BLISS

                                part 6

                               a fic by

                     Mike Loader and Lara Bartram

                           ***   ***   ***

	Time seemed to fly by. At the point in time Akane's hair 
could be tied into a ponytail that reached her shoulder blades, 
she was most definitely showing. In fact, she thought she couldn't 
get any bigger.
	"I feel like I just swallowed a coconut whole," she groaned. 
There wasn't any real discomfort other than the fact that her 
stomach was practically its own entity.
	"NO, Akane. Whatever it was, it's much bigger than a 
coconut," Ukyo answered and grinned at her.
	Akane stuck her tongue out at him.
	"Hey there, missy, I dare you to do that to my face," Ukyo 
drawled, raising his eyebrows at her.
	"To your face? Don't tempt me. I might not stop there if I 
do."
	"Is that a promise?" Ukyo took two steps forward, putting 
himself within arm's reach of Akane.
	"Maybe. Depends."
	Ukyo took another step. "On what?"
	Akane beckoned him forward with one finger, to which he 
complied. "Stuff," she answered, slipping her arms around him.
	"You're a tease," Ukyo whispered and kissed Akane.
	"But it's worth it, isn't it?" she asked after they broke 
the kiss, smiling.
	Shrugging, Ukyo refused to answer, simply looking at her 
with his hands on her hips.
	Akane's eyes opened wide. "What the..."
	"What's wrong, Akane?" Ukyo asked worriedly. "What's..."
	"I felt it. I felt the baby kick." Akane's eyes were huge, 
amazed. "I felt the baby."
	Ukyo swept her up in his arms. "That's great!"
	"Right, now stop that before I throw up."

***

	Akane was on skin patrol, what she preferred to call the 
duty of skinning the hides of whatever beasts that happened to be 
needing it. Whistling as she removed the hide, Akane entered her 
own little world of daydreams.
	She wasn't aware when her whistling shifted to humming, 
still absorbed with the work she was doing.
	[... my need for two hearts that bleed with burning love...]
	"What's that you're singing, Akane?"
	Akane startled and turned, glaring at Ukyo. "Don't sneak up 
on me like that!"
	Ukyo backed away, grinning. Akane looked like a homicidal 
maniac with the blade in hand and blood staining her. "I just 
wanted to know what you were singing."
	"I was singing?"
	"Yes. I was curious a to what it was."
	Akane thought about it, but could only shrug. "I don't 
really know. I didn't even know I _was_ singing."
	"In English no less. It was very nice." He smiled pleasantly 
at her.
	"Thanks."
	Ukyo stood for another moment, but Akane wasn't really 
paying attention to him, so he went about his business.
	In English? How strange. Akane couldn't even recall any 
English words, let alone sing a song in English. She winced as the 
baby kicked especially hard, then went back to skinning the 
corpse.

***

	"Damn this kid is feisty. Feels like it's about to bust out 
through my gut." Akane sat down with her hand on her stomach, 
grimacing. The baby had waited approximately two weeks before it 
decided that breaking ribs was something it wanted to do as a 
hobby. Akane was none too pleased.
	"I'm not sure what to do. We don't really have anything for 
pain. Unless you want some more wine, but I don't think that's a 
good idea."
	"I don't either. I just am wishing right now I could hand 
this off to you. Bleah." Akane laid back and closed her eyes.
	"I don't know if it will help, but here." Ukyo offered the 
ashen powder and a smooth hide he used to write things down. 
"Maybe it will take your mind off things."
	"No, I can't draw or anything. It'd just be a waste of a 
hide." Akane tried to give the materials back, but Ukyo refused to 
take them.
	"Akane, it's not a waste. And how do you know you can't 
draw? Just give it a try."
	Shaking her head and sighing, she was going to refuse 
anyway, but Ukyo's gentle smile convinced her. "I'll give it a 
try."
	She doodled. There had been a couple vain attempts at 
drawing the interior of the house, Ukyo, a tree, birds... 
Failures. Bad ones. So Akane found herself simply doodling, 
drawing intricate patterns with no real rhyme or reason on the 
hide. It whittled away the time while she waited for the baby to 
be born.
	[...there is no doubt you're in my heart now...]
	Ukyo paused what he was doing, just long enough to hear 
Akane singing again. Not wanting to disturb her from it, he 
continued what he was doing, just listening.
	Her singing faded, slipping to just humming. And then that 
was cut short by a huge yawn. "I'm whipped, Ukyo. Think I'm going 
to sleep now."
	"I'll take care of the gate then. How's the kicking?"
	"Better. Guess the kid finally got tired."
	"Or just liked your singing."
	Akane gave a disgusted snarl. "I was doing that again? Tell 
me next time so I don't make an idiot of myself."
	"It was nice, and maybe that's why the baby stopped 
kicking." He looked back at Akane, only to see her with her eyes 
closed.
	"That's stupid," she mumbled. "How does the baby know I'm 
singing?"
	"I don't know..."

***

	"Sick again?"
	"Yeah, but not too bad. It'll only be another couple months 
anyway. I can handle it once or twice a week. Besides, it just 
makes that trip to the river that much better." Akane ran her hand 
down Ukyo's cheek then went out to the ladder.
	"Hey, I can take a hint when I see one," Ukyo called after 
her, gathering their primitive bathing items.
	"Shit!" Akane yelled.
	Ukyo hurried out and saw Akane at the base of the ladder, a 
look of pain on her face. "What happened!?" he asked, leaping off 
the walk and hurrying to help her.
	"I fell. What do you think?" she snapped. "I'm too damn fat 
to get down that damned ladder!"
	"Relax, Akane. Are you hurt?" Ukyo asked, voice remaining 
calm. "We'll deal with the ladder later."
	"I think I'm fine. My back's a little sore, but other than 
that..."
	"Good. Then I'll deal with the ladder. You just relax, take 
as long as you need." It seemed a little harsh just leaving her on 
the ground like that, but he couldn't realistically get her back 
up into the house. The ladder definitely wouldn't accommodate the 
two of them. "I think I've got an idea. It shouldn't take more 
than a few hours."
	IN those few hours, Akane managed to make it down to the 
river, her back protesting, gathered some fruit from the trees 
nearby, work on some weaving and a number of other random tasks.
	By the time she had finished everything she had set out to 
accomplish, Ukyo had finished.
	"What do you think? Looks good, doesn't it?" Ukyo asked, 
smiling at his project.
	Akane looked. "What is it?"
	"It's a ramp. Instead of the ladder. You can walk up it and 
don't have to climb." Ukyo sounded vaguely hurt.
	"It looks more dangerous than the ladder," was Akane's 
reply.
	"Nonsense!" Ukyo started to walk up the ramp. "It's 
perfectly safe." His foot hit a slick spot and slipped out from 
underneath him, sending him tumbling back down. "Sort of," he 
croaked.
	"You need help. Good thing I'm around."

