright with the language
with only occasional needs of translation from Jeff. Each time Jeff's
help was required, Nurse Jeanne would stop with her plastic smile
securely in place and wait until Jeff and Nabiki finished their
exchange. Sometimes their discussion took on aspects of a debate when
Nabiki disagreed with Jeff's interpretation of what Nurse Jeanne had
said. In any case, the room began to *feel* like a kindergarten. Nurse
Jeanne decided to take the first break early.
"Pretty exciting, huh?" Caroline nudged an already irritated Nabiki
- dangerous move that. "Your first?" She pointed to Nabiki's
midsection.
Outside of such a gesture being an aggressive insult in Japan, 18
year old Nabiki struggled with an appropriate response on the age issue
alone. <Just how many kids does she think I should have at my age?>
John kept his video camera going throughout the break, several times
catching an incredulous looking Nabiki.
"So, Jeff, are you going to video tape the birth?" he asked merrily.
Nabiki's 'look' warned Jeff to be careful with his answer. Too bad
he missed the warning.
"Naw, we figured after all the tape we shot of the conception...
[oooof]" Nabiki's elbow in her husband's midsection ended his
explanation. Her lethal 'look' warned him of the penalties for any
further nonsense. As John and Caroline exchanged a quick look of
apprehension, Jeff and Nabiki launched into a Japanese argument that
sounded like something you'd hear in a Japanese school yard.
Eventually, Nurse Jeanne resumed the class, deciding to begin with a
few do's and don'ts. All seemed well until she mentioned the part
concerning no sex after the mother's water breaks. Jeff couldn't help
himself.
Raising his hand slowly, he asked: "Excuse me. But has this proven
to be a problem? I mean, what kind of idiot would do something like
that?" His look of surprise was aborted by another jab from Nabiki. At
that point, the pair lapsed into *another* argument in Japanese. Nurse
Jeanne decided to take *another* break. John and Caroline decided to
move to *another* side of the room.

[Month 6 - Global war]

Reluctantly, Jeff had allowed Nabiki to review some of his companies
quarterly reports. It kept her busy and allowed her to do something she
always liked doing. Sounded innocent enough. The first indication Jeff
had of trouble was a phone call he got at his office.
"Jeff, Mr. Gaffney's on the phone." Jeff's secretary, Rachel, stood
in the doorway looking concerned. "He really sounds upset."
"Gaffney?"
"Sean Gaffney, Vice President - South American Operations."
Jeff just shrugged and stabbed at the speaker phone button. "Yes,
Sean. What can I do for you?" Jeff settled back in his chair to play
with an oversized rubber band. He always did that while talking
business on the phone. It helped him relax and concentrate.
"Mr. Lawrence, you've got to do something about your wife," came a
nervous voice through the speaker phone.
"What about my wife?" Jeff stopped playing with his rubber band.
"She apparently has been going over the quarterly reports of some of
our South American companies."
"I'm aware of that," Jeff sounded irritated that his pregnant wife
got pulled into one of his business discussions. "I've let her audit
the reports looking for discrepancies."
"Well, apparently, she found one. At Elegante Heavy Industries."
"Good for her." He went back to playing with the rubber band.
"No sir, you don't understand..."
"What don't I understand?"
"She ordered the termination of the Accounting Manager at Elegante."
"Oh." Jeff stopped playing with the rubber band and began to listen
very carefully.
"English doesn't translate into Spanish well down here in Peru when
spoken by a Japanese native."
"Uh-oh." The rubber band made warning noises as Jeff stretched it
to the limit.
"It seems someone misinterpreted what she said and thought she
ordered the firing of the entire accounting staff."
At that point, the rubber band broke.
"But *that* order got confused and they were going to fire the
entire executive staff."
"Sean, where is this going?" Jeff asked finally with his cheek
planted firmly in his fist, elbow resting on the desk.
"The bottom line, sir, is that she wound up firing the entire plant
- Putting 2700 people out of work. That raised the Peruvian
unemployment rate beyond the acceptable limits of the World Bank who
have terminated Peru's credit rating, thereby canceling any further
chances they had at getting loans."
Jeff just stared at his phone. This couldn't be happening.
"Are you there, sir?"
"Ah... yeah."
"Well, they kinda blame your Japanese wife for all this. In fact,
the Peruvian legislature is meeting as we speak to deliberate possible
responses to your wife's actions." Sean's voice began to rise as his
panic began to assert itself.
"You're kidding."
"No sir. What should we do?"
"Tell them it's a mistake. Nobody's fired. They can all go back to
work."
"I think it's too late for that, sir. The workers sorta... rioted
when they found out and took over the plant. The army was called out...
there were some shots fired. Anyway, the army is now in control of the
facility and NOBODY's working there."
"OK, Sean. Let me find out what I can do about it from here and
I'll call you back."
"Please hurry, sir. There's an ugly looking crowd gathering
outside."
Jeff terminated the phone call and yelled for his secretary.
"Rachel, get on that fancy computer system of yours and notify every
company we have any control over to ignore any instructions my wife may
give. I'll explain to them later what's going on." Jeff quickly packed
and departed for home.
He hadn't gotten three blocks when his car phone rang. It was his
secretary again.
"Jeff, your father's on the phone. He sounds upset." The strain of
having to deal with the fallout of Nabiki's actions beginning to show in
her usually calm demeanor.
"Put him through," Jeff groaned. <Of all people... why my dad?>
"Jeffrey," came his father's irritated voice through the phone.
"You better do something about that wife of yours."
"Yes, dad."
"Peru just got turned down for their World Bank loan. Their economy
is in chaos. The State Department is going ballistic. Do you have any
idea who just called me?" He didn't wait for Jeff's answer. "The
Secretary of State just called me. And let me tell you, young man, he
is not a happy person." Jeff recalled this same conversation ten years
ago when he accidentally broke the German Ambassador's window with a
baseball. Jeff's response hadn't improved with age.
"Dad, it's not my fault."
"Son, that didn't work then and it's not going to work now. Get
control of your wife."
"Yes, dad."
"And son,"
"Yes, dad?"
"Your mother says: 'Hi'."
"Thank you, dad."
Jeff fought the urge to rip his phone out of the car and dispose of
it in the nearest body of water. At the next stop light, it rang again.
"Who now?" Jeff mumbled as he picked up his annoying communications
device.
"Mr. Lawrence?" came an unfamiliar but official sounding voice.
"Yes?" Jeff didn't recognize the voice but felt confident he
wouldn't like him, whomever he was.
"Mr. Lawrence, I'm Travis Butler, special assistant to the
president."
"President? President of what?" Jeff was trying to figure out
which company was upset now.
"THE president." It suddenly became all too clear.
"What does he want with me? *I* didn't vote for him. And how did
you get this number."
"Really, Mr. Lawrence. We ARE the government."
Somehow *that* didn't make Jeffrey Lawrence feel very confident.
"Mr. Lawrence, you need to take control of your wife."
"What?!? Is everybody reading the same script here?!?" Jeff was
beginning to get odd looks from folks in other cars.
"Mr. Lawrence, Peru has just declared war on Japan."
"SO? What could they possibly do to each other? Peru hasn't the
means to invade Japan and Japan is pacifist. I mean, if you gotta have
a war, *this* is the kind to have."
"Mr. Lawrence, I don't think you understand. There will be an
eventual choosing up of sides. Already the European Economic Council
has sided with Japan. The Russians have indicated their sympathies lie
with Peruvian people. The United States has strategic interests in both
countries, you know."
"Strategic interest in Peru?"
"Mr. Lawrence, you obviously don't get the big picture here."
"Look, the whole thing's a mistake! An accident!"
"That's exactly how wars get started, Mr. Lawrence."
"Tell them I'm sorry! We didn't mean it! IT'S NOT MY FAULT!"
"That's exactly what your father said you'd say. We'll try to
defuse the situation through diplomatic means but it may take time."
"I'll help any way I can."
"Just do something about your wife, Mr. Lawrence." A loud 'click'
signaled the termination of their conversation.
Jeff hung up his car phone and fought his rising panic. Somehow, in
the last hour, his life had gone from carefree to the focal point of
World War 3. He also got the uncomfortable feeling he was going to be
audited by the IRS this year.
He pulled onto the freeway heading out of town. For two blissful
minutes he almost began to believe that the worst was over. Almost.
Somewhere near Pearl Harbor, his phone rang again.
"Fitting place for an ambush," he mumbled, picking up his new
implement of torture.
"Hello?"
"Jeffrey, I'm hungry." It was his wife.
"Hungry?"
"Hai, would you pick up a Quarter Pounder with Cheese on your way
home? I can't explain it but I've developed a real craving for a
McDonald's Quarter Pounder with Cheese. Isn't that silly?"
"Craving?" Jeff felt his mind slipping.
"Hai, it just came on me this morning. Maybe you should buy two.
I'm really hungry."
"Buy two." His mind drifted further away.
"Jeffrey? Are you alright? You don't sound so good."
Jeff shook his head to clear his thoughts and decided to ask Helen
of Troy a few questions. "Dear, did you make any phone calls today?"
"Only to an 800 number to get their free psychic help but all they
wanted to do was sell me a psychic help line contract. So, of course, I
told them 'NO'."
"Nobody else?"
"Well..." Nabiki paused as she reviewed her day. "Oh yes, I
discovered that lazy accounting manager from Elegante was two days late
filing his quarterly report. I also found two errors that were just
inexcusable. Jeffrey, *I* learned how to do books better than that in
junior high school. So I called his boss and explained what he had done
wrong and suggested that they let him go."
"Two... days... late," Jeff almost drove off the road hearing his
wife's explanation.
"With two errors. Honestly, Jeffrey, with people like that working
for you, I'm surprised you're still in business."
"Two... errors..." Jeff mumbled back, his mind beginning to slip
again.
"I can't imagine why you'd put up with this. I figured you were
real busy with your other companies so I took care of it for you."
"You...took care of it."
"Hai. They were most appreciative of my phone call."
"I can just imagine."
"Jeffrey, will you make that three Quarter Pounders with Cheese.
I'm really hungry. Well, gotta go now. My show is back on. Bai Bai."
For several seconds, Jeff held the now unconnected phone to his ear,
still in shock. <She really did it.> He thought incredulously. <She
really *did* start a war.>
The sound of his phone ringing again jolted him back to reality.
With a groan, he answered once more.
"Jeffrey, could you pick up some fries too. But only if they're
fresh. I hate when their fries have been sitting around all day. Don't
you? Anyway, make it a big order. Eating for two now, you know. Bai
Bai."
<The woman starts World War 3 and she's worried how fresh her french
fries are.> Jeff thought incredulously as he crossed a bridge. Tossing
his phone into the bay he grimly thought: <This better be her only
child.>

As Jeff walked into his house, he was met with the sight of his wife
reclining on the sofa, reading aloud from her Economics 101 book.
"Dividend - a share in a pro rata distribution (as of profits) to
stockholders." She cooed to the mound that was once her trim
midsection.
Jeff listened for several definitions before his curiosity got the
best of him. "Nabiki, what are you doing?"
"The lady on television said this is the best way to increase our
child's intelligence." Obviously, referring to some cheesy talk show.
"Nabs, that's ridiculous. The baby can't hear what you're saying."
Jeff dropped his briefcase and held out a McDonalds bag full of Quarter
Pounders with Cheese and large french fries.
"The lady said it works." Nabiki insisted as she snatched the bag
our of Jeff's fingers and started rummaging through its contents. "She
wouldn't be on the television if she didn't know what she was talking
about. What, no ketchup?"
"I'll get it," Jeff said wearily as he started towards the kitchen.
"Next we'll learn about stock splits." He could hear Nabiki going
back to her Econ lessons.
The phone rang and Jeff answered, feeling safe there at home. It
was Sean Gaffney again.
"Sean, I'm sorry about not getting right back to you. I think we've
worked out a solution. The State Department going to deal with this.
Sean, you're gonna have to speak up. You sound like you're talking from
under your desk. Oh, you *are* talking from under your desk. Yeah, I'm
sure those Peruvian mobs can get kinda ugly. No, Sean, I don't think
right now is a good time to take your vacation. Somebody has to be
there to pick up the pieces. Don't be silly, we don't need somebody to
pick up *your* pieces. I'm sure the army will be along shortly to
rescue you. Yeah, stay in touch, Sean. Always nice to hear from you."
Jeff absently hung up the phone and paused. <Oh, yes. Ketchup.>

[Month 8 - Depression squared]

The strain of the months began to tell on both Jeff and Nabiki.
Nabiki's irritability increased with her waistline. Her sleep was
constantly interrupted by the baby's movements and her body began to
ache from the constant pressure of the added weight. This didn't help
her disposition any.
Jeff was less than helpful, his 18 year old emotional state was
constantly at war with his shinobi training. Too often, his emotions
won out as he found himself repeatedly slipping into arguments with his
wife over increasingly trivial things. Arguments he always backed down
from; leaving him feeling increasingly frustrated and more like an
outsider in his own home. The only refuge he could find was at his
fashionable office. So, to avoid his wife, he began to spend more and
more time at his place of business.
All this did not go unnoticed by Nabiki. At first she tried calling
Jeff at his office - carrying the fights beyond their home. But soon,
he tired of the phone arguments and had his secretary cover for him,
saying he was out or in a meeting.
Eventually, Nabiki caught on and made one more phone call, late one
evening.
"Tendo residence," came the female voice from the other end of the
connection.
"Akane, it's me, Nabiki," She sounded almost nervous talking to her
own sister.
"Nabiki? What's wrong?," Akane could tell by her sister's voice
this was not really a social call.
"Nothing... really," Nabiki hesitated. "Is Kasumi there?"
"She went out shopping. She'll be back in a little while. Are you
okay?"
Nabiki really wanted to talk to her Oneechan. Kasumi had a way of
making everything better. She felt certain that the problems she was
currently having with Jeff could be easily resolved with her older
sister's help. But Nabiki was getting desperate. And desperate times
call for desperate measures. There was a long pause before Nabiki
finally asked: "Akane, could you come for a short visit? I really
need..."
"Nabiki, it's my final year of high school. We're preparing for the
national tests..." Akane sounded distressed. On one hand, she was
currently engulfed in the academic pressure cooker that was the Japanese
public school system. Her entire future rested on how well she did on
the exams. Oh, sure, she could just give up and become an uneducated,
dutiful wife to Ranma. She never really took that option seriously. On
the other hand, her sister clearly needed her. That was evident by the
fact that Nabiki was uncharacteristically asking for Akane's help. "I
suppose if I brought my books with me I could come for a week."
"Thank you, Akane," Nabiki sounded relieved. "Things have really
changed here...." Her voice trailed off like a bad connection. She
wanted to tell her sister more but just couldn't find the words. More
to the point, she really didn't like coming to Akane, of all people, for
help. She would much rather have Kasumi come; someone who was more of a
mother figure. Akane was just her kid sister.
"Umm, Nabiki..." Akane hesitated as she poked her way towards an
important point of her trip. "Since you showed Kasumi and me how to do
the books, we've been doing alright. But I don't think there's money
for a plane ticket to Hawaii..." Akane suddenly felt like she was
begging. She hated feeling like she was begging - especially to Nabiki.
"Don't worry, sis, I'll wire you a ticket." Nabiki grimly chuckled
to herself, relieved she was going to have someone to talk to - even if
she had to pay for that person's company. She needed someone - someone
to replace, if only temporarily, the constantly absent Jeff.
The rest of the conversation was about things back home in Nerima.
Kuno, never the good student, got into some small college near his home.
Yuka and Sayuri both went to the prefectural womens' college, spending
most of their time hunting for husbands themselves. Ranma's grades had
improved and it now looked like he actually might pass the national
exams sufficiently to get him into a college. Akane giggled as she
noted the look on his face when he found out that Kuno had passed the
exams. It was like a direct challenge to him, and you know how Ranma
reacts to challenges.
Nabiki felt so much better after talking to her sister, she didn't
even notice when Jeff came home (which was just as well, considering
they would have only gotten into another childish argument anyway). She
was still lost in her little world when Jeff joined her in bed - she on
her side and he on his. Mumbled 'goodnights' were all that was said.
Another day had passed and the gulf had grown wider.

