Tokyo-3 Baby-sitters
Written by Alain Gravel
Story based on characters created by and copyright GAINAX
Started on November 16th 1999
First pre-reader draft finished on May 9th 2000
Second pre-reader draft finished on May 16th 2000
Third pre-reader draft finished on May 24th 2000
Final pre-reader draft finished on June 28th 2000
Chapter 3 - Unexpected Assistance
The room was so small--barely four meters on a side--that
you could hardly call it an office. That didn't matter to its user, though.
It was calm, it was isolated and it was functional, which was all she needed.
She pressed a button, activating a MAGI terminal.
The screen flickered to life, glowing weakly through its thin layer of
dust.
Beside being small, this office was also very rarely
used. In fact, judging by how clean the room was, if one didn't consider
the dust that slowly made its way inside through the air ducts, many would
likely have assumed that this place had never been used at all. Not that
there was much in the room to use, a chair and a desk being the only furniture
present, for the proper use of the MAGI terminal.
Her fingers were a blur on the terminal's keyboard
and her unblinking gaze fixed on the screen, Ayanami Rei quickly found
the file she was looking for: the Children status file. It was a restricted
file, but her security clearance was high enough to access it. Only the
Commander had a higher security clearance and only Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki
and Doctor Akagi's clearances equaled hers.
Rarely had Rei felt the need to use this office,
even if it was at her permanent disposal. She had used it before the final
attacks on the Fifth, Seventh and Twelfth Angels. Knowledge was a weapon,
and in these instances, it had been possible for her to review the data
on the Angels, in search of a weakness to exploit in combat. It had not
actually been useful -- her role against the Fifth had been to protect
Shinji, she hadn't faced the Seventh and Unit-01 had destroyed the Twelfth
-- but it never hurt to be prepared. Shee had also used it to consult the
files on the Second, Third and Fourth Children. The information, however,
had not been very useful, as she had found the Second and Third Children
far more complex than their psychological profiles let on.
"Why am I here?"
It was a question she had asked herself many times
on her way here. She knew that the Third Children retrieval attempt had
been performed several days earlier. She had spoken to several people,
but gotten contradictory answers. Some spoke of success, other of failure,
but nobody wanted to elaborate. She hadn't seen Major Katsuragi, Doctor
Akagi or Lieutenant Ibuki since the attempt. She hadn't seen the Third
Children at NERV, nor at school. She had overheard his friends saying he
had been sent to Germany. Obviously this was misinformation spread by the
Major. EVA pilots were needed in only one place: here in Tokyo-3, where
the Angels inevitably attacked. It was all... very strange. So, earlier,
in a meeting with Commander Ikari, she finally decided to ask him about
the Third Children. His answer hadn't been exactly what she had expected.
"There is no need for you to concern yourself with
this, Rei."
This answer was now the source of a great dilemma
for the teenage girl. Commander Ikari had assured her that it was unimportant.
The Third Children, however, was not only a teammate, but also the only
pilot that seemed able to use Unit-01. And even if Unit-01 was still in
stasis, she considered the Third Children as the more reliable of her teammates.
True, his will was weak, but she expected the Second Children to break
before he would. Therefore, Unit-02 would be available if Unit-01 was not.
On a practical basis, there was justification for her to wonder about the
availability of the Third Children.
But beyond that, there was something else, something
she couldn't quite point out. An ordinary person might have said it was
either curiosity or worry. Ayanami Rei wasn't, however, an ordinary person
and so she found herself more confused than anything by her current actions.
Realizing that she had been staring blankly at the
terminal screen for a few minutes, lost in her reflections, Rei pushed
those thoughts aside to be reflected upon at a later time. She opened the
Children status files and called up the information about the Third Children.
She let out a sigh of relief, not realizing she
had been holding her breath, as she saw the 'Inactive' status for the Third
Children. Part of her had expected to see a 'Deceased' or 'Vanished' status.
She was quite aware of what had happened the previous time someone had
achieved a synch ratio over one hundred percent with Unit-01. Looking in
the mirror every morning reminded her of that fact.
"This feeling... was it anxiety? Did I fear... did
I fear for him? Why?"
More questions she found herself unable to answer.
In a way, the Third Children had been extremely
annoying. Ever since he had arrived in Tokyo-3, she had found herself asking
herself more and more questions of a similar nature.
The fact alone that she felt annoyed by such unimportant
matters was actually disturbing.
The girl let out a silent sigh, one of her rare
shows of emotions.
The fact that the Third Children was still alive
didn't really answer her questions, however. No mention of his current
whereabouts could be found in his file. To add to the mystery, surveillance
over him had been temporarily been put on hold.
The girl frowned. If the Third Children was truly
away in Germany, it would have been indicated in his file. It seemed she
was wasting her time.
