Violation of the Sixth Commandment "Honey, wake up." Keiko groggily opened one eye, and the morning sunshine blinded her momentarily. She closed it back again, then forced herself to sit up. She heard Ben chuckle as he planted a kiss on her cheek. "I didn't hear you climb out of bed last night. Why did you sleep here?" he asked. Keiko found her slippers and followed him into the kitchen, where his parents were busy preparing breakfast. It's eight o'clock? "Good morning, Mom, Dad." Tamara smiled. "Ohayo, Keiko." Arthur waved to her, still holding the frying pan. "Sorry you had to cook," Keiko apologized. She took a seat next to Ben. "I guess I just, uh, wanted to do a little stargazing. I couldn't sleep last night." Immediately she winced. She remembered telling Ben last that she was tired. Her lies weren't consistent. Ben was concerned. "Are you sure nothing's bothering you?" He reached over to feel her abdomen. "You shouldn't be stressing yourself with your condition. Did you consider taking a leave?" Inspite of herself Keiko laughed. "A leave? Ben, I'm one month pregnant!" She giggled. "You're such a, how do you say it, worrywart? Really, I'm fine!" She patted his hand to assure him. "We'll see about that," he said, reaching for some pancakes. "We have an appointment with Dr. Miaka at nine." Oh, right, I almost forgot. "After that, will you be at peace?" Keiko asked, stuffing some bacon in her mouth. "We'll see," Ben repeated, unconvinced.
"You know, if you keep that up, we might just have a new career waiting for you in the junkshop." "Why, you little--" Kuwabara Kazuma fumed, but stopped when he recognized the voice. Wait a sec. Isn't that... "Oi, Urameshi?!" he incredulously bellowed as he spotted the speaker approaching his doorstep. "When did you come back?" He gripped the hammer he was holding as he climbed down the ladder which Yukina was holding steady for him. "About two days ago," Yusuke replied, slapping hands with Kuwabara as he came nearer. Yukina trotted behind her husband, and bowed respectfully in front of Yusuke. "Ohayo gozaimasu, Yusuke-san," she said in that gentle voice of hers. Yusuke bowed in return. "How are you, Yukina?" "Hai, I've been good," she answered, smiling shyly. Kuwabara placed an arm around her shoulders and looked fondly at her. They were married some two years ago, and Yusuke could tell they were living quite a blissful life, so far. He couldn't help the pang of wistfulness that hit him then and there. Kuwabara turned to look at Yusuke. "So how's it goin', man? Hey, it's been, like, forever!" Yusuke shrugged. "OK, I guess," he replied offhandedly. "I've been training further, and I asked Kitakami to take over business for a while. I needed a break." Kuwabara nodded. "Hey, how `bout a cup of tea?" He cocked his head, indicating that they go inside. "There are so many things we have to catch up on!" Yusuke waved a hand. "No, arigatou. I can only stay for a while, anyway. I, uh, got some errands to run for Ofukuro..." Yusuke grinned sheepishly. "I was just passing by --" he stopped short, freezing in his spot. Yukina and Kuwabara turned around as well, wondering what had gotten into Yusuke. Just across the street from where they were chatting were a couple, with the man around the woman's waist in a very protective manner. The woman didn't seem to mind, and snuggled closer to her companion. It would be unnecessary to elucidate that the woman was Yukimura Keiko. Kuwabara darted a nervous glance at Yusuke. Even Yukina was concerned, but if she had any intent to change the topic she was obviously good at hiding it. Yusuke saw at the corner of his eye that his two friends exchanged looks. Sympathy, Yusuke thought, still looking after the couple. That's the last thing I need. I don't need your pity. "I guess I don't have to ask anymore if you heard about it," Kuwabara murmured. He heaved a tired sigh, and looked at his friend. "I'm sorry, man." "Yeah." Avoiding their gazes, Yusuke swallowed hard to keep a lump from forming in his throat. "I'm sorry too."