The next day, Jeff found it harder than usual to concentrate. His
home life was deteriorating around him at such a rate that he was
regretting ever getting his wife pregnant in the first place. As a
result, he felt rotten all the time. A point not lost on those around
him.
Sitting at his desk, he was lost, deep in thought, doodling on a
report when his secretary's voice snapped him back to reality.
"There's a mister James Bateman on line one. Shall I tell him
you're busy and take a message?" She had noticed Jeff's decreased
attention and was worried about him. He was a good employer and he paid
well. In Hawaii, that combination was definitely something to be
protected.
Jeff just waved her off with an embarrassed smile and punched the
speaker phone button.
"Jeffrey," Jim's cheerful voice filled the room. "Long time, no
see. Where've you been?"
"Busy..." was all Jeff could say in response. His heart clearly not
in the discussion.
"You alright?" Like any good lawyer, he could tell by Jeff's voice
something was wrong.
"I'm fine," Jeff lied. Both knew it was a lie. Eighteen year old
Jeff Lawrence was less practiced at it than the older barrister. As Jim
was also married to a Japanese girl, he knew exactly what the problem
was.
"It's Nabiki, isn't it?"
The long silence at Jeff's end confirmed Jim's supposition.
Obviously, there was some damage control to be done here.
Jeff hadn't talked to *anyone* about his problems. Growing up a
loner, he learned early how to channel inward his frustrations. His
shinobi training only taught him how to handle the increased anxiety
that such activity caused. Still, he was human. Having someone -
anyone - to talk to could just prove to be what the boy needed.
"Jim, I don't know what to do," he almost whimpered. "Every time
Nabiki and I talk we wind up in an argument. More talk - more
arguments. So I stopped talking to her. Now I feel worse than when we
were fighting. I mean, I stay at the office until very late, working or
just playing computer games, until I'm certain that all I'll have to do
when I get home is wash up and go to bed."
Jim was no marriage counselor, but even *he* could tell what was
wrong. Perhaps, it was all the divorce cases he'd seen.
"Have you tried approaching her like you did before you were
married?"
"I've tried to talk to her..." Jeff sounded more frustrated than
ever.
"I mean, do you treat her like she's somebody special?" Jim began
to sound irritated at his friend's denseness.
"I... suppose not," Jeff's voice was barely audible.
"Look, Jeffrey, things are not going to get better for you until you
start approaching your wife with the same enthusiasm as you did when you
were dating. Sure, you have some communications problems right now.
But you still love her, right?"
"Of course," Jeff sounded shocked at the suggestion.
"Then TELL HER... show her... do something!"
Jim was right, of course. Jeff knew it. He'd been concentrating on
the difficulties they'd experienced in their marriage and not on the
things that led them to get married in the first place. He'd violated
one of the primary rules of shinobi life - concentrate on that which is
important, ignoring the phantoms that are there to weaken you with
emotions.
"It's almost lunchtime," Jim moved into his summation. "Now get off
your butt, buy your wife some flowers, and go home. Take her someplace
nice for lunch. Tell her you're sorry and that you've been acting like
an idiot. (That won't be too far from the truth.) But most
importantly, tell her you love her."
"Thanks Jim, I guess I deserved that," Jeff started putting things
away in preparation for leaving.
"Wait till you get my bill," he chuckled. "Seriously. You're a
nice couple. I hate to see something tragic happen because you insist
on acting like a kid."
Jeff was glad Jim called. If nothing else, he felt better.
He quickly shuffled out of the office, pausing only to tell his
secretary that he was going home for the day. As he disappeared down
the hallway, he didn't see her little smile or notice her slipping a
small address book back into her desk drawer.
<It sometimes pays to know who your boss's friends are.> she thought
happily to herself. <Keep boss happy. Keep job. Simple enough.>

It was noon when Jeff pulled into the driveway at home. Armed with
a dozen roses and a resolve to make it up to Nabiki for all the
childishness he'd displayed over the last few weeks, he bounded up to
the door. Inside, a short search confirmed that his wife was not at
home. Disappointed, Jeff put the roses in a water filled vase, absently
slid the vase onto a small out of the way table and pondered where she
could be.
He remembered how Dr. Engman had suggested she get some exercise and
walking was a good, low impact exercise for a pregnant mother. Jeff
thought back to the first few months of her pregnancy when they used to
walk together down in the local park. Figuring that was where she must
have gone, he jumped back into the car and drove to the park.
"I'll just pick her up and offer to take her to lunch," he thought
out loud. "It'll be just like when we were dating... sort of."
In spite of driving two complete circuits around the park, Jeff was
unable to find his wife. He was just about to give up and search
somewhere else when he spied a person with a familiar looking hairdo
sitting on a park bench next to, of all places, the playground. Jeff
parked the car and slowly approached Nabiki from behind. He could see
her absently rubbing her swollen womb and could tell she was talking to
herself. He stopped next to the public restrooms, easily within earshot
of his wife and did a little eavesdropping.
"Look at those children," Nabiki said with some scorn as she watched
a couple of pre-schoolers fighting over a swing. "You won't act like
that - will you." She rubbed her hand slowly over her belly until she
stopped suddenly with a look of irritation. "Don't kick mommy."
Nabiki slowly looked up at the trees off to her left. Jeff could
see her profile as she stared absently at the swaying palms. She was
still beautiful, possibly more beautiful than when he first met her.
That made what he'd gone through the last few weeks even more painful.
He really did still love her. What he was most afraid of was that she
no longer loved him. He leaned against the restroom wall and crossed
his arms. He'd lost almost two months of her affection. Two months he
could never get back. It wasn't fair. It wasn't right. She deserved
better of him. Slowly, he pushed himself away from the restroom wall as
if he were going to walk up to his wife. What he heard next caused him
to reconsider.
"I'm afraid your daddy doesn't love me any more," she said with a
sigh and tinge of sadness in her voice. "He's never home. We never
talk. I don't think he even wants to see me. I'm just a fat, ugly
burden to him." She paused to look down at her stomach briefly. A
small smile spread over her face. "How would you like to be born in
Japan? I'll bet my daddy would let me move back home to have you."
Jeff seemed to sag against the wall. She really *was* thinking of
leaving him.
"I don't need Jeffrey," she growled, her face taking on the firm-jawed
pout Jeff had become familiar with over the last few months. "I
don't need anybody like him. Your Aunt Akane is coming in a week and
I'm going to ask her to get daddy's permission for me to move back home.
We'll have daddy, your Aunt Akane and, especially, your Aunt Kasumi to
help take care of you. Then *I* can go back to school, pick up where I
left off with my businesses, and make a life of my own. I was stupid to
think I could find happiness with someone else. Remember that, kid,"
She looked down at her unborn baby once again. "You can only depend on
yourself."
Slowly and in shock, Jeff melted back towards the parking lot and
his car. It was true. She *was* actually going to leave him. Once
again, his panic and anger started to take control. In doing so, it
warped his perception of the truth. He'd stood by her, supported her,
loved her and she was now going to abandon him for her family in Japan.
He never felt so betrayed in his life.
<I think it's time I planned a trip to check up on some of the
companies I'm invested in.> he bitterly thought as he climbed back into
his car. <When I return, it'll all be over. Nabiki will be where she
wants to be and I can start fresh.>
Jeff had just driven away when Nabiki finished with her self pity.
"I can't do that to your daddy," she shook her head sadly as her
hand slowly traveled down her mound. "I guess some of the fights are my
fault. Well, maybe more than some. I still do love him so. What am I
going to do? How can I convince him I don't mean the nasty things I've
said. How do I tell him how much I love him. He won't even take my
phone calls anymore." Nabiki sighed in sorrow as she watched some
children playing on the playground equipment. She suddenly jerked in
her seat and growled: "Don't kick mommy."

Jeff didn't come home that night, telling his wife he was going out
of town for a few weeks on business. She could tell by his voice, he
wasn't leaving because of business. On the phone, she accepted his
explanation like a good Japanese wife; never questioning, never
accusing.
After she hung up, though, it became a different story. Her
building frustration over their relationship boiled to the surface and
exploded in a fit of rage uncharacteristic of Nabiki. Alone in her
expensive home overlooking the Pacific Ocean, Nabiki proceeded to storm
through the empty rooms, screaming in frustration and shouting in
Japanese her anger towards her husband. The coward had deserted her -
run away - when she needed his help the most - when there were things to
be discussed. She wanted a resolution, a reconciliation, but got only
Jeff's cowardly fleeing the issue.
Slowly, her anger dissolved into the fear and self-pity that had
always lurked just under the surface of their relationship. The fear
that he would leave her - like her mother. The fear he would reject her
after she had opened herself up to him. The fear she would be alone
again. The same feeling of doom she felt the day she found out she was
pregnant overwhelmed her again. She did NOT want to be pregnant. She
did NOT want a baby. It was tearing her marriage apart - driving a
wedge between her and her husband. Her fear did the human thing; it
quickly looked for culprits.
If she had only not gotten pregnant. That stupid doctor and his
'pills'. Why couldn't he speak Japanese... or find someone who could.
If she only understood the instructions... or brought someone with who
could explain them to her. That made it *her* fault. Such a thought
caused her anger to well up again. NO, it's... Jeffrey's... fault. HE
got her pregnant. HE did this to her. Now HE was running away! HOW
DARE HE! She screamed in anger again.
The baby took that opportunity to kick.
"Damn you!" Nabiki screamed at her mid section. "Stop that! It's
all your fault, you little monster!"
The baby. Yes, it's all the baby's fault. It all fit. She loved
Jeffrey, so he had to be excused for his behavior. And it couldn't be
*her* fault, it was NEVER *her* fault. Yes... yes, it was the baby's
fault.
Her fevered mind began to plot revenge on the focus of her marital
pain. If she could only get rid of the baby... Her eyes roamed the
room only to catch on a couple of wire hangers laying on a chair. The
laundry had been delivered that morning. Nabiki had removed some of the
items from their wire hangers to put them on wider wooden ones to
protect them from the damage usually caused by long term storage with
wire hangers. Now the inoffensive metal objects became the focus of
Nabiki's solution.
<If I can just use the hooked end...> she thought while slowly
reaching for the nearest hanger. <It won't hurt. If I can just get rid
of the baby... Jeff will come back. He'll love me again if I'm thin
and pretty.> Her mind slowly twisted reality as her hands bent the wire
hanger into a lethal looking device. <It'll be an accident, you see? A
miscarriage. Yes, an accident. I *have* to do this.>
She paused to stare at the twisted metal in her hands.
Marveled at its dark malevolent look with its shiny black finish and
graceful lines.
Felt the comforting coolness of its surface.
Its vicious looking hook appeared perfect to do the job.
She began to sweat in the cool, air conditioned room. A single bead
worked its way down her forehead, the bridge of her nose, detouring
around her mouth.
Her ragged breathing sounded like the wind screaming through the
trees back home and seemed to echo throughout the room.
She could also hear a heart beating.
Like a koto drum; beating, pounding, louder and louder - until she
almost had to cover her ears.
The vibration within her chest was overwhelming. Her ears were
ringing. The whole world was focused on the heartbeat and the twisted
wire hanger.
Was it really *her* heart beating?
Or was it the baby's?
As she stared at the instrument of her baby's death, a tear formed
and rolled down her cheek. She didn't really want to do this. It was
*her* baby - not Jeff's. But she *had* to...
The first ring of the telephone shot through her like a jolt of
electricity - her body flinching with its sound.
For several seconds, Nabiki hesitated - the ringing phone the only
sound in the house. By the fifth ring she dropped the hanger in horror.
Her mind reeling from what she was, only moments before, prepared to do.

Numbly, she staggered to the phone and picked up the receiver.
"Hai?" she gasped.
"Nabiki?" It was Akane's voice. "I'm just calling to tell you
we're leaving for the airport. We'll be there in the morning, your
time."
Nabiki covered her mouth in relief - stifling a tiny whimper. She
couldn't believe it. She was not going to be alone any more. Akane was
coming.
"Leaving...?" Nabiki was stunned. The visit was scheduled for next
week.
"Kasumi thought you needed the help. So we scheduled to leave right
away."
"Kasumi...?" Nabiki's voice rose in anticipation.
"Kasumi's coming too. She said she found money in the budget to buy
an extra ticket."
"Oneechan..." Nabiki whispered. Oh, how she had wished and hoped to
hear just such an announcement. It was if a great dark cloud had been
pushed away. Kasumi was coming. Mother was going to make everything
alright.
"Nabiki? Are you alright?" Akane's voice suddenly sounded a little
frightened; as if she had just noticed what her sister was trying to do
only moments before.
"Oh, Akane, please hurry. Jeff's left me. I drove him away. I'm
scared. I'm all alone. I don't want to have this baby anymore."
Nabiki babbled almost incoherently as she released all the emotions she
had in a single burst.
"Calm down, Nabiki. We'll be there in the morning." Akane sounded
a little unnerved by her older sister's cry for help. This was *not*
the Nabiki she remembered. "Just hold on till morning. We'll be there.
It's going to be alright. Please, Nabiki, don't do anything until we
get there. Okay? I've got to go now or we'll miss the plane. Bai."
Nabiki held on to the phone receiver long after her sister hung up -
clinging to the symbolic connection to home and family - a connection to
her sisters. They were coming. More importantly, Kasumi was coming.
She wouldn't be alone anymore. Relief overwhelmed her, resulting in a
burst of tears; her body spasming as she poured out her assuagement.
With the phone receiver still clutched to her chest she slid to the
floor - alone in her large, dark, empty house overlooking the Pacific
Ocean.

Dawn woke Nabiki from the bed she had made on the sofa. She didn't
want to sleep in the bed she formerly shared with her husband - it
didn't feel right. Daylight brought new hope. All she had to do was
wait for Akane's call from the airport and she would, once again, be
among family. Her mind briefly drifted to thoughts of Jeff but she had
no desire to travel that emotional road so early in the morning. In
spite of her body aching because the baby had been active all night,
Nabiki set about cleaning her house to welcome her sisters. It wasn't
easy, and she took a lot of shortcuts, avoiding certain rooms
altogether, but she finished as the phone was ringing.
Akane's voice came through like a beacon in a fog. It sounded so
wonderful, so upbeat, so close. It reminded Nabiki of an old movie she
saw on the television once. Where the cavalry bugle call told the
Indian-trapped settlers that help was on its way. In any case, help had
arrived. It was now only a short taxi ride away. For the first time in
weeks, Nabiki happily smiled.
The arrival of Kasumi and Akane was part Japanese and part American
homecoming. Nabiki wavered between wanting to hug her sisters and
trying to maintain the quiet dignity her people were most noted for. In
the end, she couldn't contain her joy at seeing her sisters again and
resorted to clinging to each in heartfelt welcome - something that
caused a quick exchange of concerned looks between the visitors.
Kasumi, never willing to let a job go half done, wasted no time in
digging in to finish the cleaning job Nabiki had begun. While Nabiki
was no slouch in the homemaking department, she was no Kasumi. There
was much to do - and much to think about. Mother had warned her that
Nabiki was in trouble but never hinted at what she should do about it.
Caught without guidance, Kasumi had to work things out for herself and
there was nothing that helped her better do just that than housework.
Akane was more immediately concerned with her sister's marital
problems. She was stunned to hear of Jeff's apparent abandonment of
Nabiki and pondered the possibilities. This was unlike the Jeffrey she
knew. She had always considered Nabiki the lucky one in the family -
always having money, having nice things, and finally marrying a handsome
rich man. Yes, up till recently, Akane *did* envy her older sister -
especially in light of what awaited her.
"Nabiki, what happened?" Akane finally asked when they were alone in
the master bedroom. Nabiki was changing out of the clothes she had
slept in and had gotten down to her underwear.
"Isn't it obvious?" Nabiki held her hands away from her body and
glanced down at her swollen form.
"What are you talking about, Nabiki? Okay, so you're pregnant. If
Jeffrey really loves you, your pregnancy shouldn't make any difference."
Akane was becoming angry at her brother-in-law as she started putting
the pieces together. She didn't like the picture it presented.
"Look at me! Just, look at me." Nabiki moaned. "I'm fat. I'm
ugly. I've got stretch marks." She turned slightly so Akane could see
the places where her skin was stretched to its limits. "And my
breasts..." She winced noticeably as she held her milk-filled breasts.
"Why *should* he love something that looks like this?" Nabiki spit as
she looked at her self in the mirror.
"Nabiki, stop it!" Akane demanded. "You're NOT ugly. I can't
believe Jeffrey would abandon you just because you got pregnant."
"Well, he has." Nabiki snarled angrily. That emotion didn't last
long as her features slowly softened with her real feelings. "Akane, I
just want him back. All I really want is for him to just hold me like
he used to - before I was pregnant. I just want to feel him next to me
at night. I just want to know he still loves me." Nabiki collapsed on
the bed and stared at the ceiling. "Akane, I know I've said I don't
need anyone." She sighed and closed her eyes. "But, I'd give up this
baby right now to have Jeffrey back."
"You don't really mean that." Akane grimaced at her older sister.
Nabiki started to say something but lost the words. All she could
do is sigh heavily and shake her head like Akane didn't know what she
was talking about.
Akane was quiet for several seconds looking at her older sister's
swollen body. She could tell Nabiki was miserable. The baby alone was
enough to cause that. To have an absent husband was enough to push any
woman to the edge. Once again, her anger welled up. This was worse
than anything Ranma had ever said or did to her. This was the worst
thing she could imagine somebody doing to her sister. This was NOT
something she was going to let go without leaving her personal touch.
Akane quietly excused herself and went into the kitchen.
<Sure, why not? Everyone else runs away from fat, ugly Nabiki. I
don't see why you should be any different.> Nabiki was really depressed
now.
Akane found Kasumi standing in the kitchen with a pleasant look on
her face and holding a nearly fresh bouquet of roses.
"Where did those come from?" Akane asked cautiously. If all she had
been told was actually happening, those flowers shouldn't be here.
"They were on a table over by the back door," Kasumi chirped.
"Jeffrey must have left them there. They're not more than a couple of
days old." She sighed as she smelled the roses. "Aren't they
beautiful."
Akane could only nod weakly before announcing: "I've got to run an
errand."
"Ok, Akane." Kasumi set the flowers down and went back to her
cleaning. "Be careful. He's probably not in the best of moods."
Akane's surprise was evident as she watched her sister disappear
back to the bedroom.
<How did *she* know what I was going to do? I didn't even know
exactly myself.> Akane thought as she started digging through the phone
book for taxi companies.