Through a new search, Rei opened Major Katsuragi's
file. It seemed she was currently on a leave of absence, ever since the
day following the Third Children's retrieval from Unit-01. Security logs
confirmed that she hadn't come to NERV in that period.
Visiting the Major seemed like the next logical
step.
The Commander had said not to concern herself. He
had not said that she could not look into these matters.
Yawning, Misato tried to keep her eyes open.
"Why can't you just get hungry at normal eating
hours?"
The baby just kept sucking on his bottle. The last
few days had started to take their toll on Misato. She had been feeding
Shinji, changing him, watching over him so he wouldn't hurt himself, day
and night. A few close calls had shown it was necessary. It was exhausting.
The constant worry only added to the stress. And then there were the chores
of keeping the house clean... At least with Asuka away she didn't have
to worry about food; she was used to instant. Although, she had to admit,
now that she was sober, it really tasted like cardboard.
It's really crowded here.
This was the thought that came to Asuka's mind,
as she lay by Hikari's side on her bed, staring at the ceiling. The bed
was comfortable, but not really big enough for the use of two people. Asuka
found herself unable to move from fear of ending up in an embarrassing,
or even intimate position. The last thing she wanted was to wake up in
the morning and find herself hugging Hikari, after having dreamt of Kaji.
So she couldn't sleep and found herself staring
at the ceiling.
Her thoughts kept coming back to Misato and baby-Shinji,
as they had for the past few days. This annoyed her to no end, but she
just couldn't seem to chase the images away.
Misato had seemed so joyful, so full of life. Asuka
had never seen her like that. She had been like a different person. She
hadn't drunk a single drop of beer all night. She had cooked an edible
and non-instant meal. She had apparently cleaned the place up. She had
been smiling, a true, honest smile. She had never acted this way before.
Not for Shinji. Not for Kaji. Not for her. Only for that... baby.
This was what scared her the most about babies.
She hated them for various reasons. They were noisy. They were dependant.
They always required your attention. They were a pain in the ass. But more
importantly... they could change you. And you could get attached to them.
This, above all else, scared Asuka. She would not let anything change her.
And she certainly didn't want to get attached to one of those. Loving someone
meant eventually losing them. Her mother; she didn't want to think about
it. Her father; he stopped caring about her at the same time he stopped
caring about her mother. Perhaps he never cared at all. Kaji; it was becoming
clear that it had been a mistake. With Misato around, he would never care
about her. Shinji... she chased that thought away. She didn't care about
him. No, she didn't care about him...
There was also something else that bothered her
about babies. Something darker. Dolls. They all looked like dolls. Dolls
mothers could play with.
Asuka shuddered at the thought.
Shifting positions so that she would now lay on
her side, Asuka hugged her pillow as she buried her face in it, fighting
back the tears she could almost feel in her eyes.
At her side, Hikari wished there was something she
could do or say to help her friend. But whatever was hurting her, she knew
that Asuka would rather face it herself than let herself be seen in pain.
"What now?!"
She tried to feed the baby, but Shinji just ignored
the milk bottle and kept crying. It wasn't a complete surprise, she had
given Shinji's last meal barely more then an hour ago.
"Why are you crying?"
Undressing the baby only revealed a dry and clean
diaper.
"Why?"
Taking the him into her arms, Misato could only
think of a single course of action. She just paced back and forth in her
living room, whispering what hoped to be soothing words, trying to calm
the child, as she slowly rocked him in her arms. She gave up after nearly
stumbling twice over a huge plush panda Makoto had brought the child two
days before. So she just sat down on the floor, still holding Shinji, and
prayed that he would stop crying soon. She really needed a few straight
hours of sleep...
Ayanami Rei found herself staring at the door of
Major Katsuragi's apartment. This was also the other Children's living
quarters as well. At this thought, she felt a familiar feeling she sometimes
felt as she compared their living conditions to hers. She didn't really
know what the feeling was, but it was strong and violent, so she repressed
it as she always did. Commander Ikari had approved of all their living
conditions, and his opinion was not something to question. Her being here,
however, was more questionable. As she left for this place after school,
it had seemed... right. The fact that the Second Children was heading in
a different direction didn't change this feeling; if anything, it would
make the whole process easier. But now that she was actually here...
"Am I going against the Commander's wishes? Why
am I here?"
While technically she knew she wasn't disobeying
him, she also know that she had played with his words in her logic. He
may not have put it exactly into words, but she had understood the meaning.
She should stay away from this matter.
So why was she here?
"Ikari-kun..."
For a moment, she frowned. Why did he insist in
making her life more complicated. Didn't he understand that things were
as they should be? Why did he... make her... feel?