"MISTAKE?!" Ben banged his large fist on the table, disturbing some Chinese-doll figurines and causing them to nearly fall off. "What do you mean, there's been some mistake?" "Ben!" Keiko exclaimed. "Please, calm down." The middle-aged doctor shook her head. "Mr. Howard, I know how disappointing this is for you, but I would have to ask you to collect yourself and think about what I've just told you." "What's there to think about?" Ben said, lowering his tone a notch. "You believe that your wife is one month pregnant. That is the stage when the fetus' heart starts to beat. If it were there, we could have detected it with Ultrasound tests earlier." "But it is there! And - and Keiko had shown symptoms --" "These symptoms alone are not conclusive. The so-called morning sickness, as is expected to be manifested in this stage, can be brought about by other factors. Vomitting may be due to gastritis or hyperacidity induced by stress, or from some sort of indigestion." Dr. Miaka consulted her clipboard. "Also, your delayed menstruation is not uncommon; since this is the first time that it happened maybe, to put it in slang, your hormones are just refusing to act up." Keiko nodded, taking all this in. But Ben would not. "What about the tests?" "You took the take-home pregnancy test kit, correct?" Keiko nodded. "I admit those tests are pretty accurate. But do you know what those indicators verify? The presence of a circulating hormone called human chorionic gonadotropin, or HCG. Though this hormone is mainly responsible for detecting the presence of a fetus in the womb, it can also be indicative of the presence of tumor." Keiko gasped, and Ben grasped her hand comfortingly. "So now you're saying that my wife has cancer?" He was obviously controlling himself. His features were contorted in a confused expression. "YOU verfied the test! You said it yourself -- she was pregnant! And didn't you run some other test on her -- a blood test or something?" Dr. Miaka nodded. "Right, a radioimmunoassay. And I am telling you now, I did make a mistake. A radioimmuoassay also detects HCG, is prone to a lot more errors than what could be imagined. And to answer your first query, NO, I am not saying your wife has cancer. We all have tumors in our bodies, and this one is no exception. They're usually inactive, and since there are no signs of active cancer cells in your blood, I don't know what triggered the indicators to be positive." The doctor leaned back on her chair and folded her hands on her lap. "I can think of no other reason but that there might be something wrong with the pack you purchased." Ben breathed. "That's it? That's what's wrong -- the package was defective?" Dr. Miaka leaned forward again and clasped her hands over the table, looking at the Howards seriously. Her eyes were full of apology. "I'm truly sorry for the trouble I caused you, for letting you down. But it's actually a good thing we found out this early." She smiled sympathetically. "You still have time to try again." Ben was stoic, but Keiko chose to smile at the kind doctor. "That's alright, Doctor. Thank you for informing us." She stood up, bowed respectfully, and left, with her husband following close behind. They paid the doctor's fee, and headed home in silence. Ben looked every inch a discouraged man with a shattered ego. Three years... and still no child. Keiko knew just what he was feeling, but decided not to dwell on it. It would be too heavy and unhealthy if the two of them would cling to the same reason for sadness. She patted his shoulder soothingly. "It's OK, Ben, we can still try," she began. Ben kept quiet. She stopped walking and faced him, taking his hand. "Please, it's not your fault. It's not my fault. It's NOBODY's fault. Things like this just happen. And we've got to accept that." Standing on tiptoe she kissed his forehead. "Please don't let this bug you. It might affect your performance at this upcoming convention. After all, you wouldn't want to make a bad impression on your soon-to-be partner, right?" Ben just nodded. Holding her close, he murmured in her hair, "I'm so lucky to have you." It's a good thing he can't see my face, Keiko thought, hugging her husband back, as bits of last night's remorseful feeling crept into her heart once more. When she raised her gaze, her eyes met a sight that she thought would make her heart hammer straight out of her ribcage. Standing at the street opposite them was a man watching them. He seemed to have met her stare. Keiko knew his all-too-familiar slicked back hair, his build, his stance. Yusuke, she almost said out loud. Then, without further ado, he went on his way. Previous Chapter | Next
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