A phone call and a taxi ride later and Akane was at Jeffrey's
office.
"I here for Jeffrey Lawrence." she announced to his secretary.
Akane's English had improved significantly since her last visit to
Hawaii.
Jeff's secretary, Rachel, eyed the youngest Tendo daughter
suspiciously. "And whom should I say is calling?" she finally asked.
Akane didn't know the proper English words for her relationship, so
she improvised.
"He marry sister, Nabiki." Akane didn't like dealing with someone
through a communication barrier. This was worse than dealing with that
idiot Shampoo.
Rachel smiled softly and nodded to Akane. She knew what was going
on. Torn between loyalty to her boss and helping his poor wife, she
chose the girl in trouble. Akane had an ally. But an ally with limits.
"You're not going to do anything violent, are you?" Rachel asked
nervously. Helping a girl in trouble was one thing. Being an accessory
to physical assault was another.
"Depend on him," Akane pushed her lower lip out slightly as her jaw
set itself. There was no question, this girl was here on a mission.
"I can't let you hurt him," Rachel quietly said while returning
Akane's hard look. "I need this job."
"Only talk."
Rachel eyed the girl critically. She certainly looked like someone
who could do some real damage - in spite of her 'Hello Kitty' skirt and
Mickey Mouse blouse. Still, she said she was only here to talk to Jeff.
Seemed harmless enough.
"Ok. He's in there," Rachel indicated the door to Akane's right.
"Good luck."
Akane bowed stiffly, grateful for the assistance but unsure just how
much to trust the older American female. In Japan, a good secretary
would protect her superior, if necessary, with her own life. This was
almost too easy.
As Akane headed purposefully for the closed door, Rachel just leaned
forward, rested her cheek on her fist and watched the youngest Tendo
daughter carefully.
<Mr. Jeffrey Lawrence, THIS is where we find out how much of a man
you really are.> Rachel thought with some bemusement. <This girl looks
like she could rip the siding off a building.>
To Rachel's surprise, Akane didn't kick open the door or do anything
violent. She stopped respectfully in front of the thin wooden door and
knocked... softly.
As there was no answer, Akane looked questionably at the secretary.
Rachel just shook her head and directed: "It's open. Just... go... in."
Akane understood. With a nervous bow Rachel's direction. Akane
opened the door and stepped inside.
A fellow secretary from across the hall poked her head into the
outer office where Rachel was calmly watching Akane's entrance.
"Is that...?" she began.
"Family."
"She looks tough enough to rip the siding off a building."
"If Mr. Lawrence isn't careful, she'll rip the siding off *him*."
"Serves him right."
The two women giggled and calmly awaited the fireworks.

Inside, Akane could see her brother-in-law typing on his computer.
He glanced up only briefly. Noticing it was Akane 'The Hammer' Tendo,
he grimaced slightly and went back to typing. He'd seen Ranma
unsuccessfully run for his life many times. He knew he couldn't outrun,
outmaneuver, or outfight the youngest Tendo daughter. So he used an age
old shinobi tactic... do nothing.
"I want to talk to you." Akane growled, glad to be able to deal with
Jeffrey in Japanese. There were some choice words she had for him that
she wasn't sure would translate into English well enough.
"Akane, I don't want to fight you too," Jeff finally said while
typing. "Your sister is more than enough for me."
Angrily, Akane slammed shut the door. Causing all the pictures on
the wall to fall crashing to the floor. Outside, everything on the
walls of the outer office also fell. Rachel, calmly reading a book,
casually reached up to steady the pictures on her desk, then returned to
her reading.
"MY SISTER..." Akane yelled. "is currently in YOUR home, laying on
YOUR bed, crying because YOU'RE NOT THERE!"
Jeff stopped his typing, closed his eyes, and set his jaw to avoid
saying the first thing that came into his mind at *that* accusation.
"Go away, Akane. I don't want to talk about it with you." Jeff
returned to his typing.
"Well, *I* want to talk to YOU." Akane, figuring she wasn't getting
through to Jeff because he was concentrating on his computer, angrily
stomped up to his desk and pulled the power cord out of the back of his
machine. Blacking out Jeff's entire computer system.
"HEY!" he yelled. She had his undivided attention now. "You killed
my computer!"
"You act like that computer means more to you than Nabiki."
"My computer doesn't fight with me. My computer doesn't yell at me.
My computer DOESN'T PLAN TO GO BACK TO JAPAN!" Jeff shouted back.
"BAKA! What are you talking about!?"
A small crowd, drawn by the sounds of a fight, was gathering out in
the hall and nervously looking in the offices of Lawrence Inc. Rachel,
however, continued to present a calm corporate face by acting as if
nothing out of the ordinary was happening.
Meanwhile, back in Jeff's office....
"Get out of here, Akane!" Jeff yelled as he pushed back from his
desk. Good thing too. Akane seemed to glow as her face screwed into a
mask of frustrated anger.
"Jeffrey NO BAKA!!!!!!" She screamed as her fist came down on his
desk. His expensive, heavy, hand polished teak wood desk groaned under
the impact before collapsing on the floor like a cheap folding picnic
table.
Outside, the crowd flinched and drew back from the doorway slightly.
Rachel just calmly reached over and made a short note that said: 'Order
new desk'.
Back inside, Akane was gasping for breath at the expenditure of
energy she'd used in totaling Jeffrey's desk. Her glow significantly
diminished - but not totally gone.
"Feel better?" Jeff asked in shock. "You really ought to learn to
control that..."
"Jeffrey!!!"
That did it. Akane had stormed into his only remaining refuge to
extract a pound (or more) of his flesh for Nabiki, began trashing his
office, and was now screaming at him. Shinobi trained or not, Jeff's
'Pissed-off-o-meter' was clearly in the 'Overly-ticked-off' zone now.
Proving to Akane he could be just as violent and stupid as his
sister-in-law, Jeff grabbed his expensive, high backed, posture-pedic
office chair and threw it across the room, totally destroying his glass
front bookshelf.
Rachel calmly added to her note: 'Order new bookshelf'. The crowd
out front decided it was a good day to go home early and began to leave.
"If you're here to take your sister back home, do it and stop
tormenting me!" The two dropped into their respective martial arts
stances - each appearing willing to reenact a bad scene from some third
rate martial arts movie in the confining space of Jeff's office.
"That's why you're here, isn't it?!?"
"BAKA! I'm here because Nabiki wanted my company! She said you
deserted her!"
"I DID NOT!" Jeff yelled back, before turning his head slightly and
saying in a calm voice: "Oh, yes I did." Still, he shouted back: "Well,
it's *her* fault! I heard her planning to leave me and go home with
you!"
Akane screamed something unintelligible, broke a small conference
table and yelled back: "You jerk! I don't know what you heard but the
only times she talked to me or Kasumi, she just wanted us to visit - NOT
TAKE HER BACK HOME!"
Rachel reached over again and wrote: 'Order new table... or chair
(couldn't tell by the sound)'. She paused then added: 'Ask for raise'.
"Where's Kasumi?!?" Jeff yelled.
"She's with Nabiki!! It's lucky she found the money for the plane
ticket or I would have had to do this my self!!" Akane screamed back.
"Not lucky!"
"What do you mean, not lucky?!?"
"Because *I* sent her the money!!!"
"What?" Akane abruptly asked in a normal voice and dropping her
guard. She was stunned at the thought that Jeff had financed her oldest
sister's trip. Suddenly, things no longer added up.
"I wanted Kasumi to come and talk Nabiki out of leaving me." Jeff
too dropped his guard, exhaled hard and walked sadly over to the window.
Gently, he picked up the large picture of Nabiki that he kept on the
only remaining bookcase in the room. "I was scared, Akane. Scared
Nabiki didn't love me any more. Scared she would go back to Japan and
I'd never see her again."
"I..." Akane suddenly lost the words to express her jumbled
emotions.
"Akane, that's always been the one thing I feared the most; that
Nabiki would leave me and I'd be all alone again. When she said she
didn't need anyone - especially me - I panicked." He turned to Akane.
"Don't you see? It was my worst nightmare coming true."
"I... I didn't know," Akane stammered, holding her forehead as she
tried to sort out the last 24 hours. "I thought you were being a total
jerk or something and running out on my sister." She paused, the
confusion finally overcoming her.
"Akane, I'm sorry. It's just... I never understood why Nabiki
married me in the first place." Jeff ran his fingers lightly over the
picture in his hand. "When I trapped her into agreeing to marry me, I
couldn't help but wonder if she already knew about the money. I thought
the only way I could find someone who wanted to marry me for myself was
to appear to be poor. The night of the embassy ball convinced me,
initially, that Nabiki didn't know. Since then..." Jeff waved his free
hand in frustration.
"You think my sister would marry you just for your money?" Akane's
voice and anger began to rise again.
"Wouldn't she?" Jeff shot the youngest Tendo an accusing look.
"Well... maybe... But I *know* she loves you now. The fact she
called me for help proved that. If she didn't love you, she'd be asking
to come home. Jeffrey, she NEVER asked to come home." Akane paused to
gauge the effect of her last pronouncement. "Kasumi said Nabiki was
just trying to think of a way of apologizing to you for all the
arguments. The *last* thing on her mind was running back home."
Jeff stared at Nabiki's picture for several seconds. Only the
sounds of the street outside breaking the silence.
"What do I do now?" Jeff sounded like a little boy who was in
trouble at school or something.
"The first thing we're going to do is go home," Akane flatly
declared. "You've got a lot of explaining to do to your wife." She
paused before adding: "And, I suppose, she has a few things to explain
to you too."
Jeff just sighed and nodded his agreement. Why not? It *always*
ended this way. Jeff always confessed his guilt and begged Nabiki's
forgiveness. He HATED that but it seemed the only way to resolve this
problem. He was more than ready for all this to end.
As he joined Akane to leave, he noticed her staring at a bunch of
wall shelves that contained mementos, nick-knacks, and self-serving
award plaques. It was just about the only thing not destroyed in his
office.
"Go ahead. If you don't, you'll just hate yourself in the morning."
Jeff dead-panned.
Akane shot Jeff a disgusted look before dispatching the last of her
anger by yelling and kicking almost straight up through the shelves -
mementos and things being catapulted throughout the room.
"Feel better?"
"Hai."
The pair opened the door leading to the outer office and calmly
stepped out. Jeff turned to his secretary and, with a sheepish smile,
waved his hand at the mess inside.
"I'm... sorry... got a little out of hand."
Rachel just smiled. "Don't worry about it. I'll have it taken care
of."
"Take your time." Jeff looked hopefully at Akane. "I'm not going
to be back for awhile. My wife is having a baby."
"You don't say." Rachel almost chuckled out loud. <Note to self:
Ask for BIG raise.> "Good night, Mr. Lawrence."
Akane just bowed embarrassedly and smiled at the older lady. Rachel
winked in return. Akane got the feeling that she was going to like
Jeff's secretary.
"Oh, Mr. Lawrence." Something reminded Rachel of an earlier
message. "What shall I tell Mr. Gaffney? He called again."
"From where?"
"I'm not sure. He said something about a phone booth."
"Tell him to get to the American Embassy and hide under a bed. It
always worked for me."

Back at the Lawrence residence, Kasumi was dealing with other half
of the family. She stood at the open master bedroom doorway, a
beautiful vase filled with roses in her hand. Nabiki, now dressed in
one of her maternity lounging outfits, lay curled on the bed staring out
the open glass doors at the ocean beyond.
"I found these in the kitchen," Kasumi said softly as she brought
the roses in to Nabiki. "They couldn't have been there for more than a
day or two."
Nabiki slowly rolled over to look at the flowers, her face a look of
confusion.
"I think they're from Jeff." Kasumi placed the vase on Nabiki's
dresser, carefully arranging their individual positions within the vase
to present each at their best.
"From Jeff?" Nabiki asked hopefully.
"Unless you have unique burglars here in Hawaii that break in to
homes and leave dozens of red roses in the kitchen, yes." Kasumi smiled
at her little sister. "It would be my guess that he brought these over
a couple of days ago in hopes of apologizing to you for all the
troubles." Of course, Kasumi knew all about the flowers, the fights,
AND the troubles. She quietly sat on the end of Nabiki's bed and ran
her hand lovingly over her sister's leg. "I always thought I would be
the first to have a baby."
"Oneechan, I... I'm not sure I really want this baby." Nabiki
sniffed as she picked absently at the pillow.
"Nonsense. You've made your father the happiest man in the world."
Kasumi smiled again. Something in that smile made Nabiki feel better.
"All he seems to do any more is sit around the house with your picture,
crying and talking about how proud he is of his little girl."
Nabiki ran her hand lightly over belly and looked out the glass
doors again. She wasn't really smiling now but seemed more at peace
since her sister arrived. "If only Jeff were here." She looked again
at her sister in a questioning way. "Do you really think he still loves
me?"
"Of course," Kasumi chuckled. "How do you think I got here?"
"What?"
"Jeffrey called me a few days ago. He was worried sick about you.
Scared you wanted to leave him and return home to Japan."
"That's crazy! I love Jeffrey!" Nabiki protested.
"Well, somehow he got the idea you didn't love him anymore." Kasumi
looked sadly out towards the ocean and sighed. "I listened to him cry
for almost 30 minutes. He kept repeating how it was all his fault and
how he was scared you were leaving. He kept asking over and over if I
would come to Hawaii and talk to you."
"He did?" Nabiki searched hard to grasp how much her husband was
willing to give up for her.
"Besides, mother would have been upset if I didn't come and help."
The reference to mother paused Nabiki for only a second. It wasn't
the first time Kasumi talked like she was having daily conversations
with her dead mother. Nabiki didn't disapprove, exactly. It's just she
didn't fully understand. In any case, Nabiki did what she always did
whenever her mother came up in the conversation - she changed the
subject.
"Kasumi, is there anything I can do?"
"Love your husband," Kasumi said with a smile. Then placing her
hand on her sister's swollen womb. "And love your baby. You can do
both, you know."
Nabiki covered her sister's hand with her own and smiled.
"I think you've both grown a little from this. Isn't there a
shinobi saying about 'trials making a person stronger'?" Kasumi smiled
again like she knew something no one else knew.
"How do you...?" Nabiki began. As far as Nabiki could tell, Kasumi
had never shown the slightest interest in their mother's heritage.
"I've always known. Mother told me all about the 'Clan of the Cold
Moon' when I was a little girl." She reached inside her blouse and
produced an amulet exactly like the one Nabiki wore. "Of course, at
first, I thought they were just stories. But after mother died..."
"Why didn't you tell me before?"
"Because the time was not yet right. You had not met Jeffrey."
The two girls giggled together, sharing the irony of the situation.
The baby took that opportunity to kick where Kasumi's hand was. They
both felt the kick. However, each had a different reaction.
"Did you feel that? How wonderful!" Kasumi beamed.
Nabiki just grimaced and added: "Not when it does it all the time,
Kasumi." She scowled at her belly. "Don't kick mommy."
This just set off another round of giggles; Kasumi because of the
absurdity of her sister's admonishment and Nabiki because the whole
situation was so funny.
They both heard the front door open.
"I think that's Jeff now," Kasumi whispered as she got up off the
bed. "I'll just leave you two alone."
"Kasumi?" Nabiki seemed slightly panicked. "What do I say?"
"Follow your heart," was all Kasumi said as she smiled and turned to
leave. "You'll work it out."
Out in the living room, she encountered Jeff and Akane. Kasumi just
traded a smile and nod with Jeff before indicating the master bedroom
with her head. "She's in there."
Jeff modestly thanked Kasumi and disappeared down the hallway
leading to the master bedroom. Akane started to follow but Kasumi's
hand on her arm stopped her.
"I want to see what happens," Akane protested.
"You already know what happens," Kasumi replied with a roll of her
eyes. "Besides, we're going to dinner and shopping. The cab will be
here any minute."
"We're just going to leave them alone?" She sounded incredulous,
considering her last phone conversation with Nabiki.
Kasumi sighed and shot her sister a look of pity. "Someday, you'll
understand." She pulled her little sister towards the front door. "By
the way, did you have any trouble with him?"
"No, we just... redecorated his office a little."
"I'd like to have seen that."
"Well, it's still early. I'm sure his secretary is still there.
Why don't we stop by. I really want you to meet Rachel. She's a neat
lady."
"I think I'd like that."
The two girls closed the front door behind themselves as they left.