It would be much easier to simply leave. But she
needed to understand... if only to free herself of his disturbing influence.
So her finger pushed on the apartment electronic
buzzer.
The answer she expected didn't follow. Instead,
she heard a faint 'bang' through the door, followed by a much louder sound.
It sounded like something was... wailing. It was a voice she didn't recognize.
It couldn't be Sohryu, she was not presently here. The voice didn't have
similarities with the Major or the Third Children either. The penguin perhaps?
Her train of thought derailed as her long-repressed
instincts reacted to the sound. Her throat went dry, her muscle tensed,
her stomach felt as if a hand was roaming in her insides. She recognized
the emotions as anxiety, perhaps even fear. She had felt these feelings
before, at a few occasions, and felt shame in knowing that in these instances,
she had doubted Commander Ikari. This time, however, the emotions she felt
were making themselves known on completely different levels. Something
within her was urging her to move, to enter the apartment, to go see the
source of the noise. Because something instinctive within her knew it was
important.
And so, for the first time of her life, logic found
itself thrown aside and Ayanami Rei panicked.
While she had no official military rank, Rei had
privileges that actually outranked most people in NERV. Aside from a high
security clearance, those privileges also included a universal pass. After
all, in times of emergency, it was important for Rei to be able to enter
any location if it was necessary. So when she slipped her access card into
the lock of Major Katsuragi's apartment, the door opened for her.
In a hurry, Rei ran into the apartment, shoes flying
in all directions as she removed them from force of habit. She soon found
the source of the noise... and froze. Down on the floor was a small infant,
disturbingly familiar, trying to cry its lungs out. Rei suddenly found
herself at a complete loss. Had she known about the events that would have
occurred that day, Asuka would most likely have come back to the Katsuragi
household just to witness this scene; finally a problem Ayanami Rei didn't
know how to handle. After a moment of staring at the child, and actually
blinking a few times, Rei heard someone moaning, the sound mostly drowned
out by the baby's wailing. She looked toward the source of the moan, to
see the Major, sprawled on the floor. She noted the plush panda under her
legs but more importantly, the small puddle of blood around the area where
her forehead had hit the floor. Simple logic quickly led to a simple conclusion:
the Major had tried to rush to answer the door, but stumbled on the plush
panda and fell, hitting her head and rendering herself unconscious. She
had probably been carrying the infant with her, which she let go in her
fall, explaining its current behavior.
Again, Rei found herself faced with a dilemma. The
infant could have been hurt, and may be needing assistance, however, the
Major was clearly hurt and obviously needed care. Head injuries could,
after all, be very dangerous. Due to her rank and her role in the war against
the Angels, the Major should obviously take priority. The child was, after
all, unimportant. As she watched him cry, however, Rei found it very difficult
to resist the need to help him.
She sighed. Making such important decisions was
not something she was used to.
Misato tried not to wince as Rei roughly bandaged
her head. The sight of the blue haired girl, as she had been reviving her
with smelling salts, while holding Shinji in one arm, had quite surprised
her. She didn't know, however, what had been the strangest sight: Rei in
her apartment, the look of concern on her face, or the way she actually
held the baby in her arm. Right now, Misato was the one holding Shinji,
letting Rei take care of her.
"The cut on your forehead is deep. You will likely
need stitches. You may also have a concussion. I strongly recommend that
you go to the hospital once I have minimized the blood flow."
Misato guessed that Rei was right. She did feel
dizzy and the pain was intense. From her position, she gave the plush panda
a dark look. She had to put that thing away... before she tore it apart
limb from limb.
"I know, Rei. But I can't. I can't leave him alone
by himself. I have to watch him."
"You won't be able to care for him if you lose consciousness."
Misato admitted, to herself, that Rei had a point.
"Why is this infant so important, Major? Is he the
reason for your leave of absence?"
"Take him in your arms, Rei."
The girl made sure the Major's bandage was holding
securely, then complied. Misato noted that Rei seemed to actually know
how to hold a child, as if it wasn't the first time she was doing this.
The thought of Rei taking care of a child seemed very alien.
"Look at him carefully and I think you'll know why
he's so important."
She looked at the child. It was rather tiny, if
not fragile looking. She noted the dark brown hair. His features were vaguely
familiar, but Rei couldn't tell if it looked like someone she knew, or
if this familiarity came from something more complex, a sort of vague remembrance.
His eyes however... red and dark blue eyes stared into one another. It
only lasted for a second or two, before the child smiled, then happily
giggled. But that short instant had been enough for her to see what she
had failed to see before. The intensity of those eyes was unmistakable.
Had she not have been looking at Rei, Misato might
have missed a brief flash of a shocked expression, before it faded away
and her features returned to normal.
"Ikari-kun."