***

	Ukyo looked up at the sky and knew they were in trouble. 
Never had he seen it turn green before. The stiff, cool breeze 
that blew smelled imminently of rain.
	He paced back and forth along the balcony, his eyes 
transfixed by the swirling green sky. This wasn't good. He cast 
one glance back at the house, inside where Akane was resting.
	How she hated to rest, forced to recline and do nothing, yet 
she knew it was something she had to do. Not to mention, Ukyo 
would physically force her to lie back down if she ever got too 
active.
	It was so soon. They had predicted as best they could the 
date the baby would arrive and that day was coming soon. That 
didn't mean their date was exactly right since they had, after 
that first time, attacked each other almost every day.
	They had no means of protection and the pregnancy was 
something they both had accepted as a risk they were willing to 
take. It had been only a matter of time, which brought them both 
back to the approaching moment.
	"Ukyo?" Akane called from inside.
	"I'll be right there," He answered, looking back at the sky. 
Bad things were in store for them, the sky was a frightening 
indicator of that.
	Shivering at the breeze, he went back inside, closing the 
door behind himself. "Is there something you need?"
	"Yeah," Akane grunted. "Help me sit up, first of all." She 
was in the hammock and struggling to rise. The thing was 
comfortable, but it was hell for a pregnant woman to get out of.
	Hurrying over to her, Ukyo took her hand pulled Akane into a 
sitting position. "Something else?"
	"Kind of. What's it like out there? I can here the wind..." 
Hear it? She could feel it, and she was very concerned that it 
would take the roof right off.
	Ukyo shook his head. "It doesn't look good. A storm it looks 
like. A bad one."
	Akane's face paled. "Do you think that it'll hit before..."
	"I don't know. I think the best thing to hope for is that it 
doesn't last very long. Maybe just a day. And that it doesn't blow 
away every we've worked to do up until now." Whatever happened, it 
wouldn't help at all when the baby arrived.
	Before the birth or after it, if it ripped up their house, 
blew down the palisade, where would they go? They couldn't have a 
baby living in a shelter and Ukyo couldn't build an entire house 
by himself while Akane was pregnant/recovering.
	"Don't worry, Ukyo-chan, we'll make it." Akane took his hand 
and smiled up at him.
	Ukyo squeezed her hand, a ghost of a smile touching his 
lips. "I hope so, Akane-chan. I hope so."