Jeff paused at the open door to their bedroom, his hands in his
pockets, his head bowed slightly. He hoped his look matched his
apologetic mood.
"Nabiki?" he called softly. "Nabs?"
Nabiki rolled over to look at her husband, her eyes glistening with
her tears. She hesitated, not knowing what to do. For, what seemed
like an eternity to both, they could only stare at each other. Neither
spoke but much was said. Still fighting her tears, Nabiki was the first
to move; slowly holding out her hand, beckoning him to come to her.
Jeff willingly complied.
As he slid onto the bed, Nabiki took hold of his hand and squeezed
it lovingly.
"I'm sorry, Nabs," Jeff started.
"Jeffrey, just hold me," was all she said. The two melted together,
Nabiki's head nestled under his chin, their arms wrapped as tightly
around each other as possible. Jeff stroked her dark brown hair
lovingly, kissing her head occasionally.
"I can't believe I let it get so out of hand like this." Jeff was
fighting his own tears as he held the only thing he really valued in
this life. "Can you ever forgive me?"
"Hai." Nabiki should have felt some satisfaction that she had, once
again, reduced Jeff to crawling back for forgiveness. Somehow, she
wasn't enjoying the game as much as she had. For some reason, this one
hurt her more than she could ever recall. As the scenes of what she had
gone through in the last 24 hours, especially what she was prepared to
do to get Jeffrey back, crawled through her mind, she shuddered and held
him tighter.
"Can we go back to the way it was?" he asked softly between kisses.
"Hai, my husband. I'd like that."
They kissed like long lost lovers until Nabiki broke the kiss.
There was just one more thing to deal with.
"Ah, Jeffrey."
"Yes, my love."
"You've been gone for almost three days."
"Yes, my love." <What now?>
"You've been sleeping in your office haven't you?" <Careful, Nabiki.
Do this carefully.>
"When I could sleep." <OK, now where is *this* going?>
"You don't have a shower down there, do you?" <Please, don't take
this wrong.>
"I suppose not." <What?!? I used deodorant.>
"You could use a bath." <... or two.>
"You want me to take a bath." <Sheeesh! I couldn't be *that* bad.>
"If you would. The furo is already hot." <So far, so good.>
"OK. But only if you come too." <I'm gonna wash you like you've
never been washed before.>
"You don't mind me being like this?" She indicated her bloated
condition. <You better not.>
"Of course not." <Just as long as you get your figure back after the
baby. Those stretch marks are disgusting.> Jeff rolled easily off the
bed, unbuttoning his shirt. "Come on. I'll help you out of those
confining clothes."
"Jeffrey... my water hasn't broken yet." She whispered, remembering
the Lamaze class. <Let's see just how much you really do love me.>
"Hmmmmm." <I guess in the furo it won't be so bad.>
The two slowly wandered into the bath, their arms wrapped around
their most precious possessions; each other. They were both changed -
they were both the same as before.

Akane and Kasumi remained in Hawaii for the rest of the week. Jeff
returned to the house and all seemed to be back to normal - or, at
least, what passed for normal in the Lawrence household. Nabiki still
refused to cook, blaming occasional bouts of nausea as the reason.
Kasumi willingly filled in, careful to avoid any of the modern
conveniences Jeff had built in to the kitchen - not wanting to become
used to using such devices and having to return to Japan where she would
be without once again.
Nabiki called her father and endured an hour on the phone listening
to him blubber about how he was going to be a grandpa. Every now and
then during the phone call, she would look over at Jeffrey and roll her
eyes.
Jeff and Nabiki both went with the girls to see them off at the
airport. While Akane and Nabiki were trading barbs about practically
everything (things had gotten back to normal there too), Jeff and Kasumi
huddled together, talking in low tones.
Nabiki waited until the ride home to ask what Jeff had said to her
older sister.
"I was just thanking her for coming." He paused to change lanes.
"...and for being such a good sister."
"I think she likes you, Jeffrey." Nabiki crossed her arms and
stared at her husband. "But don't get any ideas."
Jeff knew she was kidding but couldn't resist teasing her, for old
times sake. "Oh, I don't know. I bet Kasumi would make a good wife."
"For anyone but you, Jeffrey. You're already married."
"She probably wouldn't be as much fun as you to wrestle with
anyway."
"Even in my current condition?"
"Especially in your current condition." He shot his wife a sheepish
grin.
Nabiki smiled back while absently rubbing her swollen belly. "It's
kicking again."
"Probably going to turn out to be a knuckle-dragging martial
artist."
"My child will NOT be another Ranma." Nabiki glared at her husband
before another baby's kick caused her to flinch and scowl down at her
unborn child. "Don't kick mommy! And you're NOT going to be some
stupid shinobi shadow warrior either. You're going to be a nice,
normal... financier."
"Like mommy?" Jeff absently asked.
"Yes, like mommy."
Jeff had another remark but decided it could keep. Instead, he just
rolled his eyes and said nothing. He knew the baby, boy or girl, would
have to undergo some shinobi training if only to fully bind the child to
its heritage. As far as Jeff was concerned, the child could become
anything it wanted. All of which only highlighted the differences
between Japanese and American parents.

[Month 9 - Battle Stations!]

It was almost exactly nine months since Jeff and Nabiki were
married. By all calculations, the baby was due any day now. Jeff's
mother pretty much moved in and took over the cooking and cleaning. As
it was New Year's break from school, Kasumi and Akane returned as well,
courtesy of Jeffrey sending them tickets (First Class this time).
There were no problems with Anne Lawrence and Kasumi Tendo sharing
the same kitchen. For some reason, they seemed to mix well together;
Anne as the mother and Kasumi as the dutiful eldest daughter. Kasumi
willingly fell into the 'follow mommy' role she remembered from her
tragically aborted youth; enjoying immensely the reduced
responsibilities and having someone to share the daily activities with.
Anne finally had what she always wanted; a daughter to follow her around
the kitchen. By the end of the first day, Kasumi was actually learning
to have fun again - mommy took care of all the 'big' stuff.
It was New Year's Eve, Anne and the girls decided to make a night of
it - American style - leaving the very pregnant Nabiki home with her
husband. Jeff had been dispatched to round up some snacks and a small
bottle of champagne (remembering Nabiki's problems with the last
encounter - a very small bottle). Kasumi left some of Nabiki's favorite
rice cakes for the couple to share as midnight approached. Nabiki
settled into her favorite chair, happily munching on a rice cake and
watching New York City's New Year's celebration on the television. For
almost the first time in 9 months, Nabiki was totally content. She was
savoring the familiar Kasumi touch to her rice cake when the first one
hit her.
Like a cartoon character, Nabiki's eyes popped wide open. She had
been warned for months what the first contraction would feel like.
This, however, was unlike anything she had prepared herself for. With a
full mouth of rice, Nabiki looked apprehensively down at the mound that
was once her firm, flat stomach.
"You wouldn't dare," she growled after swallowing her rice. "It's
seven o'clock in the evening. I'm NOT going to the hospital this time
of night. You can just wait until tomorrow."

Jeff's arrival at home was greeted by the sight of his wife, seated
in a chair, eyes wide and panting like a husky who just finished running
the Iditarod. He tried to act undisturbed.
"Having a nice evening, dear?" he calmly asked while setting the
sack of snacks on the kitchen table. For months, everyone had been
drilling into him the importance of remaining calm. After what he had
been through, remaining cool while watching Nabiki squirm in labor was a
snap.
"Contraction..." she gasped stiffly.
"Excuse me?"
"It's time..." She went back to panting.
"Time?" The mention of 'time' actually had him confused.
'Contraction', he understood but the time reference...
"Jeffrey no baka!" she growled. "The baby!"
"Oh. Well, I suppose I better get the car." Jeff turned to leave.
"Your bag...?" He actually looked a little lost - like his brain was
not making all the right connections.
Nabiki shot him her most serious 'look'. She'd been waiting and
preparing for this moment for the last 9 months. All the craziness, all
the fears, all the anticipation, were about to be rewarded. Nabiki was
in no mood for her husband's mental 'check out'.
"In the bedroom, genius," she snorted, her eyes tiny slits.
Jeff shot his wife an embarrassed look and went to retrieve the bag
they'd packed for the last two months. Nabiki struggled to get out of
her chair; no mean feat considering her condition. They met at the
door.
"By the way," he asked with one hand on the door knob. "How far
apart are they?"
"Huh?"
"The contractions."
"Beats me. I've only had one."
Jeff dropped the suitcase with a 'thud' and stared at his wife.
"You only had *one* contraction? How long ago?"
"I don't know." she squirmed. "Maybe 7, maybe 8 minutes."
"I'm calling the doctor." He walked calmly over to the phone.
Nabiki just stood at the door and stared like she had been abandoned.
Quickly dialing Doctor Bridget's number he was relieved to hear her
pick up on the second ring.
"Yeah, doc, I think she's in labor." he began calmly. "Oh, about 8
minutes or so apart. Yeah. I understand. Okay, I'll let you know."
Turning to Nabiki as he hung up the phone, he gave his wife a look
of pity.
"She says you're hours away from delivery and not to leave for the
hospital until the contractions get to five minutes apart."
Nabiki's surprise quickly dissolved into her typical irritated look.
"I don't care, Jeffrey. I want to go to the hospital NOW!"
For several seconds, they stared at each other; a silent battle of
wills. A battle Jeff knew, as usual, he would lose.
"Fine." Jeff finally said with a sigh. <Maybe the hospital staff can
deal with you. I understand they've got tranquilizers that'd knock out
a bull elephant.> he thought while picking up the suitcase again.
Loading Nabiki into the Jeep Cherokee was tougher than it looked.
Getting someone so unbalanced up into the front passenger seat was like
loading a squirming oversized sack of potatoes - in Nabiki's case, a
growling squirming oversized sack of potatoes.
Setting off at slightly over the speed limit, Jeff easily negotiated
the Hawaiian New Year's Eve hiway congestion as he guided the large
vehicle in and out of traffic.
"Where's mom and your sisters?" he asked at a stop light.
"Shopping," Nabiki answered with a strong grip on both the door
handle and dash mounted passenger assist bar. She was braced for
another contraction. Jeff had been warned by Doctor Engman that she
shouldn't be in actual pain at this point and should expect an
overreaction by Nabiki at the first signs of labor. Judging by her wide
eyed look and current posture, she expected the next contraction to be a
spine-bending, eye-popping whopper. He decided to try taking her mind
off the contractions.
"Shopping for what?"
"A used battleship." she snapped. "How should I know?"
Obviously, *that* didn't work. Jeff figured he would just call his
mother on his new portable phone from the hospital and keep his mouth
shut for now.
As luck would have it, Jeff's driving attracted the attention to the
local constabulary. Seeing flashing lights in his rear view mirror, he
began to pull over.
"Jeffrey Lawrence, don't you dare stop!"
"Dear, it's the police. I don't think a high speed chase through
downtown Honolulu is the best choice for someone with a pregnant wife."
Jeff tried to reason. "Besides, once he sees what we're up to, he's
bound to give us an escort."
Nabiki's incredulous look told him she wasn't buying it. Ever since
the wedding trip, she didn't trust American cops. Still, pulling over
was the smart thing to do.
Once stopped, the pair waited for the officer to approach their car.
He seemed to be taking his time. A fact Nabiki kept pointing out.
"Now, let *me* do the talking," Jeff warned. "You're in no
condition to negotiate. Besides, your English isn't the best."
"What's wrong with my English?" she demanded.
"Let's just say, you haven't mastered some of the nuances of the
language yet."
"My English is as good as your Japanese." She folded her arms and
glared at her husband.
"All of which explains why you're pregnant, Nabsie dear."
Nabiki's response was, gratefully, cut off by the officer knocking
on the driver's side window. With some relief, Jeff recognized the
patrolman.
"Evening, Ralph," Jeff chirped as he rolled down the window. "How's
things?"
"Fine," he replied shining his flashlight on Nabiki. "Mr. Lawrence,
are you aware you were doing 75 in a 45 zone?"
"Well, you see..." Jeff started.
"I having baby!" Nabiki screeched in her 'best' English. Obviously,
bored with the conversation already.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Ralph, have you met my wife, Madam Butterfly?"
"Mrs. Lawrence, I'm pleased to meet you." He reached through Jeff's
window and stuck out his hand.
"It Tendo-Law..." she never finished. Just after tentatively taking
his hand to shake, her next contraction hit. At best, it was only a
mild discomfort. To a nervous and inexperienced Nabiki, it was like a
knife stab. With a howl of pain, her grip on Officer Ralph's hand
tightened like a vise. As the contraction rolled past, she let out a
yell that Ranma would have been proud of and sharply pulled on the
officer's arm. The fact she came from a martial arts family was
profoundly proven as Officer Ralph was yanked off his feet. The sound
of his head impacting the door frame of the Jeep was like a melon
hitting the sidewalk. In an instant, Officer Ralph See, pride of the
Honolulu Police Department, was out cold, collapsing on the street like
a rag doll.
Jeff leaned over to look at the comatose officer. "Ooops."
"Jeffrey, get me to the hospital." Nabiki said forcefully, a slight
tinge of panic in her voice. "NOW!"
"Dear, we can't leave Officer Ralph laying unconscious on the street
like this." Jeff opened his door and got out.
Nabiki watched incredulously as Jeff opened the back door and slid
the unconscious patrolman into the back seat of the Cherokee. Her stare
continued as Jeff got back behind the wheel and they set off for the
hospital again; leaving Officer Ralph's patrol car, lights still
blinking, empty by the side of the road.
The rest of the trip went well, in spite of Nabiki ripping off the
door handle when the next contraction hit. Obviously, she had a very
low threshold of pain... or an even lower threshold of panic. Rough
timing indicated the contractions were still 8 minutes apart.
Pulling up at the Emergency entrance of the hospital, Jeff jumped
out and ran inside. A nurse and two orderlies pushing a gurney passed
him going the opposite direction.
Jeff dashed up to the admissions desk practically shouldering an
older gentleman out of the way.
"My wife's in the car..." Jeff began in a demanding voice.
"Excuse me, sir," the admissions clerk cut him off icily. "You'll
have to wait your turn. This gentleman was here first." She indicated
the fellow Jeff had displaced in line.
Jeff did a double take between the pair and flapped his arms in
frustration.
"Now, then," the clerk said pleasantly turning back to the other
man. "About that ingrown toenail..."
That was all Jeff could take. "Ingrown toenail??? I've got a woman
in labor out there!"
"Well, why didn't you say so?" the clerk growled. Signaling for a
nearby orderly, she added sarcastically: "I trust *you're* the father?"
"Well, yes." Jeff suddenly felt like he did something wrong.
Perhaps that's what she wanted him to feel. In any case, he was
directed to show the orderly to his pregnant wife.
Rushing outside, Jeff pointed to the car. After a quick look
inside, the orderly just shook his head.
"You've *got* to be kidding, man," he said pointing to the only
occupant of the car; Officer Ralph who was now sitting up in the back
seat rubbing his head.
Jeff charged up, looked quickly through the car and stepped back in
confusion. The orderly just looked at him like he was nuts.
"Hey, man. Did you, like, leave her at home or something?"
"I swear to you, she was here a minute ago." Jeff gestured towards
the front seat.
"Mr. Lawrence," a nurse called from the doorway. "Your wife is
asking for you."
Jeff tossed his keys to the orderly and started for the building.
"Park it," he ordered.
"Cool," the orderly replied as he jumped into the driver's seat.
Officer Ralph, regaining consciousness and finding himself alone in
a suspect vehicle with a strange driver, did the obvious.
"Let's see your license, kahuna," he growled at the poor orderly.