Misato nodded. Rei didn't ask how this actually
happened. It was unimportant. It did, however, answer a number of questions.
These matters were put aside as the girl thought back over the current
situation. She looked again at the child she was holding in her arms and
made a decision.
"I will take care of him."
It wasn't a request or a suggestion, but a statement.
A very serious one, Misato judged, as she looked at Rei's face.
"Rei... you've never taken care of a baby, have
you?"
"No."
Misato sighed. The girl's intentions were commendable,
but it wasn't realistic.
"I'm not sure it's a good idea. Taking care of a
baby is not an easy task, Rei. It's a lot of responsibility. Make only
one mistake and the child might suffer."
"I will not fail him!"
Rei seemed so resolved. Never Misato had seen the
girl so sure of herself, so... expressive. Rei usually seemed more passive,
the perfect soldier, always ready to follow orders. The Rei she knew would
not have tried to insist but would have simply surrendered to her opinion.
Maybe, just maybe... this just might finally help the girl to open up.
But first, Misato had to make sure that Rei was really committed to this
important task. Shinji's life was actually at stake here, and this was
a far more risky gamble than her decision of having Shinji and Asuka live
together.
"I'm sorry Rei, but you can't take care of him."
"I... I..."
Rei didn't know how to react. She had made a decision,
an important decision, both for herself and Ikari-kun. And... she was denied.
While she recognized the Major's authority... her decision had seemed so
right...
"I... I... please... let me..."
Misato gasped at that sight. Rei was clutching the
child tighter against her. If she didn't know Rei better, she would have
swore that she was actually about to cry.
"I want... I want to take care of him."
Had anyone told her this would happen one day, Misato
would never have believed it. But here it was. Rei was actually making
a demand. She wanted something. She smiled, a proud smile. It was odd...
was this how a mother felt when she could see her children grow up?
"All right, Rei. You can take care of him."
Rei's face softened. Inside of herself, however,
she was crying tears of joy. She didn't exactly know why she felt this
way. It all seemed so trivial. But... she could not help the feelings that
overtook her. She smiled, a shy smile, reminiscent of the one she gave
Ikari-kun, that time he asked her to smile. Misato blinked at the sight.
Rei was smiling at her. And that smile seemed to widen as Rei looked at
the child. At that moment, Misato felt certain that all would be all right
after all.
Unsure if she could drive to the hospital, Misato
phoned for a taxi. While they waited, she instructed Rei on the different
tasks she'd have to perform, showing her where she kept the diapers, milk
formula, baby food and other necessary items. She also gave Rei the baby
caring guidebook Ritsuko had initially gave her. After finally telling
the girl she was free to use the contents of the kitchen, with the exception
of beer, Misato was about to leave the girl and child alone, when she thought
of a last piece of advice.
"Rei, for the next few hours, Shinji will be completely
dependent on you. He will not be able to communicate his needs to you,
so you'll have to make guesses and try to act for the best. So you'll have
to care for him the best you can. Like... a mother would."
Rei nodded.
Misato then looked at the child Rei was still holding.
"Now, Shin-chan, Auntie Misato has to leave for
a while, so you be good and do what Rei-oneechan tells you, understood?"
The child, noticing that Misato was addressing him,
just blankly stared at her, before yawning and closing his eyes.
"Oh well... I'm sure he won't be that much trouble.
You two take care!"
Having nothing more to say, Misato left Shinji in
Rei's hands. She still had doubts, but her instinct was telling her it
would work out just fine. Besides, Rei had said she wouldn't fail Shinji
and Misato believed her. She had seen the girl in action, and one thing
she had to give her credit for was her perseverance and dedication. If
Rei said that she wouldn't fail, she wouldn't and God help anyone who got
in her way.
Misato gone, Rei stared for a moment at the now
closed door, lost in thoughts.
"A mother..." she whispered to herself.
Ikari-kun had once told her that she had looked
like a mother. Could she now act like one?
She looked at the child now sleeping peacefully
in her arms.
"Shin-chan..."
Kaji looked at the woman laying in his bed. She had
asked him to take her back to her apartment once the doctors had assured
her that her injuries weren't too important. A few stitches and a painkiller
prescription later, she was ready to leave and had thought that Kaji would
be cheaper then another taxi. On the way, Kaji had managed to convince
her that she really looked like she needed rest and that she should come
to his apartment rather than hers. Misato had been reluctant, but he had
managed to convince her that Rei could surely handle taking care of a baby
for a few hours.
Now, Misato was dead asleep, snoring lightly. He
had left just a few minutes ago to make coffee and it took only that much
time for her to find her way into dreamland. Most likely, the painkillers
and lack of sleep had kicked in. Perhaps it was just as well. She needed
the rest. Carefully, he picked a cover from a closet and laid it over her.
