From: "floribelle maximo" Hangover by flori-dono Disclaimer: This is a Rurouni Kenshin-inspired fan fiction. The author is not making any money out of this. The characters of Rurouni Kenshin belong to Watsuki Nobuhiro, Shounen Jump, and Sony and others that should be mentioned but were not. AUTHOR'S NOTES: PART 3a Megumi splashed water on her face. She felt terrible, having had almost no sleep at all. She looked at her reflection on the mirror. To say that she looked bad was an understatement. Dark rings formed under her eyes, and her ink-black hair which would usually hung gloriously down her back, was tied in a limp pony tail. "I should be getting fat," she thought as she brought a hand down to her stomach. "Not the other way around." To tell the truth, she was starting to get worried about the baby. As a doctor, she knew that she should be eating right, that she should be getting enough rest but she just couldn't do any of those. Not when there were lots of things on her mind. "Megumi," Kaoru asked as she went inside the clinic. "Are you okay?" Megumi turned around. "Hai," she managed to say. "Kami-sama," Kaoru exclaimed. "You look terrible!" Megumi smiled ruefully as she patted her face dry with her towel. "Thank you SO much Kaoru-chan," she said. Kaoru put a hand on to her lips. "Gomen," she apologized. "Please don't take it as an insult, but..." Megumi sighed. "No, it's okay Kaoru-chan," she said. "I know what you mean." "What happened?" Kaoru asked as Megumi took out some medicine bottles from the cupboard. Megumi's hands stilled. Was it the right time? Yes, it was... "Kaoru," she said. "You told me once that if I needed someone to talk to, I could go to you right?" "Hai," the other girl said solemnly. Kaoru knew where Megumi was heading, and she was glad that the doctor was finally going to tell her. Megumi sat down tiredly on one chair. "Kaoru..." she began. "I'm pregnant." "Oh," Kaoru responded. "Is that all you can say?" Megumi queried, looking up, her brow creased in puzzlement. Kaoru cleared her throat. "Well I AM surprised, I must admit. But there was the possibility right?" Silence. "Uhmm, so does the father know about this already?" Megumi gazed intently at Kaoru's questioning eyes. "Yes." "And what was his reaction?" "He was angry... he learned it by accident you see." "So would I be if I was in his place," Kaoru muttered. "Pardon?" Kaoru sighed. "Look Megumi-chan, I'm sorry," she said. "But just be in Sano's shoes, wouldn't you be angry too if you found out that you'll be a father and the mother of your child just wasn't going to tell you about it?" Megumi listened silently. It wasn't nothing she hadn't thought of. "He wanted me to marry him..." she said, silencing Kaoru. "And the problem is you don't." "I don't want to get married for the wrong reason." "And what IS the right reason?" "I want to marry for love," she said. Kaoru stifled the urge to laugh. She didn't know who were worse, Sano and Megumi or she and Kenshin. "Look at what love can do to you," she thought. No, she would not interlope this time. Better for the two of them to find out on their own, well, with a little push here and there… just a little. She wouldn't want to worsen the situation. It was bad enough as it is. "So tell me," she said to Megumi. "Is marrying Sano not marrying for love?" Megumi looked up. 'No…' she wanted to answer, but what was the use? It would only be a one-sided affair. Kaoru already knew her answer, but she didn't press her. Megumi's silence told her much anyway. "Just think about it Megumi," she said, laying a hand on the other girl's shoulder. "Would marrying him be such a bad idea?" Megumi sighed. "Honestly," she said. "I don't know anymore. Last night, when he learned about it, I was too taken by surprise and fear that I lashed out at him. I told him hurtful things which were only half true. I told him that he would be a terrible father because of the lifestyle he leads… because of his irresponsibility. But I didn't mean them, I know how kind and how good he could be… it's just that…" Kaoru put her arms around the now weeping girl. "Oh Megumi," she said, trying to console her. "In other words, you do want to marry him." There was no use in denying now. Megumi brushed her tears away and looked directly at Kaoru's eyes. "Yes," she said. "Because I love him." TBC AUTHOR: Agh! As much as I want to continue this, I'm only writing in borrowed time. Three more weeks, and school will be finally over… I can't wait! My body and mind is in vacation mode already, they just want to go somewhere peaceful and quiet without the voices of my professors bugging me to hurry up with the requirements. Okay, I'll stop babbling… got me several school-related things to do, this "school-breather" has rather become longer than i expected. 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