Jeff rushed up to the obstetrics floor and quickly changed into the
surgical greens given to him by the head nurse. He didn't need to be
shown which room his wife was in. Her voice cut through the quiet of
the floor like a buzz saw. A Japanese buzz saw. She had apparently
forgotten how to speak English.
"I want my doctor! I want my husband! Jeffrey!"
Jeff entered the room to find a harried nurse trying to fit a blood
pressure cuff around his wife's upper arm. It was like wrapping a
writhing snake as Nabiki alternated between bracing for the next
contraction and fighting off the annoying nurse.
"Are you the husband?" the nurse asked, giving up on the blood
pressure cuff.
"And the father of the baby." Jeff grinned. "What a surprise, huh?"
"Is she always this loony?"
"Naw, she's a Tendo. They're *all* like that."
"Does she speak English?"
"She likes to think so."
"Jeffrey!"
The nurse took that opportunity to slip out to find some help... or
a large tranquilizer gun.
"So... comfy?" Jeff smiled, being careful to remain out of arms
reach.
"Fine. I'm wearing a gown with no back. I'm laying on a cold
table. I've got baka nurses trying to poke me, prod me, and otherwise
make me more miserable than I already am and I'm about to pass a bowling
ball." Nabiki growled at her husband while unleashing her most lethal
'look'.
"And no panties either..." Jeff added as he bent over, a mischievous
smile on his face.
"Jeffrey!" Nabiki sharply snarled.
The nurse returned with reinforcements and the group proceeded to
prep Nabiki for delivery. She struggled less due to the arrival of her
next contraction. Scared and confused she looked at her husband in
wild-eyed panic.
"Breathe, dear," Jeff admonished while making panting noises.
Nabiki began her panting while glaring at her husband who seemed to be
enjoying the moment. "Good girl. Keep it up and I'll get you a Scooby
snack."
"Have you called your mother yet?" Nabiki asked between pants. "I
want Kasumi. [pant-pant-pant] I want Akane. [pant-pant-pant] Hell, I'll
settle for daddy!"
Jeff acknowledged the idea and pulled out his portable phone. In
seconds, they were connected.
"Mom! How's shopping? You guys enjoying New Years?" Jeff leaned
against a nearby counter and talked like he was discussing his most
recent golf game. "Yeah, we're down here at the hospital."
Nabiki added the sound effects with a long groan as her contraction
passed. One of the nurses kept repeating just loud enough to be heard
through the phone: "Oh come on. It can't hurt *that* bad."
"What's that, mom?" Jeff chuckled at his wife's histrionics. "Naw,
she's hours away. Take your time. By the way, Nabiki wants to know if
you bought that used battleship yet."
Nabiki's look was positively lethal at Jeff's remark.
"Sure, you and the girls have time for dinner before the big event.
Take them somewhere nice. No problem. If things get moving faster than
expected, I'll call you. Bye mom."
"They'd better hurry," Nabiki retorted. "I can feel the kid
moving."
"You see the kid moving?" Jeff looked questionably at one of the
nurses who wrinkled her nose and shook her head.
"She's at least 8 or 10 hours away," the nurse replied with a smirk.
"First time mothers..." The nurse just rolled her eyes.
"Eight? Ten? HOURS?!?!" Nabiki yelled incredulously.
"At least."
"I'm not laying here *that* long. Get this kid out NOW!"
"Nabsie, I don't think it works that way." Jeff moved to calm his
wife.
"Aaaaarrrrrggghh!" Nabiki growled in anger, her fists pounding the
table in frustration. "I want this baby out!"
"Mr. Lawrence, would you please do something about your wife." one
of the nurses asked. "She needs to calm down."
"Hey! You're the people with the drugs." Jeff flapped his arms in
frustration. "What do you expect *me* to do?"
"Don't you have any control over your wife?"
"Are you kidding?" Jeff stared incredulously at the nurses.
"Haven't you been watching the news?"
The nurses, convinced they'd done their duty, and not wishing to
qualify for hazard pay, departed as quickly as they had arrived. Nabiki
was monitored, cuffed, covered, and fully prepped for delivery. She was
*not* a happy patient. And what does Nabiki do when unhappy? Why, take
it out on poor Jeff, that's what.
"So... what do you want to do now?" Jeff's cheerful voice seemed,
suddenly out of place.
Nabiki stopped panting, crossed her arms and glared at her husband.
"I can't believe you sided with them." Nabiki indicated the door where
the nurses left."
"Keep breathing dear," Jeff reminded his wife.
"Don't give me that Lamaze crap, Jeffrey." she growled back.
"I'm just trying to help."
"You're always trying to take over, aren't you?"
"Take over?"
"I don't need your help to have a baby, you know."
Jeff just stared at his increasingly animated wife.
"I told you before, I made it this far in my life without the help
of others." She was working herself up to a real hissy fit. "I can do
*this* without anyone's help."
"You want me to leave?"
"I always said you were a smart boy, Jeffrey." Nabiki folded her
arms and looked smugly while re-quoting Jeff's mother. "This is all
your fault, you know."
"Hey! You're the one with the 'pills', remember?"
"It's not my fault the stupid doctor couldn't speak Japanese."
"Maybe if you knew how to speak English, this wouldn't have
happened."
"Oh sure, blame it all on *me*.
"If the shoe fits..."
"I don't need help having a baby." Nabiki growled once more. "My
people have been having babies for centuries without the help of
gaijin."
Jeff just stared at his wife for a few moments more. Ordinarily,
such an insult would have instantly set him off. But a quick check of
the situation confirmed what Jeff already knew; *he* was holding all the
cards in this game. Nabiki was clearly bluffing. With that, Jeff
played his trump card. Shrugging his shoulders and using his best John
Cleese voice, he said: "OK" and walked to the door.
Nabiki's smug stare slowly dissolved into a frown of concern as Jeff
actually left the room. She couldn't see his little smile. He wasn't
going far. He'd become bolder in recent weeks when it came to his wife
- sometimes acting more like a Japanese husband than the American gaijin
Nabiki had married. When Nabiki pushed now, instead of figuratively
running, as he had done in the past, Jeff just stood his ground and took
whatever she could dish out - often, firmly returning her abuse in
measured doses until she gave up trying to 'push him around'. In a way
he had become more independent than any time in his life. Nabiki was
about to get a lesson in independence herself and Jeff was about to get
a whopping hospital bill.
"Jeffrey!" Her voice took on a sharper edge as the door closed
behind her husband. She was getting angry now. Jeffrey wasn't playing
by her rules anymore.
Out in the hall, Jeff spotted a familiar face.
"Stanley," he called to another male wearing surgical greens.
Doctor Stanley Wiseman, Head of Obstetrics at the hospital, 12 handicap
golfer, and all around good guy, was casually examining a patient's
chart when Jeff Lawrence mosied over for a chat.
"Jeffrey," he cheerfully greeted. "Is it Nabiki's time?"
"Yeah, she's in Delivery #1."
"How's she doing?"
"Cheerful as ever." Jeff fished around under the surgical top and
produced a pair of cigars. With an appropriate 'oooh' Dr. Wiseman
gratefully accepted one. Holding it carefully under his nose he inhaled
and sighed contentedly.
"If you gotta go," he said with a wistful smile. "This is the best
way. Cuban?"
"Of course."
"Pity we can't smoke it in here."
Jeff stuck his in his mouth and rolled it around lightly. "Ah, a
good cigar kinda makes you want to go hit a bucket of balls, doesn't
it?"
"By the way, I haven't seen you out at the club lately." the doctor
began chewing on his own cigar. "The other guys are beginning to wonder
what happened."
"Ah, you know. Business... Nabiki... family... you know."
Neither man reacted to the sound of something metallic striking the
inside door of Delivery #1 nor to Nabiki's angry voice yelling Jeff's
name.
"I've been meaning to ask you," the doctor set down his chart and
leaned on the counter. "How do you get across the water hazard on the
12th hole?"
"Jeffrey!"
Pleased to have the older Dr. Wiseman ask his opinion about
anything, Jeff dove into his answer: "Have you tried a 5 wood?"
"Hmmmm. Not really. I've always used a 3 iron, laid it up short,
*then* tried to clear the water."
"Jeffrey!" [Sounds of more items striking the walls of Delivery #1]
"Naw, if you do that you automatically lose a stroke at the dog
leg."
"Really?"
"Jeffrey!!!" [Sounds of still more items]
"Of course. With your slice, a 5 wood is perfect."
"The last time I tried a wood, I lost six of my best balls in the
water."
"Well, you could try a 2 iron."
"You know what they say about 2 irons?"
"No what?"
"They're only good to hold over your head in a thunderstorm."
"Why?"
"Not even God can hit a 2 iron."
The two men laughed as more items bounced off the walls of Delivery
#1. Dr. Wiseman grabbed a passing intern.
"Doctor Sebastian Weinberg, I want you to meet someone. This is Mr.
Jeffrey Lawrence." He introduced the two.
"The guy who's donating a new wing for the hospital?" Dr. Weinberg
instantly recognized the name and sounded impressed.
"The one and the same." Dr. Wiseman beamed as the two younger men
shook hands. "By the way, there's a lady in Delivery #1 who needs to be
checked on and given a small sedative. Would you see to it?"
"Of course, Doctor." the eager young intern replied and scurried
away to prepare the injection.
"JEFF!!!! REEEEEEEEEE!!!!!"
"Sounds like your wife is breathing better."
"Yup, just needs the right incentive."
The pair were interrupted by the elevator doors opening across from
the nurses station. It was Jeff's mom with the Tendo girls in tow.
"Hi mom," Jeff waved as the ladies got off the elevator. "I thought
you were going out to eat."
"We ate earlier and the girls wanted to be here for Nabiki. What
are you doing out in the hall?"
"Talking to Dr. Wiseman, mom." Jeff indicated his cigar chomping
companion who gave a goofy little wave at Anne Lawrence. He followed
with a wink Kasumi's direction who promptly did her best embarrassed
Japanese girl routine.
"What's Nabiki doing?" Akane asked with wide eyed concern. Her last
word punctuated by the sounds of breaking glass from Delivery #1.
"Off hand, I'd say redecorating. At least everything she can reach
from the examination table."
"Aren't you going to do something?" Kasumi sounded genuinely worried
about her younger sister while trying to avoid eye contact with the
flirtatious Dr. Wiseman.
"She's in good hands." Dr. Wiseman assured. "One of my best interns
is monitoring her this very moment." His reassurance was tainted by Dr.
Weinberg's sudden yell of surprise and Nabiki's shout of 'Baka' followed
by more sounds of destruction.
"Jeffrey, are you sure..." Mom shot Jeff the kind of look she
usually reserved for times when she knew her son was lying.
"Mom, it's been over 18 years since you went through this." Jeff
gave his mother a look of pity. "Things have changed. This is the
*modern* method of childbirth."
"Ow!! Stop it lady!!" Dr. Weinberg was having a little trouble with
his 'bed-side manner'. "Are you crazy?!?!?"
"See?" Jeff pointed to Delivery #1. "In the modern method, the
doctor yells and screams, not the mother."
Akane's constant tugging at Mrs. Lawrence's sleeve prompted some
translation from mom, all while listening to Nabiki and Dr. Weinberg.
"No biting!!! And put that tray down. Yaaaaaaaaa!!!!"
Jeff looked sheepishly at Dr. Wiseman who was apparently enjoying
listening to the young intern's difficulties. Jeff figured he better
get the ladies moving along if someone was going to rescue Dr. Weinberg.
"If you ladies would like to go down to the Maternity Waiting Room,
I'll come get you when it's all over." Jeff pointed to the room in
question.
"Yup, free coffee and everything," Dr. Wiseman added.
The three ladies exchanged quick, worried glances before reluctantly
retiring in the direction indicated; the sounds of more Nabiki inspired
destruction echoing down the hallway.
Doctor Bridget Engman chose that moment to arrive. Dressed for the
delivery she stormed out of the dressing room and up to the two men.
"You two juvenile delinquents know better than this," she growled,
grabbing their cigars and stuffing them in a nearby bedpan.
"Hey! Those are Cuban." Jeff protested.
"I don't care if they came over on the last boat exodus." she shot
the pair a look even Nabiki would envy. Jeff suddenly remembered why he
picked her to be Nabiki's doctor. She could be just as tough as his
wife when necessary but understanding enough to provide the female
support she needed.
She was about to scold the men some more when Nabiki yelled
something unintelligible in Japanese accompanied by the sounds of more
metal objects striking the walls.
"Did you two morons leave that poor girl alone in there?" Dr.
Engman pointed at the noisy delivery room.
"Absolutely not," Dr. Wiseman protested with mock indignation as a
male voice came from the delivery room pleading for Nabiki to stop. "Dr.
Weinberg's in there with her."
"By himself?!?" She looked incredulously at the pair.
"Yes." they answered together.
"Did you, at least, tell him about Nabiki?"
The two men looked at each other, then back at Dr. Engman. "No"
Dr. Engman was about to ride to the rescue of her younger colleague
when the shaken intern came ducking out of the room only slightly ahead
of a thrown tray. With moves Emmitt Smith would have admired, he evaded
the debris and stumbled up to the nurse's station, trembling, his right
sleeve torn partly off, scratches on both arms, his eyes wide with
fright.
"Who or what is that in there," he asked in thinly disguised terror.
"That, my young intern friend, is a genuine Tendo demonstrating the
famous Tendo way in childbirth. Rarely seen outside of Japan." Jeff
looked towards Delivery #1 and smiled.
"What's a Tendo way in childbirth?" Dr. Weinberg was totally
confused now.
"Oh, about 135 pounds until the baby comes." Jeff chuckled as he
leaned back on the counter. Producing another cigar, he handed it to
the stunned intern. Dr. Engman angrily snatched it away and handed it
to the head nurse behind the counter. Dr. Wiseman gently retrieved it
from the nurse and handed it to Jeff who simply popped it in the
intern's slack mouth.
"Take five, kid. The first team's here and we're only down a couple
of points." he patted the shaken intern on his back. "You did good."
Dr. Weinberg stumbled away muttering something about changing
specialties.
Dr. Engman just shook her head and headed for the delivery room.
"Twits." she mumbled.
Jeff produced two more cigars and handed one to Dr. Wiseman. The
two did a Laurel and Hardy 'so there' nod to each other and leaned back
on the counter to watch the fun.
Dr. Engman opened the door to Delivery #1 just as a bedpan whizzed
past her head, impacting on the far wall with a loud 'clang'.
Remarkably, she didn't even flinch as the projectile passed her. Her
face remained passive; like this sort of thing happened every day.
"Nabiki. NO! BAD!" Dr. Engman commanded as she entered the room.
<Sit! Roll over! Heel!> Jeff mused. <Gotta remember that.>
"You can always tell an Army trained doctor." Jeff said with a point
of his cigar.
"Yup, good in combat situations." Dr. Wiseman agreed.
"Perfect for Nabiki."
"Noooo question."
"JEFF-REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!" She was REALLY
angry now.
"You know, one more of those and she's liable to shoot the kid all
the way across the room." Dr. Wiseman dead panned.
"Still, she *is* breathing better." Jeff observed. "By the way, how
much does one of those rooms go for?"
"Oh, about 200 grand."
"How much do you figure we're up to, damage wise?"
"Not much more than 40 or 50 - wholesale."
"Let me know when it reaches 100 - retail."
The two men patiently listened for several minutes for the sounds of
any further activity in Delivery #1. It seemed that the arrival of
Nabiki's own physician was just what the doctor ordered; so to speak.
"Well, sounds like the fun's over. Gotta go do some rounds if I
want to be home by midnight." Stanley slapped Jeff on the back. "See you
at the club and mazel-tov."
"Ja Na"
Dr. Engman opened the door and leaned out. "Jeffrey, would you get
your little tush in here. Your wife has a few choice words for you."
"I... can... just... imagine," Jeff replied as he carefully stowed
away his cigar and trudged into Delivery #1. Game was over. Nabiki got
reinforcements first.
Inside he found his wife still panting like a dog on a hot day while
Dr. Engman donned a pair of rubber gloves.
"So, sweetheart." Jeff cheerfully greeted his wife in Japanese.
"Miss me?"
Before Nabiki could answer, Dr. Engman took charge.
"Can the Jap crap, Gonzo," she growled as she tugged on the gloves.
"You two better grow up real fast. We're about to welcome another
little bundle of joy into this sick world. Judging by the poor kid's
gene pool, it'll probably fit right in."
Jeff and Nabiki's stunned look quickly melted as they sheepishly
glanced at each other - he because of the admonishment and she because
the English words were not fitting together but she could tell her
doctor was upset.
"Look, you're both good kids. I know. I've watched you over the
last few months. You love each other a lot." She paused to let the
good news sink in before hitting them with the bad. "But, dammit,
you've got to stop competing with each other! This kid deserves the
best you both can give. And if you're constantly trying to 'one-up'
each other, the kid's gonna get lost in the competition."
Jeff felt like he was back at school again; being chastised for some
prank or failing to do his best. He hated it then and he still hated
being talked to this way; even if she was right.
"Sorry, Nabs," Jeff sheepishly admitted.
Nabiki just smiled slightly and nodded - still unsure just what the
doctor was so angry about. She figured she better behave herself for
awhile.
"Now kiss your wife and get outta here," Dr. Engman ordered. "She's
a long way from delivery. She's got a butt full of joy-juice to calm
her down and she's gonna rest now. Besides, I gotta get someone to
clean up this mess." She kicked what was left of a blood pressure gauge
across the floor. "I'll call you when we require your presence."
With that, Jeff was unceremoniously shown the door.
For several seconds, Jeff just stood outside the door to Delivery
#1, looking a little lost and unsure just what to do next.
<I suppose I could wander down and explain things to mom and the
girls.> he thought reluctantly. This wasn't how he wanted to see them
again. He wanted to burst in with the happy news about his son or
daughter, instead of wandering down, in some disgrace at having been
thrown out of the delivery room, to explain this will be taking a little
longer than he planned.
He abruptly decided that he didn't want to face them just yet.
Besides, he was still a coward when it came to his mother. Turning
abruptly on his heel, Jeff set off in the opposite direction to find a
place to hide until Dr. Engman requested him.