He then took an extra set of bed sheets as well as a pillow and exited
the room. While he was very tempted to sneak into bed with her, it was
probably better to let her have her rest undisturbed.
Rei was not worried. She was simply... concerned.
At least, that was what she was trying to tell herself.
The Major had left around dinner time. Glancing
at her watch as she had done several times before, Rei noted that the time
was now 20h30. More than enough time for a simple head injury to be treated.
Which could only lead to two possibilities: either she had underestimated
the extent of the injury the Major had suffered -- if it was the case it
was possible she had been forced to remain at the hospital -- or she had
decided to get a moment of rest, which was also probable, as it seemed
to be something the Major had been lacking. Rei didn't really mind having
to stay longer then she had expected. Having brought her school bag with
her, she could still do her homework. While it was tasteless, the food
the Major had given her permission to eat had been enough to sustain her.
The Second Children had not yet come back from the location she had gone
to after the end of classes, a fact the blue-haired girl greatly appreciated.
And more importantly, she had just finished her third reading of the guidebook
the Major had handed her and if she didn't totally understand the content,
she now felt confident in facing the inevitable task of taking care of
the young Ikari.
Well... almost confident. She found herself very
worried about her earlier behavior. She had lost control. For a moment,
emotions had taken over her rational judgement. She had volunteered herself
to do a task for which she had no experience or qualification. Then she
had argued with her commanding officer, almost telling her she was wrong.
These were all unacceptable behaviors. If the Commander ever heard of this,
he would be greatly disappointed. He might even... replace her. She didn't
fear being replaced... but she certainly didn't wish for it either. At
least, that's what she believed, but small shudders at the thought suggested
otherwise.
Well, she was determined not to show any further
moments of weakness from this point on. After all, this was only a child.
Even if this child was Ikari-kun.
She frowned. This designation no longer seemed appropriate.
If the infant was Ikari-kun, he was also different from him. The Major
had called him Shin-chan. Something deep within her approved of the name.
But Rei ignored that voice. Calling the child that... it felt too personal.
Shinji, she decided, would do fine.
Having nothing else to do, the girl was about to
read the book a fourth time when the child made it clear he was awake.
For a moment, she froze. It was quite a disturbing feeling, it was as if
she had suddenly forgotten all she had learned in the guidebook, as well
as her previous resolutions. Only years of self-control made her resist
an overwhelming urge to panic. As calmly as she could, and being Ayamani
Rei, it meant being as cool as ice, she got up and walked up to the crib
where she had laid the small infant after the Major had left.
Earlier, the child had been rather calm. He had
obviously been tired and had caused her no problem. He had fallen asleep
almost the instant she had put him in the crib. Now, however, he was very
much alive, legs kicking in the air, hands and fingers moving as if it
were trying to catch something only he could see, mouth wide open and eyes
closed as he cried. For a moment, Rei wondered if all infants cried in
such a manner, or if it was something unique to Ikari. The Third Children
was after all overly sensitive, if her observations were accurate.
The child calmed down somewhat when she picked him
up, but he was still crying. From her reading, many things could lead a
baby to cry, but the two most probable possibilities were either wet diapers
or hunger. Since food would be wasted if the infant was not hungry, the
girl proceeded to methodically remove the baby's clothes, a task not too
easy, since the baby kept crying, but by that time, Ayanami had already
learned to mostly ignore the sound. Finding no trace of wetness in the
baby's diapers, she dressed him again and put him back in the crib. Sensing
that the girl was leaving him behind, Shinji cried even more.
"I need to prepare your meal. You must be patient."
Rei quickly realized however, that babies don't
respond well to logical arguments. So as she tried to leave for the kitchen
again, the volume of Shinji's wailing increased significantly. Rei tried
to ignore him, but the sound just seemed to stab into her like a knife.
But she refrained herself from going back. She would not let her emotions
control her again.
"If this goes on, he may disturb people living in
the next apartment."
Rei had no idea if the Major actually had neighbors,
but this was a perfectly logical excuse to go back to the child and see
if there was any way to calm him down. Looking around brought the solution
to Rei's problem. She picked the child again, strapped him into the car
baby seat which she had noticed in a corner of the room and carried the
seat with her in the kitchen. This way, the child would be able to be in
her presence and she would be free to prepare his meal.
Rei felt very pleased in her handling of this problem.
There would be other problems, but she knew now that she would be able
to deal with them in a calm and logical manner. She didn't know why all
these emotions made themselves felt this often and this strongly, but she
was sure she could now keep them under control.