	What little daylight there was faded into the darkness of 
night. The wind continued to blow, but no harder than before, 
leaving the roof in place, and only a few of the wild dogs came to 
investigate their compound.
	Even they were daunted by the imminent bad weather, and most 
of them stayed holed up in their caves in the mountain. It was 
when the rain started that Ukyo wished they had a cave to hide in.
	"Hungry?" he asked, putting another piece of wood on their 
small fire.
	Akane shook her head. "Not really. My stomach's kind of 
upset, actually."
	Making a tsking sound, Ukyo shook his head. "Well, you must 
eat. I'll see about putting together some of that stew."
	Akane nodded weakly, concentrating on not complaining about 
how crappy she felt. She feared that if she started, she'd never 
be able to stop. Her back ached, her feet hurt, she felt swollen, 
had to pee about once an hour and she just knew she looked like 
crap.
	"Be right back." Ukyo ducked out of the house and went down 
the ramp. He went first to the smokehouse, ignoring the sounds of 
the dogs outside the gate, and retrieved a flank of wild dog.
	The joke went that everything tasted like chicken, but the 
dog had a kind of gamey taste that went better in stew. It was the 
closest thing to beef they had.
	He retrieved some plantains from the storage shed, along 
with a few wild vegetables. It wasn't quite stew, but a chunky 
soup that worked just as well. If he had any real cooking ability, 
he would have devised some way to make noodles, but with the way 
their bread turned out...
	Back inside, Ukyo noted the look on Akane's face. She was 
not feeling well and he knew it, but there wasn't much he could 
do. Tossing one of those plants on the fire was completely out of 
the question with the baby...
	Devising a plan and saving it for after they had eaten, Ukyo 
went to work preparing food.
	Ukyo got the thick plantain stew heating then carefully got 
into the hammock with Akane. It would be a good 15 minutes before 
the food was heated up enough to eat. "So do you think it will be 
a boy or a girl," he said quietly, stroking Akane's hair.
	"I don't know," she replied, sighing deeply. "I just want 
this to be over. I want it to be healthy, but..."
	"But what?" he whispered, kissing the side of her head.
	Akane didn't answer for a moment and Ukyo knew there was 
something wrong. "I don't want my child to grow up on this island. 
I don't want him, or her, to have to watch us get old and die and 
not have anything they can do about it. I don't want..." She 
stopped as her breath caught in her throat and she held back a 
sob.
	"You won't have to, Akane-chan. You won't. Are you listening 
to me?" Ukyo held her closely, speaking softly as she tried to 
regain her control. "We _will_ get off of this island. One way or 
another. Eventually."
	Akane turned as best she could and kissed Ukyo, tear tracks 
on her cheeks. "I wish I could believe you, Ukyo. I want to, but I 
just don't think we ever will.
	"That scares me more than anything, to rot here and let 
my... our son or daughter do the same."
	Ukyo was caught speechless. Instead of continuing with false 
words of hope, he lay silently and held Akane.
	A while later, Ukyo stirred. "I should check if the food is 
done. You need to eat." There was no protest as he removed himself 
from the hammock and checked on the soup. It was slightly warmer 
than lukewarm, and that was enough. "I hope you're hungry."
	"I guess," Akane answered, feeling more like she wanted to 
throw up than eat.
	"I think eating a little something will make you feel 
better." Ukyo brought the bowl over and sat down on the edge of 
the hammock. "Here," he said, offering Akane a spoonful of soup.
	"You don't need to feed me. I can still do that myself," 
Akane protested.
	"Quiet. Eat." Ukyo held the spoon up and watched as Akane 
ate the spoonful of soup.
	Ukyo did not stop until the bowl was empty and Akane looked 
better than she did before. "I told you you would feel better 
after eating."
	"Don't gloat. I don't need it now," Akane warned, voice 
revealing fatigue.
	"Of course you don't," Ukyo replied as he set the empty bowl 
and spoon on the floor. "Here. Roll over a little."
	The two shifted until they were arranged more comfortably 
against each other. Ukyo then began to gently massage Akane's 
shoulders and neck.
	"This was one of the things that got us in this situation in 
the first place," Akane murmured, very much enjoying the attention 
Ukyo was paying to her sore muscles.
	"And now it's important to keep you as comfortable as 
possible. Just rest now." He reached around and released Akane's 
top.
	She sighed at the relief of pressure on her chest. "Ukyo, 
don't. Not now."
	"Don't concern yourself with it, Akane. You need your rest."
	"Just don't get any funny ideas."
	Ukyo didn't reply, continuing to give Akane a massage in 
silence. She was so close to sleep that he didn't want to disturb 
her any more than necessary.
	He listened to the first patterings of rain strike the 
house, the wind rising in strength. He didn't think the storm 
would be so considerate to give them relief when the baby arrived.
	Their wake up call in the morning left a lot to be desired. 
The home creaked ominously, but it was only, with a tremendous 
squeal, when the roof was yanked off and sent crashing into the 
tool shed.
	Immediately Ukyo and Akane were awake, wind and rain 
whipping into the house and down on them. They struggled from the 
hammock, too shocked to even yell or scream over the rude 
awakening.
	For a moment the two scrambled around with any sort of 
direction. Akane was the first to calm down, but it wasn't because 
of any good reason.
	She sat roughly on the floor, rain pouring down on her. This 
was not good. Under normal circumstances it would simply be the 
most frightening moment in her life. Under current 
circumstances... "Ukyo," she said weakly.
	Ukyo finally took notice of her sitting on the floor, nearly 
naked, and he rushed to cover her with a soft hide vest.
	"Ukyo," Akane repeated, looking up at him with water 
dripping into her eyes.
	"What is it?" he almost had to yell to be heard over the 
wind.
	"I think it started."
	Ukyo stared at her for a moment. "What has?"
	Right away, Akane slapped him, rocking his head back. "It's 
started."
	Ukyo paled, the red mark on his face standing out. 
"Akane..."
	A gust of wind drove the rain horizontal for a moment, and 
the creaking of the house intensified. Both Ukyo and Akane looked 
around and grabbed each other's hands. They were just waiting for 
the entire thing to collapse around them. But the wind subsided 
and the house was still standing.
	Akane grimaced in pain. "Ukyo, it's really starting."
	He looked at her first, then at the house around them. "We 
can't stay here. We can't take the chance that... And we can't do 
this in the rain..."
	Ukyo grunted in pain as Akane squeezed his hand extra hard. 
"Ukyo..."
	"I don't know what to do!" he yelled, panicking. "We can't 
stay here!"
	As if to make his point, the wind gusted again. "We'll be 
lucky if palisade stays up, let alone the house! Where are we 
supposed to go?" Ukyo continued to yell.
	"Damn it, I don't know!" Akane yelled back and flinched at 
the dull lance of discomfort that rippled through her.
	Ukyo panted, eyes moving from wall to wall. He might have 
suggested one of the sheds, but if the house collapsed, if the 
palisade collapsed, they would probably be damaged. Assuming they 
didn't blow away as well.
	There was the mountain, the caves, but giving birth amongst 
a pack of wild dogs...
	There was one other option he knew of. "Akane, the temple."
	Instantly she shook her head. "No, Ukyo. Not there. Not in 
that place."
	"It's the only place I can think of, Akane. Before this gets 
worse, we have to go! It's the only place!" How he wished that 
wasn't true.
	Akane closed her eyes, oblivious to the wind and rain for a 
time. It was the only way. Ukyo knew it. She knew it. "We'll need 
some sort of coverings, water..."
	Ukyo nodded and was instantly in action. He grabbed their 
three skins filled with water and slung them over his shoulder. 
Grabbing a mat and rolling it up, Ukyo also snagged a large, all-
purpose skin. He shoved each of those, along with their trusty 
pocket knife into their satchel and put that over his shoulder.
	"Let's go, Akane," he said, helping her to her feet. "Will 
you be able to make it?"
	"I don't think we have much of a choice. Let's just go." She 
held on to his arm as they left their house.
	The ramp was slippery and they made their way down it 
slowly, Ukyo barely stopping himself from dragging Akane along.
	"Wait under the ramp while I open the gate," he commanded, 
expecting her to obey him. Not bothering with the usual care, he 
lifted and threw aside the half-trunk bar across their gate. For 
less than a second, he hoped the dogs had fled the weather, then 
opened the gate with a prayer on his lips.
	The only thing beyond the gate was jungle, dark, blowing in 
the strong winds, and wet. "Come on, it's safe!"
	Fighting back the pain and extreme discomfort, Akane 
followed as fast as she could, half-blinded by the wind and rain. 
"This isn't getting better, is it?" she asked, her voice just 
below the point of yelling.
	"I don't believe so. We have to hurry."
	Akane grumbled, "Like I don't know that."
	They headed northeast, looking to hit the ant trail, which 
they could then follow to the temple. Making their way to the 
trail was a journey in its own right. The wind was blowing 