Down in the Maternity Waiting Room, Anne Lawrence paced nervously
while Akane and Kasumi watched in equally nervous anticipation.
"Okaasan," Akane quietly asked. "What's it like... having a baby, I
mean."
Anne just smiled softly and considered her answer. She had insisted
the girls call her 'mother'. She always wanted a girl, now she had
three. Akane and Kasumi, on the other hand, were thrilled to have
someone they could call 'Okaasan' again.
"It's not so bad, really," she started but quickly lost the words to
describe the event. She tried humor and instantly regretted it. "I
think an American comedian once said it was like taking hold of your
lower lip with both hands and pulling it up over your head." She
chuckled and shook her head at the silliness of the image. The girls,
however, were staring wide eyed, their mouths open in shock. Akane,
especially, vowed, right then and there, that if Ranma *ever* got the
notion to have kids, she'd douse him with cold water and tell him 'to do
it himself'.

Jeffrey did the predictable thing when in a hospital awaiting his
wife to give birth; he slipped down to the cafeteria for something to
eat. As it was New Year's Eve, he was almost alone.
Selecting the least disgusting hospital food available, he retired
to the table of his choice. Soon, he was deeply lost in thought - about
Nabiki, and babies, and how he wasn't really prepared to be a father.
He didn't notice the approach of his visitor.
"Is this seat taken?" came a male voice from across the table.
Irritated that someone would annoy him with their company in a room
of nothing but empty tables, Jeff glanced up. He recognized his
visitor.
"Weinberg, isn't it?" Jeff cautiously inquired.
"I hope I'm not intruding," Dr. Weinberg set his cup of coffee on
the table and sat down. Jeff noticed that the scratches on Dr.
Weinberg's arms were much more superficial than they appeared earlier.
"I want to apologize for my wife..." Jeff started.
Dr. Weinberg just waved him off. "Not to worry. I was warned about
nervous first-time mothers back in school. I just never encountered
a... what did you call her?"
"A Tendo - it's a Japanese family name." Jeff chuckled at the
thought of his wife eventually being written up in medical books as 'an
example of first time mother over-reaction in Japanese females' - known
as the 'Tendo' condition. "They practice the 'Anything Goes School of
Childbirth'."
"Has she always been so... expressive?" Dr. Weinberg asked with a
sip of his coffee.
"She's just angry about the whole birthing process. It cuts into
her personal time." Jeff toyed some more with his food; preferring to
play with it rather than eating.
"Sounds like an unusual woman."
"You don't know the half of it," Jeff answered with a little smile.
As a bachelor, Dr. Weinberg chose not to pursue that line of
questioning, figuring *every* husband thought his wife was unusual.
That impression kinda went with the territory.
"You seem depressed," Weinberg observed lightly as he took another
sip of his coffee. "Want to talk about it?"
"Practicing psychology on the side?"
Dr. Weinberg just shrugged his shoulders. "I don't get much
opportunity to talk to the fathers. Too busy crouched between some
lady's legs waiting to catch whatever comes out." His grin told Jeff he
was going to be easy to talk to. Perhaps, that's just what the young
Jeffrey Lawrence needed.
"Ah, yes. The Johnny Bench School of Obstetrics."
"So, tell me about this karate queen you married."
"Are you sure you want to know everything?"
"Hey. I'm a doctor. Wanna see my diploma?"
"OK." Jeff took a deep breath, like he was about to dive into a
bottomless pool. "I'm married to a female Donald Trump who comes from a
martial arts family that includes a younger sister who used to regularly
beat up half her high school every morning and an older sister who took
over for their mother when she died and is in eternal search for the
perfect rice ball. Her father is an overly emotional kempo instructor
who's the master of martial arts dirty tricks. Her home life was
regularly interrupted by a young man, unwillingly engaged to the
youngest daughter, who seemed to attract every martial arts weirdo in
the Far East, half want to marry him and the other half want him dead.
Oh yes, he also turns into a girl whenever splashed with cold water.
Which, sorta, complicates things."
The two stared at each other for several seconds. Dr. Weinberg
decided that psychology wasn't such a hot field either.
"If you didn't really want to tell me about her, you could have just
said so." He sounded a little disappointed at Jeff's apparent lack of
honesty.
"Hey, you asked."
"Hmmm."
"To top it all off," Jeff pressed on. "Nabiki doesn't want to be
pregnant, thinks it's all my fault that she is, and knows just enough
English to be dangerous."
<Ah, now we're talking.> the young doctor thought. "Mind if I take
a few notes?" He pulled out a small note pad.
"Suit your self," Jeff shrugged trying to dissect a piece of mystery
meat with his plastic utensils. It changed colors three times as he
vigorously sawed its surface.
The doctor started writing. [Young father, obviously nervous about
the pending birth of his first child, is prone to wild exaggerations
about his wife's family.] "Do go on. This is fascinating. What about
this boy who turns into a girl."
"When splashed with cold water, yes." Jeff finished hacking off a
chunk of unappetizing looking meat and quickly decided it reminded him
of something Akane would cook. Putting the piece of meat back down, he
decided to try his luck with the oddly colored veggies instead. "He
reverts back to a boy in warm water."
"Warm water." the doctor repeated while scribbling rapidly.
[Delusions obviously caused by the stresses associated with pending
fatherhood.]
"But that's not as bad as his father."
"His father? What about his father?"
"Turns into a panda."
That one caused Dr. Weinberg to flinch. "A panda." he dead panned.
"A fuzzy one. About yea big." Jeff held his hand up at arms
length.
"A big fuzzy panda..."
"...who's wife is chasing him all over Japan with a samurai sword
determined to make him prove his manhood or something." Jeff sniffed at
the desert he had chosen and cautiously pushed his luck by taking a
bite. <Reminds me of Akane's 'muffins'.>
"The panda's wife is chasing him with a sword?"
"Well, both him *and* the boy. I understand it involves him too."
"The boy who turns into a girl?"
"Yup." Jeff picked up his roll and sniffed it before showing to the
doctor. "Does this look alright to you?"
Doctor Weinberg was too busy writing to answer. He had just moved
on to his fifth page. Visions of a Nobel prize began drifting through
his head. Sex changing with cold water. This could be a whole new
field of medicine. He could become rich with such a secret.
"And what about your family?" Dr. Weinberg started a new page.
"Not much there. Dad works for the embassy in Tokyo and mom's
pretty normal, in most ways."
"In most ways?" Dr. Weinberg looked questionably at Jeffrey.
"Well, outside the ninja training..."
"Your mother is a ninja?"
"Not really," Jeff kinda squirmed. The doctor got a satisfied look.
"More like ninja lite."
"Ninja lite...?" This was becoming too weird - even for Dr.
Weinberg.
"Well, you see, I was trained by a ninja master for 10 years and mom
just came along to keep an eye on me."
"You're a ninja too...?"
"Not a full fledged ninja." Jeff admitted with a sly grin. "I never
completed the training. I'm just the adopted son of a ninja master and
a member of his shinobi clan."
Dr. Weinberg was rapidly approaching overload. His smile had
slipped into a classic incredulous look. He suddenly got the feeling
Jeff was putting him on.
"Of course, you don't really need to know about the part where I was
killed by a ninja assassin and Nabiki had to attend a gathering of the
shinobi clans to open a secret cave of a 400 year old monk."
"Of course not..." Dr. Weinberg was slipping further and further
into the twilight zone. He stopped writing altogether.
"Too bad. It really makes a great story. Too bad about Sodoshi,
though."
"Sodoshi?"
"Sodoshi Tanaka. The last survivor of the Clan of the Cold Moon -
well, with the exception of my wife and her sisters."
"Your wife is a ninja too?"
"Heck, no. She never underwent the training. She's just the
daughter of a member of the clan - her mother."
"Her... dead... mother." the doctor said slowly.
"Right. The one that talks all the time to her older sister."
"Her dead mother talks to her older sister..."
Dr. Weinberg just stared at Jeffrey for almost a minute as the young
father-to-be finished picking at his food. He felt like the survivor of
a Rod Serling story. Aquatransexuals, married pandas, ninja mothers,
and women who talked to their dead mothers...
"Will... you... excuse me... please," he mumbled raising from the
table like a zombie. "I have to... do... something... "
"Nice talking to you, Dr. Weinberg," Jeff cheerfully said as he
reassessed his meal.
"Sure... no problem..." Dr. Sebastian Weinberg stumbled towards the
exit, pausing only to stuff his note pad into the nearest trash. Who'd
believe him? Either Jeffrey Lawrence was one certifiable wacko or Dr.
Weinberg was. That was territory the good doctor chose not to go into.
With a sigh, Jeff decided to follow the doctor's lead and leave the
cafeteria.
<The guy sure is good. I feel much better now. Maybe psychology IS
his calling.> he thought as he placed his tray on the dirty tray
conveyer belt.

Meanwhile, outside Delivery #1, Akane Tendo was nervously pacing.
She had escaped her sister and Mrs. Lawrence by faking a visit to the
little girls room. What she really wanted was to see her older sister.
In her mind, it had been too long. Something *had* to be wrong.
Gathering her courage, she swallowed hard and slowly pushed open the
door. There on the table was Nabiki, still in her uncomfortable
position, looking like an accident victim. Her glassy eyes slowly
bobbing open and closed with her breathing.
"Nabiki?" Akane cautiously called in a small voice. "Are you
alright?"
Nabiki heard a voice calling her. It sounded familiar. At first,
she couldn't tell where it was coming from - either there was a terrible
echo in the room or it was spinning too fast to get a fix. By focusing
her effort, she determined the voice was coming from somewhere past her
feet. Slowly, she rolled her head to look the direction the voice
appeared to come from. She saw a lone figure outlined by the light
coming through the partially open door - its brightness almost blinding
her. Unfortunately, that figure kept swimming back and forth as the
room spun slowly around and around.
"Nabiki?" Akane cautiously approached her sister.
Nabiki tried to focus on the person that was talking to her. She
still sounded familiar but also started to look familiar too, as she
pulsed in and out. <Who IS this person? I should know her. Think
Nabiki, think.> Slowly a name rose from the depths of her memory. A
name that seemed to fit the person now standing next to her. Dry lips
tried to shape the name she recalled but her tongue seemed too large for
her mouth and her teeth were in the way. As the girl gently touched her
shoulder, Nabiki finally found the right combination to her voice.
"Hi stinky. Time for your bath?"
Akane recoiled in horror. "What... what have they done to you?"
Just then a nurse entered the room making her scheduled rounds.
Quickly, she noticed Nabiki as not alone.
"Who are you and what are you doing here?"
Akane pressed herself back against the wall, her eyes wide and her
mouth open in horror. She tried to point to her sister but could only
cover her mouth and slide along the wall towards the door.
"Are you related to this girl?" The nurse moved to cut off the
youngest Tendo's escape. Bad move.
Trapped and scared, Akane did the predictable thing; she dropped
into her aggressive kempo stance, her fighting face on. The nurse
wisely backed away, hands raised in front of her. "Easy, little girl.
We don't want any trouble."
"Does stinky want her little duckies in the furo?" Nabiki was
clearly out of it and drifting pleasantly in another world.
As the escape route opened, Akane quickly ducked out the door only
to collide with Dr. Engman, who was coming to check on her patient. As
both went to the floor, Dr. Engman yelled, Akane screamed, and the head
nurse called for security. Scrambling to her feet, Akane escaped back
down the hallway towards the Maternity Waiting room. As Jeff stepped
off the elevator, Akane collided with him too. Only Akane hit the
floor, this time. Confused, Jeff looked around to determine why Akane
was running in such a panic. Something certainly drove the girl to such
a terrified state. His mind quickly jumped to the wrong conclusion -
Nabiki! Something was wrong with Nabiki.
Instead of helping his sister-in-law to her feet, he dashed towards
Delivery #1 - clipping Dr. Engman in his haste and sending her to the
floor again. Darting into the delivery, instead of a medically
distressed wife, he was greeted by a very mellow pregnant Tendo.
"Hi sweetie. I'm having a baby." Nabiki was clearly drugged out of
her little mind. "Sing along with me. One of these things is not like
the other. One of these things doesn't belong..."
"What the hell!" Jeff was clearly annoyed now.
"I've never seen such a profound reaction to a sedative before."
The nurse was frantically trying to piece together what happened as she
whipped through page after page of Nabiki's chart.
"How many did you give her?" Jeff tried to grab his wife's waving
hand.
"Look at the pretty butterflies."
"I only gave her one injection." The nurse quickly flipped through
Nabiki's chart.
"What do you mean *you* only gave her one injection? *I* gave her
an injection." Dr. Engman finally stepped into the room, looking like
someone who'd been run over by a linebacker - several times. Greeted
with a room full of chaos, she moved quickly to take control. She was
especially indignant that someone had taken it upon themselves to give
*her* patient a sedative without asking.
"But doctor," the nurse protested. "It said right here on the chart
to give the patient a sedative."
"You idiot, it clearly says the *I* gave this patient a sedative."
Dr. Engman growled while snatching away Nabiki's chart.
"Oh"
"... here on Gilligan's Isle..."
"But Dr. Weinberg gave her a sedative before you arrived." Jeff was
beginning to panic. When Dr. Engman said his wife's butt was full of
'joy juice', she wasn't kidding.
"I can't believe this is happening." Dr. Engman slammed the chart
down on the counter.
"On New Year's Eve, no less." Jeff grumbled.
"Is it New Year's yet? I want a rice ball."
"Honey, you are a rice ball."
Dr. Engman quickly organized the remaining staff to counteract all
the sedatives that had been pumped into Nabiki's shapely little butt
over the last few hours. It was hard to tell how far apart her
contractions were due to her over-dosed state. She wasn't especially
dilated so they concluded she was still some time away from delivery.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Lawrence. But due to all the drugs your wife was
inadvertently given, I'm afraid we won't be able to give her anything
for the delivery."
"Meaning?"
"It's going to be a little rougher delivery than I had planned."
Jeff looked at his wife who was still grinning and happily humming
the theme to a well known commercial. In a few hours, she would be
passing through the transition phase, the most painful part of delivery,
totally without any chemical help.
"I wish Dr. Tofu was here." Jeff lamented out loud. "With his
knowledge of pressure points..."
"Tofu?" Nabiki was becoming animated again. "I *love* his kawaii
little butt." She made a special emphasis on the word 'butt' and
followed with kissing sounds.
Jeff stared at his wife for several seconds. "Oh, for Pete's sake."