She wondered, did she react so strongly because
of the baby, or because of the knowledge that this baby was Ikari? She
had noticed that the Major had seemed very protective of the infant. More
protective than she usually seemed about Ikari. Did babies have an emotional
effect on people? Did it affect only females or did it affect males also?
She sighed. New questions added to this complex puzzle people called life.
For the moment, however, Rei had to face a less
complex problem, which was what to actually feed the child. Rei contemplated
the options offered to her. One was baby food. She had noticed a vast array
of baby food jars in the Major's fridge in her earlier attempts to find
something edible (unfortunately, Rei didn't know that baby food actually
tasted better then Misato's instant food). It was all basically the same
thing if one didn't consider all the different tastes available (Misato
had actually discovered that baby food tasted better then her instant food,
so she had made a vast order, even replacing part of her beer supply with
it). The other option was milk. The milk formula had been conveniently
left on the table, along with the necessary bottles, and the preparation
seemed rather simple. So, again, Rei was faced with a choice. From what
she had read, younger infants drank milk. As the infant grew, however,
so did his nutritional needs. Rei had no idea how old Shinji actually was,
and what kinds of food he mostly required. The presence of both suggested
that the Major had at least tried to feed him both kinds. But she hadn't
instructed her on which to use. For a moment, Rei considered simply giving
him both, but it seemed unlikely that such a small child would have a big
enough stomach for both. So she settled on the milk. If it was good for
newborn babies, then it would not hurt older ones.
Rei noted with interest that the infant had apparently
noticed that she was preparing his meal, as he calmed down and watched
her with concentration. It was a more complex behavior then anything else
she had observed so far. Was this baby more intelligent than she had initially
estimated? Her initial observations had lead her to believe that Shinji,
under this form, possessed few reasoning skills. But apparently, this child
had already learned how to recognize someone preparing his meals. It was
most fascinating.
Following the instructions to the letter with flawless
execution, Rei was soon done preparing the baby's milk bottle. And the
fact that he was afterward sucking on the bottle energetically clearly
showed that she was using the appropriate method to feed him. While it
was of no surprise, Rei felt both relieved and proud in this latest accomplishment.
For a moment, she allowed herself a moment of respite and gave the child
a small smile.
Rei had no idea what quantity of milk a child actually
needed to drink. But that problem solved itself as Shinji lost interest
in the bottle. Rei noted that only a quarter of the content was left, although
she had no idea if the information was relevant, as she doubted that such
things could remain constant. One thing she knew remained true however
was that after such a meal, it was needed to make the baby burp. The book
had not explained why, only how to proceed, and so Rei acted accordingly.
However, as she held the child in her arms over her shoulder and tried
to make him burp, the reward to her efforts was not exactly what she had
expected. She frowned as she felt the baby regurgitate part of the milk
he had drunk on her shoulder.
"This is not cute." (1)
While being barfed on was just a little annoyance
for Rei, a wasted school uniform was another matter entirely. Hopefully,
it would not stain. While it was meaningless to Rei, the Commander was
adamant that she should at least have a presentable appearance. Picking
up the child, Rei headed toward the bathroom in search of a washcloth to
at least remove most of Shinji's... little gift. The child giggled in delight,
happy to take a little trip, but it was short lived as Rei set him down
on the floor.
"Do not move," commanded the girl to the child,
before picking a washcloth and proceeding to wet it and try to clean the
fabric covering her shoulder.
What Rei was to soon learn, however, is that children
tend not to listen to what people tell them; in fact they sometimes do
the complete opposite. So when she finally judged her uniform clean enough,
at least hopefully enough that it wouldn't stain, she discovered the child
gone from the position she had left him. In fact, he was nowhere to be
seen in bathroom. For a moment, she wondered how such a little child could
have disappeared so fast, when she heard both a shriek and a giggle. Frowning,
she went to investigate the source of the sound.
Rei blinked at the sight that awaited her. Then
blinked again.
As fate required, Pen-pen had chosen that moment
to have a late drink. So he got out of this 'home' to fetch a beer at the
same time Shinji exited the bathroom. The baby didn't miss the chance to
recognize the penguin which led to the current result; apparently, Shinji
had managed to grab and hold himself tightly on the penguin's back. Needless
to say, Pen-pen did not approve and was expressing that disapproval in
loud warks while running around in circles and waving his fins, trying
to get that thing off his back. The scene could have been comical, if not
for the inevitable conclusion; the baby finally lost his grip and was sent
flying in the air. For an instant, time seemed to freeze and Rei stared
in wide horror at the child going up in the air, soon to fall down. Then,
she moved.
Rei was not the kind who felt the need to show off.
So she never used her full skill, speed and strength in class, or daily
life. She had still been holding back when she beat Asuka's time in the
previous week's swimming competition.