branches and leaves and bushes all around, and rain was always in 
their faces.
	It was a battle to make it through the wild jungle, 
especially considering Akane's condition, but they somehow managed 
even though Ukyo had neglected to bring his stick.
	They burst from the trees to the open space made by the 
ants. "Come on, Akane, not that far now," Ukyo urged, holding on 
to her arm.
	Akane stumbled along behind him. "It's getting worse. I 
don't know how much longer..."
	"No! We'll make it!" Every word had to be shouted to be 
heard over the ever-increasing wind. "I'll carry you if I have 
to!"
	Akane shook her head and stumbled, ready just to fall to the 
ground and stay there.
	Ukyo was there, supporting her though, dragging her along. 
"You are not allowed to give up. If you die, the child will die, 
and I refuse to lose both of you." There were tears in his eyes as 
he spoke forcefully to Akane.
	Akane shuddered, her head hanging down, then began to move 
under her own power. "I'm doing the best I can."
	Several times, the wind managed to push over trees in their 
path, the sky blackening overhead, but they didn't let that stop 
them. They continued northward, drawing ever closer to the temple, 
to the only place they believed they could find safety.
	Akane felt like her feet were lead and the weather was 
determined to root her in place. But Ukyo would not allow it. He 
was pulling her, dragging her when necessary and never released 
her arm.
	She was blinded by the wind and rain, but when they were 
within sight range of the temple, she knew and dreaded it. "No, 
Ukyo. Someplace else. Anywhere but here..."
	"We have no time and no alternatives, Akane. We must."
	Akane wanted to cry as they crossed the threshold to the 
place. She tried to resist, pull away, but her feet simply slid on 
the wet tile. "Noooo..."
	"Akane! We must!" Ukyo snapped at her. They were free from 
most of the wind, but the rain was driving now, falling in a 
steady sheet. "Down here," he said, dragging her toward the set of 
stairs.
	"I'm so cold..."
	"Hush, Akane," Ukyo answered absently as they descended the 
slick stairs. At the bottom, he dropped everything he was carrying 
and helped Akane to sit down against the wall. He pulled out the 
mat he had brought along and laid it on the ground. "Relax here, 
Akane-chan."
	As she moved herself to sit on the mat, Ukyo was removing 
the other things from the satchel. He washed his dirty hands with 
some of the water then turned his attention to Akane. With all the 
moisture and then on the tile, his skin was freezing, and Akane 
couldn't be any better.
	"Take that off," he said, and started to remove the 
oversized vest from her. Next, he removed her loincloth so that 
she was naked. "Akane, I don't know what I'm doing," he said as he 
washed the dirt from her.
	"Neither do I, Ukyo. But I'm cold..." She shivered, but was 
thankful for the mat, that her bare skin was not touching the 
floor of the place.
	Ukyo pulled out the skin, worked to be soft and supple, and 
put it over Akane's shoulders. "Does it hurt much yet?" he asked, 
offering her some water.
	"Not much." Akane took a drink of the water. "Do you think 
this will work out all right?"
	Sitting behind her for support, Ukyo took her hand and 
squeezed it gently. "I don't know, but I hope so. You just tell me 
when it hurts and we'll get through it together."
	Akane closed her eyes and tried to breathe deeply, closing 
out the discomfort. Ukyo helped, and getting off her feet helped 
too, but she wasn't sure that was enough to overcome the fear and 
hatred of the temple. And to have her child born in it...
	"Unh... A little pain."
	Ukyo looked over her shoulder, but could only see the 
expanse of her stomach. Something told him to count and so he did, 
silently on his mind.
	He was still counting and rocking Akane gently when she 
indicated that there was pain again. "Three hundred," he said 
quietly.
	"Three hundred what?"
	"Three hundred seconds. Since the last time," he replied. 
"Five minutes."
	Akane was starting to breathe a little quicker than she had 
been. "Five minutes? SO what?"
	"I don't know. I don't know anything about having babies."
	Akane couldn't help but laugh, short and painfully. "Neither 
do I or we wouldn't be in this situation right now. Gods my back 
hurts."
	Ukyo began massaging her shoulders again. The cold, wet 
stone couldn't be helping at all, but he didn't think they'd find 
any place on the island that was currently dry and warm. Above 
them, he could hear the wind blowing, rising in intensity, and 
water had started to trickle down the stairs.
	Akane sucked in a breath of air and squeezed his hand almost 
painfully. "How long was that, professor?" she managed to say 
through her gritted teeth.
	"Not very long, Akane."
	"Is it supposed to feel like I'm going to turn myself inside 
out?" Akane was breathing shallowly, holding Ukyo's hand tightly 
as the discomfort mounted.
	"I don't know. Maybe. Is it getting worse?" Ukyo was very 
glad Akane could not see his face and the total bewilderment on 
it. He had no idea what to do, what to tell Akane, if everything 
was going as it should... He just knew that the woman he loved was 
in pain and there was nothing he could do to help.
	"Worse?" Akane asked, shivering.
	"The pain, Akane. Is the pain worse? Is the baby coming? Do 
don't this now," Ukyo answered, now very worried.
	"The pain? Not really. I just..." She grunted as every 
instinct in her body yelled at her to push. "I think it's coming," 
Akane said before she answered her instincts.
	"A Ka Ne, you're... crushing my hand," Ukyo gasped. The 
pressure suddenly released and Akane slumped against him. Ukyo 
pulled his hand free and flexed it, confirming that it was still 
intact.
	"I can't do this, Ukyo. Make it stop," Akane whined 
pathetically. "Make it go away."
	Ukyo let out something between a laugh and a sob. "I can't, 
Akane. You have to do this. There's no other option."
	Akane was slowly shaking her head back and forth. "I don't 
want to be here. I want to be home. I don't want a baby. I just 
want to stay with you..."
	"I'm here. I won't go anywhere without you. Just relax. Let 
it happen on its own. Those damnable dogs do it more often than 
rabbits, and they don't have any help. We can do it as well." 
Well, that was a pretty good speech. Ukyo just hoped Akane would 
believe it.
	"I don't care. I don't want to."
	"You have to."
	"I'm not sure if I hate you yet or not." Akane took Ukyo's 
hand again.
	Ukyo chuckled weakly. "We'll see after this is all over." 
The small smile on his face quickly disappeared as Akane squeezed 
again and the bones in his hand creaked.
	There was no holding Akane back as she didn't quite scream 
with the effort of trying to force the baby out. She put all her 
energy into it, but again she was denied the relief.
	Ukyo could only watch in fright as Akane put forth 
everything into her efforts and practically deflated when she 
stopped. She was shivering and her skin was pale, and he knew 
things were not good. Thankfully, it seemed things were moving 
quickly because the longer they stayed in the veritable dungeon, 
the worse things would get.
	The dank conditions weren't good for Akane and they wouldn't 
be good for the baby. He started rocking Akane again as she leaned 
against him, panting.
	The process repeated itself several more times until, rather 
unceremoniously, the child was expelled and landed roughly on the 
mat.
	Akane nearly passed out, while Ukyo could only stare. There 
it was, on the ground. The baby. Still he stared, and as if to 
protest this staring, the baby opened its mouth and wailed like 
there was no tomorrow.
	Ukyo moved slowly, like he was swimming in mud, to get a 
closer look at the baby. It was small, somewhat wrinkly, had a 
mouth the size of the sky it seemed, and was shaking. His 
secondary observation, after finally realizing that it really was 
a baby, was that it was a girl.
	"Akane, it's a girl. It's a girl. We have a daughter." His 
voice was growing in volume and excitement. Ukyo used some water 
to rinse the blood and mucus off the baby, then lifted the tiny 
thing in his arms.
	She hadn't stopped crying, but as Ukyo cradled her to his 
chest, she stopped shivering mostly. Looking back at Akane, he 
meant to show her what had caused them so much worry over the last 
nine months, but Akane was reclining with her eyes closed, 
obviously exhausted.
	"A girl?" Akane asked tiredly, thankful it was finally over.
	"Yes. Look at her. She's beautiful." Ukyo held the child 
toward Akane again, and this time, she opened her eyes to look at 
the brand new baby.
	Reaching out with her hand, she touched the baby on the side 
of her head. "Good. Can we go home now?" she asked, fatigue more 
evident in her voice than anything. "I need to sleep. I still 
don't feel well."
	She still felt full and there was still that instinct in her 
that wanted her to push. Akane clenched her muscles, pushing 
somewhat involuntarily, too tired to try it actively.
	"I don't think it's a wise idea to head back until the storm 
has passed. We would risk all of our lives traversing through the 
jungle," Ukyo answered, cradling the child again. Not to mention 
it was quite apparent that Akane was in no shape to be traveling 
at the moment.
	"I just want to... unh... get out of this place." Whatever 
was going on, she wasn't done yet. And they had never considered 
that there might be more than one baby. "Ukyo, I don't think..."