Meanwhile, down the hall in the Maternity Waiting Room. Anne
Lawrence and Kasumi were startled as a panic-stricken Akane stumbled
into the room babbling about how the hospital was killing her sister.
It took several minutes to calm the youngest down long enough to get the
whole story from her. The best the could make out from her histrionics
was that Nabiki didn't even know who Akane was and a nurse attacked her
in Nabiki's room.
Anne insisted Kasumi take care of her sister while she checked on
Akane's story. She was just approaching the nurses' station when the
first security officer arrived.
"She went down there," the head nurse pointed towards the Maternity
Waiting Room.
The security officer started that direction only to be brought up
short by Anne Lawrence as her hand shot out to grip his throat.
"And just where do you think *you're* going?" she growled, clearly
peeved that someone had sic'ed a big burley male on little Akane.
"Lady, there's a crazy girl running loose in here. I need to detain
her before she does any damage." His voice sounding slightly panicked.
Anne's grip tightened.
"One of your storm trooper nurses attacked my little girl. I don't
like that very much." If she could, she would have been glowing, her
anger rising. Her hand tightened again. The head nurse was dialing
911. Now, she had two crazy people on her hands.
"Mom, what are you doing?" Jeff came out of Delivery #1 sounding
distressed to find his mother doing her Darth Vader act with a member of
hospital security.
"Jeffrey, what's going on?" Anne demanded of her son.
"Nothing's going on, mom." Jeff should have known better than to
lie to his mother.
"Akane's down in the waiting room crying about how they're killing
her sister. Nurse Ratchet here is calling everyone but the National
Guard. And I've got an overweight Barney Fife threatening a member of
my family."
"Please... lady," the security man croaked while clawing frantically
at her grip.
"Mom, put the man down. He's turning blue." Jeff looked
embarrassed at his mother's antics.
Reluctantly, Anne Lawrence released the now choking guard who
tumbled to the floor. As he looked up at the still scowling
practitioner of ninja lite, an impression formed that he'd gotten off
easy.
"Lady, you're in a lot of trouble." He bounded to his feet reaching
for his radio.
"I don't think so." She smiled almost sweetly his direction.
Turning on her heel she added: "Diplomatic immunity."
The guard and head nurse watched, stunned as Mrs. Lawrence smugly
walked away.
"What's she talking about - diplomatic immunity?" the guard finally
demanded of Jeff.
"You know who's president?" Jeff leaned against the nurse's station
counter and crossed his arms.
"Yeah, why?"
"Well, he and her husband are like this." Jeff held up his crossed
fingers. "First name basis." Jeff yawned and gave the guard a look of
pity. "Do whatever you want, buddy. But if the police get involved,
your next government job will involve a pooper scooper down at the zoo."
The sound of the guard's radio slamming back into it's holster was
echoed by the head nurse's phone being hung up. It seemed that neither
wished to challenge the powers that be.
"Besides, you're just lucky she wasn't angry."
"What do you mean, lucky?" The guard shot a glance the direction
Anne had departed while rubbing his throat.
"If she was, she could have popped your head off with no trouble at
all." Jeff yawned again. "Seen her do it."
The head nurse slowly backed away from the counter while the guard,
eyes wide and still rubbing his throat, backed cautiously into the open
elevator. He figured now was a really good time for that donut break he
had been looking forward to. Friends of the president. Grip like a
gorilla. Diplomatic immunity. What *are* these people? FBI? CIA?
Aliens? Thankfully the elevator doors closed.
Jeff looked casually at the head nurse who mumbled something about
checking the drug cart before disappearing down the hall. That left
Jeffrey time to ponder just how all this got started. He remembered
colliding with Akane outside the elevator earlier and quickly put
together the string of events that led to this latest crisis. With a
chuckle, he went to explain the situation to his mother.
All were relieved when Jeff explained what had happened with Nabiki.
Knowing how things were, Jeff figured it was a good thing Ranma wasn't
here - the damage could have been severe. Still, after all Akane had
gone through this evening, Jeff got the feeling that if Ranma wanted
kids, he was going to have a hard sell on his hands convincing Akane.
Jeff decided to stay in the waiting room with his mother and the
girls until Dr. Engman determined he was needed once again. It wasn't
the best of places to be.
Akane and Kasumi tried to curl up on one of the sofas and sleep.
Kasumi kept muttering something about how she'd donate a certain panda
to the local zoo if she could only get a futon to sleep on. Akane kept
having nightmares and twitching; further irritating the already
exhausted Kasumi. Anne, more used to long nights at Embassy affairs,
rested easily in a chair, firmly in control of the TV remote. Jeff
tried to sort through all the old magazines looking for the oldest, the
newest, and the least interesting. That took all of 10 minutes.
His cell-phone took that opportunity to ring.
<Who, the hell, is calling me this time of night?> he thought while
answering the phone.
"Mr. Lawrence, he called again." It was the tired voice of his
secretary. Jeff recalled that he had a phone rigged in Rachel's
apartment so she could answer the business line after regular business
hours.
"Who called again?"
"Mr. Gaffney."
"From where?"
"I don't know, sir. He mentioned something about the Amazon."
"Well next time give him my cell-phone number."
"Too late. I already did. Can I go back to sleep now?"
"Sure and, Rachel, why don't you just switch off the office phone?"
"Too late. I already did. He's your problem now." She abruptly
hung up. Jeff began pondering how much of a raise he could afford to
give her.
Soon, only Jeff was still awake. No one noticed how they'd missed
New Years. No one cared. It was only 1 AM. It was going to be a long
night.

Jeff had fallen asleep in one of the chairs, dreaming of a kawaii
little brown haired girl. For some reason, he kept seeing the girl
grabbing Dr. Tofu's butt and making kissing sounds. When he objected,
the girl grabbed him by the throat and started shaking him. Somewhere,
between dreams and reality, Jeff became aware that someone *was* shaking
him. Sleepily, he opened his eyes to see the face of a concerned
looking nurse.
"Wha..." Jeff never did wake very well.
"Dr. Engman says it's time you came down to the delivery room.
She's ready."
Jeff was instantly awake. Nabiki. Hospital. Baby. It all fell
into place.
Without waking the others, he quickly scrambled down to the delivery
room where Dr. Engman was slipping on another pair of rubber gloves.
Nabiki was much better, at least lucid and fully aware of her
surroundings.
"You okay, Nabs?" Jeff took her warm little hand in his. She
smiled his way and nervously nodded.
"She's fully dilated and her water broke a couple of minutes ago."
Dr. Engman calmly brought Jeff up to date.
"Wait a minute. What about the transition phase and all the other
stuff?"
"Oh, we got through those without you. It was a little rough, but
Nabiki came through just fine."
"Why didn't you wake me?" Jeff was genuinely irritated that he had
missed the most difficult part of the delivery process.
"What could *you* have done?"
"I donno, hold her hand, maybe."
"Believe me, it wouldn't have helped."
As Nabiki made a tiny noise marking another contraction, Dr. Engman
indicated where Jeff was to go and took up her position.
"What do I do now?" Jeff looked so lost standing near Nabiki's head
that all in the room were staring at him.
"Didn't you pay attention in the Lamaze classes?" Engman was
clearly peeved.
"Well... we didn't actually go to the Lamaze classes." Jeff looked
at the floor in embarrassment.
"You didn't WHAT?" Dr. Engman went from peeved to pissed in nothing
flat. The whole situation was like being in the Super Bowl and
discovering that your new coach is a fraud.
"They asked us not to come back after the first class." Jeff just
shrugged. He was in trouble again.
"I don't believe this. I can't use drugs for Nabiki because of a
staff screw-up and now the girl doesn't even have a coach for the
delivery."
"Should I wait outside... again?"
Nabiki took that opportunity to groan with a really strong
contraction.
"You take one step towards that door, buster and you'll see the
inside of a ICU first hand." Dr. Engman growled while waggling a finger
his direction. "Mary, will you show this 'father' what to do?" She
waved one of the nurses to Jeff's side. Jeff really didn't like the way
she said 'father' but decided to avoid an argument. Besides, she was
probably right - he should have gone to the classes AND kept his mouth
shut.
The nurse was very patient and polite to Jeff as she walked him
through the duties of a birth coach. Jeff caught on quickly and soon
was able to function almost as well as if he'd gone to the classes...
almost.
For several minutes, the delivery went quite smoothly. Dr. Engman
was so busy doing everything she could to help Nabiki along that she
didn't have time to growl at Jeffrey - even when he made a few mistakes.
In no time Nabiki was coming into the home stretch.
"Ok, Nabiki, now one more good push outta do it." Dr. Engman advised
from her position seated between Nabiki's grotesquely spread legs.
"It hurrrrrrttsss!" Nabiki whined as her husband helped prop her up
for the next push. She looked terrible; all sweaty, her hair plastered
to her face. Dividing her time between gasping for breath and crying
with pain, she was having a perfectly miserable delivery.
"It'll all be over soon, Nabs." Jeff tried to sound comforting. He
wasn't doing a very good job.
"You men," Dr. Engman chided. "One good labor pain and you'd be
passed out on the floor. Gimmie something to wipe with here. If we had
to depend on men to bear the children, we would've become extinct
centuries ago."
"We have our good points." Jeff protested.
"Well, *that's* a short list if I ever heard of one."
Jeff and Dr. Engman continued to trade barbs until Nabiki couldn't
take it anymore.
"Will you two shut up and let me have this baby!"
"Now look what you did!"
"ME?!?!"
"SHUT UP!!!!" Nabiki finally screamed.
"Good breathing, dear. Keep it up."
Nabiki's hands went from the sides of the delivery bed to her
husband's throat. Shaking him violently, she yelled: "If you EVER do
this to me again..." The rest was cut off by her next contraction.
Unfortunately, her hands were still around Jeff's throat. All heard
Nabiki's little squeal as she inhaled with the contraction. By the time
it passed, Jeff had turned blue.
"Medic." Jeff croaked as Nabiki released him.
"Quit your wining and get back to work." Dr. Engman shifted her
position. "I've got the head here."
"She had the head here too." Jeff resumed his position rubbing his
throat.
"Jeffrey, so help me..." Nabiki growled while gasping for air.
"Will you two knock it off?"
Jeff and Nabiki locked eyes. She with a look of pain and he with
his embarrassed little smile. This wasn't what they had married for.
She, in particular, had made it clear she didn't want kids. The last
nine months had been a roller coaster ride of emotional ups and downs
that all culminated in this moment. Nabiki Tendo-Lawrence, the least
likely to become a mother, was about to become the first of the Tendo
girls to give birth.
"I love you, Nabs." Jeff kissed her sweaty forehead.
"I love you, too, Jeffrey." Nabiki snarled through clenched teeth
as she gasped for breath. "But if you EVER..."
"Very touching, you two," Dr. Engman interrupted. "But, if you
don't mind, let's get this baby out. I'd like to get home before the
first of the bowl games."
Starting with the next contraction, the three worked as a well
drilled team. Delivery finished quickly and Dr. Engman quickly cleared
the baby's mouth and nose. The newborn gave only a single squall before
settling down.
Nabiki's head collapsed onto her pillow and she gently reached up to
caress her husband's face. It was over. She'd become a mother.
"What is it?" she gasped with a little smile.
Jeff leaned over to get a good look at the product of their love.
"It appears to be... a lizard," Jeff grimaced at the sight of his
child all covered with the usual waxy slime.
"Jeffrey!" Nabiki tiredly snapped. Dr. Engman just shot Jeff an
exasperated look.
"Oh, all right," he relented. His little joke obviously not very
funny to either of the women. "What've we got doc?"
"Well, if I recall my basic anatomy course," Bridget grinned at the
couple. "You've got yourself a little girl."
"It's a girl, dear," Jeff repeated turning his head to face his
wife.
"I wanted a boy," Nabiki groaned with mock disappointment.
"Put it back, doc. She wants a boy."
"It doesn't work that way, Mr. Lawrence."
"It doesn't work that way, dear. Better start thinking of girl
names."
"Oh pooh."
"Well, if you folks are done with me," Dr. Engman said while handing
the baby to one of the nurses. "I've got a lot of paper work to do
before I can go home." She reached over and patted Nabiki on the arm.
"You did good, sweetie." Turning to Jeff she added with a smile: "And
*you* were your usual pain in the ass."
Jeff returned her smile and held out a cigar. She glared at him for
a few moments before relenting.
"Oh, why not?" she said snatching the cigar out of Jeff's fingers.
"Maybe I can have it encased in Lucite or something. Make it a
paperweight." She stuffed the offending tobacco product in her pocket
and left.
"Could I just..." Nabiki indicated her desire timidly, like she was
asking for something that belonged to someone else. This was the first
time Nabiki had openly shown *any* desire towards the baby. Jeff
thought happily how such was a good sign.
Thankfully, the nurse, a veteran of many attended births and mother
herself, immediately knew what the Nabiki wanted. Wrapped in a new pink
blanket, the newest little Lawrence squirmed in the bright lights of the
delivery room as she was placed on Nabiki's chest, her little fingers
clutching at the front of her mother's gown. Tentatively at first, like
she was either scared or unsure, Nabiki tried to hold her child. She
had no experience at children and it showed. She never wanted to
experience such. But here she was, tired, sore, and very happy, holding
her daughter. Cuddling and cooing like countless mothers before her.
Jeff did what countless forefathers did; he slipped a finger in the
baby's little hand and commented on the child's grip.
"Well, mommy, it looks like our life just changed." Jeff was
staring at his little girls face, his mind a whirl of potentials for her
- scholar, actress, mother; all competed for their own visions. The
last vision was of a supremely accomplished shadow warrior, complete
with black katana, springing through a series of attacks - powerful,
fluid, commanding. <Why in the world would I think of that?> Jeff
admonished himself as he shot a quick look Nabiki's way, hoping she
didn't catch his thoughts. She wouldn't have been amused.
Gently, Jeff brushed the hair from his wife's forehead. She turned
to look his way, a happy smile - part joy, part relief - beamed his
direction. Her eyes even watering.
"I'm a mommy," was all she said before allowing her husband to
snuggle, his cheek caressing her forehead. It was finally over.
"Go tell grandma and Aunts Akane and Kasumi about our daughter."
Nabiki yawned as she reluctantly surrendered her daughter to the nurse.
"I'm so tired."
With a small chuckle, Jeff kissed his tired wife again and departed.
Nabiki was already dozing off, her hands on her shrinking stomach. She
was going to be thin and pretty again. Her characteristic sardonic
smile reappeared as she drifted into sleep. Her dreams were of a forest
clearing, with a small lake in the middle, where two lovers spent an
afternoon doing what lovers do.