So when Rei moved to catch the child, it was both
with feline grace and speed. Too bad no one was there to witness it. And
it was a shame Rei didn't notice that Pen-pen, now free of the child, failed
to slow down and hit the plush panda, knocking him in Rei's path just before
it was too late for her to avoid it. So Rei stumbled on the panda and fell
on the floor. But she at least managed to avoid harming herself by catching
herself with her arms. That is, before something hit her back, making her
yelp in pain and, as she lost her hold, painfully hit her forehead on the
floor. But unlike the Major, Rei was used to dealing with pain; it came
with her job. So the next instant she was up again, to see the child on
the floor, which had bounced off her back, squirming and crying.
And that's when Rei again lost what control she
had managed to keep so far.
"Shinji! Are you alright?!? Shinji!"
The only answer Rei got was more crying. Which really
wasn't too surprising as babies can't actually talk. But she wasn't in
the right frame of mind at the moment to realize that. Something she noticed,
however, was the penguin waddling toward the source of the noise.
"You!"
The penguin froze in his tracks as red eyes burning
with anger were suddenly locked on him. A large sweatdrop begun to form
as his eyes met Rei's.
"If you hurt him, I will make sure that 'grilled
penguin' is on the next NERV cafeteria menu."
Pen-pen didn't really understand all the words the
scary blue-haired girl had used, but the low dangerous tone of her voice
carried the meaning quite clearly. Knowing what was good for him, he wasted
no time retreating to his fridge, where he was determined to stay until
either his mistress, the whiny boy or the loud female were back. He hadn't
seen the latter two in a while, though. He really hoped that they hadn't
been replaced by the scary girl...
"Shinji! Are you alright? Are you hurt?"
Taking the child in her arms, Rei inspected him
to see if there were any traces of injuries: cuts, bruises, anything. She
looked at him from every angle, feeling gently for broken bones. The only
thing she found, however, was something warm and wet as she slipped a hand
in his diapers.
Rei's only reaction was to freeze for a short instant,
then frown. The fact that Rei kept her legendary calm didn't mean she found
this sudden contact any less disgusting than anyone else would. Rei, however,
was not one to dwell long on such insignificant matter and so she found
herself soon seeing the positive side of the situation: at least she knew
now why Shinji was crying. And despite everything, she felt relieved that
Shinji was well.
Changing the child had taken longer than feeding
him. The operation had been a bit more complex and had also required for
her to clean the child up. This time, Shinji's "little gift" had not been
that little and it had been somewhat messy. For a moment, Rei wondered
if the Major fed the child properly.
Shinji had finally calmed down. He had been fed,
changed and had played a bit (although too much and too dangerously for
Rei's taste). Therefore the next logical step seemed putting him back to
bed. The baby, however, seemed to refuse to be put into the crib. Each
time she let him go, he would start to cry.
"Are you not tired?"
In her arms, the child yawned. Taking it as a yes,
Rei put the child back in the crib.
He started to cry again.
The she took him back. He stopped.
And he cried again as she put him back.
To stop when she picked him up.
To cry once more when she tried one more time to
put him back.
Analyzing the problem at hand, Rei could only come
to one conclusion: the child didn't want to leave her arms. This single
thought made her feel... warm inside.
"Fine," she whispered, as a smile grew on her face.
So the girl sat against a wall, and waited for the
child in her arms to fall asleep. The whole situation felt strangely...
very familiar. Without realizing it, the girl sang a soft lullaby she had
never heard before, but yet knew nonetheless.
[To be continued...]
Bonus scene:
While most of Tokyo-3's inhabitants were enjoying
a well deserved rest, a pair of scientists were still hard at work in a
restricted laboratory, deep inside the bowels of NERV. Through force of
habit, Akagi Ritsuko picked up her coffee mug and mindlessly brought it
to her lips, still typing on the keyboard with her free hand, only to find
the mug empty. This simple realization broke her out of the near trance
she had been in for over an hour. Blinking, her eyes confirmed that the
cute cat ornated mug, a gift from her assistant Maya on her last birthday,
barely held more than a drop of coffee.
The blonde haired scientist let out a yawn and progressively
started to feel the effect of too many hours of non-stop work. Almost thirty
eight hours, if her watch was accurate. She looked at her terminal screen
again, to realize with regret that her previous train of thought was now
completely derailed.
Knowing that there wasn't any point in trying to
stop her mind from wandering a bit, Ritsuko looked at the large glass cylinder
at the center of the room. Two meters wide and four meters in height, it
was big enough for an adult to stand inside it... or float in it. Both
extremities were attached to a vast array of mechanical and electronic
components, most of them not completely assembled, but the Doctor knew
it was only a matter of time before the device would be ready. Soon enough,
the cylinder would be filled with LCL and would bathe the otherwise dark
room with an orange glow, much like another system Ritsuko preferred not
to think about. It wasn't really possible, however, as this system was
actually derived from the prototype which had served in the development
of the dummy system. At least, the Doctor had the consolation that this
specific piece of machinery was recycled into something less... disturbing.