	She didn't think about, and she was very glad after the fact 
that she didn't have to look at it, but very shortly, she also 
birthed the placenta. With a sigh of relief that the feeling was 
finally gone, she fully relaxed.
	Ukyo looked with horror at what had just happened. For one 
fearful moment, he thought Akane had ruptured something, that her 
ovaries had fallen out or something, but when he saw the look of 
peace on her face, and that the umbilical cord was connected to 
the mess, he calmed down.
	"Let's remove this from you, shall we?" he said quietly to 
the baby. Some buried memory, from some place he didn't know, made 
him take a portion of the tie from his shorts and wrap it around 
the chord tightly. He then cut the chord with the pocket knife.
	"Akane, can you move? I need to clean this up. You don't 
want to lie in it," he warned.
	Akane did move, allowing Ukyo to pull the mat out from under 
her and rinse away the mess, getting the blood off of it. He 
flipped it over and allowed Akane to sit on it again. This time, 
he placed the baby in her arms and wrapped the hide around them 
both.
	Akane held the child and looked at her. She looked back. 
"What should we name her?"
	Ukyo shrugged, looking at the two. "I'm not sure. I can't 
really thing of any..." Pain ripped through his head as he looked 
into the wide open eyes of his daughter.
	His hands flew up to grasp his head as he gasped for air. 
"Na... Nabiki."
	Akane looked at him, quite concerned. "Was that a 
flashback?"
	"I... I don't know. Just a name... Nabiki. I don't know 
why," Ukyo said, his voice strained, head still in his hands.
	Akane looked at Ukyo then at the baby in her arms. "Nabiki." 
She smiled. "Nabiki. Yeah." As she held Nabiki, the baby began 
rooting around on Akane's chest. It took a moment for Akane to 
realize what she was trying to do.
	"Look, Ukyo. I think she's hungry." Akane positioned little 
Nabiki at her breast and directed the nipple to her mouth. Nabiki 
latched on almost immediately and began nursing in earnest. "Not 
so hard, Nabiki-chan," Akane warned as the baby suckled.
	Ukyo stood abruptly and walked up the stairs. At the top, 
looking out on the barren courtyard, swept by rain and wind, he 
had to bite his lip. It was almost too much, too much for him to 
handle.
	After a moment of futilely trying to hold everything back, 
he wept openly. The most dangerous time was over. The baby had 
been born with no ill effects and they were all currently safe 
even in the storm. Even in the temple.
	"Ukyo? What's wrong?" Akane called from the shelter of the 
bottom of the stairs.
	"Nothing, Akane. Everything is fine," he called back down, 
tears of relief still cascading down his cheeks.
	"Come back, Ukyo. Stay here with Nabiki and I."
	"I... I was just checking on the storm," he rationalized, 
wiping his face. As a matter of fact, the rain had slowed 
somewhat, but the wind was as powerful as before. If they were 
_very_ lucky, they might get a break before nightfall, allowing 
them to return to their home. If it was still standing.
	He definitely did not want to spend the night in the temple. 
Sighing, he headed back down the stairs. It was better that he 
stay with them anyway.
	"How's it look up there?" Akane asked as he descended the 
stairs. Nabiki was still at her breast, a look of determined 
contentment on her little face.
	"Not good. The rain has slowed, but the wind is as fierce as 
before. I hope that we can leave before dark. I don't want to 
spend the night in here."
	Akane nodded. "Neither do I. And I'm getting hungry."
	Ukyo sat next to them, huddling as close as possible. For 
once, a time when they didn't want it, it was actually cool on the 
island. After this was over, he was going to make a dog skin 
blanket just in case. "Maybe I will venture out later to gather 
food. Or if the weather has cleared, we can head back."
	That made him cross his fingers, knowing it would be a long 
shot from what he had seen. To think that the weather would break 
so suddenly and miraculously...
	"At least..." Akane started, then stopped.
	"At least what?"
	"At least it wasn't the transport. I think there might have 
been worse."
	Ukyo nodded, but he wasn't so sure that the temple was any 
better. He was grateful that he hadn't had to step another foot 
into that pile of scrap, but he knew that whatever had made it 
that way... It all came back to the temple.
	"I'm going to check the weather again," Ukyo declared and 
hurried up the stairs. He wanted to go, run up the stairs and keep 
going, but there was no way he would leave Akane and Nabiki.
	At the top of the stairs, his hopes were dashed. Wind still 
blowing and rain still falling, they were stuck at the temple. 
"Shit!" he yelled at the sky.
	"Come back, Ukyo. It'll clear up eventually. You need to 
give it more than a few minutes," Akane called from below. "Just 
sit with us for a while."
	Us. Akane... and Nabiki. The realization hadn't totally sunk 
in yet for him. Surely all the implications hadn't been 
considered, nor did he want to, but...
	"Ukyo?"
	Ukyo stood out in the open air and let the rain strike him 
for a few moments. The sound of thunder in approaching clouds made 
him shiver, the sky being lit up periodically by lightning. He 
made his decision then.
	"Akane," he said, marching down the stairs with purpose, 
"I'm going to check on the house."
	She looked at him, not quite believing what he was saying. 
"Why?"
	Ukyo looked down at his feet, frowning. "Because. I won't 
let you spend any more time here than necessary. If it's still in 
one piece, mostly, we're going back." He looked up and met her 
eyes. "We're not staying here.
	"Now I know the roof came off, but we can sleep in the 
storage shed while I fix it. That's where everything we know is, 
and that's where we need to be. Not here in this dungeon."
	Akane's lips twitched and then she smiled. "Just... hurry 
back."
	"Wish me luck." Ukyo leaned down and kissed Akane, then the 
top of Nabiki's head. Giving then one last look, he headed up the 
stairs.
	Akane watched him and sighed. It was silly to go back in the 
weather, but she didn't want to stay in the temple either. She 
winced as Nabiki started gumming her breast, and pulled the baby 
away. "Stop that. You keep that up and you won't get anything at 
all out of that one.
	"Oh. Aha." Akane turned Nabiki around and situated her at 
the other breast. "And I'm going to have to do this how many times 
a day?" Akane asked, as if expecting the baby to answer.
	Nabiki's only reply was to eagerly start nursing again.
	Akane sat there, the sound of the wind and rain coming from 
above her, water trickling down the stairs, but other than that, 
there was foreboding silence. When Ukyo had called it a tomb, he 
had been exactly right, and Akane hated it.
	Turning her attention away from the how much she didn't like 
being there, she concentrated instead on Nabiki. The little girl 
was adorable, not that there was anyone else to notice. Why she 
would ever consider not having a child was incomprehensible, 
especially after... after...
	After Ukyo had turned out to be someone she knew she could 
always count on, and someone she wouldn't mind being trapped on a 
deserted island with for the rest of her life.
	And Nabiki. He had helped create her, and Akane could see 
each of them in the little girl. The shape of her nose, a dimple 
there, her eyes... The way she was eating. "Ouch, not so hard. 
It'll all come out. Just give it a chance."
	Akane winced again at Nabiki's insistence on eating. She was 
starting to wish for a bottle the way Nabiki was going at it. 
"C'mon, Nabiki, take it easy. It's not going anywhere."
	In the dark they waited, Nabiki's feeding slowing down, and 
Akane counted off the minutes. She estimated 15 minutes there, if 
the way wasn't too blocked, and the same amount back, possibly 
less if there was good news.
	Thirty minutes wasn't so long. She had waited longer under 
less interesting circumstances before. This should have been no 
problem. And she had Nabiki to take care of, to get that first 
bonding with in. It would have been better if Ukyo was there 
instead of out in the jungle.
	"I'm sure he'll be find, Nabiki. Your daddy will be back 
soon." She knew it was true, but there was some doubt gnawing at 
her as well. With the weather going crazy, anything could happen. 
The dogs might have ventured out, or the house collapsed while he 
was in it, or the palisade... "He'll be back." Only another 26 
minutes to wait.
	Nabiki's suckling slowed and finally stopped completely as 
she drifted off to sleep.
	Akane cradled her and sighed. At least one of them would get 
some rest after the entire ordeal. It was hard to think that just 
a little while ago, Nabiki had been a mystery presence among them, 
a little person without a face, without an identity. And there she 
was, sleeping soundly.
	Akane lowered her head and closed her eyes. She had seen the 
look in Ukyo's eyes before. He hadn't admitted it, but she knew he 
had been shaken up by the birth, and she was too.
	"I hope he makes it back soon," she whispered.
	The sound of the wind didn't make her feel any better, nor 
did the dripping water. Akane just wanted to be back with Ukyo, 
where it was dry and warm.
	She lifted her head when she thought she heard something. 
Looking over in the corner, there was nothing. It must have been 
her imagination, just her imagination.
	Akane lowered her head again, feeling the baby in her arms, 
so warm and alive, and slept.