In the doctor's lounge, Dr. Engman sat tiredly in a comfortable
chair, kicking off her shoes and placing her feet on a conveniently
placed wooden chair.
<What a pair.> she happily thought while wiggling her toes. <One
thing's for sure, that kid's going to have an interesting life.>
Dr. Engman yawned. <Sure hope Jamie's got that TV warmed up. Hate
to miss the kickoff.> She stretched and noticed the cigar Jeff had given
her.
<I wonder just what all the attraction is to these things.> She
removed the cigar from her pocket and rolled it lightly in her fingers.
<What a disgusting habit.> She sniffed the offending object's brown
wrapping. <Doesn't smell all that bad. I wonder...> She gingerly placed
the finished end in her mouth and rolled it around like she had seen
actors do in so many movies. <Not so bad. Still, I wouldn't want to
actually smoke the damn thing.> Placing her hands behind her head, she
wiggled her body slightly to find a more comfortable position in the
overstuffed leather lounge chair. It felt good. Feet up, shoes off, a
good cigar...
"Can I get you a light, doctor?"
Dr. Engman sat bolt upright at the sound of a familiar voice.
Leaning in the doorway, arms crossed, was Dr. Stanley Wiseman. He'd
stopped in to get something from his locker and caught Dr. Engman in
her... 'compromising position'. His laughter accompanied his departure.
He didn't even hear the shoe impacting the inside of the door as it
closed.

Jeff happily wandered down to the Maternity Waiting Room. All were
still dozing, mom in her chair and the girls slumped together on the
sofa. With an amused look, Jeff tip-toed over to his mother. Kissing
her forehead, she jerked awake to see her grinning son.
"Is it...?" she started, as the fatigue drained out of her.
"It's a girl... grandma." Jeff had to chuckle at his mother's mixed
reaction. Joy at the arrival of her son's child and stunned realization
at what just that arrival meant. She was now another step down the road
- a little older.
"What...?" Kasumi stirred and looked Jeff's direction, her
movements waking her younger sister.
"Aunt Kasumi, your sister now has a daughter."
Kasumi's squeal of delight was echoed by Akane. More than any in
the family, Akane wished for a girl. Boys were just... well, *boys*.
For months, she had envisioned herself in the dojo, training a tiny
niece in the ways of kempo, and taking her shopping, showing her off to
all her friends. She had many plans for her little niece.
"When can we see her?" Kasumi anxiously asked, her hands
characteristically clutched together chest high. She too had big plans
for Nabiki's daughter. Cooking, picnics, walks in the park - yes,
Kasumi was also glad for a little girl. Her niece would grow up to be a
perfect lady, a good hostess, and even a good prospect for a husband.
She was already picking out the girl's first kimono.
"Both Nabiki and the baby are probably sleeping now," Jeff said
thoughtfully. "But you should be able to see the baby down in the
nursery."
The resulting stampede to the nursery was calmly trailed by Jeff and
his mother.
Jeff's cell-phone took that opportunity to ring.
"Sean. It's good to hear your voice again. Where are you? How'd
you get to Buenos Aires? No, I've never been down the Amazon in a
dugout canoe. Sean, I've been thinking. Why don't you just hop a plane
home and take a little vacation. I'm sure your wife, Linda, would
appreciate seeing you again. Sean? Are you there, Sean?" Jeff turned
off his cell-phone with a shrug. <Must be the South American phone
system.>
In a bus station in Buenos Aires, a crowd was gathering around a tall,
thin disheveled looking gringo with a black fedora, passed out on the
floor, still clutching the now dead phone in his hand.
Jeff and his mother caught up with the girls at the nursery viewing
window. Kasumi was patiently examining the babies trying to pick out
the one that looked most like Nabiki. Akane, plastered to the glass,
was using a more scientific method. She quickly figured out the
color-coded name cards on the bassinets and squinted to make out the names.
She squealed in delight when she found the one named 'Lawrence', jumping
up and down, pointing excitedly for her older sister. Kasumi just
smiled and nodded, her eyes fixed on the sleeping little bundle,
watching it's fingers move periodically and wishing she could hold the
baby, just for a few minutes.
"Look at all the hair." Akane was more animated than Jeff had ever
seen her. "What color are her eyes?"
"Black hair and brown eyes. A perfect Japanese combination." Jeff
chuckled at his sister-in-law's excitement. He had anticipated her
reaction but still found it amusing.
The family admired the sleeping child for several minutes, Akane
smearing the glass with finger and nose prints as she constantly shifted
position to get the best view of her little niece.
At Jeff's suggestion, his mother and the girls went back home to get
some proper sleep. Jeff, however, still had one thing he wanted to do.
He easily found Nabiki's private room and slipped quietly inside.
Nabiki was asleep on her back, one arm draped over her body and the
other laying open on the bed. Closing the door, Jeff pulled a chair up
to the side of the bed and looked at his sleeping wife. He tried to
remember the girl he mentally fenced with back in Japan more than a year
ago. He remembered the kawaii, brown haired ice queen he had fallen in
love with. All the adventures they had been through. All the trials
they had endured. Throughout it all, he still loved her more than he
could ever express. She had endured the ordeal of childbirth for him.
She had sacrificed for the sake of her family, her youth, her freedom,
and her self-centeredness. She was a mother - a mother to his daughter.
In Japan, she would be considered a complete woman.
Jeff tiredly sat down on the chair and gently took his wife's hand
in his. It was still soft and warm - she had beautiful hands, he
thought. Suddenly, he felt tired. So tired he could hardly keep his
eyes open. Thinking he would just rest there at his wife's bedside for
a few moments before leaving, he leaned forward, resting his head on the
soft bed. It felt so comfortable - so warm. Soon, Jeffrey Lawrence - a
man who could afford any room in Hawaii to rest in - was asleep. Still
sitting on a simple wooden chair, his upper body on the bed, his wife's
hand still in his.
Hours later, a night nurse would discover the sleeping couple, still
in their positions. With a little smile, she would drape a spare
blanket over Jeff's shoulders and leave the new parents to their peace.
They were, after all, an unusual couple.

[Epilog - What's in a name?]

Late the next morning, the girls and Anne Lawrence returned to the
hospital, their arms full of flowers, stuffed animals, and baby clothes
- they had obviously gone shopping again. Nabiki had had time to eat
and make herself presentable before their arrival. Jeff, however,
looked like someone who slept in a chair all night.
Anne and Kasumi eagerly embraced the new mother, chattering about
how wonderful she looked and how happy they were for her. Only Akane
held back. She had never shown affection for her sister openly. In
front of Kasumi and the others, she felt particularly inhibited.
As Kasumi arranged the flowers and Anne placed the stuffed animals
in the window sill, Nabiki spied her younger sister standing shyly at
the foot of her bed. For some reason, Akane looked up to see her
sister, arms crossed staring at her with that crooked little smile she
often sported when involving her sister in some business scam. They had
never been very close, spending most of their time fighting like
siblings and the rest bargaining like creditor/debtor. Akane was unsure
just how familiar to get with her sister. To her surprise, Nabiki
slowly held out her hand and smiled a welcome. She was more surprised
at her own reaction - moving quickly to embrace her sister, hugging her
tightly, enjoying the warmth and love she had never experienced with her
older sister.
"Oh, Nabiki. We saw her yesterday in the nursery. She's so
beautiful." Akane babbled as she squeezed her sister. "You're so
lucky."
<Lucky? Yaright!> Nabiki sarcastically thought. <Kid, we've *got*
to have a long talk.>
Nabiki, while enjoying the intimacy of her sister, suddenly recalled
the girl was a martial artist and a tom-boy at that. The hug was almost
painful in its exuberance. Carefully disengaging herself, she held her
sister's hands and smiled. Grateful at being able to breathe again.
"Well Stinky. You're an aunt now."
"Don't call me 'stinky'." Akane grimaced. Nabiki still knew what
buttons to push on her sister.
Kasumi just shook her head with an exasperated smile. They were
never going to change.
Further discussion was interrupted by a nurse arriving with Nabiki's
baby. All 'ooohed' and 'awwwwwed' as the baby was placed in her
mother's arms. To Nabiki's surprise, the nurse started unbuttoning the
front of her gown.
"What...?" Was all she got out before the embarrassed nurse halted
what she was doing and looked questionably Jeff's direction.
"I thought you said she wished to breast feed." The nurse
straightened up and placed her hands on her hips.
"WHAT?!?!" Nabiki's shock was enough to make the baby flinch.
Whatever Jeffrey had done, he did without consulting her first. She
shot her husband an angry look.
"Nabs, I'm sorry but they asked if you wanted to do this and I just
assumed..."
"You didn't ask me!"
"Well, at the time, you were talking about Dr. Tofu's butt and
making kissy sounds. I didn't feel it appropriate to consult with you
just then." Jeff instinctively backed away from his wife.
Kasumi and Akane exchanged looks. <Tofu? Kissy sounds?>
"Besides, when we were at the grocery store, you said you didn't
trust the cans of formula they were selling. I just assumed you
meant..." Jeff was almost to the corner of the room.
"I think that's wonderful." Kasumi was clearly pleased with the
decision. "You know mother breast fed all of us."
Nabiki got a very embarrassed look on her face as she looked at all
the people in the room. She remembered the discussion in question, but
was only pointing out how careful they were going to have to be when
choosing the proper formula for their baby. She certainly didn't mean
she wished to do the alternative. "I can't do this in front of all
these people."
"Well, it's your choice." Jeff tried to duck out of any
responsibility for this decision. He was already in deeper than he
wanted.
Nabiki looked at her baby, who was already rooting around, obviously
hungry. She swallowed hard and, with more quick, nervous glances around
the room, agreed to try... just this once.
With a comforting smile, the nurse positioned Nabiki on her side and
showed her how to hold the baby and begin nursing. She repeatedly
assured Nabiki that nursing was the best thing for her baby. Nabiki,
however, still looked dubious.
"I can't believe I'm doing this." was all she could say as she
carefully presented herself for the first time to her hungry child. She
gasped slightly as the baby found her nipple and began doing what hungry
babies had done for centuries. Her look towards Jeffrey was anything
but happy.
Satisfied that the mother was doing well, the nurse left. Anne and
Kasumi excitedly talked about all the people they were going to have to
notify and how they were just going to have to hold a proper baby shower
back in Nerima for the newcomer. Nabiki was absently listening when it
happened.
"Ow! Don't bite, ya little monster!" Nabiki yelled in surprise.
All conversation came to a halt and all eyes in the room were suddenly
on Nabiki and her child. Even the baby stopped suckling and stared at
her mother, her dark brown eyes looking like two black marbles, staring
emotionlessly at Nabiki. The baby's look was almost that of defiance.
As the two locked eyes, one could easily get the impression the this was
a contest of wills - Nabiki versus her new daughter. Jeff swallowed
hard and moved a little further away. He had a bad feeling about this;
the feeling that this was only the first of many confrontations to come.
Nabiki, sensing she was the center of attention, glanced nervously
around the room and tried to recover some of her lost dignity. "Don't
bite your mommy. It hurts." She repositioned herself and resumed
nursing while trying to listen to her sisters and Anne making plans.
<This is not so bad, I guess. Just so long as the little ... doesn't
bite me again.> she thought. <Maybe I *could* do this.>
Moments later, the baby took a handful of Nabiki's bare breast and
made a fist. Nabiki's reaction was immediate and a milestone.
"Dammit Sodoshi! Stop that!" Nabiki froze in horror at what she
had just done. Why had she used *that* name - the name of the late
Sodoshi Tanaka, clan sister and friend? The baby stopped suckling again
and stared at her mother. It was impossible to read anything in the
baby's expression. She simply stared at her mother with a totally blank
look. "What have I done?" Nabiki gasped.
"Off hand, I'd say you just named our daughter." Jeff was almost
all the way across the room now.
"Oh no. I can't name her *that*." Nabiki whispered fearfully shaking
her head.
"Why? She was your friend and a clan sister - the last shadow
warrior of your people." Jeff cautiously approached the bed. "Didn't
she give you something for your first child?" Jeff now felt the shinobi
heritage of Nabiki and himself slowly tightening around them both -
drawing them in, binding them permanently to their daughter's
birthright. He didn't totally like the idea himself but knew enough
about the clans to know that what Nabiki just did was no accident. It
was, perhaps, inevitable. Sodoshi Tanaka's spirit *must* live on. If
not for the sake of her memory, for the sake of her people. Besides,
the little critter already showed it had Sodoshi's ability to irritate
Nabiki.
Nabiki stared at Jeff for a long time before looking away. Sodoshi
*was* her best friend, perhaps the only best friend Nabiki had known
since her mother died - a person willing to sacrifice her own life for
Nabiki. It was only fitting they name their daughter after such a
person.
"I think that is a perfect name for her." Kasumi slowly approached,
producing from the pocket of her skirt the amulet Sodoshi Tanaka had
given Nabiki just before she died. She held out the small, amber
colored talisman with its new silver chain. Some of the dead girl's
blood still clung to the deepest crevices, spiritually binding the new
wearer to the late shadow warrior.
Nabiki stared at her sister with some reservation. She had toyed
with the idea of naming her daughter after her late mother. Such was
really not possible as Kasumi, being the eldest, had the honor of that
name. With a growing sense of confidence that she was doing the right
thing, Nabiki nodded her approval.
It was usually the prerogative of the father to proclaim the child's
name to the ancestors but this was not a normal Japanese family nor a
normal shinobi clan - there were no surviving males to do the task and
Jeff was a gaijin.
Gently, Nabiki rolled onto her back and held her daughter at arms
length, resting the child on her stomach. Kasumi gently placed the
amulet around the child's neck. Nabiki didn't know the proper words but
felt it didn't really matter. The intent was the important thing.
"In the name of my ancestors... I name you Sodoshi - Tendo -
Lawrence daughter of Jeffrey and Nabiki and daughter of the Clan of the
Cold Moon. May your name bring you courage and wisdom." She looked
directly at Akane. "And I name your protectors Akane Tendo, daughter of
the clan and..." She paused, looking to Jeff for guidance. She had run
out of appropriate protectors.
"Who is the best and most honorable warrior you know?" Jeff already
knew the answer. He was the only real choice.
"And Ranma Saotome, honorable defender of those in need." She
almost choked on the pronouncement. She still thought of Ranma as a
irresponsible kempo artist who was only toying with her sister. Still,
she DID get him to show how much he really felt about Akane. Maybe he
wasn't such a bad choice after all. He certainly would protect little
Sodoshi. Guidance? Well, that was another matter.
Akane's reaction was stunned surprise. The responsibilities of a
'protector' in Japanese society went far beyond those of 'god parents'
in the West. It was usually an honor given to someone much older and
wiser, who had much to pass on. Seventeen-year-old Akane frantically
grappled with her new found status. Her previous plans for the girl now
took on more serious overtones. Like a scared little girl, she sought
out Kasumi's hand.
Kasumi easily accepted Akane's trembling hand and gently turned it
into a hug. <As it should be.> she thought. <Now Ranma will *have* to
grow up. He has new responsibilities and a new reason to share them
with Akane.> She closed her eyes and smiled. Mother certainly has a
way of doing things.
Nabiki felt Jeffrey at her side and sighed contentedly at the
thought of his presence. He might act less than firmly with her on most
occasions but she still couldn't see him as the coward his mother had
proclaimed him to be. Softly patting his arm, she gave thanks for him.
In spite of his faults, he was still, everything she had ever dreamed
of in a husband.
She watched as he gently took the child, cuddling her and smiling
like the new father he was. Slowly, Jeff walked to the window, Sodoshi
staring at him the whole way. He stopped in a pool of sunshine; its
brightness causing the baby to squint and move her little fists across
her face attempting to make the irritation go away. Jeff slowly turned
till the shadow of his arm fell over the child's face - shielding his
little girl from its glare.
"You'll never want for anything," he whispered before kissing her
forehead. Jeff was finding new focus for his own life in his daughter.
Before, his marriage was only for his and Nabiki's combined pleasure.
Now, everything would have to revolve around their daughter. Little
Sodoshi represented common ground for both - a rallying point.
Jeff closed his eyes and said a little prayer of thanks - for his
family - for his wife - for his daughter. As he opened his eyes, he saw
little Sodoshi still staring at him, her face without expression, her
big brown eyes fixed on her father. With a laugh, Jeff smiled at his
daughter.
"Kid, you have no idea what you've just gotten yourself into."

The story of Jeff and Nabiki ended. The story of Jeff, Nabiki and
Sodoshi Lawrence began.