Although she couldn't chase away the uneasiness she felt about this project
as easily as she did with NERV's other secrets. Even if mankind's survival
hung in the balance, it felt wrong to toy with such innocent and fragile
life. Telling herself that this was only yet another rescue operation didn't
really change her perception of things. She simply couldn't shake the picture
of baby Shinji out of her mind. But there was really no other choice; he
had already made his decision.
Like she had told Misato, the odds of growing Shinji
back to full size were very good. Previous experiments on accelerated growth
had given her enough data to work on and hope for good results. A mixture
of hormones, nutriments, LCL and various other chemicals would do the work,
while a constant bio-feedback system would constantly stimulate Shinji's
muscles to avoid atrophy. Most likely, Shinji would probably be healthier
then he was before this ordeal. Through the whole process, Shinji's brain
would be stimulated with impulses based on Unit-01's data; in essence,
Shinji would take a three week long trip down memory lane. Knowing the
child however, this would probably be closer to a long nightmare then a
pleasant dream.
Still... Ritsuko had doubts. This was a unique situation
and there was still many unknown variables, the most important question
being whether or not Shinji would wake up and remember anything of his
past. It was, after all, possible that his past memories, even if still
present in his subconscious, would never resurface, even though she hoped
the stimulation of his brain would prevent such possibility from occurring.
A scenario where Shinji would end up with a fourteen year old body but
keep a baby's mind was still very much likely to happen. And in a worst
case scenario, Shinji could keep the mind of a baby, but end up in a completely
deformed body. If he didn't die. Thinking back at the baby she had held
in her arms at Maya's insistance, the Doctor shuddered.
Silently, she vowed to herself to do all in her
power to succeed.
Yawning again, the Doctor looked back at her terminal
screen, debating whether to return to her work or simply give her body
the rest it was craving. The answer came to her in the form of a very faint
sound; some light snoring. With a little push, her chair made a one hundred
eighty degrees turn, giving her view of the other side of the room, where
her assistant was working on a terminal similar to hers. Or, to be more
precise, had been working, as Maya was now fast asleep, her head on the
table, only centimeters from the keyboard.
Getting up, Ritsuko walked toward her young protegee
and gently let her fingers run through the younger woman's short brown
hair, a sign of affection she wouldn't have done had there been someone
else awake in the room. The young computer operator mumbled something in
her sleep, most of it unrecognizable, except for the now much familiar
word "sempai". Ritsuko wasn't really sure about the girl's feelings, if
she simply admired her or felt something more... complex... and didn't
really wish to know for sure either. Still, she had to admit to herself
that she felt some attachment for the girl. In a way, she reminded her
of herself years ago, before... him.
"You poor thing... you must have been exhausted."
Rest, decided Ritsuko, was the most logical option.
She was tired, her assistant felt the same, and both of them would work
better after a few hours of sleep. The project was going well anyway, and
they were a bit ahead of schedule. No reason to be any more stubborn.
Gently, Ritsuko shook the girl awake. Maya gave
her a half glazed look, barely awake.
"Sempai?"
"Come."
Helping the girl on her feet, she dragged her to
a nearby room. In other circumstances she would have avoided this place,
but she was reluctant to let Maya sleep on a table, or take away any more
sleep from her. Beside, this would be more efficient then walking all the
way to their apartment and... a bed was a bed. So, as she entered the room
labeled as 'Artificial Evolutionary Laboratory', Ritsuko tried to ignore
to project related to it. She helped the still half asleep Maya onto a
bed in a corner of the room, who promptly resumed her slumber as she laid
down. Removing her lab coat, Ritsuko covered her protegee with it, and
laid herself on the bed, using what little space was left. It was a rather
tight fit, but it was enough. She smiled as she remembered how similar
it was to those few times back in college where she had sometimes tried
to help Misato with her studies up until very early in the morning. The
Doctor's whole body, however, suddenly tensed as Maya turned in her sleep
and pressed her chest into her back, going even as far as hugging her with
her left arm. Ritsuko quickly relaxed as she realized that Maya was now
snoring again and was still clearly fast asleep. It was simply an innocent
gesture, as simple as hugging a pillow or a teddy bear while sleeping.
And besides... it did feel rather nice and warm. Sadly, she wished he
would do that...
"Goodnight, Maya. Sweet dreams."
Somewhere in-between sleep and awareness, Maya silently
thanked her sempai and cherished this moment, as it would be forgotten
the next morning.