	A snake. Water. Sand. The wind. It could have been any one 
of those things crawling across her skin, those claws poised to 
dig into her. Strange sounds, like music, but... not. Haunting. 
Evil.
	A voice now, calling to her. Akane... Akane...
	"Akane?"
	Akane opened her eyes and lifted her head, confused whether 
she was awake or still asleep. "Ukyo?"
	"It's me. I think we can go back. It shouldn't be too bad, 
and the rain's slowed down." He was a dark shape in the dim light.
	"Ukyo?"
	"Yes, Akane?"
	"Who... where's Nabiki?"
	"You mean... Isn't she there? Aren't you holding her?" he 
asked, kneeling down next to her.
	She felt his hands reach out, moving over her flesh, and 
fought to not pull away form him. The weight in her arms suddenly 
seemed to come into being. Nabiki.
	"She's here. Is there something wrong?"
	"I... I'm not sure." She tightened her grip, feeling the 
child in her arms. "I just want to get away from here."
	Ukyo's voice softened. "We can go, Akane. Back to the 
house." He took her arm gently and tried to get her to stand.
	"I'm so cold, Ukyo. And Nabiki..."
	"The sooner we get back to the house, the quicker we can get 
you warmed up. Come along. I'll carry Nabiki if you want me to." 
He stood slowly, pleased when she followed.
	"No, I want to hold her."
	Understanding the strangeness in the situation, Ukyo spoke 
gently. "Then you hold her. We should get going before the weather 
picks up again." He escorted her up the stairs and out of temple.
	The weather had calmed considerably, but the sky was still 
that strange color and the threat was still there. Ukyo was 
thinking that they might be spending the night under the house if 
things didn't clear up.
	The wind had been strong enough to take off the roof, but 
everything else seemed to withstand the storm fine, even the 
smaller structures remained standing.
	Ukyo walked as fast as he thought Akane could handle. He 
wanted to get both Akane and Nabiki out of the weather as soon as 
possible. He didn't even want to consider what the days ahead 
would involve, including repairing the roof, discovering just what 
about their baby preparations had been inadequate, tending both 
mother and child...
	Back at the house, Akane grinned tiredly. "Looks just like 
we left it."
	"I should hope so. It's only been three hours," Ukyo said, 
happy to see that Akane was acting like her old self again. Not 
that he blamed her for behaving oddly; giving birth would probably 
do that to a person. "If you wait in the storage shed, that should 
be safe until I can manage to get the roof back on."
	"No, Ukyo, I should help with that. I just need..."
	"You need to rest and take care of Nabiki," he said sternly, 
steering her to the shed and inside. "It's dry here and out of the 
wind. I'll get some food and water." He looked at her, his eyes 
rooting her to the spot.
	"Yes, sir."
	"Good."

***

	"Ukyo, almost done?"
	"No!"
	"When do you think you will be?"
	He wiped his forearm across his face, clearing some sweat 
away. "When hell freezes over," he grumbled.
	"What was that?"
	"Just as soon as I rebuild the entire thing, love," he said 
cheerily, an insane grin on his face.
	"That's good. Keep it up," she said happily and waved.
	Laughing sickly, Ukyo waved back, ready to throw the hammer 
at her.

***

	"It only took me a week. Not bad, if I do say so myself."
	Akane shrugged. "Not too bad. Though I think it is a little 
crooked."
	Ukyo made a strangled gurgling noise, his face a comedic 
mask of pain.
	"Settle down," Akane said, poking him in the arm, "I was 
only kidding. Looks great, especially since you did it without any 
help."
	Ukyo snorted. "Well _that's_ for sure."
	Akane blew a raspberry at him.

***

	Akane stared at the stretched hide, dipped a stick into the 
bowl of pigment, and drew.
	Lines emerged, and then an outline. With a satisfied grunt, 
she reached for a second bowl and began to fill in the form that 
was emerging with color.
	Another bowl, and green and black shapes were called into 
being around the center of the drawing.
	She frowned slightly.
	Carefully, she took a smaller stick, honed to a sharp point, 
and deftly began to etch in details. Reliefs, carvings, chips in 
the painted stonework... the building began to emerge with a crisp 
clarity on the hide, while the jungle framing it remained a blur 
of green and black.
	Akane examined the work, and frowned again. There was still 
something missing.
	Mixing two of the pigments, she daubed a bit on the edge of 
the canvas.
	No, not what she was looking for.
	She mixed two more, then a combination of three, then more, 
in varying amounts and types....
	"Akane? What's this?"
	She blinked. Then, almost reluctantly, she stepped aside so 
that Ukyo could see her canvas.
	He stared at it for a second.
	"I never knew you were an artist," he finally said.
	Akane shrugged, somewhat embarrassed. "Neither did I. I just 
suddenly had this compulsion to paint, and so I mixed up some 
colors and sat down and, well..."
	"It's very good," Ukyo said, a slight tinge of wonder in his 
voice. "Why the temple?"
	Again she shrugged. "Well, it's really the only building 
around here. I think I'm more of an architecture painter than a 
people painter... I guess... I dunno, I just wanted to paint the 
temple."
	"It looks... I don't know... _real_," he said, amazed. "Not 
like a photo, but like you really captured the essence of it. Sort 
of creepy."
	She poked him hard in the leg. "Don't call my picture 
creepy."
	Ukyo chuckled. "Hey, if it wasn't creepy, it wouldn't really 
be the temple. Creepy is good."
	"It's not really that bad. Just different. Nabiki was born 
there after all, and it did save our lives. Twice." She frowned, 
looking at the line of sample mixtures at the edge of the canvas. 
"I just wish I could get the color right for the highlights."
	He blinked. "It looks finished to me. What sort of color?"
	"Well, it's a... I mean... well, it's not purple, really... 
maybe green? With yellow and purp.. well, no, not really." She 
stared at the canvas, confused. "I don't know. Just a color."
	Chuckling, Ukyo looked admiringly at the canvas once again. 
"Well, you're the artist, love. Tell me when you think it's 
finished, and we'll find a place for it." He cocked his head, 
turning back to her. "Maybe you could paint something over 
Nabiki's crib? Something..." he paused, fumbling for a word.
	"Less creepy?"
	"Yes, less creepy." He chuckled. "We should try to make her 
life as creep-free as possible. Certainly the island provides 
enough of that as is."
	Akane nodded somberly. "I'm going to start training her in a 
few more weeks."
	"Toilet training? She already...."
	"No, martial arts."
	He stared at her. "Akane, Nabiki can't even walk yet. She's 
not even a year old. How on earth do you train a baby?"
	"Not kicking or punching, stupid. Just basic reflex 
training, coordination exercises. That's all they're ready for at 
this stage, but it makes a big difference later on."
	"As you say." Ukyo still looked dubious. "I would ask how 
you know, except..."
	"...except that we both know that I have no idea," Akane 
finished. "But I do know, and strongly. This was a big part of my 
life, before. It was for both of us, I think."
	He nodded. "Why, do you think? What kind of people were we?"
	Akane spread her hands. "No idea. To be honest, Ukyo, I 
don't think it matters now as much as it used to. I've got you and 
Nabiki, and next to that... next to that, who I used to be really 
isn't very important, you know?"
	Ukyo nodded. "I know. I just worry, at times."
	"About?"
	"Nabiki. I worry that she'll get really sick. Or that 
something will happen to her. But mostly I worry about what her 
life is going to be like. We have each other, and I think that's 
all that's really kept us alive and sane. What's she going to 
have, especially when we're gone?"
	Akane nodded. "I've been worried about that too. But really, 
Ukyo, you shouldn't be, because there's nothing we can do about it 
right now. Maybe when she's older... 16 or something... we can 
make some sort of real attempt to escape, build a boat or 
something. But right now is not the time to risk it. I plan on 
being around for several more years anyway."
	He kissed her lightly on the cheek. "I'm glad to hear it."
	Laughing, she reached out, draping her arms around his 
waist. "C'mere, you. I wanna paint."
	"I'm not a canvas." His shirt came off nonetheless.
	"We'll see."
	A mural of sorts was drawn, but largely destroyed by the 
exercise which followed.

	The painting was hung the following day.
	Ukyo often wondered how she had finally found the right 
color for the highlights. He didn't like the look of it at all.
	For her part, Akane just felt it fortunate that the mix of 
colors had dried like that, or that the light played on it just 
right, or whatever had finally made the highlights look the way 
she wanted. It was curious.
	She had another bad dream that night, but didn't mention it 
to Ukyo. The sound of the piping flutes faded from her mind by 
mid-morning, and Nabiki required her attention.

***

	Time passed, as it tends to if you take your eyes off of it.
	The groves and fields were their main chore, now. The labor 
involved in tending them wasn't terribly burdensome, but it did 
take a while. Especially since they were constantly expanding, 
cultivating new fields and orchards and food sources in case a 
storm or blight hit some of the current ones.
	They both, of course, required meat. Without a wide 
selection of modern vegetables, vitamins, and supplements, they 
had no real choice except to be the omnivores nature had designed 
them as. This didn't particularly bother them. After all, a large 
percentage of the meat they ate had wanted to eat them before 
making the career change to main course.
	With effort, probably, they could have set up a captive 
breeding program and raised dogs for food. Somehow, however, this 
didn't appeal to either of them.
	Besides, their current program of hunting helped keep the 
wild dogs within reasonable limits.
	The dogs themselves were beginning to feel a positive sense 
of hate for them, Akane sensed. These two bipedal creatures were 
threatening to take over the top rung on the food chain... HAD 
taken it over, because while they dined on dog steak every week, 
the pack had yet to drag either of them back to Canis Mountain for 
a snack. From their point of view, the situation was intolerable.
	That, of course, implied intelligence and reasoning on the 
part of the wild dogs. Akane still believed it. While they were 
individually no more that rather mangy, stupid canines, the pack 
as a whole seemed to have a certain evil, vicious cunning and 
sentience. She believed practically anything where the damn island 
was concerned.
	The damn, vicious, deadly, beautiful island.
	Akane couldn't really compare it to anything, not directly; 
her memories had begun that day on the beach. But somewhere below 
the surface were hidden knowledges and recollections. She knew the 
sheer misery and danger of this place, and how she had once lived 
somewhere safer, somewhere where you could relax your guard 
without danger. Somewhere where children played outside, and dogs 
were well-behaved and tame.
	She also knew that it was the most beautiful place she'd 
ever seen.
	 The way the waterfall cascaded down through sheets of green 
and black, the birds flitting around like breakaway bits of 
rainbow, the lagoon crystal, a sheet of rippling glass over 
pebbles and sand...
	Their porch during a slow, steady, gentle rain, water 
thrumming atop the awning, water flowing down the branches and 
dripping from the leaves, dry in the crude chairs. Making love 
during it. Watching little Nabiki, almost a year old, stare in 
confused wonder and irritation at the falling drops. The smell of 
the air and earth afterwards.
	Akane loved the island, and hated it just as strongly.
	Her nightmares left her the most ambivalent about it, for in 
them she would be running through the jungle. Sometimes she would 
be fleeing, and other times running towards something, but each 
time she would awaken with the voice laughing in her brain, and 
sometimes she would scream. It worried Ukyo, she could tell. It 
worried her a bit, too, because it was getting worse and worse.
	Worst of all was when, in her dreams, she found the temple. 
After that, her flight always wound up in there, screaming as she 
dashed through the black corridors of it, deeper, deeper, running 
screaming through tunnels that dripped a black oil with a tinge of 
color she couldn't quite identify....
	But they were only dreams, after all, and daylight banished 
them and the piping of flutes.
	Ukyo was happy, in his own way. His daughter made him feel 
oddly complete, as if he had needed someone to take care of. He 
would show her the places he treasured most on the island, and 
tell her why they were special to him. While Nabiki clearly 
couldn't understand the words, she easily picked up on the 
sentiment and would look at him with wide eyes.
	The early reflex training went well. To Ukyo's relief, it 
mostly seemed to consist of Akane poking at Nabiki's hands with a 
finger. After Nabiki had caught on to the concept of meeting 
finger with tiny palm, Akane would attempt to slowly move her 
finger to touch Nabiki's shoulder. And the tiny little hand would 
move to intercept.
	Gradually, Akane increased the speed. At an age Ukyo could 
barely comprehend, Nabiki could move her tiny arms with startling 
speed to accurately block her mother's pokes.
	"I'm burning in responses," she explained to Ukyo. "Kids' 
brains are still a work in progress, and you can do a lot with 
them if you catch them early. Nabiki's hand-eye centers are 
getting an incredible workout, and so they're being more fully 
developed and built up more than they normally would be."
	"It's not going to make her stupid, is it? I mean, if that 
part of the brain is getting all the attention..."
	"It doesn't work like that. The parts that get attention get 
well-developed, the others just do as they'd normally do. That's 
one of the reasons why I like you reading to her. She's picking up 
useful processing."
	"You make it sound like we're building a computer or radio 
or something."
	She had chuckled. "Something much more important,
Ukyo-chan."
	The river flowed by, sweeping down to the sea. Sometimes the 
days were long and lazy, and sometimes the nights lasted forever.